Covid-19 Politics

[Stavros]

I think the time has come for the Administration to do something unprecedented and invite President-Elect Biden's Covid-19 team to begin working with Mike Pence with immediate effect, or this is the kind of senseless drivel that will guarantee another million infections, and God hows how many more deaths.

We may need to start linking the policies of this Government with Crimes Against Humanity, and all that implies with regard to indictments.

"Dr. Scott Atlas, the White House’s controversial coronavirus adviser, encouraged an insurrection on Sunday against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) over Michigan’s new COVID-19 safety protocols meant to curb the state’s skyrocketing infection rates.
The remarks by Atlas, who is a neuroradiologist with no formal training in treating infectious diseases, came in response to the Democratic governor announcing an epidemic order starting Wednesday for at least three weeks. The new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services regulations halt in-person learning for high schools and colleges, indoor dining, theaters, stadiums, organized sports, casinos and group exercise classes.
“The only way this stops is if people rise up,” the Trump adviser tweeted in response to the new regulations. “You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp” "
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trump-covi...043820011.html

[broncofan]

Pfizer, which was not part of Operation Warp Speed, has released early data showing it prevented infection in 90% of people. It will eventually qualify for an emergency use authorization in the U.S. and also be distributed in several other countries. Some say the positive results bode well for other vaccines currently in trials, including Moderna which uses similar technology and is expected to have enough data to release results by the end of this month.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/covid-19-vaccine-from-pfizer-and-biontech-is-strongly-effective-early-data-from-large-trial-indicate/

As expected, Moderna's mrna vaccine was successful just like Pfizer's (94.5% efficacy v 90% efficacy) and will probably get emergency use authorization before the end of the year. One benefit of Moderna's vaccine is that it doesn't require storage at extremely cold temperatures and when it reaches point of delivery it can be kept at refrigerator temperatures for 30 days before it denatures. This makes it logistically much easier to get to remote places than the Pfizer vaccine, which will need special packing at every step of transit and sensors to make sure there aren't even transient temperature increases.

The only thing Donald Trump deserves credit for is having a pandemic so out of control that data collection occurred quickly during Phase III. All things equal, it would have been preferable to have fewer cases and deaths and to collect data a bit more slowly even if it meant we have to wait a couple extra months.

The data showed only 5 infections so far in the vaccine group. The fact that none of them was severe is notable though not statistically significant yet. The hope is that when people are infected the disease is also less severe. But just the fact that it's 94.5% effective at preventing disease is a great sign so far.

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN27W1E6

[broncofan]

We may need to start linking the policies of this Government with Crimes Against Humanity, and all that implies with regard to indictments.

Thank you for this, including the portion about the disgraceful Dr. Atlas. It is difficult to find a doctor who is less respected among his peers. At a time when the virus is out of control and hospitalizations are at an all-time high he is stoking division and undermining public health. There have been epidemiological studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of our public health response. For the most part, we have had almost no national response and the response of our states has been undermined by the public messaging of the President. Most of these studies say that a modest degree of top down leadership would have prevented more than 100,000 deaths and a study from Columbia University estimated 130,000-210,000 deaths could have been prevented.

What is striking about Trump's public statements is that he's made no attempt to learn about the disease spreading all over this country. There is a difference between those who questioned the efficacy of mask use in early March when we weren't certain there was pre-symptomatic spread and those who have done so 6 months into the pandemic. There is a difference between saying one is hopeful about hydroxychloroquine in March and saying it after an unprecedented number of RCTs show it isn't. For many people, there is a learning curve but for the President there are a series of impulses directed by his ego, without regard for the effect of his statements on people's compliance with public health recommendations.

Scott Atlas is the latest example of how easy it is for a leader to cherry-pick experts to support his policy preferences. He can do it in climate science, he can do it in law, and he has done it in the response to this pandemic (though as you note Atlas is not an infectious disease doc). It is possible for the consensus view of any field to be wrong but when you consistently seek out marginal voices to say things that are convenient for you, it undermines public welfare.

Edit: might as well include this since I've mentioned it a couple times:

https://ncdp.columbia.edu/custom-con...hs-US-NCDP.pdf

[KnightHawk 2.0]

I think the time has come for the Administration to do something unprecedented and invite President-Elect Biden's Covid-19 team to begin working with Mike Pence with immediate effect, or this is the kind of senseless drivel that will guarantee another million infections, and God hows how many more deaths.

We may need to start linking the policies of this Government with Crimes Against Humanity, and all that implies with regard to indictments.

"Dr. Scott Atlas, the White House’s controversial coronavirus adviser, encouraged an insurrection on Sunday against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) over Michigan’s new COVID-19 safety protocols meant to curb the state’s skyrocketing infection rates.
The remarks by Atlas, who is a neuroradiologist with no formal training in treating infectious diseases, came in response to the Democratic governor announcing an epidemic order starting Wednesday for at least three weeks. The new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services regulations halt in-person learning for high schools and colleges, indoor dining, theaters, stadiums, organized sports, casinos and group exercise classes.
“The only way this stops is if people rise up,” the Trump adviser tweeted in response to the new regulations. “You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp” "
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trump-covi...043820011.html

Agree and also think it is time for the Trump Administration to do something unprecedented and invite President-Elect Biden's CO-VID 19 to the White House to begin working with Mike Pence with immediate effect,And the remarks made by Dr. Scott Atlas's againist Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were despicable and dangerous,and shouldn't speak on things he knows nothing about and should keep his remarks to himself,and let people who are qualified speak to the public.

