wuhan - coronavirus

[Melissa in Australia]

45 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

1164 for NSW

76 for Vic.

In SA we’re back to open borders with NT and QLD.

 

Have to say I have a very different understanding of low numbers than the premier of NSW.

[KSera]

27 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

I have been reading and hearing about MANY breakthrough infections, but our TV stations keep reporting that almost everyone in the hospital is unvaccinated. Read the article below today. One third of the hospitalized in my state are vaccinated. I do not consider that a small amount, and I don't think they're doing anyone any favors by making it seem like being vaccinated = no risk. I think everyone should be wearing masks, at least indoors/with those outside your family, until we have a better sense of what's going on, especially the older, more at-risk folks. 

https://ctexaminer.com/2021/08/24/yale-doctors-warn-of-breakthrough-covid-infections-counsel-for-masks/

At Yale New Haven Health 27 percent of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were fully vaccinated. At Hartford Healthcare, that number is 30 percent. In the state as a whole, 65 percent of the entire population is vaccinated. 

That is interesting it's so different there than most of the hospital dashboards I've seen for vaccinated/unvaccinated. That would be in part due to CT having higher vaccination rates than most states. It makes me wonder what percentage of the eligible population is vaccinated in each of those areas. Obviously, even based on the whole population, the unvaccinated people are very disporportionately represented in the hospital, but I'd expect that might become even more pronounced if the percentages are stated as a percentage of the eligible population (or even of the 18 and up) rather than of the entire population, since I expect pediatric hospitalizations go elsewhere and that those are such a tiny percentage of the overall anyway.

Totally agree that people shouldn't be acting like vaccinated=no mask needed. Everyone needs a mask indoors or in close quarters.

[whitestavern]

2 minutes ago, KSera said:

That is interesting it's so different there than most of the hospital dashboards I've seen for vaccinated/unvaccinated. That would be in part due to CT having higher vaccination rates than most states. It makes me wonder what percentage of the eligible population is vaccinated in each of those areas. Obviously, even based on the whole population, the unvaccinated people are very disporportionately represented in the hospital, but I'd expect that might become even more pronounced if the percentages are stated as a percentage of the eligible population (or even of the 18 and up) rather than of the entire population, since I expect pediatric hospitalizations go elsewhere and that those are such a tiny percentage of the overall anyway.

Totally agree that people shouldn't be acting like vaccinated=no mask needed. Everyone needs a mask indoors or in close quarters.

This is the first time I've seen any information (in my state or not) about vaxxed vs unvaxxed. The message I keep hearing is almost all hospitalizations are unvaxxed. These two systems cover our entire state, or close to it, and include both children's hospitals. 

[Ausmumof3]

Singapore are sending half a million close to expiry vaccines to Australia in exchange for half a million of those we were due to receive in December.

Thank you Singapore!

[Melissa Louise]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Singapore are sending half a million close to expiry vaccines to Australia in exchange for half a million of those we were due to receive in December.

Thank you Singapore!

Very grateful to Singapore. 

[Melissa Louise]

Accurate.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by Melissa Louise

[KSera]

22 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

This is the first time I've seen any information (in my state or not) about vaxxed vs unvaxxed. The message I keep hearing is almost all hospitalizations are unvaxxed. These two systems cover our entire state, or close to it, and include both children's hospitals. 

It looks to vary by state, and CT seems to have a higher proportion of vaccinated people hospitalized than anywhere else I've seen, which is why it made me wonder about their overall vacction numbers by eligible population. If you're curious, here's a link to a recent thread with quite a few hospital dashboards (if you scroll up and down the thread, you will see even more):

 

It's definitely interesting that the proportions are so much different in CT. Do you know anywhere that shows the percentage of eligible population vaccinated? Or is there anything unusual about the population there? Is it skewed a lot older?

[Matryoshka]

28 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

This is the first time I've seen any information (in my state or not) about vaxxed vs unvaxxed. The message I keep hearing is almost all hospitalizations are unvaxxed. These two systems cover our entire state, or close to it, and include both children's hospitals. 

