2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) Thread

[rockstaryuzu]

On 4/8/2021 at 8:59 PM, liv said:

I read in an article earlier today that Canada is one of the few countries where all 3 of the major variants (UK, SAfrican, Brazilian) are becoming significant at the same time.

Just thinking about it makes a chill run down my spine. We're only a week into this new surge and the ICU at my workplace is at capacity.  

 

The daily testing thing is actually one option not getting discussed much as a public health initiative (for good reason, it's cost-prohibitive in it's current form) . If there were some kind of home-based daily test available, I wonder if that would help the numbers, because people could know more precisely just when they should stay home. 

[barbara]

2 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Just thinking about it makes a chill run down my spine. We're only a week into this new surge and the ICU at my workplace is at capacity.  

 

The daily testing thing is actually one option not getting discussed much as a public health initiative (for good reason, it's cost-prohibitive in it's current form) . If there were some kind of home-based daily test available, I wonder if that would help the numbers, because people could know more precisely just when they should stay home. 

It doesn't seem that clicking the heart, indicating a "like" really covers the "man, don't like this news at all".  Stay safe and there is a silver lining to the whole Canada-China vaccine effort that didn't happen.  It seems their vaccine is not particularly efficacious.  Maybe something is better than nothing at this point, but at least the one dose will have provided some good protection.  I wish the state of Mississippi, where there are doses going unused because of "vaccine hesitancy" or stupidity and denial of science, would send their excess to Ottawa.  Now.

[rockstaryuzu]

3 hours ago, barbara said:

wish the state of Mississippi, where there are doses going unused because of "vaccine hesitancy" or stupidity and denial of science, would send their excess to Ottawa

It would be even better if people just took the vaccine. I understand why people might be a little unsure about something that appeared on the scene this quickly, but at the same time, if it was harmful, do you think Israel would have rushed to vaccinate their entire population - properly- with the Pfizer-Biontech within the first month after it was released? Of course not! The fact that they did, speaks volumes. 

 

 

[Purple]

1 hour ago, rockstaryuzu said:

It would be even better if people just took the vaccine. I understand why people might be a little unsure about something that appeared on the scene this quickly, but at the same time, if it was harmful, do you think Israel would have rushed to vaccinate their entire population - properly- with the Pfizer-Biontech within the first month after it was released? Of course not! The fact that they did, speaks volumes. 

 

 

Not if its Astra Zeneca. There are countries which have stopped giving AZ to those under 55 yrs old due to blood clot issue.

In my country, we cannot choose the vaccine. Astra Zeneca is on the list along with Sinovac & Pfizer. Pfizer is for politicians, frontliners, the elites.

 

There are frontliners who have died after getting Pfizer, including those healthy with no underlying issues. There is 3.5% incidence of side effects from Pfizer, thats just 1st dose. Its been reported side effects from 2nd dose is even worse.

 

+ they havent even started with the high risk groups & senior citizens. Government announced this group will get Sinovac. 

 

So, more & more people are doing 'wait & see'. As in wait & see if those who take the vaccine suffer adverse side effects. 

 

If we die after taking the vaccine, cannot claim compensation from government since already sign waiver. -> In the beginning government reassure say can claim certain amount if die from vaccine related causes.

All who have die the reason given is they died due 'other causes' or blame it on 'underlying conditions'. In other words, they will make sure cannot claim, if die its at own risk.

 

 

 

[yumeaki]

3 hours ago, Purple said:

Not if its Astra Zeneca. There are countries which have stopped giving AZ to those under 55 yrs old due to blood clot issue.

In my country, we cannot choose the vaccine. Astra Zeneca is on the list along with Sinovac & Pfizer. Pfizer is for politicians, frontliners, the elites.

 

There are frontliners who have died after getting Pfizer, including those healthy with no underlying issues. There is 3.5% incidence of side effects from Pfizer, thats just 1st dose. Its been reported side effects from 2nd dose is even worse.

 

+ they havent even started with the high risk groups & senior citizens. Government announced this group will get Sinovac. 

 

So, more & more people are doing 'wait & see'. As in wait & see if those who take the vaccine suffer adverse side effects. 

 

If we die after taking the vaccine, cannot claim compensation from government since already sign waiver. -> In the beginning government reassure say can claim certain amount if die from vaccine related causes.

All who have die the reason given is they died due 'other causes' or blame it on 'underlying conditions'. In other words, they will make sure cannot claim, if die its at own risk.

 

 

 

I assume your "my country" refers to either your birth country or whichever country you are located in now? As your flag shows Singapore, I do not want people to misunderstand what you said happens in Singapore because Singapore has not approved Astra Zeneca nor Sinovac for use and they have already started vaccination for high risk groups & senior citizens since start of this year (these groups have Pfizer).

