@ Covid week of 3/21

[Dznyprnces]

I’m mostly a lurker here, so I hope it’s ok that I start this. 

Has anyone heard of a plant based Covid vaccine that will be available in the US soon?

I’m in the middle of a custody dispute with my XH about vaccinating our son (I’m pro, he’s against). I have filed a motion to take him to court over it, and I just got his response. In it he claims there is a plant based vaccine that may be available this summer. I read a lot about Covid, including the threads here, and I have not heard of a plant based vaccine. So I googled, and it’s available in Canada (or will be soon), but I can’t find any mentions of it being available in the US.

ETA: I mean protein based, not plant based.

[wanderingback]

Well who knows if/when it’ll get approved in the US, but it’s only for people 18 and above and I assume your child is under 18 if they can’t make own decisions. So even if it were to approved your child can’t get it.

[aprilsails]

Beyond that WHO has basically said that they won’t approve it or even review it because 1/3 of the company’s ownership is a tobacco company, and the WHO has a blanket policy that they will not do business with tobacco companies.

Canadians are very WTF about this.

So chances of the USA bringing it in anytime soon when they already have two viable options seem pretty slim.

www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6387863

[landmermaid]

I've been waiting for this update with bated breath.

www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088167753/moderna-covid-19-vaccine-children-fda

"Though, the efficacy was 43.7% in children 6 months to 2 years old, and 37.5% in children from 2 to under 6. No severe cases of COVID-19 were reported."

They're also planning on submitting to get approval for the under 18 age group as well. I don't want to get my hopes up, but my goodness, is good to hear some positive news.

[tacom]

37.5% is better than 0% but that doesn’t even reach the 50% threshold that regulators initially set to approve a covid vaccine in the US. Thankfully their primary outcome was antibody measurement and not efficacy against infection.

It just seems like kids will always be so far behind in this process (for understandable reasons) — but it’s frustrating. Scientists are trialing a vaccine that was designed against a variant two years ago. No doubt the adult vaccines would perform similarly under such conditions. But by the time they figure out the next steps for adults, won’t kids have to start this entire process over again? Will we ever not be two years and XYZ variants behind?

I’m just glad there were no severe outcomes for any kids enrolled. I’m clinging to that!

[hermione]

Mar 23, 2022 9:55:08 GMT -5 tacom said:

37.5% is better than 0% but that doesn’t even reach the 50% threshold that regulators initially set to approve a covid vaccine in the US. Thankfully their primary outcome was antibody measurement and not efficacy against infection.

It just seems like kids will always be so far behind in this process (for understandable reasons) — but it’s frustrating. Scientists are trialing a vaccine that was designed against a variant two years ago. No doubt the adult vaccines would perform similarly under such conditions. But by the time they figure out the next steps for adults, won’t kids have to start this entire process over again? Will we ever not be two years and XYZ variants behind?

I’m just glad there were no severe outcomes for any kids enrolled. I’m clinging to that!

My understanding (and it may be totally wrong!) is that this is actually not the case. Once the vaccine is approved, modifications for variants is a less rigorous process which is why the flu vaccine can be different every year. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me can explain this better - or tell me I am totally wrong.

[noodleoo]

Mar 23, 2022 7:39:52 GMT -5 landmermaid said:

I've been waiting for this update with bated breath.

www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088167753/moderna-covid-19-vaccine-children-fda

"Though, the efficacy was 43.7% in children 6 months to 2 years old, and 37.5% in children from 2 to under 6. No severe cases of COVID-19 were reported."

They're also planning on submitting to get approval for the under 18 age group as well. I don't want to get my hopes up, but my goodness, is good to hear some positive news.

From the article:

Moderna said it is planning to submit its vaccine for children ages 6 to 11 for emergency authorization use, while also currently testing a booster dose for children from 6 months to 11 years of age.

It sounds like they are in the same place as Pfizer, looking for approvals for 6-11.  Still nothing for kids <6.  I find the headline misleading.  Or the article is contradicting itself.  <shrug>  Same old, same old.  Not holding my break for my 3 year old.

[Dznyprnces]

Thank you for your thoughts. After I posted I realized he was talking about a protein based vaccine, not plant based. But even then, I could only find information about adults. Our son is 9, so it does not sound like a viable option for him, even if it does get approved for adults this summer.

[lucybrown]

Mar 23, 2022 10:43:52 GMT -5 Dznyprnces said:

Thank you for your thoughts. After I posted I realized he was talking about a protein based vaccine, not plant based. But even then, I could only find information about adults. Our son is 9, so it does not sound like a viable option for him, even if it does get approved for adults this summer.

I went down a rabbit hole to see if he was referring to the stuff anti-vax people typically say.  Instead, I found some reputable sources on protein vaccines.  It seems like a whole lot is still unknown.  

answers.childrenshospital.org/protein-based-covid-19-vaccines/


www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/different-types-of-covid-19-vaccines/art-20506465

I don't have any idea if this is what he was referring to. ETA: you're correct in that it's still not approved. 

[Dznyprnces]

Mar 23, 2022 12:13:41 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

Mar 23, 2022 10:43:52 GMT -5 Dznyprnces said:

Thank you for your thoughts. After I posted I realized he was talking about a protein based vaccine, not plant based. But even then, I could only find information about adults. Our son is 9, so it does not sound like a viable option for him, even if it does get approved for adults this summer.

I went down a rabbit hole to see if he was referring to the stuff anti-vax people typically say.  Instead, I found some reputable sources on protein vaccines.  It seems like a whole lot is still unknown.  

answers.childrenshospital.org/protein-based-covid-19-vaccines/


www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/different-types-of-covid-19-vaccines/art-20506465

I don't have any idea if this is what he was referring to. ETA: you're correct in that it's still not approved. 

Oh, he is definitely anti-vax. We had a meeting with our Pediatrition in December in an attempt to work this out ourselves, and some of the questions he asked her were…interesting. All “problems” I had never heard of, and like I said, I do a lot of reading about Covid to stay up to date so I have current information when we finally see a judge.

[wanderingback]

In the UK they’re only offering the Covid vaccine to kids 12 and up. I wonder if we’ll get any data about outcomes in the pediatric population here vs there. I think in Japan they just started vaccinating kids over 5 this month.

So is the US ahead on pediatric Covid vaccine access?
I wonder if other countries are wishing the vaccines were available earlier to younger populations.

[frlcb]

Mar 24, 2022 20:16:16 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

In the UK they’re only offering the Covid vaccine to kids 12 and up. I wonder if we’ll get any data about outcomes in the pediatric population here vs there. I think in Japan they just started vaccinating kids over 5 this month.

So is the US ahead on pediatric Covid vaccine access?
I wonder if other countries are wishing the vaccines were available earlier to younger populations.

They are offering it to kids 5-11 in the UK starting in April, and kids at risk in that age group have been able to get it for a few months.


www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/world/europe/uk-covid-vaccine-children-ages-5-to-11.html

[wanderingback]

Mar 24, 2022 20:23:46 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Mar 24, 2022 20:16:16 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

In the UK they’re only offering the Covid vaccine to kids 12 and up. I wonder if we’ll get any data about outcomes in the pediatric population here vs there. I think in Japan they just started vaccinating kids over 5 this month.

So is the US ahead on pediatric Covid vaccine access?
I wonder if other countries are wishing the vaccines were available earlier to younger populations.

They are offering it to kids 5-11 in the UK starting in April, and kids at risk in that age group have been able to get it for a few months.


www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/world/europe/uk-covid-vaccine-children-ages-5-to-11.html

Yep, I meant currently only 12 and up. So wondering if since US has been offering for longer to 5-11 if there are any data on cases and outcomes in that age group.