Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[Bambooza]

- Australia: CCTV footage of two people walking past each other in a mall indicates it was their only contact in transmitting COVID-19 from one to the other - Described as "scarily fleeting" it suggests the exposure time to pass the Delta Variant virus indoors with no restrictions (distancing, masks etc) is as little as 5 to 10 seconds. Queensland chief medical officer said: “At the start of this pandemic, I spoke about 15 minutes of close contact being a concern. Now it looks like it’s five to 10 seconds that’s a concern. The risk is so much higher now than it was only a year ago.” Alpha variant was somewhere between 43% and 90% more infectious than the original version and Delta is 60% more infectious than that.

Do you have the source for this? I found this Guardian article which talks about the scarily fleeting encounters with a link that doesn't talk about the situation. The only other source I saw talks about them not touching each other but doesn't mention if they check on if these individuals touched the same surface like door handles just that they walked near each other. Nor does it talk about all the others the infected person walked near being infected.

Covid Delta variant is ‘in the air you breathe’: what you need to know about Sydney outbreak strain

Delta strain is significantly more infectious but it spreads the same way as the original virus – including by ‘fleeting’ encounters and respiratory aerosols

www.theguardian.com

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Do you have the source for this? I found this Guardian article which talks about the scarily fleeting encounters with a link that doesn't talk about the situation. The only other source I saw talks about them not touching each other but doesn't mention if they check on if these individuals touched the same surface like door handles just that they walked near each other. Nor does it talk about all the others the infected person walked near being infected.

Covid Delta variant is ‘in the air you breathe’: what you need to know about Sydney outbreak strain

Delta strain is significantly more infectious but it spreads the same way as the original virus – including by ‘fleeting’ encounters and respiratory aerosols

www.theguardian.com

Yep, was the guardian - Google reveals other news articles from Australia but nothing more in depth that I could see but it might be out there.

As it appears to have been a shopping mall the chances are they have near 100% CCTV coverage from the car park to which shops they visited, which doors were automatic and thus contactless, and could say that passing was the only point they came within 2 meters of each other and/or interacted with the same objects...

That's an assumption though, it would make a very compelling study for researchers!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Hi @Bambooza a news article from the BBC this morning may be of interest for you:

Covid: Masks upgrade cuts infection risk, research finds

Wearing a high grade FFP3 mask can almost entirely protect health workers from Covid, research finds.

www.bbc.co.uk

"The only thing left to try that could make a difference was FFP3 respirators, and they did,"

but:

"Clearly, it's a relatively small study in one trust and so we need to see these findings replicated elsewhere.
"But given the difference in the results that we've seen, as a sort of precautionary principle effect, what we should be thinking about is changing to use FFP3 masks for anyone caring for a patient with coronavirus."

 

[Bambooza]

Hi @Bambooza a news article from the BBC this morning may be of interest for you:

Covid: Masks upgrade cuts infection risk, research finds

Wearing a high grade FFP3 mask can almost entirely protect health workers from Covid, research finds.

www.bbc.co.uk

"The only thing left to try that could make a difference was FFP3 respirators, and they did,"

but:

"Clearly, it's a relatively small study in one trust and so we need to see these findings replicated elsewhere.
"But given the difference in the results that we've seen, as a sort of precautionary principle effect, what we should be thinking about is changing to use FFP3 masks for anyone caring for a patient with coronavirus."

indeed in a hospital setting where washing hands often is compulsive I would imagine airborne would be the only way that hospital staff would be infected outside of infection outside the hospital. Which is useful in comparison of red and green teams. I do wish they would have included a link to the study as I can’t seem to find it on google at the moment. Would like to see the numbers.

I would like to add that if this study is sound then it really goes to show how inadequate the face covering so far use and recommended really are and asks the question is it’s purpose to only make people feel safe with out being?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

indeed in a hospital setting where washing hands often is compulsive I would imagine airborne would be the only way that hospital staff would be infected outside of infection outside the hospital. Which is useful in comparison of red and green teams. I do wish they would have included a link to the study as I can’t seem to find it on google at the moment. Would like to see the numbers.

I would like to add that if this study is sound then it really goes to show how inadequate the face covering so far use and recommended really are and asks the question is it’s purpose to only make people feel safe with out being?

As that was on protection for an individual rather than protecting others from an individual, I think again it's to stifle excelled viral particles that others can receive rather than what is being received. Although home made two later cotton masks are way less effective than any other type of purpose built masks, they will still reduce the viral load that makes it past that barrier even if it's an poorly fitting one, and it has been seen that the higher the viral load a person gets in the initial infection the higher the risk of hospitalisation.

