Other than the new variant’s faster infection doubling case rate of 6-7 days…
The other issue that is raising scientific eyebrows is how the virus has mutated.
“It has a surprisingly large number of mutations, more than we would expect, and a few look interesting,” Prof Nick Loman from the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium told me.
There are two notable sets of mutation - and I apologise for their hideous names.
Both are found in the crucial spike protein, which is the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our body’s cells in order to hijack them.
The mutation N501 (I did warn you) alters the most important part of the spike, known as the “receptor-binding domain”.
This is where the spike makes first contact with the surface of our body’s cells. Any changes that make it easier for the virus to get inside are likely to give it an edge.
“It looks and smells like an important adaptation,” said Prof Loman.
The other mutation - a H69/V70 deletion - has emerged several times before, including famously in infected mink.
The concern was that antibodies from the blood of survivors was less effective at attacking that variant of virus.
Again, it is going to take more laboratory studies to really understand what is going on.
Regarding the debate on whether the vaccine prevents any symptoms or prevents you from getting it altogether, couldn’t they just do antibody tests on everyone who had the legit vaccine several times to see if a good amount of them had it with no symptoms?
Wouldn’t anyone already vaccinated show antibodies (day 28 after vaccination), regardless of whether or not they caught covid say 3 months after vaccination
Does the Mrna vaccine give you the same type of antibodies? I just kinda assumed it’d be different but maybe not I have no idea how this shit works lol.
…a vaccine to not prevent transmission. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, and it doesn’t mean that the clinical study to demonstrate that it does isn’t worth doing, and it doesn’t even mean that I’ll never wear a mask again once I get the shot, but it’s so unlikely that if the vaccine is scarce and if it’s effective in young kids, then vaccinating them first makes very good sense.
…realistic way of protecting you other than by getting your immune system to attack viruses directly, and if that’s the case, then that’s necessarily going to mean that the risk of transmission is dramatically reduced, too, because your immune system isn’t going to tolerate having enough virus in you to infect anyone else with appreciable probability.
I like how the 8 or more drinks per week graphic looks like a fun party.
They really need to do 5 or more drinks/day though like my grandpa and 2 uncles. Grandpa and one uncle died in their early 60s. The other is barely hanging on at 69.
I imagine life expectancy falls off a cliff like the Price is Right guy when you get into heavy drinking every day.
I got 97, but lol, it didn’t even ask how long my ancestors lived. Isn’t that a big factor? My Dad and his Dad both died at 64/65. I’m not sure anyone in my family history hit 85.
Don’t think so. Pretty sure the vaccine creates the same antibodies they test for. Don’t think this is a hep B situation, where there’s different antibody profiles if you’d been vaccinated versus actually had hep B
