Neverending Covid-19 Coronavirus

Well, some more bad news on COVID. This preprint paper shows that 70% of low risk young people that had mild COVID have lesions to at least one organ 4 months after infection. This was a surprise to the researchers, who were trying to show that mild COVID cases did not cause organ damage.

www.medrxiv.org

Multi-organ impairment in low-risk individuals with long COVID

Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has disproportionately affected older individuals and those with underlying medical conditions. Research has focused on short-term outcomes in hospital, and single organ involvement. Consequently, impact of long...
www.medrxiv.org www.medrxiv.org


Some good news though, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has just released their complete data and it's 95% effective (the preliminary data from a week ago suggested at least 90%). They should be applying for regulatory approval very soon, so limited vaccine roll outs to critical sectors may even begin before the year is over.
 
Interesting article about the science behind the vaccine and the debate on how publicly funded research is being used as the basis for Pfizer and Moderna's vaccine, that they will inevitably cash in on. What should the obligation for these private companies be?

The vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, which are likely to be the first to win FDA approval, in particular rely heavily on two fundamental discoveries that emerged from federally funded research: the viral protein designed by Graham and his colleagues, and the concept of RNA modification, first developed by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania. In fact, Moderna’s founders in 2010 named the company after this concept: “Modified” + “RNA” = Moderna, according to co-founder Robert Langer.

“This is the people’s vaccine,” said corporate critic Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program. “Federal scientists helped invent it and taxpayers are funding its development. … It should belong to humanity.”

Under a 1980 law, the NIH will obtain no money from the coronavirus vaccine patent. How much money will eventually go to the discoverers or their institutions isn’t clear. Any existing licensing agreements haven’t been publicized; patent disputes among some of the companies will likely last years. HHS’ big contracts with the vaccine companies are not transparent, and Freedom of Information Act requests have been slow-walked and heavily redacted, said Duke University law professor Arti Rai.

khn.org

Government-Funded Scientists Laid the Groundwork for Billion-Dollar Vaccines - KFF Health News

Drugmakers will walk away with massive profits, but much of the pioneering work on mRNA vaccines was done with government money.
khn.org khn.org
 
nolalady said:
Interesting article about the science behind the vaccine and the debate on how publicly funded research is being used as the basis for Pfizer and Moderna's vaccine, that they will inevitably cash in on. What should the obligation for these private companies be?

The vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, which are likely to be the first to win FDA approval, in particular rely heavily on two fundamental discoveries that emerged from federally funded research: the viral protein designed by Graham and his colleagues, and the concept of RNA modification, first developed by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania. In fact, Moderna’s founders in 2010 named the company after this concept: “Modified” + “RNA” = Moderna, according to co-founder Robert Langer.

“This is the people’s vaccine,” said corporate critic Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program. “Federal scientists helped invent it and taxpayers are funding its development. … It should belong to humanity.”

Under a 1980 law, the NIH will obtain no money from the coronavirus vaccine patent. How much money will eventually go to the discoverers or their institutions isn’t clear. Any existing licensing agreements haven’t been publicized; patent disputes among some of the companies will likely last years. HHS’ big contracts with the vaccine companies are not transparent, and Freedom of Information Act requests have been slow-walked and heavily redacted, said Duke University law professor Arti Rai.

khn.org

Government-Funded Scientists Laid the Groundwork for Billion-Dollar Vaccines - KFF Health News

Drugmakers will walk away with massive profits, but much of the pioneering work on mRNA vaccines was done with government money.
khn.org khn.org
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There was also a great write-up at STAT on the same subject*, if you want to read more.

www.statnews.com

The story of mRNA: How a once-dismissed idea became a leading technology in the Covid vaccine race

The story of mRNA began is a tale of personal perseverance, eureka moments in the lab, soaring expectations — and an unprecedented flow of cash in biotech.
www.statnews.com www.statnews.com

EDIT: *I should clarify - not same subject exactly - more on the history of the technology behind these vaccines.
 
nolalady said:
Oh wow! I'm so sorry. Sending y'all some "no virus" vibes.
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So far it’s a two day wait for free testing from LA county. I’m seeing where to get it through insurance and what the cost will be For the members of my family that are uninsured. I’m really surprised at the lack of guidance and contract tracing efforts from my sister in law‘s work. She works at a premiere hospital in LA.
 
