Raw materials for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also in limited supply. The manufacturing process begins by using common gut bacteria cells to grow something called “plasmids” — standalone snippets of DNA — that contain instructions to make the vaccine’s genetic material, said Pancorbo, the North Carolina State University biomanufacturing expert.
Next, specific enzymes cultivated from bacteria are added to cause a chemical reaction that assembles the strands of mRNA, Pancorbo said. Those strands are then packaged in lipid nanoparticles, microscopic bubbles of fat made using petroleum or plant oils. The fat bubbles protect the genetic material inside the human body and help deliver it to the cells.
Only a few firms specialize in making these ingredients, which have previously been sold by the kilogram, Pancorbo said. But they’re now needed by the metric ton — a thousandfold increase. Moderna and Pfizer need bulk, but also the highest possible quality.
“There are a number of organizations that make these enzymes and these nucleotides and lipids, but they might not make it in a grade that is satisfactory for human consumption,” Pancorbo said. “It might be a grade that is satisfactory for animal consumption or research. But for injection into a human? That’s a different thing.”
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine follows a slightly more traditional method of growing cells in large tanks called bioreactors. This takes time, and the slightest contamination can spoil a whole batch. Since the process deals with living things, it can be more like growing plants than making shoes. “Maximizing yield is as much of an art as it is a science, as the manufacturing process itself is dependent on biological processes,” said Parker, the former HHS official.
EMichael
February 19, 2021 10:41 am
Illinois seems to be doing a spectacularly bad job with the vaccine. I realize that supplies are limited, but imagine the thought process that came up with this kind of plan.
“Who is eligible: YWCA Lake County clients who are eligible in Phases 1a and 1b
How to schedule: Call (224) 308-3623 or (847) 406-5695.
What you need to know: This vaccination clinic is for current YWCA Lake County clients only.
Made possible by: YWCA Lake County, Rosalind Franklin University Health Clinics, and the Lake County Health Department.”
As long as one segment of labor (say, lower 40 percentile income) takes in more money overall than after a round of wage hikes than it did before there is no need to, then, there is no need for concern about job losses (that’s overall). Whether newly flush labor spends the same dollars that the segment of labor (say, upper 59 percentile) would have spent on exactly the same purchases plus the newly added cash – or spends it on some other mixture – the overall demand in the economy remains the same, just redirected in part.
By the same token there would have to be job losses wherever the upper 59 percentile spent the money previously but the lower 40 percentile is spending that money now.
Raising labor’s price (wages) without losing money overall is pretty easy to achieve given that labor costs tend to run 10%-15% in most businesses (outliers are fast food with 25% and Walmart with 7%). Doubling wages – a worthy overall goal for the lower 40 percentile who now take home a pitiable 10% of overall income – would only add 12.5% to prices. Double pay while losing say 10% of sales – and 10% of jobs – sounds fine for labor.
Now we know it might actually add jobs.
anne
February 19, 2021 2:18 pm
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/covid-life-expectancy.htmlFebruary 18, 2021A Grim Measure of Covid’s Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S.American life expectancy fell by one year, to 77.8 years, in the first half of 2020. It may rebound as the pandemic’s end approaches.By Sabrina Tavernise and Abby GoodnoughLife expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020, the federal government reported on Thursday, the largest drop since World War II and a grim measure of the deadly consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.Life expectancy is the most basic measure of the health of a population, and the stark decline over such a short period is highly unusual and a signal of deep distress….
anne
February 19, 2021 2:48 pm
I carefully tried to post, but my post and the entire thread simply disappeared. I simply cannot post properly, no matter how I try.
anne
February 19, 2021 3:02 pm
The article I posted was perfectly spaced but finally came out garbled. Please understand, the program for the site was botched and the fine old program needs to be restored if possible. This is just saddening.
anne
February 19, 2021 3:02 pm
Again, I post and the entire thread disappears.
dave Barnes
February 19, 2021 5:33 pm
Where is Disqus?
anne
February 19, 2021 9:22 pm
As for Disqus, I would never think of using a commercial site for comments. So, I will simply never comment. However, there was no problem with commenting before the comment section was programmed to be fancy. Why not just return to the fine old format? The comment program was sadly botched, but returning to the old format should be simple.
So what happened to unions? “In 1956, workers at a plant in Princeton, Indiana went on strike. They were organized with the International Association of Machinists. In response, the National Right to Work Committee created a movie about the evil of unions, the need for Christians to defend themselves against the outside evil, and of course the right to work. It’s utterly astounding, both in the complete lies it told about this strike and the laughably awful acting. This is quite a document of sheer hackery. And yet, this thing was shown during employers’ anti-union campaigns for over 20 years. In fact, the NLRB nullified a 1963 union election because the employer showed this trash to the workers beforehand. https://youtu.be/KNnwW2lI6QQ?t=87 https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/02/lgm-film-club-part-136-women-must-weep
https://www.propublica.org/article/covid-vaccine-supply?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=feature
—
Raw materials for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also in limited supply. The manufacturing process begins by using common gut bacteria cells to grow something called “plasmids” — standalone snippets of DNA — that contain instructions to make the vaccine’s genetic material, said Pancorbo, the North Carolina State University biomanufacturing expert.
