The COVID-2019 Thread

[harrybarracuda]

Be nice to Alpacas!

HOW ALPACAS WILL SAVE THE WORLD FROM CORONAVIRUS THANKS TO GERMAN SCIENTISTS

[harrybarracuda]

Amazing how many frighteningly stupid people there are.

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is so pervasive that one in five respondents to a large, newly published academic survey believes a false claim about them.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and three other universities asked 20,669 Americans about four false COVID-19 assertions that have spread across the country in the past year. The claims are:

• “The COVID-19 vaccines will alter people’s DNA.”
• “The COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips that track people.”
• “The COVID-19 vaccines contain the lung tissue of aborted fetuses.”
• “The COVID-19 vaccines can cause infertility, making it more difficult to get pregnant.”

Twenty percent of the survey respondents believe at least one of these four debunked assertions. Forty percent correctly noted that all of them are false. (Those taking the survey had the option of saying they were “not sure.”)

COVID-19 vaccine misinformation is rife, including among highly educated: Harvard study - oregonlive.com

[harrybarracuda]

I think the old chinkies will be whinging at the Swiss now, as their embassy in Beijing tweeted this....





Attachment 74188

[Klondyke]

It seems that you are blinded from your socialist/communist past and can't face reality.
In the old days the east block countries knew very well how to read and write. What happened ?

Fact is: But why does Moscow itself not allow any foreign vaccines IN its own country?

Why again with such a hatred and insinuations? The Europe does not allow Russians with Sputnik in, so how outrageous that the Russia does not let anybody in?

"Moscow not allow", is the Moscow in Russia? Since I have learned "well how to read and write during my past" (did you either?) I am reading:

Can a tourist visit Russia?

According to the abovementioned decree, foreigners can come to Russia from those countries with which Russia has resumed regular flights, including for tourist purposes. It is important to come from that country where the visitor has citizenship or a residence permit. That is, a Turkish citizen must fly from Turkey, while a UK citizen - only from the UK. It’s forbidden to enter Russia via land or sea borders (with the exception of Belarus: citizens of this state can also enter by train).

As of July 2021, the countries from which a tourist can fly directly are: Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, UK, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Germany, Greece, Egypt, India, Iceland, Jordan, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, Cuba, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Maldives, Malta, Morocco, Mexico, UAE, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, North Macedonia, Seychelles, Serbia, Singapore, Syria, the U.S., Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Japan.

To board the plane, you must provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19 (in English or Russian), made no earlier than 72 hours before entering Russia. Children under the age of two do not need to pass a test. There is no quarantine for holders of such certificates (anyway, you won’t be allowed on a flight without them). Also, those arriving need to fill out a special form (sample) and have a policy covering medical expenses in the case of COVID-19.

Citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan) (and from September 1, 2021, all CIS citizens) must install the mobile app called ‘Traveling without COVID-19’ to enter Russia (Google Play and App Store) and enter the test results in the application.

In Russia, it is still necessary to wear a mask in public places, including on any form of public transport and shopping malls. You are not required to wear one outside.

Note, a tourist visa will be given for up to six months, if a confirmed hotel booking is provided (the document is in Russian).

Meanwhile, citizens of 52 countries, including the EU, Japan and China, will be able to enter the country with an electronic visa, which can be issued in just four days, without the need for any documents confirming the purpose of the trip.

https://www.rbth.com/travel/334037-travel-to-russia-2021

[harrybarracuda]

An inexpensive anti-depressant curbed the number of COVID-19 patients ending up in hospital by 30 per cent, making it a potential breakthrough treatment for a virus that continues to spread widely, a Canadian-led clinical trial is reporting.

If confirmed by more research, the drug, fluvoxamine, would be one of the most effective and convenient to treat the virus outside of pricey new “monoclonal antibodies.” They typically have to be administered in a hospital, as opposed to a pill taken orally at home.

Inexpensive anti-depressant could be best COVID treatment yet, Canadian-led trial finds | Montreal Gazette

[harrybarracuda]

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Taiwan on Thursday received another shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine it purchased last year, raising the number of vaccine doses it has taken delivery of from overseas to 10 million.
The latest 524,000 vaccine doses arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at around 3:25 p.m. Thursday on a China Airlines cargo flight that departed from Thailand earlier that day.

Taiwan receives another 524,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine - Focus Taiwan

[harrybarracuda]

Why Europe won't register Sputnik as an approved vaccine. Someone from Pravda will be in trouble for including this, they are having a hard enough time getting Russians to take it as it is.

"It has become very quiet around Sputnik V. The application to the EMA was submitted a long time ago. However, the manufacturer has not been able yet to provide sufficient reliable data to prove the safety of (the drug)," Von der Leyen said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) … "This raises questions," she said.

