Out of Control
U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warns a new strain of the coronavirus is “Out of Control”.
More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home after a lockdown came into force Sunday in London and southeast England and the government scrapped plans to relax rules on socializing at Christmas.
The measures to control the fast-spreading new variant of the virus forbid household mixing in those areas and restrict socializing to just Christmas Day across the rest of England. Residents across the country were told to keep to their local areas, and extra police were being deployed at rail stations to stop people traveling out of London.
“Cases have absolutely rocketed, so we’ve got a long way to go,” Hancock told Sky News. “I think it will be very difficult to keep it under control until the vaccine has rolled out.” People in the new Tier 4 areas “should behave as though they have it,” he said.
Race to Block the New Strain
In a race to block the new Covid-19 strain, Countries Ban Travel From U.K.
Countries across Europe and beyond raced Sunday to stem a more-infectious strain of Covid-19 by banning travel from the U.K., following a British announcement Saturday that it is imposing fresh lockdowns.
Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Israel on Sunday were preparing to join the Netherlands and Belgium, which hours earlier had banned passenger air travel from the U.K., while other countries considered similar moves in an effort to prevent a worsening of the pandemic before Christmas.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a press conference Saturday that scientists believe the new variant could be as much as 70% more transmissible than more established strains. He said there is no evidence it is any more deadly or resistant to vaccines, despite its faster transmission from person to person.
In response to the discovery, Mr. Johnson imposed a fresh lockdown on London and nearby areas of southeastern and eastern England. The new measures include a ban on households mixing at Christmas.
Travel Bans
- The Netherlands moved first, banning all passenger flights from the U.K. until Jan. 1.
- Belgium quickly followed, banning flights and rail arrivals of the Eurostar train line, beginning midnight Sunday, initially for 24 hours.
- The German government later Sunday said it would restrict travel to and from the U.K. and South Africa, where the new strain has also been found.
- France will suspend both travel and imports from the U.K. to France for at least 48 hours, beginning at midnight Sunday, French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on French television.
- Israel barred travelers from the U.K., Denmark and South Africa, and said it could add more countries to that list. Israelis may return from those countries but must quarantine in a hotel, the government said.
Daily New Confirmed Covid-19 Cases
The US and UK are the global Covid case leaders but also leaders in the race to vaccinate.
My concern always has been the vaccine would not work against rapidly mutating viruses.
Mish
Why not blame Wall Street? They closed factories here, opened factories there, transferred know-how and technology to China, enriched the middle class, stimulated the appetite for rare, exotic animals central to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and as a status symbol, increasing the black market for bats, pangolins, rhino horns, and virtually every other nearly extinct species. They were the force behind flourishing wet markets which allowed odd viruses to spread. They made a killing in China in more ways than one.
Drag them out of their mansions and make them pay.
With globalism, a company has two options. The first is to adapt. The second is to die. Let’s look, for example, at the vacuum industry. One of the early powerhouses in the business was Airway, who invented the vacuum bag. They built a fine, high-quality, all-metal vacuum. Hoover, however, made a big push into plastics, and took over the dominant share of the business by underpricing metal vacuums. With globalism, cheap imports began competing. Airway still made high quality, all metal vacuums in Alabama. Hoover made quality plastic vacuums in Ohio. Eureka started having their vacuums made overseas, and some new popups, like Shark imported cheap vacuums as well. Airway went out business, and Hoover was at the edge of bankruptcy, but after a buyout, started having most vacuums made overseas. Hoover did survive, and does still have some jobs in the US.
So, the lesson here is, if you don’t adapt (Airway), you die. If you are trying to sell $400 vacuums in competition with $100 vacuums, you better have a better vacuum, and a hell of a marketing department (e.g. Dyson, but Dyson actually is made in Malaysia anyway). Is it better to just die, or to adapt, and keep some jobs in the US?
If you want to blame Wall Street for costing all these jobs, I have to ask, what brand of vacuum is in your closet,? Did you buy an Airway, to try to keep jobs in the US, or did you buy some cheap Chinese import? I bought an Airway. I bought one in about 2001, before they were gone, and at 20 years old, it is still very, very young. You can buy a 50 year old one off Ebay if you want one.
CPUs aren’t vacuum cleaners, and Intel didn’t have to move its plants overseas.
