Revealed: How a single pill home cure for Covid could be available this year

‘At two anonymous Pfizer buildings, one in the US and one in Belgium, a remarkable experiment is under way. Up to 60 volunteers, all clean-living adults aged between 18 and 60, are being given the first pill specifically designed to stop SARS-CoV-2.

‘If the trial is successful, it is just possible that a home cure for Covid-19 will become available later this year. The Prime Minister, who announced the formation of a UK Antivirals Taskforce last week specifically to invest in such products, will no doubt be scanning his text messages for early updates.

‘The molecule being tested is a bespoke antiviral codenamed PF 07321332. Classed as a "protease inhibitor", it has been formulated to attack the "spine" of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and stop it replicating in our noses, throats and lungs. It was protease inhibitors that turned the tide on the spread of HIV in the UK and around the world. Now researchers hope they may be on the brink of a similar pandemic-busting breakthrough.’

Read here (The Telegraph, Apr 24, 2021)

Face masks could be giving people Covid-19 immunity, researchers suggest

‘Face masks may be inadvertently giving people Covid-19 immunity and making them get less sick from the virus, academics have suggested in one of the most respected medical journals in the world.  The commentary, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, advances the unproven but promising theory that universal face mask wearing might be helping to reduce the severity of the virus and ensuring that a greater proportion of new infections are asymptomatic. 

‘If this hypothesis is borne out, the academics argue, then universal mask-wearing could become a form of variolation (inoculation) that would generate immunity and “thereby slow the spread of the virus in the United States and elsewhere” as the world awaits a vaccine. It comes as increasing evidence suggests that the amount of virus someone is exposed to at the start of infection - the “infectious dose” - may determine the severity of their illness. Indeed, a large study published in the Lancet last month found that “viral load at diagnosis” was an “independent predictor of mortality” in hospital patients.’

Read here (The Telegraph, Sept 12, 2020) 

Hysteria is the most dangerous coronavirus symptom

 ‘Steve Reicher, a professor of social psychology at the University of St Andrews who advises the Government as part of its Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours, tells the Telegraph: “When you look at the literature on fear and risk, it’s not pointing out there is a danger which causes people to be terrorised by fear. If you tell people what the risks are and give them a clear understanding of what the mitigation is, you don’t get dread and anxiety as people know what to do.” He wants ministers to show clarity about their strategy, warning: “In a vacuum, when people are already concerned, they’ll imagine the worst circumstances.”... ‘For example, the average Briton was found last month to estimate that the disease had wiped out as much as 7 per cent of the United Kingdom, which would equate to around 4.6 million people, rather than the actual rate in the tens of thousands.

‘Although Covid-19 sparked a more draconian response from the British Government, its effectiveness will remain open to question given the UK’s better death rate and economic performance can still be compared unfavourably with Sweden, which eschewed any lockdown whatsoever... When the winter draws near, speculation about whether strict measures like local lockdowns may be necessary to clamp down on Covid will no doubt run rife. In response, many Britons will undoubtedly be tempted to focus on keeping calm and follow what the Prime Minister hails as “good British common sense” - with a bit of Swedish sangfroid.’

[This story is behind a paywall]

Read here (The Telegraph, August 22, 2020)

How coronavirus spreads and why it affects countries differently

New study analysing dozens of actual Covid-19 clusters from around the world shows enclosed spaces are hotbeds of the virus... Using these and other studies, Dr Cevik concludes that they suggest (not prove) the following:

• Close and prolonged contact is required for transmission of the virus. 
• Risk is highest in enclosed environments such as houses, care facilities, public transport, bars and other indoor spaces where people congregate.
• Casual, short interactions are not the main driver of the epidemic. 
• Susceptibility to infection increases with age.

Read here (The Telegraph, May 8, 2020)

Coronavirus lockdown measures may have saved 59,000 lives in Europe already, says new study by Imperial College

 ‘At least 59,000 lives have already been saved in 11 European countries due to the social distancing measures introduced to stem the spread of Covid-19, new modelling suggests.

‘According to the analysis, 370 deaths have already been averted in the UK - where a nationwide lockdown came into effect just one week ago - while Italian interventions have saved 38,000 lives to date.

‘But the study also shows that the continent remains a long way from developing “herd immunity”, whereby the vast majority of people have caught, recovered and become immune to the coronavirus.

‘The modelling, published yesterday by Imperial College, London, analyses the impact of lockdown in 11 European countries, including the UK.’

Read here (Telegraph, March 30, 2020)