My wife and I get the new Moderna variant tweaked test programme vax Tuesday.

[Celerity]

Last edited Thu Apr 1, 2021, 01:35 AM - Edit history (1)

The trial study is being run by Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, the largest hospital here in the Nordics. It is conducted by the same department that we are already involved with in a long term natural immunity study that we have been in since we contracted asymptomatic COVID-19 in late April/early May.

It is called the mRNA-1273.351 Moderna vaccine, as it is designed (like the one that was sent to the NIH in the US 4 weeks ago) to combat the South Africa (B.1.351) variant. The UK ( B.1.1.7) variant is already robustly neutralised by the Moderna vax.

We are part of a special control group, as both of us still have high naturally arrived at antibody, T helper cell, T killer cell, and B cell counts, so we know we are actually getting the vax, and not a placebo, as we are not in the double-blind cohort.

I shall keep all apprised of what happens.

[MLAA]

1. Thanks ! Look forward to hearing more.

Is this your first COVID vaccine?

[LonePirate]

2. Good luck and thank you for participating in this trial.

[Blue_true]

3. Educate me on something, because I don't get the point of having you and your

wife in such a study.

You and your wife are young, in one of the lowest risk groups. You have antibodies in your body due to an earlier infection that didn’t cause major issues for you. So, if you and your wife get the upgraded vaccine, wouldn’t that be the equivalent of adding two mph to the speed of an already work class striker? Why not add the speed to a striker who two more mph of speed would elevate to another level (like people in their forties and fifties who had mild cases of Covid)?

[Celerity]

4. the two variants (Brasilian / South African) are nasty, and can cause full blown (and a worse form)

disease in people who already had the original strain. Brasil itself is a shitshow with second cases and deaths from the P.1 variant. Same for the South African variant.

We were included in the study because of our personal circumstances, not despite them, plus we have been involved in the original strain study for 10 straight months, blood draws every 2 weeks, plus numerous other visits, like clockwork, we have never missed a blood draw or a single study appointment.

This is not a normal vaccine administration. This a highly experimental form that carries significant risk, and we had to sign additional waivers simply to take part in the trial. We are doing it to help people, not out of some selfish motivation at all. The hospital is an hour away (each way) via train and bus from our flat, and we are committing the next 6 months (at least) of our lives to participating in it.

I am sorry if you disagree with our choice, but we are fully invested in doing whatever we can to try and help. The EU (and many other nations) is getting shredded by these variants. Paris is going into a 30 day complete lock down. These new vaccines will likely save hundreds of thousands (millions perhaps if you widen it out to a global footprint) of lives. If these two variants become dominant in the US, and there is not an effective vaccine, all bets are off.

[LisaL]

5. You are doing a wonderful thing!

[Celerity]

7. thank you, and apparently no good deed goes unpunished by some. Since the variants started

wreaking havoc here, we have went back to wearing masks and practicing safe protocols. Unfortunately we are in the minority here, but masks (which were basically non existent in terms of people wearing them for the first 9 or 10 months), are at least being worn by some now. Masks are given out for free at so many places, and we get really good N-95's for free from our study (I love those, as they are all black, as we love of black clothing here, lolol). We also have some really cool multi-material reusable ones that we wear over the N-95's.

[Blue_true]

6. I believe that I understand better based upon your third paragraph

in your current post. The updated vaccine carries significant risks, so logically it would make sense to run the study with participants from lower risk groups, instead of people in their forties and fifties (who theoretically would be from higher risks groups than yours).

I was not questioning your motives, during the entire pandemic, you have been pretty sound in your concern about how Covid could negatively impact Sweden and the world at large. I just didn’t understand why people from a young group like you and your wife would be chosen.

[Celerity]

8. There are around 20 different cohorts, with 90 people in each. all sorts of different age and

risk groups, some who never had COVID, some who have had it. Some with comorbidities, other who do not have them.