Coronavirus thread

[krummholz]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55312505

The elephant in the room, though, is the question of whether the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (not to mention all the others still in the RCT pipeline) will be effective against the new variant. This article (linked to from the BBC story) says that one of the two new mutations is in the spike protein that all of the current vaccines target. The article implies that problems with vaccine efficacy against new strains are a serious question for the future, but doesn't specifically discuss whether this new strain may already have rendered the existing vaccines "obsolete".

Would be good to see some scientific discussion of this question.

[SimonNZ]

What the Vaccine's Side Effects Feel Like
The COVID-19 vaccine will make some people feel sick. But they're not—that's the immune system doing its job.

[Que]

What the Vaccine's Side Effects Feel Like
The COVID-19 vaccine will make some people feel sick. But they're not—that's the immune system doing its job.

I remember my polio shot when I was a kid -  my arm felt sore and I had flu-like symptoms for three days.

But I was much better off then the kid that came new to school a few years later. He was on cruches and had been in an institution to revalidate from polio. His parents had refused him to be inoculated for religious reasons.
I felt very sorry for him: not only was he disabled, he also had to explain over and over again why he got the disease in the first place and hadn't been inoculated.... Most of the times he just said he didn't know...

Q

[ritter]

I remember my polio shot when I was a kid -  my arm felt sore and I had flu-like symptoms for three days.

But I was much better off then the kid that came new to school a few years later. He was on cruches and had been in an institution to revalidate from polio. His parents had refused him to be inoculated for religious reasons.
I felt very sorry for him: not only was he disabled, he also had to explain over and over again why he got the disease in the first place and hadn't been inoculated.... Most of the times he just said he didn't know...

Q

My polio vaccine was administered orally, a sugar cube impregnated with a pink liquid.

In my generation, we were given vaccines (polio, smallpox, etc.) which proved effetive in almost completely erradicating some serious diseases, and nobondy asked us whether we wanted them or not. I still remember standing in line in front of a hospital  in Vienna around 1970 (I was 6 or 7 at the time) to get the--mandatory AFAIK--cholera shots (it was administered in three doses IIRC), after a cople of cases occurred in the city. Nowadays, it seems that personal "choice" seems to get the upper hand over communal responsibility.

[Irons]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55385768

Covid: Belgium and Netherlands ban flights from UK over variant


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-20/u-k-s-hancock-says-new-covid-mutatation-is-out-of-control

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain of the coronavirus is "out of control" and suggested parts of England will be stuck in the new, highest tier of restrictions until a vaccine is rolled out.

More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home after a lockdown came into force Sunday in London and southeast England and the government scrapped plans to relax rules on socializing at Christmas.

The measures to control the fast-spreading new variant of the virus forbid household mixing in those areas and restrict socializing to just Christmas Day across the rest of England. Residents across the country were told to keep to their local areas, and extra police were being deployed at rail stations to stop people traveling out of London.

"Cases have absolutely rocketed, so we've got a long way to go," Hancock told Sky News. "I think it will be very difficult to keep it under control until the vaccine has rolled out." People in the new Tier 4 areas "should behave as though they have it," he said.

All true. Johnson announced to the country "Have a merry little Christmas" with those words ringing in our ears, we like ten of thousands of others ordered a £50 turkey plus all that goes with it. I am no fan of Kier Starmer but he is running rings around Johnson on this issue. He warned Christmas may be forced to be shelved and Johnson ridiculed him only for days later to come to the same decision. I have an extremely unhappy wife who will not see her grandchildren and I will be eating turkey sandwiches through 2021!   

[71 dB]

I have an extremely unhappy wife who will not see her grandchildren and I will be eating turkey sandwiches through 2021!

This sums up well the World as it is today: Things are just wrong. 

[T. D.]

Worth a look if not paywalled:

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-resilience-ranking/

Winter and the long-anticipated rollout of coronavirus vaccines triggered some surprising shifts in Bloomberg's Covid Resilience Ranking, a measure of the best places to be in the Covid-19 era.

Each month, we crunch the numbers to get a snapshot of where the virus is being handled the most effectively with the least social and economic disruption.
...
Winter in the northern hemisphere has made a bad situation worse across Europe and the U.S., with the superpower plunging 19 spots despite the rapid authorization of two mRNA vaccines.

Mexico remains at No. 53, the last of the ranked economies. The country is closing the gap with other places as its positive testing rate falls and it lines up inoculations, but it's still facing a rampant outbreak.

The Ranking scores economies of more than $200 billion on 10 key metrics: from growth in virus cases to the overall mortality rate and testing capabilities. The capacity of the local health-care system, the impact of virus-related restrictions like lockdowns on the economy, and freedom of movement are also taken into account.

