COVID-19 News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Public Health Experts Call On CDC To Change Its Mask Guidance
Source: NPR




July 22, 20211:20 PM ET


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"This is the low season. It shouldn't be spreading as fast during summer," says Ali Mokdad, who tracks coronavirus trends at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Respiratory diseases such as the flu and COVID-19 usually spike in the winter, when people spend much of their time sequestered indoors.

But now, in the blazing heat of summer, hospitals in some parts of the country are again getting slammed with COVID-19 patients. Holiday gatherings over the Fourth of July — which President Biden once hoped would mark the country's independence from the virus — may have fueled new outbreaks. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are ticking up after a long decline.

Back in mid-May, when over a million new people were getting vaccinated each day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance declaring that it was safe — for fully vaccinated people — to shed their masks in most settings. "You can do things you stopped doing because of the pandemic," the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said at the time.

Now, with vaccination progress stalling, a growing chorus of doctors and experts is saying the CDC let up on masking too early. They want the nation's public health agency to call for masking and mitigation measures in areas that are suffering, to stop the virus's spread..................................

Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... rm=nprnews

[erowind]

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[raklian]

Low and behold not only has America never locked down fully even once it hasn’t even built more permanent beds in most regional health systems despite almost running out entirely multiple times.

We should just yank the entire healthcare system from politicians. Nothing good comes from politicians trying to base their decisions on their reelection chances.

[caltrek]

^^^Especially when their campaign war chests are filled by donations from the corporate elite.

[wjfox]

Shocking thread on Long Covid.


[...] "The cognitive deficits remained whether ongoing symptoms were there or not, and did not depend on time since covid either.

This seems to suggest it is a long lasting effect.

...[cognitive] deficits experienced by hospitalised covid patients (0.47 for ventilator, 0.26 no ventilator) were worse than average deficit by people who'd suffered a stroke (0.24).

ONS estimated 634K people with long covid that impacts their life in June.

For comparison, c. 260K people are diagnosed with diabetes & 500K with heart disease each year.

Evidence for long term neurological and other impacts of covid is growing. But govt position seems to be that infections don't matter as long as NHS not overwhelmed."

[weatheriscool]

Biden Officials Now Expect Vulnerable Americans to Need Booster Shots
Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — Biden administration health officials increasingly think that vulnerable populations will need booster shots even as research continues into how long the coronavirus vaccines remain effective. Senior officials now say they expect that people who are 65 and older or who have compromised immune systems will most likely need a third shot from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, two vaccines based on the same technology that have been used to inoculate the vast majority of Americans thus far.

That is a sharp shift from just a few weeks ago, when the administration said it thought there was not enough evidence to back boosters yet.On Thursday, a key official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agency is exploring options to give patients with compromised immune systems third doses even before regulators broaden the emergency use authorization for coronavirus vaccines, a step that could come soon for the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr. Amanda Cohn, the chief medical officer of the C.D.C.’s immunizations division, told an advisory committee to the agency that officials were “actively looking into ways” to provide certain people access to booster shots “earlier than any potential change in regulatory decisions.” “So stay tuned,” she added. The growing consensus within the administration that at least some Americans will need a booster is tied in part to research suggesting that the Pfizer vaccine is less effective against the coronavirus after about six months. More than half of those fully vaccinated in the United States so far have received Pfizer’s vaccine, in two doses administered three weeks apart.

Pfizer’s continuing global study of its clinical trial participants shows that four to six months after the second dose, the vaccine’s effectiveness against symptomatic infection drops from a high of 95 percent to 84 percent, according to the company. Data from the Israeli government, which has fully vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer doses since January, also points to a downward trend in effectiveness over time, although administration officials are viewing that data cautiously because of wide margins for error.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/us/c ... sters.html

[andmar74]

Maybe we all need a booster shot. Possibly a yearly shot that boosts against any new variants.

[Yuli Ban]

‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients

Dr. Brytney Cobia said Monday that all but one of her COVID patients in Alabama did not receive the vaccine. The vaccinated patient, she said, just needed a little oxygen and is expected to fully recover. Some of the others are dying.

