Covid-19 Vaccine - Where, How & Costs

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Archibald said:
Same for the spanish flu. By 1922, it was old stuff.
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Not really. It had disappeared from the scene as mysteriously as it had appeared, but medical professionals still (and even now) lived in dread that it might one day return. And one of the post-911 nightmare scenarios has been that terrorists might discover a still viable sample of the virus and try to weaponise it.
 
The really scary stuff found by chance is viable Smallpox. Unexpectedly, a vile turned up at the bottom of a university freezer that was being decommissioned and worse still was the story of an antique medical text book. A collector purchased this only to discover that within the pages there was an envelope into which, in the mid twentieth century, somebody had thoughtfully placed some samples of smallpox infected skin. Luckily he recognised Smallpox’s Latin name on the envelope, didn’t touch it, and advised the authorities. The subsequent lab analysis reported although very old, the material was of such a concentration they couldn’t rule out infection from contact.

And then there’s the story of the undergrad in Canada who made a sister Smallpox virus, not human transmissible, just the demonstrate how easy it is to do it with today’s technology.

Considering how the world’s reacted to COVID what would happen if something really nasty such as Smallpox got a hold?
 
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The Soviet "biopreparat" whackiness instantly comes to mind. read only the Wikipedia entry and brace yourself for terror. The 1978 anthrax "leak" in the land of a young (and not drunkard yet) Boris Yeltsin is pretty terrifying.

Also more recently, that criminal dumbarse biologist in The Netherlands who cooked the most lethal flu / coronavirus strain he could think off from the top of his idiotic mind. That was less than a decade ago.

If THAT one ever escapes the lab, R.I.P mankind, hello,real-world AZL-113 from Planet of the apes. Covid 19 and Spanish flu are merely a small cold compared to that one.

Thinking about it... there was a story of a renowned Chinese virologist getting worried about bat-coronavirus post SRAS in 2003 and starting a collection of bat-coronavirus in a chinese lab. Virus sampled (at some very high risk for the scientists going there) from chinese caves filled with bat guano.
The same bat guano used by poor asian peasants to help their cultures.
Some of the coronavirus were later modified, not as weapon, but for a more practical study. There were rumors one escaped and started the ongoing chaos - Covid-19, here we go.
Alternative: one peasant bitten by an angry bat protesting the stealing of its guano, led to animal-to-human transmission and the present shitstorm.

How true are these stories ? (before anybody says the word: I respectefully pee on any conspiracy theory. No interest in that)
 
I can think of five possible scenarios - no idea how realistic they are. Once again, screw conspiracies here.

Scenario 1 - chinese peasant goes into the cave for guano, gets bitten by a bat

Scenario 2 - miners go into the cave, looking for coal, gets bitten by a bat

Scenario 3a - scientist goes into the cave, looking for bat coronavirus samples, gets bitten by a bat

Scenario 3b - scientist not bitten by a bat, brings coronavirus to the lab, virus escape, worlwide chaos follows

Scenario 3c - scientist not bitten by a bat, brings coronavirus to the lab, starts modifiying it for science sake, virus escapes, worlwide chaos follows
 
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Archibald said:
Scenario 3b - scientist not bitten by a bat, brings coronavirus to the lab, virus escape, worlwide chaos follows
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This is my favourite, as it’s happened several times before;- just two years after the world wide eradication of Smallpox a lab photography contracted Smallpox from the lab she worked in. Sadly she died and the director of the lab, an scientist internationally recognised for his work/role in Smallpox eradication took his own life. Despite an extensive investigation the circumstances of the exposure could not be determined.

With COVID we will simply never know.
 
Zoo Tycoon said:
Archibald said:
Scenario 3b - scientist not bitten by a bat, brings coronavirus to the lab, virus escape, worlwide chaos follows
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This is my favourite, as it’s happened several times before;- just two years after the world wide eradication of Smallpox a lab photography contracted Smallpox from the lab she worked in. Sadly she died and the director of the lab, an scientist internationally recognised for his work/role in Smallpox eradication took his own life. Despite an extensive investigation the circumstances of the exposure could not be determined.

With COVID we will simply never know.
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So much for P4 labs, supposedly Fort Knox for viruses... with the rotten cynical present chinese government we will surely never know.
 
Grey Havoc said:
Archibald said:
3c - scientist not bitten by a bat, brtings coronavirus to the lab, starts modifiying it for science sake, virus escapes, worlwide chaos follows
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I think that may indeed be the most likely scenario.
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What is really sickening with this one is how it is uncomfortably close from the "artificial origin / weaponization" conspiracy horse manure.

For conspiracionists, that's a gift from heaven.

For sane people, it's a PR nightmare.

The nuance that biologists tweak viruses to study them (NOT to weaponize them !) just plays into their hands even further.

(= mad scientists will kill us all ! TROPE, up to eleven...)
 
A number of studies are suggesting it was in the environment of Europe at least before it was meant to have left China.

Fabrice Carbat, director of Institut Pierre-Louis, conducted a study showing that SARS-Cov-2 was already circulating in France in November 2019. The rate of contamination in the French population was already of the order of one in a thousand.
 
Archibald said:
The nuance that biologists tweak viruses to study them (NOT to weaponize them !) just plays into their hands even further.
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Complicating matters further is the fact that the WHO was reportedly funding at least some of the coronavirus research at the lab in question.

EDIT:
Carbat's conclusions are heavily contested though.
 