You have to look at it as unvaxxed cases÷total # of unvaxxed, vs vaxxed cases ÷ total # of vaxxed. 

For illustrative purposes... Say out of 100 people, 10 are unvaxxed and 90 are vaxxed.  All the unvaxxed people are hospitalized but only 10% of the vaxxed. Then 10 unvaxxed and 9 vaxxed people are in the hospital, so almost half of the people in the hospital are vaxxed.  That does not mean that vaccination isn't hugely protective against hospitalization. 

If a really high percentage of the population is vaxxed (I think it's like 70% in CT, and higher for the ages more likely to be hospitalized) you're going to see a greater percentage of the hospitalized people be vaxxed compared to states where half or more of the population is still unvaxxed.

[Jean in Newcastle]

38 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

This is the first time I've seen any information (in my state or not) about vaxxed vs unvaxxed. The message I keep hearing is almost all hospitalizations are unvaxxed. These two systems cover our entire state, or close to it, and include both children's hospitals. 

 

5 minutes ago, KSera said:

It looks to vary by state, and CT seems to have a higher proportion of vaccinated people hospitalized than anywhere else I've seen, which is why it made me wonder about their overall vacction numbers by eligible population. If you're curious, here's a link to a recent thread with quite a few hospital dashboards (if you scroll up and down the thread, you will see even more):

 

It's definitely interesting that the proportions are so much different in CT. Do you know anywhere that shows the percentage of eligible population vaccinated? Or is there anything unusual about the population there? Is it skewed a lot older?

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/CTDPHCOVID19summary8262021.pdf

This is 4 days old, but according to this, 71.7% of the vaccinated deaths in CT were people 75 years and older.

I am not a math person but the conclusion by the people who made the linked CT document say:

"Compared to being vaccinated, being unvaccinated currently has the following relative risk:
• 5 Times higher risk of being infected with COVID-19
• 5 Times higher risk of dying from COVID-19
• 16 Times higher risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19"

[Matryoshka]

11 minutes ago, KSera said:

It looks to vary by state, and CT seems to have a higher proportion of vaccinated people hospitalized than anywhere else I've seen, which is why it made me wonder about their overall vacction numbers by eligible population. If you're curious, here's a link to a recent thread with quite a few hospital dashboards (if you scroll up and down the It's definitely interesting that the proportions are so much different in CT. Do you know anywhere that shows the percentage of eligible population vaccinated? Or is there anything unusual about the population there? Is it skewed a lot older?

In CT

55-64yo 83.3% fully vaxxed

65-74yo 89.5% fully vaxxed

75+yo     84.7% fully vaxxed

[whitestavern]

8 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

You have to look at it as unvaxxed cases÷total # of unvaxxed, vs vaxxed cases ÷ total # of vaxxed. 

For illustrative purposes... Say out of 100 people, 10 are unvaxxed and 90 are vaxxed.  All the unvaxxed people are hospitalized but only 10% of the vaxxed. Then 10 unvaxxed and 9 vaxxed people are in the hospital, so almost half of the people in the hospital are vaxxed.  That does not mean that vaccination isn't hugely protective against hospitalization. 

If a really high percentage of the population is vaxxed (I think it's like 70% in CT, and higher for the ages more likely to be hospitalized) you're going to see a greater percentage of the hospitalized people be vaxxed compared to states where half or more of the population is still unvaxxed.

I understand that. I'm not saying anything about efficacy. I'm saying the message that everyone in the hospital is unvaxxed is not accurate. If they were honest, vaxxed people would be more likely to take precautions, which they are encouraging in the article. Delta has changed the game.

[Matryoshka]

4 hours ago, whitestavern said:

I understand that. I'm not saying anything about efficacy. I'm saying the message that everyone in the hospital is unvaxxed is not accurate. If they were honest, vaxxed people would be more likely to take precautions, which they are encouraging in the article. Delta has changed the game.

