news Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news

[Mister Funsky]

Having relatives and friends scattered all over the globe, I am getting an overload of input (some on the record and some off the record).

My intention for this thread is for community members from around the world to post first hand stories and/or links to information sources that, for the most part, should be reliable.

In my community, just outside a major southeastern city, 'assets' have been placed. Only because I have friends in both high and low places have I heard about some of this. At this point it is only some basic medical supplies that should be equally distributed anyway in preparation for a natural emergency (hurricane/wildfire/etc.).

I will start with posting a link to a site with current data that seems to come from an aggregate of sources and hope others will do the same as they come across similar sites/pages.

Because of the 'typhoid Mary' spread-ability of this disease, I feel we may be in for a really large spread globally which will impact the global economy and through extension, retail domain prices.

One thing is for sure...things will get worse before they get better.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa-coronavirus/

 

[J Sokol]

Unvaccinated people are 97 times more likely to die of Covid-19 than those with a booster, CDC director says

That's a compelling graphic.

 

[rh2000]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1488605657452498944

https://twitter.com/x/status/1489177939258355715

 

[oldtimer]

I believe that those who have had a hand in making the production and distribution of all the Covid vaccines possible deserve our thanks and gratitude,

But at the same time I have been wondering what incentives are there for these vaccine companies to actually find a cure for Covid (or for any other disease for that matter) if they have a cash cow that is going to bring them so much money in the way of the booster shots every year.

IMO

 

[Sutruk]

But at the same time I have been wondering what incentives are there for these vaccine companies to actually find a cure for Covid (or for any other disease for that matter) if they have a cash cow that is going to bring them so much money in the way of the booster shots every year.

Vaccines are precisely the cure for Covid-19 and many other viral infections. What happens is that some viruses mutate more than others, so it's required and updated vaccine (booster) to neutralize the new mutation or strain.
Hopefully soon covid-19 will stop mutating, so everyone that's vaccinated will be safe against a covid-19 infection.
Also there are some companies already working to develop a broader vaccine that hopefully will work even against future covid-19 mutations.

 

[oldtimer]

Vaccines are precisely the cure for Covid-19 and many other viral infections. What happens is that some viruses mutate more than others, so it's required and updated vaccine (booster) to neutralize the new mutation or strain.
Hopefully soon covid-19 will stop mutating, so everyone that's vaccinated will be safe against a covid-19 infection.
Also there are some companies already working to develop a broader vaccine that hopefully will work even against future covid-19 mutations.

I know that vaccines are very effective hence the fact that I have already gotten my Covid booster shot,

But I was thinking of seeing something more revolutionary in the medical science and technology.

It seems that there has been a lot of advancements in other sciences and technologies compared to what we have been seeing in the medical field for the past couple of decades.

For example it was just a month ago when they launched the new James Webb telescope which is supposed to be a big improvement to it's predecessor and which supposedly can see all the way to the edge of the Universe and the beginning of time (although I could have saved them some money because I can already tell them what they are going to see out there without a telescope ) , but the point is that there is an incremental but steady improvement in many other fields except when it comes to the medical field which we are still grappling with the same diseases that have been around for centuries.

This might sound like science fiction at the present time, but I like to see bigger and more revolutionary advancements in our ability to fight disease like for example making microscopic robots that can hunt the bad microorganisms from within our body or inventing a machine that can destroy those microorganisms by matching their resonance frequencies at the nano scale.

It's logical to assume that pharmaceutical companies are not that eager to come up with any real cures as long as they can sell us more and more pills and vaccines. I mean why should they put themselves out of business by curing the diseases that bring them so much money.

And lets not forget about the politicians who are getting their cut from all these profits. After all this is a much safer and more respectable way for them to get rich compared to some of the other schemes that they have their hands in (like the illegal drugs trade).

IMO

 

[Sutruk]

like for example making microscopic robots that can hunt the bad microorganisms from within our body or inventing a machine that can destroy those microorganisms by matching their resonance frequencies at the nano scale.