[barbara]

3 hours ago, Purple said:

Not if its Astra Zeneca. There are countries which have stopped giving AZ to those under 55 yrs old due to blood clot issue.

In my country, we cannot choose the vaccine. Astra Zeneca is on the list along with Sinovac & Pfizer. Pfizer is for politicians, frontliners, the elites.

 

There are frontliners who have died after getting Pfizer, including those healthy with no underlying issues. There is 3.5% incidence of side effects from Pfizer, thats just 1st dose. Its been reported side effects from 2nd dose is even worse.

 

+ they havent even started with the high risk groups & senior citizens. Government announced this group will get Sinovac. 

 

So, more & more people are doing 'wait & see'. As in wait & see if those who take the vaccine suffer adverse side effects. 

 

If we die after taking the vaccine, cannot claim compensation from government since already sign waiver. -> In the beginning government reassure say can claim certain amount if die from vaccine related causes.

All who have die the reason given is they died due 'other causes' or blame it on 'underlying conditions'. In other words, they will make sure cannot claim, if die its at own risk.

 

 

 

I don't know what country you live in but the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have not been causing people to die.  They are both mRNA vaccines that have been in development for decades and now modified with a genetic protein from this virus. (NOT the virus - just a genetic code from a protein.) There have been issues with A-Z and I understand some people being hesitant, especially if they already have heart or circulation issues (which are ofter undiagnosed and may, ultimately , be the cause of the adverse side effects some are seeing from this vaccine).

As @rockstaryuzuhas said - Israel would not have vaccinated virtually their entire adult population if this wasn't safe.  And they have been able to return to something like a normal life.  

The vaccines are 70-90% effective in preventing serious illness and 100% effective in preventing death from Covid.  I hope you are able to get vaccinated soon.

[yude]

Vaccination for the elderly started yesterday in Japan. My parents are both around 70 and they haven't received the coupon for the appointment yet, so maybe they can get vaccinated in May at the earliest. I am in the last group, so I am lucky if I can get it in this year. I hope Yuzuru can get it in summer since he has underlying disease. (and I think most of the Japanese athletes will compete without vaccination in Tokyo Olympics, I mean, if it is held as planned...)

[Purple]

4 hours ago, yumeaki said:

I assume your "my country" refers to either your birth country or whichever country you are located in now? As your flag shows Singapore, I do not want people to misunderstand what you said happens in Singapore because Singapore has not approved Astra Zeneca nor Sinovac for use and they have already started vaccination for high risk groups & senior citizens since start of this year (these groups have Pfizer).

It's Malaysia, Singapore's neighbour up north. I have no idea there's a flag & that the forum system put me as from Spore.

 

Like I said, we cannot choose the vaccine. Since I'm in the last phase for those aged 18 to 59, we can wait & see.

Which more & more people are doing. Since its not going to reach our turn in 2021 anyway.

 

They havent even started with the senior citizens & high risk groups yet which are supposed to start sometime end of April. 

After this phase starts, thats when the numbers will get very interesting.

 

 

 

[Purple]

4 hours ago, barbara said:

I don't know what country you live in but the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have not been causing people to die.  They are both mRNA vaccines that have been in development for decades and now modified with a genetic protein from this virus. (NOT the virus - just a genetic code from a protein.) There have been issues with A-Z and I understand some people being hesitant, especially if they already have heart or circulation issues (which are ofter undiagnosed and may, ultimately , be the cause of the adverse side effects some are seeing from this vaccine).

As @rockstaryuzuhas said - Israel would not have vaccinated virtually their entire adult population if this wasn't safe.  And they have been able to return to something like a normal life.  

The vaccines are 70-90% effective in preventing serious illness and 100% effective in preventing death from Covid.  I hope you are able to get vaccinated soon.

The fact remains : its been reported by the Health Minister(who is very pro vaccine) that 3.5% got side effects after taking Pfizer. While the ratio of those contracting Covid 19 to the population is only 1%+.

 

Those who died the official cause of death given range from heart attack to 'unknown'. These are frontliners, mostly from the medical field, they get their health checked regularly.

All of which happened few days after they took the vaccine. The one reported as "unknown" was a healthy 37 yr old frontliner who had high fever after 2nd dose of vaccine, then passed out in the bathroom.

 

Since the probability of side effects from the vaccine is higher than the probability of contracting the virus, I rather wait for updated versions of the vaccine to be out first. 

To put more directly, let others be the guinea pig to test out the 1st version.

 

 

[yumeaki]

40 minutes ago, Purple said:

It's Malaysia, Singapore's neighbour up north. I have no idea there's a flag & that the forum system put me as from Spore.

 

Like I said, we cannot choose the vaccine. Since I'm in the last phase for those aged 18 to 59, we can wait & see.

