Coronavirus thread

[arpeggio]

Sad, frustrating, hard to believe...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/526204-south-dakota-nurse-says-many-dying-patients-still-insist-covid-19-not

The article is very depressing.  The vast majority of the United States believe the virus is real.  It seems that there is a large minority that are in denial.

[krummholz]

At this point we have uncontrolled spread and there is basically nothing that can be done but pray the vaccine works.

I have seen this statement made before, but I have never seen it supported with evidence or reasoned logic. "Uncontrolled" doesn't mean "uncontrollable". There are things that can be done to REGAIN control of the pandemic, but they require massive amounts of surveillance testing, exhaustive contact tracing for all positive cases, universal masking, frequent hand washing, and all the recommended public health measures.

The reason we are in this situation is largely because people have not been careful enough in their mitigation efforts, in fact some have openly defied all of the recommendations. And now exposure is magnified due to the fraction of time spent indoors.

China took control of an out-of-control situation, so it CAN be done... the question is whether we have the will to do it.

[drogulus]

     Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint

The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.

And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.

The findings are consistent with encouraging evidence emerging from other labs. Researchers at the University of Washington, led by the immunologist Marion Pepper, had earlier shown that certain "memory" cells that were produced following infection with the coronavirus persist for at least three months in the body.

A study published last week also found that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have powerful and protective killer immune cells even when antibodies are not detectable.

These studies "are all by and large painting the same picture, which is that once you get past those first few critical weeks, the rest of the response looks pretty conventional," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said she was not surprised that the body mounts a long-lasting response because "that's what is supposed to happen." Still, she was heartened by the research: "This is exciting news."

[Karl Henning]

     Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint

The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.

And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.

The findings are consistent with encouraging evidence emerging from other labs. Researchers at the University of Washington, led by the immunologist Marion Pepper, had earlier shown that certain "memory" cells that were produced following infection with the coronavirus persist for at least three months in the body.

A study published last week also found that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have powerful and protective killer immune cells even when antibodies are not detectable.

These studies "are all by and large painting the same picture, which is that once you get past those first few critical weeks, the rest of the response looks pretty conventional," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said she was not surprised that the body mounts a long-lasting response because "that's what is supposed to happen." Still, she was heartened by the research: "This is exciting news."

I consider that highly encouraging.

[T. D.]

Good account of the Cheeto administration's dumpster fire:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-19/trump-team-promises-hospital-beds-without-moving-to-slow-virus

Too many highlights to quote.

[drogulus]

     Over 900 Mayo Clinic staff in Midwest have contracted COVID-19 in past 2 weeks

Most of the exposure -- about 93% -- happened in the community, not at work, Williams said.

"It shows how widely spread this is in our communities, and how easy it is to get COVID-19 in the communities here in the Midwest," Williams said.

Across the Midwest, about 1,500 Mayo Clinic employees have work restrictions due to COVID-19 exposure, diagnosis or having to care for family members who are sick, officials said. About 1,000 of those are at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota.

[Mandryka]

I think this is good news


https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-conclude-phase-3-study-covid-19-vaccine

Primary efficacy analysis demonstrates BNT162b2 to be 95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose;170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were evaluated, with 162 observed in the placebo group versus 8 in the vaccine group

Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics; observed efficacy in adults over 65 years of age was over 94%

Safety data milestone required by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been achieved

Data demonstrate vaccine was well tolerated across all populations with over 43,000 participants enrolled; no serious safety concerns observed; the only Grade 3 adverse event greater than 2% in frequency was fatigue at 3.8% and headache at 2.0%

Companies plan to submit within days to the FDA for EUA and share data with other regulatory agencies around the globe

The companies expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021

Pfizer is confident in its vast experience, expertise and existing cold-chain infrastructure to distribute the vaccine around the world

[Karl Henning]

     Over 900 Mayo Clinic staff in Midwest have contracted COVID-19 in past 2 weeks

Most of the exposure -- about 93% -- happened in the community, not at work, Williams said.

"It shows how widely spread this is in our communities, and how easy it is to get COVID-19 in the communities here in the Midwest," Williams said.

Across the Midwest, about 1,500 Mayo Clinic employees have work restrictions due to COVID-19 exposure, diagnosis or having to care for family members who are sick, officials said. About 1,000 of those are at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota.

Yowch!

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-20/who-advises-doctors-not-to-use-gilead-s-remdesivir-for-covid-19

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-19/tyson-suspends-workers-after-lawsuits-allege-covid-betting-pool

[T. D.]

More superspreading:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/20/covid-19-son-of-trump-lawyer-rudy-giuliani-has-coronavirus.html

Ghouliani the younger.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-11-20/fda-s-remdesivir-fail-is-a-warning-for-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines

Less than a month ago, the Food and Drug Administration said hospitals could use remdesivir, a drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., to treat patients with Covid-19. Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, was said to shorten recovery times and reduce the need for ventilators to facilitate breathing. Yesterday, the World Health Organization hit the brakes: It recommended that doctors avoid using the drug altogether.

