Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:25 am

ExPenhMan wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:10 am Reuters caught up with Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Associaton and her experiences with the new variant, Omicron, in her own private practice.

Relax folks.

Headline: S.African doctor says patients with Omicron variant have "very mild" symptoms

Coetzee said a patient on Nov. 18 reported at her clinic being "extremely fatigued" for two days with body aches and headache.

"Symptoms at that stage was very much related to normal viral infection. And because we haven't seen COVID-19 for the past eight to 10 weeks, we decided to test," she said, adding that the patient and his family turned out to be positive.

On the same day, more patients came in with similar symptoms, which was when she realised there was "something else going on." Since then, she's seen two to three patients a day.

Coetzee, who is also on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, said unlike the Delta so far patients have not reported loss of smell or taste and there has been no major drop in oxygen levels with the new variant.

Her experience so far has been that the variant is affecting people who are 40 or younger. Almost half of the patients with Omicron symptoms that she treated were not vaccinated.

"The most predominant clinical complaint is severe fatigue for one or two days. With them, the headache and the body aches and pain."

Full story:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sa ... 021-11-28/

So, ExPenhMan, have you booked your ticket to PP yet?

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:25 am Asian markets down a little (playing catch-up). US futures up strongly. Oil up 5%. Bonds up strongly (yields down). Crypto up 4%.
Panic over.

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:42 pm
While the anecdotal report of Ms Coetzee was very upbeat news, what it did not mention is the fact that it is a tiny sample size and not representative of a cross section of the population. The next 2-4 weeks should tell us much more, both from the vaccine makers research and the studies of those currently infected around the world and the rest that will surely appear in the coming weeks.

Let's see what happens when it rips through a care home, then we'll know if there's nothing to worry about.

IraHayes wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:22 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:42 pm
While the anecdotal report of Ms Coetzee was very upbeat news, what it did not mention is the fact that it is a tiny sample size and not representative of a cross section of the population. The next 2-4 weeks should tell us much more, both from the vaccine makers research and the studies of those currently infected around the world and the rest that will surely appear in the coming weeks.

Let's see what happens when it rips through a care home, then we'll know if there's nothing to worry about.

And this is how it should have been reported.

Are those your own thoughts Doc or did you see this mentioned in the news media? Not having a go but I am interested if the news media expressed similar views as all I can seem to find are shock and awe reports about how this new variant has so many changes its super scary and be afraid.. be very afraid etc etc

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:59 pm

IraHayes wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:22 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:42 pm
While the anecdotal report of Ms Coetzee was very upbeat news, what it did not mention is the fact that it is a tiny sample size and not representative of a cross section of the population. The next 2-4 weeks should tell us much more, both from the vaccine makers research and the studies of those currently infected around the world and the rest that will surely appear in the coming weeks.

Let's see what happens when it rips through a care home, then we'll know if there's nothing to worry about.

And this is how it should have been reported.

Are those your own thoughts Doc or did you see this mentioned in the news media? Not having a go but I am interested if the news media expressed similar views as all I can seem to find are shock and awe reports about how this new variant has so many changes its super scary and be afraid.. be very afraid etc etc

Original thoughts. I haven't seen any media reports mentioning sample size etc.

Markets fall as Moderna chief predicts existing Covid vaccines will struggle with Omicron – business live

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel’s comments have dampened the mood in the markets, says Michael Hewson of CMC Markets:

Cautious positivity soon gave way to pessimism in late Asia trading on comments from the Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel to the FT, who predicted existing vaccines would struggle with the Omicron variant and who warned it would take months for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture enough jabs at a sufficient scale to make a difference.

His tone contrasts with the likes of Pfizer and BioNTech was suggested any new vaccine would be able to modified fairly quickly. His rather candid comments have also seen oil prices slide back sharply, as an increasingly jittery market react with concern to the prospects of further restrictions and lower demand.

Doc67 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:49 pm How long before Omicron is first discovered in Cambodia?

1. A week

2. A month

3. Never

Doc67 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:47 pm

Markets fall as Moderna chief predicts existing Covid vaccines will struggle with Omicron – business live

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel’s comments have dampened the mood in the markets, says Michael Hewson of CMC Markets:

Cautious positivity soon gave way to pessimism in late Asia trading on comments from the Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel to the FT, who predicted existing vaccines would struggle with the Omicron variant and who warned it would take months for pharmaceutical companies to manufacture enough jabs at a sufficient scale to make a difference.

His tone contrasts with the likes of Pfizer and BioNTech was suggested any new vaccine would be able to modified fairly quickly. His rather candid comments have also seen oil prices slide back sharply, as an increasingly jittery market react with concern to the prospects of further restrictions and lower demand.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/li ... iness-live

The director of the UK's Oxford Group, which developed the AstraZeneca vaccine, expressed cautious optimism on Saturday that the omicron variant won't result in a "reboot" of the pandemic.

"It is extremely unlikely that a reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year is going to happen," Professor Sir Andrew Pollard said.

"The vaccines have continued to prevent very severe disease as we’ve moved through alpha, beta, gamma, and delta," he told the BBC.

Pollard also said he was hopeful that a new vaccine, if needed, could be developed "very rapidly."

Pollard's comments come after UK-based health analyst Dr. John Campbell told DW that omicron is "not likely to completely invalidate the vaccines."

"It might reduce the efficacy but it's looking like the vaccines will continue to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death in the vast majority of cases."

In a statement, AstraZeneca said it had "developed, in close collaboration with Oxford University, a vaccine platform that enables us to respond quickly to new variants that may emerge."

The UK-based drugs company said it was "already conducting research in locations where the variant has been identified." [Eswatini and Botswana]