Carnivore

Can I get a different type of vaccine for my second dose? PAUL TAYLOR - SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL - PUBLISHED 18 HOURS AGO - UPDATED APRIL 28TH, 2021 The question: I followed the advice of public-health officials who urged us to take the first available COVID-19 vaccine. For me, it turned out to be the AstraZeneca shot. Will I be able to get another type of vaccine for my second dose? The answer: You’re not the only person wondering whether the vaccines can be used interchangeably. In fact, researchers in Britain have launched a study to determine if it’s safe and effective to mix different vaccines that guard against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. “It’s a hugely important question that is being addressed by this study,” says Rob Kozak, a scientist and clinical microbiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. “It could potentially help alleviate a lot of our supply problems,” he adds. In Canada, the vaccination rollout has been plagued by availability issues. The flow of vaccines from some companies has dwindled to a trickle while others have provided more and more doses. COVID-19 news: Updates and essential resources about the pandemic To even out the supply, Dr. Kozak says it would be convenient if two different vaccines could be used for the same person. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines require a double injection – a primer dose followed by a booster to amplify and extend the immune response. The British study began in February with the recruitment of about 800 volunteers using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer shots. Some got two doses of the same vaccine – an immunizing strategy known as a homologous prime-boost. Others received one dose of each vaccine – or a heterologous prime-boost. Blood samples from the volunteers are being analyzed for the presence of antibodies and others cellular indicators that show how well the body’s immune system is prepared to fight the virus. Aside from potentially alleviating supply issues, the study might also reveal that using different shots may actually produce better overall protection than relying on a single type of vaccine, says Zhou Xing, a professor at the McMaster Immunology Research Centre in Hamilton. He notes that all COVID-19 vaccines train the immune system to be on the lookout for spike proteins, the knobby protrusions on the surface of the coronavirus. But the various vaccines work in slightly different ways. That means they have different effects on the immune system. For instance, Pfizer and Moderna, which are based on a relatively new vaccine technology using messenger RNA, are extremely effective at stimulating the production of antibodies – the first line of defence against a foreign invader. The antibodies will normally latch onto a virus to prevent it from entering and infecting a cell. On the other hand, AstraZeneca appears to have an enhanced capacity for producing T-Cells, which provide a critical back-up defence if the virus eludes the antibodies. A “killer” T-cell can identify an infected cell and destroy it, he explains. Dr. Xing thinks there may be a significant advantage in giving people two types of vaccine. Essentially, they might acquire the best protection offered by each one, filling in any immunological gaps. “I’m a big believer in mixing vaccines,” he says. But an even more urgent reason to try mixing vaccines is the worrisome emergence of new viral variants, says Alan Bernstein, president of CIFAR, a Canadian-based global research organization. Not only are certain variants deadlier and more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2, but some of them may be able to evade, at least to some degree, the protection provided by vaccination. By combining vaccines, “it might help broaden the response so the immune system can better deal with the variants,” says Dr. Bernstein, who is also a member of the federal COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. He says the initial results from the British study are expected to be released in the next few weeks. If they show that mixing shots is better than boosting with the same vaccine, “I would hope we would go with the heterologous prime-boost strategy as soon as possible.” In Quebec, public-health officials are already considering giving the Pfizer shot to some seniors who were originally inoculated with the Moderna vaccine, which is now in short supply. Dr. Bernstein says mixing shots might also help overcome vaccine hesitancy. He points out that a lot of people received a first dose of AstraZeneca before it was linked to extremely rare cases of blood clots. Some individuals may now be reluctant to get their second dose. If they are able to receive another type of vaccine, they may be more willing to roll up their sleeves for an injection, he says. “Flexibility is important,” says Dr. Bernstein. “The sooner we give everyone in Canada two doses of these vaccines, the better we will all be protected.”

As our second Sinovac vaccine dosage was past the original projected due date we contacted our local doctor here in Ajijic and also a highly respected doctor in Guadalajara who we have had dealings with previously. We asked if we would run any "medical" risk if we were to go ahead and obtain an injection of a different vaccine. The doctors advised that we would run zero risk in obtaining a second shot and further, if the receipt of our second Sinovac vaccine was further delayed it might totally eradicate the initially expected benefit. In discussion, yes it might not be a "tested procedure" but, in reality one should expect that an injection of any of the "known and most used" vaccines would likely place us in a better position, than we were at that point in time. It's now been six weeks since we received our first shot of Sinovac. However, the action that we've since taken was a personal decision after seeking professional advice and.......not paying attention to the varied ramblings by many (such as in the this forum) who know absolutely nothing about what they're talking about.