Well, I totally agree that vaxxed people need to be taking precautions against Delta and it has changed the game. The CDC at least has said everyone should be masking indoors again (I never stopped), but it was a huge mistake that they relaxed, because it seems since then a large bunch of people have turned their ears off.  I'm actually feeling a bit rage-y that my governor refuses to reinstate a mask mandate, as short of a mandate, seems like there's a big chunk of the population that has not gotten the memo.  

But along with the Delta/game changer theme, I'm also horrified that we're sending the under-12s back to school in full classrooms,  because even with a full masking, i think all-day full classrooms and lunch in cafeterias is going to be very much not enough against Delta, and they just don't seem to be able to acknowledge that things have changed.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Matryoshka

[KSera]

3 hours ago, whitestavern said:

I understand that. I'm not saying anything about efficacy. I'm saying the message that everyone in the hospital is unvaxxed is not accurate. If they were honest, vaxxed people would be more likely to take precautions, which they are encouraging in the article. Delta has changed the game.

Are they specifically saying that in your area that everyone in the hospital is unvaccinated? Because your area does seem to be a significant outlier in what the proportions are. In most places it is still the case that most of the people in the hospital, and especially those in the ICU and those on ventilators are unvaccinated.

I still agree that some vaxed people need to be getting the message about Delta better. I had someone drop something at my house the other day, and they started to come in the house when I opened the door (awkward!) They know that we are super cautious and don’t go anywhere right now, but I think they thought since we’re both vaccinated, it was fine. (They did come to the door masked, but it was a very loose cotton knit mask, so coming inside was a definite no go. We need better public instruction on how a mask needs to fit also.)

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-31/sa-major-incidents-declared-at-two-hospitals/100423172
 

Elective surgery cancelled in two major hospitals in my state - without there being a COVID outbreak.  
 

It's the worst we have seen': SASMOA

The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association's (SASMOA) senior industrial officer, Bernadette Mulholland, said the state's health system would not cope with a local COVID-19 outbreak. 

"Can you imagine now if we had COVID in this environment, it's just mind-blowing what we will be able to do, or won't be able to do if COVID crosses the border and comes into South Australia."

[Melissa Louise]

19 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-31/sa-major-incidents-declared-at-two-hospitals/100423172
 

Elective surgery cancelled in two major hospitals in my state - without there being a COVID outbreak.  
 

It's the worst we have seen': SASMOA

The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association's (SASMOA) senior industrial officer, Bernadette Mulholland, said the state's health system would not cope with a local COVID-19 outbreak. 

"Can you imagine now if we had COVID in this environment, it's just mind-blowing what we will be able to do, or won't be able to do if COVID crosses the border and comes into South Australia."

Is that because they are sending some hcp to NSW or VIC? 

Or just winter overwhelm?

There are not enough ICU nurses in NSW. Weren't before Covid, won't be during Covid. Directly tied to budget cuts. Hospitals are staffed at minimum levels. 

I can't imagine SA is any better. I'm 100% behind closed borders for all states with low or zero Covid, until after 80% vax. We can't have every state's health systems crashing at once. 

[Ausmumof3]

Just now, Melissa Louise said:

Is that because they are sending some hcp to NSW or VIC? 

Or just winter overwhelm?

There are not enough ICU nurses in NSW. Weren't before Covid, won't be during Covid. Directly tied to budget cuts. Hospitals are staffed at minimum levels. 

I can't imagine SA is any better. I'm 100% behind closed borders for all states with low or zero Covid, until after 80% vax. We can't have every state's health systems crashing at once. 

Its possible but I doubt it.  We had a similar incident about two months ago and I know first hand that it’s true because one of my kids needed emergency (thankfully nothing life threatening) and DH went to three hospitals to try and find one where there was any hope of being seen that day. (GP wasn’t able to handle it).  It was almost midnight before he got dealt with (happened just after lunch). There’s been an ongoing industrial dispute with paramedics for a couple of years now about demand and ramping etc.  There was also a couple of kind of satellite cities/regions left without an available ambulance for several hours yesterday from what I understand from DH.  They need both more ambulances and faster admission to hospital so the paramedics can keep working instead of ramping all the time.

