The COVID-2019 Thread

[strigils]

^^ and even if you've already had it there is no evidence to suggest a consistent retained immune response so get that jab in you OhOh or are you going to refuse it unless it is wuhanVII from Xi herself

[OhOh]

No, it is not a requirement.

Thank you.

So one could be a carrier but given the vaccine without causing complications.

[OhOh]

to refuse it

Until a vaccine has been proven to be effective against the original, the increasing mutations and I have a choice, yes.

My current location allegedly has minimal occurrences.

I have a greater chance of being trampled by a musth rumbling bull elephant, torn apart by the local dog packs, having a deadly reaction to an illegal substance or winning the lottery.

I hope you are equally secure.

[strigils]

^ confined to barracks mostly so yes, but i have had the extremely dodgy chimp jab, no side effects apart from a strong hankering for PG Tips and grooming me teddy bear.

[harrybarracuda]

^
It was a general question rather than the person you mentioned.

You and others here on TD have been vaccinated.

Did any of have any tests prior to being vaccinated?

Is it mandatory? Isn't your COVID-19 and all mutations' status, medically important?

What are you on about?

[harrybarracuda]

Thank you.

So one could be a carrier but given the vaccine without causing complications.

If I were you I would test for meningitis.

[harrybarracuda]

Until a vaccine has been proven to be effective against the original, the increasing mutations and I have a choice, yes.

Maybe you should start reading some proper news websites instead of whackjob ones.

Several of the vaccines have been shown to be effective against the worrying variants, and more to the point have prevented hospitalisation and death in those for whom it hasn't.

This is quite old news.

[harrybarracuda]

Anywhere else and I think this health minister would have picked up his P45 by now. He's so full of shit.

Thailand in talks to buy another 5m Sinovac shots

Anutin insists he also supports bid by private sector to import vaccines


Thailand is in talks with Sinovac Biotech to buy another 5 million doses of CoronaVac after taking delivery of another 800,000 shots of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine on Saturday.

The latest shipment is earmarked for more health workers and at-risk groups nationwide, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

The remaining 1 million doses of the country’s first order of 2 million shots from China-based Sinovac Biotech would arrive as scheduled next month, he added.

The country’s original agreement with Sinovac called for 2 million shots to be delivered. The first 200,000 doses arrived on Feb 24, 800,000 on Saturday, to be followed by 1 million due in April.

The government’s current plan calls for AstraZeneca to supply all of the country’s remaining vaccine needs for the rest of 2021. A total of 26 million doses, made locally by Siam Bioscience, are to be made available from June to August, with another 35 million to follow from September to December unless changes are made to the plans.

Responding to calls for more choice of vaccines, Mr Anutin wrote that the ministry had never hampered efforts by the private sector to import vaccines or the registration of shots by other manufacturers.

“We stand ready to facilitate the private sector in importing the vaccines to serve people since the move would ease the burden of the government.”

A survey conducted by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) showed that 109 companies want to vaccinate as many as 51,000 workers once authorities approve private-sector imports of approved vaccines. The FTI hopes the jabs can begin in June or sooner.

To date, the country has received 1 million doses of CoronaVac and 115,000 doses of AstraZeneca for its vaccination programme, which is several weeks behind those of many other countries.

According to official data as of Thursday, 61,791 people had received shots, with priority given to health workers (50.2%), frontline workers (11%), members of the public (32.4%), people with existing conditions (6.3%) and people aged 60 or more (0.02%).

In Samut Sakhon, authorities said on Saturday that they had used up the province’s allotment of CoronaVac and had begun administering 10,000 doses of AstraZeneca jabs delivered on Wednesday.

Of its allotment, 5,000 doses have been given to Samut Sakhon Hospital, 3,000 to Krathumbaen Hospital and 2,000 to Banphaeo General Hospital.

The province, which has accounted for 80% of the cases in the second wave of the outbreak that began in mid-December, plans to initially inoculate 3,000 of its 100,000 people aged 60 or older. It aims to finish vaccinating this group by April 4.

