Thread: Corona Virus

Originally Posted by bob10

They will have to stay in the ARL " bubble". The "Bubble "is the only reason AFL is still playing. Same as other sports which are playing in Qld. [ NRL, Netball ]

Do they spend the 14 days quarantine in the bubble ?? ( assume bubble means a hotel of sorts ) , they cant play the Grand Final in the bubble . Still dont sound right to me .

Originally Posted by 4bee

But really James who gives a flying **** these days?

People who should know better & want us to look up to them as examples (& their mates) seem to bend the rules to suit themselves not to mention break the law & the almighty Dollar is more important to them & screw the rest of Australian Residents..

Sadly, it seems to be a different world which we both have grown up in & I guess there is no going back once these people see that they can get away with it & push their weight around. Respect for the law seems to have flown out of the window, rightly or wrongly.


I'm glad my old Mum & Dad are not around to see this bloody mess we are in.

Along with mine as well , and all the Diggers who are no longer with us .

Originally Posted by bob10

Might take a trip to North QLD soon. [ If we are not locked down]

STATE WRAP: QUEENSLAND'S TOURISM BLITZ

• The Queensland government is running a massive tourism splurge, with announcements this week including:
  
  • Two resumed Jetstar flights — Adelaide to Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast to Cairns — due in part to the state’s $15 million Aviation Recovery Fund
  • An $11.3 million tourism package for Far North Queensland projects, events and Reef Fleet operators
  • As The Courier-Mail ($) reports today, dozens of new and upgraded state tourist attractions, fast-tracked to open by Christmas following more than $300m injected by the private sector and the state government.

Maybe you should head north before there is a massive influx of people sneaking into QLD for the grand final which could cause a spike in COV19 there

I received the attached note on Covid 19 development from a friend in the USA. It all sounds so positive, in the midst of so much local 'negativity' that I have done a brief 'fact check' and can find no comment to indicate it is not true.

Still, I puzzle as to why we have heard nothing as positive on treatments here in Australia.

Originally Posted by Xtreme

I received the attached note on Covid 19 development from a friend in the USA. It all sounds so positive, in the midst of so much local 'negativity' that I have done a brief 'fact check' and can find no comment to indicate it is not true.

Still, I puzzle as to why we have heard nothing as positive on treatments here in Australia.

Nothing in that document is new to me. Remdesivir was recently approved as a treatment in Australia, I believe, but perhaps the document is a little too optimistic. None of the treatments outlined produce a major improvement in outcomes, but together as appropriate they add up to mean that the case fatality rate in Australia, has declined, and probably is continuing to decline. But there are still a few points that need to be considered. For example, survival rates for patients on a ventilator are still not much over 50% (but the same goes for quite a few diseases!).

Case fatality rates in Australia are a lot lower than some other countries - but this is mostly not due to the better care, but because we have a much better idea of the number of cases than some other countries!

Originally Posted by Xtreme

I received the attached note on Covid 19 development from a friend in the USA. It all sounds so positive, in the midst of so much local 'negativity' that I have done a brief 'fact check' and can find no comment to indicate it is not true.

Still, I puzzle as to why we have heard nothing as positive on treatments here in Australia.

Probably not heard here because the media cannot sensationalise this type of story the same as death, protests and government dictatorship (did I say that?). I would say the current ratio of over sensationalised bad news vs touchy feely good news would be 10:1, if not greater.

I tried to find the infection to hospitalisation rates for Victoria but have come up empty. If anyone has or can get that information I would very much like to know if we are really doing ourselves any favours with all this border closures and lockdowns. Yes, I believe this is a infections virus going by the number of cases, not only in Victoria recently but globally. But is the virus the real killer it is being made out to be? I recently read that of ALL deaths "related" to C-19 only 6% died SOLELY from that with no underlying conditions. And if this treatment is legit and sustainable then why can't we be returning to normal and treating those the do get sick as opposed to acting like the entire population is infected?

It may sound a bit ..... I don't know..... cruel maybe, but should we not be protecting those with imuno compromised conditions from the community rather than trying to stop the community infecting them (or anyone)?

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Planes are flying out and in. Its was supposed to be a little tricky to get on them. Pretty sure QLD is very happy to pinch the Grand final from us

They maybe, but the last laugh could be on them. There are always CONSEQUENCES.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Nothing in that document is new to me.

Ditto, if you've been engaged you'd know most of that.

But I don't think that antivirals kill the virus, they just limit growth, so it is kind of over-positive.

Yep:

Remdesivir is currently the most attracting attention as a drug that ultimately interferes with the activity of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) by inhibiting replication. The basic structure of remdesivir is the nucleoside (nucleotide). Since this structure serves as a nucleoside analogue, RNA chain elongation of corona virus cannot proceed any more. As a result, RdRp is inhibited by preventing replication of the virus.

Is it a magic bullet? Nope:

Is the remdesivir a definitive treatment regimen for COVID-19?
Regrettably, the current assessment of remdesivir does not seem to be entirely positive.
The first full-scale clinical trial of remdesivir was conducted in China from February to March 2020, and the results were very disappointing. It did not significantly reduce COVID-19 disease duration and mortality. Moreover, a number of serious side effects occurred quite a bit, and the clinical trial had to be terminated early.2
On the other hand, a clinical trial conducted in the United States produced relatively favorable result.3 In remdesivir group, time to recovery was shortened compared with that of the placebo group. However, the mortality was not significantly different between the two groups.
Taken together, the results suggest that remdesivir shortens the duration of the disease, but does not affect prognosis significantly.
Then, is the remdesivir less valuable as a COVID-19 treatment?
I cannot conclude that it is.
From a practical standpoint, COVID-19 pandemic is still not suppressed, so it is inevitable to try drugs that could work.
Several drugs have been suggested, but at this point remdesivir is worth trying as a solution.
Remdesivir is undergoing clinical trials in a few medical institutions in Korea, and recently received emergency approval by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Unlike the precedent of oseltamivir used during the swine flu pandemic in 2009, however, remdesivir is not expected to have the effect of lowering the rate of propagation and reducing the incidence by administering to all patients in the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic.
It should not be forgotten that remdesivir was not originally designed to target COVID-19. It is an antiviral drug originally designed to treat hepatitis C, Ebola, and Marburg virus.
Since there is no specific targeting drug to use right now, it is only a repurposed drug used on the basis of the mechanism of action. Therefore, don't expect miracles about remdesivir's performance and lower expectations.
In a word, at least now remdesivir is not a magic panacea. Even if remdesivir has a strong effect, we will need to find a partner or partners with something synergistic. Eventually, a definite antiviral treatment strategy for COVID-19 should be an appropriate and effective combination regimen.
Until the regimen is established, optimism for remdesivir should be avoided for the time being.