Slack / Private Message Drop — page 440

capable of efficient human-to-human transmission. ~Based on the possibility of spread to countries with weaker healthcare systems, the World Health Organization has declared~ The COVID-19 ~outbreak~ pandemic remains a challenging International Public Health Emergency ~of International Concern (PHEIC)~. ~There are currently neither~ Vaccines ~nor~ and specific treatments for this disease, such as monoclonal antibody immunotherapeutics, have been developed with unprecedented speed; however, continued adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 to humans now challenges the efficacy of these new countermeasures. [2021-01-23 07:05:39] [Robert Garry] Think we could sell it to a good journal as the opening paragraph of PO2? Seems to me the new viruses cross a data threshold to at least put some of the more prevalent "theories" back in their graves. [2021-01-23 07:41:52] [Andrew Rambaut] Nelly B.1.1.7 update: There are a few now that seemed to have gone from PooH to PooR. [2021-01-23 07:54:57] [Robert Garry] Holy crap - from a bad residue P to a better sometimes positive H, to a way, way better always positive R. PRRAR (minimal FCS) ---> HRRAR (still minimal FCS, but better) ---> RRRAR (still "minimal FCS, but getting much better). NOT a good trend. [2021-01-23 09:47:52] [Andrew Rambaut] define 'better' here. [2021-01-23 09:49:52] [Kristian Andersen] Better at getting cleaved - we're nearing some of the FCS seen in HPAIs with that sequence [2021-01-23 09:56:03] [Andrew Rambaut] Yeh - I was laughing the language. [2021-01-23 10:16:34] [Robert Garry] I'm looking to see if the HA379 new YN Bat CoV has the QTQTN (like RaTG13 and GD pango cov - not GX), which fits the criteria for an optimal upsteam landing site for furin. [2021-01-23 10:28:17] [Robert Garry] [thread - ID: 2021-01-23 10:28:17] Obviously, part of the well-thought out nefarious plan by the CCP red army, WIV supervillain virologists and their space alien advisors from the future to release a virus with suboptimal FCS/RBD that they projected would evolve (after it left China) into the more fit/immunologically inert variants currently spreading around the world. [2021-01-23 11:30:43] [Eddie Holmes] I think you nailed it Bob. [2021-01-23 11:33:37] [Kristian Andersen] I finally got a chance to read that c|net article - overall actually ok. Yes, too much false balance here, but I think he did pretty well. [2021-01-23 11:37:18]