Here is a correction to this Reader’s Voice
The Moderna final phase study came up with 196 cases (not the 19 listed incorrectly) of COVID-19. One individual among the 30 severe cases did die, which was listed.
Mary Goetsch wrote in the addendum that she calculated the incidence rate of illness, counting all cases, mild or severe, .00447, or, .447% for Pfizer, .0056, or .56% for A-Z, which is roughly one-half of one percent. She added that her main point is that she wants to know, does an illness to one-half of one percent justify bankrupting the U.S. Treasury?
November 25, 2020
Dear editor;
Three COVID-19 vaccines are in their final phases of testing. It is a welcome light at the end of the tunnel. In the end, there seems to be a difference n preventing infection is different from preventing symptoms.
The three vaccines are from Pfizer, AstrZeneca, and Moderna.
• Pfizer: Of the company’s 38,000 participants in the testing, 170 came down with COVID-19 infections. Of the 170 infections, only eight cases were among those who had received the vaccine. The effective rate is 95%.
The research should identify the population pool studied. Are the volunteers primarily healthy medical students? Are there diabetics, those over the age of 65, and immune-compromised? In a general population, should there be more research money to fight cancer, diabetes, ALS, schizophrenia, addiction, and atherosclerosis?
• AstraZeneca: Of the 23,000 volunteers, roughly half received placebo and half received new vaccine and 131 came own with COVID-19. It calculate to .0056 infection rate. It is my understanding the volunteers do not get viral challenge, unethical and dangerous for the control group, but simply go about normal activities and report to researchers.
From cost alone getting vaccine is the best hope, so far. My worry is that there will be a herding of individuals to testing sites. There is a question of how long the vaccine protection wold last.
• Moderna: There were 19 COVID-19 cases and 185 were in the placebo group. Eleven received vaccine. Only 30 of the 196 were considered severe cases. One individual died and was in he placebo group. Considering the low rate of infection, will be bankrupt the U.S. Treasury on n illness with an incidence of two percent or less?
Mary Goetsch, Aurora