Coronavirus (2021) thread

[inbetween]

Health workers, care workers, school children too now, are all tested routinely regardless of symptoms.

Probably a lot of school kids in there.

Those people weren't included in the survey I don't think? The survey says it excludes anyone tested in care homes and hospitals and refers only to private household testing in the community. Maybe it's the school kids swaying the data but I don't know, you'd expect whole households to be infected anyway if their kids are.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey - Office for National Statistics

The characteristics of people testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) from the COVID-19 Infection Survey. This survey is being delivered in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Manchester, Public Health England and Wellcome Trust.

www.ons.gov.uk

 

[03 March 2002]

People taking sides and either defending or attacking the AZ vaccine need to understand that not even 1 death is acceptable and not in-line with the company values to follow the science and to put patients first.
My colleagues don't just shrug off knowing our product has killed 19 people (potentially) and justify it as an 'acceptable risk'. It simply isn't, no medicine should ever come with the admonishment that it may make you ill or worse.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Those people weren't included in the survey I don't think? The survey says it excludes anyone tested in care homes and hospitals and refers only to private household testing in the community. Maybe it's the school kids swaying the data but I don't know, you'd expect whole households to be infected anyway if their kids are.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey - Office for National Statistics

The characteristics of people testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) from the COVID-19 Infection Survey. This survey is being delivered in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Manchester, Public Health England and Wellcome Trust.

www.ons.gov.uk

Ah ,OK, thanks. We were at cross purposes. They take a random sample of the population for the survey, so almost all of the people tested would be without symptoms at the point of testing.

I would guess it's likely that many of those who tested positive would be presymptomatic ie have only recently become infected but would later get symptoms.

The proportion of positives asymptomatic at the point of testing doesn't seem to change over time according to that report.

 

[inbetween]

It will. Which is why the quicker they get to the bottom of these issues and they're resolved the better for everyone. I've only been offering my perspective from conversations I've had with my peers, doesn't reflect everyone or even the majority in my age group but it's certainly enough of a sentiment and I don't see why I can't share it. It's not telling anyone not to take a vaccine because if they want one, they should. I'm only offering an explanation as to why some people will inevitably end up delaying until they have more confidence as it's taken a dent.

It has dented confidence but this is where calm explanations are needed in the media. Many women under thirty will take the contraceptive pill every single day and not realise the risk of blood clots from that are 100x higher. Even common everyday tablets like Ibuprofen carry multiple potential complications.

COVID in itself also carries a heightened risk of blood clots. Clots are seen in 10% of infected moderately/severely ill people and in 50% of those who end up in an ICU. No matter what, the benefits of getting the AZ vaccine far outweighs the very rare risks that occur irrespective of your age.

However, it is right that the vaccine has been paused in the under 30's because there is no reason whatsoever to take a risk (no matter how small) on a vaccine for a disease that is currently not prevalent.

So few people have COVID at the moment that it's a fact that no-one whatsoever under 30 will die of COVID but 1 or 2 may die if millions of under 30's were vaccinated today. We therefore have the luxury where we can eliminate both risks because it's impossible that millions of young people will catch COVID overnight and we can prevent the blood clot risk by moving to alternate vaccines.

It's a statistician's game really. I'm 32 and I've had the AZ first dose but what's the clinical difference between me and someone under 30?

 

[03 March 2002]

I feel in developed countries we've come to the end of our cycle of using adapted Adenoviruses (or similar) off the back of this. They will remain an option whilst they are cheaper than mRNA equivalents, but that won't last forever.

I made a post in the previous thread about how excited I was to see the advancements of mRNA vaccines. On paper they are our trump card in this area of treatment and so rightly or wrongly, we must be thankful that COVID has brought us forward probably 20+ years.

 

[Healdplace]

I feel in developed countries we've come to the end of our cycle of using adapted Adenoviruses (or similar) off the back of this. They will remain an option whilst they are cheaper than mRNA equivalents, but that won't last forever.

I made a post in the previous thread about how excited I was to see the advancements of mRNA vaccines. On paper they are our trump card in this area of treatment and so rightly or wrongly, we must be thankful that COVID has brought us forward probably 20+ years.

I posted something similar here last year as I think medical treatment on so many things will be transformed once we have this under control and can use what we have learned at 10 x normal pace out of necessity and apply it to other things that up to now have been hard to handle.

As the space race did to science this has booted us like a certain City players penalty out of the stadium and far away.

The true legacy of Covid can be a better world.

But it is going to need a more cooperative link up between nations. A global health care system in some regards.

Based on what we have seen in Europe easier said than done.

But the lasting message from Covid is no island is really an island if they want to be part of the world

So what happens here is NOT the only thing that matters. Not even the most important thing that matters.

 

[Healdplace]

England hospital deaths - 34 - but with a whopping 11 of those in the NW.

Last week was 43 with just 2!

Bit of a concern as NW ventilator numbers were up in the hospital data yesterday too.

Though NW is incredibly tardy every weekend at reporting deaths and always has been even without Easter.

 

[domalino]

I feel in developed countries we've come to the end of our cycle of using adapted Adenoviruses (or similar) off the back of this. They will remain an option whilst they are cheaper than mRNA equivalents, but that won't last forever.

I made a post in the previous thread about how excited I was to see the advancements of mRNA vaccines. On paper they are our trump card in this area of treatment and so rightly or wrongly, we must be thankful that COVID has brought us forward probably 20+ years.

mRNA could be the biggest game changer in medicine in 50 years, and the pandemic has not only shown it can be safe, the money that's flooded into companies like Moderna that specialise in mRNA should be a massive slingshot for progress with it.

 

[Healdplace]

More on 34 England hospital deaths:

6 are more than a month old

Regions:- 11 North West, 7 MIdlands, 6 NE & Yorkshire, 4 South East, 3 South West, 2 London, 1 East.

In the NW the most were:- 4 Liverpool, 3 Stockport, 2 Southport with 1 each Wirral and Pennine Acute

Outside NW 4 in Leicester was the most.

20 of the 34 were aged over 80 - highest number recently.

 

[03 March 2002]

mRNA could be the biggest game changer in medicine in 50 years, and the pandemic has not only shown it can be safe, the money that's flooded into companies like Moderna that specialise in mRNA should be a massive slingshot for progress with it.

For sure the industry is trending towards Oligonucleotide/DNA therapies but at something in the order of 250k-$1m / gramme in development costs, significant advances are certainly needed!

The Human Genome Project whilst incredibly successful was most useful in identifying the need for the Human Proteome Project.