Where's the petri dish thread?

[PhDhawk]

based on the relatively low mutation rate that's being reported, I'd tend to agree with your friend.

Or at least, it won't likely require a new vaccine every year as is the case with the flu, meaning immunity wouldn't be short lived.

[DCHawk1]

Another...

https://wjactv.com/news/local/upmc-unve ... 19-vaccine

Scientists with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Scientists say they’ve tested the vaccine in mice, and it produced antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities they believe could be enough to neutralize the coronavirus.

[Deleted User 289]

With the obvious caveat that no one really knows anything yet, a neurologist friend at a prominent medical center just texted me that he expects this to be a "single-occurrence" event.

That would be great.

My concern is if/when I get through this one, when will the next coronavirus occur and will it be more or less severe than this one.
I'm confident that this country will never be the same in that I have to assume we will have germaphobes and enochlophobes/agoraphobes/anthrophobes to the max. That just may be a good thing.

[defixione]

Stupid question/s time from someone who didn't pay attention in biology:

Am I correct to believe that upon awaking every morning I'm in a virus free local environment as far as the surfaces and the air in my home (outside of me possibly being a carrier)?

There are those who carry the virus but are asymptomatic. Does this mean that some will never succumb to the effect of the virus and, if so, how long does the virus stay in the carrier and how long are they considered contagious? Could they live with it forever?

As someone who teaches biology, I'm sad to hear that you didn't pay attention.

For your first question, as long as you or a visitor isn't a carrier, and none of your deliveries or items you bring home have the virus on them, it's pretty safe to assume that your house is virus free. But it can live on surfaces for up to days.

Yes, asymptomatic carriers never develop symptoms, but they are infected. To my knowledge there's no indication that an asymptomatic carrier chronically carries the virus. I think they're not likely contagious with the virus for any longer than people with symptoms.

Thanks for your response PhD, my ADHD addled brain couldn't pay attention to a host of other important topics back in my teenage years, either.

[Deleted User 289]

Another...

https://wjactv.com/news/local/upmc-unve ... 19-vaccine

Scientists with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Scientists say they’ve tested the vaccine in mice, and it produced antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities they believe could be enough to neutralize the coronavirus.

Isn't it sad that we can't come up with vaccines BEFORE 1000s/10,000s/100,000s/1,000,000s of people have died?
Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing to come up with a vaccine but obviously they really don't help people after they are buried or become ashes.

[Shirley]

Another...

https://wjactv.com/news/local/upmc-unve ... 19-vaccine

Scientists with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Scientists say they’ve tested the vaccine in mice, and it produced antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities they believe could be enough to neutralize the coronavirus.

Isn't it sad that we can't come up with vaccines BEFORE 1000s/10,000s/100,000s/1,000,000s of people have died?
Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing to come up with a vaccine but obviously they really don't help people after they are buried or become ashes.

Imagine what you'd think if you knew how many vaccines are grown in chicken eggs.

#youcanlookitup

[Deleted User 289]

I'm not a fan of eggs but if they harvest vaccines - fantastic!

In other Coronavirus related news today........
My guess is this guy was a mental health red flag.

https://abc7.com/usns-mercy-coronavirus ... S-UhcdPyp8

[CrimsonNBlue]

With the obvious caveat that no one really knows anything yet, a neurologist friend at a prominent medical center just texted me that he expects this to be a "single-occurrence" event.

That would be great.

My concern is if/when I get through this one, when will the next coronavirus occur and will it be more or less severe than this one.
I'm confident that this country will never be the same in that I have to assume we will have germaphobes and enochlophobes/agoraphobes/anthrophobes to the max. That just may be a good thing.

As I posted yesterday, many countries hit hard by SARS and MERS have, generally, responded better to COVID-19 than a lot of the West.

Hopefully this is a lesson for the need to spend money before a problem hits, and yes, people are more hygienic.

