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

[drron]

A lot of evidence coming out that there is often a genetic reason in those developing severe covid or long covid.

The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals - Nature

Risk of severe COVID-19 is conferred by a genomic segment that is inherited from Neanderthals and is carried by around 50% and 16% of people in south Asia and Europe, respectively.

www.nature.com

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2020283

Leading to an interesting article by a retired palliative care physician from Townsville on the role of infections in evolution and history.

COVID-19: vaccination or natural selection. Pick one! - InSight+

Our choice in this pandemic is whether we will embrace the science of the past 200 years (including the rational calculation of risk) and accept the measured risks of vaccination, or regress to the uncertainties of evolution and take our chances with the unknown vulnerabilities that may be...

insightplus.mja.com.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Two Indian Delegates to the G7 Meeting in London have tested positive to CV19.

COVID scare at G7 meeting after Indian delegates test positive

The Group of Seven meeting in London was hit by a COVID-19 scare on Wednesday when India's foreign minister and his entire team said they were self-isolating after two delegation members tested positive.

www.reuters.com

 

[drron]

Things certainly bad in India.


And this is putting a big strain on their health system.
.



But it has boosted belief in vaccination.


And brought out the best in some.

India's Richest Man Retools Factories to Provide FREE Oxygen to 1 in 10 COVID Patients Across Country

Mukesh Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries and India's richest man, is helping get free oxygen to India's COVID-19 patients.

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 

[Beano]

And the Olympics are being held in Japan? Does that make sense?

 

[Lynda2475]

And the Olympics are being held in Japan? Does that make sense?

Nope, time to cancel them

 

[moa999]

An interesting article here.. will we ever be able to rely on foreign immunisations - either faked or questionable efficiacy

Fully vaccinated travellers test positive in Sydney hotel quarantine

This comes as the mystery of how an eastern suburbs couple caught a COVID-19 infection brought into hotel quarantine by a US traveller remains unsolved.

www.smh.com.au

 

[dajop]

An interesting article here.. will we ever be able to rely on foreign immunisations - either faked or questionable efficiacy

Fully vaccinated travellers test positive in Sydney hotel quarantine

This comes as the mystery of how an eastern suburbs couple caught a COVID-19 infection brought into hotel quarantine by a US traveller remains unsolved.

www.smh.com.au

Media clickbait. As mentioned half way through the article, it was always the case that vaccines would not necessarily prevent someone contracting the virus but would significantly reduce severity (to avoid hospitalisation and death).

There are multiple cases in the recent small clusters in Singapore where vaccinated people contracted and tested positive for Covid. No reason to doubt the veracity of vaccination claims or efficacy (if efficacy is about reducing symptoms).

 

[tgh]

Leads to .. continuing prevalence in partially vaccinated communities as carriers carry and deniers..deny….

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Media clickbait. As mentioned half way through the article, it was always the case that vaccines would not necessarily prevent someone contracting the virus but would significantly reduce severity (to avoid hospitalisation and death).

There are multiple cases in the recent small clusters in Singapore where vaccinated people contracted and tested positive for Covid. No reason to doubt the veracity of vaccination claims or efficacy (if efficacy is about reducing symptoms).

While I agree with that, I think that what we are all also very interested in is how much it prevents transmission from someone who has been vaccinated but contacts Covid19. So far I believes that the signs are good.

 

[Pushka]

Leads to .. continuing prevalence in partially vaccinated communities as carriers carry and deniers..deny….

And that was all known previously. Just need to get vaccinated to reduce severity and prevent deaths. Vaccinate the vulnerable. Socially distance. Keep up good hygiene. Covid isn’t going away. We have to learn to deal with it.

 

[drron]

The figures for Europe.


Makes the UK look good.

Another treatment can reduce severity.

Data from RECOVERY trial show tocilizumab improved survival and clinical outcomes in hospitalised COVID-19 patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation

Findings published in The Lancet from the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial showed that treatment with tocilizumab improved survival and other clinical outcomes in hospitalised coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation. These...

dgalerts.docguide.com

It is not just the obese who need to worry about weight.Now it is suggested that risk actually increases above a BMI of 23 especially in the young.

Study suggests linear increase in risk of severe COVID-19 at BMI of more than 23, especially in younger adults

A study of more than 20,000 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who were hospitalised or died during the first wave found that the risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19 start increasing in people with a body mass index (BMI) >23 kg/m2, which is considered to be in the healthy...

dgalerts.docguide.com

It has been found that there is a slight increase in heart failure diagnosis in those with Covid.Not surprising as there are a large number of viruses than can cause a cardiomyopathy.It can be so severe that a healthy 14 year old can need a heart transplant such as Australia's fourth transplant Fiona Coote.

Fiona Coote - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And new research can identify sites on the spike protein that might be targets for new treatments.

Dynamic View of Spike Protein Reveals Prime Targets for COVID-19 Treatments

This striking portrait features the spike protein that crowns SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This highly flexible protein has settled here into one of its many possible conformat…

directorsblog.nih.gov

 

[Pushka]

Are the waves, except for India, less intense each time?

 

[OZDUCK]

Sweden - whose approach to Covid appears to have been put your fingers in your ears and hum - has just ticked over 1,000,000 cases in a population of a little over 10,000,000. They have also had 14,173 deaths. Their next door neighbour Norway, who have been pretty active in fighting the epidemic, has had 117,000 cases and 767 deaths in a population of a tick over 5,000,000.

