COVID-19/Coronavirus thread

[StrangeSox]

4 hours ago, Texsox said:

We took our 5 year old grandson to his first corn maze and regretted it for weeks until any danger of infection passed. 

 

The first time we took our then-14 month old and our 3yo to the playground since the start of the pandemic was in August I think. 

 

Two days after going he had a fever.

 

[Texsox]

Wouldn't it be nice if the coronavirus goes away tomorrow like a dangerous caravan of central Americans bent on destroying America?

[Stinky Stanky]

The common cold is a corona virus and we don't have a vaccine for it, some say.  BUT, the common cold may be caused by any of close to 200 similar viruses, which is why we keep getting them esp.  if we behave irresponsibly.  So what are we supposed to believe?

Edited November 4, 2020 by Stinky Stanky

[StrangeSox]

We also haven't shifted basically all virology/vaccine research around the world to find treatments and vaccines for one specific coronavirus as quickly as possible. Colds suck but they don't kill you.

[southsider2k5]

19 hours ago, Stinky Stanky said:

The common cold is a corona virus and we don't have a vaccine for it, some say.  BUT, the common cold may be caused by any of close to 200 similar viruses, which is why we keep getting them esp.  if we behave irresponsibly.  So what are we supposed to believe?

We haven't behaved with this level of safety in something like 100 years in this country  because the common cold, much like its name would indicate, isn't a killer.  We have never masked up or social distanced for these annual flus either, and even with the complete lack of safety measures, those flus also kill magnitudes less people because they aren't as deadly.  COVID is killing at a rate around 100 times more than the seasonal flu when adjusted for the safety measures being taken right now.  You can believe what you like, but these things aren't equal.  It is comparing my elementary school baseball team to the LA Dodgers because they both play baseball.

[Texsox]

I read Stanky's post as a prediction we'll never have a vaccine. Which seems plausible especially if evidence of mutations are accurate.

[Balta1701]

27 minutes ago, Texsox said:

I read Stanky's post as a prediction we'll never have a vaccine. Which seems plausible especially if evidence of mutations are accurate.

It really doesn’t. 

The vaccine may not last for years without boosters, but we will have a number of them in production next year.

[Balta1701]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/03/covid-coronavirus-updates-2/

 

[Balta1701]

 

 Sigh. 

[southsider2k5]

This is a very interesting read.

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html?ssm=TW_CC

[Balta1701]

Got my first nasal swab today for surveillance testing at new job. Once a week for the foreseeable future. 

[Texsox]

11 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is a very interesting read.

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html?ssm=TW_CC

Interesting read. It partially explains why all six of the cases at my school seem to be students. I say seem because privacy laws prevent even that bit of information from being shared.

-- At least according to that study -- being at a limited capacity, outdoor bar, with people socially distanced is fairly safe. 

[Texsox]

11 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Got my first nasal swab today for surveillance testing at new job. Once a week for the foreseeable future. 

Aren't those fun? I had mine at MD Anderson before seeing my oncologist and couldn't believe how far back they can reach with that swab. The second one is worse because you know what's coming.

[Harry Chappas]

2 hours ago, Texsox said:

Interesting read. It partially explains why all six of the cases at my school seem to be students. I say seem because privacy laws prevent even that bit of information from being shared.

-- At least according to that study -- being at a limited capacity, outdoor bar, with people socially distanced is fairly safe. 

I work at a school we are at 50/50 hybrid. Oddly our boiler system is old and crazy so classroom windows are always open regardless of the temperature, we have no A/C .  This may actually be a benefit.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Harry Chappas

[Rowand44]

14 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Got my first nasal swab today for surveillance testing at new job. Once a week for the foreseeable future. 

Had to get one about a month back for a new job.  Ya, that shit sucked.

[Dick Allen]

3 hours ago, Rowand44 said:

Had to get one about a month back for a new job.  Ya, that shit sucked.

I got one around April. I'm pretty sure they hit my brain.

[Texsox]

5 hours ago, Harry Chappas said:

I work at a school we are at 50/50 hybrid. Oddly our boiler system is old and crazy so classroom windows are always open regardless of the temperature, we have no A/C .  This may actually be a benefit.

