PlagueWatch 2020-23 - Coronavirus

[budwom]

Timing was a key issue, aside from % vaccinated. Before there was a vaccine, VT locked down very strictly, FL much less so, and as such more people got infected there when there was no vaccine available. Vermont's major outbreak began after most people here had been vaccinated...there's still a decent sized population here who haven't been jabbed, and they're the ones primarily getting sick.

[JasonEvans]

In retrospect we probably should have told the unvaccinated that they needed to get vaccinated. Our bad.

[Furniture]

In retrospect we probably should have told the unvaccinated that they needed to get vaccinated. Our bad.

I can’t stand armchair quarterbacks. I mean, who would know?

[ClemmonsDevil]

I can’t stand armchair quarterbacks. I mean, who would know?

I encourage everyone to do their own research.

[JasonEvans]

It is starting to look like Boris Johnson may be brought down by Covid... apparently last December, when the UK government was telling the country to stay home and not celebrate Christmas, members of the 10 Downing Street staff were secretly having office parties including a Secret Santa gift exchange: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/08/uk/bo...gbr/index.html

Here is video of a mock press conference where Bojo's staff jokes about the party. This sure feels like a smoking gun.


A majority of Brits now thing Johnson should resign... yikes!
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/u...ohnson-6321869

According to the Savanta ComRes poll, conducted today, December 8, 54 per cent of UK adults want Johnson to stand down as PM. Only 30 per cent say he should not resign.

A separate poll from Opinium found 53 per cent of adults think Johnson should resign, where 28 per cent say he should not, over the revelations that a party was reportedly held at No 10 Downing Street last Christmas, while London was in lockdown.

[golfinesquire]

Has anyone seen this? I am wondering how big a deal it is.

https://scitechdaily.com/covid-19-br...immune-system/

[rsvman]

Has anyone seen this? I am wondering how big a deal it is.

https://scitechdaily.com/covid-19-br...immune-system/

Skimmed it briefly. Interesting concept. Certainly we need MHC class 1 in order to kill infected cells, and the idea of a virus producing a protein whose sole purpose is to block or prevent a certain part of the immune response is not a new one. It kind of cracks me up that he says the protein is known as ORF6 (highly unlikely, since ORF is nerd-speak for Open Reading Frame; I suspect the protein in question is the product of expression of the gene at the 6th open reading frame, but I digress).

Having said all that, I think his concluding remarks, about designing a drug to block the viral protein, is unlikely to ever come to fruition, and it wouldn't cure you of the disease, either. Generally speaking, antivirals have almost always targeted some portion of viral replication. Making a drug specifically aimed at blocking a single protein that doesn't actually have any function in viral replication would be....novel, for sure. And even if it worked perfectly, all it would do would be to allow your body's immune system to fight the virus in a "fair fight," so to speak; essentially, you are taking away the bully's brass knuckles but you are still allowing your child to have the full fist-fight. This is not a tactic I would take as a parent, and it is also not a tactic that we have ever taken as a medical community in trying to "treat" a viral infection.

[YmoBeThere]

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115624BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster and Mortality Due to Covid-19

List of authors.

• Ronen Arbel, Ph.D.,
• Ariel Hammerman, Ph.D.,
• Ruslan Sergienko, M.A.,
• Michael Friger, Ph.D.,
• Alon Peretz, M.D.,
• Doron Netzer, M.D.,
• and Shlomit Yaron, M.D.

Results

A total of 843,208 participants met the eligibility criteria, of whom 758,118 (90%) received the booster during the 54-day study period. Death due to Covid-19 occurred in 65 participants in the booster group (0.16 per 100,000 persons per day) and in 137 participants in the nonbooster group (2.98 per 100,000 persons per day). The adjusted hazard ratio for death due to Covid-19 in the booster group, as compared with the nonbooster group, was 0.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.14; P<0.001).

Conclusions

Participants who received a booster at least 5 months after a second dose of BNT162b2 had 90% lower mortality due to Covid-19 than participants who did not receive a booster.

[Bluedog]

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115624BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster and Mortality Due to Covid-19

List of authors.

• Ronen Arbel, Ph.D.,
• Ariel Hammerman, Ph.D.,
• Ruslan Sergienko, M.A.,
• Michael Friger, Ph.D.,
• Alon Peretz, M.D.,
• Doron Netzer, M.D.,
• and Shlomit Yaron, M.D.

Results

A total of 843,208 participants met the eligibility criteria, of whom 758,118 (90%) received the booster during the 54-day study period. Death due to Covid-19 occurred in 65 participants in the booster group (0.16 per 100,000 persons per day) and in 137 participants in the nonbooster group (2.98 per 100,000 persons per day). The adjusted hazard ratio for death due to Covid-19 in the booster group, as compared with the nonbooster group, was 0.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.14; P<0.001).

