COVID-19

[JohnRoberts]

I remain optimistic as is my nature. I am not wearing my mask alone inside my house (never did).

As a student of history, the 4th and last wave of the Spanish flu pandemic was mild and not as deadly as 2nd and 3rd waves. Also from the history they are still seeing isolated cases of the Spanish flu today over a century later.

I won't predict but hope for a good outcome. The doom and gloom merchants are hard at work pushing worst case scenarios about Omnicron. Vaccine makers are talking about another round of vaccine development. Some government leaders are taking aggressive action.

I will predict that Covid will be with us for a long time and will be mined for benefit by different interest groups. It is the nature of such illnesses to get worse in cold weather so lets prepare for some of that around the hemisphere.

JR

 

[crazydoc]

However, it has been suggested that exposure to molnupiravir can be mutagenic to host DNA during host DNA replication. Therefore, the potential off-target effects will require further investigation.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-021-00657-8
Oh boy, I'll bet some folks are really going to jump on this. But if we start growing tails, we can just tuck them into our pants.

My post 2 months ago, but now just FDA approved. They'll be against the vax, but they'll be begging "give me some of that medicine." It'll be a grand experiment - here come the mutants (human and viral).

'The study’s authors say mutations in host DNA could potentially “contribute to the development of cancer, or cause birth defects either in a developing foetus or through incorporation into sperm precursor cells”. '
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/molnupiravir-safety-questions-approvals-approach/
"But my biggest concern with this drug is much larger than the health of any one person, it is molnupiravir’s ability to introduce mutations to the virus itself that are significant enough to change how the virus functions, but not so powerful as to stop it from replicating and becoming the next dominant variant."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/willia...ngers-of-molnupiravir-part-1/?sh=68150a2d6b15

 

[JohnRoberts]

perhaps better than dying but they can just approve it for emergency use, like the vaccines.

JR

 

[scott2000]

Pretty cool chart....

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/yi.zhu4869/viz/201203HHS/Story1_1

 

[JohnRoberts]

That looks like useful data,,,

JR

 

[crazydoc]

perhaps better than dying

JR

I agree - probably better to be alive growing a tail rather than normal and dead.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Do you mean regrowing a vestigial tail?

JR

 

[crazydoc]

No, just a metaphor for mutation.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I agree - probably better to be alive growing a tail rather than normal and dead.

I am no doctor but it appears that one criticism is that the mechanism for degrading the virus damages its genetic code. If this virus with altered genetic code manages to reproduce we have a new puppy for better or worse.

===

It is the nature of news headlines to focus on single variables. Right now the hot new single variable being trumpeted is new omnicron infections, with little consideration for severity. I am pretty sure people still dying are suffering from the delta variant. Of course we will learn more.

JR

 

[cyrano]

Interesting study about the effectiveness of the vaccine:

https://scitechdaily.com/breakthrou...accine-effectiveness-pfizer-vs-moderna-vs-jj/
It also shows how some vaccines "last" longer. Anyone see the correlation between the technology used and the longevity of the vaccin?

 

[crazydoc]

Glad I got Moderna primary series and booster. And being vaccinated, I'm less likely to die from other causes too.

 

[fazer]

I saw this. I’m moderna also. Interesting. I did have a 2 day flu like reaction to the booster. But feelings fine now.

 

[Matador]

Moderna here as well - booster scheduled in a few weeks.

On a completely unrelated note, my 5G reception has never been better.

 

[JohnRoberts]

At the time I was hoping for J&J as the more old school conservative approach. That said I took what was available to me (Moderna, 3 jabs so far). It is a little early to declare one the only vaccine winner while collectively they all helped millions of people. It seems a little hard to get accurate news when everybody is trying to scare us for sundry reasons.

JR

PS: Right now 5G is threatening to interfere with aircraft avionics. Might not get 5G up in planes.

 

[hodad]

I spent a while reading about Omicron today. There seems to be some debate about whether it's substantially more contagious than Delta, or just better at reinfecting folks than earlier variants. Or both. All this will get sorted as more data piles up, I suppose.

My booster is scheduled for Monday.

 

[hodad]

2 links: early info suggests Omicron is 3 times more likely to cause reinfection than Delta:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/03/omicron-covid-variant-delta-reinfection/
(I didn't see a link to the preprint of the study, or I would have posted that.)

And a nice look at infection rates in Canadian provinces vs. US states:
Canada vs. US

 

[JohnRoberts]

It seems like the important question would be is it more lethal?

I'm OK with more contagious if it gets us to herd immunity quicker.

JR

PS: My neighbor the druggist shared that you can rearrange the letters to spell "moronic".

 

[hodad]

It seems like the important question would be is it more lethal?

Certainly a crucial question. Among many. It would appear to be outcompeting Delta, and the high reinfection rate certainly adds a new wrinkle.

 

[JohnRoberts]

New book about Covid. Ridley was just on TV and said evidence is not definitive but pointing at lab leak as more likely than wet market origin.

JR

 

[fallout]

People still believe this started in a 'wet market'?