Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #94

[SouthAussie]

I didn’t read the full article yet, but iirc, Canada has contributed, is it 440 million to COVAX?

Reading on this further ... it seems that Canada's COVAX contribution was half for itself and half for under-privileged countries. So they have essentially just claimed for themselves what they originally agreed upon.


Canada contributed $440m (£324m) to Covax in September, half of which secured doses for itself from about nine vaccines candidates.
The other half goes into a pooled fund to buy doses for 20% of the people in 92 low- and middle-income countries.

Covax: Canada defends taking vaccines from sharing scheme.

 

[LadyL]

how did I miss this? it has a paywall so I can't read it but whoa?!

A single person who travelled out of Alberta is believed to be responsible for triggering a “significant outbreak” of the COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil

Alberta outbreak of P. 1 COVID-19 variant linked to traveler

 

[Inthedetails]

"Chinese scientists posted the genetic sequence of the virus ravaging Wuhan in January 2020, and researchers everywhere went to work. BioNTech designed its mRNA vaccine in hours; Moderna designed its in two days."

Very interesting story about the scientist behind mRNA research. Worth the read!

Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I feel like the US can and should start sharing more vaccines with other countries by May. I have been keeping an eye on vaccination sites in my state since day one, and for the last month or so, appointment slots are not filling up fast here. That tells me that everyone who urgently wants one in my state can easily get one. I know that not all other states are as comfortably situated, but I think by May they will all be experiencing the same thing. We are open to 16 and up now, and there are loads of appointments available for next week.

 

[SouthAussie]

how did I miss this? it has a paywall so I can't read it but whoa?!

A single person who travelled out of Alberta is believed to be responsible for triggering a “significant outbreak” of the COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil

Alberta outbreak of P. 1 COVID-19 variant linked to traveler

I can read it ...

It says that this returning traveller has brought the variant to a “large employer with multiple sites across Western Canada,”. Employees then spread the variant across 3 Central and North sites.
They have identified 26 covid cases linked to employees at the three sites and to their household contacts.
They have positively confirmed 3 cases are P.1 cases, and think it is likely that as they get more results (that they are waiting for) there will be more P1 cases among them.

It also says that PTW Energy Services Ltd., headquarters in Calgary, confirmed the three employee P1 variant cases at its Drayton Valley, Edson and Hinton offices.

It sounds as if the traveller didn't travel outside Canada ... but is responsible for local spread of the virus due to interstate travel.

And Whistler has had an outbreak, likely from travellers to BC.

 

[margarita25]

Reading on this further ... it seems that Canada's COVAX contribution was half for itself and half for under-privileged countries. So they have essentially just claimed for themselves what they originally agreed upon.


Canada contributed $440m (£324m) to Covax in September, half of which secured doses for itself from about nine vaccines candidates.
The other half goes into a pooled fund to buy doses for 20% of the people in 92 low- and middle-income countries.

Covax: Canada defends taking vaccines from sharing scheme.

My point exactly, thanks Down Under.
eta: special gift for you, @SouthAussie and other Aussies, from me:

 

[Cool Cats]

↑musicaljoke said: ↑
We're injecting those vaccines tomorrow. It doesn't seem morally right, though, that we are getting vaccines through that special program.

I have been searching through the thread to find out what the
special program is.

Haven't found it, time to call out the WS's Cavalry.

Anyone?

Thanks!

 

[Cool Cats]

Europe's COVID vaccine fiasco continues

Compounding Europe’s vaccine supply issues is the fact that the AstraZeneca shot — use of which was temporarily suspended last month by a dozen countries out of fears it might be linked to blood clots — is once again in limbo.

This week, the chairman of the team evaluating the vaccine for the European Medicines Agency, the regulatory arm that two weeks ago re-approved use in the Europe Union, confirmed a clear association between the vaccine and a rare blood clot disorder that can be deadly.