Mish AGAIN falls for Covid nonsense. Too proud to read the facts stoicly and too invested in doom to admit he’s wrong. Oh, how this site has plummeted in value.
Create the “crisis.” Solve the “crisis.” Solving the “crisis” always means giving up freedom and our hard earned money. The Globalists that run everything are very smart and very good at convincing those who cannot think for themselves to part with their freedom and money in the name of “the greater good.” Unfortunately, the “greater good” is a scam to line the pockets of Globalists and corrupt, swamp politicians.
Perhaps this is the “new strain” that Bill Gates was referring to when he said, “they need to prepare for the next one. And that one will get attention this time.” And then he and his wife laughed. Coronavirus was bioengineered in a lab in or near Wuhan, China.
Lol. The mutated strain has almost zero scientific evidence of “how much more transmissible it is “ , it has also already been dated back 2 months and is already everywhere .
Covid will continually be leveraged to keep the emergency control button pressed and used as a mechanism for the wealthy to keep their wealth as the system slowly stumbles and quakes to try and maintain insane asset levels . Should Covid EVER die down to the point that resembles normalcy climate change will be next up to cause a emergency that will provide the political capital to instill new controls (perhaps on Travel / movement and even crop growth ) the latter is the biggest consumer of carbon . People’s desired opinions will be crafted and passed down via media and “wait a moment , these are issues but the response is worse “ folks will be ridiculed . People will be steered into morally accepting greater sacrifices as the financial / economic system no longer supports them and they need to accept their new lot happily . So these pillars of emergency will be leveraged in most media . We are being steered into a new social economic and eventually financial system over control . Emergency’s are amazing opportunities for politicians to make this transition smoother and not pointing fingers as the public must be confused and not angered .
Looking at the long long lines at train stations and airport ( to try to get out of the so called lockdown areas), many are not even wearing masks, guaranteed this is the most effective way to have the new strain spread far and fast. Also, it is also reported that this new strain was already known since September, so why only make a fuss now? If it is China, msm will be blaring ccp is hiding the new virulent strain, ccp has intent to spread it far and wide, ccp is incompetent, ccp is evil, yada yada yada.
Scary, and we aren’t even trying to keep it out? Is that what I understand? Stupid.
Well Trump is still “in charge.”
There are far more important things to worry about than a virus that was scheduled to go away in November.
One day, it’ll just go away…
As long as the viral surface spike proteins are similar, the mRNA vaccines should be effective.
It’s a real race now…
You’re all going to die.
Apres vous
One day, for sure…later is preferred.
You must be fun at parties!
Wikipedia:
Ivermectin inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 in monkey kidney cell culture with an IC50 of 2.2 – 2.8 µM, making it a possible candidate for COVID-19 drug repurposing research.[82][83] The doses used in cell culture would require 10^4 larger doses in humans based on this data, which does not look promising as an effective treatment for COVID-19.[84][85] Such high doses of ivermectin are not covered by the current human-use approvals of the drug and could be dangerous, as the likely antiviral mechanism of action is the suppression of a host cellular process,[85] specifically the inhibition of nuclear transport by importin α/β1.[86]
A preprint published in April 2020 claimed benefits of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19, but it was a retrospective study based on questionable hospital data from Surgisphere and was withdrawn at the end of May. The preprint led to several government agencies in Latin America recommending ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment; these recommendations were later denounced by the regional WHO office.[87] On October 12, 2020 Peru withdrew its authorization to use ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19.[88]
In November 2020 a meta-analysis found only weak evidence of benefit.[89]
So many experts ……
There have been dozens of studies that have come out since August, yet you choose one study from April.
I don’t understand why there is almost a pathological desire to prove or show that treatments do not work.
Would you even believe me if I told you that almost every patient that I have treated for Covid with Ivermectin has recovered quickly and not needed hospitalization at all?
Read this instead. Hopefully it will make you feel better …. but then again … maybe not.
Any science or studies from the third world don’t count, b/c we are NOT racist.
The gold standard is the genocidal Pharma-lobby-funding comples.
I concur with your comment that one should listen to practicing clinicians….and I know one doctor personally who has used Ivermectin with success. And I’ve been following the growing body of evidence for a while.
I am also aware that Chris Martenson, who is certainly well-qualified to report on the literature, recently did an Ivermectin video that was banned on both YT and FB.
