To have flu

England's chief medical officer has said Covid is not going anywhere but the disease would be treated like the flu and local lockdowns will end. A "wide portfolio" of coronavirus vaccines could be available in two years but a cautious approach is needed in the meantime, Professor Chris Whitty said. He also said it is not a "realistic starting point" to think any policy can completely stop the import of variants to the UK, but said he could not see a system of local lockdown returning. The comments will come as a huge boost to lockdown-weary Brits, more than a year after Boris Johnson imposed the first stay-at-home order. Prof Whitty added that most experts believed Covid was not going to go away and it would eventually have to be managed in a similar way that flu is. The top medic addressed a wide range of questions about the pandemic during a Royal Society of Medicine webinar on Thursday. While he said technology and the ability to tailor vaccines to new variants … [Read more...] about Chris Whitty says no more lockdowns likely with Covid to be ‘treated like flu’

Does a flu vaccination protect against COVID-19? And if so, why? These are the questions medical professionals are asking, because a team of doctors led by Anna Conlon from the University of Michigan came to some startling conclusions in a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control . The physicians had looked at patient data from 27,201 Michigan residents who had taken a COVID-19 test before July 15, 2020. Of those, 12,997 had previously been vaccinated against the flu. The study found that the proportion of flu-vaccinated people who contracted the coronavirus was slightly lower than among those who had not been vaccinated, 4% instead of 4.9%. In addition, the flu-vaccinated patients were also less likely to require hospitalization or ventilation for coronavirus infection, and their hospital stays were shorter on average. However, there were no significant differences in mortality between the two comparison groups. Does our innate immune defense … [Read more...] about Why are flu-vaccinated people more resistant to COVID-19?

Dire warnings that Britain will be hit by the Covid third wave sweeping Europe were made today - but an expert tonight warns "it's not inevitable'" The Prime Minister today warned Brits were "facing the same pandemic , we all have the same problems” as European nations, as soaring rates of the South African variant of Covid-19 are recorded in France. Scientists believe there could be up to 2,000 new cases of the new variant spreading in the country, as Paris on Friday entered lockdown once again amid the third wave and a faltering vaccine rollout. A month-long lockdown was imposed on the capital and parts of the north of France to curb the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants. But how worried should we be in Britain? What is your view? Have your say in the comment section Speaking to the Mirror, Dr Mike Tildesley, an infectious disease modelling expert and a member of SAGE, answered your questions about a third wave. How likely is a third wave? … [Read more...] about Will Covid third wave hit Britain? Your questions answered from lockdown to vaccines

A Russian coronavirus jab is 91.6% effective with no adverse side effects, trial results suggest. Phase three in the trial of the Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V), suggests a two-dose regimen of the vaccine offers 91.6% efficacy with reports of only mild symptoms - including flu-like symptoms and pain at the injection site. Preliminary findings published in The Lancet, are based on analysis of data from nearly 20,000 participants, three quarters of whom received the vaccine and one quarter received a placebo. The jab is a two-part vaccine that includes two adenovirus vectors - recombinant human adenovirus type 26 (rAd26-S) and recombinant human adenovirus type 5 (rAd5-S) - which have been modified to express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The adenoviruses are also weakened so that they cannot replicate in human cells and cannot cause disease. In the trial, participants were given one dose of rAd26-S, followed by a booster dose of rAd5-S 21 days later. According to the … [Read more...] about Russia Covid vaccine ‘91.6% effective with no adverse side effects’, trial finds

Survivors of a coronavirus infection can be left with long-term effects. Also on the show: coping with coronavirus measures such as social distancing, and the different approaches to creating a vaccine. Die Themenübersicht: Social effects of coronavirus Coronavirus and the psyche - An interview with an expert What effect does the coronavirus crisis have on our mental well-being? In Good Shape talks to psychotherapist Dr. Andreas Bechdolf. The long-term health effects of coronavirus Flu vaccine Coronavirus vaccines Scientists are exploring various methods of developing a vaccine against coronaviruses. But their goal is always the same — to immunize the body against an infection. Broadcast Hours: DW English FRI 09.10.2020 – 12:30 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 DW Deutsch+ SUN 11.10.2020 – 09:30 UTC Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3 … [Read more...] about The impact of coronavirus