COVID-19 News and Discussions

[andmar74]

Not sure about this. People wearing N95 masks have spent more money on masks and are probably more careful overall, maybe meeting fewer people.
I don't think you can conclude much from this, but I haven't seen any details.

[caltrek]

'Major Breakthrough': South African Scientists Replicate Moderna Vaccine
by Jake Johnson
February 4, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... na-vaccine

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) South African scientists have created a close replica of Moderna's mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine without any assistance from the U.S. pharmaceutical giant, a development that could have massive implications for the fight against global vaccine apartheid.

In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), researchers at the South African company Afrigen Biologics used the sequence of Moderna's vaccine—which was reverse-engineered by Stanford University scientists and published online last year—to produce an mRNA shot of its own, an achievement that vaccine equity campaigners hailed as a "major breakthrough."

"We didn't have help from the major Covid vaccine producers, so we did it ourselves to show the world that it can be done, and be done here, on the African continent," Gerhardt Boukes, chief scientist at Afrigen, told Nature on Thursday.

To date, highly effective mRNA-based coronavirus vaccines have largely been hoarded by rich countries, forcing developing nations to rely on inadequate charity and leftovers. As a result, just 11% of the 1.3 billion people on the African continent have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

More broadly, just 10% of people in low-income countries across the globe have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, figures compiled by Our World in Data show.

[andmar74]

It’s time to let the young, healthy and “anyone who wants to move on” from the pandemic do so, said Dr. Stefanos Kales, a professor at Harvard Medical School.

In a paper posted on LinkedIn last month, Kales said that for the majority of children and adults, “Covid-19 is not a serious threat, only a nuisance that impedes schooling, work and travel.”

“Once Omicron peaks, subsequent variants are likely to be even more mild,” he said. “We badly need to allow the general public, particularly the young, to get back to normal life.”

He said he favors focusing Covid-19 efforts on “the vulnerable” rather than the population as a whole.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/04/harvard ... emic-.html

[caltrek]

^^^I think that this amounts to saying: "it is too expensive to completely solve the problem, so we just have to set priorities."

Translated into political terms, it is like concluding that vaccine mandates, mask mandates, etc. are too totalitarian in nature, and therefore the relevant practice should be adopted on a purely voluntaristic basis.

This is not entirely an irrational argument. Unfortunately, it is one made complicated by the disinformation being spread in many societies by the enemies of common sense and the public health. Which, again, brings us back to the question of "who guards the guardians."

Dying from a disease is the ultimate deprivation of freedom. Striking a balance between complete safety and relative freedom is not an unreasonable way of proceeding. That is to say, as long as it does not invoke a form of denialism in order to further one's argument.

[erowind]

.

[caltrek]

^^^That is providing enough people are willing to take such a vaccine and that the rate of transmission plunges well below 1. A situation of the vaccine not being 100% effective and/or a reluctance to be vaccinated and we are right back to where we started.

[erowind]

.

[andmar74]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/04/harvard ... emic-.html

Kales said many current protocols are from medical professionals who focus exclusively on infectious diseases, rather than public health.

“Public health is a balance,” he said.

Yea, these virologists rub me the wrong way. They know a lot about viruses so they can tell us in so many ways how the world can end, but they fail when they need to calm down and look at the bigger picture.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

[Yuli Ban]

[weatheriscool]

CRISPR-based diagnostic technology rapidly detects different COVID variants and other pathogens
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02- ... covid.html
by Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Princeton University have developed a CRISPR-based technology that can rapidly differentiate between omicron, delta, and other COVID-19 variants, as well as other respiratory viruses including flu. The team used the method, known as mCARMEN, during the beginning of the omicron surge in December 2021 to get a provisional look at the rising prevalence of the variant in Massachusetts. Based on those results, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) shared this information with hospitals in the state to help guide treatment options for COVID-19 patients.

To design mCARMEN, the researchers adapted CARMEN, the CRISPR-based diagnostic technology developed at the Broad in 2020, to be faster, more sensitive, and more easily implemented in clinical and surveillance labs, with the goal of using the optimized platform more widely during future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 or other pathogens.

mCARMEN, an acronym for "microfluidic Combinatorial Arrayed Reactions for Multiplexed Evaluation of Nucleic acids," is described in Nature Medicine.

"The COVID-19 pandemic shows us that we need more testing, more often, particularly early on in a pandemic," said co-senior author Cameron Myhrvold, who helped develop CARMEN as a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad and is now an assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton University. "COVID-19 shows us that challenging viruses will keep emerging, so we have to keep looking for them and come up with better ways of doing that."

[caltrek]

Questions and Answers:
Results of Study on SARS-CoV-2
in White-Tailed Dear

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_healt ... -study.pdf

Introduction:

(USDA) The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently completed a study that analyzed serum samples from free-ranging white-tailed deer for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results of the study indicate that certain white-tailed deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania were exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

Why did APHIS decide to do this study?

APHIS supports a One Health approach to address animal diseases, including SARS-CoV-2. White-tailed deer are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, are abundant in the United States (approximately 30 million), and often come into close contact with people. Given these factors, we felt it prudent to further investigate SARS-Cov-2 in wild deer. Studying the susceptibility of certain mammals, such as deer, to the SARS-CoV-2 virus helps to identify species that may serve as reservoirs or hosts for the virus. It also helps us understand the origin of the virus and predict its impacts on wildlife and the risks of cross-species transmission.

What were the results?

