Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - reports from around the world from today, Sunday 17th of January.

- 94,744,048 confirmed cases and 2,026,396 confirmed deaths.

- UK: Report indicates 140 vaccines are being administered a minute in England. GP's are indicating patchy deliveries are hampering efforts to plan and organize.

- UK: 10 new mass inoculation centers to open in addition to the seven existing ones.

- Brazil: Gives emergency approval for two vaccines, the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sinovac candidates.

- Amsterdam: Police break up lockdown protest.

- Australia: A total of 72 Australia Open players to self isolate following a COVID case discovered on another flight bound for the competition.

- South Africa: Delays reopening schools.

- Portugal: Critical care close to capacity, with 672 beds across the system and 647 currently occupied, up 9 from yesterday.

- UAE: Lowers age limit to receive a vaccine from 18 to 16.

- UAE: Sees record high daily cases for 6th day in a row.

 

[Vavrik]

Australia: A total of 72 Australia Open players to self isolate following a COVID case discovered on another flight bound for the competition.

Oh boy, what did they miss? I wonder.

 

[Montoya]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1351233027410718720

View: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1351233027410718720

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Monday 18th of January:

- World: 95,179,173 confirmed cases and 2,033,641 confirmed deaths.

- World: Passes 95 million cases. We passed 94 on Saturday meaning another million in the last 2/3 days.

- World: WHO indicates only 25 doses of vaccine have been administered in the worlds poorest countries (all in Guinea), compared with 39 million doses in the 49 other more wealthy countries. “The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.” “Ultimately these actions will only prolong the pandemic,”

- UK: Sees record high number of hospitalized COVID sick, at 37,475 with the current rate of admissions being one person every 30 seconds.

- UK: Vaccinations now open to anyone over the age of 70 or anyone indicated to be clinically vulnerable.

- UK: 10 NHS trusts have run out of adult critical care beds. The chief of the NHS confederation said: "I think, this next week, we will be at the limit of what we probably have the physical space and the people to safely do,"

- Wales: Spike in cases of children getting COVID on Anglesey blamed on the new UK variant which has mutations that make it easier to transmit.

- Portugal: Sees record high daily deaths.

- France: Tightens entry requirements, all incoming travelers now need to show a negative COVID test.

- US: Guatemala, and a caravan of 7000 migrants clashes with security as it tries to enter the country. Later as medical treatment was being provided for those injured in the clash, 21 COVID cases were detected.

- Ireland: Investigation launched after "leftover" vaccines found their way into family members of medical staff. The Hospital Master said it was to
"ensure that not a single reconstituted vaccine was wasted." but went on to say "in hindsight, as master I deeply regret that family members of employees were vaccinated and for that I wholeheartedly apologise."

- Czech Republic: Discovers first case of UK variant.

- South Africa: Scientists find biological evidence that the new SA variant binds to human cells more readily meaning it is more infectious.

- Japan: Detects UK variant of COVID in 3 people with no history of travel to the UK, taking the total of variant cases found which originated from the UK, Brazil and South Africa to 45.

- Germany: Health Minister asks that the UK variant of COVID not be referred to as from England “Just as we didn’t talk about the ‘Chinese virus’ last year, now we shouldn’t talk about the ‘English variant,’”

- US: Man who was too scared to fly to his home country discovered living in Chicago Airport. He'd been living there for 3 months.

 

[Montoya]

Not good news on the varients

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1351282325926146048

View: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1351282325926146048

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Tuesday 19th of January:

- World: 95,914,178 confirmed cases and 2,049,813 confirmed deaths.

- US: Passes 24 million cases.

- US: Passes 400,000 deaths.

- US: President Elect Biden to overturn easing of travel restrictions planned by the previous administration "...now is not the time to be easing travel measures."

- UK: Sees record high daily deaths at 1,610.

- UK: 400 members of the armed forces deployed to assist doctors in London and Midlands hospitals.

- UK: Criminal Justice system suffers huge backlog of 54,000 cases as COVID stops courts from convening.

- Scotland: Extends lockdown to at least mid February.

- Ireland: Record high new daily deaths.

- Germany: Extends lockdown to February 14th.

- Israel: To extend lockdown to at least January 31st.

- Canada: Montreal, and homeless man appears to have frozen to death in extremely cold conditions after seeking shelter in a porta-toilet just steps from the front door of a homeless shelter which had been forced to close due to the COVID crisis.

- Denmark: To include homeless people in the highest priority category to receive vaccine.

- Australia: Two more players at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament test positive.