TPTB have decided to block the free flow of information on this drug. I’m not sure why…..but it certainly does seem benign enough….I have used it on livestock for many years with no problems. Probably at higher than recommended doses, since it’s hard to weigh young pigs, and I try to err on the high side.
My question (should you choose to accept it) is:
“Do you concur with the once-a-month prophylaxis for healthcare providers who do not yet have access to the vaccine? Or is there another regiment that I could read about somewhere.”
Because I’m not afraid of Ivermectin. And I might have some in my truck, (Just kidding, but I know where Tractor Supply is located.
As someone who treats well patients ( a dentist) I screen for symptoms….but I think this is the most dangerous time….until we can get the vaccine….which might be days or weeks now….but no word yet here for me and my colleagues.
Community spread is up. We have treated patients who later tested positive. I know I have more exposure risk than just about anybody who isn’t actually treating diagnosed COVID patients.
Question 2…..Iota Carrageenan? I haven’t tried to source that. Is is important, or just another treatment that could be used concomitantly with the Ivermectin?
The Argentinian doc talks about “Ivercar”. His results look pretty damn good.
Is the carrageenan used as a topical? I assume it is. Is it easy to get?
Martinson’s video was removed because it went over the top. He claimed that anyone who didn’t prescribe Ivermectin is guilty of malpractice. Had he limited his discussion to presented the scientific evidence, he would have been fine.
Thanks. I didn’t see it….I did see today that the Argentine physician’s video IS still up (the one that Phaedrus linked to……and I watched that one. His results were great, but he was combining the Ivermectin with the Iota Carrageenan…which clouds the issue as to how well Ivermectin alone might work.
I do see how so many of these studies could have failed to demonstrate positive results with various drugs, Ivermectin and CHQ both….anti-virals work better when given early, as the guy from Buenos Aires pointed out. Most of the studies in the west were done on late-stage cases.
Looks like Ivermectin has demonstrated some excellent results when used as prophylaxis for front line healthcare providers in India….according to another link PB put up.
I do think Big Pharma has played a role in controlling the narrative on COVID drugs here. I just do.
I don’t think anyone has definitive answers to all the questions …. but it is important to follow the real science. The problem is that there is so much junk science out there, it can be a minefield to sift through.
You raise 2 good questions about prophylaxes.
The first is how much risk are you exposed to and then the availability of medications at your disposal for you or your doctor to decide the best course of action.
I am in SE Asia, and all of these medications are easily available over the counter so at least the politics of it is removed.
For front line health care workers exposed to the virus daily, there is no doubt that some prophylaxis is critical to their well-being.
We follow the I-MASK+ protocol and I have not heard of anyone getting Covid who is using the prophylaxis protocol. I think the once a month recommendation is a best guess based on the fact that the half life is quite long and probably pulled some data from the veterinary side of things too. Ivermectin is such a benign medication. We have never had any issues using it over the years although admittedly this is an off label use.
There was that recent South American study that I think is referenced here in the comments above that showed that health care workers using Ivermectin plus another compound (perhaps topical) which was very successful. None of the healthcare workers on that protocol got Covid compared to a significant number of their colleagues who did not take it.
But depending on where you live …. you may not have all of these options available. I cannot in good conscience suggest you use the veterinary version of Ivermectin although I have heard of it being done. I think it was actually a problem in Peru where a lot of people started self medicating with the Veterinary Ivermectin and there were issues as not everyone knew what they were doing……
If you live in North America, your doctor may be unwilling to prescribe Ivermectin for use with Covid. In this case, you need to go to Plan B which also is very effective.
I’ve tried to stay off the subject of HCQ as it evokes a negative response here from people who watch too much TV. But HCQ and Zinc is very effective as both an early treatment and also a prophylaxis against Covid.
Unfortunately, HCQ is a political hot potato and you may not be able to get any. You can get Zinc. If you understand the mechanism of action, the HCQ is a zinc ionophore and opens a channel into the cell so the zinc can get in. It is the zinc that actually does all the work and inhibits the viral replication. Zinc cannot get into the cell easily on its own. Luckily, you can get Quercetin … which is almost as good as HCQ. Lookup Zelenko protocol and try to ignore all the noise and drill down to his actual protocol. (Quercetin 500mg daily + zinc)
(Before I get jumped on for mentioning HCQ – you should know that the AMA has now RESCINDED their objection to HCQ use in treating Covid.)
