COVID-19: Vaccine/antidote and testing procedures Megathread [Mod Warning - Post #1]

ShineOn7

Call me Al wrote: »

Cillian de Gascun has tweeted a very comprehensive explanation for the extensive contact tracing that is happening, and why they're not restricting this to those who might be assessed as having high viral loads.

https://twitter.com/CillianDeGascun/status/1305250887246458880?s=20

Can you give it a TLDR?

ACitizenErased

Interesting point from De Gascun that its hard to distinguish between active virus and weeks old dead particles.

ShineOn7

Cheerful Monday stuff from WHO

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-latest-news-live-police-urge-public-to-stick-to-limits-as-tighter-restrictions-come-in-12071480

"It's going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told AFP.

Mr Kluge also cautioned that a vaccine won't bring an end to the pandemic
.
"I hear the whole time: 'The vaccine is going to be the end of the pandemic.' Of course not!

"We don't even know if the vaccine is going to help all population groups. We are getting some signs now that it will help for one group and not for the other.

"And then if we have to order different vaccines, what a logistical nightmare!
"The end of the pandemic is the moment that we as a community are going to learn how to live with this pandemic. And it depends on us and that's a very positive message."

is_that_so

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Can you give it a TLDR?

That's actually hard to do, because it's very concise! You could skim read it though.

Gael23

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Cheerful Monday stuff from WHO

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-latest-news-live-police-urge-public-to-stick-to-limits-as-tighter-restrictions-come-in-12071480

Is there a possibility that Trumps assertion that the WHO are useless may be correct?

is_that_so

Gael23 wrote: »

Is there a possibility that Trumps assertion that the WHO are useless may be correct?

Another interview expressing opinions on what might (or might not) come to pass. I suppose it's worst case planning.

hmmm

They're going to start testing an inhaled version of the Oxford & Imperial vaccines.
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/203653/landmark-coronavirus-study-trial-inhaled-imperial/

"The hope is that directly targeting the cells lining the airways – the typical point of infection for respiratory viruses – may induce a more effective immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

snotboogie

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Cheerful Monday stuff from WHO

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-latest-news-live-police-urge-public-to-stick-to-limits-as-tighter-restrictions-come-in-12071480

Jaysus the "positive" at the end is like an extra slap in the face

Utopia Parkway

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Cheerful Monday stuff from WHO

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-latest-news-live-police-urge-public-to-stick-to-limits-as-tighter-restrictions-come-in-12071480

Kluge is the doomsayer in chief for the WHO. Every week he's out with worse news than the week before. Give it a few weeks and he'll be telling us the vaccines will probably make you die roaring.

seanb85

Gael23 wrote: »

Is there a possibility that Trumps assertion that the WHO are useless may be correct?

I'm fairness the WHO have to look at this from a global perspective. Economics and market forces will mean the 3rd world will be unlikely have widespread access to a vaccine anytime soon. Initial supplies will be gobbled up by the richer countries. Look at recent measles outbreaks in Africa or the continued failure to distribute an E Bola vaccine. Fair vaccine distribution will always be compromised by market failures.

Marhay70

Maybe I'm just naive but I don't see what's in it for the WHO to play down the likely success of a vaccine. Surely it's better to have people in a positive frame of mind, especially in the Northern hemisphere as we face the dark days of Winter.

Gael23

Pfizer say they can have around 1.3 billion doses by the end of the year subject to everything going well

seanb85

Gael23 wrote: »

Pfizer say they can have around 1.3 billion doses by the end of the year subject to everything going well

By the end of 2021?

XsApollo

How can anybody take the WHO seriously when Tedros is in charge.

Gael23

seanb85 wrote: »

By the end of 2021?

Yes your right, I misread the article

iguana

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Kluge is the doomsayer in chief for the WHO. Every week he's out with worse news than the week before. Give it a few weeks and he'll be telling us the vaccines will probably make you die roaring.

Is he really or is that just the way it's being reported? There are regularly quite negative stories being reported about what someone at the WHO has said. But if you go watch the press briefing or interview in full, the tone is almost always completely and utterly different to how it's reported.

Le Bruise

Gael23 wrote: »

Yes your right, I misread the article

Dang, really wish that were true and we'd be seeing the back of this for Christmas!!

Gael23

Le Bruise wrote: »

Dang, really wish that were true and we'd be seeing the back of this for Christmas!!