- WHO: Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response group presents report stating that the World Health Organization needs better funding, more powers and the ability to command, not request. “the bottom line is the WHO has no powers to enforce anything or investigate... within a country” “When it comes to a potential new disease threat, all the WHO can do is ask and hope to be invited in,” “The funding of the WHO is woeful, [...] this is our global health organisation. We want it to do well, we need it to do well ... But it has been kept on pretty short rations.”

 

[Michael]

Isreal still overachiever

vaccination update. Don't forget that you need two doses for a full vaccination. So this only half of the story.

 

[stockish]

vaccination update. Don't forget that you need two doses for a full vaccination. So this only half of the story.

Can't wait for the majority of Americans who only get the first dose to run around like they got armor from DOOM, I am still waiting on access to even register on the local health services page I asked for from a week ago. I fit into the next phase but probably still wont qualify lol

 

[Michael]

Can't wait for the majority of Americans who only get the first dose to run around like they got armor from DOOM, I am still waiting on access to even register on the local health services page I asked for from a week ago. I fit into the next phase but probably still wont qualify lol

For us in my part of germany, i can't even register. Also i'm pretty much in the last group who should be able to recieve it..
To my knowledge you can still be contagious even when infected. So mask needs to stay on. *sad freedom noises*

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, 20th January:

- World: 96,396,565 confirmed cases and 2,063,594 confirmed deaths.

- World: Passes 96 million cases, we passed 95 on Monday meaning a million more in the last 2/3 days.

- UK: Sees record high new daily deaths at 1, 820.

- UK: Prime Minister indicates he wants Teachers and Police officers to be vaccinated as soon as possible, a stark turnaround from previous reports from teaching staff that because they were termed to be young and healthy they were not scheduled until 2022.

- UK: Reports emerge that the Home Secretary (a senior government position) said "On 'should we have closed our borders earlier', the answer is yes, I was an advocate of closing them last March." - The end of March was when the UK's first lockdown started. When questioned about this the Prime Minister avoided the question as to why he overruled and left the boarders open, answered that the UK had some of the toughest boarder restrictions in the world. When asked again for an answer, the prime minister said he was looking forward not back, and that he wants to "get on with the job". Personally, I'd jolly well like an answer on that please.

- UK: Reports emerge schools daily mass testing is planned to be suspended and scaled back as it appears to have all goes to tits.

- US: Mr Trump makes final remarks after leaving Whitehouse, again calling COVID-19 the "China Virus" and saying "It's a horrible thing that was put onto the world,"

- Mexico: Military drafted in to guard vaccines after a supply was stolen from a hospital in Morelos state.

- Italy: Considers legal action over Pfizer vaccine delays. “The vaccination programme cannot be slowed down, let alone for the many of Italians who have already received the first dose.”

- Taiwan: Hotspot cluster grows to 10 cases after having only one other community spread case since April. The 10 are all linked to a hospital in Taoyuan which was treating a sick person who had traveled in from the US.

- Argentina: Approves Russian SputnikV vaccine for use in the over 60's.

- China: Two cases of what appears to be very similar to UK variant found in China.

- India: Has fastest start to any vaccination drive so far, however turnout in some places is as low as 22% apparently fueled by fear and misinformation on the vaccine.

- France: Students protest lockdown and other restrictions.

- Europe: Multiple countries looking at upgrading the types of masks people have to wear from cloth coverings to medical grade, as more contagious variants originating in the UK and South Africa stride the continent.

 

[Vavrik]

There is a new Coronavirus variant, called CAL.20C. It was detected in the US, in California first - and just to note the names of variants are related to the first place it was detected, not where it originated. It does not appear to be more infectious, but it does account for up to half of infections in the L.A. area for example, and 30-50% estimated of recent US cases.

It was detected, according to news sources, while testing for the prevalence of the B1.1.7 variant in California - which they also found, but in small numbers.

Stay safe, please.

 

[PeppaPigKilla]

The world must be looking at the UK and thinking what a bunch of dickheads.

I present our politicians, the dickheads.

 

[Vavrik]

The world must be looking at the UK and thinking what a bunch of dickheads.

I present our politicians, the dickheads.

Don't worry, we have the same kind of dickheads on this side of the pond. In Canada, we tried to fix it by voting the old dickheads out of power, and voting others in - repeatedly. It caused a rebuild of the Conservatives twice, and then the Liberals. But in the end it kind of, well I don't want to say backfired... but we ended up with the same dickheads we had to start with. I think that is the legacy of democracy. Of course, you can always go with the dickhead for life thing.

Thing is, your ... First DH... knows he kinda-sorta made a few mistakes during this pandemic. He just doesn't think it's safe to admit it.

