Being a Sunday, it was also our day to get the decks washed, but, after a terrible night’s sleep, Elaine needed a nap in the afternoon. She’d also spent much of her day working on her special project which is now in the final stages, while Roy completed the testing and final touches to the Anchor Plus application, ready for submission to Apple for approval.
On Friday we woke to photographs of Capri and William holding their baby niece; both delighted with the new arrival. We also had the pleasure of receiving phone calls from Anne, off Time Bandit, who are making their way down the various Maldivian atolls and Craig, off Il Sogno, who is still in Malaysia like ourselves, although he has a bit more sailing freedom being in the Langkawi archipelago. It was lovely to catch up with both of them and fascinating to hear all about sailing in the Maldives; not at all what we imagined. Elaine also busied herself with her cleaning chores, while Roy continued testing and bug fixing on his application. By late afternoon, though, we decided an early dinner on the patio of Nomiya would be the perfect start to our weekend. Fortunately, we were just finishing our meal and refreshments as the crowds arrived; that was our cue to head back to Paw Paw. With cases on the increase again in Penang, less than two weeks since restrictions were eased, we’re going to have to get out a little earlier in future so as to avoid the crowds altogether, assuming, of course, we’re not placed back under an enhanced lockdown of sorts.
This situation, however, lead Elaine to do a little bit more research on what options were possibly open to her, with regards to being vaccinated against COVID-19, something that is becoming imperative with each passing day, although her specialist has indicated this is currently not an option for her.
The research revealed that, besides the US and UK’s public health authorities indicating that immunocompromised individuals should be given the vaccine, as the risks associated with contracting COVID-19 are far greater than any possible side effects of the vaccine itself, there is no data to indicate what those side effects might be and indeed what level of efficacy would be achieved; various clinical trials are still underway. It was, however, encouraging to read that Singapore now concurs with the US and UK in this assessment. More interesting, though, was the Stage III clinical trials underway to test AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 mAb (Monoclonal Antibody) therapeutic treatment, AZD7442, from two different perspectives; PROVENT, the trials of a LAAB (Long-Acting Antibody) combination therapy to provide protection against COVID-19, specifically for immunocompromised patients and STORM CHASER to treat COVID-19 patients, both studies being carried out at the Vaccine Research Centre of UCLH (University College London Hospitals). First discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, this medical breakthrough was licensed to AstraZeneca in June last year.
Other possible options include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, as well as the product used in the Eli Lilly and GSK’s (GlaxoKlineSmith) BLAZE-4 trial, evaluating the administration of an antibody cocktail comprising two neutralising antibodies that bind to different epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This unique collaboration marks the first time that monoclonal antibodies from separate companies are being brought together to explore potential outcomes.
So, why all this pressure for immunocompromised individuals to be vaccinated with the current available vaccines without clinical data to verify the risks and all this research to provide a possible alternative, when one would assume these individuals make up a small percentage of world’s population? Well, since immunocompromised individuals include all patients who are undergoing cancer treatment, as well as individuals who have HIV or an autoimmune condition, amongst others, surprisingly, accounts for a large enough population of individual countries which will prevent herd immunity if a solution of inoculating this population against COVID-19 cannot be found. Thank goodness, otherwise there’s no doubt the likes of Elaine will be left to live like lepers!
Taking a back-step from the day to day grind of living in a pandemic, we couldn’t help but wonder, though, what Mother Nature truly has in store for the human race, thoughts brought about by the numerous occurrences in recent months of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions that haven’t occurred for centuries, tsunamis, the worst forest fires in living memory, unprecedented floods and catastrophic hurricanes / cyclones at strengths never seen before, the list goes on. Just in these past few days, events have included the eruption of Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes Peninsula which last erupted some 800 years ago, preceded by 40,000 earthquakes in the past three weeks, reaching magnitudes of 3.1. Our last blog had reported the second eruption of Mount Sinabung in the North Sumatra province, with its first eruption a week or so ago, the first in 400 years. Snow storms that have swept US states from the Midwest to the Northeast, breaking snowfall records, including Colorado being hit by the fourth largest snowstorm in its history, as well as snow falling in Tallahassee, Florida, the first time in 28 years, leaving residents of the Sunshine State in disbelief. Add to this the torrential rain in New South Wales, Australia, causing flooding of many rivers, including the Hastings River outside Port Macquarie, where flood levels have surpassed the record set in 2013.
It’s difficult to set aside the disquiet this pandemic, compounded by all these natural disasters, is creating, but we did our best by enjoying a lazy morning yesterday and a cooked breakfast of another favourite; smoked salmon on toast topped with a poached egg. This was to tide us over until our afternoon outing; another high tea at the fabulous 5-star E&O Hotel in Georgetown and we were definitely not disappointed. It was a wonderful afternoon and one we both needed, although Roy thoroughly enjoyed his ice cold beer as a precursor to the main event. An extraordinary long video call to Elaine’s sister in Ireland sealed the day.
