Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Sheilbh]

Since we have just opened up indoor hospitality and places like cinemas, i can't see how this variant won't wash over all over us. Hopefully the vaccination can pick up further pace to keep up with it.

John Burns-Murdoch has done a couple of looks at this - latest was yesterday which is worth looking at:
https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1394359535754698755

I think the context of very low case numbers in the UK (thanks to lockdown) is important and very different from the UK/Kent variant:


And there are indications that case numbers aren't - yet - beginning to climb among the mostly vaccinated over 50s group which is a very positive sign.

But basically his take was this is something we should keep an eye on but it doesn't look like something worth getting worried over at this point, and he added this comment which I think is important:

John Burn-Murdoch
@jburnmurdoch
And one addendum:

I think that in some cases, the focus on B.1617.2 is providing more heat than light.

What really matters is whether more people are getting sick or hospitalised, not the number or % of B.1.617.2 sequences.
If a new variant is what tips a country into a new, lethal wave, it's important to spot it & to use that understanding to turn things around.

But at the moment it feels like there's a lot of "B.1.617.2 numbers are up!" without reference to whether it's causing things to worsen.

The city where my workplace is, is now deep in 30s territory when it comes to vaccinating, Hopefully it'll be my wife's turn soon over here as well.

Yeah I think it's 36+s now in England and Scotland. I've read that they expect the daily numbers to start escalating quickly now because they've built up stockpiles and are more confident around supply.

In other very good vaccine news - UCL research on vaccine response shows 96% of people show antibodies after one dose and almost 100% after the second dose:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/18/96-of-britons-develop-antibodies-after-one-covid-jab-study-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Edit: Also interesting story on the Guardian showing that vaccines seem to ease symptoms of long covid - which I find mysterious. The whole long covid thing is fascinating and I really hope there is some level of understanding/explanation of it.

[Legbiter]

Our quarantine hotels are full, more and more are being opened to house incoming tourists. Several infected Brits with the Indian variants have been found on the border. If you're unvaccinated I think you're being a bit of a dumbass to go on tourist holidays at this point.

[Tamas]

I do wonder if some of the milder long covid symptoms are essentially PTSD

[Sheilbh]

I do wonder if some of the milder long covid symptoms are essentially PTSD

Yeah - I wonder. I know some of the most common symptoms are respiratory but other ones I've seen described in the UK like fatigue, anxiety/depression, "brain fog" maybe point to a mental health reaction to covid. Maybe, as you say, they are basically a form of PTSD - from what I've read the people most likely to get long covid symptoms aren't those who necessarily have the worst covid cases but it is more likely to develop if they have multiple symptoms in the first week of their infection. And I think that would be understandable in triggering something like PTSD because it would be a shock and especially given the global context quite a scary one.

[celedhring]

One of my colleagues that had a mild case of it complains of brain fog all the time. And she's rather subdued these days, compared to her previous hyper-energetic self. Whether it's a mental reaction or a viral effect certainly I wouldn't know, but it has had an effect on her.

[Threviel]

The two old class mates that I'm swimming with had mild cases last autumn, they are both complaining about tiredness and not really feeling themselves.

[DGuller]

I read somewhere that being vaccinated after having Covid can fix some of the long term effects.  I wonder if that's bullshit or if there is something to it. 

It seems to me like Covid is mainly a clotting disorder disease, in which case any damage due to it seems permanent or at least not easily reversible.

[Iormlund]

I do wonder if some of the milder long covid symptoms are essentially PTSD

Yeah - I wonder. I know some of the most common symptoms are respiratory but other ones I've seen described in the UK like fatigue, anxiety/depression, "brain fog" maybe point to a mental health reaction to covid. Maybe, as you say, they are basically a form of PTSD - from what I've read the people most likely to get long covid symptoms aren't those who necessarily have the worst covid cases but it is more likely to develop if they have multiple symptoms in the first week of their infection. And I think that would be understandable in triggering something like PTSD because it would be a shock and especially given the global context quite a scary one.

Recently read a study that looked for similarities between SARS-Cov-2 and elements native to the human body and found a possible link to triggered autoinmune thyroid gland disorders (among many other things).

I can vouch for the "brain fog" being frighteninly real. My former boss has long-covid (over six months now). It's so bad he had to be replaced (a state-of-the-art facility grossing 300m pa needs a CTO).
He's slowly improving. His lungs allow him to speak complete sentences now, but his brain seems to lag behind.

[Iormlund]

I read somewhere that being vaccinated after having Covid can fix some of the long term effects.  I wonder if that's bullshit or if there is something to it. 

