Coronavirus Thread. Virus v humans

[eldanielfire]

German's decide to embraced the AstraZeneca vaccine after all:

https://www.ft.com/content/d6f5aff4-987 ... 3e61754ec6



German health advisers signal end of Oxford/AstraZeneca age restrictions
Similar move expected in France as EU governments come under pressure to clear stockpile of unused doses

As of Saturday, Germany had only administered 363,645 of the 1.45m doses of the two-injection Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine that had been delivered © Jon Nazca/Reuters
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German government health advisers have signalled they might allow older individuals to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as EU governments come under increasing pressure to clear the stockpile of unused doses.

Thomas Mertens, head of the German vaccination commission, told German television channel ZDF that there would be “an updated recommendation” “very soon” that will “make adjustments to this point” — referring to the decision to recommend the jab’s use for the under-65s only.

His comments come at a time of mounting concern that stocks of the AstraZeneca shot are piling up unused in Europe, amid widespread doubts about its efficacy among the populations of Germany, France and elsewhere.

As of Saturday, Germany had only administered 363,645 of the 1.45m doses of the two-injection vaccine that had been delivered — or just 25 per cent. Regional health officials said that thousands of people had failed to turn up for appointments after they found out they were to receive an AstraZeneca shot.

As of Saturday, France had administered 21 per cent of the 1.1m doses of the jab it received since the first delivery in early February, according to health ministry data. There were reports of hesitancy and side-effects among healthcare workers.

German officials said a key reason for the low uptake of the jab was the recommendation of the standing vaccination commission not to use the jab on people over 65 — a move prompted by what it said was a lack of reliable data on its effectiveness for this age group.

In France, only people aged between 50 and 64 with comorbidities and healthcare workers were receiving the vaccine, while Spain has advised it not be used on those older than 55 years old. Italy is offering the jab to those younger than 65. By contrast, the European Medicines Agency, the EU regulator, backed its use for all individuals aged 18 and over.

“We never criticised the vaccine . . . just that the data set for the over-65 age group wasn’t good, or wasn’t adequate,” said Mertens, adding that the commission’s view of the vaccine had improved “in the light of new data coming in”.

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He cited a new study from Scotland, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showing the AstraZeneca shot lowered the chance of hospitalisation from four to six weeks after vaccination by 94 per cent after one shot.

His comments echo those of French health officials, as well as of chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron, who have in recent days tried to restore public trust in the vaccine. After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

France’s Haute Autorité de Santé’s commission on vaccines declined to give a timeline on when it might revise its advice on the use of AstraZeneca but said it was continuously assessing new data, including the Scottish study. France’s health minister has asked the commission to review the data and advise as to whether current policy needs to be adjusted.

Meanwhile a growing chorus of German politicians are calling for Germany to relax its strict rules on who qualifies for a vaccination. Winifred Kretschmann, prime minister of the big south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, called for a rethink of vaccination priorities: “We can’t afford to have the vaccine lying around unused because some of those who are entitled to it are rejecting it,” he told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

“We should relax this strict regimen and vaccinate people, even if, under the system of prioritisation, it’s not necessarily their turn,” he added.

A similar point was made by Michael Kretschmer, prime minister of Saxony, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. He said the current regime restricting vaccines to the highest priority groups should be cancelled quickly with regard to AstraZeneca.

“The system of prioritisation was a means of managing a shortage [in the availability of vaccines],” he said. “Now we see that there is more of it than can be administered, at least in the short-term.”

Separately, Germany announced on Sunday that it was tightening its rules for people entering the country from the French region of Moselle, amid concerns about rising cases of more infectious mutations of the coronavirus, notably the variant that has emerged in South Africa.

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Travellers entering Germany from Moselle will have to show a negative Covid-19 test that is no older than 48 hours. Airlines, bus and rail companies can no longer bring passengers from Moselle to Germany. German citizens and foreigners living in Germany will be exempted, as will be goods traffic.

France’s Europe minister Clement Béaune said he “regrets” the German decision. “It involves a number of border slowdowns for people who work,” he said. “We are doing everything to preserve work on either side of the border.”

