Coronavirus Tidbits # 147 7/4/21
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
News
This is a huge story. An Australian virologist at WIV in late 2019 notes:
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) June 27, 2021
-no sick employees at WIV
-best-practice biosafety protocols in place
-did not witness GoF work which she's qualified to recognize
Lab leak odds just got even longer.https://t.co/LKrQe9H3N2
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There's sure been some odd peer review over the course of the pandemic, but the stuff recounted in this news story must count as among the worst. What *were* the editors thinking? https://t.co/GiStOSIrqP
— Bill Hanage (@BillHanage) July 1, 2021
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So, the heat wave in Canada was so strong that it created extreme wildfire conditions, and when the fires started the heat plumes were so strong they created severe thunderstorms, which are so strong they're creating lightning that's sparking new fires https://t.co/fXBIGSZhtW
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) July 1, 2021
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https://twitter.com/0bj3ctivity/status/1411337784565157896?s=20
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Recent research on the health effects of Covid-19 found that even mild cases could cause significant changes to the brain.
— Bloomberg Opinion (@bopinion) June 28, 2021
That makes “living with Covid” a risky and dangerous strategy https://t.co/WhZljn356L
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent lack of testing.
If used every 3 days, rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 are about as accurate as RT-PCR testing
RTqPCR tests are more effective than antigen tests at identifying infected individuals prior to or early during the infectious period and thus for minimizing forward transmission (given timely results reporting). All tests showed >98% sensitivity for identifying infected individuals if used at least every three days. Daily screening using antigen tests can achieve ~90% sensitivity for identifying infected individuals while they are viral culture positive.
https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiab337/6311835
Drugs and Vaccines:
COVID-19 Vaccine Found Safe for People with HIV
Preliminary data from a sub-study published by The Lancet on June 18, 2021, shows that the Vaxzevria COVID-19 Vaccine (AstraZeneca, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine given as prime-boost dosing given 4–6 weeks apart was found well tolerated and produced equivalent immune responses in people living with HIV who are well controlled on ART compared with a similar adult population without HIV.
https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/2021/06/28/covid-19-vaccine-found-safe-people-hiv
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‘Serum Institute, Pune, which makes Covishield in India with a license from AstraZeneca, didn’t apply to have the vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), leading to the present situation.’ #Covid19 #Covishield https://t.co/GMtKWeg7Xw
— Soutik Biswas (@soutikBBC) June 27, 2021
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Mixing Covid vaccines offers strong immune protection, says study: @UniofOxford researchers say having @AstraZeneca then @Pfizer jabs is almost as potent as two shots of Pfizerhttps://t.co/bJUy5UCfpq via @iansample & @NatalieGrover
— Ash Paul (@pash22) June 29, 2021
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Excellent piece on challenges of vaccination of immunocompromised people https://t.co/BpMlUwuAOx via @wired
— Larry Lynam (@scopedbylarry) June 29, 2021
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The tale of mRNA vaxes & new technology hype, & underestimating the importance of Novavax - a more old-school vaccine with efficacy just as high, & lower adverse events. My latest in @TheAtlantic https://t.co/Hid29G5mkC
— Hilda Bastian, PhD (@hildabast) June 24, 2021
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Lottery-Based Incentive in Ohio did NOT increase COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-lottery-based-incentives-covid-vaccination.html?
Devices:
Face masks that can diagnose COVID-19
Wearable biosensors enable rapid, accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 and many other pathogens and toxins
A team of researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found a way to embed synthetic biology reactions into fabrics, creating wearable biosensors that can be customized to detect pathogens and toxins and alert the wearer.
The team has integrated this technology into standard face masks to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a patient's breath. The button-activated mask gives results within 90 minutes at levels of accuracy comparable to standard nucleic acid-based diagnostic tests like polymerase chain reactions (PCR). The achievement is reported in Nature Biotechnology.
"We have essentially shrunk an entire diagnostic laboratory down into a small, synthetic biology-based sensor that works with any face mask, and combines the high accuracy of PCR tests with the speed and low cost of antigen tests," said co-first author Peter Nguyen, Ph.D., a Research Scientist at the Wyss Institute. "In addition to face masks, our programmable biosensors can be integrated into other garments to provide on-the-go detection of dangerous substances including viruses, bacteria, toxins, and chemical agents."
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/wifb-fmt062221.php
Epidemiology/Infection control:
The Gamma Variant's Rise in Washington State
— New data show COVID strain associated with the highest number of hospitalizations, deaths. Gamma (aka P1, Brazil variant) was detected in 17% of breakthrough infections after vaccination
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/93415?
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Nearly all US COVID-19 deaths now preventable
only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were in fully vaccinated people, or less than 1%. This translates to 5 deaths per day.
more than 1 in 10 people who have received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine have missed their second dose, according to CDC data shared with CNN.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/06/nearly-all-us-covid-19-deaths-now-preventable
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The 3 Simple Rules That Underscore the Danger of Delta
Vaccines are still beating the variants, but the unvaccinated world is being pummeled.
