Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Not all heroes wear capes.

Second rate reporter says what?

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

“woke” is the new caravan.

Bark louder, little dog.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Everybody saw this coming.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Nov. 9-10

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Nov. 9-10

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… “There are a lot of unanswered questions,” adds Georgetown University’s Jesse Goodman, who formerly was chief scientist at the FDA and before that headed the vaccine division. Nothing, for example, is known about how long the immunity triggered by the vaccine will last, whether it can prevent severe COVID-19, and even whether it will slow transmission rates if it’s used widely in a population. It’s unclear how well it works in the elderly, who suffer the most from SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine, based on a simple strand of messenger RNA (mRNA), has to be kept at frigid temperatures of below 80 degrees Celsius to preserve the genetic material, and making and delivering it to hundreds of millions—if not billions—of people remain huge challenges.

Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, calls the data “very real” and “phenomenal.” But the pandemic “is not a light switch that you can turn on and off,” he says. “We still have to pay very close attention. Masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds, and hand washing–that is not going to go away, no matter how effective a vaccine is, because it’s going to take a while to get the country vaccinated to the point that you no longer are in an epidemic stage.”

BioNTech, a small German company working on mRNA vaccines to treat cancer, designed the COVID-19 vaccine and then partnered with Pfizer. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s CEO, says the companies tested more than 20 different stretches of mRNA coding for portions of spike, the SAR-CoV2 surface protein, which the virus uses to bind to human cells. They looked for mRNAs that were most likely to be taken up and expressed by dendritic cells, which “present” spike to the immune system to initiate antibody and T cell responses against the virus. “We spent a lot of effort in understanding what you need to get the vaccine into dendritic cells,” says Sahin. “That’s our key differentiator.” The BioNTech team then chose the mRNA that triggered the best immune responses in early human trials…


Adverse reactions may be the least of the problems for this vaccine, however:

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Reader Interactions

23Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    150 new cases in my area yesterday. It’s less than the 270+ cases the day before, but still not good.

  2. 2.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. DG of Health Dr Nor Hisham Abdullah reports 869 new cases today, for a cumulative reported total of 42,050 cases. Malaysia’s R0 is still trending below 1, he notes. He also reports six new deaths for a total of 300 deaths — 0.71% of the cumulative reported total, 0.97% of resolved cases.

    Meanwhile, 725 more patients recovered and were discharged today, for a total of 30,304 patients recovered — 72.1% of the cumulative reported total.

    Four new clusters were identified today: Liawan, Tatahan, and GK Tawau in Sabah; and Kube in Kelantan.

    868 new cases today are from local infection. Sabah has 397 cases: 69 in older clusters, 23 in Liawan, Tatahan dan GK Tawau clusters; 215 close-contact screenings, and 90 other screenings. Selangor has 235 cases: 162 in existing clusters, 33 close-contact screenings, and 40 other screenings. KL has 19 cases: 11 in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Penang has 27 cases: 22 in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, one SARI screening, and two other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan has 141 cases: 129 in existing clusters, 10 close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Perak has 12 cases: nine in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Johore has eight cases: six in existing clusters, one close-contact screening, and one other screening. Kelantan has nine cases, all in Kube cluster. Labuan has eight cases: six in existing clusters, and two close-contact screenings. Sarawak has six cases:  three in existing clusters, and three other screenings. Kedah has three cases: two in existing clusters, and one close-contact screening. And Putrajaya has three cases, all in existing clusters.

    Terengganu, Perlis, Melaka, and Pahang reported no new cases today.

    Today’s only imported new case is a non-Malaysian arriving from Nepal.

    11,446 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 82 are in ICU, of whom 27 are on ventilators.

    The six deaths today, all reported in Sabah, are a 77-year-old man with a history of swollen prostate; a 47-year-old man; a 53-year-old man with a history of diabetes, hypertension and stroke; a 62-year-old woman with a history of cervical cancer, breast cancer and osteoarthritis; an 84-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease, a swollen prostate and hepatitis B; and a 65-year-old non-Malaysian woman.

  3. 3.

