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Thank goodness we are going to eradicate the SA variant in Britain.
No was it'll ever get past these headlines.😕
Let's pretend we eradicate it. Let's pretend. How do we then expect to never let a single person into the country with it over the years to come? Or "SA+" for that matter, etc etc. Ok, you could say it's peddling hope but we have that with the vaccine rollout. To say we will eradicate a new variant just seems incredibly damaging/ naive.
Slow it, yes, I hope so. Eradicate it? Nah.
I must say TiRed, thank you for your posts on here. I find them most interesting.
Some bad news I'm sad to say
Monoclonal antibodies great hope in covid treatments fails against variants
Whilst the government is still 'deliberating' about borders. Given the number of people coming in and out is still relatively low. Lower than an 80,000 community mass testing programme in a week? Why is the approach not test and isolate everyone who comes into to UK then sequence every positive test? Removes overseas test fraud and gives a fighting chance of spotting the next strain.
Just seen a story of a teenager who has been in a coma since march 1st has just woken up.
Who has the unenviable task of explaining what he has missed?
Just seen a story of a teenager who has been in a coma since march 1st has just woken up.
Who has the unenviable task of explaining what he has missed?
I assume he hasn't been in a coma from the virus?
Tbh i don't think it would be that unenviable. The kid will probably be thinking he's missed some of the best years of his youth.
Instead, He'll probably be pretty pleased to find out he's been able to sleep through the worst 10 months the uk has experienced in the past 75 years
If you are going to be in a coma for 10 months, he definitely got his timing right!
Road accident apparently. Had no knowledge of Covid at all it seems.
Bit of a shock to the system once he processes what has gone on, but I guess you are right he has hibernated through the misery, which I am quite envious of this winter.
I assume he hasn’t been in a coma from the virus?
Tbh i don’t think it would be that unenviable. The kid will probably be thinking he’s missed some of the best years of his youth.
Instead, He’ll probably be pretty pleased to find out he’s been able to sleep through the worst 10 months the uk has experienced in the past 75 years
It's like the opening episode of The Walking Dead. Or 28 Days Later.
Some bad news I’m sad to say
Monoclonal antibodies great hope in covid treatments fails against variants
Don't believe everything you read in the papers. A nice paper by David Ho's group shows that some antibodies have lost sensitivity against variants - entirely expected since the variants are escaping immune challenge not antibody treatment. Lilly's banlanivimab has little effect against the SA variant
. The antibody I work on is S309. It's in a trial with Lilly now as mentioned in the article.
I have spent the past two weeks looking at this in detail. I'm not seeing doom and gloom just yet. A precise relationship between loss of potency and clinical effect took years to establish for HIV, and has not been established for influenza. A three-fold shift is assay-to-assay noise, six-fold an effect, 30-fold challenging pharmacology, 100-10000x is resistant!
Re the Novavax one, I asked to me unblinded today in anticipation of getting an approved one with work very imminently. They said they could, but the other option (and I think their preferred one) is to not, as the next phase is to do a further blinded trial to see how it interacts with other vaccines, so I’d be back doing more more hospital visits....
I’m really not sure tbh! Anyone with any more knowledge than me care to comment?
As I get older I think more about the past. All the interests I had, football, mountain biking, aviation, cars, motorbikes, all now seem to have the best days well and truly behind them on a personal level. Everything I do with those interests is over. As I get closer to 40 even if the pandemic wasn't around, I'd be trying hard to make more great memories with these interests. Going on MTB trips, playing more football, riding bikes et al. A year after this all started I feel like it's all gone. Other than getting my motorbike license last year I have absolutely nothing to look forward too, or get excited about. A year long period of trying to find glimmers of hope is just completely gone now. Not even the vaccine roll out is doing anything for my spirits. Being able to maybe meet up with a few other people in the summer isn't getting me worked up at all. To the point of wanting to sell everything I own, bikes, camera gear, to have some savings when the day comes.
As I get closer to 40 even if the pandemic wasn’t around, I’d be trying hard to make more great memories with these interests. Going on MTB trips, playing more football, riding bikes et al. A year after this all started I feel like it’s all gone.