The Atlantic By Ed Yong
Fifteen months after the novel coronavirus shut down much of the world, the pandemic is still raging. Few experts guessed that by this point, the world would have not one vaccine but many, with 3 billion doses already delivered. At the same time, the coronavirus has evolved into super-transmissible variants that spread more easily. The clash between these variables will define the coming months and seasons. Here, then, are three simple principles to understand how they interact. Each has caveats and nuances, but together, they can serve as a guide to our near-term future.
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Schools That Mask See Little COVID Spread
— North Carolina's experience supports safe reopening for in-person learning, researchers say
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/93389?
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One GI Symptom Stuck Around Months After Severe COVID
Half of all patients (50.6%) could not regain weight at 3 months, while 32.4% of patients reported an inability to gain weight 6 months later. However, gastroenteritis, GI bleeding, and pancreatitis resolved for most patients 3 months after illness, they noted.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/93424?
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Politics:
Toyota is the no. 1 donor to Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 election results — by farhttps://t.co/6zPD5LNpnR pic.twitter.com/coBWOnORoa
— Axios (@axios) June 27, 2021
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Holy freaking hell: @Greg_Palast reports that Georgia's new voter law says any citizen of Georgia can challenge an unlimited number of voters. So GOP operatives have already challenged the eligibility of over 364,000 Georgia voters. https://t.co/PfQwxHaQgS
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) June 27, 2021
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Frightening.
— J. P. Gownder (கவுண்டர்) (@jgownder) June 24, 2021
DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state
Universities may lose funding if staff and students' beliefs do not satisfy Florida's GOP-run legislaturehttps://t.co/NpmfHvnHPj
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https://twitter.com/emzorbit/status/1409562648681893888?s=20
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Somebody get this Philly man a ticket to whatever sports/music/arts/travel venue he wants. I wish I could say this is unbelievable but there are many more innocent men & women in prison who should have never been there in the first place. https://t.co/hWmVGr9fhC @phillyinquirer
— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) June 28, 2021
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https://twitter.com/JerasIkehorn/status/1409615679087538177?s=20
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Seriously, do we have any state law experts who can explain how the National Guard can be outsourced to private donors? https://t.co/rE8VYv70OE
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) June 29, 2021
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BREAKING: The Biden administration announces plan to bring deported military vets back to the U.S.
— ACLU SoCal (@ACLU_SoCal) July 2, 2021
This comes after years of advocacy by immigrants' rights and veterans rights groups.https://t.co/AmU9EQZQh6
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A STUNNING admission by the SCOTUS majority weakening the Voting Rights Act.
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 1, 2021
The six justices say that disparate racial impacts of many voting rules are OK because of differences in "employment, wealth, and education" among races. pic.twitter.com/MjPgEGpK8v
Feel good du jour:
https://twitter.com/AdamsCumbie/status/1410375281932656643?s=20
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Wally Funk will be joining Jeff Bezos on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight into space. Funk is one of the ‘Mercury 13’ women who passed NASA’s rigorous astronaut training program in the 1960s but were denied a chance to go to space because of their gender https://t.co/xhvcnk5ZKK pic.twitter.com/6LH3qHdEk1
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 2, 2021
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This Colombian rancher is trying to save jaguars on his land by making peace with them. pic.twitter.com/yuw0H2sS7Y
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 1, 2021
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Norway Closes Down Its Last Arctic Coal Mine and Transforms Land into Giant National Park https://t.co/bVGJoYXVeN
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) July 2, 2021
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Congratulations to this year’s winners of the #GoldmanPrize for environmental activism – heroes, all. The world owes a debt of gratitude to Sharon Lavigne of @RiseStJames, @GloriaMajiga, Thai Van Nguyen of @SVWpage, Maida Bilal, @KimikoHirata, and Liz Chicaje Churay. pic.twitter.com/jAOtqdbYxS
— Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry (@ClimateEnvoy) July 2, 2021
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DREAM COME TRUE: In 1961, 10-year-old Gwen Goldman penned a letter to The New York Yankees asking to be a bat girl and was rejected. Now, 60 years later, she accomplished her dream and threw the ceremonial first pitch. @LinseyDavis reports. #AmericaStrong https://t.co/KIXAsKto1I pic.twitter.com/JcKAP2samA
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) June 30, 2021
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I did a thing https://t.co/tqYE3BlJZx
— Rico Worl (@RicoWorl) July 3, 2021
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Sweet: On my worst mental health days, my 3 dogs get me out of bed https://t.co/fthfcYRy3P Thanks @gemmacorrell
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) July 1, 2021
Comic relief:
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this is finn, he may not be the brightest mix, but still a good boy nonetheless
— Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) June 30, 2021
(finn_the_boxer_malamute IG) pic.twitter.com/dyHzbDksNy
Perspective/Poem
Asked to sum up how she feels about Boris Johnson as a person, Angela Merkel replies: "We look at each other, we look at how different people can be and we make the best of it...."
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) July 2, 2021
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"Indifference is the epitome of evil." / „We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented"
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 2, 2021
(Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz survivor, writer, Peace Nobel Prize laureate who passed away #OnThisDay in 2016) pic.twitter.com/h1A3TJ9Ti9
Bits of beauty:
