The Johnson and Johnson Vaccine against COVID 19 was approved for Emergency Use Authorization in the United States on Saturday Feb 27, 2021. The main questions are does the clinical trial data show that the vaccine offers meaningful, measurable protection from Covid-19 disease?  After this vaccine is administered, will it cause fewer people to get sick, cause fewer people to get severely ill from Covid-19, or cause fewer people to transmit the virus after exposure? The initial release of findings from clinical trials was meant with disappointment because the vaccine showed only a 66% efficacy against the disease a general population. But if you have been listening to this podcast, in particular, "Episode 10: Which COVID-19 vaccine is the best for you?” and “Episode 12: How Does the New Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine Work and Why is This different from mRNA Vaccines?”, you know that I think this generation of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is pretty special. T It is a miracle that we have this plethora of vaccines when history tells us that it is rare to even have one this soon. In a continuation of last week’s deep dive into the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, we will examine the topics discussed in the final hearing before the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization.   Topics include the vaccine efficacy in moderate and severe COVID-19 across different age groups, efficacy against the variants, and in efficacy in different regions of the world, and an explanation as to why these data points matter; its ability to confer long term immunity; the ability to stop asymptomatic transmission; the vaccine’s side effects; and its safety in children, pregnant women, and the immune compromised.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest FDA recommendations and my knowledge of the immune system and science behind the medicine.

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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 is moving forward with positive clinical trial results and expects to seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The company is working with its pharmaceutical arm Janssen to develop the vaccine under the project names Ensemble and Ensemble 2.  The company enrolled participants for its late-stage trials in December 2020 and will test its vaccine with two different doses. The first dose uses only one shot, while the second formulation calls for two shots.  The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a recombinant viral vaccine that uses a live, attenuated, and weakened adenovirus as the vector.  A because of this is sometimes referred to as a viral vector vaccine. This technology has been around since the 1970’s and has been used in other therapeutics including in a vaccine against rabies.  We will discuss what that means and how it is different from the mRNA vaccines released from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.  We will discuss how this vaccine works and what makes it different from the mRNAs vaccines approved in the U.S. in December 2020.  We will also look at issues concerning its efficacy, its ability to confer long-term immunity, and its success rate against the variants.

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As new variants of Sars-Covid-2 sweep across the globe, the efficiency and the speed of new infection and re-infection cases have given pause to those who thought a good vaccine would help diminish the virus quickly. In the time since those initial predictions, some good things have happened.  We have had several vaccines come online and countries are starting their vaccination programs.  And a significant portion of the of the world’s population has been exposed to the virus through natural infection, which studies show conveys some immunity to the virus for some amount of time. While these developments should give many a cause for hope, the emerging variants have shown to be effective at evading some vaccines and causing new infection patterns, which include a greater infection rate and early evidence of increased infection among school age children. What does this mean for ridding the world of this virus? Will the virus be eradicated? Or will the virus become endemic or seasonal? We will discuss all of these topics in this episode.

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The operative words in the title of this episode are for you. You see, no vaccine or therapeutic is 100% guaranteed to cure you of an infectious disease or alleviate the symptoms of disease. And another point that is important to make in the same vein, is that just as each person is unique, his or her immune system that is tasked with fighting the disease is just as unique. The immune system like a person is shaped by the environment, including accessed to healthcare, the early screening for disease, and the continued monitoring for better health outcomes; what the body has experienced before in terms of infection, injury, and disease; and the person’s overall health. The point simply is that no one vaccine is going to work the same on two different people. But there are some generalizations we can use to help guide people on their decision-making process. There will also be circumstances of vaccine availability due to the unprecedented nature of trying to get 6 billion vaccinated before the world is inundated with new variants of Sars-Covid-2 or even new viruses. We will look at the factors that can affect one’s vaccine choice including vaccine type, one’s problems taking vaccines in the past and the effectiveness of vaccines if one is immunocompromised.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the science of immunology and vaccine development that is behind the medicine.

