Coronavirus

[Mr._Clark]

This looks interesting based on the lab studies, but I'm not sure how much impact the cold virus would actually have in the real world.

>>>The virus that causes the common cold can effectively boot the Covid virus out of the body's cells, say researchers.<<<

Coronavirus: How the common cold can boot out Covid

It looks like the viruses that cause colds wins in the battle to infect our cells.

www.bbc.com

 

[panteragstk]

What you libs fail to understand is that if Trump had not acted as the complete knucklehead he is he would have easily still be in office !

Well yeah, that's typically how it works. Be bad at your job, lose your job, be good at your job, keep your job.

 

[Mr._Clark]

Well yeah, that's typically how it works. Be bad at your job, lose your job, be good at your job, keep your job.

True, but I would add that what happens in an imaginary world is irrelevant in the real world.

 

[panteragstk]

True, but I would add that what happens in an imaginary world is irrelevant in the real world.

 

[Mr._Clark]

It looks the J&J vaccine production is about to ramp up significantly.

>>>NEW YORK (Reuters) - A large plant being used to manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine was cleared by U.S. regulators on Tuesday, setting the stage for the weekly U.S. supply to surge more then 20 percent.

About 27 million COVID-19 vaccine doses will be allocated to U.S. states and other localities this week, including 4 million from J&J, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. That is the largest allocation yet, up from 22 million last week.<<<

J&J plant authorization clears way for big boost in U.S. COVID-19 shots

A large plant being used to manufacture Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was cleared by U.S. regulators on Tuesday, setting the stage for the weekly U.S. supply to surge more then 20 percent.

www.reuters.com

 

[Kvn_Walker]

What you libs fail to understand is that if Trump had not acted as the complete knucklehead he is he would have easily still be in office !

Very true! But if he didn’t act the way he did, this lib wouldn’t mind if he was in office. This lib didn’t vote for Kerry or Obama because as a rule I wouldn’t vote against my job. Trump changed that, and they’re only getting more knuckleheaded by the minute.

 

[Mr._Clark]

I'm not sure how significant this is, but there are reports that a double mutant variation has been detected in India.

>>>The government said that an analysis of the samples collected from India's western Maharashtra state shows "an increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L452R mutations" compared with December last year. "Such [double] mutations confer immune escape and increased infectivity," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Dr Jameel added that "there may be a separate lineage developing in India with the L452R and E484Q mutations coming together".
But the government denied that the rise in case numbers was linked to the mutations.<<<

Coronavirus: 'Double mutant' Covid variant found in India

This comes as India reported 47,262 cases and 275 deaths on Wednesday, its highest tally this year.

www.bbc.com

 

[highfigh]

Well yeah, that's typically how it works. Be bad at your job, lose your job, be good at your job, keep your job.

Why doesn't that apply to Congress?

 

[Irvrobinson]

You probably need a subscription to read this, but here is an interesting WSJ article on AZ's ongoing problems with US authorities. A bunch of people obviously need to be on a performance improvement plan.

U.S. Health Officials Raise Concerns Over AstraZeneca Vaccine Data

Officials said they were told AstraZeneca may have released outdated information in its disclosure of trial results for its Covid-19 vaccine that could have “provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.”

www.wsj.com

 

[highfigh]

I recently read an encouraging report from Big Stone Gap, in Russel County in southwest Virginia. Last November, 80% of votes cast there were for Trump. But after a few corona virus deaths in January among local family members plus a prominent state senator, lawyer and cattle farmer, a turning point may be happening. People now want the vaccine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-trump-country-coronavirus-vaccine/2021/03/21/c153bd98-872a-11eb-8a8b-5cf82c3dffe4_story.html

"A similar about-face could be unfolding across mountainous far southwestern Virginia, which has some of the highest coronavirus vaccination rates in the state, despite national surveys showing rural Republicans are the most reluctant to receive it."

Did you infer that they're pointing to Trump for the loss of lives? The lawyer was involved in a 12 hour negotiation- long-term exposure is what increases the chance of being infected without being coughed/sneezed on or touching something with the virus and transferring it to the face. The nurse mentioned in the first line said she was going to wait- she's a nurse, but nothing in the article mentioned waiting because Trump said people should avoid it, although one said she wouldn't have anything to do with it now that Biden is in office. One person specifically said that they didn't think it would reach them because they're so isolated- it was bound to happen, at some point. Did you miss the part where the article showed that the vaccination rate in their region is at least as high as anywhere else in the state?

 

[highfigh]

This looks interesting based on the lab studies, but I'm not sure how much impact the cold virus would actually have in the real world.

