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Old 03-13-2020, 01:18 AM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,497,336 times
Reputation: 25616

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https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/new-je...m-coronavirus/

Another patient recovering by having chloroquine and the HIV drug Kaletra.
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Old 03-13-2020, 05:29 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,966,022 times
Reputation: 14730
Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/new-je...m-coronavirus/

Another patient recovering by having chloroquine and the HIV drug Kaletra.
Has anybody stated the odds of reinfection: https://www.businessinsider.com/wuha...ection-2020-2? That article is two weeks old and our knowledge is changing daily, sometimes hourly. So I am curious if that information is still correct?

On the science of protecting ourselves from this pandemic and using face mask; it is amazing how many people have no clue how to use a mask. You see pictures of people on the streets with just one of the ties tied or strapped over their heads. Some have the mask over their mouths; but not over their nose. Of course there are problems with people with facial hair that refuse to have that hair removed; they will never get a tight fit. Many health providers had to take a 'fit test' to determine if they could even wear the N95s correctly.

Then there is the other problem of protecting the eyes because they can also be an entry point. So people should also wear goggles. That said, the combination of properly fitted N95s and goggles can fog up and the accident levels could potentially go up. Clearing the fogging could also lead to exposure.

Then there is the problem of exposed skin and wearing surgical gloves. I don't think we are prepared for this!
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Old 03-13-2020, 07:02 AM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,230,135 times
Reputation: 13995
A Canadian company with a research facility in the Triangle area (Durham) of North Carolina, is one of 10 companies racing to produce a vaccine. Over the last decade or so, companies have been trying to switch from having to use eggs to make a vaccine, which is both expansive and a very long process, to using cells or even plants.

When I was living in Durham back in 2013 I believe, and working at Duke University Medical Center, that was the first time I heard of this company and they were developing an Ebola vaccine during that epidemic in Africa. What made them different, is that they were using a close cousin to the tobacco plant to grow a protein that could then be used as a vaccine.

Of course, with all of these companies trying to get a vaccine made, it still will take months and months to go through the human clinical trials process to show not only that the vaccine is safe, but that it actually works and is effective. I think there is a method for the FDA to "fast track" a potential vaccine, but it's still a slow process.

One good thing about the plant method, is that if the virus mutates you can just change the protein and they regrow it in a new batch of plants.

We’ve Got The Vaccine, Says Pentagon-Funded Company

So Medicago doesn’t work with a live virus. Instead, it uses plants, a relatively new approach that has seen much advancement in the past decade. It inserts a genetic sequence into agrobacterium, a soil bacteria, which is taken up by plants — in this case, a close cousin to tobacco. The plant begins to produce the protein that can then be used as a vaccine. If the virus begins to mutate, as is expected for COVID-19, they can just update the production using new plants.

“That’s the difference between us” and egg-based methods, he said, ”we go directly to producing the vaccine or the antibody without having to propagate the virus.”

Using plants and genetically engineered agrobacteria works faster than eggs also makes the vaccine much easier to produce at scale, which, in part, is why the U.S. military has invested in the company.

Clark says that once they get the green light, they will be able to produce 10 million vaccine doses a month.

He said the only obstacles at this point are regulatory. The company’s technique isn’t yet FDA-approved and would need to go through clinical trials.
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Old 03-13-2020, 07:35 AM
 
3,174 posts, read 1,562,243 times
Reputation: 2837
There is also DARPA’s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3)

https://www.darpa.mil/program/pandem...ntion-platform

https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-...he-coronavirus

https://www.defenseone.com/technolog...summer/163659/

They say they have 4 P3 teams operational. What they end up with is not a vaccine but a “therapeutic” which gets your body to produce the antibody for a few months. It will not create immunity.

Their goal is to enable people to not get sick while a real cure/vaccine is created. They expect to be able to produce this in 60 days after a sample is taken from a person who has fully recovered.
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Old 03-13-2020, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,966,022 times
Reputation: 14730
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
A Canadian company with a research facility in the Triangle area (Durham) of North Carolina, is one of 10 companies racing to produce a vaccine. Over the last decade or so, companies have been trying to switch from having to use eggs to make a vaccine, which is both expansive and a very long process, to using cells or even plants.

When I was living in Durham back in 2013 I believe, and working at Duke University Medical Center, that was the first time I heard of this company and they were developing an Ebola vaccine during that epidemic in Africa. What made them different, is that they were using a close cousin to the tobacco plant to grow a protein that could then be used as a vaccine.

Of course, with all of these companies trying to get a vaccine made, it still will take months and months to go through the human clinical trials process to show not only that the vaccine is safe, but that it actually works and is effective. I think there is a method for the FDA to "fast track" a potential vaccine, but it's still a slow process.

One good thing about the plant method, is that if the virus mutates you can just change the protein and they regrow it in a new batch of plants.

We’ve Got The Vaccine, Says Pentagon-Funded Company

So Medicago doesn’t work with a live virus. Instead, it uses plants, a relatively new approach that has seen much advancement in the past decade. It inserts a genetic sequence into agrobacterium, a soil bacteria, which is taken up by plants — in this case, a close cousin to tobacco. The plant begins to produce the protein that can then be used as a vaccine. If the virus begins to mutate, as is expected for COVID-19, they can just update the production using new plants.

