Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

'Australians must know the truth - this virus is not a pandemic': Alan Jones

 

@Compassion you Australian ?

 

No I'm in Commiefornia

COUGH

I meant California.

 

I only gather; ) ❤️❤️ I was curious

 

Our key findings about US healthcare worker deaths to date

As of 6 January, Lost on the frontline has counted 3,248 healthcare worker deaths. The pandemic is not over, and this project is therefore a work in progress, with new names added weekly.

These are our findings to date.

More than half were younger than 60
In the general population, the median age of death from Covid-19 is 78. Yet among health care workers in our database, it is only 59. The majority of people who died were under the age of 60. Hundreds of even younger people also died while working on the frontlines.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-
interactive/2020/dec/22/lost-on-the-frontline-our-findings-to-date

 

Fauci says coronavirus infections might be plateauing

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Thursday that based on recent seven-day averages, coronavirus infections may be about to hit a plateau in the United States.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-fauci-idUSKBN29Q2XH

 

The Biden-Harris plan to beat COVID-19

https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/covid-19/

That's the basic short version.

200 page more in depth version - https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-conte...VID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf

 

The puzzle of COVID-19 on the brain

Dr. Juliette Madrigal has seen a fair number of patients in recent months suffering from anxiety while ill with COVID-19. While it seems reasonable that people with a potentially life-threatening disease would get anxious, Madrigal is increasingly convinced that the anxiety is a side effect that the coronavirus has on the brain.

I've been seeing the anxiety in 20-something-year-olds, who will tell me that they know they're fine, that they know they have a mild case," said Madrigal, a primary care physician in Marble Falls, Texas. "They'll tell me, 'I know this is not going to be the death of me, but I feel very anxious.'"



It's not the only neurological problem Madrigal is seeing in COVID-19 patients.

"We've also seen quite a few patients complain of what we now call 'COVID Brain,'" she said. "People are complaining of feeling confused and about a loss of short-term memory."

While the loss of memory or smell is serious enough, COVID-19 likely causes even worse neurological problems. A recent study published in the Lancet found that of 125 people who had COVID-19 and were diagnosed with a neurological problem, 57 had suffered a stroke, and 10 had suffered psychosis. Other ailments diagnosed included intracerebral hemorrhages, dementia-like symptoms, and inflammation of the brain known as encephalitis. Another Lancet article identified COVID-19 patients who had developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves.

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 9:00 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: 2,102,965
United States: 420,318
Brazil: 214,228
South Africa: 39,501
United Kingdom: 94,580
Canada: 18,622
Mexico: 146,174
Poland: 34,908
Russia: 68,412
India: 153,067
Bolivia: 9,818
Japan : 4,743
Indonesia: 27,453
Italy: 84,202
Spain: 55,041
Belgium: 20,620
France: 71,998
Netherlands: 13,337
Chile: 17,702
Philippines: 10,136

 

I hope their data/research is wrong.

Covid-19 news: UK variant may be 30 per cent more deadly

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...ws-uk-variant-may-be-30-per-cent-more-deadly/

 

Coronavirus: UK variant 'may be more deadly'

Early evidence suggests the variant of coronavirus that emerged in the UK may be more deadly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

However, there remains huge uncertainty around the numbers - and vaccines are still expected to work.

The data comes from mathematicians comparing death rates in people infected with either the new or the old versions of the virus.

The new more infectious variant has already spread widely across the UK.

Mr Johnson told a Downing Street briefing: "In addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant - the variant that was first identified in London and the south east - may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.

"It's largely the impact of this new variant that means the NHS is under such intense pressure."


Public Health England, Imperial College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Exeter have each been trying to assess how deadly the new variant is.

Their evidence has been assessed by scientists on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag).

The group concluded there was a "realistic possibility" that the virus had become more deadly, but this is far from certain.

 

More sunlight equals less COVID transmission, new study suggests

As researchers continue to expand their understanding of the role weather elements such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation play in the spread of the pandemic, a new study says understanding the factor it plays is crucial in refining strategies to slow and stop the coronavirus.

The seasonality of the virus remains an important puzzle to piece together for researchers, as an environmental effect could help better understand the spread patterns of the virus and inform local public health responses alongside other mechanisms, like vaccination.

A recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that UV light has a particularly significant effect on the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.



To frame the puzzle, Proctor, one of the authors involved with the study, and his team used environmental data to look at how case totals responded to periods of particularly strong UV radiation, especially in the period about two weeks later.