    Tony Jay

    Glancing at the BBC News this morning I hear that the ‘big questions’ about the much hyped vaccine are “Is this a game changer?” and “Is it too early to be optimistic?”

    Given that a lump of coal in a bike-helmet could answer these questions for them (as in “Possibly” and “Be as optimistic as you like, mate”) I think I can deduce without very much effort that the Government’s messaging for the day, approved by Grand Vizier Cummings and handed directly to the BBC News Editorial Inquisition for dissemination down the Prole Pyramid, is going to revolve around “Super-Boris has only gone and saved the bloody day as promised, hasn’t he?” and “Anyone who doesn’t agree that everything is now going to be just dandy is a gloomy, unpatriotic naysayer, and we don’t want that for Christmas, do we boys and girls?”

    Predictable as STDs in student halls, they are.

    ETA – And you’ll be able to spot the Ministers with targets on their backs because they won’t have got the shiny, happy, clappy briefing before making their comments. (Door)Matt Hand-Cock, I’m looking at you.

  4. 4.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Yesterday, China reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a luggage handler at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I had reported the details in yesterday’s post. The case did not work in cold chain logistics. To date, 26 Tier 1 close contacts, 186 Tier 2 close contacts (of the close contacts to the case), and 8,717 regular contacts and potentially exposed individuals, have been traced and tested, all negative so far. 524 environmental samples have been collected, all have tested negative. The village where the case resides has been classified as Medium Risk, and all residents of the township where the village is located in are advised against leaving Shanghai for the time being, except with a negative RT-PCT test report within 7 days of travel. Speaking with colleagues who live in Shanghai, or have recently traveled to Shanghai (including through Pudong Airport), their health codes remain green. Their travel history pass (based on national mobile tower positioning) also remain green, but “Shanghai” in travel history shows up as red. This means they still have full freedom of movement, but might draw more scrutiny (at flight or hotel check ins, for example). I am glad I cancelled the trip.

    Today, Yingshang Country, Fuyang City in Anhui Province reported 1 new domestic case, a close contact of the confirmed case at Pudong Airport, and is also a luggage handler. The case returned to home in Fuyang on 11/5, taking a ride on long distance bus and then minivan shuttle, had also visited a hospital (not clear whether for COVID-19 symptoms) on 11/7. 34 close contacts have been traced. 17 close contacts are currently at Yongshang County, 16 have tested negative, results for the remaining one is pending. The 17 close contacts who are elsewhere are being tracked down. 

    Yesterday China reported 1 new asymptomatic case, at Tianjin Municipality. The case is a truck driver than took deliveries from the cold chain logistic area of the Tianjin Binhai Port, the same area where the confirmed case reported on 11/8 worked at. However, the new asymptomatic case did not have contact with the confirmed case from 11/8, and did not handle the same batch of imported frozen goods. Source of infection for the 2nd case is still unknown, he was discovered via screening of all individuals connected to the cold storage area. The driver had taken delivery to Puyang in Henan Province, passing through Hebei Province. Epidemiological investigation is ongoing. Currently, the community where the 1st confirmed case lives, as well as the cold chain logistic area of the port, are classified as Medium Risk. All residents/workers in these areas are being tested. Genomic sequencing of the virus sample from the 11/8 case shows it to be a strain prevalent in North America in Mar. – Jun., a branch of the dominant European strain.

    Kashgar and Kizilsu Prefectures in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region again did not report any new cases yesterday, the 2nd day in a row since the start of the outbreak in late Oct. 2 serious case improved to moderate, 2 cases recovered and 8 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently 57 confirmed cases (including 4 in serious condition), all in Kashgar, and 306 asymptomatic cases in Xinjiang (278 in Kashgar and 20 in Kizilsu). Shufu County has completed 6 rounds of mass screening.

    Mass screening of all residents continues in Mengding township, Gengma County, Lincang City in Yunnan Province, in response to the asymptomatic illegal Burmese migrant reported on 11/7.

