Coronavirus

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creep
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Re: Coronavirus

#226 Post by creep » Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:24 am

We had a meeting yesterday with about 20 people announcing that there will be no more meetings and instructing us to keep our distance. We then had a meeting after lunch showing us how to disinfect stuff. A few hours later we had a meeting about the shelter in place recommendation and how we are going to handle it.

We are not doing very well with this no meeting thing. :conf:

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Hype
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Re: Coronavirus

#227 Post by Hype » Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:40 am

Pandemonium wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:07 am
Starting to see subtle signs in growing numbers of people already cracking under the stress. Mostly online forums that have a political or "off topic" thread similar to ours where some individuals are just lashing out, running through all these "what if" scenarios, perseverating on the doom and gloom aspect and just making themselves more and more anxious.

It's like especially here in the US, no one has ever faced a Nationwide event of this type and this scale with such far reaching yet as-unknown ramifications. For most of us, 9/11 and later, the recession was the last really big event to have a serious existential affect on our lives but to be honest, at least 9/11 was a day long crisis and then it was done leaving the country to deal with the after affects. This is a slow burn, months long (if not longer) unfolding crisis that presents a lot of day to day fear of getting sick, maybe dying, the uncertainty of maintaining essentials for home and family for an unknown duration, the uncertainty of having a job to go back to, of maybe losing everything. Looking back years from now, it will be regarded as a major social experiment how we in a society where most had or have at least a comfortable life with plenty of superficial entitlements, started to lose their grip within days because.....?
One thing someone pointed out is that it's not clear when these measures will end. There are legislative limits on things like states of emergency. But they can be extended (at the city, county/region, state/province, and federal level). There are articles now saying that the current actions are probably not going to be enough if catching this virus doesn't confer immunity. There are suggestions that we may be in for waves of shutdowns every five months or so for several years (at least 18 months) in order to keep the numbers down until a permanent solution (vaccine, eradication by other means) can be found.

Meanwhile, another interesting thought is that things are only getting as extreme as they are because this is something that disproportionately affects Boomers (and older), rather than younger generations who are still waiting for the Boomers to fuck off and retire/move out of their over-valued houses/die already. Boomers refuse to give a shit about climate change, which will affect the rest of us after they're gone. But a virus that kills 5-15% of them? Shit... shut everything down!

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#228 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:37 am

Hype wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:40 am
[

Meanwhile, another interesting thought is that things are only getting as extreme as they are because this is something that disproportionately affects Boomers (and older), rather than younger generations who are still waiting for the Boomers to fuck off and retire/move out of their over-valued houses/die already. Boomers refuse to give a shit about climate change, which will affect the rest of us after they're gone. But a virus that kills 5-15% of them? Shit... shut everything down!

I have connections with academic medicine and biotech where there is MAJOR $$$$$$$$$ from philanthropy for research. All of it (90%) is tabbed for degenerative old age diseases from the wealthy geezer donors who made their killing the last recession. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia, degenerative heart disease. Anything to kick out a couple more years.... $500 million dollar buildings going up left and right for "state of the art" studies and research. Yeah, great for you guys....no wonder the waste lands in the middle of the country (and anywhere outside urban/suburban core) don't trust this situation..... :noclue:

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Matz
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Re: Coronavirus

#229 Post by Matz » Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:40 am

18 months?! Fuck, how can it ever take that long to produce a vaccine? I thought at the most it'd be 6. And maybe it will only be 6, no one knows much.

I say shut everything down as well. The government here is still allowing people to go where they want and I hate it. They just urge people to stay home. Not good enough, follow Spain. Lots of people don't take this seriously, it's incredible to me

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#230 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:43 am

creep wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:24 am
We had a meeting yesterday with about 20 people announcing that there will be no more meetings and instructing us to keep our distance. We then had a meeting after lunch showing us how to disinfect stuff. A few hours later we had a meeting about the shelter in place recommendation and how we are going to handle it.

We are not doing very well with this no meeting thing. :conf:
Leave it to the City..... :tiphat:
Or are you County?

:banana:

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#231 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:18 am

This whole corona business actually doesn't affect my lifestyle much at all.... :noclue:

I dont go out to restaurants really, I gave up on them a while ago, way too expensive anyways. I dont go out really with friends too regularly and am not working now anyways.