There are a lot of smart people out there that are not surprised at all that this happened. I believe 2019 was a record year for the airline and hotel industry. This was going to happen at some point.

[chiknbut]

Another...

https://wjactv.com/news/local/upmc-unve ... 19-vaccine

Scientists with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Scientists say they’ve tested the vaccine in mice, and it produced antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities they believe could be enough to neutralize the coronavirus.

I heard this on NPR yesterday. It is great news. But it's also uncharted territory. In the past, viruses have been fought by using a dead strain. This is a whole new, very different way of tricking our immune system that is really exciting to hear about. Could lead to much quicker responses to situations like this. Or at least that's what I was led to believe.

Perhaps Phd could chime in on this.

[DCHawk1]

Another...

https://wjactv.com/news/local/upmc-unve ... 19-vaccine

Scientists with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Scientists say they’ve tested the vaccine in mice, and it produced antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities they believe could be enough to neutralize the coronavirus.

Isn't it sad that we can't come up with vaccines BEFORE 1000s/10,000s/100,000s/1,000,000s of people have died?
Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing to come up with a vaccine but obviously they really don't help people after they are buried or become ashes.

For starters, you can't create a vaccine to a "novel" virus without knowing what it is, what it does, etc.

Additionally, there's not much money in vaccine production, so we have relatively few resources dedicated specifically to that pursuit. Thank God for people like Bill Gates, who have donated millions to encourage vaccine development -- including awarding funding "prizes" to otherwise economically nonviable projects.

Finally, the biggest delay in vaccine creation comes in the testing/approval stage. Even with some requirements waived for crisis purposes, we still have to make sure the vaccine isn't going to cause harm.

It sucks, but even streamlining the process can't save those lives.

A cure/effective treatment is a much more productive short-term solution.

[jfish26]

With the obvious caveat that no one really knows anything yet, a neurologist friend at a prominent medical center just texted me that he expects this to be a "single-occurrence" event.

That would be great.

My concern is if/when I get through this one, when will the next coronavirus occur and will it be more or less severe than this one.
I'm confident that this country will never be the same in that I have to assume we will have germaphobes and enochlophobes/agoraphobes/anthrophobes to the max. That just may be a good thing.

As I posted yesterday, many countries hit hard by SARS and MERS have, generally, responded better to COVID-19 than a lot of the West.

Hopefully this is a lesson for the need to spend money before a problem hits, and yes, people are more hygienic.

There are a lot of smart people out there that are not surprised at all that this happened. I believe 2019 was a record year for the airline and hotel industry. This was going to happen at some point.

But, lord, why did it have to happen with Trump in office.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I've thought about Gates quite a bit through this. I haven't seen an interview with him yet. He has to be such a mixed bag of emotions right now.

[DCHawk1]

I've thought about Gates quite a bit through this. I haven't seen an interview with him yet. He has to be such a mixed bag of emotions right now.

There are going to be -- already are, in fact -- all sorts of people insisting that we need to build up this department and dramatically increase the funding for that agency and create this bureau, etc.

I get that, and I think there are lessons to be learned here and better ways to allocate federal resources.

Nevertheless, for sheer speed and flexibility, nothing beats market incentives. We just need to figure out ways to create those incentives BEFORE the crisis hits. Gates is leading the way on this, and even after Windows XP, I'm grateful to him.

[Shirley]

[Geezer]

[jfish26]

I've thought about Gates quite a bit through this. I haven't seen an interview with him yet. He has to be such a mixed bag of emotions right now.

There are going to be -- already are, in fact -- all sorts of people insisting that we need to build up this department and dramatically increase the funding for that agency and create this bureau, etc.

I get that, and I think there are lessons to be learned here and better ways to allocate federal resources.

Nevertheless, for sheer speed and flexibility, nothing beats market incentives. We just need to figure out ways to create those incentives BEFORE the crisis hits. Gates is leading the way on this, and even after Windows XP, I'm grateful to him.

