[News] The Coronavirus Good News thread

[The Wizard]

There have been 70000 students across American colleges/universities tested positive and only 3 required hospital treatment, with none requiring ventilation and zero deaths. Hopefully good signs for our student and young population that are currently the most infected age group.

 

[Mellotron]

EMA (European Medicines Agency) have initiated their rolling review of BioNTech/Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, joining Oxford’s.

 

[Mellotron]

'Rapid achievement' allows antibody trial to move to next phase

The developers of a potential COVID-19 antibody treatment have moved trials to a third phase, hailing "rapid achievement" with no safety concerns to date.

The world's largest vaccines player, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Vir Biotechnology said their trial programme was also to be expanded across new sites in North America, South America and Europe.

The pair have been working on an antibody-based treatment since April, while GSK has a separate vaccine partnership with Sanofi that entered clinical trials last month.

It is hoped that the Comet-Ice trial under development with Vir, which began human testing in August, will enable early treatment of the coronavirus in high-risk patients by killing affected cells.

The companies have also pointed to encouraging results in resistance and protection of the lungs in the 20 patients with the disease to have taken part so far.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...-vaccine-trial-to-move-to-next-phase-12091583

 

[Mellotron]

This chap has generally been very cautious with his comments, so good to hear.

COVID-19 vaccine may be ready by year-end, says WHO's Tedros

A vaccine against COVID-19 may be ready by year-end, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for solidarity and political commitment by all leaders to ensure equal distribution of vaccines when they become available.

“We will need vaccines and there is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine. There is hope,” Tedros said in final remarks to the WHO’s Executive Board, without elaborating.

Nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the WHO’s COVAX global vaccine facility that aims to distribute 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...e-ready-by-year-end-whos-tedros-idUSKBN26R2C7

 

[Mellotron]

The Pfizer CEO is pretty adamant they will have results on their vaccine's efficacy by end of October. All of my fingers and toes are crossed.

Wondering out loud - how do people think it'll work logistics wise if, say;

Week 1 - Vaccine A is approved with 60% efficacy, begins being rolled out immediately
Week 5 - Vaccine B is approved with 95% efficacy. Thousands have already received Vaccine A.

Do the people who took the first vaccine also get the second one (eventually)? Does more approved vaccines mean the rollout should be quicker (I assume so)? How will they decide who gets what, when we have varying efficacy levels?

I appreciate this discussion isn't strictly within the confines of Good News, although it is talking about something which will undeniably be good news (the move towards some sort of normality again) and the Main COVID Thread is poor quality compared to this, often full of conspiracy theories and silly arguments, so don't really want to put it in there.

 

[Marshy]

We at BSUH currently have one confirmed COVID-19 patient in our hospitals. While numbers across the Trust remain low, an increase in the number of confirmed cases in Brighton and Hove saw the Council increase the city’s Covid alert level from yellow to amber yesterday. In the week up to October 1st there were 115 confirmed new cases, up from 39 cases in the previous week.

Everyone is asked to play their part by making extra efforts to keep your distance, wash your hands, wear a face covering, limit contact with others and follow the rule of six.

SO STILL GREAT NEWS in my opinion, only 1 mild case as it stands.

 

[atomised]

We at BSUH currently have one confirmed COVID-19 patient in our hospitals. While numbers across the Trust remain low, an increase in the number of confirmed cases in Brighton and Hove saw the Council increase the city’s Covid alert level from yellow to amber yesterday. In the week up to October 1st there were 115 confirmed new cases, up from 39 cases in the previous week.

Everyone is asked to play their part by making extra efforts to keep your distance, wash your hands, wear a face covering, limit contact with others and follow the rule of six.

SO STILL GREAT NEWS in my opinion, only 1 mild case as it stands.

Always refreshing to see your updates

 

[spoonie]

We at BSUH currently have one confirmed COVID-19 patient in our hospitals. While numbers across the Trust remain low, an increase in the number of confirmed cases in Brighton and Hove saw the Council increase the city’s Covid alert level from yellow to amber yesterday. In the week up to October 1st there were 115 confirmed new cases, up from 39 cases in the previous week.

Everyone is asked to play their part by making extra efforts to keep your distance, wash your hands, wear a face covering, limit contact with others and follow the rule of six.

SO STILL GREAT NEWS in my opinion, only 1 mild case as it stands.

Excellent news - hope things stay the same with sharp rise in cases from 39 Last week to 115 this week. Also worth noting that the last Covid death reported in Brighton was back on weekend ending 14th August according to the Brighton and Hove Council website.

 

[Mellotron]

---

The results this company is seeing for their antibody drug really are very good news - hospitalisation dropping by as much as 80-85% compared to those receiving a placebo.

Some focus too much on a vaccine IMO, which we are seeing may only give partial protection and will likely take longer to get us than these treatments.

Treatment that brings the severity of Covid-19 infections right down is equally as important, imo.

Eli Lilly Asks FDA to Authorize Covid-19 Antibody Drug

Eli Lilly & Co. said it has requested U.S. authorization of the emergency use of an experimental antibody-based treatment for people with recently diagnosed, mild-to-moderate Covid-19, following positive results from clinical testing.

The Indianapolis-based company said it is seeking the authorization for its drug, code named LY-CoV555, which was derived from a blood sample of one of the earliest U.S. survivors of Covid-19.