Will just continue to take my 30-40 mile rides up the river/gorge, 5-6 mile jogs in the forest and building projects at my house....just finished a 2x cedar step/deck... onto demo'ing the carport!
:bigrin:

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Artemis
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Re: Coronavirus

#232 Post by Artemis » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:27 am

Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/


Coronavirus Cases:
204,716

Deaths:
8,270

Recovered:
82,871

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#233 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:35 am

They Clean the Buildings Workers Are Fleeing. But Who’s Protecting Them?
Janitors are going into offices to battle the invisible germs that threaten public health, sometimes without adequate protection or information about what they are facing.

Image

“I felt as if I didn’t matter,” said Deborah Santamaria, who wasn’t alerted that a person in the San Francisco building she was cleaning had tested positive for the coronavirus."


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/c ... e=Homepage

Yup....invisible.
:no:

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#234 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:05 am

Oregon (population 4.2 million) currently has capacity to test 60 specimens a day for COVID-19.
Oregon Health Authority hoping to ramp up in a couple weeks. They said the were relying on the feds for support.....

:neutral: :banghead:
:wavesad:

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Larry B.
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Re: Coronavirus

#235 Post by Larry B. » Wed Mar 18, 2020 10:33 am

Our little dictator declared a state of emergency for 90 days, which basically gives him and the military the right to take some actions they otherwise couldn’t take.

However, no measures have been taken yet. We son’t trust him, obviously.

It’s been the municipalities who have been going over the central government and have decided to close down the shopping malls and stuff like that.

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chaos
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Re: Coronavirus

#236 Post by chaos » Wed Mar 18, 2020 10:37 am

Something to lighten the mood.
Penguins toured an aquarium that closed because of coronavirus concerns. The videos were exactly what we needed.
By Antonia Noori Farzan
March 17, 2020 at 4:31 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... l_optimist

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Matz
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Re: Coronavirus

#237 Post by Matz » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:34 am

Roskilde Festival (one of the biggest in Europe) have no plans of cancelling this years festival which is scheduled to take place in the end of June :rockon:

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#238 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:46 am

Glastonbury cancelled.

200,000 attendants in 2019.
700 acts/bands

Roskilde will cancel.

bman
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Re: Coronavirus

#239 Post by bman » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:47 am

It's times like this we need to turn to Wilco.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbBDiaL ... 3v&index=6

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Hype
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Re: Coronavirus

#240 Post by Hype » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:19 pm

Matz wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:40 am
18 months?! Fuck, how can it ever take that long to produce a vaccine? I thought at the most it'd be 6. And maybe it will only be 6, no one knows much.

I say shut everything down as well. The government here is still allowing people to go where they want and I hate it. They just urge people to stay home. Not good enough, follow Spain. Lots of people don't take this seriously, it's incredible to me
Let me defer to GSK for a partial answer to your question: https://ca.gsk.com/en-ca/research/trial ... al-phases/

Basically, you have to find a promising molecule, vaccine, whatever. Then you have to come up with the dosage. Then you have to come up with the formulation. And you're trying to test these for efficacy (generally animal trials, but sometimes they use computer modeling). If you can get regulatory approval to start human trials, you have to jump through all those hoops. hundreds of people are enrolling people in the trials, documenting them, writing up the case reports, keeping tabs on adverse events, and reporting to the regulatory agencies. If you can get through all of that, then the drug can be marketed.

18 months is extremely fast. Normally it's like 10 years.

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Matz
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Re: Coronavirus

#241 Post by Matz » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:12 pm

ok, I see, that sucks.

But if that's the case how are they able to make a new influenza vaccine each year? Or is it basically the same one?

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Artemis
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Re: Coronavirus

#242 Post by Artemis » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:13 pm

mockbee wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:05 am
Oregon (population 4.2 million) currently has capacity to test 60 specimens a day for COVID-19.
Oregon Health Authority hoping to ramp up in a couple weeks. They said the were relying on the feds for support.....

:neutral: :banghead:
:wavesad:
60 only?? :yikes:

In my province, population is about 14.5 million(I realize much larger than Oregon) and we are doing 2000 per day, ramping up to do 5000 per day 24/7.

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drwintercreeper
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Re: Coronavirus

#243 Post by drwintercreeper » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:14 pm

bman wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:47 am
It's times like this we need to turn to Wilco.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbBDiaL ... 3v&index=6
fuck yeah, listening to being there right now. i forgot how good it is. wilco is a band that knows how to not shit the bed as they age.

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#244 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:06 pm

Artemis wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:13 pm
mockbee wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:05 am
Oregon (population 4.2 million) currently has capacity to test 60 specimens a day for COVID-19.
Oregon Health Authority hoping to ramp up in a couple weeks. They said the were relying on the feds for support.....

