wuhan - coronavirus

[Ausmumof3]

2 family members of one of the cases are also positive.  He had a low CT value which apparently means high viral load.  One of the cases is a child, one exposure site is a swimming pool.  No lockdowns etc at this stage just extended testing hours etc.  let’s hope it stays that way!  No known link at this stage but genomic testing is happening to try to find it.

[Melissa Louise]

Dd had a full on panic attack after she heard this. Instead of getting desensitized, she's getting more sensitized. Really wish we had rolled out vaccines before winter for the under 50's too. Oh well. 

Hopefully it will be contained quickly. 

[Ausmumof3]

5 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Dd had a full on panic attack after she heard this. Instead of getting desensitized, she's getting more sensitized. Really wish we had rolled out vaccines before winter for the under 50's too. Oh well. 

Hopefully it will be contained quickly. 

Just found out SA is making vaccine available to anyone over 16 in rural areas!  Apparently in Vic the available vaccine slots aren’t even filling up.  In part possibly because people are waiting for the Pfizer maybe.

[Melissa in Australia]

9 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Just found out SA is making vaccine available to anyone over 16 in rural areas!  Apparently in Vic the available vaccine slots aren’t even filling up.  In part possibly because people are waiting for the Pfizer maybe.

In Vic it is still people over 50, soi am not even eligible yet

[kbutton]

Possible heightened Covid risk with PCOS independent of obesity and insulin resistance.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/23/health/women-covid-pcos-high-risk/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1kGdoZWbnbBCgCZZneHJvfM-kpIvwy4F3zaAZCFevPjD_8u3L8QWGMeYM

[Ausmumof3]

1 more case in vic with some new restrictions 😞 

[Starr]

On 5/23/2021 at 9:10 PM, Melissa in Australia said:

Really hoping they don't have a snap lockdown here in Vic for selfish reasons. Only 5 days until Dd wedding

I hope it all works out! We went through this last year for dd’s wedding. It sure is stressful. Hers didn’t end up with all the folks they wanted but still lovely. And they are ever so happy they are married . 

[Corraleno]

Interesting article on the connection between "Long Covid" and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/22/996533041/after-months-of-a-racing-heart-and-burning-feet-a-covid-long-hauler-gets-a-diagn

[bookbard]

Cases of Covid up to 15 now in Melbourne, with SA shutting their borders - thinking of Melissa's daughter's wedding this weekend! 

I read that it all began when someone in hotel quarantine (who didn't know they had Covid) opened their door to get food, and then 12 mins later a different person in the next room along opened their door to get food. Just a few moments and yet the particles hung around enough to infect one person, who infected another, who infected another . . . . it's mind-boggling.

[Ausmumof3]

Melissa, I don’t know exactly where things are at but doesn’t seem too positive.  I really hope your dd is able to have a lovely enjoyable day whatever the outcome

[Melissa in Australia]

6 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Cases of Covid up to 15 now in Melbourne, with SA shutting their borders - thinking of Melissa's daughter's wedding this weekend! 

I read that it all began when someone in hotel quarantine (who didn't know they had Covid) opened their door to get food, and then 12 mins later a different person in the next room along opened their door to get food. Just a few moments and yet the particles hung around enough to infect one person, who infected another, who infected another . . . . it's mind-boggling.

I,  to quote a saying my dad was fond of saying : have my knickers in a knot.

oh to go back to the day when I was worried if it was going to rain or not.

now we are dreading the press conference each morning. 

how priorities have changed 😞 

2  1/2 days till wedding

Edited May 26, 2021 by Melissa in Australia

[Penelope]

A retrospective study on symptoms of long Covid in adults. Overall, risk is 5% higher than controls from 2020, and 1.65% higher than following other viral illnesses. 
https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1098

Quote

Our retrospective study conducted in a large administrative database evaluated the excess risk of developing a wide range of clinical sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection in commercially insured adults aged 18-65. We found that 14% of individuals aged ≤65 who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 developed at least one new type of clinical sequelae that required medical care after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which was 4.95% higher than the 2020 comparator group and 1.65% higher than individuals diagnosed as having viral lower respiratory tract illness. This finding suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not unique in causing clinical sequelae after the acute infection. Our results confirmed an excess risk for specific types of sequelae in the four months after the acute phase (index date plus 21 days). Our analysis also showed that although the risk increased with age, pre-existing conditions, and admission to hospital for covid-19, younger adults (aged ≤50), those with no pre-existing conditions, and individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 not admitted to hospital were also at risk for new clinical sequelae after the acute infection. Finally, our results suggested that the risk for some clinical sequelae, such as mental health diagnoses, were increased regardless of age and pre-existing condition.

