wuhan - coronavirus

[kbutton]

5 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Congress was told at the beginning of the pandemic that 150 million Americans would get the virus and up to 700,000 would die. I snapshotted that headline and I look back at it from time to time in my photos album. I think we all knew the toll would be high, the stunner is that so many died after an effective treatment to prevent death (vaccine) became widely available. 
 

It reminds me of Numbers 21:8-9 in the Bible—Moses makes a brass serpent for the people to look upon if they were bit by venomous snakes. If they do so, they would live, but many refused to look and died.

There were some terrible predictions, but I think people assumed that once we flattened the initial curve, then we were in the clear. Now they just don't care and are numb to it. 

 

[Ausmumof3]

edited

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[Ausmumof3]

 

Not sure about the source but this has been a common theme of a number of anecdotes I’ve heard recently also. 

[Corraleno]

27 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

 

Not sure about the source but this has been a common theme of a number of anecdotes I’ve heard recently also. 

That thread (including spin-offs) is one of the scariest things I've read in a while. Omicron cases peaked in South Africa back in December but deaths aren't going down. Deaths occurring 28-60 days after diagnosis are increasing in the UK. Psychiatric admissions in Denmark are increasing in direct proportion to the increase in BA2 cases.

I read an article a few days ago that said "A conservative estimate of cases of long COVID [in the US] is almost 19 million — and any percentage of those being unable to work will have significant impacts on the economy."

And yet millions of Americans are still posting "I have an immune system! It's 98% survivable!" and acting like the pandemic is over.

[YaelAldrich]

On 2/4/2022 at 9:16 PM, KSera said:

It’s stunning. And even more so to hit that milestone in the midst of increasing insistence by a sizable group of people that the pandemic is over. It’s mind boggling. As Jha says in the article, if you had told people at the beginning that in two years we were going to be approaching 1 million Americans dead from this disease, I think the response might have been very different. That would’ve been unfathomable at that point. (What would people have thought to hear that the majority of those came after there was a safe vaccine that would’ve prevented most of them?) Unfathomable. 😢

A prominent professor at my husband's school said exactly this. Two years and one million dead.  It was unimaginable at the time. I told my husband it couldn't be realistic. Honestly we know the one million mark came a while ago.

Edited February 7, 2022 by YaelAldrich

[KSera]

3 hours ago, Corraleno said:

That thread (including spin-offs) is one of the scariest things I've read in a while.

Agree. It’s been hard feeling like we’re being extreme by still doing whatever we can to avoid getting Covid, and I know we can’t keep it up at this level forever, but this is the reason we have for this long. There is just so much unknown. I’d like to understand more about the reliability of the Denmark data especially, because on surface, it’s quite troubling. 

[Faith-manor]

On 2/4/2022 at 12:34 AM, Eos said:

This is fascinating, thank you for sharing.  I wonder if lack of universal health insurance has trained the US population to avoid seeking care until a problem is worse, thus being less likely to recover.  Not a political statement, just thinking out loud.  This is certainly my personal experience, unfortunately.

I agree that this can be an issue. We have a huge deductible on our insurance policy so that is a major consideration, and exactly zero coverage if we use the E.R. but are not hospitalized for the event. I can only imagine how much worse these decisions are for others who are uninsured, or insured but lower income and simply cannot afford the out of pocket expenses.

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I agree that this can be an issue. We have a huge deductible on our insurance policy so that is a major consideration, and exactly zero coverage if we use the E.R. but are not hospitalized for the event. I can only imagine how much worse these decisions are for others who are uninsured, or insured but lower income and simply cannot afford the out of pocket expenses.

If this were the major factor, then you would think there would be a big difference between US death rates and European death rates throughout Covid.  However it has only come up during Omicron. 

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/695408-wuhan-coronavirus/?do=findComment&comment=9157077

Apart from widely differing vaccination/booster rates, has anything else changed recently?