If you're under 40, you have decades of MTB trips etc ahead of you. It's paused, not over. Any fitness lost will come back quickly with determination. There's a reasonable chance of a decent summer of riding, and that's only few months away.
I've noticed the somewhat downbeat nature of your posts, have you considered chatting about how you are feeling right now with someone else, perhaps mention it to your GP? It can be hard to take care of yourself with everything that's going on, and there are a lot of people who feel the same way, especially with shit winter weather.
Reading this thread can be tough too - might be better to move away from it for a while and focus on small changes you can make to feel better.
Well, I live in GU21, (one of the areas being tested) and work in GU22. I've been told I HAVE to come to work. I work as a delivery driver😳
For all effects and purposes, lockdown is over, do what you want, we're all ****ed.
Bloody hell, I was expecting you to say as I approach 60 not 40. 40 is a piece of p*** other than football which I don’t play all the others will be fine, most of my best cycling, big trips and racing road and off road was done past 40. I have more fun ****ting around on a 250 scooter than for ages on a bike now.
50 mind you that is crap!!
A three-fold shift is assay-to-assay noise, six-fold an effect, 30-fold challenging pharmacology, 100-10000x is resistant!
That’s a really helpful reference and to put it in context of the relevant effect size. Keep us posted!
Well, I live in GU21, (one of the areas being tested) and work in GU22. I’ve been told I HAVE to come to work. I work as a delivery driver😳
For all effects and purposes, lockdown is over, do what you want, we’re all ****.
So you have a job you cannot do from home (and if its food delivery, arguably essential) involving going between two adjacent post codes which are effectively the two halves of a not very big town, divided by the central railway line.
And therefore lockdown is over? I'll call all my mates for a welsh biking trip, followed by a pub trip where we will discuss upcoming holidays, parties and festivals.
I'm probably about a mile outside CR4. I will be watching the news with a bit more concern over the next few weeks. I hope the testing gets the variant controlled but I'm concerned.
Please do ayjay. I drove past Virginia water lake the other week, the car park had to be shut, because it was full. About 3000 cars.
And I don't deliver food, I deliver crap for people who are bored on furlough to do up their garden with.
And if you look further than Google maps, you'll find the area being tested is a tiny fraction of gu21, and most of what Google says is gu21, isn't.
Very interesting discussion on World at One about mixing doses of the Russian SputnikV vaccine and the AZ vaccine. Well worth a listen.
Re the Novavax one, I asked to me unblinded today in anticipation of getting an approved one with work very imminently. They said they could, but the other option (and I think their preferred one) is to not, as the next phase is to do a further blinded trial to see how it interacts with other vaccines, so I’d be back doing more more hospital visits….
I’m really not sure tbh! Anyone with any more knowledge than me care to comment?
You need to find out what the treatment groups are on any subsequent trial - specifically I would want to make sure that if you were on placebo last time, you wouldn’t be given placebo again. Unlikely I would think - but you should certainly understand that before signing up.
Yes, it will involve more dicking around, but it might result in you getting both doses of a vaccine (maybe even an approved one - depending on the study design), so there may be an upside.
But, it depends whether you can wait to find out what you’ve been given - or is somebody poised to inject you with one of the uk approved vaccine right now?
@batfink it’s very likely I will get one imminently through work as will be involved with a mass vaccination place
I’ve noticed the somewhat downbeat nature of your posts
Yes, sorry about that. I tend to let stuff out here too many times. Unfortunately when I'm stuck at home with very little to do, I go through spells of just going into a state of anxiety when I read what is online. Work is very very quiet. I'm reliant on manufacturing and that's not doing so well these days. Losing my job is a real worry. I'm aware many have and I really feel for them. My job and background education is not common, so finding work would be very limited.
I'm not going to sound like a broken record, I'm aware that I do. Tried GPs over the years, never had anything positive. Lots of CBT, talking therapies etc. Currently my girlfriend is dealing with a very difficult situation with her mothers mental health, who has been told 2 months wait at least for any CBT/counselling appointment. I've seen her for 2 weeks out of the last month as she has had to travel home to help her. Have seen my own parents once in 15 months. So, I gave up on all that years ago and just bumble through life trying to manage by myself.