Flyaway said:
www.ox.ac.uk

Common asthma treatment reduces need for hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients, study suggests | University of Oxford

Early treatment with a medication commonly used to treat asthma appears to significantly reduce the need for urgent care and hospitalisation in people with COVID-19, researchers at the University of Oxford have found.
www.ox.ac.uk www.ox.ac.uk
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Findings from the phase 2 randomised study, which was supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), were published on the medRxiv pre-print server.

The findings from 146 people – of whom half took 800 micrograms of the medication twice a day and half were on usual care – suggests that inhaled budesonide reduced the relative risk of requiring urgent care or hospitalisation by 90% in the 28-day study period. Participants allocated the budesonide inhaler also had a quicker resolution of fever, symptoms and fewer persistent symptoms after 28 days.
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nice!
 
www.telegraph.co.uk

No10 'confident' in vaccine rollout despite supply concerns across UK

www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

Downing Street said it has confidence over vaccine supply and hitting its priority groups target after the Scottish Government said it would be scaling back its vaccination programme as jab supplies to the UK dip.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said there will be a drop in vaccine supply across all four nations of the UK, caused by work being carried out by Pfizer - the manufacturer of one of the approved coronavirus vaccines.

She said Scotland should hit its target of vaccinating 400,000 adults a week ahead of schedule this week, but the programme will then "need to scale back a bit".

Pfizer is having to temporarily reduce output as part of an overall effort to increase manufacturing capacity amid worldwide demand for vaccines.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Thursday: "We're confident of our vaccine supply and we're confident that we can hit our target of vaccinating all those top four groups by Monday."

It is understood some mass vaccination centres in Wales are expected to reduce their operating hours in response to a planned dip in supply.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman from Northern Ireland's Department of Health said they were not aware of any issues.

It was revealed last month that the UK was set to face short-term delays in delivery of the Pfizer jab as the pharmaceutical company upgraded its production capacity.
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In the United States, some sports stadiums are to be used as mass vaccination centers. As of today, major pharmacies are getting direct shipments for distribution.

www.cnbc.com

When Covid vaccines could be available at chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens

The federal government will start shipping vaccines directly to pharmacies today. Here's how to make an appointment when you're eligible.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com

A recent poll shows that about one-third of the US population will not get the vaccine. Also, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not recommended for those under 16 years old. A reliable source puts the total number of shots given to date at 46 million, and accelerating.

On a personal note, I predict that when the most important business in the world is allowed to reopen, it will signal that the worst is over. I'm referring to bars/pubs.
 
@edwest : Someone came around the fact that the totality of Covid-19 virus in the world could be contained in one single soda can... Not even a pint.
So much for alcohol being dangerous! [/joke]
www.bbc.com

Why all the world's coronavirus would fit in a can of cola

If you collected up every Sars-CoV-2 virus particle in the world, it would fit inside a soft drinks can, writes the mathematician Christian Yates.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
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Moderna Vaccine/ USA:

Amid the 600 million doses of vaccine recently secured, US Navy plans to use some to vaccinate the entire staff of the Ike aircraft carrier (~5000) before her next deployment.
www.navytimes.com

The Ike Carrier Strike Group to get COVID vaccine this weekend, before its deployment

“There’s a dim light at the end of the tunnel," Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis said Friday.
www.navytimes.com www.navytimes.com
3 active sailors have died so far from Covid-19 related causes:
www.navytimes.com

Norfolk sailor dies of COVID-19 complications

The sailor is the third active-duty sailor to die this month after contracting the novel coronavirus
www.navytimes.com www.navytimes.com
 
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science.slashdot.org

WHO Lists AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use - Slashdot

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world. From a report: A WHO statement said it had approved the vaccine as produced by...
science.slashdot.org
 
I live in Burleson, just south of Fort Worth, Texas. There is currently 6" of snow and ice on the ground and the temperature is in the low teens and is forecast not to stay above freezing until Saturday. There are also rolling blackouts where electricity is on only for alternating hours to reduce the load on the grid. More snow is forecast this evening. People will have trouble getting to the vaccination sites this week, but transportation should be back to normal after Saturday with temperatures staying above freezing.
 
Hungary/ Sinopharm vaccine:
Hungary prepares to become the first EU country to roll out the Chinese vaccine.
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news.yahoo.com

First 550,000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm's vaccine arrive in Hungary

The first 550,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Budapest, a leading health official said on Tuesday, as Hungary prepares to become the first EU country to roll out the Chinese vaccine. The shots will be offered for use as soon as the authorities have inspected the...
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
 
Subject to local NHS approval a human challenge trial has been given the go ahead. It will take place in a special secure unit at the Royal Free hospital in London. Only people aged 18-30 can take part and will be paid for their trouble and risk.

www.lbc.co.uk

UK approves world first 'human challenge' study to infect people with Covid-19

The world's first Covid-19 human challenge study has been given the go-ahead to begin next month, with young people intentionally infected with the virus to learn more about how it works.
www.lbc.co.uk www.lbc.co.uk
 
Virus-fighting surface coating developed by Boeing and University of Queensland is tested on ISS

Developed by Boeing and The University of Queensland (UQ), the joint research project was tested aboard Boeing's ecoDemonstrator last year as part of the company's Confident Travel Initiative.

"While testing continues on orbit and on Earth, we're encouraged by the preliminary results of the antimicrobial chemical compound," said Mike Delaney, Boeing's chief aerospace safety officer. "There is the potential for broad-based applicability for a surface coating like this when used in conjunction with other measures to prevent disease transmission."
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