Coronavirus

[GeddyWrox]

[SHOW]

Regarding a vaccine, on the bright side, Pfizer is taking a new approach to this vaccine by essentially trying to disrupt the tRNA of the virus so it can't reproduce....kind of like chopping its nuts off. That's the fastest possible available timeline I've seen with it possibly available this fall. There are tons (hundreds last I saw) of traditional vaccines under development but all those are on the more traditional timeline of 18-24 months though some have already started.

Also, obviously covid has a ton of attention and lots of companies trying to produce a vaccine. At the same time, Covid has many strains already over the course of, what, 5 months. While some viruses can be eradicated by vaccines, those have traditionally taken long times to come about (9 years for the measles for instance from when they first started to when a vaccine became available and 5 more years to perfect it). Others that mutate have vaccines that are imperfect, like the flu, that even with vaccines available still result in tens of thousands of deaths every year. Others have no vaccines despite worldwide attention, like HIV, and my understanding (which granted is very limited) is because it can mutate so quickly any vaccine is like trying to play whack-a-mole and hasn't been successful.

So, on the dark side, it's not a given that a vaccine will be available shortly and may possibly take years or decades even.

It does seem like the S proteins of the virus (the spikes) can be targeted so I'm more optimistic than pessimistic.

Regardless, I'm not 100% convinced it'll be over in a year.

Same here.

[GeddyWrox]

My company (STL based, and will remain nameless) is set to have us start returning to work on May 18th. We have traditional cube dividers that are about 5 1/2 feet tall. They are implementing a 50% attendance policy. So everyone will be on an every-other-day work from home schedule. But I will probably be sitting less than 10' away from one or more cubicle neighbors on any given day, with nothing but the common cube wall between us. Does this sound safe? I'm not sure if I have much option though.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

My company (STL based, and will remain nameless) is set to have us start returning to work on May 18th. We have traditional cube dividers that are about 5 1/2 feet tall. They are implementing a 50% attendance policy. So everyone will be on an every-other-day work from home schedule. But I will probably be sitting less than 10' away from one or more cubicle neighbors on any given day, with nothing but the common cube wall between us. Does this sound safe? I'm not sure if I have much option though.

I am not a health expert so take this with copious salt, but given how the spread of the virus has played out and what we've learned, I think there's basically 3 things for individuals to pay attention to: Proximity to other people(distancing, congestion/crowds), air circulation(outside v. recycled air inside), and individuals avoiding spread(primarily masks, but not touching others too). I think if you have 2 of 3(e.g. outside with no crowds/congestion, inside but limited people and folks wearing masks) you're not 100% risk-free, but it's reasonably safe in terms of doing your part of avoiding spread. In your situation it sounds like 1-1.5 out of 3, so if it were me I'd feel more responsible if everyone was wearing masks. Also this is a heuristic under the assumption that you're(like most of the populace) an able bodied person who is not currently unwell, immune-suppressed, or very old and at high risk.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Yeah, the recirculating air would be my biggest concern and has been our biggest issue with bringing people back.

[GeddyWrox]

My company (STL based, and will remain nameless) is set to have us start returning to work on May 18th. We have traditional cube dividers that are about 5 1/2 feet tall. They are implementing a 50% attendance policy. So everyone will be on an every-other-day work from home schedule. But I will probably be sitting less than 10' away from one or more cubicle neighbors on any given day, with nothing but the common cube wall between us. Does this sound safe? I'm not sure if I have much option though.

I am not a health expert so take this with copious salt, but given how the spread of the virus has played out and what we've learned, I think there's basically 3 things for individuals to pay attention to: Proximity to other people(distancing, congestion/crowds), air circulation(outside v. recycled air inside), and individuals avoiding spread(primarily masks, but not touching others too). I think if you have 2 of 3(e.g. outside with no crowds/congestion, inside but limited people and folks wearing masks) you're not 100% risk-free, but it's reasonably safe in terms of doing your part of avoiding spread. In your situation it sounds like 1-1.5 out of 3, so if it were me I'd feel more responsible if everyone was wearing masks. Also this is a heuristic under the assumption that you're(like most of the populace) an able bodied person who is not currently unwell, immune-suppressed, or very old and at high risk.

