One thing I have not seen emphasized in current coverage of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant is that this is a developing situation. The new variant was only recently detected and medical personnel across the world will probably need weeks before a clear picture of any changes in infectivity and severity become clear. Drastic actions … Continue reading Quick Post about COVID-19 Variant Omicron
Category: Collateral Science
To Boost or Not to Boost?
Headlines over the weekend bickered back and forth over the FDA's decision to only approve COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to the over 65 and immunocompromised populations. Many promises had been made about possible future booster shot availability but only now are we starting to see the data that tells us just how effective booster shots … Continue reading To Boost or Not to Boost?
COVID-19 Vaccination and GBS
Headlines were made today that the drummer in the Offspring, Pete Parada, was dropped from the band due to not having received a COVID-19 vaccine. [link] Parada made his decision not to vaccinate based on two things, 1. he has already had COVID-19 which can offer some small amount of protection and 2. he has … Continue reading COVID-19 Vaccination and GBS
Fauci, Paul, and Gain of Function Research
In a clip steadily gaining views today, Dr. Fauci rebutted claims from Senator Rand Paul that a paper from the Wuhan Institute of Virology constitutes "gain of function" research being done in China that was illegally supported by NIH funding. Even as someone in the know what all parts of that sentence mean, it can … Continue reading Fauci, Paul, and Gain of Function Research
Vaccines, Variants, and Schedules
Now that vaccine rollouts are happening across the world, we're starting to see a real impact in the daily case and hospitalization numbers for countries leading vaccination efforts such as the UK, Israel, and the USA. In the meantime, other countries such as Turkey, India, and France are still seeing large numbers of daily cases … Continue reading Vaccines, Variants, and Schedules
New Vaccine on the Block
A new vaccine is now in use and some parts of the US are seeing up to 10% of the population fully vaccinated. I'll have to admit that the beginning of 2021 is beating my expectations, here's hoping the variants don't crash the party. Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Data With the release of the Johnson … Continue reading New Vaccine on the Block
Why does the COVID-19 Vaccine make you feel so awful?
Hello everyone and welcome back to PMP in the Lab’s Collateral Science blog! Now that I'm not sick, the power is on, and there's no active emergency, I've finally had the time and energy to sit down and write again. 2021 has certainly had a rough start, but at least we have a vaccine for … Continue reading Why does the COVID-19 Vaccine make you feel so awful?
COVID-19 Updates in the UK
Happy New Year everyone! Even though we've left 2020 behind, COVID-19 is still very much with us and there have been some developments in the UK for the past few weeks that are making headlines. So for the first post of the year, let's dig into the state of the UK. SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.1.7 or … Continue reading COVID-19 Updates in the UK
How to make a mRNA Vaccine
Since mRNA is a relatively new player in the vaccine field, I want to give a quick rundown of manufacturing as an explanation of the different types of vaccines and then focus on how mRNA is designed and made to help explain why scientists so sure in the safety and efficacy of these drugs. There … Continue reading How to make a mRNA Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines, what’s in an mRNA?
Vaccines are coming into their own this month and the data is starting to flow with information pouring out about efficacy, doses, and who is going to get the vaccines first. After working for 6 years in a group that manufactures mRNA for research use, seeing widespread clinical use of the molecule is a dream … Continue reading COVID-19 Vaccines, what’s in an mRNA?
PMP in the Lab 