Covid-19 News

UK says new study vindicates delaying 2nd virus vaccine shot

https://apnews.com/article/uk-…79c3209a77ffc6ca798aff1a7

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s health chief has hailed a new study suggesting that a single dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks, saying it supports the government’s contentious strategy of delaying the second shot so it can protect more people quickly with a first dose.

Britain’s decision has been criticized as risky by other European countries, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Wednesday that the study “backs the strategy that we’ve taken and it shows the world that the Oxford vaccine works effectively.”

Hancock’s comments came after Oxford University released a study showing the vaccine cut transmission of the virus by two-thirds and prevented severe disease.

Some COVID-19 survivors are developing diabetes. Experts don't know why.

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Diabetes is known to be a risk factor for severe cases of COVID-19.

But new evidence suggests the inverse might also be true: some patients who've recovered from COVID-19 are developing diabetes, including type 1 and type 2, according to research published November 2020 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

More than one in 10 coronavirus patients (14.4%) were newly diagnosed with diabetes after recovering from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to the analysis of 3,711 patients across eight different studies.

New cases of diabetes could be the result of inflammation and insulin problems related to COVID-19, according to the study's authors, researchers from several universities including McMaster University in Canada.

COVID-19 might worsen existing health issues like prediabetes, causing type 2 diabetes

In at least some of these cases, it could be that some of the patients in the study already had diabetes and were unaware of it until they were hospitalized for COVID-19, according to the study.

But evidence also suggests that COVID-19 might be enough to worsen existing metabolic health issues into full-blown type 2 diabetes, according to Dr. Jose Aleman, assistant professor of endocrinology at NYU Langone Health.

"Stressful conditions lead to elevated levels of regulatory hormones that raise blood sugar to aid the body in fighting whatever insult it's facing, such as illness or injury," Aleman told Insider. "For people with underlying conditions, that can be enough to kick them over the edge."

Covid new strain: Doctor warns diabetic medication could worsen COVID-19

https://www.express.co.uk/life…2-inhibitors-symptoms/amp

Almost a third of Covid deaths occur in diabetics, a recent study demonstrated. Anyone with the underlying health condition who falls ill with Covid is recommended by Dr Yun to discuss their their medication with their healthcare team. People taking SGLT-2 inhibitors, such as Forxiga, Invokana and Jardiance may be advised to stop taking their meds. "Sometimes people with severe COVID-19 are treated with a steroid called dexamethasone," said Dr Yun.

If you think you might have COVID-19, it’s vital that you self-isolate and get tested as soon as possible," said Dr Yun.

Diabetes UK stated that nearly four million people in the UK live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

While most diabetics "will only suffer mild symptoms" of Covid, said Dr Yun, "some are more likely to become seriously ill".

He pointed out that people with a history of high HbA1c levels (a marker of high blood sugar) or diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease) "are more likely to need breathing support or end up in hospital from COVID-19".

Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Britain on Thursday launched a trial to assess the immune responses generated if doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are combined in a two-shot schedule.

The British researchers behind the trial said data on vaccinating people with the two different types of coronavirus vaccines could help understanding of whether shots can be rolled out with greater flexibility around the world. Initial data on immune responses is expected to be generated around June.

The trial will examine the immune responses of an initial dose of Pfizer vaccine followed by a booster of AstraZeneca's, as well as vice versa, with intervals of 4 and 12 weeks.

Monoclonal antibodies: ‘great hope’ in Covid treatments fails against variants

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

The great hope for drug treatments against Covid-19 – the monoclonal antibodies – are failing against variants of the virus, such as those that have emerged in South Africa and Brazil, scientists have found.

There have been high expectations of the drugs. One, made by Regeneron in the United States, was given to Donald Trump and may have played a part in his recovery. It is being trialled in hospital patients in the UK.

But to the dismay of those who work on therapies against the disease, all three leading contenders – Regeneron’s, and drugs from Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline – fail against one or more of the variants.

