COVID-19 News and Discussions

[caltrek]

^^^I think you all understand that Sanders winning the presidency in and of itself would not have made that much difference unless the Senate had also more solidly been won by progressive Democrats.

What I came here to post:

Pfizer Agrees to Share Recipe for COVID-19 Pill
by Bob Herman
November 16, 2021

https://www.axios.com/pfizer-antiviral- ... f5383.html

(Axios) Pfizer has agreed to a licensing deal with the UN's Medicines Patent Pool for its COVID-19 pill — roughly a month after Merck said it licensed its COVID pill with the MPP.

Why it matters: These antiviral pills have showed promising results in reducing the severity of infection and preventing death among the unvaccinated, and Pfizer's licensing agreement, combined with Merck's, will allow generic drug companies to cheaply produce the pills for more than 100 low- and middle-income countries.

Details: Pfizer's agreement will cover 95 countries, compared with Merck's agreement that covered 105.

• "Pfizer will not receive royalties on sales in low-income countries and will further waive royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement" until the World Health Organization no longer classifies the pandemic as a "public health emergency," Pfizer said in a press release.

• The countries included in Pfizer's licensing agreement, but not Merck's, are Armenia, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine and West Bank and Gaza, according to the nonprofit Knowledge Ecology International. Pfizer's agreement excludes several island nations.

[weatheriscool]

New York City tells health providers to give booster shots to all adults who want them.
Source: New York Times

New York City health officials on Monday encouraged all adults who want to receive coronavirus vaccine boosters to seek them out, and asked health providers not to turn them away, a move that comes as federal regulators consider expanding the eligibility pool for Pfizer-BioNTech’s booster.

Anyone who is 18 or older and seeking a booster shot in New York City should not be turned away, said Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, provided it has been at least six months since their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or at least two months since they received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.

“Clinicians should allow adult patients to determine their own risk of exposure based on their individual circumstances,” said Dr. Chokshi.

Federal regulators currently allow booster shots for people who are 65 and older, as well as adults who live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings. Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech requested that the Food and Drug Administration expand eligibility of their booster to all adults.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/nyre ... dults.html

[weatheriscool]

As virus surges in Eastern Europe, leaders slow to act
Source: Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — At the main hospital in Romania’s capital, the morgue ran out of space for the dead in recent days, and doctors in Bulgaria have suspended routine surgeries so they can tend to a surge in COVID-19 patients. In the Serbian capital, the graveyard now operates an extra day during the week in order to bury all the bodies arriving.

For two months now, a stubborn wave of virus infections has ripped mercilessly through several countries in Central and Eastern Europe, where vaccination rates are much lower than elsewhere on the continent. While medical workers pleaded for tough restrictions or even lockdowns, leaders let the virus rage unimpeded for weeks.

“I don’t believe in measures. I don’t believe in the same measures that existed before the vaccines,” Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said last month as the Balkan nation sustained some of its worst daily death tolls of the pandemic. “Why do we have vaccines then?”

A World Health Organization official declared earlier this month that Europe is again at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. While several Western European countries are seeing spikes in infections, it is nations to the East that are driving fatalities. Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkan states recorded some of the highest per-capita death rates in the world in the first week of November, according to the WHO.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus- ... 757f200fde

[weatheriscool]

Austria locks down unvaccinated amid COVID resurgence
Source: newsnationnow.com

BERLIN (AP) — Austria took what its leader called the “dramatic” step Monday of implementing a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people who haven’t recently had COVID-19, perhaps the most drastic of a string of measures being taken by European governments to get a massive regional resurgence of the coronavirus under control.

The move, which took effect at midnight, prohibits people 12 years old and older who haven’t been vaccinated or recently recovered from leaving their homes except for basic activities such as working, grocery shopping, going for a walk — or getting vaccinated.
Austria orders nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated

The lockdown is initially being imposed until Nov. 24 in the Alpine country of 8.9 million. It doesn’t apply to children under 12 because they cannot yet officially get vaccinated — though the capital, Vienna, on Monday opened up vaccinations for under-12s as part of a pilot project, and reported high demand......................................

Read more: https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/co ... esurgence/

[weatheriscool]

The F.D.A. plans to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech boosters as soon as Thursday.
Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is aiming to authorize booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for all adults as early as Thursday, a move that would expand the number of Americans eligible for additional shots by tens of millions, according to people familiar with the agency’s plans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent committee of vaccine experts has scheduled a meeting for Friday to discuss data on the booster dose’s efficacy and safety.