If Oxford goes well and they bring some in stream it may be in the order of hundreds of millions combined. That said seeing the back of it by year end was always optimistic

Le Bruise

Gael23 wrote: »

If Oxford goes well and they bring some in stream it may be in the order of hundreds of millions combined. That said seeing the back of it by year end was always optimistic

Absolutely, I'm still gunning for April/May/June of next year for a return to normality. The fairly optimistic news on the vaccines seems to back that up somewhat but there are still a fair few people who think it'll be at least 2022....if not longer!

Gael23

Le Bruise wrote: »

Absolutely, I'm still gunning for April/May/June of next year for a return to normality. The fairly optimistic news on the vaccines seems to back that up somewhat but there are still a fair few people who think it'll be at least 2022....if not longer!

I think that’s a realistic and achievable timeline. I’m aiming to go on holidays in September 2021

snotboogie

Le Bruise wrote: »

Absolutely, I'm still gunning for April/May/June of next year for a return to normality. The fairly optimistic news on the vaccines seems to back that up somewhat but there are still a fair few people who think it'll be at least 2022....if not longer!

Like the WHO....

hmmm

Marhay70 wrote: »

Maybe I'm just naive but I don't see what's in it for the WHO to play down the likely success of a vaccine. Surely it's better to have people in a positive frame of mind, especially in the Northern hemisphere as we face the dark days of Winter.

The WHO is interested in the health of the entire world - a $100 vaccine that cures Covid is of no use to someone in the Sudan. While it's quite likely that the rich countries will see a vaccine in 2021, it's not unlikely (and probably likely) that for poor countries it will be 2022 or never. So when the WHO says things like we might not have a vaccine distributed until 2022 or 2023 just bear in mind they are thinking at a global level.

eigrod

The Tánaiste sticking his neck out on the vaccine today

https://twitter.com/irishexaminer/status/1305504838764040192?s=21

hmmm

There's an interesting messaging problem for governments next year if we do get a vaccine which we're assuming doesn't prevent spread entirely and instead reduces the consequence of infection. It'll be very hard with all the euphoria about people lining up to get a vaccine to then tell them "by the way, we'll need to keep up the social distancing".

Not just hard, I think it's an impossible message and behaviours will substantially change after receiving a vaccination. It'll be particularly hard if we get a 50% vaccine first, but testing shows that a 75% will be available 3 months later - do you deploy the 50% or hold off?

is_that_so

IT piece via NY Times on transparency issues around vaccine trials.

...

It is standard for drug companies to withhold details of clinical trials until after they are completed, tenaciously guarding their intellectual property and competitive edge. But these are extraordinary times, and now there is a growing outcry among independent scientists and public health experts who are pushing the companies to be far more open with the public
...

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/growing-calls-for-more-transparency-on-how-vaccine-trials-are-run-1.4354461

Gael23

hmmm wrote: »

There's an interesting messaging problem for governments next year if we do get a vaccine which we're assuming doesn't prevent spread entirely and instead reduces the consequence of infection. It'll be very hard with all the euphoria about people lining up to get a vaccine to then tell them "by the way, we'll need to keep up the social distancing".

Not just hard, I think it's an impossible message and behaviours will substantially change after receiving a vaccination. It'll be particularly hard if we get a 50% vaccine first, but testing shows that a 75% will be available 3 months later - do you deploy the 50% or hold off?

People quite simply will not take a vaccine if that’s the case

hmmm

hmmm wrote: »

There's an interesting messaging problem for governments next year if we do get a vaccine which we're assuming doesn't prevent spread entirely and instead reduces the consequence of infection. It'll be very hard with all the euphoria about people lining up to get a vaccine to then tell them "by the way, we'll need to keep up the social distancing".

Not just hard, I think it's an impossible message and behaviours will substantially change after receiving a vaccination. It'll be particularly hard if we get a 50% vaccine first, but testing shows that a 75% will be available 3 months later - do you deploy the 50% or hold off?

Surely with consequences of infection reduced, social distancing will no longer be overly important. We don't socially distance for less lethal illnesses

hmmm

https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1305158490395160578

Marhay70

eigrod wrote: »

The Tánaiste sticking his neck out on the vaccine today

https://twitter.com/irishexaminer/status/1305504838764040192?s=21

If it was anybody else but Varadkar I might believe it.

Knex*

Marhay70 wrote: »

If it was anybody else but Varadkar I might believe it.

The one politician with a medical background? Doctor Leo Varadkar?

Should we ask the Healy-Rae's what they think?