Читайте больше на EU does not need Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, so EMA won't register it

[panama hat]

However, the manufacturer has not been able yet to provide sufficient reliable data to prove the safety of (the drug),

The Russian shit or Chinese shit?

Oh, I see . . . interchangeable

[harrybarracuda]

Maybe this is what will put an end to it... a simple prophylactic nasal spray.

Intranasal COVID-19 Vaccine Reduces Disease Severity and Blocks Transmission | Technology Networks

[Shutree]

a lab employee infected while taking samples in the field falls under one of the likely hypotheses as to how the virus passed from bats to humans.

He told the Danish public channel TV2 that the suspect bats were not from the Wuhan region and the only people likely to have approached them were workers from the Wuhan labs.

"In order to address the 'lab hypothesis', it is important to have access to all data and consider scientific best practice and look at the mechanisms WHO already has in place."


This theory was raised in a piece I posted some time back and it is a very good fit with the known facts. The source bats are presumed to be in Yunnan caves. There never were any Yunnan bats sold in Wuhan and the 'intermediate animal host' theory between bats and humans still needs that host to have got sick in Yunnan then to have travelled all the way to Wuhan, which is a very long walk for a pangolin.
However, Wuhan researchers did visit the Yunnan caves and they did gather bat shit. They were in very close contact and it is recorded previously that bat guano miners got very sick there, so we know that bat viruses can cross over to humans directly. Those researchers are the only mammals known as an absolute fact to have touched Yunnan bat guano and travelled to Wuhan.
This theory also fits with reports that some people in Wuhan were sick well before the Covid outbreak.
It is only a theory. No other possibility can be ruled out. On the other hand, when there are bodies on the floor the man holding the smoking gun deserves the first investigation.

[Klondyke]

" Von der Leyen said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) … "This raises questions," she said.

Von der Leyen, the EC Boss, known for her scientific knowledge that surely reaches over her political ability...

She is very fierce, not only on Russia...

Exclusive: The Merkel -Von der Leyen fight over Sputnik V

While the president of the European Commission hinders the Russian vaccine to prevent political attrition, the German chancellor gains support from other states to unlock its distribution.
Exclusive: The Merkel -Von der Leyen fight over Sputnik V

[panama hat]

Von der Leyen, the EC Boss, known for her scientific knowledge that surely reaches over her political ability...

You do realise she has assistants, policy advisors etc...

Why do powerful women intimidate you?

[Takeovers]

While the president of the European Commission hinders the Russian vaccine to prevent political attrition, the German chancellor gains support from other states to unlock its distribution.

Russia has not submitted study data that would allow certifying them. I guess they don't, for a reason.

[harrybarracuda]

WTF is wrong with these fucking arseholes! I wouldn't hesitate to bring charges against them.

More than 80 students were potentially exposed to Covid-19 on the first day of class in Reno, Nevada, on Monday after a parent sent their child to Marce Herz Middle School, despite both the parent and child receiving a positive Covid-19 test just two days earlier, Washoe County Health District officials said.

The exposed students had to quarantine at home and started distance learning on Tuesday, the Washoe County School District said.

In a Tuesday letter sent to the parents of impacted students, Principal Brandon Bringhurst said that if their child is fully vaccinated, parents can bring the vaccination card to school and the student can resume in-person classes immediately. Impacted students can also take a Covid-19 test on or after August 14. And if they test negative and don't have symptoms they can return to school on August 17.

The school district did not share information about the student who came to school after a positive test or their parent. The parent refused to communicate with the Washoe County Health District staff or school officials, the health district said.

"We are not seeking to invest our limited resources in bringing charges against the parent at this time," the health district said in a statement. "We are seeking cooperation from our community members."

A parent sent their child to school after a positive Covid-19 test. More than 80 students may have been exposed, officials say - CNN

[harrybarracuda]

a lab employee infected while taking samples in the field falls under one of the likely hypotheses as to how the virus passed from bats to humans.

The key takeaway from this interview: The continuing chinky cover-up.

Embarek said his team was allowed to visit two labs where research has been carried out on bats. In both cases, they were shown presentations on the facilities. They were allowed to ask questions but were not allowed to see any of the laboratory's books or documents.

[misskit]

Biden's big COVID challenge: Fading vaccines may demand boosters

The Biden administration is intensely scrutinizing coronavirus vaccines' effectiveness over time, facing the daunting task of timing booster shots right while still convincing the unvaccinated that getting the jab is worthwhile.


The bottom line: The vaccines still work incredibly well at protecting against severe disease and death, meaning the benefits of getting vaccinated are immense. But it's less clear how well they're working at preventing infection, which has huge public health implications with so many Americans still unvaccinated.


“I think everybody believes this wanes over time, the question is to what extent,” a senior Biden official said. “Nobody wants to be behind the eight-ball here. We want to catch it before there’s an issue, and that’s why there is very intense scrutiny.”


