Drowning in Coronavirus Research, Part 74

I appreciate the comments and questions people send me.  I try to respond.  People have suggested I reply in comments.  I will try to do that when I can.  It is a bit of a matter of prioritization.  I run out of time, and my first objective is always to keep up with the research and data and try to communicate what I learn.

Another good paper on T cell responses to this strain of coronavirus, and possible cross reactivity from other strains.  (RS Paper)   The researchers examined T cell responses in 180 convalescent patients and 185 unexposed persons.  T cells specific to regions of CV 19 were found in all the convalescent patients, even those who did not appear to have antibodies.  I addition, 80% of the unexposed persons demonstrated cross-reactive T cell responses to CV 19.   Antibody response was correlated with disease severity, but T cell response was not, although persons with milder disease actually had a more diverse T cell response.

And this study also dealt with antibodies to all human strains of coronavirus.  (Medrxiv Paper)   The researchers were from the Netherlands and examined antibodies to all human coronaviruses among over 1600 patients at one medical center.  In early March, antibodies to CV 19 were detected in only .7% of patients, increasing to 3% four weeks later, reflecting a large number of undetected infections in part.  No child under 5 was positive.  Antigen response to any coronavirus tended to increase with age.  Some cross-reactivity among coronaviruses was noted.

A paper on cases after children went back to school in England.  (Medrxiv Paper)   Here is the bottom line “Overall, SARS-CoV-2 infections and outbreaks were uncommon across all educational settings.”  England reopened schools on June 1 and special attention was paid to tracking cases.  There were 67 single cases, 4 co-primary cases (children in the same household, all asymptomatic) and 30 “outbreaks”, which just means there was at least one instance of secondary transmission.  In the 30 “outbreaks”, the direction of transmission was said to be staff-to-staff in 15, staff-to-student in 7, student to staff in 6 and student-to-student in 2.  This is for over 1,600,000 students and a large number of teachers and staff.  Children almost always acquired the virus at home from an adult member of the family.

And the World Health Organization, a particularly disreputable source of data on the epidemic, given how it aided China’s duplicity, convened experts to discuss children wearing masks in school.  (WHO Guidance)   The guidance was prefaced with information on the limited role of children in the epidemic and the very, very limited evidence of any efficacy of mask wearing to limit transmission of respiratory viruses among children.  It also noted the potential social, communication and psychological harms associated with mask wearing.  Children 5 and under are recommended not to wear a mask.  Children 6 to 11 should only wear them in limited situations.  Children 12 and over can wear them like adults.  How about we just cut the bullshit and stop mandating completely unproven mask wearing, and we especially stop terrorizing our children.