Conclusions

Participants who received a booster at least 5 months after a second dose of BNT162b2 had 90% lower mortality due to Covid-19 than participants who did not receive a booster.

Does the "non booster group" include the completely unvaccinated? (I admittedly didn't read it).

[YmoBeThere]

Does the "non booster group" include the completely unvaccinated? (I admittedly didn't read it).

Strictly a comparison between two and three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine recipients aged 50 and over.

[Kdogg]

It is starting to look like Boris Johnson may be brought down by Covid... apparently last December, when the UK government was telling the country to stay home and not celebrate Christmas, members of the 10 Downing Street staff were secretly having office parties including a Secret Santa gift exchange:

Not bloody likely…at least not because of the Christmas party. More likely (but not really) because of a Tory revolt for the new restrictions. They are not happy.

“ENGLAND’S PLAN B:
Starting Monday: work from home if you can
Starting Friday: masks will be compulsory in most public indoor venues, including theaters and cinemas -- except when eating or drinking
In a week’s time: NHS Covid Pass mandatory for entry into large venues
Pingdemic: Daily testing will be introduced for contacts instead of isolation”

[Bluedog]

Not bloody likely…at least not because of the Christmas party. More likely (but not really) because of a Tory revolt for the new restrictions. They are not happy.

“ENGLAND’S PLAN B:
Starting Monday: work from home if you can
Starting Friday: masks will be compulsory in most public indoor venues, including theaters and cinemas -- except when eating or drinking
In a week’s time: NHS Covid Pass mandatory for entry into large venues
Pingdemic: Daily testing will be introduced for contacts instead of isolation”

I must live in a different world because masks are already compulsory in ALL indoor public settings and children are REQUIRED to wear masks in "secondary school" not just "encouraged." And that starts at age 2. UK stringent "new rules" seem pretty tame if you ask me...

Certainly, the stay at home orders happening elsewhere and mandatory closings of things is more severe.

Also more testing = great strategy. We (US) have been pathetic in that regard. Hopefully the rules coming next year to cover costs will help. Rapid home tests cost $1 in the UK or free in much of Europe. The fact that it took so long for the FDA to approve them for home use in the US is mind boggling.

[Lord Ash]

Man, northern NJ is getting messy. Case counts in my county up nearly 100 percent in the last two weeks. My son plays travel basketball; he has two games against one local town this weekend, and eight of their travel teams just went into quarantine. I've got to watch 300 kids in a lunch room today who wont be wearing masks while they eat and where we have no ventilation. I'm getting nervous again Someone talk me down?

[MChambers]

Great story about a video done by urologists trying to overcome male fear of impotence caused by vaccines: https://www.popsci.com/health/covid-...e-dysfunction/

[YmoBeThere]

Someone talk me down?

I'm not much for giving pep talks via the eyeballs, but if vaccinated:

Conclusions

Participants who received a booster at least 5 months after a second dose of BNT162b2 had 90% lower mortality due to Covid-19 than participants who did not receive a booster.

And those who are vaccinated are X% lower than unvaxxed, etc.

[Lord Ash]

I'm not much for giving pep talks via the eyeballs, but if vaccinated:



And those who are vaccinated are X% lower than unvaxxed, etc.

Good stuff.

God, I just don't want to get this and bring it home for the holidays... of the eight people who visit, five are 80 or over, and three are cancer survivors. Thankfully all are vaccinated/boosted, but still...

I hate how much this is backsliding.

[-jk]

Good stuff.

God, I just don't want to get this and bring it home for the holidays... of the eight people who visit, five are 80 or over, and three are cancer survivors. Thankfully all are vaccinated/boosted, but still...

I hate how much this is backsliding.

Get some rapid tests!

-jk

[Lord Ash]

Get some rapid tests!

-jk

We have a BUNCH of them. We test whenever someone isn't feeling well... just don't want to send someone sick off into the world, you know?

[budwom]

Ack, VT shattered it's all time case count record again today, and Middlebury College is sending kids home until the end of the semester. Big outbreak there among people who evidently socialize together, even though they are all vaccinated (cases do not appear to be serious). And it's way worse in NH where they don't test nearly as much but have very high case counts nonetheless.

[rsvman]

Michigan is also apparently doing pretty poorly right now. Thankfully, case counts around these parts haven't changed much (southeastern Virginia). We have been below both northern Virginia and North Carolina in case counts for a long, long time. Hoping we stay that way.