The COVID-2019 Thread

[Mendip]

^ Yeah, what a pain. I was probably heading back to the UK in the next couple of weeks...

Not sure what I'll do now.

[harrybarracuda]

Danish authorities are slaughtering 17,000,000 mink because of a mutated version of Covid.

They are also telling people in North Jutland to stay indoors.

The worry is that this version will defeat all the vaccines under development.

Authorities in Denmark are to ask residents in North Jutland not to leave their home municipalities due to concerns over the spread of a mutated form of coronavirus.

Seven municipalities with confirmed coronavirus cases in mink are to be encompassed by restrictions asking residents to remain within municipal limits as far as possible.
The municipalities affected by the order are Hjørring, Frederikshavn, Vesthimmerland, Brønderslev, Jammerbugt, Thisted and Læsø.
“We have to stop movement of residents across municipal borders. We need to find a model for this,” Per Bach Laursen, the mayor in the Vesthimmerland municipality, told Politiken.
Restaurants, sports and cultural activities are to be closed for the next four weeks, Laursen also told the newspaper.
Regional broadcaster TVMidtvest reports that there is unlikely to be any physical control of municipal borders, but that the government is still working to finalise measures. That is also based on comments from Laursen, the mayor in Vesthimmerland.
The intervention comes after the national government on Wednesday announced it would cull the entire population of minks at farms in Denmark.
The decision to cull up to 17 million animals was deemed unavoidable after a mutated version of the new coronavirus was detected at mink farms and then spread to people.
The mutation "could pose a risk that future (coronavirus) vaccines won't work the way they should," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference, adding: "It is necessary to cull all the minks."
Laursen told broadcaster DR that people in the affected North Jutland municipalities should stay within the borders of the municipality in which they live and get a coronavirus test.
Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus in the affected municipalities will also be required to test for whether they have been infected with the normal strain or the variation from mink farms.
Schools and child care facilities will remain open, but adult education will be limited, according to the Danish media reports.
The restrictions will come into effect from tomorrow for an initial four weeks.
Twelve people were registered as infected with a mutated form of the coronavirus, news wire Ritzau reported on Wednesday, but the real number is likely to be far higher. Newspaper Information reported on Thursday that up to four or five percent of infections in North Jutland may be with the specific mink mutation of coronavirus that is concerning authorities.

https://www.thelocal.dk/20201105/den...virus-outbreak

[Mandaloopy]

I think a lesson here is that we do not need to keep that many animals in cages for something as unnecessary for human existence as furs from an animal that can't even been eaten or used for anything else other than the materialistic desires of some prat prancing about town in a Louis Vuitton coat.

[OhOh]

an animal that can't even been eaten

Are you sure?

[panama hat]

an animal that can't even been eaten

Are you sure?

He didn't include you nor the 1.3 billion Chinese who are quite proud of eating fairly well anything

[OhOh]

My ***** restaurant visits are somewhat exceptional theses days. However they are still memorable when visited, whatever the cuisine.

[Mendip]

I think a lesson here is that we do not need to keep that many animals in cages for something as unnecessary for human existence as furs from an animal that can't even been eaten or used for anything else other than the materialistic desires of some prat prancing about town in a Louis Vuitton coat.

Couldn't agree more.

It seems it's not just the Chinese who should be having a long hard look at themselves and the horrific way they treat animals.

Let's hope the 'new normal' includes an end to this abhorrent practice.



Covid: Denmark removed from UK's travel corridor list

Denmark has been taken off the UK's coronavirus travel corridor list, the transport secretary has said.

Passengers arriving in the UK from 04:00 GMT on Friday will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

Grant Shapps said it was an "urgent decision" taken overnight following recent "developments".

It comes after health authorities in Denmark found a mutated form of coronavirus that can pass to humans was present in the country's mink farms.

This week, Denmark's prime minister said the country would cull all of its mink - as many as 17 million.

Mette Frederiksen said the mutated virus posed a "risk to the effectiveness" of a future Covid-19 vaccine.

The Scandinavian country is the world's biggest producer of mink fur and its main export markets are China and Hong Kong.

Covid: Denmark removed from UK'''s travel corridor list - BBC News

[panama hat]

My ***** restaurant visits are somewhat exceptional theses days.

Bat and assorted endangered species not on the menu at the moment? Poor OhOh.

It seems it's not just the Chinese who should be having a long hard look at themselves and the horrific way they treat animals.

The Chinese would eat minks with a side-dish of ocelot dippled with a bear-bile sauce.

[harrybarracuda]

The US shattered its own new daily case record yesterday recording 118,000+.

The 50 millionth global case will probably be recorded sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening.

[harrybarracuda]

Wankers, throw the fucking book at them.

French police have arrested seven people accused of offering fake negative Covid-19 test certificates to departing passengers at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

The six men and one woman were found to have more than 200 counterfeit certificates on their mobile phones.

The fakes would have been sold for up to €300 (£271) each, prosecutors say.

The arrests came after the certificate of a passenger bound for Ethiopia was found to be false.

The fake certificates bore the names of real Parisian medical laboratories.

