Coronavirus - worldwide breaking news, discussion, stats, updates and more

[elbows]

Awful but much less dishonest revision to Mexicos death figure:

Covid-19: Mexico revises coronavirus death toll up by 60%

The revised figures indicate Mexico has the second highest number of Covid-related deaths in the world.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Yossarian]

Canada is expected to get millions of unwanted AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the US this week - but regulators have just called for a "pause" in its use for under-55s because of the blood clot issue.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/astrazeneca-under-55-1.5968128

 

[Badgers]

Covid-19: CDC head warns of 'impending doom' in US

Cases and deaths are rising as US officials warned the struggle to end the pandemic is not over.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[kebabking]

Perfectly normal. Everything is fine.

 

[BigMoaner]

Covid-19: CDC head warns of 'impending doom' in US

Cases and deaths are rising as US officials warned the struggle to end the pandemic is not over.

www.bbc.co.uk

genuienly frightening.

 

[elbows]

Yeah, I dont really have anything new to add though. My stance when this has been discussed before is that its really unwise to rule it out as a theory, but good luck getting enough info to stop the trail going cold on that one. And I usually suppliment that stuff by boring on about the how the return of H1N1 influenza to the human scene in 1977 was likely due to human activity such as a lab accident or some other ill-judged use of samples of that earlier flu virus.

In addition to complications involving potential cover-ups, politics and diplomacy when trying to judge any lab role in the current pandemic, there are reasons why such possibilities become hot potatoes within virus-related professions. eg unease towards or defence of certain gain-of-function experiments.

WHO managed to say things about this that I can probably live with.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says further investigation is needed to conclusively rule out a theory that Covid-19 emerged from a laboratory in China.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that although a laboratory leak is the least likely cause, more extensive research is needed.

Dr Tedros said the team had difficulty accessing raw data and called for "more timely and comprehensive data sharing" in the future.

But a report by WHO and Chinese experts released on Tuesday and seen by AFP news agency, said the lab leak explanation was highly unlikely and the virus had probably jumped from bats to humans via another intermediary animal.

However the theory "requires further investigation, potential with additional missions involving specialist experts," Dr Tedros said.

"Let me say clearly that as far as WHO is concerned, all hypothesis remain on the table," he added.

Also on Tuesday, WHO investigation team leader, Peter Ben Embarek, said his team had found no evidence that any laboratories in Wuhan were involved in the outbreak.

He added that his team had felt under political pressure, including from outside China but said he was never pressed to remove anything from the team's final report.

Dr Embarak added that it was "perfectly possible" that cases were circulating in the Wuhan area in October or November 2019.

Coronavirus: More work needed to rule out China lab leak theory says WHO

All possible causes of the pandemic remain on the table, says the WHO, though lab leak least likely.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[miss direct]

Heading towards 40,000 cases a day in Turkey now. Back on weekend curfews. A year ago I was there looking at the UK in horror as things seemed much "better" there. Now it's the other way round.

 

[Indeliblelink]

If anyone wants to sift through the WHO report -

Virus origin / Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

“Laboratory diagnostics for novel coronavirus”

www.who.int

 

[cupid_stunt]

Macron, somewhat late, has finally announced another national lockdown, including schools & non-essential shops closing, and a 7pm curfew.

 

[Indeliblelink]

Will you be getting your cat/dog a covid-19 vaccine?

Russia registers world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for cats & dogs as makers of Sputnik V warn pets & farm animals could spread virus

A pioneering new formula that protects animals against coronavirus has been registered in Russia days after one of the country’s top scientists warned that the deadly pathogen could soon begin spreading through homes and farms.

www.rt.com

 

[elbows]

Macron, somewhat late, has finally announced another national lockdown, including schools & non-essential shops closing, and a 7pm curfew.

Yes, terrible situation, lots of stupid decisions in the past.

For one thing, President Macron has opened up a much clearer target now for the opposition - they can argue that his decision back in January to overrule the scientists and not launch a third lockdown was a blunder.

He was warned then that the so-called British variant would sweep all before it by the end of March - and lo and behold that is what has happened. And now he is eating his hat.

For his enemies, it is the result of Macron's hubris - the insufferable self-belief that makes him think he knows better than the doctors.

Covid: France schools to close under third lockdown

French schools will close for at least three weeks as part of new national restrictions.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[elbows]

And my usual graph of Covid-19 patients in hospital to go with that. I've also included some graphs of Covid-19 intensive care patients for France and Germany.

 

[elbows]

And a couple of the charts from the dashboard for Belgium at Epistat – COVID-19 Belgian Dashboard

 

[gentlegreen]

Meanwhile in the USA ...

Future shipments of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine will be delayed after one of its subcontractors ruined 15 million doses at a Baltimore factory over the last several weeks, according to two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the situation.

Johnson & Johnson had hired the company, Emergent BioSolutions, to manufacture the active ingredient, or drug substance, of the vaccine at its plant in West Baltimore. Workers at the facility mistakenly mixed ingredients for the J&J vaccine with those of another manufacturer’s coronavirus shot, according to the two officials.

