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Justin C

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    XFL Update: Fox expresses willingness to work with XFL 3.0, new owner, with modifications to deal

    in The Stadium Wall Archives

    Posted

    35 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

     

    They fell in half...over the inaugural season's first 5 weeks...

     

    The pandemic prevented them from approaching zero.

     

    There's only one way to link the NFL and XFL:  the former should relegate its worst 2 teams every season down to the latter and make them claw their way back in by winning the XFL championship.

     

     

     

    Comparing TV ratings to something over 20 years ago makes zero sense given the change in the TV landscape.

     

    They were not approaching 0. They stabled out to where, as others have said, were doing better than the NHL and college basketball at the same time.

    Erie County/Upstate New York Covid-19 Response (was: Erie Co Declares State of Emergency

    in Off the Wall Archives

    Posted

    What I found weird is that a lot of retailers are already opened for Curbside pickup. So I didn't know why that was included in Phase One.

     

    The more I thought about it though, it might make it easier to go from Phase 1 to Phase 2 with that in there. If those stores are already open, it shouldn't affect the numbers drastically in this stage and might make a move to Phase 2 easier.

    Buffalo Bills Official 2020 Schedule

    in The Stadium Wall Archives

    Posted

    Why does every thread get filled with "too bad the season will be cancelled/possibly no fans" comments? Can we please just talk about the schedule and nothing else? 

     

    I like the balance of it. No more than two back to back home or away games. My boss at work is a 49ers fan and a bunch of us are trying to tell him that a trip there for a 49ers game sounds like great team building.

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    NFL Schedule leaks

    in The Stadium Wall Archives

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, whatdrought said:


    Not to digress into another Covid situation, but I disagree wholeheartedly. I promise there will be fans and a full season. Take it to the bank. 

     

    Now you have my hopes up for this. I know we are 4 months out and anything can happen, but despite being relatively new here I want to believe you.

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    COVID-19 - Facts and Information Only Topic

    in Off the Wall

    Posted · Edited by Hapless Bills Fan
    another reference about how this might work

    @Hapless Bills Fan any thoughts on this? https://www.indiatvnews.com/science/covid-19-vaccine-in-1-month-csir-pins-hope-on-sepsivac-613529

    Quote

     

    India's top research and development organization, the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), which is currently testing a "repurposed" vaccine against Covid-19 in a Phase 2 trial, is hoping to seek approval from the drug controller for its wider use against the pandemic in as early as 30 days from now, the scientist who is coordinating the effort said on Saturday.

     

    CSIR is currently testing Cadila Pharmaceuticals' "Sepsivac" against COVID-19.

    This treatment was developed as a result of a partnership between CSIR and Cadila Pharmaceuticals many years ago. This immunotherapy treatment, which boosts "innate immunity", was initially approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for gram negative sepsis which is a disease caused by bacteria.


    But the scientists found that the pathological symptoms of this disease and Covid-19 were quite similar. And given the urgency of finding a solution to the rapidly rising Covid-19 cases across the world, the scientists thought of testing the treatment against the current pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

     

    CSIR got the approval to test "Sepsivac" against Covid-19 in a Phase 2 clinical trial about 10 days ago. The trial is being conducted on 50 patients at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, AIIMS Bhopal, and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

     

    "We expect the results from this Phase 2 trial within 30-45 days from now. And if the results are encouraging, we will seek approval from the drug controller because of emergency and keep on continuing the Phase 3 trial. That's how it happens," Ram Vishwakarma, Director, Integrative Medicine (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), Jammu, told IANS.

    Vishwakarma said that once it applies, the approval from the drug controller is expected to come fast as it is an emergency situation.

     

    So if the Phase 2 trial shows that "Sepsivac" is effective against Covid-19, the world may have a vaccine against the disease as early as one month from now, at least for emergency use.

     

    Meanwhile, Vishwakarma informed that CSIR has also got approval for conducting Phase 3 clinical trial of "Sepsivac" against Covid-19.

    "The Phase 3 trials will be done on 1,100 people -- 600 will be those who have tested positive but non- symptomatic, and 500 will be those who are out of hospital," Vishwakarma said.

     

    How does Sepsivac work?

    It contains heat-killed mycobacterium w (Mw), an immunomodulator, which is a non-pathogenic mycobacterium.

     

    "Normally when you develop a vaccine, you grow the organism and kill it. It is called heat killed. Here we heat killed the bacteria. It is a standard vaccine concept," Vishwakarma said, adding that the bacterium is produced by fermentation.

     

    "The treatment we are testing against Covid-19 is designed to enhance innate immunity which is very critical. People who are weak in innate immunity will get the infection faster," he said.

     

    Vishwakarma explained that it is a non-specific vaccine which could be used to both cure and protect people. He explained that there are generally three types of vaccines.

    "There are therapeutic vaccines, where you give them as a drug for curing. There are prophylactic vaccines, which you give to people to protect them. And there are some which have both the properties, which are called immunomodulators.

