Pandemic Déjà vu?
August 31, 2022
By Ryan M. Thomas
During the first months of the year, the world turned its eyes on the war in Ukraine. Then the media cycle turned the spotlight to shortages of food and energy. We later heard that inflation was no longer “transitory.”
Some notable events that you may have missed occurred since our last newsletter:
Pfizer’s COVID-19 therapeutic, Paxlovid, was celebrated as the great tool to end severe cases of COVID, but new data shows increased rebound cases (a return of symptoms after having tested negative) and decreased effectiveness against new variants. Initially, the therapeutic was intended to treat unvaccinated patients with moderate symptoms who had underlying conditions. Over time, the therapeutic has expanded from its original intent and is being prescribed much more frequently, including to vaccinated patients over the age of 65. President Joe Biden, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and Dr. Anthony Fauci have all experienced COVID rebound in the last two months after taking Paxlovid. We’ve warned that leaky vaccines (vaccines that reduce symptoms but don’t prevent infection) have been shown to cause mutant viral escape leading to new variants. Now we’re seeing a decreased effectiveness of therapeutics which virologists have also warned could unleash new variants. The current dominant variant BA. 5 is the most resistant to first generation COVID-19 vaccines and has displayed a high capacity to evade natural immunity from prior infections, including prior Omicron infection.
2: Politicians Attempted to Cancel the Pandemic
This month the CDC relaxed COVID-19 guidelines, backtracked on several past authoritative statements and also eliminated the need to quarantine after COVID-19 exposure. The government’s at-home testing supply is also nearly exhausted, which feels like a repeat of prior mistakes before the Omicron Wave in December 2021. The timing of these decisions don’t seem coincidental. Midterm elections in the US are in November and there’s a strong push to return back to normalcy, to increase feelings of stability and well-being, albeit even just for the short-term.
3: Omicron boosters available this fall, but without clinical data
In 2020, COVID-19 vaccines were brought to market in record time. Their speed to market might be remembered as something similar to breaking the 4 minute mile, a psychological barrier that once broken lead to dozens of runners also breaking the barrier over the next year. Yet, with the focus on speed, certain safety trials were compressed. Operation Warp Speed likely saved many lives, but it also caused vaccine hesitancy in millions of people. Rushing Omicron boosters to market before the fall wave and with limited data is unlikely to improve vaccine uptake and restore trust from the skeptical, or reassure the vaccine fatigued about improved vaccine protection.
4: COVID-19 Mutations Impairing Vaccine Effectiveness
Last week, quite a stir was created at Google. Many companies are in the process of transitioning their workforce back to the office and not without significant hiccups. It has been widely reported that many companies are requiring proof of vaccination status, and in some cases proof of up-to-date boosters, in order to work from the office. Yet, as reported at Google, office outbreaks and contact tracing notifications are filling anxious workers inboxes. At many companies, questions are being raised as to whether to abandon the vaccine requirement as the vaccine policy is not preventing breakthrough infections (fully vaccinated people who were infected). In fact, 40% of hospitalizations during the spring were fully vaccinated or boosted. Data is also coming out showing that the cases of reinfection have doubled over the last year and will continue to grow, likely with a decrease in the reinfection period.
5: Healthcare Staffing at Hospitals a “National Emergency”
As we move into the fall with higher rates of reinfection, therapeutics causing greater COVID-19 rebound, an ending of COVID-19 resources like at-home testing, relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, new COVID-19 boosters without data on efficacy, hospitals are also facing tremendous staffing shortages. In some parts of Canada, 79% of healthcare workers have considered resigning. Long hours, difficult conditions, and a tight labor market have created a perfect storm.
With our collective desire to return to the familiar and to the “normal” that we knew before, we seem to be repeating mistakes and taking shortcuts. At the same time, we may not realize that the ground is moving underneath us. We’ve written about this in the past: pandemics almost always cause an acceleration of trends that were already in motion. This time has been no different.
In order to escape this cycle, we need to learn from our past mistakes and take steps to strengthen our preparedness. At Eyam, we’re committed to doing our part to bring about safe and effective next generation vaccine and immunotherapeutic technologies to a world that needs some good news.
