Wednesday, December 23, 2020

SARS-CoV2 - The virus and its mutations

Dear reader,

just a compilation of what we certainly know about mutations, changes of the virus since it was first detected in Wuhan/China

please note:As always, there's no guarantee that this compilation does contain all of the information which is available on the Internet. Checking the date of reports/studies is also crucial with this fast developing story (Don't re-cycle 'old news'). The aim is to provide secure, factual information about the 'fear factor' mutations and to put the changes into perspective. Viruses mutated all of the time and in general this specific type of coronavirus is relatively stable when compared to some flu viruses.

It is not uncommon for viruses to undergo mutations; seasonal influenza mutates every year. More than 4,000 variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in the UK and variants have been observed in many other countries.

source:Public Health England 

Although the author is no virologist, the content and its author(s) is checked and only pieces which can uphold a certain scientific standard will get published here. In order to follow future events more closely and from reliable sources a few Twitter follow recommendations will be added at the end of the document. Science is key here: Don't trust people who don't research viruses or who are not doctors dealing with the aftermath' of an infection. Those viruses are complex, but the way it spreads, mutates, harms infected bodies can be studied and it follows logic that we initially don't fully understand, but with more cases being studied is getting more accurate almost on a daily basis. Just follow the science and the scientists, not the charlatans who either downplay(or even completely the deny the existence of Covid-19) or exaggerate the harm this virus can cause !

The general assumption that we have slow down or stop the rate of new infections is not only true for reducing the number of patients ending up in hospitals, developing serious Covid-19 symptoms, but reducing the virus spread also helps to reduce the risk of the virus mutating while in reproduction mode inside a human body. The mutation risk also exists in other species, that's one reason why those minks have been culled in e.g. Denmark, The Netherlands and so forth.

There are some labs who monitor the constant changes found in samples sent in for testing, and the fact that the new variant is found in the UK is no coincidence since the UK is one the nations where variants have been monitored. It may have been distributed in other nations as well, but it was detected in the UK. 

Mutation mechanism 


Tests capable detecting the new variant

Please note that preprint publications make sure that new scientific studies are published fast, but they often lack of peer review(by other experts in their field) in the first few weeks since being published. Some times studies aren't sufficiently reliable enough, or sometimes other studies by another team of specialists come to somewhat different or even completely different results. So please treat preprints as some kind of indication, but not the 'absolute truth' or the 'last word' (with a 'grain of salt')

The new variant spreading in UK

Counter measures UK 

Restrictions & special measures taken in other countries

(not claiming to be complete or always up-to-date, always check your own government's recent advice!)

UK foreign office travel advice (on Twitter) 

France

Ireland 

China

Known (detected!) occurrences in other countries (outside UK)


COVID-19: New strain found in Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia and Gibraltar [Sky News, Dec 21 2020]

The initial variant 

WHO research team expected to travel to Wuhan to investigate coronavirus origin [The Guardian, Dec 16 2020]

earlier variants (found in various countries)

Most New York Coronavirus Cases Came From Europe, Genomes Show [NYTimes, Apr 8 2020]

Yes, COVID-19 is mutating, here's what you need to know [ABC, May 7 2020]

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Covid-19 treatment & infection studies

Here's a list of recommendations by countries' health authorities & official research institutes:

(Don't believe some 'promising' statements by 'some internet guy' ! This is a very serious disease , often deadly, and false information will not only harm the affected patient, but by spreading/sharing the virus other people can also get infected or develop serious symptoms !)

COVID-19 infection can cause a wide series of problems in the human body and it's always recommended to contact your local health authorities (most countries oblige patients to make appointments by only by phone ) Always seek latest official health guidance from your country's authorities and don't rely on information which is several months old, since there has been a lot of new developments regarding the virus and the sickness it causes.

This is just a compilation of official info from several countries and although it is up to date at the time this info is posted it perhaps won't be several months later. So always check the official websites by your local authorities before drawing any conclusions. The intention of this blog entry is to compile official and useful information from many different countries and to caution 'Covid-19 skeptics' not to spread other information originating from some conspiracy believers. The virus is not 'fake' (although you can't viruses with the naked eye), the disease is not 'fake' and the vaccination given in order to prevent developing a disease is really an attempt of your local authorities to prevent you getting ill ! Your local authorities care about you and your family and friends ! Local authorities have no interest 'controlling' you by inserting a chip or any other kind of fictional tracking devices by a syringe ! This is not the funny sci-fi movie: "Innerspace" where 'they' are able to shrink a submarine with passenger and inject it into someone's blood stream  - this is reality where authorities and health care providers care about your well-being ! Admittedly hospitals, doctors,the pharma industry also have commercial interests, but that's true for any kind of disease they can treat ! Most civilized countries offer health insurance which covers the costs for those treatments and you don't have to pay any additional costs except your monthly fixed fees, so don't worry about it .... So if you care about yourself and your family consult your local doctor doctor (GP) or your local health authorities. If you think EZR is just another 'agent of Bill Gats' and wants to trick you into getting 'controlled by him' go check EZR's other websites and Twitter feed and find out that EZR only cares about hard, proven facts & data. So now during the ongoing global Covid-19 crisis the data gathering capabilities are just redirected from economic 'hard facts' to 'medical hard facts' and please think more than twice about the possibility of 'Bill Gates' controlling'  so many health bodies/institutions in very different countries (even China - where they also believe in medical science) around the globe or the far more logic and much simpler alternative : your 'good old GP' wants to help you with this new kind of disease, just as he/she did with all other diseases in the past..

