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

[flyingfan]

Reports that Russia has unveiled a possible vaccine.

That would be the West's worst nightmare - having to negotiate with Putin.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Apparently there is news floating around that Russia has approved a vaccine - first noted by @flyingfan on AFF forum.

 

[dajop]

Apparently there is news floating around that Russia has approved a vaccine - first noted by @flyingfan on AFF forum.

Nice bit of spin really by Putin. I assume it could always be unapproved if Phase 3 trials prove to be bad. From what I can read into the article, it is approved, but must first go to Phase 3 trials. So effectively approved for Phase 3 trials.

Putin says COVID-19 vaccine approved in Russia, even as final stage of clinical trials continues

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (Aug 11) that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move hailed by Moscow as evidence of its scientific prowess.The vaccine still has

www.channelnewsasia.com

Russia becomes first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, says Putin

Putin said the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, was safe and that it had even been administered to one of his daughters.MOSCOW (Aug 11): President Vladimir Putin (pictured) said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a...

www.theedgemarkets.com

 

[lovetravellingoz]

BREAKING: Russia's coronavirus vaccine has been registered
19:21
Russia has became the first country to officially register a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated.

Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. However, scientists at home and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush to start using the vaccine before Phase 3 trials — which normally last for months and involve thousands of people — could backfire.

Speaking at a government meeting Tuesday, Putin emphasized that the vaccine has undergone proper testing and proven safe to use.
"I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests," he said. "The most important thing is to ensure full safety of using the vaccine and its efficiency."

The Russian leader added that one of his two daughters has received two shots of the vaccine and is feeling well. "She has taken part in the experiment," Putin said.
Putin said that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on the day of the first vaccine injection, and then it dropped to just over 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) on the following day. After the second shot she again had a slight increase in temperature, but then it was all over.

 

[Pushka]

But does it stop people getting the virus?

 

[p--and--t]

BREAKING: Russia's coronavirus vaccine has been registered
19:21
Russia has became the first country to officially register a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated.

Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. However, scientists at home and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush to start using the vaccine before Phase 3 trials — which normally last for months and involve thousands of people — could backfire.

Speaking at a government meeting Tuesday, Putin emphasized that the vaccine has undergone proper testing and proven safe to use.
"I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests," he said. "The most important thing is to ensure full safety of using the vaccine and its efficiency."

The Russian leader added that one of his two daughters has received two shots of the vaccine and is feeling well. "She has taken part in the experiment," Putin said.
Putin said that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on the day of the first vaccine injection, and then it dropped to just over 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) on the following day. After the second shot she again had a slight increase in temperature, but then it was all over.

I guess it could be an option next time I'm feeling a bit chilly in Melbourne

 

[drron]

Well here is another problem we tend to forget.Drug abuse at least in the USA is on the rise including drug deaths.

One recent analysis of nationwide surveillance data, collected by the federal Overdose Detection Mapping and Application Program, found that suspected drug overdoses rose by 18 percent in March, 29 percent in April, and 42 percent in May compared to the same months in 2019 [2]. Another analysis of state and local mortality data showed that drug-related deaths have increased about 13 percent so far this year, compared to last year [3].

Addressing the Twin Challenges of Substance Use Disorders and COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a wide range of negative impacts on people affected by a variety of health conditions. Among the hardest hit are individuals struggling wi…

directorsblog.nih.gov

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Just on facemasks. Not from a rigorous scientific study, but interesting none the less.

In essence very light fabrics do not work well, and may actually increase the problem.

Coverings being worn as they do not restrict breathing, unsurprisingly do not work well as facemasks

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/mask-test-duke-covid/2020/08/10/4f2bb888-db18-11ea-b205-ff838e15a9a6_story.html

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well here is another problem we tend to forget.Drug abuse at least in the USA is on the rise including drug deaths.

I think it's great that these issues are getting the attention they need. It's just unfortunate that it takes Covid to bring it to the mainstream.

it's a pity there wasn't the same level of interest in suicide during the SSM debate: very few seemed to consider the impacts then. Or the issue of access to drug addition services in remote communities during non-covid times. And so on, for the multitude of issues faced by minority groups every day, every year, outside Covid.

