Coronavirus - are you afraid?

[TheVillain]

Yeah, I admit I've not had much experience outside the US but from what I've heard even the most hardline opponent of UHC from Europe considers what they have at worst a laterial move compared to what the US has. The vast majority of people from countries with some form of UHC consider it to be "not perfect, but way better than any alternative".

[Dhi]

A study in preprint on the duration of immunity is extremely good news.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.15.383323v1.full

Though there have been cases of reinfection, the evidence suggests these are unusual and immunity will stay with the body for at least a year, and more likely decades.

Notably, memory B cells specific for spike or RBD were detected in almost all COVID-19 cases, with no apparent half-life at 5+ months post-infection.

This means we should not need to vaccinate again in six months or a year's time.

[Oreo]

A study in preprint on the duration of immunity is extremely good news.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.15.383323v1.full

Though there have been cases of reinfection, the evidence suggests these are unusual and immunity will stay with the body for at least a year, and more likely decades.

This means we should not need to vaccinate again in six months or a year's time.

That's the best news I have heard since this began, Thank you Dhi.

[TheVillain]

I wouldn't get too excited, that study hasn't even been peer reviewed yet let alone confirmed by the medical community at large.

Still, the idea that immunity - or at least resistance - from previous exposure may last a lot longer than a few months is pretty great. Fingers crossed.

[Lexandria]

Employees at a Tyson meat plant were forced to return to work (during COVID) without adequate safety measures while supervisors bet on how many would get sick. Over 1,000 is the answer, with 5 deaths so far.

[Dhi]

I wouldn't get too excited, that study hasn't even been peer reviewed yet let alone confirmed by the medical community at large.

Still, the idea that immunity - or at least resistance - from previous exposure may last a lot longer than a few months is pretty great. Fingers crossed.

Sure. I understand the skepticism of a study still in preprint. These findings are in keeping with other known viral infections, though, particularly SARS, which has still not seen a dropoff in immunity after 17 years. I believe continued studies will bear this out.

[Callie Del Noire]

Employees at a Tyson meat plant were forced to return to work (during COVID) without adequate safety measures while supervisors bet on how many would get sick. Over 1,000 is the answer, with 5 deaths so far.

Well shit...this really pissed me off. When you think folks can’t be LESS human

[CopperLily]

Really? How bizarre. Where does this "news" come from?

The key is, you all *do* hate your healthcare system - in the way people normally hate anything. You grumble about long waits at the NHS, and hospitals with aging equipment, and the U.S. conservative media points to that and goes "See!"

What they don't do is ask the followup: "Do you want to trade with an American?". Wherein the usual response is somewhere between horror and nausea.

[clonkertink]

The key is, you all *do* hate your healthcare system - in the way people normally hate anything. You grumble about long waits at the NHS, and hospitals with aging equipment, and the U.S. conservative media points to that and goes "See!"

What they don't do is ask the followup: "Do you want to trade with an American?". Wherein the usual response is somewhere between horror and nausea.

As a Canadian, and the only person in my immediate family not in healthcare, this is pretty accurate. I wouldn’t say I hate Our healthcare system, but it definitely pays to be critical.

That said, “Free Healthcare” is the punchline to many a Canadian joke razzing our neighbours to the south. It’s one of those things where we’ll freely criticize it ourselves, because healthcare can always be better, but if the Americans try to talk smack we’ll make it a point of pride to rally around our free healthcare.

[Dashenka]

The key is, you all *do* hate your healthcare system - in the way people normally hate anything. You grumble about long waits at the NHS, and hospitals with aging equipment, and the U.S. conservative media points to that and goes "See!"

What they don't do is ask the followup: "Do you want to trade with an American?". Wherein the usual response is somewhere between horror and nausea.

I don't personally see how that's relevant.

Just because the NHS is bad, doesn't mean I want to trade with any other country. Or just because the US health system is bad, the NHS is suddenly good.

