Coronavirus Updates

[danielravennest]

Coronavirus: UK plans millions of antibody tests after trial success - report

The finger-prick tests were found to be 98.6% accurate in secret human trials held in June, according to the Daily Telegraph

www.theguardian.com

I don't know how it could be a secret test. If someone stuck my finger with a needle I sure would notice.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I was regarded as having a 'mild case' of Covid-19. I had burning lungs and exhaustion for weeks | Anna Poletti

I believe I caught the virus very early, and I can’t tell you how long it takes to recover from it, because I have not recovered

www.theguardian.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

This could present problems in a few months' time:

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of coronavirus vaccine with Tuskegee history - The Washington Post

Home Share 488 Social Issues Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color The memory of the horrific Tuskegee syphilis study makes some Afric...

www.evernote.com

 

[Romana]

This could present problems in a few months' time:

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of coronavirus vaccine with Tuskegee history - The Washington Post

Home Share 488 Social Issues Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color The memory of the horrific Tuskegee syphilis study makes some Afric...

www.evernote.com

JFK Jr. is dangerous. His dad would probably be hella embarrassed.
White supremacists should probably be rubbing their hands in glee at that stuff, too, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they were involved in promoting it.

 

[bubblesort]

This could present problems in a few months' time:

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color

Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of coronavirus vaccine with Tuskegee history - The Washington Post

Home Share 488 Social Issues Anti-vaccination leaders fuel black mistrust of medical establishment as covid-19 kills people of color The memory of the horrific Tuskegee syphilis study makes some Afric...

www.evernote.com

I don't think you have to be an anti-vaxxer to question whether the corners being cut to develop the vaccine are a problem. Personally, I am one of the most pro-vaxx people I know, but I don't trust this process at all, so I probably won't take a vaccine that comes out this year. I might after a year or two, but not right away. The powers that be have already demonstrated with the tests that they can't be trusted to cut corners responsibly. A manufacturing problem with tests is one thing, but if they repeat that with the vaccine, they could end up infecting god knows how many people. It's happened before. The reason why we have a lot of these regulations are because of a disaster caused by a manufacturing problem with the first batch of polio vaccines.

Black people have more to worry about than most. We have a history of using them as guinea pigs, and we are still doing it. Even now, Oxford is testing these vaccines in Africa, making black people take the risk for us. Why not in a wealthy G7 country? Because we look at black people as exploitable. I think it's disgusting.

 

[Romana]

Reading that makes me not want to wait for the virus to get me, so hey, if the vaccine gives me the virus, that's one way out. I've got my DNR and living will in place.
So sign me up, because one way or another, I'm not going to make it to 2033 living like this.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I don't think you have to be an anti-vaxxer to question whether the corners being cut to develop the vaccine are a problem. Personally, I am one of the most pro-vaxx people I know, but I don't trust this process at all, so I probably won't take a vaccine that comes out this year. I might after a year or two, but not right away. The powers that be have already demonstrated with the tests that they can't be trusted to cut corners responsibly. A manufacturing problem with tests is one thing, but if they repeat that with the vaccine, they could end up infecting god knows how many people. It's happened before. The reason why we have a lot of these regulations are because of a disaster caused by a manufacturing problem with the first batch of polio vaccines.

Black people have more to worry about than most. We have a history of using them as guinea pigs, and we are still doing it. Even now, Oxford is testing these vaccines in Africa, making black people take the risk for us. Why not in a wealthy G7 country? Because we look at black people as exploitable. I think it's disgusting.

Oxford are testing world-wide, as I understand it -- they're certainly testing in the UK, and seeking volunteers.

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

Learn more about Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine. How does the Oxford coronavirus vaccine work? Volunteer in phase 1, 2, 3 trials of Oxford COVID vaccine. Get up-to-date news about the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in development at Oxford.

www.covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk

Since, if it's effective, the vaccine will deployed world-wide, I'd have thought it made sense to test it on as many different populations as possible.

Are you saying they shouldn't be testing in South Africa?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Trial of Covid-19 drug given via inhaler 'very promising', say scientists

Researchers say SNG001 can reduce need for ventilation and improve survival chances

www.theguardian.com

 

[Grandma Bates]

Oxford are testing world-wide, as I understand it -- they're certainly testing in the UK, and seeking volunteers.

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

Learn more about Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine. How does the Oxford coronavirus vaccine work? Volunteer in phase 1, 2, 3 trials of Oxford COVID vaccine. Get up-to-date news about the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in development at Oxford.

www.covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk

Since, if it's effective, the vaccine will deployed world-wide, I'd have thought it made sense to test it on as many different populations as possible.

Are you saying they shouldn't be testing in South Africa?

