2019 - nCoV (novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China)

[Gator]

Your Dr Fauci - that some seek to 'discredit' because he's speaking from a medical person's perspective ... not a bean-counter has it nailed ..... you should be listening to his advice ...not the bean counters

Is this the same Dr. Fauci who told us on January 21, "But this is not a major threat to the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about?"

You know what comes next -  Trump's decision a few days later to go against Fauci's assessment and to do something - ban China travelers.  I wish he had banned Italy travelers too, but that story was just unfolding.   

In February Fauci also told us to not wear a mask and that the risk of covid was low.

I am not blaming nor discrediting Dr.  Fauci.   The whole world including medical authorities such as Dr. Fauci got caught flat footed. Much of Fauci's advice has been very valuable, and the public tends to respect him, so I hope he continues to speak.   

The main point is that Dr. Fauci is just one of a large number of respected medical authorities  who have something to contribute to the "solution."  Trump and the Governors listen to the broad range of medical advice as well as advice about the economy.  They synthesize it to decide policy.   

[msmob]

Right now, was probably right, then.. The govt in the UK was saying the risk had moved from 'ultra low to low' ..

'We' now know to err on the side of caution..right ? !

Listen to your good lady

[2tallbill]

Chinese State Media Warn Country Will Interfere in U.S. Election
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinese-state-media-warn-country-will-interfere-in-u-s-election/


China Threatens to Sanction U.S. Politicians for Coronavirus Criticism
http://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-05-14/china-threatens-to-sanction-us-politicians-for-coronavirus-criticism

[msmob]

]Chinese State Media Warn Country Will Interfere in U.S. Election

Hmm, the free beacon' says will interfere and the Global times said might   ..and it's referring to retribution for US actions..

Not quite the same, eh, Beel ?

China Threatens to Sanction U.S. Politicians for Coronavirus Criticism
http://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-05-14/china-threatens-to-sanction-us-politicians-for-coronavirus-criticism

From the article ..

The post does not expressly say who China would sanction and how


Do you think said 'law makers' will be 'bovvered' ?

[Gator]

Many pharmaceutical companies are in the process of testing and developing vaccines for COVID-19.  This morning, Moderna, the first company to start human testing, reported results of its Phase 1 Test.  In the CEO's words, "we could not be happier."

Phase 1 involved injection of two doses in 51 subjects, grouped in different chorts. The first group was injected on March 16 and yielded the following results:

    -  8 of 8 subjects showed neutralizing antibodies
    -  The response was dose dependent
    -  The produced antibody levels are similar to or higher than measured in patients who recovered from COVID-19

Safety is of course an issue.  The reaction in subjects was similar to a flu shot (pain at injection site, redness at injection site, and mild chills or fever).

Phase 2 (600 subjects) has been approved and will be underway soon.  Phase 3 ("many thousands") is scheduled to start in July. 

The news is so good as to move the stock market up significantly.   
   

[msmob]

Many pharmaceutical companies are in the process of testing and developing vaccines for COVID-19.  This morning, Moderna, the first company to start human testing, reported results of its Phase 1 Test.  In the CEO's words, "we could not be happier."

Phase 1 involved injection of two doses in 51 subjects, grouped in different chorts. The first group was injected on March 16 and yielded the following results:

    -  8 of 8 subjects showed neutralizing antibodies
    -  The response was dose dependent
    -  The produced antibody levels are similar to or higher than measured in patients who recovered from COVID-19

Safety is of course an issue.  The reaction in subjects was similar to a flu shot (pain at injection site, redness at injection site, and mild chills or fever).

Phase 2 (600 subjects) has been approved and will be underway soon.  Phase 3 ("many thousands") is scheduled to start in July. 

The news is so good as to move the stock market up significantly.   
   

Source, please ?   

[Gator]

Source, please ?   

Interview with CEO on CNBC.  Not available, but here is Moderna's press release.

http://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-announces-positive-interim-phase-1-data-its-mrna-vaccine

Market is up 2-3%.  Part of that is due to Fed's Powell comforting remarks on 60 Minutes.

[Gator]

There is also good news on the therapeutic drug scene from the pharmaceutical company Sorrento Therapeutics. 

From its press release:

Sorrento has been diligently screening billions of antibodies... and has so far identifiedhundreds of antibody candidates that bind the S1 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Approximately one dozen of these antibodies have demonstrated the ability to block the S1 protein's interaction with humanangiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor used for viral entrance into human cells.