And I'm injured at the moment. Constant niggles with my knee that I've had for a couple of months mean that anything but the most gentle exercise is painful. So you put all that together with no outlet for yourself and you quickly spiral out of control.
BBC.CO.UK stcolin - I urge you not to get rid of your camera.
Try and go on some gentle walks and really look around. It's amazing what you see on a slow bimble. I spotted 2 little owls in an oak tree a few weeks ago. Look in the garden turn over some leaves, or a stone. There are so many things you could take photos off.
I'm 20 years older than you, still mtbiking and still thinking there's a future.
You can get through this.
It's absolutely fine to use this thread to put down your feelings. Try and read TiReds postings, they are always full of positivity and explanations on how/why we will get through this.
Yes, sorry about that. I tend to let stuff out here too many times.
No worries - this thing is like the perfect storm for people in terms of isolation, job insecurity, relationship pressures and, of course, health.
But we can be increasingly confident that there is a route out of this, and some kind of normality will arrive again. And your knee will get better. Focus on the things you can control. And don't sell your bikes!
@stcolin I can tell you that things are not over. I can honestly say that the best weekends riding I've ever had was a surprise 60th birthday trip that my riding buddies organised for me. Even 18 months later just thinking about it makes me smile. And even now, at 61, I still score the occasional Strava PR, both on road and off. Hang in there.
Bloody hell, I was expecting you to say as I approach 60 not 40.
At 44 im far fitter and active than I ever was in my 30s! I do feel sometimes that the rest of my life is set out on a certain path already, which it wasn't in my early 30s.
But then I remember that that path isn't a terrible one, and if I really wanted to change it I could.
Basically, if you aren't even 40 yet you have plenty of good years ahead of you! Heck, my mum just signed up to zwift aged 74 as she was missing her ebike rides due to weather. Her last ride she averaged 1 watt per kilo.. I suspect she's quite possibly the slowest rider on zwift but she loves it!
Try and read TiReds postings
Yes, he has been a gent and a great help to me and everyone on here.
Thanks to everyone else who has taken some time to respond. Sorry for dragging it down as usual.
No worries – this thing is like the perfect storm for people in terms of isolation, job insecurity, relationship pressures and, of course, health.
Yeah, it's starting to wear me out, mainly 'cos of the money issues (although I do have a low-wage job starting this week) but I feel like I've been trapped between careers because people aren't hiring. I find myself quite listless the last few weeks. Normally I'd just find interesting things to occupy myself with.
I can only imagine how stressful it is for people in precarious work, with families to feed and rent to pay. Even pre-pandemic these people had it difficult. It's always the weakest and poorest who suffer disporportionatly.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned the link above, its about excess deaths caused by alcohol in E & W last year. It probably just highlights the tip of the iceberg as far as 'other' deaths related to lockdown go and I'm sure we will soon start to see data for other causes, if we haven't already.
Sorry for dragging it down as usual.
@stcolin Not at all, there's a few folk on here that can do that, you definitely ain't one of them. Chin up, keep talking and try to sort out the wheat from the chaff on this thread, there's a lot of doom amongst the positives.
@stcolin Not at all, there’s a few folk on here that can do that, you definitely ain’t one of them. Chin up, keep talking and try to sort out the wheat from the chaff on this thread, there’s a lot of doom amongst the positives.
Yep, agree. You're probably posting what most of us are thinking. It is difficult, I have crap days but trying to stay positive. My motorbike in the garage is waiting patiently for summer - and lockdown free - days ahead 🙂 They will be back!
And keep posting, buddy - it's good to chat.
Was really worried reading all the headlines about the SA variant and the UK one now mutating again, Tired's post has definitely put it into perspective and calmed my nerves! Would be a cruel blow if a vaccine-resistant variant emerged just as we're getting to the first stage of controlling this thing.
Unfortunately when I’m stuck at home with very little to do, I go through spells of just going into a state of anxiety when I read what is online. Work is very very quiet. I’m reliant on manufacturing and that’s not doing so well these days. Losing my job is a real worry. I’m aware many have and I really feel for them. My job and background education is not common, so finding work would be very limited.