But don’t forget the easy stuff too. Take Vitamin D daily. 2000 or 5000 IU every day. A recent study in Canada showed that over 80% of people admitted to hospital with Covid were Vitamin D deficient. 1000mg of vitamin C is also a good idea.
There is also a growing body of evidence showing that melatonin is very effective against Covid ….. but I’ll leave that for another day.
Thanks for your considerate reply.
I am now adding the “I” to my mask and gloves and eye protection. I’m not afraid of Ivermectin intended for equine use. I think many people here are using it, with no ill effects. Not a recommendation, but until I get the vaccine I intend to use it.
If one analizes the results of various country’s medical treatments to date for Covid one realizes the US results are damn near dead last but yet we have the “finest” (at least the most expensive) medical system in the world.
You might find it interesting to read the link in Wikipedia. Wikipedia says “In November 2020 a meta-analysis found only weak evidence of benefit.” If you read the study it links to, the study does not reach that conclusion at all. It says ” The random effect model showed the overall pooled OR to be 0.53 (95%CI: 0.29 to0.96) for the primary outcome (all-cause mortality) which was statistically significant (P=0.04). Similarly, the random effect model revealed that adding ivermectin led to significant clinical improvement compared to usual therapy (OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.11 to 3.53, P=0.02). However, this should be inferred cautiously as the quality of evidence is very low. “
So, the study did NOT find weak evidence of benefit. It found clear evidence of benefit, but the amount of data was low, and it says more research is underway. I have read many studies on Ivermectin. 100% of them have shown a clinically significant benefit. However, most of the studies are small, and they have not been conducted in the US.
Bingo….I would offer a link to a great video for anyone interested. It’s an interview with Dr. Paul Marik, who is worth a listen. There is a slide in there somewhere that lists his COVID prevention protocol…..much of which I’ve already been following (although I didn’t know about him) for several months.
I think he’s on to something and the “experts” running the dinosaur US institutions that got us to 18M cases and 325K dead people should be paying more attention.
Both of these guys are tireless heroes of this pandemic.
I hope that one day they receive the honour that is due to them.
Large RCT’s of off label medications during a pandemic is completely unethical and is the excuse used by big pharma for not using any drug off label.
Firstly, large RCT’s cost huge money and take years if done correctly. Only large companies have the resources to undertake them and there is no interest to do so if the drug is off patent and no profit can be made.
Secondly, if a drug is old and proven safe and there is evidence of efficacy in an off label use, then what is the purpose of large random double blind trials?
During a pandemic, it is unethical in my opinion to give a placebo of a known safe medication where there is clear evidence that it provides benefit.
Other kinds of studies are much more useful which is why they tend to be smaller.
I get grumpy when I hear the old ‘We don’t have large clinical trials to prove without a doubt that this old safe medication works. We need more studies’.
A complete red herring. We don’t need more large trials of these drugs ……. we are in a pandemic !!
If anyone mentions good therapy and treatment you jump on them as if you are some kind of expert.
I’m guessing that you are not an actual doctor who treats Covid patients on a daily basis.
If you were – and assuming you were a good doctor – you would know that Covid patients recover very quickly when treated early with Ivermectin or even HCQ and Zinc. Although Ivermectin seems to work better and can be used later in the disease as well.
People like you cause real harm by spreading garbage all over the Internet. You really need to do more research before preaching nonsense.
Hey fade–thanks for joining today–I have to ask why I am that important in your life?
No doom, just the facts. An already serious disease becoming more serious with the possibility of more aggresive infection rates–that is bad. An already serious disease with the possibility of making previously relatively resistant demographic groups subject to more serious illness–that is bad, also. Rapid and unexpectedly gross mutation of a serious virus–that is bad, too.
What I say is backed with facts and the latest REAL scientific understanding and actual reaction by real experts who have to act in the best interest of their public.
As for medicines, you (especially if you are really in Bangkok) are free to dose yourself with whatever you think will help you. Still bringing up the thoroughly discredited HCQ shows at what level your understanding is at. You can go buy some Heartguard and take that too. There is maybe, possibly something to recommend Ivermectin and there are multiple studies looking at it now. Maybe it wont fall flat like HCQ, but who the hell knows–some random tweaker from Bangkok isn’t the expert advice I rely on.
