libera/##covid-19/ Sunday, 2021-03-21

BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Protesters in a central German city clashed with police over coronavirus measures, officers used water cannons, pepper spray and batons after protesters try to break through police barriers. More than 20,000 people participated in the protests in Kassel, including clashes with counter-protesters → https://is.gd/EWWfWs00:11
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: No vaccines, no leadership, no end in sight. How Brazil became a global threat → https://is.gd/Pu1bwd00:21
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: French national health agency says AstraZeneca vaccine should only go to those over 55 → https://is.gd/pmF3wK01:54
LjLmedically the french decision doesn't even look like such a bad decision to me, but communication-wise ugh... at first it was only approved for those *below* 55, now only for those *above*02:21
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Drugmakers Promise Investors They’ll Soon Hike Covid-19 Vaccine Prices → https://is.gd/89RWVB02:34
LjL"Pfizer, in its latest investor disclosures, revealed that it received advance payments for its vaccine totaling $957 million as of December 31. In the U.S., the company has agreed to a price of $19.50 per vaccine dose or $39 per patient based on a two-dose series. In the European Union, the company charges a higher rate, nearly $64 per dose."02:41
LjLso which one is it, are we paying more or less, i don't know anymore02:41
LjL"Pfizer has reportedly pressed Latin American governments, including Argentina, to put up sovereign assets, such as embassy buildings and military bases, as collateral to cover the costs of lawsuits related to adverse effects of the vaccine."02:42
de-facto.title https://www.politico.eu/article/belgian-secretary-of-state-accidentally-reveals-eu-vaccine-prices/02:44
Brainstormde-facto: From www.politico.eu: Belgian secretary of state accidentally reveals EU vaccine prices – POLITICO02:44
de-factohttps://images0.persgroep.net/rcs/-ccVZu2Dn1Li7YKahKhxNdVVCFU/diocontent/180355293/_fill/828/642/?appId=21791a8992982cd8da851550a453bd7f&quality=0.902:47
LjLso this article is completely off?02:48
de-factoi dont know its a random twitter, so hardly any proof or such02:51
LjLde-facto, well, on the other hand if it's confidential, i wonder how this article purports to know02:53
de-factoimho if they would ramp up prices instead of production despite their development funded by taxpayers these companies should be seized by the state.02:54
de-factomaybe it would be better anyhow to have control over such production owned by the state instead of commercial companies wanting to please their stock value instead of serving the people.02:55
de-factobtw imho it does not matter if they charge 12€ or 64€, the ONLY thing that matters is that they finally ramp up production rates, i dont understand why it takes them so long. i have not seen a proper reason for it yet even despite Derek Lowe writing about it02:57
LjLmaybe it's because only by making sure vaccine rollout is slow they can ensure they will be able to sell many boosters for new variants02:59
LjL(at higher prices than now)02:59
LjLbut maybe i should pretend Doc is here to tell you all about the difficulties of this production chain03:00
de-factoyeah i did not forget about it, i admit he has a point that there are challenges with industrial production, yet i just dont buy those are blocking a faster ramp up in production rates, imho they are not trying hard enough03:05
de-facto(well pretty much as whole western countries are not trying hard enough, hence here we are)03:05
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Police use water cannon as German lockdown protest turns violent → https://is.gd/pttHKw03:16
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Georgia official who said spa shooting suspect had a "bad day" appeared to promote racist COVID-19 shirt → https://is.gd/Vdoajt03:57
BrainstormUpdates for Brazil: +105126 cases (now 12.0 million), +3311 deaths (now 292856) since a day ago — France: +66081 cases (now 4.3 million), +640 deaths (now 92167) since a day ago — Germany: +30094 cases (now 2.7 million), +645 deaths (now 75196) since 22 hours ago — Hungary: +11132 cases (now 560971), +227 deaths (now 18068) since a day ago04:22
