International COVID-19 Megathread

[Yeahsayyeah]

Some takeaways from an interview with Clemens Wendtner, chief infectiologist at the hospital in Munich-Schwabing.

https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/medizin/coronavirus-clemens-wendtner-spricht-ueber-die-ersten-patienten-antikoerper-und-remdesivir-a-32aba7c5-4e21-4e59-84a7-60d44d146450

It seems like the people who got covid-19 in the late January/early February outbreak near Munich all still have antibodies and now measurable health damage. Of course, they were all young and healthy persons before.

People applied to ICU stay there for three to four weeks on average.

This hospital is taking part in the Remdesivir studies. Wendtner is cautiously optimistic, that it at least helps to shorten the time of severe illness.

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In other news, the Robert-Koch-Institut which is the federal health agency monitoring infectious diseases in Germany has revised the current R0 in Germany back down to 0,75. With the current low rate of new infections compared to the last weeks I would expect it to stay quite noisy as mass outbreaks in special mass housing facilities happen from time to time like nursing homes, homes/ living facilities for asylum seekers, housing for immigrant seasonal workers at the agriculture, slaughterhouses and the like.

[Yeahsayyeah]

What's going on in North Rhine-Westphalia?

Probably Summer vacations.  People bringing it in from everywhere and starting new transmission chains.

[Yeahsayyeah]

So, then ... Release the dogs!

[Yeahsayyeah]

In other news, Germany's Stiko (Ständige Impfkommission - Standing vaccination committee announced, that they won't have their recommendation for vaccinating 5 to 12 year olds ready before mid-December. I just can't fathom, what they are really waiting for ... every time.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Lockdowns are clearly an ultima ratio and most people don't want to go into hibernation from November until May each year. But vaccination everyone who wants to be vaccinated and doing many rapid antigen test does not seem to be enough against the delta variant, see Germany and Austria.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Well, there are basically three "solutions" to the problem. 1. Almost complete vaccinations. 2. Societal hibernation from November to May (as far as Germany is concerned). 3. Thinking "Oh, it can't be THAT bad. Learn to live with the virus!" and let many people get sick and die. I still think, that the first one is the best solution.   And if force is necessary to achieve that, it's maybe justified, at this point.

As far as I am concerned, I am double-vaccinated, plan to get my booster shot, when it is due, got warned today that I was possibly exposed on Thursday, have a sore throat and will get a PCR-test today, for which I will travel 15 km by bike to not use public transport. And we celebrated the 60th birthday of my aunt this weekend with about 30 fully vaccinated and pre-tested people. So, we clearly adapted to the virus and learned to live with it, but it's still complicated and nothing to handwave away. 

[Yeahsayyeah]

Germany is getting belted by new cases at an all time high.

But the mortality rate is not there. Clearly, vaccines are doing their job.

Well, they do to some extent but concerning cases in ICU Germany is even twelve days ahead of the curve of 2020 with less beds and personal available and concerning 7-day-average of Covid-related deaths we are only three days behind. This clearly isn't pretty.