[Jean in Newcastle]

On 2/3/2022 at 9:34 PM, Eos said:

This is fascinating, thank you for sharing.  I wonder if lack of universal health insurance has trained the US population to avoid seeking care until a problem is worse, thus being less likely to recover.  Not a political statement, just thinking out loud.  This is certainly my personal experience, unfortunately.

My personal experience from Covid specifically is that the “it’s just a cold “ crowd are not going to go to the ER until the problem is so bad they absolutely have to admit that they are having a problem. And even then hcws are reporting that these people are insisting that it’s not Covid. So nothing to do with their insurance coverage in this case and everything to do with the “politics of Covid “ (which I obviously wish wasn’t the case). 

[Spryte]

9 hours ago, KSera said:

Agree. It’s been hard feeling like we’re being extreme by still doing whatever we can to avoid getting Covid, and I know we can’t keep it up at this level forever, but this is the reason we have for this long. There is just so much unknown. I’d like to understand more about the reliability of the Denmark data especially, because on surface, it’s quite troubling. 

The spin off thread about the psych hospitals in Denmark filling up was striking as well. I’d like more information on that also, the idea of a major increase in psych issues due to Covid infection is daunting.

And agreeing that maintaining the caution levels that some of us have, to avoid Covid, is not possible indefinitely. But, yes, these are the reasons we have done it as well. That, and post-infection issues that can arise in any viral infection. Long Covid is a frightening prospect, maybe more so for those of us who have already BTDT in the chronic illness arena.
 

 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

If this were the major factor, then you would think there would be a big difference between US death rates and European death rates throughout Covid.  However it has only come up during Omicron. 

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/695408-wuhan-coronavirus/?do=findComment&comment=9157077

Apart from widely differing vaccination/booster rates, has anything else changed recently?

Yes, some insurance companies that had been offering to pay for covid treatment in full without copays and deductibles have ceased that program. 

[Corraleno]

New study from Israel showing a strong correlation between Vit D levels and covid severity. They note that although previous studies have indicated that mean Vit D levels are lower in hospitalized covid patients than in the general public and in covid patients who are not hospitalized, generally those studies involve patients whose D levels were tested in hospital so it's not known what the levels were prior to infection. This study involved 253 covid patients whose medical records included tests for Vit D levels prior to their illness.

Results: After controlling for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities, they found that patients with Vit D levels <20 ng/ml were 14 times more likely to be severely or critically ill than patients with D levels of 40+ ng/ml.

% of patients in each category who were deficient (<20 ng/ml):
8.8% of mildly ill patients
58.1% of moderately ill patients
86.5% of severely/critically ill patients

Preprint: Pre-infection 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and association with severity of COVID-19 illness

Edited February 8, 2022 by Corraleno

[YaelAldrich]

My husband's university, Northeastern U in Boston, is changing their COVID rules.  Lifting COVID-19 Restrictions

[prairiewindmomma]

Our state will drop indoor masking, including requirements for schools, next month. They anticipate hospital loads will allow National Guardsmen to return home by then from emergency deployment. The change in plan appears to be political and not based in science. 
 

I wish we could have found an approach like Northeastern where we move towards normal without just abandoning everything.

[KSera]

2 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

My husband's university, Northeastern U in Boston, is changing their COVID rules.  Lifting COVID-19 Restrictions

This seems like a more reasonable progression.

[YaelAldrich]

Has anyone gotten a second BOOSTER yet?  My DH and I are both in jobs that gave us early access to the vaccine and by the end of the month we are five months out from our boosters.

 

[kokotg]

1 minute ago, YaelAldrich said:

Has anyone gotten a second BOOSTER yet?  My DH and I are both in jobs that gave us early access to the vaccine and by the end of the month we are five months out from our boosters.

 

DH did; he's on an immunosuppressant, so he had his third dose in August and then a booster 5 months later, as soon as he was eligible (so I guess technically he had 3 doses and then one booster. but 4 shots total). They haven't approved second boosters for the general population yet, have they? 