If both the F.D.A. and the C.D.C. sign off this week, they will have acted strikingly quickly — a little more than a week after Pfizer asked for authorization of boosters for everyone 18 and older. Under that scenario, any adult who received a second dose of the vaccine at least six months earlier would be officially eligible to get a booster as soon as this weekend. The F.D.A. is expected to rule without consulting its own expert panel, which has met frequently during the pandemic to review vaccine data and make a recommendation ahead of a regulatory decision.

Moderna is expected to soon submit its own request for the F.D.A. to broaden eligibility for its booster. But for now, every adult could get the Pfizer booster, according to people familiar with the planning.The broad booster authorization has been viewed as something of a fait accompli for weeks. Some state and local officials have begun rolling out similar policies ahead of F.D.A. action — responding to persistent virus case counts and the eagerness of many Americans to seek additional protection ahead of holiday gatherings. New York City health officials on Monday encouraged all adults who want boosters to seek them out. Arkansas, California, Colorado and New Mexico have already moved to expand access.

Many Americans, regardless of where they live, have taken the matter into their own hands and sought out extra doses even if they do not officially qualify yet.The F.D.A. in September downsized Pfizer-BioNTech’s request to fully approve booster doses for all adults, instead signing off on a more limited population, including those 65 and older, as well as adults with underlying medical conditions or those at risk because of their jobs. At least 30 to 40 percent of vaccinated adults are still excluded from booster eligibility, according to some estimates

.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/us/p ... dults.html

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Germany in big trouble... 60K cases yesterday!

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavir ... y/germany/

[caltrek]

On Sunday November 14, 2021 10:12 am WJ Fox posted a Tweet concerning Trump's mismanagement of the Covid19 crisis. Below is a link to an article following up on that theme. Of particular note is the estimate of the number of lives that may have been lost due to that mismanagement. A truly stunning though no doubt controversial number.

New Revelations Emerge on How Donald Trump Killed 400,000 (or More) Americans
by David Corn
November 17, 2021

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... -pandemic/

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) As researchers from UCLA noted in March 2021, the United States could have avoided 400,000 COVID deaths if the Trump administration had implemented a more effective health strategy that included mask mandates, social distancing, and robust testing guidelines. (Dr. Deborah) Birx made a similar statement at that time.

[wjfox]

Austria to go into full lockdown as Covid surges

37 minutes ago

Days after Austria imposed a lockdown on the unvaccinated, it has announced a full national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said it would last a maximum of 20 days and there would be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February 2022.

He was responding to record case numbers and one of the lowest vaccination levels in Western Europe.

Many other European countries are imposing restrictions as cases rise.

"We don't want a fifth wave," said Mr Schallenberg after meeting the governors of Austria's nine provinces at a resort in west of the country.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59343650

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

Rotterdam police open fire as Covid protest turns violent
Source: The Guardian

Police in Rotterdam have fired warning shots, injuring protesters, as riots broke out in central Rotterdam at a demonstration against government plans to restrict access for unvaccinated people to some venues.

Police said in a tweet that “there are injuries in connection with the shots” during the violent unrest on Friday night. Riot police used a water cannon in an attempt to drive hundreds of rioters from a central street in the port city.

Photos in Dutch media showed at least one police car ablaze and another with a bicycle smashed through the windscreen.
...
The government has said it wants to introduce a law that would allow businesses to restrict the country’s coronavirus pass system to people who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19, which would exclude people who test negative.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... ns-violent

[wjfox]

Covid: WHO says it is very worried about Europe surge

1 hour ago

The World Health Organization (WHO) is "very worried" about the spread of Covid-19 within Europe as the continent battles a fresh wave of infections.

Speaking to the BBC, regional director Dr Hans Kluge warned that some 500,000 more deaths could be recorded by March unless urgent action is taken. Dr Kluge said introducing measures like mask wearing could immediately help.

The warning comes as several nations report record-high infection rates and introduce full and partial lockdowns.

Dr Kluge said factors like the winter season, insufficient vaccine coverage and the regional dominance of the more transmissible Delta variant were behind the spread. He called for increased vaccine uptake and the implementation of basic public health measures and new medical treatments to help fight the rise.

