Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

Post Reply New Topic

Chinese Whistleblower Li-Meng Yan: Don't Expect a 'Magic COVID-19 Vaccine'; Don't Trust CCP

Victoria, Australia:

So far 787 people have died from Covid.
Source: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-daily-update

Unfortunately, of this 787, the government is "responsible for the deaths of 768 people, and the infection of some 18,490" through their decision to use low-paaid private security contractors rather than the Police (state of federal), or defence force personnel who were offered, in order to enforce quarantine restrictions on people re-entereing the state.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/hotel-quarantine-inquiry-finds-daniel-andrews-government-responsible-for-deaths-of-768-people/news-story/ff0ea881aa3c70e7f003cc2c448b629b

On the plus side, as a result of this we received many weeks of:
* Being unable to travel more than 5Km's from home.
* A curfew from 8PM-5AM.
* Only 1 person, at most once per day, permitted to go grocery shopping, still restricted to the 5Km from home radius.
* Maximum of 1 hour outdoor exercise permitted each day.
* And many other wonderful surprises.

So you took Pepe's advice Bric? Can't believe we both live in the world's most liveable city

Another Potential Treatment: Phenylbutyric Acid (PBA)

Ivan Duran, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Malaga, and colleagues are studying a common, inexpensive, and low toxicity repurposed drug called phenylbutyric aka PBA – a drug (brand name Buphenyl) that is already approved in the U.S. for several rather obscure conditions.

Mortality in COVID-19 patients has been linked to the presence of the so-called “cytokine storm” induced by the virus. Excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines leads to ARDS aggravation and widespread tissue damage resulting in multi-organ failure and death. Tinkering with the immune system is tricky; it's not difficult to go too far – wiping out its ability to fight the virus – or not far enough to impact the morbidity and mortality of the disease, as well as the body's ability to fight off other infections. Sort of like choosing between a fly swatter and a nuclear device to get rid of cockroaches. So this approach looks at unstressing SARS-CoV-2 infected cells.

The drug has a lot going for it:

Positives:
* Inexpensive (Sigma-Aldrich sells 100 grams for $161)
* Easy to make. Unlike remdesivir, which, according to ACSH advisor Dr. Katherine-Seley Radtke is "a b***h to make," PBA can be made in high yield/purity in one synthetic step from a wide variety of readily available chemicals.
* PBA is a pro-drug, not the active species. It is well-absorbed and readily metabolized to give phenylacetic acid, which does the work.
* PBA has been used in the US since the 1980s and has a pretty good side effect profile. The exception: about one-quarter of women who are menstruating develop menstrual dysfunction from the drug.

Negatives:
* The drug is effective in reducing inflammation associated with cardiovascular and lung disease, pancreatitis, liver failure... others.
* In a mouse model of respiratory deficiency, PBA protects fetal mice from death, although it is not known whether the protection is due to the reduction of inflammation. But this mouse model may or may not anything to do with the damage done by COVID. It is a very long stretch to assume that the authors have anything close to a validated animal model.
* The mechanism by which the 2002 SARS virus causes inflammation is consistent with that of the "new and improved" coronavirus, but this is little more than a theory. "Our results suggest that 4-PBA treatment could be used to prevent respiratory failure in COVID19 patients if the ER [Endoplasmic Reticulum] stress is confirmed to be part of the mechanism."

Source: Can Phenylbutyric Acid (PBA) 'Unstress' Cells And Tame COVID-19?

As a follow-up to what ASPartOfMe posted earlier today, Li-Meng Yan contends that the COVID-19 coronavirus originated in a research lab in Wuhan, China and was man-made. She is a whistleblower and has fled China. She has a paper out titled "Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Suggesting Sophisticated Laboratory Modification Rather Than Natural Evolution and Delineation of Its Probable Synthetic Route". The summary of the paper reads:

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to over 910,000 deaths worldwide and unprecedented decimation of the global economy. Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support. The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus. In this report, we describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months. Our work emphasizes the need for an independent investigation into the relevant research laboratories. It also argues for a critical look into certain recently published data, which, albeit problematic, was used to support and claim a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2. From a public health perspective, these actions are necessary as knowledge of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and of how the virus entered the human population are of pivotal importance in the fundamental control of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in preventing similar, future pandemics.

Link: zenado

I scanned through the paper and it is highly detailed. She ends the paper with the following observations:

Motives aside, the following facts about SARS-CoV-2 are well-supported:
1. If it was a laboratory product, the most critical element in its creation, the backbone/template virus (ZC45/ZXC21), is owned by military research laboratories.
2. The genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 has likely undergone genetic engineering, through which the virus has gained the ability to target humans with enhanced virulence and infectivity.
3. The characteristics and pathogenic effects of SARS-CoV-2 are unprecedented. The virus is highly transmissible, onset-hidden, multi-organ targeting, sequelae-unclear, lethal, and associated with various symptoms and complications.
4. SARS-CoV-2 caused a world-wide pandemic, taking hundreds of thousands of lives and shutting down the global economy. It has a destructive power like no other.

Another Potential Treatment: INNA-051

Australian biotech Ena Respiratory on Monday announced that a nasal spray originally developed to boost the immune system against the common cold and flu may also be effective in the fight against COVID-19.

