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/

 

[Cal2]

AFP fact checks for the week:

https://factcheck.afp.com/list/all/all/35799/all/86

 

[Cal2]

Booster shots in U.S. have strongly protected against severe disease from omicron variant, CDC studies show​

• Covid: A third dose of either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine provided significant protection against severe disease in the US, according to three real-world reports that dropped yesterday. One analysis showed that the boosters were 90% effective at preventing hospitalization.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

 

[Sutruk]

Yes, you can catch the flu and Covid. No, 'flurona' isn't real.​

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/yes-can-catch-flu-covid-no-fluorna-isnt-real-rcna11804

"Let’s clear the air: The word “flurona,” which has circulated on social media and refers to someone infected with both Covid and the flu, isn’t popular with scientists.

“The contractions like ‘flurona,’ I think they’re very misleading to people. It presents the idea two viruses have somehow merged into one, which is not at all the case,” said Dr. Ellen Foxman, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine. “Somebody got a coinfection. People get coinfections all the time."

 

[rh2000]

Brazil: Child Vaccination Suspended After 10-Year-Old Girl Suffers Cardiac Arrest Hours After Receiving Pfizer Vaccine.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...source=Gab&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons

 

[Cal2]

Yes, you can catch the flu and Covid. No, 'flurona' isn't real.​

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/yes-can-catch-flu-covid-no-fluorna-isnt-real-rcna11804

"Let’s clear the air: The word “flurona,” which has circulated on social media and refers to someone infected with both Covid and the flu, isn’t popular with scientists.

“The contractions like ‘flurona,’ I think they’re very misleading to people. It presents the idea two viruses have somehow merged into one, which is not at all the case,” said Dr. Ellen Foxman, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine. “Somebody got a coinfection. People get coinfections all the time."

Some interesting comments in there:

"“What we found was actually that patients who had Covid plus another infection — they had lower rates of inflammation in their body and were less likely to be admitted to the hospital,” said Dr. Sarah Baron, a physician at the hospital who helped author a study in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy to describe the findings.

Patients with more than one infection were actually faring better, their data suggest."


"“Would you really want to cure the common cold? I’m not sure you would,” Foxman said. “You might be opening up the door for a worse virus that wants to occupy the same niche — your nose.” "

 

[Sutruk]

Some interesting comments in there:

"“What we found was actually that patients who had Covid plus another infection — they had lower rates of inflammation in their body and were less likely to be admitted to the hospital,” said Dr. Sarah Baron, a physician at the hospital who helped author a study in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy to describe the findings.

Patients with more than one infection were actually faring better, their data suggest."


"“Would you really want to cure the common cold? I’m not sure you would,” Foxman said. “You might be opening up the door for a worse virus that wants to occupy the same niche — your nose.” "

Yes. It seems that a virus infection triggers an immune response including "interferon" protein, for some days to a week. And this interferon could prevent the replication of any other virus, like covid-19.

From the article:

"Scientists think infection by the first virus puts your body’s immune system on heightened alert, triggering the secretion of a protein called interferon. This is an innate immune response that is generalized and doesn’t require prior memory of the viral invader.

Once they’re secreted, interferon proteins begin a process that can prevent viruses from replicating, research suggests.

“It will create a state where your antiviral response is turned on for days to probably a week,” Foxman said.

When the timing is just right, the interferon response triggered by an initial infection could prevent a second virus from replicating, too."

 

[bmugford]

I would do anything for love, but I won't get vaxxed...

Meat Loaf was anti-vaccine and mask mandate, reportedly seriously ill with COVID before death​

https://nypost.com/2022/01/21/meat-loaf-was-reportedly-anti-vaccine-before-dying-from-covid-19/

The late rocker Meat Loaf was outspokenly anti-vaccine mandate and anti-mask before his death — once telling a reporter, “If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled,” according to reports Friday.

Looks like he got his wish. RIP.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Gonzaga suspends John Stockton's season tickets for failing to follow mask protocol​

https://sports.yahoo.com/gonzaga-su...ailing-to-follow-mask-protocol-180352944.html

I hope some people are finally starting to realize they don't have super rights, that override the rights of others.

A private university, business, employer, etc. can set their own terms and rules. If you don't want to follow their rules they can decide not to employ you, not to do business with you, not to allow you to use their venue, etc.

John Stockton made a decision, now he can watch the games on TV. Lesson learned.

Brad

 

[Cal2]

The late rocker Meat Loaf was outspokenly anti-vaccine mandate and anti-mask before his death — once telling a reporter, “If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled,” according to reports Friday.