 

[ethernet]

PReP
Imagine if a renowned Australian gastroenterologist invented an effective, cheap, readily available treatment for COVID-19 and his own country ignored him. That’s what has happened to Professor Thomas Borody, who is famous for inventing a cure for the bacterial infection which causes peptic ulcers, saving millions of lives around the world. This time Dr Borody, of Sydney’s Centre for Digestive Dis-eases, has found a promising treatment for COVID-19 using Ivermectin, a drug that has been used safely to treat parasitic infections for half a century. He combines it in a “triple therapy” with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to attack the virus from multiple angles

https://centrefordigestivediseases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/01315580133.pdf

The conspiracy theory deepens, that off-patent tablets are not wanted - to hell with the airlines. Dr Borody also mentioned the vaccine effectiveness is not looking good, as in lasting duration, with qualifications.

 

[Princess Fiona]

PReP
Imagine if a renowned Australian gastroenterologist invented an effective, cheap, readily available treatment for COVID-19 and his own country ignored him. That’s what has happened to Professor Thomas Borody, who is famous for inventing a cure for the bacterial infection which causes peptic ulcers, saving millions of lives around the world. This time Dr Borody, of Sydney’s Centre for Digestive Dis-eases, has found a promising treatment for COVID-19 using Ivermectin, a drug that has been used safely to treat parasitic infections for half a century. He combines it in a “triple therapy” with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to attack the virus from multiple angles

https://centrefordigestivediseases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/01315580133.pdf

The conspiracy theory deepens, that off-patent tablets are not wanted - to hell with the airlines. Dr Borody also mentioned the vaccine effectiveness is not looking good, as in lasting duration, with qualifications.

You have posted this on another thread. It was referenced days ago by another post. I’m looking for any clinical research on this, there is none that I can find.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Dr Petrovsky, Flinders University, was on ACA tonight. They have developed a vaccine which is about to go into testing. He says it is ready now and could be trialed in aged care homes. He reckons it's safe enough.

 

[LadyC]

One of the things that worries me is the unintended consequences of the lockdowns:
- cancer diagnosis down 30%;
- presentations at emergency for heart attack/stroke down;
- people too scared to seek medical treatment;
- calls to mental health services up significantly;
- domestic violence rates up significantly.

 

[drron]

PReP
Imagine if a renowned Australian gastroenterologist invented an effective, cheap, readily available treatment for COVID-19 and his own country ignored him. That’s what has happened to Professor Thomas Borody, who is famous for inventing a cure for the bacterial infection which causes peptic ulcers, saving millions of lives around the world. This time Dr Borody, of Sydney’s Centre for Digestive Dis-eases, has found a promising treatment for COVID-19 using Ivermectin, a drug that has been used safely to treat parasitic infections for half a century. He combines it in a “triple therapy” with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to attack the virus from multiple angles

https://centrefordigestivediseases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/01315580133.pdf

The conspiracy theory deepens, that off-patent tablets are not wanted - to hell with the airlines. Dr Borody also mentioned the vaccine effectiveness is not looking good, as in lasting duration, with qualifications.

As Princess Fiona has said that is not accepted therapy for Covid.

I also challenge Prof Borody's suggestion that he is famous for inventing a cure for the cure of peptic ulcer.That title goes to Prof Barry Marshall from Perth who first proved that peptic ulcers were caused by a bacteria and then developed a triple therapy for it's elimination.He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984.Thomas Borody did his work in 1987 which was developing a more effective triple therapy.

This article on Barry Marshall contains the transcript of an interview with Norman Swan.When Marshall first announced his theory that a bacteria caused peptic ulcers 90% of gastroenterologists didn't believe him.

 

[Pushka]

Dr Petrovsky, Flinders University, was on ACA tonight. They have developed a vaccine which is about to go into testing. He says it is ready now and could be trialed in aged care homes. He reckons it's safe enough.

They worked extensively on the SARS vaccine until it went pfft.

Our EA has had a series of colds and likely flu since Covid hit back in March. I reckon she was one of the first to be tested. Seens like she is always sick. Shes likely run out of sick leave many times over but we arent counting. Covid world and all that. Anyways we are off to Qld from Adl on Monday. Of course she came in to the office last Friday then texted us Sunday to say how she had been sick all weekend. Sigh. So on Monday she went to the Drs. Again. Antibiotics and another Covid test. That came back negative last night. So now she said shes coming in to the office today. We said - NO WAY! If she gives us a cold and we try to get into Qld we wont have had time to get a covid test and even if it was negative Im betting we still wouldnt be allowed in.

 

[ethernet]

Why is a drug coughtail NOT an accepted therapy for Covid? Besides lawyers hanging around looking for wrongful death speculative lawsuits?

