Covid and the immune system

A good set of slides from Yale on what we do (and don't) know about the effects of Covid on the immune system.

• Article

Tags

#Covid,#Covid19,#Immune,#Immunity,#ImmuneSystem,#Virus,#Science,#Biology,#Yale,#Education,#Slides

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Covid 19 Origins

One of the early theories about Covid 19, was that it originated in a Wuhan market, where humans and animals were in close contact.

Recent research seems to have confirmed this. There are several mainstream media (newspaper) articles on this. I decided to try and find a more useful source. so this article on Web MD seems a good initial source.

• New studies indicate covid pandemic began wuhan market
  • The Huanan market was the epicenter of SARS-CoV-2 emergence
  • SARS-CoV-2 emergence very likely resulted from at least two zoonotic events
  • The Origins of SARS-CoV-2: A Critical Review

I think the above articles are also peer reviewed, so they are a more credible source, plus it is far better to read the original articles / papers than news paper reports which end up inaccurate, if the Journalist is not a specialist or just in some case lazy and sloppy.

The sense about science website has some good information and advise with regard to asking for evidence for research purposes. Along with this is an excellent introduction to the peer review process, so well worth reading.

It is good, that we are finally seeing the results of actual research in to this, and while it probably won't put conspiracy theories to bed, it may influence policies etc that are hopefully based on researched based evidence.

TAGS

#Covid19,#Origin,#Science,#PeerReview,#Papers,#Report,#Biology,#Virus, #Science,#SenseAboutScience

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Living with COVID-19: When a pandemic becomes endemic

A talk from the Royal society, presented by Professor Bryan Cox on how Covid19 will become endemic.

• Talk Link

Tags

#Talk,#Covid19,#Medical,#Endemic,#Pandemic,#ProfessorBryanCox, #RoyalSociety,#Lecture,#Biology,#Virus,

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Paper on Covid 19 transmission

I was sent this during a discussion on Mastodon about masks and how effective masks are, when worn by people who may not put on properly, compared to a doctor who has a team of people to ensure this happens. Interesting discussion and nice be sent a link to an actual paper to provide some help with the discussion.

Feel free to join / continue the discussion, however you will need to join mastodon and follow me @zleap@qoto.org to do so.

• An upper bound on one-to-one exposure to infectious human respiratory particles

Links

• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• An upper bound on one-to-one exposure to infectious human respiratory particles
• Mastodon
• Qoto Stem focussed Mastodon Instance

Tags

#Science,#Journal,#PNAS,#Article,#Research,#Covid19,#Transmission,#Mastodon.

Bibliography Information (just for reference)

@article {Bagherie2110117118,
	author = {Bagheri, Gholamhossein and Thiede, Birte and Hejazi, Bardia and Schlenczek, Oliver and Bodenschatz, Eberhard},
	title = {An upper bound on one-to-one exposure to infectious human respiratory particles},
	volume = {118},
	number = {49},
	elocation-id = {e2110117118},
	year = {2021},
	doi = {10.1073/pnas.2110117118},
	publisher = {National Academy of Sciences},
	abstract = {Wearing face masks and maintaining social distance are familiar to many people around the world during the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Evidence suggests that these are effective ways to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it is not clear how exactly the risk of infection is affected by wearing a mask during close personal encounters or by social distancing without a mask. Our results show that face masks significantly reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to social distancing. We find a very low risk of infection when everyone wears a face mask, even if it doesn{\textquoteright}t fit perfectly on the face.There is ample evidence that masking and social distancing are effective in reducing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. However, due to the complexity of airborne disease transmission, it is difficult to quantify their effectiveness, especially in the case of one-to-one exposure. Here, we introduce the concept of an upper bound for one-to-one exposure to infectious human respiratory particles and apply it to SARS-CoV-2. To calculate exposure and infection risk, we use a comprehensive database on respiratory particle size distribution; exhalation flow physics; leakage from face masks of various types and fits measured on human subjects; consideration of ambient particle shrinkage due to evaporation; and rehydration, inhalability, and deposition in the susceptible airways. We find, for a typical SARS-CoV-2 viral load and infectious dose, that social distancing alone, even at 3.0 m between two speaking individuals, leads to an upper bound of 90\% for risk of infection after a few minutes. If only the susceptible wears a face mask with infectious speaking at a distance of 1.5 m, the upper bound drops very significantly; that is, with a surgical mask, the upper bound reaches 90\% after 30 min, and, with an FFP2 mask, it remains at about 20\% even after 1 h. When both wear a surgical mask, while the infectious is speaking, the very conservative upper bound remains below 30\% after 1 h, but, when both wear a well-fitting FFP2 mask, it is 0.4\%. We conclude that wearing appropriate masks in the community provides excellent protection for others and oneself, and makes social distancing less important.Previously published data were used for this work (https://aerosol.ds.mpg.de/). All other study data are included in the article and/or SI Appendix.},
	issn = {0027-8424},
	URL = {https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2110117118},
	eprint = {https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2110117118.full.pdf},
	journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}

