Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

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: 2,169,732
United States: 435,452
Brazil: 218,918
South Africa: 41,797
United Kingdom: 100,162
Canada: 19,403
Mexico: 152,016
Poland: 36,054
Russia: 71,076
India: 153,751
Bolivia: 10,105
Japan : 5,158
Indonesia: 28,855
Italy: 86,422
Spain: 56,799
Belgium: 20,879
France: 74,106
Netherlands: 13,665
Chile: 18,023
Philippines: 10,481

 

China takes anal swabs to test people at high risk of contracting Covid-19

China is reportedly using anal swabs to test people at high risk of contracting Covid-19. According to a report in state-run CCTV, anal swabs are being taken from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing as well as those living in designated quarantine facilities.

The anal swabs method “can increase the detection rate of infected people” as traces of the virus linger longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing’s Youan hospital, told CCTV.

 

Just made me spit coffee on my keyboard and monitor...'Just say NO' to anal swabs!

 

In China you don't say no, to anal swabs.

 

Vaccine 2.0: Moderna and other companies plan tweaks that would protect against new coronavirus mutations

News from U.S. manufacturer Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine is still “expected to be protective” against a virus variant first detected in South Africa came as a relief to scientists and the public. But the 25 January announcement included a caveat: Antibodies triggered by the vaccine appear to be a little less potent against the new variant, named B.1.351, than the one the vaccine was developed for. So researchers were perhaps even more relieved to hear the company will start development of booster shots tailored to B.1.351 and other variants.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...mpanies-plan-tweaks-would-protect-against-new

 

Covaxin "Effectively Neutralises" UK Covid Strain, Claims Bharat Biotech

Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said today that its coronavirus vaccine Covaxin has been found effective against the UK variant of the virus, which is considered 70 per cent more infectious than the Wuhan variety and is more lethal. In a tweet today, Bharat Biotech said "Covaxin effectively neutralises UK variants of SARS-CoV-2 reducing the possibility of mutant virus escape".

In the tweet, the firm also enclosed a link to the findings of it is research, which was conducted by scientists of the National Institute of Virology. The report, however, is yet to be peer reviewed..

 

Peru orders total lockdown across 10 states as second wave bites

LIMA (Reuters) - President Francisco Sagasti of Peru on Tuesday night announced a total lockdown of the capital and nine other regions following a significant increase in COVID cases, which he said had pushed hospitals close to collapse.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-peru-idUSKBN29W0B3

 

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: 2,186,895
United States: 439,521
Brazil: 220,237
South Africa: 42,550
United Kingdom: 101,887
Canada: 19,533
Mexico: 153,639
Poland: 36,443
Russia: 71,651
India: 153,885
Bolivia: 10,167
Japan : 5,252
Indonesia: 29,331
Italy: 86,889
Spain: 57,291
Belgium: 20,933
France: 74,456
Netherlands: 13,733
Chile: 18,040
Philippines: 10,552

 

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

Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is showing 92 percent effectiveness in Israel, according to the world’s first big controlled investigation on how it works outside of clinical tests.

Only 31 out of 163,000 Israelis vaccinated by Maccabi Healthcare Services caught coronavirus in their first 10 days of full-strength protection, its top vaccine statistics analyst, Anat Ekka Zohar, told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

“This is very, very good news,” Ekka Zohar said. “It is the first study in the world that looks at such a large number of fully vaccinated patients.”

Pfizer achieved 95% efficacy in clinical trials, and doctors worldwide are looking to Israel with bated breath to see whether the vaccine comes close to that figure in real-world use.

 

In Vitro Studies Demonstrate Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Elicits Antibodies that Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 with Key Mutations Present in U.K. and South African Variants

https://pfe-pfizercom-d8-prod.s3.am...tatement.pdf?hwIRWgGfK3tkNe0qHOoGcMF1IbRhqX0S

New York and Mainz, Germany, January 27, 2021 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE(Nasd aq : BNTX) announced results from in vitro neutralization studies of sera from individuals vaccinated with the Pf izer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The sera neutralized SARS-Co V-2 with key mutations present in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and South Africa variants, as measured by studiesconducted by Pfizer and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). The results were published on the preprint server bioRxiv and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

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Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine Works Against Mutations Found in U.K, South Africa Variants, Lab Study Finds

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer...h-africa-variants-lab-study-finds-11611802559

"A Pfizer Inc. PFE -2.90% laboratory study found that coronavirus mutations identified in the U.K. and South Africa had only small impacts on the effectiveness of antibodies generated by the company’s Covid-19 vaccine."

"Pfizer said the “findings do not indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants.” The company said, however, that it and partner BioNTech SE BNTX -0.30% were prepared to respond to a vaccine-resistant version of the virus."

 

How the Coronavirus Turns the Body Against Itself

The coronavirus can warp the body’s defenses in many ways — disarming the body’s early warning systems, for example, or causing immune cells to misfire. But a spate of new studies suggests another insidious consequence: The infection can trigger the production of antibodies that mistakenly attack the patient’s own tissues instead of the virus.

The latest report, published online this week, suggests that so-called autoantibodies can persist months after the infection has resolved, perhaps causing irreparable harm. If other studies confirm the finding, it may explain some of the lingering symptoms in people who have recovered from Covid-19. The syndrome, sometimes referred to as long Covid, can include dementia, “brain fog” and joint pain.

The newest study is small, with just nine patients, five of whom had autoantibodies for at least seven months. It has not yet undergone peer review for publication, and the authors urged caution in interpreting the results.

 

Apparently a Weibo user has commented: “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.”