The antibodies have huge advantages as treatments, said Nick Cammack, who leads the Covid-19 therapeutics accelerator at Wellcome. They are derived from cloning a human white blood cell and mimic the effects of the immune system. They are very safe, specifically engineered to target the virus and their use looked highly promising in the early stage of disease to stop it progressing.

“The challenge came at Christmas when these new variants appeared – the South Africa and Brazil ones particularly. The changes the virus makes in its spike proteins actually throw off these antibodies,” he said.

Increasing data suggests UK variant may be deadlier, says CDC director

https://www.cnn.com/world/live…65677dcf6617fd51dbfa8efce

Health authorities are still learning about the new coronavirus variants, and whether current health measures are as effective against them -- but data suggests that the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the UK, may be deadlier than the original strand.

"We know that some of the variants have increased transmissibility, there's increasing data that suggests that some of the variants, the B.1.1.7 variant may actually ... lead to increased mortality, and the jury's still out with regard to how these vaccines are going to work with against these variants," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on MSNBC Wednesday.

"We'd have to ... follow the science, and we are learning more and more about whether our public health measures, our mitigation measures, our mask wearing, our distancing, will be fully effective against these variants, but we have every reason to believe that they will."

Walensky added that as authorities examine more people infected by the variants, they are finding that those people are typically not wearing masks or social distancing. "What we know is that they'll (variants) probably be less forgiving when we don't follow that guidance," she said.

Way to go CDC UK researchers came to this conclusion two weeks ago

About 4,000 Covid variants across world, says UK minister

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

There are roughly 4,000 variants of Covid-19 around the world, according to the UK vaccines minister, who said the British government was storing the mutations so it was better prepared to update vaccines as needed.

Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News there was a “library” of coronavirus mutations being stored to make sure the UK could respond appropriately.

Concerning variants have been identified in California, South Africa and Brazil, as well as the UK. Zahawi said: “There are about 4,000 variants around the world of Covid now.

“We have the largest genome sequencing industry – we have about 50% of the world’s genome sequencing industry – and we are keeping a library of all the variants so that we are ready to be able to respond, whether in the autumn or beyond, to any challenge the virus may present, and produce the next vaccine so we can always protect the United Kingdom and of course the rest of the world as well.”

He said manufacturers including Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca were looking at how they could improve their vaccines to be ready for any variant.

U.K.'s COVID variant hunters warn undetected mutations could be widespread in U.S.

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

London — British scientists say the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant first discovered in southern England is evolving in a way that could make existing vaccines less effective against it. The U.K. has kept a close eye on mutations of the coronavirus for months, leading the world in tracking changes in the genetic code of the virus.

Authorities in England are trying to test everyone over the age of 16 in many neighborhoods where a few cases of yet another troubling variant — the one first detected in South Africa — have been found. But even as Britain races to find and stop that highly infectious strain, scientists discovered that the U.K. variant appeared to be mutating in a way that mimics the South African one.

Moderna: Vaccine "should" work on U.K. COVID variant

The discovery has elevated concerns about the virus' continuing evolution, which some evidence suggests could lead to resistance to the vaccines being rolled out across the globe.

Quote from zorud

although I am not sure if it may be the one you are referring to,

The second paper we linked and commented: It's now up to the T-Cell response to provide the protection. The "0" effect is from an other paper and just refers to people having a single shot of the Pfizer vaccine.

Quote from Fm1

New cases of diabetes could be the result of inflammation and

Diabetes I is caused by a viral infection of the pancreas islet cells. I also do fear that many more people will get an endothelia infection of the cornea (eye) what will end up in countless transplantations.

Currently a lot of fake data/news is circulating from Israel like Pfizer vaccine being effective 90% after one shot etc... This only shows how disparate the situation for Pfizer is. It is absolutely unlikely that the phase III result among 44'000 people of 52% can be that wrong...