:neutral: :banghead:
:wavesad:
60 only?? :yikes:

In my province, population is about 14.5 million(I realize much larger than Oregon) and we are doing 2000 per day, ramping up to do 5000 per day 24/7.
Yeah, its pathetic. The VA has some capacity at Fed level, but not much. Everything needs to be contracted out, along with everyone else, but they havent set anything up yet....last in line.
:no:

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chaos
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Re: Coronavirus

#245 Post by chaos » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:16 pm

Matz wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:12 pm
ok, I see, that sucks.

But if that's the case how are they able to make a new influenza vaccine each year? Or is it basically the same one?
Each year they choose 3 strands (out of maybe 15) based on predictions on the type of viruses that may be going around. I assume that they just don't put all the tested vaccine strands in one annual vaccine since it may overwhelm an immune system.

BTW - I have never had a flu shot.

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chaos
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Re: Coronavirus

#246 Post by chaos » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:21 pm

A coronavirus vaccine trial in humans has begun. When could a COVID-19 shot be available?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-18/ ... s/12067024

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chaos
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Re: Coronavirus

#247 Post by chaos » Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:05 pm

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... 7X3JCPO5PI

6:38 p.m.
FDA suspends most domestic inspections of food, drug, device makers

The Food and Drug Administration on announced Wednesday it postponed until further notice most U.S. inspections of manufacturers of food, drugs, biologics, devices and other products, citing the safety of its employees and industry concerns about visitors.

Earlier this month, the agency postponed through April most inspections of foreign facilities.

The inspections in question are routine “surveillance” ones that are conducted every few years based on a risk analysis.
“For cause” inspections, which occur when the FDA is worried about a specific problem, will “be evaluated and will proceed if mission-critical,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement.

The agency also directed all eligible FDA employees to begin teleworking.

Hahn said the agency is evaluating additional ways to conduct inspections that won’t jeopardize public safety or will protect staff and the firms, including evaluating records in lieu of conducting on-site inspections.

By Laurie McGinley

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mockbee
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Re: Coronavirus

#248 Post by mockbee » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:45 pm

Younger Adults Comprise Big Portion of Coronavirus Hospitalizations in U.S.
New C.D.C. data showed that nearly 40 percent of patients sick enough to be hospitalized were aged 20 to 54. But the risk of dying was significantly higher in older people.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/heal ... e=Homepage

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Hype
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Re: Coronavirus

#249 Post by Hype » Thu Mar 19, 2020 5:52 am

chaos wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:16 pm
Matz wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:12 pm
ok, I see, that sucks.

But if that's the case how are they able to make a new influenza vaccine each year? Or is it basically the same one?
Each year they choose 3 strands (out of maybe 15) based on predictions on the type of viruses that may be going around. I assume that they just don't put all the tested vaccine strands in one annual vaccine since it may overwhelm an immune system.

BTW - I have never had a flu shot.
It has nothing to do with overwhelming the immune system.
A universal flu vaccine has eluded scientists for decades. Unlike other viruses, influenza has a rapid-fire mutation rate and thousands of different strains, which complicates the process. With several candidates now in development and a fresh batch of federal funding, researchers say a universal flu vaccine could be within reach, though it may be years before a vaccine is ready for human use.
Here's an okay explanation for some of the additional problem: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccine-selection.htm
The seasonal influenza (flu) vaccine is designed to protect against the three or four influenza viruses research indicates are most likely to spread and cause illness among people during the upcoming flu season. Flu viruses are constantly changing, so the vaccine composition is reviewed each year and updated as needed based on which influenza viruses are making people sick, the extent to which those viruses are spreading, and how well the previous season’s vaccine protects against those viruses.

[...]

Regardless of how they are grown, vaccine viruses must be tested and available in time to allow for production of the large amount of vaccine virus needed to make vaccine. Occasionally, a suitable vaccine virus cannot be identified or developed in time to be included in the upcoming season’s vaccine.

[...]

Twice a year, the World Health Organization (WHO) organizes a consultation with the Directors of the WHO Collaborating Centers, essential regulatory laboratories and representatives of key national laboratories and academies. They review the results of surveillance, laboratory, and clinical studies, and the availability of vaccine viruses and make recommendations on the composition of the influenza vaccine. These meetings take place in February for selection of the upcoming Northern Hemisphere’s seasonal influenza vaccine and in September for the Southern Hemisphere’s vaccine. WHO recommends specific vaccine viruses for inclusion in influenza vaccines, but then each country makes their own decision about which viruses should be included in influenza vaccines licensed in their country.

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Bandit72
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Re: Coronavirus

#250 Post by Bandit72 » Thu Mar 19, 2020 6:15 am

Found this interesting.


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