Dtknuckles said:
So far it’s a two day wait for free testing from LA county. I’m seeing where to get it through insurance and what the cost will be For the members of my family that are uninsured. I’m really surprised at the lack of guidance and contract tracing efforts from my sister in law‘s work. She works at a premiere hospital in LA.
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the other aspect of this is that my in-laws are immigrants and have the typical job complications that happen with that, missed work and no payed leave. Even two days is something that will have a big impact. What’s that saying about chain and it’s weakest link. 🤔
 
So my in-laws are going to get tested in downtown LA. This is not an official testing site. Another sister in law works at a shop where the owner is providing tests by way of a dr. In the back. He gives them the results right away all for 40$. The owner has this operation going so that he can keep his store open. This sounds sketchy as hell. Both my mother in law and grandmother in law are going to get it done. The G mom in law is still recovering from a hysterectomy because of cancer.
 
One thing to remember is that if you get tested prior to getting any symptoms, it's possible the test is negative because the virus hasn't had a chance to replicate enough, and that you still develop symptoms later on. Especially if they are using the "quick" test.
 
Turbo said:
One thing to remember is that if you get tested prior to getting any symptoms, it's possible the test is negative because the virus hasn't had a chance to replicate enough, and that you still develop symptoms later on. Especially if they are using the "quick" test.
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Yea they did mention that.
 
Dog walkers are 78% higher risk for contracting COVID.

Most people believe going out and walking your dog is the safest activity. But the evidence says otherwise.

No increased risk for cat owners.

They do not believe people are catching COVID from dogs. Just that these people are going out more / are more mobile.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Dog walkers are 78% higher risk for contracting COVID.

Most people believe going out and walking your dog is the safest activity. But the evidence says otherwise.

No increased risk for cat owners.

They do not believe people are catching COVID from dogs. Just that these people are going out more / are more mobile.
Click to expand...
What about cat walkers?

Hmm. I wonder if this varies with city vs suburb dog walkers. I never come within 10 feet of anyone when I'm walking my dog/kids. Usually more like 30 or 40. Don't believe it increases my risk. But I walk in the street in my neighborhood, not on a busy sidewalk. Do you have a source?
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Dog walkers are 78% higher risk for contracting COVID.

Most people believe going out and walking your dog is the safest activity. But the evidence says otherwise.

No increased risk for cat owners.

They do not believe people are catching COVID from dogs. Just that these people are going out more / are more mobile.
Click to expand...
There’s also a strong genetic link to Neanderthal genes and dog affinity and also to Neanderthal genes and Covid complications.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Dog walkers are 78% higher risk for contracting COVID.

Most people believe going out and walking your dog is the safest activity. But the evidence says otherwise.

No increased risk for cat owners.

They do not believe people are catching COVID from dogs. Just that these people are going out more / are more mobile.
Click to expand...
This is like saying people who drive cars are more likely to be in an accident versus people who do not drive cars and never leave their house.
 
I don't know what I'm doing for thanksgiving now.

The plan was to visit my mother. Visit my Mom, Step Father and Sister and it would just be the 4 of us.

However, one of my sisters co workers just had a test come back positive yesterday.

She got a COVID test yesterday, but has to wait 2 to 5 days for the results to come back. But my question is, does a negative test coming back in 5 days really mean anything, or should I just assume it hasn't been long enough and she my not have a high enough viral count now to test positive but could in 5 days.

My sister said it was a 4 hour wait to get a COVID test. And someone kept going up and down the line saying they don't accept insurance. You must pay in cash to get a test. It cost my sister $300 to get the test done. Thankfully work will reimburse it as they asked all employees to get tested.
 
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