[YaelAldrich]

40 minutes ago, kokotg said:

DH did; he's on an immunosuppressant, so he had his third dose in August and then a booster 5 months later, as soon as he was eligible (so I guess technically he had 3 doses and then one booster. but 4 shots total). They haven't approved second boosters for the general population yet, have they? 

My parents (both with active cancers) need to get that fourth dose soon.  I don't know why their doctors nor health chart don't tell me this (ETA; Just found it on their MyCharts).  I thought I read they did approve second boosters last month, but now I have searched for the information and can't find anything.  I work in congregate care and my husband teaches so we got our initial vaccines in January (him) and February (me) and boosted in September.

Edited February 8, 2022 by YaelAldrich

[Pawz4me]

39 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Has anyone gotten a second BOOSTER yet?  My DH and I are both in jobs that gave us early access to the vaccine and by the end of the month we are five months out from our boosters.

 

I'm immunocompromised and have had four jabs. The original two last April and May, then a third in August when it was announced that immunocompromised people needed three doses. And then my booster last month.

FYI, in case it's helpful for your parents -- I got my fourth dose at Novant's clinic at the mall. It was easy to schedule and I just had to verbally state that I was immune compromised.

[ieta_cassiopeia]

The graphs on the US vs other countries graph aren't on the same Y-axis scale; the lines are set to 100 and 200 per 100,000 infections on the overall graph, but 10 and 20 per 100,000 on the Omnicron. Thus it takes less difference in circumstances to show, say, twice as many deaths on the Omnicron-only graph than it does for the whole-pandemic one. This is relevant to figuring out if the different way the USA's death toll went is Omnicron-only.

It seems that the USA's difference compared to the UK is Omnicron-specific. The USA's difference with Belgium is Alpha/original-Beta and Omnicron-specific (that is, the B1/Delta-phase was handled about equally well by both). However, the difference with everywhere else on the graph appears to be pandemic-long (apart from a few weeks at the beginning, possibly due to Italy being such an important initial hub for spread within Europe in February and early March). This may help tease out likely reasons. (Vaccination is definitely a big factor but it's not the whole story).

I could imagine part of the Omnicron discrepancy between the USA and other countries being explained by lack of universal healthcare. In particular, because it's milder for most people who catch it (thus encouraging complacency because people think they can power through it or ride it out with home medicine because they always have before and their friends currently are doing so), it's apparently possible to be OK for a week and then "crash" (which is harder to manage if unwilling to check out danger signs on a precautionary basis) and because when they do get to hospital, the staff are that bit more exhausted from dealing with the other consequences of an overtaxed health system (universal healthcare by itself doesn't cure overtaxing, rather it's a large thing that helps if correctly managed). The stricter insurance policies in the Omnicron phase Faith-manor mentioned matter too. While universal healthcare is likely to b a minor piece of the overall puzzle, though.

A point to add on @Corraleno's comment about UK deaths after 28-60 days increasing; these deaths won't be included on the headline UK death toll, because it only counts deaths up to 28 days.

The UK is believed to have 400,000 people stuck on Universal Credit (the UK's main government benefit, primarily for jobseekers and people with certain disabilities) and unable to work due to Long COVID (to put this into perspective, it's nearly 1/3 of the official UK unemployment rate), and another 800,000 with diagnosed Long COVID (some of whom may have given up on getting a job at all and thus not necessarily eligible for Universal Credit, others who are working as much as ever and just happen to be ill). The UK's estimated to have had around 12 million people infected with COVID, although we'll probably only ever have a ballpark figure. So that suggests approximately 1 in 30 people who get COVID end up with a case of Long COVID bad enough to be reliant on benefits (bear in mind that's likely to be skewed towards people whose jobs were physical). Vaccination apparently decreases the chance of Long COVID although I've not seen statistics on this.

The Denmark data makes sense because of the discovery last year that COVID-19 infections, however minor, tracked with psychiatric episodes (first or recurring). Thus an increase in cases this wave would be expected to link to a subsequent increase in psychiatric hospitalisations. An increase in requests for various forms of psychiatric help been true in the UK anecdotally, though given that mental hospitals have been at capacity for several years, it's not clear how the UK would go about producing inpatient statistics comparable to Denmark.