They absolutely should be testing with a diverse population. At the same time there is a historical record of taking advantage of people who have few options. Also, some recent European researchers have used some rather poorly chosen words to justify other trials in Africa as well as Brazil. The Oxford group seems to be doing better than others, especially in regard to their partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand. It is still important to recognize that this is a sensitive issue and should be handled with great care.

There is already a great deal of mistrust due to past attempts to take advantage of the lower status of some groups of people. To move forward to reduce the impact of the current public health crisis means that those previous injustices should be recognized. The broader public's concerns should be recognized if we expect people to take part in the efforts to mitigate the current health threats. This is a medical problem, but the cure is in large part a social practice.

 

[Noodles]

Franklin Veaux's answer to How can a disease with 1% mortality shut down the United States? - Quora

I check the numbers a lot when I get really into it online, and on average, every time I run the numbers, (Deaths/Cases)*100, it's closer to 4-5%.

There are outliers, and chances are the reported cases is low because not everyone gets tested, but it's still quite a bit higher than 1%.

Also related, a new comment I keep seeing is people pushing "The survival rate is high". Which is the opposite of mortality rate And seems intent on pushing the idea that "it's not that bad, you are 95-99% likely to survive."

 

[Free]

Also related, a new comment I keep seeing is people pushing "The survival rate is high". Which is the opposite of mortality rate And seems intent on pushing the idea that "it's not that bad, you are 95-99% likely to survive."

That's great. Meanwhile, they don't want to face the fact we're dealing with something other than a few days bout with the flu.

(I'm being sarcastic with the "That's great." Even 1 dead for every 100 infected is a tragedy.)

 

[Free]

We blew it: America's coronavirus bridge to nowhere

We were supposed to build a bridge to some semblance of normal, but we built a pier instead.

www.axios.com

America spent the spring building a bridge to August, spending trillions and shutting down major parts of society. The expanse was to be a bent coronavirus curve, and the other side some semblance of normal, where kids would go to school and their parents to work.

The bottom line: We blew it, building a pier instead.

So what did we fail on?

There will be books written about America's lost five months of 2020, but here's what we know:

• We blew testing
• We blew schools
• We blew economics
• We blew public health
• We blew goodwill

At least we didn't blow it on supply management, amirite?! Oh, right...

 

[Romana]

That's great. Meanwhile, they don't want to face the fact we're dealing with something other than a few days bout with the flu.

(I'm being sarcastic with the "That's great." Even 1 dead for every 100 infected is a tragedy.)

Or they just don't think it will happen to them. The way smokers don't believe they'll be the ones to get COPD (or cancer).
They can push the idea of how likely they think you are to survive all they like.
Who really wants to roll those dice? What's worth it?
Or maybe they just feel, like the Uber driver I spoke to, that God decides when it's your time (I didn't even try to unpack that one).

We blew it: America's coronavirus bridge to nowhere

We were supposed to build a bridge to some semblance of normal, but we built a pier instead.

www.axios.com

So what did we fail on?

At least we didn't blow it on supply management, amirite?! Oh, right...

I just love the way they say "we" when they mean Dump and his covfefe of crooks (aided and abetted by the Republican party)or the maskholes and COVIDiots.
America didn't build that pier, Axios, Republicans did.
I guess that bothers me because it ties in to the way the trumpkins like to say that they are the only real Americans.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Coronavirus: Oxford vaccine triggers immune response

Study shows the vaccine is safe, but it is still too soon to know if it can stop people from being infected.

www.bbc.co.uk

ETA

More on the vaccine here:

Oxford coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response, trial shows

Early results also indicate vaccine is safe, raising hopes it could help end pandemic

www.theguardian.com

The results published on Monday of a study involving more than 1,000 healthy volunteers – half of which had the vaccine while the other half were given a meningitis vaccine – in the Lancet medical journal are preliminary. The effect of the vaccine was measured by the amount of antibodies and T-cells it generates in the blood of the volunteers – not in any response to the virus itself.

Large-scale trials have begun in Brazil and South Africa, however, where infection rates are still high and it will be possible to assess whether vaccinated individuals are less likely to get Covid-19 than others.

 

[Soen Eber]

I check the numbers a lot when I get really into it online, and on average, every time I run the numbers, (Deaths/Cases)*100, it's closer to 4-5%.

There are outliers, and chances are the reported cases is low because not everyone gets tested, but it's still quite a bit higher than 1%.

Also related, a new comment I keep seeing is people pushing "The survival rate is high". Which is the opposite of mortality rate And seems intent on pushing the idea that "it's not that bad, you are 95-99% likely to survive."

They're also not factoring that for every death there are many, many more with heart & lung damage and that every patient has some persistant damage from blood clots.