Vaccines induce an immune response that creates antibodies, B and killer T cells that will destroy the virus. You won't find any robot capable of doing this task more efficiently than those of our immune system, because those immune cells have been evolving, fighting and killing viruses and the likes for hundreds of thousands of years.

It seems that there has been a lot of advancements in other sciences and technologies compared to what we have been seeing in the medical field for the past couple of decades.

mRNA vaccines (and technology) have been developed in the last 20 years, and thanks to that now we have the best vaccines with the highest efficiency rate over the old ones. Also with the new mRNA technology it will be possible to find a treatment and a vaccine for other diseases that had no cure or vaccine until now, like the following one:

Moderna launches clinical trial for HIV vaccine that uses mRNA technology​

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/moder...hiv-vaccine-mrna-technology/story?id=82510807

"Moderna announced Thursday that it's launched early-stage clinical trials of an HIV mRNA vaccine.

The biotechnology company has teamed up with the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to develop the shot, which uses the same technology as Moderna's successful COVID-19 vaccine.

The first participants in the Phase I trial were given doses at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., according to a company statement.

"We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna's mRNA platform," Dr. Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of IAVI, said in a statement. "The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine."

 

[Cal2]

But at the same time I have been wondering what incentives are there for these vaccine companies to actually find a cure for Covid (or for any other disease for that matter) if they have a cash cow that is going to bring them so much money in the way of the booster shots every year.

There could be companies also involved, but I can only recall reading of 4 universities, 1 nonprofit and the US Army as doing research for finding a cure. There's probably more of those kinds.
Maybe pharma companies are really only interested in focusing on drugs that give them 'repeat business'(?)

 

[Mister Funsky]

Maybe pharma companies are really only interested in focusing on drugs that give them 'repeat business'(?)

Brings to mind the collusion between 'drug' companies and their stomach ulcer medications.

As a young man, I was siphoning gas from a Ford 8N Tractor to put in my new street bike (it was a Suzuki 750 and after I made the monthly payment, gasoline was sometimes hard to afford) and I got a stomach full of fuel...this began a period of stomach issues.

Bottom line is that after having to take different forms of ulcer medications for years, it came out that most of those issues could have been cured with a certain type of antibiotic...the druggers knew that but kept pushing their ulcer meds...after all, a cure is bad for business.

(there are many drug stories like this...I was involved with a doctors daughter that was also a senior drug rep for a major international company at one time...she told me of many cases like the ulcer cure suppression)

 

[Sutruk]

There could be companies also involved, but I can only recall reading of 4 universities, 1 nonprofit and the US Army as doing research for finding a cure. There's probably more of those kinds.
Maybe pharma companies are really only interested in focusing on drugs that give them 'repeat business'(?)

Targeting the virus Spike protein was the fastest and more secure path to develop a vaccine against covid-19 in a record time. Not only mRNA vaccines, but also the most of the other vaccine manufacturers (and countries) worldwide targeted this Spike protein.
But this is like an "Arms race" and the virus mutates, including this Spike protein.
Prove is that the rest of companies trying to find a broader vaccine that would work also against future virus mutations or strains still haven't been able to develop that vaccine, at least until now.
Now imagine two years after the appearance of covid-19 and without a vaccine, how many deaths worldwide would it have cost?
As I say, vaccines are the cure to prevent a virus infection or virus disease. They induce an immune response that fights and kills the virus, and if the virus doesn't mutate, it's a cure for a lifetime.

 

[Sutruk]

Maybe pharma companies are really only interested in focusing on drugs that give them 'repeat business'(?)

It may be the case in some cases. But I really don't think it's the case with covid-19 vaccines.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Austria Implements COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate​

Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen Friday signed a new law requiring those ages 18 and older to get vaccinated for COVID-19, making the country the first in Europe to introduce a national vaccine mandate.

