THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST. By Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, Reprinted with permission. August 24, 2022:

Fall COVID-19 boosters will be available soon.

This is a notable shift in the pandemic response, as we’ve been using the same vaccine formula throughout the pandemic—one created in early 2020 to fight against the original Wuhan variant.

The FDA and CDC (and their external scientific advisory committees) met in June and decided that not only do we need a fall booster, but we should try and match it to Omicron as best we can.

Fall is around the corner and, with it, many questions. Here is my attempt to offer some answers until we have more clarity next week.

What are the new boosters?

The fall booster will be a bivalent vaccine, which means its formula covers two variants: the original Wuhan virus and Omicron (BA.5). As of yesterday, Pfizer and Moderna submitted their emergency use applications to the FDA.

• Pfizer: This will be a 30 microgram vaccine, which is the same dosage as the original series. Pfizer is first seeking approval for those aged 12 and older. But they did confirm they are working on a booster for ages 6 months to 11 years. CDC confirmed this in their fall planning guide, saying that we should expect a booster for younger kiddos following the adults.
• Moderna: This booster will be a 50 microgram vaccine, which is the same dosage as the original booster and half the dosage of the original Moderna series. They are seeking approval for ages 18 years and older.

Why do we need an updated booster?

Omicron changed the game in terms of evading immunity, which caused protection against infection to wane quickly.

Vaccine protection against severe disease wanes, but ever so slightly.

Mix this with the fact that coronaviruses thrive in winter, and that Omicron continues to mutate, and there is a strong possibility of a winter resurgence.

We hope that an updated booster this fall will provide three things:

1. Higher protection. The booster will no doubt increase neutralizing antibodies, which is our first line of defense. Neutralizing antibodies naturally wane over time, but they will temporarily help prevent infection and transmission in the first “X” months of vaccination.
2. Longer protection. We don’t know “X,” but an updated booster may protect against infection longer than we are currently seeing. Moderna already tested a bivalent vaccine with a Beta formula. (We thought we would need this booster, but then Omicron came on scene.) This data showed neutralizing antibodies waned more slowly than the original vaccine formula and lasted at least 6 months. This is because a booster helps our second line of defense, too: B cells. B cells are antibody factories that, just like factories, can modify their product on the line. These factories will eventually make a product that targets the circulating virus.(Moderna)It’s important to note, though, that if we want immunity against infection beyond 6 months, we need new vaccine altogether, like a nasal vaccine.
3. Broader protection. The third hope is that a booster increases the diversity of our protection. In other words, we hope the updated booster allows our antibodies to “see” more virus parts and “attach” more strongly compared to the antibodies we have right now. We can realistically only broaden or diversify our response by updating the vaccines (or getting infected).

Will the vaccine be effective?

Yes. How much more effective than the current booster is unknown.

We have a lot of human and non-human data showing that an updated vaccine that closely matches circulating variants (like Alpha, Beta, and BA.1) are at least as good as the old vaccines (this is called non-inferiority). But an updated vaccine has strong potential to be better.

No one knows how muchbetter, though, because we don’t have human data. The U.S. originally planned for a BA.1 bivalent booster, so we have a lot of data for this. But Omicron keeps changing remarkably fast. So, the FDA choose to use a BA.5 formula this fall to better “match” the circulating virus. (Notice, this is different approach than what the WHO recommended and what Europe is rolling out—a BA.1 booster.) Because BA.5 is new, we haven’t had time to analyze it in humans; we have to rely on mice data. This is the typical approach for the annual flu vaccine. It’s not perfect, but does work as a good proxy.

So, there is the key tradeoff:

• Have an updated booster that matches the circulating variant the best we can, but rely on animal studies OR
• Require human data for updated vaccines, but always severely lag whatever variant is circulating.

Pfizer and Moderna are starting the human trials this month. We will, of course, follow the real-world data, too. But demanding an effective vaccine and clinical data is simply a fantasy against this rapidly changing virus. There is absolutely no reason why safety would be any different than with vaccines based on previous variants, either.

What’s next?

