Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[celedhring]

Here's your creepy Covid article of the day: https://theconversation.com/a-year-into-the-pandemic-the-coronavirus-is-messing-with-our-minds-as-well-as-our-bodies-155213.  Some people are theorizing that Covid-19 has an anti-depressant effect when people are asymptomatic and contagious, helping the spread of the virus.  Now you can't even feel good, physically or emotionally, without becoming paranoid.

Awesome!  It's like that fungus that infects ants and messes their brains up.

So Covid is a hell of a drug?

Anyway, numbers keep getting better over here. Catalonia reports first weekday with under 1,000 infections since last summer, overall Spain has fallen below 150 AI-14, positivity still a bit over 5% (5.6%) but also trending well.

I guess the Brit variant has passed out in Magaluf, because this feels a bit too good to be true when you see the trend is most of the rest of Europe. Touching wood.

[Syt]

Austria can into relevancy! A member of the Austrian health board who is also board of administration of EMA criticized countried rushing to approve the Russian Sputnik V vaccine before EMA had finished its review, calling it akin to Russian Roulette.

https://twitter.com/sputnikvaccine/status/1369042871098220548

Sputnik V
@sputnikvaccine

We demand a public apology from EMA's Christa Wirthumer-Hoche for her negative comments on EU states directly approving Sputnik V.  Her comments raise serious questions about possible political interference in the ongoing EMA review. Sputnik V is approved by 46 nations.

EMA did not allow such statements about any other vaccine. Such comments are inappropriate and undermine credibility of EMA and its review process. Vaccines and EMA should be above and beyond politics.

uropeans deserve an unbiased review as was undertaken by 46 other countries. After postponing Sputnik V review for months, EMA does not have the right to undermine credibility of 46 other regulators that reviewed all of the necessary data.

[Tamas]

If its any consolation for him, Russia has barely managed to delivery any vaccines. It's the Chinese one being mass rolled out without EU approval, now.

[Sheilbh]

I slightly agree though.

I remember when the UK approved the Pfizer vaccine in early December and the EMA criticised it (as did some European politicians), stating that their approval process would have more checks and be safer. The intention was to approve the vaccine by the end of December instead (on 29 December). Then under pressure from European politicians the EMA moved their approval date to 21 December instead and the CEO of Biontech said that the there were no additional reviews of data or checks done by the EMA, the extra time was necessary for their internal processes/admin. That was when I thought vaccines might go slightly wrong with the EU because it just didn't seem particularly connected to the emergency situation of a global pandemic.

I think we're still sort of seeing it - J&J submitted their data for authorisation by the EMA who expect to issue it at their 11 March meeting which is fine, but I just wonder if maybe they could move their meeting or have an emergency meeting when they've done enough to authorise it. Again it just feels like they're not expediting their procedures to reflect the emergency, instead they are fitting the pandemic into their existing schedule.

So with Sputnik - the EU has made clear that they want to look at Sputnik and they want to look at supporting establishing manufacturing in the EU etc - which is all great. There's been one clinical trial which has been published in a reputable medical journal so there is probably enough data for individual countries to make an emergency authorisation if they want (I'm no expert but that seems about right based on the timeline other vaccines have been authorised following clinical trial publication). And I'm not convinced - as with Pfizer vaccine or AZ that it's helpful for the EMA to be casting doubt on vaccine authorisations - especially when it's likely that they will authorise it themselves in the next few months.

I agree with Tamas I think they'd have more of a leg to stand on with the Chinese vaccines where I don't think there's been much trial data published.

[Maladict]

Great, after AZ now Janssen is also likely to miss their target EU deliveries. We're fucked.

[Sheilbh]

Great, after AZ now Janssen is also likely to miss their target EU deliveries. We're fucked.

What may help though is the Pfizer vaccines going back. There's a leaked NHS document that says they should be prepared to do double the amount of vaccinations starting 15 March - from what I understand that's because the PFizer factory in Belgium will be back to full capacity. We've only got 30-50% of the AZ doses we should have and though that is ramping up, I don't think it's doubling in the next week.

The J&J will be huge once that can be rolled out though - especially the fact that it's single dose and easy to store. That should open up a lot of distribution channels and opportunities for speed.

[Maladict]

Something else to look forward to.

Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/12/e2019034118

[Jacob]

Something else to look forward to.

Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/12/e2019034118

Makes sense, I suppose. Higher concentrations of airborne pollen = more sneezing = great rate of spread of things like SARS-CoV-2

[Admiral Yi]

Sneezing in masks is going to be a treat.

[Sheilbh]

Makes sense, I suppose. Higher concentrations of airborne pollen = more sneezing = great rate of spread of things like SARS-CoV-2

That makes sense - and maybe explains why last year and (so far by the looks of it) this year it doesn't just transmit a lot in winter but also spring?

[Josquius]

I see anti-mask stupidity extends beyond the usual demographics in the US. This video is pretty shocking.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4ad953/uber-riders-coughed-on-and-pepper-sprayed-their-asian-driver-fuck-the-masks

[Sheilbh]

Announcement that Italy is going to be manufacturing the Sputnik vaccine - which is good news.

Although this is why I think there's a risk in EMA members or politicians mouthing off about vaccines that will shortly be used across Europe and wondering why there's more hesitancy about x vaccine than others having said it was like Russian roulette just two months previously

Also I have a lot of sympathy with the Commission in the vaccine debate in Europe - but I think there are lessons to learn from this and I am slightly alarmed that I saw a quote in the French press from a senior European civil servant that "it's cultural, the Brits don't have the same risk aversion as Europeans, the precautionary principle and its less structured" in the UK. It just feels very complacent and lazy - like saying Asia's been successful in clamping down on covid because of "Confucian values" (including Australia and New Zealand). I always worry when I see civil servants or politicians vaguely gesturing to cultural differences (especially in such a narrow cultural difference as the UK v continental Europe ) because it sounds to me like they've just decided not to try and learn any lessons or make any changes, for whatever reason.

In slightly linked news - I've seen lots of British experts getting very excited about a German paper on how Korea succeeded and Germany failed because they think that lots in that paper will apply to the UK (and probably other European countries too) and I think this is the first proper academic paper on exactly that. I'm still annoyed that we weren't getting in touch with Korea and Taiwan this time last year to learn what we could do better given their early success

[Tamas]

Unfortunately due to the government being very secretive on stats this is mostly hearsay and anonymous sources to the press at this stage, but Hungary is possibly becoming an interesting experiment: decent (even if far from great) progress of vaccination among the older demographics, while a rampant and escalating third wave washing through the country.

Hospitalisation numbers are at December's highs and seem to be rising rapidly. How many are in ICU is secret so who knows.

A source from a non-Budapest hospital claims they have started adopting the British way of doing things i.e.  if you are old and frail you are not getting into the ICU.

He also noted the ICU patients seem to be consistently getting younger. It is guessed this might be the combined effect of vaccinations and never-before levels of infection, plus the fact that most of the working-age population are not isolating or keeping much semblance of a lockdown

[Maladict]

if you are old and frail you are not getting into the ICU.

He also noted the ICU patients seem to be consistently getting younger.

[Duque de Bragança]

if you are old and frail you are not getting into the ICU.

He also noted the ICU patients seem to be consistently getting younger.

WAD