 

 

We're allowing any student to choose asynchronous instruction and the vast majority are staying home. Students that pick in person are on campus every other day. 

I teach all seniors. Today one showed up. An orchestra student who needs to be on campus.

 

[Balta1701]

3 straight records! We got this folks, we can fill every hospital bed by the time people get together for Thanksgiving!

 

[NWINFan]

My sister told me that she had been exposed to a co-worker who tested positive. Then that result was changed to inconclusive. Regardless, my sister will be tested even though she has shown no symptoms for five days. If she is positive, my wife and I will need to be tested.

I spoke to a cousin who I haven't talked to for some time. He had the virus and was able to recover. But he said he had been so lethargic, he was barely able to stand up.

A small gym I train at is closing down for a week because more and more of the gym's clients have been exposed.

Trump said the news about Covid will stop after the election. No, Donald, this is still affecting people every day. This hasn't been about you, shocking as that sounds.

Edited November 7, 2020 by NWINFan

[joejoesox]

https://www.engadget.com/amp/nasal-spray-prevents-covid-19-infections-204611720.html

Quote

Columbia University researchers have developed a nasal spray that has successfully prevented COVID-19 infections in tests with ferrets as well as a 3D model of human lungs.

[sic]

It’s also affordable, lasts a long time, and doesn’t need refrigeration.

A spray like this is still some ways from reaching the public. There would need to be human clinical trials, not to mention large-scale production to provide enough access. Scientists are planning to “rapidly advance” to further testing, Columbia said.

 

1 application lasts 24 hours, per the article

Edited November 8, 2020 by joesaiditstrue

[Heads22]

 

 

[bmags]

this was so encouraging to see:

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-4f4ae2e3bad122d17742be22a2240ae8?utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

Pfizer vaccine phase 3 shows 90% effectiveness, no medical flags. 94 infections in 44,000 people registered.

[StrangeSox]

The timing of this feels like Iran releasing the hostages right after Reagan was inaugurated. 

 

More details in the coming weeks, looking to apply for approval around Thanksgiving. Good news for sure!

 

Let's hope Moderna and Oxford/AZ hit as well so that distribution bottlenecks aren't as bad. Though if the other two are effective but less so, you could end up with some very difficult choices given that we don't know the impact of taking one vaccine today and a different one 6-12 months from now.

[bmags]

37 minutes ago, StrangeSox said:

The timing of this feels like Iran releasing the hostages right after Reagan was inaugurated. 

 

More details in the coming weeks, looking to apply for approval around Thanksgiving. Good news for sure!

 

Let's hope Moderna and Oxford/AZ hit as well so that distribution bottlenecks aren't as bad. Though if the other two are effective but less so, you could end up with some very difficult choices given that we don't know the impact of taking one vaccine today and a different one 6-12 months from now.

Ideally J&J drops soon. But the big thing here is this super high efficacy. If J&J shows something even like 60% effective plus (ideally) some proof of lesser symptoms, you could prioritize the high risk population (medical workers, factory workers, elderly) with the mRNA vaccines while general pop get the single dose. 

 

[StrangeSox]

12 minutes ago, bmags said:

Ideally J&J drops soon. But the big thing here is this super high efficacy. If J&J shows something even like 60% effective plus (ideally) some proof of lesser symptoms, you could prioritize the high risk population (medical workers, factory workers, elderly) with the mRNA vaccines while general pop get the single dose. 

 

I dunno. Nobody is studying what happens if you take more than one vaccine. Would you be willing to potentially lock yourself out of the 90%+ effective vaccine forever in order to get the 60% effective one six months earlier? Not an easy call to make, imo.

 

 

 

So, grimly dark here that we may get a vaccine quicker because of how bad things have gotten. But trying to read through the lines of this press release, and it seems like there's an indication of sterilizing immunity. That would be huge. That means not only that you don't personally get sick, but also that you don't get an infection in the first place and become an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic spreader.

 

Need to wait for detailed results to really understand this. Hopefully by Thanksgiving.

Edited November 9, 2020 by StrangeSox