I recently posted looking for information relating to local restaurants that serve Molcajete. Not much response but friends recently mentioned that this restaurant serves (at least they did some time ago) a worthwhile Molcajete. Any information or recommendation (good or bad) would be great.

Years ago it all started with "Soylent Green". Solved many problems and the "patent" is likely under intensive review in Brazil.

Health authorities modify national vaccination schedule Government blames delay in delivery of Pfizer vaccines earlier this year Published on Friday, April 9, 2021 Citing the delay in the delivery of Pfizer vaccines earlier this year, the federal government has modified its Covid-19 vaccination schedule, pushing back by one month the start date of the different stages of the national vaccination plan. “The schedule of stages 2 to 5 has been modified and may undergo future modifications as it depends on the delivery of the pharmaceuticals,” the government said. Stage 2 of the vaccination plan — the inoculation of people aged 60 and over and non-frontline health workers — will extend into May, according to the modified schedule. That presumably means that President López Obrador’s pledge to immunize all seniors with at least one vaccine dose by the end of April will not be fulfilled. Almost 7.4 million seniors have so far received at least one dose, a figure that accounts for only 47% of the 15.7 million people aged 60 and over. The inoculation of people aged 50 to 59 (stage 3) will take place in May and June while those aged 40 t0 49 (stage 4) will get their shots in June and July. Stage 5 — the vaccination of people aged 16 to 39 — is now scheduled to begin in July and conclude in March 2022. The government said in late February that it expected to receive more than 100 million vaccine doses by the end of May, but as of Thursday night only 16.08 million had arrived. Mexico has secured most of those doses via commercial arrangements but received some 2.7 million AstraZeneca shots from the United States government under a loan scheme. Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said Thursday that the government expects to receive an additional 5.5 million AstraZeneca shots in late April and May via Covax, a World Health Organization-backed initiative for equitable vaccine distribution. Drug regulator Cofepris said Wednesday that it had no plans to limit use of the AstraZeneca vaccine although many countries have recommended that it not be used to inoculate younger adults due to growing evidence that it can cause blood clots in rare cases. In addition to that vaccine, Mexico has used Pfizer, SinoVac, CanSino and Sputnik V shots to inoculate citizens. Four of the five vaccines used to date require two shots, whereas the Chinese-made CanSino is a single-shot vaccine. Herrera said the government has no plans to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, which is currently being used in the United States. One additional vaccine that could be used in Mexico is India’s Covaxin, to which Cofepris granted emergency use authorization earlier this week. Just over 10.64 million vaccine doses — two-thirds of all doses received — had been administered in Mexico by Thursday night, according to Health Ministry data. Of the almost 7.4 million seniors who have received one shot, nearly 940,000 have had their second required jab. More than 530,000 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday, a new daily record, while more than 334,000 were given on Thursday, according to preliminary data that will be revised upward on Friday. The New York Times vaccinations tracker currently shows that 8.4 doses per 100 people have been administered in Mexico, compared to 115 in Israel, which ranks first, 61 in Chile, 53 in the United States and 20 in Canada. Mexico’s southern border neighbors, Guatemala and Belize, have administered 5.8 and 0.7 doses per 100 people, respectively. Only 7.1% of Mexico’s population has received at least one vaccine dose while just 1.3% is fully vaccinated. Some health experts estimate that 70% to 90% of the population needs to be inoculated or infected with the virus to reach herd immunity. For that to occur, a minimum of around 90 million Mexicans — the country’s population is just over 126 million — would need to have Covid-19 antibodies generated either by infection or inoculation. Meanwhile, Mexico’s accumulated tally of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 5,140 on Thursday to almost 2.27 million while the official Covid-19 death toll increased by 548 to 206,146. The federal government acknowledged in a report published late last month that Mexico’s true Covid-19 death toll was above 321,000, a figure almost 60% higher than the official count of test-confirmed fatalities, but it has not subsequently updated its official numbers.

