Another week has passed. I get a little stressed because autumn has started, which means that winter soon will be here. Therefore, I take the opportunity to take Lady & Molly on lots of walks. Lady has a little pain in one of her paws so she gets anti-inflammatory medicine. Molly, on the other hand, runs so much so I really hope she does not hurt herself. However, both are fine and they are enjoying the fall!

And to mention something about myself, I jogged a little this weekend. I was pleased that I could enjoy the nice weather without getting too out of breath. Some form of fitness still exists despite the pandemic.

Stay safe 🐾

20 years ago New York and the whole USA were subjected to religious military terror attacks. In fact, the whole world was affected. I remember exactly where I was and what I did. At that time I did my PhD studies at the department of Pharmacology in Göteborg. It was difficult to understand that the terror attack was real. This could only happen in Universal Studios in Hollywood. World trade center in New York was gone and New York City fire department had to work 24 hours.

Memories have faded, but the traces of Ground zero are still there. People travel by plane again. Life could not be stopped.

Religion is, by no doubt, politics. In a week I will go voting. This is a political election for members in the church in Sweden. It is a little strange since religion should be separated from politics, but I will go voting since we live in a democratic country. I am very glad though, that every religion is allowed in Sweden. Not only christians.

I continue with my dog walks. Molly runs and Lady is more of a smooth walker. Sharing the song “walk of life” with Dire Straits.

Stay safe 🐾

I am very happy that Pfizer and other drug companies have contributed to the development of vaccines in this pandemic. Drug companies need to help the community when needed in emergencies. And maybe the American president’s words helped to speed up research and production. These vaccines may not be perfect, but at least, the number of severe cases of COVID-19 has decreased. However, I continue with pandemic habits and I do wear a medical face mask when I go by bus, train etc. A lot of people are affected by an ordinary cold right now and maybe I can avoid infection by following these habits.

This weekend I have been walking Lady & Molly. They are so happy to go for walks. I helped them to clean their ears, a common problem for dogs. As far as I know, only one dog in Sweden has fallen ill in COVID-19.

Stay safe 🐾

Normally, development of a new drug takes more than a decade. When the American president gathered pharmaceutical companies in the White House in the beginning of this covid-19 pandemic, former President Trump had one message: “You need to develop a vaccine that protects us from severe COVID-19 – and that is immediately”.

This was a completely new situation. Drug companies were forced to develop a new drug backwards. From production to idea. Not the usual way when you start with an idea. “In approximately a year from now we need to have ongoing production of a vaccine against covid-19, and that means that we need suitable vaccine candidates within a few months. And how can we develop these candidates?”

Collaboration is crucial. And Pfizer has, to the best of my knowledge, a collaboration with a company having knowledge about the mRNA technology. A teamed couple, who has dedicated their lives to eg understand the dynamics of mRNA, has founded the biotechnology company BioNTech. Good for us! Thank you so much. Decision making is important and Pfizer decided to go for the mRNA technology and not traditional vaccines. Small scale clinical trials in healthy individuals finally resulted in a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA candidate with few side effects.

The people in Israel 🇮🇱 were by some reason very soon vaccinated, and they have contributed to the understanding of group immunity. Pfizer has been very clear that they are well prepared for taking care of the next pandemic. An immense amount of work has been invested this year. New knowledge has been gained about clinical mRNA technology that most probably will lead to development of new drugs in other therapeutical areas such as cancer.

The 2009–2010 pandemic of swine influenza and this Corona pandemic are the only pandemics I have been close to. The Corona pandemic is much more severe. During the Swine flu I was really never worried. It was very clear that risk groups were more sensitive. But this time, any person can develop severe symptoms of COVID-19. Long term effects that you may have to live with. I had the vaccine against the swine flu since it is good to be protected and in particular to protect others. This time was different. Staying unvaccinated can cause serious long-term symptoms if you get infected by the Corona virus. And even death. You never know your sensitivity. I am sharing my vaccination memories below. Schools have started and by some reason I thought of this song from long time ago.

Keep staying safe 🐾

           🇳🇴 Norway, Fredrikstad 2009                                                                  🇸🇪 Sweden, Stockholm 2021

Dog walks are perfect now after vaccination. Molly hunted a deer, but she didn´t bark. She returned to me after a few minutes and went for a bath in the woods. Chilly! Lady is taking care of Molly, and Lady doesn´t realize that she is little. She is a little like the cartoon above. So much attitude.

Stay safe 🐾