Under the new law, which takes effect the middle of next month, people who cannot show proof of vaccination will face initial fines of $680, which could increase to more than $4,100. The Austrian Health Ministry says there are exemptions for pregnant women and people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

more...

https://www.voanews.com/a/6426811.html

 

[Cal2]

​

Prove is that the rest of companies trying to find a broader vaccine that would work also against future virus mutations or strains still haven't been able to develop that vaccine, at least until now.
Now imagine two years after the appearance of covid-19 and without a vaccine, how many deaths worldwide would it have cost?

Pharmaceutical companies are opportunists, imo. They saw an opportunity and took it. Now try to get them to share it, when it isn't in their best interests......

Experts seriously doubt whether patent waivers on Covid-19 vaccines will ever come to be​

“It limits how much manufacturing there can be of that product or that vaccine,” said Thirumurthy, adding it keeps the price “artificially high enough that it limits the ability of other countries in the world.”

But critics counter that patent waivers will not automatically lead to an improvement in global vaccine distribution.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was among those who originally spoke out against the patent waiver, emphasizing that there are problems beyond patents that must be addressed first. Gates later reversed his stance and is now in full support of temporarily waiving the protections over coronavirus vaccine patents."

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/22/why...he-nih-debate-who-owns-the-covid-vaccine.html

When one considers the manufacturing and distribution capabilities of pharma companies in places like India and China, I'd say the critics are full of it. It's about $, and protectionism. imo

It may be the case in some cases. But I really don't think it's the case with covid-19 vaccines.

Their covid vaccines are 'repeat business'.

imo

 

[Sutruk]

Pharmaceutical companies are opportunists, imo. They saw an opportunity and took it. Now try to get them to share it, when it isn't in their best interests......

Pharma companies spend millions of dollars developing medicines and vaccines that will save millions of lives every year. So they are not going to give their medicines for free... understandable.

Their covid vaccines are 'repeat business'.


But I could be missing something in the above.....

Their covid vaccines have saved millions of lives in this pandemic.

If the US Army would have been able to develop the "mother of all vaccines" that would work even with "future virus mutations and strains" in a record time, and make it work safely, faster than Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca etc, why haven't they done it yet?

But I could be missing something in the above and maybe it would have been better that these pharma companies had not existed so covid-19 and hundreds of other diseases would spread freely and widely around the world, because you know, they are opportunists and want make money for their work...

 

[Cal2]

Israeli Study Finds Clear Link Between Vitamin D, Covid-19 Severity

Patients with Vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL) were 14 times more likely to have a severe or critical case of COVID than those with more than 40 ng/mL, according to the study. Mortality among patients with sufficient Vitamin D levels was 2.3 percent in contrast to 25.6 percent in the Vitamin D deficient group.

https://nocamels.com/2022/02/israel-study-vitamin-d-covid-19-severity/

 

[Cal2]

Pharma companies spend millions of dollars developing medicines and vaccines that will save millions of lifes every year. So they are not going to give their medicines for free... understandable.


Their covid vaccines have saved millions of lives in this pandemic.

If the US Army would have been able to develop the "mother of all vaccines" that would work even with "future virus mutations and strains" in a record time, and make it work safely, faster than Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca etc, why haven't they done it yet?

But I could be missing something in the above and maybe it would have been better that these pharma companies had not existed so covid-19 and hundreds of other diseases would spread freely and widely around the world, because you know, they are opportunists and want make money for their work...

They don't have to give it up for free.

 

[Cal2]

Brings to mind the collusion between 'drug' companies and their stomach ulcer medications.

As a young man, I was siphoning gas from a Ford 8N Tractor to put in my new street bike (it was a Suzuki 750 and after I made the monthly payment, gasoline was sometimes hard to afford) and I got a stomach full of fuel...this began a period of stomach issues.

