Covid - newsworthy

[Noggin]

Dunno, but I've been signed up for a booster jab this Saturday.

I'm waiting to see if there is one offered here as I'll be there - not 100% convinced it does much but then I've not had recognisable symptoms from Covid in the last 3+ years, and the one time I tested I was positive - only tested because a mate I saw everyday was positive and told me to test!

Like all sequels, it seems a pale imitation of its previous incarnation. How's things round your ways?

Having avoided it for 3 years, I think I've had it twice in 6 weeks (I tested +ve the first time, my missus twisted my arm to get tested, the second time I couldn't be bothered). My doc told me recently that there's a lot of it about but he didn't give me the impression that it was causing a massive problem.

My symptoms have been - coughing, lethargic, phlegmy - but nothing life threatening. I've kept up my morning running, PB today in fact.

I'm reasonably sure I've had 'a virus' in August because I felt rubbish - and should have felt good, working outside, nice job etc. Stress from other sources, but that was continuous, but in August I just felt rubbish.

Not feeling great again right now, but I've hardly seen anyone so I think that is just me feeling sad!

Interestingly, the doctor and the hospital have gone back to requesting masks to be worn inside again, so I'd guess that would suggest that there is more Covid around - or that it's flu season and they think that masks help prevent the flu being passed around as fast as without?

Either way, if the medics want us in masks in their places again, I'd guess there is an upturn (I haven't asked TBF, but right now is interseason and there's hardly anyone around now LOL )

[ZRX61]

Never mind all of that old bollocks, but we seem to having a bit of a Covid resurgence in my neck of the wood. I've got a guy at work of with it and my mate's daughter and husband are feeling sorry for themselves at home having tested positive.

Like all sequels, it seems a pale imitation of its previous incarnation. How's things round your ways?

Perfect timing for the release of the latest vaccine version. Apparently I'm expected to show up at the chemists for the RSV/Flu/Covid trifecta.

[DefTrap]

Perfect timing for the release of the latest vaccine version. Apparently I'm expected to show up at the chemists for the RSV/Flu/Covid trifecta.

And how do you feel about that then?

[Wossname]

Never mind all of that old bollocks, but we seem to having a bit of a Covid resurgence in my neck of the wood. I've got a guy at work of with it and my mate's daughter and husband are feeling sorry for themselves at home having tested positive.

Like all sequels, it seems a pale imitation of its previous incarnation. How's things round your ways?

Perfect timing for the release of the latest vaccine version. Apparently I'm expected to show up at the chemists for the RSV/Flu/Covid trifecta.

You don’t have to have it, you know….

[ZRX61]

Perfect timing for the release of the latest vaccine version. Apparently I'm expected to show up at the chemists for the RSV/Flu/Covid trifecta.

And how do you feel about that then?

Depends on the manufacturer.

[Horse]

Perfect timing for the release of the latest vaccine version. Apparently I'm expected to show up at the chemists for the RSV/Flu/Covid trifecta.

And how do you feel about that then?

[Felix]

Had my covid booster two days ago. That and the flue jab and Hepatitis B jab as i am a filthy bastard. Stabbed again next week for my B12. Think i need change from Felix to Pin Cushion

[irie]

Quelle surprise. Not.

From behind the DT paywall:

China lab suspected of Covid leak stripped of US funding for violating biosafety rules

Wuhan Institute of Virology broke rules with experiments that increased viral activity more than tenfold, says health department

BySarah Knapton, SCIENCE EDITOR24 September 2023 • 3:15pm

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has failed to cooperate with US investigators 

The Chinese laboratory suspected of leaking coronavirus has been stripped of United States government funding for 10 years after conducting dangerous experiments that increased the potency of coronaviruses before the pandemic.

The US Department of Human Health and Services (HHS) said it was debarring the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) after documents showed scientists had inserted new spike proteins into four bat coronaviruses.
In the experiments, which occurred between 2018 and 2019, one chimeric virus killed 75 per cent of infected humanised mice within two weeks.

The HHS said that the experiments had increased viral activity more than tenfold, in clear violation of government grant guidelines.

WIV was just eight miles from where the first cases of Covid emerged and had a history of working on gain-of-function experiments – work that increases the potency of viruses. This led many people to suspect that the virus could have leaked.

In the months before the pandemic, the institute had registered patents for repairs to ventilation symptoms and broken seals and is believed to have worked on viruses at inappropriate biosafety levels.
The Chinese authorities have refused to allow a proper investigation and have blocked attempts to access laboratories, research notebooks or sample databases.

The memo said that the US National Institutes of Health had been trying to contact WIV for two years for information about the experiments but had received no response.
The HHS warned that such experiments may still be ongoing and could have had “potential health consequences and repercussions”.

“WIV conducted an experiment that violated the terms of the grant regarding viral activity, which possibly did lead or could lead to health issues or other unacceptable outcomes,” said the notice of debarment.
“WIV has not acknowledged the violations, has not cooperated with the government to address the violations, has not accepted responsibility for the violations, and therefore presumably has taken no action to eliminate the risk to the government in conducting business transactions with WIV presently or into the future.”
It concluded: “There is risk that WIV not only previously violated, but is currently violating, and will continue to violate, protocols of the National Institutes of Health on biosafety.”

