Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Friday 8-Jan-2021
Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions – Rapid Test Center of NY
Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
January 8, 2021
CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.
Topics: My math was off, vaccine myth, bad week for CoViD-19 case numbers
| My vaccine throughput math Thank you to everyone who wrote in about my vaccine throughput math. Yes, there were many assumptions made in that calculation and as some of you who are more versed in assembly line production calculations pointed out, there are efficiencies that are gained. The overall picture was considerably better than I had calculated and if we get our act together, we can vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated within a few months. That is very encouraging so we need to get going. I am pleased that the incoming administration will stop holding back 50% of the available vaccine and will use the Defense Production Act to push vaccine companies to make enough vaccine for the second dose. Perhaps we’ll get this right afterall. I’m excited. My Administrative Assistant’s concern I was speaking with my admin the other day and she was very worried about something she read on the internet about the vaccine “wrapping” itself around her DNA and altering her forever. That got me thinking that we should review how the messenger RNA vaccine works and why that won’t happen. So here is a short review on how our cells work. We have many cells in our body. Each cell has a nucleus which contains our DNA, the genetic code which makes us who we are. When our cells need to make new proteins, the DNA in the protected nucleus is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) which is then transported out of the nucleus through special pores in the nuclear membrane and into the cell cytoplasm (the cytoplasm is everything inside the cell membrane besides the nucleus). Once in the cell cytoplasm, the mRNA goes to the protein manufacturing part of the cell (the ribosome) and gives instructions on what should be done there. Its really interesting how this whole thing works and it is much more complex than I am describing here. Once the mRNA instructions are given, the mRNA is pretty quickly broken down. So what do viruses do, you may be asking. A virus injects its own genetic material into our cells and forces our ribosomes to stop making what our mRNA is telling it to make but instead to make complete copies of the virus. These new viruses burst out of our cells and infect other cells to make more new virus. So with viruses, as opposed to bacteria, we create more virus ourselves and viruses could not spread without a nice host, like us. Bacteria, on the other hand, can reproduce on their own given the right conditions. So this is where the mRNA vaccines like the ones from Pfizer and Moderna get really interesting. The vaccines are little bits of mRNA that get taken into our cells and instruct our ribosomes to make viral spike protein. The vaccine doesn’t give all the instructions to make complete virus copies or we would get sick. It just makes the one spike protein. The vaccine mRNA is degraded pretty quickly but the spike protein is seen by our immune system as foreign and we make antibodies to it and activate t-cells against it. The mRNA can’t get through the nuclear membrane into the nucleus because there is no mechanism to do that. The transport mechanism moves mRNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm and not the other way around.So we get all the benefits of an immune response without having to be infected with the actual virus. Its really ingenious and its not new. Scientists have been looking at mRNA vaccines for decades in the fight against flu, Zika, rabies, and CMV. Its cool technology and these types of vaccines can be built in a lab against new pathogens more quickly than traditional vaccines. Its very exciting. Post Christmas numbers This week, we are really seeing the effects of the holiday gatherings and perhaps the B117 variant. A record number of 4,085 American died yesterday from CoVid-19. We’ve now had almost 368,000 deaths, by far the most in the world. Hospitals are overwhelmed in some parts of our country. We should start seeing the effect of New Year’s gatherings in the next two weeks. Remember that cases lag behind exposure by a few weeks and hospitalizations are 3 weeks behind that followed by increased deaths 3-4 weeks after than. Stay safe, we will all get through this together. Dr. Stu Weiss |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for January 8, 2021 World Wide Updates Canadian prime minister anticipates “tough” days ahead as country considers extended lockdowns Brazil receives requests for emergency use of two Covid-19 vaccines Ireland confirms arrival of coronavirus variant Peru detects first case of Covid-19 variant from the UK Pfizer vaccine doses can be spaced out up to 6 weeks apart, WHO advisers say Denmark limits travel from all countries to curb spread of Covid-19 French medical regulator approves Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for rollout “Major incident” declared in London due to Covid-19’s pressure on hospitals EU expecting AstraZeneca to submit application for Covid-19 vaccine authorization ‘next week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson details vaccination program Moderna Covid-19 vaccine authorized by UK medicines regulator Swedish parliament votes to allow tougher coronavirus control measures Spain will face some ‘tough weeks’ warns the health minister Detainees file lawsuit against South Korean government after Covid-19 outbreak at Seoul prison EU purchasing 300 million more vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech Two rheumatoid arthritis drugs can help the sickest Covid-19 patients Brazil says second Chinese vaccine has 78% efficacy Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls for ban on Western Covid-19 vaccines Delhi announces mandatory quarantine for all UK arrivals Chinese commuters asked to provide Beijing residency proof and negative Covid-19 test Australia to require international arrivals to present negative Covid-19 test results Germany reports highest single-day coronavirus death toll Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine appears to work against mutation in new variants, study finds A year after Wuhan, China locks down another city of 11 million people to contain a Covid-19 flare-up Bhutan records its first Covid-19 death Japan reports record Covid-19 infections for third straight day Australia’s Greater Brisbane to go under 3-day lockdown to stop spread of UK Covid-19 strain UK introduces mandatory Covid-19 testing for all arrivals Every Israeli citizen over age 16 will be vaccinated by the end of March, PM says London field hospital to be used amid COVID-19 spikes World Health Organization okays delaying second vaccine injection by six weeks France records further 281 deaths Total Cases Worldwide: 89,184,932 Total Deaths Worldwide: 1,917,993 Total Recovered: 63,878,286 US Updates White House task force says there could be a fast-spreading “USA variant” of coronavirus Pfizer declines to say if it can produce vaccine quickly enough to get second doses out on schedule New York City will start administering vaccine to city workers and elderly starting Monday, mayor says Biden will get his second vaccine dose on Monday Rise in Covid-19 deaths in California prompts deployment of temporary morgues FDA warns new coronavirus mutations can cause false negative Covid-19 test results in some cases Army and Air Force medical teams arrive to help with California Covid-19 surge Yeast infection in hospitalized Covid-19 patients may be linked to PPE re-use, CDC study finds Covid-19 cases in nursing homes reflect community spread, CDC study finds Georgia governor “not happy” with vaccination rate in the state Teachers in Chicago who don’t go back to school may not be paid, officials say Biden will aim to release every available Covid-19 vaccine dose when he takes office, breaking from Trump Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine makers ‘encouraged’ by study that shows vaccine appears to work against variants New York City reports a more than 9% Covid-19 positivity rate Los Angeles County Covid-19 deaths in a day equals city’s homicide deaths in a year, mayor says Shellfish allergies no reason to skip Covid-19 vaccine, FDA official says The NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers will stay in New York City after a player tested positive for Covid-19 US reports more than 4,000 new Covid-19 deaths for first time during the pandemic More than half of Covid-19 transmission comes from people with no symptoms, study suggests Investigation launched into luxury Florida nursing home accused of giving vaccines to wealthy donors instead of staff and residents Total US cases: 22,357,679 Total US deaths: 376,701 Total Recovered: 13,201,452 Total Tested in US: 259,614,820 Total cases in CA: 2,601,342 Total deaths in CA: 28,664 Total cases in TX: 1,916,872 Total deaths in TX: 29,724 Total cases in FL: 1,449,252 Total deaths in FL: 22,675 Total cases in NY: 1,116,929 Total deaths in NY: 39,149 Total cases in IL: 1,017,322 Total deaths in IL: 19,108 Contact us |
| YouTube Channel |
| The Doctor Stu YouTube channel is up and running but we haven’t added new videos in a little while. I’ll get back to that after the New Year. Go to www.DoctorStu.org to submit questions. |
