BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Nov 21 - 11:41 AM

These last comments have made me laugh and laugh! So funny!

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Nov 21 - 02:28 PM

Man went furtively up to the counter in the pharmacy. Leaning across, and looking around nervously, he whispered to the young lady assistant, "I want some viagra. Can I get it over the counter?"

She replied, "Well, you may have to take two..."

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Nov 21 - 07:02 AM

They could run the stars and stripes up it - so fitting for a freedom lovin' fighting patriot to take to the grave..

.. if it don't stop the coffin lid closing...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: gillymor
Date: 06 Nov 21 - 06:51 AM

A stiffy won't do an anti-vaxxer much good in an ICU but I suppose nurses could use it to play ring toss in their spare time.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 06:37 PM

swapping little blue pills could (will!) lead to very interesting results ...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 03:55 PM

once word gets out a little blue tablet cures covid,
anti vaxxers will start swapping worm tablets for massive overdoses of viagra...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 02:49 PM

The 89% effective Covid pill is a blue and white capsule.
Kids are now getting their first vaccine.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 10:55 AM

First Merck, and now Pfizer, have antiviral pills intended to alleviate symptoms and attack the coronavirus.

Covid Live Updates: Pfizer Says Its Antiviral Pill Is Highly Effective

The drug, which has the brand name Paxlovid, is the first treatment purpose-built to attack the coronavirus. The company said it planned to submit data as soon as possible to the F.D.A. for authorization.

Pfizer announced on Friday that its pill to treat Covid-19 had been found in a key clinical trial to be highly effective at preventing severe illness among at-risk people who received the drug soon after they exhibited symptoms.

The antiviral pill is the second of its kind to demonstrate efficacy against Covid. It appears to be more effective than a similar offering from Merck, which is awaiting federal authorization.

Pfizer’s pill, which will be sold under the brand name Paxlovid, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent when given within three days of the start of symptoms.

Pfizer said an independent board of experts monitoring its clinical trial had recommended that the study be stopped early because the drug’s benefit to patients had proved so convincing. The company said that it planned to submit the data as soon as possible to the Food and Drug Administration to seek authorization for the pill to be used in the United States.

“The results are really beyond our wildest dreams,” said Annaliesa Anderson, a Pfizer executive who led the drug’s development. She expressed hope that Paxlovid “can have a big impact on helping all our lives go back to normal again and seeing the end of the pandemic.”

The treatment could become available in the next few months, though supplies are likely to be limited at first. The Pfizer and Merck pills are both geared toward patients regarded as high-risk, such as those above the age of 60 or with conditions like obesity that make them more susceptible to severe consequences from Covid.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 10:27 AM

I know Steve - only the wealthy may survive, while the poor go to the wall eh? Disgraceful.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 10:16 AM

But at £500 for a single course...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 09:26 AM

I'm rather hopeful about Molnupiravir, a newly-approved anti-viral drug that could help to reduce the effects of already-infected sufferers of Covid19. We paid for my husband's aged African mother in Abidjan to be given Acyclovir, to help her with a very bad attack of Herpes simplex all over her face.
It was swiftly effective, thank goodness.
These anti-viral medications could be a great weapon in the war against Covid.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 09:24 AM

” I hear that some believe that there's a supernatural, all-knowing, all-seeing, all powerful being who has no beginning and no end. It's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard, but I'm still unable to demonstrate that is isn't true

Y’know, that sounds very close to a definition of ‘faith’, Steve!. ;-) :-)

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 06:45 AM

Although conspiracy theories are nonsense, and dangerous nonsense at that, it's often impossible to show that they're demonstrable nonsense.

Conspiracy theorists and their ilk are savvy when it comes to articulating their notions in a way that makes it impossible to refute. No-one can demonstrate that Bill Gates has not contaminated the vaccines with microchips, even though the notion is just stupid nonsense. I hear that some believe that there's a supernatural, all-knowing, all-seeing, all powerful being who has no beginning and no end. It's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard, but I'm still unable to demonstrate that is isn't true...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 04:16 AM

Just came across this from my FB feed 7 years ago. Even more relevant in this age of anti vaccine and conspiracy theories. I could have posted it in a number of places but as Covid seems to generate a plethora of demonstrable nonsense, I put it here.

The problem with today's world is that everyone believes they have the right to express their opinion AND have others listen to it.

The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion but, crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!