[message #2527204]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

[ovalball]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

[eldanielfire]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

[bimboman]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

[eldanielfire]

https://twitter.com/Exploding_Heads/sta ... 5898313735

Covidinho

[Frodder]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

[bimboman]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

It’s part of the Psych op because lots of people went out at the weekend, and even the police federation are saying it’s unworkable. Remember the pubs / shops / gyms etc aren’t opening for 6 more weeks. Expect it to ramp up before the Easter holidays.

They’ll have their case numbers by then though with millions of daily tests on children.

[ovalball]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

There are 1000s of variants - which is why it is so important to identify the dangerous ones and prevent them from spreading/becoming dominant. Not much point in having the best genome sequencing resources if we don't then use the data to protect ourselves - especially those, like the Brazillian variant, that scientists believe could make vaccines less effective.

[bimboman]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

There are 1000s of variants - which is why it is so important to identify the dangerous ones and prevent them from spreading/becoming dominant. Not much point in having the best genome sequencing resources if we don't then use the data to protect ourselves - especially those, like the Brazillian variant, that scientists believe could make vaccines less effective.

“Dangerous ones”

Remember when the “Kent” virus was going to kill everyone.

People can’t be this naive.

[eldanielfire]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

I never said it wasn't in europe too. And I've criticized their piss poor border control as well.

[bimboman]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

I never said it wasn't in europe too. And I've criticized their piss poor border control as well.

Believing that you can control a Corona virus variant by border controls isn't actually real, you know that right ?

[eldanielfire]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

There are 1000s of variants - which is why it is so important to identify the dangerous ones and prevent them from spreading/becoming dominant. Not much point in having the best genome sequencing resources if we don't then use the data to protect ourselves - especially those, like the Brazillian variant, that scientists believe could make vaccines less effective.

“Dangerous ones”

Remember when the “Kent” virus was going to kill everyone.

People can’t be this naive.

Actually the initial assessment given b the Government is the Kent version spread more easily but wasn't yet shown to be more dangerous. Certainly no one ever said it would kill everybody. Typical Bimboman strawman.

[C69]

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

It's pretty silly atm tbh

[bimboman]

Actually the initial assessment given b the Government is the Kent version spread more easily but wasn't yet shown to be more dangerous. Certainly no one ever said it would kill everybody. Typical Bimboman strawman.

It was more dangerous to children,

It would be vaccine resistant...

More deadly.


There’s plenty of headlines and media that claimed this either directly or by implication.

It isn’t a straw man it’s how they’ve moved the narrative for attempts at control.

Here’s a simple question for you, do you think every test that’s positive is being tested for variant?

[eldanielfire]

Actually the initial assessment given b the Government is the Kent version spread more easily but wasn't yet shown to be more dangerous. Certainly no one ever said it would kill everybody. Typical Bimboman strawman.

It was more dangerous to children,

It would be vaccine resistant...

More deadly.


There’s plenty of headlines and media that claimed this either directly or by implication.

It isn’t a straw man it’s how they’ve moved the narrative for attempts at control.

Again they didn't say it was more dangerous t children. Only it spread among children more easily. Now stop making stuff up.

[bimboman]

Actually the initial assessment given b the Government is the Kent version spread more easily but wasn't yet shown to be more dangerous. Certainly no one ever said it would kill everybody. Typical Bimboman strawman.

It was more dangerous to children,

It would be vaccine resistant...

More deadly.


There’s plenty of headlines and media that claimed this either directly or by implication.

It isn’t a straw man it’s how they’ve moved the narrative for attempts at control.

Again they didn't say it was more dangerous t children. Only it spread among children more easily. Now stop making stuff up.

Don’t gaslight me, they did. Go away.

[terryfinch]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

I struggle to understand why EU leaders, Macron and Merkel in particular, are so sh*t. Their behaviour over the vaccination has been criminal and will cause thousands of deaths. Unbelievable.

[Edinburgh01]

I must have missed the announcement that restrictions were cancelled in Scotland.

It has been a lovely, sunny few days. We are at almost normal year levels of tourists for this time of year, aided by some twats taking accommodation bookings. The hill walking car park was overflowing yesterday, and given the parking permits on several cars, over half were from areas not allowed to be here (the others I had no way of knowing, but I'd be surprised if they were not the same).

Utter morons.