 

[Aramsolari]

Don't worry, we have the same kind of dickheads on this side of the pond. In Canada, we tried to fix it by voting the old dickheads out of power, and voting others in - repeatedly. It caused a rebuild of the Conservatives twice, and then the Liberals. But in the end it kind of, well I don't want to say backfired... but we ended up with the same dickheads we had to start with. I think that is the legacy of democracy. Of course, you can always go with the dickhead for life thing.

Thing is, your ... First DH... knows he kinda-sorta made a few mistakes during this pandemic. He just doesn't think it's safe to admit it.

It's Dicks all around!

 

[Michael]

 

[Bambooza]

I wonder how long we can continue to live in a simi lockdown state. First it was to flatten the curve then it was to reduce the number of deaths until a vaccine can be administered and now we are already starting to see variants of Cov-SARS-2 that is resistant to several Vaccines, most notably the variant L452R has a mutation to the protein (spikes) which were the target identifier for BioNTech's mRNA covid-19 vaccine.

The issue is not if a new vaccine can be created but the reality of how long it takes to find a suitable target protein, manufacture and distribute the vaccine no including the large expense of the whole process. Only to have the virus continue to mutate at a rate that takes advantage of the lag time. Don't get me wrong the technology that BioNTech has created is amazing and well worth the investment. But I do truly think its time to have a serious conversation about our future and how we go about living.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, 21st of Janurary:

- World: 97,116,661 confirmed cases and 2,081,489 confirmed deaths.

- World: passes 97 million confirmed cases, we passed 96 million yesterday meaning an additional million in the last 1/2 days.

- US: President Biden to sign 10 executive orders to boost the response to the COVID crisis.

- US: Reports indicate US may join Covaxx Vaccine-Sharing program.

- UK: 5 million people have now received their first dose of vaccine, number of shots per minute increases to 200.

- UK: To introduce £800 per person fines for any house parties discovered containing more than 15 people. The fine will double for each new offense to a maximum of £6,400.

- UK: Another 60 vaccination centers, including one in a Mosque, open for injections.

- India: A fire at a vaccine plant in a building which was still being built kills 5.

- Ecuador: To start vaccinating front line staff.

- Brazil: Some of the countries largest labor organizations have stepped up to help get Venezuelan oxygen supplies to the people who need it in stricken city of Manaus.

- Ukraine: Secures EU cooperation to access vaccines ASAP “It is emphasised that Ukraine can count on the solidarity of the European Union in obtaining a vaccine against coronavirus. The EU is taking steps to ensure Ukraine’s access to vaccines as soon as possible,”

- Portugal: To shut all schools, universities and nurseries/kindergartens from tomorrow.

- Hungary: First country in EU to approve SputnikV vaccine, also approves Oxford Univercity/AstraZeneca vaccine.

- Africa: Sees death rates at 2.5%, above global average of 2.2%

- China: To donate 500,000 doses of vaccine to Pakistan.

 

[Vavrik]

I wonder how long we can continue to live in a simi lockdown state. First it was to flatten the curve then it was to reduce the number of deaths until a vaccine can be administered and now we are already starting to see variants of Cov-SARS-2 that is resistant to several Vaccines, most notably the variant L452R has a mutation to the protein (spikes) which were the target identifier for BioNTech's mRNA covid-19 vaccine.

"Flatten the curve" is ultimately synonymous with "reduce the number of death's" (for the short term), that's why you flatten the curve. It prevents hospitals from becoming overwhelmed if you can slow the infection rate, which also slows the death rate.

Variants are normal things with viral infections, what is different with the mRNA vaccines is that they can be altered quickly to counter new variants shortly after they are detected. It's an interesting idea in theory, and I think it's going to get a bit of a test during the next 6 or so months. If they can learn to make mRNA vaccines now, we could also have a vector to protect and even cure people from various forms of cancer and many other diseases.

But I do truly think its time to have a serious conversation about our future and how we go about living.

Wear a mask, preferably an N95 or equivalent, but even a hankie tied around your head is better than nothing. I often have to use gloves too btw, doctor and wife are in cahoots against me.

 

[Bambooza]

"Flatten the curve" is ultimately synonymous with "reduce the number of death's" (for the short term), that's why you flatten the curve. It prevents hospitals from becoming overwhelmed if you can slow the infection rate, which also slows the death rate.

Variants are normal things with viral infections, what is different with the mRNA vaccines is that they can be altered quickly to counter new variants shortly after they are detected. It's an interesting idea in theory, and I think it's going to get a bit of a test during the next 6 or so months. If they can learn to make mRNA vaccines now, we could also have a vector to protect and even cure people from various forms of cancer and many other diseases.


Wear a mask, preferably an N95 or equivalent, but even a hankie tied around your head is better than nothing. I often have to use gloves too btw, doctor and wife are in cahoots against me.

I agree with you that flattening the curve was about reducing the number of hospital beds so that we can hopefully catch those who would have died if not for medical intervention. Studies are starting to be published that show a higher survival rate but its still unclear if its due to more patients who are younger, better staff response, different treatment options including the reduction in the use of ventilators or a combination of many factors. What is known is that most who get sick with Covid-19 will recover on their own 97%.

Slowing the death rate just stretches out the deaths over a longer interval it does nothing to reduce the number of deaths. While factored against not overwhelming local hospitals and buying time for immunization by vaccine it plays against how some other counties have simply gone about with limited restrictions and higher upfront deaths (all factors being equal being a heavy upfront loading of deaths due to limited curve flatting vs a drawn out 2 plus year curve the percent deaths would be similar at the end)

But my statement had nothing to do with flattening the curve or waiting until a vaccine is created but what do we do now that we have a vaccine and and its effectiveness is being reduced by the day due to a higher then expected mutation rate. It is not that variants and mutations are not normal its vaccine effectiveness is adversely impacted by a virus mutation rate due to the length of time it takes to sequence the virus, locate a suitable protein sequence and then scale up manufacturing and distribution. This treadmill is not going to get much shorter then 6 months and the costs will skyrocket. At what point does it no longer become sustainable? The other risk is the more they introduce mRNA used to trigger an immune response to specific protein sequences the more a chance to cause an unintentional autoimmune disorder. Either way the current vaccination rollout puts full distribution outwards of two years or more (Both Moderna and Pfizer project the minimal number of doses they expect to make at 600 million by end of the year, also remember it takes 2 for current immunity and around 5% will be lost due to supply issues) I am sure the ramping up of production as well as sub licensing production to third parties will allow for more vaccine to be produced in the coming years. But it does nothing to address the current situation. This virus is not going away and will continue to mutate. While an effective vaccine can be created it will always be playing catch up to the virus mutation rate much like the current flu shot is only partially effective against the seasonal flu.

So the question is real. What should we do from this point forward?

we could also have a vector to protect and even cure people from various forms of cancer and many other diseases.

This is where the technology came from. BioNTech was crafting personalized mRNA to help fight off cancer and it was proving very effective and very costly as it was customized to each person and the cancer. I am sure as the technology matures the price will come down as well as the lag time from sample collecting to the injecting of customized mRNA. But we are still just starting to scratch the surface of this field and one that is both very exciting and scary in its possibilities if used as a weapon.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

...some other counties have simply gone about with limited restrictions and higher upfront deaths...

Just on your upfront deaths theorem, the UK had a significant number of upfront deaths in March. Now it's having an even bigger spike in deaths now (BBC graph screenshot below)... front loading doesn't seem to have done anything between 2020 and 2021 - When exactly are we going to see the positive results of it? In one year? Two years? Five? Maybe ten? If it's ten, the population isn't getting any younger and you'll have a whole new generation ageing into the most vulnerable groups before you see the benefit of letting the previous generations elderly and frail die early:

And come to think about it, what exactly would the benefit of front loading look like anyway? After the first wave in the UK the death rate in August just went back to the average, it didn't dip down in a trough of all the people who would have died soon anyway... what should we be looking out for as the benefit of all those dead early on in the pandemic?

Of course, to have upfront deaths you need to have the virus spread around. And the more it spreads, the more chance it has to mutate. Would there be a UK/SouthAfrica/Brazil set of variants which may be less effected by vaccines now if we had all done a New Zealand and got a hold of it early on and kept a lid on it? No one can say for certain but I'm sure those chances would have been a lot lot lower.

And you know how long it would take for the world to rid itself of COVID-19?

14 days.

For the most part if everyone on the planet stocked up with two weeks of provisions then shut our doors and sat it out, everyones immune systems would do their thing, the virus would be killed or kill, and that would be that. No more transmission, no more unprotected subjects to incubate in. Vaccinate key supply chain people to keep bits and bobs moving, and lock down the world for 14 days. Would it be difficult. Hell yeah. Would it bankrupt the world? Heck no just put everyone on a bills/mortgage/etc pause.

The world could put its feet up for two weeks and let biology do its job. Would it get rid of the virus entirely? Probably not, but it would get it down to a level the world would then be able to keep control of it. Won't happen though, the population doesn't have the desire or the imagination to suffer a short term to benefit a long term.