The COVID backup plan is to have firefighters drive ambulances so they can be operated by a single paramedic.  And CFS/SES volunteers. So better all hope no one actually needs the fire brigade as well and we have a nice mild bushfire season.

[Melissa Louise]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Its possible but I doubt it.  We had a similar incident about two months ago and I know first hand that it’s true because one of my kids needed emergency (thankfully nothing life threatening) and DH went to three hospitals to try and find one where there was any hope of being seen that day. (GP wasn’t able to handle it).  It was almost midnight before he got dealt with (happened just after lunch). There’s been an ongoing industrial dispute with paramedics for a couple of years now about demand and ramping etc.  There was also a couple of kind of satellite cities/regions left without an available ambulance for several hours yesterday from what I understand from DH.  They need both more ambulances and faster admission to hospital so the paramedics can keep working instead of ramping all the time.

The COVID backup plan is to have firefighters drive ambulances so they can be operated by a single paramedic.  And CFS/SES volunteers. So better all hope no one actually needs the fire brigade as well and we have a nice mild bushfire season.

Oh man, that's bad. Keep those borders slammed shut. 

[Ausmumof3]

120 cases for Vic.  

[Ausmumof3]

Australia’s Covid 19 death toll passed 1000 yesterday.

[Ausmumof3]

ACT 23

NSW 1116, 4 further deaths.

[Ausmumof3]

75 for NZ.  Playgrounds are reopening in Vic.  This seems like a good thing I think.  Lockdown is semi long term at this point and playgrounds seems like the lowest risk way to keep families sane.

[Melissa in Australia]

Vic has given up on target zero.

☹️

they say it is impossible with delta

[Ausmumof3]

More truck drivers test positive for COVID in South Australia

SA Health authorities have revealed that five COVID positive truck drivers have travelled through the state in the past six days.

That list includes a further two truck drivers who were notified to authorities today.

There are now 20 exposure sites across the state, from Nundroo and Ceduna in the west, to Port Augusta, Port Wakefiled, Adelaide, and Tailem Bend in the South-East.

Authorities say there is no evidence of transmission from the cases, but dozens of contacts of each driver have been ordered into isolation.

Meanwhile, SA Health says traces of COVID have also been detected in sewage in two Adelaide suburbs: Salisbury in the northern suburbs and in Lonsdale in the south.

 

Honestly it’s only a matter of time I think 

[lewelma]

4 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Vic has given up on target zero.

☹️

they say it is impossible with delta

NZ modelling says our r value is currently under 1. We will see if it is possible to control it. Crossing fingers. 

They are trying to secure more vaccine this month because of the massive surge in demand. But if they can't, they are going to prioritize Auckland and take from other regions. Next planned big shipment is due Oct 1, and at the current rate, we run out Sept 20.

Edited September 1, 2021 by lewelma

[popmom]

I’m not sure which thread linked studies on long COVID and Epstein Barr…

Interestingly, this article makes no mention of it. I’m following this closely because I have CFS/ME. 
 

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/04/29/researchers-are-closing-in-on-long-covid

[Ausmumof3]

What do you all make of this guy?  He posts a lot about long Covid and super antigens etc. however I can’t get my head around exactly what that means.  A lot of what he shares/posts is kind of worrying but I don’t know how seriously to take it. 

[Ausmumof3]

Australia is also seeing Ivermectin overdoses.  I actually need some for de-miting budgies so hope it doesn’t become hard to get hold of.

[Ausmumof3]

176 cases for Vic 😫

[Melissa Louise]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

176 cases for Vic 😫

What do you think this reflects? 

Delta infectiousness a la Gladys, poor compliance, also a la Gladys or a combo? It can't be the lockdown settings. Unless it is, and only NZ settings can wrestle Delta.