Or at least I think that's it. Sounds right

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Tuesday 29th of June:

- World: 181,533,728 confirmed cases and 3,932,077 confirmed deaths.

- World: 3 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally.

- UK: England, and more than 375,000 children off school for COVID related reasons - up 130,000 on last week.

- UK: Top UK pandemic scientist Chris Whitty accosted in a park by two assholes. Police advised: "We are aware of a video being shared online showing an incident in St James's Park. Officers spoke to all those involved at the time and their details were taken."

- UK: Man says he "stared death in the eyes" after developing severe infection following declining the vaccine: "I was a bit reluctant and just thought I'll hold my horses and maybe get it later. I never really believed I would get Covid or it would make me so ill. I know differently now," Hospital official indicates the majority of severe cases they see now are people who have been offered but not taken a vaccination.

- UK: Following on from revelations the previous Health Secretary had used private email accounts to conduct government business, another Health Minister who was in charge of awarding contracts to private companies revealed to have also used private personal email accounts rather than their official government account.

- UK: Announces business leaders will not need to self isolate if their trip to the country if of economic benefit. Critics raise eyebrows but do not seem to be surprised.

- UK: Scotland, and First Minister advises there is a suspicion travel to see Euro 2020 sportsball matches is behind the spike in recent COVID cases.

- US: United airline bets big on a travel boom post COVID, with an order of 270 new aircraft.

- US: New book suggests former president Trump held the COVID taskforce in distain, call it "that fucking council that Mike has".

- EU: European Medicines Agency recommends antibody treatments by GSK, Celltrion, Eli Lilly and Regeneron for use in early stage patients who are at risk of developing severe infection. This is in addition to Gilead’s remdesivir.

- Australia: Scientist says "Australia vaccine rollout is a stunning failure" and it has "squandered the head start" it had, with an uneven focus on isolationism favoured by the public risking the country being left behind as other countries vaccinate their populations and start to reopen to international trade.

- Brazil: Expert says the country could have avoided 400,000 deaths if the pandemic had been handled properly there.

- Poland: Considers making vaccination mandatory in certain high risk and regular exposure situations due to hesitancy: “Unfortunately we have the impression that we have reached a certain ceiling - it is hard to convince those who are unconvinced because all the arguments and other types of actions have already been taken,”

- India: Approves emergency use of Moderna vaccine in effort to increase vaccination rate. “Our efforts to invite and to have other internationally developed vaccines, specifically Pfizer and J&J, also continue.”

- France: Delta variant accounts for 20% of new cases.

- Bangladesh: Sees record high new daily deaths.

 

[Bambooza]

As that was on protection for an individual rather than protecting others from an individual, I think again it's to stifle excelled viral particles that others can receive rather than what is being received. Although home made two later cotton masks are way less effective than any other type of purpose built masks, they will still reduce the viral load that makes it past that barrier even if it's an poorly fitting one, and it has been seen that the higher the viral load a person gets in the initial infection the higher the risk of hospitalisation.

Or at least I think that's it. Sounds right

That's the thing. In a hospital, mask-wearing was required of everyone even in the rooms, and what my ICU friend tells me the only time they did not have patients wearing masks was when they were ventilated or eating. Most hospitals have been either built around or retrofitted around air handling and that air return is pulled from each room instead of expelled into a common area with higher than normal air turnover rates.

So it raises at least in my mind the following questions.

How much above the green was red prior to changing the mask type?
Is green higher than the general public or on par with the general public for the area?
What are the numbers?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

That's the thing. In a hospital, mask-wearing was required of everyone even in the rooms, and what my ICU friend tells me the only time they did not have patients wearing masks was when they were ventilated or eating. Most hospitals have been either built around or retrofitted around air handling and that air return is pulled from each room instead of expelled into a common area with higher than normal air turnover rates.

So it raises at least in my mind the following questions.

How much above the green was red prior to changing the mask type?
Is green higher than the general public or on par with the general public for the area?
What are the numbers?

There you have me, I do not know, I know only that you are thirsty and that I saw something which may appeal...

A story of The Fisher King, because my above sentence reminded me of it:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBrOOnb7K-w

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Wednesday 30th of June:

- World: 181,926,290 confirmed cases and 3,940,211 confirmed deaths.

- North Korea: Announces a "Grave incident" involving COVID, with several officials criticised as a result of a 'huge crisis'. Exact details as to what has happened are unclear however.

- Australia: Half of the country now in lockdown following Delta surge.