They are both deeply flawed. It's like saying I've broken my leg but my neighbour has broken both of them. You still end up with a broken leg.


There's no such thing as 'free healthcare'. Nowhere. One way or another the healthcare is paid for.

[HairyHeretic]

True, but there's a difference between healthcare as a service, and healthcare as a for-profit industry.

[Dashenka]

The middle ground is usually the best.

[Haibane]

Oxford C-19 vaccine is 70% to 90% effective and was developed back in April 2020 and has been under testing since then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55043551

[Callie Del Noire]

Oxford C-19 vaccine is 70% to 90% effective and was developed back in April 2020 and has been under testing since then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55043551

That was before Project Warp Speed right? So the White House can’t chain being effective right?

[Haibane]

I was shocked at how early it was. The woman heading up the project was basically an Influenza, Ebola and Sars expert and so had a formula designed to combat Corona viruses before C-19 hit us. So the basic structure of the vaccine was built extremely quickly. I had no idea though it was that early. I hope in a year or two we'll get a book detailing the full process.

I also find it amazing that nothing was made public; NOTHING, these amazing people just kept beavering away and no false hopes were raised. I expect 10 Downing Street was kept up to speed and I wonder how much that influenced Boris' strategy over the summer. Many people in the UK, me included, thought he'd lost his grip with all kinds of contradictory and confusing advice, but possibly he actually knew what he was doing. That's just me thinking aloud however.

[Dhi]

I don't know that it's been especially secret, but, that's a good thing. Science has to be transparent.

[Callie Del Noire]

They had something on NPR tonight.. basically they took the Genome from the Chinese government and went straight to work on that

[Haibane]

Some people... wilful ignorance beggars belief...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55054802

[Dashenka]

I posted about the AstraZeneca a week or so ago. Maybe two weeks ago even.

And I read something about the testing having to be stopped because a man in the UK was showing some side effects (they later turned out to be unrelated). If they had been able to continue testing, they'd have been done already.

It's been in the news. Just not on the front pages as they... never mind. It hasn't been on the front pages, but it has been in the news :)

[Haibane]

Stupid person, breaking lockdown laws 4 times has got this business owner £17,000 in fines, which they are refusing to pay. I am surprised the council haven't forcibly closed the business premises.

They are carrying a notice on their door that they have the right to trade freely under the Magna Carta dated 1215... honestly, some people are so stupid. It reminds me of the Sovereign Citizen idiots in the USA which is a thing now permeating UK society.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-55057700

[TheGlyphstone]

I posted about the AstraZeneca a week or so ago. Maybe two weeks ago even.

And I read something about the testing having to be stopped because a man in the UK was showing some side effects (they later turned out to be unrelated). If they had been able to continue testing, they'd have been done already.

It's been in the news. Just not on the front pages as they... never mind. It hasn't been on the front pages, but it has been in the news :)

Side effects include compulsive tea-drinking and stoic attitude in the face of calamity. UK researchers uncertain why these are potentially harmful.

[Dashenka]

Testing got stopped months ago already. Forgot to mention that :)

[Haibane]

A listing of all possible vaccines is down the page a way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine

I was chatting to a friend today on the phone and I said what wonderful news it was that we may have a vaccine starting to be deployed before the end of the year and their reply was "I'm not going to have it, its not safe" and that led us into a conversation about nano-bots and Bill Gates. I was stunned. I thought I knew this person and I thought they were well educated and intelligent. I basically said "Well in a few years time there's a pretty good chance there will be two types of people, those who are vaccinated and those who are dead so you should read the science journals and have a good think about idiotic conspiracy theories."

I have never had a face-to-face family friend be involved with conspiracy theories. I feel quite shaken up about it.

[Dhi]

They've always surrounded us. Now they're emboldened to speak out.

[Dashenka]

Best excuse I ever heard not to get vaccinated was because it gives you autism.