The product, called INNA-051, was able to “significantly reduce COVID-19 virus levels in the nose and throat,” per a company release, and dropped viral replication by 96% in ferrets, through a study by Public Health England.

The compound was said to work by stimulating the immune system prior to infection. Company officials theorized a similar response in humans could stifle COVID-19 to its more mild symptoms. Human trials may be less than four months away, per the release, but await toxicity studies and regulatory approval.

If effective, the nasal spray is intended to be complementary to the eventual vaccine; “self-administered via an easy-to-use nasal spray, taken once or twice a week, with the treatment taking almost immediate effect,” per the release.

“INNA-051 utilizes the non-specific innate immune response, meaning it is effective against a broad spectrum of viruses," Dr. Chris Smith, board director of Ena Respiratory and senior investment manager at Brandon Capital, said in the release.

Source: Nasal spray reduced coronavirus replication by 96% in animal study, Australian biotech says

Coronavirus Fatigue

I think many people are beginning to exhibit coronavirus fatigue after 7 months of following guidelines and precautions. Here is a video that discusses this topic. One of the interesting aspects is the perception of "implicit bargain", that if you follow the guidelines it will come to a swift end, but this end didn't really materialize.

Global loser: Israel’s sky-high infection rate almost 3 times any other in world

Aerosol Transmission

The bottom line is, yes, the coronavirus may be spreading through the air, particularly in stuffy rooms where many people aren't wearing masks.

Public health agencies such as the CDC and the World Health Organization agree on that — it's why they've recommended that people avoid "confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation" and gather outdoors when possible.

Some of the reluctance to describe COVID-19 as an airborne disease may stem from concerns that the label would scare the public and may require hospitals to take "a whole new level of precautions," says Marr, such as requiring an N95 mask, which blocks aerosols, to be worn around all potential COVID-19 patients.

Currently, WHO guidance considers surgical masks to be adequately protective for health care staffers working with potential COVID-19 patients and advises using N95 masks in limited situations, such as when intubating patients, which is known to generate small particles from deep in the lungs. Health care workers who follow these recommendations have been generally protected against the virus, WHO notes.

Months of evidence point to the probability that COVID-19 is less contagious than measles, a designated airborne disease, but is still spreading through the air, says Jose-Luis Jimenez, an atmospheric chemistry professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He points to a March choir practice in Washington state where 53 out of 61 attendees came down with COVID-19 after spending 2 1/2 hours together at a singing rehearsal. "People who were 50 feet from the [person who was contagious] got infected," he says, based on investigations he and several colleagues conducted into the event.

Infection clusters have also emerged among students returning to college dorms, partyers in a nightclub district, guests at a wedding reception, residents in a nursing home, worshippers at a church and staff and inmates at a prison. Most superspreading events, where many people catch the coronavirus at once, are occurring in indoor settings where people are sharing airspace.

Source: Coronavirus FAQs: Why Can't The CDC Make Up Its Mind About Airborne Transmission?

I have the "coronavirus fatigue".
No, it doesn't mean I support social gatherings, and it doesn't mean I don't agree with the wearing of masks and washing hands.
What it does mean is all the over the top rules are making my anxiety very high and I'm frustrated because even Google can't answer my questions and I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally break one of these rules and be fined. I can't afford fines.
And I think the NHS track and trace app is absolutely diabolical, and if the government starts forcing everyone with a smart phone to download that then I might start thinking about suicide because I just cannot live in this dictatorship for years until a global vaccine is in place.

That's what it is, dictatorship. Big brother. Communist. No more freedom. Being watched. It's so f****d up.

Italy to extend COVID state of emergency to end of January

Well the coronavirus cought Donald Trump about 1 month before the election:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... now-so-far
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/01/poli ... index.html

Observations from Europe

Alex Berezow wrote an article called COVID: Coronavirus Cases Surge In Europe's Second Wave

At the moment Europe is experiencing a wave of COVID-19 infections. Some are calling it a second wave.

The virus is absolutely out of control in some countries, like France and Spain, that previously had tamed the outbreak. In fact, in those countries, the outbreak is far worse now than it was during the peak of the first wave. (By contrast, Germany has largely kept the virus under control following the first wave.)

Tourists and young people are being blamed for the second wave in Europe. It's safe to assume that public complacency also plays a role. The Czechs threw a big "farewell party" for the coronavirus on July 1. The virus is now out of control in that country, as well.

There are three lessons, then, to be learned. First, the Swedish epidemiologist who said that lockdowns are essentially delaying the inevitable (i.e., the virus is going to continue spreading until it infects nearly everyone) appears to be correct. He advised that society focus instead on protecting the most vulnerable, which is probably the right policy.

Second, just because America's COVID numbers are decreasing doesn't mean we will be immune to yet another wave. As the weather begins to cool, it is very likely that we will see a surge in cases, perhaps worse than what we experienced during the summer.

Third, we can't wish away infectious diseases. "Out of sight, out of mind" doesn't apply. This is particularly concerning given that we are quickly approaching flu season. We have no idea how overlapping outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 will play out, but it's possible that we are looking at the prospect of a very deadly autumn and winter, especially if hospitals get overwhelmed.