The big Coronavirus thread

pblakeney

rjsterry said:

pblakeney said:

rjsterry said:

I thought he was remarkably polite.

Nice but dim. 😉

No, I meant Robin was remarkably polite. To be told by some guy who has an entirely irrelevant qualification and has looked some stuff up on Google that you don't really know what you are doing is a bit much.

Ah. Yes, but when your facial expressions are doing subtitles it doesn't really matter. 😉

First.Aspect

What's the yellow card system?

monkimark

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

john80

I found the whole Newsnight debate on vaccines infuriating. We had the labour rep speak for 5 minutes without the guts to just say people should get vaccinated and stop being tools. It was like she was saying things that meant nothing with the sole intent of not offending anyone. She was an oxygen thief. The NHS guy at least had the balls to call a spade a spade and point to the different uptake rates among ethnic minority communities. The audience member woman just needed to be told to stop being a muppet when she wanted an antibody test instead of getting the vaccine as last time she got covid it was fine. At least the host did have a go at philosophy boy about his notes on random stuff off the internet versus an expert.

First.Aspect

What's the yellow card system?

monkimark said:

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

Main side effect of homeopathy appears to be gullibility.

rjsterry

First.Aspect said:

What's the yellow card system?

monkimark said:

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

Main side effect of homeopathy appears to be gullibility.

I did read something about the 'no-cebo' effect, where people who have had the vaccine expect to experience side effects and so attribute every minor discomfort as such.

rick_chasey

rjsterry said:

First.Aspect said:

What's the yellow card system?

monkimark said:

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

Main side effect of homeopathy appears to be gullibility.

I did read something about the 'no-cebo' effect, where people who have had the vaccine expect to experience side effects and so attribute every minor discomfort as such.

100% this.

I thought I'd got a headache from my third jab - then when I was putting the margarita glasses away from the night before, I realised it was because I'd made myself such a great margarita I was feeling myself so I hit the manhattans with equal success.

monkimark

I can't imagine the data from the public is very useful, 90% have never heard of the yellow card system, the remaining 10% blaming the vaccine for their hangover/stubbed toe.

joe2019

monkimark said:

I can't imagine the data from the public is very useful, 90% have never heard of the yellow card system, the remaining 10% blaming the vaccine for their hangover/stubbed toe.

Do you have a source for the Yellow Card figure?

First.Aspect

rjsterry said:

First.Aspect said:

What's the yellow card system?

monkimark said:

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

Main side effect of homeopathy appears to be gullibility.

I did read something about the 'no-cebo' effect, where people who have had the vaccine expect to experience side effects and so attribute every minor discomfort as such.

Me too. In one of the double blind studies, the number of seide effects reported for the saline was higher than for the vaccine.

monkimark

joe2019 said:

monkimark said:

I can't imagine the data from the public is very useful, 90% have never heard of the yellow card system, the remaining 10% blaming the vaccine for their hangover/stubbed toe.

Do you have a source for the Yellow Card figure?

the 90% and 10% - yes, I just made them up.

Pross

monkimark said:

I'd never heard of it but google found this https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

You can also report side effects of homeopathic remedies, presumably the side effects are the same as the original symptoms you were hoping to treat...

Womack / Frank would be interested in that!

briantrumpet

Gosh, what took them so long?

22:22

US health officials said they are considering lengthening the recommended interval between the first two doses of the most widely used Covid-19 vaccines to eight weeks to lower the risk of heart inflammation and improve their effectiveness, Reuters reports.

Dr. Sara Oliver, an official at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the agency was considering making the recommendation for Moderna and Pfizer /BioNTech jabs during a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of outside advisers to the CDC.

In the US, the recommended interval between the two Pfizer jabs is three weeks while it is four weeks for Moderna’s vaccine.

rick_chasey

My sister in law to be had that heart enlargement following the jab. Was quite serious but does eventually go.

morstar

Things we’ll miss about Coronavirus?

1) quiet roads in 1st lockdown
2) Not having people invade your space in a queue.

mrb123

morstar said:

Things we’ll miss about Coronavirus?

1) quiet roads in 1st lockdown
2) Not having people invade your space in a queue.

Having a good reason to avoid family members you'd rather not see and social occasions you'd rather not go to.

pblakeney

morstar said:

Things we’ll miss about Coronavirus?

1) quiet roads in 1st lockdown
2) Not having people invade your space in a queue.

I will happily add not having to engage with work colleagues other than for work, and essential at that.

morstar

Not having to shake hands!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Wondered if our triple vaccinated household had finally caught Omicron, but negative LFTs suggest it's the sniffles.

Mad_Malx

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

Wondered if our triple vaccinated household had finally caught Omicron, but negative LFTs suggest it's the sniffles.

Give it a few days

TheBigBean

Has anyone had a post Covid kicker like flu? I was assuming it was just flu, but it seems remarkably unlucky to get flu just after covid given that previously I've had flu once a decade at most. I guess I will never know, but if it was Covid rearing its head, I don't want it to do that again.

rjsterry

There are some nasty other viruses about. Whole family was laid up with one last week.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

TheBigBean said:

Has anyone had a post Covid kicker like flu? I was assuming it was just flu, but it seems remarkably unlucky to get flu just after covid given that previously I've had flu once a decade at most. I guess I will never know, but if it was Covid rearing its head, I don't want it to do that again.

