SARS CoV-2 coronavirus / Covid-19 (No tin foil hat silliness please)

[RobinLFC]

The fact that people are still testing themselves for covid really bugs me. Why? What's the point? If you test negative does that mean it's ok to go out and about and possibly pass influenza on to vulnerable people? Because, if anything, influenza is more dangerous than covid right now. So doing a covid test will tell you nothing useful. Please stop.

You need a doctor's notice in Belgium if you're sick for more than one day. Which makes no sense, because e.g. when I was quiet sick two weeks ago, I knew it was nothing special and just had to sit it out at home, but I still had to go in and get my notice because I didn't work for three days in a row. Tested myself first (negative) because if I'd have been Covid-positive, I needed to go to an official test center or a pharmacist to register an official Covid positive test since you're (obviously) not allowed at a doctor's practice if you're positive.

I still think I'd like to know each time whether it's Covid or not, since I read that studies have proven that the more you get it, the worse it is for your body and organs, no? Or can the regular flu do the same amount of damage?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

You need a doctor's notice in Belgium if you're sick for more than one day. Which makes no sense, because e.g. when I was quiet sick two weeks ago, I knew it was nothing special and just had to sit it out at home, but I still had to go in and get my notice because I didn't work for three days in a row. Tested myself first (negative) because if I'd have been Covid-positive, I needed to go to an official test center or a pharmacist to register an official Covid positive test since you're (obviously) not allowed at a doctor's practice if you're positive.

I still think I'd like to know each time whether it's Covid or not, since I read that studies have proven that the more you get it, the worse it is for your body and organs, no? Or can the regular flu do the same amount of damage?

Absolutely no evidence of that being true. And unlikely there ever will be because coronaviruses have been round for a very long time, so if that was a risk we’d have known about it by now.

 

[Tincanalley]

Questions. Is Venice water still running clear with dolphins frolicking among the barges? Or is the clear water just toilet bleach, more concentrated? Does Coronavirus make you more intelligent? Will we ever run out of toilet roll? How come MOTD survived Covid 19 and not Gary's wildly radical leftist Tweets insulting the great and the good of the righteous Tory party?

 

[Wibble]

I read that studies have proven that the more you get it, the worse it is for your body and organs, no?

No. I don't think there is any evidence that organ damage escalates with each infection. A new infection can make you feel more or less sick, just as it can with things like the flu. Each immunisation an/or infection will on average do the opposite of what you suggest. Obviously new sub-variants can evade our immune response to some degree, just like happens with the flu

 

[calodo2003]

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[711]

See that’s sensible. If you have symptoms, stay home, unless absolutely necessary to come in. Whether or not you test positive for covid. So no need to test.

I've been in sustained contact with two unconnected people this week who both have covid, they are ill and positive. I fee fine, but before going to meet a group, one of whom I know to be vulnerable, I tested. Just in case I had it but was asymptomatic. I understand asymptomatic people might be less likely to pass covid on, but are still able to, so it seemed the decent thing to do.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Absolutely no evidence of that being true. And unlikely there ever will be because coronaviruses have been round for a very long time, so if that was a risk we’d have known about it by now.

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Saw this today.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

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Saw this today.

Alarmist nonsense. For someone that prides himself on having a keen nose for bullshit I’d have thought you’d notice the obvious conflict of interest yer man has when it comes to spreading scary fiction about covid associated cognitive decline.

 

[Wumminator]

Alarmist nonsense. For someone that prides himself on having a keen nose for bullshit I’d have thought you’d notice the obvious conflict of interest yer man has when it comes to spreading scary fiction about covid associated cognitive decline.

Genuinely flabbergasted at you ignoring the mountains of evidence that clearly show there has been a massive cognitive decline.

 

[Pexbo]

Genuinely flabbergasted at you ignoring the mountains of evidence that clearly show there has been a massive cognitive decline.

You really need to stop having a go at our fan base.

 

[Wumminator]

You really need to stop having a go at our fan base.

I was hoping Pogue would ask what evidence and I was going to link to the takeover thread.

Can you post some laughing smilies to me in response please,

 

[Pexbo]

I was hoping Pogue would ask what evidence and I was going to link to the takeover thread.

Can you post some laughing smilies to me in response please,

No I’m just going to chuckle to myself that I spoiled your setup

 

[berbatrick]

https://apnews.com/article/zero-cov...nvestigation-05e1bf6d14e3b77ade26b719093ac43b

Rare to get such detailed reporting about china's decision making

 

[Wibble]

Alarmist nonsense. For someone that prides himself on having a keen nose for bullshit I’d have thought you’d notice the obvious conflict of interest yer man has when it comes to spreading scary fiction about covid associated cognitive decline.

Totally agree. Covid can cause brain inflamation and autopsies have revealed some Tau proteins in victims' brains (although no proof that this had anything to do with covid I don't think) so it has the potential to increase the incidence of dementia, or more likley make dementia appear earlier than would otherwise, and almost exclusively in older people. But the tweet in question linked to a single other tweet (not literature) claiming a frend's daughter got early onset demenia at 19 after getting covid 3 times (of course no causal link was established, even assuming it wasn't utter bullshit).

