South African Covid-19 News and Discussions 3

[Geoff.D]

The thing is vaccines can't eradicate COVID-19 - definitely not this year. What they should do is bring COVID down to a level of colds and flu where we simply manage it as and when it happens. So some treatments even if they just lower the effects on the virus will also go a long way to making it "one of those things".

My question is then at what numbers will WHO declare the pandemic over? (even though it could be endemic like flu)

Never is the answer. Who just like all govts love the control they now have.

 

[Paulsie]

Watching Israel's new infection rates. It's disappointing given the rate at which they've rolled out the vaccine. 4k new infections yesterday alone and currently have more confirmed active cases than SA. Seems it takes time for the vaccine to kick in and double dose required.

Remember that vaccines are supposed to assist the body in fighting covid inside the body. It does not create a magic, impenetrable shield outside of it.
You still get infected, the body just deals worth it quietly. Therefore if you continue to PCR test people, you will still get positive results. Vaccine or not.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Slightly off topic, but that's the way the UK seems to be heading:

Covid: We could live with virus 'like we do flu' by end of year, says Hancock

But scientists warn against treating coronavirus like the flu, with mutations getting "more dangerous".

www.bbc.com

Finally recognising something that many non-medical people have been saying since March last year. Talking of a eliminating respiratory virus is for the birds yet that is some politicians talk about (thankfully that is not the position of the SA government)

 

[neoprema]

Never is the answer. Who just like all govts love the control they now have.

Democracy cannot allow that to happen.

 

[Geoff.D]

Finally recognising something that many non-medical people have been saying since March last year. Talking of a eliminating respiratory virus is for the birds yet that is some politicians talk about (thankfully that is not the position of the SA government)

But plenty of sefricans are talking that way. The vaccine is a miracle cure. The virus will be gone.
Yes it is hilarious that it took the establishment a year to get to where many of us were in February last year already.

 

[Lupus]

Democracy cannot allow that to happen.

Democracy is an illusion currently

 

[MiW]

Up to 63% of South Africans have had Covid-19, blood donor tests suggest

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has probably already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites.

www.timeslive.co.za

 

[Lupus]

But plenty of sefricans are talking that way. The vaccine is a miracle cure. The virus will be gone.
Yes it is hilarious that it took the establishment a year to get to where many of us were in February last year already.

Lots of chicken Littles kept fighting me, kept saying this isn't the flu to me. Though I never said it was like the flu, I was saying we'd have to learn to live with it, like the flu, that the flu can be deadly as well, yet we adapted. Oh did they come for me, saying I was a denier.
Never did I deny the virus, I am against the measures taken against it, the fears it brought to a lot of people, the job losses.
Hell even in my job its taken a lot longer to achieve things as I had to struggle to get parts, support and such, started getting better around Oct/Nov worldwide.
I've got an upgrade that has to start happening this year and it's slow still.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Up to 63% of South Africans have had Covid-19, blood donor tests suggest

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has probably already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites.

www.timeslive.co.za

*If* true, SA will reach herd immunity long before vaccines are rolled out, or at least a form of herd immunity.

Edit: See it's only 63 percent in the EC, but still very high in other provinces. On the other hand, they excluded two of the most infected provinces, Gauteng and WC.

 

[Gordon_R]

Up to 63% of South Africans have had Covid-19, blood donor tests suggest

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has probably already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites.

www.timeslive.co.za

Interesting numbers, though the article 'conceals' as much as it reveals (i.e. the white/black percentages). Given the prevalence of infections in the second wave, it is pretty clear that the middle class is still highly vulnerable. A protracted third wave is almost certain, since the quoted numbers fall far short of herd-immunity.

 

[MiW]

*If* true, SA will reach herd immunity long before vaccines are rolled out, or at least a form of herd immunity.

Edit: See it's only 63 percent in the EC, but still very high in other provinces.

EC data suports the article

 

[Geoff.D]

*If* true, SA will reach herd immunity long before vaccines are rolled out, or at least a form of herd immunity.

Edit: See it's only 63 percent in the EC, but still very high in other provinces.

The danger is in my opinion, that our half hearted attempt at vaccinations will trigger rapid mutation of the virus which will then mean that the numbers previously infected naturally as well as those vaccinated will mean absolutely nothing.

 

[FNfal]

Up to 63% of South Africans have had Covid-19, blood donor tests suggest

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has probably already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites.

www.timeslive.co.za

That makes some interesting reading , it is by no means conclusive but it give an indication of what is happening .

 

[Gordon_R]

*If* true, SA will reach herd immunity long before vaccines are rolled out, or at least a form of herd immunity.

I just posted a lengthy extract in another thread, but it is particularly relevant to your comment: https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/thr...-sars-cov-2-coronavirus.1107264/post-26931166
Substitute immunity for vaccine as necessary:

Most of the topline efficacy numbers for vaccines are against symptoms; to prevent transmission, though, which is key for herd immunity, the vaccine needs to tamp down viral replication even further. That’s why vaccine efficacy against transmission is expected to be lower than efficacy against symptoms—exactly how much lower is still unclear.

Efficacy against transmission will probably be the first to erode too. In the long term, immunity in general tends to wane, with protection against severe disease being the most durable. New variants may further knock vaccine efficacy down a rung or two. A vaccine that might have protected a recipient from getting infected with the original virus might now protect only against symptomatic infection.

These vaccines elicit a strong immune response and high levels of antibodies, also known as titers, inside the body—but not necessarily in the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, which are the first line of defense against the coronavirus. “It’s possible that over time, as titers fall away, you start to get infections in the upper respiratory tract,” says Jason McLellan, a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

[Mila]

The abandoned caravan storage facility - NEWS LOCAL BREAKING

The caravan park in Modjadjiskloof was apparently revamped in 2020 and handed over to the Limpopo Health Department, but it was never used.

farnorthbulletin.co.za

The abandoned caravan park in Modjadjiskloof was supposedly renovated by the Greater Tzaneen Municipality and handed over to the Limpopo Health Department in September last year. It was reportedly meant to be used by the department as a quarantine facility to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

 

[Paulsie]

Up to 63% of South Africans have had Covid-19, blood donor tests suggest

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has probably already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites.

www.timeslive.co.za

Particularly striking was the difference between races. Black people were between three times (Northern Cape) and five times (KwaZulu-Natal) more likely than white people to have antibodies to the virus.

Not really striking at all, considering general living conditions and compliance.

That being said, and looking at the world's covid chart, the higher than thought antibody prevalence might be the case globally as well.

 

[Supervan II]

Particularly striking was the difference between races. Black people were between three times (Northern Cape) and five times (KwaZulu-Natal) more likely than white people to have antibodies to the virus.

Not really striking at all, considering general living conditions and compliance.

That being said, and looking at the world's covid chart, the higher than thought antibody prevalence might be the case globally as well.

And guess which population group adhered most to the lockdown? Suburbia.

 

[Paulsie]

And guess which population group adhered most to the lockdown? Suburbia.

So blacks partied during lockdown and they can now party because they're immune....

 

[Supervan II]

So blacks partied during lockdown and they can now party because they're immune....

Only those who ignored lockdown, which seem to be the majority. Says a lot about the effectiveness thereof.

 

[noxibox]

Democracy cannot allow that to happen.

Easy enough to suspend.

Only those who ignored lockdown, which seem to be the majority. Says a lot about the effectiveness thereof.

If a discussion about ”lockdown” effectiveness springs up we’ll be told that it was effective. That they are effective.