SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

I bet you felt really good about yourself after this post and gave yourself a big pat on the shoulder. Someone doesn't agree with my political opinion and is to the right of my own position? Must be bad and evil. This sort of patronising which is so rife in today's world is a cancer to any form of debate and discourse, political or non-political. The fact that the first thing you asked him was "Who did you vote for?" (which is totally irrelevant to his argument against authoritarianism which was quite well laid out whether you agree or disagree) says a lot about you as well. Even more so as the only purpose of that question was to set up your follow-up as you already knew before in which direction his answer was going to go.

Well said.
 
Yeah they're not able to discriminate against the unvaccinated currently. There was some talk of a ban last year but i don't think it ever materialised.

In the UK without a change in law i can't see any organisation making proof of vaccination mandatory for a service.

You've just got to hope that take up is sufficient that risk can reduced and everything can open. The anti-vac lot will no doubt be the same anti-lockdown folk who moaned about shutting things down yet they won't see that not getting vaccinated could mean restrictions stay around for longer.
I had a chat with the better half about this, she is a paediatrician. She told me they had a measles outbreak in a nursery last year as you get the vaccination when you are one and one of the unvaccinated child came with it in one of the older years. They had 7 cases last December.
 
It is saying 14% of the 11% of positive tests were from September, so 1.5%.

I have read extracts of it that have been published in the news here. What they say is these samples were from October, which means the people must have been infected in September at the latest.

Ah. Ok. I misread it. Still huge numbers if extrapolated to the general population. They’re studying cancer patients so maybe just in the hospitals back then?
 
Just to close this loop. I had a call from the Novavax trial team on Saturday. Another set of medical history questions and an opportunity to ask them any questions.

I did ask about the placebo group given the possible roll out of an (approved) vaccine in the first half of next year. The trial protocol says that if there's a vaccine being rolled out to my age group, then I can ask for my trial status - and just return to the NHS appointments list if I'm in the placebo group.

Not surprisingly, it's something they've had to take seriously, particularly since the Pfizer news. So, I'm now scheduled for a mini-medical and Jab 1 (of something) on Wednesday and Jab 2 three weeks later.

Great stuff. Well done and thank you!
 
Ah. Ok. I misread it. Still huge numbers if extrapolated to the general population. They’re studying cancer patients so maybe just in the hospitals back then?

Possibly. These were blood tests from cancer patients in the country's main cancer research hospital, so probably sicker/more immuno-compromised than your average patient too.

Still, whether it was here in November/December (which we know for certain) or September, it raises the question of why it bubbled away for months unnoticed, but within weeks of the first detected case we were seeing overrun hospitals and a thousand deaths a day.
 
Still, whether it was here in November/December (which we know for certain) or September, it raises the question of why it bubbled away for months unnoticed, but within weeks of the first detected case we were seeing overrun hospitals and a thousand deaths a day.
The simplest explanation is that it didn’t. I wouldn’t read too much into that paper.
 
The DM is expanding it's totally irresponsible campaign for family to be allowed to family to visit relatives in care homes over Christmas, regardless of the risks to their health and the other residents.


kIqn2Nz.jpg


EDIT: The start of the campaign last week.

7fpTEpW.jpg
 
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I bet you felt really good about yourself after this post and gave yourself a big pat on the shoulder. Someone doesn't agree with my political opinion and is to the right of my own position? Must be bad and evil. This sort of patronising which is so rife in today's world is a cancer to any form of debate and discourse, political or non-political. The fact that the first thing you asked him was "Who did you vote for?" (which is totally irrelevant to his argument against authoritarianism which was quite well laid out whether you agree or disagree) says a lot about you as well. Even more so as the only purpose of that question was to set up your follow-up as you already knew before in which direction his answer was going to go.

Yeah I was an ass. Don’t drink and type kids. Got a little fast and loose on the ol’ angry juice

Thematically I stand by it. But it was way too aggressive.
 
Just to close this loop. I had a call from the Novavax trial team on Saturday. Another set of medical history questions and an opportunity to ask them any questions.

I did ask about the placebo group given the possible roll out of an (approved) vaccine in the first half of next year. The trial protocol says that if there's a vaccine being rolled out to my age group, then I can ask for my trial status - and just return to the NHS appointments list if I'm in the placebo group.

