bcl05

One murderous cop getting justice is a heck of a lot better than none, but we have a long way to go. I'm glad for today. Would be a lot better to just not needlessly kill people in the first place, obviously.

No truth at all to that myth.

I did not slow down my coffee consumption at all with my vaccines. And probably had a beer or two each day. Lots of people have no reaction at all to these vaccines - my son had his 2nd on Saturday and he was completely asymptomatic. Not even any arm soreness. I had an elevated temp and some achiness for about 8 hours after my 2nd one, but nothing too terrible and I felt better after a night's sleep and some advil/tylenol. Don't freak out about these vaccines - if you feel bad afterwards, take a nap and some advil and it will likely be fine in a day or so.

Nothing in sports makes me happier than watching Max when he is fired up and stalking around.

oof. 14 batters, 4 outs, 10 runs. Mercy.

Corbin is completely lost out there.

I don't think I've ever seen a non-Bonds player hit the ball harder than Juan Soto.

If the risk of the JNJ vaccine regarding problematic blood clots is approximately 1/1,000,000; then while that is not zero (nothing is completely without any risk) it is much safer re: thromboembolism than cigarrettes, oral contraceptive pills, and cross country flights. COVID infections also dramatically increase risk for blood clots (the virus causes lots of endothelial damage, which is one of the really devastating parts of C19), so the vaccine is absolutely, without any doubt, better by far than going unvaccinated.

Joe Ross looks awesome. Hopefully he can stay consistent. Just a reminder, Mike Rizzo traded Steven Souza Jr and Travis Ott for Joe Ross AND Trea Turner. Might go down as one of the greatest fleeces in history.

ZIM! I like today's lineup.

I'm in a meeting right now with the lead of the pfizer team that developed the vaccine. Inspiring stuff.

Well, I don't think we really KNOW, so take this all as my best guess as of today. I do expect that we will all need boosters, regardless of what vaccine we got. We don't really know how long to expect immunity from any of these vaccines to last. It's possible that it will be lifelong, but probably more likely that it will wane over time. Also, viruses change and mutate, and COVID19 already has some, and will again. Also, there are too many unvaccinated people in the world (either because of lack of resources in the third world or sheer stupidity in developed countries like ours) to ever expect this to really be reduced to the point where it won't be a worry. I don't really think there is any major benefit (or risk) to switching - all the current vaccines are built around immunity against the spike protein, regardless of whether it is delivered by mRNA (pfizer and moderna) or adenoviral vector (JNJ). Long term, I don't think we will have as many options. It's great that there were so many different companies all working in parallel on vaccines for this virus, but in the long term, that doesn't seem very efficient for the market in general. I suspect that one company will ultimately emerge as the major long-term C19 vaccine maker, and I'd bet on one of the mRNA ones, given that they are simpler to make and also simpler to update to new variants.

If you talk about almost anything other than genes and mRNA, you almost certainly have me beat. This is my job, but there are plenty of things I'm real dumb about. Just ask my kids.

One more thing I forgot to add above: The simple single-gene nature of the mRNA vaccines is also why I would expect them to be exceedingly safe. They are really very simple concoctions, and there is no live virus or inactivated virus (like there is in many other older vaccines - not that those are bad/unsafe, just more complex). The mRNA that is in the virus goes into the cytoplasm (not the nucleus) and doesn't interact with the host DNA at all. The mRNA (like all naturally produced mRNAs - our cells make gazillions of mRNA molecules all the time) is used and then degraded quickly and there should be no long term effects other than you now have memory/readiness/antibodies for COVID spike protein. There is a small risk of allergic reaction, just like there would be with anything you ingest or inject. Most allergic reactions seem to be not to the mRNA itself, but to the polyethylene glycol (PEG) which is used to make tiny oil-like droplets of mRNA, so that they can be taken up by cells. PEG is in tons of stuff, including lots of medications, including many over-the-counter ones. Some people who have had lots of exposure to PEG (long term treatment with frequent injectable meds) seem to have a higher incidence of reaction, probably because they are already sensitized to PEG. I'd still strongly encourage vaccination for people who have had reactions to PEG meds in the past, because the reactions are almost always minor and manageable, and the value of C19 immunity is immense.