On Wednesday, however, the EMA walked back that news, stressing again that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Andrew Hussey, a history professor in Paris — where schools are closed, a 7 p.m. curfew is in effect and new cases of COVID last week were exceeding 40,000 a day — told Yahoo News that the vaccine rollout has been pitiful.

A month ago, his doctor contacted the 57-year-old saying that, due to underlying health issues, he’d been fast-tracked for a COVID shot. But when he arrived at the office, the vaccine cupboard was bare.

Told to go to a public vaccination center, he waited in line for an hour, finding supplies gone there too. A week later, nothing had changed and he still hasn’t been able to book an appointment.

Guy Maruani, 75, a retired psychiatrist also living in Paris, received an AstraZeneca shot, but confirmed that scheduling an appointment has proven extremely difficult for many residents.

Between vaccine frustrations and the ongoing lockdown restrictions — which include shuttered restaurants, cafes and bars — Maruani said “The French are fed up,” and if the current four-week lockdown doesn’t lift in May as scheduled, he fears “another revolution.”

 

[margarita25]

↑musicaljoke said: ↑
We're injecting those vaccines tomorrow. It doesn't seem morally right, though, that we are getting vaccines through that special program.

I have been searching through the thread to find out what the
special program is.

Haven't found it, time to call out the WS's Cavalry.

Anyone?

Thanks!

(I think @musicaljoke may have been referring to COVAX)

 

[LadyL]

I can read it ...

It says that this returning traveller has brought the variant to a “large employer with multiple sites across Western Canada,”. Employees then spread the variant across 3 Central and North sites.
They have identified 26 covid cases linked to employees at the three sites and to their household contacts.
They have positively confirmed 3 cases are P.1 cases, and think it is likely that as they get more results (that they are waiting for) there will be more P1 cases among them.

It also says that PTW Energy Services Ltd., headquarters in Calgary, confirmed the three employee P1 variant cases at its Drayton Valley, Edson and Hinton offices.

It sounds as if the traveller didn't travel outside Canada ... but is responsible for local spread of the virus due to interstate travel.

And Whistler has had an outbreak, likely from travellers to BC.

thank you I totally read that headline differently
I thought a Canadian travelled to Brazil and brought them the variant!

like can you see how I could've interpreted it that way?

A single person who travelled out of Alberta is believed to be responsible for triggering a “significant outbreak” of the COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil

 

[margarita25]

COVID-19 surges across the globe as countries report new records

“Ambulances filled with breathless patients lined up in Brazil as nations around the world set new records Thursday for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections. The disease surged even in some countries that have kept the virus in check.

In the United States, Detroit leaders began making a plan to knock on every door to persuade people to get vaccine shots.“

Interesting:

“South Korea reported 700 more cases, the highest daily jump since Jan. 5. Health authorities were expected to announce measures to strengthen social distancing following a meeting Friday.“

*SK had been doing so well with their efforts...man.

—

(Note to self, make point about Michigan, NY, Brazil & Cali/ Santa Clara)

 

[Cool Cats]

(I think @musicaljoke may have been referring to COVAX)

COVAX is a good thing. Helps equalize countries regarding vaccinations.

 

[MsArk]

Interesting as we have discussed the mental health ramifications of Covid, lockdowns & quarantine.

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

Death certificates are still coming in and the count could rise. But officials expect a substantial decline will endure, despite worries that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.

US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

 

[dixiegirl1035]

https://twitter.com/JenniferNuzzo/status/1380176298211999744 Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH @JenniferNuzzo There was a large spike in #covid19 deaths reported in the US yesterday. This is due to Oklahoma's reporting of previously unreported cases and deaths.

Thanks so much for delving into finding this information @anneg!