The latest infection numbers are going down across the UK and also my local area. There are so many fewer cases of COVID at my local hospital that visitors are now allowed on the same basis as before the pandemic (except for having to wear masks and obey infection protocols appropriate to where they're visiting). Visitors are even allowed to eat in the restaurants (at designated, socially-distanced tables). This is a big morale boost to patients and the first couple of days of relaxed rules in the hospital have been pleasingly orderly. Staffing is still a concern, but staff absences for COVID are well down on last week too. There's a plan to give all staff paid time off to attend well-being courses later in the year, which is nice, but I think a lot of people are going to want a holiday when the situation stabilises. The seven army staff are remaining, as much as a "just in case" measure as because they are strictly necessary.

The only caution I have about this is that people in my area (outside the hospital) struggle to access tests. While the fact hospital COVID rates are reducing gives me confidence, it's hard to know how accurate the community's infection fall is. Obviously, I'm being careful to avoid COVID, but it feels like the efforts are sustainable - and paying off.

If a fourth jab is approved for people who aren't immunocompromised or otherwise especially at risk of COVID, then I'll need to get it by the third week of September in order to have complete freedom of role in my department. In theory, unvaccinated people can stay in my department, but not in specific roles that have potential contact with patients. (I say in theory because I think everyone in my department is already vaccinated and most people got a booster jab in the last three months).

Edited February 8, 2022 by ieta_cassiopeia

[YaelAldrich]

1 minute ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm immunocompromised and have had four jabs. The original two last April and May, then a third in August when it was announced that immunocompromised people needed three doses. And then my booster last month.

FYI, in case it's helpful for your parents -- I got my fourth dose at Novant's clinic at the mall. It was easy to schedule and I just had to verbally state that I was immune compromised.

My mom's platelets have crashed due to a new chemo.  I'm kicking myself that when I was there we didn't schedule the 4th vaccine for both of them.  But I guess my mom couldn't as she started the new chemo the week I was there and that darn snowstorm. I have shoot an email to her oncologist to figure out the timing; I wish I had thought of it when I was on the phone with her today.  Sigh.

[Kassia]

14 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

My parents (both with active cancers) need to get that fourth dose soon.  I don't know why their doctors nor health chart don't tell me this (ETA; Just found it on their MyCharts).  I thought I read they did approve second boosters last month, but now I have searched for the information and can't find anything.  I work in congregate care and my husband teaches so we got our initial vaccines in January (him) and February (me) and boosted in September.

Thank you for posting this.  I didn't even think about it for my MIL, who is also undergoing cancer treatment.  She had her booster in early November I think - I know it was before mine and I had mine right before Thanksgiving.  

 

 

[Faith-manor]

The elementary school here has a terrible outbreak. However, they aren't closing down to stop it. 😡😡😡 No mask madate. Not enough staff and faculty to handle the kids on the best of days, and now it is just nothing more than "herding cattle". They have given up even the pretending to be educating. 

Otherwise, cases are dropping a lot. I printed a February and March calendar and just keep marking off days to when most of the mess outside will have melted, and people will start flocking outdoors again, trees will bud. April 1st...that feels like a health goal, make it to April.

[Tree Frog]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

The elementary school here has a terrible outbreak. However, they aren't closing down to stop it. 😡😡😡 No mask madate. Not enough staff and faculty to handle the kids on the best of days, and now it is just nothing more than "herding cattle". They have given up even the pretending to be educating.

The elementary school where I frequently work had a teacher request going online for 2 weeks for his class only, but Central Office said no. The superintendent has said he would be willing to close only individual classes for a brief time, but the ISD as a whole wouldn't go online again. This teacher has 2 or 3 students staying home each week because either they tested positive or were sick and he really wanted to break the cycle.

One of our local middle schools had so many staff members out that classes were meeting in the cafeteria because they didn't have teachers or subs. I don't understand why those students couldn't stay home and work online instead of having to hang out in the loud cafeteria dining their work online all day.