If I accepted and behaved along the lines of anti-vaxxers' lame evidence and reasoning that they keep putting out, THen I'd consider myself 'controlled'.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Current Covid19 death numbers as of 10:00 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: 5,616,427
United States: 889,197
Brazil: 623,145
India: 489,896
Russia: 326,767
United Kingdom: 153,862
France: 128,629
Italy: 143,523
Spain: 91,741
Mexico: 303,183
Poland: 103,846
South Africa: 94,117
Indonesia: 144,227
Netherlands: 21,219
Canada: 32,597
Chile: 39,535
Belgium: 28,780
Philippines: 53,519
Japan : 18,506
Bolivia: 20,630
Australia: 3,161
Peru: 204,323

 

[Mister Funsky]

FDA restricts COVID-19 antibody therapies from Regeneron and Eli Lilly​

• The FDA has restricted the use COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapies developed by Regeneron (REGN -3.0%) and Eli Lilly (LLY -3.8%) citing their lack of efficacy against the Omicron variant.
• The impacted therapies are Lilly's bamlanivimab and etesevimab (taken together) and Regeneron's REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab)
• FDA Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Patrizia Cavazzoni late this afternoon said the two treatments would only be used "only when the patient is likely to have been infected with or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments."
• In case the treatments become effective against a future variant, the FDA is likely to issue a revision to their emergency use authorizations rather than a withdrawal of regulatory clearance.
• Accordingly, the Biden administration is set to pause the distribution of the treatment, noting that they should not be deployed in any of the states due to concerns over the efficacy against the new variant, which has fueled the latest surge of COVID-19 in the U.S.
• However, a rival antibody therapy from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK -2.8%) and Vir Biotechnology (VIR -11.1%) was found to be effective against the variant, the companies said last month, citing lab-based studies.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/37908...y-therapies-from-regeneron-and-eli-lilly-wapo

 

[Sutruk]

Pfizer starts clinical trial for omicron-specific Covid vaccine​

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...inical-trial-modified-covid-vaccine-rcna13379

"Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday that they have started a clinical trial testing a modified Covid-19 vaccine to protect against the supercontagious omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The participants will be divided into three groups — fully vaccinated, fully vaccinated and boosted, and unvaccinated — which will determine whether they receive one, two or three doses of the modified vaccine.

The companies also said they expect to launch a similar study in the U.S. testing the shot in those older than 55.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new research Friday that found that a booster shot of the current vaccines provides robust protection against severe illness from the rapidly spreading variant, which accounts for virtually all new cases in the U.S.

The CDC studies also suggested that existing boosters offered “significant protection” against both infection and symptomatic illness, although the protection was higher during the delta surge compared to the omicron surge.

John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, said the modified shots could become important in a "worst-case scenario" in which the omicron variant mutates to become as lethal as the delta variant.

"That scenario is not impossible," he said. "If it happens, the new variant would kill a lot of vaccinated people and change the face of the pandemic for the worse."

In other words, the new trial could be seen as "an insurance policy," he said.

 

[alcy]

holy crap I didn't realize.how bad side effcts can be..which doesn't mean I thought there were none..til I saw this lady get permanent facial disfigure... and she is not alone...

 

[bmugford]

holy crap I didn't realize.how bad side effcts can be..which doesn't mean I thought there were none..til I saw this lady get permanent facial disfigure... and she is not alone...

Bell's Palsy is not overly rare. I have known several people that have had it over the years.
The symptoms usually go away over time.

With that said, billions of people have received vaccines. Statistically, on that scale almost any event will happen with or without a vaccine.

Statistically people will have strokes, heart attacks, die in car accidents, fall off ladders, after getting vaccinated. The vaccine is not the cause. It is just a huge sample size.

Correlation does not always mean causation.

CDC -

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#:~:text=Cases of Bell's palsy (,causally related to vaccination.

Cases of Bell’s palsy (acute peripheral facial nerve palsy) were reported following vaccination of participants in the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. Available data were insufficient for FDA to conclude that these cases were causally related to vaccination.

The Lancet -

(The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is among the world's oldest and best-known general medical journals. Founded in 1823.)

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00467-9/fulltext

In the past 100 days, more than 3 billion doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been administered globally.

With 20 vaccines currently authorised in at least one country and 108 under clinical development as of July 20, 2021, there is ongoing public concern regarding the possible adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 immunisation. An adverse event reported in the product information of two vaccines developed with a novel mRNA technology is Bell's palsy, a form of acute facial nerve paralysis.