[broncofan]

Of all the countries and their scientists that I would trust to come up with a safe vaccine it would be Great Britain, regardless of who your guys PM is.

The main vaccine being produced in the UK is an adenovirus vector vaccine by Oxford and Astrazeneca in partnership. It is a different class of vaccine to the ones produced by Pfizer and Moderna shots, which are mrna vaccines.

These vaccines are engineered to deliver the genetic instructions to make the sarscov2 spike protein inside an adenovirus, which is one of the types of viruses that causes the cold. My understanding is that the viral vector is the vehicle for getting those genes into our own DNA since that's how viruses reproduce themselves. One of the challenges with this kind of vaccine is that our immune systems can identify and attack the adenovirus before it gets to our cells which would make it ineffective. To avoid this problem Oxford is using Chimpanzee adenovirus because our immune systems will not have encountered it. There is still the possibility that if immunity to covid wanes over time and we need boosters our immune systems might recognize and attack the adenovirus more robustly the second time.

Anyhow, the results of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine are expected soon. Johnson and Johnson also has an adenovirus vector vaccine that a lot of people are excited about but there were delays in the clinical trials and they are not expected to complete them for at least another month. Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is being tested in single dose trials which is important given manufacturing constraints. It can also be refrigerated for 3 months, which provides much less logistical challenge than the vaccine by Pfizer.

Although Pfizer's vaccine was the first one approved it remains to be seen whether it will be the most utilized. It already looks like Moderna's vaccine will be easier to supply and others are on the way.

[broncofan]

Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is being tested in single dose trials which is important given manufacturing constraints.

Turns out Johnson & Johnson also just started trials with two doses. One might speculate it shows a lack of confidence in their single dose program but it's probably the responsible thing to do in case two doses is much more effective.
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotec...-covid-vaccine

[Stavros]

If there is going to be a coup in the US, maybe someone should remove Kristi Noem from her office before South Dakota returns to the stone age, assuming it is not her aspiration.

"Coronavirus in South Dakota is running at an intensity only surpassed in the US by its neighbor North Dakota. The state has an alarming positivity rate of almost 60% – nearly six out of 10 people who take a Covid test are infected – second only to another neighbor, Wyoming.
...
Amid this devastating contagion, Noem is rigidly sticking to the strategy she has adopted since the pandemic began. It consists of a refusal to accept mask mandates and repeated denial of the science around the efficacy of wearing masks; resistance to imposing any restrictions on bars and restaurants; no limits on gatherings in churches or other places of worship; and no orders to stay at home.
While the statistics are clear – the virus is running wild in South Dakota – Noem has turned a public health emergency into an issue of “freedom” and “liberty”, consistently lying about the trajectory of the disease under her watch. “We’re doing really good in South Dakota. We’re managing Covid-19,” she has said."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...s-south-dakota

[broncofan]

The results for the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine trial have come in and there is now a third effective vaccine. The efficacy was 70%, which was not as good as Pfizer or Moderna but it is still very good since 50% is typically considered good enough for approval. Those who led the trial say that when they gave volunteers a small initial dose with the full second dose the efficacy was 90%. We'll see if that holds over time but it's still fairly good news. The vaccine is easier to store and transport than Pfizer's vaccine and the results here bode well for Johnson and Johnson's vaccine using similar technology.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/23/europe/astrazeneca-oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-intl/index.html

[broncofan]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/23/europe/astrazeneca-oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-intl/index.html

This article by BBC is much better imo. It addresses the question of whether the result is "disappointing". It is not disappointing really. If the 70% result had come in before Moderna and Pfizer's data it would be heralded as a great success and it has logistical advantages over those vaccines. It also explains a possible reason why a subgroup that got an initial small dose may have had a better result. All of these studies are looking at serious disease in secondary analysis. The endpoint is number of symptomatic cases, but so far the vaccines do look like when they don't prevent symptomatic cases they may prevent serious disease though it probably takes a lot more data to establish that.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55040635

[KnightHawk 2.0]

If there is going to be a coup in the US, maybe someone should remove Kristi Noem from her office before South Dakota returns to the stone age, assuming it is not her aspiration.

"Coronavirus in South Dakota is running at an intensity only surpassed in the US by its neighbor North Dakota. The state has an alarming positivity rate of almost 60% – nearly six out of 10 people who take a Covid test are infected – second only to another neighbor, Wyoming.
...
Amid this devastating contagion, Noem is rigidly sticking to the strategy she has adopted since the pandemic began. It consists of a refusal to accept mask mandates and repeated denial of the science around the efficacy of wearing masks; resistance to imposing any restrictions on bars and restaurants; no limits on gatherings in churches or other places of worship; and no orders to stay at home.
While the statistics are clear – the virus is running wild in South Dakota – Noem has turned a public health emergency into an issue of “freedom” and “liberty”, consistently lying about the trajectory of the disease under her watch. “We’re doing really good in South Dakota. We’re managing Covid-19,” she has said."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...s-south-dakota

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is just as delusional and tonedeafed about the CO-VID 19 Pandemic as Donald Trump is,and her comments shows that she doesn't believe in science or facts.