Sunlight Inactivates Coronavirus 8 Times Faster Than Predicted. We Need to Know Why. A team of scientists is calling for greater research into how sunlight inactivates SARS-CoV-2 after realizing there's a glaring discrepancy between the most recent theory and experimental results.
What Do Vaccine Efficacy Numbers Actually Mean? This week, Johnson & Johnson began delivering millions of doses of its coronavirus vaccine across the United States after receiving an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
Central to getting the green light was a trial that Johnson & Johnson ran to measure the vaccine’s efficacy. Efficacy is a crucial concept in vaccine trials, but it’s also a tricky one. If a vaccine has an efficacy of, say, 95 percent, that doesn’t mean that 5 percent of people who receive that vaccine will get Covid-19. And just because one vaccine ends up with a higher efficacy estimate than another in trials doesn’t necessarily mean it’s superior. Here’s why. Share of U.S. 'Wilful ignorance': doctor who joined Capitol attack condemned for Covid falsehoods. A key conservative doctors’ group pushing misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines faces growing fire from medical experts about its woeful scientific grounding, while its leader, Dr Simone Gold, was charged early this week for taking part in the 6 January attack on the Capitol.
The development comes as the US faces warnings its pandemic death toll could hit 500,000 next month, in part because conspiracy theories and baseless skepticism – especially from rightwing groups – have hampered efforts to tackle it. Gold, who founded America’s Frontline Doctors last spring with help from the Tea Party Patriots organization, was arrested on Monday in Beverly Hills, where she lives, and faces charges of entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct. Prior to her arrest, a headshot of Gold holding a bullhorn that she used to give a talk inside the Capitol appeared on an FBI flyer headlined “Seeking Information” about suspects in the Capitol attack.
Why the Great Barrington Declaration herd immunity plan is deadly. The White House has propped up a document from a libertarian think tank called "The Great Barrington Declaration" this week.The declaration proposes an end to COVID-19 restrictions: allowing "those who are at minimal risk of death" to "live their lives normally" and get infected, in the hopes that the US and UK might develop herd immunity against the coronavirus.But that argument creates a false dichotomy between lockdowns and letting the virus spread unchecked.
One projection suggests attempting herd immunity could lead to 640,000 additional deaths by February 2023.Thousands of other experts have also spoken out against the declaration, and on Wednesday they drafted their own counter-memo.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The White House is applauding a new document drawn up earlier this month at a libertarian think tank in small-town Massachusetts, which falls neatly in line with the Trump Administration's own coronavirus plan: reopen, reopen, reopen. Janssen But Dr. Fact check: Misleading comparison between COVID-19 mortality rate and vaccine efficiency. COVID-19 survival rate not proof vaccine unnecessary. CLAIM: A vaccine is not necessary for COVID-19 because the survival rate is close to 100%.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. C.D.C. Warns the New Virus Variant Could Fuel Huge Spikes in Covid-19 Cases. “We know that that’s an overestimate of the current level of vaccination that’s occurring,” said Michael Johansson, a researcher at the C.D.C.
“But certainly, we hope that we get to levels that are higher than that by the time that this period ends.” All viruses accumulate mutations over time; most of the mutations disappear, but those that confer an advantage — greater contagiousness, for example, or faster replication — may take root and spread. A more transmissible variant, in particular, is likely to spread quickly through a population. Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines. The steady drumbeat of reports about new variants of the coronavirus — first in Britain, then in South Africa, Brazil and the United States — has brought a new worry: Will vaccines protect against these altered versions of the virus?
The answer so far is yes, several experts said in interviews. But two small new studies, posted online Tuesday night, suggest that some variants may pose unexpected challenges to the immune system, even in those who have been vaccinated — a development that most scientists had not anticipated seeing for months, even years. The findings result from laboratory experiments with blood samples from groups of patients, not observations of the virus spreading in the real world. CDC warns the new virus variant could fuel huge spikes in COVID cases. Only 76 cases of the variant have been identified so far in the U.S., but the actual number is believed to be higher and is expected to spiral upward in the next few weeks, officials said.
They emphasized that current mitigation strategies were effective against the new strain, exhorting Americans to be vigilant in wearing face masks, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from other people, washing hands frequently, reducing interactions with people outside their households, limiting contacts and avoiding crowds. But spikes in cases threaten to cripple already overwhelmed hospitals and nursing homes in many parts of the country. Some are at or near capacity. Others have faced troubling rates of infection among their staff, causing shortages and increasing patient loads. “I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the U.S. in the coming weeks,” said Dr. “We know what works, and we know what to do,” he said. Biotech, Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research Jobs. The COVID-19 Virus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Vaccines?
As we enter the second year of living with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus is celebrating its invasion of the world’s population with yet more mutated forms that help it to spread more easily from person to person.
One, first detected in the U.K. in December, has already raised alarms about whether the COVID-19 virus is now escaping from the protection that vaccines just being rolled out now might provide. The variant has also been found in the U.S. Already, U.K. officials have tightened lockdowns in England, Scotland and Wales, and over the holidays, more than 40 countries banned travelers from the region in an effort to keep the new strain from spreading to other parts of the world.
Health officials are also concerned about a different strain found in South Africa that could become more resistant to vaccine protection. This variant includes a few mutations in key areas that antibodies, generated by the vaccine, target. Other countries are also working on this effort. Dr. Dr. What's the deal with Masks? In Trump’s Final Chapter, a Failure to Rise to the Covid-19 Moment. By late July, new cases were at record highs, defying Mr.