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Number of suicides among school children in Japan totaled 499 in 2020, up 100 from year earlier and marking highest level on record. Health ministry officials attributed increase to worries about studies and career paths; family discord as they spend more time at home in response to pandemic. → https://is.gd/1LgjiK05:08
BrainstormNew from This Week In Virology: TWiV 734: Weiss hath no furin like a virus scorned: Susan Weiss returns to TWiV to discuss coronavirus entry into cells and the role of spike protein cleavage by proteases, why lab escaped hypotheses for SARS-CoV-2 are unlikely, and modulation of innate immune responses during infection. → https://is.gd/zmMDqC05:18
BrainstormNew from Reddit (test): Covid2019: Talking About Pandemic in South Africa on Omegle → https://is.gd/80mgP906:30
BrainstormNew preprint: Cancer services during the COVID-19 pandemic: systematic review of patients' and caregivers' experiences by Symran Dhada et al, made available as preprint on 2021-03-20 at https://medrxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.03.19.21253949 [... want %more?]06:56
finely[m]<LjL "maybe it's because only by makin"> That is horrifyingly believable. It is insane there has not been a TRIPs waiver and a free WHO pool of technology/knowledge for vaccine manufacturing.07:47
finely[m]* That is horrifyingly believable. It is insane there has not been a TRIPs waiver and a free WHO pool of technology/knowledge for vaccine manufacturing.07:49
finely[m]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-20/how-we-end-the-covid-pandemic-around-the-world-in-months/1326017807:49
finely[m]Has anyone seen a breakdown of the amount of money spent on R and D for mRNA vaccines by companies vs public spending? Intellectual property reformers claim the vast majority of new medical research and development is publicly funded, with companies snatching up IP monopolies only at the very end of the process. I would be interested to see if this holds true for the new mRNA techniques.07:49
BrainstormNew from r/Coronavirus: Daily Discussion Thread | March 21, 2021: Please refer to our Wiki for more information on COVID-19 and our sub. You can find answers to frequently asked questions in our FAQ , where there is valuable information such as our: → https://is.gd/3ePzqc08:03
BrainstormUpdates for Punjab, Pakistan: +2090 cases (now 197177), +30 deaths (now 5974) since 4 hours ago — Lviv Oblast, Ukraine: +1180 cases (now 92420), +25 deaths (now 2474) since 4 hours ago — Biobio, Chile: +968 cases (now 87088), +7 deaths (now 1453) since 4 hours ago — Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine: +871 cases (now 56342), +13 deaths (now 1016) since 4 hours ago09:21
BrainstormNew from The Indian Express: World: Scuffles and arrests as anti-lockdown protesters march through London → https://is.gd/QcFfW609:35
BrainstormNew from The Indian Express (Health): Destination of the week: A traveller’s worst nightmare: When your COVID-19 test comes back positive → https://is.gd/pUr5ZH10:06
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Half of UK adults been given first dose of vaccine. → https://is.gd/Z4r5xZ10:36
BrainstormNew from Politico: EU leaders’ summit to be held virtually as pandemic rages on: With coronavirus infections surging in several countries, Council President Charles Michel shifts to video format. → https://is.gd/3BmAUj11:16
BrainstormNew from StatNews: Opinion: Operations research advice for Covid-19 vaccination planners: think big, move fast: If the national goal is 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered in 100 days, it matters — greatly — whether those doses go into arms on day 1 or… → https://is.gd/VoE54f12:08
BrainstormNew from The Indian Express: World: AstraZeneca counters Indonesian Muslim concerns over Covid-19 vaccine → https://is.gd/pWi35312:21
BrainstormNew from The Indian Express: World: Indians in South Korea say Seoul’s Covid-19 testing order on foreigners lacks clarity → https://is.gd/msSqsw13:32
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: In precedent, court rules school can bar unvaccinated, untested worker → https://is.gd/CC3dil14:23
BrainstormNew from Medical Xpress: Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with obesity are significantly more likely to need ICU care: People with obesity who are hospitalized with COVID-19 have a significantly higher rate of ICU admissions and longer duration of ICU stay compared to people with a normal body mass index (BMI), according to a study presented virtually at [... want %more?] → https://is.gd/GOfKmO14:44