- Russia: Sees record high new daily deaths at 652.

- Thailand: Sees record high new daily deaths at 53.

- Indonesia: Head of Paediatric Society warns infant deaths have risen in contrast to previous COVID variants as Delta becomes dominant.

- Brazil: Suspends $324 million vaccine contract following discovery of oddities in cost prices.

- US: Los Angeles recommends indoor masks regardless of if someone has been vaccinated or not.

- UK: Sees daily cases climb to 26k, the highest since January and up 69% on last week. Hospitalisations and deaths continue to lag behind the number of infections however: "As we have said all along, we know cases will rise, sadly we know that will lead to an increase in hospitalisations and whilst the increase has not been as significant as in the past, we have seen numbers increase."

- UK: Life expectancy in more impoverished parts of England tumbled in the pandemic as certain areas suffered 25% more deaths than others.

- UK: Scotland attributes 2000 cases to spectators watching football matches.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Wednesday 1st of July:

- World: 182,362,874 confirmed cases and 3,949,480 confirmed deaths.

- World: Scientists warn thousands more people around the world are contracting fungal infections after or during suffering COVID-19 “Essentially, the more damage there is in the lung from a virus, the more likely you are to get a fungal infection, and the problem with fungal infections is that they’re much more lethal than bacterial infections. They’re difficult to treat, difficult to diagnose and cause a lot more mortality.”

- Israel: Sees highest new daily infections for 3 months, no rise in new deaths as yet but plans are drawn up to combat Delta variant getting an upper hand.

- UK: The pair of assholes who harassed the UK's leading virologist in a London park issue public apology. They had just attended an anti-vax protest, one reveals he has lost his job as an Estate Agent (Realtor?) over the matter, and the other indicated he was autistic and ADHD said "We just wanted a selfie. Sometimes things seem a good idea and really they're not."

- UK: A Sports Bar is the centre of a COVID outbreak in Tamworth following crowds watching Euro 2020 football matches. An official said: "The outbreak in Tamworth is mainly among the 18-34 age group, who are likely to go out and drink especially when there is an England game on. With the majority of cases being the Delta Variant, having lots of people mixing would give a good opportunity for the virus to spread."

- UK: Tayside, and a hospital sees patents almost double overnight from 36 to 60.

- UK: Scotland, and sees record high new daily cases at 4,234.

- EU: Seven EU counties accept and approve Indias licenced version of AZ vaccine called Covishield should allow people with that vaccine to travel.

- Germany: Committee recommends a shot of Pfizer or Moderna after a dose of AstraZeneca for improved protection advising studies show it to be a “clearly superior” result.

- Africa: Vaccine procurement for African Union official says: “not one dose, not one vial, left a European factory for Africa”

- EU: COVAX group calls for equality for people inoculated with all WHO approved vaccines after EU approves only 4 vaccines for travel passes.

- Kazakhstan: Orders mandatory vaccines for a wide range of jobs involving public facing roles.

- Romania: Asks AZ to extend 43,000 doses the country which expired yesterday as it was not able to administer them due to hesitancy public.

- Isle Of Man: Ferry services to Liverpool England resume with 600 booked to ride on first day back in operation.

 

[Aramsolari]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Wednesday 1st of July:
- UK: The pair of assholes who harassed the UK's leading virologist in a London park issue public apology. They had just attended an anti-vax protest, one reveals he has lost his job as an Estate Agent (Realtor?) over the matter, and the other indicated he was autistic and ADHD said "We just wanted a selfie. Sometimes things seem a good idea and really they're not."

Classy.

The "I'm not an asshole, I'm autustic!" defense really rubs me the wrong way. It's really unfair to millions of people who have these conditions and well....aren't assholes.

 

[Montoya]

I was thinking this is the tail end of all of it, but the Delta variant numbers seem to be a problem...

 

[Aramsolari]

I was thinking this is the tail end of all of it, but the Delta variant numbers seem to be a problem...

Fingers crossed the vaccines we currently have continue to work against them. One of my partner's colleagues caught Covid, possibly of the Delta variety. She's had both her jabs and seems to be making a pretty good recovery. The theory is that you can still contract the virus even if you're fully vaccinated....your symptoms just wont be as severe. You're also less likely to spread it to others.

Also...pretty much all the patients at my partner's Covid ICU ward are unvaccinated. A number of them are also staunch anti-vaxxers. So yeah...there's that.

 

[Vavrik]

Also...pretty much all the patients at my partner's Covid ICU ward are unvaccinated. A number of them are also staunch anti-vaxxers. So yeah...there's that.