Edit
As I have just mentioned to my wife, when I was out walking the dog this morning I was passed by several cyclists. None were local, and all were my age and older (65). I speculate if older people having had the vaccine are now being less careful.

[bimboman]

I must have missed the announcement that restrictions were cancelled in Scotland.

It has been a lovely, sunny few days. We are at almost normal year levels of tourists for this time of year, aided by some twats taking accommodation bookings. The hill walking car park was overflowing yesterday, and given the parking permits on several cars, over half were from areas not allowed to be here (the others I had no way of knowing, but I'd be surprised if they were not the same).

Utter morons.

Driving in their own vehicles to walk outside. What Morons.

[Petej]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

I struggle to understand why EU leaders, Macron and Merkel in particular, are so sh*t. Their behaviour over the vaccination has been criminal and will cause thousands of deaths. Unbelievable.

They've been decidedly less shit on a per capita death basis and on a damage to their countries economy but they have done shit on the vaccine front. The EU have made a proper mess out of the issues at the production facility in belgium for the AstraZeneca vaccine. It was quite nice to see them messing up instead of us for a change.

The uk has been very useful for AstraZeneca to cover for their trials which has come good for both the uk and AstraZeneca.

It is worth noting that the AstraZeneca vaccine still hasn't been approved by the FDA.

Not sure why people are so bothered about outside activities

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

It's pretty silly atm tbh

At some point they will realise the vaccine creates selective pressure on the virus to favour variants that evade parts of the immune response. Not sure if people in general have realised that covid is not going to be eradicated.

[message #2527204]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

I struggle to understand why EU leaders, Macron and Merkel in particular, are so sh*t. Their behaviour over the vaccination has been criminal and will cause thousands of deaths. Unbelievable.

They've been decidedly less shit on a per capita death basis and on a damage to their countries economy but they have done shit on the vaccine front. The EU have made a proper mess out of the issues at the production facility in belgium for the AstraZeneca vaccine. It was quite nice to see them messing up instead of us for a change.

The uk has been very useful for AstraZeneca to cover for their trials which has come good for both the uk and AstraZeneca.

It is worth noting that the AstraZeneca vaccine still hasn't been approved by the FDA.

Not sure why people are so bothered about outside activities

So the Brazilian variant is in the country. Thanks in part to piss poor border management. Hopefully it can be isolated.

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

It's pretty silly atm tbh

At some point they will realise the vaccine creates selective pressure on the virus to favour variants that evade parts of the immune response. Not sure if people in general have realised that covid is not going to be eradicated.

The UK engaged Astrazeneca to produce the Oxford vaccine, but the other way around.

I think most people in the UK are aware it won't be eradicated. Boris even went on tv last week to say we'll have to live with it forever.

Those that don't seem to be aware are the ones that have closed their borders I.e. NZ and AUS. At some point they will have to open them again and let the virus do it's stuff.

[bimboman]

At some point they will realise the vaccine creates selective pressure on the virus to favour variants that evade parts of the immune response. Not sure if people in general have realised that covid is not going to be eradicated.

Lockdowns also create selective pressure on the virus.

[not_english]

Those that don't seem to be aware are the ones that have closed their borders I.e. NZ and AUS. At some point they will have to open them again and let the virus do it's stuff.

And Singapore, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc, etc,

[ovalball]

It’s across Europe.

There’s 1,000’s of variants.

Stop believing everything you read,

The BBC are working themselves into a frenzy over this

There are 1000s of variants - which is why it is so important to identify the dangerous ones and prevent them from spreading/becoming dominant. Not much point in having the best genome sequencing resources if we don't then use the data to protect ourselves - especially those, like the Brazillian variant, that scientists believe could make vaccines less effective.

“Dangerous ones”

Remember when the “Kent” virus was going to kill everyone.

People can’t be this naive.

Actually the initial assessment given b the Government is the Kent version spread more easily but wasn't yet shown to be more dangerous. Certainly no one ever said it would kill everybody. Typical Bimboman strawman.

I think I'll stick with the scientists' opinions on the potential risks of certain new variants, rather than a naive internet troll who has downplayed every aspect of the pandemic and who would rather just leave it all to chance.

[Sputnik V]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

[bimboman]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

The dumbest investment ever considering governments are giving them away.

[Sputnik V]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

The dumbest investment ever considering governments are giving them away.