Health authorities modify national vaccination schedule Government blames delay in delivery of Pfizer vaccines earlier this year Published on Friday, April 9, 2021 Citing the delay in the delivery of Pfizer vaccines earlier this year, the federal government has modified its Covid-19 vaccination schedule, pushing back by one month the start date of the different stages of the national vaccination plan. “The schedule of stages 2 to 5 has been modified and may undergo future modifications as it depends on the delivery of the pharmaceuticals,” the government said. Stage 2 of the vaccination plan — the inoculation of people aged 60 and over and non-frontline health workers — will extend into May, according to the modified schedule. That presumably means that President López Obrador’s pledge to immunize all seniors with at least one vaccine dose by the end of April will not be fulfilled. Almost 7.4 million seniors have so far received at least one dose, a figure that accounts for only 47% of the 15.7 million people aged 60 and over. The inoculation of people aged 50 to 59 (stage 3) will take place in May and June while those aged 40 t0 49 (stage 4) will get their shots in June and July. Stage 5 — the vaccination of people aged 16 to 39 — is now scheduled to begin in July and conclude in March 2022. The government said in late February that it expected to receive more than 100 million vaccine doses by the end of May, but as of Thursday night only 16.08 million had arrived. Mexico has secured most of those doses via commercial arrangements but received some 2.7 million AstraZeneca shots from the United States government under a loan scheme. Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said Thursday that the government expects to receive an additional 5.5 million AstraZeneca shots in late April and May via Covax, a World Health Organization-backed initiative for equitable vaccine distribution. Drug regulator Cofepris said Wednesday that it had no plans to limit use of the AstraZeneca vaccine although many countries have recommended that it not be used to inoculate younger adults due to growing evidence that it can cause blood clots in rare cases. In addition to that vaccine, Mexico has used Pfizer, SinoVac, CanSino and Sputnik V shots to inoculate citizens. Four of the five vaccines used to date require two shots, whereas the Chinese-made CanSino is a single-shot vaccine. Herrera said the government has no plans to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, which is currently being used in the United States. One additional vaccine that could be used in Mexico is India’s Covaxin, to which Cofepris granted emergency use authorization earlier this week. Just over 10.64 million vaccine doses — two-thirds of all doses received — had been administered in Mexico by Thursday night, according to Health Ministry data. Of the almost 7.4 million seniors who have received one shot, nearly 940,000 have had their second required jab. More than 530,000 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday, a new daily record, while more than 334,000 were given on Thursday, according to preliminary data that will be revised upward on Friday. The New York Times vaccinations tracker currently shows that 8.4 doses per 100 people have been administered in Mexico, compared to 115 in Israel, which ranks first, 61 in Chile, 53 in the United States and 20 in Canada. Mexico’s southern border neighbors, Guatemala and Belize, have administered 5.8 and 0.7 doses per 100 people, respectively. Only 7.1% of Mexico’s population has received at least one vaccine dose while just 1.3% is fully vaccinated. Some health experts estimate that 70% to 90% of the population needs to be inoculated or infected with the virus to reach herd immunity. For that to occur, a minimum of around 90 million Mexicans — the country’s population is just over 126 million — would need to have Covid-19 antibodies generated either by infection or inoculation. Meanwhile, Mexico’s accumulated tally of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 5,140 on Thursday to almost 2.27 million while the official Covid-19 death toll increased by 548 to 206,146. The federal government acknowledged in a report published late last month that Mexico’s true Covid-19 death toll was above 321,000, a figure almost 60% higher than the official count of test-confirmed fatalities, but it has not subsequently updated its official numbers.

By Xena: 44 minutes ago. Molcajete restaurant on the east end of Chapala malecon next to (north) of Cozumel has a molcajete as you describe. It is delicious. One easily served three people. Comes with free margaritas. Does anyone know the name of the restaurant the Xena has referred to?

Years past, the very best Molcajete (the entree) that we've experienced in all our years in Mexico, was at El Bambu (in the strip of lakeside eateries just to the east of San Juan Cosala). Authentic, delicious and wonderful to look at. However their presentation eventually changed so much, that after returning several times we finally just gave up. In years since we keep hearing of Hacienda Coyotes (KM 15 Zapotlanejo - Tototlan Hwy) as having, hands down, one of the very best Molcajetes in all of Mexico (and, definitely far better than anywhere close to Chapala). We've had very mediocre results at El Jardin (Ajijic Plaza) and Maria Isobel at the foot of Morelos (now gone) so.........can anyone recommend a place serving anything close to what could be described as a wonderful authentic Molcajete.......and why? Note: The "Molcajete" is actually the name of the lava grinding bowl that a very popular Mexican entree has adopted as it's name. A single serving is usually more than adequate for two people to share. It consists of a rich and cheesy combination that can include beef, chicken, chorizo, chicken or shrimp and bell peppers all baked to a high temperature in the lava bowl. To ensure authenticity it would definitely not be presented in a sauce resembling tomato soup. The melted mixture is accompanied with wonderful aromas, warm soft tortillas and roasted tomatoes or tomatillo salsa.

