Coronavirus good news thread

[FabioPorkpie]

Some more good news. Seems Public Health England are planning for the future once the 4 key groups have been advertised.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1349483284632375299

I've had a break from twitter for a few weeks but having a browse today came across this.

Mate, with respect I don’t think that post has any place on this good news thread. It’s not really in the spirit of this thread.

The argument for the Great Barrington Distraction has been absolutely destroyed over and over again, everywhere, and is no longer credible (it never was), much like the main advocates for it.
Not going down that path on this thread though, it’s not the right place for it.

 

[Randy]

Mate, with respect I don’t think that post has any place on this good news thread. It’s not really in the spirit of this thread.

The argument for the Great Barrington Distraction has been absolutely destroyed over and over again, everywhere, and is no longer credible (it never was), much like the main advocates for it.
Not going down that path on this thread though, it’s not the right place for it.

It was more for the video from someone who works for public health england but fair enough.

 

[Liamo]

Dr John Campbell did a review of these [ivermectin] findings in a recent video. He seems to be somewhat sceptical of their conclusions which I find a little puzzling, given his usual mantra of following the evidence and his normal tendency to put faith in research from reputable scientists and institutions using evidence-based medicine

Just watched another video reviewing the scientific evidence for ivermectin's efficacy, from another of my favourite YouTube covid-related contributors, pulmonary disease specialist Dr Mike Hansen.

I think he does a better job than Dr Campbell here of explaining why, although he agrees it certainly looks very promising and he's hopeful it will pan out, there maybe isn't quite enough good, high-quality evidence for ivermectin just yet.

He also says more prospective double-blind, placebo controlled studies should be done (which is of course, almost always true in any event).

 

[Liamo]

Mate, with respect I don’t think that post has any place on this good news thread. It’s not really in the spirit of this thread.

The argument for the Great Barrington Distraction has been absolutely destroyed over and over again, everywhere, and is no longer credible (it never was), much like the main advocates for it.
Not going down that path on this thread though, it’s not the right place for it.

Also if you listen to that clip, I think it's an example of the interviewer trying to push a specific point of view (protect the vulnerable and let the disease circulate among the young) and Dr Mary Ramsay of PHE trying to seem amenable and saying that that might potentially be what we could be forced into, but only if the vaccination effort doesn't work out the way they hope it will.

So she's not agreeing that this is an approach that should be taken, she's merely conceding it's one that might possibly be forced on us, in less than ideal circumstances.

 

[Cardiffdaffs]

Reports in today’s Times that all over 50s could be vaccinated by end of March.

 

[FabioPorkpie]

Also if you listen to that clip, I think it's an example of the interviewer trying to push a specific point of view (protect the vulnerable and let the disease circulate among the young) and Dr Mary Ramsay of PHE trying to seem amenable and saying that that might potentially be what we could be forced into, but only if the vaccination effort doesn't work out the way they hope it will.

So she's not agreeing that this is an approach that should be taken, she's merely conceding it's one that might possibly be forced on us, in less than ideal circumstances.

Exactly this. She isn’t advocating for it, or saying it’s part of the plan. More a case of all that will be left if vaccination fails. But the GBD jump on it and immediately post it around as though it’s now some sort of official strategy. I still cannot believe that Sunak got Gupta, Heneghan et al to the Prime Minister to put forward their case, as if it’s a legitimate strategy. Sunak - wolf in sheep’s clothing.

 

[bear66]

Exactly this. She isn’t advocating for it, or saying it’s part of the plan. More a case of all that will be left if vaccination fails. But the GBD jump on it and immediately post it around as though it’s now some sort of official strategy. I still cannot believe that Sunak got Gupta, Heneghan et al to the Prime Minister to put forward their case, as if it’s a legitimate strategy. Sunak - wolf in sheep’s clothing.

When Boris was asked why he ignored SAGE advice on a September shutdown, he said he listened to other scientists as well. Apparently Tegnell spoke to him at that time as well.

 

[Low_Key]

Daily Mail reporting that the R number is down to 0.6 and that cases are falling in all areas bar the over 80's. tightening of rules this weekend in England is not happening either. grim stuff from Vallance about the deaths continuing for another few weeks but that was to be expected given the spike in cases

R-rate 'plunges to 0.6' and UK daily infections fall 7.5% in a week

A further 48,682 cases were reported today, bringing the country's overall pandemic total to 3,292,014 - up 1,157 on yesterday but crucially down 3,936 from last Thursday's data.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[SmallTown]

Daily Mail reporting that the R number is down to 0.6 and that cases are falling in all areas bar the over 80's. tightening of rules this weekend in England is not happening either. grim stuff from Vallance about the deaths continuing for another few weeks but that was to be expected given the spike in cases

R-rate 'plunges to 0.6' and UK daily infections fall 7.5% in a week

A further 48,682 cases were reported today, bringing the country's overall pandemic total to 3,292,014 - up 1,157 on yesterday but crucially down 3,936 from last Thursday's data.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Shame it’s the daily Mail because that would be really good news if true. If we can keep that down whilst we are rolling out the vaccine we might get through this

 

[Low_Key]

Shame it’s the daily Mail because that would be really good news if true. If we can keep that down whilst we are rolling out the vaccine we might get through this

a lot of good quotes further down in the article. and they do love a colourful graph!