Bottom line is that after having to take different forms of ulcer medications for years, it came out that most of those issues could have been cured with a certain type of antibiotic...the druggers knew that but kept pushing their ulcer meds...after all, a cure is bad for business.

(there are many drug stories like this...I was involved with a doctors daughter that was also a senior drug rep for a major international company at one time...she told me of many cases like the ulcer cure suppression)

The ongoing criminal activities of most (all?) of the best known drug companies is easy to google - but only for those things they've been caught at.

I look forward to when, as much as possible, they can be replaced. Eg. I've a few domain names in this direction, for a possible future project:

A Step Closer to 3D Printing for Personalized Medicines​

"Moving forward, Qi believes this technology could be widely in use in five to seven years. FabRx’s Goyanes hopes to see pharmaceutical 3D printers in clinical settings around the world within the next 10 years. “This may only be for a handful of drug formulations and treatment pathways because of the clinical trials required, but we will continue to help push development in this area for new patient groups.”

https://www.pharmexec.com/view/a-step-closer-to-3d-printing-for-personalized-medicines

 

[Cal2]

South African scientists copy Moderna’s COVID vaccine​

During the COVID-19 pandemic, developers of mRNA vaccines — Moderna, based in Cambridge, Masschusetts, Pfizer, in New York City, and BioNTech, in Mainz, Germany — have sent more than 70% of their doses to wealthy nations, according to vaccine-distribution analyses. Meanwhile, millions of doses purchased by or promised to low- and middle-income countries have been delayed. “Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech’s vaccines are mainly still going to just the richest countries,” says Martin Friede, the WHO official coordinating the hub. “Our objective is to empower other countries to make their own.”

Many steps remain before Afrigen’s mRNA vaccine candidate can be distributed to people in Africa and beyond, and it definitely won’t help to curb the pandemic this year. But the WHO hopes that the process of creating it will lay the foundation for a more globally distributed mRNA-vaccine industry. .......

When the WHO launched its mRNA tech-transfer hub in South Africa last June, it asked Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech to help teach researchers in low- and middle-income countries how to make their COVID-19 vaccines. But the companies did not respond, and the WHO decided to go ahead without their help. Friede says the WHO chose to replicate Moderna’s shot because more information on its development is available publicly, compared with Pfizer–BioNTech’s vaccine, and because Moderna has vowed not to enforce its patents during the pandemic.

With funds from countries including France, Germany and Belgium, South African researchers began chipping away at the project in late September. A team at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg took the lead on the first step: making a DNA molecule that would serve as a template to synthesize the mRNA. Although Moderna has controversially patented this sequence, researchers at Stanford University in California deposited it in the online database Virological.org in March last year.

Patrick Arbuthnot, director of gene-therapy research at the University of the Witwatersrand, says, “We were not intimidated, because mRNA synthesis is a fairly generic procedure.” Despite delays in the shipment of raw materials, the team completed this process in ten weeks and sent vials of mRNA to Afrigen in early December.

During this period, having heard about plans to mimic Moderna’s shot, scientists from around the world e-mailed Afrigen researchers to offer assistance. Some of them were at the US National Institutes of Health, and had conducted foundational work on mRNA vaccines. “It was extraordinary,” says Petro Terblanche, Afrigen's managing director. “I think a lot of scientists were disillusioned with what had happened with vaccine distribution, and they wanted to help get the world out of this dilemma.”"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00293-2

 

[Cal2]

Long-COVID symptoms less likely in vaccinated people, Israeli data say​

Researchers in Israel report that people who have had both SARS-CoV-2 infection and doses of Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine were much less likely to report any of a range of common long-COVID symptoms than were people who were unvaccinated when infected. In fact, vaccinated people were no more likely to report symptoms than people who’d never caught SARS-CoV-2. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00177-5

 

[Sutruk]

Omicron-specific booster may not be needed, U.S. monkey study finds​

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/om...t-be-needed-us-monkey-study-finds-2022-02-04/

"A study in monkeys pitting the current Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) COVID-19 booster against an Omicron-specific booster showed no significant differences in protection, suggesting an Omicron-specific booster may not be needed, U.S. government researchers reported on Friday.

