The COVID-2019 Thread

[baldrick]

has anyone posted the story about the masses of pommy scum doing a runner from switzerland when told to self isolate ?

you should not have to tell people to stay home when the world is in the midst of a pandemic

but it explains the trump and brexit phenomena

[bsnub]

but it explains the trump and brexit phenomena

Indeed, it does.

[harrybarracuda]

has anyone posted the story about the masses of pommy scum doing a runner from switzerland when told to self isolate ?

you should not have to tell people to stay home when the world is in the midst of a pandemic

but it explains the trump and brexit phenomena

And the fucking backpackers who had a big Xmas pissup on a Sydney beach?

[harrybarracuda]

Here's some more info on "vaccination passports" for those who have been asking.

Now that coronavirus vaccines are starting to roll out in the U.S. and abroad, many people may be dreaming of the day when they can travel, shop and go to the movies again. But in order to do those activities, you may eventually need something in addition to the vaccine: a vaccine passport application.

Several companies and technology groups have begun developing smartphone apps or systems for individuals to upload details of their COVID-19 tests and vaccinations, creating digital credentials that could be shown in order to enter concert venues, stadiums, movie theaters, offices or even countries.

The Common Trust Network, an initiative by Geneva-based nonprofit The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum, has partnered with several airlines including Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as hundreds of health systems across the United States and the government of Aruba.

The CommonPass app created by the group allows users to upload medical data such as a COVID-19 test result or, eventually, a proof of vaccination by a hospital or medical professional, generating a health certificate or pass in the form of a QR code that can be shown to authorities without revealing sensitive information. For travel, the app lists health pass requirements at the points of departure and arrival based on your itinerary.

"You can be tested every time you cross a border. You cannot be vaccinated every time you cross a border," Thomas Crampton, chief marketing and communications officer for The Commons Project, told CNN Business. He stressed the need for a simple and easily transferable set of credentials, or a "digital yellow card," referring to the paper document generally issued as proof of vaccination.

Dr. Anthony FauciFauci: US taking hard look at variant of coronavirus
Large tech firms are also getting in on the act. IBM developed its own app, called Digital Health Pass, which allows companies and venues to customize indicators they would require for entry including coronavirus tests, temperature checks and vaccination records. Credentials corresponding to those indicators are then stored in a mobile wallet.

In an effort to address one challenge around returning to normalcy after vaccines are distributed widely, developers may now have to confront other challenges, ranging from privacy issues to representing the varied effectiveness of different vaccines. But the most pressing challenge may simply be avoiding the disjointed implementation and mixed success of tech's previous attempt to address the public health crisis: contact tracing apps.

Early on in the pandemic, Apple and Google set aside their smartphone rivalry to jointly develop a Bluetooth-based system to notify users if they'd been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Many countries and state governments around the world also developed and used their own apps.

"I think where exposure notification ran into some challenges was more of the piecemeal implementation choices, lack of federal leadership ... where each state had to go it alone and so each state had to figure it out independently," said Jenny Wanger, who leads the exposure notification initiatives for Linux Foundation Public Health, a tech-focused organization helping public health authorities around the world combat COVID-19.

To encourage better coordination this time, The Linux Foundation has partnered with the COVID-19 Credentials Initiative, a collective of more than 300 people representing dozens of organizations across five continents and is also working with IBM and CommonPass to help develop a set of universal standards for vaccine credential apps.

"If we're successful, you should be able to say: I've got a vaccine certificate on my phone that I got when I was vaccinated in one country, with a whole set of its own kind of health management practices... that I use to get on a plane to an entirely different country and then I presented in that new country a vaccination credential so I could go to that concert that was happening indoors for which attendance was limited to those who have demonstrated that they've had the vaccine," said Brian Behlendorf, executive director of Linux Foundation.

"It should be interoperable in the same way that email is interoperable, the same way that the web is interoperable," he said. "Right now, we're in a situation where there's some moving parts that get us closer to that, but I think there's a sincere commitment from everybody in the industry."

Part of ensuring wide usage for vaccine passports is accounting for the large subset of the global population that still doesn't use or have access to smartphones. A few companies within the COVID-19 Credentials Initiative are also developing a smart card that strikes a middle ground between the traditional paper vaccine certificates and an online version that's easier to store and reproduce.

