COVID-19/Coronavirus Information and Support Thread (see OP for useful links)

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After finally revealing exactly how many students tested positive over the weekend, my school went to code red this morning, essentially shutting down everything. All in person final exams have been cancelled and will be online from now on, libraries are closed, you can no longer eat in dining halls, and people are asked to leave if they have tested negative within 48 hours.

There were over 600 positive tests this week and over 400 active cases. The newspaper here made a graph of cases since 2020 and it's quite shocking how quicky it turned bad.

1639518190761.png


Overall, I think my school has done a really good job thus far, given the circumstances. Whenever there has been a dramatic increase, we would go to yellow alert and things would slowly get better. This time around, the increase was so fast that there wasn't much they can do, especially when the semester is basically over. I feel bad for the people I know who are graduating this semester as their graduation ceremony has been cancelled. I'm graduating next semester but I don't think things will be any better in half a year.
 
Pfizer has released the initial data set for its COVID pill Paxlovid. The result shows nearly a 90% protection rate against hospitalization and death.

www.reuters.com

Pfizer says COVID-19 pill near 90% protective against hospitalization, death

Pfizer Inc on Tuesday said its antiviral COVID-19 pill showed near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients, and recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against the fast spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

With Omicron, we're seeing some of the first larger-scale data being released, which comes via Discovery Health, a South African insurance company.

News room | Discovery - Discovery

Discovery news room is a resource for the latest news about Discovery press releases, images, and other stories of interest.
www.discovery.co.za www.discovery.co.za

I have no idea how trustworthy Discovery Health is other than it's the largest insurance provider in the country. Maybe @JKgo can give some insight into it. The raw data also seems to be missing, but if we take it at face value, at the very least we see two doses of Pfizer can offer at least some protection, albeit at a lower percentage.
 
ProjectWHaT
After finally revealing exactly how many students tested positive over the weekend, my school went to code red this morning, essentially shutting down everything. All in person final exams have been cancelled and will be online from now on, libraries are closed, you can no longer eat in dining halls, and people are asked to leave if they have tested negative within 48 hours.

There were over 600 positive tests this week and over 400 active cases. The newspaper here made a graph of cases since 2020 and it's quite shocking how quicky it turned bad.

View attachment 1099487

Overall, I think my school has done a really good job thus far, given the circumstances. Whenever there has been a dramatic increase, we would go to yellow alert and things would slowly get better. This time around, the increase was so fast that there wasn't much they can do, especially when the semester is basically over. I feel bad for the people I know who are graduating this semester as their graduation ceremony has been cancelled. I'm graduating next semester but I don't think things will be any better in half a year.
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Looks like omicron was there. It seems to be spreading a bit faster than the previous variants.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
Looks like omicron was there. It seems to be spreading a bit faster than the previous variants.
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Most likely. From the email we got

I want to make clear that our evidence of Omicron is preliminary. PCR testing has identified its hallmark (the so-called S-gene dropout) in a substantial number of virus samples. While we must await confirmatory sequencing information to be sure that the source is Omicron, we are proceeding as if it is.
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We are also on CNN, which I'm sure is great publicity.

www.cnn.com

Cornell University reports more than 900 Covid-19 cases this week. Many are Omicron variant cases in fully vaccinated students | CNN

Cornell University reported 903 cases of Covid-19 among students between December 7-13, and a "very high percentage" of them are Omicron variant cases in fully vaccinated individuals, according to university officials.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Apparently we're one of the few universities that tests every student every week (Last year they tested each student twice per week). So we were able to catch cases very early on and perform contact tracing, staying ahead of the spread, etc. From what I heard, most cases are from frat parties and other social events off campus where they don't wear masks. It's worrying to see the number of cases despite all students being vaccinated. I'm sure we'd make a great case study considering how much data they've collected
 
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I saw my neighbour this morning and unusually for him he was wearing a mask while walking down the street. It turns out he tested positive for COVID last night (according to his Twitter account), hence the mask. That makes him the first COVID positive person I've actually spoken to while they were still positive, albeit literally in passing.

On a related note, I've been pretty annoyed at my sister for refusing to use LFTs on herself and her school-aged son, but I've made my feelings clear to my Mum, but for the sake of family harmony I haven't pushed the issue with my sister. I just don't understand the way she thinks about it - the upshot is that IF you get infected, then the best thing you can do is to KNOW that you are. Her attitude seems to be that a positive test result would in itself cause too much disruption, but seems to ignore the fact that having the virus is potentially considerably more disruptive. I don't think it is quite as bad as 'sticking her head in the sand' but it is not far off it. Frankly, everyone should be testing as much as they can right now, but people like my sister who have school-aged kids should be testing both themselves and their kids daily until (and indeed a few days passed) the holiday. The alternative, as I've pointed out, is that she doesn't test but keeps her distance from clinically vulnerable family members, which of course she can't do...

