Member Info for RegulatorUK

"How are you gonna identify the 5 Million with no immunity without an anitigen test for all 50 million?"

You're not. 90% efficacy is more than enough to establish herd immunity. The issue will ensuring that sufficient people are vaccinated globally to manage potential flare ups.

It's pay day tomorrow... if people want to offload their holdings, I'd be more than happy to spend this month's paycheques on them.

"So they expect to vaccinate 1/4 of the population of India by this time next year."

I think this is a really important point...

We hear people suggesting that testing need will fall, now that vaccines are here. What they fail to realise is the scale of the vaccination programme needed - across the whole world - to really get on top of Covid. It will take years.

Just has an interesting comment from one of our pharmacy leads. Apparently there's a CDC report doing the rounds, in which they express concern over uptake of the two new mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). The reported side effects of the jab, which seem to be more intense than traditional vaccines, are potentially enough to put people off having the required second dose.

"The safety of the vaccine is, as we currently know, good, so no need to test."

You wouldn't test for safety reasons during a vaccination programme. You'd be testing to see whether or not the vaccine has invoked a response. Safety concerns, including reported adverse reactions, would be reported through the Yellow Card system.

We have to bear in mind that these are new vaccines, two of which (Pfizer and Moderna) are of a type that have never been licensed for use in humans before. They have been developed in a fraction of the time normally taken and not subject to the longitudinal tests that would normally be carried out.

Even if every person who gets the vaccine is not tested, there will be a significant level of testing, over a long period of time, to measure efficacy in invoking a response and to ascertain longevity of cover.

"This rise isn't so random. Avactas IP (affimers) was specificially mentioned for the latest government tender in a leaked documet"

It's all very well having Affirmer mentioned - but Avacta still don't actually have a test ... just lots of fluff and nonsense RNS.

"It was a joke but I'm sure everyone respectfully knows what I mean"

Each of your 29 posts on ODX in the last week has been either 'querying' or negative... I'm sure everyone respectfully knows what you mean.

Immunity passports for international travel would require international agreement on things like the tests used, how long the results would be considered valid, standards of evidence of results, etc. That requires governments to have confidence that the others will play by the rules...

...and the UK government's just p**sed all over the UK's international reputation in that respect.

"Its time to call Colin and ask him whats going on with this stock alarm bells"

Oh, don't be silly...

"Regulator not sure why you would make such a comment read the text again;"

I'm not sure what you're unsure about in my comment. The 3 billion relates to the vaccines pre-ordered. No specific figure was given in relation to the antibody tests - simply that "it is expected the demand for the UK-RTC AbC-19 Rapid Tests will far exceed this number".

As I said, if they adopt the dual dose regime for the Oxford/AZ vaccine, then it is likely that post-vaccination testing will be required (I don't believe that pre-vaccination will necessarily be undertaken, as it's simply easier to vaccinate). What we won't know is the exact testing regime until they published the vaccination regime, which they have yet to do.

I think the key fact was the 3 billion related to the vaccine - rather than the test. And that 3 billion vaccine figure was based on pre-orders.

I'm not sure why they withdrawn the statement (although it would be nice if they took the opportunity to tidy up the grammatical errors) but it's unlikely to be for any serious breach.

If the UK government rolls out the Oxford/AZ vaccine using the modified half does/full dose regime, then it does look as though there will be a substantive need for post-vaccination testing. It would make sense to use a test designed to complement the vaccine.

We should know more as and when the plans for the vaccination programme are finalised and rolled out. What we know is that what has been announced so far (i.e. in the last few days) is already being rolled back on timetable-wise, as No. 10 and DHSC belatedly realise it's not just a case of making announcements - you've actually got to make arrangements to deliver the programme.

"Which one of the RTC released the paper saying 3billion RTC tests would be required on there Twitter page?"

I'm not sure that CIGA actually gave a figure. They published a document pointing out that the UK-RTC test was designed to complement the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and some people on Twitter (and on this BB) started bandying all sorts of figures around based on assumptions of pre- and post-vaccine testing.

"People are judging the PR based on SP. Of course they could have done more to ramp it up.... but the question i would ask is is that really what they should be doing? It might be normal practice with AIM, but most of the time it's by companies that never follow through on their promises."

*Cough* Avacta *Cough*

;-)

"thing is with Mologic, they themselves are producing the test (to a lower quality) for developing counties in the millions."

They're not. They're working with their partners, the Pasteur Institute in Senegal, to produce a lower cost - not a lower quality - test. They've always been clear that's what they intended doing and they've received funding to support that.

"Their previous attempts with the Elisa seem to have fallen completely flat after the infamous "...failed to materialise"

That was nothing to do with Mologic really - the UK market changed, with PHE/DHSC pushing molecular and antigen testing in another direction.

"Personally I'm sceptical about them. Everything is taking far too long with them."

If you think everything is "taking too long with them" then you really don't have clue. Mologic specialise in this stuff - they effectively created LFTs in the late 1980s - and they have produced reliable tests far quicker than anyone else (Avacta are still nowhere really, despite regular pronouncements).

It's also highly unlikely that someone who "...was severely ill and at death's door with Covid19" on Friday would be discharged on Monday looking "...as though he had never been ill".

I call bull****!

"Cannot complete flu vaccinations as our locus is out of stock next batch not due till December"

Same here. Seems the government are pushing stuff without a clue what's going on in the field.

Interesting to hear that healthcare providers are being told they have to complete their 'flu vaccination programmes by the end of November, in order to ensure that there is sufficient time between that vaccination and any Covid vaccine.

Why? Contact them about what?

"Was surprised to see AstraZeneca drop today on the vaccine news ..."

It wasn't that surprising. People who don't really understand vaccines and vaccine development were expecting Oxford/AZ to announce effectiveness figures along the lines of those announced by Pfizer and Moderna. They didn't realise that Oxford/AZ would be as open and transparent as they were.