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: ‘Why would you not?’ Alarm as Republican men say they won’t get Covid vaccine → https://is.gd/93vJmh15:14
de-factodo we have data on reproduction numbers for B.1.1.7 vs B.1.351 and P.1? Can we assume R(B.1.1.7) > R(B.1.351|P.1) ?15:14
de-factoif that is the case, would that mean containing the more reproductive B.1.1.7 via variant unspecific NPIs would ensure those two evasive VoCs B.1.351 and P.1 will get extinct in those regions with B.1.1.7 decline due to NPIs?15:16
de-factowould that mean that re-import by opening free travel by "green vaccination" pass is a VERY bad idea, because it would ensure only those evasive VoCs would get re-imported?15:17
BrainstormNew from Politico: Another German conservative politician resigns amid corruption allegations: Prosecutors are investigating Alfred Sauter in connection with a bribery probe into the procurement of coronavirus face masks. → https://is.gd/mgPsNl15:24
de-facto.title https://imgur.com/a/KinxjtP https://i.imgur.com/TAgAQS2.jpeg15:28
Brainstormde-facto: From imgur.com: Mallorca, we are coming over, lets party and recombine the newest Variants of Concern! - Album on Imgur15:28
BrainstormNew from The Indian Express (Health): Health: Pandemic effect: Healthcare experts warn of rise of obesity cases among children → https://is.gd/fW7BAa15:45
BrainstormNew from Politico: UK tells EU to act like ‘grown-ups’ amid vaccine export row: Defense secretary urges European leaders to not 'indulge in rhetoric' as bloc weights AstraZeneca export curbs. → https://is.gd/ckVuGo16:05
BrainstormNew from Derek Lowe: @adamfeuerstein: RT by @Dereklowe: The death of Dr. José Baselga is very sad news this morning and a tragic loss for the biopharma and oncology communities. I always enjoyed speaking with him. No statement from AstraZeneca yet, but others confirming. Condolences to his family, friends, colleagues. → https://is.gd/llztRo16:37
BrainstormNew from NPR: Miami Beach Issues Curfew To Curb Spring Break; Virus Knocks VCU From March Madness: "Too many people are coming here right now," Mayor Dan Gelber said on Saturday as he proclaimed a 72-hour state of emergency to address swelling crowds and fears of fueling new a surge in cases. → https://is.gd/lqKw8h17:18
LjLde-facto: based on covariants.org, B.1.351 seems to be overall going down after a spike, but if you looknat individual countries and find the ones with a more than minimal amount of B.1.351 (aside from Brazil), it's kind if gaining grown even compared to B.1.1.7 I think17:49
BrainstormNew from CDC (old): Cases in the U.S.: CDC COVID Data Tracker - Cases and Deaths by State → https://is.gd/yJtqEF18:10
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: COVID-19: Science behind Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be used to give people cancer jabs 'within a couple of years', says co-creator - The technology used to develop the Pfizer jab can be applied to get the immune system to take on tumours → https://is.gd/nk6w8t18:52
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: UK vaccinated 844k in the past 24 hours, equivalent of 1.3% of the population or 27 jabs a second! → https://is.gd/MzgNf819:22
izthat's like half the speed of a slow tattoo gun19:24
Elementoshi[m]lol19:30
de-factoLjL, good idea, yet one would have to keep in mind those are number of sequences (hence not necessarily representative of current prevalence of VoCs), i guess it also depends on selection factors (e.g. average level of immunity, vaccination) as well as what brings down incidence: unspecific NPIs (e.g. lockdown) or potentially selective SARS-CoV-2 specific vaccinations etc19:30
LjLwell i don't know that we have a better way to estimate it19:31
LjLanyway i keep seeing UK news about how bad the EU is threatening to stop exports again, like these19:31
LjL<Brainstorm> New from Politico: UK tells EU to act like ‘grown-ups’ amid vaccine export row: Defense secretary urges European leaders to not 'indulge in rhetoric' as bloc weights AstraZeneca export curbs. → https://is.gd/ckVuGo19:31
de-factoyeah except UK does not export anything?19:32
de-factolol.19:32
