The University of Iowa, according to U.S. News & World Report is No. 2 for writing in the latest rankings. It’s the only public university in the top 10, behind No. 1 Brown University. It’s out in front of Harvard, Cornell, Duke, and Princeton.
Category: Brief Messages or Announcements
How to Get the Updated Covid-19 Vaccine Booster at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Here’s an updated link to how to get the updated Covid-19 vaccine booster (often called the Omicron bivalent booster). It’s sometimes faster to get this booster at local pharmacies, although there’s less urgency now.
Single Administration Therapeutic Interfering Particle (TIP) Reduces Covid-19 Viral Shedding & Pathogenesis in Hamsters
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) recently published a study showing:
Abstract
“The high transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a primary driver of the COVID-19 pandemic. While existing interventions prevent severe disease, they exhibit mixed efficacy in preventing transmission, presumably due to their limited antiviral effects in the respiratory mucosa, whereas interventions targeting the sites of viral replication might more effectively limit respiratory virus transmission. Recently, intranasally administered RNA-based therapeutic interfering particles (TIPs) were reported to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication, exhibit a high barrier to resistance, and prevent serious disease in hamsters. Since TIPs intrinsically target the tissues with the highest viral replication burden (i.e., respiratory tissues for SARS-CoV-2), we tested the potential of TIP intervention to reduce SARS-CoV-2 shedding. Here, we report that a single, postexposure TIP dose lowers SARS-CoV-2 nasal shedding, and at 5 days postinfection, infectious virus shed is below detection limits in 4 out of 5 infected animals. Furthermore, TIPs reduce shedding of Delta variant or WA-1 from infected to uninfected hamsters. Cohoused “contact” animals exposed to infected, TIP-treated animals exhibited significantly lower viral loads, reduced inflammatory cytokines, no severe lung pathology, and shortened shedding duration compared to animals cohoused with untreated infected animals. TIPs may represent an effective countermeasure to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”
Big Mo Blues Show on KCCK
I heard Riveria Paradise by Stevie Ray Vaughn a few minutes ago on the Big Mo Blues Show on KCCK 88.3 radio. I think I may have this CD somewhere in the house. Big Mo really appreciates virtuoso guitar players like SRV. That’s because Big Mo is a guitar player himself.
Another thing Big Mo mentions every Friday night are the show’s sponsors. One is a place I never heard of. He says the name and it sounds like “May Rees (Reese?) hand battered catfish; it’s better because it’s battered.”
I can’t find it anywhere. I’m beginning to think it’s a Big Mo joke. It’s similar to another thing he says every Friday night: “It’s Big Mo with your blue prophylactic, protecting you from the demon seeds of life.”
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
CDC Interim Clinical Considerations for Covid-19 Vaccine Bivalent Boosters
Taken from the CDC ACIP meeting on 9/01/2022, here is the link to the CDC Interim Clinical Considerations for the Covid-19 Vaccines: Bivalent Boosters.
University of Iowa Hospitals Information on Omicron-Specific Covid-19 Vaccine Booster
The University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics has information on the facts and expected availability of the new bivalent Omicron Covid-19 vaccine boosters.
CDC ACIP Meeting Today and Tomorrow: Covid-19 Vaccine Omicron Bivalent Booster Candidates
The CDC ACIP will meet today and tomorrow about the Covid-19 Vaccine Omicron Bivalent Booster candidates from Pfizer and Moderna. A vote is expected this afternoon.
Update: The committee voted by a majority to upvote the approval of the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent boosters this afternoon. There was one dissenting vote because there was no clinical data to present. There was a clinical study using the bivalent vaccine booster, but results would not have been available until November or December.
However, there was a complicated statistical predication model which showed that if the boosters were rolled out this month, many thousands of hospitalizations and deaths could be prevented as opposed to waiting a few more months. That got prioritized in order to approve the boosters now rather than wait for the clinical study results.
There was a lot of concern about the packaging of the boosters resembling other boosters which might lead to mistakes in administration. Pfizer has a booster vial that looks very similar to that of their bivalent Omicron booster, unless you closely read the tiny print on the vial which says it’s BA.4/BA.5.
The committee voted to cancel tomorrow’s meeting since they completed the goal today.
FDA Authorizes Bivalent Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Today
The FDA announced the EUA authorization this morning of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent Omicron Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Dose.
CDC-ACIP meeting starts tomorrow for evaluation of the booster doses.
CDC ACIP Meeting for September 1-2 on Bivalent Omicron Covid-19 Vaccine Boosters
The CDC ACIP have an agenda posted indicating that the advisory committee will discuss Covid-19 Bivalent Omicron vaccine candidates on September 1-2, 2022. A vote is scheduled on September 1, 2022.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 