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> Canadian data now provides real world evidence that vaccinated people produce more antibodies if their second shot is delayed This was decided in March 2021

> Canadian data now provides real world evidence that vaccinated people produce more antibodies if their second shot is delayed This was decided in March 2021 but the UK introduced a three month delay between vaccine shots in January 2021. What was it about the UK data (btw I'm British) that meant it didn't count as "real world" despite being months ahead of Canada? Don't get me wrong, the UK was laughed at for doing that so it genuinely was bold for Canada to do the same (as they added a fourth month onto the three the UK was already doing). It just seems a little dismissive of the UK who took the decision months earlier and had all the international flak (including from the manufacturers) for doing so.

harry8 5y ago
It's very difficult to take Boris Johnson seriously on any level for a great many people. Even if he was expertly advised and followed the advice many would want to see strong evidence that this occurred before assuming it was just another random whim divorced from reality in support of a particular pose that is difficult for outsiders to understand. I'm not saying that's a fair analysis and it probably isn't but it is a very widely held one. I know the UK is pretending the herd immunity strategy of encouraging everyone to go to football games because they only infect 5 people actually never happened and was never policy despite the press conferences etc. It seems pretty unlikely to me that people from across the political ideology spectrum got that idea because of a unified Johnson smear. -------- Aside it is possible it's a unified smear, of course. We've seen unified smears (nobly or ignobly motivated) of Sanders, Trump and Corbyn to name just 3. (And do you like /any/ of those politicians? A smear is still a smear when you dislike them with vigor.) It's harder to see it here. Johnson's charm works about as well outside of the UK as Trump's in the big coastal cities and Europe. [1] I have a strong visceral dislike for Trump. The man makes my blood boil and reason hard to cling to. Yet the Russian bounties story in Afghanistan is one place I can look at a man I utterly loathe and note there was a unified smear taking place in the media. I'd be interested if someone has a similar case concerning Johnson. There don't seem to be many consequences for reporting, publishing and repeating utter falsehoods which makes sensible, reasoned, policy analysis by those of us who merely want to vote in a sensible manner increasingly challenging.
hnbad 5y ago
When I got my first shot of AstraZeneca/Oxford in Germany the doctor at the vaccination center told me that there was no downside to delaying the second shot because a longer delay would likely produce a greater immunity. The official recommendation was eight weeks. When the regulating body permitted cross-vaccinations with mRNA vaccines for people already vaccinated with Astra the recommendation for cross-vaccinations was only four weeks and I ended up waiting a little over five instead of eight. The German government is also shutting down the free testing centers (which means unvaccinated people will have to pay upwards of €25 out of pocket or get a PCR test which costs upward of €80 and can take 24-48 hours for a result. Additionally politicians have been talking about excluding unvaccinated (or not fully vaccinated) people from benefits like paid sick leave during quarantine. All in all these measures seem to be designed to rush the population through vaccination even if it means having to do boosters (which have already been greenlit for people aged 70+ or vaccinated with the single-dose J&J vaccine) and punishing the unvaccinated to force them into compliance. Delaying your second shot by up to four months would not only have been unthinkable in Germany, it would have been framed as carelessness, laziness and negligence. The government really doubled down on framing COVID as a personal responsibility issue and overpromised "freedom" through vaccination ("restoring civil liberties") while indiscriminately punishing the unwilling.
- julianlam 5y ago
  Which is perfectly fine when you have ample vaccine supply. Canada did not, at the time.

harry8 5y ago

It's very difficult to take Boris Johnson seriously on any level for a great many people. Even if he was expertly advised and followed the advice many would want to see strong evidence that this occurred before assuming it was just another random whim divorced from reality in support of a particular pose that is difficult for outsiders to understand. I'm not saying that's a fair analysis and it probably isn't but it is a very widely held one. I know the UK is pretending the herd immunity strategy of encouraging everyone to go to football games because they only infect 5 people actually never happened and was never policy despite the press conferences etc. It seems pretty unlikely to me that people from across the political ideology spectrum got that idea because of a unified Johnson smear. -------- Aside it is possible it's a unified smear, of course. We've seen unified smears (nobly or ignobly motivated) of Sanders, Trump and Corbyn to name just 3. (And do you like /any/ of those politicians? A smear is still a smear when you dislike them with vigor.) It's harder to see it here. Johnson's charm works about as well outside of the UK as Trump's in the big coastal cities and Europe. [1] I have a strong visceral dislike for Trump. The man makes my blood boil and reason hard to cling to. Yet the Russian bounties story in Afghanistan is one place I can look at a man I utterly loathe and note there was a unified smear taking place in the media. I'd be interested if someone has a similar case concerning Johnson. There don't seem to be many consequences for reporting, publishing and repeating utter falsehoods which makes sensible, reasoned, policy analysis by those of us who merely want to vote in a sensible manner increasingly challenging.

hnbad 5y ago

When I got my first shot of AstraZeneca/Oxford in Germany the doctor at the vaccination center told me that there was no downside to delaying the second shot because a longer delay would likely produce a greater immunity. The official recommendation was eight weeks. When the regulating body permitted cross-vaccinations with mRNA vaccines for people already vaccinated with Astra the recommendation for cross-vaccinations was only four weeks and I ended up waiting a little over five instead of eight. The German government is also shutting down the free testing centers (which means unvaccinated people will have to pay upwards of €25 out of pocket or get a PCR test which costs upward of €80 and can take 24-48 hours for a result. Additionally politicians have been talking about excluding unvaccinated (or not fully vaccinated) people from benefits like paid sick leave during quarantine. All in all these measures seem to be designed to rush the population through vaccination even if it means having to do boosters (which have already been greenlit for people aged 70+ or vaccinated with the single-dose J&J vaccine) and punishing the unvaccinated to force them into compliance. Delaying your second shot by up to four months would not only have been unthinkable in Germany, it would have been framed as carelessness, laziness and negligence. The government really doubled down on framing COVID as a personal responsibility issue and overpromised "freedom" through vaccination ("restoring civil liberties") while indiscriminately punishing the unwilling.

julianlam 5y ago
Which is perfectly fine when you have ample vaccine supply. Canada did not, at the time.