No response from ‘bat woman’

The HHS said it had tried to contact WIV by fax and email for further details on the experiments but had received no response. 

The department tried to contact Dr Shi Zhengli, the principal investigator known as “bat woman”, and Dr Yanyi Wang, laboratory director-general, but neither replied.

Officials even sent the notice of debarment by DHL Express, asking whether WIV wanted to contest the ruling, but the envelope was returned to sender.

The worrying experiments came to light in a progress report compiled by US-based EcoHealth Alliance, which had subcontracted WIV to carry out laboratory work on bat coronaviruses gathered in south-east Asia.
EcoHealth received NIH funding worth more than $3.7 million (£2.9 million) between 2014 and 2020 for the project, of which more than $600,000 (£490,000) went to the Wuhan laboratory.

At the time of the experiments, the US had recently lifted a three-year ban on science that increased the potency of viruses. However, it stipulated that laboratories that wanted to carry out such work must apply on a case-by-case basis and face a multidisciplinary review board.

Claims experiments were exempt

In earlier correspondence with The Telegraph, Dr Peter Daszak, the British zoologist and president of EcoHealth Alliance, said that its work with WIV did not fall under restricted gain-of-function research.
“None of the work changed animal viruses so they can infect humans – they only infected human cell cultures and that’s a big difference,” said Dr Daszak. 

He also said the experiments were exempt because the original viruses were not infectious to humans.
However, White House officials told The Telegraph the work did fall under gain-of-function rules and would have required review.

Gerald Epstein, former assistant director for biosecurity and emerging technologies at the White House Office of Science and Technology Police between 2016 and 2018, said: “I oversaw development of the US government’s enhanced potential pandemic pathogens (ePPP) policy usually referred to as gain-of-function.

“EcoHealth claimed that their work engineering bat coronaviruses could not have been ePPP research because the original viruses were not pathogenic to humans. That is apparently their position, but it is clearly incorrect.”
The HHS said it had given WIV several opportunities to disprove that its work was not dangerous but it had failed to do so. 

Debarments usually do not last longer than three years, but the case warranted a longer timeframe, it said.
The Telegraph contacted WIV and EcoHealth Alliance but neither had responded at the time of publication.

[irie]

Link for the above:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ ... periments/

[ZRX61]

Got stabbed yesterday (flu & covid). Bit achey this morning & drank about half gallon of water through the night. Didn't get up to pee once. (also didn't pee in case you were wondering...)

[ZRX61]

Roomies daughter, son in law & granddaughter have all got covid last week. They only got the first jab & none of the boosters... Son in law tested negative on Monday & went back to work... only to find half the crew also out with covid. Civvie contractor at an AFB.

[Wossname]

AFB? Go on….

[Horse]

AFB? Go on….

Guessing, Air Force Base

[JackyJoll]

Automatic fire bullets.

[JackyJoll]

American Federal Bomz.

[DefTrap]

This thread is now just for "who's got covid" now is it?

I had COVID back (for the first time) in June and have subsequently had several mini relapses and an ongoing pathetic cough and periodic fatigue. Nothing too frightful but quite different from any standard sort of cold or flu.

[irie]

Had my flu jab couple of weeks ago and having Covid booster on Saturday. The more people don't bother to have either jab the more important it becomes to have them. Haven't recently had a pukka flu epidemic so when it finally does come it'll almost certainly be a "big one".

[Supermofo]

I've been offered both Flu and Covid jabs but don't think I'll bother this year. I'm on a at risk register somewhere as I have a Bi-cuspid aortic valve. But this has no impact on me health wise at all at the moment and is unlikely to until I'm older if at all. I have to go for 2-3 yearly scans of my heart to make sure things haven't got any worse but since I was 25 things haven't changed at all and I don't have any health concerns. So essentially I'm on the at risk list as technically I have a heart condition but in practical terms it makes no difference. Pre covid I got offered the Flu jab every year and didn't bother cos why would I, I've had Flu before and don't see it as being a big risk for me (and yes I know it can be a risk). Since Covid I've had both Flu and Covid, plus Phenomena last year as well, each year. But having had Covid twice and IMO not really being at elevated risk I'll leave it I think.

I'm a bit weird with drugs though in that generally I don't like taking them unless I really need them. Like I rarely take paracetamol when I have a headache and refused morphine unless I absolutely felt I needed it following my bike crash and subsequent week in hospital. Funnily enough this is due to a bout of Flu when I was a teen and I took some cold/flu tablets which made me feel better, so I went back to work and made myself really ill. Since then I want to know how I'm feeling not mask stuff. I know the boosters don't really work like that but it's a drug I don't feel like I really need to take.

Watch that bite me on the arse now!

[MrLongbeard]

Still not had it, booked in for my 5th covid jab, although that may not happen as I'm supposed to have surgery a couple of days after.

[Taff]

Currently working from home with the 'rona thanks to MiniTaff's college friends spreading it about, I'm not feeling particularly ill tbh, just a sore throat and I wouldn't have tested if it wasn't for the boy having had it last week.

The down side is that MrsTaff is booked in for an operation next week, and if she gets it then the op is cancelled