 

[33kft]

I wonder how well all of those Anders Tegnell tattoos will age

 

[drron]

Sweden - whose approach to Covid appears to have been put your fingers in your ears and hum - has just ticked over 1,000,000 cases in a population of a little over 10,000,000. They have also had 14,173 deaths. Their next door neighbour Norway, who have been pretty active in fighting the epidemic, has had 117,000 cases and 767 deaths in a population of a tick over 5,000,000.

Though all is not as it seems.There was a letter in the MJA about 6 weeks ago from 2 Australian intensivists who worked in Swedish ICUs throughout 2020.They reported that the Swedish public followed general principles of social distancing,mask wearing and hand washing as well as those in lockdown cities.The measurement of mobility in Stockholm supported this feeling being much the same as European cities that were locked down.

The probable reason the figures are so different between Norway and Denmark V Sweden is that the former countries firmly closed their borders to all outsiders very early on.Sweden though continued to let people from all EU countries plus the UK come in.
When you compare Sweden to countries that did lock down and allow the same countries free admission such as Belgium,Holland,Spain and Italy there figures are comparable.
Sweden had the highest number of cases per 1 million population but only Holland had a lower death rate per million population.

Coronavirus Update (Live): 131,307,090 Cases and 2,857,945 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

 

[OZDUCK]

Though all is not as it seems.There was a letter in the MJA about 6 weeks ago from 2 Australian intensivists who worked in Swedish ICUs throughout 2020.They reported that the Swedish public followed general principles of social distancing,mask wearing and hand washing as well as those in lockdown cities.The measurement of mobility in Stockholm supported this feeling being much the same as European cities that were locked down.

The probable reason the figures are so different between Norway and Denmark V Sweden is that the former countries firmly closed their borders to all outsiders very early on.Sweden though continued to let people from all EU countries plus the UK come in.
When you compare Sweden to countries that did lock down and allow the same countries free admission such as Belgium,Holland,Spain and Italy there figures are comparable.
Sweden had the highest number of cases per 1 million population but only Holland had a lower death rate per million population.

Coronavirus Update (Live): 131,307,090 Cases and 2,857,945 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

Yes, but -- there is also this letter in "The Lancet" of 1 May 2021 regarding the concerning spread of more infectious variants there and the authors view that the Govt. was taking insufficient steps to fight the rise in infections. It does appear that at least the vaccination rate there is now increasing pretty quickly.

The Swedish COVID-19 strategy revisited

In December, 2020, we wrote about the Swedish response to the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Our hope was that our Comment, together with hundreds of other fact-based articles, would gain the attention of the Swedish Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten [FHM]), that they would revisit and change the...

www.thelancet.com

 

[drron]

That letter does not change the opinions I have posted.Those doctors wanted to have the Government enforce social distancing but those in Sweden suggest they were doing as well as neighbouring countries in social distancing but on a voluntary basis by the Swedish public.
Again Finland was another country that completely closed their border early on.That is the difference between them and not only Sweden but most countries in Europe.

 

[drron]

Another treatment effective in reducing ICU admission and ventilation.

Meta-analysis suggests anakinra reduces need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality risk in hospitalised non-intubated patients with COVID-19

"Available evidence" showed that treatment with anakinra reduced the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality risk in hospitalised non-intubated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) without increasing the risk of adverse events, according to a meta-analysis published...

dgalerts.docguide.com

Another article on Neurological complications worsening outlook. This time encephalitis.

Meta-analysis suggests anakinra reduces need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality risk in hospitalised non-intubated patients with COVID-19

"Available evidence" showed that treatment with anakinra reduced the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality risk in hospitalised non-intubated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) without increasing the risk of adverse events, according to a meta-analysis published...

dgalerts.docguide.com

And QUT having their say on a different kind of ventilation.

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

 

[Lynda2475]

British scientists say dogs could soon play large role in sniffing out COVID-19

Sniffer dogs trained using smelly socks worn by people with COVID-19 could soon be used at airports and mass gatherings to pick up the "corona odour" of infected people, British scientists say.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drron]

And to a different discussion relevant to the pandemic - ethics.A couple more articles from Townsville.Firstly there are no guidelines for the triaging of patients for things such as ICU admission or ventilation.This is still not a theoretical discussion with covid as even in it's relative absence Australian hospitals and ICU units are stretched and these decicions are being made daily in Australia as a whole.

COVID-19: clinicians in jeopardy for undertaking triage - InSight+

Triage: The responsibility for preparing for and responding to calamity, including publicly managing difficult issues, rests with governments; it cannot be shifted to individual clinicians, write Will Cairns and Rachel Coghlan

insightplus.mja.com.au

I certainly have been placed in an unenviable position in the last 6 years.Fortunately everything went as well as could be expected and both patients who needed ventilation when I was the only consultant available and no junior support.Some might not be surprised to know that this was in SA and why I will never work there again.

For those that want to read more on the subject an article discussing the differences in approach between the USA and Europe and the second article discussing some Canadian approaches.

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Coronavirus triage protocols: Hard choices over ventilator shortages shouldn’t put doctors at legal risk

If COVID-19 causes a ventilator shortage in hospitals, triage protocols will dictate who gets life-saving treatment. Health-care workers need protection from liability for following those protocols.

theconversation.com