Coronavirus

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I heard Dr. Fauci say today [think it was him?] that the Delta stream of the Corona Virus is, or starts, more centered in the nostrils, or nasal, area. When the 1st burst of the Covid came I suggested keeping the throat area of the airway cleared by using a toothbrush in the far back areas of the throat to provoke mucus clearing.That may have helped in keeping the airway cleared. So, now another possibly not lamebrain idea. Would flu remedies or antihistamines help in lessening congestion in nose areas thereby bettering breathing and hopefully helping natural and medical forces in making better progress in opposing the current Covid "spike"?

These ideas are right up there with drinking bleach and trying to shine bright lights into your lungs - both suggestions by D. Trump MD (mentally deficient)  Depending on the antihistamine, they have a drying effect which would be more likely to have the virus sticking around rather than being expelled when blowing one's nose. Trying to brush your throat is just going to trigger the gag reflex. Handwashing ,distancing, masks & vaccines.  This is not rocket science.

Unfortunately, I know some people who believe every hare brained theory out there. I wonder what the outcome would be if people actually did those four things instead of swearing by ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

[dismalist]

I heard Dr. Fauci say today [think it was him?] that the Delta stream of the Corona Virus is, or starts, more centered in the nostrils, or nasal, area. When the 1st burst of the Covid came I suggested keeping the throat area of the airway cleared by using a toothbrush in the far back areas of the throat to provoke mucus clearing.That may have helped in keeping the airway cleared. So, now another possibly not lamebrain idea. Would flu remedies or antihistamines help in lessening congestion in nose areas thereby bettering breathing and hopefully helping natural and medical forces in making better progress in opposing the current Covid "spike"?

These ideas are right up there with drinking bleach and trying to shine bright lights into your lungs - both suggestions by D. Trump MD (mentally deficient)  Depending on the antihistamine, they have a drying effect which would be more likely to have the virus sticking around rather than being expelled when blowing one's nose. Trying to brush your throat is just going to trigger the gag reflex. Handwashing ,distancing, masks & vaccines.  This is not rocket science.

Unfortunately, I know some people who believe every hare brained theory out there. I wonder what the outcome would be if people actually did those four things instead of swearing by ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

The CDC's risk aversion, especially for itself, with respect to the J & J vaccine around April 15 was the single most anti-vax promotion in the history of this epidemic.

See here: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-vaccination-doses-per-capita?time=2021-02-08..latest&country=~USA

[clean]

Trying to brush your throat is just going to trigger the gag reflex.  Handwashing ,distancing, masks & vaccines.  This is not rocket science.

Maybe we should try this at the start of the next class.... trigger the gag reflex, throw up, and THEN ask if anyone in class wants to wash their hands, stay away from me, and wear a mask!!

[Economizer]

Ahhh..those are here that write with skeptic pencil. Give peace and logic a chance, if only in your mind! It might spur  better supposition.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Two of my students, who have never worn a mask in class, have now tested positive. Lovely.

[Aster]

I learned today that not only has Cuba developed it own covid vaccine, but it will be giving it to small children as young as 2 years old.

[dismalist]

I learned today that not only has Cuba developed it own covid vaccine, but it will be giving it to small children as young as 2 years old.

Call the FDA for approval here.

[Caracal]

I learned today that not only has Cuba developed it own covid vaccine, but it will be giving it to small children as young as 2 years old.

Call the FDA for approval here.

I suspect that Cuba is just taking shortcuts on testing and safety trials. They might get away with it, but it isn't something we should want to see happen here. The vaccine will almost certainly be effective for young children. My understanding is that they aren't even running the large control trials like they did with adults. The tricky part is figuring out what a safe and effective dose is for kids of different age groups. The vaccines are great and they have a low risk of serious side effects for adults, but they do pack a punch. Kids are at a relatively low risk of getting seriously ill from Covid, so you want to make sure you find a dose that they can tolerate and that there aren't any unexpected problems before you start vaccinating millions of kids.

[kaysixteen]

What exactly are the issues regarding vax dosing of adults vs. children?   Does the weight of an indvidual matter much when it comes to deciding how large a vax dose to administer?   IOW, the vax doses given to adults are one-size-fits-all, regardless of whether the recipient is a supermodel, or a middle aged fat schlub such as myself?

The other thing that has concerned me is that, if it be necessary to submit a population of pre-pubescent children to a separate vaccine testing process, what are the ethics regarding choosing kids to be the test subjects in that process (which concern of course would also be the case wrt any medical testing efforts with children)?

[mamselle]

Buried somewhere in the FDA clinical trials protocols, there is an extensively-developed literature on this.

M.

[Caracal]

The other thing that has concerned me is that, if it be necessary to submit a population of pre-pubescent children to a separate vaccine testing process, what are the ethics regarding choosing kids to be the test subjects in that process (which concern of course would also be the case wrt any medical testing efforts with children)?

Well, my impression is that it helps that very large numbers of adults have taken the vaccine and they know that serious side effects are quite rare. I think the ethical concerns are why it takes so long though. Apparently the way they usually do this is they step down ages gradually. If you know that 12 year olds were fine, there's a pretty low risk that there will be significant problems with 10 year olds that would make it unethical to enroll them in a trial. If the ten year old trials don't reveal any significant issues, then you can move to 8 year olds pretty safely and so on.

My assumption is that the dosing works the same way. You don't just start by giving the full dose to a 2 year old. You probably try lower doses as you move down through the age groups and see if you get a good enough antibody response from them. We probably have some actual experts on this on here though, so happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

[fleabite]

Young children metabolize drugs differently than adults because of immature liver function. Therefore, the dosing may be different. For example, children may even require a higher dose per pound or kilo of body weight than adults. That is why tests have to be done specifically in children.

[Economizer]

In my earlier remarks I failed to say that I am vaccinated and that I am 100% for everyone getting vaccinated. My suggestions were meant to possibly help the vaxxed and un- vaxxed ward off sympthoms. I am no doctor and I am not in anyway a medical professional!

[kaysixteen]

I get the drug metabolism stuff, but vaccines are not drugs.  Their objective is to engender antibodies for the viruses they are designed to combat, much the same way that actual exposure to the virus does.  The virus does not know nor care how old the host is.  I seem to be missing something here, because the vaccine certainly does not know whether the recipient is 11 or 12... or 22 or 82.   Nor, for that matter, does it know whether the recipient is 50 lbs., 150lbs, or a subject of an episode of 'My 600lb. life'.   Similarly, when someone actually catches the virus, they catch it, merely by being exposed to enough virus to get it, but some covid+ sufferers will doubtless have been exposed to many times more virus particles, etc., than others.

I am trying to understand the issues regarding age of vax recipients, but I confess I know little.

[Vkw10]

Young children metabolize drugs differently than adults because of immature liver function. Therefore, the dosing may be different. For example, children may even require a higher dose per pound or kilo of body weight than adults. That is why tests have to be done specifically in children.

I get the drug metabolism stuff, but vaccines are not drugs.

So the reason for any sort of medical trial being different for children is that immature body may react differently than adult body? The vaccine may cause different complications because of developmental stage?