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Now maybe the US can finally approve the AstraZeneca vaccine and put our 20 million (!) doses on hand to good use. Or not! But if we’re not going to use them,

Now maybe the US can finally approve the AstraZeneca vaccine and put our 20 million (!) doses on hand to good use. Or not! But if we’re not going to use them, we should send them to another country like Canada or Mexico or Australia or the UK or EU, all of which have approved it and administered millions of doses. Sitting on 10s of millions of vaccines during a pandemic is inexcusable.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
dawnerd 6y ago
100% agree we should send them elsewhere. It seems we’ve reached the point where we’re manufacturing enough to just about meet demand and our neighbors are struggling.
sxcurry 6y ago
Just a reminder that AstraZeneca has not applied yet to the FDA for emergency use authorization.
- lukeboi 6y ago
  Companies generally don’t apply for FDA authorization unless they’re confident they’ll pass. From my limited experience in the bio/med industry companies are usually in contact with the FDA and it’s a really bad look if you get a rejection.
  - refurb 6y ago
    The US trial of AZ was supposed to read out this month and was pivotal to US approval.
ggm 6y ago
Africa or India or south America need them more than G8 economies
- ipaddr 6y ago
  India produces their own version locally. South Africa has unapproved J&J and AstrV. Central America could use some. Brazil doesn't have a lacking issue, the big issue is they can't get people to take the second dose.
  - ithkuil 6y ago
    > can't get people to take the second dose. What is the reason? People don't bother? Are afraid? Organizational issues?
  - culopatin 6y ago
    Argentina could use someone saving them from their Governments stupidity
adrr 6y ago
Does the US even need the AZ vaccine? Just took a look at https://www.vaccinateca.com/ https://www.vaccinateca.com/ and there are lots of open slots for appointments. Got a shot yesterday with a next day appointment at a super site and they mentioned things are slowing down. We should give them to our neighbors. Or allow J&J vaccine to be available for people visiting the US.
- dehrmann 6y ago
  I also got one recently in the Bay Area. There were a lot of appointments available. It was at a medium-sized site set up for 4-8x the volume. Most of the people in my small group were there for their second shot. If you look at the national vaccination rate, it looks like it's starting to level off. J&J makes up a small portion of vaccinations in the US, so especially seeing how appointments are easy to get, the rush appears to be over.
kibwen 6y ago
> we should send them to another country like Canada or Mexico I'm under the impression that the US has been sending its AZ doses to Canada and Mexico since mid-March: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/18/us-astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-mexico-canada https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/18/us-astrazeneca...
- bentlegen 6y ago
  That was one time, and those vaccines were on the cusp of expiring. https://globalnews.ca/news/7728936/astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-expiry-april-2/ https://globalnews.ca/news/7728936/astrazeneca-vaccine-doses...
  - retrac 6y ago
    Biden has indicated that the Americans intend to continue supplying doses to Canada. Perhaps Mexico too. https://globalnews.ca/news/7777450/biden-covid-vaccine-canada-help/ https://globalnews.ca/news/7777450/biden-covid-vaccine-canad...
  - gojomo 6y ago
    I've been wondering about the shelf life of that "loan", and while it's reasonable to surmise it was early batches with a limited life, it doesn't look like that article is specifically describing the US shipment as near-expiration. But: a bigger problem is that most came from the troubled Emergent Biosolutions plant, never FDA-certified, where all of its J&J production has been held back from US use: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/us/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-contamination.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/us/astrazeneca-covid-vacc...
gojomo 6y ago
Alas, a lot of that supposed AZ stockpile traces back to the troubled Emergent Biosolutions facility. I don't think it had FDA certification when it produced them. Exactly zero of the J&J doses from that facility have been given to Americans. 15M J&J doses were discarded because they were contaminated with AZ ingredients. Tens of millions more are currently in quarantine awaiting other evaluations & may never be used. The facility has halted production & there are some hints it may not restart. Some of the AZ already sent to Canada was from that plant, made under conditions that that can now only be verified imperfectly in retrospect, based on the kind of incomplete records the company has been in trouble for. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/more-than-half-canadas-astrazeneca-vaccine-came-from-u-s-plant-accused-by-fda-of-quality-control-problems https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/more-than-half-canadas-...
- unanswered 6y ago
  I think the consensus among the general public is all those doses you mentioned should be given anyways because the vaccine is 100% safe.
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    The vaccine when properly produced is incredibly safe - much safer than catching COVID, which is of course the cost of inaction.
    - willmadden 6y ago
      Your statement is unverifiable. We need to focus on better testing. The case and death data itself is garbage because of the use of PCR tests with a too high cycle count. Also, the risk of antibody dependent enhancement is a potential disaster.
    - unanswered 6y ago
      I think that's what I just said...
      - 6y ago
ziml77 6y ago
Is supply a problem at this point? It seems like appointments are available quite easily now.
refurb 6y ago
10M doses or enough to vaccinate 2.8% of the US population doesn’t seem like a lot to be sitting on?
- notsrg 6y ago
  That's 25% of the population of Canada.
  - refurb 6y ago
    Sure, but if Canada had a pending decision on a vaccine and didn’t want to export inventory until then would anyone blame them? And decisions to invest in R&D and production facilities has consequences. Canada is finally getting on the ball to build a vaccine factory that will be ready in 2024. Maybe.
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      The US has no pending decision on AZ; AZ hasn’t applied for any kind of approval in the US, and officials have indicated that they hope AZ doesn't.
      - refurb 6y ago
        “The company's early April timeline has passed, but a spokesman on Wednesday said the company is still "progressing submission to the FDA." https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-still-plans-to-apply-for-authorization-its-covid-19-vaccine-u-s https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-still-plans-... Likely not much demand but a positive FDA decision can boost confidence in other markets.
        dragonwriter 6y ago
        From your own sourcd, emphasis added: “but AstraZeneca is still planning to apply for emergency use authorization of its shot in the U.S.” planning to = has not

