How is the corona virus affecting you?

The Velvet Curtain said:
In the UK our government, and our dear leader Boris have completely screwed this pandemic up, which is why we are in such a hole and soon 100,000 of us will be dead. However, they did invest in a range of vaccines and so we were the first to start vaccinating safely (Russian and Chinese versions anyone?) And now we are the first to have three vaccines in distribution including the easiest and cheapest.
Fortunately the government has let the scientists and clinicians get on with their stuff and have put the responsibility for distribution in the hands of the Army, the best logistics outfit going. As a result it looks like all over 50s will have the first jab by the end of March and we are most likely to be the first to herd immunity.

In short, when politicians stop trying to run the show and let the experts get on with it then things tend to go right.
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Right now we have two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, but J&J should be approved very soon.

The biggest problem we face is production. With over 300-million people in the US, we need to expand production, which is not easy with the kind of precise manufacturing and highly qualified workforce needed for these vaccines.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Right now we have two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, but J&J should be approved very soon.

The biggest problem we face is production. With over 300-million people in the US, we need to expand production, which is not easy with the kind of precise manufacturing and highly qualified workforce needed for these vaccines.

CD
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With the Oxford vaccine we have proven technology with production plants in place so that is why the low cost and high production volumes are possible.
Looking beyond Covid-19 the new technologies of Pfizer and Moderna are really interesting. They and their cousins in development are showing much better immunity responses than the deactivated monkey viruses like Oxford, so they could be the way forward in the long term.
Science proceeds fastest in times of war and some estimates say radar/ jet engines/ computers all advanced by 25 years through WW2, so hopefully the massive investment in vaccine research by global governments over the last year will bring a step change in the response to viruses. Lets hope public funds continue to support medical research more in the future rather then leaving pharma to research where they think they can make the most money.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
With the Oxford vaccine we have proven technology with production plants in place so that is why the low cost and high production volumes are possible.
Looking beyond Covid-19 the new technologies of Pfizer and Moderna are really interesting. They and their cousins in development are showing much better immunity responses than the deactivated monkey viruses like Oxford, so they could be the way forward in the long term.
Science proceeds fastest in times of war and some estimates say radar/ jet engines/ computers all advanced by 25 years through WW2, so hopefully the massive investment in vaccine research by global governments over the last year will bring a step change in the response to viruses. Lets hope public funds continue to support medical research more in the future rather then leaving pharma to research where they think they can make the most money.
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Keep in mind, the UK has about 64-million people, while the US has about 330-million -- that's five times the number of people.

Also, big Pharma is going to make a ton of money off of this vaccine. That includes AstraZeneca, who partnered with Oxford for the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. Hopefully, Oxford will receive a good share of that money for future research.

CD
 
Social media here in Portugal is unbearable today, everyone is fed up and there's a lot of negativity with people complaining that the lockdown measures are too strict, the lockdown measures are too lax, the government is sh*t, the healthcare system is in shambles because the government is sh*t and everyone but themselves is responsible for the state we are in because no one follows the rules of course and me, myself and I am perfect and do everything right even when I'm going out of the house as much as the people I criticize :banghead:

I was trying to stay afloat of the all negativity, so I just want to share a beautiful story that really moved me. In a Covid ward, doctors did an emergency c-section on a pregnant covid patient who was in a coma. The baby was 29 weeks old, weighted 1kg, and needed a lot od care in the neonatal ICU. Hospital staff kept sending photos and videos of the baby to the father, and filled the woman's room with pics of the baby and the family so she could see them first thing when she wakes up. She did wake up and the family is now home and safe and healthy. The stories of people who go out of their way to care for others never cease to move me. Hospital staff are overwhelmed and it'd be so easy to just to do their jobs and be done with it, but they went above and beyond to help this woman and her family. It's a really beautiful story to me.
 
