Each year - for more than the last 50 years - an influenza vaccine has been developed and administered with the hopes that the developers have selected the correct strain of influenza upon which to base their prick. Researchers must select the strain a year in advance of the onset of flu season to allow time to produce sufficient quantities of prick juice. This compounds the challenge of selecting the correct strain for which to prepare, anticipate and understand "the genetic and phenotypic changes that underlie
virus evolution and more specifically help to predict the influence of amino acid changes on virus antigenicity."*
"Complex mathematical modelling techniques are increasingly being used to gain insights into the evolution and epidemiology of influenza viruses. However, their value in predicting the timing and nature of future antigenic and genetic changes is likely to be limited at present."*
Meanwhile, "The application of simpler non-mechanistic statistical algorithms, such as those already used as the basis of antigenic cartography, and phylogenetic modelling are
more likely to be useful in facilitating vaccine virus selection and in aiding assessment of the pandemic potential of avian and other animal influenza viruses."*
*
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21819547/But it's still a bit of guesswork, and a lot of luck, this process of trying to guess the mutation and strain du jour.
The point? What has happened to the strain specific pricks the were the topic discussion when boosters were first suggested for Beta and Delta... Lambda and now Mu?
And how, viz a viz the usual need to develop vaccine geared toward specific strains and mutations of anitigenically variant viruses, do the existing Covid vaccines somehow (magically) provide protections for the Covid variants and yet still require the need to pursue variant specific jabs?
Back in June Astazenica started trials on a Beta booster and said "Testing booster doses of existing vaccines and new variant vaccines is important to ensure we are best prepared to stay ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, should their use be needed." Roll up them sleeves, boys; we got a new one for you, again... this week.
Pfizer said in August(?) that a booster is sufficient to increase titers for protection against the "Wild Strain"! and "Phase I data showed a similar pattern of booster responses against the wild-type, Beta, Lambda, and Delta variants," the company noted."**
Similarly, in July, J&J said 'fuck it'; ours is good for every strain, based on the large body of evidence we've compiled from our... ahem...errrr, hmmm...
eight participants.**
This month Moderna announced they have "four vaccine candidates in development against variants: one against Beta, one against Delta, a multivalent vaccine targeting Beta and the wild-type strain, and a multivalent vaccine against Beta and Delta"**
What is the "Wild Strain"? So, a Alpha, and a Beta... and a Delta... and a "multivalent" vaxx for Beta/Wild Strain? A multivalent vaxx for Beta/Delta... Sound decidedly like 'settled science' has made the case for an 'approved' vax.
**
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-re ... definitionAnd while settled science, be assured that "Moderna completed the
rolling submission process for a Biologics License Application (BLA) for the vaccine."***
"Rolling submission"****? More boosters coming? (note that the mRNA formulae number in the thousands) Those along with their RSV, "New infectious disease therapeutic vaccine candidate, to complement Epstein-Barr virus prophylactic vaccine", a combined Covid/flu vax, a quadravalent flu vax, a RSV/HPV covalent vax, a personalized cancer vax and "37 programs in development"**** means you guys will be challenged to have enough ass to take all of these pricks.
Moderna's research into variant pricks continues despite assurances to the CDC and FDA that "its original vaccine holds up well against Delta, citing real-world effectiveness data through June 30 when Delta was emerging, and CDC data through August showing high effectiveness against emergency visits and hospitalizations."**
****
https://investors.modernatx.com/news-re ... ry-leadingAn interesting comment from the MedPage article which explored the quest for variant specific vaccine:
"Ramin_Oskoui_MD_ • an hour ago
Atrocious. What has happened to us.
Have we forgotten it takes years (7 to 10) for vaccines to accumulated enough safety data.
With the near disappearance of the alpha strain, why would we think vaccines geared to producing humoral immunity for that would be protective against delta or mu.
What do viruses do. They mutate. What do anitigenically variant viruses like coronaviruses do, they mutate a lot.
We've tried to make vaccines to coronaviruses for 20 years. Failed each time, sometimes with disastrous results for the vaccinated. Now we have vaccines designed in less than 3 days. They are clearly non sterilizing. A poor choice in the middle of a pandemic.
I would remind my peers here to look into the history of DaPT. The original vaccine was sterilizing. In the 1990 we switched to another non sterilizing one and have seen a marked uptick in pertussis a decade later.
We need to ask why we are seeing such high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Israel today. The answer should be obvious."
An aside: (Noting the personalized CANCER vax in the Moderna release cited above, one hopes that it will be a 'sterilizing' vax and not produce the leaker variants down the road, no? Also interesting is merely the application of vaccine to cancer. Does this infer that cancer is a viral infection?)