LjL<Brainstorm> New from Brexit @ The Guardian: EU export ban would delay UK Covid vaccine drive by two months: Exclusive: Halting distribution would hit Britain badly but not significantly help EU, analysis finds → https://is.gd/sQeXjm19:32
LjLyeah, that's what i was going to say19:32
de-factoits a PR campaign directed against EU19:32
LjLit would harm the UK but not benefit the EU? how does that even work?19:32
LjLit's basically just saying that since the UK is smaller than the EU, keeping those doses would have a comparatively larger effect on the UK19:33
unknown_1LjL hi19:33
LjLi'm like... duh19:33
LjLhi19:33
unknown_1Did you see my reflection in the other channel?19:34
spybertIs it true that the US is holding large stockpiles of the AZ vaccine not authorized for use in the US?19:34
unknown_1You can put the remedy on a table infront of them theyd still die - ehat isthe use of vaccine?19:35
unknown_1Remedy not vaccine19:35
LjLunknown_1, i guess not19:37
LjLspybert, it's true they're holding some stockpile. i don't think they are necessarily "large". also last i heard they were agreeing to export at least part of them to Mexico and Canada19:38
de-factoseems like USA has some 30M AZ shots in their fridges and say they have paid for it hence its theirs (despite them having no approval yet)19:38
spybertde-facto: It would be good politically to allow export to US allies, since it is not likely to ever be used here :-(19:40
de-factopretty much like EU they say their contracts have to be fulfilled prior to allowing any exports, yet noone criticizes USA or UK for that19:40
LjLde-facto, as a consideration, Operation Warp Speed allocated $11 *billion*, according to Wikipedia, to development of vaccines. all of the big vaccine makers were part of the program, except Pfizer. how much did the EU provide as advance funding? i know roughly half a billion was given to BioNTech by Germany... is that it? i somehow suspect we fell very short of what America gave19:41
de-factoyeah i agree, we have to collaborate globally, the pandemic is not over until we have it under control globally19:41
LjLi've definitely seen criticism of the US for not exporting vaccines19:41
de-factowhat good would it be if we are all vaccinated just to re-import an evasive CoV-VoC and we would need to start again with vaccinations19:42
LjLwell, it would make Pfizer money19:42
LjLthey seem pretty excited about that prospect19:42
de-factoyeah Pfizer did not take any of US funding, and probably knew exactly why...19:43
de-factohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed#Companies_receiving_research_funding19:44
spybertIf big pharma got a guaranteed market for a yearly covid vaccine they would be thrilled.  It gives them an incentive to delay so that variant can develop.19:44
LjLso going back to my consideration again, if Operation Warp Speed binds the US makers to certain terms (like for instance preventing hiking up of prices too soon), i highly doubt that they are bound to those terms *internationally*. so if the EU decided not to fund vaccine development very much, we may pay for it later (with money, and/or with missing vaccines)19:44
LjL"A recent supply problem with AstraZeneca’s facility in India is expected to set back the pace of vaccination by two weeks, from 10 June to 23 June.19:47
LjLBut the imposition of an export ban on doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine produced in Belgium and Germany, by far the largest export to the UK, would delay every adult receiving a first jab until 5 August, according to Airfinity.19:47
LjLA ban on all exports of vaccines due for distribution, including those from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, would delay reaching that target to 27 August, the analysis commissioned by the Guardian further suggests."19:47
LjL10 June... 23 June... 5 August... 27 August19:47
LjLi'm here basically wondering whether i'll get my vaccine in 2022 or 202319:47
LjLand i am meant to feel bad because we're "threatening" to block export to the UK and delay things for them by two months, when they export nothing? are they even serious19:48
de-factoidk i think the price for a dose does not matter so much in comparison to the economic damage with each day that vaccinations did not progress, so if paying 10-fold for a dose would significantly increase production rates i think it would still be a very very good deal for the states19:48