 

[Beebo Brink]

They're also not factoring that for every death there are many, many more with heart & lung damage and that every patient has some persistant damage from blood clots.

The long-term health damages are turning out to be every bit as problematic as the fatalities.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

They absolutely should be testing with a diverse population. At the same time there is a historical record of taking advantage of people who have few options. Also, some recent European researchers have used some rather poorly chosen words to justify other trials in Africa as well as Brazil. The Oxford group seems to be doing better than others, especially in regard to their partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand. It is still important to recognize that this is a sensitive issue and should be handled with great care.

There is already a great deal of mistrust due to past attempts to take advantage of the lower status of some groups of people. To move forward to reduce the impact of the current public health crisis means that those previous injustices should be recognized. The broader public's concerns should be recognized if we expect people to take part in the efforts to mitigate the current health threats. This is a medical problem, but the cure is in large part a social practice.

I fully agree, but I didn't understand what Oxford are said to be doing wrong -- they're already running large trials in the UK (I tried to volunteer but they're not at this time accepting volunteers in my age group, at least not in my area) and have recently started large scale trials in South Africa and Brazil, under the auspices of the University of the Witwatersrand and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency respectively.

Everything is completely transparent, and I don't see what Bubblesort thinks they should be doing differently.

I do see, though, that persuading people to accept vaccinations may well be more of a problem in the US than elsewhere, and I hope the public health authorities are giving some thought to how best to persuade people to agree to be vaccinated -- perhaps when they see it's working for people in the rest of the world, they'll come round to the idea.

 

[Romana]

I fully agree, but I didn't understand what Oxford are said to be doing wrong -- they're already running large trials in the UK (I tried to volunteer but they're not at this time accepting volunteers in my age group, at least not in my area) and have recently started large scale trials in South Africa and Brazil, under the auspices of the University of the Witwatersrand and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency respectively.

Everything is completely transparent, and I don't see what Bubblesort thinks they should be doing differently.

I do see, though, that persuading people to accept vaccinations may well be more of a problem in the US than elsewhere, and I hope the public health authorities are giving some thought to how best to persuade people to agree to be vaccinated -- perhaps when they see it's working for people in the rest of the world, they'll come round to the idea.

Some won't come around until it impacts their family. Maybe not even then.
Remember, the anti-vaxxers are against vaccines that have been proven to work all over, including here. They cling to their fear even though the Wakefield study had been thoroughly discredited. And they've got their conspiracy theories built up around the COVID vaccine before it even exists.

 

[bubblesort]

Oxford are testing world-wide, as I understand it -- they're certainly testing in the UK, and seeking volunteers.

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

Learn more about Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine. How does the Oxford coronavirus vaccine work? Volunteer in phase 1, 2, 3 trials of Oxford COVID vaccine. Get up-to-date news about the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in development at Oxford.

www.covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk

Since, if it's effective, the vaccine will deployed world-wide, I'd have thought it made sense to test it on as many different populations as possible.

Are you saying they shouldn't be testing in South Africa?

Oh good! The way I received the reports about testing in South Africa, I got the impression that Oxford was only testing in South Africa. I think that's the way NPR reported it on the radio, at least (NPR reported this like it's a good thing, I saw it as exploitative). Looks like I was wrong about where the testing is happening.

To clear up any confusion... here is the place where Oxford lets you sign up for testing at variious locaitons in the UK, so they are definitely testing in the UK. The information on the Brazillian and South African tests can be found in their press releases. I can't find any information on truly world-wide testing. It looks like the testing is only happening in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.

I still don't trust this process enough to take their vaccine myself, but at least the process isn't as racist as I thought it was at first.

 

[bubblesort]

The long-term health damages are turning out to be every bit as problematic as the fatalities.

I agree. I can't find much on this, partly because corona is so new, but also because the oldest data we have comes from China. The CDC and WHO don't seem to want to talk about long term effects at all.

This Quora post seems to have the best information I've seen on long term effects. To summarize:

For every one person who dies:

• 19 more require hospitalization.
• 18 of those will have permanent heart damage for the rest of their lives.
• 10 will have permanent lung damage.
• 3 will have strokes.
• 2 will have neurological damage that leads to chronic weakness and loss of coordination.
• 2 will have neurological damage that leads to loss of cognitive function.

Problem is, the information this is based on is from February, and it relies on Chinese data. It's easy to poke holes in Chinese data from February, but you have to work with what you got. I asked a friend with medical training in Pittsburgh how good this information is, and she said they will always use older data on things like this, because of the nature of how long term effects are studied. The oldest data is Chinese, so it will be a long time before that's not being used in data sets for long term effects. So for now, this seems fairly reliable. She said new information is coming out all the time, it's just not in a form that people without medical training like me can read.