COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline gears up

[gracielle]

Coronavirus: científicos vinculan a la covid-19 con la demencia o el alzheimer | Expertos de más de 30 países de todo el mundo analizan en profundidad las consecuencias de la enfermedad para el cerebro

La Asociación de Alzheimer de Estados Unidos y expertos de más de 30 países de todo el mundo realizarán un estudio para comprender cómo el coronavirus aumenta el riesgo, la gravedad, el ritmo y la progresión de enfermedades neurodegenerativas como el A...

www.pagina12.com.ar

8 January 2020
Experts from more than 30 countries around the world analyze in depth the consequences of the disease for the brain
Coronavirus: scientists link covid-19 with dementia or Alzheimer's....
....Late last year, another investigation from the UK's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery presented clear evidence that in some people, the coronavirus invades neurons and "hijacks" them to make copies of itself. As analyzed, the virus also absorbs all the oxygen around it and starves neighboring cells. For this reason, some patients who suffered from the disease often develop serious neurological complications. In the British research, brain infection was studied in three ways: in the brain tissue of a person who died from Covid-19; in a mouse specimen; and finally, organoids (groups of brain cells in a Petri dish that are intended to mimic the three-dimensional structure of the brain).

In this new research, which will feature a consortium of experts from 30 countries around the world, the neurological effects will be studied in 40,000 patients 50 years of age or older infected with covid-19 and in people who are already enrolled in existing international research studies. The Alzheimer's Association research will include a follow-up at 6, 9 and 18 months, which will analyze the cognition, behavior and brain volumes measured by magnetic resonance imaging of the patients. The first results are expected to be ready by early 2022....

 

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https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article248351985.html

7 January 2021
COVID may be causing ‘irrecoverable’ lung damage in some patients, studies show....

Science | AAAS

stm.sciencemag.org

 

[gracielle]

Por qué la vacuna de Pfizer produce diez veces más anafilaxia que la de la gripe

Ayer se conoció un documento de los CDC que revela 21 casos de reacciones alérgicas graves entre quienes recibieron esta fórmula. Expertos contaron a Infobae cuál sería la sustancia responsable

www.infobae.com

8 January 2021
Why the Pfizer vaccine produces ten times more anaphylaxis than the flu vaccine. A document was released yesterday from the CDC that reveals 21 cases of serious allergic reactions among those who received this formula.
...."In this case, patients allergic to polysorbate should not be given the vaccine," said Marino, who also works as a professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Austral University. There are other groups of patients who should not be administered the vaccine either, which are those who have what is called mast cell activation syndrome or another entity, which is idiopathic anaphylaxis, but the number of patients who have this type of disease is really very low"....

 

[gracielle]

Coronavirus: un nuevo estudio revela que 6 de cada 10 infectados se contagiaron de un asintomático

Un estudio hecho en Estados Unidos reveló que el 35% de los transmisores del Covid-19 son "presintomáticos" y 24% nunca tuvo síntomas.

www.clarin.com

9 January 2021
Coronavirus: a new study reveals that 6 out of 10 infected were by an asymptomatic.
A study done in the United States revealed that 35% of Covid-19 transmitters are "presymptomatic" and 24% never had symptoms.
....One of the most controversial and doubting aspects is whether asymptomatic patients are contagious. The journal JAMA Internal Medicine had published a study last year that suggested that the viral load of these patients is very similar to that of those with symptoms, which is why it advocated isolation as a necessary measure in all those infected, regardless of the presenting symptoms....The prestigious scientific journal is now publishing a new study from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention that confirms this. The article says that asymptomatic individuals account for more than half of all transmissions....The researchers say that "maximum infectivity occurred at the beginning of the onset of symptoms and that infected people who never develop symptoms are 75% more infectious than those who develop symptoms."

Miriam Bruno, head of infectology at Durand Hospital (CABA), assures that the biggest problem is the "oligosymptomatic". "The vast majority are young people who have some discomfort in the throat and or a cough and do not care about them. And yet they go out the same and hang out with others as if they had nothing." As for the idea of swabbing young people, the infectologist said that "it would give a false assurance because now you are negative and tomorrow you are positive. You cannot do swabs every day."

Regarding the restriction for night circulation, Miriam assured that "it is the first part of a measure to stop contagion because young people gather at night, they do not take care of themselves and they are the ones who transmit the most." She also assured that we will have to wait fifteen days to see if the infections go down. The new study published by JAMA would answer the question whether asymptomatic patients are the main "silent" transmitters of the virus or if their contribution in terms of virus transmission is lower than that of symptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients.

 

[gracielle]

As reported by the New York Times on January 8....
False Reports of a New ‘U.S. Variant’ Came from White House Task Force
Reports of a highly contagious new variant, published on Friday by multiple news outlets, were based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx.....Dismayed, officials at the C.D.C. tried to have the speculative statements removed, but were unsuccessful, according to three people familiar with the events.....C.D.C. officials did not agree with her assessment and asked to remove it but were told no, according to one frustrated C.D.C. official, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.....

