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Do you ever get the feeling that maybe, sometimes, our politicians are woefully out of their depth in this pandemic? More concerned about scoring points than encouraging a good public health strategy?
Join me on a short walk...
Join me on a short walk...
Last night, Conservative strategist Jenni Byrne tweets this: https://twitter.com/Jenni_Byrne/status/1387198991482327044
She">https://twitter.com/Jenni_Byr... links to a statement from Pfizer saying that "the safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been evaluated" for only providing one dose instead of two.
She">https://twitter.com/Jenni_Byr... links to a statement from Pfizer saying that "the safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been evaluated" for only providing one dose instead of two.
Obviously this reflects a general concern that Canada& #39;s strategy of giving everyone one dose, and putting off the 2nd, might be foolhardy.
But problem is: That statement is from *March 23.* It& #39;s old.
But problem is: That statement is from *March 23.* It& #39;s old.
Now, we do have data on single vs. double dose. Per this study on healthcare workers: Pfizer is estimated to be 78% effective after one shot, while Moderna is 91%! https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab361/6253721
News">https://academic.oup.com/cid/advan... coverage of the study: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/cdc-study-shows-single-dose-of-pfizer-or-moderna-covid-vaccines-was-80percent-effective.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/2...
News">https://academic.oup.com/cid/advan... coverage of the study: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/cdc-study-shows-single-dose-of-pfizer-or-moderna-covid-vaccines-was-80percent-effective.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/2...
But that& #39;s fine. Jenni is one person. Lord knows I& #39;ve accidentally tweeted out old things by mistake before.
The problem is what arrived in journalists& #39; inboxes from the Conservative Party at 8:30 this morning:
The problem is what arrived in journalists& #39; inboxes from the Conservative Party at 8:30 this morning:
O& #39;Toole cites a "recent statement" from Pfizer about the single dose, which we know is old. He goes on to use that to conclude: "Canada is in unchartered [sic] territory because we are administering a vaccine on a schedule that hasn’t been tested for efficacy or safety."
He says Canada& #39;s "top scientists have expressed concerns" about the strategy. Which isn& #39;t really true — Tam has expressed concerns over *reopening* with only one dose: https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/04/21/covid-19-vaccine-tam/">https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/04/2... while the NACI has recommended this one-dose strategy: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/rapid-response-extended-dose-intervals-covid-19-vaccines-early-rollout-population-protection.html">https://www.canada.ca/en/public...
Basically, the Conservative Party saw *one tweet* from one strategist linking to a month-old statement and immediately fired off a statement questioning Canada& #39;s entire vaccination strategy, seemingly without consulting any of the actual science on this.
Just a quick addendum: It does seem like this old press release was circulating around yesterday, for whatever reason. It wasn& #39;t just Jenni: https://twitter.com/dianefrancis1/status/1387062249324490755?s=21">https://twitter.com/dianefran...
