[News] The Coronavirus Good News thread

[highflyer]

In Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine, an Oxford Group Leaps Ahead

As scientists at the Jenner Institute prepare for mass clinical trials, new tests show their vaccine to be effective in monkeys.

In the worldwide race for a vaccine to stop the coronavirus, the laboratory sprinting fastest is at Oxford University.

Most other teams have had to start with small clinical trials of a few hundred participants to demonstrate safety. But scientists at the university’s Jenner Institute had a head start on a vaccine, having proved in previous trials that similar inoculations — including one last year against an earlier coronavirus — were harmless to humans.

That has enabled them to leap ahead and schedule tests of their new coronavirus vaccine involving more than 6,000 people by the end of next month, hoping to show not only that it is safe, but also that it works.

The Oxford scientists now say that with an emergency approval from regulators, the first few million doses of their vaccine could be available by September — at least several months ahead of any of the other announced efforts — if it proves to be effective.

Now, they have received promising news suggesting that it might.

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana last month inoculated six rhesus macaque monkeys with single doses of the Oxford vaccine. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the virus that is causing the pandemic — exposure that had consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab. But more than 28 days later all six were healthy, said Vincent Munster, the researcher who conducted the test.

“The rhesus macaque is pretty much the closest thing we have to humans,” Dr. Munster said, noting that scientists were still analyzing the result. He said he expected to share it with other scientists next week and then submit it to a peer-reviewed journal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/...ate-oxford.html#click=https://t.co/PZ1mQcDPwB

Nothing is certain, fingers crossed, etc.

But, apart from the very obvious ray of hope in terms of a vaccine, there are so many other reasons to celebrate this story.

British, not-for-profit outfit, started by scientists that wanted to focus on vaccines that affect poor countries and thus have less commercial potential. Innovative work, well ahead of the game, and now having government money thrown at them. Investing across the gobe to be ready to scale up production just in case it works. Refusing to grant exclusive licences to ensure the benefits are spread widely and 'nobody is going to make a lot of money from this'.

The one double edged sword is that trials may be a problem because not enough people are still being infected in the UK, making it hard to get the statistical certainty needed to prove it works. I assume there will always be places somewhere in the world where infection rates are high enough, but guess it takes longer to set up trials in new places.

 

[Mellotron]

Found this article helpful and reassuring in reminding that we WILL get past this one way or another, even without a vaccine;

https://medium.com/@ASlavitt/the-three-most-likely-scenarios-to-defeat-the-coronavirus-5a63ac30aec8

 

[pearl]

Found this article helpful and reassuring in reminding that we WILL get past this one way or another, even without a vaccine;

https://medium.com/@ASlavitt/the-three-most-likely-scenarios-to-defeat-the-coronavirus-5a63ac30aec8

That is interesting and scary, but positive

Reading that reminded me of how TB was 'managed' 'tackled' (my paternal grandmother died from TB when she was 49)

 

[The Wizard]

Spain least deaths and cases since March 14, only 1308 new cases.

 

[blue-shifted]

The UK hasn't burned any coal for electricity in the last 18 days

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...-breaks-record-for-coal-free-power-generation

 

[Mellotron]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-app-nhs-uk-lockdown-symptoms-cases-tracing-a9487861.html

NHSX app hopefully being rolled out in next 2/3 weeks.

 

[Mellotron]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong-coating/hk-scientists-say-new-antiviral-coating-can-protect-surfaces-for-90-days-idUSKCN2290S5

HK scientists believe they may have produced an antiviral coating that could protect surfaces from COVID-19 for up to 90 days. This is the sort of thing that could really make a difference in the more medium to long term.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong-coating/hk-scientists-say-new-antiviral-coating-can-protect-surfaces-for-90-days-idUSKCN2290S5

HK scientists believe they may have produced an antiviral coating that could protect surfaces from COVID-19 for up to 90 days. This is the sort of thing that could really make a difference in the more medium to long term.

I believe The White House have already asked if it's injectable.

 

[blue-shifted]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong-coating/hk-scientists-say-new-antiviral-coating-can-protect-surfaces-for-90-days-idUSKCN2290S5

HK scientists believe they may have produced an antiviral coating that could protect surfaces from COVID-19 for up to 90 days. This is the sort of thing that could really make a difference in the more medium to long term.