Among the antibodies showing neutralizing activity, one antibody stood out forits ability to completely block SARS-CoV-2 infection of healthy cells in the experiments. STI-1499 completely neutralized the virus infectivity at a very low antibody dose, making it a prime candidate for further testing and development. Initial biochemical and biophysical analyses also indicate STI-1499 is a potentially strong antibody drug candidate.

Since the announcement on Friday, the stock (SRNE) has appreciated about 400%, selling for $2.56 on Thursday and hitting a high of $10.00 today before pulling back. 

There are innumerable companies endeavoring to discover an effective therapeutic.  An effective vaccine will not make them moot because 1) it will be impossible to develop readily the billions of doses needed for the world, and 2) not everyone will choose to be vaccinated. 

[BillyB]

1) it will be impossible to develop readily the billions of doses needed for the world,

It's too expensive to allow this virus to run loose. They will pay every capable lab in the world to produce the best candidates. The developed nations are most likely to create a vaccine and most likely they will use it on their people first to get their economies going. I understand some nations have made deals but governments do have a responsibility to take care of their people first. I suspect a few years from now we'll learn which vaccines had some success and which ones were flops.
 

2) not everyone will choose to be vaccinated.

In societies that aren't free, governments make may it mandatory to get vaccinated. In societies that are free, who will pay for the medical bills of those that got infected because they were allowed to refused being vaccinated? If 5 years from now it is determine there is a safe and effective vaccine and a large group of people don't want it, there may be government action taken. If a handful of people refuse an effective vaccine, it's not a big deal since most of the herd achieved immunity.

[Gator]

Washington Post's coverage of Moderna's vaccine after analyzing the test results and comparing with other vaccines in the pipeline.


[Link deleted - it was so long that it broke through the page borders]

Title:  "Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine shows encouraging early results"

[jone]

I watched part of Trump's Fox News interview yesterday.   In the interview he refused to speculate on the origins of COVID 19.   But he did say that he has some really good intel.

[GQBlues]

Washington Post's coverage of Moderna's vaccine after analyzing the test results and comparing with other vaccines in the pipeline.


Link Here

Title:  "Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine shows encouraging early results"

[msmob]

I watched part of Trump's Fox News interview yesterday.   In the interview he refused to speculate on the origins of COVID 19.   But he did say that he has some really good intel.

Refraining from spilling is not a usual 'Trampu' trait ..   

He's building up a fine record for silly utterances and tweets, though

[msmob]

For those of 'us' who still think Sweden was an example of how things should be done...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52704836

"They told us that we shouldn't send anyone to the hospital, even if they may be 65 and have many years to live. We were told not to send them in," says Latifa Löfvenberg, a nurse who worked in several care homes around Gävle, north of Stockholm, at the beginning of the pandemic.

"Some can have a lot of years left to live with loved ones, but they don't have the chance... because they never make it to the hospital," she says. "They suffocate to death. And it's a lot of panic and it's very hard to just stand by and watch."

Ms Löfvenberg is now working on a Covid-19 ward in a major hospital in the Swedish capital, where she says the demographic of patients she's treating is further evidence that the elderly are being kept away. "We don't have many older people. It's a lot of younger people born in the 90s, 80s, 70s."

[Gator]

Link Here

Thanks for the help.   Us seniors always appreciate technology help from young fellers.   

[Gator]

The New York Times pouring some cold water (yet real)  on yesterday's Moderna vaccine news. 

Why vaccines are so slow

Early news about medical treatments — like yesterday’s announcement that a coronavirus vaccine has shown positive results in eight people — can feel both exciting and frustrating.

The frustrating part is the timing. Even if all continues to go well with the research into this vaccine, it won’t be available until late this year or early next year. Between now and then, the vaccine will have to endure two more research trials, one involving hundreds of people and the other involving thousands.

Given the virus’s terrible toll, that long process can seem strangely lacking in urgency. But scientists insist that it isn’t. Here are the key reasons they say that there are no easy or fast routes to a vaccine:

Early results don’t always stand. In 2015, the French drug company Sanofi began selling the first vaccine for dengue. The drug had made it through multiple research trials — although some researchers believed Sanofi had ignored worrisome signs. Sure enough, as children in the Philippines began using it, some contracted an even worse form of dengue. Today, use of the vaccine is highly restricted.

In recent testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, noted that a coronavirus vaccine could suffer from the same problem.

The larger point is that drugs that look good in small, initial studies often look less good when they’re tested in more people.

Side effects matter. A vaccine doesn’t merely need to work, as Katie Thomas, a Times reporter covering pharmaceuticals, explained to me. It needs not to have side effects that cause more damage than the virus itself.