Comparison with other studies

When we considered the risk attributable to SARS-Cov-2 infection, several clinical sequelae were increased in survivors after the acute infection regardless of comparison group (2020, 2019, or viral lower respiratory tract illness group). These outcomes included chronic respiratory failure, cardiac irregularities, such as tachycardia and arrythmia, hypercoagulability in the form of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, anxiety, encephalopathy, peripheral neuropathy, amnesia, diabetes, liver test abnormalities, myocarditis, and fatigue. Many of these outcomes have been previously reported in case studies or observational studies during the acute phase of covid-19 (including tachycardia,26 hypercoagulability,27mental health outcomes,28 encephalopathy,2930 diabetes,31 and amnesia32). A few studies have also highlighted persistent symptoms or new clinical diagnoses after the acute infection,32333435363738although few have reported on a full range of new clinical diagnoses across multiple organ systems in such a large population.

 

[bluemongoose]

On 5/25/2021 at 1:04 AM, Corraleno said:

Interesting article on the connection between "Long Covid" and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/22/996533041/after-months-of-a-racing-heart-and-burning-feet-a-covid-long-hauler-gets-a-diagn

I have a relative that is seeking a second opinion because their post COVID symptoms line up with POTS. The treatment they have been given from current Dr. lines up with POTS treatment, but so far they Dr. just shrugs and says they do not know. COVID illness was a year ago and they are still struggling. This is a person younger than 40, had no pre-existing conditions, and did not have a severe case of COVID. They are fully vaccinated, it didn't reverse the symptoms.

[kbutton]

12 hours ago, bookbard said:

I read that it all began when someone in hotel quarantine (who didn't know they had Covid) opened their door to get food, and then 12 mins later a different person in the next room along opened their door to get food. Just a few moments and yet the particles hung around enough to infect one person, who infected another, who infected another . . . . it's mind-boggling.

This kind of happening is why I can't believe things aren't so much worse. We're lucky that masks work so well. 

[Pen]

15 hours ago, bookbard said:

Cases of Covid up to 15 now in Melbourne, with SA shutting their borders - thinking of Melissa's daughter's wedding this weekend! 

I read that it all began when someone in hotel quarantine (who didn't know they had Covid) opened their door to get food, and then 12 mins later a different person in the next room along opened their door to get food. Just a few moments and yet the particles hung around enough to infect one person, who infected another, who infected another . . . . it's mind-boggling.

People actually symptomatically sick?

Or positive test results? 
 

Are they shutting a whole big city because of 15 cases in various parts of city or are all cases in one quarantine hotel?    

[Ausmumof3]

32 minutes ago, Pen said:

People actually symptomatically sick?

Or positive test results? 
 

Are they shutting a whole big city because of 15 cases in various parts of city or are all cases in one quarantine hotel?    

It’s 26 now.  No we don’t shut down for cases in quarantine they are community cases.  The cases have visited over 70 different sites combined including two football games.  I’m not sure about capacity limits at the stadium but it’s getting close to full capacity.  The good news is almost all if not all of the cases are linked through contact tracing at this stage though there’s still not a firm link to the original case who caught Covid in hotel quarantine in Adelaide several weeks ago. 

[Ausmumof3]

@Pen

 

This is the list of exposure sites if you’re interesting in the decision to lockdown. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-27/new-exposure-sites-added-in-victoria-covid/100169082

[KSera]

14 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

@Pen

 

This is the list of exposure sites if you’re interesting in the decision to lockdown. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-27/new-exposure-sites-added-in-victoria-covid/100169082

Yikes. That’s a lot of places. I think some people may not be aware of how Australia has been handling the virus and why these snap lockdowns for what seems like so few cases to people in the US. I so want Melissa’s dd to be able to have the wedding as she planned it, and hope for her sake it goes that way. I also understand how hard Australia has worked to be where they are, where people are able to be living mostly normal lives, and letting cases start to explode would result in cases rapidly expanding past the point their excellent tracing system can contain. Ugh. 