LjL“The imposition of a ban would mean the EU has marginally more doses short-term, but it won’t fundamentally change its vaccine availability, and the EU could soon be dependent on vaccine imports.19:48
LjL“A ban poses a significant risk for the UK and any potential UK retaliation on sub-ingredients would harm not only the EU and UK but the world, as it will significantly slow overall production.”19:48
LjLso they are saying that it would not help the EU simply because they would retaliate19:49
de-factowe really have to think globally, everything else does not make sense19:50
LjLyeah well so far it seems we're thinking so globally that everyone is getting vaccinated but us19:51
hirogenGod cannot believe how many ppl in my UK have taken it today yet Europe languish behind19:51
spybertIt will serve to further split the UK from the EU, which I suppose is in the best interests of powers other than the EU, like Chnia, Russia, and the US.19:51
Elementoshi[m]I called my local hospital and am on the waiting list to get vaccinated19:51
de-factoproduction rates for vaccines are not nearly sufficient for saturating global demand19:51
de-factospybert, good point unfortunately19:52
LjLi find it... impressive that the European contracts were allegedly written with the UK "as part of the EU" (production and export-wise) in mind, and then the actual Brexit (the practical one, not the legal one) happened just when vaccines were starting to be ready to be deployed19:53
LjLthat sort of thing means that either some people were idiots, or that some people were a bit too clever19:54
de-factowhich... is not mutually exclusive at all19:55
LjLno, i guess not19:55
de-factoanyhow we have to focus on how to solve all this mess in the near (and far) future19:56
spybertThat would be ideal, but the world political systems have a strong tendency to ignore the big picture and focus on the immediate and the local.  So unfortunately we know what to expect.20:06
LjL"Greece will start distributing free do-it-yourself COVID-19 tests next month, due to stubbornly high levels of new infections, the Greek authorities say. Everyone with a social security number will be entitled to four test kits per month, and they will be distributed at pharmacies."20:08
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Wealthy countries - including the UK - are blocking proposals to help developing nations increase their vaccine manufacturing capabilities, documents leaked to the BBC show → https://is.gd/inedbe20:14
de-factoMaybe such quicktests should have some chemical "expiry" to indicate how recently a test was performed, just to remind people that a negative result only is valid for about a day or such if samples were taken correctly20:19
de-factolike the control stripe fading away or such20:19
de-factoor a third stripe disappearing during a day after it was made wet once, something like that20:20
spybertThat sounds like a good idea20:20
de-factoofc all that depends on that samples are taken correctly though, so if someone wants a negative test it can be produced, hence it only can help a bit i guess20:21
spybertI'm sure someone will run out and file a patent immediately.  I've heard of that happening on ##electronics20:21
de-factomaybe it even could depend on some other factor that always is present on mucus, e.g. the control stripe only becoming visible if the sample taken contains a sufficient concentration of such a "marker molecule" and then fading away20:23
spybertSome patent trolls were hanging out there in the mid 2000s and once word got out about their activities, all serious dicussion halted.20:23
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: EU threatens to ban AstraZeneca exports to the world if vaccines not delivered to EU first. → https://is.gd/dEouhb20:24
de-factojust to ensure the sample got high enough concentration to be positive if antigen concentration on the mucus is present20:24
unknown_1Ljl whAt?20:26
unknown_1spybert: is there any way to use work policy to change default settings after factory fesetting my phone?20:27
unknown_1Like location off20:27
unknown_1So on andso on20:28
unknown_1Like 30mins of switches20:28
unknown_1Maybe more with apps and partition uuids20:28
unknown_1Maybe 6 hrsif ut requires network downloads or registrations20:29
unknown_1spybert: can you save me some time?20:29
unknown_1spybert: got time?20:30
de-facto​/JOIN #android20:32
spybertunknown_1: I'm not into phone technology, better try a related group.  Probably quite a few on freenode :-)20:35