"For us it's [about] how that digital credential can be stored, can be presented, not only through smartphones but also in other ways for those people who don't have access to stable internet and also who don't own smartphones," said Lucy Yang, co-lead of the COVID-19 Credentials Initiative. "We're looking into it, and there are companies who are doing really promising work.

Once they build a vaccine passport, companies will need to make sure people are comfortable using it. That means confronting concerns about the handling of private medical information.

CommonPass, IBM and the Linux Foundation have all stressed privacy as central to their initiatives. IBM says it allows users to control and consent to the use of their health data and allows them to choose the level of detail they want to provide to authorities.

"Trust and transparency remain paramount when developing a platform like a digital health passport, or any solution that handles sensitive personal information," the company said in a blog post. "Putting privacy first is an important priority for managing and analyzing data in response to these complex times."

With vaccines manufactured by multiple companies across several countries in varying stages of development, there are a lot of variables that passport makers will need to account for.

"A point of entry — whether that's a border, whether that's a venue — is going to want to know, did you get the Pfizer vaccine, did you get the Russian vaccine, did you get the Chinese vaccine, so they can make a decision accordingly," said Crampton. The variance can be wide: the vaccine developed by Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, for example, has an efficacy of 86% against COVID-19, while the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna each have an efficacy of around 95%.

It's also unclear how effective the vaccines are in stopping the transmission of the virus, says Dr. Julie Parsonnet, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University. So while a vaccine passport app will show that you've received the shot, it may not be a guarantee that you safely attend an event or get on a flight.

"We still don't know if vaccinated people can transmit infection or not," she told CNN Business. "Until that is clarified, we won't know whether 'passports' will be effective."

Still, Behlendorf anticipates that the rollout and adoption of vaccine passports will happen rather quickly once everything falls into place and expects a variety of apps that can work with each other to be "widely available" within the first half of 2021.

"Rest assured, the nerds are on it," he said.

'It's been a really long journey': Firefighter discusses struggles as COVID-19 'long-hauler'

[harrybarracuda]

Another good reason to be rid of those soap dodging garlic munchers.

The European Union was offered an extra 500 million doses of the vaccine now making it’s way across Europe, but turned the offer down, Der Spiegel reports.

The offer came from BioNTech, the German partner of the American pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer. The EU had already signed a contract for 200 million doses, with an option of 100 million more.

According to the magazine, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, the objection came mainly from France. The French company Sanofi had been given a contract for 300 million doses of its own vaccine, which has yet to obtain approval.

The French government objected to the offer from BioNTech because it would bring the total bought from the company to 800 million doses.

Vaccines: EU turned down offer of 500 million extra doses

[Mendip]

Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine approved for use in UK

The coronavirus vaccine designed by scientists at the University of Oxford has been approved for use in the UK.

It marks a major turning point and will lead to a massive expansion in the UK's immunisation campaign, which is aimed at getting life back to normal.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses from the manufacturer AstraZeneca - enough to vaccinate 50 million people.

The approval, by the medicines regulator, means the vaccine is both safe and effective.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was designed in the first months of 2020, tested on the first volunteer in April, and has since been through large-scale clinical trials involving thousands of people.

It has been developed at a pace that would have been unthinkable before the pandemic.

It is the second jab to be approved in the UK after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given the go-ahead in December.

More than 600,000 people in the UK have been vaccinated since Margaret Keenan became the first in the world to get that jab outside of a clinical trial.

But the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will lead to a significant increase in vaccination as it is cheap and easy to mass produce.

Crucially it can be stored in a standard fridge - unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech jab which needs ultra cold storage at -70C - so it will be far easier to get the Oxford vaccine to care homes and GP surgeries.

Priority groups for immunisation - including the elderly, care home residents and health and care workers - have already been identified.


Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine approved for use in UK - BBC News

[harrybarracuda]

Moderna took a hit yesterday after some quack with a severe shellfish allergy got an allergic reaction to the vaccine.

I thought people with severe allergies were not supposed to take them at this point?

[misskit]

Singapore begins rollout of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine with healthcare workers


SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A 46-year-old nurse became the first person in Singapore to receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, making the city-state among the first Asian countries to begin an inoculation campaign against the coronavirus.