The study involved monkeys vaccinated with two doses of Moderna's vaccine who were dosed nine months later with either the conventional Moderna booster or one specifically targeting the Omicron variant.

The researchers tested various aspects of the animals' immune responses and exposed them to the virus. They found both boosters produced "comparable and significant increases in neutralizing antibody responses" against all of the variants of concern, including Omicron, according to the study, posted on bioRxiv ahead of peer review.

"This is very, very good news," "It means we don't need to radically redesign the vaccine to make it an Omicron vaccine."

Douek said he believes the reason is that both the original and the Omicron-specific vaccines are "cross-reactive," meaning they can recognize lots of different variants."

 

[J Sokol]

Putting big pharma in charge of global vaccine rollout was a big mistake​

Pfizer has had an exceptionally good pandemic. Today it announced that its Covid-19 vaccine brought in $37bn billion last year, making it easily the most lucrative medicine in any given year in history.

The truth is, they aren’t the sole inventors of the vaccine. That was the work of public money, university research and a much smaller company, Germany’s BioNTech. As one former US government official complained, the fact we call it the “Pfizer” vaccine is “the biggest marketing coup in the history of American pharmaceuticals”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/08/big-pharma-global-vaccine-rollout-covid-pfizer

 

[Cal2]

Putting big pharma in charge of global vaccine rollout was a big mistake​

Pfizer has had an exceptionally good pandemic. Today it announced that its Covid-19 vaccine brought in $37bn billion last year, making it easily the most lucrative medicine in any given year in history.

The truth is, they aren’t the sole inventors of the vaccine. That was the work of public money, university research and a much smaller company, Germany’s BioNTech. As one former US government official complained, the fact we call it the “Pfizer” vaccine is “the biggest marketing coup in the history of American pharmaceuticals”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/08/big-pharma-global-vaccine-rollout-covid-pfizer

Adding to ^ :

The tangled history of mRNA vaccines​

Hundreds of scientists had worked on mRNA vaccines for decades before the coronavirus pandemic brought a breakthrough

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02483-w

 

[J Sokol]

The tangled history of mRNA vaccines

"Tangled" is a good word to describe the long and winding route that led to these life-saving vaccines. Interesting article.

 

[Sutruk]

Putting big pharma in charge of global vaccine rollout was a big mistake​

Pfizer has had an exceptionally good pandemic. Today it announced that its Covid-19 vaccine brought in $37bn billion last year, making it easily the most lucrative medicine in any given year in history.

The truth is, they aren’t the sole inventors of the vaccine. That was the work of public money, university research and a much smaller company, Germany’s BioNTech. As one former US government official complained, the fact we call it the “Pfizer” vaccine is “the biggest marketing coup in the history of American pharmaceuticals”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/08/big-pharma-global-vaccine-rollout-covid-pfizer

Just reading the headline makes me wonder if the writer thinks he's smarter than everyone else in this world or what.

"Putting big pharma in charge of global vaccine rollout was a big mistake" Really? Who has "put big pharma in charge"? The US? The World? And so, here I ask: The "one" or the "who" who has "put big pharma in charge of global vaccine rollout", why haven't they done the work themselves?

Yes right, because the only ones who had the means and the infrastructure to mass produce the vaccine was the big pharma.
Now take out the big pharma from the equation, and we would still be without a vaccine two years (or maybe one year at least) after the start of this pandemic.

"Big Pharma" as the writer says, has been the only ones that have invested to mass produce the technology developed by BioNTech or Moderna. And these "small" companies are private companies that have invested a lot of resources, time, knowledge and talent to develop their technology.

