wuhan - coronavirus

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/232698/modelling-suggests-rapid-spread-omicron-england/
 

The new report (Report 49) from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant. This implies that the protection against reinfection by Omicron afforded by past infection may be as low as 19%.

And

The study finds no evidence of Omicron having lower severity than Delta, judged by either the proportion of people testing positive who report symptoms, or by the proportion of cases seeking hospital care after infection. However, hospitalisation data remains very limited at this time.

[Ausmumof3]

Running out the door and I can’t figure out how to link but in NYT times live blog they said apparently Pfizer’s low dose vaccine didn’t provide enough protection for 2-5 year olds which is a setback.

[Arcadia]

10 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Running out the door and I can’t figure out how to link but in NYT times live blog they said apparently Pfizer’s low dose vaccine didn’t provide enough protection for 2-5 year olds which is a setback.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-coronavirus-vaccine-918bd56aa429e7755242b92f49dd7b41

“Pfizer said Friday it was changing plans and testing three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in babies and preschoolers after the usual two shots didn’t appear strong enough for some of the children.

Pfizer  announced the change after a preliminary analysis found 2- to 4-year-olds didn’t have as strong an immune response as expected to the very low-dose shots the company is testing in the youngest children.”

[Melissa in Australia]

UK had 93,045 new cases in one day https://7news.com.au/travel/coronavirus/uk-reports-record-93045-new-virus-cases-c-4997826

 

😲

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-coronavirus-vaccine-918bd56aa429e7755242b92f49dd7b41

“Pfizer said Friday it was changing plans and testing three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in babies and preschoolers after the usual two shots didn’t appear strong enough for some of the children.

Pfizer  announced the change after a preliminary analysis found 2- to 4-year-olds didn’t have as strong an immune response as expected to the very low-dose shots the company is testing in the youngest children.”

Thank you.  Had to do a food run and trying to get in before it got too busy this morning.

Very few people masking today.

[Melissa Louise]

I keep hearing people are having their booster shots cancelled because pharmacists and GP's are having distribution problems. So anxious. Mine is in three days - I hope my appt goes ahead. 

[Melissa in Australia]

1 minute ago, Melissa Louise said:

I keep hearing people are having their booster shots cancelled because pharmacists and GP's are having distribution problems. So anxious. Mine is in three days - I hope my appt goes ahead. 

I read on one of the news  yesterday that everything was set up for 6 monthly boosters, and when the gov made the announcement to shorten it they failed to up distribution or put on extra staff. and everything is overwhelmed. 

[Melissa Louise]

Just now, Melissa in Australia said:

I read on one of the news  yesterday that everything was set up for 6 monthly boosters, and when the gov made the announcement to shorten it they failed to up distribution or put on extra staff. and everything is overwhelmed. 

Yes. 

Also, apparently there's a monthly order put in by GP's, and their order was put in before the 5 month thing. There's no order again till January. 

Also the private companies who are engaged to booster aged care are on holidays till mid Jan. 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

10 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

I keep hearing people are having their booster shots cancelled because pharmacists and GP's are having distribution problems. So anxious. Mine is in three days - I hope my appt goes ahead. 

Oh goodness. I hope yours goes ahead as scheduled.

I had my booster this week with no issues, so I'm hopeful yours will be the same.

[Cordelia]

I got my booster today. I'm hoping side effects won't be as bad as they were with my second dose. My second dose kicked my butt.

[Ausmumof3]

2,482 for NSW

1,504 for VIC.

I expect ours will escalate quite quickly now.  Contact tracing is way behind (up to seven days for locations to come up) and we are moving away from that mode.  People are either being super careful or not 

[Ausmumof3]

Cases in Gauteng where omicron first started have been declining for the last two days.  I don’t know what to make of that but it’s possible that there’s going to be a quick spike and collapse sort of situation with cases not a sustained peak. That could be good?

[Melissa Louise]

@Rosie_0801 @Ausmumof3 @chocolate-chip chooky @Melissa in Australia @bookbard @LMD

Taking a break from here. Just wanted to end the year with good wishes for the summer break and hopes for a safe Christmas/New Year. Fingers crossed we all do ok. See you in '22. 

[Melissa Louise]

@Ausmumof3 particular thanks for all your efforts keeping me informed! 

[Ausmumof3]

Just now, Melissa Louise said:

@Rosie_0801 @Ausmumof3 @chocolate-chip chooky @Melissa in Australia @bookbard @LMD

Taking a break from here. Just wanted to end the year with good wishes for the summer break and hopes for a safe Christmas/New Year. Fingers crossed we all do ok. See you in '22. 