             - Professor Brian Cox

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 04 Nov 21 - 05:21 PM

Thank you for your kind wishes Eliza.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Nov 21 - 09:47 AM

I recently read something about the people left behind - maybe in The Atlantic? Sounds like their kind of topic.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Nov 21 - 06:50 AM

We tend to count souls but I suppose there are other scales.
How many in tons or how much in stones, how many new orphans, in lost wisdom or abandoned real estate?

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Nov 21 - 06:27 AM

5 million global Covid deaths are documented. All the people who died at home or in obscurity are not included. Estimated real totals is up to 8 million deaths. For example if you are 113 and die of Covid complications you are probably in the additional 3 million group. I'm having trouble converting to how many kilos of dead humans that would be.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Nov 21 - 06:00 PM

Oh I'm so glad Bonzo that the pain has subsided and eyesight improved - she must have been so worried (and you too of course!)
Hope from now on that things get back to normal. Best wishes to you both from Eliza.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 21 - 05:31 PM

China is taking this very seriously -

Shanghai Disneyland is shut down, and 30,000 people are tested, after one COVID case

Shanghai health authorities say they have tested nearly 34,000 people in a single night for COVID-19 at Shanghai's Disneyland.

On Sunday evening, the city suddenly closed Shanghai Disneyland and banned anyone inside from leaving. They also shut down the metro station that services the theme park. The park said they did so to cooperate with a contact tracing investigation after a woman who visited the park Saturday later tested positive for the coronavirus in neighboring Jiangxi province.

Shanghai announced on Monday that all of the guests who had been tested over the weekend came back negative for COVID-19, according to the Associated Press. Authorities said they will have to be tested again, the outlet reported.

Chinese media says an estimated 100,000 people visited the park Saturday and Sunday, all of whom will now need to be tested.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Oct 21 - 08:09 AM

"Too bad about Mrs. Bonzo's eye" - very "too bad" indeed, so much so that due to considerable pain suffered a few hours after her eye injection, she emailed her Consultant Opthalmogist who without hesitation summoned her to his London consulting rooms, to carry out any further action if needed.

What you must remember here is that as the eyes age, profound structural changes occur, leading to visual impairment and even blindness, which can be brought on by certain types of infection if not dealt with quickly.

Fortunately pain has now subsided and eyesight improved.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 11:18 AM

It isn't possible to set up an ethical study on mask effectiveness using a control experiment, which is why we can use observational data only, gathered from people who aren't behaving consistently as the scientists might prefer them to. Potential confounding factors are many and serious and can't easily be ironed out, if at all.

I was in the supermarket this afternoon, selecting a head of celery for my soffritto. As I picked one up and turned to put it in my trolley, a woman who I hadn't noticed was reaching across me to pick one up. As I turned, her face was two inches from mine. She was wearing a mask. I wasn't, but ever since all this started I've been sticking to the two-metre rule, or at least trying to. You could easily pick out half a dozen confounding factors from the ways people behave, especially in the ways they use masks.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 10:42 AM

Too bad about Mrs. Bonzo's eye, but from here it sounds simply like a coincidence. If she hadn't gotten the vaccine she might have eaten an unusual variety of cheese, and that could be the culprit instead but the eye still would have the clot.

Explainer: Correlation, causation, coincidence and more

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 08:54 AM

oo-oo a new conspiracy theory...
THE LONG TERM EFFECTS of the m rna vaccine is a swelling of the nose and lips and a progressive darkening of the skin. Dr. Lawrence O. Zoil indicates the vaccine causes a reversal to pre European adaptation to less sunlight.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 08:35 AM

Magnetic balls on a fire house pole could lead to a serious pubic safety issue...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 08:16 AM

You would think that magnetic balls would give these guys a built in compass, but it just points down. btw- if you take the new trademark of Facebook (now Meta) and draw Jeff Bezos' spaceship above or below the new trademark, it becomes porn.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: gillymor
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 07:14 AM

Magnetic balls on a fire house pole could lead to a serious public safety issue.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 06:29 AM

Oh poor Mrs Bonzo! A bit scary to have injections in the eyeball. Hope she can cope, and that the clot is dealt with.
I suppose any sudden health problems people get could be instantly blamed on a vaccination, but as Steve says, this isn't scientific at all.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 29 Oct 21 - 06:11 AM

Who have bigger balls - policemen or firemen?











It depends on how many tickets they sell!

