This is a COVID 19 vaccine made by the Chinese state company “ Sinopharm”. It’s real name is BBIBP-Cor V. It is not to be mixed up with other commonly exported Chinese COVID 19 vaccine called the “Sinovac” vaccine.
Does it Work?
Trials by the same state owned manufacturer have given it an efficacy rate of 79%. On May 7th the WHO approved it for emergency use in people over age 18, and claimed an efficacy estimate of 78.1%. I am not sure what if any additional tests they have done on it. They did state that it had not been tried in very many people over the age of 60, but they have no reason to believe that it will not work in these age groups also. Research as yet, has not been published in peer reviewed journals.
How does it work?
They basically take dead coronavirus that cannot make you sick, and cannot replicate and use it to trick your immune system into making antibodies and memory T cells to it. That way, when you meet the virus for real, your immune system will remember it and mobilize its army before the virus has time to make you ill. This is a very traditional way of making vaccines, and unlike the MRNA vaccines like the Pfizer vaccine, is not new.
How many doses is it?
2 doses and it can be stored in the fridge.
What are the likely side effects?
Similar to all vaccines, the most common side effects are a slightly sore arm the next day; tiredness, headache and mild fever. All vaccines carry a risk of allergic reaction but there is no reason to think this risk might be higher for this vaccine.
How many people have had it so far?
There have been 65 million doses given so far. It has been used by the following countries: UAE, Peru, Dubai, Hungary, Egypt
It is not to be mixed up with another privately made Chinese vaccine called SinoVac which has not had such good results. In Brazil and Chile, Sinovac has been estimated to have an efficacy rate slightly above 50%, prompting consideration of a 3 dose vaccine.
Do I think you should take it?
Well, as it is a traditional type of vaccine and the WHO tells us it works, then, in the absence of another choice, then yes, I do.
Why? Because the longer we have un vaccinated people, the more chances the virus has to spread; the more it spreads the greater the chance of mutations. So we have to use what we have, as fast as we can. This is an emergency. We cannot reject the life-raft we have, hoping for a better one to come along, because by then it may be too late.
In the end, I suspect the World will benefit from having many different COVID 19 vaccines, with different advantages and disadvantages, as like, with the virus itself, our ability to react to its mutations depends on the availability of different choices and diversity. Natural selection depends on diversity and therefore so must our arsenal of vaccines.
So as a healthcare worker I finally got my first dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine on Saturday! I feel like I have won the lottery, and I was so happy to have seen many of you there also…
So how did I feel after?
Well, truth be told on Sunday I had a mild fever and a few aches and pains, but honestly, I think that’s a small price to pay for being able to protect myself and my patients…..and by contributing to herd immunity I am helping to protect the wider population, aka our parents and grandparents. Speaking of parents, as over 60s, mine also got theirs and felt fine!
According to GAVI, the vaccine alliance, there have been about 190 million Astra Zeneca vaccines administered worldwide so far.
I know that there has been a lot of worry about blood clots with this vaccine, but let me put this into perspective for you:
Just being pregnant increases the risk of a clot 4-5 times above the non pregnant state. A woman on the combined oral pill has on average about three times the risk of a clot as a woman not on the pill (but note that this is less than the risk of a clot while pregnant). The risk of getting a clot with the vaccine is far, far lower than either the background risk from being pregnant or the risk from being on the pill.
So would you not have had your children because of the risk of a clot? …because this risk is lower than that. And I know many of you take the pill, or have taken the pill, and this risk is lower than that too!
The WHO has issued an interim advisory that a causal relationship, while plausible, has not been confirmed.
Now, this isn’t to say that you must not be on the lookout for warning signs of a clot, or that you should not take individual advice if you have had a clot in the past, or are known to have a genetic condition which increases, your chance of clotting…of course you must check with your doctor in these cases!
However the vast majority are far more at risk of death or serious disease from getting COVID 19 itself, than from the small risk of this vaccine.
My advice: if you are eligible, call your local health center and get your shot!
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Cervical Cancer is one of the commonest and yet the most preventable cancers in Women worldwide.
We are so lucky to have a good screening test to help us detect precancerous changes in the cervix. – The “Pap” test introduced in the 1940s has reduced the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer by 77% in the USA. In the UK The incidence has fallen by 44% and death rates by 70% since introducing screening for cancer of the cervix.
Rates of precancerous lesions in younger women have dropped even further since the introduction of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.
Cervical Cancer, believe it or not, is catching! 99% of cervical cancer is caused by the high risk strains of the Human Papilloma Virus, most commonly types 16 and 18 which are preventable. HPV is spread by sexual intercourse.
For this reason, Many countries including the USA, UK and Australia have national vaccination programs to vaccinate teenagers before they are likely to become sexually active. The aim of this is to prevent Cancers – of the cervix, penis, throat and anus!
Have you thought about discussing HPV vaccination with your adolescent? Cancer prevention could be the greatest gift you give to them.
Have you set a good example by to your daughters by having your smear test?
The Smear test is recommended for all women ages 26-64 and is done in office.
