Covid-19 Pandemic

[Ivanhoe]

14 minutes ago, Josh said:

There are plenty of reasons not to trust Pfizer, but I doubt their release was timed for the election.

You mentioned clear cut evidence they were given money by the government, despite their current claims?

Where did I mention "clear cut evidence they were given money"?

[Josh]

4 minutes ago, Ivanhoe said:

Where did I mention "clear cut evidence they were given money"?

I just associated participation with accepting money. What was their participation?

[RETAC21]

24 minutes ago, Josh said:

There are plenty of reasons not to trust Pfizer, but I doubt their release was timed for the election.

You mentioned clear cut evidence they were given money by the government, despite their current claims?

I am pretty sure it was timed with the post-election, as stocks were expected to rise and I suspect it's no coincidence the press release happened after the result was more or less clear.

[nitflegal]

1 hour ago, Josh said:

I just associated participation with accepting money. What was their participation?

There participation was a guarantee that the US government would purchase 1.95 billion dollars of their vaccine which significantly derisked the project as it guaranteed orders even if a comparable project hit the market first.  CNN has a pretty good article on it: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/politics/fact-check-pfizer-warp-speed-pence/index.html I've talked with senior colleagues at Pfizer and that knowledge absolutely caused Pfizer to pull resources, including their top R&D teams into the Covid vaccine project.

[JWB]

Danish government halts plans to kill more than 15 million minks over coronavirus scare

Quote

BERLIN — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized on Tuesday for issuing an order to kill every mink in the country, more than 15 million, to contain a coronavirus mutation.

Frederiksen conceded that the government lacked sufficient authority to carry out the plan, which has sparked a burgeoning political scandal. She did not rule out a future cull. The operation would have required help from the military and a mass mink burial. Members of Parliament refused to push through a bill that would authorize the slaughter, broadcaster TV2 reported. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/11/10/denmark-halts-mink-cull/

[Brian Kennedy]

https://www.the-sun.com/news/1776166/first-volunteers-pfizer-covid-vaccine-feels-severe-hangover/

I have been preparing all my life for this!!!!!!

[RETAC21]

36 minutes ago, JWB said:

Danish government halts plans to kill more than 15 million minks over coronavirus scare

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/11/10/denmark-halts-mink-cull/

I missed the mink part the first time I read this one... 😮

[Ivanhoe]

1 hour ago, RETAC21 said:

I missed the mink part the first time I read this one... 😮

The only real question is, what is "minks" code for in Danish culture? Is that like "bears" in American culture?

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-eu-pfizer-idUSKBN27R1IF?taid=5fac2203b07e05000180c5f6&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Quote

Exclusive: Europe to pay less than U.S. for Pfizer vaccine under initial deal 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has struck a deal to initially pay less for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate than the United States, an EU official told Reuters as the bloc announced on Wednesday it had secured an agreement for up to 300 million doses.

The experimental drug, developed in conjunction with Germany’s BioNTech, is the frontrunner in a global race to produce a vaccine, with interim data released on Monday showing it was more than 90% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 in a large-scale clinical trial..

Under the EU deal, 27 European countries could buy 200 million doses, and have an option to purchase another 100 million.

The bloc will pay less than $19.50 per shot, a senior EU official involved in talks with vaccine makers told Reuters, adding that partly reflected the financial support given by the EU and Germany for the drug’s development.

The official requested anonymity as the terms of the agreement are confidential.

The United States agreed to pay $19.50 per shot for 100 million doses, a smaller volume than the EU. But it has an option to buy a further 500 million under terms to be negotiated separately, and the price it will pay is unclear.

BioNTech signalled this week that order size would impact the per-dose price in the developed world and said it would differentiate pricing between countries or regions for its potential vaccine.

The EU official said the EU had agreed a price that was closer to $20 than to $10 but declined to give a precise figure.

Pfizer and BioNTech declined to comment on the pricing. A spokesman for the EU Commission, which negotiates vaccine agreements on behalf of EU states, also declined to comment.

In June, the European Investment Bank, the EU’s financial arm, granted a 100-million-euro ($118 million) loan to BioNTech for the development and manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was followed in September by another 375-million-euro funding by Germany’s research ministry.

“With this fourth contract we are now consolidating an extremely solid vaccine candidate portfolio, most of them in advanced trials phase,” the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said, announcing the Pfizer deal.

The EU has already signed supply deals with AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson for their experimental COVID-19 shots, and is talking with Moderna, CureVac and Novavax to secure their vaccines.

Under the EU’s deals with vaccine makers, the bloc offers a non-refundable down payment to companies in exchange for the right to book doses which EU states could buy at a pre-agreed price if the vaccine is approved as effective and safe by the EU drug regulator.

The Commission did not disclose the down payment made to Pfizer and BioNTech.

‘NO COPY PASTE’ ON LIABILITY TERMS

The prices agreed by the EU in previous deals with vaccine makers have partly been influenced by liability terms, which could cause large additional legal costs if inoculated people developed unexpected conditions because of the shots.

Asked about liability clauses in the Pfizer contract, which have been a bone of contention between EU negotiators and drugmakers, the EU official said conditions were different from those the EU agreed with other companies, and also different from those Pfizer had with the U.S. government.

There was “no copy paste” on liability terms from previous contracts, the official said.