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

dawnerd 6y ago

100% agree we should send them elsewhere. It seems we’ve reached the point where we’re manufacturing enough to just about meet demand and our neighbors are struggling.

sxcurry 6y ago

Just a reminder that AstraZeneca has not applied yet to the FDA for emergency use authorization.

lukeboi 6y ago
Companies generally don’t apply for FDA authorization unless they’re confident they’ll pass. From my limited experience in the bio/med industry companies are usually in contact with the FDA and it’s a really bad look if you get a rejection.
- refurb 6y ago
  The US trial of AZ was supposed to read out this month and was pivotal to US approval.

ggm 6y ago

Africa or India or south America need them more than G8 economies

ipaddr 6y ago
India produces their own version locally. South Africa has unapproved J&J and AstrV. Central America could use some. Brazil doesn't have a lacking issue, the big issue is they can't get people to take the second dose.
- ithkuil 6y ago
  > can't get people to take the second dose. What is the reason? People don't bother? Are afraid? Organizational issues?
- culopatin 6y ago
  Argentina could use someone saving them from their Governments stupidity

adrr 6y ago

Does the US even need the AZ vaccine? Just took a look at https://www.vaccinateca.com/ https://www.vaccinateca.com/ and there are lots of open slots for appointments. Got a shot yesterday with a next day appointment at a super site and they mentioned things are slowing down. We should give them to our neighbors. Or allow J&J vaccine to be available for people visiting the US.

dehrmann 6y ago
I also got one recently in the Bay Area. There were a lot of appointments available. It was at a medium-sized site set up for 4-8x the volume. Most of the people in my small group were there for their second shot. If you look at the national vaccination rate, it looks like it's starting to level off. J&J makes up a small portion of vaccinations in the US, so especially seeing how appointments are easy to get, the rush appears to be over.

kibwen 6y ago

> we should send them to another country like Canada or Mexico I'm under the impression that the US has been sending its AZ doses to Canada and Mexico since mid-March: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/18/us-astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-mexico-canada https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/18/us-astrazeneca...

bentlegen 6y ago
That was one time, and those vaccines were on the cusp of expiring. https://globalnews.ca/news/7728936/astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-expiry-april-2/ https://globalnews.ca/news/7728936/astrazeneca-vaccine-doses...
- retrac 6y ago
  Biden has indicated that the Americans intend to continue supplying doses to Canada. Perhaps Mexico too. https://globalnews.ca/news/7777450/biden-covid-vaccine-canada-help/ https://globalnews.ca/news/7777450/biden-covid-vaccine-canad...
- gojomo 6y ago
  I've been wondering about the shelf life of that "loan", and while it's reasonable to surmise it was early batches with a limited life, it doesn't look like that article is specifically describing the US shipment as near-expiration. But: a bigger problem is that most came from the troubled Emergent Biosolutions plant, never FDA-certified, where all of its J&J production has been held back from US use: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/us/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-contamination.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/us/astrazeneca-covid-vacc...

gojomo 6y ago

Alas, a lot of that supposed AZ stockpile traces back to the troubled Emergent Biosolutions facility. I don't think it had FDA certification when it produced them. Exactly zero of the J&J doses from that facility have been given to Americans. 15M J&J doses were discarded because they were contaminated with AZ ingredients. Tens of millions more are currently in quarantine awaiting other evaluations & may never be used. The facility has halted production & there are some hints it may not restart. Some of the AZ already sent to Canada was from that plant, made under conditions that that can now only be verified imperfectly in retrospect, based on the kind of incomplete records the company has been in trouble for. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/more-than-half-canadas-astrazeneca-vaccine-came-from-u-s-plant-accused-by-fda-of-quality-control-problems https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/more-than-half-canadas-...

unanswered 6y ago
I think the consensus among the general public is all those doses you mentioned should be given anyways because the vaccine is 100% safe.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  The vaccine when properly produced is incredibly safe - much safer than catching COVID, which is of course the cost of inaction.
  - willmadden 6y ago
    Your statement is unverifiable. We need to focus on better testing. The case and death data itself is garbage because of the use of PCR tests with a too high cycle count. Also, the risk of antibody dependent enhancement is a potential disaster.
  - unanswered 6y ago
    I think that's what I just said...
    - 6y ago

ziml77 6y ago

Is supply a problem at this point? It seems like appointments are available quite easily now.

refurb 6y ago

10M doses or enough to vaccinate 2.8% of the US population doesn’t seem like a lot to be sitting on?

notsrg 6y ago
That's 25% of the population of Canada.
- refurb 6y ago
  Sure, but if Canada had a pending decision on a vaccine and didn’t want to export inventory until then would anyone blame them? And decisions to invest in R&D and production facilities has consequences. Canada is finally getting on the ball to build a vaccine factory that will be ready in 2024. Maybe.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    The US has no pending decision on AZ; AZ hasn’t applied for any kind of approval in the US, and officials have indicated that they hope AZ doesn't.
    - refurb 6y ago
      “The company's early April timeline has passed, but a spokesman on Wednesday said the company is still "progressing submission to the FDA." https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-still-plans-to-apply-for-authorization-its-covid-19-vaccine-u-s https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-still-plans-... Likely not much demand but a positive FDA decision can boost confidence in other markets.
      - dragonwriter 6y ago
        From your own sourcd, emphasis added: “but AstraZeneca is still planning to apply for emergency use authorization of its shot in the U.S.” planning to = has not