In theory, a massive breakthrough assuming it does really work. Scaling it up the issue here

 

[Postman Pat]

Coronavirus: New antibody test with 99 per cent accuracy approved for use across Europe
New lab test will help identify people infected with Covid-19 who have developed immunity to virus

A new antibody test to check whether someone has been infected with coronavirus which claims to be 99 per cent accurate has been certified for use across Europe.

Global diagnostics specialists Abbot, which has a UK base in Maidenhead, has said it is expecting to have shipped millions of the laboratory based lab tests across Europe by the end of May.

The company’s diagnostic test has been given a CE Mark certification showing it complies with EU safety rules and can now be used in labs across the UK to test for antibodies created when a person has been infected with Covid-19.


The test identifies the IgG protein the body produces when it has been infected by coronavirus and this can remain in the body for months and possibly years.

In tests Abbot claimed it showed a sensitivity greater than 99 per cent, 14 days after a person developed symptoms.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...l-news-europe-uk-accuracy-abbot-a9490026.html

Sounds positive

 

[WATFORD zero]

Coronavirus: New antibody test with 99 per cent accuracy approved for use across Europe
New lab test will help identify people infected with Covid-19 who have developed immunity to virus

A new antibody test to check whether someone has been infected with coronavirus which claims to be 99 per cent accurate has been certified for use across Europe.

Global diagnostics specialists Abbot, which has a UK base in Maidenhead, has said it is expecting to have shipped millions of the laboratory based lab tests across Europe by the end of May.

The company’s diagnostic test has been given a CE Mark certification showing it complies with EU safety rules and can now be used in labs across the UK to test for antibodies created when a person has been infected with Covid-19.


The test identifies the IgG protein the body produces when it has been infected by coronavirus and this can remain in the body for months and possibly years.

In tests Abbot claimed it showed a sensitivity greater than 99 per cent, 14 days after a person developed symptoms.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...l-news-europe-uk-accuracy-abbot-a9490026.html

Sounds positive

If all as appears (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) very positive indeed

 

[Mr Banana]

All a bit coulds and claims, that one. Accuracy is more likely to be 90% if prevalence is low, and it costs £110ish, requires a blood draw and might detect other types of coronavirus a person has previously had. But definitely closer to being able to accurately test than before...

 

[Postman Pat]

Six days have elapsed since the last time a patient with the covid-19 coronavirus died at any of the hospitals run by Brighton and Hove’s main NHS trust.

Since the start of the pandemic, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) has recorded 96 deaths of patients with the virus.

The figures do not make clear whether they died from the coronavirus or whether they had the virus but died from another cause.

The trust runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, in Brighton, and the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath.

https://www.brightonandhovenews.org...coronavirus-death-at-brighton-hospital-trust/

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

News coming through on CNN this evening that a drug is being trialled in the US that shows some success in 'blocking' COVID. Not a vaccine as such but an id to recovery. Early days yet.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/0...s-recovery-from-advanced-covid-19-says-niaid/

 

[blue-shifted]

News coming through on CNN this evening that a drug is being trialled in the US that shows some success in 'blocking' COVID. Not a vaccine as such but an id to recovery. Early days yet.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/0...s-recovery-from-advanced-covid-19-says-niaid/

Yes and it's achieved a modest reduction in mortality rates. 11.6% for the placebo group to 8% in a randomised trial. Over everyone infected, this would save a lot of lives if it can be scaled up. It's a start

 

[Weststander]

Six days have elapsed since the last time a patient with the covid-19 coronavirus died at any of the hospitals run by Brighton and Hove’s main NHS trust.

Since the start of the pandemic, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) has recorded 96 deaths of patients with the virus.

The figures do not make clear whether they died from the coronavirus or whether they had the virus but died from another cause.

The trust runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, in Brighton, and the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath.

https://www.brightonandhovenews.org...coronavirus-death-at-brighton-hospital-trust/

UK hospital figures released are based on death WITH a positive test for COVID-19. Not due to.

 

[LamieRobertson]

UK hospital figures released are based on death WITH a positive test for COVID-19. Not due to.

Something that is rarely emphasised in the media

 

[LamieRobertson]

Amazing gesture by a company

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-52474787

 

[Mellotron]

Thank you to everyone who helps keep this thread going.

We’ll get there.

 

[Weststander]

Something that is rarely emphasised in the media

Deliberately so, as it might portray the UK in fair light.