The COVID-2019 Thread

[OhOh]

So it's best to stick to vaccines approved in the UK, US, Germany, France, etc. which might mean waiting a bit longer but also means you can trust the results.

One hopes all the vaccine deliver the outcomes the manufacturers have promised.

Time will tell who's vaccine was the most effective.

[Klondyke]

So it's best to stick to vaccines approved in the UK, US, Germany, France, etc. which might mean waiting a bit longer but also means you can trust the results.

It reminds me the old joke (actually not really a joke):
I better jump out from the window (of a skyscraper) with GWB (Obama, Trump, Biden, you name them) than being rescued by dangerous Mr. Putin...

[harrybarracuda]

I assume HooHoo and his little puppy will get the chinky vaccine as soon as it is offered to them. They trust Mr. Shithole implicitly.

[Klondyke]

To trust or not to trust the vaccine of Mr. Putin? That's the question...

Isn't it the one stolen from Oxford? So what?

[Troy]

Isn't it the one stolen from Oxford? So what?

Concordski, that's what...

[harrybarracuda]

I wonder if we will reach a million cases a day before vaccines start to have an impact?

[HuangLao]

One hopes all the vaccine deliver the outcomes the manufacturers have promised.

Time will tell who's vaccine was the most effective.

Unfortunately, it all remains geopolitical.
Not approached as the broad health issue that it is.

[harrybarracuda]

Unfortunately, it all remains geopolitical.
Not approached as the broad health issue that it is.

Yes, if only the world was all communist and the state was making vaccines to make glorious benefit .....





Oh.

[baldrick]

To trust or not to trust the vaccine of Mr. Putin? That's the question...

vlad was all mouthy about he and his daughter geting the vaccine - what happened ?

[panama hat]

It reminds me the old joke (actually not really a joke):

You have yet to show any bit of humour.


But this is funny:

I better jump out from the window (of a skyscraper) with GWB (Obama, Trump, Biden, you name them) than being rescued by dangerous Mr. Putin...

As our resident Russian fucknuckle you believe that these are the only options . . . which makes you even dumber than Skidmark

vlad was all mouthy about he and his daughter geting the vaccine - what happened ?

Yea, about that . . .

[hallelujah]

Moscow officially delivers Sputnik V vaccine to clinics despite final trials yet to be completed.

Moscow delivers Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to clinics | Russia | The Guardian

Putin, RT, Klongdick and OhOh claim "110% efficacy."

[harrybarracuda]

With their population, they could be the first country in the world to vaccinate herd immunity numbers.

Manama, Dec. 4 (BNA): Bahrain’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine makes the Kingdom the second country in the world to grant an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the vaccine.

The confirmation of approval by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain, followed thorough analysis and review undertaken by the Authority of all available data. It is Bahrain’s second approval of a Covid-19 vaccine EUA, following the Kingdom’s approval in November of the Sinopharm vaccine for use by frontline workers.

Bahrain’s comprehensive “Test, Trace and Treat” Covid-19 response strategy, with one of the highest testing rates per capita in the world, has proved effective in breaking the chains of infection, managing down case numbers and saving lives.

Bahrain second in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

[panama hat]

It is Bahrain’s second approval of a Covid-19 vaccine EUA, following the Kingdom’s approval in November of the Sinopharm vaccine

Have they started with the China-made crap yet?

[harrybarracuda]

Have they started with the China-made crap yet?

They only approved it for chinky Phase III trials. I can't see people queuing up to get it if a proper vaccine is available.

[panama hat]

I can't see people queuing up to get it if a proper vaccine is available.

You're presuming they have a choice . . . oh, I see. You're talking about in countries other than China

[panama hat]

Speaking of gutsy:





I'm guessing by default all those governors, mayors, senators, congresspeople in the US who choose politics over health are 'idiots'

[HermantheGerman]

Should I put this on the covid-19 joke thread.

Rudy Giuliani tested positive!

[HermantheGerman]

Just a reminder:

Edinger: Speaking of China, I actually was reporting today about updates in the Coronavirus, which is starting to affect California more and more. How do you feel about the President's handling of the Coronavirus and the potential spread so far?

Giuliani: I believe the President has been on top of it from the very very beginning. Pandemics are very very difficult, but unlike others, he's been on top of it from the very beginning. Known about it, worked on it, tried to do everything he can to keep it to a minimum. And his emergency responses to date have been so much better than the inept emergency responses of the Obama administration, that I'm very confident it'll be handled in a very, very professional way. And I know something about emergency response.

[harrybarracuda]

Har Har now the chinkies have added Australia to the list of countries they are trying to blame for the Wuhan virus. There's a surprise.

Beijing has claimed that coronavirus may have spawned outside China and travelled to a wet market in Wuhan via frozen food exports from countries including Australia.


An article in the government-controlled Global Times newspaper on Sunday said the idea the virus was imported into the Huanan wet market last year 'cannot be ruled out' - although it admitted there is no supporting evidence.

China claims coronavirus may have started in AUSTRALIA | Daily Mail Online

[misskit]

South Korea warns of 'medical collapse' as it races to control coronavirus surge

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Monday for expanded coronavirus testing and more thorough tracing as the country struggled to control its latest and largest wave of infections.