Hope you have an awesome drama-free Christmas and some quality time with your kids if possible.

[Melissa in Australia]

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

@Rosie_0801 @Ausmumof3 @chocolate-chip chooky @Melissa in Australia @bookbard @LMD

Taking a break from here. Just wanted to end the year with good wishes for the summer break and hopes for a safe Christmas/New Year. Fingers crossed we all do ok. See you in '22. 

Have a fabulous break

love ya

[chocolate-chip chooky]

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

@Rosie_0801 @Ausmumof3 @chocolate-chip chooky @Melissa in Australia @bookbard @LMD

Taking a break from here. Just wanted to end the year with good wishes for the summer break and hopes for a safe Christmas/New Year. Fingers crossed we all do ok. See you in '22. 

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy Christmas, Melissa 🎄

[lewelma]

3 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

UK had 93,045 new cases in one day

I can't get my head around numbers like that. We had 39 cases today. 

Virtual hugs to all and stay safe over the holidays. 

Edited December 18, 2021 by lewelma

[Ausmumof3]

telling it straight…

[SeaConquest]

On 12/16/2021 at 6:03 PM, kbutton said:

I wouldn't be surprised if finding enough clinical sites is an issue. Overworked people or people who are expected to meet productivity quotas often do not want to take on students. It's too risky to their own job status. 

It's also exhausting to have to explain everything you're doing to someone for weeks at a time in order to take on students. 

I graduated from nursing school in June of this year. You would think that it would be easy to find a hospital job in this environment, but you would be wrong. Every new grad residency in my area gets 500-1000 applicants for every spot. I am now 6 months out from graduation and still have not been able to land a hospital residency, so I am what they call an "old" new grad -- too old to qualify for a residency at many of the hospitals around here (which won't take you if you are past 6 months out from graduation), but also lacking the year of hospital experience that is required to be hired as an "experienced" nurse. So, I am basically stale goods and totally screwed. I've been sending out resumes and interviewing, but so far have nothing to show for it except RN experience at our county psych hospital (which is not viewed as acute care) and as a nurse vaccinator at CVS.

Recently, I thought I had an ICU position, only to be ghosted by the hiring manager that seemed pretty keen to hire me. It turns out that the ICU had to put hiring on hold after our interview because they simply did not have enough preceptors to bring any new grads on board. That's the problem with us newbs -- someone has to be around to at least answer our questions and supervise, if we run into trouble, and nurses are so stretched right now they simply don't have the ability to bring on new grads because they don't have the time to precept us. So, here we sit on the sidelines watching everyone drown, wanting to help, but not being allowed in to do so. It's awful.

I wish I thought single payer would solve these problems, but as much as I support Medicare 4 All, I don't think it is a panacea for these issues, alas.  

Edited December 18, 2021 by SeaConquest

[bookbard]

2 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Taking a break from here. Just wanted to end the year with good wishes for the summer break and hopes for a safe Christmas/New Year. Fingers crossed we all do ok. See you in '22. 

Hope it all goes well - best wishes for your family.

[Faith-manor]

A statement in my area from medical directors in multiple counties was that dd's are broken. Done. Unless you are in imminent danger of dying, please do not go. Our medical director literally said if you can stop the bleeding yourself, do not come for stitches, we can't help you. They have emptied the local stitch and ditch of most of the staff and turfed to hospitals needing help. We are officially on our own out here.

I had to run into a Dollar General today...very quick...couldn't be avoided for a necessary personal care item, and so picked that store instead of a pharmacy because it had few cars in the parking lot. I walked in and had only taken a few steps when I heard the most horrible hacking/coughing. I looked up, and a woman at the register with no mask and looking like a walking zombie, finally got her breath and told the cashier, whom she had been coughing all over, that SHE HAS COVID!!!! 😱😠😠

Thankfully, I was double masked, and did not take a single step farther. I ran out to the car, tossed the masks into a garbage bag and tied it closed, doused my hands in sanitizer, got a mask out of the glove compartment, and then went and sat for an hour down in the pharmacy parking lot until it was relatively empty, dashed in and got what I wanted. It was 33 degrees out, and I sat that entire time with the window open, and then drove home with it half down hoping to air out the car and my clothes. Went inside, stripped down, threw the clothes in the washing machine, and then sat on the bed cursing the planet. I am so tired of the other humans. And we leave in a few hours for Christmas in Alabama. The kids still want me to come, but I am so scared of taking it to my grandsons or my high risk son in law. 