Or is it just the natural path of a lockdown? 

[Rosie_0801]

9 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

What do you think this reflects? 

Delta infectiousness a la Gladys, poor compliance, also a la Gladys or a combo? 

Both.

State opposition seem to think Dan should be Gladys, but with NZ's outcomes, which the non-compliant feel is very supportive.

[Ausmumof3]

4 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

What do you think this reflects? 

Delta infectiousness a la Gladys, poor compliance, also a la Gladys or a combo? It can't be the lockdown settings. Unless it is, and only NZ settings can wrestle Delta.

Or is it just the natural path of a lockdown? 

I’m not sure.  Coronacast mentions inner city housing and I’m sure delta infectiousness plays a role plus quarantine fatigue. There’s also multiple plus probably repeat seedings from NSW. I’m interested to see if NZ can manage it.

I expect SA will follow sooner or later because of the number of exposures coming through from truck drivers. Testing etc works with low numbers but not when you start getting repeated entries (as when overseas outbreaks get worse we get more quarantine leaks only now they’re internal leaks).

We’re having a lot of exposure on freight routes.  The worry is an outbreak in one of these areas with poor medical facilities.

 

[Ausmumof3]

1 new case for QLD infectious in the community for 5 days - another truck driver who is now back in NSW.

A school on the Gold Coast has been closed for the day after children were heard telling other kids they’d been on holiday in Victoria.  Apparently they were meant to be in quarantine but not cooperating.

AMA have warned that the country’s hospital systems won’t cope under eased restrictions.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m not sure.  Coronacast mentions inner city housing and I’m sure delta infectiousness plays a role plus quarantine fatigue. There’s also multiple plus probably repeat seedings from NSW. I’m interested to see if NZ can manage it.

I expect SA will follow sooner or later because of the number of exposures coming through from truck drivers. Testing etc works with low numbers but not when you start getting repeated entries (as when overseas outbreaks get worse we get more quarantine leaks only now they’re internal leaks).

We’re having a lot of exposure on freight routes.  The worry is an outbreak in one of these areas with poor medical facilities.

 

I don’t know why I typed inner city.  I meant to say shared inter generational housing.  

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/01/vaccination-reduces-risk-long-covid-even-when-people-are-infected-study/
 

Some better news - lower long Covid risk for breakthrough infections 

[Ausmumof3]

1288 cases for NSW and 7 deaths.

[Laura Corin]

BBC News - Scots to need vaccine passports for large events
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58412832

[Laura Corin]

My county is on this list.

BBC News - Covid in Scotland: Vaccine passport benefits 'outweigh concerns'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58420003

[Jean in Newcastle]

Got my flu shot this morning.  While I was there, I asked the pharmacist how long I had to wait before possibly getting a Covid vaccine booster.  He told me that CDC guidance is now that there doesn't have to be any wait time at all between the Covid vaccines and other vaccines.  He told me that the rationale was that there have been no interactions reported with other vaccines.  (I personally would still want to space things out).  But this explains why a friend and his wife who got their Covid vaccines the other day (a chiropractor, btw) were offered the Covid vaccine and the shingles vaccine at the same time.  He too is spacing things out. 

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Got my flu shot this morning.  While I was there, I asked the pharmacist how long I had to wait before possibly getting a Covid vaccine booster.  He told me that CDC guidance is now that there doesn't have to be any wait time at all between the Covid vaccines and other vaccines.  He told me that the rationale was that there have been no interactions reported with other vaccines.  (I personally would still want to space things out).  But this explains why a friend and his wife who got their Covid vaccines the other day (a chiropractor, btw) were offered the Covid vaccine and the shingles vaccine at the same time.  He too is spacing things out. 

I've heard that the shingles vaccine often has side effects. I think I'd space that one out too, lol, though if I were several days post-Covid shot and feeling fine, that's all I'd wait, not weeks or months.