Dr Naretrit Kattaseema, a provincial doctor, said doctors had yet to see any allergic reactions to either vaccine.

The most common symptoms found after injection include pain, swelling and tenderness in the area, followed by nausea and headache.

Thailand in talks to buy another 5m Sinovac shots

[harrybarracuda]

Half of UK adults have now received their first dose.

Covid vaccine: Half of all UK adults have been vaccinated | Evening Standard

[misskit]

Parts of France enter lockdown amid confusion and frustration

PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Nearly a third of French people entered a month-long lockdown on Saturday with many expressing fatigue and confusion over the latest set of restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.


The government announced the new measures on Thursday after a jump in COVID-19 cases in Paris and parts of northern France.


The new restrictions are less severe than those in place during the lockdowns of spring and November 2020, raising concerns that they may not be effective.


"It's exhausting, tiring, it's long. I hope it's going to end quite quickly, although I have questions on how efficient the measures are," Kasia Gluc, 57, a graphic editor said on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.


The interior ministry said in the night between Friday and Saturday that people could leave home as often as they wanted within 30 km (19 miles), provided they fill in a declaration.


Later on Saturday, Castex's office said the rules had been simplified and that no paperwork was needed during the day within a 10 km perimeter, only a proof of address.


"We have to have a permission slip but compared to previous lockdowns we're still a lot more free to go out. So are we locked down? Yes and no," Antonin Le Marechal, 21, said.


Good weather permitting, many Parisians went to the banks of the Seine river for a walk, a bike tour, or to gather with family and friends.


"As you can see, everyone is eating, taking off their masks," said 20-year-old student Rachel Chea. "It doesn't change anything for me."


The measures raised frustration among so-called non-essential shop owners forced to close down.


Stores allowed to stay open include those selling food, books, flowers and chocolate as well as hairdressers and shoemakers, but not clothes, furniture and beauty shops, according to a list released on Friday evening.


Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said a total of 90,000 shops would need to close down, defended the list of stores that could remain open, notably those selling chocolate and flowers just two weeks ahead of Easter.


"I do not at all say that this is ideal, but each time it is done with a simple logic: guarantee the health of the French people while preserving economic activity and shops as much as possible," he told France Inter radio.


The government, which has avoided using the word lockdown to describe the latest restrictions, argues the measures are needed to relieve pressure on intensive care units which are close to overflowing.


A large number of Parisians had left the city before the restrictions came into force at midnight.

Parts of France enter lockdown amid confusion and ...

[OhOh]

‘Stop destroying our kids' lives!’ Clashes, arrests as thousands protest against Covid lockdown in London (VIDEOS)

20 Mar, 2021 23:06 / Updated 3 hours ago

"At least 33 people have been arrested for ‘breaching Covid regulations’ amid scuffles with riot police after thousands marched through central London in defiance of national lockdown and restrictions. The anti-lockdown rally started as a peaceful march on Saturday afternoon, under the watchful eye of hundreds of police, but eventually turned ugly after the officers began detaining people while the protesters actively resisted and some even pelted them with bottles.

Continues:

‘Stop destroying our kids' lives!’ Clashes, arrests as thousands protest against Covid lockdown in London (VIDEOS) — RT UK News

Half of UK adults have now received their first dose.

Yep, the UK citizens are a contented family.

The "police" resort to physical attacks, punching, kicking .... UK citizens.

Are there any published "RULES" these citizens can't obey?

Bring back the cavalry charge.

[harrybarracuda]

Are there any published "RULES" these citizens can't obey?

As much as you seem to love the idea hoohoo, we do not live in a totalitarian state.

[panama hat]

Yep, the UK citizens are a contented family.

When has anyone claimed that, OhNo? One of the strengths of a mixed democratic society is its diversity . . . something you being a mainlander wouldn't know much about

[strigils]

EU is considering enforcing export ban yet......

