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/

 

[Sutruk]

Just a resumed update by the CDC about how Covid-19 most commonly spreads, and how to protect yourself and others:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html

COVID-19 most commonly spreads

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.
  • These particles can be inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs and cause infection. This is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
  • Droplets can also land on surfaces and objects and be transferred by touch. A person may get COVID-19 by touching the surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. Spread from touching surfaces is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
• It is possible that COVID-19 may spread through the droplets and airborne particles that are formed when a person who has COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes. There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes). In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.

COVID-19 spreads very easily from person to person

How easily a virus spreads from person to person can vary. Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread. Some viruses are highly contagious, like measles, while other viruses do not spread as easily. The virus that causes COVID-19 appears to spread more efficiently than influenza, but not as efficiently as measles, which is highly contagious. In general, the more closely a person with COVID-19 interacts with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread.

Protect yourself and others

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. You can take steps to slow the spread.

• Stay at least 6 feet away from others, whenever possible. This is very important in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
  • Pandemics can be stressful. During times of increased physical distancing, it is still important to maintain social connections and care for your mental health.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around others. Masks should not replace other prevention measures.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Stay home and isolate from others when sick.
• Use air purifiers to help reduce airborne germs in indoor spaces.
• Routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

 

[CraigD]

Note: Sorry to the OP for the offtopic, it was just an interesting talk started from this post talking about if there's a relation in the severity of covid-19 disease and the amount of Neanderthal DNA:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/covid19-coronavirus-updates-and-news.1178134/page-157#post-7974259

I've been looking into severity of Covid-19 on the Australian Aboriginal population, but so far all I have found are studies linking existing comorbidities and poor health.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(20)30007-9/fulltext
https://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-health-history/

The Northern Territory government has successfully locked the entire state down very tightly to prevent the spread into the populations there, as has Western Australia, South Australia. So far we have been very successful in protecting our traditional land owners. I think it largely remains unknown how badly this disease may affect them, but given their gene pool has remained isolated from the rest of the world for the last 50,000 years, I imagine the results will be tragic.
Much of the New South Wales Aboriginal population were wiped out by disease (mostly smallpox) in the few years following white contact and settlement 1788.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionationa...outbreak-an-act-of-biological-warfare/5395050

 

[Sutruk]

Comparing covid-19 to seasonal Flu at this stage of the pandemic is alarming... to say the least.
There will be always deniers and other conspiracy theorists around, but the president of the U.S. saying these things, can lead to many people to believe it and to not follow the correct measures like always wear a face mask and keep social distancing.
And this can lead to an increase number of infected people ending at an ICU, but unfortunatelly not being able to take advantage of the last "experimental" drugs by the best laboratories out there and with 10 doctors taking care of them 24 hours a day from the very first day.

Maybe Mr. Trump forgets, that if we keep the "same measures" as we take just for a seasonal Flu, the number of deaths at the U.S. would be 2.2 Million.
And it's thanks to all the social distance, face masks and lockdown measures, that there have been "only" 215,506 deaths till today in the U.S. by covid-19, and not 2.2 Million deaths.

Oh, and the 2.2 Million deaths would be just for covid-19, because this prediction does not assume health systems would be overwhelmed resulting in many more deaths.

 

[branding]

If people laid off the sodas, alcohol, fast food, cigarettes, pornography addiction, lethargic lifestyle, iphone addictions, etc . . .


This would save live IMHO.


Mathematically you have a statistically much higher chance of dying from falling down than you do from Covid 19.

Fact Check That

Agreed. Given my age and health status I would not be very likely to die from covid. I've got my guilty pleasures but within limits. Less positive things to be said about my parents who are of age, deal with age related health issues.

But why so egocentric? It's not about me and you, it's about people you can protect. The decision is yours. People who lack the education and/or knowledge to live a healthy life or are just unlucky to have health issues don't deserve to die because I lack the decency to abide by some regulation that can save their life.

In the grand scheme of things you could argue it's survival of the fittest but I don't want to go there as that opens up the box of pandora, although it would be an interesting debate and I'm sure from a philosophical point of view we would agree on a lot of things.

That being said, healthy people can die of covid just the same. It doesn't scare me, it's just reality, fact.

 

[Sutruk]

Just give that Cali MD a look - he's legit - he treated 1700 people with HCQ - Successfully.

Before he starts claiming he has treated 1700 people successfully with something, he should already know the fundamental before claiming something works, and the fundamental is to do a correct clinical study with half of placebo patients. That's how you know if some drug works or not. And this is known by every serious doctor out there.
No placebo = No serious study = Cannot claim something works. As simple as that.

For a serious clinical trial, see here:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2022926?query=featured_home

Effect of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19

Methods

In this randomized, controlled, open-label platform trial comparing a range of possible treatments with usual care in patients hospitalized with Covid-19, we randomly assigned 1561 patients to receive hydroxychloroquine and 3155 to receive usual care. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality.