I understand resistance, compliance, and minor but tolerated side effects, and potential of long term taking something. Then the cost: 24? million prescriptions, repeated every 2-4 weeks, except for those who may have prior indications it is not for them. The cost of this coughtail is chump change relative to say jobkeeper and cwth interventions. If it saves lives in what I will call the 'gap period' in high risk areas, I say go for it. The oldies in nursing homes don't want to be told they are dying for the sake of a vaccine that will clear the world out after they are dead.

Potential for resistance: If one takes a drug, covid might mutate and annul one or more vaccine candidates.
My understanding is its going to take 2-3 years to inoculate everyone, so there is plenty of risk for the deplorables and housing estate trash to generate a new mutation. And plenty of reason to have a plan B. Plan C is lockdown.

Drug Trials and all, would be nice, but many strongly suspect timing is critical, before covid gets advanced sufficiently - leading to wild results. At least some parts of India are not worried by lawyers. And mixed in there, is Switzerland doing something different. Yes, I am aware there is an approval process, but a thing called Operations Research used to derive optimum outcomes.

If the minister is well advised, then he could, but won't say the dollar amount on the economic casualties for voters to peruse.

 

[teammongo]

Why is a drug coughtail NOT an accepted therapy for Covid? Besides lawyers hanging around looking for wrongful death speculative lawsuits?

Because there is very little evidence for it. Promoting ineffectual or unproven treatment has consequences. There is more than monetary costs. Look at the US which now has stockpiled 63 million doses of HCQ without a solid indication, whilst we had a shortage here in Oz. So please don't tell me there is no downside.

The science behind invermectin is a very interesting read. A preprint article on Apr 14, claiming from a database from 169 hospitals in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America and 1,900 Covid-19 patients. The first study reported the outcomes of 52 patients who had received ivermectin. At the time, ivermectin was not being widely discussed as a potential Covid-19 treatment. Yet the study said patients around the world had already been receiving it. The study also included data from three patients in Africa who, as of 1 March, were on mechanical ventilation and receiving ivermectin. But there were two patients in the entire continent alone at that time, let alone people on ventilators.
On 2 May, two weeks after the study appeared online, a doctor in Peru wrote a white paper for the government about the use of ivermectin to treat Covid-19, heavily citing the preprint Surgisphere study as evidence. Peru reported its first Covid-19 case on 6 March, but by the beginning of May it was in a state of emergency, having recorded 42,000 cases and about 1,200 deaths. Less than a week after the white paper was published, the Peruvian government included ivermectin in its national Covid-19 therapeutic guidelines.
In May, the same 2 authors, vascular surgeon Dr Mandeep Mehra and Surgisphere founder and chief executive, Dr Sapan Desai published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which was eventually withdrawn on the 4th of June. The same authors published another article in the lancet on the 22May, which was also subsequently discredited and retracted on June the 5th.

In April researchers from Monash University released the findings from an in vitro (lab based) invermectin trial. Those researchers found if you incubate some cells with both the virus and the drug, you could reduce the replication of the virus 5,000-fold and it disappears 48 hours after incubation.

But there was a catch that was not widely reported. To treat river blindness (secondary to a parasitic worm), people are generally prescribed a 3mg tablet for every kilo of bodyweight. The Monash study found that to have any hope of achieving the same result they had found in a test tube, individuals would need to consume up to 1kg of the drug at once, which just might cause problems.

Look, I understand your frustration, we all want a solution to this problem. I deal with well intentioned serious complications everyday. Just because you can't see the risk, it doesn't mean it's not there.

TM

 

[Flashback]

Isn't it odd that the first I've heard about this, is through an Australian IT news site?

England launches revamped contact tracing app

Doubles as a QR scanner for venue check-ins.

www.itnews.com.au

 

[Flashback]

So many things don't add up in this article.

WA premier seeks ‘urgent’ advice on expat Aussies living in Bali | The New Daily

%%excerpt%% Thousands of ex-pat Aussies living in Bali face hefty quarantine bills back home after Indonesia's immigration authority ruled it will not automatically extend expired visas or stay permits beyond Thursday.

thenewdaily.com.au

He doesn't want to pay a monthly extension, or quarantine costs in Australia but will pay for a flight to Europe plus whatever associated accommodation costs he will have which will surely be more?

The headline is of course misleading, that's only the cost if you don't pay the monthly extension. I bet it's probably less than the daily fine!

But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.......

 

[JohnM]

WA ABC TV news tonight actually led with this (non) story about Bali not extending visas unless at a cost. People can't get out anyway because there are apparently no flights. A pointless story with the usual whingers roped in.

Another few minutes of my life I'll never get back.