DC

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Oct 21 - 11:51 PM

Hoo boy, the macho muchachos who believe the vax will make their balls magnetic, are thinking twice now that the severe vascular effects from Covid 19 causes erectile dysfuntion big time, or small time if you will. This is likely to effect firemen and policemen who fear floppy flaccid one eyed wonder worms more than the vax.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 Oct 21 - 11:18 AM

Correct, he did say almost certainly, but until there is evidence of further cases he cannot be 100% certain.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Oct 21 - 09:49 AM

It simply isn't possible to justify that conclusion based on a single case.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 Oct 21 - 07:57 AM

Mrs Bonzo had an appointment today at our local BMI Hospital with the Professor of Ophthalmology. He looked at the scans of her left eye and identified a blood clot, but not a bleed suggested by our Ophthalmist who performed the scan earlier this week, which he thinks was probably caused by the Pfizer Covid booster, although because of the short amount of time that the booster has been available, there is insufficient available data to be absolutely certain.

The nurse who injected her was supposed to ask if she was prone to blood clots, but instead of a brain in her head, she has a small pea. Mrs B will have to have four injections in her eye - one a month starting today - not my idea of fun!

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 10:33 PM

From the New York Times

A cheap antidepressant lowers the risk of Covid hospitalization, a large study finds.

A large clinical trial has found that a common and inexpensive antidepressant lowered the odds that high-risk Covid-19 patients would be hospitalized. The results, published on Wednesday, could open the door to new guidelines for the drug’s use both in the United States and globally.

The drug, fluvoxamine, has been safely prescribed for nearly 30 years as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. But when the coronavirus started spreading, researchers were drawn to the medication because of its ability to reduce inflammation, potentially allowing it to quell the body’s overwhelming response to a coronavirus infection.

Several smaller studies of fluvoxamine earlier in the pandemic showed promising results, but none was as large or persuasive as the one published on Wednesday by a group of researchers in Canada, the United States and Brazil, outside scientists said. Among nearly 1,500 Covid patients in Brazil given either fluvoxamine or a placebo, the drug reduced the need for hospitalization or prolonged medical observation by one-third, the study found. It was published in The Lancet Global Health.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 01:44 PM

Steve, I just told that joke last night in a pub. Great minds.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 12:15 PM

A few numbers, my approximations from graphs and lists:

Democratic Republic of Congo, 1 person in 600 has received at least a single dose of vaccine.

Tanzania, 1 in 70,

Ethiopia, 1 in 30.

Nigeria, 1 in 25.

Kenya, 1 in 11.

The populations of the above countries add up to half a billion people.

Saudi Arabia, 96 in 100.

Canada, 78 in 100.

Japan, 77 in 100.

UK, 73 in 100.

US, 66 in 100.

We seem to be living in two worlds.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 11:39 AM

At this point in time only five percent of the population on the continent of Africa have been vaccinated. That probably means a higher rate in North Africa and barely there in the rest of the continent. I think most of the discussion and transfer of vaccines is a nation-to-nation thing, I haven't heard about NGOs distributing the vaccine. There doesn't seem to be a mechanism for individuals to support groups to get the job done.

Accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations in Africa from the Brookings Institute.

Already, regional institutions, led by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the African Union, the African Export-Import Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, have worked tirelessly to obtain much-needed medical supplies, ventilators, diagnostic tests, and personal protective equipment, among other essential materials, in order to shore up Africa’s defenses against the virus. Of course, one of the most effective tools for combating the spread of the virus is the vaccine, of which many versions now exist.

However, this essential tool continues to be out of reach for most Africans: Indeed, the region is far behind the rest of the world in obtaining and distributing the vaccine due to a myriad of challenges, including inadequacy of vaccine supplies, logistics and capacity constraints within Africa, and vaccine hesitancy. Donations of these vaccines from the U.S., Europe, and many other partners—both bilaterally and through the efforts of COVAX—have increased supplies, but those donations are far too few, and the speed of the vaccine rollout is much too slow to truly blunt the impact of COVID-19 in the region, especially as variants continue to accelerate the spread. In fact, as of this writing, less than 2% of Africa’s over 1 billion people have been fully vaccinated. . . .

Both panelists warned that the issue of vaccination has become a global political pain point. Sidibé urged, in response to this trend, that leaders think about medicine as a public good, calling for a conversation around the democratization of health and describing this vaccine inaccessibility as a “denial of the right to medicine.” Binagwaho agreed, warning that politics have begun to overtake the science of the pandemic, leading to a situation where the Western world has become comfortable giving their populations booster shots while only 3% of the developing word has been able to procure any.

Politics, indeed, have become a huge stumbling block. The worst timing of this pandemic is that it happened during the Trump administration. The Know-Nothings Do-Nothings let this get even more out of control than it might have.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 09:37 AM

Completely off-topic and utterly inappropriate, but Donuel's misspelling there immediately brought to mind my favourite ancient Dubya joke:


Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

Head in hands, tears streaming down his face, he finally asks, "How many is a brazillion?"