    Yesterday, China reported 21 new imported confirmed cases and 24 imported asymptomatic cases and 1 imported suspect cases:

     

    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 6 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Ethiopia, 1 each from Kenya, Hungary (via Schipol) and the Philippines, and 1 Malian national coming from Mali (via Libreville & Kigali); 8 asymptomatic cases, 3 Chinese nationals returning from Ethiopia, 1 Cameroonian national coming from Cameroon (via Libreville & Kigali), 3 Malian nationals each coming from Mali (via Addis Ababa), and 1 British national coming from the UK 
    • Shanghai Municipality – 4 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Guinea (via Paris CdG), Uzbekistan and the US, and a Guinean national coming from the UK; 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 3 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Gambia and 1 from Malaysia
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 3 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Egypt and from Nepal; 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Nepal and 1 from Egypt
    • Beijing Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Switzerland
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 comfirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from Argentina; 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from the Philippines
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed and 4 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Spain
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Pakistan; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the UAE
    • Chongqing Municipality – 3 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Nepal
    • Gengma County, Lincang City in Yunnan Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, both Burmese nationals illegally entered from Myanmar, and connected to the imported asymptomatic case from Myanmar reported on 11/7, discovered during mass screening in the county
    • Ruili City, Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Burmese national coming from Myanmar

    Yesterday, Hong Kong reported 9 new cases, 4 imported cases (from Ecuador, Indonesia and Germany), 5 from local transmission (3 connected to imported cases and 2 connected to previously reported domestic cases).

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    @Tony Jay:

    I wonder: if you asked BoJo what his government was doing to build up the logistics for acquisition, distribution, storage, and administering of a Covid-19  vaccine, how would he respond?

  6. 6.

    New Deal democrat

    Parts of the upper Midwest and northern Mountain States are on track for a full~on NYC-style emergency by about Thanksgiving. And there is no sign yet of infections abating.

  7. 7.

    Mary G

    The OC’s numbers are going up, but slowly. New cases a day had been running 150-200; yesterday more than 500, today 308. Hospitalizations ticked up. If we don’t clamp down, we’ll be back in the soup. It’s depressing.

    I have questions about the vaccines. How does the mRNA operate only on the virus and not on healthy human cells? I’ll probably be very low priority for it since I can just keep staying home.

  8. 8.

    Tony Jay

    @Amir Khalid:

    “Phwar, fnar, really, I really do think that it is, undoubtedly, without a doubt, Mr Speaker, it is without a doubt a CRYING SHAME that the country, this country, our GREAT country, and our GREAT Health Service is being talked down at this time of GREAT national peril by the, by the, by discredited lefty complainiacs on the opposite benches. And I will just say, I will JUST say this, Mr Speaker, thank God for St George, England, and, and, and St George!”

    Something like that.

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    One thing to keep in mind about hospital readmissions…. US hospitals were/are terrible about sending sick people home too early for years. The ACA imposed a penalty on hospitals for readmissions, but the problem is not entirely resolved. So I would want to see that teased out with data: how many of the readmitted patients truly recovered and then got sicker, and how many should have never been sent home in the first place?

  10. 10.

    Hoodie

    After hearing the news about the Pfizer vaccine on the news late last night, my overwhelming response was visceral anger that Trump and his enablers will continue to deliberately kill people by pursuing their selfish obsession with wealth and power while doing nothing about –  and actually actively promoting – soaring infection rates even though an effective vaccine is now likely a few months away.   Even if you were to concede that a shuttered economy has public health consequences (a dubious proposition), there is no even remotely reasonable public health tradeoff here.  This is just murder.

  11. 11.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Mary G: My understanding is, the mRNA does operate on healthy cells. It spurs them to make virus surface proteins that will then stimulate the immune system to recognize them on the real virus.

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    Everything that is destroying our lives is based on one iron truth:

    Republicans will never admit a mistake.

    And when they do, they are no longer Republicans.

    I think we need an entry in the DSM-V so we can isolate and treat THIS mental disorder…

  15. 15.

    Sloane Ranger

    Here are yesterday’s figures from the UK. Please remember these will still be affected by the weekend slowdown in reporting. There were 21,350 new cases, up about 800 from the previous day. The trendline for the UK as a whole continues to show a levelling off of new cases but at a high incidence. News cases by home nation:

    England – 19,036 (up @800). Trend stable at a high level.