It seems to me like Covid is mainly a clotting disorder disease, in which case any damage due to it seems permanent or at least not easily reversible.

Looked into this a couple months ago. A doc that was working on this said in her experience a third or so improve. 25% feel worse. The rest have no apparent effect.

[viper37]

I read somewhere that being vaccinated after having Covid can fix some of the long term effects.  I wonder if that's bullshit or if there is something to it. 

It's based on reports by people saying they feel better.
but these symptoms are barely beginning to be studied, doctors&researchers always expected those with long covid syndrome to have their symptoms subsides after a few weeks, than a few months, than...  well, it stayed and it sucked.  Tbf, chronic fatigue and chronic pains aren't exactly the most studied subject by modern medicine.  It might explain why so many people turn to alternative therapies, and all the crap it unfortunately includes.

It seems to me like Covid is mainly a clotting disorder disease, in which case any damage due to it seems permanent or at least not easily reversible.

it's a lot of things.  Rather, it can be a lot of things.  See, some people get it and its like a minor cold.  Some people get it and it's like a major flu.  Others need ventilation or simply go from "ok" to dead in 15 minutes. 

Sometimes, your immune system kinda overcompensate for the virus and your body can't take it anymore.  Sometimes it's like an accute pneumonia and your lungs are filling themselves with liquid until you drown.  Some other time, you'll have a blood clotter.  Or, you get a combination of all that, or simply all of that.
I have yet to read a study that definately points why some people develop X symptoms and not Y symptoms.  There are risk factors, but nothing definitive.  An asthmatic or a diabetic can survive with no sequels while a generally healthy person will die within a couple of weeks of the infection.
If a low virus count means your immune system is still fighting the disease, then I suppose it's possible the vaccine will permanently neutralize that virus leftovers and the immune system stops kicking in overdrive which lets you finally recuperate.
Until we see some definitive studies, it's all just speculations anyway, and it's going to take some more time to get decent studies about this.

[Zanza]

Saw a report on rehab centers for post Covid patients in Germany. They are still treating a lot of the first wave patients and are already at capacity. The second wave was much bigger, so Post Covid treatment will strain our Healthcare system for years to come. But I hear very little about that in politics, there seems to be no acknowledgement or measures to improve this situation. It's all about opening up as fast as possible...

[The Larch]

We're having some controversy in Spain regarding what to do with those that already got the 1st shot of the AZ vaccine about what vaccine to give them as 2nd shot. The Spanish Health ministry commissioned a study that says that it's fine to give Pfizer instead, but is now being blamed of having very few participants to really be able to say much on the issue and not considering other options. Some regions are pressuring to be able to give a 2nd shot of AZ to those that already got their 1st one with it, which might end up being done on a voluntary basis. It's quite clear that the ministry wants to get rid of the AZ vaccine and is looking for any excuse to do so.

[Tamas]

We're having some controversy in Spain regarding what to do with those that already got the 1st shot of the AZ vaccine about what vaccine to give them as 2nd shot. The Spanish Health ministry commissioned a study that says that it's fine to give Pfizer instead, but is now being blamed of having very few participants to really be able to say much on the issue and not considering other options. Some regions are pressuring to be able to give a 2nd shot of AZ to those that already got their 1st one with it, which might end up being done on a voluntary basis. It's quite clear that the ministry wants to get rid of the AZ vaccine and is looking for any excuse to do so.

Are there any noted cases of AZ blood clotting from the 2nd shot?

[The Larch]

We're having some controversy in Spain regarding what to do with those that already got the 1st shot of the AZ vaccine about what vaccine to give them as 2nd shot. The Spanish Health ministry commissioned a study that says that it's fine to give Pfizer instead, but is now being blamed of having very few participants to really be able to say much on the issue and not considering other options. Some regions are pressuring to be able to give a 2nd shot of AZ to those that already got their 1st one with it, which might end up being done on a voluntary basis. It's quite clear that the ministry wants to get rid of the AZ vaccine and is looking for any excuse to do so.

Are there any noted cases of AZ blood clotting from the 2nd shot?

No idea, but I'd expect that if somebody has an adverse reaction to the vaccine like blood clotting it'd happen already in the 1st shot.

[Legbiter]

There's apparently an outbreak amongst the Eurovision delegations. 

Oh no!

This better not end in another cancellation

There are two positive cases and four national delegations (Iceland, Poland, Romania and Malta) that share hotel have been locked down in it.

One performer just tested positive, so Iceland won't be on the stage in the qualifier, much less the main event if it goes forward.