"Covid-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region," he told the BBC, adding "we know what needs to be done" in order to fight the disease.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59358074

[caltrek]

^^^More on that:

Austria Announces Nationwide Lockdown, Vaccine Mandate for All
by Cain Burdeau
November 19, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/austria- ... e-for-all/

Introduction:

(CN) — Faced with soaring coronavirus infections, Austria on Friday took the drastic steps of imposing a new nationwide lockdown and announced vaccination will become mandatory for the general population in February, a first for a Western nation.

These strict measures were announced by conservative Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg only five days after Austria took the unprecedented decision of imposing a lockdown on its unvaccinated citizens.

The new lockdown will start on Monday and last for up to 20 days, though it could be extended. People will be able to leave their homes only for essential reasons, such as work, food shopping and exercise. Schallenberg said the vaccine mandate will come into force on Feb. 1. Unvaccinated people could face fines and possibly even jail sentences. The chancellor said legal questions needed to be worked out.

“For a long time, the political consensus has been that we do not want compulsory vaccinations in this country,” Schallenberg said. “But we have to face reality.”

Austria's step toward mandatory vaccination could be the beginning of a trend in Europe. After Austria announced a lockdown for the unvaccinated, other European countries stepped up restrictions against people without vaccine certificates. Calls for mandatory vaccination are growing, but resistance is stiff. Austria's measures have sparked large protests and more are expected over the weekend.

[weatheriscool]

First Wuhan COVID case days later than initially reported: scientist
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11- ... ntist.html

The first case of COVID-19 identified in Wuhan, China and presented as such by the World Health Organization was actually days later than previously believed and at an animal market, a top scientist said in the journal Science Thursday.

Rather than the original patient being a man who had never been to the Wuhan market where wild and domestic animals were sold, the first known case of COVID-19 turns out to have been a woman who had worked in the market, virologist Michael Worobey wrote.

For Worobey, that key piece of information, and his analysis of other early cases of COVID-19 in the city, clearly tip the scales towards the virus having originated in an animal.

With no definitive evidence, debate has raged among experts since the start of the pandemic almost two years ago over the origin of the virus.

Worobey was one of the 15 or so experts who in mid-May published a column in Science demanding serious consideration of the thesis that the virus had leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.

[caltrek]

New Zealand Announces the End of Lockdowns and Abandons its "Zero-Covid" Policy
November 22, 2021

https://newsrnd.com/life/2021-11-22-new ... _Rd_F.html

Introduction:

(The Limited Times) New Zealand adopts a new strategy against Covid-19 by ending the three-and-a-half-month confinement in early December

So far, New Zealand has adopted a “zero Covid” strategy.

But with the Delta variant, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged that "the hard truth is that the Delta variant is here and not going to go away."

Jacinda Ardern said that from December 2 New Zealand will adopt a new response to Covid-19 aimed at containing the Delta variant rather than attempting to eliminate it completely.

“Although no country has succeeded in eliminating the Delta variant completely, New Zealand is better placed than most to tackle it,” she explained, adding, “So far, his government aimed for a complete elimination of the virus, a so-called “zero-Covid” policy with strict containment measures, rigorous traceability of contacts and strict border controls. In New Zealand, the disease has killed only 40 people in a population of five million, but pressure has increased to end the lockdown imposed on Auckland since the Delta variant was detected there in August.

[andmar74]

It's very interesting what's going on with Covid-19 in Japan. The virus might be self-destructing.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/ ... on-theory/

Free to register for the full article.

Why did Japan’s fifth and biggest wave of the coronavirus pandemic, driven by the supercontagious delta variant, suddenly come to an abrupt end following a seemingly relentless rise in new infections? And what made Japan different from other developed countries that are now seeing a fresh surge in new cases?

According to one group of researchers, the surprising answer may be that the delta variant took care of itself in an act of “self-extinction.”

The SARS virus is related to Covid-19 and was active from 2002 to 2004, where it disappeared. So maybe Covid-19 is also starting to disappear.

[raklian]

In Singapore where there is universal healthcare, being treated like an American is the worst punishment they can give.

[wjfox]

[andmar74]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ruce-boros

What is wrong with these people?

Seven doctors contract Covid after attending Florida anti-vaccine summit

[wjfox]