 

[Melissa in Australia]

shocking 

[Ausmumof3]

73 in SA today. Lots of exposure locations.

[Laura Corin]

3 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

I wish I thought single payer would solve these problems, but as much as I support Medicare 4 All, I don't think it is a panacea for these issues, alas.  

Fwiw as far as I understand it, the UK seeks to train as many doctors and nurses as the NHS needs. University place numbers are government controlled, and there are places for them after graduation. We are short of staff right now and more university places have been instituted. A friend's son got his nursing degree but was not at all a stellar prospect. He got a place on the wards but was rejected after probation. 

[ktgrok]

My realtor now has Covid, yesterday she tested positive, day 3 of feeling sick. She's double vaccinated, not sure about boostered. Said she feels like she has a really bad cold, achy, etc. She masks other than in situations with other double vaccinated people where they can distance, so..ugh. 

[Longtime Lurker]

9 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

The kids still want me to come, but I am so scared of taking it to my grandsons or my high risk son in law. 

I really think there is no way you could have contracted it under these circumstances. Good job getting out of there fast!

[ieta_cassiopeia]

My local hospital's latest news is mixed.

Bad news first: in-community cases rose by 31% this week and Omnicron has been confirmed as the main reason. Aside from a couple of cities (that were hit at the same time as London), Omnicrom is moving from south to north and east to west through England, which is why the community increase is 31% and not several hundred percent like the more south-easterly London. Everyone expects those several hundred percent stats will arrive, most likely in January. Community masking and social distancing is fairly poor, except that shops are tending to enforce masks (as the law requires). As a result, a slight increase in restrictions for visitors is going to be applied from Monday.

Good news: so far, COVID-positive patients are leaving and entering in equal portions, and on average hospitalised patients are getting less sick, meaning the intensive care beds get some relief for once. The standard beds still have capacity, and it is tentatively believed there's enough regular-bed capacity for the expected number of admissions.

This has bought time to not only give staff relief and a morale boost, but also enable some upgrades; namely, a better same-day treatment facility for people not requiring an overnight stay and not COVID-positive, and an appointment/waiting area system that, aside from the obvious efficiencies for patients with planned visits, increases options for healthy waiting areas if there does happen to be a larger-than-planned COVID surge. By the end of January, there will be an on-site PCR testing facility to make that part of the process more efficient, as well as a new ward with extra staffed beds. The campaign to increase uptake of boosters and voluntary testing is going quite well.

I would like to say "Bravo" to @Acadie 's husband's school for increasing nurse training at this time. It's difficult to do that when staff are overworked, but it is unfortunately something that will be needed, and not just for the pandemic. The stress from this is probably going to cause early retirement or premature burnout even in some people who appear to weather the pandemic at the time.

Finally, I'm really excited because I'm getting my booster dose tomorrow morning. Yippee!

[Laura Corin]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/dec/18/covid-live-experts-call-for-stricter-restrictions-in-england-very-soon-omicron-spreading-fast-in-france

We have now reduced our Christmas to: having both children to stay, and visiting my mum on Christmas day (after testing).  That's it.

Edited December 18, 2021 by Laura Corin

[ktgrok]

Well, our weekly report came out. Our positivity doubled - from 2.5 to 5 something. And Orlando has wastewater testing our cases are overwhelmingly Omicron. 

[Ausmumof3]

2,566 in NSW 0 deaths

1240 and 4 deaths for VIC.

Unsurprisingly news reports many cafe owners are still struggling because people aren’t going to cafes here even they’re open either because they don’t want to risk being quarantined for Christmas or they don’t want to risk getting covid.

[Arcadia]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-test-additional-third-dose-covid-19-vaccine-trial-children-2021-12-17/
“Dec 17 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) on Friday forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic would not be behind us until 2024 and said a lower-dose version of its vaccine for 2- to 4-year-olds generated a weaker immune response than expected, potentially delaying authorization.

Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said in a presentation to investors that the company expects some regions to continue to see pandemic levels of COVID-19 cases over the next year or two. Other countries will transition to "endemic" with low, manageable caseloads during that same time period.

By 2024, the disease should be endemic around the globe, the company projected.

"When and how exactly this happens will depend on evolution of the disease, how effectively society deploys vaccines and treatments, and equitable distribution to places where vaccination rates are low," Dolsten said. "The emergence of new variants could also impact how the pandemic continues to play out."