Conclusions

Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19, those who received hydroxychloroquine did not have a lower incidence of death at 28 days than those who received usual care.

 

[branding]

Even with highly suspect data collection to puff numbers higher.....

This figure is still substantially less than annual flu-related deaths in the Netherlands....
https://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/2019-0079.pdf

No it's not. It has to do with how they calculate the number of influenza related death. That's and estimate they calculate by using the exess mortality number.

With covid they use the actual confirmed number of deaths where the main cause of death is known to be covid. That's without even adding the mortality number where covid 'merely' contributed to the death of a patient.

Given these numbers you can imagine that without any restrictions, lockdowns etc it would have been disastrous.

Anyway, we can debate about this all day long but I don't think this thread was created to discuss the rights and wrongs of safety measures, lockdowns etc. It was created to inform us all about numbers reported globally. Let's just stick to that and leave everything else for another thread, another time.

 

[Mister Funsky]

getting it to people around the world is an additional colossal challenge

I am afraid, if they do not get money,distribution, etc in place soon, the virus might take a huge toll in some poor and underdeveloped countries.

The link below goes to a page with some interactive charts:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsa...world-map-tracking-the-spread-of-the-outbreak

The link below is specific to the US and shows the severity of the outbreaks in some areas:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...king-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-in-the-u-s

 

[koolishman]

The COVID-19 vaccine, like most vaccines, will need to be kept cold, fixed within a precise temperature range from the moment it leaves the manufacturer to the moment it’s administered.

Ensuring distribution via cold chains is the biggest challenge.

 

[CraigD]

Bill Gates blasts US response to COVID-19: 'Most governments listen to their scientists, not attack them'
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates slammed the US government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday.

----------------------------------------------------
I think it's worth listening to the philanthropist who has spent a vast personal fortune and years of his life trying to prevent or prepare us for the next world-wide pandemic.

Here's a link to a TED Talk that Bill gave in 2015:
The Next Outbreak? We're Not Ready
Eerily prophetic!

Here's a link to a recent TED Talk he gave in March 2020:
How we must respond to the Coronavirus pandemic

Edited

 

[J Sokol]

This 14-year-old girl won a $25K prize for a discovery that could lead to a cure for Covid-19

This is really sophisticated work for a 14-year-old -- if she doesn't solve Covid, she may well solve something else down the line.

 

[Cannuck]

I was wondering how come bats don't die from corona viruses if they are carriers?

It seems that the virus finds a niche and their immune systems can adjust, "Instead of killing bat cells as the virus does with human cells, the MERS coronavirus enters a long-term relationship with the host, maintained by the bat's unique 'super' immune system, SARS-CoV-2 is thought to operate in the same way."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200506133614.htm

"If we could mimic the immune response of bats to viruses, that allows them to tolerate them, then you could look to nature to find a cure. It's already evolved, we don't need to reinvent the wheel. We now have the tools to be able to understand the steps we need to take; we need to develop the drugs to do it."

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53494566

It's like developing immunity to cope with or rolling with the punch vs killing the virus in humans. As a new virus is introduced, our immune systems will evolve. Forgive me if this has already been posted, but IMO, it's worth revisiting.

 

[DmitrySV]

https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/saude/noticia/2020-10/marcos-pontes-fala-sobre-nitazoxanida

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Marcos Pontes, pointed out on Monday (19), in an interview with the program A Voz do Brasil , produced by the Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) , that the drug nitazoxanide has the capacity to reduce the viral load of covid-19 by 95% in patients at the beginning of treatment.

“Nitazoxanide started to be tested in February, along with another 2,000 drugs initially with artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, computer graphics at the National Biosciences Laboratory and, of these, in five of them they showed the ability to inhibit the virus, at least in simulated form. . There they were tested in vitro, in human cells and, of these five, nitazoxanide showed 95% reduction, inhibition of the virus ”, he explained. According to the minister, the research data will be released after review and publication in an international scientific journal.

According to the minister, double-blind tests were performed, when neither the patient nor the doctor knows which medication is being taken, and randomized, when patients are randomly assigned to two groups, one receiving the medication and the other receiving a placebo. The offered dose was 500 milligrams of nitazoxanide, three times a day, or the placebo for five days.

“Clinical tests were carried out with 1,500 patients and the tests showed that, in fact, this drug reduces viral load. That was the purpose of the test. [Reduces] viral load for patients admitted early, who were detected with covid-19, start treatment, ”he said.

In making the research announcement, the minister said that the drug cannot be used by those who do not show symptoms of the disease, but only for people in the early stage of infection. "It is not prophylactic, it is not for prevention. It is only after the virus is detected," he said. Nitazoxanide is a vermifuge already known in Brazil, currently used in the treatment of rotavirus.

