Belgarion wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 12:15pm:
Australian government information is conspiracy theories now. But you have  a "friend" who knows better. Ok.

rhino wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 12:17pm:


My friend is a laboratory technician with decades of experience  who has been following this saga closely out of professional interest. She reads professional publications that are beyond the scope of your average internet expert and has a far more in depth knowledge of this than any layman.

So, yes, I will take her opinion over anything I read here. 

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 12:23pm:


We don't know if there are any long-term side-effects.

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 1:41pm:



The drugs I use have been around for decades, and their side-effects are well known.

COVID vaccine - not so much.

How long-term do I want?  At least twelve months usage in the general population.

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 1:51pm:


Yep.

And that's a risk I'm willing to take.

I'm not willing to take a chance on a drug that's only just been put into circulation though.

I'll wait 12 to 18 months and see what happens.

The vaccine alternatives for people with compromised immune systems

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gathers pace, a population is at risk of being left behind: the millions of people around the globe who lack fully functional immune systems.

While the exact number of the immunocompromised worldwide is unknown, estimates suggest that about 10 million live in the U.S. alone, or around 3 percent of the national population. The number encompasses a diverse range of vulnerabilities, including rare genetic immune deficiencies, chronic illnesses that impair the immune system such as rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer and organ-transplant patients who must take immune-suppressing medications.

For them, vaccines will not be effective, because they are incapable of making their own antibodies to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Instead, pharmaceutical companies around the world are racing to develop alternative treatments that bypass the immune system altogether.

The most common option is called monoclonal antibody treatments. These artificially generated antibodies mimic the body’s natural immune response by binding to key sites on the virus’ spike protein, preventing it entering cells and reproducing. Companies including AstraZeneca, Regeneron, and Eli Lilly are currently testing whether monoclonal antibodies can protect immunocompromised people from SARS-CoV-2.

“You often find that patients who have had bone marrow transplants end up getting terrible flu and other infections, which they can’t clear without additional help,” says Nicky Longley, an infectious diseases consultant at University College London Hospitals. “It was these heavily immune-suppressed populations who did very badly during the first wave of COVID-19.”

In addition, preventing immunocompromised people from getting infected will be a key part of keeping the disease in check in the long run, says Andrew Ustianowski, an infectious disease specialist at the U.K.’s National Institute for Health Research.

“If we want to control this virus and get back into normal life, then being able to protect everybody, so we don’t have ongoing transmission in subgroups of the population, is important,” he says.

But while many scientists are excited about the potential of monoclonal antibodies to address gaps in the world’s vaccination programs, questions remain. The coming months will tell us whether these treatments are sufficiently cost-effective to be used on a large scale, if they can really provide adequate protection for months at a time, and whether using monoclonal antibodies may inadvertently do more harm than good.
A potential ‘game changer’

In the past, the only means of protecting immunocompromised people during viral outbreaks was a product called intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG. Taken from the blood plasma of healthy donors, infusions of IVIG are one way of supplying patients with natural antibodies against a broad range of infections most people are commonly exposed to.

More here:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2021/02/the-vaccine-alternatives-for-...

greggerypeccary wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 2:13pm:



Can you do me a favour and not put in the immunsuppressed at risk by potentially spreding a fatal disease?