Lockdown diaries - COVID-19 matters!

[Hooked]

UPDATE | Pfizer asks SA regulator to update its storage rules as US joins in EU approval
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/p...-can-be-kept-in-a-normal-fridge-longer-2021-5
20 May 2021

• The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has received a request from Pfizer to have its vaccine’s storage limitations extended.
• Pfizer says its undiluted, thawed doses can be kept in a normal refrigerator, at between 2°C and 8°C, for 31 days.
• Regulators in the United States and Europe have now both approved this update which will have a "significant impact on planning and logistics of vaccine rollout”.
• The dose, which needs to be stored for longer periods between -60°C and -80°C, underpins South Africa’s rollout.

 

[Timwis]

It never ends we know have the
"triple mutant Yorkshire variant"

If this carries on we are going to have more variants in the UK than breakfast cereals!

Also hearing a lot of leaked stuff from Government that another lockdown because of third wave will be needed later in the year!

What worries me is the UK are on course to be fully vaccinated within 2 or 3 months so if the Vaccine works why would we get a 3rd wave and need another lockdown?

 

[Hooked]

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[Hooked]

From beer to Tinder boosts: The bribes for people to get jabbed
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-57201111
22 May 2021

"... To tackle vaccine hesitancy, companies as well as local and government officials in different countries are dreaming up eye-catching schemes to attract those unsure about getting jabbed to come forward.

Dating app 'boost'
The latest government scheme will allow dating app users who have been vaccinated to get a "vaccination badge" and special benefits on their profile.

The White House is partnering with several prominent dating platforms including Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble to give access to premium content to those who can prove they have been vaccinated, it said in a statement...

"According to research from OKCupid, people who are vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated receive 14% more Matches than people who don't plan to get vaccinated," it revealed.

Among the extra incentives being offered by Tinder, for example, is access to the "Super Like" feature to "help them stand out among potential matches", the White House said.

'Vax & Scratch'
The state of New Jersey has launched "Shot and a Beer", a scheme offering a free beer to those who get their first dose in May. To claim a drink, those who have been jabbed must take their vaccination card to one of 13 participating breweries.

Lottery Tickets
New Yorkers who get Covid-19 shots next week will receive free lottery scratch cards with a chance to win $5m (£3.5m), State Governor Andre Cuomo announced on Thursday.

The scheme, called "Vax & Scratch", will allow those who get vaccinated to receive a $20 lottery ticket

"The chances of winning something are one in nine," Governor Cuomo said. "It's a situation where everyone wins."

'Pot for shots'
The Greenhouse of Walled Lake, a marijuana dispensary in Michigan, is giving out "pot for shots".
Since launching in February, the firm has handed out over 35,000 free joints, according to owner Jerry Millen.

Gym Membership
[Dubai] residents who have been fully vaccinated will be allowed a fortnight's gym membership.

Gold Nose Rings
In the Indian city of Rajkot, Gujarat, goldsmiths have banded together to give women free gold nose pins for getting the jab, while men are offered a hand blender.

[My cooment: Indian men obviously love cooking. I need one of those - the man, not the blender.]

Free Biryani
And a kitchen in the city of Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, is handing out free biryani to those who have been jabbed...

But do these incentives work?
[Susan Michie, a Professor of Health Psychology at University College London and a adviser to the UK government on Covid-19] says the most effective way to ensure people get the vaccine in the UK has been the "intrinsic motivation" of "caring for the community".

"... We want people to understand why they're doing it: they're not doing it for a bit of money or a bit of beer."

She fears people might be less likely to get a "booster" jab in future if the reward is no longer there."

"Those are going to be the powerful motivators that will go on over time."

 

[Hooked]

Olympics will go ahead even under a state of emergency - IOC
https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/57206885
22 May 2021

"This summer's Olympics will go ahead even if Tokyo remains in a state of a emergency, says International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates...

"All of the plans that we have in place to protect the safety and security of athletes and the people of Japan are based around the worst possible circumstances, so the answer [to whether the Games could take place during a state of emergency] is absolutely yes...

The British Olympic Association has confirmed that all British athletes and support staff will be fully vaccinated before they head to Tokyo.

The organisation said in a statement: "The UK Government has confirmed that, through an agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Pfizer BioNtech, Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes and support staff will be fully vaccinated ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, based on the unique position of having to travel to Japan to go about their work.