We're also going to have to figure out what to do with a couple million people whose jobs will not be waiting for them on the other side of this.

[DCHawk1]

So...some thoughts.

1. "It's time for governments to rethink how to mitigate the emergence of superbugs, experts told ABC News."

Yes. How? Ban foreign travel? Mandatory quarantines upon entering the country? What could we do, given our political divisions, to "mitigate" this?

2. "Wildes said, bottom line, it's all about cooperation: "'We should realize that we are all in this together.'"

This is a nice thought, but it's also complete bullshit. The CCP is NOT in this with us. It is not a "partner." If you look at the totality of their actions since December, it's clear, that they're not interested in partnering with us on any level. So...what then?

[Shirley]

I've thought about Gates quite a bit through this. I haven't seen an interview with him yet. He has to be such a mixed bag of emotions right now.

There are going to be -- already are, in fact -- all sorts of people insisting that we need to build up this department and dramatically increase the funding for that agency and create this bureau, etc.

I get that, and I think there are lessons to be learned here and better ways to allocate federal resources.

Nevertheless, for sheer speed and flexibility, nothing beats market incentives. We just need to figure out ways to create those incentives BEFORE the crisis hits. Gates is leading the way on this, and even after Windows XP, I'm grateful to him.

I doubt the republican governors of Maryland and Massachusetts, not to mention the governors of New York, Washington, Illinois, California, Wisconsin, et al., would necessarily agree with you, since finding supplies has been described as like being on Ebay and bidding not only against the other governors and hospital chains, etc., but also. bidding against the US and foreign governments for PPE and ventilators, as the price rises and rises and rises and the supplies get away.

[Shirley]

So...some thoughts.

1. "It's time for governments to rethink how to mitigate the emergence of superbugs, experts told ABC News."

Yes. How? Ban foreign travel? Mandatory quarantines upon entering the country? What could we do, given our political divisions, to "mitigate" this?

2. "Wildes said, bottom line, it's all about cooperation: "'We should realize that we are all in this together.'"

This is a nice thought, but it's also complete bullshit. The CCP is NOT in this with us. It is not a "partner." If you look at the totality of their actions since December, it's clear, that they're not interested in partnering with us on any level. So...what then?

Invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity?

[zsn]

I've thought about Gates quite a bit through this. I haven't seen an interview with him yet. He has to be such a mixed bag of emotions right now.

There are going to be -- already are, in fact -- all sorts of people insisting that we need to build up this department and dramatically increase the funding for that agency and create this bureau, etc.

I get that, and I think there are lessons to be learned here and better ways to allocate federal resources.

Nevertheless, for sheer speed and flexibility, nothing beats market incentives. We just need to figure out ways to create those incentives BEFORE the crisis hits. Gates is leading the way on this, and even after Windows XP, I'm grateful to him.

Couldn't decide which of your two previous posts to respond to, but I will to this one. I am in general agreement with everything you wrote in both of them with one additional point. While the exact numbers are somewhat dated (from maybe 15-20 years ago) the underlying point is still the same. The numbers were that the COMBINED amount of money spent on researching cures/treatments for infective diseases by all major pharma companies was less than what was spent marketing Little Blue Pills or any number of "lifestyle" drugs. The "market incentives" are exactly the reason that entities like the Pandemic Response Team (or whatever the official name was) get disbanded. It's like no one needing the Fire Department, until they do. The "market forces" are not interested in poor people dying in S./C. America, Africa and Asia, as they don't command the same ROI on drugs. This was the state of affairs until the Gates Foundation got involved. While the numbers are slightly better now, they are not orders of magnitude better than what they used to be, or needs to be.

We have not learned enough to maintain a critical mass of researchers who form a kind of SWAT team to quickly mobilize to solve the most current problem and stay just that much in front of the wave. This team needs to transcend borders, cultures and politics - perhaps under the auspices of MSF/DWB. Much easier said than done.