ETA to snip white space so others can see in preview mode anneg's post

 

[dixiegirl1035]

COVID-19 surges across the globe as countries report new records

Coronavirus Update (Live): 134,618,106 Cases and 2,917,595 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

 

[Cool Cats]

North Carolina sites halt J&J shots after adverse reactions

CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said it is aware of adverse reactions in some people who received the vaccine shots in Iowa, Colorado, Georgia and North Carolina. Those reactions include dizziness, light headedness, feeling faint and rapid breathing.

David Wohl, an infectious disease expert at UNC Health who oversees the UNC vaccination sites, said between eight and 14 of the roughly 1,250 J&J vaccine recipients it injected on Thursday fainted after receiving the shot, though nobody was taken to a hospital.

He does not believe most of the cases stem from allergic reactions to the vaccine. “Everyone that I've seen really doesn't have an underlying medical history that's of concern, but many of them do report having fainted previously.”

Wake County announced Thursday evening that it stopped administering Johnson & Johnson doses at PNC Arena after 18 of the more than 2,300 people vaccinated experienced adverse reactions, including four individuals who were taken to hospitals and are expected to be released. A pair of clinics in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill also elected to stop offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

And in Colorado on Wednesday, 11 people saw adverse reactions after receiving a J&J shot. Two of those individuals were taken to a hospital.

 

[Inthedetails]

Interesting as we have discussed the mental health ramifications of Covid, lockdowns & quarantine.

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

Death certificates are still coming in and the count could rise. But officials expect a substantial decline will endure, despite worries that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.

US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

That is reassuring news.

jmo

 

[SouthAussie]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to get vaccinated, writing in a tweet: “Vaccination is among the few ways we have to defeat the virus. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon.”

Brazil this week became just the third country, after the US and Peru, to report a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths that exceeded 4000.

South Korea ... were expected to announce measures to strengthen social distancing following a meeting on Friday.

Thailand .... reported the country’s first local cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain.

New Mexico became the first US state to get shots in the arms of 25 per cent of its residents.

Michigan .... has the highest number of new US cases per capita, with 1 of every 203 Michigan residents getting diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 31 and April 7.

Detroit .... officials said they planned to start visiting homes to talk about the importance of protecting themselves from the virus with vaccinations and how to sign up to receive the shots.

Iowa ... school district where 127 students and five staff members tested positive for the coronavirus or are presumed positive.

Massachusetts .... the Public Health Association called on Republican Governor Charlie Baker to reinstate public health measures. The group urged Baker to limit indoor dining capacity and other indoor activities, saying the rise in cases and hospitalisations followed Baker’s decision to loosen those restrictions.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-...-deaths-around-the-world-20210409-p57hqc.html

 

[GRT]

I feel like the US can and should start sharing more vaccines with other countries by May. I have been keeping an eye on vaccination sites in my state since day one, and for the last month or so, appointment slots are not filling up fast here. That tells me that everyone who urgently wants one in my state can easily get one. I know that not all other states are as comfortably situated, but I think by May they will all be experiencing the same thing. We are open to 16 and up now, and there are loads of appointments available for next week.

That's the situation here as well--more vaccine time slots are remaining unfilled because those who urgently wanted the shots have (for the most part) already taken them. Anyone over 16 can get them now, but it appears a good number just aren't interested.

At this point, we could easily start transferring some of our vaccines to other places in the world where they're trying so hard to get some.

 

[SouthAussie]

So, I was wondering a bit earlier why Australia was not looking into manufacturing other vaccines besides AstraZeneca.

It seems that we are looking into it.


Asked whether CSL should switch to making the Novavax vaccine instead, Dr Brendan Murphy said Australia still needs significant quantities of AstraZeneca to protect people aged over 70 and finish the program already started.

“At the moment, CSL is making AstraZeneca. We need it and our elderly Australians need to have it in their arms,” he said.

He said the government was in discussion with CSL about whether it could produce other vaccines but, for now, it could only make one type at a time.

Australia’s doses of Novavax are expected to start arriving from overseas between July and September.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/cor...llout-20210409-p57hqt.html?post=p522w7#p522w7