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A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

nytimes.com

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Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#171

Post by noduerme »

Vecr wrote: post #168
noduerme wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your logic seems fairly sound as far as the future trajectory of covid-19, if history is a guide. What I've been wondering and I'd put to you is, do you think the T-cell response to the mRNA vaccines / infection will also confer immunity or decrease the severity of MERS? Or other more distantly related wild coronaviruses?

MERS is not a Sarbecovirus, it's a Merbecovirus, so not the same subgenus. They are not similar enough for much to happen, if anything at all.

Could you explain? Are the spike proteins around MERS too different... and what about the coronaviruses that cause the common cold. Could we expect any cross immunity to those.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#172

Post by kcartlidge »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #71
e40 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And specifically about a pandemic, even if 50% of humans died in it the species would continue, but that would very much be something to worry about. Even at much lower percentages it would be worrying. Or the fact that it could continue for generations.

Fact it could continue? Or opinion it could continue? There's a significant difference. The latter is not science.

The comment (as you quoted) was: "Fact it could continue".

Given that nobody knows with certainty that it can't, it is very much "fact" and not "opinion" that it could continue.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#173

Post by f6v »

hatware wrote: post #165
f6v wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing wrong with strong government institutions.

There is much wrong when the institutions cease to function for their citizens. I can't believe this has to be explained to you: Corporations and governments are working against the people every step of the way.

I never mentioned corporations, don’t know why you conflate the two. As for the governments, I’ve lived in the EU for the majority of my independent, adult life. What you’re saying is foreign to me. And I don’t think it’s a universally accepted truth.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#174

Post by rsynnott »

hatware wrote: post #166
rsynnott wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, good luck with that. There have been three coronavirus epidemics in the last 20 years. And probably hundreds at least more throughout human history. And the current one won’t be entirely gone anytime soon.

Epidemics don't need marketing departments, something that is very obviously part of the equation with "the current one."

… Wait, are you claiming that people weren’t terrified of SARS-1? That’s not how I remember it at all. We were lucky, that time, that’s all. If SARS-1 had had slightly different properties, much the same thing would have played out 17 years ago.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#175

Post by hatware »

f6v wrote: post #173
hatware wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is much wrong when the institutions cease to function for their citizens. I can't believe this has to be explained to you: Corporations and governments are working against the people every step of the way.

I never mentioned corporations, don’t know why you conflate the two. As for the governments, I’ve lived in the EU for the majority of my independent, adult life. What you’re saying is foreign to me. And I don’t think it’s a universally accepted truth.

> What you’re saying is foreign to me.

Yes, as I said before: I think you're suffering from a lack of perspective.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#176

Post by seppin »

hatware wrote: post #175
f6v wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never mentioned corporations, don’t know why you conflate the two. As for the governments, I’ve lived in the EU for the majority of my independent, adult life. What you’re saying is foreign to me. And I don’t think it’s a universally accepted truth.

> What you’re saying is foreign to me. Yes, as I said before: I think you're suffering from a lack of perspective.

No he or she is simply coming from a place of high trust in the state, because the state mostly works.

That's what your American perspective is lacking.

Re: A coronavirus epidemic hit 20k years ago, new study finds

#177

Post by nomel »

f6v wrote: post #158
nomel wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we don’t use the momentum to reduce vaccine rollout times among other things - we failed. I don't think we can use the luck we had with this vaccine to justify risky releases in the future.

The 5-10 year drug development cycle isn’t something that should stay that way forever. It’s incredibly slow and we should change that.

> It’s incredibly slow and we should change that.

It's slow because drugs aren't remotely understood, in the grand scheme of things, and not all side effects are immediate. If you stay up and watch late night TV, you'll see at least a couple "Were you affected by ? Our lawyers are here to help" ads. My mom, for example, has permanent heart damage from a recalled drug.

We can shorten development cycles when biology is understood. Currently, it's not. Your doctor will happily tell you "They don't know exactly why this works, but they believe..." if you ask them about any drug.

Risk vs reward aside, vaccines may have a much smaller problem space, but they're still not completely understood, evident by clots from the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines [1], the link with heart inflammation [2], and the deaths from both.

1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-related-blood-...

2. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57781637

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