>>>The virus that causes the common cold can effectively boot the Covid virus out of the body's cells, say researchers.<<<

Coronavirus: How the common cold can boot out Covid

It looks like the viruses that cause colds wins in the battle to infect our cells.

www.bbc.com

Too bad this wasn't known at the beginning. I would like to see data for people whose kids had a cold vs the parents contracting COVID.

 

[Mr._Clark]

Did you infer that they're pointing to Trump for the loss of lives? The lawyer was involved in a 12 hour negotiation- long-term exposure is what increases the chance of being infected without being coughed/sneezed on or touching something with the virus and transferring it to the face. The nurse mentioned in the first line said she was going to wait- she's a nurse, but nothing in the article mentioned waiting because Trump said people should avoid it, although one said she wouldn't have anything to do with it now that Biden is in office. One person specifically said that they didn't think it would reach them because they're so isolated- it was bound to happen, at some point. Did you miss the part where the article showed that the vaccination rate in their region is at least as high as anywhere else in the state?

I'm not sure what Swerd was getting at and I didn't read the article, but polls have shown partisan differences with regards to vaccine intent (e.g. article at link below). People's views on vaccines seem to be quite fluid, so it's not clear what the percentages will be in a few months. My best guess is that in a few months almost everyone except the hard core anti-vaxers will want the jab.

My impression is that there are a certain number of people who basically will not believe something unless they see it with their own eyes (so to speak). They don't take the virus seriously until someone they know gets seriously ill from it, and they won't trust the vaccine until after people they know get the jab without problems. This is just a hypothosis, I can't prove it.

I do not follow the anti-vaxer movement in any detail because it seems like a waste of time, but the big issue appears to be the (often disproven) belief that vaccines cause autism in children. Why this carries over to opposition to the COVID vaccine is a mystery to me. Do they believe adults will become autistic after getting a COVID vaccine? (that's a rhetorical question, I'm sure I could find the nutty answers doing a couple google searches)(I feel that reading wacky anti-vaxer stuff lowers my IQ because it renders me capable of imagining something that was too stupid to conceive of previously)

>>>Partisan differences, which have long characterized views about the outbreak, are increasingly seen in vaccine intent. Democrats are now 27 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say they plan to get, or have already received, a coronavirus vaccine (83% to 56%). This gap is wider than those seen at multiple points in 2020.<<<

Growing Share of Americans Say They Plan To Get a COVID-19 Vaccine – or Already Have

77% think vaccinations will benefit the economy.

www.pewresearch.org

 

[Mr._Clark]

I couldn't resist the urge to google anti vaccine and COVID. As predicted, my IQ is now lower.

Here are some examples of anti vaccine nuttiness, COVID edition:

>>>There are two major types of disinformation being promulgated about the coronavirus vaccines:

• Anecdotal "cause-and-effect" rumors that erroneously tie a person's untimely demise to the fact they recently got a COVID-19 vaccine.
• "Big lie" conspiracy theories that allege the vaccine can cause all manner of major side effects, from infertility to permanently altering your genetics. . . .

One of the most common big lie rumors involves the messenger RNA (mRNA) in the two COVID-19 vaccines somehow rewriting your personal DNA, Offit and Foster noted. . . . The idea that mRNA could rewrite your DNA is "utterly impossible," Offit said. . . .

Another rumor holds that the vaccine can cause infertility because the spike protein it helps create shares some amino acids with synectin, a protein found in the placenta, Foster said. <<<

COVID-19 Vaccines

Vaccines are seen as one of the best ways to stop COVID-19. Learn more about the types of vaccines, including the newly approved Novavax.

www.webmd.com

It's actually an industry:

>>>The term ‘anti-vaxxer’ may evoke images of a conspiracy theorist in a grimy basement or a disheveled figure on a crate railing against ‘microchips’ and ‘global plots’. In reality, the key protagonists in the ‘anti-vaxx industry’ are a coherent group of professional propagandists. These are people running multi-million-dollar organizations, incorporated mainly in the USA, with as many as 60 staff each1. They produce training manuals for activists, tailor their messages for different audiences, and arrange meetings akin to annual trades conferences, like any other industry. . . .

Every anti-vaxx message can be boiled down to a master narrative of three parts: “COVID-19 isn’t dangerous; vaccines are dangerous; you can’t trust doctors or scientists.” <<<

Dismantling the anti-vaxx industry - Nature Medicine

Investigations show that those spreading misinformation that undermines the rollout of vaccines against COVID-19 are well financed, determined and disciplined. To counter their activities, we need to understand them as an industry actively working to sow doubts about the deadliness of COVID-19...

www.nature.com

 

[Swerd]

I'm not sure what Swerd was getting at and I didn't read the article, but polls have shown partisan differences with regards to vaccine intent (e.g. article at link below). People's views on vaccines seem to be quite fluid, so it's not clear what the percentages will be in a few months. My best guess is that in a few months almost everyone except the hard core anti-vaxers will want the jab.

