General Discussion/Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Our beloved folk in the LOTF just make me want to bang my head on the computer. On a Cruise ship forum, for a trip from Hong Kong through Bali through to Sydney later this year. With comments like "well, I will have had two shots of the vaccine by June so of course I will be allowed on this cruise to Australia". I have given up explaining realities to them. Let them hand over their thousands of dollars of fares.

Well it is possible. A cruise might be considered clean if HK's 21 day quarantine does its job and there are no passenger pick up in Bali, and they are at sea for more than 14 days with no new cases arising.

Who knows? There might be enough celebrities on board to get a specific exemption for the cruise.

 

[Pushka]

Well it is possible. A cruise might be considered clean if HK's 21 day quarantine does its job and there are no passenger pick up in Bali, and they are at sea for more than 14 days with no new cases arising.

Who knows? There might be enough celebrities on board to get a specific exemption for the cruise.

Well, that is funny but also sadly, true! These folk were flying direct to HK from the States. I cant imagine HK opening their arms without quarantining them - which they wont think to check on and then we will hear about imprisoned Americans being outraged (just change that from tennis players to tourists)

 

[Hvr]

Who knows? There might be enough celebrities on board to get a specific exemption for the cruise.

If they're the class(less) celebrities who might screech 'I'm a celebrity, get me out of here', you're not getting an exemption.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

If they're the class(less) celebrities who might screech 'I'm a celebrity, get me out of here', you're not getting an exemption.

Let’s be fair and not tar everyone on that show as classless.......

 

[drron]

Bit late to the party on this, but is it possible that it is the impact of other drugs combining with statins to cause higher mortality in the case of patients with diabetes rather than the impact of statins alone?

The study dioes make allowances for other drugs being used.I have previously posted a study where those diabetics on Insulin have a more severe course.
I was also just about to post another link.Diabetics taking Metformin have less severe disease.

Study suggests metformin use associated with reduced mortality in patients with COVID-19 and diabetes

While diabetes is an independent risk factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality, this risk is reported to be “dramatically reduced” in patients taking metformin prior to diagnosis of COVID-19, raising the possibility that metformin may provide a protective approach in this...

dgalerts.docguide.com

Now the use of statins has been shown to increase the risk of developing diabetes though even if you do you still live longer with less heart disease if you continue the statin.It is complex.

 

[Flashback]

I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Lockdown measures tightened in response to concerns about new variants of virus

Please note: this news item was published on 20 January. Read more about the current approach to tackling coronavirus in the Netherlands. The government is gravely concerned about the UK variant of coronavirus, which is even more infectious than the virus we are familiar with in the...

www.government.nl

KLM has cancelled all of their long haul flights in reaction to that, wonder how long before short haul goes bye bye too. Interesting times.

 

[Flashback]

Presser in the UK today. R number is below 1 again (0.8-1), but this new strain is more lethal. The strain from SA and Brazil are still a bit of an unknown and there's concern the vaccine won't be effective against them. The UK strain is OK though, so if you're going to catch it, grab that one.

 

[drron]

There is as yet no real evidence that the UK strain is more lethal.The published work suggests it is not more lethal but the UK Chief Scientific officer has said it MAY be 30% more lethal but more evidence is needed.
In the same speech he is now saying that it is 30-70% more infective.That lower number has been slowly dropping.

 

[Pushka]

There is as yet no real evidence that the UK strain is more lethal.The published work suggests it is not more lethal but the UK Chief Scientific officer has said it MAY be 30% more lethal but more evidence is needed.
In the same speech he is now saying that it is 30-70% more infective.That lower number has been slowly dropping.

Given that hospitals in UK are completely stretched it must be difficult to flesh out all the factors at play with the new strain.

 

[drron]

May be you should be wary of corneal transplants if living in an area of high prevalence of covid.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

A close look at how covid may affect the brain.

Taking a Closer Look at COVID-19’s Effects on the Brain

While primarily a respiratory disease, COVID-19 can also lead to neurological problems. The first of these symptoms might be the loss of smell and taste, while some people also may later battle hea…

directorsblog.nih.gov

An a study of long Covid.

Trying to Make Sense of Long COVID Syndrome

More than 400,000 Americans have now lost their lives to COVID-19. But thousands of others who’ve gotten sick and survived COVID-19 are finding that a full recovery can be surprisingly elusive. Wee…

directorsblog.nih.gov

However some obvious problems with this study as several patients had no evidence of having Covid.
It sounds a lot like some other at time common complaints such as post viral,chronic fatique and Myalgic encephalitis syndromes.
At one stage of my career I was adopted by the ME society of QLD and so got many referrals of people with this diagnosis.The problem was I was able to diagnose other known disease in the patients in nearly 10% -B12 deficiency,Coeliac disease and even haemochromatosis.

