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Moderna Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine is 94.5% Effective. It Could Also Solve Pfizer’s Storage Problem.

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4 months ago

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  • On Monday, the biotech company Moderna released preliminary data that, so far, shows a 94.5% effectiveness rate in its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
  • The news comes a week after Pfizer and BioNTech announced a 90% effectiveness rate in their joint vaccine. 
  • While this is undoubtedly hopeful news and could indicate success for other vaccine candidates, several questions have not yet been answered. 
  • For instance, it is unknown how long either vaccine provides immunity, how effective they are at preventing asymptomatic cases, and if they are as effective among older people.
  • Still, Moderna’s vaccine has one major advantage over Pfizer’s vaccine since it’s able to be stored at regular fridge temperatures, as opposed to an ultra-cold negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit.

Moderna Announces Its Vaccine Is 94.5% Effective

Moderna released preliminary data on its COVID-19 vaccine candidate on Monday, which it now says is 94.5% effective. 

That announcement comes one week after Pfizer and its partner BioNTech released similar data that showed their joint vaccine is more than 90% effective. It also comes as the United States logged a single-day record of 180,000 new cases on Friday and has now crossed 11 million confirmed cases since January.

Moderna’s trial, now in its late stages, involves 30,000 people. Of that, half were given two doses of the vaccine, and the other half were given placebo injections. 

So far, in total, 95 people in the study have contracted COVID-19. That’s where the 94.5% figure comes in, because of those 95, only five cases have come from people who were given the vaccine.

On top of that, while 11 of those 95 cases have been severe, Moderna said all 11 came solely from the placebo group. 

 Moderna’s Vaccine Solves a Key Problem

Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines are very similar. Both use genetic material known as mRNA to target a protein on the surface of the coronavirus. Thus, given Pfizer’s announcement last week, it had been expected that Moderna would soon follow up with its own promising results. 

To note, both Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccine efficacy rates can change as the last little bit of data pours in, but if they hold up and if this data stands up among reviewers, it would blow expectations out of the water. While anyone would hope for the best possible vaccine, realistically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been ready to approve — at minimum — a vaccine that is only 50% effective. 

It’s also too soon to begin comparing which of these vaccines has better efficacy. In fact, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told Business Insider that it would be “naive” to compare Pfizer’s 90% efficacy with Moderna’s 94.5% efficacy.

That’s because there’s still a host of unknowns. For example, it is still unclear for either vaccine how long immunity will last. It’s also possible that immunity could differ between age groups, as some vaccines are less effective in older people. 

It’s also unknown how effective the vaccines are at stopping asymptomatic infections and thus, the spread of the virus. For example, it’s possible that the vaccines could confer enough immunity to keep an infected individual from becoming symptomatic; however, that person could still run the risk of spreading the virus. 

Still, Moderna’s vaccine does have one key advantage over Pfizer, so much so that if both vaccines do end up having near the same level of effectiveness, Moderna could still edge out Pfizer as the more viable vaccine.

That’s because Pfizer’s vaccine must be shipped at negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit — meaning it needs dry ice and special containers. From, there it is able to be stored at normal fridge temperatures (36 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit) for up to five days.

Meanwhile, Moderna’s vaccine candidate can be shipped and stored at normal fridge temperatures for up to 30 days. 

What’s Next for Moderna?

Both Pfizer and Moderna plan to apply for emergency-use authorization later this month. Still, it is unclear how long it’ll take for the FDA to make a decision on whether to approve these vaccines.

If and when these vaccines are approved, they are going to be very limited. Very likely, the first vaccines are going to be reserved for people who are more at risk of contracting COVID-19. That includes people who have underlying conditions, as well as healthcare workers. 

As far as when these vaccines could become widely available, Bancel suspects that’ll happen somewhere around Memorial Day, which will fall on May 31 next year.

By the end of next year, Moderna hopes to have a billion doses available — enough to vaccinate 500 million people around the world. That’s on top of the 1.3 billion doses Pfizer and its partner BioNTech hope to have by the end of next year.

To properly put an end to the pandemic, there will need to be more than just one safe and effective vaccine. Simply put, one company’s vaccine isn’t going to be able to vaccinate the whole world.

Just as Pfizer’s data boded well for Moderna, Monday’s news could also bode well for Johnson & Johnson, as well as Astrazeneca. Both companies have vaccine candidates that are in late-stage trials, and while they don’t use mRNA, both of their vaccines target the same protein that Pfizer and Moderna are targeting.

