Covid-19 Politics

[Stavros]

As for the expert in the US, well, let's be honest, the way he is being ridiculed and dismissed has been shocking, pathetic, but typical of a man-and his mates- who responds to his superiors with cheap smears rather than gratitude. I at least hope the US public can see this for the grubby campaign that it is, and admit that as a country, it is the White House and its Republican Guards in affected States that have been wrong so often, and are wrong today, and will probably be wrong tomorrow.

"He is the US scientist who became the figurehead of attempts to combat the country’s coronavirus epidemic, described in some quarters as “America’s doctor”.
Now Anthony Fauci appears sidelined by Donald Trump’s White House after repeatedly contradicting the president’s view about the effectiveness of the government response.
In recent days the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has come under increasing fire from the president and his proxies. Trump told Fox news interviewers that Fauci had “made a lot of mistakes” and said he “disagreed” with Fauci’s claim that the US was in a bad place in its coronavirus response."


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...efing-campaign

Thank you indeed!

[broncofan]

Thanks for that Stavros! I saw that at the time but it was funny seeing it again and I'm sure there are people who missed it.

All I have to say is that Fauci has been a dedicated public servant for decades. He served through the Aids panic in the 80s and 90s and is considered one of the most knowledgeable infectious disease experts in the country. He has done his best to be candid and for the most part has, though if anything he has pulled his punches occasionally to avoid antagonizing Trump.

It was only a matter of time until he said the wrong thing or would just be a convenient scapegoat.

The Trump era has not just been a war on the rule of law but a war on experts, expertise, and basic competence. Within every field a consensus will often build around some issue so that 98% of experts believe one thing. Trump has been masterful at cherrypicking those outliers who tell him things he wants to hear. It's really no better than not listening to experts at all.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

As for the expert in the US, well, let's be honest, the way he is being ridiculed and dismissed has been shocking, pathetic, but typical of a man-and his mates- who responds to his superiors with cheap smears rather than gratitude. I at least hope the US public can see this for the grubby campaign that it is, and admit that as a country, it is the White House and its Republican Guards in affected States that have been wrong so often, and are wrong today, and will probably be wrong tomorrow.

"He is the US scientist who became the figurehead of attempts to combat the country’s coronavirus epidemic, described in some quarters as “America’s doctor”.
Now Anthony Fauci appears sidelined by Donald Trump’s White House after repeatedly contradicting the president’s view about the effectiveness of the government response.
In recent days the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has come under increasing fire from the president and his proxies. Trump told Fox news interviewers that Fauci had “made a lot of mistakes” and said he “disagreed” with Fauci’s claim that the US was in a bad place in its coronavirus response."


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...efing-campaign

Thank you indeed!

Another prime example of the Clueless Buffoon In Chief blaming someone else for him and his administration mishandling of the CO-VID 19 Global Pandemic,and taking no responsibility for his failure and negligence of taking the pandemic serious ,and trying to silence an health expert from the truth about what's going on and keeping the public informed about the virus . and shows that the CBIC doesn't know what he is talking about when he makes false claims about having things under control and leading world in testing, and spread misinfomation that CO-VID 19 will go away when the weather gets warm and less testing equals less cases. and this latest example shows he cares about is getting re-elected no matter the cost.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

As for the expert in the US, well, let's be honest, the way he is being ridiculed and dismissed has been shocking, pathetic, but typical of a man-and his mates- who responds to his superiors with cheap smears rather than gratitude. I at least hope the US public can see this for the grubby campaign that it is, and admit that as a country, it is the White House and its Republican Guards in affected States that have been wrong so often, and are wrong today, and will probably be wrong tomorrow.

"He is the US scientist who became the figurehead of attempts to combat the country’s coronavirus epidemic, described in some quarters as “America’s doctor”.
Now Anthony Fauci appears sidelined by Donald Trump’s White House after repeatedly contradicting the president’s view about the effectiveness of the government response.
In recent days the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has come under increasing fire from the president and his proxies. Trump told Fox news interviewers that Fauci had “made a lot of mistakes” and said he “disagreed” with Fauci’s claim that the US was in a bad place in its coronavirus response."


https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...efing-campaign

Thank you indeed!

And completely agree that it is shocking and pathetic the way Dr. Anthony Fauci has been ridiculed and dismissed,all because he letting the public know about what's going on and how to keep themselves safe during this global pandemic, and i am not surprised at all by the CBIC and his enablers smears and political attacks on a health expert telling what they want don't want to hear. and i think that most of the US Public will see this grubby campaign for what it is. and will admit it. and the White House and Republican Guards in affected states who have been wrong about CO-VID19 from the beginning will continue to be wrong.Because they don't believe in science and facts.

[broncofan]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...hallenge-trial

The Oxford vaccine team is considering doing challenge trials to test their vaccine. Typically, the final stage of testing for a vaccine involves giving people the vaccine, having a control group that doesn't get the vaccine, and then waiting to see at what rates each group gets infected with the virus. Theoretically this can be sped up by giving people a vaccine and then intentionally infecting them with the virus. This is dangerous of course because the virus can be deadly and there aren't really any effective treatments for it.