It's nice to hear of a chiropractor that will vaccinate. Not common here. 

I was offered a flu shot the other day, but DH wants me to wait until we see flu starting to get geographically closer. We tend to have virtually no flu until late November/December, but we sometimes have people getting it quite late in the spring or early summer. I told him he better watch closely this year in case all the people sick with Covid spread it more this year.

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I've heard that the shingles vaccine often has side effects. I think I'd space that one out too, lol, though if I were several days post-Covid shot and feeling fine, that's all I'd wait, not weeks or months.

It's nice to hear of a chiropractor that will vaccinate. Not common here. 

I was offered a flu shot the other day, but DH wants me to wait until we see flu starting to get geographically closer. We tend to have virtually no flu until late November/December, but we sometimes have people getting it quite late in the spring or early summer. I told him he better watch closely this year in case all the people sick with Covid spread it more this year.

All HCWs (including chiropractors) are required to vaccinate here.  But  he and his wife (who is not required to vaccinate but still got vaccinated) were already planning on getting one.  But both chiropractors I've gone to are not into the woo (sorry, my opinion) that other chiropractors can be into, though both are very holistic in their approaches/opinions.  (But it's illegal here for chiropractors to do more than what they are actually licensed to do- which is to adjust your spine.)

Local health officials are pushing flu shots here.  They are really scared of having people with both Covid and flu clogging up the hospitals.  Since it takes a couple of weeks for the flu shot to be effective, I wanted to get it now. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Not Coronavirus related but because of the exchange that kbutton and I were having on the flu shots:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/flu/map/

My zip code shows a "moderate" risk for flu already. 

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

All HCWs (including chiropractors) are required to vaccinate here.  But  he and his wife (who is not required to vaccinate but still got vaccinated) were already planning on getting one.  But both chiropractors I've gone to are not into the woo (sorry, my opinion) that other chiropractors can be into, though both are very holistic in their approaches/opinions.  (But it's illegal here for chiropractors to do more than what they are actually licensed to do- which is to adjust your spine.)

Local health officials are pushing flu shots here.  They are really scared of having people with both Covid and flu clogging up the hospitals.  Since it takes a couple of weeks for the flu shot to be effective, I wanted to get it now. 

That is refreshing! Here I know of a chiro that told someone that they could use lemongrass oil to heal a hernia, instead of surgery. (it was on facebook, saw the comment myself. Immediately unfollowed her page!)

[KSera]

2 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Not Coronavirus related but because of the exchange that kbutton and I were having on the flu shots:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/flu/map/

My zip code shows a "moderate" risk for flu already. 

I didn't even know that flu shots were available yet. I've always gotten one (when I've gotten one) on the late side (October-November) because it seems like flu tends to peak Feb-March where I am. I was hoping to get one in a drive through clinic this year, but I don't know when they will start those. Though honestly, I think it would be hard for me to catch the flu given our current covid avoidance strategies--it's not nearly as contagious as Covid.

[kbutton]

16 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

All HCWs (including chiropractors) are required to vaccinate here.  But  he and his wife (who is not required to vaccinate but still got vaccinated) were already planning on getting one.  But both chiropractors I've gone to are not into the woo (sorry, my opinion) that other chiropractors can be into, though both are very holistic in their approaches/opinions.  (But it's illegal here for chiropractors to do more than what they are actually licensed to do- which is to adjust your spine.)

That sounds awesome!

14 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Not Coronavirus related but because of the exchange that kbutton and I were having on the flu shots:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/flu/map/

My zip code shows a "moderate" risk for flu already. 

We have a high risk in the next county and a couple of moderate risk counties nearby, but their methodology is interesting (like using social media posts about flu). It wouldn't surprise me if the county near me that is high is due to people talking about conspiracy theories on SM, searches on flu that are for conspiracy theories, plus big healthcare systems talking about flu shots on SM, lol! I don't know that for sure, but people here are really dis-informed all over SM and the internet. 