This past Wednesday we received our receipts for the 1st Sinovac vaccine shot that we received in Ajijic on March 17th. Unlike the 10 hours we waited for our 1st shot we waited only 2 hours for our receipts. The receipt is the exact document that was completed in front of us 1/2 hour after receiving our first vaccination. We would not have known that the receipts were available if it had not been for friends who called to inform us. Apparently the distribution of the receipts commenced here on Monday between the hours of 9 & 3 and again on Tuesday. We were not given any information as to when we would receive our second vaccination. We received our receipts in the same area adjoining the Ajijic malecon where we received our first vaccination. When we (and others) asked, again, if we could expect to be notified about the time, date and location for the second vaccination, the response was: " Pay attention to Facebook".

The prior posts significantly stimulated our interest as we had never heard of this food provider until we saw the March 26th post. That post led us to the "positive" prior posts from September and October, 2020. However, our recent, well planned and "looked forward to" dinner, delivered more than 1/2 hour late, could only be described as: totally dried out, insufficient primary ingredients, very poor quality, dismal appearance with congealed noodles and clumped rice, totally devoid of flavour and not worth anything close to the price paid. We threw away most of the food. We would never consider ordering again.

From local gossip, it's now apparent that the majority of people who received their first shot of the vaccine did not receive any form of document proving that they had received the vaccine. One person told us that after his vaccination, he received a sheet of paper from the person taking his information but it didn't have anything other than a "scribbled" signature??? We, and the many others around us did not receive any form of proof that we had received our first shot? Has anyone received any official form of verification? Has anyone, as of yet, received information concerning their second shot? Thanks.

When the restaurant opened in 2018 there was a flurry of postings that were mostly negative....including one of our own. Nothing that I can find since. From the prior posts the consensus was as follows: 1. Nicely refurbished and decorated location. 2. Expensive, poor value, mismanaged......and........ might need a name change as a D.F. based Mexican restaurant chain (of which they are not part) would likely enforce a "renaming. Any recent updates? We had, at the outset, hoped that it would be a welcome addition to the Lakeside restaurant scene?

SAVTA specializes in large loaves of dense sourdough bread with a perceptible aromatic presence of rye flour. Warning....do not tightly wrap a still warm loaf as can easily develop visible mould in less than 24 hours. Leave the loaf at normal room temperature in a paper bag, closed but not sealed.

We've shopped at El Torito continuously since 1997. Today, I went into the store solely intending to buy cold luncheon meat for sandwiches. On looking at the glass enclosed meat display case, at the end closest to the front of the store, I noticed that the roll of Queso de Puerco was new and hadn't been opened. As it's one of our long term favourite cold meats (in Mexico) for sandwiches, I looked very forward to being able to have our order sliced from a brand new, previously unopened roll. A younger butcher approached and I ordered 300grms sliced. As he began to struggle with opening the package (picture a role of bologna) which was tightly encased in a plastic sleeve I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't wearing gloves. He seemed to really struggle with cutting the metal seal off the one end of the roll and then as he peeled back the plastic wrap. In the process, his hands were continually all over the meat as it became exposed. I spoke out to get his attention and indicated by pointing at my hands and then his that he put on gloves. His immediate response: "My hands are clean". I told him that it was impossible for me to know that, and asked the he put gloves on. He did, one hand only and made it very apparent from his mannerism that he wasn't pleased. He began to slice the meat but didn't ask me anything about thickness. I moved more to the left so that I could see what he was actually slicing and noticed that the mask he had been wearing had dropped down to barely covering his mouth (but not his nose at all). His face was less than 12 inches from the meat he was slicing! I again interrupted him. He had already spoken to me in pretty passable English so I knew there wasn't a language problem. I asked him to put his mask on properly and told him that if I had to wear a mask, so did he. He turned around to face me but simply ignored my request (as if he hadn't heard me) and continued to slice the meat. I loudly told him that I would not accept the meat, and why, and left the store. On leaving, I also told the man who controlled entry into the store (hand sanitizer application) why I was leaving. Hopefully something will "filter through" to management. I would hope that if anyone else encounters a similar situation in El Torito (or any other store) they clearly make it known that it is totally unacceptable. I don't feel that after a full year of maintaining a very careful lifestyle that my wife and I want to see it all undone by an ignorant and uncaring employee who hasn't been trained and isn't being supervised.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1217754.shtml

No soreness. Impossible to see any mark from the injection. No reactions of any kind. What is bothersome. Virtually all of the totally ridiculous comments made by people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. If they would do a little sensible research about the various vaccines on the Internet (and have an open mind) they'd save themselves and others from exposure to utter b.s.!!!!l And what about the mindless soul who posted: "I had the vaccine; had a beer right after and.....no reaction at all!" Totally understandable. It likely would have been exactly the same reaction if he'd been shot in the head while hunting! Latest on SINOVAC - SEE FOLLOWING https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1217754.shtml

