Jump to content
  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

Coronavirus


Bjornebye

Recommended Posts

https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/07/16/chintan-patel-vivek-kaul-covid-big-data-investigation-second-wave

 

Second, the surge of sickness brought by the second wave clearly overwhelmed our health infrastructure, including testing capabilities. The system won’t record those it cannot serve. This became more important given that in some states, even getting admitted into a hospital was made difficult by the bureaucratic regulations that were in place.

 

In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, in order to get admitted into a hospital, a patient required a reference letter from the chief medical officer “who heads the integrated command and control centres set up by the government in all districts”. Due to this rule, patients were turned away from hospitals. And if such a patient died, they wouldn’t be counted in the Covid deaths. Of course, this was over and above whether medical infrastructure was available and the patient had the ability to access it in the first place.

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

It does translate to RCTs, I posted the link on the other page. You may choose not to accept them, but there have been many trials showing a positive benefit.

 

The only thing wrong with the evidence on ivermectin is the constant effort to undermine it. 

Nope. And nope again. The trials in your link are trash. And you know. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Nelly-Torres said:

Increasing concern over the Botswana variant with scientists now calling for a "travel code red."

 

I'm going to start sprinkling a bit of Bob Martin Spot On on my Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, just in case. 

 

 

Switch the Crunchy Nut Cornflakes for some Winalot Shapes and you'll be sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/a-pandemic-of-the-vaccinated-or-ivermectin-ignored/article_2fb8e67c-4c89-11ec-8a97-a7954a7ae6dd.html

 

Today, the world finds itself in the throes of another pandemic and, unfortunately, based upon the evidence, another lab-leaked virus. However, unlike the smallpox vaccine, the COVID-19 shots are proving to be far from perfectly protective. 

 

The Gateway to the Mediterranean, the territory of Gibraltar, contains the famed Rock of Gibraltar, whose strait can be seen from space. The Rock has been a symbol of British Naval Strength; however, now in the COVID-19 Pandemic, it has become a symbol of vaccine weakness. 

 

Gibraltar is the most vaccinated place on the planet with more than 99% of its population fully vaccinated, and with many also having received a booster. A total of 94,019 vaccine doses have been administered to Gibraltarians.

 

Considering Gibraltar has a population of some 30,000, that works out to an average of three shots per person.

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1522994/Gibraltar-news-covid-cases-mixing-Christmas-party-cancelled-vaccine-booster

 

Newsweek reports that Gibraltar has administered enough shots to have vaccinated about 140% of its population.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/christmas-celebration-gibraltar-vaccine-coronavirus-cases-1650610

 

One might expect that they have no COVID-19 cases. After all, the rest of the world is led to believe that the Holy Grail of herd immunity will come once we have sufficiently jabbed enough people with vaccines and boosters. 

 

However, the truth of the matter is much simpler. Attempting to vaccinate into an active pandemic involving a rapidly mutating virus is not working. It does not prevent transmission, nor does it prevent infection.

 

While smallpox is a DNA virus that is very slow to mutate, COVID-19 is caused by an RNA virus that is prone to rapid mutation. While the vaccines were highly protective against the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2, they are no longer as effective against the Delta variant. 

 

Gibraltar is not alone among highly vaccinated populations exhibiting massive virus surges.

According to the CDC, Vermont has a higher vaccination rate - at 72% - than any other state, yet it also has one of the highest rates of new COVID cases, according to an ABC news report.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/vermont-highest-vaccination-rate-country-cases-surging/story?id=81090116

 

Where do we find low or no rates of COVID-19 cases, you might ask?

Perhaps we could observe those countries or areas and note what they are doing differently to account for their success.

 

For example, we know that India has eliminated its COVID-19 Pandemic after implementing a national Ivermectin policy in the protocol. As a result, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have no more problems with pandemic surges.

 

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/indias-ivermectin-blackout/article_e3db8f46-f942-11eb-9eea-77d5e2519364.html

https://www.thedesertreview.com/news/national/indias-ivermectin-blackout-part-ii/article_a0b6c378-fc78-11eb-83c0-93166952f425.html

https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-World-Justus-R-Hope/dp/1737415909

 

Over the last 75 days, Delhi has recorded less than 10 COVID-19 deaths. Likewise, Uttar Pradesh, with more than 230 million people, has recorded fewer than 20 COVID deaths in the past 60 days, while the United States, with a roughly similar population, has recorded some 87,300 deaths - more than 4,000 times as many.