According to Marcos Pontes, the inclusion of the drug in the treatment protocol for the new coronavirus in the Unified Health System (SUS) will be made after analysis by the Ministry of Health.

 

[Sutruk]

@Sutruk

Normally kids develop the immunity as they play outside, on streets, and school grounds. Plenty of exposure to germs. I guess this happens irrespective of country.

But, There are a lot of places were poor hygiene is EXTREME. Like people living in shanties alongside open sewers and garbage dumps. Those are serious health hazards. And a serious issue in lot of developing countries.

Like the slums portrayed in movies Trash, Slumdog millionaire etc.

Of course, poor hygiene is never good. The key is to have a good hygiene but also be in contact with a few germs. A lack of germ contact leads to future autoimmune diseases, that are really devastating for the person, as it's your own immune system who attacks your own body. That's the reason why, usually on developed countries, autoimmune diseases have increased a lot on the last decades.

The immune system is like an armory, a powerful arsenal of the body, made to fight germs, yes or yes.
Because that's what has happened during thousands of years of evolution, always, kids have been in contact with germs and autoimmune system has responded.
If from overnight you cut the germ contact of a kid, the immune system has to find an enemy, as it is what it has done during thousands of years. And it will find it on its own body. Autoimmune diseases are the worst for this reason.
In fact, with covid-19 the cytokine storm that totally inflames and collapses the lungs, is just that, a strong and devastating autoimmune response of your own body.

 

[Sutruk]

I think this woman really deserves the next Nobel Prize in Chemistry or Medicine.

BioNTech scientist Katalin Karikó risked her career to develop mRNA vaccines

https://www.businessinsider.com/mrna-vaccine-pfizer-moderna-coronavirus-2020-12

"Scientist Katalin Karikó struggled for years to convince colleagues that messenger RNA could have disease-fighting applications in humans."

"In 2005, she found a way to configure mRNA so that it slipped past the body's natural defenses — a discovery that paved for the way for the world's first mRNA vaccines."

"The COVID-19 vaccines from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna rely on this technology."

"It was 1985. The family was moving from Hungary to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, so Karikó could take a postdoctoral position at Temple University.

"Karikó, now 65, oversees mRNA protein replacement at BioNTech, a German biotech firm that developed a coronavirus vaccine in partnership with US pharma giant Pfizer. Karikó's work also inspired the founding of Moderna, the US biotech company developing a competing coronavirus shot.

Both vaccines use mRNA to deliver a coded message to the body that triggers an immune response. And so far, both have been found to be highly effective at preventing COVID-19: Pfizer and BioNTech's two-shot regimen was found to be 95% effective, while Moderna's was shown to be 94.5% effective.

Unlike more traditional shots, mRNA vaccines stimulate the production of killer T cells, which stop the coronavirus from replicating. The vaccines are also relatively easy and quick to produce, since they're made in test tubes or tanks rather than cultivated in cells."

 

[Mister Funsky]

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,

 

[Cannuck]

There came a point that I recognized those being non supportive and/or combative were tools of the enemy (i.e., negative energy) and the ability to compartmentalize and eliminate the 'damage' they were doing in my life began to increase. Please understand that I do not give them more credit than they deserve...the vast majority of those people/situations were/are low level tools being used by the enemy. My personal growth was/is based on whether or not I can forgive them and/or lift them up while minimalizing their affect on my life. Most of my prayers in this area now revolve around asking for them to be able to 'see the light' and begin their own journey to becoming a better entity.

This good advice to self is the best medicine. One's internal constitution is an integral part of the immune system that helps maintain the ability to withstand onset and damage from the world, whether cancer, covid or otherwise. Though we have never met, your sensibility and positivity has had and will continue to have appreciation from members here on the forum. Stay sunny Mr Fun Sky

 

[Mister Funsky]

Wow!

5000 replies till date.

Thanks @Mister Funsky for this thread.

I did not even notice...it is only because thoughtful contributors like yourself have been consistent in finding and sharing relevant information.

Thanks to all of us for staying on top of this event...I've got no doubt that we have encouraged more than one person to prepare and/or to be more cautious and that action likely 'snowballed' from there. We should all take comfort in that we have done something good and helpful while keeping each other informed.

 

[koolishman]

Here is a quick but interesting read. Warning: may cause some readers to check under their bed.

People who believe COVID-19 conspiracies have these 7 tendencies

https://www.fastcompany.com/9050625...covid-19-conspiracies-have-these-7-tendencies

People who believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories tend to struggle with scientific reasoning, study finds

Individuals with a better grasp of scientific reasoning are less likely to fall prey to false conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research published in the Journal of Health Psychology.

“At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there was too much uncertainty and confusion regarding the best measures to protect oneself against the coronavirus,” said study author Vladimira Cavojova of the Centre for Social and Psychological Sciences at the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

“Scientists became the center of attention and we hypothesized that people who understand the workings of science better would be better able to navigate the sea of conflicting information and resist pseudoscientific and unfounded beliefs.”