Even if this alarmist bollocks was true (which it almost certainly isn't) what alarms should have been sounded and what actions should those alarms have prompted?

 

[golden_blunder]

This ‘cold’ has been lingering and I lost my sense of smell a few days ago I thought i would test this morning. For the first time ever I’ve got a control line and a test line. The test line is fainter but still apparent. Does this mean I’ve got it but on the way out?

 

[Member 125398]

This this coke has been lingering and I lost my sense of smell a few days ago I thought i would test this morning. For the first time ever I’ve got a control line and a test line. The test line is fainter but still apparent. Does this mean I’ve got it but on the way out?

Addiction is a constant battle, you're never truely free from it.

 

[golden_blunder]

Addiction is a constant battle, you're never truely free from it.

ahhh I see! Typo

 

[horsechoker]

Addiction is a constant battle, you're never truely free from it.

 

[jojojo]

This ‘cold’ has been lingering and I lost my sense of smell a few days ago I thought i would test this morning. For the first time ever I’ve got a control line and a test line. The test line is fainter but still apparent. Does this mean I’ve got it but on the way out?

The fact that you've had symptoms for a few days means that it is probably fading. The faint line just means it's a positive test, not necessarily where you're at in the infection cycle. You may have had a cold and now you've got COVID - not easy to tell, unless you've been doing daily tests. Sorry. Get well soon.

 

[golden_blunder]

The fact that you've had symptoms for a few days means that it is probably fading. The faint line just means it's a positive test, not necessarily where you're at in the infection cycle. You may have had a cold and now you've got COVID - not easy to tell, unless you've been doing daily tests. Sorry. Get well soon.

It took me by surprise, thought it was a heavy cold or at worst , flu. Both my wife and I have had it more or less at the same time but just her symptoms are a day ahead. I really only thought to do a test because I noticed I couldn’t smell anything. Anyways little we can do but wait it out and stay away from the warfarin clinic etc, I was meant to go tomorrow

 

[calodo2003]

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[Wibble]

This ‘cold’ has been lingering and I lost my sense of smell a few days ago I thought i would test this morning. For the first time ever I’ve got a control line and a test line. The test line is fainter but still apparent. Does this mean I’ve got it but on the way out?

When I obvioulsy had covid is was ages after the first symptoms and as I was gradually recovering that the RAT test finally showed faintly positive. Partly that RAT tests are a bit rubbish and I also wondered if the tests worked less well again with omicron.

 

[golden_blunder]

My oxygen reading today is fluctuating between 95-97

normally it’s 99/98

what’s cut off point from being normal to being something you need to monitor closely?

 

[jojojo]

As normally you're up around 98/99 then 93/94 is the right time to check with your GP (or 111 in the UK, i don't know if there's something similar where you are).

Chances are they'll say rest, stay hydrated, eat, take paracetamol if you need it and keep monitoring with the oximeter until you are feeling better. Because of the medications you might be taking or other symptoms etc, that advice may be different for you - hence the reason to call them.

92% or lower and you may be having a trip to A&E for a bit of supplementary oxygen, below 90 and you definitely need help.

How are you feeling?

 

[golden_blunder]

As normally you're up around 98/99 then 93/94 is the right time to check with your GP (or 111 in the UK, i don't know if there's something similar where you are).

Chances are they'll say rest, stay hydrated, eat, take paracetamol if you need it and keep monitoring with the oximeter until you are feeling better. Because of the medications you might be taking or other symptoms etc, that advice may be different for you - hence the reason to call them.

92% or lower and you may be having a trip to A&E for a bit of supplementary oxygen, below 90 and you definitely need help.

How are you feeling?

Thanks. This morning I felt like someone was at least leaning on my chest, felt a bit tight. Feeling ok tonight.
Worried about our 7 year old tonight, he’s going thorough fever stage so we’re worried about his temperature as it’s fluctuating. At the moment he’s dosed up on calpol & neurofen. Gonna be a long night I think

 

[cyberman]

Thanks. This morning I felt like someone was at least leaning on my chest, felt a bit tight. Feeling ok tonight.
Worried about our 7 year old tonight, he’s going thorough fever stage so we’re worried about his temperature as it’s fluctuating. At the moment he’s dosed up on calpol & neurofen. Gonna be a long night I think

Best of luck buddy.

 

[horsechoker]

Does anyone know anyone who was anti-vax based on it being new that would consider getting the jab now?

While some anti-vax subscribed to silly theories, others had a reasonable justification that there hadn't been enough testing.

It's been more than 2 years since covid jabs were administered on a grand scale and by now there's probably a plethora of evidence that it's safe.

 

[Wibble]

others had a reasonable justification that there hadn't been enough testing.

No they didn't.

 

[Red in STL]

No they didn't.