Sarah Lim, a senior staff nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, was the first of more than 30 staff at the centre who are being vaccinated on Wednesday, the health ministry said. They will return for the second dose of the vaccine on Jan. 20.


“I feel very grateful and thankful for being the first to be vaccinated in Singapore,” said Lim, who helps screen suspected COVID-19 cases. In recorded remarks provided by the health ministry, she said she hoped to encourage others to get vaccinated.


Singapore is the first country in Asia to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It has also signed advance purchase agreements and made early down payments on several other vaccine candidates, including those being developed by Moderna and Sinovac.


It expects to have enough vaccine doses for all 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021.


Singapore acted swiftly after the first cases of the virus were reported and although it was blindsided by tens of thousands of cases in migrant workers dormitories, it has reported just a handful of new cases over the last two months. The country has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 fatality rates; only 29 people have died of the virus.


To show the vaccine is safe, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68, said he and his colleagues would be among the early recipients of the shots. They will be free and voluntary, but the government is encouraging all medically eligible residents to take them.


China is inoculating specific groups of people considered at high risk of infection, such as medical workers and border inspectors, under an emergency use programme started in July. Its vaccines are still in late-stage clinical trials.


In Japan and South Korea, the U.S military has begun its first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations, prioritising frontline medical workers.


Some Philippine soldiers and cabinet ministers have already received COVID-19 vaccine injections even before regulatory approval.

Singapore begins rollout of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine with healthcare workers | 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

[misskit]

Philippines Expands Ban on Foreign Visitors to Ward off New Coronavirus Strains

The Philippine government on Tuesday widened an international travel ban to include visitors from 18 countries and a territory in order to keep out new and highly contagious strains of the coronavirus disease.


The Philippines had already banned – and then extended a ban – on non-Filipinos coming from the United Kingdom, after a new SARSCoV2 variant called VOC 202012/01, was detected in the British Isles around two weeks ago.


This variant – which is 70 percent more contagious than the previous known COVID-19 strain, according to British officials – has spread to 18 other countries and Hong Kong. On Tuesday, the government added foreign citizens traveling from those places to its temporary entry ban.


“This is a precautionary measure put in place by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in preventing the entry of second COVID-19 strain which was recently detected,” according to an advisory signed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.


In addition to visitors from the United Kingdom, the Philippine ban now covers travelers from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Israel, Lebanon, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Canada.


Another new variant, 501.V2, was detected in South Africa after the variant was reported in Britain days earlier.


Overseas Filipinos returning from the proscribed countries will be let in but required to undergo a 14-day quarantine, said Silvestre Bello III, the labor secretary.

MORE Philippines Expands Ban on Foreign Visitors to Ward off New Coronavirus Strains — BenarNews

[harrybarracuda]

The first person in the world to get the Pfizer vaccine got her second dose yesterday.

Not dead yet.

COVID-19: Margaret Keenan, first patient to get Pfizer vaccine, receives second jab | UK News | Sky News

[misskit]

Vaccinated US nurse contracts COVID-19, expert says Pfizer shot needed more time to work


Dec 30 (Reuters) - A nurse in California tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving Pfizer Inc's vaccine, an ABC News affiliate reported ER nurse tests positive for COVID-19 eight days after receiving vaccine on Tuesday, but a medical expert said the body needs more time to build up protection.


Matthew W., 45, a nurse at two different local hospitals, said in a Facebook post on December 18 that he had received the Pfizer vaccine, telling the ABC News affiliate that his arm was sore for a day but that he had suffered no other side-effects.


Six days later on Christmas Eve, he became sick after working a shift in the COVID-19 unit, the report added. He got the chills and later came down with muscle aches and fatigue.


He went to a drive-up hospital testing site and tested positive for COVID-19 the day after Christmas, the report said.


Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego, told the ABC News affiliate that this scenario was not unexpected.


"We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it's going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine," Ramers said.


"That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%," Ramers added.


Vaccinated US nurse contracts COVID-19, expert says Pfizer ...

[jabir]

Another good reason to be rid of those soap dodging garlic munchers.


Vaccines: EU turned down offer of 500 million extra doses

None of the hysteria at this flurry of vaccines make any sense to me; first there were none, then suddenly a slew of them from any and every quarter, with govs clambering to have their needs signed off.