Coronavirus: Fake test certificate gang foiled at Paris airport - BBC News

[harrybarracuda]

50 million cases passed globally.

The US passes 10 million.

[harrybarracuda]

Scientists have discovered a new type of virus similar to the strain that causes Covid-19, in the dung of cave-dwelling bats in Japan.This was reported by Japanese television, which published data from a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo.

The researchers found the pathogen in the feces of little horseshoe bats in the wilds of Japan seven years ago. A new investigation has found it is strikingly similar to SARS-CoV-2 – the strain of Covid-19.

The genetic make-up of the new virus is 81.5 % consistent with SARS-CoV-2 and the experts say it is the first time that a pathogen similar to the one responsible for the current pandemic has been found in Japan.

Viruses that transfer from animals to humans have been responsible for a range of illnesses, including Covid-19, SARS, MERS, and some versions of the common cold. Thankfully, the scientists say the new virus doesn’t infect humans, although further investigation is needed.

"It is thought that only a small number of coronaviruses are dangerous, but it is undeniable that there are species that infect humans in Japan," Associate Professor Shin Murakami explained. "We will investigate wild animals and promptly investigate the actual situation. We need to figure it out."

This is not the first time that a coronavirus similar to SARS-CoV-2 has been found. Disease-hunting scientists in China have found coronaviruses that are a 95 percent genetic match with the strain that has caused over 1.2 million deaths around the world, according to official statistics.

As we reported earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked world leaders to prepare for the next pandemic.

"We must prepare for the next pandemic now," WHO stated in a news release.

"We've seen this past year that countries with robust health emergency preparedness infrastructure have been able to act quickly to contain and control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

New virus found in Japanese cave similar to Covid-19 strain - New virus similar to Covid-19 found in Japan - 112.international

[harrybarracuda]

Oh they'll be so proud.

Texas Becomes First U.S. State to Exceed One Million Coronavirus Cases

Texas Becomes First U.S. State to Exceed One Million Coronavirus Cases | Top News | US News

[HuangLao]

Scientists have discovered a new type of virus similar to the strain that causes Covid-19, in the dung of cave-dwelling bats in Japan.This was reported by Japanese television, which published data from a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo.

The researchers found the pathogen in the feces of little horseshoe bats in the wilds of Japan seven years ago. A new investigation has found it is strikingly similar to SARS-CoV-2 – the strain of Covid-19.

The genetic make-up of the new virus is 81.5 % consistent with SARS-CoV-2 and the experts say it is the first time that a pathogen similar to the one responsible for the current pandemic has been found in Japan.

Viruses that transfer from animals to humans have been responsible for a range of illnesses, including Covid-19, SARS, MERS, and some versions of the common cold. Thankfully, the scientists say the new virus doesn’t infect humans, although further investigation is needed.

"It is thought that only a small number of coronaviruses are dangerous, but it is undeniable that there are species that infect humans in Japan," Associate Professor Shin Murakami explained. "We will investigate wild animals and promptly investigate the actual situation. We need to figure it out."

This is not the first time that a coronavirus similar to SARS-CoV-2 has been found. Disease-hunting scientists in China have found coronaviruses that are a 95 percent genetic match with the strain that has caused over 1.2 million deaths around the world, according to official statistics.

As we reported earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked world leaders to prepare for the next pandemic.

"We must prepare for the next pandemic now," WHO stated in a news release.

"We've seen this past year that countries with robust health emergency preparedness infrastructure have been able to act quickly to contain and control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

New virus found in Japanese cave similar to Covid-19 strain - New virus similar to Covid-19 found in Japan - 112.international

Read: Dr. Peter Daszak and his broad associations.

[harrybarracuda]

Read: Dr. Peter Daszak and his broad associations.

I'm not doing your googling for you Jeff, why don't you enlighten us?

[misskit]

Pfizer, BioNTech say late-stage trial data shows Covid vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing infection

Covid vaccine: Pfizer drug is more than 90% effective in preventing infection

[Mandaloopy]

It is looking quite likely that Mongolia will lockdown within the next few weeks to some degree. I think some of us are in for a rather long winter. Making a better work from home station has been at the back of my mind for a while, and I think it would be wise to act on it this long weekend and buy a better desk. It is good news about that vaccine, crossing my fingers that more good news comes about it.

[misskit]

‘Life back to normal by spring after discovery of 90% effective vaccine’, expert says

A medicine expert has claimed Brits can look forward to a return to normal life ‘by spring’ after a major vaccine breakthrough.


In comments that will come as a massive relief amid the coronavirus crisis, Sir John Bell said that other vaccines were now likely to become available in the near future.


‘I am really delighted with this result – it shows that you can make a vaccine against this little critter. 90% is an amazing level of efficacy,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One.


Asked if people could look forward to a return to normal life by the spring, Sir John, who advises the government, replied: ‘Yes, yes, yes. I am probably the first guy to say that but I will say that with some confidence.’

MORE 'Life back to normal by spring after discovery of 90% effective vaccine', expert says | Metro News


Sure hope he’s right!

