Coronavirus good news thread

New research shows that the D614G mutation of SARS-CoV-2 which has become the dominant strain worldwide, is not more deadly and may in fact be more susceptible to vaccines and other therapeutics.

According to the info found in an article in Science magazine:
While the D614G strain spreads faster, in animal studies it was not associated with more severe disease, and the strain is slightly more sensitive to neutralization by antibody drugs.
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What the D614G mutation means for SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines
 
Jostler said:
Moderna Vaccine offers 95% coverage.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54902908
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A couple more encouraging things about it - it was tested on older people and people with pre-existing conditions and proved equally safe for them. Also it 'only' needs to be stored at -20°C and lasts 30 days in a normal fridge, 6 months in a regular freezer and 12 hours at room temperature. Which means it will be much easier to distribute and administer.

Full analysis in the YouTube clip below from the admirable Dr John Campbell.
 
Liamo said:
A couple more encouraging things about it - it was tested on older people and people with pre-existing conditions and proved equally safe for them. Also it 'only' needs to be stored at -20°C and lasts 30 days in a normal fridge, 6 months in a regular freezer and 12 hours at room temperature. Which means it will be much easier to distribute and administer.

Full analysis in the YouTube clip below from the admirable Dr John Campbell.
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He’s very good, isn’t he? Keeps across most of the news and studies and is quite a good way of keeping reasonably up to date with developments.
 
FabioPorkpie said:
He’s very good, isn’t he? Keeps across most of the news and studies and is quite a good way of keeping reasonably up to date with developments.
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I think he's one of the most sensible CoVid-19 commentators out there, especially on YouTube. One thing I like about him is that he often says something along the lines of, "Don't take my word for it, here's the scientific evidence," and provides links to the actual scientific research papers and documents so you can read them for yourself.
 
Liamo said:
I think he's one of the most sensible CoVid-19 commentators out there, especially on YouTube. One thing I like about him is that he often says something along the lines of, "Don't take my word for it, here's the scientific evidence," and provides links to the actual scientific research papers and documents so you can read them for yourself.
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I posted some of his videos on a thread but because a couple of posters had (wrongly) decided I was a conspiracy theorist, they discounted him, even suggesting he was disingenuously presenting data.

It seemed to be lost on them that he isn’t just some gobshite wannabe offering his opinion, he’s simply providing updates on developments regarding the pandemic, reporting on research papers and studies and as you say, has links to it all accompanying each video.

He’s been brilliant and anybody wanting to understand the science a bit better, or filter out the sensationalist news headlines, could do far worse than watch him as he breaks it down into easy-to-understand basics pretty well.
 
Liamo said:
A couple more encouraging things about it - it was tested on older people and people with pre-existing conditions and proved equally safe for them. Also it 'only' needs to be stored at -20°C and lasts 30 days in a normal fridge, 6 months in a regular freezer and 12 hours at room temperature. Which means it will be much easier to distribute and administer.

Full analysis in the YouTube clip below from the admirable Dr John Campbell.
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Interesting that Moderna are going to vaccinate the placebo group immediately (ethically) but Pfizer are going to wait for 164 infections.
 
Anyone notice the positive figures on the Gov Dashboard for our local authorities that were posted last night for previous day ?

Hartlepool 7
Boro 34
Redcar 3
Stockton 0

Either very good news or something gone array ?
 
Tommy_Dickfingers said:
Anyone notice the positive figures on the Gov Dashboard for our local authorities that were posted last night for previous day ?

Hartlepool 7
Boro 34
Redcar 3
Stockton 0

Either very good news or something gone array ?
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Thanks to billy_horner for getting behind the numbers


Cases are allocated to the person's area of residence. From 16 November 2020, PHE has updated the way it records the location of people who test positive or negative for COVID-19. It now prioritises addresses given at the point of testing over the details registered on a patient’s NHS Summary Care Record. This better reflects the distribution of cases and testing. However, it may give rise to differences in previously reported numbers of cases and rates in some areas. The change has been retrospectively applied to tests carried out from 1 September 2020, and data in the dashboard was updated to reflect this change on 16 November 2020. Due to reallocation of cases in this way, the number of cases reported by local authority may be artificially high or low on 16 November 2020.
 
bear66 said:
Thanks to billy_horner for getting behind the numbers


Cases are allocated to the person's area of residence. From 16 November 2020, PHE has updated the way it records the location of people who test positive or negative for COVID-19. It now prioritises addresses given at the point of testing over the details registered on a patient’s NHS Summary Care Record. This better reflects the distribution of cases and testing. However, it may give rise to differences in previously reported numbers of cases and rates in some areas. The change has been retrospectively applied to tests carried out from 1 September 2020, and data in the dashboard was updated to reflect this change on 16 November 2020. Due to reallocation of cases in this way, the number of cases reported by local authority may be artificially high or low on 16 November 2020.
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So to simplify, we've had a number of cases moved hence the reduced numbers yesterday - so a readjustment downwards ?
 
bear66 said:
Yes. Based on place of testing rather than NHS records. I'm surprised that there haven't been winners as well as losers in this adjustment though. It suggests Teesside is a net exporter of people.
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It appears that way.

It will be interesting to see how that transpires with todays results.

Thanks Bear.
 
Are anti-competent drugs the next big weapon? Very promising results from small scale studies have led to several larger scale studies. Ravulizumab seems to be the one that people have big hopes for -

He said: "Switching off C5 can have a big effect. We and others have used anti-C5 blocking agents in small scales on very severe Covid patients with very promising results.

"These were people who had reached the stage where there was no further therapy for them; they were on ventilators, and really at death's door ... [some] have made startling recoveries.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ering-getting-immune-system-drugs-scientists/
 
A relatively minor piece of good news, I suppose but this could have at least an incremental effect.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a saliva-based test to accurately detect the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.

As they say:
"If our saliva-based assay's accuracy is borne out in larger studies, this noninvasive approach could make it easier to identify, at a population level, who has already had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and where gaps in seropositivity remain heading into the winter and beyond.
[...]
This could inform targeted vaccination efforts and, after vaccines start to roll out, help figure out how long vaccine-induced antibodies last -- all without repeated, invasive blood draws."
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New saliva-based test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
 
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Liamo said:
A relatively minor piece of good news, I suppose but this could have at least an incremental effect.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a saliva-based test to accurately detect the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.

As they say:


New saliva-based test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
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Did that mean people can pass antibodies, which can be absorbed into the bloodstream, to other people by coughing and sneezing?
 
bear66 said:
Did that mean people can pass antibodies, which can be absorbed into the bloodstream, to other people by coughing and sneezing?
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I don't get that impression. We know that some passive immunity can be gained from convalescent plasma but even then, the plasma has to be processed and as I understand it, it takes a relatively large amount of plasma to obtain a relatively small amount of antibodies in this way.

According to a research paper I found about using saliva to detect the presence of antibodies:
concentrations of most of the medically and scientifically interesting molecules in saliva are relatively low as compared to blood
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Since, based on this it would take even more saliva than it would blood, to get enough antibodies to be useful then I'd be surprised if just coughing or sneezing could pass on sufficient antibodies for it to have any effect.
 
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