Anyway RNA Vaccines are - since the admission of the Astra Zeneca vaccine - illegal and the permit should end after the initial 3 months trial granted. According law & regulations an experimental drug/vaccine can only be granted if no standard therapy exists.

This is why e.g. in Switzerland the mafia blocks the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

I recommend to use Astra Zeneca, Sputnik, or J&J. As e.g. J&J has proven to work against the RSA strain with at least 50% protection and no severe illness if you get it.

Clinical trials of new treatments for COVID-19 often do not include vulnerable populations

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Since the pandemic began, certain communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with Black and Hispanic patients being 30% to 50% more likely than whites to test positive for COVID-19. Researchers attribute this to several factors, including systemic health disparities, working frontline jobs and living in multigenerational households.

The team examined 303 active U.S. COVID-19 treatment trials involving more than 92,000 patients and used Census data from the 2015 American Community Survey to estimate the proportion of Black and Hispanic individuals who could be potentially recruited from the geographic catchment area of each study's recruitment hospital. This study did not include data on COVID-19 prevention studies, such as those testing vaccine candidates.

The researchers found the studies were being undertaken at hospitals that less frequently cared for Black and Hispanic patients: Only about 17% of these hospitals' patients were Black and 14% were Hispanic. There are several reasons why this may be happening, the researchers theorize.

"Smaller community hospitals may have larger communities of color but may not be equipped to set up these sorts of trials for infectious diseases," said Sukarn Chokkara, a second-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and lead author of the paper.

Quote from Wyttenbach

Diabetes I is caused by a viral infection of the pancreas islet cells. I also do fear that many more people will get an endothelia infection of the cornea (eye) what will end up in countless transplantations.

I had the same concerns early and posted this study

Corneal endothelial changes in patients with vitamin D deficiency

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6113815/

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of vitamin D deficiency on corneal endothelial layer using specular microscopy.

Methods:

Fifty-eight eyes of 58 patients whose vitamin D level was below 15 ng/ml and who had no ocular pathology were included in the study (Group 1). Forty eyes of 40 age-and sex-matched subjects were enrolled as control group (Group 2). Corneal endothelial cell density (CD), coefficient of variation (CV), hexagonal cell ratio (HEX), and central corneal thickness (CCT) were measured using specular microscopy (Konan Medical Inc., Nishinomiya, Japan). The obtained data were compared between the groups.

Results:

There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age and gender (P = 0.344, P = 0.399, respectively). The mean CD value was 2772.79 ± 202.21 cells/mm2 in Group 1 and 2954.97 ± 116.89 cells/mm2 in Group 2 (P = 0.001). The mean CV value was 30.31 ± 3.65 in Group 1 and 28.20 ± 2.71 in Group 2 (P = 0.003). The mean HEX value was 46.56 ± 6.32 in Group 1 and 51.07 ± 5.28 in Group 2 (P = 0.001). The mean CCT value was 555.87 ± 36.90 μ in group 1 and 549.0 ± 37.39 μ in Group 2 (P = 0.96).

Conclusion:

Vitamin D deficiency may affect the corneal endothelial layer. Patients with vitamin D deficiency should be evaluated for endothelial parameters in particular before an intraocular surgery. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.

UVA antibody trial suggests treatment successfully prevents COVID-19 symptoms and infections

https://news.google.com/articl…=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Clinical trials at the University of Virginia suggest Regeneron’s antibody cocktail treatment is 100% effective in blocking symptomatic COVID-19 infections.

Dr. William Petri, a trial leader at UVA, said the treatment will greatly help prevent the spread of the virus between household members, especially for those who may be caring for infected family members.

“The general idea is that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, so that’s what this study is doing. It’s giving the antibody as soon as there’s a potential exposure to prevent household transmission.”

The treatment, Petri explained, is the only treatment known to prevent both symptoms and infections of COVID-19 after exposure.