“I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” wrote Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, in an emotional Facebook post Sunday. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

Three COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available in Alabama for months now, yet the state is last in the nation in vaccination rate, with only 33.7 percent of the population fully vaccinated. COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations are surging yet again due to the more contagious Delta variant of the virus and Alabama’s low vaccination rate.

For the first year and a half of the pandemic, Cobia and hundreds of other Alabama physicians caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients worked themselves to the bone trying to save as many as possible.

“Back in 2020 and early 2021, when the vaccine wasn’t available, it was just tragedy after tragedy after tragedy,” Cobia told AL.com this week. “You know, so many people that did all the right things, and yet still came in, and were critically ill and died.”

In the United States, COVID is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated, according to the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Alabama, state officials report 94% of COVID hospital patients and 96% of Alabamians who have died of COVID since April were not fully vaccinated.

“A few days later when I call time of death,” continued Cobia on Facebook, “I hug their family members and I tell them the best way to honor their loved one is to go get vaccinated and encourage everyone they know to do the same.”

“They cry. And they tell me they didn’t know. They thought it was a hoax. They thought it was political. They thought because they had a certain blood type or a certain skin color they wouldn’t get as sick. They thought it was ‘just the flu’. But they were wrong. And they wish they could go back. But they can’t. So they thank me and they go get the vaccine. And I go back to my office, write their death note, and say a small prayer that this loss will save more lives.”

[wjfox]

People who believe in science are more likely to wear masks in public to battle COVID-19

July 24, 2021

Belief in science predicts face mask wearing behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, according to a new study published in Personality and Individual Differences. The findings provide evidence that those who place a greater value in scientific information are more likely to engage in behaviors intended to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

https://www.psypost.org/2021/07/people- ... d-19-61579

[weatheriscool]

Fauci Says US Headed In 'Wrong Direction' On Coronavirus
Source: AP News

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The United States is in an "unnecessary predicament” of soaring COVID-19 cases fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert said Sunday. "We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, describing himself as "very frustrated.”

He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is "under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials. Also, booster shots may be suggested for people with suppressed immune systems who have been vaccinated, Fauci said.

Fauci, who also serves President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he has taken part in conversations about altering the mask guidelines.

He noted that some local jurisdictions where infection rates are surging, such as Los Angeles County, are already calling on individuals to wear masks in public regardless of vaccination status. Fauci said those local rules are compatible with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that the vaccinated do not need to wear masks in public...

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus- ... c19b608e47

[caltrek]

German Politicians Criticize Warning to Unvaccinated People
By Emily Schulteis
July 25, 2021

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory ... l-79044578

Introduction:

(ABC News) BERLIN -- German politicians across the political spectrum on Sunday criticized a warning by Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff that restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if COVID-19 infection numbers reach new heights in the coming months.

Chief of staff Helge Braun told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he doesn’t expect another coronavirus-related lockdown in Germany.

But Braun said that unvaccinated people may be barred from entering venues like restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums “because the residual risk is too high.”

Braun said getting vaccinated is important to protect against severe disease and because “vaccinated people will definitely have more freedoms than unvaccinated people.”

Braun said that such policies would be legal because “the state has the responsibility to protect the health of its citizens.”

[caltrek]

Cats Are More Likely to Catch COVID-19 Than Dogs, But Cat Owners Shouldn't Panic
By David Nield
July 23, 2021

https://www.sciencealert.com/cats-are-m ... y-suggests

Extract:

(Science Alert) The research into better understanding SARS-CoV-2 goes on, and a new study sheds some light on how likely our household pets are to get infected – specifically, finding that cats are more susceptible than dogs to the virus that causes COVID-19.

Scientists analyzed blood serum from a total of 239 pet cats and 510 pet dogs, collected between mid-April and mid-June of 2020, to look for antibodies that would indicate a previous infection of SARS-CoV-2.