Ah. Sorry for the jargon. Let me explain (because it is cool): In the diseases I take care of, patients are missing a gene that produces an enzyme (protein machine) that breaks down a particular molecule. We want to restore that missing function to keep them healthy. One idea is to give them the mRNA (which is transcribed a gene and is the template from for a protein) for the gene they are missing. This works great initially, but the mRNA itself and the protein it produces are both viewed as foreign by the patient and they mount a big immune system reaction. This means antibodies that inactivate the protein they need and nasty inflammatory symptoms, and the treatment no longer works. This is a major problem for using this technology to give patients mRNA they need/want. However, this makes it fantastic as a vaccine tool. The goal of vaccination is to produce an immune system reaction so that the patient will have antibodies ready to react when the virus actually shows up. With the pfizer and moderna vaccines, we get mRNA for one of the COVID19 genes (not the entire viral genome - just a single gene). This forces the cells that take up that mRNA to produce COVID19 spike protein, which is new to the patient, and immediately seen as foreign/invasive. Then the patient produces lots of antibodies and inflammatory processes to mount a defense to the presumed infection (which isn't actually happening - its just the spike protein, not a whole virus). That inflammatory reaction is why you might get a fever and feel achy/tired after the vaccine. Then, when/if you ever actually get exposed to the real deal COVID19, you already have antibodies that can respond immediately and shut it down before an infection actually sets in. The really really cool thing about this is how easy it is to make these now. With current genetic engineering tools, once we have a DNA sequence (whether its from a virus or anything else) we can make the mRNA very quickly and easily. It's kind of analogous to biochemical 3D-printing, and there is almost no moving parts/variables involved. Far, far easier than old-fashioned vaccine production, where we would have to grow live virus in living cells (usually chicken eggs, hamster ovaries, or some other complex system), and then extract/isolate the virus and inactivate it. Far more variables and far more things that can go wrong. Once the SARS-CoV-19 viral genome was published (which was done in less than a day last january - would have taken a year or more 20 years ago), it took almost no time to make the mRNA and get started on the vaccine. The other cool thing about this tech is that as new variants emerge in the circulating virus, we can tweak/alter the sequence of the mRNA for new boosters targeted to the new variants. I suspect this will be the way many/most new vaccines are made in the future.

I've been working with mRNAs as a possible treatment for rare genetic diseases. The big problem is the immunogenicity, which is exactly what makes it a wonderful tech for vaccines.

I think it is totally fine to be scared. The last year has been a damn nightmare. I'm a doc, and have spent enough time on the front lines of this C19 fight that I haven't slept soundly in months. Scared is a normal response to this. In spite of our fears (or maybe because of them), we all need to work together and do the right things to get past this. Too many people are, whether because of stupidity or fear, making really dumb decisions that are putting themselves and others at too much risk. It is fine to be scared. It is not OK to make dumb, uninformed decisions. It sounds like you've done everything right.

The idea that because the vaccine development was fast makes it untrustworthy is wrong. This was an incredibly fast vaccine development for a number of easy to understand reasons. First, because of the overwhelming risk (contagiousness x severity) of COVID19, an unprecedented investment (both in money and personnel) went into vaccine development. Also, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are a "new" type of vaccine based on mRNA technology. This technology has been around for a while (I've been working with it for years) and it is actually far, far easier (with modern tools) to make this type of vaccine than "traditional" vaccines. That said, the speed of development and the incredible efficacy of these vaccines is something to be celebrated. Its pretty awesome, should get people more excited about science, not skeptical.

This is not true. It is ridiculous, outlandish, and, actually, really really dumb to think that the risks of the vaccine are comparable to the risk of the virus. No credible or intelligent analysis of the available data would come to any conclusion other than to vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible. People are entitled to their own opinions, but we have good data and these are facts, not opinions. I see no reason to respect or approve of ignorance.

If you are currently choosing to wait, you are ignoring evidence and expert recommendations. We have excellent data that show these vaccines are safe and effective. We have a year of experience showing that COVID is extremely contagious and very dangerous. Waiters are not as crazy as the most rabid anti-vaxxer, but it is still wrong.

Stras's stuff looks filthy. I love watching him pitch.

I'm watching mlb.com in my office and it is reliable and works great. The top of this lineup could be awesome. Victor looks like a new player, Trea is a superstar, and Soto is Ted Williams v2.0.

God that feels great

Max is throwing batting practice out there.

I'm watching on mlb.com. Didn't ask for my login info, so maybe its the game of the day? FP just called him "Sendley." Love it.