Covid-XIX Part VI - 90 cases ROI (1 death) 29 in NI (as of 13 March) *Read OP*

cnocbui

fritzelly wrote: »

In general virus immunity is short lived, it's why you keep catching the common cold and flu

It's not so much that it's short lived as those viruses evolve and become something new that your immunity is no longer valid for.

Ardillaun

fritzelly wrote: »

Coronavirus is an rna virus which mutates very easily like variations of the common cold, flu a dna virus also mutates fairly easily. It's a balancing act with viruses
There is some promising research for a cure for the common cold, though to be honest what is the point. Keep the old immune system in check

I think flu virus is also RNA?

http://www.virology.ws/2009/05/01/influenza-virus-rna-genome/

cnocbui

A Brisbane University research team came up with a vaccine candidate in only three weeks, which I find remarkable. now it needs to be tested.

Micky 32

Xertz wrote: »

I think I’m getting a cold which I’m seriously hoping isn’t it! I haven’t been in contact with anyone who’s has it, so let’s hope I’m being over cautious. I’m self isolating though!

Tickle in my throat which has turned into what feels like a very slowly developing cough kinda across my chest. Could be nothing significant but I’m taking no chances.

I’m going to be totally paranoid about every cold now

This is worse than apocalyptic sci-fi. I seriously think I’m just going to stop going out, even if this is just a cold and I’m back to normal in a few days.

I know how you feel. I’m caught at the back of my throat with plegm i’m constantly trying to clear the last few days . My parents are in their 70’s both with heart conditions, my partners mother is 88. A nightmare of worry .

Ardillaun

It’s just a blizzard of news right now. We’re in the headless chicken phase of the pandemic.

cnocbui

niallo27 wrote: »

What do people make of this, trending very high on reddit so looks fairly legit.

https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/sk/coronavirus-vaccine-made-in-saskatchewan-is-now-in-the-testing-stages

They were beaten to the punch by the Aussies.

Can someone explain in lay man's terms why vaccines are so difficult to make? All I really know is that they give you a bit of the disease but apart from that, I don't really know.

AllGunsBlazing

I'm just watching bbc news right now and the presenter just broke into a coughing fit. Awkward.

Xertz

Ardillaun wrote: »

It’s just a blizzard of news right now. Were in the headless chicken phase of the pandemic.

There aren't many other phases to be quite honest. It's just going to be blunder through and hopefully most of us come out the other side relatively unscathed, whenever it is we find the other side.

The key things are getting a medication regime that prevents lung damage. That should take us to the level where it's up there with a dangerous flu, rather than something horrendous.

After that, we need to get some kind of vaccines rolled out and there are an array of private companies, including all the major vaccines players, all sorts of public universities and labs, and also a lot of innovative biotech companies all working on this in multiple countries.

It was one thing I thought was extremely disheartening about Donald Trump's statement. Instead of reaching out to the global supply of extremely talented biotech and vaccine talent, many of which are multinationals, public institutes and universities and plenty are in Europe and Asia and actually in Africa too -( there's some fantastic rapid test kit coming out of the Pasteur Institute in Senegal) he went put up the mental barriers, and went for Fortress America thinking and turned inwards to solve a global challenge locally.

AllGunsBlazing

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

I'm just watching bbc news right now and the presenter just broke into a coughing fit. Awkward.

As awkward as this classic?

Kermit.de.frog

New cases in Japan continue to mount - 52 new cases of Coronavirus so far today and 4 new deaths.

Kermit.de.frog

Deleted User wrote: »

As awkward as this classic?

Is there an actual video of that?

Kermit.de.frog

South Korea reports 110 new cases for yesterday - down on 114 the day before. 7 new deaths.

Kermit.de.frog

Spain has banned all cruise ships from it's territory and put several towns on complete lockdown.

IrishHomer

I'm in Spain on holiday I was due to return home in ,8 more days but after seeing yesterday announcement I panicked and booked an earlier flight for next Wednesday.

My wife was originally booked to join me in a few days but she's not traveling now for obvious reasons.

I've got a very bad feeling flights will be stopped and I will be stuck in Spain on my own without my family.

I'm very anxious I can't sleep all night worrying about bring stranded from all my family

dan786

Premier League gone by the looks of it ...

Arsenal Manager and Chelsea player have it, no way it will proceed even behind closed doors.

Let them play but they have to stay at least one metre apart.

darjeeling

Xertz wrote: »

It depends how often they mutate. Plenty of vaccines give very long periods of immunity, where a virus is relatively stable or the immune system is able to identify a whole class and minor mutations don’t matter.

The Common Cold has been very well researched for decades and they never came up with a workable vaccine for it and the flu vaccine is very hit and miss due to frequent mutations. Predicting the strains has become a bit of an art form.

Seems publicly digestible information about this virus is relatively thin on the ground. We don’t know all that much about its history as it’s novel, to humans anyway. That makes it very hard to even speculate on seasonally or anything else about it.

Also bear in mind that there are also all the normal nasty colds and flus doing the rounds. So people coughing is still more likely to be one of those, but I wouldn’t take any chances whatsoever. This thing could be utterly rampent in a very short time.