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Torbay Covid update 17/8/2021

From Monday 16th August self-isolation rules for contacts are changing share icon

What is changing?

• It is no longer a legal requirement for people who are fully vaccinated to self-isolate if they have been in contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19.
• Contacts are strongly advised to take a PCR test and to limit social contact.
• Anyone with symptoms is still advised to self-isolate and get a PCR test as soon as possible.

Fully vaccinated means:

• People who have been vaccinated with an approved vaccine in the UK
• There were 14 days between the final dose of the vaccine and last contact with the case.

Other groups who are exempt from isolation if they are a contact:

• Children and young adults under 18 years and 6 months
• People who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons

In summary:

• Contacts who are fully vaccinated or otherwise exempt will be advised to take a PCR test and limit social contact but will not be required to self-isolate whilst waiting for results of their PCR test.
• Under 5s will only be required to take a PCR test if they were in contact with a case in their own household.
• Those who are not fully vaccinated and are not exempt will still be required to take a PCR test and isolate for 10 days from their most recent contact with a positive case.
• If you are in isolation on the 16 August and fully vaccinated, you can stop isolation from 16 August.

https://www.torbay.gov.uk/coronavirus

#Torbay,#Devon,#Covid19,#Update

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination

Get your COVID-19 vaccination, read about the vaccines and find out what happens when you have your vaccine. 

Big push to get everyone vaccinated

• NHS Covid 19 vaccination information

#UK,#NHS,#Covid19,#Vaccination

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Covid Update 16/6/2021

Remain vigilant and comply with restrictions. Meet outdoors, let fresh air in, get tested when needed and get vaccinated when offered.

You should follow this guidance immediately. The law will be updated to reflect these new rules.

Cases Last week : 21 Total : 4316 Deaths Last week : 0 Total : 153

Last week is from 6 June 2021 to 12 June 2021

REFERENCES

• Torbay Covid update
• Road Map

TAGS

#Covid19,#Health,#Torbay,#Update,

hands, face, space’ and ‘letting fresh air in

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Covid update 29/4/2021

Between 8th December and 18th April; 671,070 people have been vaccinated in Devon. The local programme has also delivered over 210,000 second doses. 1 in 5 adults in Devon are fully vaccinated now.

We are now entering phase 2 – covering people aged 18-49. People will be contacted by the National Booking Service when their age group appointment opens up – by text and letter and offered a local appointment. Some GP practices will also contact patients to offer appointments.

Misinformation is still around about vaccines and so we have included links to some films to support your understanding and to share. It’s worth reminding ourselves that vaccines aren’t the whole answer, they are just a really big and important part of it. Our behavior, such as washing hands, using face coverings and keeping some space are still essential.

Not everyone can take a vaccine, which is why even if you think you are not at ‘high risk’, having a vaccine protects other people in our community who might be relying on you to keep them safe. We don’t always know when someone has a medical condition which means they can’t take vaccines, you can’t tell by looking. Let’s keep everyone safe and well.

• How was the vaccine developed so quickly?
• Has the vaccine been tested on people like me?
• Is the vaccine safe?

• WHO Science in 5 – #27 Vaccines, variants and herd immunity – we love this series of films, they are short, sharp, really informative and take a global view.

• Vaccines are the most effective public health intervention after clean water.

• What is on your mind about vaccines? Can we answer your questions or concerns? Come to a forum or drop us a line on the email.

REFERENCES

• Torbay Council – Coronavirus information

TAGS

#Covid19,#Torbay,#Update,#CovidChampions

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