We started a mask mandate a couple of weeks ago in this ISD. I'm hoping it slows things down in the schools!

[kbutton]

https://saportareport.com/christian-dogs-and-anti-vaxers-have-a-bill-they-can-love/columnists/tom/?fbclid=IwAR0MP_tgbKpmcVAQb_ErijEHCrQmyBRLPx8ccGpAAZSh3v4o0Xf-wvxZDvw

Quote

At a time when one of the hottest controversies in American politics has to do with vaccinations, Gunter’s legislation, House Bill 1000, takes the subject into new territory.

Gunter told the committee that his constituent owned an “older animal.” Her veterinarian was “insistent” that the dog gets its annual rabies shot, “and she had a concern that it would kill the dog.”

...

Rep. Rebecca Mitchell, who is a veterinarian, was diplomatic in her discussion of the bill, but she made her key point very clearly.

“We need to keep in mind about rabies vaccines, that although they protect our dogs from rabies and our cats from rabies, they’re really to protect us from rabies,” the Gwinnett County legislator said. She urged the committee to ask the Department of Public Health to comment on the bill, in addition to veterinary groups.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

CDC has fourth doses on their guidance page, and are likely shortening the interval between boosters: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-02-04/08-COVID-Hall-508.pdf

One of the reasons I have been so locked down lately is because my third dose statistically is not likely helpful to me at this point, so I am essentially without much protection other than what a mask can do. 

[Innisfree]

53 minutes ago, kbutton said:

https://saportareport.com/christian-dogs-and-anti-vaxers-have-a-bill-they-can-love/columnists/tom/?fbclid=IwAR0MP_tgbKpmcVAQb_ErijEHCrQmyBRLPx8ccGpAAZSh3v4o0Xf-wvxZDvw

 

The confused emoji doing heavy lifting here again, when what we need is something clearly aghast. This reaction against vaccines is going to haunt us beyond the pandemic, I'm afraid.

[kbutton]

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-10/england-to-scrap-self-isolation-rules-after-positive-covid-test/100818418
 

England could scrap self-isolation for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the month.

Under the plan, announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, all legal coronavirus restrictions in England would come to an end a month earlier than the previously proposed date of March 24 if infection rates continued to drop.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01689-3

In summary, using a national cohort of 
people with COVID-19, we show that risk and 12-month burden of incident cardiovascular disease are substantial and span several cardiovascular disease categories (ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease, dysrhythmias and others). The risks and burdens of cardiovascular disease were evident even among those whose acute COVID-19 did not necessitate hospitalization. Care pathways of people who survived the acute episode of COVID-19 should include attention to cardiovascular health and disease.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[prairiewindmomma]

On 2/8/2022 at 1:07 PM, YaelAldrich said:

Has anyone gotten a second BOOSTER yet?  My DH and I are both in jobs that gave us early access to the vaccine and by the end of the month we are five months out from our boosters.

 

I just got my 4th dose.  It's been a bit of a hassle getting someone to give it to me.  CDC guidance is clear that for immunocompromised persons the initial dose series is 3 doses, and a booster can be done 5 (soon to be 3?) months after.

I was told by the pharm tech that she was "pretty sure they didn't do those, couldn't get a booster for a booster" complete with eyeroll and dramatic sigh (from like a 60 year old woman!) but I asked her to ask the pharmacist. I didn't have to show proof from my rheumatologist like I did with my third dose, but I still got grilled.

If you are sending in immunocompromised family members in for their fourth doses, you might want to call the pharmacy ahead of time and verify to smooth the waters.  I don't back down easily, and I had state guidance on my phone ready to share, but someone who is intimidated by authority might have just walked away after dealing with the pharm tech I dealt with.

Edited February 9, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[Melissa Louise]

Took one week for Kindy at school to get the first Covid case. Will be interesting to see how it spreads - they've been in double rooms together all week, maybe 10% mask?

I've been with them for the last two weeks, sigh. 