Masks are "optional". Our CEO is a Fox News viewer and thinks things are overblown, but has been following the STL county guidelines.

[stlouie_lipp]

Regarding a vaccine, on the bright side, Pfizer is taking a new approach to this vaccine by essentially trying to disrupt the tRNA of the virus so it can't reproduce....kind of like chopping its nuts off. That's the fastest possible available timeline I've seen with it possibly available this fall. There are tons (hundreds last I saw) of traditional vaccines under development but all those are on the more traditional timeline of 18-24 months though some have already started.

Also, obviously covid has a ton of attention and lots of companies trying to produce a vaccine. At the same time, Covid has many strains already over the course of, what, 5 months. While some viruses can be eradicated by vaccines, those have traditionally taken long times to come about (9 years for the measles for instance from when they first started to when a vaccine became available and 5 more years to perfect it). Others that mutate have vaccines that are imperfect, like the flu, that even with vaccines available still result in tens of thousands of deaths every year. Others have no vaccines despite worldwide attention, like HIV, and my understanding (which granted is very limited) is because it can mutate so quickly any vaccine is like trying to play whack-a-mole and hasn't been successful.

So, on the dark side, it's not a given that a vaccine will be available shortly and may possibly take years or decades even.

It does seem like the S proteins of the virus (the spikes) can be targeted so I'm more optimistic than pessimistic. Regardless, I'm not 100% convinced it'll be over in a year.

Dr. David Agus was on Howard yesterday and said something along the lines of a vaccine for this can be brought to market faster because the stuff (my term, not his) that will go in it have already been in use and we know are safe for humans. He also said the feds are funding the production of about 5 possible vaccines right now instead of waiting around. That way if one of them is the right one, millions of doses can be distributed right away. He sounded somewhat optimistic that something could be on the market by this fall.

[cardinalkarp]

Regarding a vaccine, on the bright side, Pfizer is taking a new approach to this vaccine by essentially trying to disrupt the tRNA of the virus so it can't reproduce....kind of like chopping its nuts off. That's the fastest possible available timeline I've seen with it possibly available this fall. There are tons (hundreds last I saw) of traditional vaccines under development but all those are on the more traditional timeline of 18-24 months though some have already started.

Also, obviously covid has a ton of attention and lots of companies trying to produce a vaccine. At the same time, Covid has many strains already over the course of, what, 5 months. While some viruses can be eradicated by vaccines, those have traditionally taken long times to come about (9 years for the measles for instance from when they first started to when a vaccine became available and 5 more years to perfect it). Others that mutate have vaccines that are imperfect, like the flu, that even with vaccines available still result in tens of thousands of deaths every year. Others have no vaccines despite worldwide attention, like HIV, and my understanding (which granted is very limited) is because it can mutate so quickly any vaccine is like trying to play whack-a-mole and hasn't been successful.

So, on the dark side, it's not a given that a vaccine will be available shortly and may possibly take years or decades even.

It does seem like the S proteins of the virus (the spikes) can be targeted so I'm more optimistic than pessimistic. Regardless, I'm not 100% convinced it'll be over in a year.

Dr. David Agus was on Howard yesterday and said something along the lines of a vaccine for this can be brought to market faster because the stuff (my term, not his) that will go in it have already been in use and we know are safe for humans. He also said the feds are funding the production of about 5 possible vaccines right now instead of waiting around. That way if one of them is the right one, millions of doses can be distributed right away. He sounded somewhat optimistic that something could be on the market by this fall.