That was a reasonable justification initially, not anymore, the normal timeframe for vaccine approval was reduced considerably, it used to take the better part of a decade not a few months

 

[Wibble]

That was a reasonable justification initially, not anymore, the normal timeframe for vaccine approval was reduced considerably, it used to take the better part of a decade not a few months

No it wasn't. Time was irrelvant. The testing was compacted but the safety of the trials wasn't compromised and merely a function of there being both urgency, a lack of financial contraints and a huge data pool. Very rare side effects only ever come out when used post-approval very widely. So it wasn't a reasonable justification.

 

[Red in STL]

No it wasn't. Time was irrelvant. The testing was compacted but the safety of the trials wasn't compromised and merely a function of there being both urgency, a lack of financial contraints and a huge data pool. Very rare side effects only ever come out when used post-approval very widely. So it wasn't a reasonable justification.

Safety of the trials wasn't compromised - the average Joe in the street didn't/wouldn't know that, all they knew is the normal timeframes were a lor shorter, and a lot of dodgy politicians tell them everything is hunky dory, would you take Donald Trump's or Boris Johnson's word on stuff like this

Me - I took it as soon as I was eligible, but I work in the world of medical publishing and have access to a lot of the world's research so I knew more than most folks did

 

[WI_Red]

This misconception that mRNA based vaccines were some sort of futuristic, untried technology that sprung up due to COVID is just stupid. It has been studied for decades prior to COVID. Hell, Moderna has been around since 2010! Peoples vaccine hesitancy was completely due to manufactured, politically driven, misinformation.

 

[Wibble]

Safety of the trials wasn't compromised - the average Joe in the street didn't/wouldn't know that, all they knew is the normal timeframes were a lor shorter, and a lot of dodgy politicians tell them everything is hunky dory, would you take Donald Trump's or Boris Johnson's word on stuff like this

Me - I took it as soon as I was eligible, but I work in the world of medical publishing and have access to a lot of the world's research so I knew more than most folks did

Reacting supidly to obvious misinformation isn't reasonable imo. Nobody (barring lunatics) worried about taking the flue vaccine despite there being very rare side effects for a miniscue minority.

 

[Wibble]

This misconception that mRNA based vaccines were some sort of futuristic, untried technology that sprung up due to COVID is just stupid. It has been studied for decades prior to COVID. Hell, Moderna has been around since 2010! Peoples vaccine hesitancy was completely due to manufactured, politically driven, misinformation.

Agreed.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

This misconception that mRNA based vaccines were some sort of futuristic, untried technology that sprung up due to COVID is just stupid. It has been studied for decades prior to COVID. Hell, Moderna has been around since 2010! Peoples vaccine hesitancy was completely due to manufactured, politically driven, misinformation.

Even I read this early on.

 

[WI_Red]

Even I read this early on.

As I doctor I would hope so!

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

This misconception that mRNA based vaccines were some sort of futuristic, untried technology that sprung up due to COVID is just stupid. It has been studied for decades prior to COVID. Hell, Moderna has been around since 2010! Peoples vaccine hesitancy was completely due to manufactured, politically driven, misinformation.

Yep.

 

[jojojo]

Compressing the trial timetable during a pandemic proved to be easy. Lots of money, lots of stages running in parallel that would normally be done consecutively (because each stage costs more money and resources - and in normal times each stage needs its own business justification).

Manufacturing plants and new distribution systems were being built before they even knew if the vaccine was working. Lots of volunteers for testing, lots of COVID around to see if the vaccine was effective in practice. Things that can only really happen in a pandemic with the normal financial constraints turned off.

That said, clinical trials are imperfect things. They test tens of thousands of people in a trial, even in huge trials like these were. You know after the trial that there are no common adverse reactions, you know there are no common serious side-effects.

You don't know if there are rarer serious reactions that only affect some groups of people or ones are so uncommon that you're unlikely to see them during the trial. That's when the data from millions of people comes into play - and that's why the vaccines continue to be monitored by the regulators as they roll out to millions and then billions of people.

In other words, I've never had much sympathy for anyone who thinks the clinical trials were bodged or curtailed - they either didn't understand (in which case it was worth trying to explain it) or they were lying. I did have a certain amount of sympathy for the, "you go first," group who wanted to wait for other people around them to get theirs before joining them.

These days the ones keeping this antivax stuff alive are either making money/political capital from it or they've been brainwashed. That said - there are now so few people who haven't had exposure to COVID and/or been vaccinated, that I'm not so worried by the unwilling ones anymore. I'm very worried about the misinformation and grifter lobby who are robbing people now and will do more damage in the future - on multiple diseases, not just COVID, and on multiple vaccine types not just the mRNA ones.

 

[Wibble]

Moderna saying 15 years worth of progress occurred during the pandemic and that we may now be close to vaccines for some forms of cancer, cardio-vascular and autoimmune diseases.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...t-disease-vaccines-ready-by-end-of-the-decade

 

[WI_Red]

Moderna saying 15 years worth of progress occurred during the pandemic and that we may now be close to vaccines for some forms of cancer, cardio-vascular and autoimmune diseases.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...t-disease-vaccines-ready-by-end-of-the-decade

Absolutely, if not more. We had a generational leap in vaccine and diagnostic technologies in 12 months. Some of the stuff my customers are working on is mind blowing.