That's exactly why I posted that report.

 

[Swerd]

Dismantling the anti-vaxx industry - Nature Medicine

Investigations show that those spreading misinformation that undermines the rollout of vaccines against COVID-19 are well financed, determined and disciplined. To counter their activities, we need to understand them as an industry actively working to sow doubts about the deadliness of COVID-19...

www.nature.com

That's a good article. Thanks for posting it.

 

[panteragstk]

Why doesn't that apply to Congress?

Not trying to derail, but it should. The issue is nobody runs against the incumbent that isn't from an opposing party. That will have to change or voting isn't going to do much.

 

[Trell]

Not trying to derail, but it should. The issue is nobody runs against the incumbent that isn't from an opposing party. That will have to change or voting isn't going to do much.

The Democrats have in the House passed an election reform bill that will address some of that, in particular making gerrymandering much harder to implement as well as reducing other Republican authoritarian election shenanigans. On the state level there are several approaches to reduce the incumbency advantage like ranked choice.

 

[Irvrobinson]

IMHO, part of the blame for encouraging anti-vaxxers rests squarely on the terminology used by the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Many anti-vaxxers speak of the new vaccines as being "gene therapy" (which of course they aren't), and the drugs companies do indeed market products which are gene therapies. The headline for an article in the WSJ calls Pfizer's vaccine technology "gene-based".

WSJ News Exclusive | Pfizer Goes It Alone to Expand Vaccine Business Beyond Covid-19 Pandemic

CEO Albert Bourla says the gene-based technology the company learned in its partnership with Germany’s BioNTech will be applied to other diseases.

www.wsj.com

And "gene vaccines" is even the title of an NIH web page:

12667025

It might be perfectly legitimate to call these vaccines "gene-based", but I think the medical community is doing itself no favors with the less-educated people who tend to be anti-vaxxers. I see photos like this repeatedly on various news sites:

im-293580

I think the medical community is completely overestimating the intellectual capability of the American public. If you ask most people to define RNA they can't. Or what mDNA vaccines are. Or that silliness about the government (or Bill Gates) putting tracking chips into the vaccines. I met someone at my gym who believed the tracking chip theory. When I asked about how the chip would be powered, he said "RFID". RFID technology, where the chips the powered by the radio waves used to read them, sounds perfectly plausible to people who really don't know what they're taking about. And when I asked how a chip would be made that could reliably fit through the channel of a hypodermic needle, "The chip industry talks all the time about nanometers". Of course this is all complete nonsense, but you take these snippets of medical and tech terms and it seems perfectly reasonable to people completely untrained in science and technology, and don't trust the perceived "double-talk" of those who are. Especially inconsistent double-talk, because scientists have this nasty habit of changing their positions as the knowledge in a given field progresses.

 

[Mr._Clark]

IMHO, part of the blame for encouraging anti-vaxxers rests squarely on the terminology used by the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Many anti-vaxxers speak of the new vaccines as being "gene therapy" (which of course they aren't), and the drugs companies do indeed market products which are gene therapies. The headline for an article in the WSJ calls Pfizer's vaccine technology "gene-based".

This is somewhat off topic, but you have given me an excuse to post about CRISPR (CRISPR is fascinating to me)(that and delayed choice quantum eraser experiments)

Given the difficulty in implementing CRISPR in humans, the notion that the vaccines somehow do this is rather (to say the least) far-fetched. Having said that, the CRISPR experiments on humans in China give me the Willies.

Despite Controversy, Human Studies of CRISPR Move Forward in the U.S.

The technology that produced a global scandal in China last year has entered into clinical trials to treat sickle cell anemia and an eye disease

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Swerd]

IMHO, part of the blame for encouraging anti-vaxxers rests squarely on the terminology used by the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Many anti-vaxxers speak of the new vaccines as being "gene therapy" (which of course they aren't), and the drugs companies do indeed market products which are gene therapies. The headline for an article in the WSJ calls Pfizer's vaccine technology "gene-based" … …

While I partially agree with your opinion, I've found that dumbing down scientific language is not a useful solution. A very large portion of the blame for such widespread ignorance belongs to the so-called news organizations that repeatedly put intentionally misinformed ideas into their viewers' heads in the first place. In particular, I blame Faux News. Our education systems do a very poor job educating the public about science, but people largely ignorant about science can and do get along with their lives without knowing the difference between RNA and DNA.

You used the term mDNA in your post. Please, what does that mean? Where have you seen this term used? I know what mRNA is, and I know what mitochondrial DNA is. It's usually abbreviated as mtDNA, less often as mDNA. But I don't think people mean mitochondrial DNA when they talk about vaccines.