APHIS collected a total of 481 samples between January 2020 and March 2021 from Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. We detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 33 percent of those samples. The results varied by State (Illinois = 7 percent of 101 samples contained antibodies; Michigan = 67 percent of 113 samples; New York = 19 percent of 68 samples; and Pennsylvania = 31 percent of 199 samples). Although the results indicate that certain white-tailed deer populations in these States were exposed to SARS-CoV-2, they should not be extrapolated to represent the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the deer populations as a whole.

We detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in only 1 of the 143 samples collected before January 2020 (pre-COVID-19 pandemic in people). The single sample was at the minimum threshold of detection and was likely a false positive. This low-level detection is well within the expected false positive rate of the test used. Did the deer get the virus from people, the environment, or other deer? We do not know how the deer were exposed to SARSCoV-2. It’s possible they were exposed through people, the environment, other deer, or another animal species.

Could the deer spread the virus to people?

There is no evidence that animals, including deer, are playing a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to people. Based on the available information, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is low

Here is a set of common-sense suggestions by the USDA that the anti-science anti-government yahoos can ignore at their (and our) own risk:

Hunters should always practice good hygiene when processing animals by following these food safety recommendations:
• Do not allow contact between wildlife and domestic animals, including pets and hunting dogs.
• Do not harvest animals that appear sick or are found dead.
• Keep game meat clean and cool the meat down as soon as possible after harvesting the animal.
• Avoid cutting through the backbone and spinal tissues and do not eat the brains of wildlife.
• When handling and cleaning game:
- Wear rubber or disposable gloves.
- Do not eat, drink, or smoke.
• When finished handling and cleaning game: - - - -
-Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
-Clean knives, equipment, and surfaces that were in contact with game meat with soap and water and then disinfect them.
-Cook all game meat thoroughly (to an internal temperature of 165 °F or higher).
-Check with your State wildlife agency regarding any testing requirements for other diseases and for any specific instructions regarding preparing, transporting, and consuming game meat.

[caltrek]

The First Evidence of Omicron Spilling Over into Wild Animals Has Just Been Found
by Aria Bendix
February 9, 2022

https://www.businessinsider.com/omicron ... ?r=US&IR=T

Extract:

(Business Insider) Researchers at Pennsylvania State University identified nearly 20 white-tailed deer in Staten Island, New York, that were infected with the Omicron variant between December 2021 and January 2022.

Their findings, which haven't been peer reviewed, mark the first report of Omicron spilling over to wild animals. A spillover event occurs when a highly-infected population passes the virus to another species that hasn't encountered it (or that particular variant) before.
...
Scientists have detected the virus in cats, dogs, ferrets, mink, pigs, and rabbits. But they're paying close attention to white-tailed deer for a few reasons: In addition to being highly vulnerable to infection, white-tailed deer are abundant in the US and live in close proximity to humans.

[caltrek]

Sewer Slime Can Hang on to SARS-CoV-2 RNA From Wastewater
February 9, 2022

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/942797

Introduction:

(Eureka Alert) During the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater entering treatment plants has been one way that researchers have gauged the disease’s spread. But could the slimy microbial communities that line most sewer pipes affect the viral RNA they encounter? In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers report in ACS ES&T Water that sewer slime can accumulate SARS-CoV-2 RNA, which could decompose or slough off later, potentially impacting the accuracy of wastewater epidemiology studies.

As the water and sludge from people’s homes converge in sewers, some of the solids settle out, and gooey microbial biofilms build up within the pipes. Previous researchers have shown that RNA viruses, such as poliovirus, enteroviruses and noroviruses, can get trapped and collect in this slime. Yet whether the sticky material can also accumulate SARS-CoV-2 viral particles or RNA from wastewater is unknown. Nicole Fahrenfeld and colleagues previously detected the virus’s RNA in sewer deposits from a university dormitory with a low number of COVID-19 cases, but the amount was too low to accurately assess. So, the team wanted to see if biofilms could incorporate SARS-CoV-2 RNA from untreated wastewater during times of low and high COVID-19 incidence.

To grow a simulated sewer slime, the researchers continuously pumped raw wastewater into a cylindrical tank with removable pieces of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) inside. They conducted two 28-day experiments, removing PVC plates every few days to assess the biofilm’s composition. Then the team used the method called reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction to measure the abundance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and pepper mottle virus (an indicator of human feces) RNA in the untreated wastewater and the biofilms.

In August and September 2020, the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were too low to accurately measure in both the simulated sewer slime and the wastewater from which it grew. These results align with a low incidence of COVID-19 infections at that time, the researchers say. Then, during November and December 2020, although SARS-CoV-2’s presence in the wastewater itself was still low, its RNA levels increased in the slime. The amount of pepper mottle virus RNA plateaued within the first week of growth, indicating that the rise of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the biofilm wasn’t because of a boost in fecal volume. Rather, this change reflected the higher number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in late fall. It’s still too early to know exactly how these biofilms impact wastewater epidemiology studies, since other factors need to be assessed first, say the researchers. For example, the RNA could get broken down, or it could be released into wastewater later on when the biofilms break apart.

The American Chemical Society paper's abstract is available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ac ... er.1c00345

[wjfox]

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Alberta ending its vaccine-passport system as of midnight
Source: Toronto Star

EDMONTON—Alberta’s vaccine passport program ends at midnight on Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney has announced.

The passport system — formally the Restrictions Exemption Program, requiring people prove they’ve been vaccinated before they can go to restaurants or attend events — is the first of the province’s current public health restrictions to go, in a phased approach Kenney laid out in a news conference on Tuesday.

“Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID,” said Kenney. “These restrictions have led to terrible division.

Read more: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/202 ... ldren.html

[raklian]

Alberta ending its vaccine-passport system as of midnight
Source: Toronto Star

“Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID,” said Kenney.

Career-ending quote right there. COVID is not finished with us.