Not surprisingly, it's something they've had to take seriously, particularly since the Pfizer news. So, I'm now scheduled for a mini-medical and Jab 1 (of something) on Wednesday and Jab 2 three weeks later.
Good luck. Hope you get the good stuff!
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the crazies.
The national flu vaccination programme runs usually from September to November in the UK. In 2018/19 1.4 million flu jabs were given. 2019/2020 it was 1.71 million. It took just under 2 months into this year's flu programme to beat that 1.7 million number which was easily passed by October end.
I've no doubt it's predominantly crazies, but they are attracting a few converts among NHS workers, people who might actually influence others.


Coronavirus: NHS staff join anti-vax group

Hundreds of NHS and care home staff have formed a group opposed to vaccinations, wearing masks and testing in hospitals.

The group, NHS Workers for Choice, No Restrictions for Declining a Vaccine, has gained more than 250 Facebook members in a month. They include a GP, several accident and emergency nurses, healthcare assistants, lab workers, and private and public care home staff.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-nhs-staff-flock-to-anti-vax-group-k8sq7q63w
 
Modena vaccine with almost 95% effectiveness. Is it time to get excited?
 
Modena vaccine with almost 95% effectiveness. Is it time to get excited?

Definitely light at the end of the tunnel. I think we’re in for a rough couple of months regardless but once we get through it hopefully we can start looking at getting on with our lives.
 
The people that follow this will be the same people that would have voted for Kanye in the US elections. Always gets media headlines, but never normally enough to affect anything.
Hopefully, albeit slightly alarming a number of medical professionals actually seem to be signing up for this nonsense. Not actually seen any interviews with Kanye voters - I bet they were even more silent than the silent Trump supporters.
 
Hopefully, albeit slightly alarming a number of medical professionals actually seem to be signing up for this nonsense. Not actually seen any interviews with Kanye voters - I bet they were even more silent than the silent Trump supporters.

I'd put the medical professionals and GPs in the same boat as the gays for trump group. Found a niche they can exploit rather than anything else.

* thought I'd point out now that gays for trump is the term they use, before someone shouts at me for not being politically correct.
 
I'd put the medical professionals and GPs in the same boat as the gays for trump group. Found a niche they can exploit rather than anything else.

* thought I'd point out now that gays for trump is the term they use, before someone shouts at me for not being politically correct.
Maybe. It does get harder and harder to be surprised by humanity's capacity for idiocy.

FT on the Moderna trial
Out of 30,000 participants in the clinical trials, 95 had been identified with confirmed cases of Covid-19, the company said. Among those infected, only five people had received the two-dose vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, while 90 had received a placebo. Moderna said it intended to submit the vaccine for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration “in the coming weeks”, raising the prospect of at least two emergency-approved vaccines before the end of the year.

https://www.ft.com/content/9d7a2e24-aea0-4c45-82ab-509dc80ed5a1
 
Moderna's vaccine appears to be easier to store as it remains stable at minus 20C for up to six months and can be kept in a standard fridge for up to a month.

that's a nice additional bonus
 
The other good thing about Moderna results is that there were zero serious cases in vaccinated arm (Pfizer press release didn’t give any info on severity)

The big issues we still need to know are:

a) duration of protection (will be months/years before this becomes clear)

b) are the vaccines preventing infection or just preventing illness (we’ve no idea about this yet, for either vaccine)
 
The other good thing about Moderna results is that there were zero serious cases in vaccinated arm (Pfizer press release didn’t give any info on severity)

The big issues we still need to know are:

a) duration of protection (will be months/years before this becomes clear)

b) are the vaccines preventing infection or just preventing illness (we’ve no idea about this yet, for either vaccine)
I have a feeling that b won’t be binary. I’ll be surprised if the vaccine has no effect on transmission whatsoever.
 
The other good thing about Moderna results is that there were zero serious cases in vaccinated arm (Pfizer press release didn’t give any info on severity)

The big issues we still need to know are:

a) duration of protection (will be months/years before this becomes clear)

b) are the vaccines preventing infection or just preventing illness (we’ve no idea about this yet, for either vaccine)

Yet again the long covid group has been ignored. They are suffering because their bodies are severely overreacting to this virus for months on end. Due to this, almost wilful, oversight all these vaccines could add a much larger minority into this suffering group by next year.
 
