It's important to understand that Emily Oster is neither a virologist nor an epidemiologist. She's an economist. She's smart, but she also has significant biases. There are better sources of information on the pandemic, from people actually in the field.
Dr. Jetelina, I am a public HS biology teacher and I think your excellent explanations (thank you!) would help my students understand this pandemic better and respond to it more constructively. I would like to share posts or portions of your posts with them, with full attribution. What is your policy regarding paid subscribers sharing your work in a public classroom?
Hi. Your friendly editor here--end of paragraph 3, "Vaccines reduce an incredible aMouNt of transmission too." Keep fighting the good fight--you are helping save lives.
thank you! You have been / are a light in all this. My daughter's second shot was today (it helped to read you vote not delaying on those second shots for the 5-11 set. I was reading some things making me second guess that). Just when we parents exhaled a bit, Omicron made us inhale again but it is good to hear some concrete analysis and things to do in this moment (and a tiny bit of hope/ reassurance, too). THANK YOU for all you do. This work - making science and health info accessible / digestible is important, hard work. we are grateful.
Hi, it's me again. The person who keeps asking about under 5 vaccination. Seeing as half of the under 5 age group can't even wear a mask for protection, is there any conversation about expediting vaccinations for this group with this new variant? Or at least allowing off label vaccinations so that parents have options?
FDA and CDC gave docs a stern warning not to use Pfizer off label for younger kids. Their immune systems are not the same, and the dosing hasn't been optimized yet. I doubt they will budge on this point.
This vaccine has been given to billions of people, and half of the under 5 group can't wear a mask, so they don't even have that level of protection.
My youngest, born March 2020 hasn't met his grandparents and has not seen an adult without a mask on in his entire life. His older sister is almost 4 and misses her extended family and having friends over. This continued isolation and perpetual mutations are doing more harm to these kids, and their parents, than the vaccine ever could. Again, billions of doses have been given over the past 9 months. Children are still human, this type of vaccine isn't new, and we know very well that this is safe. The current situation, which is under 5s "by mid 2022", which means August-September is not tenable and those of us trapped in this hell cannot continue for another year like this.
The current studies are extended for "safety", which is mostly pandering to the vaccine hesitant crowd. The information on dose and immune response should be completed by now, and the rest of us should be able to make the decision to protect our children from those who insist on continuing to spread this disease from ignorance and spite.
Just wanted to thank you again for your efforts. We grandfathers have a lot to worry about and straight info is pure gold. (Give your kids an extra hug from me.)
I just received a Pfizer booster on top of my two AstraZeneca shots, as I am in the age group (60-64) that got AZ early once some rare side effects were seen. I have reached out to one research group I know to offer my blood for antibody analysis and have been surprised how little interest there is for samples like mine for research into mixed antibody response. Any suggestions? Anyone want a tube of blood (lol)?
Please appeal to your followers to donate to Gavi (Covax). Everyone who would have been happy to pay for their shots should sponsor someone, somewhere, who doesn't have access.
Can you do a review of the data on the vaccine and fertility, especially if there is any data on fertility effects among women with PCOS? The response from the community in this area has been extremely lacking. "There is no evidence" is a weak statement, especially when confounding factors like PCOS have been ignored for so long in other aspects of Covid response. Can you walk us through the data?
As a scientist I would like to venture an opinion. "There is no evidence" is not a weak statement, just a polite one. If a researcher says "there is no evidence", that often means they have left no rock unturned to find any reason whatsoever to explore a hypothesis further, and gave up in desperation. Otherwise, they would say "the results are not yet in." And, you should know that, the way science is funded in our society, finding things to research further is the only way to keep on earning a living as a scientist. So, "there is no evidence" is not something to say lightly!
Thank you so much for all your work! I have a question that I have not seen answered anywhere. Is any country tracking breakthrough infection rate after full vaccination plus booster? Or breakthrough infection rate after recovering from covid infection before vaccine available /then vaccinated? I don't see it being tracked in the US, but maybe somewhere else has this data? Obviously talking about Delta at this point, since Omicron it is too early to know. Thanks if you can address this question in future newsletters or point me to the data.
100 days to rollout of Omicron specific vax. How much shorter for the already existing Beta vax, I wonder? A few weeks, perhaps?
Question. Even if Omicron has lower R0 than Delta, it could still be predominant in vaxxed population if neutralizing immunity against Omicron is significantly eroded. No?
100 days to design the vaccine and produce the initial batch. But then they have to test it in humans (though probably not as extensively as in the trials for the first vaccine), manufacture it, and distribute it. Assuming no major hiccups, we're probably looking at Summer 2022 availability.
It's an interesting question re: Omicron vs Delta R0. Beta never became predominant in any population outside of Africa, as far as I know. Wait and see, I guess.
Thank you for all your great words and hard work. WIth your family, 9-5, and the YLE legions, it is a lot of work to keep us as well informed as you are doing. I have been following you for a while and I thought it might be a good idea to re-subscribe. Is there a way to re-subscribe?
A friend told me about your "blog" and I am so happy I took the advice and I am following you. THANK YOU so much for doing this, it is so hard to find good information that is unbiased. Honestly, I could just hug you. I got my booster shot today and I feel good.
Long time follower but today’s update was soo good. Couldn’t not subscribe any longer if only to say THANK YOU for doing what you are doing. You are saving lives.
This is my 2nd free issue.
Your posts are wonderful
I am a retired Pediatrician among other things.
I have had my 2 shots and my booster as had my entire eligible family.
As you can tell by seeing this comment I paid my $50.
Stay well and keep up the good work.
I thought Emily Oster's blog about Omicron was also excellent.