Anyone have any information? Name of restaurant. Type of Food. Actual Menu. Hours Thanks

We received our shots on Wednesday in Ajijic. After the injections, at the desk where we surrendered our documents and provided additional contact information, we did not receive a receipt of any kind. Nor did we see any others receive a document to take away. We were not told what vaccine we had received. Earlier in the day, from the gossip throughout the crowd, it was concluded that we were to receive the Sinovac vaccine. As for information about our second shot, the person taking our documents said that it would not be very likely that we would actually receive a telephone call or email advising of the date and time. She, (polite Gringa, speaking perfect English) asked if we had received an actual notification regarding our initial shot. I told her that we had not and she politely responded saying: "For that reason, you should just continue to keep abreast of local information and pay attention to the various web-forums where most information for Expats is obtained." On leaving the injection site we realized that we hadn't received any written proof that we had actually been there, nor did we have any proof of what vaccine we had received. However, it was such a long and totally confusing day that we were simply relieved that it was finally over. We left the site at just before 4:00pm and had arrived that morning at 5:30am. From what we read since, we should have waited until Thursday or Friday and gone to either Tonala or Chapala. Who knew???? Advance, specific and believable advice would have been wonderful!!!!

The vaccine administered today and yesterday is supposedly the Chinese Sinovac product. The medical people administering the vaccinations have advised that having received the vaccine the recipients should avoid alcohol for a 20 day period. The following web-address deals with the subject: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/coronavirus-vaccine-can-you-have-alcohol-after-getting-a-covid-19-vaccine-myth-busted/photostory/81392432.cms

We arrived at the Ajijic site at 5:40am today (Wednesday the 17th) and although at that hour there were not a great number of people, it soon became known that approx. 300 people yesterday did not receive the vaccine and they would be arriving prior to 8:00a.m. The supposed reason? The hot afternoon weather provided a concern that the vaccine's effectiveness might be compromised. The names of these people were taken and they were told that if they returned this morning at 8am they would be given priorty. That's exactly what happened except that no vaccines were available until just after 9:00a.m. It took until almost noon before the approx. 300 from yesterday were dealt with. We received our vaccine shots at 3:30pm and at that point the line-up on the malecon was still stretched to immediately opposite the vaccine administration site. After receiving our vaccine shot we waited 30 minutes and then proceeded to an area where there were a number of secretarial type people who were confirming documentation and taking additional information such as address, telephones, email and we were required to answer a number of medical history questions. They also took copies of our original vaccine registration document, our CURP and our Permanente. We were not given any form of document to prove that we had received the first dose. We were told that in approx. 28 days a second dose should become available. We asked if we would receive a telephone call or email advising of date and time? The prompt response: .......NOT LIKELY! We were told to simply pay close attention to local news reports and Internet forums. Hopefully the procedure and time required for our second dose will better organized and take far less time. Prior to and after receiving our injections we were told that it's extremely important to not take aspirin during the first 48 hours and to not drink any form of alcoholic beverage for 20 days. We were told that at least 5 times in the 2 1/2 hours when we were located in the last area where we were seated prior to the injections. Within the crowd, there seemed to be a lot of scepticism relating to the 20 day alcohol restriction. The vaccine: "Sinovac" we were told but never saw any proof.

Our local family doctor informed us on Friday that once the date and time for the vaccine was determined (and he suggested that it would be this week) that those over 60 who have registered on the web-site and obviously have a CURP or they wouldn't have been able to register on-line) would receive a phone call or email to advise of the time. However he also told us that if we have friends over the age of 60 who are not permanent (here on a tourist visa) and do not have a CURP they can also attend, and they will be able to obtain the vaccine providing they have their passports, proof of local address and their tourist visa. I should note that we have not received a notice by phone or e-mail. Is there any proof that the foregoing is accurate. We have a number of people, who have not been able to register on-line, who would want to attend if they can. They are over 60, and, of course can provide the required documents. Any response would be most appreciated.

I just came from the Malecon in Ajijic. There are already 100's of people there with chairs and umbrellas and parking is non-existent. There are police officers present blocking off traffic at the foot of 5 de Mayo (You drive south on Morelos and turn right on Del Paseo but cannot drive any further west than 5 de Mayo where you have no choice but to drive north. All parking on any of the streets in the area are already occupied.

The flyer that was left at our house gives the location for Nona's as the intersection of Constitucion and Revolution which is, in reality, the southern end of the Wednesday tiangus. (Not Guadalupe Victoria.)

Can they expect to obtain the vaccine. How do they register?

Can they obtain the vaccine? How?