White House knew more than a week ago of Johnson & Johnson contractor vaccine-supply problems

Workers at Emergent BioSolutions ruined 15 million doses by mixing ingredients from two Covid-19 vaccines together.

www.politico.com

 

[planetgeli]

Sachin Tendulkar is in hospital. This probably means very little to most people here, believe me it means everything to about 1 billion Indians.

Sachin Tendulkar: India cricket legend in hospital with Covid-19

Sachin Tendulkar says he is in hospital "as a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MrSki]

 

[Boudicca]

I do wonder if there will be a big surge in immigration applications to NZ. It's certainly something I would be considering if I was younger.

 

[IC3D]

Urgh smug mode engaged.

 

[Orang Utan]

I do wonder if there will be a big surge in immigration applications to NZ. It's certainly something I would be considering if I was younger.

I’m getting a passport when I can afford it

 

[Badgers]

 

[cupid_stunt]

Nowt to worry about there, no vaccine is 100% effective in stopping all infections, the important thing is that they are highly effective for most people, and reduces the chance of severe cases for those that do get infected.

"We are sad to hear this. Sputnik V is 91.6% effective against infection and 100% effective against severe cases. If the infection is indeed confirmed and occurs, the vaccination ensures quick recovery without severe symptoms. We wish you a quick recovery!," read a message on Sputnik V's official Twitter account, citing rates published February in the medical journal The Lancet.

 

[gentlegreen]

I wish they'd been clearer about the way vaccines work.

"I'm already isolated, complying with the current protocol and following the instructions of my personal doctor," he said. "I have contacted the people I met in the last 48 hours to assess whether they constitute close contact."

He is now, but I wonder how he was behaving before he actually managed to get infected - it suggests maybe quite a large exposure ...

 

[IC3D]

I wonder if this is why no one's ever created a vaccine for the common cold, because without the whole pandemic it would be unmarketable as it is basiclly a leaky, partially effective vaccine that unlike other ones doesn't prevent infection spread and also has grim side effects

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I wonder if this is why no one's ever created a vaccine for the common cold, because without the whole pandemic it would be unmarketable as it is basiclly a leaky, partially effective vaccine that unlike other ones doesn't prevent infection spread and also has grim side effects

Iirc there are quite a few different viruses that cause what we'd think of as a cold. So it would be a lot of vaccines to tackle a pretty minor illness.

 

[William of Walworth]

I wonder if this is why no one's ever created a vaccine for the common cold, because without the whole pandemic it would be unmarketable as it is basiclly a leaky, partially effective vaccine that unlike other ones doesn't prevent infection spread and also has grim side effects

Assuming you're talking about Coronavirus vaccines there**, I think you're hugely over-egging the criticism pudding. By miles. Just saying!

**(and not some notional common-cold vaccine )

 

[IC3D]

Iirc there are quite a few different viruses that cause what we'd think of as a cold. So it would be a lot of vaccines to tackle a pretty minor illness.

About a quarter of common colds are coronavirus I think. They also may have very unmild when we initially got them. I'm sure scientists somewhere so work on curing colds though as it would make pharma good coin

 

[cupid_stunt]

I wonder if this is why no one's ever created a vaccine for the common cold, because without the whole pandemic it would be unmarketable as it is basiclly a leaky, partially effective vaccine that unlike other ones doesn't prevent infection spread and also has grim side effects

Flu vaccines are a hell of a lot less effective than the covid ones, which also do reduce infection spread according to the most recent data.

And, as Monkeygrinder's Organ points out, lots of different viruses cause what we label as the 'common cold'.

The common cold is an infection of the upper respiratory tract which can be caused by many different viruses. The most commonly implicated is a rhinovirus (30–80%), a type of picornavirus with 99 known serotypes.[30] Other commonly implicated viruses include human coronaviruses (≈ 15%),[31][32] influenza viruses (10–15%),[33][34][35] adenoviruses (5%),[33] human respiratory syncytial virus (orthopneumovirus), enteroviruses other than rhinoviruses, human parainfluenza viruses, and human metapneumovirus.[36] Frequently more than one virus is present.[37] In total, more than 200 viral types are associated with colds.[4]

Common cold - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[IC3D]

Assuming you're talking about Coronavirus vaccines there**, I think you're hugely over-egging the criticism pudding. By miles. Just saying!

**(and not some notional common-cold vaccine )

Maybe but some people still think this completely imunises like other vaccines

 

[gentlegreen]

Do any vaccines actually prevent all infection of cells and internal replication before the immune response deals with them ?

The problem with these vaccines is they're under incredibly close scrutiny.

 

[William of Walworth]

I wonder if this is why no one's ever created a vaccine for the common cold, because without the whole pandemic it would be unmarketable as it is basiclly a leaky, partially effective vaccine that unlike other ones doesn't prevent infection spread and also has grim side effects

Flu vaccines are a hell of a lot less effective than the covid ones, which also do reduce infection spread according to the most recent data.

I was going to say something about that as well -- the data (as it develops) does not seem to support the idea that Covid vaccines fail to stop virus-spread.

Others will know where the good links are for this .... but I have seen some, in other threads