I hope it's everything each party claims, though still question if it's possible that they're all fast tracked under tremendous political and economic pressures, not properly tested and with unknowable long term effects, yet safe and effective. Of course not, but if it's a vaccine it must be good, right?

I'm not au fait with the technicals, and will leave that to the experts and wannabe experts to disagree, so it could be the pharmas have indeed saved the world, either way doing well out of it in the process.

But this end, until the jab which earns our leaders most money and clout becomes compulsory and unavoidable, I shall stress out my teeth on toffee.

[OhOh]

Here's some more info on "vaccination passports" for those who have been asking.

and

"We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it's going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine," Ramers said

"That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%," Ramers added.

Thanks for posting the "updates".

What your updates do not tell us is:

1. What is the timescale between being vaccinated, twice, the initial and booster jabs and a person achieving the alleged degree of "protection"?

It appears it takes up to "14 days to start to develop" an unspecified xxx% protection.

An unspecified time to get you "somewhere around 50%"

The second jab allegedly will provide"up to 95%", but no time scale announced.

2. Who will decide the world standard accepted at all borders?

3. If you have been "vaccinated" against one virus strain, will the vaccine you have already been injected with, cause any complications regarding the second/third/.... virus strain you may be required to be injected a few moths/years later to travel across all boarders?

4. Will this virus vaccination become an annual compulsory event?

5. If you do get vaccinated, but tested as a positive at a flight check-in/border, what will be the procedure?

6. What "test/tests" will be used at a flight check-in/border, one for each virus strain?

7. What insurance requirements will Thailand require?

[Buckaroo Banzai]

trump retard Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies after battling Covid-19

trump supporters claim that it's a fake virus and the report of the congressmen's death is simply fake news and an attempt to steal the vote,they claim "this is not a dead trump parrot, he is just sleeping"
They claim that the congressman will play a vital role in trump's second term.


"In the months prior to his diagnosis, Letlow held multiple campaign events, including meet-and-greets where people did not wear masks and in some cases were not adhering to social distancing.
In October, he also pushed for states to lift lockdown measures and 'reopen the economy"

Republican Louisiana Congressman-elect, 41, dies from COVID-19 | Daily Mail Online

[harrybarracuda]

trump retard Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies after battling Covid-19

trump supporters claim that it's a fake virus and the report of the congressmen's death is simply fake news and an attempt to steal the vote,they claim "this is not a dead trump parrot, he is just sleeping"
They claim that the congressman will play a vital role in trump's second term.


"In the months prior to his diagnosis, Letlow held multiple campaign events, including meet-and-greets where people did not wear masks and in some cases were not adhering to social distancing.
In October, he also pushed for states to lift lockdown measures and 'reopen the economy"

Republican Louisiana Congressman-elect, 41, dies from COVID-19 | Daily Mail Online

Not in trumpanzeeland...

[Switch]

has anyone posted the story about the masses of pommy scum doing a runner from switzerland when told to self isolate ?

you should not have to tell people to stay home when the world is in the midst of a pandemic

but it explains the trump and brexit phenomena

Trump maybe, but brexit preceded the current pandemic by a few years. You can blame remain wankers like Cyrille and SA for prolonging it, because they have no sense of humour, they are not affected by it other than ruffling their political feathers.

[HuangLao]

I hope it's everything each party claims, though still question if it's possible that they're all fast tracked under tremendous political and economic pressures, not properly tested and with unknowable long term effects, yet safe and effective. Of course not, but if it's a vaccine it must be good, right?

These have been the underlining questions and suspicions for a few months on. Even the slightest conspiracies embedded.
Best not to overthink the situation - just go with it.

They have everything planned for us anyway - in the best of times as well as well spun emergencies.

[misskit]

Thailand to get 2m doses of vaccine from Feb: Anutin


The first batch of 2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Thailand from February, said Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday.

The first group of Thais to be vaccinated will be community public health volunteers, as they are in the front line of the virus battle, said Anutin. He has instructed the Food and Drug Administration to prepare regulations for the vaccine's approval.

Anutin did not identify the manufacturer of Thailand's first batch but said the ministry had negotiated a purchase price of US$17 per dose.

Next week it will ask the Cabinet to approve a Bt1.17 billion budget for procurement of the 2 million doses.The ministry had also made efforts to procure vaccine from as many sources as possible, said Anutin.