In a perfect world, medicines would be produced by Governments and given for free to the rest of the whole World. Houses would be build by Governments and given for free to the people.
Food would be produced by Governments and given for free to the people... oh wait, Hasn't this been tried before? I think it was Communism... and it didn't end very well, I think.

And as one of the "Guardian pick" comments says:

"It's also worth remembering that as tiny as folks like to imagine the Pharma R&D budget is, it's ENORMOUS by the standards of research-intensive industry, a much higher portion of the company budget than basically any industry except semiconductors. And it's worth remembering that part of the reason these vaccines were developed so fast is that these big Pharma companies were able to throw such enormous amounts of resources at the problem - that they got the answer well over a year before publicly funded science did.

By all means - make them pay their taxes. Make sure they help pay for the public science of which they are one of the many beneficiaries. But it remains insane to act like the work they did would have happened without them, or act like they were the sole beneficiary of public science, and that that work essentially subsidized them."

 

[oldtimer]

That's why Governments put a time limit on patents.

This way although companies can benefit from their innovations, inventions, and the fact that they might have come up with new ideas, processes, procedures, and products, but eventually after the patents expire it makes it possible for the general public to also be able to benefit from all these new advancements at more affordable prices.

So I guess what makes this beneficial to all sides is for the length of time of the patents to have been determined in a fair and balanced way.

What makes the situation with the vaccines special is the fact that the World is going through an emergency situation which makes the vaccines different than all the other innovations and products that people don't have to have right away.

At this time the patents for the vaccines should either be bought by the Governments at a fair price or just be waived if the vaccine companies have already had a chance to make a fair profit.

So what's holding the patents from being either bought or waived?

Well I guess the main obstacles are the politicians that are getting kickbacks from pharma and are not yet willing to give up on a cash cow that they can milk for years to come.

So basically it comes down to the fact that people have to die due to the lack of having enough vaccines so that politicians and their friends in the pharma Industry can buy bigger and bigger mansions (which are not good for the Environment anyways).

I don't like the old Communism way of running things, but I am sure that I don't like this kind of Capitalism either.

IMO

 

[Sutruk]

That's why Governments put a time limit on patents.

This way although companies can benefit from their innovations, inventions, and the fact that they might have come up with new ideas, processes, procedures, and products, but eventually after the patents expire it makes it possible for the general public to also be able to benefit from all these new advancements at more affordable prices.

So I guess what makes this beneficial to all sides is for the length of time of the patent to have been determined in a fair and balanced way.

What makes the situation with the vaccines special is the fact that the World is going through an emergency situation which makes the vaccines different than all the other innovations and products that people don't have to have right away.

At this time the patents for the vaccines should either be bought by the Governments at a fair price or just be waived if the vaccine companies have already had a chance to make a fair profit.

So what's holding the patents from being either bought or waived?

Well I guess the main obstacles are the politicians that are getting kickbacks from pharma and are not yet willing to give up on a cash cow that they can milk for years to come.

So basically it comes down to people having have to die due to the lack of having enough vaccines so that politicians and thier friends in the pharma Industry can buy bigger and bigger mansions (which are not good for the Environment anyways).

I don't like the old Communism way of running things, but I am sure that I don't like this kind of Capitalism either.

IMO

I support a patent waiver for covid-19 vaccines in a pandemic situation, or at least a temporary patent waiver. But there's not only mRNA vaccines out there. There are countries producing millions of "viral vector" vaccines with adenovirus for example, like AstraZeneca and Janssen, and quite a few more, that also work against covid-19. And this is an old technology that doesn't require any new patent to be developed.

The problem is to reach all the people in developing countries to get them vaccinated. Or even to convince them to get vaccinated. South Africa for example don't have any problem with vaccine supply, but they have a big problem to convince people to get vaccinated. There are only 28% of people fully vaccinated there.

Also with mRNA vaccines the problem is to have the infrastructure to mass produce them. Not every country have this infrastructure needed to produce this kind of technology in mass quantities.