Coronavirus - worldwide spread and control

Reports that vaping may significantly increase the risk to young people:

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/med...tudy-finds/ar-BB17PNFr?li=AAnZ9Ug&ocid=ASUDHP

 

I don't really follow the logic of that. Sure, person to person contact has occurred in Aukland, certainly outside the cool store and also within the cool store staff. But the virus has to come from somewhere and it seems pretty clear that it has not bee hanging around Aukland for three months or brought in through quarantine.

 

I think the odds must be 50:1 on imported goods. It occurred to me some time back that this would be the Achilles heel of the NZ success. Cold storage would be top the list for risk since for most other freight the virus would be too long at room temperature. A very small percentage of the population work in cold stores. I think a coincidence is highly unlikely. What worries me is that someone in the NZ administration is trying to cover backs in one way or another. So far that does not seem to have happened in NZ despite happening everywhere else.

 

China claims to have found coronavirus on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ported-Brazil-tests-positive-coronavirus.html

 

I saw a group of youngster munching Kentucky fried virus only yesterday.

 

Swedish journalist Emanuel Karlsten writes about the Swedish herd immunity approach, based on emails he has gotten access to through FOI requests.

(Edited to add: What I find the most "interesting" about this, the main reason I wanted to share it, are the differences between what Tegnell and FHM have been communicating to the public and the world through the FHM website, press conferences, in interviews etc; and the way he talks about it behind the scenes/in the emails. As you may remember, Tegnell has publicly and repeatedly very clearly denied herd immunity being their strategy...)

Tegnell-mejlen: Så fick flockimmuniteten fäste hos Folkhälsomyndigheten
https://emanuelkarlsten.se/tegnell-mejlen-sa-fick-flockimmuniteten-faste-hos-folkhalsomyndigheten/

Google Translate ("The Tegnell emails: This is how herd immunity gained a foothold with the Public Health Agency")

There's an article about it in Expressen too (today's most read article, apparently):

Expressen: Mail mellan Gisecke och Tegnell avslöjar inflytandet över Folkhälsomyndigheten
https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter...lojar-inflytandet-over-folkhalsomyndigheten-/

Article in Expressen yesterday:

Expressen: Folkhälsotopparnas mejl – om coronastrategin
https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/coronaviruset/folkhalsotopparnas-mejl-om-coronastrategin/

https://twitter.com/user/status/1293817194942521344

 

Some of the emails seem to suggest they wanted to keep the schools open explicitly to drive up infections towards immunity. This is appalling and no doubt lead to many avoidable deaths, as well as people with lifelong disability who, unless Sweden change their way about ME, will be dropped dead by the health care system.

Everyone involved in this decision should be fired. From a canon. Into the sun. Or just fired is fine but do the canon thing anyway for symbolism.

 

I wonder how history will recount all this.

 

It will depend on who wins.

 

I wonder this too. Especially as there is a quality to current history that is different from any other time. People still have rather short memories for things but the internet keeps all information one way or another. There are studies kept in Sci-Hub and the internet archive along with screen captures of various pages held by many people.

This may make piecing together the various written records over time easier to collate. And just as a side issue I've noticed of late that 'eminent' websites have been trying to dodge being captured on the IA.

Also, the work of Margaret Williams in the UK and MedFeb in the US could use some updating along with appropriate references to show just how the interpretation of their (BPS) science changes according to audience and what can no longer be said because it has been found insupportable.

I admit having this info may not win the day sooner or later but it is a difference to consider. We must be ever vigilant of this group lobbying in quiet to reduce access through FoI requests also.

 

Finland is now recommending face masks in some districts where the numbers are currently rising (including Tornio-Kemi on the Swedish border), according to news articles today.

Masks are recommended in the following situations, for people over the age of 15:

• On public transport
• In public places where it is crowded and/or difficult to keep your distance from other people
• In shops, but only if there's lots of people and you're unable to keep your distance to others
  
• Travel to and from corona tests
• While waiting for test results
  
• Travel from risk areas
• During quarantine

The local governments will be handing out free masks to people who can't afford to buy them.

https://www.hbl.fi/artikel/munskydd-och-atergang-till-distansarbete-foljd-av-usla-coronasiffror/

 

Listened to the "Briefing Room" on BBC Radio 4 earlier and found myself thinking - fair dues to the Swedes --- you couldn't get ethical approval to do a "control group" experiment like that (open the schools -- see how many teachers and pupils get infected ---) i.e. do nothing and then the Swedes volunteer to do it!

Say what you like but the Swedes are providing hard data re the risks. Not saying I'd like my secondary school kids coming back to a household which contains adults who are highly vulnerable though.

 

There was a great Instagram live session with Matthew McConaughey and Dr Fauci tonight. About the pandemic, the science and the control measures, myths and what we can do and why it's important etc.

It was recorded and is available to watch on IGTV now
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CD2PYnvpNoc/

 

Of historical but also current interest. Article based on as yet unpublished research.

For context, the population back the was about 1.6 billion (according to worldometers.info), so roughly equivalent to nearly 5 million dying today.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/kro...lse-coronavirus-har-tidligere-lagt-verden-ned (Danish)

https://translate.google.com/transl...lse-coronavirus-har-tidligere-lagt-verden-ned

A quick google shows this 2005 study already speculated about the possibility of a previous corona pandemic:

Complete Genomic Sequence of Human Coronavirus OC43: Molecular Clock Analysis Suggests a Relatively Recent Zoonotic Coronavirus Transmission Event
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC544107/