How much of that is there in the area?

 

[Aramsolari]

How much of that is there in the area?

anti vaxxers? Quite a few actually lol.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Classy.

The "I'm not an asshole, I'm autustic!" defense really rubs me the wrong way. It's really unfair to millions of people who have these conditions and well....aren't assholes.

The reporter doesn't appear to have asked the gentleman if he blames his condition on the MMR vaccine which was falsely blamed for causing autism in children in the late 90's, but the odds are on that's why he was at the antivax protest given his later conduct.

"Sometimes things seem a good idea and really they're not." is a good realisation for anyone to make, I hope they apply that to further life choices, like visiting antivax protests.

On defence of their highlighting their conditions, as a dyslexic who went through the education system of the UK I was personally taught that whenever I displayed 'nonstandard' thinking or my mind didn't function in ways which were regarded as 'common sense' (as if that even exists) the first thing I should do is highlight that condition as the first thing people should be aware of - Over the course of decades of experience I have discovered the following the education system may need to be aware of: everyone thinks in nonstandard ways because the standards are an artificial arbitrary set of values made by a limited number of people who think in one certain similar but not same way and then insist the whole world do the same.

View: https://youtu.be/hMX7bPGRw_E

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Friday 2nd of July:

- World: 182,763,721 confirmed cases and 3,957,898 confirmed deaths.

- World: WHO tweets: "Compounded by more transmissible variants, like Delta, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries, we are in a very dangerous period of this #COVID19 pandemic."

- Varients: WHO announces it is tracking Lambada variant as a “variant of interest at a global level”. It's official designation is C.37 and was first seen in Peru in August 2020.

- India: Passes 400,000 confirmed deaths.

- Asia: Concerns are raised as cases grow in the face of the Delta variant.

- Africa: WHO states Delta Variant behind surge across the continent and estimates the demand for oxygen currently 50% higher than the areas first peak. “The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we’ve seen before,”

- UK: The asshole who lost his Estate Agent job after harassing UK's leading pandemic expert with another man formally charged with common assault by the police.

- UK: Deliveries of Haribo effected as German confectioner struggles to find enough delivery drivers due to pandemic.

- UK: Cases climb 74% in last week, with 27k+ confirmed cases in the last day.

- Russia: Sees 4th day of record high new deaths, however officials state there are no new Lockdown plans saying they were not up for debate.

- Thailand: Sees 3rd day of record high new deaths.

- Indonesia: Sees record high new daily cases and deaths.

- Cambodia: Sees record high new daily deaths.

- France: Delta Variants grip now accounts for 33% of new cases.

- Vatican: Calls for all-out effort to counter vaccine misinformation to battle hesitancy.

- US: recovery continues as 850,000 jobs created in June.

 

[Montoya]

anti vaxxers? Quite a few actually lol.

My wifes brother and sister inlaw go to a church that tells them the vaccine was tested on embryos, so nobody in the entire church got vaccinated.

 

[Vavrik]

My wifes brother and sister inlaw go to a church that tells them the vaccine was tested on embryos, so nobody in the entire church got vaccinated.

In point of fact... they did test the vaccine on embryos, except it was mouse embryos. Nothing in the Bible forbids that, not even remotely.

 

[Montoya]

In point of fact... they did test the vaccine on embryos, except it was mouse embryos.

The specific reference the church is crying about is HEK 293 fetal cells from 1973:

Question
Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells?

Answer from infectious diseases expert James Lawler, MD
No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells.

However, Pfizer and Moderna did perform confirmation tests (to ensure the vaccines work) using fetal cell lines. And Johnson & Johnson uses fetal cell lines in vaccine development, confirmation and production.

But it's important to have the full context: Fetal cell lines are not the same as fetal tissue.

Fetal cell lines are cells that grow in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. Those individual cells from the 1970s and 1980s have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating fetal cell lines. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. They do not contain any tissue from a fetus.

Vaccine makers may use these fetal cell lines in any of the following three stages of vaccine development:

• Development: Identifying what works
• Confirmation: Making sure it works
• Production: Manufacturing the formula that works

When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for emergency use, neither the Pfizer nor Moderna vaccines used fetal cell lines during the development or production phases. (So, no fetal cell lines were used to manufacture the vaccine, and they are not inside the injection you receive from your doctor.) However, both companies used the fetal cell line HEK 293 in the confirmation phase to ensure the vaccines work. All HEK 293 cells are descended from tissue taken from a 1973 elective abortion that took place in the Netherlands.