Coronavirus outbreak

[The Lock]

3 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

I read somewhere that successful viruses actually do not kill fast, but actually mutate to a point such as where we are today, where it may take 5 to 10 days, to actually show

 

symptoms..........ones that kill too fast actually burn out, as people start shutting themselves in and not transferring the virus quick enough.

 

That is why I said what I said.............if we got it and dropped dead immediately, it would not get far..............It is not doing that, obviously

I don't think the virus' general purpose is to kill anyway. It's just a biproduct of the virus' existence, It's trying to survive just like we try and survive. It's not thinking "how many will I kill today?"

[J.I.A.H.N]

40 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

RNA viruses mutate at a much higher rate that DNA viruses because viral RNA polymerases lack the capability to error correct or "proofread" that DNA viruses do. The also have a far greater range of diversity at the gene level which makes effective vaccination harder to complete. 

 

Essentially viruses mutate as a law of nature, not solely because a host organism moved it from one region to another. So you're somewhat right, but not completely. 

 

And of course Jinping and his vile political party kept people in their homes for an extended period of time, because that very government tried to suppress it's own doctors, namely the international hero Li Weilang from releasing valuable information to the rest of the world to stave off the spread of the virus, which originated in Wuhan.

 

Blame for this pandemic starts with Jinping and the CCP. Simple as that. They've silenced who knows how many Chinese citizens from speaking freely, and millions more for having different belief systems, especially the Uyghurs, who are being held against their will, to the tune of some 3,000,000 people, in concentration camps. 

And you are right in all that Phil

 

But it still goes whether it is an RNA virus or a DNA virus, that if the host dies, before it can replicate and spread...........that species of Virus dies

[J.I.A.H.N]

42 minutes ago, The Lock said:

I don't think the virus' general purpose is to kill anyway. It's just a biproduct of the virus' existence, It's trying to survive just like we try and survive. It's not thinking "how many will I kill today?"

100% agree

 

It is just an entity trying to survive, as it was designed to do

[PhillipBlunt]

5 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

And you are right in all that Phil

 

But it still goes whether it is an RNA virus or a DNA virus, that if the host dies, before it can replicate and spread...........that species of Virus dies

https://www.futurity.org/how-long-do-viruses-survive-in-dead-bodies-2371772/

[J.I.A.H.N]

9 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

https://www.futurity.org/how-long-do-viruses-survive-in-dead-bodies-2371772/

Come on Phil, when was the last time you seen a dead body sneeze? 

 

And, I am not talking about your sex life! LOL

[PhillipBlunt]

1 minute ago, janisahockeynut said:

Come on Phil, when was the last time you seen a dead body sneeze? 

 

And, I am not talking about your sex life! LOL

Just providing empirical evidence. Take it or leave it. 

[J.I.A.H.N]

5 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Just providing empirical evidence. Take it or leave it. 

Phil...lol....I was joking! Love ya man! 

[Canorth]

2 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

Wrestling tournaments....

 

....just when you thought Florida couldn't get any more Florida....

 

I imagine Gym Jordan has a back up plan...

 

[Wolfgang Durst]

On 1/27/2021 at 12:33 AM, UnkNuk said:

Something to keep an eye on since I think we get our Pfizer doses from Belgium:

 

Europe threatens to restrict vaccine exports after AstraZeneca and Pfizer hit production problems

 

London (CNN Business)The European Union is calling out vaccine makers AstraZeneca (AZN) and Pfizer (PFE) over delivery delays that could slow its recovery from the pandemic. Officials are even threatening to restrict exports and take legal action as anger mounts.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/business/astrazeneca-pfizer-vaccine-delays-europe/index.html

 

As for the AstraZeneca vaccine there is nothing to restrict, because the Astra Zeneca vaccine hasn't even been approved by EMA - the health authority for the European Union- .

I fully understand that all parties involved are highly frustrated by the fact that Astra Zeneca is 2 month behind the production and delivery schedule for the European Union. Just imagine the following:

Astra Zeneca contractually agreed to deliver 80M doses to the European Union in the first quarter 2021. There were rumors that Astra Zeneca will be able to supply only 31M doeses in the first quarter 2021. This would be a major setback.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Wolfgang Durst

[Wolfgang Durst]

On 1/27/2021 at 6:32 AM, UnkNuk said:

It's being called vaccine nationalism.

 

The thing is, I can see their point.  Suppose we had a vaccine made in Canada that we, the taxpayers, had subsidized to the tune of billions of dollars.  And there wasn't enough to immediately go around to all the countries that wanted it.  Wouldn't we be saying that Canadians should be first in line?

I have to say that you are completely wrong. It has NOTHING to do with vaccine nationalism.

Here is the quote from German Health Minister Jens Spahn:

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that the controls were not about putting the "EU first" but about making sure Europe got its fair share.