“That’s the difference between us” and egg-based methods, he said, ”we go directly to producing the vaccine or the antibody without having to propagate the virus.”

Using plants and genetically engineered agrobacteria works faster than eggs also makes the vaccine much easier to produce at scale, which, in part, is why the U.S. military has invested in the company.

Clark says that once they get the green light, they will be able to produce 10 million vaccine doses a month.

He said the only obstacles at this point are regulatory. The company’s technique isn’t yet FDA-approved and would need to go through clinical trials.
I hope that they are right. There was a lot of promising information that came out about cell-membrane flu production and I believe our government even sponsored, to the tune of over $600 million, a plant in the NC area. Years later we are still relying on the same old technology for our flu vaccine. There is a chance that eggs will be replaced with insects; but that is having some setbacks: https://vaccineimpact.com/2017/new-f...ms-to-be-pure/. I presume that using plants will also have some hidden problems?

We do need a vaccine and we need it now. But we have to make sure that any new vaccine is safe and effective and only time and a lot of testing will tell.
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Old 03-13-2020, 08:29 AM
 
21,866 posts, read 19,019,005 times
Reputation: 17980
i have a question for those who may know more about the science than i do.

when a vaccine is developed for this covid-19, is it likely to be included in the "regular" flu vaccine (which i understand is a different recipe each year)? or be a separate vaccine? or be not a vaccine but a "treatment" once symptoms occur. or will we develop immunity by being exposed, or having a mild form, and see it reduced in that way?

although I am doing common sense steps for hygiene, protection, and distance,
my intention and focus for health is on that which builds and strengthens my immune system.
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Old 03-13-2020, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,966,022 times
Reputation: 14730
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tzaphkiel View Post
i have a question for those who may know more about the science than i do.

when a vaccine is developed for this covid-19, is it likely to be included in the "regular" flu vaccine (which i understand is a different recipe each year)? or be a separate vaccine? or be not a vaccine but a "treatment" once symptoms occur.
The CDC and Who release their scientific 'guess' which strains are going to express themselves in the following flu season. They do that about this time of the year. Nothing goes into these vaccinations except what has been approved by these agencies and controlled by our FDA. Any company that wanted to make a vaccine that would protect us against many diseases in one vaccine would have to go through all the testing and that, under normal controls, could last a decade. It is hard to tell if 'fast tracking' a vaccine to fight this newest threat will be able to cut the red tape. Don't forget those regulations were placed there to protect the public. But this could show the fine line between protecting with regulations and protecting with a vaccine?
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Old 03-13-2020, 09:48 AM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,497,336 times
Reputation: 25616
Quote:
Originally Posted by fisheye View Post
Has anybody stated the odds of reinfection: https://www.businessinsider.com/wuha...ection-2020-2? That article is two weeks old and our knowledge is changing daily, sometimes hourly. So I am curious if that information is still correct?

On the science of protecting ourselves from this pandemic and using face mask; it is amazing how many people have no clue how to use a mask. You see pictures of people on the streets with just one of the ties tied or strapped over their heads. Some have the mask over their mouths; but not over their nose. Of course there are problems with people with facial hair that refuse to have that hair removed; they will never get a tight fit. Many health providers had to take a 'fit test' to determine if they could even wear the N95s correctly.

Then there is the other problem of protecting the eyes because they can also be an entry point. So people should also wear goggles. That said, the combination of properly fitted N95s and goggles can fog up and the accident levels could potentially go up. Clearing the fogging could also lead to exposure.

Then there is the problem of exposed skin and wearing surgical gloves. I don't think we are prepared for this!
Of course, you can get reinfected. It would be worse if it happens when you are sick with the flu or other ailments. That's why a vaccine is necessary to get the virus out of the population asap before it reaches high amounts of carriers who could reinfect recovered patients. China has said that when it opens business it may bring the virus back.
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Old 03-13-2020, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,966,022 times
Reputation: 14730
Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
Of course, you can get reinfected. It would be worse if it happens when you are sick with the flu or other ailments. That's why a vaccine is necessary to get the virus out of the population asap before it reaches high amounts of carriers who could reinfect recovered patients. China has said that when it opens business it may bring the virus back.
The question was raised on how long our immunity will last after we recover or get a vaccination (when available). I do not have the answers.

We do need some segments of our society to work; even through this pandemic. Hopefully our distribution centers can still function so that we could get home deliveries? But only time will tell. Also we need the researchers and pharmaceutical companies to do what they can do to help stop this in its tracks - but that direction is not clear at this time.

There are tough choices and hard days ahead. At least the Market is up today so far. Maybe they know something we don't?
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Old 03-13-2020, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Myrtle Creek, Oregon
15,293 posts, read 17,565,356 times
Reputation: 25225
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike1003 View Post
A warning about zinc. A very rare side effect of zinc is temporary to permanent loss of smell and/or taste. Unfortunately, many years ago, I took zinc for a severe case of the flu. I still don't have my total sense of taste and smell back

There is nothing worse than absolutely no sense of taste!!!!!!!!!!
It is certainly possible to OD on zinc.
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