[kbutton]

I think we've had other articles touching on the heart study, but I found this explanation to be really helpful and friendly for the un-medical: https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-takes-serious-toll-heart-health-full-year-after-recovery?fbclid=IwAR2VEqiKnQQ0bPISIKElQeBkqmwRcTGG83V7kUUFaYd6RlOKngP4CmNHBRA

 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-10/qld-covid-outbreak-jeta-gardens-aged-care-neglect-balcony-fall/100810672

aged care crisis 😞 

I feel like aged care will be a last resort for our parents seeing some of these stories 

numbers are increasing here in SA again the last few days. We only have half of schools back so I’m not looking forward to what happens when they’re all in. Plus everyone’s back doing the normal stuff. 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

My elderly relative absolutely feels that way.  Many of her friends have been stuck in isolation for long periods of time in their rooms.  They have a lot of the risk (carers coming in to bring meals, clean, etc.) but they don't get any of the rewards (social experiences, joint exercise classes, etc.).  Private carers are hard to find right now as well.  She has horrific stories about some of the experiences her friends have gone through remaining at home also. There's just no good path forward for many of them.

I've been urging her to come up with a Golden Girls type of living situation where she and her widow friends all shack up together in one of their homes and be a sort of quasi-isolated pod together while omicron blows through, but she's not interested.

[kbutton]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-nothing-normal-about-one-million-people-dead-from-covid1/#Echobox=1644511205

Quote

Is it rational for Democrats, Republicans and much of the news media to press on towards what writer Tom Scocca calls a policy of “unlimited” COVID? The Democratically controlled state governments of California, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut all moved to drop indoor mask mandates just days after a near-record 3,958 people died of COVID on a single day, February 4. 

 

Quote

But it’s not ethical to manufacture what I call a viral underclass, and it’s incorrect to pretend as though the news media have no role in creating it nor in persuading the public that so many deaths are inevitable.

 

[kbutton]

This looks like a good page: https://www.nolicensefordisinformation.org/resources-and-recommendations

It's published by medical people who want to hold physicians accountable for persistent Covid disinformation. 

[KSera]

9 hours ago, kbutton said:

I think we've had other articles touching on the heart study, but I found this explanation to be really helpful and friendly for the un-medical: https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-takes-serious-toll-heart-health-full-year-after-recovery?fbclid=IwAR2VEqiKnQQ0bPISIKElQeBkqmwRcTGG83V7kUUFaYd6RlOKngP4CmNHBRA

 

Wow. This part really struck me:

Quote

Others agree the results of the study, published in Nature Medicine on 7 February, are powerful. “In the post-COVID era, COVID might become the highest risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes,” greater than well-documented risks such as smoking and obesity

It strikes me that the people advocating most for people not at high risk to get back to normal and treat covid as a regular respiratory virus are in fact advocating for people to take on a new risk factor that may be of higher risk than smoking or obesity. Essentially almost everyone would subsequently have a high risk factor if they contract covid.

[matrips]

10 hours ago, kbutton said:

I think we've had other articles touching on the heart study, but I found this explanation to be really helpful and friendly for the un-medical: https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-takes-serious-toll-heart-health-full-year-after-recovery?fbclid=IwAR2VEqiKnQQ0bPISIKElQeBkqmwRcTGG83V7kUUFaYd6RlOKngP4CmNHBRA

 

I wonder if they’ve separated out studies of vets that had covid, versus vets that had covid and then vaccines/boosters as well .  Because the vax causes heart inflammation and other inflammation also.  So is it due to the first case or the result of all of everything. I didn’t where they differentiated.

[KSera]

53 minutes ago, matrips said:

I wonder if they’ve separated out studies of vets that had covid, versus vets that had covid and then vaccines/boosters as well .  Because the vax causes heart inflammation and other inflammation also.  So is it due to the first case or the result of all of everything. I didn’t where they differentiated.

They did do this. The study period was mostly before any vaccines were available, but they still looked at this to see if vaccination had any effect. They even did further analysis to see if influenza vaccination was having any impact.