"Following this UV shock, we see this dip in cases, but we don't know what causes that," Proctor said. "It could be that the virus is deactivated [by UV light], which would suggest that something like sterilizing using UV lamps could be beneficial," he said.

However, that the correlation between the dip in cases and surges in UV light isn't perfectly clear just yet. He suggested that a number of different types of reactions could all be connected.

For example, when it's sunnier, people socialize outside rather than indoors, and we know that the coronavirus spreads less easily outdoors than indoors, he said. Or the dip could be from an immunological effect in which the production of vitamin D stimulates the immune system, he also postulated.

 

You could argue that it's 'not a pandemic in Australia' simply because we effectively crush it each time there is an outbreak.

Alan Jones is a talk-radio shock jock who earns millions and holds a lot of political sway in this country. He is entitled to his opinion, but most Australians agree with our governments handling of the Coronavirus, given what is currently happening around the world.

We are one of a handful of western countries who are on top of it, are leading a relatively normal life, and our economy is recovering.

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Australians' trust in governments surges to 'extraordinary' high amid Covid

"Initial findings from the Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Cohesion Report show 85% support for the federal government’s response to the pandemic, while backing for some state governments exceeded 90%."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/17/australians-trust-in-governments-surges-to-extraordinary-high-amid-covid


Australia’s economy powers out of Covid-19 recession

Australia has exited its first recession in almost three decades, with the economy growing by a better than expected 3.3 per cent in the September quarter, reflecting authorities’ adept handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Australia has performed better on the health and on the economic fronts than nearly any other country in the world,” said Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s treasurer.

https://www.ft.com/content/ac98dd24-9edb-4618-a9af-5ab4cf892262

 

Hong Kong residents in lockdown to contain coronavirus outbreak

Thousands of Hong Kong residents are locked down for the first time, to contain a worsening outbreak in the city, authorities said. Hong Kong has been grappling to contain a fresh wave of the coronavirus since November.

Over 4,300 cases have been recorded in the last two months, making up nearly 40 per cent of the city's total.

Coronavirus cases in Hong Kong's Yau Tsim Mong District, a working-class neighbourhood with old buildings and subdivided flats, represent about half of the infections in the past week. Sewage testing in the area picked up more concentrated traces of the virus, prompting concerns that poorly built plumbing systems and a lack of ventilation in subdivided units may present a possible path for the virus to spread.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-23/hong-kong-residents-locked-down-covid-19-fresh-wave/13085606

 

Analysis
Elimination could be the optimal response strategy for covid-19 and other emerging pandemic diseases

Michael Baker and colleagues argue that aiming for elimination of community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus could offer important advantages over a suppression or mitigation strategy with ongoing transmission

The covid-19 pandemic might be remembered for the astonishingly rapid development of effective vaccines. But it should also be remembered as the first respiratory disease pandemic in which non-pharmaceutical interventions were widely used to eliminate transmission, including in large countries such as China. As the covid-19 pandemic continues to intensify across much of the globe, many countries are increasing their use of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as “lockdowns” to mitigate its harmful effects.

Here we describe the potential benefits of using an elimination strategy to minimise the negative health and economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic. Pursuing this strategy will become more feasible when effective vaccines are widely available.



https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4907

 

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: 2,118,450
United States: 424,177
Brazil: 215,299
South Africa: 40,076
United Kingdom: 95,981
Canada: 18,828
Mexico: 147,614
Poland: 35,253
Russia: 68,971
India: 153,221
Bolivia: 9,871
Japan : 4,830
Indonesia: 27,664
Italy: 84,674
Spain: 55,441
Belgium: 20,675
France: 72,647
Netherlands: 13,422
Chile: 17,786
Philippines: 10,190

 

I just wanted to comment about this. Every health professional in my family, those I interact with on a personal/friend level and those I speak with on a regular basis due to my health issues (including a top researcher at Duke) say the same thing. Vitamin D is VERY important in preventing/battling covid19.

The sun is one of my favorite things and if I am not on the computer or sleeping, I am outside...even when it is freezing (exposing my face/hands to the sun). On a weekly basis, since childhood, I drink 1 to 2 gallons of whole milk (grew up next to a dairy farm and got free fresh milk daily if I cared to hike through the fields). Of course I take a multivitamin daily and I also take a low dose Vitamin D tablet 12 hours after the multi.