"The agreement means the vaccines will be obtained directly from Pfizer, and will not impact current supplies for the British public."

 

[Hooked]

Covid vaccine profits mint 9 new pharma billionaires
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/21/business/covid-vaccine-billionaires/index.html
22 May 2021

"Topping the list of new billionaires are Moderna (MRNA) CEO Stéphane Bancel and Ugur Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech (BNTX), which has produced a vaccine with Pfizer (PFE). Both CEOs are now worth around $4 billion, according to an analysis by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a campaign group that includes Oxfam, UNAIDS, Global Justice Now and Amnesty International.

Senior executives from China's CanSino Biologics and early investors in Moderna have also become billionaires on paper as shares skyrocketed, partly in expectation of profits earned from Covid vaccines, which also bode well for the companies' future prospects. The analysis was compiled using data from the Forbes Rich List.

Moderna's share price has gained more than 700% since February 2020, while BioNTech has surged 600%. CanSino Biologics' stock is up about 440% over the same period. The company's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use in China in February.

Activists said the wealth generation highlighted the stark inequality that has resulted from the pandemic. The nine new billionaires are worth a combined $19.3 billion, enough to fully vaccinate some 780 million people in low-income countries, campaigners said.

"These billionaires are the human face of the huge profits many pharmaceutical corporations are making from the monopoly they hold on these vaccines," Anne Marriott, Oxfam's health policy manager, said in a statement. "These vaccines were funded by public money and should be first and foremost a global public good, not a private profit opportunity," she added."

 

[Grand Guru]

https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/492633/south-africa-plans-to-adopt-covid-19-travel-pass/

 

[Hooked]

Lockdown Puns
Author unknown

This lock-down is getting old and frankly I've had enough. I've discussed the matter over a cup of coffee with the kitchen sink, and we both agree that the experience is draining.

I didn't mention anything to the washing machine as she puts the wrong spin on everything.

Same with the fridge. He only gives cold comfort. I asked the lamp but she couldn't shed any new light on the situation.

The vacuum cleaner was rather rude and told me to suck it up. The threshold was no better, it suggested I get over it.

The carpet advised me to sweep my feelings under the rug. But the fan was more upbeat and thought that the crisis would soon blow over.

The toilet looked a bit flushed and didn't offer an opinion.

The wall didn't say a word either, just gave me a blank stare.

The door knob was more forthcoming - told me to get a firm grip on the situation and move on.

The front door declared I was unhinged and so the curtains told me to.... you guessed it right - pull myself together.

Then the chair told me to table it, and the table remarked, I didn't have a leg to stand on. When I told the table to break a leg, the mirror said that my comments reflected poorly on my thinking.

However, in the end, the iron set things straight. She said everything will be fine. No situation is too pressing for long anyways.

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[Hooked]

Western Cape vaccination sites boosted to 53
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-af...ed-to-53-7c2b408d-0c36-42f8-b181-250e0d3f7b3f
23 May 2021

"The number of vaccination sites in the Western Cape will increase to 53 as of Monday, with more to come.

The province’s Department of Health will bring 23 more public vaccination sites online, bringing the total of public vaccination sites to 42. The private sector will have 11 sites operational as of Monday, with Mediclinic bringing online four additional sites.

New Sites

• Beaufort West Hospital in the Central Karoo District
• Harry Comay Hospital in the Garden Route District
• TC Newman CDC in the Cape Winelands District
• Worcester CDC in the Cape Winelands District
• Caledon Hospital in the Overberg District
• Swartland Hospital in the West Coast District

The following sites are already operational:

• Pelican Park Clinic
• Mathew Goniwe Clinic
• Brooklyn Chest Hospital
• Helderberg Hospital
• Mitchells Plain Hospital
• Khayelitsha Hospital
• Karl Bremer Hospital
• Brackenfell Clinic
• Gugulethu Community Health Clinic
• Hanover Park Community Day Centre
• Cross Roads Community Health Clinic
• Dr Abdurahman Community Day Centre
• Inzame Zabantu Community Day Centre
• Heideveld Community Health Clinic
• Mitchells plain Community Health Clinic
• Nyanga Community Day Centre
• Gugulethu Clinic
• Eerste River Clinic
• Cape Town Civic Centre (Occupation Health office)

Private sites at Clicks stores include:

• Constantia
• Tyger Valley
• West Coast Village
• Blue Route
• Paarl Mall
• Vredendal Mall
• Edgemead

The new sites coming online from Monday are:

• Bishop Lavis Clinic
• Bothasig CDC
• Adriaanse Clinic
• Chesnut Clinic
• Chestnut Satellite Clinic
• Delft CHC
• Durbanville CDC
• Goodwood CDC
• Kraaifontein Clinic
• Kuyasa Library
• Lansdowne Library Hall
• Ocean View Civic Centre
• Reed Street CDC
• Ruimte Road Satellite Clinic
• Stikland Hospital
• Symphony Way CDC
• Tafelsig Thusong Centre
• Beaufort West Hospital
• Harry Comay Hospital
• TC Newman CDC
• Worcester CDC
• Caledon Hospital
• Swartland Hospital

In addition to the public sites, the following private sector sites will also come online on Monday:

• Cape Gate Mediclinic
• Milnerton Mediclinic
• Geneva Mediclinic
• Vergelegen Mediclinic

 

[Hooked]

South African students to participate in MIC’s ventilator design competition
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/so...icipate-in-mics-ventilator-design-competition
22 May 2021

"The University of Johannesburg partnered with the Mahale Innovation Consortium launched a ventilator design competition for South African students. Other Universities included are the Tshwane University of Technology, Central University of Technology, Vaal University of Technology and North-West University.

The Mahale Innovation Consortium (MIC) has an aim to promote local manufacturing of ventilators to contribute to the National Ventilator Project, reports IOL.

There is a concern about ventilator shortages currently happening globally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition is open for any scholars and students who are currently studying in South Africa with a registered active student number.

According to newsportal, the ventilator design competition student designers and engineers will be challenged to show their technical and commercial abilities by elaborating and demonstrating ways as to how digital manufacturing can add its value.

The competition will close on June 14, 2021, and the winner of each category will receive a cash voucher. One winner stands a chance to win a 3D printer sponsored by 3D Printing Systems SA, reports newsportal.

Competition themes are the following:

Open category: Enter any service or product implemented with an aim to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Innovation category: A new business idea, invention or innovation that can be used to defeat COVID-19 or any other health-related threats in the future.

Engineering category: An improvement, innovation or concept that may reduce our shortage of ventilators in South Africa."

 

[Adephi]

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[fbb1964]

A saffa song used for cheering people up during lockdowns..

 

[Resistance]

Agreed. I do not think they doing it on purpose. It’s just how things have been unfortunately. Just too slow.

you’re right @Adephi, in the beginning of the pandemic it was all out war on the virus with the army and the command council and Ramastaypozi on the tv all the time and it’s just fizzled out and they have dropped the ball.

I lost my uncle a few months back to Covid. It was horrendous. I don’t want anymore people to suffer and this vaccine is our way back to “normal”

Condolences brother.

 

[Hooked]

 

[Hooked]

Japan mass vaccinations begin in Tokyo and Osaka amid Covid surge
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57224571
24 May 2021

"Japan has kicked off a mass vaccination programme in Tokyo and Osaka, as the Covid crisis continues to worsen.

The military has set up centres offering thousands of shots each day, prioritising the elderly. About 5% of the population is fully vaccinated..."

 

[Hooked]

The women possibly at higher risk for Covid-19 that no one is talking about
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/23/health/women-covid-pcos-high-risk/index.html
23 May 2021

"More than a year into the pandemic, one study has found that some women are at higher risk for Covid-19 compared to others in their age and sex groups. These women, often young and otherwise healthy ... have an underlying condition that isn't mentioned on any Covid-19 comorbidity list: polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.

PCOS, which affect about 1 in 10 women of "childbearing age," is an imbalance of reproductive hormones that can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, high androgen levels and ovarian cysts. But it can also come with a host of other health problems, nearly all of which overlap Covid-19 comorbidities.

"PCOS is completely underestimated in its impact. It's sort of seen as some reproductive issue that is not clinically relevant. But this is completely wrong ... Patients need to be seen as a high-risk population," said Dr. Wiebke Arlt, director of the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

More than half of people with PCOS develop diabetes before their 40th birthdays, and up to 80% are overweight. They have higher risk of insulin resistance, heart disease and endometrial cancer, a cancer that begins in the uterus. Many have high blood pressure and low levels of vitamin D. These complications of PCOS have also been associated with a potentially higher risk for severe Covid-19...