 

In addition I would like you to consider the following:

"Europe invested billions to help develop the world's first Covid-19 vaccines, to create a truly global common good. And now the companies must deliver. They must honor their obligations," she said during a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

 

Countries like the United States and Canada and other countries benefit from the investments the  European Union made to facilitate the development of  Covid-19 vaccines.

 

We are the good guys.. We are not like Trump.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Wolfgang Durst

[ImConfused]

37 minutes ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

 We are not like Trump.

Who's Trump?

[Wolfgang Durst]

Might be of interest.

Here's the total production planned in 2021 of the Covid-19 vaccine by vaccine makers in million (vaccine makers located in China & Russia, India not included).

 

AstraZeneca:         3.000

BioNTech/Pfizer:    2.000

Moderna:               1.000

Johnson&Johnson 1.000

Sanofi/GSK            1.000

CureVac                    300

 

 

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

 

 

Anal swabs to become China’s No. 2 method for COVID-19 testing

 

Chinese citizens are clenching up at an invasive new form of COVID-19 testing in the country: anal swabs.

 

State-controlled media has floated the notion of anal swabbing for “high risk groups” in recent days, citing claims by Li Tongzeng, a deputy director in charge of infectious disease at Beijing You’an Hospital. Some tests have already been conducted, and more are expected as the country moves into its busy Lunar New Year season.

 

 

Li says anal coronavirus tests are useful for cutting down on false negative results among high-risk patients, because the virus can linger in the intestinal tract for days after it’s cleared out of the respiratory system.

 

“If we add anal swab testing, it can raise our rate of identifying infected patients,” he said on CCTV Sunday. “But of course considering that collecting anal swabs is not as convenient as throat swabs, at the moment only key groups such as those in quarantine receive both.”

 

In other words, citizens won’t be required to drop their pants at test centres across the country, where throat swabs will remain the testing method of choice.

 

 

Many citizens tightened up at the idea of an anal pandemic probe, with some turning to social media to express their outrage.

 

“Low harm, but extreme humiliation,” one user said on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service, according to the AFP.

 

“Everyone involved will be so embarrassed,” another user wrote, according to the Washington Post.

Some also jokingly expressed fears that a tester might mix up the swabs.

 

“I’ve done two anal swabs, every time I did one I had to do a throat swab afterwards — I was so scared the nurse would forget to use a new swab,” one person wrote.

 

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/7602224/china-anal-swab-coronavirus-test/amp/

[Gurn]

Misleading headline- states Trudeau "promises" but does not quote an actual promise:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trudeau-doubles-down-on-promise-of-vaccines-for-all-canadians-by-fall-is-that-still-a-realistic-target/ar-BB1dahYe?ocid=msedgdhp

espite the temporary shutdown of a Pfizer plant in Belgium and threats from the European Union to limit export of COVID-19 vaccines, Canada should still have enough doses by the fall to inoculate every Canadian who wants the vaccine, several experts say.

However, the bigger challenge will likely be the logistics of ensuring that more than 35 million Canadians will have received shots by that time — a target set out by the Liberal government.

"Is it feasible? Yes, but certainly it's going to take a monumental effort," said Jason Kindrachuk, assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in emerging viruses at Winnipeg's University of Manitoba.

"Vaccines don't necessarily equal vaccinations," he said. "Getting vaccine into the country is one [thing].

"But it's getting it out of essentially storage areas and freezers and getting those vaccines into the arms of people where we've certainly had some questions."

'Very confident' despite setback

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was "very confident" that it would meet its end-of-September goal of vaccinating every Canadian who wants to be inoculated. 

He made those comments to reporters as the European Union has threatened to impose export controls on vaccines leaving the 27-member bloc to ensure supply on the continent. The proposal would require companies to seek approval before shipping vaccinesto countries outside the EU, including Canada.

How that could impact Canada's vaccination plans will depend on how stringently the EU will appy these new dictates, said Ross Upshur, a professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

"If they're serious, they're going to be vetting what sorts of exports are carried out by Pfizer and other vaccine makers, then this could be a real impediment to the rollout of the planned vaccinations."

Meanwhile vaccine deliveries to Canada are grinding to a halt this week due to a temporary shutdown at Pfizer's plant in Belgium.  That matters, because while Ottawa has signed deals for millions of doses of vaccines from several groups of developers, only two vaccines are currently approved for use in Canada: one produced jointly by Pfizer-BioNTech and another from Moderna.

Canada was expecting 366,000 doses of the Pfizer product to be delivered next week. Just 79,000 are now slated to arrive as the company retools its Belgium plant to improve productivity and pump out more shots than originally planned.

The temporary shut down raises questions as to whether there will be any additional or unforeseen delays that arise with shipments and supply, considering the vaccine is being shipped around the globe, Kindrachuk said

Potential new vaccines on horizon

Those kinds of setbacks are to be expected, said Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor of health law and policy at the University of Calgary. As well, she said, there can be issues with production or obtaining raw materials.