I want to do an experiment. Test me, test avocados, test cans of beer, clean me backside with them and test, see which ones come up positive and just how random it is

[bimboman]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

The dumbest investment ever considering governments are giving them away.

I want to do an experiment. Test me, test avocados, test cans of beer, clean me backside with them and test, see which ones come up positive and just how random it is

Just as the test and trace for a family.

Anecdotally a local to me who gangs casual labour did 10 tests last year on his staffs behalf, can back 7/3. Same person one after the other.

[not_english]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

[ovalball]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

How many of the tests are posted to individuals ? I doubt that's a significant %.

[shereblue]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

The dumbest investment ever considering governments are giving them away.

I want to do an experiment. Test me, test avocados, test cans of beer, clean me backside with them and test, see which ones come up positive and just how random it is

Just as the test and trace for a family.

Anecdotally a local to me who gangs casual labour did 10 tests last year on his staffs behalf, can back 7/3. Same person one after the other.

Was that local also an ERG type in a lather over spurious questions from academics to MPs at a time of Covid?

[bimboman]

Where can I bulk buy PCR kits

The dumbest investment ever considering governments are giving them away.

I want to do an experiment. Test me, test avocados, test cans of beer, clean me backside with them and test, see which ones come up positive and just how random it is

Just as the test and trace for a family.

Anecdotally a local to me who gangs casual labour did 10 tests last year on his staffs behalf, can back 7/3. Same person one after the other.

Was that local also an ERG type in a lather over spurious questions from academics to MPs at a time of Covid?

It’s just word salad now from you isn’t it.

[not_english]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

How many of the tests are posted to individuals ? I doubt that's a significant %.

Just reading in the mail that they have 55,000 of these unidentified test results. The data management process just seems deeply flawed

[message #2527204]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

How many of the tests are posted to individuals ? I doubt that's a significant %.

Just reading in the mail that they have 55,000 of these unidentified test results. The data management process just seems deeply flawed

You don't have to provide a proof of name and address to get a test.

[not_english]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

How many of the tests are posted to individuals ? I doubt that's a significant %.

Just reading in the mail that they have 55,000 of these unidentified test results. The data management process just seems deeply flawed

You don't have to provide a proof of name and address to get a test.

These are posted tests, you would thinkeach test would have a unique id, and you would record the id and the details of who you posted it to.

[DragsterDriver]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

The Irish missed a golden opportunity. They should have stood up and said "We'll take all the excess AZ you're not using".

[Sputnik V]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

The Irish missed a golden opportunity. They should have stood up and said "We'll take all the excess AZ you're not using".

hardly only had one death today, why do they need to beg for an experimental vaccine. The longer they can go without mass vaccination while other nations, including us, are jabbing away, the better for them.

[message #2527204]

How is it possible that someone has taken a test (the Brazilian variant chappy), and we don't know who they are? Surely they have a record that they posted test X to person Y?

How many of the tests are posted to individuals ? I doubt that's a significant %.

Just reading in the mail that they have 55,000 of these unidentified test results. The data management process just seems deeply flawed

You don't have to provide a proof of name and address to get a test.

These are posted tests, you would thinkeach test would have a unique id, and you would record the id and the details of who you posted it to.

You might have posted a dozen to the same address, or not posted to an address at all and just handed out the test kit (as seems likely in this case). Each kit contains a UID and when you take a test you fill in the ID and your details online in order to receive the result.

[CM11]

After saying in January that the vaccine was “quasi-ineffective”, Macron said on Friday that he would take it if he was offered it.

A clear case of closing the stable door after the horse has been scared shitless by his cattle prod and bolted.

Yep - an utter balls up by the authorities in those countries. Hard not to believe it wasn't some misguided attempt to cover up the EU's incompetence. Biting them in the arse now and, sadly, it's probably costing lives. Need to get as much data out asap to restore some confidence in their programmes and get the vaccines in people's arms.

The Irish missed a golden opportunity. They should have stood up and said "We'll take all the excess AZ you're not using".

hardly only had one death today, why do they need to beg for an experimental vaccine. The longer they can go without mass vaccination while other nations, including us, are jabbing away, the better for them.

Would you stop using our Monday fatality figure, please? I pointed out to you last week that it's not representative.

Ta.