Some issues I've heard people raise with respect to challenge trials, in addition to the obvious ethical ones, are that it is not easy to figure out what dose of virus to challenge people with. Another issue is that to make the challenge trials as safe as possible you choose the lowest risk group, perhaps people in their early 20s. Just because a vaccine raises an effective immune response in those in their early 20s does not mean it will for older groups whose immune systems aren't as strong on average.

[Stavros]

THe Vaccine! The Vaccine! It is almost like that moment in Act 3 of Tristan und Isolde when Tristan, in delirium recalls the moment in Act 1 when Brangane switched a death potion for the love potion -Der trank! Der Trank! Der furchtbare trank! We crave a vaccine to deliver us from this delirium....when in the UK we still do not have an adequate test and trace system, and when the Chief Scientific Officer says people should work from home because spikes, even a second wave is possible, while Boris Johnson wants people to go back to work, but now says employers should make that decision. As for masks, I have given up caring what Boris Johnson says, which is the opposite of what Michael Gove says, and anyway who cares what Priti Patel says on anything? I have a stock of masks, and I use them in shops and confined spaces like Malls -well, the one modest mall we have in town.

Now there is a claim that sputum might be the best and easiest test to roll out across the country....

Is it any wonder the public trust in government in Engand is now so low, when in Sccotland Nicola Sturgeon has handled the crisis better, and Scotland has dealt with Covid 19 with more consistency and effectiveness than in England? Johnson has now set out a timetable for more relaxation of human congregation, but it will be interesting to see how many people take advantage of it, when we can see how vulnerable we still are.

I won't comment on the staggering numbers that account for the tragic mess the US is in, suffice to say that I have seen interviews with Americans on the beach in Florida -they drove there from Oho- stating, simply 'I don't think I will be affected', the news channel then interviewing a woman whose mid-50s husband is fightng for his life after his son came from some snap holiday, passing on the virus. It is now July, and I wonder not, what we have learned, but why so much learning seems to result in ignorant, above alll, selfish behaviour?

But one day she will come on a ship with white sails, the Isolde of the Virus, with a Vaccine, and we shall all be well. Innit?

[blackchubby38]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...hallenge-trial

The Oxford vaccine team is considering doing challenge trials to test their vaccine. Typically, the final stage of testing for a vaccine involves giving people the vaccine, having a control group that doesn't get the vaccine, and then waiting to see at what rates each group gets infected with the virus. Theoretically this can be sped up by giving people a vaccine and then intentionally infecting them with the virus. This is dangerous of course because the virus can be deadly and there aren't really any effective treatments for it.

Some issues I've heard people raise with respect to challenge trials, in addition to the obvious ethical ones, are that it is not easy to figure out what dose of virus to challenge people with. Another issue is that to make the challenge trials as safe as possible you choose the lowest risk group, perhaps people in their early 20s. Just because a vaccine raises an effective immune response in those in their early 20s does not mean it will for older groups whose immune systems aren't as strong on average.

If given the opportunity, I would take part in a trial for a vaccine. I'm 46, overweight, I have HTN that is controlled with medication, and a history of pneumonia. I think they're going to need people who are relatively healthy, but have some preexisting conditions to see how effective an immune response is going to be.

[broncofan]

If given the opportunity, I would take part in a trial for a vaccine. I'm 46, overweight, I have HTN that is controlled with medication, and a history of pneumonia. I think they're going to need people who are relatively healthy, but have some preexisting conditions to see how effective an immune response is going to be.

I think you're right. When I first read your post I thought you meant for a challenge study. I don't think you'd be ideal for a challenge study but I do think they need some people about middle age who have one or two pre-existing conditions for phase iii trials. I don't know how they choose people. I would also want be interested in a vaccine trial.

I also wouldn't be good for a challenge study either cause I'm 39 and have had pneumonia a bunch of times. There are probably a couple of vaccines that I'd be willing to take a chance with given some of the safety data that's out now. It doesn't rule out rare effects or even a few relatively more common ones but I still think given how many people are infected and that I now have to go to work, I might be safer. I'd also be interested in contributing....for science!

[broncofan]

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipelin...ns-and-t-cells

For those who are interested, here's a write up of Pfizer's Phase I trials. The blog discusses the dose-response relationship for developing neutralizing antibodies and the effect of booster shots at all doses. There's also a portion in there where he talks about t-cell immunity and how scientists are hopeful that it will be a significant factor.

Those who had the original Sars from 17 years ago and recovered do not have circulating levels of neutralizing antibodies but do have t-cell immunity still. Another interesting subject he talks about are the different mutations that have occurred in sars-cov-2 so far and the different properties this might give the virus. They are trying to determine whether the neutralizing antibodies raised by this vaccine are effective against these various mutations.

[blackchubby38]

I think you're right. When I first read your post I thought you meant for a challenge study. I don't think you'd be ideal for a challenge study but I do think they need some people about middle age who have one or two pre-existing conditions for phase iii trials. I don't know how they choose people. I would also want be interested in a vaccine trial.

I also wouldn't be good for a challenge study either cause I'm 39 and have had pneumonia a bunch of times. There are probably a couple of vaccines that I'd be willing to take a chance with given some of the safety data that's out now. It doesn't rule out rare effects or even a few relatively more common ones but I still think given how many people are infected and that I now have to go to work, I might be safer. I'd also be interested in contributing....for science!

I just submitted all my information for vaccine trials. I'll report back once I hear something.