Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

A business associate told me this week about the volume of calls he is fielding about his refrigeration business and the fitting of some of the units they make to trailers of all types and sizes.

I've had a dream of buying seafood straight off the boat and bringing to people inland for years...it is part of my retirement plan...and when I inquired about the small unit I would need for my truck/trailer I was told that manufacture of that unit has been suspended so they can make units for full size tractor trailer units.

South Bend area hospitals look to refrigerated trucks to store bodies as COVID deaths rise

https://www.southbendtribune.com/co...cle_eee8dba8-2b59-11eb-afa4-0fa7b2059a2e.html

 

The NSW-Victoria border [Australia] opens today after being closed for more than four months due to COVID-19 - ABC News

The NSW-Victoria [border has reopened, 138 days after it was slammed shut by Premier Gladys Berejiklian to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As of yesterday, Victoria had recorded 23 consecutive days of no community transmission, while NSW had recorded 15.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11...today-after-four-month-covid-closure/12900992

 

Australia last week, and now China.
I need to stop saying they have it under control

Chaos erupts at Shanghai Airport as thousands forced to quarantine over COVID case

Shanghai’s airport was plunged into chaos today after a worker tested positive for COVID-19 which forced immediate quarantine of thousands of people with medics in bio-hazard suits pushing angry crowds into a car park for mass testing.

 

And that contention or quarantine was just because two people tested positive in Shanghai. They know that's a serious thing and they treat it accordingly, even for just two positives.

 

I fee China is not open with the numbers at all. With 1.3 billion people, they have to have high number of infections, despite the precautions.

 

I think they didn't tell all the numbers of the first wave in Wuhan, but after that, you just have to see how they treat all outbreaks. Two people infected in a big city and they confine a city of millions of people and make thousands of tests there, that's how you treat seriously a virus.
They quarantined and confined Wuhan for months, until they completely eradicated the virus. And then they kept with very restrictive measures and testings, and keeping their borders safe, testing everybody entering through their frontiers and doing quarantines.

 

Oxford University breakthrough on global COVID-19 vaccine

The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, today announces interim trial data from its Phase III trials that show its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019, is effective at preventing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and offers a high level of protection.

Our vaccine work is progressing quickly. To ensure you have the latest information or to find out more about the trial, please visit the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine web hub or visit the COVID-19 trial website.

• Phase 3 interim analysis including 131 Covid-19 cases indicates that the vaccine is 70.4% effective when combining data from two dosing regimens
• In the two different dose regimens vaccine efficacy was 90% in one and 62% in the other
• Higher efficacy regimen used a halved first dose and standard second dose
• Early indication that vaccine could reduce virus transmission from an observed reduction in asymptomatic infections
• There were no hospitalised or severe cases in anyone who received the vaccine
• Large safety database from over 24,000 volunteers from clinical trials in the UK, Brazil and South Africa, with follow up since April
• Crucially, vaccine can be easily administered in existing healthcare systems, stored at ‘fridge temperature’ (2-8 °C) and distributed using existing logistics
• Large scale manufacturing ongoing in over 10 countries to support equitable global access

Happy days are here again.

 

Coronaviruses closely related to the pandemic virus discovered in Japan and Cambodia

The viruses, both found in bats stored in laboratory freezers, are the first SARS-CoV-2 relatives to be found outside China.

Two lab freezers in Asia have yielded surprising discoveries. Researchers have told Nature they have found a coronavirus that is closely related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the pandemic, in horseshoe bats stored in a freezer in Cambodia. Meanwhile, a team in Japan has reported the discovery of another closely related coronavirus — also found in frozen bat droppings.

The viruses are the first known relatives of SARS-CoV-2 to be found outside China, which supports the World Health Organization’s search across Asia for the pandemic’s animal origin. Strong evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 originated in horseshoe bats, but whether it passed directly from bats to people, or through an intermediate host, remains a mystery.