Pfizer developed its COVID-19 vaccine with Germany's BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), and currently expects it to generate revenue of $31 billion next year. It plans to make 4 billion shots next year.”

[Happy2BaMom]

On 12/16/2021 at 9:57 PM, cjzimmer1 said:

I don't know what things are like currently in my state but about 15 years ago a friend of mine was trying to get into nursing school but she had to wait about 3 years to get in.  Same story everywhere she looked, lots of candidates not enough space to teach them.  When asked why they didn't expand the program she was always told they couldn't find enough qualified teachers.  Not sure how you get more teachers without having more schooling options but that was how it was.  

Pay for instructors is a huge issue as well. My nurse cousin tells me that instructors often make less than what they can make working, so of course that means fewer people are interested.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Happy2BaMom

[Arcadia]

@TCB@Not_a_Number

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/penn-in-the-news/flu-vaccines-dont-match-main-circulating-flu-virus-strain-researchers-find

”Flu vaccines don't match the main circulating flu virus strain, researchers find 

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine led a study that found the current flu vaccines do not match the main influenza virus circulating now, though the shots may still protect against severe effects. "Studies have clearly shown that seasonal influenza vaccines consistently prevent hospitalizations and deaths even in years where there are large antigenic mismatches," he said”

[vonfirmath]

Ugh. Our flu shots are scheduled. I wonder if we should cancel.

 

[TCB]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

@TCB@Not_a_Number

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/penn-in-the-news/flu-vaccines-dont-match-main-circulating-flu-virus-strain-researchers-find

”Flu vaccines don't match the main circulating flu virus strain, researchers find 

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine led a study that found the current flu vaccines do not match the main influenza virus circulating now, though the shots may still protect against severe effects. "Studies have clearly shown that seasonal influenza vaccines consistently prevent hospitalizations and deaths even in years where there are large antigenic mismatches," he said”

That is interesting. We’ve had several people off work with flu and I just said to my kids a few days ago that it seemed like the flu shot might not be working this year. Glad that it still seems to protect against severe disease.

[Ausmumof3]

80 cases here today. Up to 4 hospitalisations and 309 active cases. At least one case at the Ashes which was a pretty big crowd.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[Frances]

On 12/16/2021 at 6:03 PM, kbutton said:

I wouldn't be surprised if finding enough clinical sites is an issue. Overworked people or people who are expected to meet productivity quotas often do not want to take on students. It's too risky to their own job status. 

It's also exhausting to have to explain everything you're doing to someone for weeks at a time in order to take on students. 

In my state one explanation given for a woeful lack of public nursing school slots is the difficulty finding instructors because nurses can make more being nurses with less education than they can teaching, which usually requires more education. But I honestly don’t know why they just don’t increase pay for the nursing instructors. Lots of colleges pay higher salaries to profs in fields like computer science where it is harder to lure people away from non-academic jobs.

We also rely way too much in almost all healthcare fields on continuing to be a state that attracts people from other states. Which sucks for young people here who want the opportunity to pursue a healthcare career. I have zero hope anything positive will come of this in my state. A recent local article I read talked about the need to increase interest in healthcare careers among young people. Which is ridiculous because just about the only fields without tons of qualified, interested people but way too few training slots are low level jobs like CNA.

[Frances]

22 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Fwiw as far as I understand it, the UK seeks to train as many doctors and nurses as the NHS needs. University place numbers are government controlled, and there are places for them after graduation. We are short of staff right now and more university places have been instituted. A friend's son got his nursing degree but was not at all a stellar prospect. He got a place on the wards but was rejected after probation. 

That all makes too much sense to ever become the reality in the US. We have a mix of public and private universities with healthcare training slots. But the public ones are state schools, so there are huge differences in cost and accessibility across the country. I have a niece in the Midwest who flunked out of a private school BSN program and is now in a public technical college RN program. In my state, based on her high school record, she would have had zero chance ever getting into any public RN program, let alone getting into one after flunking out of a private.

And when it comes to medical school, there are huge disparities across the country when it comes to the number of state medical school slots per capita. State of residence can end up having a significant impact on a student’s chance of medical school acceptance.

About the only way the federal government controls things here is by providing  much of the funding for medical residencies. But due to a combination of not regularly increasing that funding and a chunk of the slots going to graduates of foreign medical schools, we now have an ever increasing number of US med school grads who can’t get a residency and thus can’t actually work as a doctor.