Yet again the long covid group has been ignored. They are suffering because their bodies are severely overreacting to this virus for months on end. Due to this, almost wilful, oversight all these vaccines could add a much larger minority into this suffering group by next year.

No. They will do the opposite of that.
 
Yet again the long covid group has been ignored. They are suffering because their bodies are severely overreacting to this virus for months on end. Due to this, almost wilful, oversight all these vaccines could put a much larger minority into this suffering group by next year.
A vaccine causing side effects similar to long-covid would be captured in the phase 3 safety data. Also a vaccine is not the virus, we still don’t understand the underlying cause of long-COVID. Are there recorded instances of vaccines causing ME/CFS? Not that long-COVID is necessarily the same.
 
I have a feeling that b won’t be binary. I’ll be surprised if the vaccine has no effect on transmission whatsoever.

Yeah, definitely. I heard one of the BioNTech guys saying that he predicts 50% efficacy at reducing transmission for their vaccine. Which would be decent but probably rules out viral eradication as a realistic goal.
 
Let's hope so, is there any medical data to back this up? Genuine question.

Fewer people catching covid = fewer people suffering from long covid. The vaccine will result in fewer people catching covid. It’s already done this in the trial we’re discussing today.
 
Yeah, definitely. I heard one of the BioNTech guys saying that he predicts 50% efficacy at reducing transmission for their vaccine. Which would be decent but probably rules out viral eradication as a realistic goal.
Global eradication is a long term project anyway. Don’t need a sterilising vaccine in the first wave.
 
Looking forward to the Oxford results now. Hopefully also encouraging, as from a selfish point of view the UK and Aus really need that one to work.
 
Moderna’s news is the real gamechanger. The storage temperatures means it will fit in logistically within existing primary care network and other vaccine delivery systems.
 
Moderna’s news is the real gamechanger. The storage temperatures means it will fit in logistically within existing primary care network and other vaccine delivery systems.
Massive game changer as it sounds like it can even work for villages in hot climate countries, so will help places like Mexico, India or Africa.
If their results are robust, it’s perhaps more useful than the Pzier one.

Anyone know what the Zeneca/Oxford storage specs are?
 
Just to close this loop. I had a call from the Novavax trial team on Saturday. Another set of medical history questions and an opportunity to ask them any questions.

I did ask about the placebo group given the possible roll out of an (approved) vaccine in the first half of next year. The trial protocol says that if there's a vaccine being rolled out to my age group, then I can ask for my trial status - and just return to the NHS appointments list if I'm in the placebo group.

Not surprisingly, it's something they've had to take seriously, particularly since the Pfizer news. So, I'm now scheduled for a mini-medical and Jab 1 (of something) on Wednesday and Jab 2 three weeks later.
When are those results for the novavax due to be published?

thanks for your participation to help us all!
 
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A vaccine causing side effects similar to long-covid would be captured in the phase 3 safety data. Also a vaccine is not the virus, we still don’t understand the underlying cause of long-COVID. Are there recorded instances of vaccines causing ME/CFS? Not that long-COVID is necessarily the same.

These are good questions. Not sure if any vaccine trials had any assumptions, considerations or entry/exit criteria for long covid (not the same as CFS as you say). Why? Because it's so new or just not worth considering right now. That's why I was wondering if there was any medical data that long covid was considered. I'm not finding anything with Google.

We don't know what triggers long covid. Could be a heavy dose from a sufferer passing it on, or a very minute RNA in a vaccine, for example.
 
These are good questions. Not sure if any vaccine trials had any assumptions, considerations or entry/exit criteria for long covid (not the same as CFS as you say). Why? Because it's so new or just not worth considering right now. That's why I was wondering if there was any medical data that long covid was considered. I'm not finding anything with Google.

We don't know what triggers long covid. Could be a heavy dose from a sufferer passing it on, or a very minute RNA in a vaccine, for example.

Well the important first step is getting infected with SARS-COV-2. Which these vaccines will (almost certainly) make less likely. So I’m not seeing what your problem with them is.