"I think it's certainly not impossible that we could run into stumbling blocks that would set us back. But it does still seem to be a reasonable forecast at this point that that [the government target] will happen by the fall."

Still, the temporary nature of the plant closure, combined with the potential for new vaccines to become available is cause for optimism, she said. 

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is already in use in the UK, could be approved in Canada in the near future. And Johnson & Johnson is set to release its COVID-19 vaccine data next week. 

"We have contracts with them and if Health Canada gives the green light,  it'll just make it even that much easier to achieve those goals and we'll be able to achieve those goals faster," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician and member of the Ont. government's vaccine distribution task force.

However, even with just the two vaccines approved in Canada so far, he said it's very realistic that we meet the Liberal government's target. 

Of course, if Pfizer or Moderna stopped shipping their vaccines to Canada for whatever reason, and it's more than just a temporary slowdown, then "that certainly could jeopardize those deadlines," Bogoch  said.

"If the companies make good on their contracts, we will still be OK."

Even with the delay, Pfizer is still expected to fulfill its first-quarter contract, "which means we would still get the same amount of vaccines," he said. 

Logistics of delivery 

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and an associate professor at McMaster University, said just between the two vaccines expected to ship to Canada, there will be enough for every individual by fall. 

"I don't think that's unreasonable," he said.

But Chagla agreed with Kindrachuk that the stumbling block could be getting that supply into the arms of Canadians by the government's target date.

"Getting 30 million Canadians vaccinated in a six month span is unheard of," he said.

"I think that's probably the bigger liability in terms of that September deadline, is the implementation sides of all of it rather than necessarily the actual supply chain."

Kindrachuk said the size of Canada, including the northern regions and under-served communities still present logistical vaccination challenges.

"When we think about distribution, it's not necessarily easy to do that. We have a massive area to try to cover," he said.

He said it's still unclear what structure and protocols will be used from region to region that will allow the vaccines to be distributed. Some provinces have been very forthcoming, others not.

"We really have to have things completely aligning for us to get this done by the fall," he said.

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/vaccine-found-92-effective-in-israel-in-first-controlled-result-outside-trials/

Vaccine found 92% effective in Israel, in first controlled result outside trials

Only 31 out of 163,000 fully vaccinated Maccabi members caught virus, indicating Pfizer shots living up to expectations; expert: Results ‘well within expected standard deviation’

[Gurn]

good news for the U.S.

total new infections has gone down from 201,659 on Jan 16 to 155,629 yesterday

Deaths have been over 4,000 on 4 of the last 8 days, but will drop as the infections drop.

Active cases hovering just over 9,800,000

https://www.us-covid-tracker.com/?per100k=0&field=newDeaths&time=14d

 

https://www.covid-19canada.com/

 

19,626 deaths  57,707 active cases in Canada.

[stawns]

2 hours ago, gurn said:

good news for the U.S.

total new infections has gone down from 201,659 on Jan 16 to 155,629 yesterday

Deaths have been over 4,000 on 4 of the last 8 days, but will drop as the infections drop.

Active cases hovering just over 9,800,000

https://www.us-covid-tracker.com/?per100k=0&field=newDeaths&time=14d

 

https://www.covid-19canada.com/

 

19,626 deaths  57,707 active cases in Canada.

what a party we're all going to have when this is over

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by stawns

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/01/28/covid-19-vaccines-cdc-safety-data-pfizer-moderna-coronavirus/4281434001/

The first 22M Americans have been vaccinated for COVID-19, and initial safety data shows everything is going well, CDC says

 

Among 10 million people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 50 went into anaphylaxis shock, a rate of five serious allergic reactions per 1 million doses. Twenty-one people out of 7.6 million who received the Moderna vaccine went into shock, a rate of 2.8 per 1 million doses.

Ninety percent of these incidents occurred within a half-hour of getting a shot, and all recovered.

By comparison, for the seasonal flu shot, the rate of anaphylaxis is 1.3 per million shots, substantially lower than the two authorized COVID-19 vaccines.

[UnkNuk]

15 hours ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

I have to say that you are completely wrong. It has NOTHING to do with vaccine nationalism.

Here is the quote from German Health Minister Jens Spahn:

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that the controls were not about putting the "EU first" but about making sure Europe got its fair share.

 

In addition I would like you to consider the following:

"Europe invested billions to help develop the world's first Covid-19 vaccines, to create a truly global common good. And now the companies must deliver. They must honor their obligations," she said during a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

 

Countries like the United States and Canada and other countries benefit from the investments the  European Union made to facilitate the development of  Covid-19 vaccines.

 

We are the good guys.. We are not like Trump.

Just to be clear, when I wrote - "The thing is, I can see their point" - I meant that I could see the EU's point.

 

 

[-DLC-]