Move Along “Anti-Vaxxers”, Rushed COVID Vaccine Spurts “Vaccine-Hesitans” 

August 27th, 2020

For the most part, people fall under one of two categories in regard to vaccinations; either strongly for or against them, the latter being referred to as “anti-vaxxers.” Though their movement has been protesting the use of vaccinations for years, more and more people are joining their side as hesitations regarding the marketing of a COVID vaccine are mounting. “Vaccine hesitant” is the term now being used to describe someone who is not completely against vaccines, but rather doubts their safety.

Even those who claim to be on the pro side have growing fears about the development of a vaccine as they feel it is happening too soon. Usually, the FDA requires data showing safety and efficacy from phase I-IV clinical trials prior to granting approval for marketing, a process that can span up to a decade. Now, it seems like there will be a COVID vaccine ready for use in the USA within months of the virus hitting. This hastiness has brought up safety and trust concerns.

Fear of Vaccine Being Used As Political Prop

The number of people switching to the anti-vaxxer side of the coin are not strictly limited to those with a strong aversion towards big pharma. Some speculate that the rush to develop a vaccine is due to the upcoming US presidential elections in November. The vaccine has the potential to be heralded as a political victory for President Trump, maybe even converting democratic votes. As seen below, in a poll hosted by Yahoo News, over 50% of self-reported “Democrats” would get vaccinated, compared to fewer than 40% of self-reported “Republicans”.  

Anti-vaxxers seem to be tilting the balance in their favour

Anti-vaxxers are noticing the shift in mentality in those who were once pro vaccination and using this weakness to prey on them. With everything going on in the world right now, tensions are at an all-time and disputes about differing opinions are only increasing. Arguments made against vaccinations range from COVID not posing a risk to young healthy individuals, the distrust towards big pharma and even conspiracy theories are being used to sway their targets.

 Pro-vaccine side needs to win back votes to provide herd immunity

Public health experts fear that the percentage of people who will get the vaccine is not high enough to achieve herd immunity (when vaccination levels in a community are high enough to provide non-immunized individuals with indirect protection from disease.) A strong argument proving the necessity of a vaccine against COVID is needed before the anti-vax community takes over and leaves individuals with the risk of getting the virus up to chance.

Abbott’s New $5, 15 min COVID Test A Game Changer for Symptomatic Patients

August 27th, 2020

Medical device company Abbott received emergency use authorization from the FDA for a COVID-19 test called BinaxNOW. The BinaxNOW returns results in 15 minutes and does not require any lab-equipment. This makes the test ideal for use in non-lab setting such as nursing homes, schools and other areas with high-risk populations. The test will cost $5.

However, the test is only sensitive enough to accurately diagnose symptomatic coronavirus patients (those demonstrating a high viral load) within 7 days of experiencing symptoms. BinaxNOW will not work on asymptomatic patients demonstrating no COVID symptoms.

The test requires a prescription and healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, pharmacist etc.) to administer it.

BinaxNOW Positioned as The New Standard in Testing Symptomatic Patients

Abbott’s test uses nasal swabs to detect protein antigen from COVID-19 patients experiencing symptoms.

Being able to screen asymptomatic patients will require a test with higher sensitivity to be able to pick up COVID signals in the body. Currently, lab tests are the best measure of sensitivity for asymptomatic patients, but these tests are burdened with wait times lasting several days to get results. Rapid antigen tests, like Abbott’s BinaxNOW, screen symptomatic patients and give results within 15 minutes.

Abbott has also released a phone app called NAVICA, which allows people to display their BinaxNOW test results. The NAVICA app will display a temporary digital health pass that is renewed each time a person is tested through their healthcare provider together with the date of the test result. Organizations will be able to view and verify the information on a mobile device to facilitate entry into facilities.

Shipping 50 Million Tests/Month; US Government Stocks Up On Supply

It is estimated that currently about 1 million tests are being shipped per day. Abbott will ship tens of millions of tests in September, ramping to 50 million tests a month at the beginning of October. The US Federal government is set to announce a deal with Abbott to acquire 150 million BinaxNOW tests.

Technology Almost Ready for Decentralized COVID Screening

A decentralized COVID screening model is needed to be able to test at home, at work and in any community setting. This next step will require a test that does not require any lab equipment, a prescription, nor administration from a medical professional. Abbott’s BinaxNOW signifies that such technology is almost ready. It brings us one step closer to this decentralized model for COVID-19 screening. The next generation of testing will need to be able to test asymptomatic patients also.  

Touted Hangover Cure Not All It’s Made Out To Be

Date: August 27, 2020

Summary: If you are willing to take a tablet each hour you drink, a rather inconvenient dosing schedule, you might feel less of a hangover the morning after. At least that is what an inconclusive Finnish study suggests. The hangover “cure”, touted as 1200mg of L-cysteine, is not as magical as it sounds. 

A study published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism by Finnish researchers at the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland touted a “cure” to hangovers.

The main hypothesis for the study was that the oral administration of L-cysteine leads to the elimination of acetaldehyde in the body. Acetaldehyde is the compound of alcohol that produces harmful hangover effects.

The study tested an amino acid called L-cysteine to prevent alcohol aftereffects. L-cysteine can be found in protein rich foods like meat, dairy and nuts and also in supplement form. The study specifically used Catapultcat’s L-cysteine + vitamin supplement.

A dose of 1,200 mg of L-cysteine (blue dots, below) showed that it reduced nausea (A, below), headache (B, below) and hangovers (C, below).

The 3 graphs below show correlation between L-cysteine and drinking related symptoms that were recorded the morning after drinking. The 600mg dose of L-cysteine (purple dots, below) had a smaller effect on these symptoms, compared to the dose of 1200 mg.

Compared to placebo, the 1200mg dose of L-cysteine (blue dots) showed significant differences from placebo (red dots) in

1. nausea (p = 0.013)
2. headaches (p = 0.01)
3. hangovers (p = 0.043)

Study Shortcomings

The study enrolled 27 participants (19 men and 8 women). However, full data was not collected from any of the 8 women, as a result of factors such as not attending all 3 drinking sessions. As a result, the data above is inconclusive for women. A study with a sample size of 19 male participants is difficult to fully rely on.

Dosing of the L-cysteine supplement was taken each hour during alcohol consumption. This dosing regimen is inconvenient and seems more of a preventative measure, than the “cure” it was touted as.