LissaC said:
Social media here in Portugal is unbearable today, everyone is fed up and there's a lot of negativity with people complaining that the lockdown measures are too strict, the lockdown measures are too lax, the government is sh*t, the healthcare system is in shambles because the government is sh*t and everyone but themselves is responsible for the state we are in because no one follows the rules of course and me, myself and I am perfect and do everything right even when I'm going out of the house as much as the people I criticize :banghead:

I was trying to stay afloat of the all negativity, so I just want to share a beautiful story that really moved me. In a Covid ward, doctors did an emergency c-section on a pregnant covid patient who was in a coma. The baby was 29 weeks old, weighted 1kg, and needed a lot od care in the neonatal ICU. Hospital staff kept sending photos and videos of the baby to the father, and filled the woman's room with pics of the baby and the family so she could see them first thing when she wakes up. She did wake up and the family is now home and safe and healthy. The stories of people who go out of their way to care for others never cease to move me. Hospital staff are overwhelmed and it'd be so easy to just to do their jobs and be done with it, but they went above and beyond to help this woman and her family. It's a really beautiful story to me.
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Great story, I wonder if China will ever be held to account for the pain and suffering caused by them, surely they owe the world a lot??

Russ
 
LissaC said:
Social media here in Portugal is unbearable today, everyone is fed up and there's a lot of negativity with people complaining that the lockdown measures are too strict, the lockdown measures are too lax, the government is sh*t, the healthcare system is in shambles because the government is sh*t and everyone but themselves is responsible for the state we are in because no one follows the rules of course and me, myself and I am perfect and do everything right even when I'm going out of the house as much as the people I criticize :banghead:

I was trying to stay afloat of the all negativity, so I just want to share a beautiful story that really moved me. In a Covid ward, doctors did an emergency c-section on a pregnant covid patient who was in a coma. The baby was 29 weeks old, weighted 1kg, and needed a lot od care in the neonatal ICU. Hospital staff kept sending photos and videos of the baby to the father, and filled the woman's room with pics of the baby and the family so she could see them first thing when she wakes up. She did wake up and the family is now home and safe and healthy. The stories of people who go out of their way to care for others never cease to move me. Hospital staff are overwhelmed and it'd be so easy to just to do their jobs and be done with it, but they went above and beyond to help this woman and her family. It's a really beautiful story to me.
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Great job staying above the negativity, LissaC! I know it's hard but you're doing great. :hug:
 
"IMPORTANT: A test for #COVID19 will be required from next week onwards for every foreigner who wishes to extend their stay in the kingdom, the immigration police said Monday."

Today: "IMMIGRATION BACKTRACKS ON PLAN TO REQUIRE COVID-19 TEST FOR VISA EXTENSIONS"

No comment.
 
It's the second time in a week that a non-Covid patient dies in an ambulance outside a hospital, while waited to be assisted. Portugal went from a role model to a disaster in Covid management and we are now the country with most infections and deaths per 1milion habitants. The lockdown that started last friday has 52 exceptions and schools are still running which means a lot of people have to move around and children are still getting together. Only 40% of people stayed home on the first day of lockdown. No one believes the new lockdown will work.
 
Here in the USA, the huge COVID19 infection spike has finally dropped significantly. Why? I don't think it is due to the distribution of vaccine. I think the number of people who have thus far been infected has gotten to the point in key areas like Los Angeles and New York that we are finally seeing herd immunity kick in with definite note.
 
flyinglentris said:
Here in the USA, the huge COVID19 infection spike has finally dropped significantly. Why? I don't think it is due to the distribution of vaccine. I think the number of people who have thus far been infected has gotten to the point in key areas like Los Angeles and New York that we are finally seeing herd immunity kick in with definite note.
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Probably yes, though the immunity is thought to only last 5/6 months. At the rate we're going, Portugal should get there sometime soon too. The biggest issue right now is that our hospitals are at capacity with a big impact also on the care of Covid and non-Covid patients. This is really not the best way to get herd immunity.
 
LissaC said:
Probably yes, though the immunity is thought to only last 5/6 months. At the rate we're going, Portugal should get there sometime soon too. The biggest issue right now is that our hospitals are at capacity with a big impact also on the care of Covid and non-Covid patients. This is really not the best way to get herd immunity.
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Complete immunity for a person may be said to last 5/6 months, but the body's immune response memory to pathogens lasts much longer and perhaps a lifetime. What that means is that when encountered again, the body responds more quickly and effectively and will less damaging consequences - albeit, the infection will after 5/6 months be open to possible recurrence, it will be less severe. I may have already had a recurrence, but it was so much less severe, that I have difficulty comparing it with the first occurrence which was very bad.
 
LissaC said:
we are now the country with most infections and deaths per 1milion habitants.
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Not that its any consolation but Portugal is not the highest according to: COVID-19 deaths per capita by country | Statista

As of 18th January, Belgium id the highest, UK is 6th highest, Portugal is 28th.

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