"There is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients," the WHO noted, citing detailed studies it sponsored. "The evidence suggested no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and other patient-important outcomes."
...
Perhaps it was just fine that the FDA relied on what was essentially an in-house trial to approve remdesivir and that Hahn has been unusually amenable to Trump's demands for approving sketchy Covid-19 treatments. And perhaps it's fine that Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical executive and Big Pharma lobbyist who is a Trump loyalist, runs HHS and supervises Hahn.

In case any of this isn't fine, we should bear it in mind as HHS and the FDA continue to play pivotal roles overseeing the approval, rollout and regulation of more crucial drugs: the Covid-19 vaccines that Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. have put on the table.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-20/donald-trump-jr-infected-by-coronavirus-and-in-isolation

President Donald Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive for coronavirus infection earlier this week and is isolating, according to three people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for Trump Jr. said in a statement he is asymptomatic for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.


Trump Jr. adds to the dozens of people associated with the president who have been infected by the virus, including Trump himself. On Friday, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew Giuliani, who is a White House aide, announced on Twitter he had tested positive. In addition, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, Hannah McInnis, tested positive earlier this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.


Several of Pence's aides have been infected, including his press secretary and chief of staff. Pence himself has not.

[Mirror Image]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-20/donald-trump-jr-infected-by-coronavirus-and-in-isolation

President Donald Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive for coronavirus infection earlier this week and is isolating, according to three people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for Trump Jr. said in a statement he is asymptomatic for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.


Trump Jr. adds to the dozens of people associated with the president who have been infected by the virus, including Trump himself. On Friday, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew Giuliani, who is a White House aide, announced on Twitter he had tested positive. In addition, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, Hannah McInnis, tested positive earlier this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.


Several of Pence's aides have been infected, including his press secretary and chief of staff. Pence himself has not.

But remember that the virus isn't really a big deal.

[drogulus]

     Yesterday I went to Osco pharmacy to pick up a prescription and I asked if they would be providing the Covid vaccine when it became available to the general public. The pharmacist said they would.

[T. D.]

But remember that the virus isn't really a big deal.

Yeah, it's just a hoax by liberals who want to tell us what to do and take our guns away! LET'S GET REAL!

[T. D.]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/21/many-gop-lawmakers-disobeying-mask-wearing-rules-in-their-own-capitols.html

Efforts to require lawmakers and staff to wear masks have received a cool reception even in statehouses that have seen outbreaks of the virus.
Nearly 200 legislators nationwide have tested positive for the virus and four have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
After at least four dozen Mississippi lawmakers tested positive in the largest outbreak in a legislature, where masks were encouraged but not required for lawmakers.

[Mirror Image]

Yeah, it's just a hoax by liberals who want to tell us to do and take our guns away! LET'S GET REAL!

That's right. The Republicans completely downplayed Cain's death due to COVID and Trump continued to hold those massive rallies anyway. The irresponsibility of this party is quite frankly appalling.

[MusicTurner]

Regarding the 'old' mink story here: the cluster-5 mutated virus seems to have died out, that's the initial conclusion here. So the drastic restrictions in Northern Jutland  have been lifted somewhat. Our minister of the sector was fired, because the authorities hadn't checked enough about the legal background for culling the mink industry before doing it, and he was then blamed for it, symbolically. But mink have shown to be extremely easily infected and for the virus to mutate in, so the decision to cull the mink population is considered basically right here, though some speak for some kind of preservation of at least a population of them. But almost all have been culled now.

Also, similar problems with mink appear in many other countries; in Russia, they are even working on a vaccine for mink. A few local mink farmers in Denmark talk about moving their industry abroad. But it's a part of the story, that mink haven't really been profitable business in Denmark for about 5 years or so, cheaper products from abroad taking over. Before that, it was very profitable, and it seems to be an industry that has gone up and down a lot.

[MusicTurner]

............. and generally lots of good news about oncoming approvals of vaccines, a more wide-spread use of them probably beginning to take place in early 2021. A thorough general herd immunity effect should probably be possible, when about 50-60 % of the population have taken vaccines, but factors like their efficiency and the respond to them matter too. However, chances are good that things should be pretty much back to normal in the late summer or early autumn of 2021, almost everyone says. But the virus will probably not disappear, with regular vaccinations therefore being necessary.

  A lot of industries, including aviation, have begun talking about personal vaccine proofs that would enable and promote further mobility and travels for those taking a vaccine.

  Here in DK, the number of infected is expected to rise in the winter, with hospitals preparing for it. In spite of further restrictions, and a relatively stable situation for a few weeks, with around 800 - 1300 daily infections; we might reach 2000 a day, they say. One hopes not.

[Todd]

Europe was largest contributor to new Covid-19 cases and deaths in the past week, WHO says