 

India's only remaining hotspot remains the highly vaccinated state of Kerala, which continues to pay the price. Over the last 30 days alone, Kerala has logged over 10,000 deaths. The main difference between Kerala and the rest of India was its lower use of Ivermectin, as I wrote on August 23, 2021, in an article published in the Desert Review.

 

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/indias-ivermectin-blackout---part-iii-the-lesson-of-kerala/article_ccecb97e-044e-11ec-9112-2b31ae87887a.html

 

Out of India's 267 deaths reported on November 19, 2021, fully 204 came from Kerala. With 36 million people, tiny Kerala represents only 2.5% of India's population of 1.399 billion. However, they have 76% of India’s daily COVID-19 deaths. In other words, it is 30 times more likely for an Indian resident of Kerala to die from the virus compared to a resident outside the state.

 

But look at other cases. For example, Indonesia adopted Ivermectin and saw their COVID-19 cases drop from 45,000 in July to 347 cases per day in November of 2021 - a drop of 99.2%.

Meanwhile, Gibraltar's cases doubled during the same time frame from an average of 30 per day to 60 per day. The United States' daily cases doubled between July 22 and November 19. 

 

Singapore, a nation that enjoys a fully vaccinated percentage of 88.2% as of November 5, 2021, also sees COVID-19 cases moving fast in the wrong direction. Between July 23 and November 20, 2021, Singapore saw their cases rise from 130 to 1931 per day - an increase of 15 fold.

As I wrote in the “Lesson of Kerala,” Ivermectin can make up for the low use of vaccination. However, vaccination cannot make up for the low use of Ivermectin.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-Freedom-Justus-R-Hope-ebook/dp/B09M95F8NF

 

Thus, it should come as no surprise that, like Kerala, Singapore has outlawed the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hsa-reiterates-advice-against-use-of-ivermectin-to-treat-covid-19

 

It also should not be a surprise that Indonesia embraced it. Indonesia, like most of India, has now reaped the benefits of Ivermectin. But, like Singapore, Gibraltar has not.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-warns-covid-19-cases-may-rise-further-hopes-wont-top-60000-2021-07-15/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/a-pandemic-of-the-vaccinated-or-ivermectin-ignored/article_2fb8e67c-4c89-11ec-8a97-a7954a7ae6dd.html

 

Today, the world finds itself in the throes of another pandemic and, unfortunately, based upon the evidence, another lab-leaked virus. However, unlike the smallpox vaccine, the COVID-19 shots are proving to be far from perfectly protective. 

 

The Gateway to the Mediterranean, the territory of Gibraltar, contains the famed Rock of Gibraltar, whose strait can be seen from space. The Rock has been a symbol of British Naval Strength; however, now in the COVID-19 Pandemic, it has become a symbol of vaccine weakness. 

 

Gibraltar is the most vaccinated place on the planet with more than 99% of its population fully vaccinated, and with many also having received a booster. A total of 94,019 vaccine doses have been administered to Gibraltarians.

 

Considering Gibraltar has a population of some 30,000, that works out to an average of three shots per person.

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1522994/Gibraltar-news-covid-cases-mixing-Christmas-party-cancelled-vaccine-booster

 

Newsweek reports that Gibraltar has administered enough shots to have vaccinated about 140% of its population.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/christmas-celebration-gibraltar-vaccine-coronavirus-cases-1650610

 

One might expect that they have no COVID-19 cases. After all, the rest of the world is led to believe that the Holy Grail of herd immunity will come once we have sufficiently jabbed enough people with vaccines and boosters. 

 

However, the truth of the matter is much simpler. Attempting to vaccinate into an active pandemic involving a rapidly mutating virus is not working. It does not prevent transmission, nor does it prevent infection.

 

While smallpox is a DNA virus that is very slow to mutate, COVID-19 is caused by an RNA virus that is prone to rapid mutation. While the vaccines were highly protective against the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2, they are no longer as effective against the Delta variant. 