[Pen]

41 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

@Pen

 

This is the list of exposure sites if you’re interesting in the decision to lockdown. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-27/new-exposure-sites-added-in-victoria-covid/100169082

that’s a lot of places! I like how they give exact place and time frame so people can know if there were there or not. 

[Ausmumof3]

28 minutes ago, KSera said:

Yikes. That’s a lot of places. I think some people may not be aware of how Australia has been handling the virus and why these snap lockdowns for what seems like so few cases to people in the US. I so want Melissa’s dd to be able to have the wedding as she planned it, and hope for her sake it goes that way. I also understand how hard Australia has worked to be where they are, where people are able to be living mostly normal lives, and letting cases start to explode would result in cases rapidly expanding past the point their excellent tracing system can contain. Ugh. 

Yes.  And it’s really hopefully just a matter of months before our vaccine program might be at a point where this is not necessary.  Maybe.  So it should be worth holding out.  Assuming immunity holds, variants don’t escape and there’s uptake of the vaccines and no more safety issues of course which is a whole lot of assumptions.

[Ausmumof3]

10 minutes ago, Pen said:

that’s a lot of places! I like how they give exact place and time frame so people can know if there were there or not. 

Yea.  Although there was a recent mixup where they had a supermarket receipt which said Epping when the actual shop visited was Epping North so they named the wrong supermarket - but mostly they are very thorough.  Obviously it’s a lot of time and effort for that level of tracing though so it only works while cases are few.

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, Pen said:

People actually symptomatically sick?

Or positive test results? 
 

Are they shutting a whole big city because of 15 cases in various parts of city or are all cases in one quarantine hotel?    

They will most probably shut a whole state. 

We haven't maintained our covid freestatus without actively fighting. In Feb the whole state was shut down for 3 days for less cases. No weddings or funerals at all

[prairiewindmomma]

https://ard.bmj.com/content/annrheumdis/early/2021/05/18/annrheumdis-2021-220597.full.pdf
 

@TravelingChris@Junie@Pawz4me

covid vaccination response  in rheumatoid arthritis patients—looks encouraging for those on biologics and as expected (crappy) for those on methotrexate

[Junie]

10 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://ard.bmj.com/content/annrheumdis/early/2021/05/18/annrheumdis-2021-220597.full.pdf
 

@TravelingChris@Junie@Pawz4me

covid vaccination response  in rheumatoid arthritis patients—looks encouraging for those on biologics and as expected (crappy) for those on methotrexate

Thank you.  I'm not taking methotrexate, so my numbers are hopefully fine.  I'm sorry for those who are taking it, but the information is good to have.

[maize]

13 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yes.  And it’s really hopefully just a matter of months before our vaccine program might be at a point where this is not necessary.  Maybe.  So it should be worth holding out.  Assuming immunity holds, variants don’t escape and there’s uptake of the vaccines and no more safety issues of course which is a whole lot of assumptions.

I was wondering what the status of vaccination efforts is there.

[Ausmumof3]

34 minutes ago, maize said:

I was wondering what the status of vaccination efforts is there.

It’s a bit mixed.  Over 50s are eligible for Astra Zeneca, under 50s can get Pfizer but only if they are health care or disability care workers etc.  In regional areas in my state and possibly Northern Territory anyone over 16 is eligible.  I think hesitancy has been an issue since the blood clots with AZ but there’s a rush on now there’s some cases in Vic.

Actually i just looked at the map and realised we might be eligible.  We would be literally the last house on the boundary.  Might have to look into it sooner rather than later 

Edited May 27, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[Ausmumof3]

Ok I checked and at this point it looks like 13th July is the first available appointment.