So far there has been no clear evidence of association between COVID-19 vaccination and facial paralysis. However, the findings from Eric Wan and colleagues' study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases showed an overall increased risk of Bell's palsy after immunisation with CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech), a vaccine that uses the inactivated virus.

 

[bmugford]

Study: Chance of developing Bell's palsy rises after COVID-19 infection​

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/06/24/coronavirus-bell-palsy-study/3261624541520/

People with COVID-19 are nearly seven times more likely to develop Bell's palsy, or facial muscle paralysis, than those vaccinated against the virus, a study published Thursday by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery found.

While early reports suggested the condition could be a side effect of vaccination against the coronavirus, researchers said the study does not indicate the vaccine is at fault.

 

[Cal2]

A quick search of AFP's past fact check articles to see how else anti-vaxxers have tried to use Bell's palsy to misrepresent their case:

https://factcheck.afp.com/old-photo...-about-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-trial

 

[oldtimer]

Here’s something to think about:

If the research has shown that having an existing infection by a milder virus that we are already used to (like the flu or the common cold) can to some extent prevent the Covid from taking hold in our body then why don’t we design a less dangerous Coronavirus ourselves in the lab that can become the dominant virus around the World in order to prevent the more fatal variants from taking over.

This is just an idea, I am not saying that we should do it, but perhaps it’s worth looking into.

IMO

 

[bmugford]

Here’s something to think about:

If the research has shown that having an existing infection by a milder virus that we are already used to (like the flu or the common cold) can to some extent prevent the Covid from taking hold in our body then why don’t we design a less dangerous Coronavirus ourselves in the lab that can become the dominant virus around the World in order to prevent the more fatal variants from taking over.

This is just an idea, I am not saying that we should do it, but perhaps it’s worth looking into.

IMO

First of all, it is largely unknown if Omicron provides much natural immunity, especially to other variants like Delta.

You are kind of already describing what the vaccines do, without a need to actually spread a virus that is going to kill far more people.

Being fully vaccinated limits the spread of all (known) variants as well as greatly reduces the serious symptoms.

You think all the anti-vaxxers (and others) are going to be cool with actually getting a shot to get infected with a virus itself?

LOL. I doubt it.

Also, messing around in a lab to actually create viruses to then release into the public can have potentially disastrous consequences.

Brad

 

[oldtimer]

First of all, it is largely unknown if Omicron provides much natural immunity, especially to other variants like Delta.

You are kind of already describing what the vaccines do, without a need to actually spread a virus that is going to kill far more people.

Being fully vaccinated limits the spread of all (known) variants as well as greatly reduces the serious symptoms.

You think all the anti-vaxxers (and others) are going to be cool with actually getting a shot to get infected with a virus itself?

LOL. I doubt it.

Also, messing around in a lab to actually create viruses to then release into the public can have potentially disastrous consequences.

Brad

Most experts are saying that we might have to learn to live with Covid as most likely it's going to become endemic eventually.

My point was to try to speed up the endemic phase by introducing a dominant variant ourselves that doesn't Kill like all the existing variants.

Nevertheless as I said it's something to think about for now, but not to actually do it without further research since there are so much that is still unknown to us about Covid.

IMO

 

[bmugford]

Most experts are saying that we might have to learn to live with Covid as most likely it's going to become endemic eventually.

My point was to try to speed up the endemic phase by introducing a dominant variant ourselves that doesn't Kill like all the existing variants.

Nevertheless as I said it's something to think about for now, but not to actually do it without further research since there are so much that is still unknown to us about Covid.

IMO

I am not comfortable with scientists messing around in a lab to actually create a virus in order to release it on the general public.

The potential for a disaster scenario, not only medically, but as far as public trust goes can not be overstated.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

I am sure it will become endemic. It is clear at this point it is unlikely to ever fully go away.

With the vaccination rates what they are, and multiple variants continuing to emerge it is likely to end up like a much more contagious and deadly flu.

There could end up being yearly shots like the flu. However, the regular flu shot is often relatively ineffective like this year. If that was the case, it could end up turning into a pandemic again depending on the variant.

Research suggests that this year's flu shot is not a good match for the main strain of influenza in circulation right now.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...-mean-bad-flu-season-top-covid-surge-rcna9196

Brad

 

[Cal2]

Here’s something to think about:

If the research has shown that having an existing infection by a milder virus that we are already used to (like the flu or the common cold) can to some extent prevent the Covid from taking hold in our body then why don’t we design a less dangerous Coronavirus ourselves in the lab that can become the dominant virus around the World in order to prevent the more fatal variants from taking over.