 

Gibraltar is not alone among highly vaccinated populations exhibiting massive virus surges.

According to the CDC, Vermont has a higher vaccination rate - at 72% - than any other state, yet it also has one of the highest rates of new COVID cases, according to an ABC news report.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/vermont-highest-vaccination-rate-country-cases-surging/story?id=81090116

 

Where do we find low or no rates of COVID-19 cases, you might ask?

Perhaps we could observe those countries or areas and note what they are doing differently to account for their success.

 

For example, we know that India has eliminated its COVID-19 Pandemic after implementing a national Ivermectin policy in the protocol. As a result, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have no more problems with pandemic surges.

 

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/indias-ivermectin-blackout/article_e3db8f46-f942-11eb-9eea-77d5e2519364.html

https://www.thedesertreview.com/news/national/indias-ivermectin-blackout-part-ii/article_a0b6c378-fc78-11eb-83c0-93166952f425.html

https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-World-Justus-R-Hope/dp/1737415909

 

Over the last 75 days, Delhi has recorded less than 10 COVID-19 deaths. Likewise, Uttar Pradesh, with more than 230 million people, has recorded fewer than 20 COVID deaths in the past 60 days, while the United States, with a roughly similar population, has recorded some 87,300 deaths - more than 4,000 times as many.

 

India's only remaining hotspot remains the highly vaccinated state of Kerala, which continues to pay the price. Over the last 30 days alone, Kerala has logged over 10,000 deaths. The main difference between Kerala and the rest of India was its lower use of Ivermectin, as I wrote on August 23, 2021, in an article published in the Desert Review.

 

https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/columnists/indias-ivermectin-blackout---part-iii-the-lesson-of-kerala/article_ccecb97e-044e-11ec-9112-2b31ae87887a.html

 

Out of India's 267 deaths reported on November 19, 2021, fully 204 came from Kerala. With 36 million people, tiny Kerala represents only 2.5% of India's population of 1.399 billion. However, they have 76% of India’s daily COVID-19 deaths. In other words, it is 30 times more likely for an Indian resident of Kerala to die from the virus compared to a resident outside the state.

 

But look at other cases. For example, Indonesia adopted Ivermectin and saw their COVID-19 cases drop from 45,000 in July to 347 cases per day in November of 2021 - a drop of 99.2%.

Meanwhile, Gibraltar's cases doubled during the same time frame from an average of 30 per day to 60 per day. The United States' daily cases doubled between July 22 and November 19. 

 

Singapore, a nation that enjoys a fully vaccinated percentage of 88.2% as of November 5, 2021, also sees COVID-19 cases moving fast in the wrong direction. Between July 23 and November 20, 2021, Singapore saw their cases rise from 130 to 1931 per day - an increase of 15 fold.

As I wrote in the “Lesson of Kerala,” Ivermectin can make up for the low use of vaccination. However, vaccination cannot make up for the low use of Ivermectin.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-Freedom-Justus-R-Hope-ebook/dp/B09M95F8NF

 

Thus, it should come as no surprise that, like Kerala, Singapore has outlawed the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19.

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hsa-reiterates-advice-against-use-of-ivermectin-to-treat-covid-19

 

It also should not be a surprise that Indonesia embraced it. Indonesia, like most of India, has now reaped the benefits of Ivermectin. But, like Singapore, Gibraltar has not.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-warns-covid-19-cases-may-rise-further-hopes-wont-top-60000-2021-07-15/

lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Nelly-Torres said:

Increasing concern over the Botswana variant with scientists now calling for a "travel code red."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59418127

 

Covid: New heavily mutated variant B.1.1.529 in South Africa raises concern

We're back in familiar territory - growing concern about a new variant of coronavirus.

The latest is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far - and it has such a long list of mutations that it was described by one scientist as "horrific", while another told me it was the worst variant they'd seen.

It is early days and the confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa, but there are hints it may have spread further.

Immediately there are questions around how quickly the new variant spreads, its ability to bypass some of the protection given by vaccines and what should be done about it.

There is a lot of speculation, but very few clear answers.

So, what do we know?