Which more & more people are doing. Since its not going to reach our turn in 2021 anyway.

 

They havent even started with the senior citizens & high risk groups yet which are supposed to start sometime end of April. 

After this phase starts, thats when the numbers will get very interesting.

 

 

 

Singapore also doesn't allow one to choose vaccine. I am eager to start vaccination fast while our choices are limited to just Pfizer and Moderna, before the Government starts approving all other brands. So far my family and relatives have received their vaccine and have no issue. I probably have to wait until June but it also depends on supply. 

 

Frankly, if everyone can endure at the start by isolating themselves at home, the whole world may have contained the virus by now. But no, people cannot control and insist on going out. I know some needs to feed themselves but some are really just out to have fun. Now the pain is dragged out until now. I'm quite tired of this whole pandemic and can't wait for it to be over. 

[barbara]

The data out today about the potential side effects of the J+J vaccine show that 1 in 1M people have blood clots.  For reference: one in 3000 women get blood clots while taking birth control pills.  It's called an "acceptable risk".  If it's okay for women to have a 1 in 3000 chance of a blood clot, the 1 in a million chance with the vaccine is almost nothing (unless, of course you are one of the people getting one).  All medications come with stated side effects and it's good to weigh the benefit versus risk.  We are simply finding out now what some of these (technically inconsequential) risks are.  Read any of those info sheets that come with any prescription.  It's kind of stunning what side effects occur with even widely used medications/

Again - hoping everyone can get vaccinated soon.

[rockstaryuzu]

11 hours ago, yude said:

(and I think most of the Japanese athletes will compete without vaccination in Tokyo Olympics, I mean, if it is held as planned...)

That is frightening! As I understand it, many other countries will not have their athletes vaccinated by that time either. So the Olympics will be very risky indeed. 

[rockstaryuzu]

16 hours ago, Purple said:

not if its Astra Zeneca. There are countries which have stopped giving AZ to those under 55 yrs old due to blood clot issue.

About Astra-Zeneca, here is what I know: the incidence of blood clotting side effects with Astra-Zeneca is much lower than with many other common drugs that are given for things like heart conditions. It is concerning, but I expect that once the situation has been investigated and is better understood, most countries will probably accept and approve Astra-Zeneca for use after all. 

 

I also know that of the first 3 companies who brought the vaccine to market, Astra-Zeneca is the only one who said that they would make sure that there was 'broad and equitable' access to their vaccine:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/11/oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-a-boost-for-global-access-but-huge-inequality-remains/

 

I can think of lots of reasons why this wouldn't go over well in their industry. So it's not a surprise to me if the risks of AstraZeneca would then get over-exaggerated by those who stand to gain from selling a more expensive vaccine. 

 

AstraZeneca vaccines are now being made available at pharmacies here in Ontario to people over the age of 55. 

 

As for side effects, it's important to understand what those numbers mean. When they say the side-effect rate is 3.5%, first of all, what side-effects do they mean? having a sore arm is a side effect. having a headache is a side-effect. dying is also a side effect. So do 3.5% of all doses result in people dying, or do they result in having a sore arm, or is it that 3.5% of doses given cause the patient to experience something, but it could be either very light or very serious? 

 

The one thing we know for sure about being vaccinated, at this point, is that it reduces your chances of being seriously ill or hospitalized from COVID. That's all we need in order to go back to normal living, though. If a vaccine can turn 'certain death from COVD' into 'feeling a little sick from COVID', that's good enough. if it can help people avoid long term ill-effects, that's good enough. 

 

I'm not saying there aren't risks. But if we (the global 'we') don't gather our courage and take a few of  those risks, nothing will change in this pandemic. if someone wants to wait until the safety of the vaccine is 100% certain, they'll wait forever. Even long-established vaccines like the ones for childhood diseases still carry risks, but people still vaccinate their children, because the diseases are so much worse than the minor risk of side effects associated with getting a needle. 

 

In the end it's up to each individual to choose what they want to do, and the bottom line is the pandemic will not end without vaccination happening. 

 

 

 

 

[Kadova]

If you like numbers, this is the most recent stuff I read. If it's too long to read it in full,an interesting part is the one named "Are people usually diagnosed before or after they are contagious?"

Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7224694/

[barbara]

The six people who developed blood clots after the J+J vaccine are all female and between the ages 18-48.  Researchers will determine fairly quickly what these six have in common and recommend others who have that same risk get a different vaccine.  As I stated earlier, birth control pills has a 1 in 3000 occurrence of blood clots and my first thought after hearing who got the blood clots, if they also take birth control pills.  That's likely going to be one of the factors they look at.  I really hope they un-pause soon because the one dose vaccine that doesn't require a deep freeze is perfect for rural areas.  And I don no t know why Trudeau doesn't call Biden directly and ask him for excess doeses.