“People like you cause real harm by spreading garbage all over the (capital “I” !!) Internet.” Sorry it is dumb-asses who have their unproven pet cures that spread garbage over the internet. (Have you bought your UV anal interface device yet–I hears it’s the cure that thrills…)
Perhaps you could tell me exactly what “nonsense” I have raised your hackles with today? I promise I won’t laugh.
You do realise that HCQ is used in many countries as a first line treatment against Covid? The current research shows that Ivermectin is better.
But HCQ and Zinc if used early is definitely effective. You don’t have to believe me … I’m OK with that.
You are welcome to your opinions and I apologise for offending you directly. That was wrong of me.
But since your country is doing so brilliantly well at dealing with this pandemic, I’m sure you don’t need any advice from me or anyone else.
You are absolutely right, the US is doing very poorly in it’s response, and the Asian countries are doing far better. The proof is in the rates of illness. I’ve said that for months. We, as a country are effed up with our response to this pandemic. The leadership took it as a political issue instead of science fact. And it went downhill from there.
I suppose you will say, if HCQ and zinc are given early–well, what is early with this disease and it’s asymptomatic phase that can jump into a more serious phase.
Would people receiving the stuff early have gotten seriously ill ? Or was their constitution was such that they would have always gotten a mild case?
Without being able to make such distinctions, you could say your grandmother’s chicken soup saved you from covid because you ate some every day. Maybe, but probably not.
I think you will find more granular studies that show more clearly the benefit of HCQ and Zinc in early treatment.
Early treatment is defined as showing symptoms (fever, dry cough, loss of taste and smell, poss diarrhoea etc.) but not lower O2 sats. About up to day 9 +/- of the infection.
In his study which is now published and peer reviewed, Zelenko took high risk patients and treated them with his HCQ protocol. He found that his patients receiving the HCQ etc. had a 84% reduction in hospital admissions vs. the untreated. In my book … that is something to take notice of.
You should also know that the AMA has now RESCINDED its objection to the use of HCQ in treating Covid. Although they did it very quietly.
You definitely are Mish Talk’s big BULLY ! Bullying for the sake of bullying…..not very nice actually…
…..A National Institutes of Health clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has formally concluded that the drug provides no clinical benefit to hospitalized patients. Though found not to cause harm, early findings in June when the trial was stopped indicated that the drug was not improving outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Final data and analyses of the trial, which was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, will appear online Nov. 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association(link is external)…..
I wonder what the US government would do, you know, if we actually had a US government.
With all the talk about this virus, which started in China, why have we not heard one word about any kind of retribution to the one who caused it? NOT ONE WORD from the MSN. China is responsible for ALL these deaths.
No, but we now know the virus was circulating in sewage in Barcelona and Brazil weeks before the first outbreak. Serological analysis of deceased pneumonia patients in California has underscored the existence of Covid there in early December, and in China it may be as early as October.
I have always thought an accidental leak (of manipulated viruses) in Wuhan was quite likely, but new facts about the emergence make this more complicated.
Its been around for quite a bit longer than a lot of folks in positions of power want to admit: link to dailymail.co.uk
Goldguy I would only support retaliation against China if there is concrete proof they did it. Otherwise, you risk attacking people who are not guilty of the crime of which you accuse them of committing. I am sure you would never willingly attack someone you don’t know is guilty.
Man. It’s like the other countries aren’t even trying to keep up with us.
The new strain…has acquired 17 mutations all at once, a feat never seen before.
If I could underline that, I would
….Scientists, meanwhile, are hard at work trying to figure out whether B.1.1.7 is really more adept at human-to-human transmission—not everyone is convinced yet—and if so, why. They’re also wondering how it evolved so fast. B.1.1.7 has acquired 17 mutations all at once, a feat never seen before. “There’s now a frantic push to try and characterize some of these mutations in the lab,” says Andrew Rambaut, a molecular evolutionary biologist at the University of Edinburgh.
Researchers have watched SARS-CoV-2 evolve in real time more closely than any other virus in history. So far, it has accumulated mutations at a rate of about 1 to 2 changes per month. That means many of the genomes sequenced today differ at around 20 points from the earliest genomes sequenced in China in January, but many variants with fewer changes are also circulating. “Because we have very dense surveillance of genomes, you can almost see every step,” Loman says.