The ministry is negotiating with AstraZeneca for an additional 26 million doses on top of the purchase agreement in November for the first batch of 26 million doses.

Thailand is currently struggling with a fresh outbreak of the virus.


Thailand to get 2m doses of vaccine from Feb: Anutin

[misskit]

Canada will require negative COVID-19 test for air passengers


Canada will soon require that air travelers test negative for COVID-19 before arrival, federal ministers said on Wednesday, after social media images of maskless tourists prompted a call for stricter measures to curb the virus.


"Canada will quickly implement the requirement for all arriving passengers to have a negative PCR COVID test three days before arriving in Canada," said Dominic LeBlanc, intergovernmental affairs minister, at a media briefing.


Bill Blair, minister of public safety, later said the new requirement would apply to air passengers, while the federal government is working with provinces on how to supplement strong measures with additional testing at Canada's land borders. He said the federal government will discuss the measure with the airline industry and share more details soon.


Canada reported a total of 565,506 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, 6,442 more than the day before, as new cases surged across western Canada, Ontario and Quebec.


The pre-boarding testing will not eliminate the requirement for people arriving in the country to quarantine for 14 days, Blair said.


"We strongly advise against all discretionary travel," said Blair, while noting that Canadian governments cannot stop citizens who choose to travel from returning home. Travelers who break quarantine face up to six months in jail or up to C$750,000 in fines.


On Tuesday, Quebec urged the federal government to require COVID-19 testing for residents returning from year-end vacations.


Canada's travel restrictions are among the world's toughest, with non-essential foreigners normally denied entry and citizens returning from abroad mandated to quarantine.


Canadian health authorities have found patients with the more transmissible variant of the coronavirus first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa in four provinces, including Ontario. Most of the patients recently traveled to the United Kingdom, according to media reports, and two had contact with a recent traveler.


Canada will require negative COVID-19 test for air ...

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Not in trumpanzeeland...

Probably assassinated by the lizard people, because he was going to release evidence of their paedophile activities, right after trump releases his taxes LOL

[harrybarracuda]

I see America passed 20,000,000 cases with nary a murmur.

[Latindancer]

What I am saying it was introduced as a money maker to generate big profits for big pharma.

No, it was introduced for the same reason that many other countries have developed vaccines : to prevent the many many deaths from COVID.

It just conveniently happens to be a money-spinner. That's how capitalism works.

Hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin (zithromax), zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin C work together to heal an infected body.

Sure, they work some of the time, for some of the people. Meanwhile, many others die miserable deaths by suffocation and so on. Best to have a vaccine, especially for the old and vulnerable.

[Switch]

No, it was introduced for the same reason that many other countries have developed vaccines : to prevent the many many deaths from COVID.

It just conveniently happens to be a money-spinner. That's how capitalism works.




Sure, they work some of the time, for some of the people. Meanwhile, many others die miserable deaths by suffocation and so on. Best to have a vaccine, especially for the old and vulnerable.

Especially for the old and vulnerable.

​How easily you manage to make it all about you Karen. ��

[David48atTD]

Wisconsin Hospital Worker Arrested For Spoiled Coronavirus Vaccine Doses

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine sit in a freezer at Seton Medical Center on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, in Daly City, Calif.


Authorities arrested a suburban Milwaukee pharmacist Thursday suspected of deliberately ruining hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing it from refrigeration for two nights.

The Grafton Police Department said the former Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property.

The department said in a news release that he was in jail. Police did not identify the pharmacist, saying he has not yet been formally charged.


Wisconsin Hospital Worker Arrested For Spoiled Coronavirus Vaccine Doses – NBC Chicago

How fucked is that?

The worker was a Trump supporter?

[David48atTD]

Thailand ramping up restrictions as new coronavirus outbreak spreads to Bangkok

The Thai capital of Bangkok is closing all schools and entertainment venues for two weeks after the New Year holiday as it tightens measures to control a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Key points:

• Bangkok's authorities are considering making restaurants take-away only
• Two more deaths on Friday took Thailand's total toll to 63 since the outbreak started
• The country's health authorities have ordered another 26 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

Thailand's health authorities reported 279 new coronavirus cases on Friday, with the majority linked to a cluster among migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province south of Bangkok.

HERE