The variant is called B.1.1.529 and is likely to be given a Greek code-name (like the Alpha and Delta variants) by the World Health Organization on Friday.

It is also incredibly heavily mutated. Prof Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, said there was an "unusual constellation of mutations" and that it was "very different" to other variants that have circulated.

"This variant did surprise us, it has a big jump on evolution [and] many more mutations that we expected," he said.

In a media briefing Prof de Oliveira said there were 50 mutations overall and more than 30 on the spike protein, which is the target of most vaccines and the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our body's cells.

Zooming in even further to the receptor binding domain (that's the part of the virus that makes first contact with our body's cells), it has 10 mutations compared to just two for the Delta variant that swept the world.

This level of mutation has most likely come from a single patient who was unable to beat the virus.

A lot of mutation doesn't automatically mean: bad. It is important to know what those mutations are actually doing.

But the concern is this virus is now radically different to the original that emerged in Wuhan, China. That means vaccines, which were designed using the original strain, may not be as effective.

Some of the mutations have been seen before in other variants, which gives some insight their likely role in this variant.

For example N501Y seems to make it easier for a coronavirus to spread. There are others in there that make it harder for antibodies to recognise the virus and might make vaccines less effective, but there are others that are completely new.

Prof Richard Lessells, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, said: "They give us concern this virus might have enhanced transmissibility, enhanced ability to spread from person to person, but might also be able to get around parts of the immune system."

There have been many examples of variants that have seemed scary on paper, but came to nothing. The Beta variant was at the top of people's concerns at the beginning of the year because it was the best at escaping the immune system. But in the end it was the faster-spreading Delta that took over the world.

Prof Ravi Gupta, from the University of Cambridge, said: "Beta was all immune escape and nothing else, Delta had infectivity and modest immune escape, this potentially has both to high degrees."

Why do new variants of Covid-19 keep appearing? Laura Foster explains

Scientific studies in the laboratory will yield give a clearer picture, but answers will come more quickly from monitoring the virus in the real world.

It is still early to draw clear conclusions, but there are already signs that are causing worry.

There have been 77 fully confirmed cases in Gauteng province in South Africa, four cases in Botswana and one in Hong Kong (which is directly linked to travel from South Africa).

However, there are clues the variant has spread even more widely.

This variant seems to give quirky results (known as an S-gene dropout) in the standard tests and that can be used to track the variant without doing a full genetic analysis.

That suggests 90% of cases in Gauteng may already be this variant and it "may already be present in most provinces" in South Africa.

But this does not tell us whether it spreads faster than Delta, is any more severe or to what extent it can evade the immune protection that comes from vaccination.

It also does not tell us how well the variant will spread in countries with much higher vaccination rates than the 24% of South Africa that is fully vaccinated, although large numbers of people in the country have had Covid.

So for now we are left with a variant that raises significant concerns despite huge holes in our knowledge, and is one that needs to be watched closely and asks deep questions about what to do and when. The lesson of the pandemic is you can't always wait until you have all the answers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Pureblood said:

It does translate to RCTs, I posted the link on the other page. You may choose not to accept them, but there have been many trials showing a positive benefit.

 

The only thing wrong with the evidence on ivermectin is the constant effort to undermine it. 

How often are you taking Ivermectin if you don’t mind me asking?

And how much have you spent on it so far?

And when do you plan to stop?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Jose Jones said:

How often are you taking Ivermectin if you don’t mind me asking?

And how much have you spent on it so far?

And when do you plan to stop?

I take it twice a week.  I've spent about £30 on it, I think.  

 

I'll stop when there's a low transmission rate, or might just stop anyway and only use it if I get symptoms.  I'm mulling that over.  I started using it at the beginning of the UK delta wave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

I take it twice a week.  I've spent about £30 on it, I think.  

 

I'll stop when there's a low transmission rate, or might just stop anyway and only use it if I get symptoms.  I'm mulling that over.  I started using it at the beginning of the UK delta wave.

The list of diseases you’ve not developed whilst using it must be fucking massive now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

I take it twice a week.  I've spent about £30 on it, I think.  

 

I'll stop when there's a low transmission rate, or might just stop anyway and only use it if I get symptoms.  I'm mulling that over.  I started using it at the beginning of the UK delta wave.