 

[tgh]

Covid , under almost zero evolutionary and survival pressure..has already adapted with alarming ( add your adjective) alacrity.
The Brazil strain escapes the vaccine @one shot… what next ???
We are in for a challenging time ; I am super pleased to be living in Au but devastated at the looming reality of 0 oversea travel before I.. er .. anyway.........

 

[drron]

tgh you need to change the media you are getting info from.There is absolutely no definite evidence that the mutations will make the vaccines ineffective despite som news reports.In fact the Pfizer and Moderna companies believe their vaccines are effective against the UK and SA mutations.The brazil one hasn't been around as long but should not be different.

What steps are the government taking against the Brazil Covid variant? | ITV News

The new Covid variant was detected in Japan in travellers arriving from Brazil. Experts discovered it shares a mutation with the UK and South African variants. | ITV National News

www.itv.com

BioNTech says Covid vaccine is effective against key new strains; to publish more data in days

Public health experts have expressed concern the new mutant strains could pose a threat to inoculation efforts.

www.cnbc.com

 

[tgh]

​

Stéphane Bancel, the C.E.O. of Moderna, a maker of one of the covid-19 vaccines, said last week,

“We are going to live with this virus, we think, forever.”

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SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 escapes neutralization by South African COVID-19 donor plasma​

View ORCID ProfileConstantinos Kurt Wibmer, Frances Ayres, Tandile Hermanus, Mashudu Madzivhandila, Prudence Kgagudi, Bronwen E. Lambson, Marion Vermeulen, Karin van den Berg, View ORCID ProfileTheresa Rossouw, Michael Boswell, View ORCID ProfileVeronica Ueckermann, View ORCID ProfileSusan Meiring, View ORCID ProfileAnne von Gottberg, View ORCID ProfileCheryl Cohen, Lynn Morris, View ORCID ProfileJinal N. Bhiman, View ORCID ProfilePenny L. Moore
doi: SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 escapes neutralization by South African COVID-19 donor plasma
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?].

• Abstract
• Full Text
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Abstract​

SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2, a novel lineage of the coronavirus causing COVID-19, contains multiple mutations within two immunodominant domains of the spike protein. Here we show that this lineage exhibits complete escape from three classes of therapeutically relevant monoclonal antibodies. Furthermore 501Y.V2 shows substantial or complete escape from neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 convalescent plasma. These data highlight the prospect of reinfection with antigenically distinct variants and may foreshadow reduced efficacy of current spike-based vaccines.

Competing Interest Statement​

The authors have declared no competing interest.

 

[tgh]

In this little Cameo , we have a failure of applied intelligence and party time for any unattached virii….
#2 son took swmbo to the Ballet at Qpac on Friday, it was full…No Covid in Qld so 100% occupancy
At Interval there was chaotic crowding,the foyer area was packed tight as folks jostled and bumped in pursuit of a drink or a snack.
After the show there was a voice over thanking everyone for coming and reminding them to practice social distancing as they departed .
Loud laughter throughout the theatre….

 

[tgh]

Some more anecdotal evidence of rapidly evolving viral fence hopping...

Could a homegrown coronavirus strain be partly to blame for California's surge?

California scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain that appears to be propagating faster than any other variant in the Golden State.

www.latimes.com

 

[Pushka]

Some more anecdotal evidence of rapidly evolving viral fence hopping...

Could a homegrown coronavirus strain be partly to blame for California's surge?

California scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain that appears to be propagating faster than any other variant in the Golden State.

www.latimes.com

I think maybe just take a deep breath and wait to see what unfolds. It isn’t good for you to keep looking for holes and gaps in what is being done. The media is not there to take care of you and is mostly sensationalized.

 

[OZDUCK]

An interesting interview with Dr Anthony Fauci about his problems the last year or so. He doesn't take an actual whack at Trump but just details what his experiences were in dealing with him. He was not quite so reserved about some of the other 'hangers-on'..

Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like (Published 2021)

From denialism to death threats, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci describes a fraught year as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump on the Covid-19 pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

 

[VPS]

I've just been out to the library and the shops in Adelaide. Everything is just getting a bit slacker. No one checking at the front of the supermarkets and I saw people go into each of the three places I went into without scanning in. In Coles I did mention to the couple that they needed to check in but don't think they did

 

[Must...Fly!]

​

Stéphane Bancel, the C.E.O. of Moderna, a maker of one of the covid-19 vaccines, said last week,

“We are going to live with this virus, we think, forever.”

​

​

Not sure when we started believing heads of pharmaceutical companies.

 

[Pushka]

I've just been out to the library and the shops in Adelaide. Everything is just getting a bit slacker. No one checking at the front of the supermarkets and I saw people go into each of the three places I went into without scanning in. In Coles I did mention to the couple that they needed to check in but don't think they did

Agree. Younger people that I've seen have been great. Older ones, especially the men, just walk straight in. We will be sternly lectured to soon. Mind you, I had to do this a dozen times today within about 30 minutes in West Lakes today. It does get a bit much having to keep dragging out the mobile.