Pandemic Déjà vu?
August 31, 2022
By Ryan M. Thomas
During the first months of the year, the world turned its eyes on the war in Ukraine. Then the media cycle turned the spotlight to shortages of food and energy. We later heard that inflation was no longer “transitory.”
Some notable events that you may have missed occurred since our last newsletter:
Pfizer’s COVID-19 therapeutic, Paxlovid, was celebrated as the great tool to end severe cases of COVID, but new data shows increased rebound cases (a return of symptoms after having tested negative) and decreased effectiveness against new variants. Initially, the therapeutic was intended to treat unvaccinated patients with moderate symptoms who had underlying conditions. Over time, the therapeutic has expanded from its original intent and is being prescribed much more frequently, including to vaccinated patients over the age of 65. President Joe Biden, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and Dr. Anthony Fauci have all experienced COVID rebound in the last two months after taking Paxlovid. We’ve warned that leaky vaccines (vaccines that reduce symptoms but don’t prevent infection) have been shown to cause mutant viral escape leading to new variants. Now we’re seeing a decreased effectiveness of therapeutics which virologists have also warned could unleash new variants. The current dominant variant BA. 5 is the most resistant to first generation COVID-19 vaccines and has displayed a high capacity to evade natural immunity from prior infections, including prior Omicron infection.
2: Politicians Attempted to Cancel the Pandemic
This month the CDC relaxed COVID-19 guidelines, backtracked on several past authoritative statements and also eliminated the need to quarantine after COVID-19 exposure. The government’s at-home testing supply is also nearly exhausted, which feels like a repeat of prior mistakes before the Omicron Wave in December 2021. The timing of these decisions don’t seem coincidental. Midterm elections in the US are in November and there’s a strong push to return back to normalcy, to increase feelings of stability and well-being, albeit even just for the short-term.
3: Omicron boosters available this fall, but without clinical data
In 2020, COVID-19 vaccines were brought to market in record time. Their speed to market might be remembered as something similar to breaking the 4 minute mile, a psychological barrier that once broken lead to dozens of runners also breaking the barrier over the next year. Yet, with the focus on speed, certain safety trials were compressed. Operation Warp Speed likely saved many lives, but it also caused vaccine hesitancy in millions of people. Rushing Omicron boosters to market before the fall wave and with limited data is unlikely to improve vaccine uptake and restore trust from the skeptical, or reassure the vaccine fatigued about improved vaccine protection.
4: COVID-19 Mutations Impairing Vaccine Effectiveness
Last week, quite a stir was created at Google. Many companies are in the process of transitioning their workforce back to the office and not without significant hiccups. It has been widely reported that many companies are requiring proof of vaccination status, and in some cases proof of up-to-date boosters, in order to work from the office. Yet, as reported at Google, office outbreaks and contact tracing notifications are filling anxious workers inboxes. At many companies, questions are being raised as to whether to abandon the vaccine requirement as the vaccine policy is not preventing breakthrough infections (fully vaccinated people who were infected). In fact, 40% of hospitalizations during the spring were fully vaccinated or boosted. Data is also coming out showing that the cases of reinfection have doubled over the last year and will continue to grow, likely with a decrease in the reinfection period.
5: Healthcare Staffing at Hospitals a “National Emergency”
As we move into the fall with higher rates of reinfection, therapeutics causing greater COVID-19 rebound, an ending of COVID-19 resources like at-home testing, relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, new COVID-19 boosters without data on efficacy, hospitals are also facing tremendous staffing shortages. In some parts of Canada, 79% of healthcare workers have considered resigning. Long hours, difficult conditions, and a tight labor market have created a perfect storm.
With our collective desire to return to the familiar and to the “normal” that we knew before, we seem to be repeating mistakes and taking shortcuts. At the same time, we may not realize that the ground is moving underneath us. We’ve written about this in the past: pandemics almost always cause an acceleration of trends that were already in motion. This time has been no different.
In order to escape this cycle, we need to learn from our past mistakes and take steps to strengthen our preparedness. At Eyam, we’re committed to doing our part to bring about safe and effective next generation vaccine and immunotherapeutic technologies to a world that needs some good news.