     

    "Sepsivac will be an immunomodulator, which will have protective effect and therapeutic effect both," he said.

     

    Vishwakarma is hopeful that the Phase 2 clinical trials of the treatment will provide positive results. And because the drug is already in use for sepsis or septic shock treatment, "human safety is already assured," he said, adding that it will be applicable for all age groups.

    "We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best," Vishwakarma said.

    As developing a vaccine against a new disease takes time, researchers the world over are rushing to repurpose existing drugs, vaccines against the disease.

     

     

    On 5/3/2020 at 12:31 PM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

     

    I need to look into it, but it sounds a lot like the theory behind current clinical trials of already-approved BCG vaccine, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in Australia and the Netherlands for use against covid-19

    Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a live-bacteria vaccine given to protect against tuberculosis, using a weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis (the cause of tuberculosis disease in Cattle).  It is still a routine infant immunization in a number of countries.  It was discontinued at various points in other countries.  It was never given routinely in the US because the risk of acquiring tuberculosis is considered less than the protection provided by the vaccine (which is variable - it's not a very effective vaccine) + the risks of the vaccine.

    BCG vaccine has been shown to have a protective effect against sepsis and respiratory infections - essentially, to function as an immunomodulator.  There are some studies showing it has an interesting effect on the immune system - that it upregulates part of the immune system and makes it more effective.

     

    Sepsivac seems to be a heat-killed vaccine from a different strain of Mycobacteria, and might work through a similar mechanism.

    Edit: here's some stuff from the company that developed Sepsivac as a general treatment for sepsis:
    https://www.cadilapharma.com/sepsivac-sepsis-saviour-cadila/
    Indications are certain leprosy cases, Non-small cell lung cancer, and gram-negative sepsis.

    BCG has become a fairly standard treatment for bladder cancer, so seeing a cancer indication for Sepsivac supports the idea it may work in a similar way.  It's not an anti-viral or a direct anti-cancer chemotherapy, it's an immunomodulator.

    FWIW, I think it's a great approach to try (both BCG and this approach) because it's totally different than a strict preventive vaccine that works by trying to train the immune system to recognize and respond to SARS-CoV2.  Since we don't know yet what will work, it only makes sense to try a wide range of different approaches.

    I don't think it would be given to the population at large; I think it would be targeted to people most at-risk, and also to covid-19 positive patients who fit a high-risk profile.

     

    Edit: adding this in here - it's not about Sepsivac, but it's another piece that explains the potential immune-boosting effect of vaccines like BCG and possibly oral polio vaccine.  If Sepsivac works, it would likely be through a similar mechanism.

    TL;DR your body has two immune responses, innate and adaptive.  Adaptive immune response is what develops after you contract and recover from a disease, or are vaccinated against a disease - your body learns to produce specific antibodies against that organism and churns them out quickly in response to a future exposure.

    But it's long been observed that people vaccinated with some vaccines, like BCG, become less likely to die from other diseases.  The current evidence (and it's small) is that it has to do with priming your innate immune system to become more efficient and effective. 

     

    Covid-19 discussion and humor thread [Was: CDC says don't touch your face to avoid Covid19...Vets to the rescue!

    in Off the Wall Archives

    Posted

    Quote

     

    Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is confident that January is a realistic deadline for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to become widely available, if "things fall into place."

     

    Speaking to Today's Savannah Guthrie on Thursday morning, Fauci said he was part of the team at the White House that was developing the vaccine plan. A Phase I trial is underway for a potential vaccine and the next step would be to do a Phase II trial to determine if it works and is safe.

    If the vaccine proves to be a viable option in the Phase I trial, the administration won't wait for results from the Phase II trial to start producing the vaccine, according to Fauci.

     

    "You don't wait until you get an answer to start manufacturing," Fauci told Guthrie. "You, at risk, proactively start making it assuming it's going to work and if it does then you can scale up."


    By ramping up production "at risk," if the results are positive from the Phase II trial, it'll mean a quick roll out to the general public because the supplies are already in place.

    While a January 2021 timeline may seem shocking for people who kept hearing "12 to 18 months," Fauci noted that when he first started giving that timeline, it was back in January and February. So, it isn't all that different from his original statements, but he added it's "aspirational."


    Governors in Illinois and California floated the idea that mass gatherings could be canceled until a vaccine is available and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the crisis won't be over until people can be inoculated. Even if officials lift restrictions before a vaccine is ready, business leaders are concerned that consumers won't fully return until they can be protected against the new coronavirus.

     

    "Of course we worry about it," Chris Narsetta, president and CEO of Hilton, said during a Wednesday roundtable at the White House.

     

    President Donald Trump acknowledged that vaccines haven't been created for every virus, but said "a lot of progress" was being made with the one for SARS-CoV-2. Although he thinks America will be successful with a new coronavirus vaccine, he wouldn't wait for that to reopen restaurants and stadiums at 100 percent capacity.


    As of Friday morning, 1,040,488 people in America have been confirmed to have the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Of those people, 60, 999 people have died and with encouraging results from a trial for a treatment drug, called a therapeutic, Trump said he might prefer treatment over a vaccine.