 

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Ugh. Our flu shots are scheduled. I wonder if we should cancel.

 

It should still keep you from severe disease. Ending up in hospital when they are so busy with Covid is not good. I have had mine.

[lewelma]

Last year NZ ran out of vaccine because so many people wanted it in 2020.  This was the first time that I realized that there are Southern and Northern hemisphere vaccine versions because there is a 6 month lag so the variants change. So NZ ordered some Northern Hemisphere versions because there were no Southern Hemsphere versions left to buy. They said that the Northern Hemisphere version contained 2 of the 4 variants currently circulating in NZ so it was still worth getting.  Point is, it is still worth getting the vaccine that is available even if it doesn't cover all the variants circulating this season.

Edited December 19, 2021 by lewelma

[Melissa in Australia]

In my state a diploma of nursing was offered as a free course last year. No cap on the number of people who could apply. Those people are now doing placement in hospitals. 

Also people doing a degree in nursing to become registered nurses  can  do some work in hospitals in their final year in lieu  of study. It really increased the pool of nurses

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, lewelma said:

Last year NZ ran out of vaccine because so many people wanted it in 2020.  This was the first time that I realized that there are Southern and Northern hemisphere vaccine versions because there is a 6 month lag so the variants change. So NZ ordered some Northern Hemisphere versions because there were no Southern Hemsphere versions left to buy. They said that the Northern Hemisphere version contained 2 of the 4 variants currently circulating in NZ so it was still worth getting.  Point is, it is still worth getting the vaccine that is available even if it doesn't cover all the variants circulating this season.

Do you guys have much flu around?  We haven’t.

[Spryte]

5 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Do you guys have much flu around?  We haven’t.

It’s rampant here. I know entire families that have it. 

[Syllieann]

10 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Ugh. Our flu shots are scheduled. I wonder if we should cancel.

 

I'm rethinking this too.  My 8 yo is scheduled for Wednesday.  Everyone else has already had the flu shot so he has a bit of a bubble around him.  Plus we have rampant covid in the community, so there is the risk of catching covid while going to get the flu shot.  Our hospitals are being crushed though, so it might still be helpful in decreasing the burden on them, idk. 

[KeriJ]

16 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Well, our weekly report came out. Our positivity doubled - from 2.5 to 5 something. And Orlando has wastewater testing our cases are overwhelmingly Omicron. 

Where can I find this? I'm in a different county in FL and have a hard time finding info.

[Spryte]

22 minutes ago, Syllieann said:

I'm rethinking this too.  My 8 yo is scheduled for Wednesday.  Everyone else has already had the flu shot so he has a bit of a bubble around him.  Plus we have rampant covid in the community, so there is the risk of catching covid while going to get the flu shot.  Our hospitals are being crushed though, so it might still be helpful in decreasing the burden on them, idk. 

I would be rethinking, too, due to exposure to Covid while getting the shot. I would be tempted to skip it. I think I’d try to do it at the pedi office (on the “well” side instead of a pharmacy). 

Our family has been hit hard by flu in past years — two of us have been hospitalized. So I’d probably end up making the shot happen, to avoid an ugly round of severe flu and the possibility of having to go to the doc for flu or complications after (we always end up with lingering infections, ugh) when Covid cases are rampant. My non-scientific calculation is that chances of catching Covid now are lower than they might be in Jan or whenever flu hits.

But YMMV.

[Dmmetler]

8 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

In my state a diploma of nursing was offered as a free course last year. No cap on the number of people who could apply. Those people are now doing placement in hospitals. 

Also people doing a degree in nursing to become registered nurses  can  do some work in hospitals in their final year in lieu  of study. It really increased the pool of nurses

My state has tuition free community college, whuhc includes Allied health and 2 year nursing degrees. There is also a path by which high school students can start a LPN while still in secondary. Not sure it's having much effect yet, though. 

[Dmmetler]

I got my flu shot early, along with my COVID booster. Maybe they'll adjust it and I can get another later in the season? I really don't want the flu-respiratory things tend to be horrid for me, and getting in to see someone to get antivirals is also problematic-it seems likely that you'd be taking a strong risk if getting COVID by going in with the flu. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

My kid’s school district just announced they’re starting Christmas break early due to large numbers of staff out.  However, it seems to be mostly flu, not Covid, which is good(not good, because the flu we’re starting to see is severe-ish even in flu vaccinated people, but it’s not severe Covid)

Edited December 19, 2021 by Mrs Tiggywinkle