Virus

France has logged a record high of 104,611 COVID-19 infections, breaking the 100,000 threshold for the first time. https://t.co/LmRoEBEmHj

— DW News (@dwnews) December 25, 2021

Talason wrote:japan se fokusirao na higijenu disanja, ne znam kako to drugačije da nazovem

za sada funkcioniše besprekorno

rumbeando wrote:

France has logged a record high of 104,611 COVID-19 infections, breaking the 100,000 threshold for the first time. https://t.co/LmRoEBEmHj

— DW News (@dwnews) December 25, 2021

Omicron Origins
William A. Haseltine

Spoiler:

Molnupiravir-induced
The final theory, and perhaps the most troubling one, is that Omicron is a result of our own doing, through the treatment of a Covid-19 patient with the highly mutagenic antiviral drug molnupiravir. Molnupiravir works by introducing errors into the virus’ genetic code. When enough errors are introduced, virus replication slows and the patient clears the virus. 
Under less than ideal conditions — when the full dose of molnupiravir is not taken over the full period of five days, for example — the drug could lead to the creation of highly mutated, but viable, strains of SARS-CoV-2. Even under ideal conditions, patients treated with molnupiravir produced viable virus a few days into their course of treatment. The extent of the mutations which appeared due to molnupiravir are significant. In the FDA analysis of Merck’s clinical trial results, the authors note that patients who received molnupiravir showed more viral variation than those who did not, including amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions in the spike gene, and amino acid changes were scattered throughout the coding sequence. A total of 72 emergent spike substitutions or changes was detected among 38 molnupiravir-treated patients. 
In South Africa, where Omicron was first detected, molnupiravir has been taken in both ideal and non-ideal conditions. Four 12 different South African locations were used in Merck’s clinical trial of molnupiravir, which began in October 2020. The drug was given to patients at what we now know to be the “optimal” dosage, but also at lower doses to test the drug’s efficacy in smaller amounts. There is by no means a foolproof connection between molnupiravir and Omicron, but molnupiravir is known to induce a preponderance of two types of mutations: cytosine to uridine (C→U) and guanosine to adenosine (G→A). If you look at the difference in the Omicron genome and the original Wuhan variant, these C→U and G→A mutations comprise the majority of differences, with C→U mutations more prevalent to G→A. The same has been observed for molnupiravir-induced mutations in other coronaviruses (see Figure below). Agostini et al. note that exposure to molnupiravir resulted in up to 162 mutations in MHV and 41 mutations in MERS-CoV.






(A) SARS-CoV-2 genome with wastewater variant mutations observed by Johnson et al. noted as black lines;
(B) SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Nucleocapsid proteins with Johnson et al. wastewater variant mutations noted as black lines. Mutations listed are those found in Omicron within one amino acid position of those found in the wastewater variants. Mutations in red are an exact match between the Omicron variant and the wastewater variants;
(C) MHV and (D) MERS-CoV mutations observed by Agostini et al. after exposure to molunpiravir.  AGOSTINI ET AL.

There is still much more study to be done before we will know with any degree of certainty which of these three scenarios led to Omicron’s evolution. But we know enough today to make a few assumptions and assertions.
First, until we can say with certainty that molnupiravir did not and could not create a highly infectious and highly mutated variant like Omicron, it should be pulled from the market and any debate over approval of the drug should be paused.
Second, we need to finally acknowledge the broad range of tools known and unknown that this virus has at its disposal, across its viral genome. While Omicron may be bad, future variants could be far worse. The United States and many other countries are still far behind where they should be when it comes to testing and genomic sequencing of viruses in circulation among humans and in other populations. Until we do better on this front — until we understand what the virus has already achieved and how it succeeded — we will never have a full understanding of what more this virus can do and what is ahead in this pandemic. Omicron tells us that now, more than ever, we need to institute a systematic multimodal approach to Covid control, including public health measures, vaccines, therapeutic and prophylactic drugs, and collaborative global engagement.

Ne igra se Partizan – Mega
Ništa od utakmice. Nekom drugom prilikom Partizan će da dočeka Megu. Meč 13. kola [košarkaške ABA lige] koji je bio zakazan za 21:00 je odložen.
Jednostavno, goste je desetkovala korona. Pozitivni na kovid 19 su pet igrača i šef stručnog štaba Vlada Jovanović. Za rukovodstvo regionalnog takmičenja nije bilo druge opcije nego da u takvim okolnostima odlože duel ovih rivala. Prosto, gosti nisu imali dovoljno košarkaša na raspolaganju…

Why is this important?
It potentially adds to the immunity wall built from vaccinations, boosters and prior infections. That the 🦠 itself may be less pathogenic.

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 27, 2021

Craig Spencer MD MPH, 12h, 10 tweets, 2 min read
I’ve seen a lot of Covid in the ER recently.
With so many people getting infected recently, some folks may wonder what’s the point of getting vaccinated at all?
And is there really any value to a booster dose if I’ve had two Pfizer/Moderna or a shot of J&J?
My observations: 🧵 
Every patient I’ve seen with Covid that’s had a 3rd ‘booster’ dose has had mild symptoms.
By mild I mean mostly sore throat. Lots of sore throat. Also some fatigue, maybe some muscle pain.
No difficulty breathing. No shortness of breath.
All a little uncomfortable, but fine. 
Most patients I’ve seen that had 2 doses of Pfizer/Moderna still had ‘mild’ symptoms, but more than those who had received a third dose.
More fatigued. More fever. More coughing. A little more miserable overall.
But no shortness of breath. No difficulty breathing.
Mostly fine. 
Most patients I’ve seen that had one dose of J&J and had Covid were worse overall. Felt horrible. Fever for a few days (or more).
Weak, tired. Some shortness of breath and cough.
But not one needing hospitalization. Not one needing oxygen.
Not great. But not life-threatening. 
And almost every single patient that I’ve taken care of that needed to be admitted for Covid has been unvaccinated.
Every one with profound shortness of breath. Every one whose oxygen dropped when they walked. Every one needing oxygen to breath regularly. 
The point is you’re gonna hear about a LOT of people getting Covid in the coming days and weeks.
Those that have been vaccinated and got a booster dose will mostly fare well with minimal symptoms.
Those getting two doses might have a few more symptoms, but should still do well. 
Those who got a single J&J similarly may have more symptoms, but have more protection than the unvaccinated (if you got a single dose of J&J, please get another vaccine dose—preferably Pfizer or Moderna—ASAP!)
But as I’ve witnessed in the ER, the greatest burden still falls on… 
The unvaccinated. Those who haven’t gotten a single dose of vaccine.
They’re the most likely to need oxygen. They’re the most likely to have complications. They’re the most likely to get admitted. And the most likely to stay in the hospital for days or longer with severe Covid. 
These are all just observations from my recent shifts in the ER.
But the same has been borne out by local and national data showing that the unvaccinated make up a very disproportionate share of those with severe disease, needing hospitalization, and dying from Covid. 
So no matter your political affiliation, or thoughts on masks, or where you live in this country, as an ER doctor you’d trust with your life if you rolled into my emergency room at 3am, I promise you that you’d rather face the oncoming Omicron wave vaccinated.
Please be safe.