网红爆料

Dr. Wilbur Chen, MD, MS, FACP, FIDSA, Professor of Medicine, 网红爆料 School of Medicine, and member of Governor's COVID-19 Taskforce

I began this week with the intent to write about my bright and hopeful vision for this new year. However, this week’s events forced me to turn toward painful reflection about what transpired Wednesday at our nation’s Capitol. As a person who is devoted to global health, political instability has been clear and present or an ever-present threat in much of the world, but I failed to recognize the fragile peace of our own democracy.  And so, I add my voice of apprehension toward this overt demonstration of the fractioning of our United States. I can only add that I hope that when this pandemic is finished, society can heal.

Yet, the pandemic virus rages on, ignoring man’s philosophical divide. At the time I write this, there have been more than 89 million cases and more than 1.9 million deaths due to COVID-19. The U.S. saw the highest number of deaths in a single day, more than 4,000 (to state this another way, that is one death every 21.6 seconds!). Have you become so numb to these statistics that you do not weep with each minute that passes or do you despair because of the deepening darkness of the world?  Everyone is experiencing these days in such personal ways, and I suggest that if you are in despair, that you talk openly with your loved ones and consider professional advice for healing.

There continues to be reason for hope for this present pandemic. Outside of the U.S., global vaccines are actively being developed and appear to be successful. Although there have not been peer-reviewed data to make more definitive statements about their safety and efficacy, I have summarized (in the table below) about the U.S. and non-U.S. COVID-19 vaccines and their respective efficacies (I remind you that these are purported efficacies for many of the non-U.S. vaccines and these data are taken from public reports). 

It is highly encouraging to me to see that multiple global vaccines are being developed. It will be important to address the pandemic virus throughout the world because even if we defeat it within the U.S., there will always be the threat of reintroduction into the U.S. if we do not defeat the virus globally.  However, rich countries have been using their economic might to purchase the majority of vaccine output from manufacturers for their own populations. And there is real fear that low- and middle-income countries will be unable to acquire and deploy these valuable vaccines. The World Health Organization's director-general summarized this notion by saying, "Vaccine nationalism hurts us all and is self-defeating." So, we must work toward equity in making vaccines highly accessible for all countries.

There continue to be more cases of variant viruses detected throughout the U.S.  This week, Pfizer confirmed that, according to their lab testing, their vaccine should be effective against the U.K. variant virus. Studies continue to be done to confirm whether the vaccine will maintain efficacy against the South Africa variant virus.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a summary report of the anaphylaxis events with the Pfizer vaccine. Anaphylaxis appears to be relatively rare: 11.1 cases for every 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is about 10 times more frequent than anaphylaxis with influenza vaccine and 10 times less frequent than anaphylaxis with penicillin. The median time for the onset of the symptoms after vaccination was 12 minutes. All cases were successfully managed using standard of care for anaphylaxis. Therefore, anaphylaxis is rare, recognizable, and treatable.

With the closure of this week, this nation looks toward a peaceful transfer of power. The medical community and scientists throughout the world continue to engage the virus. I implore you all to stay safe and healthy during this trying time.