I'll say this, and I'm not anti-vaccine (although I do think the Flu vaccine is a bunch of BS), but I don't really trust any vaccine that has been rushed through the normal testing by the U.S. Government

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Regarding a vaccine, on the bright side, Pfizer is taking a new approach to this vaccine by essentially trying to disrupt the tRNA of the virus so it can't reproduce....kind of like chopping its nuts off. That's the fastest possible available timeline I've seen with it possibly available this fall. There are tons (hundreds last I saw) of traditional vaccines under development but all those are on the more traditional timeline of 18-24 months though some have already started.

Also, obviously covid has a ton of attention and lots of companies trying to produce a vaccine. At the same time, Covid has many strains already over the course of, what, 5 months. While some viruses can be eradicated by vaccines, those have traditionally taken long times to come about (9 years for the measles for instance from when they first started to when a vaccine became available and 5 more years to perfect it). Others that mutate have vaccines that are imperfect, like the flu, that even with vaccines available still result in tens of thousands of deaths every year. Others have no vaccines despite worldwide attention, like HIV, and my understanding (which granted is very limited) is because it can mutate so quickly any vaccine is like trying to play whack-a-mole and hasn't been successful.

So, on the dark side, it's not a given that a vaccine will be available shortly and may possibly take years or decades even.

It does seem like the S proteins of the virus (the spikes) can be targeted so I'm more optimistic than pessimistic. Regardless, I'm not 100% convinced it'll be over in a year.

Dr. David Agus was on Howard yesterday and said something along the lines of a vaccine for this can be brought to market faster because the stuff (my term, not his) that will go in it have already been in use and we know are safe for humans. He also said the feds are funding the production of about 5 possible vaccines right now instead of waiting around. That way if one of them is the right one, millions of doses can be distributed right away. He sounded somewhat optimistic that something could be on the market by this fall.

I'll say this, and I'm not anti-vaccine (although I do think the Flu vaccine is a bunch of BS), but I don't really trust any vaccine that has been rushed through the normal testing by the U.S. Government

Good point. Let the True Believers line up for the Kool-Aid vaccine.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Is there a link to that interview somewhere, my 8 seconds of search only got previous interviews. I was able to find a little bit of the transcript online, but it didn't talk about vaccines.

In the transcript, whichi s blocked at work so I can't post the link (but read on my phone), he didn't come off as well informed. The one thing I'd question is the statement 'we just don't know why' certain groups are targeted by the virus. It's pretty well established that they know precisely how the virus breaks down cells (via the spike attaching to the ACE2 enzyme) and we know the groups he talked about have elevated ACE2 levels. This has been known since march and was well studied prior to Sars-Cov-2 existing because the Cov-2 spike that attaches to ACE2 is same as the Sars-Cov (1) spike that existed in 2002.

That came off as confusing. So, I'll rephrase it. The Sars-Cov-2 virus (causes Covid 19, very prevalent in the world today, big pita) infects cells via the same mechanism that the SARS virus infected cells and that is through an enzyme that has been well studied. And, it's well known those enzymes are more available in certain groups of people.

Here's a link from a study done in 2005 that established the ACE2/SARS connection.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1287568/

Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor for both the SARS-CoV and the related human respiratory coronavirus NL63, was expressed in human airway epithelia as well as lung parenchyma. As assessed by immunofluorescence staining and membrane biotinylation, ACE2 protein was more abundantly expressed on the apical than the basolateral surface of polarized airway epithelia. Interestingly, ACE2 expression positively correlated with the differentiation state of epithelia. Undifferentiated cells expressing little ACE2 were poorly infected with SARS-CoV, while well-differentiated cells expressing more ACE2 were readily infected.

You can just re-date the study to 2020 and replace SARS-CoV with SARS-CoV-2.

In short, I'm getting myself all worked up, but how can a doctor speak intelligently about the subject and not know this basic piece of information.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Also, I didn't make the connection until writing that post, but how [expletive] eerie is it that the Sars-Cov-2 virus has the same spike (part that attached to ACE2) as the SARS-CoV virus? Tin foil hat time, off to do some research.