Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

If you get a common cold virus, you don't retain immunity to it forever. If Covid-19 is like that ... ugh.

 

when's the pep rally?

UA counts more than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases

 

I have questions about this.

Because the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is so prominent on the viral particles, and so critical for infection, some of the most potent and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 target the spike protein. Some antibodies glom on to the specific bit of the spike protein used to interact with ACE2, effectively blocking it from infecting cells.

But the researchers studying the man’s reinfection found that the two SARS-CoV-2 strains that infected him have different spike proteins—there are four significant differences in the viruses’ spike proteins, to be exact. These changes may have made it more difficult for anti-spike antibodies made after the first infection to recognize and neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 in the second infection. Thus, the researchers speculate, it may help explain the asymptomatic reinfection.

But the point is perhaps undercut by an oddity in the data. The researchers looked at the reinfected man’s antibody levels in blood collected 10 days after the onset of his first infection—and they didn’t find antibodies. In this case, they were looking for antibodies that target the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein, which is protein associated with the virus’s genetic material. Antibodies against nucleoprotein usually show up in people faster than antibodies against the spike protein. However, the man didn’t seem to have any 10 days after developing symptoms in his first infection.

The researchers speculate that he may not have developed any antibodies to the infection. Alternatively, he may have developed antibodies very quickly and the levels dropped equally fast, or he could have developed antibodies after the 10 days. After the second infection, they looked for antibodies one, three, and five days after he tested positive. They only detected antibodies on the fifth day.

Earlier studies have suggested that most people infected with SARS-CoV-2 do indeed develop antibodies against the coronavirus. So, the lack of antibody detection after the man’s first infection raises questions about how common his experience of reinfection might be. That said, since the researchers only had a blood sample from the one time point—10 days—after his first infection, it’s impossible to draw any firm conclusions.

Overall, the case does indicate that reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is possible. But the more important questions—such as how probable reinfection is and how long protective immune responses usually last—remain unanswered.​

Healthy 33-yr-old man first to have confirmed reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 — Ars Technica

 

Eight months in and we have more questions than answers. But that vaccine is coming any day now.

 

Mean Clean

 

Note to stupid people in North Texas: Just because you learned the "Comet" song as a kid does not make it a viable resource for medicinal purposes, although it's proven that Comet will make you vomit.

And if you throw your dead teacher in the bay, she will actually scare the fish away.

 

Ajax is good shit, though.

 

1) Mean Clean is great. It also reminded me of Dean Clean, one of the Dead Milkmen.
2) Story would make more of an impact if it told us the normal bleach-ingestion call count for a month.

 

Because God needs some students (yeah, I know ... but just because I'm not in the business full-time doesn't mean I cleaned up my sense of humor

 

People who visited the Sturgis motorcycle rally have visited 61 percent of the counties in the United States.

Revved by Sturgis Rally, COVID-19 infections move fast, far

I’m sure everything will be fine.

 

True. But the common cold doesn't kill you, because it's common. COVID will in time become just another common virus. But right now it's uncommon. That's why it kills you.

 

Unbelievable. These people won't believe it's real unless they get and end up in the hospital themselves.