We have single digit flu reports around here until very late most years. It seems like the holidays are our big kickoff, and even then, usually Christmas/New Year's Eve vs. Thanksgiving.

DH is not seeing it at work. 

I will try to keep watching though! I don't want to be part of a twindemic as they say it could be with flu and Covid this year.

https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/seasonal-influenza/ohio-flu-activity 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

3 minutes ago, kbutton said:

That sounds awesome!

We have a high risk in the next county and a couple of moderate risk counties nearby, but their methodology is interesting (like using social media posts about flu). It wouldn't surprise me if the county near me that is high is due to people talking about conspiracy theories on SM, searches on flu that are for conspiracy theories, plus big healthcare systems talking about flu shots on SM, lol! I don't know that for sure, but people here are really dis-informed all over SM and the internet. 

We have single digit flu reports around here until very late most years. It seems like the holidays are our big

kickoff, and even then, usually Christmas/New Year's Eve vs. Thanksgiving.

DH is not seeing it at work. 

I will try to keep watching though! I don't want to be part of a twindemic as they say it could be with flu and Covid this year.

https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/seasonal-influenza/ohio-flu-activity

 

I guess this would be a better way to see local flu rates.  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

This one shows minimal flu risk my area so you are probably right about the SM activity skewing results.  I got my flu shot in September last year as well due to Covid risks. 

[ktgrok]

18 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I guess this would be a better way to see local flu rates.  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

This one shows minimal flu risk my area so you are probably right about the SM activity skewing results.  I got my flu shot in September last year as well due to Covid risks. 

Thank you! I'm already at moderate, so next time I am in a place with shots i'll likely get one. 

The kids didn't last year, as those can only be done at the pediatrician's office, and taking well kids who don't go anywhere or see anyone into a place full of germs seemed counterproductive, lol. we shall see what we do this year. 

I SO wish kids could get flu shots at say, Target or other pharmacies in my state!

[Jean in Newcastle]

5 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Thank you! I'm already at moderate, so next time I am in a place with shots i'll likely get one. 

The kids didn't last year, as those can only be done at the pediatrician's office, and taking well kids who don't go anywhere or see anyone into a place full of germs seemed counterproductive, lol. we shall see what we do this year. 

I SO wish kids could get flu shots at say, Target or other pharmacies in my state!

Our local pharmacy gives flu shots to people 3 years and up. 

[ktgrok]

3 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Our local pharmacy gives flu shots to people 3 years and up. 

From what I understand it varies by state. Ours it is 18 and up, I believe. 

edit: Looks like we COULD have gotten them last year, as there was an emergency plan put in place due to Covid that allowed pharmacies to do it in 3 and up..but it expired in June. 

Edited September 2, 2021 by ktgrok

[Corraleno]

23 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

What do you all make of this guy?  He posts a lot about long Covid and super antigens etc. however I can’t get my head around exactly what that means.  A lot of what he shares/posts is kind of worrying but I don’t know how seriously to take it. 

The information in that letter is accurate; studies have not only found continuing neurological symptoms but actual physical brain differences in some post-covid patients. I know there was one study in particular where they looked at covid patients who had previously had brain scans for other reasons, and they were able to compare the physical brain structures before and after covid, as well as compare them to matched controls. Some of the damaged areas looked very much like what they see in Alzheimers patients. 

However, I believe all the studies so far have been in older patients; I don't know of any study indicating that this is potentially a serious problem in children, so that part is speculation. It might not be an issue at all in kids, or it might turn out to be a ticking time bomb that we'll only learn about many years from now. I understand that many people feel that another year of all-virtual learning is not viable, but I think that anyone, whether a school board member or a governor or just an angry ignorant parent, who actively tries to prevent the implementation of mitigation measures like masking, distancing, testing/tracing, quarantine, and the provision of virtual options for those who want them, is an evil SOB and I hope karma bites them really really hard.

[Ausmumof3]

208 cases and 1 death for Vic. Sad to see such a big jump in numbers.