The FDA will review the applications submitted from Pfizer and Moderna. ACIP (the external scientific committee for the CDC) will meet next Thursday and Friday (September 1 and 2). This meeting will answer a lot of questions, but some answers I’m anxiously waiting to hear include:

• Should older adults wait until October-ish in case the booster does wane more quickly than we think? This may especially make sense if someone was recently infected. There’s clearly a risk/benefit balance here, especially for vulnerable adults.
• What animal data do we have? We’ve already seen preliminary mice data from Pfizer. (Spoiler: The BA.5 booster worked great.) I’m very curious to see more, especially from Moderna.
• How many people will actually get a booster? Vaccine recommendations do not equal vaccination. ACIP always presents fantastic survey data reflecting public perception. This data will help forecast how this winter may (or may not) look.
• What is the plan for unvaccinated people? I have heard rumblings that they will not be able to get an updated booster without getting the original primary series.

After the ACIP meeting, the CDC director will sign off. This means, if all goes well, vaccines should be available the first week of September.

An important note

This will be the last vaccine that is freely to the American public. We could barely find enough money to purchase fall boosters for everyone. Congress has stopped funding the coronavirus response and has invested very little into pandemic preparedness. This will be a tragedy on many fronts.

Bottom line

Fall boosters are coming very soon. We will have a whole lot more clarity next week after the ACIP meeting. I will be in attendance and will report back with Cliff notes.

“WESTCHESTER IS ALL SET FOR SCHOOL OPENING DENNIS AND TONNY, BECAUSE WE ARE AT EXACTLY THE SAME  COVID LEVELS THE COUNTY FOUND ITSELF IN ONE YEAR AGO BEFORE  A PERHAPS  OVERCONFIDENT PUBLIC BY THEIR BEHAVIORS AND LACK OF RESTRICTIONS SENT INFECTIONS SOARING IN JANUARY TO 36,000 INFECTIONS.

GOING INTO THIS YEAR THE COUNTY HAS A DO-OVER TO DO SCHOOL AND SOCIALIZING OF THE FALL BETTER THAN THEY DID LAST YEAR

THE  REASON IS THE COUNTY HAS TURNED ITS JULY NUMBERS AROUND TURNING  IN ITS  6^TH WEEK IN ROW OF SIGNIFCANT REDUCTIONS  IN COVID CASES.

WESTCHESTER CUT ITS RATE OF NEW INFECTIONS THE FIRST 3 WEEKS OF AUGUST 49%

WESTCHESTER REPORTED 162 PERSONS POSITIVE SATURDAY BRINGING AUGUST 14 TO 20 NEW INFECTIONS DOWN 22%  FROM 1,664 A WEEK AGO DOWN TO 1,299:

1,229  IS THE LOWEST NUMBER OF INFECTIONS IN A WEEK IN 5 MONTHS

YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO MARCH 27 TO APRIL 2ND WHEN THE COUNTY REPORTED 1,095 INFECTIONS FOR A LOWER NUMBER OF INFECTIONS.

LAST YEAR AT THIS VERY DATE THE 3^RD WEEK IN AUGUST.  AUGUST 23, 2021 BRENDA STARR’S BIRTHDAY,  WESTCHESTER HAD 5,704 NEW CASES.

TODAY AUGUST 23, 1 YEAR LATER OUR COUNTY HAS RECORDED 5,025 CASES, 673 PERSONS — 12% LESS THAN LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME. THIS IS GOOD.

In July of 2021 Westchester showed 1,724 new positives generating 5,704 cases last August.

AT THE END OF JULY THREE WEEKS AGOTHE COUNTY HAD 10,298 COVID POSITIVES—AND THE THE 10, 298 SO FAR HAVE SPREAD COVID TO JUST 5,025.

THIS MEANS DENNIS — ONE OF TWO THINGS EITHER PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING PRC LAB TESTS AFTER THEY AGGREATE TEST POSITIVE, MEANING OUR POSITIVES ARE BEING UNDER REPORTED OR HERD IMMUNITY HAS SUNK IN.

LET’S GIVE THE CITIZENS CREDIT FOR BEING SMART, TOUGH, CAREFUL AND CONSIDERATE OF THEIR FAMILIES, STRANGERS AND THE PUBLIC.  YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO SO.