If cleared, it could be the first to treat less severe cases of Covid-19. The few other therapies authorized for Covid-19 treatment, including remdesivir from Gilead Sciences Inc., target hospitalized patients with more serious cases.

Lilly's antibody drug could also be the first in a new class of Covid-19 agents that could not only provide treatment but also potentially give temporary protection against the virus to people at risk of infection. That would fill a gap until vaccines are authorized.

The leading experimental antibody drugs have shown enough promise in testing so far that President Trump was given one developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Lilly said last month its drug reduced the rate of hospitalization compared with a placebo in a study.

The Indianapolis company is manufacturing doses and could have 100,000 doses this month and as many as one million by the end of the year.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quot...orize-Covid-19-Antibody-Drug-Update-31498716/

 

[Mellotron]

Mostly an amalgamation of what we've seen elsewhere but still good to see noise on this continuing to grow. Also - like me - your immediate reaction might be "Oh, tens of thousands isn't that many..." but if we can get the most at risk vaccinated, it should make quite a difference to the death rate fairly quickly.

NHS ready to roll out covid jab from next month with tens of thousands of people being vaccinated daily by Christmas.

The NHS is gearing up for a major roll out of a Covid jab from next month – with five mass vaccination centres ready before Christmas.

The giant sites – manned by trainee nurses, physios and paramedics - will be able to treat tens of thousands of people daily.

Leaked documents reveal officials are hopeful that two jabs will prove successful before the end of the year.

Plans are already well under way to ensure they can be delivered to those who need them most.

The first mass vaccination centres are planned for sites in major cities including Leeds, Hull and London.

They will be supported by hundreds of mobile vaccination units dotted nationwide, while roving teams will visit care homes and vulnerable Brits.

GPs and pharmacists will also be asked to dole out the jab to millions of people – with roll out set to take between three to six months.

One of the vaccine frontrunners includes the treatment developed by Oxford University, with millions of doses already stockpiled.

It comes as World Health Organisation boss Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed a coronavirus jab is on the horizon.

He said: "There is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine. There is hope."

 

[Mellotron]

Abbott says new data shows rapid COVID-19 test is highly accurate

Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday released early data from a study on the accuracy of its ID NOW COVID-19 test that could help alleviate concerns the diagnostic frequently fails to detect the virus.

Interim data from Abbott’s 1,003-participant study shows that its test, which can deliver results in under 15 minutes, correctly identified positive COVID-19 cases 95% of the time when used within seven days of symptom onset.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the test in March, but said in May that early data suggested it could sometimes fail to detect the virus in sick patients. Abbott said it would conduct multiple studies of the test in a variety of healthcare settings.

A study conducted by Cleveland Clinic in April showed the test detected the virus in around 85% of cases, lower than many other COVID-19 tests. Other studies, including one by New York University, raised similar concerns.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-positive-cases-95-of-the-time-idUSKBN26S1YB

 

[southstandandy]

Since not having the planned family holiday this year and the loss almost entirely of our social outings this year, we've saved a fortune. I had no idea in the normal course of a yet what we were obviously spending, the tricky problem is where to put a decent accumulated sum to try and earn any interest?

 

[A1X]

Since not having the planned family holiday this year and the loss almost entirely of our social outings this year, we've saved a fortune. I had no idea in the normal course of a yet what we were obviously spending, the tricky problem is where to put a decent accumulated sum to try and earn any interest?

Premium Bonds would be my bet. You'll earn no interest (as opposed to virtually no interest) but win a prize in their monthly draw and you're laughing.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Premium Bonds would be my bet. You'll earn no interest (as opposed to virtually no interest) but win a prize in their monthly draw and you're laughing.

Martin Lewis said unless you have tens of thousands chances are you'll never win.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[blue-shifted]

Martin Lewis said unless you have tens of thousands chances are you'll never win.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

Why not start a premium bonds thread lads?

 

[dazzer6666]

Since not having the planned family holiday this year and the loss almost entirely of our social outings this year, we've saved a fortune. I had no idea in the normal course of a yet what we were obviously spending, the tricky problem is where to put a decent accumulated sum to try and earn any interest?

https://www.northstandchat.com/show...rest-rates-What-to-do-with-savings-spare-cash

 

[Marshy]

Martin Lewis said unless you have tens of thousands chances are you'll never win.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

I can tell you that's bollox. I won large and I only had a couple of hundred.

 

[A1X]

Why not start a premium bonds thread lads?

It's been literally three posts. Hardly a thread hijacking.

 

[Jim in the West]

"Interest rate" is 1.4% (tax free) - but that's the rate over the entirety of the population of Premium Bonds. It's a matter of luck if you, as an individual, win.

 

[nwgull]

Since not having the planned family holiday this year and the loss almost entirely of our social outings this year, we've saved a fortune. I had no idea in the normal course of a yet what we were obviously spending, the tricky problem is where to put a decent accumulated sum to try and earn any interest?

I accumulated a bit of a wedge a couple of years ago and put it in managed funds - the same sort of thing that your pension will be invested in - via an investment ISA account. Carries a risk relating to stock market, but you can choose lower risk funds if you want. The ones that most of my money is in give a monthly income equating to just over 4%, so not a bad return.