But scientists have never seen the virus acquire more than a dozen mutations seemingly at once. They think it happened during a long infection of a single patient that allowed SARS-CoV-2 to go through an extended period of fast evolution, with multiple variants competing for advantage.
One reason to be concerned, Rambaut says, is that among the 17 are two worrisome mutations in the gene that encodes the spike protein on the viral surface. One, called N501Y, has previously been shown to increase how tightly the protein binds to the ACE2 receptor, its entry point into human cells. The other, named 69-70del, leads to the loss of two amino acids in the spike protein and has been found in viruses that eluded the immune response in some immunocompromised patients.
17 mutations at once
[1] How many of these are synonymous nucleotide substitutions (no effect)?
[2] The ‘at once’ can only express the distance to the nearest known strain — nobody can see mutations in real time, and even if they occurred in a single host, they likely proceeded one at a time with selection bias to prevail
[3] The human organism and immune system is very differentiated, so predicting the effects of any feature is likely to differ between individuals: That is also why some people (all things being equal) are vastly more susceptible to severe disease than are others. Any new strain could be more contagious/lethal for certain people while at the same time being less so for others.
So far, every other story about new strains has quietly died down.
By the way, the virus can bind to several more receptors than the ACE2 enzyme on epithelial cells (I’ve forgotten the names). A change in this pattern could be a worrisome shift.
Viruses mutate almost as frequently as they replicate. We don’t have the manpower to track every single mutation when it occurs.
No reason to hit the “panic button.” Viruses are always mutating. The best professional opinion is that the Vaccine will be effective against these mutations.
Well of course, since the “vaccine(s)” are really just a trick to deliver a mind-control parasite into people. Which is why I won’t be getting the vaccine any time soon.
Nah, the mind control parasite IS the virus.
Good thinking. That means the rest of us can be vaccinated even sooner.
Verily, the Stupocolypse is upon us!
Means that we will get to herd immunity faster. If we get there with more or less deaths than the old strain is something we can’t determine until afterwards. Will be interesting to see if this strain attacks the 20 to 40 group. In 1919 there was a big bulge in that age group that dwarfed the deaths in the oldsters group.
Heck, eventually everybody’ll be dead. That’ll stop it.
Not even the worst epidemics affect everyone. Human immune systems are differentiated, likely as an evolutionary response to this very fact. Some even claim that immune system variation is the main benefit of sexual reproduction.
There has never been an epidemic that affected 100% of the population, and most have a rather variable impact on individuals (all things being equal, such as age, general health, and other obvious factors of resiliency).
In 1919 there were no anti-biotics, and most died of opportunistic infections. Even today, vivisection of severe Covid deaths are full of germs and fungi, following collapse of the immune system after cytokines storm. In 1919 there were huge swathes of people particularly vulnerable in the army and because of social duties (more soldiers died of flu than combat wounds — a trench is a poor place to weather a bout of any flu). The flu does far more damage to infants and the very young, a notable difference with Covid. Nevertheless, the tendency to die is much greater in older age cohorts even without Covid. Even the greater number of men dying of Covid seems to align with their normal mortality risks.
The chance that there will be a shift in target population seems a remote possibility that requires extraordinary proof … the action of the virus and the disease it causes will not likely change much.
The age distribution of deaths from Covid is very similar to the age distribution of deaths from other causes, with the exception of under 20. As a result, the average age of death from Covid is 79, while the average age of death from other causes is 77.
Freedom is worth anything. Freedom is a universal value. The British have the freedom to infect other people.
The only problem is the the virus also has the freedom.
Dead ain’t free, no matter what they try to tell you.
It’s the only true freedom if you manage to keep out of the bad place.
How many millions of years of life are being lost to the measures taken across the globe? This is not cost free. Harms and (possibile) benefits need to be balanced. What is the point of vaccinating children in remote mountain villages who run no risk from Covid, but rapidly increasing risk of starvation?
The death percentage is so small, it is a rounding error against the total population of any country.
That’s the “…just the flu…” argument and it’s been thoroughly debunked – (a) by common sense, (b) by math, (c) by actual numbers of people dying and (d) by estimations of the population infected.