“Our analyses censoring participants at time of vaccination and controlling for vaccination as a time-varying covariate show that the increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis reported in this study is significant in people who were not vaccinated and is evident regardless of vaccination status.”

 

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, KSera said:

Wow. This part really struck me:

It strikes me that the people advocating most for people not at high risk to get back to normal and treat covid as a regular respiratory virus are in fact advocating for people to take on a new risk factor that may be of higher risk than smoking or obesity. Essentially almost everyone would subsequently have a high risk factor if they contract covid.

As one of the zero covid people I follow puts it we’re advocating for allowing “damaged” people to die and then advocating for allowing healthy people to become damaged so we can then dismiss their deaths as well. 
 

I’m not sure if it’s quite that bleak but it’s certainly not a nice thought. I do hope that eventually some of the long term covid impacts will resolve.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[Ausmumof3]

WA hit 51 covid cases today. It seems like it will be very hard to pull it back now.

[KSera]

10 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I follow puts it we’re advocating for allowing “damaged” people to die and then advocating for allowing healthy people to become damaged so we can then dismiss their deaths as well. 

This phrases exactly what I was trying to express.  That’s precisely where we are. 

[kokotg]

10 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

As one of the zero covid people I follow puts it we’re advocating for allowing “damaged” people to die and then advocating for allowing healthy people to become damaged so we can then dismiss their deaths as well. 
 

I’m not sure if it’s quite that bleak but it’s certainly not a nice thought. I do hope that eventually some of the long term covid impacts will resolve.

I remember when it all started thinking bleakly that the worst case scenario was that covid was around forever and we keep getting it and people just stopped expecting to live past 70. I assumed I was being paranoid at the time. 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sars-cov-2-variants-of-public-health-interest/sars-cov-2-variants-of-public-health-interest-11-february-2022#sars-cov-2-variants-of-public-health-interest-variants-detected-in-the-uk

Signals currently under monitoring and investigation

B.1.640

BA.3

Delta x Omicron Recombinant (UK)

 

 

I hope this turns out to be a false alarm like last time!

[matrips]

I saw this article about long covid and antihistamines 

https://www.sciencealert.com/there-s-evidence-antihistamines-may-help-treat-long-covid-symptoms

[Corraleno]

New study in Science suggests that CBD oil is effective against covid:

"CBD and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD, but not THC or other congeneric cannabinoids tested, potently block SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells. CBD acts after viral entry, inhibiting viral gene expression and reversing many effects of SARS-CoV-2 on host gene transcription. CBD inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in part by up-regulating the host IRE1α RNase endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and interferon signaling pathways. In matched groups of human patients from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, CBD (100 mg/ml oral solution per medical records) had a significant negative association with positive SARS-CoV-2 tests. This study highlights CBD as a potential preventative agent for early-stage SARS-CoV-2 infection and merits future clinical trials."

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi6110

(x-posted in Omicron thread)

[Ausmumof3]

Four schools in SA have reception classes closed due to covid spreading. These kids have either just recently been able to have the first shot or haven’t had it at all due to being under five. Only class under the age for vaccines to go back on time. The others went back Monday so will likely see similar impacts over the next few weeks.

Defence is helping out in aged care in TAS. Given the global security situation right now I’m not sure that that’s a good signal to be sending as far as our ability to run as a country.

Nurses in NSW striking due to conditions.

 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-15/family-tests-positive-to-new-covid-infection-within-a-month/100829008
 

Yet another story of a family having covid twice within a month 

[KSera]

9 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-15/family-tests-positive-to-new-covid-infection-within-a-month/100829008
 

Yet another story of a family having covid twice within a month 

I don’t know why the infectious disease expert quoted at the end feels so sure that this must be a continuation of the same infection. I would like to think it was, but it doesn’t make sense that after all of them recovered and felt back to normal, they would all, right around the same time suddenly have a slew of new onset symptoms. If it was just one of them, I could see it being a relapse kind of thing, but it strains credibility that all of them would relapse at the same time.