But getting the timing right won't be easy, especially without better data than we have now.


“By the time we have the data that efficacy is declining, we’re already behind,” said a person close to the administration. “A public health decision can be made on imperfect data. So are you waiting for a ton of breakthrough cases and a ton of death and disease before you boost everyone? That’s not a good idea.”


Where it stands: All of the vaccines continue to offer almost 100% protection against death, and extremely strong protection against serious illness. Those findings have stayed consistent across the whole world.


But a growing body of research shows that the vaccines are losing some potency against milder infections.


At an individual level, that’s not a huge deal. But on a population level, it has tremendous consequences, as the data also suggests that people with breakthrough cases can effectively transmit the virus.


More transmission means more disease among the unvaccinated, and more disease among the unvaccinated means — as we’re seeing play out in the South — increasingly overwhelmed health systems.


And, ultimately, the more the virus spreads, the more likely it is that new variants emerge.


Details: Specific numbers vary from study to study and country to country, but directionally, there seems to be a clear trend:


Preliminary findings from the Mayo Clinic, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, show that the Pfizer vaccine is preventing significantly fewer infections now than it was before the Delta variant became dominant in the U.S. The same study found a smaller drop in the Moderna vaccine’s efficacy.


The study has raised alarm bells within the Biden administration, as Axios reported yesterday.


Pfizer itself has said it believes its vaccines are losing around six percentage points of efficacy every two months.


And research from Israel and the U.K. reached similar conclusions, and Moderna has also said it believes boosters will be necessary.


The big question: If the vaccines are losing some of their punch against mild infections now, will they eventually become less effective against severe disease?


"There’s very intense scrutiny on whether there is waning against hospitalization," the senior Biden official said.


That hasn’t happened yet — every study continues to show that vaccinated people have near-total protection from death and hospitalization.
But neither the administration nor vaccine manufacturers want to take any chances.


“There is decreased efficacy against asymptomatic infection. While there's uncertainty, with Delta, it appears to be more important,” the source said.
What’s next: There’s a relatively simple solution to this problem — booster shots. Pfizer and Moderna are already working on them, and Israel has had good results after beginning to offer additional doses to older citizens.


Third doses will be expensive, and critics say the U.S. shouldn’t be buying up third doses while so much of the world is waiting for its first.
Between the lines: The mounting evidence of waning efficacy adds new urgency to the debate in the U.S. about boosters, but that debate is hamstrung by a severe lack of clear data from the CDC.


Experts trying to parse how well the vaccines are performing are relying heavily on data from other countries, in part, because the CDC has released very little formal data about the U.S. experience in the months since Delta became dominant.


Even top administration officials can’t get the information they want, making it harder to assess when boosters will be needed, and for whom.

The bottom line: "The vaccines are still having a positive impact. But we're painting this train as it goes 180 miles an hour," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

Biden'''s big COVID challenge: Fading vaccines may demand boosters - Axios

[harrybarracuda]

I'm very much in favour of letting them die. It will be doing the world a favour, and hurting Fox News profits.

[harrybarracuda]

You are American and you are offered a free vaccination. So what do you do?

Fly to Hawaii with fake vaccination cards and expose yourself to a year in nick and a five grand fine.

Fucking idiots.

Two travelers to Hawaii face up to one year in prison and up to $5,000 in fines after allegedly falsifying vaccination cards.

Norbert Chung, 57, and Trevor Chung, 19, were arrested Sunday at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye Airport after officials say they violated the state’s Safe Travels program, which allows travelers from the U.S. and its territories to offer vaccine proof to bypass the state's mandatory 10-day quarantine. Previously, all travelers, including vaccinated visitors, had to take a COVID test three days before departure to bypass quarantine.

Two arrested in Hawaii after allegedly falsifying vaccination cards

[misskit]

Fucking idiots.

We got um.

[harrybarracuda]

[OhOh]

bla bla bla bla...bla bla......bla bla bla.....bla bla bla bla bla

FTFY.

I believe we are all aware of your particularly tedious foci 'arry.

The WHO have stated quite clearly, although without indicating what or where, the new series of studies consist of or their locations.

WHO is committed to following the science, and we call on all governments to put differences aside and work together to provide all data and access required so that the next series of studies can be commenced as soon as possible."

Awaiting all governments to meet the yet to be formed investigation teams requests.

Some it appears, after swallowing the "being vaccinated" - to produce immunity against a viral disease, as announced by the suppliers, and hence able to return to normal, misspeak.

Are now realising that all are not protected from becoming infected and able to pass the ever-changing virus to others, only the virus's more serious effects. If one is a member of the lower risk cohort.