de-facto.title https://virological.org/t/integration-of-jbrowse-2-genome-browser-with-nextstrain/656 https://nextstrain-jbrowse.herokuapp.com/ncov/global21:42
Brainstormde-facto: From virological.org: Integration of JBrowse 2 genome browser with Nextstrain - Software and Tools - Virological21:42
BrainstormNew from NPR: European Scientists Zero In On AstraZeneca Blood Clot Link: A rare blood clotting condition has occurred in some people after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. If the new research is correct, it could mean that blood clots could be easily treated. → https://is.gd/HJxMpJ21:46
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: Saudi oil giant Aramco’s profits plunge nearly 45% amid pandemic → https://is.gd/MkXZGd22:16
Elementoshi[m]oof ouch owie oil hurting juice22:29
de-facto.title https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/21/979781065/european-scientists-zero-in-on-astrazeneca-blood-clot-link oh look LjL now they are writing about it22:48
Brainstormde-facto: From www.npr.org: NPR Cookie Consent and Choices22:48
de-factoi wonder when we will see some preprint about the details22:49
Elementoshi[m]oh no not the cookies22:49
LjLde-facto: I already saw, Brainstorm posted it :p22:50
de-factoi have seen the zoom meeting of the release, their team was basically working 72h without sleeping on this22:51
LjLElementoshi[m]: that's what happens when your bot is in the EU with awesome privacy laws that stop you from reading bad Californian papers among other things, while in other cases just dissuading you with enough coockie popups22:51
de-factothey said they released the most important points but want to write the details together properly hence we might see a preprint emerging soon22:52
de-factooh btw they said they can provide a screening test (some time after vaccination) and a more detailed test to confirm, but they cant test in advance, also they are still doing research on the exact mechanism that leads to that auto-immune antibody22:54
* Elementoshi[m] < https://matrix.org/_matrix/media/r0/download/matrix.org/EMCDOFpXjnzDqpmYQBwvTpLQ/message.txt >22:55
Elementoshi[m]whoops i dropped the cookie jar and it slipped and fell into /dev/null22:55
de-factoonce they detected the (very rarely concurring) condition they can completely stop the mechanism (with IV immunoglobulins) , but only neurologists can tell how treating such a CVST22:57
de-factoso i guess thats good news because it means they can 1) detect the (rare, otherwise very difficult to diagnose) condition 2) do targeted treatment22:58
de-factowhat still is unclear is 1) if all the cases can be explained by this (afaik they found antibodies in all their blood samples though) and 2) the exact mechanism that leads to this, e.g. its also unclear if it this (very rare) mechanism can be excluded by other vaccines (e.g. mRNA et al)23:01
de-factowith antibodies i mean those auto-immune antibodies that lead to the HIT, not the desired ones against SARS-CoV-2 s-protein23:01
BrainstormNew from r/WorldNews: worldnews: COVID-19 vaccines may reduce or eliminate symptoms in COVID long-haulers. → https://is.gd/HF2SFc23:08
Elementoshi[m]Oh hi hirogen23:16
Elementoshi[m]I see you'r a fan of Voyager23:16
BrainstormNew from Reddit (test): CoronaVirus_ITALIA: Breton boccia lo Sputnik, "l'U.E. non ne ha bisogno" → https://is.gd/VS0WfH23:48
LjLThen if the EU "doesn't need" Sputnik maybe it should show it's a little less inept at getting a hold of the other ones23:51
LjLOtherwise if they oppose individual countries' decisions to get vaccines like Sputnik they are just going to be seen as petty by people23:52
LjL%tr <it Breton ha anche affermato che l'Europa potrebbe raggiungere l'immunità di gregge entro il 14 luglio, il giorno della festa nazionale in Francia. "È una data simbolica: il 14 luglio, abbiamo la possibilità di raggiungere l'immunità a livello del continente", ha detto al canale francese TF1.23:54
BrainstormLjL, Italian to English: Breton also said that Europe could achieve herd immunity by July 14, france's national holiday. "It's a symbolic date: July 14, we have the chance to achieve immunity at the continent level," he told TF1'French channel. (MyMemory) [... want %more?]23:54
LjLBut maybe they won't manage that if they are busy telling such blatant lies23:55

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