Coronavirus in Massachusetts (home, schools, college)

[sawyer2]

More details from Pfizer/BioNTech - all very promising

- Primary efficacy analysis demonstrates BNT162b2 to be 95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose; 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group versus 8 in the vaccine group

- Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics; observed efficacy in adults over 65 years of age was over 94%

- Safety data milestone required by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been achieved

- Data demonstrates vaccine was well tolerated across all populations with over 43,000 participants enrolled; no serious safety concerns observed; the only Grade 3 adverse event greater than 2% in frequency was fatigue at 3.8% and headache at 2.0%

- Companies plan to submit within days to the FDA for EUA and share data with other regulatory agencies around the globe

- The companies expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021

https://investors.biontech.de/news-r...vid-19-vaccine

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Fairly certain there is significant overlap between:

A) Those shunning mask usage
B) Those who reflect fondly of getting sloshed at the Picadilly Pub and wrapping their second gen Camaro around a utility pole.

This isn't really funny but made me laugh.

[msRB311]

This is interesting:

https://whdh.com/news/massachusetts-...d-19-pandemic/

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by msRB311

This is interesting:

https://whdh.com/news/massachusetts-...d-19-pandemic/

With cases on the rise so fast, I wonder how those rankings will look in a week from now. Just saying.

[msRB311]

Right Im not sure why an article like that was even published. It seems misleading and now people might be like, hey let's head to MA for Thanksgiving...or hey we can have that get together because it's so safe in MA.

[redplum33]

FDA approves 1st rapid at-home COVID-19 self test


This sounds great. But it's $50, can only be used one time, and requires a prescription.

U.S. regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed entirely at home and delivers results in 30 minutes.

The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents an important step in U.S. efforts to expand testing options for COVID-19 beyond health care facilities and testing sites. However, the test will require a prescription, likely limiting its initial use.

The FDA granted emergency authorization to the single-use test kit from Lucira Health, a California manufacturer.

The company's test allows users to swab themselves to collect a nasal sample. The sample is then swirled in a vial of laboratory solution that plugs into a portable device. Results are displayed as lights labeled positive or negative.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

With cases on the rise so fast, I wonder how those rankings will look in a week from now. Just saying.

Fair question. The only thing is, I'm not convinced MA is going to have particularly higher rates (cases per capita, deaths, or hospitalizatiosn per capita) than most other states since it seems everyone is blowing up.

We're slated to go to my girlfriend's in Vermont. But we almost bailed last week because we assumed that even if we follow VT quarantine rules + test negative, we'd still be coming from an area with a lot of cases to an area with very few. Turns out, Boston (Suffolk County) has a lower rate of positive cases (again, per capita) than her parents county in VT. As bad as it is here, it seems worse in many other places. Particularly places that weren't hit as hard the first time around.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Fair question. The only thing is, I'm not convinced MA is going to have particularly higher rates (cases per capita, deaths, or hospitalizatiosn per capita) than most other states since it seems everyone is blowing up.

We're slated to go to my girlfriend's in Vermont. But we almost bailed last week because we assumed that even if we follow VT quarantine rules + test negative, we'd still be coming from an area with a lot of cases to an area with very few. Turns out, Boston (Suffolk County) has a lower rate of positive cases (again, per capita) than her parents county in VT. As bad as it is here, it seems worse in many other places. Particularly places that weren't hit as hard the first time around.

Wow Boston has a lower rate per capita than VT?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Wow Boston has a lower rate per capita than VT?

No, Suffolk County has fewer cases per capita than Washington County, VT (where her parents live). As of today, Suffolk County has 39 cases per 100,000 and Washington County, VT has 55 cases per 100,000. But overall, Boston (and MA) have higher rates than the state of VT as a whole.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by lrfox

No, Suffolk County has fewer cases per capita than Washington County, VT (where her parents live). As of today, Suffolk County has 39 cases per 100,000 and Washington County, VT has 55 cases per 100,000. But overall, Boston (and MA) have higher rates than the state of VT as a whole.

The population of the Mad River Valley is so low that a transient spreader event makes the county look bad for a couple of weeks. It’s likely to be back down near 15 again.