Other things I consume are mass quantities of anti-oxidants, blueberries and broccoli. The vaccine will be part of my routine (likely it will be necessary on a yearly basis) but I will continue to do the best I can to feed my body the building blocks it needs. Stay well my friends and have a stalk of broccoli with dinner tonight!

 

COVID-19 May 'Hide' in Brains and Cause Relapses, Study Says

A new study suggests that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 may hide in the brain of those infected and cause relapses in patients who had seemed to be recovering.

In a study published Tuesday by the journal Viruses, researchers from Georgia State University found that mice infected with the virus through their nasal passages developed severe illness due to brain infection even after the virus had left their lungs. Lead researcher and study co-author Mukesh Kumar suggested that the findings could explain why human patients who appear to be nearly over the illness sometimes quickly relapse and die.

"The brain is one of the regions where virus likes to hide," Kumar said in a press release. "That's why we're seeing severe disease and all these multiple symptoms like heart disease, stroke and all these long-haulers with loss of smell, loss of taste ... All of this has to do with the brain rather than with the lungs."

The study found that the virus was located in the brains of mice at a level 1,000 times higher than any other area of the body. While levels of the virus located in the lungs began to diminish after three days of infection, the virus remained at high levels in the brain on the fifth and sixth days, when the course of the disease became more severe.

 

I came across this study a couple of days ago.

No evidence that vitamin D is able to prevent or affect the severity of COVID-19 in individuals with European ancestry: a Mendelian randomisation study of open data

In conclusion, we found no evidence that vitamin D is protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 severity. Our data support the recent statement by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that the use of vitamin D supplementation to mitigate COVID-19 is not supported by the available data.

I think they say" Vitamin D will boost immunity" but overdosing on it to fight Covid-19 is useless.

 

Rhesus Macaques Develop Promising Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2

In a promising result for the success of vaccines against COVID-19, rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 developed protective immune responses that might be reproduced with a vaccine. The work was carried out at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis, and is published Jan. 22 in the journal Nature Communications.

“These results suggest that vaccines inducing durable protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 do so by stimulating robust germinal center responses — a question that can be effectively answered using the rhesus model,” said Smita Iyer, assistant professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

The immune response to coronavirus plays a protective role in recovery from disease, and most patients make a full recovery, Iyer said. But an uncontrolled immune response or “cytokine storm” is also implicated in causing severe complications in some people.



Animal studies are critical to conclusively identify markers of vaccine-mediated protection, by telling us which immune cells triggered by the vaccine are protective. Understanding immune determinants of protection against infection and disease is crucial to enhance vaccine efficacy, Iyer said.

 

@Mister Funsky ,

Although I haven't participated in this thread before, but I appreciate reading some of the useful info and stats that it contains,

One reason that I haven't engaged the members here is because I have a low tolerance for fights and arguments that some of the people want to get into with regards to conspiracy theories and propaganda about the Pandemic and that's mainly because like you I also have some health issues that requires me not to get stressed out by getting into heated discussions with others.

But nevertheless I still care about creating awareness about issues that are ailing Humanity and our Home Planet.

On a side note, I noticed that you mentioned in your last post that you like to drink a lot of milk. Although drinking milk can be beneficial to our health, but drinking too much of it can have the opposite effect as our body is not designed to handle large quantities of milk once we are past childhood.

Yoy can do a google search for

"is too much milk bad for you"

to find out more about this.

Keep your thread going and stay safe.

IMO

 

Overdosing on any vitamin or supplement is useless (the body eliminates it) and can be deadly in high concentrations. Everyone should get medical advice before ingesting any chemical.

 

Yep, too much of anything can be bad for you (milk, chocolate, sun, sex, etc)

I've mentioned it a time or two before here but my expiration date has been far exceeded. I'm a sort of lab rat for a couple of universities and more than one medical system. My diet was and is closely watched...they do not tell me what to do but they are curious if there is any outside/unknown reason for my survival. Details about the whole journey will either be released in book form and/or papers one day...the situation is complicated by medical mistakes that ultimately worked out for good...that's about all I can share now.

Yes, stress is a killer in more ways than one. As my signature states, the [ignore] feature is an awesome thing! But after time it becomes easy to recognize those that have nothing to contribute and I've developed the ability to skip over those posts without seeing a single word unless I choose to...it is actually a good mental exercise that ultimately strengthens self control a bit.

Please visit and post info in this thread often. There are several contributors here that take the time to post relevant and informative articles and they are very much appreciated.

 

Larry King has died from covid complications, this morning. RIP.

 

also want to mention they have replaced flu deaths with covid deaths. that is all.