“It sort of gives your immune system a head start. You’ll eventually make these antibodies anyway, but by giving them very early, even at the time that you’re exposed to the infection, they’ve been shown to prevent symptoms of COVID-19. They also prevent infection in about half of the patients that receive them,” Petri said.

The cocktail is also expected to ward off variants of the virus by using two different antibodies.

“Two different antibodies against two different variants of the spike-like protein, that’s much harder for the virus to mutate around, and so I think that’s probably part of the reason why it’s so effective,” Petri explained.

Quote from Fm1

Way to go CDC UK researchers came to this conclusion two weeks ago

Are you complaining that it took two weeks? Two weeks is not a long time to for the CDC people to review the data and confirm the conclusion.

Quote from Roseland67

How can that be, it’s a vaccine?

It’s supposed to give you immunity to the disease you’re being vaccinated for, you know

Like the measles, mumps, whooping cough, rubella, polio etc.

We have all been vaccinated for these diseases and we don’t get them anymore.

Are you being sarcastic? Or do you really think you are making a valid point here? Everyone knows that immunity sometimes fails. Whether it is acquired immunity from getting the disease, or immunity from a vaccine, some unlucky patients end up getting the disease again. Their immune system fails. This happens rarely, so most vaccines are effective. We don't get measles, mumps and so on because vaccines nearly always work, and also because nearly everyone in the population has been vaccinated, so we have herd immunity. It is very unlikely you will be exposed to these diseases. Even if you happen to have a weak immune system -- making it likely you will get the measles if you are exposed to it even though you have been vaccinated -- you will not be exposed because it is so rare. So you are probably safe.

This stuff is not complicated. If you do not understand how immunity works, I recommend you read an introductory text on the subject. Do that before commenting here, because you are confusing the issue. You are telling us things that everyone knows, such as the fact that some people get an infectious disease they already had, despite acquired immunity. You tell us this and then gloat as we did not already know it. It is common knowledge. Do you seriously think we did not know this? Did you just learn this yourself?

The Biden admin. announced their new goal is 150 million vaccinations in the first 100 days. Up from 100 million. Unfortunately, this will only immunize ~75 million patients. If I were Biden, I would order a 1-month hold on the second dose. That would give partial protection to ~22 million more patients. It is a risk. Some number of people who got the first dose only would end up getting sick or dying. But I think overall it would produce fewer casualties.

If delaying the second dose ends up producing fewer antibodies a year from now in some patients, I suppose they can always get yet another dose.

Quote from JedRothwell

Are you being sarcastic? Or do you really think you are making a valid point here? Everyone knows that immunity sometimes fails. Whether it is acquired immunity from getting the disease, or immunity from a vaccine, some unlucky patients end up getting the disease again. Their immune system fails. This happens rarely, so most vaccines are effective. We don't get measles, mumps and so on because vaccines nearly always work, and also because nearly everyone in the population has been vaccinated, so we have herd immunity. It is very unlikely you will be exposed to these diseases. Even if you happen to have a weak immune system -- making it likely you will get the measles if you are exposed to it even though you have been vaccinated -- you will not be exposed because it is so rare. So you are probably safe.

This stuff is not complicated. If you do not understand how immunity works, I recommend you read an introductory text on the subject. Do that before commenting here, because you are confusing the issue. You are telling us things that everyone knows, such as the fact that some people get an infectious disease they already had, despite acquired immunity. You tell us this and then gloat as we did not already know it. It is common knowledge. Do you seriously think we did not know this? Did you just learn this yourself?

Immunity sometimes fail? Really? Define sometimes Jed.

With the Covid 19 “vaccine” today, it fails at immunization 100% of the time, it does NOT, never has, and was never said to make anyone immune, ever. Even in “Jed land” that simply cannot qualify as a vaccine.

So, if it clearly is NOT a vaccine, what exactly is it? A glorified flu shot?

Quote from Roseland67

Immunity sometimes fail? Really? Define sometimes Jed.

Immunity from vaccines fails 2% of the time with rubella, and 5% of the time with COVID-19.