See what others are saying: (Business Insider) (BBC) (Reuters)

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Catholic School Expels Students After Discovering Mother’s OnlyFans Account

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6 days ago

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February 26, 2021

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  • Crystal Jackson, a California mother of three, said her boys were expelled from their Catholic school after other parents notified administrators of her OnlyFans account.
  • Jackson, who started the account to boost her confidence and rekindle her relationship with her husband, said she only posts pinup-style photos in lingerie, not pornography. 
  • Now, she’s speaking out against the intense harassment she’s faced from parents in her community and has criticized the school’s decision to punish her children. 
  • She also said the school is working to update its handbook to include a rule that “any parent who is involved in a site or blog that goes against teachings of the church and school philosophy must be removed.”

Mother’s OnlyFans Account Draws Criticism

A mother in Sacramento, California says her three boys were expelled from their Catholic school after administrators discovered her OnlyFans account.

That mother is Crystal Jackson, who joined the site in 2019 to spice up her struggling relationship with her husband of 14 years, Chris.

Jackson says she does not post pornography on her account. Instead, she posts pinup-style photos in lingerie and includes “sexy stories” that play up the image of what she and Chris call “the mom next door.”

The account started as a secret between the two of them, but it has since become a huge success, bringing in over $150,000 a month along with hundreds of thousands of social media followers. 

While the new venture has also brought her a boost of joy and self-confidence, her growing popularity on the platform eventually caught the attention of parents at Sacred Heart Parish School.

According to several interviews Crystal has given to media outlets, parents were relentlessly urging that her sons be kicked out of school.

They began harassing her with texts and voicemails bullying her and insulting her family. At one point, she says a group of mothers even printed out her OnlyFans photos and sent them anonymously in a packet to the school principal.

Some also reported her to their local priest and bishop and created a Facebook group to gossip about her family. 

School Expels Mother’s Three Sons

She was eventually removed as 2nd-grade ‘room mother’ due to the complaints. After growing tired of the treatment, she eventually gave an interview to The Sun about all the harassment.

But the issue escalated Sunday when the school sent her a letter notifying her of its decision.

“Your apparent quest for high-profile controversy in support of your adult website is in direct conflict with what we hope to impart to our students and is directly opposed to the policies laid out in our Parent/Student Handbook,” it read.

“We therefore require that you find another school for your children and have no further association with ours.”

Now, she says the school is working to update their handbook to include a rule that says: “Any parent who is involved in a site or blog that goes against teachings of the church and school philosophy must be removed.”

Crystal has continued to speak out against the school’s decision, telling People Magazine that her 8, 10, and 12 years old are good kids who are only being hurt by the school’s actions. 

“Take me down, that’s fine, but leave my kids out of this,” she said.

“I didn’t want to be put out there, but at some point, I have to stand up and say I can’t take it anymore because this behavior is horrible,” she added.

Crystal noted that she was hoping to put her kids back in Catholic school but says she and her husband will likely have to put them in public school.

“They won’t allow them in this diocese, and is this really the place for them to be?” she said. “It’s clear that they said we don’t want you.”

“In the year 2021, here we are, trying to bring a woman down for her choices and what she does with her husband,” Crystal added. “It’s body shaming and bullying all encompassed into one and it’s such a double standard and disturbing.”

For now, she’s just hoping the judgment and harassment in her community will stop. “I’m still the same Crystal I was, like, two years ago, a year ago, when we had coffee, before you knew this.“

See what others are saying: (People) (NBC News) (The Sun)

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Nearly 9 Million Are Without Water in Texas, Some Face Electric Bills up To $17,000

Published

1 week ago

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February 22, 2021

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  • More than 8.8 million people in Texas remained under boil water notices Monday, and over 120,000 had no water service at all. 
  • Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday that the state has distributed around 3.5 million bottles of water, though many of the lines to receive that water were plagued with hours-long waits.
  • Meanwhile, power outages in the state have fallen below 20,000, but many Texans are also beginning to receive astronomical electric bills of as much as $17,000.
  • Both Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) said those prices are not the fault of customers. While some form of forgiveness is likely, no immediate plan has been outlined yet. 

Millions Without Water

As of Monday morning, nearly 8.8 million people in Texas are still under boil water notices following last week’s snowstorm. That’s about one out of every three Texans.

Despite being a giant chunk of the state’s population, that figure is actually an improvement from 10 million people on Sunday. 

Another 120,000 Texans are still without water service at all.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday almost 3.5 million bottles of water have been distributed across Texas by helicopter, airplane, and truck.

The need for water has been extremely visible. An Austin City Council member shared a video on Twitter Sunday showing a massive line of vehicles waiting for clean water. Some waited for more than an hour before the distribution event began. At another site, she said cars began lining up more than five hours before the event. 

Abbott said the state is bringing in more plumbers to increase repair efforts for damaged water systems. Additionally, Abbott said homeowners without insurance could qualify for emergency reimbursement from FEMA.

Meanwhile, one large-scale effort from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY.) has now raised more than $5 million since first being launched on Thursday. That money will go to several organizations, including the Houston Food Bank, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas, and the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center.