Suspected or proven treatments and also dismissed 'cures'


Covid-19 disease and studies regarding various affected organs

Neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in human and mouse brain [NCBI,Eric Song  et al., Jan 12 2021]

Antibodies & re-infection risks

 

Studies regarding the infection mechanism & risks (adults & children)


How SARS-CoV-2 causes disease and death in covid-19 [The Economist, Jun 6 2020, $]

severe vs light cases

sense of smell/taste

 

long Covid

Brain affected & psychological symptoms  

Various patients recall their time in hospital

Damaged nerves, scarred lungs, exhausted bodies: Some COVID-19 patients face a long haul that can last for months [Medical Xpress, Dec 29 2020]

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Monday, December 14, 2020

COVID-19 vaccine knowledge

Compilation of facts re COVID-19 vaccines 

caution (global situation will remain critical until at least mid / end 2021)

Covid-19: Virus ‘success’ Taiwan to keep restrictions despite vaccine [BBC, Dec 11 2020]

trial phases & approval 


Biontec / Pfizer



Curevac

Astra/Zeneca

AstraZeneca UK vaccine trial drops sub-group with children: U.S. trial register [Reuters,Dec 14 2020]

 

Sanofi GSK

Moderna

Russian Sputnik V (released before end of phase 3 trial!)

Sinovac (China)

CoronaVac efficacy at 50-90% in Brazilian trial, says Sao Paulo official [Reuters, Dec 25 2020]

Sinopharm (China)

Government plans / vaccine roll-out preparations

More Than 1.1 Million People Have Been Vaccinated: Covid-19 Tracker [Bloomberg,Dec 18 2020]

Sweden

Poland 

Switzerland 

France 

UK

Italy

Italy expects to begin COVID vaccinations between Xmas and New Year - govt source [Reuters UK, Dec 16 2020]

Norway 

Ukraine 

Canada

USA

South Korea

The Netherlands

Germany

Germany to roll out BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 27 [Reuters, Dec 16 2020]

The Netherlands

Ireland 

Switzerland

India

Greece

Global distribution efforts 

 

how it works 

known side effects/ examples of people having problems after inoculation

For comparison: side effects of flu (or influenza) vaccine Flu Vaccine Safety Information [CDC]

Fact check: Nurse fainting after COVID-19 vaccine not evidence of potential mass genocide [Reuters, Dec 18 2020]

Liability questions

immunity, herd-immunity

history , development 

Messenger RNA: How a long shot idea led to Covid-19 vaccines [AFP/Yahoo, Dec 16 2020]

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development [Florian Krammer, Nature, Sep 23 2020]

reservations , skepticism , PR campaigns

know your SARS-CoV2 virus:

claim: "COVID-19 is just as dangerous as the flu!"


 This seasonal influenza IFR is 17 times lower than that estimated for COVID-19 at 0.68% [3] and 0.65% [4], 

source: Should countries aim for elimination in the covid-19 pandemic? [TheBMJ, Sep 9 2020]

Profile of a killer: the complex biology powering the coronavirus pandemic [Nature, May 4 2020]

What ICU doctors have learned about COVID-19 — and how they're prepared for a 2nd wave [NBC, un 13 2020]

Hundreds of health-care workers lost their lives battling the coronavirus [Washington Post, Jun 17 2020]

"Super healthy" Appalachian State student dies following COVID-19 complications [CBS, sep 30 2020]

Talking With People In Your Life Hesitant About The Coronavirus Vaccine [NPR, Jan 12 2020]


Nederlander positiever over coronavaccin, meeste zorgmedewerkers werken mee  [NOS, Dec 16 2020]

The proportion of Spaniards unwilling to take a Covid-19 vaccine has plunged to 28 percent in December from 47 percent last month, according to a poll published last month.

        source:Spain to register those who refuse Covid vaccine (and share across EU) [TheLocal, Dec 28 2020]

historic examples

known & general side effects

vaccination and travel

vaccination apps

Impf-App soll Überblick vereinfachen und an Termine erinnern [GERMANY, Aerzteblatt.de, Nov 22 2020]

vaccination 'passport' or registration

RIVM: 'vaccinatiebewijs' is pas eind maart te downloaden, niet eind januari [NETHERLANDS, NOS, Dec 16 2020]

hacking , delivery disturbance, vaccine theft and other related crimes

last update: Dec 28 2020

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