The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 615 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Sunday, capping a month of triple-digit daily increases that have led to 8,311 confirmed patients in quarantine, the most ever.


The surge in cases has delivered a blow to South Korea's vaunted pandemic-fighting system, which successfully used invasive tracing, testing, and quarantines to avoid lockdowns, blunt previous waves, and keep infections below 50 per day for much of the summer.

MORE South Korea warns of '''medical collapse''' as it races to control coronavirus surge

[harrybarracuda]

The jaapies couldn't "biosecure" one hotel.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - England's ODI cricket series in South Africa was called off Monday after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the luxurious and supposedly bio-secure Cape Town hotel where both teams are staying.
Both squads have had members infected, while two workers at the hotel also contracted the disease.

England cricket series in SAfrica canceled because of... | Daily Mail Online

[harrybarracuda]

Ruh Roh. What now?

NEW DELHI, India — At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday.
The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said.
A 45-year-old man who was hospitalized with symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea died Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Officials are trying to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples from impacted areas haven’t shown any signs of contamination, and the chief minister's office said people not linked to the municipal water supply have also fallen ill. The patients are of different ages and have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or herpes.

Mystery illness in Andhra Pradesh, India: 200 hospitalized, one dead

[Cujo]

I wonder if this little nugget will find its way into the right wing fever swamp news.

Trump administration refused offer to buy millions more Pfizer vaccine doses
Decision could delay the delivery of a second batch until the manufacturer meets its orders for other countries

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the Pfizer vaccine as soon as this week.

The Trump administration passed up a chance last summer to buy millions of additional doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until the manufacturer fulfills other international contracts.

The revelation, first reported by the New York Times and confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday, came a day before Donald Trump aimed to take credit for the speedy development of forthcoming vaccines at a White House summit.

Pfizer’s vaccine, one of the leading Covid-19 vaccine contenders, is expected to be approved by a panel of Food and Drug Administration scientists as soon as this week, with delivery of 100m doses – enough for 50 million Americans – expected in coming months.

Under its contract with Pfizer, the Trump administration committed to buy an initial 100m doses, with an option to purchase as many as five times more. This summer, the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100m doses for delivery in the second quarter of 2021, according to people who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump administration refused offer to buy millions more Pfizer vaccine doses | World news | The Guardian

[misskit]

Turning point’: UK giving 1st doses of COVID-19 vaccine


British health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval.


The first shot was given to COVID-19 vaccine Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, at University Hospital Coventry, one of several hospitals around the country that are handling the initial phase of the program on what has been dubbed “V-Day.”


“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,” said the former jewelry shop assistant, who wore a surgical mask and a blue Merry Christmas T-shirt decorated with a cartoon penguin wearing a Santa hat and red scarf. “It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”


The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.


Public health officials have asked the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from the virus will be vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact people to arrange appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program.


Stephen Powis, the national medical director of England’s National Health Service, said the first shot of this vaccine outside of a trial was an emotional moment.


“This really feels like the beginning of the end,” Powis said. “It’s been really dreadful year, 2020 — all those things that we are so used to, meeting friends and family, going to the cinema, have been disrupted. We can get those back. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. But in the months to come.”


Buckingham Palace refused to comment on reports that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of the shot’s safety.


Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain’s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million. While the U.K. has a well-developed infrastructure for delivering vaccines, it is geared to administer them to groups such as school children or pregnant women, not the whole population.


The U.K. is getting a head start on the project after British regulators on Dec. 2 gave emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. U.S. and European Union authorities are also reviewing the vaccine, alongside rival products developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, and a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca.


On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine. That program is being viewed differently because Russia authorized use of the shot last summer after it was tested in only a few dozen people.


The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered to a selected group of U.K. hospitals on Sunday.


At one of those facilities, Croydon University Hospital, south of London, staff members couldn’t so much as touch the vials, but they were thrilled to just have them in the building.


“I’m so proud,” said Louise Coughlan, joint chief pharmacist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.


The vaccine can’t arrive soon enough for the U.K., which has more than 61,000 COVID-19-related deaths — more than any other country has reported in Europe. The U.K. has more than 1.7 million cases.


The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which gives first priority to those who are highest risk from the disease.


After those over 80 and nursing home workers, the program will be expanded as the supply increases, with the vaccine offered roughly on the basis of age groups, starting with the oldest people.


In England, the vaccine will be delivered at 50 hospital hubs in the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as the rollout ramps up. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the U.K.’s system of devolved administration.


Logistical issues are slowing the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine because it has to be stored at minus-70 degrees Celsius (minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit).


The immunization program will be a “marathon not a sprint,” said professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England.


Authorities also are focusing on large-scale distribution points because each package of vaccine contains 975 doses and they don’t want any to be wasted.


The U.K. has agreed to buy millions of doses from seven different producers. Governments around the world are making agreements with multiple developers to ensure they lock in delivery of the products that are ultimately approved for widespread use.


Turning point': UK giving 1st doses of COVID-19 vaccine | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

[harrybarracuda]

Is it a turning point when it hasn't been around for long enough to know how long immunity lasts?