Texas Electric Bills Soar as High as $17K

All but just under 20,000 Texas homes and businesses have now had their power restored as of Monday morning.

That’s a stark contrast from the more than 4 million that were out of power at one point last week. 

While that’s largely good news, many Texans are now beginning to receive sky-high electric bills. That’s especially evident for those whose power stayed on during the storm. In fact, some people have now told multiple media outlets they’re facing bills as high as $17,000.

One 63-year-old Army vet, who was charged $16,752, told The New York Times that his bill was about 70 times higher than normal.

“My savings is gone,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it, but it’s broken me.”

As far as why his and others’ eclectic bills are so high, many people in Texas have plans that are directly tied to the wholesale price of electricity. Usually, that helps keep their costs low, but as demand for power surged during last week’s snowstorm, those prices hit astronomical highs. 

In a statement on Saturday, Abbott said Texas lawmakers “have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills that are a result of the severe winter weather and power outages,” 

He added that the state Legislature is working “on solutions to help Texas families and ensure they do not get stuck with skyrocketing energy bills.”

In a similar tone, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) said in an interview with CBS on Sunday, “It’s not the consumers who should assume [these] costs. They are not at fault for what happened this week.”

That said, Turner also laid blame at the feet of the Legislature, calling the current crisis “foreseeable” on the part of lawmakers because a similar snowstorm and outages struck Texas in 2011.

Turner added that, at the time, he was part of the Texas legislature and had filed a bill that would have required the agency overseeing Texas’ grid to “ensure that there was an adequate reserve to prevent blackouts.”

“The leadership in Austin did not give it a hearing,” he said. 

While no aid has been fully guaranteed yet, Texas has prevented electric companies from being able to shut off power for people who don’t pay their bills on time. 

See what others are saying: (NBC News) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Texans Still Face Broken Pipes, Flooding, and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning as Million Regain Power

Published

2 weeks ago

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February 18, 2021

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  • The number of Texans without power fell from 3.3 million on Wednesday to below 500,000 by Thursday.
  • Still, millions are currently under a boil advisory, pipes have burst as they begin to thaw, and some individuals have died or been hospitalized because of carbon monoxide poisoning. 
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday that it has sent generators, water, and blankets to Texas, adding that it’s working to send additional diesel for generators.
  • Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden have also reportedly discussed the possibility of extra funding for people’s electricity bills, as well as for burst pipes.

Power May Be Back but Problems Persist

Power outages in Texas Thursday morning fell to under 500,000 — down from 3.3 million Wednesday morning. 

According to the state’s main grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the remaining outages are largely weather-related and not connected to problems related to forced outages. 

While that return of power to millions is significant, Texans are still facing a host of other problems.

For example, there have been numerous reports of carbon monoxide poisoning as people still without power try to keep warm in their cars or through other means. An adult and a child were found dead Tuesday after running their car inside of a garage, prompting Houston police to issue a statement warning that “cars, grills and generators should not be used in or near a building.”

Six children and four adults were rushed to the hospital Wednesday night for carbon monoxide poisoning after setting up grills inside their homes. 

Even for those now with power, water has become a major issue. On Wednesday, 7 million Texans were placed on a boil advisory and about 263,000 were without functioning water providers. 

One reporter tweeted out a video of people lining up at a park to fill up buckets of water.

“This is not a third world country,” she said. “This is Houston, Texas.”

The Food and Drug Administration and the National Weather Service have even cited melting and boiling snow as an emergency option if people can’t find water elsewhere, an option many have already turned to. 

For some, all these problems only seemed to compound in the form of burst pipes. One viral video shows water gushing out of a third-story apartment. Others posted images of their broken pipes and the damage they have caused. 

As a result, a number of local media outlets have begun to outline steps people can take once their pipes start to thaw or if they break. 

Amid Problems, Aid is Being Distributed

Alongside the overwhelming amount of problems, there has also been a large aid response.

A FEMA spokesperson said Wednesday that the agency has sent 60 “very large” generators to help keep hospitals and other critical infrastructure open. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki added that FEMA is preparing to move diesel into Texas to keep that backup power going.

So far, FEMA said it has sent “millions of liters of water” and “tens of thousands” of blankets.

Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden have also reportedly discussed the possibility of extra funding for people’s electricity bills, as well as for burst pipes. That’s because as the storm first hit, electrical demand surged. Since many Texans have plans connected to the wholesale price of electricity, they’re potentially set to be hit with sky-high bills.

Among other issues plaguing Texans is food spoilage; however, that can potentially be reimbursed through renters’ and homeowners’ insurance.

According to an official from the Insurance Council of Texas, “Food coverage is often related to personal property.”

Notably, there are some stipulations depending on individual circumstances and policy. To learn more about how insurance providers accept food spoilage claims, click here.

See what others are saying: (KTRK) (The New York Times) (Houston Chronicle)

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