Gabriela writes:

Dear Drs. Racaniello and Griffin. 

This following explains the urgency for your response re Evusheld for the immunocompromised. I am a member of Task Force (outside the USA) for the use of medications for COVID and next week we have to explain why we do or why  we don´t need to make Evusheld available. The question is whether there is any clinical evidence for efficacy with currently circulating variants. In vitro, Tuekprakhon et al. (see attached) in a bioRxiv preprint suggest that ADZ7442 is “still active” in vitro against B.4/5, even if activity is decreased severalfold. It is not clear how to convert the decrease in activity to actual patient protection. 

FDA suggested increasing the dose of EVUSHELD, but I can’t find information on how, or if, that has resulted in the same protection against critical disease or death.

I have really enjoyed TWIV over the past many months, thank you both for your enthusiasm, knowledge and time. 

Gabriela Cesarman Maus (MD PhD).

NCI, Mexico 

Stefanie writes:

Hello!

I eagerly await your Friday updates!

We are looking forward to getting our 4 yo vaccinated. News articles say that we should expect shots to begin the week of June 21. We are going to be in France for all of July. If we get our 4 year old daughter’s first COVID shot days before we leave on our trip, the earliest we will be able to get her second shot is 6 weeks instead of the recommended 4 weeks.

Do we go ahead with the first shot? Will 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks between first and second shot really matter? Will the first shot give our daughter any protection while we are traveling or should we wait to start the series when we return?

Also, I’ll ask our pediatrician but he is the one that recommended this podcast so he is probably interested to hear what you think too. 🙂

Thank you, Stefanie in Austin

Hannah writes:

Hello Daniel and Vincent,

With the wonderful news of the vaccine approvals for the under 5s I have a question on behalf of my niece turning 5 in August: should she get it asap and get two 4 year old doses, delay so she gets one 4 year old dose, but a bigger dose 2 when she is 5, wait until she’s 5 to get two bigger 5 year old doses?   My sister trusts my opinion but I am only a microbiology professor, not a clinician, so I ask you.

Hannah

Richard writes:

Dr. Griffin,

Do those of us “old-timers” who were vaccinated against smallpox in the mid 1950’s have any immunity against the current monkeypox disease?  I am 72 y/o and was vaccinated against smallpox in 1956 at age 6.

Thank you, Richard Possel RN, RRT, CCM (retired but still learning).