***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by petegz28

****ing Canadians.....

Xenophobe.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by O.city

Parsing thru the data, why isn't a single shot of the pfizer vaccine on the table? I understand for long term the 2nd, but damn after the 1 thats a hella response.

Seems to me that the jump from 1 to 2 is pretty significant, no? Especially if a lot of people are going to refuse this thing, that could make a big difference in overall impact.

Not saying that 1 dose isn't worth anything at all, though. Also exciting to see that some level of immunity hits after only 10 days.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Seems to me that the jump from 1 to 2 is pretty significant, no? Especially if a lot of people are going to refuse this thing, that could make a big difference in overall impact.

Not saying that 1 dose isn't worth anything at all, though. Also exciting to see that some level of immunity hits after only 10 days.

Just that we're limited on amount right now. If we had enough, I'm in agreement with you.

But it's scarce so spreading it out might be better?

[KS Smitty]

Originally Posted by TLO

I'm not sure what platform they are using to meet, but they are clearly having technical issues.

Don't know if it's any better but it's also on CSPAN-3.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by O.city

Just that we're limited on amount right now. If we had enough, I'm in agreement with you.

But it's scarce so spreading it out might be better?

I think the concern is that one dose wouldn't provide lasting immunity, but I know they don't have enough data to make any conclusions about that definitively.

In short, I'll leave that one up to the people who are smarter than me.

[louie aguiar]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

The delivery system is the rate-limiting approach, not the mRNA approach. mRNA is a small, simple set of genetic instructions, but as such, it's fragile. The difficulty in drug development of these vaccines comes from being able to introduce them into the cell without damaging or destroying them or initiating an immune response to soon. That's why they are kept at such cold temperatures, and that's why they are protected by liposomal formulations and that's why they tweaked the mRNA.

Here's how it works:

You inject the vaccine into the upper arm. The mRNA complex enters the cell, but not the nucleus (which means it can't hijack or otherwise interfere with your DNA--it's not a retrovirus, and the people worried about this have no idea what they are talking about). In the cytoplasm of the cell, a ribosome reads the instructions on the mRNA and translates this into a protein--in this case, a spike protein. The spike protein is made and is then carried to the outside of the cell.

Your immune system recognizes this spike protein (an antigen) as foreign and initiates an immune response. The antibodies formed neutralize the spike protein.

In the future, if you are exposed to SARS-CoV-2, your body's immune system will recognize the spike protein on the virus, quickly deploy neutralizing antibodies, and clear the infection before a viral reservoir can be established with around 95% efficacy.

It does not change your DNA
It does not make systemic alterations to the cellular structure of your body
There is absolutely no reason to believe long term effects will occur from the introduction of a simple set of coding instructions. Titin is the largest protein in the human body with a size of approximately 3000 kDa. The spike protein is 200 kDa.

Great info. Thank you.

[TLO]

Listening to public comments now.

Some interesting concerns being brought up. But nothing that seems too alarming. A lot of talk about what some people are perceiving as lack of diversity in the trial.

A lot of talk about people who got the placebo in the trials and when they should be offered the vaccine.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by TLO

Listening to public comments now.

Some interesting concerns being brought up. But nothing that seems too alarming. A lot of talk about what some people are perceiving as lack of diversity in the trial.

A lot of talk about people who got the placebo in the trials and when they should be offered the vaccine.

While I appreciate the placebo folks, it's hard to say they should be prioritized above healthcare workers and people in long-term care facilities. I'm fine with them getting it well before healthy people like me, though.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by TLO

Listening to public comments now.

Some interesting concerns being brought up. But nothing that seems too alarming. A lot of talk about what some people are perceiving as lack of diversity in the trial.

A lot of talk about people who got the placebo in the trials and when they should be offered the vaccine.

Political BS.....the fact that the UK is on day 3 of sticking people and we are still talking is a bit irritating.

[TLO]

Also a bunch of discussion coming up about people with "severe allergies" and how they shouldn't take the vaccine.

[TLO]

Some people want expanded access instead of an EUA... What if something goes wrong? What if there is a problem with the vaccine and people lose trust in the FDA?

[TLO]

Ok I'm done posting stuff from "public comments". Some of these people clearly have an agenda.

To note: these aren't public comments from anti-vaxx Anthony, ChiefsPlanet DC poster. But I'm not familiar with some of these organizations these folks are with.

[petegz28]

Do we usually allow public comments when we approve a virus?

[TLO]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Do we usually allow public comments when we approve a virus?

I don't know.

The majority of these people are making solid points and are raising good questions.

Some of them seem off their rocker though. I imagine the scientists listening at the FDA can make the distinction between the two.

[Donger]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...sembleforecast

This week’s national ensemble forecast predicts that the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths will likely increase over the next 4 weeks, with 12,600 to 23,400 new deaths likely to be reported in the week ending January 2, 2021. The national ensemble predicts that a total of 332,000 to 362,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported by this date.