[Ausmumof3]

Also posted in the vaccine thread - German researchers have a theory on what’s causing the clotting issues with Astra Zeneca 

https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-558954/v1https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-558954/v1

[kbutton]

On 5/24/2021 at 12:00 PM, kbutton said:

Possible heightened Covid risk with PCOS independent of obesity and insulin resistance.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/23/health/women-covid-pcos-high-risk/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1kGdoZWbnbBCgCZZneHJvfM-kpIvwy4F3zaAZCFevPjD_8u3L8QWGMeYM

Another article that cites hormonal/endocrine involvement. 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/covid-19-expert-review-finds-multiple-links-with-hormones?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=athena&fbclid=IwAR3uif5FUcbcpZIVpm_6I3CF-wByFb9jpP91XXT_DsXtjIfKx_Iyqjqg3L8#Low-levels-of-vitamin-D

I wonder if increased androgens and more endocrine issues overall might explain why PCOS seems to put people at higher risk. (Most of the people I know with PCOS also have or develop thyroid disorders or another endocrine problem.) 

[bookbard]

There was something in the paper about why Melbourne has had all the bad luck around Covid compared to the rest of the country. Part of it was just bad luck with super spreaders, but the colder weather may have something to do with it. We are just coming into winter now - really hope that this current outbreak gets under control before winter really gets underway. 

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, bookbard said:

There was something in the paper about why Melbourne has had all the bad luck around Covid compared to the rest of the country. Part of it was just bad luck with super spreaders, but the colder weather may have something to do with it. We are just coming into winter now - really hope that this current outbreak gets under control before winter really gets underway. 

That’s my personal no evidence belief.  That low vitamin D levels plus more indoor shared air helps it thrive, plus the virus itself is happier at lower temperature.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/this-country-has-detected-a-hybrid-of-indian-and-uk-covid-19-variant-11622261677561.html
 

no idea about this source sorry but Vietnam say they have a variant that is kind of a hybrid of characteristics from the UK and Indian variants.

[chiguirre]

Here's a link to the Reuters article about the new Vietnam variant:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-detects-hybrid-indian-uk-covid-19-variant-2021-05-29/

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-30/victoria-records-five-new-local-covid-cases/100176658
 

One of the Melbourne cases today was in an aged care worker placing the home into lockdown.  They have had the first but not second case of the vaccine.  At this point the link to other cases is not known which is worrying.

[Melissa Louise]

OK, what is the story with variants? I remember earlier in the pandemic lots of reassuring information about how viruses tend to become milder as they mutate..but this is not the case? Was it a fib in the first place? Or is this virus weirder than most? Or are the variants not really significantly different?

[TravelingChris]

2 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

OK, what is the story with variants? I remember earlier in the pandemic lots of reassuring information about how viruses tend to become milder as they mutate..but this is not the case? Was it a fib in the first place? Or is this virus weirder than most? Or are the variants not really significantly different?

first of all, the flu virus mutates a lot which is why we need new flu vaccines every year.  Some flu variants are milder, some stronger.  Most flu variants affect older people more but some variants target kids or young people or middle age more.  

The UK variant, for example, is known to infect more younger people= people younger than 50 seem to have more serious disease with this one.  

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

OK, what is the story with variants? I remember earlier in the pandemic lots of reassuring information about how viruses tend to become milder as they mutate..but this is not the case? Was it a fib in the first place? Or is this virus weirder than most? Or are the variants not really significantly different?

I think there’s still pretty mixed opinions about what variants mean.  Some seem to be associated with higher contagion or more severe illness or vaccines being less effective but it’s hard to tease out how much is the impact of the variant and how much is just the local conditions where it first popped up.

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

OK, what is the story with variants? I remember earlier in the pandemic lots of reassuring information about how viruses tend to become milder as they mutate..but this is not the case? Was it a fib in the first place? Or is this virus weirder than most? Or are the variants not really significantly different?

Most of the people insisting it would keep mutating to be less deadly were people trying to push the idea that the virus wasn't a big deal, we don't need mitigation, etc. 

[Penelope]

3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I think there’s still pretty mixed opinions about what variants mean.  Some seem to be associated with higher contagion or more severe illness or vaccines being less effective but it’s hard to tease out how much is the impact of the variant and how much is just the local conditions where it first popped up.