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I had two Xmas party invites this week, and the big one (our departmental Xmas lunch on Friday) has just been cancelled. The other one, however, a few after work drinks with my old group (six of us in total) is possibly still going ahead. However, I've decided not to go to that either. A positive test for me right now would mean staying in Glasgow for a second Xmas in a row, and hence going out to the pub for a couple of hours tomorrow night and then testing myself on Saturday morning before heading to my Mum's for the Xmas holidays doesn't make a lot of sense.
 
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Just had my booster. Pfizer this time after two AZ jabs. It seems to have a much greater knock back over AZ. I don't think there's a single part of my body that hasn't had an ache at some point.
 
Tired Tyres
Just had my booster. Pfizer this time after two AZ jabs. It seems to have a much greater knock back over AZ. I don't think there's a single part of my body that hasn't had an ache at some point.
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Yup, my Moderna booster yesterday has definitely been worse so far than either of the AZ jabs were. Still not that bad to be fair.
 
R1600Turbo
New update, tried to work VO from home today and just couldn't do it. Tried to get more sleep and it was hard, entire body was steaming hot (with no fever, go figure) but the moment I removed the covers I would be freezing. Cotton mouth, massive headache. Feel worse than when I posted previously...
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Final update: doing much better today after I basically slept on and off from 2pm to yesterday to 5am today. Head still a bit fuzzy but no headache and no aches and pains from anywhere other than the injection site. It wasn't great, thats for sure. Barely had enough energy to get up and walk to the bathroom.
 
The WHO believes that Omicron is spreading faster than any other variant we've had so far.
www.who.int

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 14 December 2021

www.who.int www.who.int

What concerns me about the WHO's position in its statements is with regards to the booster. While they're not against it, they do point out inequality with who's getting the vaccines. I know there are countries where this is a problem, but coming out and phrasing it as it did is only going to fuel the fire of people thinking they don't need to be boosted. I'm also curious, of those countries that have less than 40% vaccinated, is it really inequality or is it people just refusing to get vaccinated for whatever reason?
 
From an South African's perspective, I'd say inequality might have played a part but personally, I think it's for a different reason.

People I've spoken to, who hadn't gotten jabbed yet, had various reasons, and it seems like they are scared of losing time off work from the side effects. At least, that's the feeling I got.

The majority of people here need to go to work every day to afford daily essentials. Losing even a day's wage would be a body blow to some. I can see why some would be hesitant in that case. Plus, there's a surprising (or unsurprising depending on how you look at it) amount of vaccine misinformation doing the rounds here, including gems like vaccines will help the Europeans enslave the Africans once more, etc...

Edit: Forgot to add, the emergence of omicron variant seems to have resulted in a positive uptick in the vaccinations recently. Although I haven't checked the figures for the last couple of days.
 
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Danoff
They are aware of what happens when you get covid right?
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Similar logic used for people not getting tested - test positive and miss out on a fortnight's pay (or possibly even lose your job)... so people go into work, infect others and then people end up missing weeks or months of work because they or a relative gets sick, and people die.

To be sure, for a lot of people it is a lose-lose situation - but that's why governments must step in and support workers who test positive and support businesses to allow them to stay open while workers self-isolate.

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This is a useful if somewhat depressing resource - a graphical depiction of daily COVID hospitalisations by age group in the UK:


The most recent data point (Saturday, 12th December) shows a new all-time high for hospital admissions for 0-17 y.os, and a new high for 0-5 y.os... currently standing at 65 new admissions in one day.

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Meanwhile, the UK just smashed it's record daily case count - 78,610 :ill:
 
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JKgo
That's the thing - they say they know, but at least a couple of people told me "They haven't seen anyone sick with covid, therefore it can't be bad."
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Alternatively, they've never seen COVID in person, so it can't exist. Best way to deal with a pandemic!
 