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In Part 1 of this two-part series, we delved into measures a person can take if they have diagnosed with Covid-19. Among the topics we discussed was the use of a pulse oximeter to monitor the onset Covid-19 lung inflammation and pneumonia.  And we also discussed the use of monoclonal antibodies, newly approved in the US. For the treatment of moderate Covid-19 infection in people who are at risk for hospitalization.  In this episode we will take a look at the vitamins that boost the immune system of those infected. I will also discuss why and how each of these vitamins work on the immune system so positively. I will discuss also why rest is so critical for the immune system to function optimally when fighting the disease. And I also realize that so many people diagnosed with Covid-19 live in a household with others. Therefore, to finish this series, I examine what you and loved ones while and after a person’s convalescence. You do not have to listen to the first episode of this series to be able to follow and understand Part 2. However, Parts 1 and 2 taken together are a comprehensive list of suggestions to keep a Covid-19 positive person’s symptoms from getting worst and to make sure that those living in the same household remain as safe as they can under the circumstances.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the immune system and science of immunology behind the medicine.

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There is great emphasis on COVID-19 vaccines now that vaccines have begun being approved and distributed to combat the pandemic. But as there are an increasing number of Sars-coronavirus-2 variants that are more infectious than the original virus, more people around the world are contracting the disease. But many of these people will not be sick enough for in hospital care. Therefore, the infected person will have to ensure that they have the type of equipment and immune boosting nutrients needed to fight the infection. Those in the household will also have to take increased preventative measures to make sure that they do not become infected with the virus.  In light of these issues, what should a person do? What are treatments you should be expecting and asking for while you self-care out of the hospital? In this episode we will be taking a closer look at all of these issues and more.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the imuune system and science of immunology behind the medicine.

Monoclonal Antibodies

Bamlanivimab  (LY-CoV555) from Eli Lilly

Monoclonal Antibody Coctail (Casirivimab and Indivimab) from Regeneron

Websites for Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Information 

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/covid-19/monoclonal-antibody-covid-19-infusion

https://www.nhia.org

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Over the past few weeks, I have received questions about how to differentiate between symptoms of Influenza (which we will hereafter refer to as “the flu”), a cold, or COVID 19.  In this episode we will go over the traits of each illness focusing on the hallmark signs of each. Then we will take more of a deep dive into specific traits of COVID-19 and what exactly is going on with each symptom and what scientists and doctors know about them at the time of this recording.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the science of immunology and molecular biology.

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Over the past few weeks, I have received questions about the new COVID-19 vaccines, COVID-19 symptoms, the variants, as well as questions about the points raised in previous episodes.   To open the new year, I decided to devote the first episodes of 2021 to answering your most frequently asked questions about the virus.   In particular, I will be answering question the Coronavirus’ variants since these are among the most asked questions in recent weeks.  So, sit back as I answer your questions about the new COVID-19  vaccines.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the science of vaccine development and vaccination.

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Over the past few weeks, I have received questions about the new COVID-19 vaccines, COVID-19 symptoms, the variants, as well as questions about the points raised in previous episodes.  To open the new year, decided to devote this first question and answer episode to answering your most frequently asked questions about the vaccines. In upcoming episodes, I will answer your questions about the virus itself and what we know about it entering 2021.  So, sit back as I answer your questions about the new COVID-19 vaccines.

Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. All medical decisions need to be made by you, your doctor, and any close circle of friends and family who are your advisors. I am giving you the latest CDC recommendations and my knowledge of the science of vaccine development and vaccination.

Also because of the very positive response to the podcast and due to the number of questions I have received, I have decided to make this episode about the vaccine and a later episode will be about the COVID 19 virus.

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There have been a lot of studies over the last few months about blood type and COVID. And there are two categories. One set asks if you have type O blood do you have a lower risk of getting infected, and the other type asks if you have type O blood are you less likely to get gravely ill, less likely to need a ventilator in the ICU than if you have type A blood. So, two different questions being asked here and we’ll examine them both.

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