[deanhills]

Great news from Indonesia. Moderna just got accepted by our govt and probably will be used very soon. After 3 steps test, it records 94,1% efficacy for 18-65 y/o and ~85% efficacy for 65 y/or or older. Aaahh, I wish I got Moderna, not the one from China. But whatever, I got vaccinated anyway.

3 steps!  That has to make it a very expensive vaccine to administer. Not only the vaccines, but the manpower to administer the vaccines. Pfizer for me is in the same league as Moderna, but it only has two steps, and after the 2nd step it seems to be equally good.  Now Johnson & Johnson is reckoning it's single dose is effective against the new Delta variant.  Of the three Johnson & Johnson is the least complicated.  J&J vaccines don't require refrigeration and only one dose is needed.  However I still have more confidence in Pfizer.  

Anyway, today I was able to buy Ivermectin capsules from a local pharmacy after getting a doctor's prescription for it.  The Delta variant is in full force in South Africa with almost 21,000 new cases recorded per day.  Vaccinations are moving very slowly and even if I decided to take the vaccine, it's still a long way before my turn will come.  Ivermectin is anti-parasite medication that seems to be working well for people who have had Covid 19 here.  Some use it as preventative.  Others when they get the virus.  I'm using Neem - a health product that seems to have same basic effects as Ivermectin but just less potent - as preventative.  Hopefully I won't get the virus, but if and when I do, I'll take the Ivermectin.  When Ivermectin is taken during the course of Covid 19, vs preventative, the dosages are much larger.  However, you only take it for one week, like an anti-biotic.

In the meanwhile I'm also relieved my chance hasn't come yet as the administration of the vaccinations has been pretty chaotic.  I reckon the longer they are doing the vaccinations, the more experienced they become, and also hopefully the developers of the vaccines are improvising the vaccines as new variants crop up.  By the time my turn comes I may have a totally different perspective of vaccines.

Canada now allows people across the border without needing the 3-day stay in a hotel while they are being tested - if they can show proof of vaccination (in advance of travel) (of course vaccination that Canada approves). One still has to submit a quarantine plan and also additional proof of a negative test that was taken within 72 hours before arrival.  I was hoping to get to Canada next year, so that may be a reason I'll go for vaccination, if and when those rules still apply.  One thing with Covid 19, the rules and restrictions seem to be changing all of the time.  And there are different ones for different countries, enough to confuse global travellers.