A REPEAT OF LAST FALL WHEN THE DISEASE GATHERED MOMENTUM EVEN WHEN TESTING WAS MANDATORY AND POSITIVE INFECTED PERSONS QUARANTINED, COVID TRACING WAS IN EFFECT, AND QUARANTINES TOO, THE DISEASE BLASTED OFF IN DECEMBER AFTER GROWING STEADY IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHOULD THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THIS. 

WE WILL FIND OUT HOW WHITE PLAINS WILL OPEN ITS SCHOOLS OFFICIALLY IN ABOUT A WEEK

BUT THERE IS ONE HUGE FACTOR IN THE COUNTY DIRECTLY AFFECTING THE SCHOOL REOPENINGS.

PARENTS ARE NOT VACCINATING THEIR UNDER-5 CHILDREN, EVEN THOUGH THE VACCINE FOR UNDER 5’S HAS BEEN AVAILABLE FOR TWO MONTHS, CURRENTLY. THIS IS A COVID SURGE WAITING TO HAPPEN.

THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH VACCINATION TRACKER YESTERDAY REPORTS

97% OF UNDER 5’S ARE NOT VACCINATED

45% OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE COUNTY ARE NOT FULLY VACCINATED

10% OF MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE NOT FULLY VACCINATED

20% OF COLLEGE STUDENTS 18 TO 25S ARE NOT FULLY VACCINATED.

AT THIS MOMENT TWO WEEKS BEFORE SCHOOLS STARTS– THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SUBJECT TO INFECTION BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY VACCINATED.

LAST YEAR WITH REMOTE LEARNING IN EFFECT THAT WAS LIFTED IN THE SPRING, WHITE PLAINS HAD 25% OF ITS 7,979 STUDENTS, STAFF, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATIVES TEST POSITIVE, 1,994 PEOPLE.

THAT HAPPENED   WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING, MASKING, PLASTIC SHIELDS BETWEEN DESKS. AND RANDOM TESTS AS CHILDREN ENTERED SCHOOL.

IT APPEARS MANY DISTRICTS ARE GOING BACK TO ELIMINATING THOSE SHIELDS, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND DUMPING MASKS

MONKEYPOX HAS 75 CASES REPORTED IN WESTCHESTER AS OPPOSED TO NEW YORK CITY THAT HAS MORE MONKEYPOX CASES THAN NEW COVID CASES.

IN WHITE PLAINS, THERE’S A NEW CONTROVERSY IN WOODCREST HEIGHTS. IT WAS LIKE OLD TIMES AT THE PLANNING BOARD WITH WOODCREST HEIGHTS RESIDENTS PROTESTING THE PLANS OF THE OWNERS OF A SLOPED PROPERTY UP IN THE HEIGHTS WHO WISH TO BUILD A HOUSE INTO THE SIDE OF A HILL. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE NOT ALLOWING AN OWNER TO BUILD SOMETHING ON PROPERTY THEY OWN.

ALSO DOWN TOWN ON BARKER AVENUE, THE KINGSLEY TWO—A BUILDING BUILT IN 1968 AS PART OF THE MITCHELL LAMA PLAN PASSED IN 1965..WAS REMODELED INTERIORLY BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK.  

AT THE RIBBON CUTTING MAYOR TOM ROACH REAFFIRMED HIS COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SAYING HE WANTS EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO LIVE IN WHITE PLAINS. THE COMMISSIONER OF NEW YORK STATE HOMES AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL, RUTHANNE VIS NOW SKAS SAID IN 5 YEARS THE STATE HAS RENOVATED AND MODERNIZED 25,000 MITCHELL-LAMA BUILINGS ACROSS THE STATE.

I HOPE EVERYBODY IS GOING TO COME ON UP OR COME ON DOWN TO WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA FOR THE JAZZ FESTIVAL STARTING SEPTEMBER IN SEPTEMBER. GO TO WPBID.COM FOR PERFORMANCE TIMES AND THE ARTISTS APPEARING.

 WE HAVE A NEW EVENT: PURDY HOUSE WILL HOST `STEVEN PAUL DEVILLO AUTHOR OF “THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS: WASINGTON AND HOWE  IN WESTCHESTER ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 18 AT THE HISTORIC JACOB PURDY HOUSE…AND IT IS FREE BUT YOU NEED TO RESERVE EARLY.

IT’S BEEN A PLEASURE, DENNIS AND TONNY.