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/h...s/news-story/4b4d71274e89120a77c70e282e419704

 

Novavax says its Covid-19 vaccine is 89.3 percent effective

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/sci...id-19-vaccine-89-3-percent-effective-n1256075

"An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the biotech company Novavax is 89.3 percent effective at preventing Covid-19, the company announced Thursday.

Results from Novavax's Phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom demonstrated the vaccine candidate's efficacy and showed that it protected against the U.K. variant of the virus. Results from another trial, in South Africa, showed that it was also effective against the variant that emerged there, although efficacy was lower."

 

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: 2,202,990
United States: 443,769
Brazil: 221,676
South Africa: 43,105
United Kingdom: 103,126
Canada: 19,664
Mexico: 155,145
Poland: 36,780
Russia: 72,185
India: 154,047
Bolivia: 10,226
Japan : 5,361
Indonesia: 29,518
Italy: 87,381
Spain: 57,806
Belgium: 20,982
France: 74,800
Netherlands: 13,816
Chile: 18,174
Philippines: 10,6007

 

South Carolina officials confirm first two cases of South African variant in the U.S.

Health officials in South Carolina confirmed that two people in the state have tested positive for a new coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa. These are the first two confirmed cases of the more infectious variant in the U.S. The South African strain, which is called B.1.351, is one of several new variants wthat have emerged around the world and are raising concern among government officials and medical experts over their transmissibility. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed the two cases in residents of the Lowcountry and the Pee Dee region in a news release on Thursday. Neither adult has a travel history, and they do not know each other, officials said

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...of-south-african-variant-in-the-us-2021-01-28

 

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Janssen is 66% effective, the Belgian company has announced.

An international trial looked at giving just one dose of the vaccine, which makes it significantly easier to roll out than those requiring two.

The UK has already pre-ordered 30m doses.

The news comes shortly after Novavax announced their jab was 89% effective. Both will need to be reviewed by regulators before they can be used.

Janssen, a pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson, is also investigating whether giving two doses will give either stronger or longer-lasting protection.

The company said its initial findings showed one dose prevented 85% of severe cases.

However part of the trial in South Africa, where a new version of the coronavirus is spreading. found it was just 57% effective.

 

Everyday Covid mistakes we are all still making

Covid-19 infections in the UK are reducing but remain stubbornly high, despite a month of lockdown measures. So could we be doing more as individuals to curb transmission of the virus? A virologist, a psychologist and a public health expert share their views on some of the Covid-19 mistakes that we are all still making.

Focusing on what’s allowed, rather than what’s safe

Even though we’re in lockdown, there’s more scope for social contact than the first time around: for example, in England you can meet a friend for exercise; have cleaners, childminders, or tradespeople in your home; and form various types of bubbles with other households. Such allowances are important for mental health and the economy, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely safe.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/everyday-covid-mistakes-we-are-all-still-making

 

Not surprisingly this video has been found by our broadcasting watchdog to have “misrepresented the research”.

Alan Jones forced to correct attack on Daniel Andrews that ‘misrepresented' Covid research
Broadcasting watchdog’s finding followed complaint about Jones’s commentary...

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...el-andrews-that-misrepresented-covid-research

 

broadcasting watchdogs?

Is that like the ministry of propaganda fact checkers of down under?

People have the ability to think for themselves without the government telling them how to think.

 

Ministry of Propaganda?

Wasn't that the political mouthpiece for NAZI ideology?

The buzzwords you use are deeply disturbing.

 

Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is effective against severe disease

A single-shot coronavirus vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is 85 percent effective at preventing severe disease and death, even against new variants of the virus, the company announced in its interim analysis January 29.

The vaccine didn’t fare as well at preventing more moderate cases of COVID-19, particularly in Latin America and South Africa, where variants that spread more easily have arisen. Depending on location, the shot was only 72 percent to 57 percent effective against moderate to severe bouts of the illness.

 

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 7:15 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: 2,218,360
United States: 447,459
Brazil: 222,775
South Africa: 43,633
United Kingdom: 104,371
Canada: 19,801
Mexico: 156,579
Poland: 37,082
Russia: 72,697
India: 154,184
Bolivia: 10,279
Japan : 5,452
Indonesia: 29,728
Italy: 87,858
Spain: 58,319
Belgium: 21,018
France: 75,620
Netherlands: 13,872
Chile: 18,257
Philippines: 10,669

 

Thanks to @CraigD for posting numbers. I am having some medical issues and asked him to do so for the thread if I am unable to for a few days. In the event of an extended absence it is up to those of you that are thoughtful contributors to do that on a regular basis or at all (clearly it is not important to put numbers up every day but it became a part of my daily routine early on). My hopes are that you all will continue to share relevant news and info here.

Not a lot to share at this point regarding current issues other that it was not a heart attack or stroke. Oddly enough, the one test they did not/could not do was for covid19, LOL. They were out of tests and wanted me to go to the main hospital (which would have tried to admit me) so I declined both the test and admission.

I am waiting for the doctor that is in charge of research for my particular cancer to return to the country first part of next week. I imagine they will have me make the trip to the main facility for some more testing, but I think I've determined the cause of the problem and will be addressing it at home until/unless they have me stop in.

So, for now, the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated! LOL, I crack me up,

 

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelow...st-residents-receives-COVID-19-vaccine#323516

All the best Mr Funsky, get feeling better soon.

 

Take good care of yourself @Mister Funsky, and feel well soon. Thanks for keeping the thread going for 198 pages -- I've learned all kinds of things here I wouldn't have known otherwise.