    Northern Ireland – 471 (up @50) Trendline going down.

    Scotland – 912 (down @200) Trendline stable, perhaps a slight reduction.

    Wales – 931 (up @200) Trendline going down.

    Deaths – There were 194 new deaths yesterday. Slightly higher than the day before but significantly lower than the numbers for the days immediately preceding. 175 deaths were in England, 10 in Northern Ireland, 1 in Scotland and 8 in Wales.

    Testing – There were 276,998 tests processed out of a capacity of 517,957. 2,067,876 tests were processed over the week ending 8 November, 452 more than the previous week.

    Hospitalisations – 12,947 people were in hospital nationwide as of 5 November, 1185 were on ventilators as of 6th November. There is some indication that the increase has levelled off but it is too early to tell given the weekend will likely to have affected the reporting.

    General – Not much to add to Tony Jay’s acerbic observations. Matt Hancock is talking about rolling out the vaccine, starting with the elderly and NHS staff from December and working 7 days a week (with the help of the military) using NHS surgeries and sports halls to distribute the vaccine. There is a worry about the logistics, given the fact that it has to be stored at extremely low temperatures but some medical guy has just been on the radio saying that it’s not insurmountable. Given the government’s previous here, I think the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We’ll see, but here’s hoping!

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Tony Jay:

    “Super-Boris has only gone and saved the bloody day as promised, hasn’t he?” 

    “It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!  No, it’s Super-Boris!”

    “Haha, that wanker is stuck!”

  17. 17.

    Robert Sneddon

    COVID-19 numbers are in from the Scottish Government for Monday though Tuesday. There were 832 new cases of COVID-19 reported, well down on the 1000+ case reports from the past few weeks. The test positivity rate is still high though, at about 9%. Hospital bed occupancy of COVID-19 positive patients remains high (over 1200 in-patients in total, just over a hundred of those in ICU).

     

    Those new-case numbers, although only for one day, are promising. The “weekend” effect on reporting cases should not be playing any part in that perceived decline. We’ll see what happens over the next week or two.

  19. 19.

    Mike in Pasadena

    Thank you, AL. Your summary is most helpful. Most people I see in SoCal wear masks outside, even if outside only for a walk. Indoors, in stores, i have never seen a dispute about mask wearing. My sample is limited – two different grocery stores, one pharmacy, and one hardware store.

  20. 20.

    Uncle Cosmo

    The very-low-temperature storage requirement is going to be tough. I’m guessing that even if a firm manages to rework its vaccine for stability at 2°-8° C, additional Phase III trials will be needed to validate it and (important!) evaluate its effectiveness.

    My guess is that if nothing better comes along by 20 January, Uncle Joe (on go-ahead advice of his task force) would authorize emergency nationwide distribution of the current formulation limited to the front-line defenders (hospital ICU personnel, maybe EMTs and other first responders) while awaiting results on the higher-temp version(s). Probably set up at central locations that can keep the stuff cold enough & bring the front-liners in on a tight schedule.

  21. 21.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Uncle Cosmo: The Scottish First Minister announced today that the National Health Service in Scotland has just purchased twenty freezers for vaccine storage and distribution. Unless they’ve really dropped the ball these freezers will be rated for the very low temps required for the Pfizer vaccine. They should also be good for other vaccines that get approved and distributed in the future even if they don’t need the extreme temps the Pfizer vaccine demands.

     

    The UK has purchase contracts for 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine assuming the early results prove out and it gets approval for use. That’s enough by itself to provide vaccinations for about 30% of the entire population of the UK. I understand we’ve got similar contracts for the Moderna vaccine and a number of others awaiting results and approval.

  22. 22.

    JaneE

    I don’t see a lot of vaccinations taking place any time soon in communities like mine – a two hour drive from any major hospital.  That is even without considering how Republican we are with half of the people still thinking it is a big fuss over nothing and not wearing masks to show their contempt for science and public health orders.  I know several people who know they should get a flu shot, but just can’t or won’t take the time to walk in the drugstore and do it.

    I fully expect we will need masks and distancing and probably public health restrictions for two years if not more.

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