It's important to understand that Emily Oster is neither a virologist nor an epidemiologist. She's an economist. She's smart, but she also has significant biases. There are better sources of information on the pandemic, from people actually in the field.
My XANAX!! Thank you 😊
Dr. Jetelina, I am a public HS biology teacher and I think your excellent explanations (thank you!) would help my students understand this pandemic better and respond to it more constructively. I would like to share posts or portions of your posts with them, with full attribution. What is your policy regarding paid subscribers sharing your work in a public classroom?
Hi. Your friendly editor here--end of paragraph 3, "Vaccines reduce an incredible aMouNt of transmission too." Keep fighting the good fight--you are helping save lives.
thank you!! getting a proofreading editor onboard in the next week. thank goodness!
thank you! You have been / are a light in all this. My daughter's second shot was today (it helped to read you vote not delaying on those second shots for the 5-11 set. I was reading some things making me second guess that). Just when we parents exhaled a bit, Omicron made us inhale again but it is good to hear some concrete analysis and things to do in this moment (and a tiny bit of hope/ reassurance, too). THANK YOU for all you do. This work - making science and health info accessible / digestible is important, hard work. we are grateful.
Hi, it's me again. The person who keeps asking about under 5 vaccination. Seeing as half of the under 5 age group can't even wear a mask for protection, is there any conversation about expediting vaccinations for this group with this new variant? Or at least allowing off label vaccinations so that parents have options?
no news yet
FDA and CDC gave docs a stern warning not to use Pfizer off label for younger kids. Their immune systems are not the same, and the dosing hasn't been optimized yet. I doubt they will budge on this point.
This vaccine has been given to billions of people, and half of the under 5 group can't wear a mask, so they don't even have that level of protection.
My youngest, born March 2020 hasn't met his grandparents and has not seen an adult without a mask on in his entire life. His older sister is almost 4 and misses her extended family and having friends over. This continued isolation and perpetual mutations are doing more harm to these kids, and their parents, than the vaccine ever could. Again, billions of doses have been given over the past 9 months. Children are still human, this type of vaccine isn't new, and we know very well that this is safe. The current situation, which is under 5s "by mid 2022", which means August-September is not tenable and those of us trapped in this hell cannot continue for another year like this.
The current studies are extended for "safety", which is mostly pandering to the vaccine hesitant crowd. The information on dose and immune response should be completed by now, and the rest of us should be able to make the decision to protect our children from those who insist on continuing to spread this disease from ignorance and spite.
Just wanted to thank you again for your efforts. We grandfathers have a lot to worry about and straight info is pure gold. (Give your kids an extra hug from me.)
I just received a Pfizer booster on top of my two AstraZeneca shots, as I am in the age group (60-64) that got AZ early once some rare side effects were seen. I have reached out to one research group I know to offer my blood for antibody analysis and have been surprised how little interest there is for samples like mine for research into mixed antibody response. Any suggestions? Anyone want a tube of blood (lol)?
Please appeal to your followers to donate to Gavi (Covax). Everyone who would have been happy to pay for their shots should sponsor someone, somewhere, who doesn't have access.
Can you do a review of the data on the vaccine and fertility, especially if there is any data on fertility effects among women with PCOS? The response from the community in this area has been extremely lacking. "There is no evidence" is a weak statement, especially when confounding factors like PCOS have been ignored for so long in other aspects of Covid response. Can you walk us through the data?
As a scientist I would like to venture an opinion. "There is no evidence" is not a weak statement, just a polite one. If a researcher says "there is no evidence", that often means they have left no rock unturned to find any reason whatsoever to explore a hypothesis further, and gave up in desperation. Otherwise, they would say "the results are not yet in." And, you should know that, the way science is funded in our society, finding things to research further is the only way to keep on earning a living as a scientist. So, "there is no evidence" is not something to say lightly!
Great! Then let's see the data
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34651258/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34364311/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34734259/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02282-0/fulltext
"There is no evidence" is the correct response.
Thank you so much for all your work! I have a question that I have not seen answered anywhere. Is any country tracking breakthrough infection rate after full vaccination plus booster? Or breakthrough infection rate after recovering from covid infection before vaccine available /then vaccinated? I don't see it being tracked in the US, but maybe somewhere else has this data? Obviously talking about Delta at this point, since Omicron it is too early to know. Thanks if you can address this question in future newsletters or point me to the data.
Q498R N501Y S477N in #omicron are very scary!
100 days to rollout of Omicron specific vax. How much shorter for the already existing Beta vax, I wonder? A few weeks, perhaps?
Question. Even if Omicron has lower R0 than Delta, it could still be predominant in vaxxed population if neutralizing immunity against Omicron is significantly eroded. No?
100 days to design the vaccine and produce the initial batch. But then they have to test it in humans (though probably not as extensively as in the trials for the first vaccine), manufacture it, and distribute it. Assuming no major hiccups, we're probably looking at Summer 2022 availability.
It's an interesting question re: Omicron vs Delta R0. Beta never became predominant in any population outside of Africa, as far as I know. Wait and see, I guess.
You still have to manufacture it.
Thank you for all your great words and hard work. WIth your family, 9-5, and the YLE legions, it is a lot of work to keep us as well informed as you are doing. I have been following you for a while and I thought it might be a good idea to re-subscribe. Is there a way to re-subscribe?
A friend told me about your "blog" and I am so happy I took the advice and I am following you. THANK YOU so much for doing this, it is so hard to find good information that is unbiased. Honestly, I could just hug you. I got my booster shot today and I feel good.
Long time follower but today’s update was soo good. Couldn’t not subscribe any longer if only to say THANK YOU for doing what you are doing. You are saving lives.