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Coronavirus - the new strain XXI

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Mr & Mrs hc boosted on Monday. Me with Pfizer and fine except a sore arm. Mrs hc had Moderna (due to a history of allergy) and absolutely poleaxed - 2 days in bed with temperatures peaking at 103F.

Bugger. I'm set to get the moderna booster on Dec 1st, and my 2nd moderna laid me out for nearly a week. I am hoping for fewer side effects this time around, but still very pleased to have the option of a booster, especially with a winter of indoor living ahead.
 
Even Health-Care Workers With Long COVID Are Being Dismissed
Medical professionals are used to being believed, but as patients, they found that their expertise didn’t matter.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...orkers-long-covid-are-being-dismissed/620801/
A friend of mine , who was a Nursing Assistant at an NHS psychiatric clinic, caught Covid in January 2021. At 43 years of age he has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, liver damage, and has just this week been told that they're very worried about his kidneys. We're talking about a previously fit young man who is now very overweight because of the steroids he has been forced to take, and who can't walk upstairs without serious fatigue. He hasn't been back to work since January and may never work again. Now I don't know if he is one of the unlucky ones, but I sure as hell don't want to catch Covid to find out exactly what it will do to me or my family.
 
A new variant has emerged in Botswana with a significant number of mutations (32 in the spike protein alone) that has scientists on high alert. One case already in Hong Kong. Hmmm.... here we go again I guess.
 
Met someone yesterday in their 80s in a wheel chair who caught it in hospital and is actually ok now and heard about two friends in their mid 50s who are both fit- one had an emergency hospital admission for a pulmonary embolism and had no idea he had had Covid till they tested him and the other is currently not doing well with breathlessness, pleuritic rub and fluid in his lungs. So a disturbing level of uncertainty with this disease that should act as a warning.
 
A new variant has emerged in Botswana with a significant number of mutations (32 in the spike protein alone) that has scientists on high alert. One case already in Hong Kong. Hmmm.... here we go again I guess.

People argued that the virus couldn't evolve much more than Delta. Oh dear! Let's hope it fizzles out.

If if ends up being less transmissible that's good news but it's the transmissibility against a heavily vaccinated population that will count rather than the raw ability.

Here's a reference:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/botswana-variant-covid-mutations-spike-b1963950.html
 
In retrospect, would have been good if Africans had got dose 1 before healthy 40 year old Europeans and Americans got dose 3.
 
The G7 saw to it that Africa wasn't going to get the vaccines to keep up Pfizer's profits- we've been over that many times - there's no manufacturing incapacity, as Gordon Brown explained.
 
The G7 saw to it that Africa wasn't going to get the vaccines - we've been over that many times - there's no manufacturing incapacity.
We've been pointed to a Gordon Brown article many times. There's more to the problem of course but I've yet to see a convincing explanation as to why rich countries hoarding doses for an indefinite amount of boosters has no impact on the supply of doses to low income countries. Someone needs to go over this again with the World Health Organisation as well.
 
We've been pointed to a Gordon Brown article many times. There's more to the problem of course but I've yet to see a convincing explanation as to why rich countries hoarding doses for an indefinite amount of boosters has no impact on the supply of doses to low income countries. Someone needs to go over this again with the World Health Organisation as well.

Of course they're hoarding vaccines but they were never going to be made available to the African countries because the rich nations are prepared to pay for them. Even if the African nations could match the asking price, they'd still be last on the list because Biden would restrict exports, if necessary, in order to protect his domestic supply.
 
Of course they're hoarding vaccines but they were never going to be made available to the African countries because the rich nations are prepared to pay for them. Even if the African nations could match the asking price, they'd still be last on the list because Biden would restrict exports, if necessary, in order to protect his domestic supply.
To protect his domestic supply *for boosters*. This is sophistry. Of course boosters are impacting on global supply.
 
To protect his domestic supply *for boosters*. This is sophistry. Of course boosters are impacting on global supply.

See post #1745. High virus prevalence against a waning vaccine is also a recipe for disaster in terms of mutation (and deaths among the old and vulnerable) choose your poison. Nothing may come of the Botswana variant.

The Americans are only now ramping up investment. Pfizer remains more than 10x the cost of AZ per dose, with Moderna just behind.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...ment-boost-covid-19-vaccine-capacity-81224922
 
See post #1745. High virus prevalence against a waning vaccine is also a recipe for disaster in terms of mutation (and deaths among the old and vulnerable) choose your poison. Nothing may come of the Botswana variant.

Expert reaction, link in the Tweet you shared:

“Note that the paper’s main outcome measure is testing positive for the virus. We already know that the vaccines are most effective at preventing serious illness and death, less effective at preventing milder symptomatic disease, and less effective again at preventing a- or paucisymptomatic infection (few or no symptoms). We also know that immunity to serious illness depends to a large extent on cellular immunity, which is likely to be longer-lasting than humoral immunity (antibody levels); whereas as resistance to infection per se depends more on humoral immunity. (I explain this in more detail here1.) This means that this paper does not provide information about immunity to different levels of infection.

“This means that it doesn’t necessarily predict an increase in death, hospitalisation, or critical care admission rates – just an increase in infections. But this increase in infections indicates an increased likelihood of transmission, including to people who are not [adequately or at all] protected through vaccination."

As for the vaccine-driven mutation hypothesis, that's all very speculative as I understand it. No evidence yet, and plenty of evidence of transmission-driven mutation.

It would be good if boosters could get transmission down to nothing here and of course it would save lives. Just not nearly as many as would be saved elsewhere if priorities were different.
 
France moves to boost all adults (followed by Denmard and Ireland)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...083456cb45fdd8#block-619f72d88f083456cb45fdd8

I think it was a stroke of genius on Britain’s part to let the virus rip from July, creating the wave of hospital admissions and deaths in the warmer months. You can see how EU is in a mess now and really panicking - whether it be this last minute booster programme in France or the rediculous, dangerous, plan to mandate vaccinations by law for whole populations. Everything that has happened in the UK with covid has been exemplary since January 2021 - it’s only because we vaccinated so many in Spring that we could let it rip in Summer. The other countries just weren’t there. All praise to JCVI and the government for trusting them.

Even the booster programme here has been managed better than any other first world country. I don’t count Israel.


In retrospect, would have been good if Africans had got dose 1 before healthy 40 year old Europeans and Americans got dose 3.

Kids more like. How anyone can think it’s a morally justifiable idea to put vaccines into 12 year olds while 70 year olds are dying less than a couple of hours away beats me - unless it’s just the view that dark skinned foreigners don’t count. It’s obscene.
 
This was pointed out to you yesterday @mandryka, the UK (led by Scotland) has an average of 76% 1st and 69% 2nd jabs across all age groups. Scotland is the leading uk nation and stands 25th in the world. England is behind France slightly above the EU average. English exceptionalism doesn't work on me. I hope nobody who has lost friends and family in recent months reads your post - they certainly didn't teach tact at your school.

https://www.travellingtabby.com/uk-coronavirus-tracker/
 
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