For Arlt, who co-authored the first major study published in February in the European Journal of Endocrinology, the name PCOS is a misnomer. It is not a disorder of the ovary, Arlt said, but a "lifelong metabolic disease" and should be treated as such when assessing Covid-19 vulnerability. "The higher the metabolic risk is, the higher the risk is to catch Covid-19," Arlt said..."

 

[Grand Guru]

The women possibly at higher risk for Covid-19 that no one is talking about
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/23/health/women-covid-pcos-high-risk/index.html
23 May 2021

"More than a year into the pandemic, one study has found that some women are at higher risk for Covid-19 compared to others in their age and sex groups. These women, often young and otherwise healthy ... have an underlying condition that isn't mentioned on any Covid-19 comorbidity list: polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.

PCOS, which affect about 1 in 10 women of "childbearing age," is an imbalance of reproductive hormones that can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, high androgen levels and ovarian cysts. But it can also come with a host of other health problems, nearly all of which overlap Covid-19 comorbidities.

"PCOS is completely underestimated in its impact. It's sort of seen as some reproductive issue that is not clinically relevant. But this is completely wrong ... Patients need to be seen as a high-risk population," said Dr. Wiebke Arlt, director of the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

More than half of people with PCOS develop diabetes before their 40th birthdays, and up to 80% are overweight. They have higher risk of insulin resistance, heart disease and endometrial cancer, a cancer that begins in the uterus. Many have high blood pressure and low levels of vitamin D. These complications of PCOS have also been associated with a potentially higher risk for severe Covid-19...

For Arlt, who co-authored the first major study published in February in the European Journal of Endocrinology, the name PCOS is a misnomer. It is not a disorder of the ovary, Arlt said, but a "lifelong metabolic disease" and should be treated as such when assessing Covid-19 vulnerability. "The higher the metabolic risk is, the higher the risk is to catch Covid-19," Arlt said..."

This is a typical example of a futile study and unfortunately they are way too common. PCOS itself is not a high risk factor for COVID19 severe forms but, the complications related to it are i.e Diabetes mellitus, Obesity and Hypertension. We already knew it since last year. Dr Arlt scored a publication though, which is only good for him/her.... 1 woman out of 4 develops PCOS at some stage in her life. Should they all freak out? No.

 

[Grand Guru]

 

[Hooked]

Singaporean scientists have developed a new 'breathalyser' test for Covid - it works in one minute
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/s...oped-a-new-breathalyzer-test-for-covid-2021-5
24 May 2021

"... The testing system was developed by a team of Singaporean researchers and involves a person breathing normally into a disposable, one-way mouthpiece - similar to how one would be tested for drunk driving.

This mouthpiece is connected to a breath sampler that is linked to a mass spectrometer, a device that can observe invisible compounds in a person's exhaled breath. The machine then analyzes the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - particles produced by biochemical reactions in human cells - in the breath sample to plot a "breath signature."

According to the researchers at Breathonix, the start-up behind the device, a healthy person's breath will register a different VOC signature from that of a person with Covid. These signatures will help testers differentiate quickly between healthy people and those with the virus. The software will compare the fresh sample with what a Covid-positive "breath signature" looks like.

During the clinical trials, the system was tested on over 3,000 people, with an accuracy rate of over 90%.

Singapore's Health Sciences Authority is now working with Breathonix to deploy this device alongside the antigen rapid test at the country's Tuas land checkpoint which connects Singapore to Malaysia.

The device is called the BreFence Go Covid-19 Breath Test System, and it's able to yield results within 60 seconds. For positive cases, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test will then be carried out to confirm the results..."

 

[Hooked]

Hundreds of private Covid-19 vaccine sites are standing ready – but idle
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/p...t-arent-being-added-to-the-evds-system-2021-5
24 May 2021

• South Africa vaccinated 5,037 people on Sunday, against a target of well over 100,000 per day.
• According to an official list, SA has fewer than 200 vaccine delivery sites active, against a target of more than 3,000.
• Hundreds of private providers are standing by with sites they say have everything except the two critical elements only the government can deliver: vaccine doses, and recipients to get them.
• Nobody seems to know when they may be turned on.

[My comment: Sounds kinky to me.]

 

[vicTor]

 

[Grand Guru]