 

[bear66]

Daily Mail reporting that the R number is down to 0.6 and that cases are falling in all areas bar the over 80's. tightening of rules this weekend in England is not happening either. grim stuff from Vallance about the deaths continuing for another few weeks but that was to be expected given the spike in cases

R-rate 'plunges to 0.6' and UK daily infections fall 7.5% in a week

A further 48,682 cases were reported today, bringing the country's overall pandemic total to 3,292,014 - up 1,157 on yesterday but crucially down 3,936 from last Thursday's data.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It's reporting it is 1.1 to 1.2 in the North East. Hopefully we begin to follow London and the South East.

 

[SmallTown]

It's reporting it is 1.1 to 1.2 in the North East. Hopefully we begin to follow London and the South East.

Hopefully soon, this new, more transmissible mutation started in the south east, hopefully it’s starting to burn itself out and the north east can catch up in a few days. That’s the one advantage of a fast spreading virus, it also runs out of steam quicker (sadly by infecting more people but we already know we are going through that pain)

 

[Cuthbert]

It's reporting it is 1.1 to 1.2 in the North East. Hopefully we begin to follow London and the South East.

North East has the highest % in the country of older folk & care workers already vaccinated. Hopefully that can start having an effect too.

Edit: Well done to the North East. Not always ahead of the curve on these things, so good that it is on this one.

 

[Randy]

North East has the highest % in the country of older folk & care workers already vaccinated. Hopefully that can start having an effect too.

Edit: Well done to the North East. Not always ahead of the curve on these things, so good that it is on this one.

I read yesterday for example that 99% of the over 80's age group who live in TS6 postcodes had been vaccinated.
Also that 80% of the staff who work at James Cook have had the first dose too.

Once the army are fully integrated into the rollout I strongly believe all over 50's in this country will have been vaccinated by the end of April.

 

[Jostler]

Heard it on the Radio, but Pfizer Vaccine does offer protection against the new variant of Covid. Hopefully research will show it does against the new SA and Brazil variations too.

BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine found effective against Covid-19 variant

Laboratory-based study shows mutations were neutralised by antibodies in blood of vaccinated patients

www.ft.com

 

[bigbob]

New UK-designed ventilator could mean fewer coronavirus patients need intensive care​

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19...n-fewer-patients-need-intensive-care-12193097

 

[Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret]

Here's an article on the Pfizer study not behind a paywall. BBC too busy with trump and biden...

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine works just as well against variant first detected in U.K., study indicates

The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech appears to work just as well against a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom as it does against earlier forms of the pathogen, the companies reported in a study.

www.statnews.com

 

[FabioPorkpie]

Another drug to add to the arsenal, although British media don’t seem to have picked up on this one yet -

‘colchicine reduced hospitalizations by 25%, the need for mechanical ventilation by 50%, and deaths by 44%. This major scientific discovery makes colchicine the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.’

Colchicine reduces the risk of COVID-19-related complications

Positive results from COLCORONA trial show that colchicine is the only effective oral medication for treating non-hospitalized patients...

www.globenewswire.com

 

[FabioPorkpie]

Good news from the States, from a trial of one of the promising monoclonal antibody treatments -

‘Among patients who received a placebo, 10% of those at high risk ended up in the hospital, compared to just 2% of those who received the drug cocktail – a 70% drop. Patients were diagnosed an average of four days before treatment.’

Eli Lilly says monoclonal antibody cocktail cuts hospitalizations by 70% for high-risk COVID-19 patients

Among high-risk patients who received a placebo, 10% were hospitalized, compared to just 2% of those who received the drug cocktail\u00a0– a\u00a070% drop.

eu.usatoday.com

 

[FabioPorkpie]

More good news about monocolonal antibody treatments- Regeneron’s version this time -

‘REGEN-COV was 100% effective at preventing symptoms of COVID-19 in the trial as compared to placebo, the company announced. Passive vaccination with the drug slashed the overall rate of infection by half. All the infections that did occur among trial participants on the drug were asymptomatic, lasted no more than one week and showed a “short duration” of the viral shedding that can drive the illness to other people, Regeneron said.’

Regeneron pitches COVID-19 antibody cocktail for 'passive vaccination' with fresh trial data

As the demand for COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca continues to outstrip supply and alternative vaccines struggle to make it out of the pipeline, the world is desperate for ne | A preliminary readout from a phase 3 trial of Regeneron's antibody cocktail showed the drug...

www.fiercepharma.com