Lots of different viruses cause 'the cold': rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses - and multiple strains of each. Making a vaccine against all that lot would be a challenge.

At least Covid-19 is caused by just one virus, with only one strain with neglible variation.

The SARS-CoV-2 actually mutates relatively slowly compared to other RNA viruses like flu viruses. That's because it's got a proof-reading activity in the enzyme that replicates its genome.
Also with flu you can get coinfection with two strains that then create a new strain by 're-assortment' (swapping around their modular genetic components). The SARS-CoV-2 virus can't do that.

One other thing - seasonal flu is now more or less at an end according to the HSE. The A strain circulating in December and early this year is no longer spreading, and the B strain that was still spreading in Feb and early March should be winding up soon.
We should bear that in mind if we get flu symptoms now - it might well be Covid-19.

Turtwig

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Can someone explain in lay man's terms why vaccines are so difficult to make? All I really know is that they give you a bit of the disease but apart from that, I don't really know.

Take this armchair amateur explanation with a pinch of salt:

First of all you have to figure how the virus behaves in the body. Then what defensive mechanisms the body produces that can kill it, ideally without doing harm to healthy body parts.

Now you need to figure out the exact way to the train the body to produce these defenders in the just right way at the right time when the virus invades. Too slow and you're too late. Too much and you've probably damaged healthy body parts as well as increased the risk of defenders annihilating useful friendlies that appear similar to the virus.

Once you've got all this down you need to account for your virus potentially changing its make up or behavior just a bit, just a tiny bit. Enough that your defenders that you've trained won't respond proportionally to the threat. You need to forecast these virus shifts and drifts and ensure your defenders will carry their duty as required.

Now you need to figure out a way to deliver this defender training program to the human body. How are you going to store this? Can you mass produce it? Does it require storage at a certain temperature? Etc.

Now you need to test it's safe in general and have extensive detailed documentation of the risks and side effects.

Now you need the public to trust you that it's safe and effective to actually benefit from the dam thing.

Now, if you're the investor who sunk their cash into this, you need to hope the thing is viable and still relevant. That the virus is still in the market so to speak. Otherwise you've lost a lot of money.

Big pharma doesn't like vaccines in general. They're really expensive to research and produce. Viable products aren't always guaranteed. Risk of financial losses is very great. Not to mention the PR image problems if you fail at any stage.

Kermit.de.frog

446 new cases so far for yesterday (new high) in the United States and 3 new deaths.

The US is also crippled in it's testing due to widespread fear of the cost of simply being tested.

Meanwhile...

https://twitter.com/GreekFire23/status/1238223450403151873

EDIT: US now at 461 new cases

Kermit.de.frog

Italy and Spain ban short-selling ahead of their market opens this morning.

FINANCIAL REGULATORS IN ITALY AND SPAIN BAN SHORT-SELLING AMID BRUTAL GLOBAL SELL OFF

AllGunsBlazing

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

I'm just watching bbc news right now and the presenter just broke into a coughing fit. Awkward.

Yeah, he's still coughing intermittently. Definitely has a bug of some description.

Kermit.de.frog

https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1238287473274486786

kalkat2002

Wondering school closing will be extended minimun after easter...

Ardillaun

Xertz wrote: »

There aren't many other phases to be quite honest.
It was one thing I thought was extremely disheartening about Donald Trump's statement. Instead of reaching out to the global supply of extremely talented biotech and vaccine talent, many of which are multinationals, public institutes and universities and plenty are in Europe and Asia and actually in Africa too -( there's some fantastic rapid test kit coming out of the Pasteur Institute in Senegal) he went put up the mental barriers, and went for Fortress America thinking and turned inwards to solve a global challenge locally.

We are one world when it comes to something like this. There are lessons coming in from all over on how to manage these pandemics. Let’s listen and work together.

drunkmonkey

kalkat2002 wrote: »

Wondering school closing will be extended minimun after easter...

Absolutely, I expect further closures next week. We're not flattering the curve were accelerating it.

LoughNeagh2017

It's funny to here of the drama about isolation, it reminds me how unusual my life is. Going days in social isolation without having a conversation is the norm for me, I've went weeks without conversing before. This is common for people with social anxiety disorder, Aspergers, agoraphobia, etc. Psychologically I don't think it is that damaging, I would still consider myself mostly sane but I just have brain fog and my social skills are even worse.

Also it isn't really social isolation if you talk to people on the phone, so in that regard this carry on with the virus isn't real isolation, just physical isolation. Yet the clowns will probably act like they are struggling with it.

the deftone

kalkat2002 wrote: »

Wondering school closing will be extended minimun after easter...

Doubt they will be going back until September

drunkmonkey

Ardillaun wrote: »

We are one world when it comes to something like this. There are lessons coming in from all over on how to manage these pandemics. Let’s listen and work together.

We're learning no lessons, we haven't told anyone where it is or put a single village or town on lockdown. It's a lets try to give it to everyone slowly strategy as our hospitals can't cope. We're absolutely screwed it's blatantly apparent for anyone following this seriously since the start.

Cork Boy 53

kalkat2002 wrote: »

Wondering school closing will be extended minimun after easter...

Not until after summer at the earliest.