SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

[Fluctuation0161]

Waste, Negligence and Cronyism: Inside Britain’s Pandemic Spending
In the desperate scramble for protective gear and other equipment, politically connected companies reaped billions.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/europe/britain-covid-contracts.html

"To shine a light on one of the greatest spending sprees in Britain’s postwar era, The New York Times analyzed a large segment of it, the roughly 1,200 central government contracts that have been made public, together worth nearly $22 billion. Of that, about $11 billion went to companies either run by friends and associates of politicians in the Conservative Party, or with no prior experience or a history of controversy. Meanwhile, smaller firms without political clout got nowhere."

 

[Tibs]

No national lockdown then if it's Hancock, no CW or SPV either.

The big guns are saved for big announcements

 

[LARulz]

Obviously not lockdown then. Boris would announce that.

Speaking of Boris, EU is telling its states to prepare for an announcement.

Brexit announcement by Boris after the hancock presser?

I couldn't find it, where does it say there is a EU announcement?

I'd be surprised if it was anything major regarding Brexit as there would have been leaks. More likely to do with the new strain and urging calm?

 

[acnumber9]

As you say being depressed does not have any effect on my ability to think or act in a rational, safe and responsible manner.

And for many people that won’t be the case. You should give up your own armchair psychiatry.

 

[Berbaclass]

Maybe lockdown would be a pre-recorded message from Boris again like in March. Assuming it was, I don’t think it was live was it?

 

[Brwned]

If the new strain is more infectious because it binds more easily and replicates more quickly which results in a higher viral load, yet it doesn’t seem to cause more symptoms / hospitalisations etc., doesn’t that hint that each virus cell is a little weaker? Maybe this virus could mutate into something more infectious but causes less disease...

 

[Kaos]

If the new strain is more infectious because it binds more easily and replicates more quickly which results in a higher viral load, yet it doesn’t seem to cause more symptoms / hospitalisations etc., doesn’t that hint that each virus cell is a little weaker? Maybe this virus could mutate into something more infectious but causes less disease...

Still too early to draw that conclusion.

 

[Berbaclass]

Interesting that there’s seemingly no leaks so far too.

 

[LARulz]

Interesting that there’s seemingly no leaks so far too.

Indicating it will be pointless

 

[Berbaclass]

Indicating it will be pointless

Probably

I said yesterday I thought they’d be half measures again...

 

[rcoobc]

A personal anecdote to share with you.

I work at one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. One of my colleagues received a positive result today (she is asymptomatic) and is now isolating.

I'm asymptomatic and have been following guidelines. Myself and my colleagues have been trying to get a test since the news, however across the multiple hospitals at the trust, there's no asymptomatic testing available until 4th-12th Jan. The reason why? We've been told it's because all the students have gone home for Xmas and they're overbooked. Likewise, the home testing kits aren't available for collection until 4th Jan either.

Therefore occupational health are advising us to self isolate for 10 days and if we develop symptoms in this time, we can book for a symptomatic swab test (hopefully quicker than 4th Jan!)

Asymptomatic testing being the lateral flow tests yes?

What are your thoughts on the supposed terrible sensitivity being found? (Pogue posted the other day)


https://thetab.com/uk/2020/12/21/co...-only-detected-three-per-cent-of-cases-187231
https://mikeotsuka.medium.com/profe...racy-of-rapid-lateral-flow-tests-6221ac2c4327

 

[Relevated]

How are people saying there are no leaks when this shit was leaked last night by the sun lool

 

[Berbaclass]

How are people saying there are no leaks when this shit was leaked last night by the sun lool

We have very little idea what they’re going to say. Usually we know pretty much everything.

 

[Relevated]

 

[Relevated]

I couldn't find it, where does it say there is a EU announcement?

I'd be surprised if it was anything major regarding Brexit as there would have been leaks. More likely to do with the new strain and urging calm?

 

[Brwned]

Still too early to draw that conclusion.

I will not let your cautious assessment of the reliable facts get in the way of my optimistic assessment of the indicative facts

 

[JPRouve]

 

[Vitro]

If the new strain is more infectious because it binds more easily and replicates more quickly which results in a higher viral load, yet it doesn’t seem to cause more symptoms / hospitalisations etc., doesn’t that hint that each virus cell is a little weaker? Maybe this virus could mutate into something more infectious but causes less disease...

I believe that the higher viral load is primarily observed in the upper respiratory tract, thereby potentially increasing transmission but also not substantially increasing the damaging immune response which is mostly elicited by high viral loads within the lung.

Not sure why this mutation to the spike would only affect replication/viral loads in the upper respiratory tract but I guess it could be related to differing ACE expression in airway/lung epithelial cells.