[vandermolen]

All true. Johnson announced to the country "Have a merry little Christmas" with those words ringing in our ears, we like ten of thousands of others ordered a £50 turkey plus all that goes with it. I am no fan of Kier Starmer but he is running rings around Johnson on this issue. He warned Christmas may be forced to be shelved and Johnson ridiculed him only for days later to come to the same decision. I have an extremely unhappy wife who will not see her grandchildren and I will be eating turkey sandwiches through 2021!

I don't blame her. I'm upset at not being able to see my daughter and her BF who live in London. Feel v sorry for people who are alone. Yes, the whole thing has been spectacularly mishandled by Johnson.

[vandermolen]

This sums up well the World as it is today: Things are just wrong. 

A good point 71dB.

[71 dB]

A good point 71dB.

Thanks! Let's hope 2021 will be less wrong than 2020 was.  0:)

[Karl Henning]

Thanks! Let's hope 2021 will be less wrong than 2020 was.  0:)

Here's hoping!

[vandermolen]

Thanks! Let's hope 2021 will be less wrong than 2020 was.  0:)

Indeed.

[71 dB]

Here's hoping!

Indeed.

Vaccinations have already started in your countries and are supposed to start next Sunday in EU countries. Light can be seen in the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel has been long and has claimed so many victims! 

[vandermolen]

Vaccinations have already started in your countries and are supposed to start next Sunday in EU countries. Light can be seen in the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel has been long and has claimed so many victims!

That is true. Coincidentally I just had my routine ONS Covid test.

[Que]

Vaccinations have already started in your countries and are supposed to start next Sunday in EU countries. Light can be seen in the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel has been long and has claimed so many victims!

Unfortunately, at the 11th hour things are spinning out of control in a lot of countries, including my own...

This morning it was announced that all regular, non urgent health care has been cancelled to save the system from collapse.

Q

[71 dB]

Wealthy Americans Caught Cutting Line To Get Covid Vaccine

That is true. Coincidentally I just had my routine ONS Covid test.

When will you know the result?

Unfortunately, at the 11th hour things are spinning out of control in a lot of countries, including my own...

This morning it was announced that all regular, non urgent health care has been cancelled to save the system from collapse.

Q

Oh boy, we needed the Covid-19 vaccines a year ago! It's like the 35th hour already! 

Yes, it's bad in many places. I'm lucky it's not that bad in Finland. Our healthcare system is not in danger of collapsing unless things escalate badly. The politicians and health professionals are urging people to spend "corona responsible Christmas." meaning only with the closest family members in small groups.

[vandermolen]

Wealthy Americans Caught Cutting Line To Get Covid Vaccine

When will you know the result?

Oh boy, we needed the Covid-19 vaccines a year ago! It's like the 35th hour already! 

Yes, it's bad in many places. I'm lucky it's not that bad in Finland. Our healthcare system is not in danger of collapsing unless things escalate badly. The politicians and health professionals are urging people to spend "corona responsible Christmas." meaning only with the closest family members in small groups.

It's interesting about the result. I've had quite a few of these tests and never heard anything more. I assumed that the local surgery would let me know if I'd tested positive. Anyway, about a week ago I received a letter saying that my last test was negative. I mentioned this to the researcher who came round and she said that I should now get a letter after the test. More importantly, I'm now owed £50 in Amazon vouchers for participating - just think, all those CDs! 

On a sombre note, Covid is now in the village so the risks must be higher now.

[71 dB]

It's interesting about the result. I've had quite a few of these tests and never heard anything more. I assumed that the local surgery would let me know if I'd tested positive. Anyway, about a week ago I received a letter saying that my last test was negative. I mentioned this to the researcher who came round and she said that I should now get a letter after the test. More importantly, I'm now owed £50 in Amazon vouchers for participating - just think, all those CDs! 

On a sombre note, Covid is now in the village so the risks must be higher now.

They should always let you know the result, positive or negative. What if your test is positive, but someone forgets to inform you about it and you think the test came back negative because you heard nothing?

£50 worth of Amazon vouchers for participating? Wow! Happy shopping and be safe in the village.

[MusicTurner]

New restrictions, continued until at least January 3rd, now working here, following a sharp recent increase of cases. But the health sector will be strained due to delayed effects.

A new mutation from Romania, N 439K, causing worries. Mutations and vaccine procedures mean that most of 2021 will still require patience and restrictions, it's being said. On a personal level, I'll probably have to wait 6-10 months for a vaccine . Hoping for things to turn out better, though.

In yesterday's newspapers, there were two articles, both presented as the likely truth, concerning the societal long-term effects:
One esteemed professor talked about a psychological and economical recovery, likely from 2022, resulting in a new feeling of liberation, and a new age like the Roaring Twenties ... and another professor, that a new era of civic discipline and restrain, comparable to the petit-bourgeois 1950s, would be the likely outcome  .

[Que]

The effects of the pandemic are rather paradoxical: on the one hand the world has become even smaller with the pandemic highlighting global interconnectivity and interdependency, on the other hand the world of individual citizens has become much smaller as well by being thrown back to depend on ourselves and our immediate surroundings.

Q