To celebrate Cervical Health Awareness Month book your smear test or consultation about the HPV vaccine on 221-3983 or by booking online at www.amesmedicalservices.com
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Did you know that we do minor surgery?
If you have a lump or bump that you want removed, we can do a minor procedure under local anaesthetic, right here in our new treatment room.
We also remove ingrown toenails, abscesses and do cyst and comedone extractions too!
Have a pesky wart or verruca or skin tag that won’t go? We can freeze it off with Liquid Nitrogen, in a procedure called Cryosurgery that involves no cutting! If you are interested, you can watch a video of it being done by Dr Ames here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOKdjNiKOy8
So, you had a cough and cold and you were worried about COVID….but you went and got a rapid test and its negative so all is good right? Wrong!
No test is perfect and this is to help you understand some pitfalls of Covid testing.
Let’s start with the rapid “blood” test. This is looking for antibodies to the virus, and not directly for the virus itself.
When we get the virus for the first time, it may take a while for our immune system to mount a response and produce antibodies.
If the test is done too soon, for example before symptoms start, or even in the first 2 weeks after getting it when you may even have symptoms, it may read negative when you are in facet positive, a so called “False negative”! Then you might be falsely reassured and unwittingly go round infecting others.
So, an antibody test MAY be useful after your symptoms have passed, and if you never managed to get the proper “throat swab” PCR test and you are wondering if in fact it was COVID you had!
What if you wait, do the antibody test more than two weeks after your symptoms started and you have antibodies? Does that mean you are now “immune” to COVID?
Er, we are still not so sure. It seems that antibody levels wane after 3 months or so, so we are not sure how long that immunity may last…. this is also complicated by the fact that there are different strains of COVID and it may be that the virus mutates very so often, just like the Flu, so your immunity may be short lived!
On top of this, some people can fight of the virus with a different part of the immune system that doesn’t use antibodies. So you might actually have fought off the virus successfully, and may even have immunity that we can’t measure on the test, but then have no antibodies.
Confusing right?
What about the “swab” or fancy RT-PCR test?
The swab tests for actual virus particles in the nose/throat. It is not 100% either! No test is I am afraid. The swab is most accurate if done days 3-5 of symptoms. If done in asymptomatic people right after exposure, it may be too early to get a positive result. Similarly, if taken very late in the illness like day 10, the chance of picking up the virus starts to fall.
It is very specific and moderately sensitive. So, what does that mean? Well, it means that if you get a positive result it is likely to be a true positive, but a negative result is less reliable. So, we tend to believe the positive results, but if a person has a negative test, that doesn’t automatically mean they are truly negative and that they don’t have COVID 19 and are not infectious.
That’s why in very suspicious cases you will see us asking for 2 negative tests. ..That’s because if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck and flies like a duck it is probably a duck…especially if it comes from an area where there is known to be a flock of ducks living. (Like say, you shot it in the middle of a swamp) So, if someone plucks a feather from that duck and analyses it and tells you it is not a duck then would you believe them?
Similarly, if a person has been exposed to someone with COVID 19, and they then develop the classic fever cough, anosmia etc, OR we know that we are in the middle of a Pandemic or local spike and someone gets a cough and cold, we have a high suspicion of COVID and just one negative test is not going to reassure us.
To complicate things, we will shortly be going into the “Flu Season” and it’s hard to tell the difference clinically between the Influenza virus and COVID 19! But that’s for a whole other discussion.
In short, please don’t just take yourself off for a test without consulting a health professional who is up to date with testing and timing and symptoms. The test may not mean what you think it does, and you may even need a completely different test!
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Good News! We can isolate at home if we have COVID -19! No need to go into hospital if we are well enough to stay home.
I know this is a huge relief to all of you right? Everyone wants to be in their own bed if they are feeling under the weather!
So what do you do if you think you have COVID 19?
First of all don’t panic! The main symptoms are:
Sometimes:
Sneezing is not normally a major feature but can be present.
If you have any of these
1.Do not go out
2.Isolate yourself from your family and household (see our Instagram page for a leaflet on how to do this
3.Seek Medical advice via Telehealth, or a hotline rather than coming in, so you do not infected others. If you are extremely unwell with shortness of breath, for example, and you believe you need emergency help then proceed directly to your nearest public health facility. You can call me to find out where to go if you are unsure.
If I think you need testing I can either refer you privately for accredited PCR testing or send you to be tested via the Public health.
I can also arrange a sick note or quarantine note.
If you are well enough to stay home, you can stay home with Pandol, Fluids etc. People with underlying illnesses like Diabetes, Lung, Heart or Kidney disease should have individualized advice
You will need to stay at home from 14 days from the start of your symptoms.
4.Make a list of all those you have had CLOSE contact with. A CLOSE contact is defined as less than 6ft for 10 minutes or more. It is not someone you passed casually in the corridor at work.
What to do if you have been exposed to someone with known or suspected COVID 19: Remember exposure is defined as less than 6ft for 10 minutes or more, as above…
Any questions or suggestions for further leaflets let me know!