According to Dr. Fauci, we don't need Omicron specific boosters:
www.forbes.com

Fauci Says ‘No Need’ For Omicron-Specific Vaccine Booster

Existing vaccines deliver enough protection against the omicron variant, according to Fauci.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

It also looks like only two doses of Moderna has about the same efficacy at two doses as Pfizer against Omicron as well, so if you've had Moderna, probably best to get boosted as well:
www.npr.org

Omicron evades Moderna vaccine too, study suggests, but boosters help

The Moderna vaccine's ability to shield against infection drops sharply when tested on the omicron variant. But getting a booster pumps the protection back up again, new research suggests.
www.npr.org www.npr.org

We've also now gotten some data from Hong Kong University that supports that Omicron is more infectious but less severe:
www.med.hku.hk

HKUMed finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 can infect faster and better than Delta in human bronchus but with less severe infection in lung

A study led by researchers from HKUMed provides the first information on how the novel Variant of Concern of SARS-CoV-2, the Omicron SARS-CoV-2, infect human respiratory tract.
www.med.hku.hk www.med.hku.hk
 
Just got this email. Still, as much as I'd like too, not going to see Spider-Man tonight. I'll wait for the Stream.

With restrictions easing we can all get back to doing the things we’ve missed. The new rules mean more freedoms for us all. Some of the key changes include:

Mask wearing
You’ll only need to wear a mask on public transport, planes and at airports, or if you work indoors in hospitality and aren’t fully vaccinated, however wearing a mask continues to be encouraged where you cannot socially distance and when indoors.

Some businesses may continue requiring people to wear a mask as a condition of entry to protect the well-being of staff and customers.

Capacity limits
There are no capacity limits and most venues are open to everyone.

COVID Safe check-ins
COVID Safe check-ins are only required for high-contact venues including hospitals, aged and disability care facilities, gyms, places of worship, funerals or memorial services, personal services (including hairdressers and beauty salons), pubs, small bars and registered clubs, nightclubs, and indoor music festivals with over 1,000 people.

Proof of vaccination
Proof of vaccination is no longer required at most venues except for indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people.

Some businesses may continue requiring customers to be fully vaccinated and request to see proof of vaccination as a condition of entry to protect the well-being of staff and customers.
 
05XR8
Just got this email. Still, as much as I'd like too, not going to see Spider-Man tonight. I'll wait for the Stream.

With restrictions easing we can all get back to doing the things we’ve missed. The new rules mean more freedoms for us all. Some of the key changes include:

Mask wearing
You’ll only need to wear a mask on public transport, planes and at airports, or if you work indoors in hospitality and aren’t fully vaccinated, however wearing a mask continues to be encouraged where you cannot socially distance and when indoors.

Some businesses may continue requiring people to wear a mask as a condition of entry to protect the well-being of staff and customers.

Capacity limits
There are no capacity limits and most venues are open to everyone.

COVID Safe check-ins
COVID Safe check-ins are only required for high-contact venues including hospitals, aged and disability care facilities, gyms, places of worship, funerals or memorial services, personal services (including hairdressers and beauty salons), pubs, small bars and registered clubs, nightclubs, and indoor music festivals with over 1,000 people.

Proof of vaccination
Proof of vaccination is no longer required at most venues except for indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people.

Some businesses may continue requiring customers to be fully vaccinated and request to see proof of vaccination as a condition of entry to protect the well-being of staff and customers.
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I have to say I find that surprising for Australia. Texas, sure, but not Australia.
 
TB
I have to say I find that surprising for Australia. Texas, sure, but not Australia.
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Unfortunately both NSW and SA are going directly against the health advice given by both of our states Chief Public Health Officers which has kept us relatively covid free in comparison to other countries (SA has only been locked down for about two weeks in total).

Nicola Spurrier wanted the SA border shut when Omicron was first found... but the pollies didn't.

Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier on Saturday morning recommended to the state's COVID-19 directions committee that borders be shut.

"Clearly when you have something that is unknown, the lowest risk would be to try and keep it out for as long as possible," she said.

But instead the committee agreed to require all arrivals from NSW, Victoria and the ACT be tested upon arrival.
www.canberratimes.com.au

SA holds off Omicron border close for now

South Australian authorities are "extraordinarily concerned" about the presence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant interstate, but will not make any immediate ch...
www.canberratimes.com.au www.canberratimes.com.au

Kerry Chant (NSW) wanted masks to stay... and the pollies didn't.

Publicly, it's been a united front for almost two years: NSW's top medico Kerry Chant standing beside a premier, who has proclaimed whatever COVID-19 decision they were making was "based on the health advice".

Now, there's been a departure from that script.

On the same day NSW scrapped face mask mandates in most settings, Dr Chant — the state's Chief Health Officer — admitted she wanted people to keep them on.