[harrybarracuda]

Oops looks like the chinkies nicked the wrong one. Although they'll probably make an announcement tomorrow that theirs is 91% effective.

[harrybarracuda]

In Pfizer’s 44,000-person trial, there have so far been 94 cases of covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, in people who were not previously infected. Fewer than nine of those cases were among people who received two shots of the vaccine, a strong signal of efficacy. The company’s shares soared more than 13 percent in premarket trading. The data is not yet published or peer-reviewed.

“The results are really quite good, I mean extraordinary,” said Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, adding that the results might bode well for a vaccine being developed by biotech firm Moderna and his institute that uses a similar technology, “which gives you hope we might even have two vaccines.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...ine-effective/

[HermantheGerman]

Remember I said by fall the Germans will have a vaccine and safe your ass. o.k. I was off a few months

[harrybarracuda]

Oh dear.

The final-stage trial of a Chinese frontrunner vaccine candidate has been halted in Brazil due to a serious adverse event, the first time that any of the Asian nation’s rapidly developed Covid-19 shots have met with such a setback.

Testing of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine, called Coronavac, has been halted in Brazil after an event that occurred on Oct. 29, said the Brazil Health Agency on Tuesday, without giving any further detail on what happened. The study is interrupted in accordance with regulations while the agency analyzes if the study should continue, it said.

Sao Paulo’s Instituto Butantan, which partnered with Sinovac to produce the vaccine locally, said in a statement it was surprised by the decision and is looking into details of what happened in the study. Director Dimas Covas said in a TV interview that one volunteer in the trial has died, but that the death is not related to the vaccine.

Sinovac’s company representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Halts to investigate serious adverse events are not uncommon in large-scale drug trials and two western developers - AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson -- have paused their vaccine trials in recent months due to such incidents, only to re-start them after investigation.

But China has already started administering its vaccines, including Coronavac, to hundreds of thousands of people under an expansive emergency use approval, making the prospect of a safety issue being detected at this stage more concerning.

Last month, China’s science ministry said its companies have inoculated about 60,000 volunteers in final-stage trials, but there have been no reports of serious adverse events.

Serious adverse events that occur in drug trials include death, immediate risk of death, long term or serious incapacitation, and hospitalization.

Chinese vaccine developers have been at the forefront of the global race to create an effective immunization against the virus. The push has taken on vital importance as countries look to move beyond Covid-19 and more definitively re-open their economies. Vaccine development processes that usually take years have been compressed into months by global players, encouraged by politicians wanting a quick fix to the pandemic that has sickened more than 50 million.

The Chinese setback comes as Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE released early findings showing that a vaccine they are developing prevented more than 90% of symptomatic infections in the trial of tens of thousands of volunteers, boosting hope for a quick neutralization of Covid-19.

Eli Lilly Covid Antibody Drug Gets FDA Emergency Clearence - Bloomberg

[Klondyke]

CDC Report: Officials Knew Coronavirus Test Was Flawed But Released It Anyway
November 6, 2020

On Feb. 6, a scientist in a small infectious disease lab on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campus in Atlanta was putting a coronavirus test kit through its final paces. The lab designed and built the diagnostic test in record time, and the little vials that contained necessary reagents to identify the virus were boxed up and ready to go. But NPR has learned the results of that final quality control test suggested something troubling — it said the kit could fail 33% of the time.

Under normal circumstances, that kind of result would stop a test in its tracks, half a dozen public and private lab officials told NPR. But an internal CDC review obtained by NPR confirms that lab officials decided to release the kit anyway. The revelation comes from a CDC internal review, known as a "root-cause analysis," which the agency conducted to understand why an early coronavirus test didn't work properly and wound up costing scientists precious weeks in the early days of a pandemic.

---

Like building a house without a hammer

In late January, the tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases seemed relatively manageable — about 4,500 confirmed cases worldwide and under a dozen confirmed in the continental United States. In a pandemic, public health officials say, the best hope to keep the numbers low is to determine who else might have the virus and where it was spreading and then concentrate efforts on those areas first.

The CDC's coronavirus test kits began arriving at the 100 or so public labs across the country in small white boxes on Feb. 6, according to the CDC timeline in the review. Each cardboard container held four tiny vials of chemicals that, when used properly, were meant to confirm the presence of the virus.

The New York City Public Health Laboratory was in that first wave of labs receiving the kits, and its director, Jennifer Rakeman, said her technicians began trying to verify the test right away. Verification is a standard protocol; it involves following detailed instructions to ensure the tests work the same way in an outside lab as they do at the CDC labs in Atlanta.

Read more
Officials Knew CDC Coronavirus Test Kit Was Prone to Failure, Released It Anyway : NPR

[panama hat]

The final-stage trial of a Chinese frontrunner vaccine candidate has been halted in Brazil due to a serious adverse event, the first time that any of the Asian nation’s rapidly developed Covid-19 shots have met with such a setback.

No surprise

[Norton]

Saw this on CNN this AM. Some promising news.

Dr. Anthony Fauci reacts to Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine announcement - CNN Video