Europe’s AstraZeneca stockpile mounts as citizens snub jab

After battling with AstraZeneca over shipment delays, and even casting doubt over its Covid-19 jab’s efficacy, EU countries are seeing stocks of the company’s shots pile up — unused.

As of Friday, France had administered 16 per cent of the 1.1m doses of the two-injection vaccine it received since the first delivery in early February, according to health ministry data. As of Thursday, Germany had given a little over one-fifth of the 1.45 million doses, about the same proportion as Italy, which has received over 1m doses. Spain has used just under a third of a total of 808,000 doses as of Friday.

The situation has prompted several European leaders to talk up the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in recent days, with one French health ministry official even calling for a “collective rehabilitation campaign” to improve its reputation.

German chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that there was “an acceptance problem with the AstraZeneca vaccine at the moment” that was slowing the jab’s rollout. In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper on Thursday, she urged people to keep an open mind about it: “All the authorities tell us that we can trust this vaccine.”

The tone is a change from only weeks ago when European politicians were engaged in an acrimonious battle with AstraZeneca over its deliveries and when French president Emmanuel Macron suggested the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective” on older individuals. Now that they have doses, however, EU governments face a sceptical public, in addition to logistical challenges and restrictions of their own devising.

Health experts have warned that the continent’s already sluggish rollout could be further hampered if uptake of the Anglo-Swedish company’s vaccine is not improved. The EU had inoculated only 6.82 per 100 people by Friday, compared with 28.6 in the UK, 20.4 in the US, and 91 in Israel, according to Our World in Data.

Chief among the reasons for the lower acceptance of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was a policy choice made by many countries to restrict its use for older people until more data on its efficacy became available. In France, that meant the shot is being offered only to people aged between 50 and 64 with comorbidities and healthcare workers, while Spain has advised it not be used on those older than 55 years old. Germany and Italy are offering the jab to everyone younger than 65.

Health experts say negative headlines have damaged the vaccine’s reputation, bolstering the perception that it is a lesser option to BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna jabs, which both rely on so-called mRNA technology and boast higher protection rates. A study suggesting the AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against the variant that has emerged in South Africa caused healthcare workers’ unions in several European countries to demand that their members get the mRNA-based vaccines instead.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab showed efficacy of between 62 and 70 per cent in clinical trials last year. That compares with more than 90 per cent effectiveness for the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna jabs. But all of them offer nearly full protection against hospitalisation and deaths.

“I don’t have anything against the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said Jérôme Marty, who heads a French doctors’ union. “But healthcare workers are often exposed to high viral loads in the hospital so they need the most effective vaccines that we have.”

In France, which has for years had the world’s highest vaccine hesitancy, there were reports of hospital workers missing shifts and suffering strong side effects such as fever and muscle pain after being inoculated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. It is often younger people who experience such side effects with the AstraZeneca shot since their immune systems mount a stronger response than older people, health experts say.


Weeks after the French president’s dismissive comments on the jab, France’s top vaccine adviser Dr Alain Fischer has been extolling its virtues on television, social media and webinars for hospital staff.

https://www.ft.com/content/767fdd85-5329-479d-b565-4ec85d28b492

[strigils]

^ actually when i went for my jab yesterday which was the AZ vaccine, i asked the nurse about peoples perception and she said many when finding out they were to receive the AZ vaccine made negative comments although few refused, so the EU's negativity is also influencing opinion outside its borders - a lot to answer for IMO.

[harrybarracuda]

EU is considering enforcing export ban yet......

Europe’s AstraZeneca stockpile mounts as citizens snub jab

Makes you wonder why that stupid bitch in charge keeps threatening to nick the UK's Astrazeneca when they've successfully scared people off using it.

[strigils]

^ the posturing is not going to help what is a sad situation. I read that one key element used in production of the AZ vaccine is produced solely by a UK plant, lets hope Boris doesn't go nuclear and withhold the material. I think all parties should calm down and take a moment to reflect rationally as no one is going to come out of this without blood on their hands in this escalates.

[Klondyke]

That's what friends are for...