You're not the only one in that boat. I was but actually lost my job as it was dependent on retail, also with a strange set of educational quals and a specialist job description. Coming on here and reading the facts behind the headlines helps!
Keep sharing stcolin.
Oh, and I agree about providing useful perspective, and adding the necessary nuance missing from headlines... keep it up Tired!
Any thoughts on the SputnikV/AZ combo they were talking about on Radio4?
Is there anything more that we've learnt recently in the way of info on touch/surface vectors of transmission? It's gone a bit quiet about Zoono since their '30 day' claim was challenged (and as far as I'm aware it did stand up to scrutiny). Their share price isn't setting the world alight as you might expect it would though, and they've had a few discount sales recently. I carry some of their sanitiser and use it before going to the supermarket etc, then use alcohol hand sanitiser afterwards before I can wash my hands properly. I have their surface treatment stuff and apply it in the car and on door handles, letterbox etc. I consider their sanitiser to be more use/reaasuring as a 'pre treatment' rather than being as useful as say alcohol sanitiser is after touching potentially contaminated stuff though, maybe my perception but alcohol is easier to 'feel' working.
My job is to drive trains, and I live with someone vulnerable, so I assume that the two dozen or so of my colleagues who might've driven the same train in the last 24 hours were filthy & riddled and try to be as safe as I can - all windows open when we change over, everything I will touch gets wiped down. Our company claims it's cleaning the cabs regularly and applying Zoono itself but I've seen the standards of 'cleaning' over the years and don't trust the claims my employer makes.
Should I have more faith in Zoono?
@stcolin - I've had my mental health issues in recent years, I totally understand how hard it is to find any positivity in the current situation.
I'd urge you to find someone to unload on as well as to keep using us - GP, counselling through work, one of the mental health charities.
If you can, get some advice from a GP or physio about your knee. They are open for business even if not always face to face. Doing some hard work to rehab your knee now will give you some focus and put you in a stronger place mentally and physically as restrictions ease.
I rode my first cycling event on my 40th birthday. Developed more friends and interests following that through different cycling groups, volunteering for Forestry Commission, got involved with other community groups. Was fitter in my forties than any time since my teens, probably.
Approaching 52 in April. Injuries and Covid have spoilt the last two years, but building back some strength, flexibility and fitness. I have 20-25 decent years left I hope, and I don't want to waste them
Any word on take up of vaccine? is this a metric that's even measured, ie %age of folk who get offered and say nay?.
Kelvin - Just listened to the World at 1 on BBC sounds - very interesting.
So Sputnik V trial data has been published in the Lancet . They are trialling with AZ a mixture of the 2.
The Russian scientist (and the uk guest agreed) stated that their high efficacy is due to shot 1 & 2 being different, using different Adenovirus types, so Antibody response is better & wider, potentially more mutation proof.
Any resident experts care to comment? Does this suggest 2 different vaccines better than 2 shots of the same?
I think that with the 2 different types you could get a wider range of antigen presentation (basically more bits of the virus that the immune system can react to and make antibodies against).
This should create a situation where you have a wide range of anti-covid spike antibodies.
I don't know if it helps the usual aim of two stage vaccines which is called prime boost, where you effectively wake the body up to a pathogen with the first dose then cause a bigger response with the second dose as the immune system is already aware of the potential pathogen.
I assume if the 2 doses have a close enough structure it would be good.
Not sure how it would work with the az and then a follow up with pfizer as the mode of action is different (the outcome of immune response is the same so i guess it should work).
It is an interesting hypothesis and the trial data will be interesting
Not sure how it would work with the az and then a follow up with pfizer as the mode of action is different
Oh, they weren't proposing anything like that. It was specific to SputnikV and AZ (as regards vaccines already in use).
Sorry, the extra bit was just a bit of scientific speculation.
Although if we do get resistant mutations i suspect we will end up with a lot of people having a double az shot followed by an mrna booster as they are quicker to modify and produce i believe
I remember reading an article by the Imperial vaccine team a few months back where they stated they saw their vaccine as a booster rather than a starter. Not sure which Pharma company they team with?
Capt Tom has succumbed to coronavirus & Pneumonia, aged 100. RIP sir.