When pressed on the issue, Premier Dominic Perrottet said his team had considered Dr Chant's advice, but managing the pandemic was "a balance".
www.abc.net.au

Easing COVID mask restrictions at odds with NSW Health advice as infections surge

Publicly, it's been a united front for almost two years: NSW's top medico Kerry Chant standing beside a premier, who has proclaimed whatever COVID-19 decision they were making was "based on the health advice". Now, there's been a departure from that script.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

It seems our politicians are running the show now :irked:
 
I can’t believe the number of people that don’t wear masks, I mean that’s the simplest and easiest thing to do, and it proven. I’m fully vaccinated, but if I could only pick one option between vaccination and wearing a mask, i honestly think I’d choose the mask, I think they are that effective.

I wear the good 3m N95 mask anytime I go anywhere in public. I was in a big grocery store this morning that was fairly crowded, and I would put the number of non-employees wearing mask at less then ten percent. It just blows my mind.

This whole thing is crazy, it’s like some people have lost their minds with some of the stuff they say and believe, so much misinformation it’s not even funny.

My GF is one of those people, unfortunately. Her father is elderly and has been in the hospital for over two weeks now with pneumonia after he had a bout with Covid. He’s not vaccinated. Luckily he hasn’t been out on a ventilator, but it was super close their for awhile, I honestly didn’t think he was going to make it. This evening they are finally moving him out of ICU into a normal room.

She still doesn’t want to get vaccinated, but she was at least religious about wearing her mask until recently. Now she told me the other day that she don’t think masks work either. :banghead: I’m a pretty patient fellow, but I lost my temper a bit when she messaged me that, I may or may not have flew off the handle a bit. I won’t force her to get vaccinated, or tell her what to do, but she will wear a mask when we go out in public.
 
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Some interesting research into the origins of Omicron and why it has so many mutations:
www.biorxiv.org

Evidence for a mouse origin of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

The rapid accumulation of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant that enabled its outbreak raises questions as to whether its proximal origin occurred in humans or another mammalian host. Here, we identified 45 point mutations that Omicron acquired since divergence from the B.1.1 lineage...
www.biorxiv.org www.biorxiv.org
Like everything, take it with a grain of salt as the paper is a pre-print and hasn't undergone peer review, but here's the interesting bit from the paper.
Collectively, our results suggest that the progenitor of Omicron jumped from humans to mice, rapidly accumulated mutations conducive to infecting that host, then jumped back into humans, indicating an inter-species evolutionary trajectory for the Omicron outbreak.
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If a human-animal-human path occurred, mice would probably be one of the best candidates for a carrier species so in a way that does make sense.
 
TB
I have to say I find that surprising for Australia. Texas, sure, but not Australia.
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Hospitality Shops in my area have shut. Not for any meaningful reason, but so they don’t get stuck over Christmas. With Newcastle cases increasing, we may get banned from entering other areas in New South Wales.
 
I got my Pfizer booster today, previous two were also Pfizer. I hope it will give me some protection. So far, however, I have not seen much if at all discussion about Sputnik V's efficacy against Omicron in western news outlets. My dad's three doses were of that so I hope it will give him sufficient protection.
 
Fat Tyre
I got my Pfizer booster today, previous two were also Pfizer. I hope it will give me some protection. So far, however, I have not seen much if at all discussion about Sputnik V's efficacy against Omicron in western news outlets. My dad's three doses were of that so I hope it will give him sufficient protection.
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TASS say they're hoping to drop some data next week.
tass.com

Data on Sputnik V’s effectiveness against Omicron may be obtained next week

On November 26, the WHO designated the B.1.1.529 variant identified in South Africa as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron
tass.com tass.com
I'd also like to hear about Sinopharm's efficacy vs Omi. This isn't a race; the whole world needs protection from the virus. It's not looking good for Sinovac however:

https://www.ft.com/content/afc1eecc-8b3d-4b98-8b65-3520862fb5da

Financial Times
Two doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, one of the most commonly used jabs in China and around the world, provide “insufficient” antibodies against the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to researchers in Hong Kong.

The findings from a study released by the University of Hong Kong have stoked anxiety as Omicron surges in many parts of the globe and the first two cases were detected in mainland China this week.

China has administered more than 2.5bn doses of a Covid-19 vaccine — most of them Sinovac or Sinopharm — and adopted a “zero Covid” strategy that has subjected vast numbers of people to compulsory government quarantine. The new coronavirus strain had already raised questions over the efficacy of Chinese vaccines and Beijing’s ability to keep the virus under control.