....Responding to media inquiries about the variant, the C.D.C. issued a formal statement refuting the theory.
“Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring all emerging variants of the coronavirus, including in 5,700 samples collected in November and December,” according to Jason McDonald, a spokesman for the agency. “To date, neither researchers nor analysts at C.D.C. have seen the emergence of a particular variant in the United States,” he said....

False reports of a new ‘U.S. variant’ of the coronavirus came from White House task force

Reports of a highly contagious new variant in the United States, published on Friday by multiple news outlets, are based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx and are inaccurate, accor…

www.sun-sentinel.com

 

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Desde eventos masivos hasta acciones individuales: la explicación de los expertos por la suba de casos de Covid-19 en el último mes

Desde eventos masivos hasta acciones individuales: la explicación de los expertos por la suba de casos de Covid-19 en el último mes

www.lanacion.com.ar

10 January 2021
....The exponential increase in cases of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country, which went from 4000 to almost 14,000 infections a day in a month, was due to multiple factors, according to specialists consulted by LA NACION. The mobilizations that began with the public funeral of Diego Maradona at the Casa Rosada, the caravans of soccer fans and the vigils around the law of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE) were part of the large agglomerations that, added to clandestine parties, private meetings and Christmas festivities were, according to experts, the ideal breeding ground for the re-outbreak of those infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which already has 1.7 million infected in Argentina.

Holidays, groups of young people without care, the night and the summer season that has just begun are also among the variables that could define the intensity of the second wave in the next autumn and winter....

 

[gracielle]

COVID-19 Vaccine Passport? You Might Need It To Travel In 2021

Several companies have begun developing apps or systems for individuals to upload details of their Covid-19 tests and vaccinations.

boston.cbslocal.com

 

[Rich One]

Pope's personal doctor Fabrizio Socorssi aged 78 dies of Covid Complications..

Pope's personal doctor dies from coronavirus 'complications', aged 78

Fabrizio Soccorsi, who was chosen as the pontiff's personal medic in 2015, was hospitalised in Rome on Boxing Day for a previous oncological disease.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Renzi]

"It’s dangerously easy to misinterpret data, especially when it’s reported in percentages rather than absolute numbers. The author showcases a number of dangers by focusing on the vaccine-efficacy results reported in November of 2020."

Covid-19 Vaccine Trials Are a Case Study on the Challenges of Data Literacy

It’s dangerously easy to misinterpret data, especially when it’s reported in percentages rather than absolute numbers. The author showcases a number of dangers by focusing on the vaccine-efficacy results reported in November of 2020. He then shows how similar dangers can apply in business...

hbr.org

 

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Vacunas contra el COVID-19: Alberto Fernández negociará con Moderna y espera que Pfizer acepte su última propuesta legal

Mientras tanto, la cartera de Salud regatea el precio final de la Sinopharm china. Además, en Balcarce 50 aguardan que la segunda dosis de la Sputnik V rusa llegue a Buenos Aires en una semana

www.infobae.com

10 January 2021
Vaccines against COVID-19: Alberto Fernández will negotiate with Moderna and hopes that Pfizer will accept his latest legal proposal. Meanwhile, the Health portfolio haggles over the final price of the Chinese Sinopharm. In addition, in Balcarce 50 they wait for the second dose of Russian Sputnik V to arrive in Buenos Aires in a week.

The President led talks with AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinopharm and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, but it was not on his agenda to open a negotiation with the Moderna company. However, the institutional contact occurred last week and there is now a possibility of closing the supply of an effective vaccine....Moderna competes globally with Pfizer and observed that this company associated with BioNtech is involved in a strong legal battle with the Casa Rosada, which blocked the supply of thousands of vaccines, which could have arrived in early January. In this context, Moderna moved quickly and the audience with Alberto Fernández will take place this week at Balcarce 50.

While waiting for the date and time of his meeting with Moderna to be confirmed, the head of state awaits a response from Pfizer's legal department. The Legal and Technical Secretary, Vilma Ibarra, sent the United States the latest government proposal to achieve a balance between the immunity needs sought by Pfizer and the sovereign rights of Argentina.

In this context, it is understood the fleeting visit to Buenos Aires of Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, Mexico's undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, and Efraín Guadarrama Pérez, general director of Regional American Organizations and Mechanisms of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. López-Gatell Ramírez and Guadarrama Pérez asked the President for contact with the Russian Investment Fund regarding Pfizer's virtual breach of contract. AMLO's advisers revealed to Alberto Fernández that they have few Pfizer vaccines - in relation to the current contract - and that they needed to approach positions with the Russian Fund to achieve a rapid provision of the Sputnik V vaccine.....

The head of state has a personal relationship with López Obrador and made available to Cecilia Nicolini and Carla Vizzotti who led the negotiations with the Russian Fund for the first 300,000 doses of Sputnik V to arrive. The presidential adviser and the Secretary of Health already they opened the door of the Russian Fund to the Mexican envoys and the negotiation has already begun between AMLO and Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the negotiations undertaken between Ginés González García and the Sinopharm company are still open. The Chinese company, which responds to Xi Jinping's direct orders, proposes a price close to $ 35 per vaccine. A number that the Ministry of Health is still haggling pending a political decision executed by the president of the Asian giant....