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 1,395,787
United States: 262,726
Brazil: 169,197
South Africa: 20,903
United Kingdom: 55,024
Canada: 11,455
Mexico: 101,676
Poland: 13,774
Russia: 36,540
India: 133,773
Bolivia: 8,907
Japan : 1,974
Indonesia: 16,002
Italy: 49,823
Spain: 42,619
Belgium: 15,618
France: 48,732
Netherlands: 8,891
Chile: 15,069
Philippines: 8,173

 

Why Oxford’s positive COVID vaccine results are puzzling scientists

But the analysis found a striking difference in efficacy, depending on the amount of vaccine delivered to a participant. A regimen consisting of two full doses given a month apart looked to be just 62% effective. But, surprisingly, participants who received a lower amount of the vaccine in a first dose and then the full amount in the second dose were 90% less likely to develop COVID, compared with participants in the placebo arm.

But, if the differences are bona fide, researchers are eager to understand why. “I don’t think it’s an anomaly,” says Katie Ewer, an immunologist at Oxford’s Jenner Institute who is working on the vaccine. “I’m keen to get into the lab and start thinking about how we address that question.” She has two leading theories for why a lower first dose might have led to better protection against COVID. It’s possible that lower doses of vaccine do a better job at stimulating the subset of immune cells called T cells that support the production of antibodies, she says.

Another potential explanation is the immune system’s response against the chimpanzee virus. The vaccine triggers an immune response not only to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but also to components of the viral vector. It’s possible that the full first dose blunted this reaction, says Ewer. She plans to look at antibody responses against the chimpanzee virus to help address this question.

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of Noon EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 1,408,289
United States: 264,144
Brazil: 169,569
South Africa: 20,968
United Kingdom: 55,838
Canada: 11,580
Mexico: 101,926
Poland: 14,314
Russia: 37,031
India: 134,383
Bolivia: 8,916
Japan : 1,989
Indonesia: 16,111
Italy: 51,306
Spain: 43,131
Belgium: 15,755
France: 49,232
Netherlands: 9,035
Chile: 15,131
Philippines: 8,185

 

Covid antibody treatments may keep patients out of the hospital. Who should get the doses first?

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...eep-patients-out-hospital-who-should-n1248699

"The antibody treatments must be given shortly after a patient tests positive, before severe symptoms begin.

But doses of the drugs, one made by Regeneron and the other by Eli Lilly, are extremely limited. Both companies received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in recent weeks.

As many as 30,000 doses of Regeneron's treatment are expected to start being distributed Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Monday, with an additional 50,000 doses available within one week. Eli Lilly has distributed about 120,000 doses.

That barely covers the number of new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each day — the seven-day average is 170,000 new cases a day.

The antibody treatments are not a cure for Covid-19; instead, they work to reduce the amount of virus in a person's body. If given early enough in the course of the disease, that could prevent patients from progressing to the point of hospitalization."

 

Having some crazy internet problems today...

Current Covid19 death numbers as of noon EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 1,420,509
United States: 266,529
Brazil: 170,199
South Africa: 21,083
United Kingdom: 55,838
Canada: 11,681
Mexico: 102,739
Poland: 14,988
Russia: 37,538
India: 135,165
Bolivia: 8,928
Japan : 2,001
Indonesia: 16,225
Italy: 52,028
Spain: 43,668
Belgium: 15,938
France: 50,237
Netherlands: 9,109
Chile: 15,138
Philippines: 8,215

 

'Don't be like my family': Fifteen relatives got Covid-19 after a small gathering

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/don-t-be-my-family-fifteen-relatives-got-covid-19-n1248878

"My family has taken every single precaution with the exception of one and that exception has cost us so much."

"The Aragonez family feels that they’re just like other families navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. They strictly followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention precautions, but after eight months, they ignored one rule and gathered in someone’s house. Now, they’re sharing their story in the hopes that others won’t make the same mistake.

After an impromptu birthday party, 15 members of the Aragonez family tested positive for COVID-19, with Aragonez’s mother spending seven days in the hospital."