French drugmaker Sanofi, which is working with GlaxoSmithKline as a partner, has agreed with the EU a price of about 10 euros ($11.8) per dose and did not get any liability waiver, while AstraZeneca would pay claims only up to a certain threshold if something goes wrong with its vaccine in exchange for a price of 2.5 euro per dose, an official told Reuters in September.

Bad side-effects after a vaccine is approved are rare but are considered more likely in this emergency because of the unprecedented speed with which vaccines are being developed.

The United States has granted immunity from liability for COVID-19 vaccines that receive regulatory approval.

Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by John Chalmers and Carmel Crimmins

 

[Stargrunt6]

Went to what was supposed to be a get-together to watch football this Sunday that snowballed into a full-fledged party.  I went to get tested just in case.  I asked for both the rapid and PCR.  The latter came back positive.  I informed others I've been in contact with.  I'm kinda worried about my parents, but they aren't worried at all. 

I've been taking vitamin D consistently for years, and I added Zinc recently as of Monday. 

So far no symptoms, thank God. But, I'll be isolating myself in my room like an angsty teenager. 

[Der Zeitgeist]

9 minutes ago, Stargrunt6 said:

Went to what was supposed to be a get-together to watch football this Sunday that snowballed into a full-fledged party.  I went to get tested just in case.  I asked for both the rapid and PCR.  The latter came back positive.  I informed others I've been in contact with.  I'm kinda worried about my parents, but they aren't worried at all. 

I've been taking vitamin D consistently for years, and I added Zinc recently as of Monday. 

So far no symptoms, thank God. But, I'll be isolating myself in my room like an angsty teenager. 

Good luck and a speedy recovery!

Make sure everyone at that party is informed. From the timing, it's likely that you were already infected before that event. 

[Stargrunt6]

2 minutes ago, Der Zeitgeist said:

Good luck and a speedy recovery!

Make sure everyone at that party is informed. From the timing, it's likely that you were already infected before that event. 

Thanks man!

I did have two hospital visits last week.  One was to the ER for chest pain (lotsa stress) and the other was to get my uretral stent removed (not fun). 

[Jeff]

Good luck! 

What happens if one test is yes and the other is no?

[Stuart Galbraith]

Get well soon SG6.

 

There are entirely too many Tanknetters coming down with this now.

[Stargrunt6]

18 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Good luck! 

What happens if one test is yes and the other is no?

Thanks @Jeff and @Stuart Galbraith

First test is a screen, usually for asymptomatics who have been exposed. Second test is to confirm.   They gave me the option for which.  I didn't want to take chances so I went with both.  Rapid test has a 30% false negative rate. 

[Tim the Tank Nut]

to be fair posting on TankNet does have a 100% mortality rate over a long enough period of time.  Causation and correlation?  Because afterlife always votes "D".

the lesson:  best to recover from Covid when you can.  Maybe time to catch up on study?

[Ivanhoe]

Don't go all Monty Python on us.

Don't forget selenium in your supplementation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7457937/

[RETAC21]

Just now, Tim the Tank Nut said:

to be fair posting on TankNet does have a 100% mortality rate over a long enough period of time.  Causation and correlation?  Because afterlife always votes "D".

the lesson:  best to recover from Covid when you can.  Maybe time to catch up on study?

99% remember Richard Lindquist, he was here when the Lord called by to create the World

 

[Ivanhoe]

1 minute ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

the lesson:  best to recover from Covid when you can.  Maybe time to catch up on study?

Great excuse for dry firing practice.

[RETAC21]

26 minutes ago, Stargrunt6 said:

Thanks @Jeff and @Stuart Galbraith

First test is a screen, usually for asymptomatics who have been exposed. Second test is to confirm.   They gave me the option for which.  I didn't want to take chances so I went with both.  Rapid test has a 30% false negative rate. 

Good luck, but given the lack of symptoms, hopefully you are on the way to being one of them "Asymptomatics!"

[Ivanhoe]

[sunday]

1 hour ago, Stargrunt6 said:

Went to what was supposed to be a get-together to watch football this Sunday that snowballed into a full-fledged party.  I went to get tested just in case.  I asked for both the rapid and PCR.  The latter came back positive.  I informed others I've been in contact with.  I'm kinda worried about my parents, but they aren't worried at all. 

I've been taking vitamin D consistently for years, and I added Zinc recently as of Monday. 

So far no symptoms, thank God. But, I'll be isolating myself in my room like an angsty teenager. 

Take care!

[Stargrunt6]

Thanks again all.

I've been unemployed all year, so free time has been abundant.  Sleep apnea kicks my ass, but I've ironically not been able to sleep well during 2 sleep studies.  Somehow I've been able to learn French and study my profession more.

I think I'll "miss" my parents, who are up there in age, ie, not be home when they are there and awake.

Selenium... I'll have to add that to the regimen. Can't hurt. 

Spent the day calling every clinic I have visited and texting friends I've been around. Crossing my fingers.

[Jeff]

2 hours ago, Stargrunt6 said:

Thanks @Jeff and @Stuart Galbraith

First test is a screen, usually for asymptomatics who have been exposed. Second test is to confirm.   They gave me the option for which.  I didn't want to take chances so I went with both.  Rapid test has a 30% false negative rate. 

[Stargrunt6]

Brah, don't you know that probability is a cruel mistress?