COVID-19 News and Discussions

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caltrek
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Virologists Indicate that theChances of Finding COVID-virus Ancestor are ‘Almost Nil’
by Smriti Mallapaty
November 10, 2022

Introduction:
(Nature) The virus that causes COVID-19 probably shared an ancestor with bat coronaviruses more recently than scientists had thought. But finding the direct ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 is very unlikely, say researchers.

The full genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and several closely related bat coronaviruses suggest they shared a common ancestor several decades ago. But the viruses are known to swap chunks of RNA with each other, a process called recombination, so each section has its own evolutionary history. In the latest analysis, presented at the 7th World One Health Congress in Singapore on 8 November, scientists compared fragments of coronavirus genomes. The analysis suggests that some sections of bat coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 shared a common ancestor as recently as 2016 — just three years before the virus emerged in people in late 2019. The work has not been peer reviewed.

The finding narrows the time between the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 originating in bats and the virus jumping to people, say researchers. However, it doesn’t explain how SARS-CoV-2’s closest ancestor made this jump — an enduring mystery of the pandemic, which many scientists agree probably involved an intermediary animal.

Direct ancestor

The study highlights how difficult it will be to find the direct ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 in bats, given how often coronaviruses recombine and how much time has passed. The chances of finding a direct ancestor “are almost nil”, says Edward Holmes, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. “That ship has sailed.”
Read more here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03611-w
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wjfox
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Covid Deaths Probably Cost Republicans the Midterms

November 14, 2022 at 12:51 pm EST

Jonathan Last: “So again, lots of factors were at play. Including one that doesn’t get talked about much: excess Covid deaths. There’s been an ongoing study of the Republican resistance to the Covid vaccines and the preliminary findings suggest that post-vaccine, Republicans accounted for about 80 percent more of the excess deaths than Democrats. Part of this is because of vaccine hesitancy; part of it is because of the age profile of voters.”

“I’m not going to burden you with the math here, but if you want to read up on it, the data is quite striking, all the way to the county level.”

“To take just one example: between January 2021 and this month, 9,400 people in Nevada died of Covid. The data suggests that the majority of these people would have been Republican voters. Keep that number in mind.”

https://politicalwire.com/2022/11/14/co ... -midterms/
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caltrek
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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"Post vaccine." To get a clear picture and draw conclusions, we would need to look at pre-vaccine numbers as well. Quality of health care, work environment, etc. were factors affecting pre-vaccine levels, perhaps inordinately.

Still, if all Republicans had embraced vaccines...
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raklian
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caltrek wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:44 pm

Still, if all Republicans had embraced vaccines...
Well, if they did, they would be more aligned with the Democrats politically. :roll:
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caltrek
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raklian wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:52 pm
caltrek wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:44 pm Still, if all Republicans had embraced vaccines...
Well, if they did, they would be more aligned with the Democrats politically. :roll:
I am not so sure about that. I have a libertarian friend who in the past has expressed support of Trump who is pro-vaccine. Trump himself urged his followers to use vaccines. In at least one case he then had to listen to the disapproval of followers who were otherwise in enthusiastic support of him. One of Trump's arguments was that the vaccines were developed during his administration and even sought to take credit for their development.
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raklian
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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caltrek wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 4:06 pm
raklian wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:52 pm
caltrek wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:44 pm Still, if all Republicans had embraced vaccines...
Well, if they did, they would be more aligned with the Democrats politically. :roll:
I am not so sure about that. I have a libertarian friend who in the past has expressed support of Trump who is pro-vaccine. Trump himself urged his followers to use vaccines. In at least one case he then had to listen to the disapproval of followers who were otherwise in enthusiastic support of him. One of Trump's arguments was that the vaccines were developed during his administration and even sought to take credit for their development.
Well, that's true but I didn't say they would become like the Democrats, just "more" politically aligned with them than they are now. Practically, it would mean the election races would be a lot closer than they were this time around. In other words, the predicted Red Wave wouldn't be the trickle people are saying it is nowadays.
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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andmar74
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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I got the Pfizer booster today, I had to pay for it. Here in Denmark Covid is almost forgotten, few cares anymore. I got it just in case, don't want to risk getting seriously ill, or just sick for maybe 14 days is not interesting.
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andmar74 wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:42 pm I got the Pfizer booster today, I had to pay for it. Here in Denmark Covid is almost forgotten, few cares anymore. I got it just in case, don't want to risk getting seriously ill, or just sick for maybe 14 days is not interesting.
I got mine today too! Also Pfizer. Free on NHS.

My fears around Covid have declined this year, particularly these last few months, although I'm still careful and wear a mask on public transport and in crowded shops, healthcare settings, etc.

I will take a lateral flow test before visiting my parents for Christmas (both in their early 70s).

Other than that, I've reached the point where my life is 80-90% back to normal. I'm attending a big staff party in two weeks, so my immunity will be very high around that time. I will get a booster every year, assuming they're available, but life has to go on.
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China Covid: Record number of cases as virus surges nationwide

45 minutes ago

China has recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began, despite stringent measures designed to eliminate the virus.

Several major cities including the capital Beijing and southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks.

Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000.

The numbers are still tiny for a country of 1.4 billion people and officially just over 5,200 have died since the pandemic began.

That equates to three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK, although direct comparisons between countries are difficult.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-63739617
weatheriscool
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Post by weatheriscool »

Something tells me that this disease isn't done. :oops:
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