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 7:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 1,429,611
United States: 268,262
Brazil: 170,799
South Africa: 21,201
United Kingdom: 56,533
Canada: 11,710
Mexico: 103,597
Poland: 15,568
Russia: 38,062
India: 135,261
Bolivia: 8,933
Japan : 2,001
Indonesia: 16,352
Italy: 52,028
Spain: 44,037
Belgium: 16,077
France: 50,618
Netherlands: 9,109
Chile: 15,138
Philippines: 8,242

 

Your phone can send you an alert if you were near someone who has coronavirus

(CNN)As new coronavirus cases explode nationwide, health officials are turning to cell phones to help slow the spread of infections.

Thanks to technology available on Apple and Google phones, you can now get pop-up notifications in some states if you were close to someone who later tested positive for Covid-19.The alerts come via state health department apps that use Bluetooth technology to detect when you (or more precisely, your phone) has been in close contact with an infected person's phone.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/26/health/states-coronavirus-exposure-notifications-trnd/index.html

 

Emperor Cuomo given the finger by the Supreme Court

 

CEO says AstraZeneca likely to run new global trial of COVID-19 vaccine: Bloomberg News

AstraZeneca is likely to run an additional global trial to assess the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine using a lower dosage, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday amid questions over the results from its late-stage study.

Instead of adding the trial to an ongoing U.S. process, AstraZeneca might launch a fresh study to evaluate a lower dosage of its vaccine that performed better than a full dosage, Pascal Soriot was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg News report.

“Now that we’ve found what looks like a better efficacy we have to validate this, so we need to do an additional study,” he said.

Soriot said it would probably be another “international study, but this one could be faster because we know the efficacy is high so we need a smaller number of patients.”

 

No evidence for increased transmissibility from recurrent mutations in SARS-CoV-2

We do not identify a single recurrent mutation in this set convincingly associated with increased viral transmission. Instead, recurrent mutations currently in circulation appear to be evolutionary neutral and primarily induced by the human immune system via RNA editing, rather than being signatures of adaptation. At this stage we find no evidence for significantly more transmissible lineages of SARS-CoV-2 due to recurrent mutations.

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 8:00 am EST are below, primarily from the source in the original post (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). If your country of interest is not listed below, simply go to the link above to do a search for relevant information.

Total: 1,440,629
United States: 269,597
Brazil: 171,497
South Africa: 21,289
United Kingdom: 57,031
Canada: 11,799
Mexico: 104,242
Poland: 16,147
Russia: 38,558
India: 135,752
Bolivia: 8,939
Japan : 2,022
Indonesia: 16,521
Italy: 52,850
Spain: 44,374
Belgium: 16,219
France: 50,957
Netherlands: 9,184
Chile: 15,235
Philippines: 8,255

 

Holiday season starts under pall of more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases. And 20 states did not report numbers on Thanksgiving Day

(CNN)America enters the somber holiday weekend following a Thanksgiving Day that saw more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases and 1,200 deaths -- skyrocketing numbers given that 20 states did not report data.

Traditionally the start of a time of shopping and giving, the final days of November have seen record highs in the worsening pandemic -- surpassing previous surges and showing no signs of slowing down in the precarious winter months.

The US on Thursday marked the 24th day in a row with more than 100,000 new cases. Hospitalizations hit a new high -- for the 17th consecutive day -- with more than 90,400 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/27/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html

 

Compassion wins.

 

Escaped infected Danish mink could spread Covid in wild

Scientists fear fur farm animals in wild could create ‘lasting’ Covid reservoir that could then spread back to humans

Escaped mink carrying the virus that causes Covid-19 could potentially infect Denmark’s wild animals, raising fears of a permanent Sars-CoV-2 reservoir from which new virus variants could be reintroduced to humans.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...fected-danish-mink-could-spread-covid-in-wild

 

United Airlines begins FIRST chartered flights to move batches of Pfizer COVID vaccine in refrigerated cases as the US prepares for mass distribution

United Airlines is beginning to fly the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination around the country ahead of a mass inoculation program expected to begin in late December, according to a report.

The airline has been granted special permission by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to fly increased quantities of dry ice, to keep the vaccine cold.


he paper said that Pfizer, which has its global headquarters in New York City and has 10 other sites across the United States, plan to make use of refrigerated storage at their final-assembly centers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium.

Pfizer will also make use of storage capacity at distribution sites in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and in Karlsruhe, Germany.