Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Real “Science”

The following is from an article in the journal, Science, 11/4/21 titled:“SARS-CoV-2 vaccine protection and deaths among US veterans during 2021.”

The abstract reads as follows:

We report SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness against infection (VE-I) and death (VE-D) by vaccine type (n = 780,225) in the Veterans Health Administration, covering 2.7% of the U.S. population. From February to October 2021, VE-I declined from 87.9% to 48.1%, and the decline was greatest for the Janssen vaccine resulting in a VE-I of 13.1%. Although breakthrough infection increased risk of death, vaccination remained protective against death in persons who became infected during the Delta surge. From July to October 2021, VE-D for age 65 years was 73.0% for Janssen, 81.5% for Moderna, and 84.3% for Pfizer-BioNTech; VE-D for age ≥65 years was 52.2% for Janssen, 75.5% for Moderna, and 70.1% for Pfizer-BioNTech. Findings support continued efforts to increase vaccination, booster campaigns, and multiple, additional layers of protection against infection.

Pertinent details from the article:

For the period February 1, 2021 to October 1, 2021, vaccine effectiveness against infection (VE-I) declined over time, even after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidity. VE-I declined for all vaccine types, with the largest declines for Janssen followed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Specifically, in March, VE-I was 86.4% for Janssen; 89.2%; 89.2% for Moderna; and 86.9% for Pfizer-BioNTech. By September, VE-I had declined to 13.1% for Janssen; 58.0% for Moderna; and 43.3% for Pfizer-BioNTech.

What about the Delta variant? Again from the same Science article:

Importantly, endurance of VE-I in the face of the Delta variant in this large, population-based sample was dependent upon vaccine type, and this was consistent across all age groups and time since vaccination. Most studies of VE-I have examined Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and our study adds to this literature by showing dramatic declines in VE-I for the Janssen vaccine. Similarly, we found VE-D for the Janssen vaccine was much lower– about 50% – compared to the randomized trial. These findings are consistent with the better neutralizing antibody response observed following vaccination with Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech compared to Janssen vaccines, and in response to the Delta variant (34). In addition, differences in immune response to mRNA vaccines by type of immunity support the more enduring protection against death (via cellular immunity) compared to protection against infection (more dependent on antibodies).

The summary from this same Science article:

In summary, although vaccination remains protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection, protection waned as the Delta variant emerged in the U.S., and this decline did not differ by age. The Janssen vaccine showed the greatest decline in VE-I. Breakthrough infections were not benign as vaccinated persons and who were subsequently infected had a higher risk of death compared to vaccinated persons who remained infection-free. Importantly, vaccination still provided protection against death in infected persons, and this benefit was observed for the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen vaccines during the Delta surge, although the benefit was greater for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech compared to Janssen vaccines. Our findings support the conclusion that COVID-19 vaccines remain the most important tool to prevent infection and death. Vaccines should be accompanied by additional measures for both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, including masking, hand washing, and physical distancing. It is essential to implement public health interventions, such as strategic testing for control of outbreaks, vaccine passports, employment-based vaccine mandates, vaccination campaigns for eligible children as well as adults, and consistent messaging from public health leadership in the face of increased risk of infection due to the Delta and other emerging variants.

Although a very impressive study with a massive number of patients studied, at the end opinion was interjected concerning vaccine passports, employment-based vaccine mandates, and vaccination campaigns for eligible children as well as adults. Please note that in the spirit of fairness and completeness that I have included these opinions, even though I am not convinced that mandates and vaccine passports will turn out to be legal. Be that as it may, I found it interesting that the authors commented on vaccines for children, although I am pretty certain that there are no children in the VA system of healthcare.

11/9/21

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