 

[NYAS]

Is anyone watching this Hancock press conference? They’ve found a 3rd strain that they believe is even more transmissible than the one announced last week

 

[Relevated]

Is anyone watching this Hancock press conference? They’ve found a 3rd strain that they believe is even more transmissible than the one announced last week

I think he meant that its very much transmissible, just like the UK one

 

[Relevated]

LOOOOOOL

 

[CassiusClaymore]

Is anyone watching this Hancock press conference? They’ve found a 3rd strain that they believe is even more transmissible than the one announced last week

If only we could control our borders somehow...

 

[NYAS]

I think he meant that its very much transmissible, just like the UK one

I’m pretty sure he explicitly said they believe it’s more transmissible than the one last week. Unless my mind has played games on me, someone else can confirm.

 

[sullydnl]

 

[Vitro]

I believe that the higher viral load is primarily observed in the upper respiratory tract, thereby potentially increasing transmission but also not substantially increasing the damaging immune response which is mostly elicited by high viral loads within the lung.

Not sure why this mutation to the spike would only affect replication/viral loads in the upper respiratory tract but I guess it could be related to differing ACE expression in airway/lung epithelial cells.

@Brwned

From the Nature paper:

The higher viral loads of G614 in the upper airway of patients with COVID-1926 and infected hamsters suggest a role of the D614G substitution in viral transmissibility. The robust replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the human upper airway may be partially conferred by higher expression of the ACE2 receptor in the nasal cavity compared with the lower respiratory tract8,27. Compared with the D614 virus, the G614 virus showed increased replication in the upper airway—but not in the lungs—of hamsters, suggesting that the D614G substitution may select against replication in the lung. Patients infected with G614 virus developed higher levels of viral RNA in nasopharyngeal swabs than those with D614 virus, but did not develop more severe disease1,2,9. Our hamster model of infection recapitulated these clinical findings: the G614 virus developed higher infectious titres than the D614 virus in nasal washes and tracheas, but not in lungs, and there were no differences in weight loss or disease symptoms.

 

[Solius]

This is the one I read about that is worse in younger people.

 

[One Night Only]

If only we could control our borders somehow...

Yeah, it would be simple if we were an island! Just imagine having a border of sea all around you! Would be amazingly easy to stop this! Just imagine.

 

[F-Red]

Asymptomatic testing being the lateral flow tests yes?

What are your thoughts on the supposed terrible sensitivity being found? (Pogue posted the other day)

It's concerning a little, my other half has a pack of the Innova lateral flow tests and is doing it about 2/3 times a week. All negative so far, but we take it with a pinch of salt until we see some strong data on the accuracy.

 

[One Night Only]

Has anyone caught it twice yet? Or caught one strain then caught the other?

 

[LARulz]

Well well, that's something! Parliament need to pass it still right?

 

[LARulz]

A lot of countries also banned South Africa, but guess they are less of a transfer hub and shouted about it less than we did

 

[rcoobc]

 

[Solius]

A lot of countries also banned South Africa, but guess they are less of a transfer hub and shouted about it less than we did

The fact that (to my knowledge) we never stopped flights coming in is bonkers.

 

[Bosws87]

Is this the new thing, press are gonna report on every mutation of a virus which isn't a surprise to anyone that understands a virus.

the circus continues.

 

[Vitro]

Has anyone caught it twice yet? Or caught one strain then caught the other?

The differences between variants isn’t significant enough so as to allow reinfection by a different variant, the immune system will still recognise it. Some cases of re-infection have been reported but it’s not been seen broadly so no need to worry about it too much yet. Still remains to be seen how long immunity lasts however.

 

[One Night Only]

The differences between variants isn’t significant enough so as to allow reinfection by a different variant, the immune system will still recognise it. Some cases of re-infection have been reported but it’s not been seen broadly so no need to worry about it too much yet. Still remains to be seen how long immunity lasts however.

Cheers, makes sense.

 

[One Night Only]

Love how they start shotting everywhere in tier 4 as schools and work break up for Christmas

 

[DOTA]

Is this the new thing, press are gonna report on every mutation of a virus which isn't a surprise to anyone that understands a virus.

the circus continues.

Are they offering a reason for mentioning this South African thing? Or are they just telling us that it's different. I am struggling to keep up.

 

[Berbaclass]

Is that a lot of people extra then? I have no idea how bit those areas are

 

[NYAS]

Is this the new thing, press are gonna report on every mutation of a virus which isn't a surprise to anyone that understands a virus.

the circus continues.

It’s more about the consequences of announcing such news; whether you think it’s worth it or not, governments around the world are responding in a way that’s significant and that’s affecting people’s lives hugely. It’s not really about the press.