The researchers found that those who strongly endorsed the coronavirus conspiracy beliefs tended to score low on the test of scientific reasoning. Belief in coronavirus conspiracy theories, in turn, was associated with a reduce willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Participants with low scores on the scientific reasoning test were also more likely to endorse unfounded general health-related beliefs and anti-vaccination attitudes. The findings are in line with previous research, which has found “that people who have one kind of epistemically suspect belief tend to have other kinds of such beliefs as well,” the researchers said.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I encourage those of you of intelligent design to employ the 'ignore' button against the lunatic fringe. Their posts are not worthy of your time to read much less respond to. If a troll is ignored for a sufficient period of time, it will eventually crawl back to its cave and/or hole.

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: 2,723,669
United States: 554,871
Brazil: 292,856
India: 159,790
Russia: 95,030
United Kingdom: 126,122
France: 92,167
Italy: 104,642
Spain: 72,910
Mexico: 197,827
Poland: 49,300
South Africa: 52,082
Indonesia: 39,550
Netherlands: 16,260
Canada: 22,643
Chile: 22,180
Belgium: 22,650
Philippines: 12,968
Japan : 8,790
Bolivia: 12,051
Papua New Guinea: 36

 

[Cannuck]

How to Counter COVID Misinformation

The conclusion: knowledgeable people online should employ material from appropriate health sources to “refute false or misleading health information clearly, simply, and with evidence.”

Scientific American 324, 4, 44-51 (April 2021) doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0421-44

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...isinformation-about-covid-vaccines-and-masks/

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

were locking down up here. No rv's on ferries, roadblocks placed at certain locations to ensure you stay in your health region
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/travel/current
https://www.tricitynews.com/coronav...l-rules-a-logistical-nightmare-expert-3649850

Lots planes landing at our airport yesterday. More than i seen in a month, scary.

I have signed up for my shot, but waiting for them to contact me.
second shot, a friend got his first one(AZ), will be 6 months. You dont want to be driving around BC in out of province plates, and those freaks that protest on saturdays, there is talk on the book us that follow rules are getting a little upset. One saturday, Kelowna is gonna rock
Were supposed to be in this together..
Glad macdonalds drive thru is open, need coffee and muffin, but looking in drive thru window see 15 kiddies in a 20 square foot area. They dont care, I say worse before better. So many business not following rules is why i say that

 

[Mister Funsky]

Just a little reminder...

People who believe COVID-19 conspiracies have these 7 tendencies

 

[Cal2]

@Compassion

Why are you constantly linking to bitchute? It this your main news source?

I'm worried about this.

Show attachment 189076

No need to worry. Whenever you see 'bitchute' as the source, just think "BS, till proven otherwise".

 

[bmugford]

I notice none of you have ever posted the number of people who have died from the vaccines … have stroke like symptoms and are now bed ridden … have enlarged hearts … blood clots …

I guess none of that matters ?? Those statistics don’t meet you all’s criteria eh ??

Ivermectin is used in humans to treat round worms and other conditions .. it’s not anything new … it has been around a long time ..

The hospitals are full of unvaccinated people with COVID, not vaccinated people from side effects.

The same people who say vaccines are not proven to be effective, despite endless empirical data, are now turning to horse dewormers for a use where no proper peer reviewed medical studies show it being effective. It is laughable.

The drug is used for very specific parasitic infections.

I am just amazed how many people reject the actual science and medicine from actual trained professionals, and instead substitute in their Dunning-Kruger version of "research".

Every pseudoscience bullshit is the "cure" but not the actual cure...The vaccine.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

we the people are the test subjects of the covid vaccine .. unlike other vaccines that have gone through extensive laboratory testing with most not being available to the general public for a min of 3 years … no matter how you spill it .. there are two sides to the covid - 19 vaccines .. people who refuse to vaccinated such as myself have a valid argument for not taking it at this time … I don’t criticize or throw scrutiny on those who have taken the vaccine .. that is persons choice .. but do to the risks and ect .. people who don’t take it should get the same respect …. The stats of deaths and other complications from the vaccines should be just a transparent as the amount of people who have taken the vaccine and the amount of covid cases and ect IMO

I don't have any problem really with people questioning the speed of the vaccine, but the proof is in the pudding. Serious side effects are very rare, and the vaccine is highly effective.

When you have 54% of the total population fully vaccinated, but the 46% unvaccinated are making up 95% - 99% of COVID hospitalizations and deaths, you simply can't make a reasonable argument that it is not highly effective.

This is empirical data based on a massive sample size.

It is so puzzling to me that the same people turn to potential far more dangerous, far less effective, and far less studied treatments like Ivermectin. It makes no sense.

Brad