Coronavirus - worldwide spread and control

Er.. that doesn’t make sense.

i quite like this idea,

https://twitter.com/user/status/1238468547166253062

 

So, she found it very hard to be ill and wants us all to be compassionate for ill people, but then wants to deliberately infect 60% of the country’s population so they can go through what she just did? Is that what “we’re all in this together” means?

 

don't know if this has been mentioned yet.
saw it on C4 last night.
Rapid Coronavirus testing kit developed slashing results time for Covid-19 diagnosis
https://www.channel4.com/news/rapid...-slashing-results-time-for-covid-19-diagnosis

 

I don't see how you do a PCR test in 10 minutes. I can see no evidence for this being bona fide. We need journalists to focus on reliable facts not scoops.

 

Radio 4 'Today' program just after 8.15 and for about 10 minutes, Robert Peston interviewing Mr Gerada/Sir/Prof Wesley and erm forgotten who else.

Well worth a listen, just wish I knew how to keep a copy(?) of it.

 

I have been talking to my nephew Al about vaccines. It may be that something can be produced quite quickly but a lot of resources should be put into trying various tricks to find one that works.

The best vaccines are live but harmless versions of a virus. I see no prospect of such an attenuated strain being made that reliably infects but does no harm. A less good but still effective method is to use proteins from the virus that in themselves cannot replicate. But these need to be injected with a 'danger' signal - what traditionally is called an adjuvant.

There ought to be a clever way to tag virus proteins with adjuvants that are based on human signalling systems and so entirely harmless and potentially highly efficient. The question is just how to do it. Making proteins to order is easy these days with molecular biology methods.

I would not even think of bothering with animals. They could give misleading results. I think the sticking point at the moment is setting up a reliable test of immunity - a serology/antibody test. As far as I can see there is none validated at present.

 

They tried to make a vaccine against bat coronaviruses but it made the infection worse.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3985

 

It's not a PCR-based test. It's a rapid antibody test. I think this is the one that was featured: https://www.biopanda.co.uk/php/products/rapid/infectious_diseases/covid19.php

 

Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist from Imperial College London, was interviewed along with Professor Wessely: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000gdsw

Interestingly, the interviewer (Nick Robinson) mentions that SW had wanted to come to the studio to do the interview despite the fact that his wife has tested positive for Covid-19. The BBC told him not to and did the interview by phone.

SW claimed (at approx 1hr 20 min) that it was not necessary for him to self-isolate because he doesn’t currently have any symptoms.

 

OK, I had trouble finding information on it. It looks like the sort of serological test that is badly needed to establish who has had the virus. It would also indicate the likely usefulness of a vaccine. But I presume it is no use as a test to see if someone is actively infected - at least in the early stage when they may be infectious. It takes about 20 days for IgG responses to peak. IgM responses are quicker but still about 10 days traditionally.

In other words it does not look like a quick alternative to see if you are infectious.

 

I heard the the Simon Wessely INTERVIEW. Not his best. Nick Robinson first introduced him as psychologist, then suggested some thought his science wasn’t as real as the biological stuff, he then asked a data modeller if he respected and wanted Wessely type input (we all know how this real word irks wessely) . and then he was saying as posted above he’d isolate if he had Symptoms but there was no need for him to now, which might well be medical advice but he didn’t come across particularly good or responsible . I think that advice coming now is all family self isolate ?

 

Bath half marathon to go ahead despite coronavirus fears

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-51887950

 

Richard Horton again

https://twitter.com/user/status/1238799404540272640


And prof of medicine at London school of hygiene and tropical medicine

https://twitter.com/user/status/1238410276438822913


This begs the question where has the govt got its advice on herd immunity from.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1238820627039031296

 

I wonder what "Doc Maillioux" would have to say about it.