If the flu had a death percentage anywhere close to what we are seeing now for Covid, it would be public health issue number one.
Wow, this is shaping up to be a very bad first quarter in the world…
Dr. Vivek Murthy, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for surgeon general, poured some cold water on the Trump administration’s rosy vaccine distribution timeline on Sunday.
“I think it’s more realistic to assume that it may be closer to mid-summer or early fall when this vaccine makes its way to the general population. So we want to be optimistic, but we want to be cautious as well,” Murthy, who served as surgeon general under President Obama, told “Meet the Press.”
As Pfizer vaccine doses began arriving across the U.S. last week, HHS Secretary Alex Azar predicted on Monday that healthy Americans could begin to get vaccinated in the coming months. But an official with the administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine effort contracted Azar on Thursday, saying the vaccine could be more widely available in the late spring or summer.
Murthy is one of the aholes that helped panic everyone by getting on the media early and predicting there would be 3-4 million deaths in the USA. Biden seems to be putting together a team of former Obama circle losers.
Well, either they will have everyone who wants it vaccinated by late spring or early summer, or not.
Guy at top says yes, people under him say no. New head guy coming in says not likely.
HMMM, who to believe?
The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us?
Officials in Britain and South Africa claim new variants are more easily transmitted. There’s a lot more to the story, scientists say.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Dec. 20, 2020
Just as vaccines begin to offer hope for a path out of the pandemic, officials in Britain on Saturday sounded an urgent alarm about what they called a highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus circulating in England.
And I bet this strain will also have a 99.7% chance that nothing will occur if contracted
Cough- Great Reset- cough
BREAKING: Coronavirus mutation first found in the UK also found in Italy, health minister says
It’s a party! Everyone in the pool!
I’m sure its already here as well
South Africa
Dr Zweli Mkhize
@DrZweliMkhize
@DrZweliMkhize
Replying to
Clinicians have been providing anecdotal evidence of a shift in the clinical epidemiological picture- in particular noting that they are seeing a larger proportion of younger patients with no co-morbidities presenting with critical illness. #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing
It would make sense, the body has less time to mount a defense. We need to get the vaccines distro’d asap and use any off label drugs that help as bridges until the vaccines are fully deployed.
Is the larger proportion meaningful, e.g. is it from 0.2% to 4% of the total hospitalized population, or is it up from 0.1% to 0.15%, still a 50% boost but hardly noticeable by comparison?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday called it “reprehensible” and “grossly negligent” to allow UK travelers to fly into JFK Airport without being tested despite a contagious new mutation of the coronavirus shutting down London.
“Right now, this variant in the UK is getting on a plane and flying to JFK,” Cuomo said in a call to reporters Sunday of the mutation UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned could be 70 percent more transmittable.
“Right now. Today,” the governor stressed, calling for the feds to impose coronavirus testing of UK travelers at a “minimum,” if not an outright ban.
“Literally six flights a day. And all it takes is one person,” he said of the possible seed for the new strain’s spread.
Does the UK travel ban include Ireland?
yes…Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights. The measures vary and are initially short-term but the French rules also affect Channel freight.
But can’t you just walk across the border from Northern Ireland (UK) to Ireland?
Yes, in the next week, we’ll probably see bans on travel from NI, and I into the EU.
There are too many people lying/trying to go places, like the guy who just died on a United flight after lying about having no covid symptoms.
Do you ever get the feeling this could go to a much darker place?
The talk of a quick bounce back, pent-up demand etc, in 2021, is speculation. If this can mutate to more transmissible what the chance of mutation to higher lethality in so far less susceptible groups – young & healthy?
Why not just more lethality in the same groups that have been most susceptible to the virus? There are plenty of more weak, older people to weed out.
Because we know who they are currently. If it moves groups its more scary. Higher target numbers. We then get to see the young and healthy really adopting behaviour changes to protect themselves, not just others. On more screw down on the economy.
caradoc it sounds like you need to find a website whose tagline is “on a long enough timeline everyone’s survival rate drops to zero.” Good luck.
Yes, I have that feeling too. I have just started retirement and it is very difficult to tell what to do except to sit on cash. Because even the FED printing money till the cows come home can’t counteract the disastrous effects of a dangerous virus
There is also a set of mutations in South Africa that increases ease of spread and attacks younger people more seriously…
One of these mutations increases binding to the human cell receptor, which could make it easier for the virus to infect.