The results showed that 8 percent of cats but fewer than 1 percent of dogs had contracted COVID-19, suggesting that the virus can be passed between species, and that cats are more likely to end up catching it and getting infected than dogs are.
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The findings are just part of a bigger picture that researchers are starting to put together when it comes to animals and COVID-19. While we know pets can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the likelihood of them becoming sick appears to be low.
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It also seems unlikely that animals are able to pass on SARS-CoV-2 to human beings; on the other hand, we can probably give the virus to our pets when we're in close proximity to them – so cuddling your cat or dog when you're faring poorly with COVID-19 isn't a good idea.

[caltrek]

Conservative Radio Host Skeptical of Vaccines Hospitalized With COVID: Now “He’s Regretful”
by Daniel Poleti
July 25, 2021

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/202 ... covid.html

Introduction:

(Slate) A conservative radio host in Tennessee who was openly skeptical about COVID-19 vaccines has been hospitalized and is now in critical care with the disease. Phil Valentine, who hosts a show on Nashville’s WWTN-FM, was diagnosed with the coronavirus and is now “in very serious condition” as he battles pneumonia, his family said in a statement posted to the radio station’s Twitter account. Although he needs help breathing, Valentine is not on a ventilator, his family said, while making clear that the experience has changed his stance on vaccination.

“Phil would like for his listeners to know that while he has never been an ‘anti-vaxer’ he regrets not being more vehemently ‘Pro-Vaccine,’ and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon,” Valentine’s family said. “Please continue to pray for his recovery and PLEASE GO GET VACCINATED!”

[caltrek]

Fox News Could Be Sued if Its Anti-Vax Statements Caused People to Die
by John Culhanw
July 23, 2021

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/202 ... wsuit.html

Introduction:

(Slate) Since the vaccines for COVID-19 became available, public health authorities, respected medical professionals, some employers, and responsible politicians have been urging, coercing, and bribing us all to get immunized. With the emergence of the more infectious, more virulent, and now dominant delta variant, soaring positive rates have pumped new urgency into these pleas. Yet vaccine uptake rates have slowed to a crawl, and most of those who remain unvaccinated say they don’t plan to change their minds. Unless that changes, expect higher mortality rates, breakthrough infections, and potentially a return to the pandemic lockdown state we’d all hoped we’d left behind.

A constellation of reasons can be cited for ongoing vaccine hesitancy, but one key factor is the prevalence of quack “experts” willing to misinterpret data, lie about statistics, and just plain make stuff up. Leading the misinformation charge has been Fox News—and particularly Tucker Carlson. Night after night, Carlson has provided a platform for sowing fear and confusion among his viewers about the efficacy of the vaccine and its side effects. Although the network has recently sounded a more responsible note, that turnabout has by no means been across the entire network and it comes too late for an untold number of people who have been newly sickened or died from the disease, and who might have been saved through immunization. There may actually be some legal remedy, though, for the damage wrought by the network. COVID victims who were taken in by Carlson’s vaccination misinformation, or their estates, may be able to sue Fox News under the ancient common law theory of fraud. They would have a reasonably good chance of success, too.

Tort law allows anyone injured by the intentional bad act of another to sue for personal injury, property damage, or economic loss caused by the wrongful activity. The specific claim that relates to harm caused by deliberate misrepresentations is fraud, and, depending on what misinformation someone ingested, and how they reacted to it, it’s easy to imagine that many viewers would be able to state a good claim. What’s needed to prove a case for fraud is clearly established through centuries of judicial decisions.

Fox's defense would likely be similar to that taken by other Trumpians which goes something like, "We are just here to entertain, everybody knows that we should not be taken seriously."

The sad part being is that apparently not "everybody" knows that fact.

[weatheriscool]

Covid-19 Pill Race Heats Up as Japanese Firm Vies With Pfizer, Merck
Source: Wall Street Journal

A Japanese company has started human trials of the first once-a-day pill for Covid-19 patients, joining Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. in the race to find treatments for the disease.

Osaka-based Shionogi & Co., which helped develop the blockbuster cholesterol drug Crestor, said it designed its pill to attack the Covid-19 virus. It said the once-a-day dosing would be more convenient. The company said it is testing the drug and any side effects in trials that began this month and are likely to continue until next year.