“[Omicron] has left the Chinese vaccines even more ineffective against the threat posed by Covid,” said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong who specialises in Chinese foreign policy and health security in Asia. “The challenge for the Chinese authorities will be [to] re-engage their population’s commitment to another round of vaccines.”

The Hong Kong study tested the antibody levels of 25 people who received both doses of the Sinovac vaccine — an inactivated vaccine unlike messenger RNA jabs such as the shots developed by BioNTech/Pfizer — and found that none had sufficient antibodies in their blood serum to neutralise the new variant.

In contrast, five people out of a group of 25 who were given two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine were found to have detectable neutralising antibodies against Omicron, which the researchers said had an “efficiency” of between 20 and 24 per cent against the new variant.

Last week Pfizer said that three doses of its jab would be able to neutralise Omicron based on a lab test.

Multiple laboratory studies have shown that the antibody protection provided by two doses of any vaccine is dented by Omicron. Separate preliminary studies from the University of Oxford and the Medical University of Innsbruck found that many double vaccinated Oxford/AstraZeneca recipients did not produce any measurable neutralising antibodies against Omicron.

The University of Hong Kong researchers said their study “demonstrated that both Omicron variants have reduced susceptibility to neutralisation by sera collected from Covid-19 vaccine recipients. None of the [Sinovac] recipients had detectable neutralising [antibodies] to the Omicron variants.”

A level of antibodies sufficient to neutralise the virus is closely related to the ability to prevent symptomatic infection, previous studies have shown. However, experts stress that double vaccinated people will still retain some protection against severe disease because this is mediated by T cells and B cells rather than antibodies.

Kelvin To, one of the HKU researchers, told the Financial Times that data on a third Sinovac dose “would be needed” to determine whether those who have had two Sinovac jabs should switch to other vaccines for the booster shot.

David Hui, a Hong Kong government pandemic adviser from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said another study was under way on a three-shot course of the Sinovac vaccine to protect against Omicron. The findings are expected to be published next week.

Huge populations in countries including Turkey, the Philippines and Indonesia have received the Sinovac vaccine.

On Wednesday, a Sinovac spokesperson said its own lab test results showed a third dose “was effective in improving” the ability in neutralising Omicron, adding it was conducting further studies to evaluate Omicron’s impact on its vaccine.

Nine Omicron cases were recorded in Hong Kong as of Wednesday, just as final preparations for resuming quarantine-free travel to mainland China were being carried out. A top adviser to city leader Carrie Lam dismissed concerns raised by the study.

“For the time being, Hong Kong is using a zero Covid strategy to prevent infection . . . so no worries yet,” Lam Ching-choi, a medical doctor and a member of Lam’s de facto cabinet, told the FT. “[Omicron] has not [affected border reopening plans] for the time being . . . The Omicron cases were well contained, [with] no [cases] being spread into the community.”
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Is anyone else in the UK having issues getting hold of lateral flow test kits? My home town doesn't have any anywhere and it means I'm not able to go and visit my wife in hospital. It's very frustrating.

In looking this up though I found this gem: "Government ministers have stressed that this is not because of a shortage of the tests but because of an exceptional increase in demand for them that has outstripped the ability to deliver the tests."

So....a shortage, then?

shortage
NOUN
a state or situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts
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It is a complete ****show here right now - you can't get a PCR test within about 5 days, vaccine booking sites are in meltdown...

@Moglet - I'd much rather a 'they exist, but we can't distribute them quick enough' shortage than a 'they don't exist' shortage. Technically there isn't a shortage of tests, they just aren't in the right place at this time.
 
Barra333
It is a complete ****show here right now - you can't get a PCR test within about 5 days, vaccine booking sites are in meltdown...
Click to expand...

There have been queues around the block at walk-in centers in some parts of the UK, I've managed to get mine booked in for the 21st but I'm fully expecting to have to queue for a long time just to get in!
 
UKMikey
TASS say they're hoping to drop some data next week.
tass.com

Data on Sputnik V’s effectiveness against Omicron may be obtained next week

On November 26, the WHO designated the B.1.1.529 variant identified in South Africa as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron
tass.com tass.com
I'd also like to hear about Sinopharm's efficacy vs Omi. This isn't a race; the whole world needs protection from the virus. It's not looking good for Sinovac however:

https://www.ft.com/content/afc1eecc-8b3d-4b98-8b65-3520862fb5da
Click to expand...
Thank you so much.
 

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