Quickies on the next Covid vaccines

Johnson & Johnson’s:

• Single-dose
• 66% effective overall
• Apparently only 57% effective against the South African variant
• Remains stable for three months in a standard refrigerator (36-46°F) and up to two years in a freezer (-4°F).
• Once authorized, about 2 million doses should be available.

Novavax’s:

• Results are preliminary
• Two-doses required
• 90% effective against most variants
• Only 49% effective against the South African strain
• Storage requirements not clear

Also, across the pond, the European Medicines Agency has approved the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine “despite a lack of data about efficacy in older people.”

Doing their part

Big shout-out to GPhA member Ben Ross and the staff at Forest Heights Pharmacy in Statesboro — it got 300 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and immediately got them out to the community, hitting a milestone of 1,000 vaccines given … so far.

The exchange is open

Remind your patients who have lost health coverage: The Healthcare.gov exchange is open, and they can enroll now — there’s a good chance they’ll qualify for subsidized coverage, and they’ll also learn if they’re eligible for Medicaid.

What’s going on with Canadian drugs?

That import-from-Canada effort is not dead yet! Several states are still hoping to get the go-ahead to buy from Canadian distributors at lower prices.

Right now, pharmacy makers are suing to stop those plans. Donald Trump said he supported it, but what about the Biden administration? No one knows. Yet.

Here’s the latest twist (of sorts): Canada had been opposed to the whole idea, meaning all the politicking here seemed like a waste of time. But now Colorado health officials say they’ve spoken to the Great White North…

… and that officials there are mainly concerned about shortages of generic drugs rather than brand-name drugs, which is what her state is most interested in importing since they are among the most costly medicines in the U.S.

Keeping tabs on the brain

You may have been taught that the immune system pretty much ignores the brain — it’s “immunoprivileged.” But several nasty conditions — Alzheimer’s, MS, autism — seem to result from brain inflammation. So the immune system must know what’s going on.

Here’s how, according to Washington University researchers, and it’s pretty darned cool:

Immune cells are stationed in the meninges — the tissue that covers the brain and spinal cord — where they sample fluid as it washes out of the brain. If the cells detect signs of infection, disease or injury, they are prepared to initiate an immune response to confront the problem.

So even if they can’t get inside the house, they can at least have someone sitting by the doorway.

Choose the best meds, 21st century style

British researchers concluded that doing some basic genetic testing on patients could help millions of people (even in the relatively tiny U.K.) get better, more effective medication.

They looked at just nine genetic markers they say are known to affect 56 common medicines — e.g., weak opioids, antidepressants, and proton-pump inhibitors. Pharmacists and specially-trained GPs, they say, could give the tests and make better medication recommendations.

“Better selection of medicines based on a patient’s genetic information could mean less side-effects and better treatment outcomes. This not only benefits the patient but also the [National Health Service], as patients may not need to return to their GP so often to change their medication.”

Out of South Africa

The first case of the rather scary South African variant of Covid-19 has appeared in the U.S. — in South Carolina. It’s more virulent, the vaccines don’t work as well against it, and it may be deadlier as well.

Inconceivable

With so many folks stuck inside for so long, you might expect a bit of a baby boom when this is all over. Don’t count on it. It could be that Covid-19 reduces fertility in men, although it seems that any decline is temporary.

“Female partners of men recovering from the disease should decide not to conceive until a specialist carefully examines and certifies their fertility status.”