Shionogi is months behind Pfizer and Merck, which have started later-stage tests of pills to treat Covid-19. Pfizer has said its twice-daily pill could be ready to hit the market as soon as this year. It is preparing to enroll more than 2,000 patients in a test of the antiviral pill combined with a booster antiviral drug against a placebo.

All three companies aim to fill one of the biggest gaps in fighting the pandemic. Vaccines remain effective at preventing serious illness from known strains of the Covid-19 virus including the contagious Delta strain, studies have shown. But some people don’t want to get vaccinated, and cases can occur for those who do get their shots.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-p ... 1627205403

[weatheriscool]

Women are claiming ‘boobs get bigger’ after having Pfizer jab
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/healt ... 567e7dd1d7

Women who have had the Pfizer vaccine are reporting an unexpected side effect – claiming their breasts have grown bigger after having the jab.

Pfizer is one of two vaccinations currently being rolled out across Australia in the fight against Covid-19.

Common side effects from Covid-19 vaccines include pain at the injection site, headaches, fatigue, or feeling flu-like symptoms.

But many women have noticed their breasts and lymph nodes had “swollen” after receiving their jabs, dubbing the effect the “Pfizer boob job”.

According to Australian Department of Health, inflamed lymph nodes are a less common side effect of the vaccinations.

In the US, where the vaccination rollout is further along than Australia, doctors have reported an influx of newly vaccinated women making mammogram appointments.

Dr. Laura Esserman, director of University of California San Francisco’s Breast Care Center, said women were confusing swollen lymph nodes after the vaccine for signs of cancer.

“I’m sure hundreds of thousands of women will be affected by this for sure,” said Dr. Esserman told ABC7 Chicago.

Vaccinating against Covid-19 is the only way for Australians to get their normal lives back, but as a nation we’re struggling.

Finally some good news!

[weatheriscool]

U.S. travel restrictions are staying in place
Source: CBS News

The U.S. will maintain current travel restrictions for international travelers, citing the spread of the Delta variant and rising COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.

The White House is facing pressure from the tourism industry and those with loved ones in the U.S. to lift the restrictions. The Biden administration understands the importance of travel and wants to reopen international travel safely, the official said, but noted that the Delta variant is highly transmissible, and the White House expects cases are likely to continue rising in the weeks ahead. Recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Americans should avoid travel to the United Kingdom. Reuters first reported that U.S. travel restrictions will remain in place.

The U.S. now prohibits most non-citizens who have been to the U.K., many other European nations, India, South Africa, Brazil, China and some other countries from traveling to the U.S. Travel is also restricted from neighboring Canada and Mexico, although Canada will soon allow fully vaccinated U.S. citizens into the country.

The Delta variant accounts for about 83.2% of COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website currently says.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-tr ... li=BBnb7Kz

[Yuli Ban]

According to Australian Department of Health, inflamed lymph nodes are a less common side effect of the vaccinations.

I had this. I mean the lymph nodes, not breasts obviously (who wants to see larger man tits?)

I still have a very slightly swollen supraclavicular lymph node. It's gone done over the months and is only palpable if I actively accentuate it (and even then it's starting to fade further), but I was sure I had cancer earlier this year even though I knew it was almost certainly a result of the Moderna jab. Back in early/mid April, it was visible no matter what; if I shifted my shirt collar, you could easily see this tumor-esque lump above my collarbone. Terribly anxiety-inducing!

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

New 'medical freedom' law outlaws requiring COVID-19 vaccine to access public spaces
Source: ABC News

New Hampshire residents cannot be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine in order to "access any public facility, any public benefit, or any public service" according to a new bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.

The so-called "medical freedom" bill does not override state vaccine law, which "requires that all children enrolled in any school, pre-school, or child care have certain immunizations to protect them and those around them from vaccine preventable diseases," according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

The COVID-19 vaccine is not currently listed as a requirement for attending school, nor is it approved for children younger than 12.

Other exceptions to the new law include correctional facilities, such as jails and prisons, where immunizations can be mandated "when a direct threat exists," as well as county nursing homes and medical facilities operated by the state.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-m ... li=BBnb7Kz