    "If you gave me both, I'd rather have the [therapeutic] because that makes people better right now," Trump said on Wednesday. "Whether it's helping them along or makes them better almost instantly, we have to see."


    It's likely a therapeutic will be on the market before a vaccine because when you're dealing with people who are already ill, the safety issues are "much, much different," according to Fauci. Plus, you can tell if the drug is working "almost immediately," whereas determining the efficacy of a vaccine requires additional research.

    The vaccine's in the third phase of the Phase 1 study and Phase II will start in the summer, which will involve hundreds of people, according to Fauci.

     

     

    Fauci is normally hesitant about being overly optimistic or putting dates on stuff. So you have to like that he's talking about dates.

     

    Link to the article: https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-says-coronavirus-vaccine-could-widely-available-january-if-things-fall-right-place-1501210

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    COVID-19 - Facts and Information Only Topic

    in Off the Wall

    Posted

    https://www.newsweek.com/south-korea-experts-say-recovered-coronavirus-patients-retested-positive-because-dead-virus-parts-1500998

    Quote

     

    Health experts in South Korea are addressing the nation's growing incidence of former coronavirus patients who have retested positive for the disease after having previously recovered. According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, figures published Wednesday indicated that 292 people countrywide had tested positive for the respiratory illness since initially contracting it and later testing negative, suggesting conceivable recovery from infection. However, discussing the upward trend in positive retests during a recent news conference, officials from KCDC's clinical committee for emerging disease control said the pattern does not necessarily reflect a reoccurrence of active infection.

     

    Committee head Oh Myoung-don instead attributed positive test results following recovery to "dead," or inactive, virus components still present in patients' cells, multiple outlets based in South Korea reported on Wednesday.

     

    "RNA fragments still can exist in a cell even if the virus is inactivated," Oh said during the conference, according to government-funded media organization Yonhap News Agency. "It is more likely that those who tested positive again picked up virus RNA that has already been inactivated," he continued, going on to explain that the coronavirus' biological interactions with human DNA strands show its lack of ability to "create chronic infections."

     

    Still, concerns over South Korea's growing number of positive retests have circulated throughout April, as the number of second-time diagnoses among "recovered" individuals has steadily risen. Less than two weeks ago, KCDC reported that 163 patients had tested positive for the virus again following recovery and subsequent discharge from isolation. At the time, repeat diagnoses accounted for slightly more than 2 percent of the country's recovered population. On Wednesday, approximately 2.7 percent of previously recovered adults had tested positive for the coronavirus a second time, as well as 3.4 percent of children.


    KCDC shared preliminary findings of an investigation into the retests on April 17, saying the average time between a recovered coronavirus patient's discharge and positive test result was roughly 13.5 days, with an overall range of one to 35 days. Of 137 cases studied, KCDC reported that 61 patients showed mild symptoms, 72 were asymptomatic and four were still being explored. The disease control center also said there were no secondary infections identified in any successive cases.

     

    By Sunday, South Korea had confirmed 263 cases of positive test results in formerly recovered coronavirus patients, and KCDC said its investigation remained ongoing.

    "Contact tracing on these re-positive cases is also underway to identify possibility of secondary infection," its April 26 report read. "No new case has yet been confirmed that resulted from exposure to the re-positive cases (during the period in which they were re-positive). The contacts are still under monitoring."

     

    As of Wednesday morning, 10,761 coronavirus cases and 246 resulting deaths had been confirmed across South Korea, according to Johns Hopkins University's tracker. Reports from its Department of Health as well as KCDC show less than 15 people have tested positive for the first time each day since April 19.

     

     

    I'd say that's good news.

    [Edit: additional article on the topic https://time.com/5810454/coronavirus-immunity-reinfection/]
     

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    Covid-19 discussion and humor thread [Was: CDC says don't touch your face to avoid Covid19...Vets to the rescue!

    in Off the Wall Archives

    Posted

    Today at Cuomo's press conference he said that businesses need to submit a plan for reopening. So does this mean the mom and pop shoe store is going to have to give the governor and actual list before they can reopen just like a large chain restaurant would? This seems really confusing.

     

    I liked how Cuomo has handled this for the most part. Maybe it’s the fact I haven’t been able to do anything for a week outside because of the ***** weather getting to me. But his press conferences have had less answers every day. I’m not saying open everything tomorrow. But you’ve had two months to come up with some semblance of a plan (after having no plan to close) and we still have few answers outside of construction and manufacturing can open somewhat on the 15.

     

    I think it’s becoming clear that Cuomo is trying to 1. Kick this as far down the curb as allowable (reopening) and 2. Make himself come off blameless if things go bad. I’m pretty sure tomorrow new cases could go from 1000 to 1 and he would still say it’s bad. I mean yesterday was the one nice day we've had in a week and people were out left and right hanging out in driveways, and it is going to get harder to tell people no when the weather actually turns nice.

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