[helge]

Meanwhile, Danish scientist Peter Ben Embarek, who led the international mission to Wuhan, said a lab employee infected while taking samples in the field falls under one of the likely hypotheses as to how the virus passed from bats to humans.

He told the Danish public channel TV2 that the suspect bats were not from the Wuhan region and the only people likely to have approached them were workers from the Wuhan labs.

"In order to address the 'lab hypothesis', it is important to have access to all data and consider scientific best practice and look at the mechanisms WHO already has in place."

What he also said, was that the chinese moved their corona research from one lab to another in early december 2019, and that the virus could have been let out then.

In the 'face to face' negotiations with the chinese, this was only just let into the report, but by chinese demand, described as 'extremely unlikely' .

Compromise

And a stinky one

[PAG]

[Latindancer]

How alpacas will save the world from coronavirus thanks to German scientists




Researchers at the University of Göttingen said they were able to create nanobodies that are able to bind and neutralize the virus 30,000 times better than current methods


With the advent of COVID-19, scientists around the world have made every effort to create vaccines, and have achieved certain results in a short time. Vaccination takes place not only in developed countries, but even in poor countries. But the efficiency remains in question. People continue to get sick and die from the coronavirus even after being vaccinated. And the cases of deaths from the vaccines themselves are also not isolated. Recently, it was even found that vaccinated people can carry the infection.and infect healthy people. But how about treating the disease? The answer to this question is given by sad statistics on deaths. While scientists were working on vaccines, no breakthroughs were made in the field of treating the disease. Fortunately, good news came from German scientists at the University of Göttingen. They managed to create the most effective agent to date that blocks SARS-CoV-2.

Antiviral agent for all strains of coronavirus

Researchers at the University of Göttingen said they were able to create nanobodies that are able to bind and neutralize the virus 30,000 times better than current methods. According to scientists, they are resistant to the immune escape mutation K417N / T, E484K, N501Y and L452R, which are found in new strains of coronavirus.
But that’s not all. The researchers also reported that they had optimized the nanobodies to be stable and resistant to high temperatures. In other words, they are undemanding to transportation conditions. Recall that some vaccines require constant extremely low temperatures. Otherwise, they lose their properties, making vaccination difficult in underdeveloped regions with poor infrastructure.
In addition, antibodies were found to naturally fold the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein in the cytosol of Escherichia coli. Such abilities simplify their production and also improve the adaptation of nanobodies to viral escape mutations.
These qualities make Göttingen nanobodies especially attractive as a treatment for COVID-19, which is required in huge quantities around the world.
How did they create an effective cure for coronavirus

All the advantages and features of nanobodies were reported in the EMBO Journal . The article describes how 45 SARS-CoV-2 blocking nanobodies (anti-VHH antibodies) were produced by immunizing alpacas. As a result, they produced mini-antibodies to the S-protein of the coronavirus, which ensures the attachment of the virus to the receptors of the infected cell. That is, the particles block the binding receptor of the virus.
Scientists have created triads, that is, structures of three identical nanobodies that are connected to each other. The triad corresponds to the symmetry of the three receptor-binding domains of the S-protein. As a result, the efficiency of neutralizing the coronavirus is increased by 30 thousand times in comparison with conventional single antibodies.
Another advantage of the triads is that they delay renal excretion. Due to this, they are retained in the body longer, resulting in a longer therapeutic effect.
Prospects for the best coronavirus remedy

One of the co-authors of the article, Dirk Gerlich, Ph.D., director of biophysical chemistry at MPI, said that nanobodies combine exceptional stability and outstanding effectiveness against the virus and its mutants such as alpha, beta, gamma, as well as such dangerous ones as delta and delta plus .
Another co-author notes that single nanobodies are potentially suitable for inhalation and therefore for direct neutralization of viruses in the respiratory tract. In addition, because they are very small, they can easily penetrate tissues and prevent further spread of the virus at the sites of infection.
Göttingen’s team is currently preparing nanobodies for therapeutic use. As the scientists themselves say, they want to test their invention as soon as possible for safe use as a medicine, so that they can be useful to those who are seriously ill with COVID-19, as well as those who have not been vaccinated and do not have effective immunity.

How alpacas will save the world from coronavirus thanks to German scientists

[HermantheGerman]

What he also said, was that the chinese moved their corona research from one lab to another in early december 2019, and that the virus could have been let out then.

In the 'face to face' negotiations with the chinese, this was only just let into the report, but by chinese demand, described as 'extremely unlikely' .

Compromise

and...

The Chinese side finally agreed to the mention "on the condition" that we do not recommend any further research into this hypothesis, "said Embarek
Embarek had already spoken in an interview with Science magazine in February that during his stay in Wuhan “there was always politics on the other side of the table”. During the talks, between 30 and 60 Chinese people sat across from them, most of whom were not scientists. "We know that the group of scientists was under observation from other sectors."