Now back to the fray while I get me coat...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 09:07 AM

Lies about medicine is like lies from politicians.
All Trump and the Brazilion President did was give permission to believe Covid was fake and not mention vaccine as a cure. Like any process of defamation all sorts of ideas can be burned into people.

America used to burn disco records but today good old fashioned book burnings about race theory are virtual and real.
Its a slippery slope when certain book titles to be burned, turns into burning ANY Democratic Jewish sounding scienctific and medical book.
Meanwhile opiate addiction is still ravaging all the Trump states in the midst of a war on drugs.    its crazy


The thing about politicians is that people thought they had good ideas.
The ultimate recipe: Ideas are immortal, just add mortals.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 08:08 AM

Folklore and Bill Gates be damned, the main cause of distrust and conspiracy about medication is the Oxycontin addiction suffered by millions, while it was said to be non addictive.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 07:40 AM

Ask Facebook. Somebody'll tell you and Zuckerberg won't notice.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 07:00 AM

For the refusnics who want to wait, how long is long enough?
30 years? Generationally?

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Senoufou
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 06:21 AM

Hahaha Dave, love it! My very Norfolk neighbour always calls it the Asda Vinegar. But 'Tizer' is even better.
Hope you have no too-troubling side-effects, and well done for being sensible. We're still awaiting our boosters, plus the flu jab.
And still well-masked-up.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Oct 21 - 06:14 AM

Just had my booster. Tizer this time instead of Asda Vinegar. Had the flu jab at the same time so I hope all them little antibodies are not fighting...

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Oct 21 - 10:13 PM

Why people believe Covid conspiracy theories: could folklore hold the answer? Researchers use AI – and witchcraft folklore – to map the coronavirus conspiracy theories that have sprung up. Researchers have mapped the web of connections underpinning coronavirus conspiracy theories, opening a new way of understanding and challenging them. Using Danish witchcraft folklore as a model, the researchers from UCLA and Berkeley analysed thousands of social media posts with an artificial intelligence tool and extracted the key people, things and relationships. (read on)

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 25 Oct 21 - 08:07 AM

Stilly, Sat, Night Live said we are entering the 'just wingin it' phase of our pandemic response with our mix and match apecials.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Donuel
Date: 25 Oct 21 - 06:58 AM

Gov. DeSantis of FL. is saying that Fkorida would be the sanctuary for police or others who wish to disobey vaccine mandate laws,
DeSantis, a Trump wannabe, is the villain who used to wear a pencil thin moustache.

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Oct 21 - 03:21 AM

Thank you keberoxu. Much appreciated

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Oct 21 - 11:00 PM

No One Will Stop You From Getting Whatever Booster You Want
The CDC indicated that it would move toward a hands-off stance: Booster-eligible people should stick with one brand, but may mix and match at will.

Mixing and matching vaccine brands is officially on the table in the United States. But that option might soon be billed as the B-list choice.

Last night, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave the green light for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots, the long-awaited follow-up to a similar recommendation given to the Pfizer formulation last month. As the endorsement stands, all who are eligible for an additional jab—which now includes tens of millions more Americans—should be able to pick whatever booster brand they like. But discussions among a panel of experts who advised Walensky hinted at a catch: The agency has yet to issue its final clinical guidance on who, specifically, might want to boost with what—and an early draft of the recommendations suggests that Americans “should” stick with the same brand they got in their first go-round.

Switching to a different shot would be allowed, as was authorized by the FDA on Wednesday; per the draft CDC guidance, people may opt to mix and match based on availability or preference, after assessing their individual risks and benefits. (As a reminder, the FDA’s authorizations tell Americans what vaccines they’re allowed to get. The CDC follows that up with advice on what folks should do with those options.)

The CDC’s stance on mixing and matching, then, could end up being a relatively soft one, neither extolment nor excoriation. That might also be the most practical course of action for the agency, given the variables involved and the lack of clear-cut evidence that could untangle them. But the wishy-washiness of Pick whatever is confusing as hell.

Read the rest at the link

Subject: RE: BS: New news on the pandemic COVID-19
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Oct 21 - 02:23 PM

Fellow Mudcatter Dave the Gnome has been attempting mightily
to make a working blue link clicky
to articles from The Conversation,
which go into some depth about surviving COVID-19,
in particular the do's and don't's of face-masks.

Let me see if a working link is possible here
(Dave has been trying from the UK thread).


The Conversation: COVID-19 masks FAQs


Dave The Gnome,
I think the above blicky ought to work!