Coronavirus Updates

[Free]

Two cannabinoids have opposing effects on SARS-CoV-2 in culture

In early tests, CBD inhibits the virus, but THC blocks this effect.

arstechnica.com

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have tested a wide range of drugs to see if they inhibit the virus. Most of these tests didn't end up going anywhere; even the few drugs that did work typically required concentrations that would be impossible to achieve inside human cells. And a few (looking at you, ivermectin and chloroquine) took off with the public despite iffy evidence for effectiveness, seemingly causing nearly as many problems as they would have solved if they actually worked.

Nevertheless, two years on, word of yet another one of these drug experiments caused a bit of a stir, as the drug in question was a cannabinoid. Now, the full data has gone through peer review, and it looks better than you might expect. But the number of caveats is pretty staggering: the effect is small, it hasn't been tested in patients, the quality assurance of commercial cannabidiol (CBD) products is nearly nonexistent, and—probably most importantly—another cannabinoid blocks the effect entirely.

 

[Essence Lumin]

Two cannabinoids have opposing effects on SARS-CoV-2 in culture

In early tests, CBD inhibits the virus, but THC blocks this effect.

arstechnica.com

All the same, I better toke up to make sure.

 

[Romana]

Or ask your doctor for a prescription of this.
Helps with allergies, too. Win -win.

Azelastine inhibits viropexis of SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus by binding to SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor ACE2 - PubMed

A recent study have reported that pre-use of azelastine is associated with a decrease in COVID-19 positive test results among susceptible elderly people. Besides, it has been reported that antihistamine drugs could prevent viruses from entering cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Romana]

Thread :

Thread by @mehdirhasan on Thread Reader App

@mehdirhasan: The claim that as long as you don't die or get hospitalized from Covid then you're fine, it's just a flu, 'mild', etc, is one of the most pervasive, frustrating, & flat-false claims of this...…

threadreaderapp.com

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

I would tell those damnable idiot anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers, if I felt like starting an argument, that I still don't feel 100 percent like I did before. And that is with having had the first shot before I got infected.
Don't worry, while I don't feel 100 percent like I did before, I'd say it was around 90 percent.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Even long Covid is "mild" compared to some of the other states of survival (Cross-posted on another VVO covid thread.)

 

[Romana]

More about long term consequences

Science | AAAS

www.science.org

 

[Free]

Stock up!

 

[Beebo Brink]

Our first order was mis-delivered (or stolen off our porch). Guess it can't hurt to order again and see if this one actually reaches us.

 

[Free]

Well. I guess it's better than shrinkage in brain areas related to cognitive skills. I think we've had enough of that as it is.

Brain regions related to smell show decline following mild COVID-19 | University of Oxford

Researchers from the University of Oxford have used data from UK Biobank participants to look at changes to the brain on average 4.5 months after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection.

www.ox.ac.uk

The findings, published in Nature, reveal tissue damage and greater shrinkage in brain areas related to smell. This new insight into the damaging effects of COVID-19 will contribute to our overall understanding of how the disease spreads through the central nervous system. Whether these effects persist in the long term, or are partially reversed, requires further investigation.

Research has already shown that COVID-19 may cause brain-related abnormalities, but most studies have focused on hospitalized patients with severe disease, and have been limited to post-infection data. The effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the brain in milder (and more common) cases were unknown until now, and investigating these cases could reveal possible mechanisms that contribute to brain disease or damage.

 

[Erich Templar]

Just happened to read the very first post in this thread.

How it began:

Death toll up to 17 ...

Where we are now (from Worldometer):

Deaths: 6,059,507

 

[Free]

Just happened to read the very first post in this thread.

How it began:

A bit of that from the AP.

 

[Soen Eber]

And yet the effectiveness of Vitamin D remains ignored

 

[Beebo Brink]

And yet the effectiveness of Vitamin D remains ignored

Has it? I was already taking Vit D supplements when the pandemic began, but I can remember early on being aware that might help somewhat.

 

[Sid]

I'm an Vitamin D pills regular too, subscribed by my internist, to help me somewhat trough my almost yearly winter depressions. And I knew from early on that it might help against covid-19, just like Beebo.

I might have been one of the first in the Netherlands that had Covid 19, because in our region it all started just a few kilometers on the other side of the border in the Region Heinsberg in Germany, where I went shopping a few days before the major outbreak there was reported. And I had a mild cold a few days later.
But there was no test possibilities that early on in the game 2 years ago. I just stayed home and canceled my dentist appointment back then. Maybe D3 helped to keep it mild, who knows.
Never had any symptoms after that (I'm still careful, even when vaccinated and with a booster shot).

 

[Free]

 

[Isabeau]

Australia did really well. I’m a bit suspicious about China, because they’re usually reluctant to share info, but who knows, they were quite serious about it.

Estimated cumulative excess deaths per 100,000 people during COVID, from The Economist

For countries that have not reported all-cause mortality data for a given week, an estimate is shown, with uncertainty interval. If reported data is available, that value only is shown. On the map, only the central estimate is shown.

ourworldindata.org

 

[Chalice Yao]

Australia did really well. I’m a bit suspicious about China, because they’re usually reluctant to share info, but who knows, they were quite serious about it.

I mean, yeah, maybe they didn't get many literal *Covid* deaths from it...

Insane videos from China as starving residents revolt against 'Zero Covid' lockdown

Riots have broken out in Shanghai as starving residents begin to revolt against the Chinese Communist Party's draconian Zero Covid lockdown more than thr

www.newstalkzb.co.nz

 

[Beebo Brink]

My question is what justifies this level of government shutdown of even the most essential services? Are they overreacting or do they know something we don't? Such as a variant with a much higher lethality rate?

 

[Sid]

The current Covid strains act more like a common cold virus than anything else.
So I like the current Dutch approach: Keep monitoring the situation, but for now act as if covid is a common cold virus, so no real restrictions other than stay at home if you have symptoms.
This autumn there will be most likely a new round of vaccinations available for elder and vulnerable people with altered vaccines, they are ready for production but not yet cleared for use in the EU.