This is just an idea, I am not saying that we should do it, but perhaps it’s worth looking into.

IMO

Right now it sounds like they've gone in the direction of finding a universal vaccine:

The Army's 'universal vaccine' aims to end all COVID pandemics​

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci recently touted the importance of a universal vaccine to protect against all COVID variants. In an interview with NBC, Fauci said a universal COVID vaccine "would mean that the initial vaccination would cover all of these little variants, so you wouldn't have to worry."

"We want a pan-coronavirus vaccine so that you have it on the shelf to respond to the next viral pandemic," Fauci said. "Ultimately, you want to get a vaccine that covers everything."

Fauci's organization, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, committed big to that goal in fall 2021, awarding $36.3 million to three academic organizations -- Duke University, University of Wisconsin, and Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital -- to develop and research pan-coronavirus vaccines. CalTech also has announced good early results for its universal "mosaic nanoparticle" vaccine.

https://www.cnet.com/health/the-armys-universal-vaccine-aims-to-end-all-covid-pandemics/

 

[Mister Funsky]

Omicron survives longer on plastic and skin than prior variants​

The Omicron variant can survive longer than earlier versions of the coronavirus on plastic surfaces and human skin, Japanese researchers found in laboratory tests.

Its high ‘environmental stability’ – its ability to remain infectious – might have helped Omicron replace Delta as the dominant variant and spread rapidly, they said. On plastic surfaces, average survival times of the original strain and the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants were 56 hours, 191.3 hours, 156.6 hours, 59.3 hours, and 114.0 hours, respectively. That compared to 193.5 hours for Omicron, the researchers reported on bioRxiv https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.18.476607v1 ahead of peer review. On skin samples from cadavers, average virus survival times were 8.6 hours for the original version, 19.6 hours for Alpha, 19.1 hours for Beta, 11.0 hours Gamma, 16.8 hours for Delta and 21.1 hours for Omicron.

On skin, all of the variants were completely inactivated by 15 seconds of exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. “Therefore,” the researchers conclude, “it is highly recommended that current infection control (hand hygiene) practices use disinfectants… as proposed by the World Health Organization.”

Nose swabbing best for rapid antigen tests

Users of rapid antigen tests to detect COVID-19 should swab their nostrils as directed by the manufacturer and not swab the throat or cheek instead, new research shows.

more...

https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/01/25/omicron-survives-longer-on-plastic-and-skin-than-prior-variants/

 

[Cannuck]

Neil Young Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is Against Joe Rogan and Spotify​

Rock legend Neil Young has taken a noteworthy stand against vaccine misinformation that could cost him a not insignificant amount of money. Yesterday, Young published a since-deleted letter, written to his label and management, saying that he wants his music immediately removed from Spotify because the streaming platform hosts the controversial yet massively popular podcast the Joe Rogan Experience,.

“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” he wrote. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

Young, 76, has been a strong advocate for vaccines and for the music industry taking measures to curtail the spread of the virus.

https://www.gq.com/story/neil-young...c-joe-rogan-experience-vaccine-misinformation

 

[Cal2]

Covid denialist and Bolsonaro ally Olavo de Carvalho died of virus, says daughter​

"Olavo de Carvalho, the coronavirus-denying mentor of Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil’s radical right, has died in the United States, with one of his children citing Covid-19 as the cause.

The statement did not say how Carvalho – a former astrologer who repeatedly trivialized Covid as the “moronavirus” – had died. However, his estranged daughter, Heloísa de Carvalho, said coronavirus was the cause.

“He has blood on his hands,” she told the magazine Veja, blaming her father’s “denialist ideas” and dissemination of fake news for the Brazilian government’s delay in purchasing Covid vaccines. “But I do not celebrate his death.”

...Felipe Neto, one of Brazil’s top online influencers, tweeted: “The far right will now try to turn Olavo de Carvalho into a martyr, a hero. Olavo is one of the main culprits for the sea of mud into which we have sunk.”

Journalist André Fran wrote: “My condolences to all those whose relatives have fallen victim to the Bolsonarista hatred and denialism that Olavo did so much to a disseminate.”

Carvalho’s daughter also had harsh words for her father, who was reportedly diagnosed with Covid on 16 January. “May God forgive him all the evil he has done,” she tweeted, recalling losing a friend to Covid on the day her father falsely claimed the world had not seen a single confirmed death. “She was a widow and left three orphaned children under the age of 10.”"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...onaro-ally-olavo-de-carvalho-dies-coronavirus