Stephen Griffin Vaccines will continue to work. That’s what I think 😉.

Do you think T cells might have a role in immunity to SARS-CoV-2? Naaaaaah. I'll keep ignoring that entire part of the immune system since it's hard to study and I've got all these Cell papers about waning antibody titers lined up!

I'm getting a lot of abuse on twitter. Currently, I'm in the crosshairs of the Zerocoviders, but attracted similar hate from the smileys at times. What many in those two camps may fail to grasp is that my aims are not aligned with either of them. 1/

Already people are misunderstanding the new paper showing extremely low risk of children from #COVID19 The paper reports both the population risk to children, AND the infection risk It also massively *overestimates* the infection risk to children 1/ researchsquare.com/article/rs-689…

In short: -Delta may be more transmissible because there's more of it, more quickly after exposure -Vaccines still work against delta -Taking other precautions (masks, distancing, limit crowds, stay outdoors, ventilation, hand washing, disinfection, etc) will further reduce risk.

The efficacy of the vaccines does not magically wane after six months. I don't care what you have read in the news. Short Thread. (1/3)

Antibodies are supposed to wane, if you had sky high levels of antibodies to every pathogen you have ever been exposed to or have ever been vaccinated against, at all times, you would be nothing more than a giant walking lymph node. (2/3)

Antibodies wane, but we have memory B cells and T cells that are capable of rapidly expanding and producing new antibodies and new T cells that will protect you from disease. (end)

“I see no sign that boosters are needed imminently for healthy adults,” Crotty said. “Pretty much everything on the vaccine side has been encouraging.” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

I can't emphasize enough how well vaccines are working against Delta, especially preserving their > 90% effectiveness vs severe illness. Its high transmissibility (cf prior variants) & prevalence is leading to more infections among vaccinees that are mostly w/o symptoms or mild.

No known existing variant can fully escape vaccines. Fact!

Those who have been previously infected and/or vaccinated are expected to suffer very generally only mild symptoms after SARSCoV2 (re-)infection. In time, SARSCoV2 is expected to become a 'seasonal endemic respiratory virus'. theguardian.com/commentisfree/… 7/

This is BRILLIANT news! A randomised trial of daily testing of school contacts of COVID-19 cases found it was just as good (or maybe better) at preventing transmission than sending kids home It kept kids safe AND in school This is why we do research ❤️ bbc.co.uk/news/health-57…

Despite stiff competition, this wins the prize for today's most stupid covid article in the UK press. Besides the warning that a 'new variant' will kill one in three, it also cites an 'unnamed' SAGE advisor advocating for the culling of cats. Sigh ... dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9…

I believe that most of the world (including most of Europe and the Americas) is entering the final phase of the pandemic. There will be outbreaks over the coming months/years but I don't anticipate Covid-19 waves comparable to those we've experienced over the last 18 months. 1/

The omicron variant could be less, as much, or more transmissible and/or virulent than prior SARSCoV2 lineages in circulation. Only real data will tell, and any prediction about omicron's virulence remains largely futile at this stage. 1/

Respiratory viruses become less virulent over time as the host acquires immunity through vaccination and prior infection. Though, 'observed virulence' is a joint property of the pathogen, the host and the environment in combination, and not of the pathogen alone. 2/

Another week, another long thread on omicron. This time, I’m still concerned, but perhaps a bit less worried than I was – mainly because I’m starting to be more confident that our experience of omicron will be significantly milder than earlier covid waves. 🧵