Cheers.

£30 is less than I was expecting maybe.  Still I wonder how much governments would need to fork out for the coverage of the whole population, for the whole pandemic period?

I think the AZ vaccine was £2 a go, Pfizer, the greedy bastards, more like £15. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Jose Jones said:

Cheers.

£30 is less than I was expecting maybe.  Still I wonder how much governments would need to fork out for the coverage of the whole population, for the whole pandemic period?

I think the AZ vaccine was £2 a go, Pfizer, the greedy bastards, more like £15. 

In my opinion we should just use it and see what happens, there's nothing to lose.  It's worth it to rule it out and shut people like me up.

 

Give it to everyone who tests positive. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

In my opinion we should just use it and see what happens, there's nothing to lose.  It's worth it to rule it out and shut people like me up.

 

Give it to everyone who tests positive. 

Are there any other drugs you’d be happy to trial this way? The vaccine for example? 

  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will say though, the politicizing of Ivermectin has been unsavoury. Absolute clowns labeling it some miracle drug when there's nothing close to there being evidence of its efficacy and the other side calling it horse paste in a disingenuous manner. Two sides digging their heels in needlessly. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, 3 Stacks said:

I will say though, the politicizing of Ivermectin has been unsavoury. Absolute clowns labeling it some miracle drug when there's nothing close to there being evidence of its efficacy and the other side calling it horse paste in a disingenuous manner. Two sides digging their heels in needlessly. 

They didn't just start calling it horse paste, people were taking the version meant for horses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, TD_LFC said:

They didn't just start calling it horse paste, people were taking the version meant for horses.

If you were reading one side of the story and knew nothing about it, you'd think Ivermectin was only for horses and there was no human version, the way a lot of it was presented. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

In my opinion we should just use it and see what happens, there's nothing to lose.  It's worth it to rule it out and shut people like me up.

 

Give it to everyone who tests positive. 

Well, there are clinical trials going on right?  Plus of loads of other different anti-viral therapeutics are being tested too.  Doctors will then generally use what has evidence of working.  So if the trials of ivermectin are positive then all good.  

The prophylactic stuff I always find a bit dubious as with most population studies (one study shows red wine prevents cancer, another has it causing cancer, etc.).  Too hard to prove causation rather than just correlation.  I'd like a mechanism of action to be defined, yo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

I will say though, the politicizing of Ivermectin has been unsavoury. Absolute clowns labeling it some miracle drug when there's nothing close to there being evidence of its efficacy and the other side calling it horse paste in a disingenuous manner. Two sides digging their heels in needlessly. 

Agreed.  It's because social media is just an extension of hideous US politics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Jose Jones said:

Well, there are clinical trials going on right?  Plus of loads of other different anti-viral therapeutics are being tested too.  Doctors will then generally use what has evidence of working.  So if the trials of ivermectin are positive then all good.  

The prophylactic stuff I always find a bit dubious as with most population studies (one study shows red wine prevents cancer, another has it causing cancer, etc.).  Too hard to prove causation rather than just correlation.  I'd like a mechanism of action to be defined, yo.

I'm not sure about mechanism of action as that's beyond my understanding.  There's an article in Nature which examines its antiviral properties.  In particular, it seems to perform well against RNA viruses.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-020-0336-z

 

Conclusion

In this systematic review, we showed antiviral effects of ivermectin on a broad range of RNA and DNA viruses by reviewing all related evidences since 1970. This study presents the possibility that ivermectin could be a useful antiviral agent in several viruses including those with positive-sense single-stranded RNA, in similar fashion. Since significant effectiveness of ivermectin is seen in the early stages of infection in experimental studies, it is proposed that ivermectin administration may be effective in the early stages or prevention. Of course, confirmation of this statement requires human studies and clinical trials.

 

Ivermectin, owing to its antiviral activity, may play a pivotal role in several essential biological processes, therefore it could serve as a potential candidate in the treatment of different types of viruses including COVID-19. Clinical trials are necessary to appraise the effects of ivermectin on COVID-19 in clinical setting and this warrants additional investigation for probable benefits in humans in the current and future pandemics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...