U.S. officials pushed Brazil to reject Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, according to HHS report

March 16, 2021 at 10:58 p.m. GMT+7

Buried deep in the dry, 72-page annual report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lay a startling admission: U.S. health officials under President Donald Trump worked to convince Brazil to reject Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

The document, released in January, drew little attention at first. But that changed on Monday when the official Twitter account for the Sputnik V vaccine posted a screenshot of the previously overlooked claim, citing a report by Brasil Wire, and criticized the United States for effectively blocking Russia’s attempts at vaccine diplomacy.

“We believe countries should work together to save lives,” the tweet read. “Efforts to undermine the vaccines are unethical and are costing lives.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...putnik-russia/

[Klondyke]

(Where are the friends?)

Russia 'Reaches Agreement' On Sputnik Vaccine With Firms From Italy, Spain, France, And Germany
15 March 2021

The head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund says it has reached "agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France, and Germany to launch production" of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Kirill Dmitriev, whose organization has funded the vaccine and is responsible for selling it globally, said the deals would allow for the supply of Sputnik to the European market "once the approval is granted" by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EMA launched a rolling review of Sputnik V earlier this month, but EU member Hungary has begun using it as part of its vaccine rollout, even though it lacks approval by the European agency.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have also ordered doses and said they would not wait for EMA approval.

According to the RDIF, Sputnik V has been registered in more than 50 countries.

Dmitriev said on March 15 that 3.5 million people in Russia had received both shots of the vaccine.

Russia 'Reaches Agreement' On Sputnik Vaccine With Firms From Italy, Spain, France, And Germany

[panama hat]

^ the posturing is not going to help what is a sad situation.

What is a sad situation is 130.000 dead Brits . . . while fuckwits whine about the EU like the foul-smelling inbred island monkeys they are. I guess the UK has a brilliant leader and his cohorts to guide them through the storm - dumbarsed fuckwits lap it up, wrapping themselves in the union jack and singing God save the Queen while they drown like sewer rats.

On the bright side

The head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund says it has reached "agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France, and Germany to launch production" of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

One must wonder at the veracity of this man's claims but the German Health Minister did mention the possibility of producing Sputnik in Bavaria . . . which begs the question as to why others can't be as the German Pharma industry dwarfs that of the UK and the US by a margin of 3:1

[Klondyke]

Germany Ready To Order Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine If... : Angela Merkel

While Angela Merkel would prefer that orders were placed in bulk by the bloc, "if such an European order did not come about... then we must go the German way".

Agence France-PresseUpdated: March 20, 2021

Berlin: Germany will order Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine if it is authorised for use in the European Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, adding that Berlin could secure supplies on its own if the bloc would not.

"On the Russian vaccine, I have been of the opinion for some time that we should use any vaccine that has been approved by the European medicines regulator," she said.

While she would prefer that orders were placed in bulk by the bloc, "if such an European order did not come about...then we must go the German way".

Germany Ready To Order Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine If... : Angela Merkel

[harrybarracuda]

^ the posturing is not going to help what is a sad situation. I read that one key element used in production of the AZ vaccine is produced solely by a UK plant, lets hope Boris doesn't go nuclear and withhold the material. I think all parties should calm down and take a moment to reflect rationally as no one is going to come out of this without blood on their hands in this escalates.

It's one key element of Pfizer. It's the EU that needs to calm down so fuck them.

[harrybarracuda]

India set a new daily record of 43,000 cases.

Bolsonaro: HOLD MY BEER.

BRASILIA — Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday said he was happy that supporters have been staging anti-social distancing protests, on the same day as the country registered more than 90,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time.

Bolsonaro opposes social distancing as Brazil sets record 90,000 COVID-19 cases

[harrybarracuda]

Covid-19 Vaccine Manufacturing in U.S. Races Ahead

Vaccine makers are expected to produce 132 million doses this month, nearly tripling last month’s figure, boosting vaccination drive

Covid-19 Vaccine Manufacturing in U.S. Races Ahead - WSJ

[Klondyke]

Including the gift of 4 M for Mexico?