International COVID-19 Megathread

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Germany, Austria and Spain have now passed 40%+ doses vaccinated (1st+2nd combined).

They are now the fastest-vaccinating EU countries after the small Malta and Hungary (which uses Sputnik as well).

Austria had 100.000 doses yesterday, the highest daily number on record.

It seems there isn't reliable 3rd party testing to confirm how well Sputnik does. But it does seem to be simpler and cheaper than most vaccines, so it's got that going for it.

[Mike88]

Portugal update:

Portugal has passed the 40% mark of vaccines given. So far, 42.45% of vaccines shots (4,328,722) have been given. (30.72% only one shot, 11.73% are fully vaccinated). 82% of the population above 80 years old is fully vaccinated and the country is already giving 100,000 doses of the vaccine per day.

More data in here: https://www.publico.pt/interactivo/vacina-covid-19

[lfromnj]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

[President Johnson]

Numbers in Germany continue to decline. Yesterday, another record was reached with over 1.3 million shots in arms.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1393238425101168643

[Silent Hunter]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

Perhaps, but it is early and the UK cases are starting to rise a bit (tiny compared to last wave) so I would watch.

[Pericles]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

Perhaps, but it is early and the UK cases are starting to rise a bit (tiny compared to last wave) so I would watch.

That's not true.

[Tender Branson]

Breathing Through the Rectum Saves Oxygen-Starved Mice and Pigs

By Elizabeth Preston

May 14, 2021

Dr. Caleb Kelly, a gastroenterology fellow at Yale University, was recently asked to review a paper about mammals receiving lifesaving oxygen through their anuses. “I laughed, to be honest,” he said. “I thought it was a joke.”

It seems like a no-brainer that bottoms are not for breathing. But the authors of a new study, published Friday in the journal Med, are perfectly serious. They showed that when some mice or pigs are dangerously deprived of air, an enema of oxygen-carrying liquid can rescue them.

“It actually turns out it could be a feasible approach,” said Dr. Kelly, who wrote a commentary accompanying the new paper.

Dr. Takanori Takebe, of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, was motivated to study this unusual idea by his father’s struggle with lung disease. Mechanical ventilators can keep patients alive when their lungs are failing, but these tools aren’t always available, and they can run out, as the Covid-19 pandemic has shown.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/science/rectum-breathing-oxygen.html

[It’s so Joever]

https://twitter.com/business/status/1392010361809874949

The Chinese vaccines seem to be  effective at preventing deaths but not very effective at preventing cases. 2/3 of Seychelles is  vaccinated yet 1/3 of cases are still among the vaccinated.

It’s very worrisome, and definitely begs the question as to how effective Sinopharm actually is, and also whether this is just Sinopharm, or if the same logic extends to other vaccines, such as JJ and Moderna.

If it was, we'd be seeing evidence of it in places like the UK and Israel.

Speaking of Israel, have you heard the latest joke from there? "The rest of the world's dealing with Corona and we're back to normal."

Perhaps, but it is early and the UK cases are starting to rise a bit (tiny compared to last wave) so I would watch.

That's not true.

What’s not true?

[Silent Hunter]

The increase in cases in the UK overall. There is an increase in the Indian variant in some areas, though.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

It seems that the Indian variant (B1617) is either far more transmissible than B117, much better able to evade immune protection from natural/"wild" infection or both. However, there's suggestive evidence that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are still extremely effective against it.

This is both frightening and reassuring. It's frightening because anyone with a moral compass will rightly be concerned about the fate of countries that have no hope of achieving widespread immunity from vaccination over the next year. It's reassuring because, again and again, these variants are unable to significantly evade protection from the better vaccines. We can easily end this pandemic through mass vaccination.

[Silent Hunter]

Bolton and Blackburn are areas with significant South Asian populations, FWIW.

[Tender Branson]

The 7-day incidence in my district has fallen below 50, which is also far below the national average (75).

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Bolton and Blackburn are areas with significant South Asian populations, FWIW.

Yeah. I read a week ago somewhere (Financial Times, I believe) that a large share (30-50%?) of cases was still imported rather then community-transmitted. That's why it's still really hard to estimate the transmission rate, which does seem [possibly much] higher than British strain.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1394182676295344128

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Bolton and Blackburn are areas with significant South Asian populations, FWIW.

Yeah. I read a week ago somewhere (Financial Times, I believe) that a large share (30-50%?) of cases was still imported rather then community-transmitted. That's why it's still really hard to estimate the transmission rate, which does seem [possibly much] higher than British strain.

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1394359567358828547

[Tender Branson]

The 7-day incidence in my district has fallen below 50, which is also far below the national average (75).

It now has the 7th-lowest incidence in Austria of the ca. 100 districts.

It has fallen to 22, while Austria’s rate has fallen to 59.

[°Leprechaun]

Obviously, there is a long way to go in eradicating the virus world wide.
World wide deaths and cases are going down, but the virus is surging in some countries.
With all the travel from country to country we should all be concerned.

I'm not pessimistic. We are headed in a good direction thanks to the vaccines, but we still have a way to go.

[Tender Branson]

Zell am See’s 7-day incidence rate has fallen to 18, the 5th-lowest among the 94 Austrian districts/cities.

https://orf.at/corona/daten/bezirke

Meanwhile yesterday, Austria opened up everything again.

3G is necessary though to access restaurants, hotels etc. (vaxxed, recovered or tested).

[Meclazine for Israel]

India losing over 4,000 people per day.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Compared to Brazil, the mortality rate appears low which points towards the idea that India is under reporting on this numeric.

[President Johnson]

The positive trend continues worldwide. However, India is stilla huge troublespot and its variant is surging in the UK. Consequently, Germany has de facto suspended travel with Britain again.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1396156150433845251

[Mike88]

Portugal update:

5,078,936 vaccines have already been given until Friday, 23 May. 34.51% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 15.30% are already fully vaccinated. The vaccination task force believes that on August 8, 70% of the population will have at least one doses of the vaccine.

https://www.publico.pt/interactivo/vacina-covid-19

However, some alarms are surging in the Lisbon city. In the last few days, the number of cases in the city have been growing, and some specialists warn that the city could enter in lockdown if the numbers don't stabilize or drop. Some blame the massive and chaotic Sporting CP Championship win celebrations as the cause of the growing number of cases.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/axios/status/1396294726815420416

[CumbrianLefty]

Had my second AZ vaccination yesterday.

Feeling fine today, in contrast to the day after the first jab