Two of these mutations reduce virus sensitivity to some antibodies, meaning that these antibodies may not be as effective against this new mutated lineage, compared to the original (un-mutated) lineage.
We are really in a race now–herd immunity through death and disease or herd immunity through vaccine.
I have read that these mutations are to be generated in people with “long-covid” or have deficient immune systems.
By the way WTF is going on in Tennessee? Is it possble we are seeing the effects of similar mutations in the US?
The Curious Case of the Nidovirus Exoribonuclease: Its Role in RNA Synthesis and Replication Fidelity. Among RNA viruses, the order Nidovirales stands out for including viruses with the largest RNA genomes currently known. Nidoviruses employ a complex RNA-synthesizing machinery comprising a variety of non-structural proteins (nsps). One of the postulated drivers of the expansion of nidovirus genomes is the presence of a proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN) … enhance[s] the fidelity of RNA synthesis by correcting nucleotide incorporation errors made by the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
Start treating the virus with Ivermectin, just like Africa, India, and a host of other third world countries did who have WAY less problems than the USA. OH, that’s right we have a cure in the new vaccine. Good luck with that. I would rather take a drug with a history behind it than something that is for the most part unknown.
International statistics on the Virus are unreliable and not trustworthy. Little if any verifiable evidence for this medication. I will take the vaccine as soon as it is available. Good luck on your choice.
There is overwhelming evidence, in vitro, clinical and at least 10 randomized clinical trials. Ivermectin first popped up around 12 apr. It’s now been studied intensely.
Main stream news will always latch on to “it might be harmful”. This is a red flag that they are acting in bad faith. Ivermectin has a known safety envelope for 70 years. It is a lot safe than Tylenol or aspirin. Would you, confronted by a potentially lethal infection, think, Nah, not an aspirin. I have too much to lose; I would rather die.
All possible treatments should be studied no matter where they come from and by the way many third-wold countries have very good at gathering and analysing statistics because they have to be. What should not be followed are recommendations from the press who don’t know what’s going on at all.
They do know what is going on … they are being shills for the dark side which is willing to commit manslaughter on a genocidal scale.
Over the last 9 months or so, I have developed a ‘smell test’ to investigate any comments or statements about Covid.
It has proven to be very valuable and also accurate.
I ask only one question.
‘Is this comment or statement being made by a frontline Doctor or medical practitioner who is actively treating Covid patients on a daily basis?’
If the answer is yes, I take close notice of the comments.
If the statement is being made by any Govt official, Researcher, Professor (retired or not), Think Tank member, Journalist, Pharmaceutical Company Exec or sundry talking heads … I almost immediately discard or delete it.
Amazingly accurate. Try it.
So far the strains all respond to the vaccine but that could change. Just more reason to limit spread and reduce new strains popping up
Another reason why herd immunity fails. More spread = More mutation
Vaccines ARE part of herd immunity. And there is no reason to believe more spread = more mutation. Mutation is random. It’s evolution. Slightly tangential…deadlier strains have less chance of being transmitted (they kill the host faster). I’ve heard infectious diseases decline in virulence over time because of this.
Completely disagree. Mutation is a function of spread and time. Less disease equals less virus and less opportunity to mutate
If everyone was sick at once, it wouldn’t spread. Herd immunity requires speed.
That is true in general, statistically, but it is quite possible for a variant to emerge that is more contagious and more severe. It would have to be quite lethal to prevent it from spreading because the host is already dead. It’s a matter of odds.
The Curious Case of the Nidovirus Exoribonuclease: Its Role in RNA Synthesis and Replication Fidelity. Among RNA viruses, the order Nidovirales stands out for including viruses with the largest RNA genomes currently known. Nidoviruses employ a complex RNA-synthesizing machinery comprising a variety of non-structural proteins (nsps). One of the postulated drivers of the expansion of nidovirus genomes is the presence of a proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN) … enhance[s] the fidelity of RNA synthesis by correcting nucleotide incorporation errors made by the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
Suspect this beast has the potential to mutate into something far more lethal because it is transmitable so easily early in the disease progression.
It seems the mutation is tied to the spike protein. So it may be more transmissible but not more lethal