This coronavirus seems to kill only a small percentage of people who get it. The side effects have the potential to do more damage, because any coronavirus vaccine will be given to billions of people, including many with underlying health problems.

Politics matter, too. Vaccines are the subject of frequent conspiracy theories and falsehoods. Given this skepticism, a coronavirus vaccine that did more harm than good could cause much broader damage.

It could lead people around the world to stop taking vaccines that actually work. That’s what happened in the Philippines after the dengue scandal.

All of which is a reminder that promising early results — like yesterday’s — often prove fleeting. Only about 10 percent of drugs that clear the first research phase ultimately make it to market.

[msmob]

How many have really died from SARS-Cov2 / COVID-19 in the UK, so far ?


UK sees almost 55,000 extra deaths
Figures released by the UK's national statistical agencies show that there were 54,437 more deaths up to 8 May than would normally have been expected by this time of year.

The figure is larger than the 34,796 people who died after a positive test result for coronavirus up to that date, or the 41,020 people whose death certificate mentioned Covid-19.

Robert Cuffe, the BBC's head of statistics, said the larger "excess deaths" figure was likely to capture the true impact of the virus, reflecting the numbers of people who died without a test or who died because of the strain on the healthcare system.

Guess which one you'll see 'reported' in 'official stats' worldwide

[GQBlues]

Well, lookeedat!! Lockdown is really working in the UK!!!


Now comparing this to Sweden...uh-huh

[msmob]

Note to GQB..

'lock down' was implemented FAR too late..

Italy was a big clue..

[2tallbill]

[BillyB]

How many have really died from SARS-Cov2 / COVID-19 in the UK, so far ?


UK sees almost 55,000 extra deaths
Figures released by the UK's national statistical agencies show that there were 54,437 more deaths up to 8 May than would normally have been expected by this time of year.

All nations will be in the same boat as UK underreporting by accident or on purpose. I have read a few individuals here were told to manipulate the data so it wouldn't look so bad.

[Gator]

All nations will be in the same boat as UK underreporting by accident or on purpose. I have read a few individuals here were told to manipulate the data so it wouldn't look so bad.

Given the financial incentive that reimburse hospitals more for COVID cases, the US is likely more guilty of over-reporting.   

[BillyB]

Given the financial incentive that reimburse hospitals more for COVID cases, the US is likely more guilty of over-reporting.

Hospitals that handle COVID-19 patients have separate wings for those patients. If I died in the Seattle VA Hospital and they tried to count me as a COVID-19 death to make money, somebody may get criminally charged. I don't think it's worth it. Many nurses and doctors aren't going to play the game of a hospital looking to steal from taxpayers and will report to a media hungry for stories Trump's coronavirus programs are easy to abuse. Deaths over and above the usual number this time of year is the most important number on Moby's chart.

[ML]

How many have really died from SARS-Cov2 / COVID-19 in the UK, so far ?


Robert Cuffe, the BBC's head of statistics, said the larger "excess deaths" figure was likely to capture the true impact of the virus, reflecting the numbers of people who died without a test

Just saw a segment on news tonight regarding similar situation in Russia.

The government numbers for deaths from Corona looked to be too low .

A non-government Russian man (can't remember his position . . . sort of like an investigative reporter I think) said that the true number of deaths from Corona was probably 10 times or more that reported . . . and could be ascertained by looking at the total deaths from all causes so far this year compared to the number for same time period in earlier years.

[BillyB]

Just saw a segment on news tonight regarding similar situation in Russia.

The government numbers for deaths from Corona looked to be too low .

Most governments numbers are low. I'm not surprised about Russia's. I will say Putin did an excellent job closing Russia's border with China early so that is why their outbreak is starting later than even ours.

Dagestan's top cleric, Mufti Akhmad Abdulayev, described the situation as dire and pleaded to the Kremlin for help. The region's health minister, Dzhamaludin Gadzhiibragimov, said that 657 people had died of pneumonia in the region, including 40 medics.

According to a regional breakdown of Russia's official coronavirus tally, only 29 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in the region of 2.9 million people by Monday.
Critics have accused Russian authorities of downplaying the crisis and manipulating the figures by attributing coronavirus deaths to so-called community-acquired pneumonia and other medical conditions.

Doctors told AFP they have been overwhelmed by the number of patients, while the lack of medical supplies had left people in the region feeling abandoned.

http://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-intervenes-russias-dagestan-faces-virus-catastrophe-172142195.html