This. Also, what I heard about becoming less severe is that it can occur, but that it takes many years of interacting with a population, not a few months. An example is HIV, which has mutated to the point that it apparently is not quite as virulent as it once was. 
 

What doesn’t make sense is how each new variant has been said to so much more transmissible than the one before it in the news. If that were literally true, the R0 would be a ridiculously high number by now. Maybe one or another of them is slightly more transmissible, but there can be a lot of other reasons a new variant becomes predominant, and it doesn’t make sense that it is becoming more transmissible with each variant, at least according to what I hear. 

[ktgrok]

10 minutes ago, Penelope said:

This. Also, what I heard about becoming less severe is that it can occur, but that it takes many years of interacting with a population, not a few months. An example is HIV, which has mutated to the point that it apparently is not quite as virulent as it once was. 
 

What doesn’t make sense is how each new variant has been said to so much more transmissible than the one before it in the news. If that were literally true, the R0 would be a ridiculously high number by now. Maybe one or another of them is slightly more transmissible, but there can be a lot of other reasons a new variant becomes predominant, and it doesn’t make sense that it is becoming more transmissible with each variant, at least according to what I hear. 

I've only heard that some are more stable or have other mutations that make it so that less viral load is needed to infect someone, and only in comparison to the first known variation, not in comparison to the variants that came before it. 

[Melissa Louise]

Sounds like Melbourne lockdown will be extended. 

Federal government unable to prevent aged care staff working across multiple sites, doesn't bode well for aged care homes. 

[bookbard]

I kind of can't believe this is happening in Melbourne again. I really hope they've got onto things so quickly this time that they will be able to stamp it out fast.

[Melissa Louise]

I really want to know why Melbourne is copping it. Sydney, almost no-one masks, does the QR codes, pays any attention to anything, and yet we get our little clusters, contact trace them, back to normal in a few days. What's different about Melbourne? Just luck?

 

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Sounds like Melbourne lockdown will be extended. 

Federal government unable to prevent aged care staff working across multiple sites, doesn't bode well for aged care homes. 

 I have heard rumers that it will be extended at least until the long weekend and most probably have restrictions for all of winter.

 that is why we rushed DD wedding

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

I really want to know why Melbourne is copping it. Sydney, almost no-one masks, does the QR codes, pays any attention to anything, and yet we get our little clusters, contact trace them, back to normal in a few days. What's different about Melbourne? Just luck?

 

wish we knew. t always seems to hit the northern suburbs of Melbourne . there are a lot of  poorer communities and new immigrants living in those areas, with large extended families. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but the last few times ( not this time that I am aware of) there was lots of mingling at family events even though it wasn't allowed under the level of lockdown.

 This time there seems to be lots of exposure sites at supermarkets and workplaces

 

[Melissa Louise]

43 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

 I have heard rumers that it will be extended at least until the long weekend and most probably have restrictions for all of winter.

 that is why we rushed DD wedding

Dd meant to visit in a couple of weeks 🙁

So glad your dd got married on the Friday. 

[Melissa in Australia]

15 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Dd meant to visit in a couple of weeks 🙁

So glad your dd got married on the Friday. 

Really Hope you get to see your Dd soon

[Melissa Louise]

Just now, Melissa in Australia said:

Really Hope you get to see your Dd soon

I did see them in the last school holidays, but it's her 21st celebrations she's coming up for this time. Fingers crossed. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Just now, Melissa Louise said:

I did see them in the last school holidays, but it's her 21st celebrations she's coming up for this time. Fingers crossed. 

Sending positive thoughts. Really hope it can happen

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/victoria-records-new-covid-cases-as-exposure-sites-list-grows/100180492

 

Mr Weimar said there was evidence of "about four or five" recent cases where the transmission occurred between strangers.

He said venues like the Telstra store in South Melbourne, JMD Grocers & Sweets Epping, a Mickleham display home and Craigieburn Central shopping centre were of most concern to contact tracers.

"They are all examples of transmission with very limited contact," Mr Weimar said.

"With previous variants, we are more used to transmission really occurring in the home, in the workplace ... or those big social settings.