Trump’s predictions through the spring that the virus was under control, and deaths were spiking to alarming levels. Herman Cain, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, died from the coronavirus; the previous month he had attended a Trump rally without a mask. With the pandemic defining the campaign despite Mr. Trump’s efforts to make it about law and order, Tony Fabrizio, the president’s main pollster, came to the Oval Office for a meeting in the middle of the summer prepared to make a surprising case: that mask wearing was acceptable even among Mr.
- The Washington Post. Expert reaction new restrictions and the new SARS-CoV-2 variant. December 19, 2020 The Prime Minister and the Chief Medical Officer made a statement about new Tier 4 restrictions, the new SARS-CoV-2 variant and updated guidance over Christmas. Dr Jeffrey Barrett, Director of the SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: Comment in response to questions about the new variant and the PCR test: “One of the mutations in the new variant deletes six bases in the viral genome that encode amino acids 69 and 70 of the spike protein. By coincidence, this region is one of three genomic targets used by some PCR tests, and so in those tests that “channel” comes up negative on the new variant. Dr Robert Shorten, Chair, Microbiology Professional Committee, Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine (ACB): The Great Vaccinator. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Listener-supported WNYC Studios.
JAD ABUMRAD: Before we start, I just want to let you know there is a moment or two of strong language in the story. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Wait. Wait. You're listening (laughter)... UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: All right. Study: New Mutation Sped Up Spread of Coronavirus. Well, probably in the summer, but not necessarily, there was a short, mild wave of influenza.
Since we don't have viral samples, we can't really prove that. But we do know that in the fall of 1918, influenza, which we have since discovered was the H1N1 strain of influenza, ripped through the world, basically, and particularly the United States. And then there was a second wave or surge in the January to April part of 1919, which was pretty darn bad, but not as bad as the fall one. RCN Coronavirus Special Report. Pfizer’s Art of the Deal. Pfizer, in partnership with the German firm BioNTech, has developed a vaccine that, according to the companies’ unpublished data, is more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. This represents a major step toward getting back to something that approaches the pre-COVID world. As with everything related to COVID, however, the near-miraculous breakthrough became immediately tangled in politics as Pfizer attempted to maintain distance from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed while the administration sought to claim credit.
The truth in this dispute is apparently equivocal but ultimately perfectly clear. On the one hand Pfizer, unlike a number of other pharmaceutical firms, did not receive federal funding for research and development, opting instead to rely on its own resources. About. Partnership on AI First Draft is a member of the Partnership on AI’s Steering Committee on AI and Media Integrity. The steering committee, made up of organizations spanning civil society, technology companies, media organizations, and academic institutions, will be focused on a specific set of activities and projects directed at strengthening the research landscape related to new technical capabilities in media production and detection, and increasing coordination across organizations implicated by these developments. The causes and consequences of COVID-19 misperceptions: understanding the role of news and social media. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder review – how to defend democracy in the age of Trump.
Antibody Study Shows No 'Herd Immunity' For COVID-19. Dr. Hilary Jones delivered some bad news to the viewers of Good Morning Britain: Drive? Fly? Stay home? The hard decisions behind pandemic holiday gatherings. “The advice I’ve given my patients is that this is the year to be thinking hard about visiting your family,” said Julita Mir, an internist and infectious disease specialist at the nonprofit Community Care Cooperative. “Put it into perspective. The herd immunity 'solution' is pub economics – a simple model that won't work. Sunetra Gupta and the Covid-19 culture war. 5 things about COVID-19 in September - USAFacts. September was the third consecutive month in which the US recorded over 1 million known cases of COVID-19, though the number of cases was down 17% from 1.45 million in August to 1.2 million. By the end of September, there were 7.17 million known cases of the virus since the beginning of the year, one for every 46 residents.
The case rate more than doubled in Wisconsin between August and September (from 389 cases per 100,000 residents up to 919 cases per 100,000). Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19. Risk of COVID-19 exposure on planes 'virtually nonexistent' when masked, study shows. United Airlines says the risk of COVID-19 exposure onboard its aircraft is "virtually non-existent" after a new study finds that when masks are worn there is only a 0.003% chance particles from a passenger can enter the passenger's breathing space who is sitting beside them. The study, conducted by the Department of Defense in partnership with United Airlines, was published Thursday. They ran 300 tests in a little over six months with a mannequin on a United plane.
U.S. reports highest daily coronavirus cases since July. Coronavirus can’t be compared to the flu or car crashes; here’s why - Hartford Courant. Saint Joseph Medical Center Statement on Dr. Simone Gold. Who Are 'America's Frontline Doctors' and Dr. Stella Immanuel? COVID-19 Leads to Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in young adult. When Will We See a Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids? Heidi Larson Knows How to Build Trust in Vaccines. Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is still possible this year, says AstraZeneca chief.
Back To The Future. The White House attack on health. Normative errors and Surgisphere - Peter Attia. - The Washington Post. - The Washington Post. 4 reasons you shouldn't trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study. 4 reasons you shouldn't trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study. Visualizing the effectiveness of face masks in obstructing respiratory jets: Physics of Fluids: Vol 32, No 6. How Should I Wash My Cloth Mask? Homepage - OC Covid-19. At Least 380,000 U.S. Children Have Tested Positive for COVID-19. Latest us covid 19 deaths, cases. Silent spread of virus keeps scientists grasping for clues. - The Washington Post. Neobosen - Create Better Life. COVID-19: Considerations for Wearing Cloth Face Coverings.
How to host a get-together as safely — and graciously — as possible. Biologist: Sharing Enclosed Space Leads To ‘Massive Spread’ Of Coronavirus. How to Have a Safer Pandemic Memorial Day. - The Washington Post. Up to 45 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be asymptomatic.