Rex writes:
Dr. Griffin,
You recently suggested the N95 duckbill mask as your preferred PPE but I cannot find a vendor for it. I am retired from a career as a PA and don’t want to annoy my old colleagues for masks. I tried speaking with a rep from 3M and was told they are only for Medical Institutions and Professionals and that the only product I could obtain was a N95 particulate mask they supplied to Home Depot. What can I use that is available for retail purchase when out and about? I got some KN95’s a while back online but that vendor is no longer supplying them, and I wasn’t sure they were genuine or where they were manufactured. Thanks for your podcast, I have been a fan for several months since I found out about TWIV from a friend from med school. Rex
Ellen writes:
Hi Daniel,
I’m 76 and about to get a booster after two doses of Pfizer. I’ve heard that mixing vaccines with different vectors (mRNA + adenovirus) actually gives a more robust response and am wondering if something similar might be true with Pfizer + Moderna. If so, I’m thinking I should wait for the third dose until Moderna is approved, and perhaps the government will allow that version of mix-and-match, although I have little hope that the mRNA + J&J will ever see the light of day here.
Thanks so much for all you do,
Ellen
Baltimore
Mark writes:
Dear Dr. Griffin,
I have a friend who is a college educated New Yorker who is vaccinated, and told me yesterday that medical workers in New York who don’t get vaccinated will be fired, and then posed the question to me that these workers – who last year were celebrated as heroes – will be fired even though there is no “proof” that they are spreading the virus, and that even if they are vaccinated they can still spread the virus just as well.
So what does the evidence among hospital workers tell us about the spread of virus?
Best Regards,
Mark
Sangeeta writes:
Good Morning
I’m a pediatrician in Texas and an avid listener of your podcast. I haven’t taken a booster (3 rd dose) yet as I’m not convinced about the data yet. Also, I received Moderna vaccine in Dec-Jan and awaiting recommendations on half vs full dose. I have two questions for your team:
1. If original antigenic sin is a concern with Covid vaccines, would a new formulation of vaccine that uses a different antigen of the virus (eg: nucleocapsid rather than spine protein) be a better way to ‘boost’ our immunity. I understand we don’t have that formulation yet but can mRNA vaccines be modified to target a different protein?
2. Why should a young 27 year old male health care worker (my son is a med student) with no underlying health issues and one who follows all NPI religiously be compelled to take a 3 rd dose of Pfizer vaccine? Do we have any data on risk of myocarditis in this age/sex group after a 3 rd dose vs risk of myocarditis from Covid 19 disease after 2 dose vaccination?
Thank you for your service during this pandemic.
Sangeeta Elhence, MD
Dallas, Tx