I came down with "proper flu" for the first time in my life literally the day after finally ticking off the 6.9 mile B4501 climb out of Denbigh last October, in as much as it knocked me out for just over 3.5 weeks. I've never had a cold/flu like it, almost reminded me of glandular fever I had in my teens way back around '87. Pre-flu z1 felt like at least z3 for weeks, I had to gently ease back into turbo races/TTs/workouts.

But also way back when this pandemic started, we caught Covid, my partner was affected rather badly for ~6 weeks before seemingly making a full recovery and then having a massive relapse that has kept her off her NHS job for almost 13 months now. Intially my symptoms a few days after her in March '20 was literally one day of a splitting headache, so I promptly went back to doing z5 efforts up 5-10min climbs... While my power/times weren't bad for me, instead of being able to do a similar ride within 48 hours, the crippling fatigue prevented me doing an interval ride for 4+ days (plus I was often sleeping straight after getting back from work, something I usually never do). I noticed a pattern quite quickly and so knocked z3+ on the head for a month or so and then eased back into them.

Mad_Malx

shirley_basso said:

Mad_Malx said:

As someone who has actually done (many) PCR tests for other targets -
1. They do not gene sequence, but are often used as part of a sequencing protocol (because they amplify target sequences to provide sufficient material to sequence.
2. They are not chromatographic techniques (but chromotography is sometimes used afterwards to confirm the amplified target)
3. You could take the samples people send in to gene profile them if you wanted.
4. The ‘manufactured’ comment is bizarre.
5. It doesn’t need mechanical steps, it can all be done in one “tube” once extracted from the sample you send in by an automated process.

I thought the mechanical steps (apologies for poor wording) was to rapidly heat and cool the sample once the virus DNA had been seperated chemically, as that heating and cooling process helped increase the concentration of the genetic material, thus making the test more accurate.

I *think* the above is right. I am speaking to another company which has apparently found a chemical which will render that heating process obsolete as it can chemically concetrate the genetic material - making desktop PCR tests much cheaper and more simple.

From a while back @shirley_basso :
I see that there is a technique called RT-LAMP that is isothermal (same temperature) so doesn’t use thermal cycling (does need heat though) to amplify signature sequences. Faster, and more portable and cheaper kit, been around for a year or so now. I guess your guys might be flogging something like this.

shirley_basso

So I haven't invested in, but I know a few people developing the RNA/DNA (I'm not sure of the technical detail) amplification technology. Both of the main companies I know use a chemical to unbind the DNA strand then use thermal cycling technology to amplify it. The main issue is that it requires a lot of moving parts to make, even in a desktop device.

The other company has made a chemical which does it all as a one-r with 1 million times amplification.

Interestingly only 1 of the 3 I am aware of is still making it for COVID.

There's one other actually I just realised who were the first to rush their product out the door - got first mover advantage but it's a poor product so won't last long.

As for my interest
1) we want to invest in the CMO who makes the devices (and critically the disposable cassettes)
2) we have an investment who makes the chemical assays, who could make the chemical for the one-r company.

Otherwise I am sick to the back teeth of covid. Stopped wearing masks altogether now, even when I know I should (nursery school pickups). I think the fact I still haven't caught it is still causing my complacency.

darkhairedlord

shirley_basso said:

So I haven't invested in, but I know a few people developing the RNA/DNA (I'm not sure of the technical detail) amplification technology. Both of the main companies I know use a chemical to unbind the DNA strand then use thermal cycling technology to amplify it. The main issue is that it requires a lot of moving parts to make, even in a desktop device.

The other company has made a chemical which does it all as a one-r with 1 million times amplification.

Interestingly only 1 of the 3 I am aware of is still making it for COVID.

There's one other actually I just realised who were the first to rush their product out the door - got first mover advantage but it's a poor product so won't last long.

As for my interest
1) we want to invest in the CMO who makes the devices (and critically the disposable cassettes)
2) we have an investment who makes the chemical assays, who could make the chemical for the one-r company.

Otherwise I am sick to the back teeth of covid. Stopped wearing masks altogether now, even when I know I should (nursery school pickups). I think the fact I still haven't caught it is still causing my complacency.

Complacency is easy to creep up on you. We all now have covid after my youngest brought it home, both kids well ill Sunday pm and positive last Monday, wife Wednesday, I held out until Thursday pm. I even slept downstairs and used separate rooms to avoid it but waste of time, got it in the end. It might be mild but it feels like someone is sat on my chest... kids are still testing positive after 8 days but cabin fever set in a while ago. Birthday on Saturday was meh...

DeVlaeminck

Doesn't sound mild to me - any other symptoms - have you seen a doctor ?

briantrumpet

It's certainly still spreading at my school - about 15% of the school off today, which is almost unheard of in a fee-paying school... parents normally would send them in with all kind of ailments. My pupils who are/have been off ranging from really quite poorly to no real symptoms at all, but 'average' seems to be headache and tiredness.

Dorset_Boy

Son has been sneezing almost non-stop for 36 hours, headache today so off school, but tested negative both days. Pretty tired too.

surrey_commuter

My niece now has it and really looks quite shabby.. are people catching Delta or do we think there is a new variant?