The Virus Outbreak Thread

Thanks to friends in high places, I have a copy of both the Pfizer and Moderna reports.
 
Everything the submitted to the FDA and Congress. Going to look over them tonight.

@Zincy  
Why do you have a copy of the Pfizer and Moderna reports? What do you need them for?

@Background Pony #3799
 
Curiosity really.
 
I’ve never had the chance to go over vaccine development and emergency authorization data.
 
I fully trust the process, I’m just interested. I have a few friends in the Beltway and one just brought me the papers on a whim. They’re not classified or anything, just tricky to get ahold of outside of govie jobs.
 
 

 
 
See, nothing special. Just neat.

@Zincy  

To be fair, I suspect most people have never had a chance to go over something like that. I mean, how often does a situation that requires something like this even occur?
 
At any rate, you should share your thoughts when you’re done. I’d be curious to hear them.

@Zincy  
Have the entire thing here if anyone else is interested.

Judges overturning CDC moratoriums on evictions.  
Tens of millions of people could lose their homes this winter, many with nowhere to go, or be forced into other’s homes, which could further spread the virus.

Poor AstraZeneca.

@Zincy  
What happened to AstraZeneca?

@Goku Black
 
Their vaccine attempt has thus far been a disappointment.

@Zincy  
What’s been going wrong with the AstraZeneca one? I heard it existed but people are only really talking about the Pfizer and Moderna ones.

@Registered Anon
 
AZ’s vaccine is a traditional vaccine. Which we’ve never been able to get working right for a coronavirus.

@Zincy  
What’s different about the Moderna and Pfizer ones?

@Registered Anon
 
I’m a little drunk so let’s see if I can science.
 
Those two are mRNA vaccines. Traditional vaccines use dead or denatured viruses (or virus parts) to act as training dummy’s for the body. They react to the virus and produce antibodies.
 
MRNA vaccines inject an RNA code attached to a messenger protein that contains the precise genetic instructions to produce antibodies keyed to surface elements of the virus. In this case the spike protein of covid-19. It skips the training step and just gives the memory T-cells the cheat codes.
 
As for the difference between the two, very little. Modernas uses a slightly different variation that requires a longer time between injections but at the benefit of being able to be stored at higher temps. Pfizer’s takes less time, but is less stable at higher temps.

@Zincy  
I think I knew the Moderna and Pfizer ones were RNA based somehow, I just wasn’t sure how they worked. So basically the mRNA ones cut out the middleman.

@Registered Anon
 
Aye, more or less. If they work as advertised, they will revolutionize vaccines.
 
You want a vaccine for cancer? MRNA is how you’d do it. HIV? Same thing.

@Zincy  
That would be awesome to the max.

@Registered Anon
 
The women who discovered the mRNA technique was belittled, demoted, and mocked for her idea that we could directly influence the memory T cells.
 
Now, her base research may save the damn world.

@Zincy  
Well, at least she’s getting vindicated. I hope.

@Registered Anon
 
Female academics always seem to be “vindicated” after the fact. Which is, distressing.

@Zincy  
Fair point. I just hope this works.

@Zincy  
Yeah, misogyny can sure make humanity digs its own grave.
 
I hope people start to realize this.

Moderna’s vaccine fully approved. Their initial shipment will be 6 million doses. And the less stringent cold storage requirements will help get it to extremely rural areas..
 
Plus according to the article if you happened to have stock in that company you’re rich now. Their shares went from $17 in January to nearly $170 now.

@Zincy  
I always thought female nerds were usually better at what they do than males, because you see a guy in a lab coat and you’re like, “did this guy actually want to be here or did his parents and society just push him to go to college and do it?” But at least where I come from, the only “pushing” women get towards STEM fields is from the occasional motivational billboard or tv advertisement, and that’s not very convincing. I don’t think anyone goes to college and becomes a scientist because of a billboard. They’re there because either they were pushed or they wanted to be there, and I think the average woman scientist is probably the latter. People are always better at what they do when they want to do it.

Antarctica just had it’s first recorded cases today.

@Count Adramélekh Sear  
Did a penguin test positive?