Quote from Roseland67

With the Covid 19 “vaccine” today, it fails at immunization 100% of the time, it does NOT, never has, and was never said to make anyone immune, ever.

That is incorrect. The vaccine immunizes 95% of patients. That is what the double blind tests revealed, and what subsequent data from Israel confirmed. That is what every expert and every journal paper says, and what all the mass media reports say. I have not read any report saying the vaccines do not produce immunity. That makes no sense. The only way a vaccine can work is by triggering the immune system to produce antibodies. See:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronaviru…ccines/how-they-work.html

"How COVID-19 Vaccines Work

COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us having to get the illness. Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection, but with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future.

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to produce T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes after vaccination. Therefore, it is possible that a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.

Sometimes after vaccination, the process of building immunity can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building immunity. . . ."

I do not understand why you think this is not true. This has been common knowledge since 1890. Do you really think you know better than every single expert on earth? And every single medical textbook? Perhaps you should tell us your source of information.

What Does 95% Effective Mean? Teaching the Math of Vaccine Efficacy

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/1…-of-vaccine-efficacy.html

Lesson Overview

Featured article: “2 Companies Say Their Vaccines Are 95% Effective. What Does That Mean?” by Carl Zimmer

Last week, after a trial showed that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine had an efficacy rate of 95 percent, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine. What is “efficacy,” and how is it calculated? In this lesson, you will analyze the data from Pfizer’s successful vaccine study to get a practical sense of how the vaccine performed. (Spoiler: It did well.) Then, you will analyze what factors could make or break the vaccine’s success as it becomes widely available.

Note to Teachers: This lesson plan is available as a PDF for students.

Warm Up

Watch this video, from 0:56 to 3:00, of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, speaking about the efficacy of new vaccines at a briefing of the White House’s coronavirus task force on Nov. 19. Respond to the following questions in writing or in class discussion:

Dr. Fauci says that vaccines have “crushed” previous outbreaks of diseases like smallpox, polio and measles. You probably received one or more of those vaccines when you were young. Did you know what those vaccines were when you received them? Did you know those diseases had deadly outbreaks before vaccines were introduced?

Dr. Fauci calls the 95 percent efficacy rate of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine “extraordinary.” Does that rate sound impressive to you? Why or why not?

Toward the end of the video, Dr. Fauci implies that the ultimate effectiveness of the vaccine will depend on how it is rolled out and received by the general public. What factors might influence how effective a vaccine is when it’s widely released?

I continue to be amazed by many of the people who frequent this forum. Not only do they know more physics than physicists, they know more about vaccines than immunologists. Seems a pity that they only share their staggering gifts with humanity by blathering on the Internet.

WHO team in Wuhan says discussions open, meetings frank

https://apnews.com/article/vir…b1f7d4851592406a992fc8646

WUHAN, China (AP) — World Health Organization investigators looking for clues into the origin of the coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said that the Chinese side has provided a high level of cooperation, but cautioned against expecting immediate results from the visit.

“I keep saying that we need to be realistic, a short mission like this one will not have all the answers but it helps advance the understanding of the #virusorigin #wuhan,” Hung Nguyen-Viet, co-leader of the Animal and Human Health Program of the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, said in a tweet Thursday.

In an earlier tweet, zoologist and team member Peter Daszak praised Wednesday’s meetings with staff at the key Wuhan Institute of Virology, including with Deputy Director is Shi Zhengli, a virologist who worked with Daszak to track down the origins of SARS that originated in China and led to the 2003 outbreak.

“Extremely important meeting today with staff at WIV including Dr Shi Zhengli. Frank, open discussion. Key questions asked & answered.,” Daszak tweeted.

The team on Thursday spent around two hours meetings with managers and residents at the Jiangxinyuan community administrative center in Wuhan’s Hanyang District. No details were given.

Official statistics shows that there were at least 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the community last year among nearly 10,000 people living there when the virus broke out.