Coronavirus good news thread

But 170+ people are dying everyday, no stats to show who has recovered from the virus in hospitals so is it actually making a difference?

I’m not sure but I think identifying drugs that have some level of positive treatment effect on the virus is just the start. I guess the next phase of research will be to identify dosages and additional drugs that can work in conjunction with those showing success, and enhance their effectiveness.
 

Very interesting. I think the U.K. was looking at a trial to see whether it would have any positive impact If administered earlier, before hospitalisation is required. I’m not sure whether this trial ever evolved or even got started, but it would be interesting to see if that comes back with anything. I guess for different drugs, the timing of administering will determine the degree of success.
 
Remdesivir stock for U.K. confirmed (feels a bit ‘dirty’ calling this good news when many countries are probably going to lose out following US aggressive purchasing) and a hint further ongoing tests may be about to yield some positive results ? 🤞🏻?🤞🏻🤞🏻


‘Dr Hill said some results of the drug studies will be announced at an international conference next week, adding: "I can't tell you anything right now. But it's definitely time to watch this space and think about alternatives too."


Just realised that I didn’t actually attach the link to this story. Might be the case (fingers crossed) that this week sees an announcement regarding other effective treatments -

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...ents-as-uk-confirms-remdesivir-stock-12018954
 
Interesting article on the development of RNA vaccines. According to the article:
The hoped-for RNA vaccines being tested by some of the groups mean a smaller dose could be extremely potent — which could mean people might need only a single dose.

The technology could also decrease the amount of genetic material needed in the future vaccine, making manufacturing more efficient.

Because an RNA vaccine uses only a tiny fragment of the virus's genetic material, which is then amplified by the body's own cells, a small amount of it goes a very long way. According to Pfizer, one of the manufacturers working on an RNA vaccine, one litre of it:
can make at least 2 million doses of possible vaccine. Other vaccine models require thousands of liters to make the same number of doses.

RNA vaccines - Elegant but unproven

Note: this might be behind a paywall - I'm not sure as I have a subscription but I know some of their coronavirus articles are not restricted.
 
Pfizer representative talking about some encouraging early signs from the phase 2 trials of their mRNA candidate vaccine:


A candidate vaccine with up to 2.8 times the neutralising activity and 46 times the antibody level of convalescent plasma, plus T cell activity sounds good. They're also saying (as Oxford have) that their vaccine might be available with emergency use authorisation by the autumn.
 
The reason they talk it up is to manipulate stock prices. Until a definitive report is released about a vaccine been viable and working and ready for rollout then all this talk before that is to keep investors happy
 
Apparently, 16% of people would refuse to have a the vaccine at all. I was surprised how high that figure is.

You might be right that a lot more may not take it, possibly reasonably, possibly irrationally, if a vaccine is rushed through testing.
 
There has been a lot of demand for the early vaccine trials- Certainly high interest with recruitment only in small bursts.

Depends what level of interest you class as high- as value to a whole population- who knows- possibly not.
 
Russian drug approved as a treatment in Russia, with claims of positive trial results -

R-Pharm medical director Mikhail Samsonov said: “Global clinical practice and the clinical study we conducted have confirmed that Coronavir puts a much more rapid stop to the infection as a result of its effective obstruction of the virus’s replication.”

Not seen much about this drug, but because the data is from Russia, perhaps wrongly, I’d like to see a bit more wider verification before getting excited about it.

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/russia-nod-coronavir-covid-19/
 
There's a trust problem that's growing rapidly due to the sensational press coupled with dishonesty and malpractice at government level not seen for a long time in this country and across the Atlantic.

It's going to affect take up levels should a vaccine be found in the next year or so.
 
In Sweden there was a report today that mortality in ICU patients decreased massively from 34% after 30 days in March to 19% after 30 days in April and 4% after 30 days in May. There are a number of reasons discussed ... better knowledge of the virus, more considered use of intubation and more targeted admissions to ICU (ie. not putting people on ventilators who are in end of life care with other morbidities). The use of anti-infalammatory steroids has played a significant part.
 
Russian drug approved as a treatment in Russia, with claims of positive trial results -

R-Pharm medical director Mikhail Samsonov said: “Global clinical practice and the clinical study we conducted have confirmed that Coronavir puts a much more rapid stop to the infection as a result of its effective obstruction of the virus’s replication.”

Not seen much about this drug, but because the data is from Russia, perhaps wrongly, I’d like to see a bit more wider verification before getting excited about it.

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/russia-nod-coronavir-covid-19/

I think with any of these drug press releases it is sensible to take a cautious, and also critical view of what is being reported. Coronavir is I believe is another branding/ deviation of Favipiravir which is being investigated elsewhere too.
 
In Sweden there was a report today that mortality in ICU patients decreased massively from 34% after 30 days in March to 19% after 30 days in April and 4% after 30 days in May. There are a number of reasons discussed ... better knowledge of the virus, more considered use of intubation and more targeted admissions to ICU (ie. not putting people on ventilators who are in end of life care with other morbidities). The use of anti-infalammatory steroids has played a significant part.

I think the green light for steroids will be significant across medicine. I know back in March when the first trials were being established in the UK there was pushback from ITU regarding the use of dexamethosone and the side effects, as well as the immune suppression. The trade off between harm and good when the evidence does not exist is tricky, and bias and experience will impact judgement.

Good research and time will help anyone who catches this virus in the future. Anyone shielding, in lockdown should be more positive each day.
 
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