Next, specific enzymes cultivated from bacteria are added to cause a chemical reaction that assembles the strands of mRNA, Pancorbo said. Those strands are then packaged in lipid nanoparticles, microscopic bubbles of fat made using petroleum or plant oils. The fat bubbles protect the genetic material inside the human body and help deliver it to the cells.
Only a few firms specialize in making these ingredients, which have previously been sold by the kilogram, Pancorbo said. But they’re now needed by the metric ton — a thousandfold increase. Moderna and Pfizer need bulk, but also the highest possible quality.
“There are a number of organizations that make these enzymes and these nucleotides and lipids, but they might not make it in a grade that is satisfactory for human consumption,” Pancorbo said. “It might be a grade that is satisfactory for animal consumption or research. But for injection into a human? That’s a different thing.”
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine follows a slightly more traditional method of growing cells in large tanks called bioreactors. This takes time, and the slightest contamination can spoil a whole batch. Since the process deals with living things, it can be more like growing plants than making shoes. “Maximizing yield is as much of an art as it is a science, as the manufacturing process itself is dependent on biological processes,” said Parker, the former HHS official.
Illinois seems to be doing a spectacularly bad job with the vaccine. I realize that supplies are limited, but imagine the thought process that came up with this kind of plan.
“Who is eligible: YWCA Lake County clients who are eligible in Phases 1a and 1b
How to schedule: Call (224) 308-3623 or (847) 406-5695.
What you need to know: This vaccination clinic is for current YWCA Lake County clients only.
Made possible by: YWCA Lake County, Rosalind Franklin University Health Clinics, and the Lake County Health Department.”
https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4521/COVID-19-Vaccine#community-sites
I have nothing against the YWCA, but this kind of restricted access based on membership is appalling.
Imagine if they restricted it to current members of Bushwood Country Club.
Bill Murray as a doctor would be interesting
I’M WORKING ON THIS
As long as one segment of labor (say, lower 40 percentile income) takes in more money overall than after a round of wage hikes than it did before there is no need to, then, there is no need for concern about job losses (that’s overall). Whether newly flush labor spends the same dollars that the segment of labor (say, upper 59 percentile) would have spent on exactly the same purchases plus the newly added cash – or spends it on some other mixture – the overall demand in the economy remains the same, just redirected in part.
By the same token there would have to be job losses wherever the upper 59 percentile spent the money previously but the lower 40 percentile is spending that money now.
Raising labor’s price (wages) without losing money overall is pretty easy to achieve given that labor costs tend to run 10%-15% in most businesses (outliers are fast food with 25% and Walmart with 7%). Doubling wages – a worthy overall goal for the lower 40 percentile who now take home a pitiable 10% of overall income – would only add 12.5% to prices. Double pay while losing say 10% of sales – and 10% of jobs – sounds fine for labor.
Now we know it might actually add jobs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/covid-life-expectancy.htmlFebruary 18, 2021A Grim Measure of Covid’s Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S.American life expectancy fell by one year, to 77.8 years, in the first half of 2020. It may rebound as the pandemic’s end approaches.By Sabrina Tavernise and Abby GoodnoughLife expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020, the federal government reported on Thursday, the largest drop since World War II and a grim measure of the deadly consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.Life expectancy is the most basic measure of the health of a population, and the stark decline over such a short period is highly unusual and a signal of deep distress….
I carefully tried to post, but my post and the entire thread simply disappeared. I simply cannot post properly, no matter how I try.
The article I posted was perfectly spaced but finally came out garbled. Please understand, the program for the site was botched and the fine old program needs to be restored if possible. This is just saddening.
Again, I post and the entire thread disappears.
Where is Disqus?
As for Disqus, I would never think of using a commercial site for comments. So, I will simply never comment. However, there was no problem with commenting before the comment section was programmed to be fancy. Why not just return to the fine old format? The comment program was sadly botched, but returning to the old format should be simple.
Economic hardship and anxiety have accelerated the Republican Party’s radicalization, experts say
Boston Globe – February 19
Attempting to post here is pointless.
So what happened to unions? “In 1956, workers at a plant in Princeton, Indiana went on strike. They were organized with the International Association of Machinists. In response, the National Right to Work Committee created a movie about the evil of unions, the need for Christians to defend themselves against the outside evil, and of course the right to work. It’s utterly astounding, both in the complete lies it told about this strike and the laughably awful acting. This is quite a document of sheer hackery. And yet, this thing was shown during employers’ anti-union campaigns for over 20 years. In fact, the NLRB nullified a 1963 union election because the employer showed this trash to the workers beforehand. https://youtu.be/KNnwW2lI6QQ?t=87 https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/02/lgm-film-club-part-136-women-must-weep