Dr. Waldo Suero denies he is discouraging people from getting vaccinated

[Dolores]

The president of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) clarified that the CMD is not calling for rejecting the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Dr. Waldo Ariel Suero says the CMD understands the vaccine is less effective and the government should have given priority to purchasing the Pfizer vaccine. Dr. Waldo Ariel Suero had said on a radio talk show that he would not get the Oxford vaccination. The Oxford vaccination is the first Covid-19 virus vaccination to be approved in the Dominican Republic.

The president of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD), Waldo Ariel Suero, said: “The first thing is to clarify that the CMD is in favor of using the vaccine as a key tool against the expansion of COVID-19. As a union, we have prioritized the Pfizer vaccine because it has higher coverage and fewer side effects. We do not believe that the...

Continue reading...

 

[windeguy]

The Pfizer vaccine would have been virtually impossible to use in the DR.

 

[melphis]

Couple more screw ups by this guy we are gonna be asking where's Waldo now

 

[zoomzx11]

The Pfizer vaccine would have been virtually impossible to use in the DR.

I have trouble keeping a garden variety refrig going never mind a hundred degrees below zero freezer.
Some people want to live in a perfect world.

Lets take what we have with AZ while we hopefully still have dibs on it.
Any vaccine with somewhere near 70 percent efficacy is fine.

 

[rubio_higuey]

70 percent was after first round , Oxford then reviewed the efficiency to 90+ percent. Oxford will also be heavily used in EU. For example UK is now vaccinating with vaccines from 3 manufacturers already including Oxford/AZ.

 

[Lucas61]

Continue reading...

The AZ vaccine has come up "red flags":

a. The ~70% oft quoted efficacy is an average between two cohorts, the lower number being around 60% and the higher number being around 90$. In addition, this difference in efficacy can not be explained by AZ and, worse, it occurred by accident, a major dosing error.
b. It is for this reason that Phase III will be repeated in the U.S. using the original protocol.
c. a and b explain why the University of Oxford/AZ vaccine has not been approved.
d. U.S. epidemiologists are aghast that it has been approved in the U.K. for reasons that are unsupported by evidence.
e. At the same time that Phase III was suspended in Brazil due to one participant suffering neurological problems, this information was withheld from Stephen Hahn of FDA. AZ and Oxford have multiple accusations of failure to be transparent.
f. Both entities have never produced a vaccine.
g. The use of the AZ vaccine raises bioethical questions, particularly if it is to be used in developing countries, such as the D.R. The question if: If the Pfizer and Moderna inoculations are, by far, more robust, what can be the justification for using an inferior vaccine?

There could be justifications but they must be looked at carefully. For example, most vaccines have a "cold chain" requirement. The cold chain requirement of the Pfizer vaccine is extreme, around negative 70 C, of the Moderna, less, and of the AZ, the least.

Personally, I will take the AZ vaccine here as soon as it is available. I will then investigate the ramifications of an additional vaccine by Pfizer or Moderna. And, if the latter, first flight out to Miami with 30 days in a hotel for the second shot.

 

[Lucas61]

The Pfizer vaccine would have been virtually impossible to use in the DR.

Difficult but doable:
a. 10 days on dry ice, opened twice per day for one minute.
b. then must revert to a specialized freezer to maintain around minus 70 C. The freezer costs about $50,000 USD, doable at major health centers in major cities.

FYI, the mRNA molecule is unstable and degrades if not kept at the correct temperature. The molecule is a genetically engineered strand of amino acids that will then be transcribed and translated and produce a protein that matches a part of the S protein (the spike of the virus) and blocks it. The mRNA vaccines are called genetic vaccines. The mRNA strand is enclosed in a lipid (fat) nanoparticle and is stabilized by a protein. This protein, whose name I forgot, is identified and is suspected to be the cause of the rare anaphylactic reactions, as this same protein is used in other medications and does sometime produce allergic effects.

The main reason we do not have the mRNA vaccines is due to U.S. "vaccine nationalism." I believe that Puerto Rico has received around 300K doses of the Pfizer; it's a U.S. territory.

 

[windeguy]

Difficult but doable:
a. 10 days on dry ice, opened twice per day for one minute.
b. then must revert to a specialized freezer to maintain around minus 70 C. The freezer costs about $50,000 USD, doable at major health centers in major cities.

FYI, the mRNA molecule is unstable and degrades if not kept at the correct temperature. The molecule is a genetically engineered strand of amino acids that will then be transcribed and translated and produce a protein that matches a part of the S protein (the spike of the virus) and blocks it. The mRNA vaccines are called genetic vaccines. The mRNA strand is enclosed in a lipid (fat) nanoparticle and is stabilized by a protein. This protein, whose name I forgot, is identified and is suspected to be the cause of the rare anaphylactic reactions, as this same protein is used in other medications and does sometime produce allergic effects.

The main reason we do not have the mRNA vaccines is due to U.S. "vaccine nationalism." I believe that Puerto Rico has received around 300K doses of the Pfizer; it's a U.S. territory.

I repeat, the Pfizer vaccine will be virtually impossible to administer in the DR. I stand by that and up the Moderna vaccine to that same status as well.
Both are moot points for use here unless you have the means to fly in your own doses.

The reason why the DR chose the AZ vaccine is because it can be handled at temperatures which the DR can cope with.

 

[CristoRey]

Difficult but doable:
a. 10 days on dry ice, opened twice per day for one minute.
b. then must revert to a specialized freezer to maintain around minus 70 C. The freezer costs about $50,000 USD, doable at major health centers in major cities.

$50,000 USD buys way too many toys. Not gonna happen.
I've read anyone who takes the vaccine will require a second
and possibly a third shot as required. Can you imagine how
many will go for their first shot then get the next one (never return) manana?