Omicron anecdata?

[mommyoffive]

This week in outbreaks: September 21 edition (substack.com)

 

Influenza-like illness

 

Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity remained stable at the national level this week. The percentage of visits to the doctor that were for fever and either cough or sore throat remained at 2%, below the threshold of 2.5% that can mark the beginning of flu season but above summer lows.

But that’s not the whole story. ILI activity rose in children ages 0-4, from 6.2% to 6.5%. The little ones are getting hit hard yet again. But current activity is still far below winter highs. For comparison, during the height of flu season last winter, rates in young children reached nearly 16%. Older age groups are better off right now. People ages 5-24 had the second highest ILI rates last week, at 3.1%. Older age groups remained between 1-2%.

This pattern is similar to what we saw last year during the tripledemic, when young children were hit especially hard. I wrote on Twitter last week that our school district is scolding parents about attendance, after a large jump in chronic absenteeism last year. Chronic absenteeism is equivalent to missing two days per month. I’m convinced it’s not a lack of commitment to education, but rather sick days that has been keeping kids home.

In terms of geography, the Southern region continues to be disproportionately affected by current ILI activity. In fact, Washington D.C. is now in the high category, and Texas rates as moderate. We usually don’t see levels above mild until later in the season.

Overall rates are still low, I’m just updating you on the latest. Most of the country remains in the minimal or mild categories, and activity remains below baseline nationwide.

 

 

Covid-19

 

I’m still hopeful that the summer wave is peaking. My guess is that the South has peaked, and the other three regions are 1-3 weeks behind.

Hospitalizations rose again during the last reporting period, but only by less than 8%, down from 9% last week and 16% the week before. Related indicators like Emergency Department visits and test positivity are also showing signs of improvement, particularly in the South. Wastewater concentration also fell again the Southern region and has leveled off in the other three regions.

As a reminder, the updated vaccine is out now.

Edited September 21, 2023 by mommyoffive

[prairiewindmomma]

The ped hospital here is back to fully masking for all staff and workers. I don’t know if it’s compulsory, but literally every person I saw who works there was masked during our latest visit.

The policy previously was staff will mask if patients/families ask.

[mommyoffive]

Updated 2023 fall vaccine chart - by Katelyn Jetelina (substack.com)

 

 

Two random, but relevant notes

 

1. Insurance coverage for Covid-19 vaccines. There are many reports that people are being asked to pay for their Covid-19 vaccines. To be clear: no one should be paying for a vaccine.

   1. Private insurance companies are mandated to cover this vaccine with no copay. What has changed since last year? Insurers are no longer required to pay for “out-of-network”. You may need to get your vaccine at your doctor’s office if your pharmacy is not in-network with your insurance plan.

   2. Uninsured or underinsured adults: CVS/Walgreens are required by federal law to cover your vaccine at no cost to you, thanks to the new Bridge Program. This is just for Covid-19, not for RSV, unfortunately.

   3. Uninsured or underinsured kids: Vaccines for Children cover all kid’s vaccines, not just Covid-19, for those that cannot pay.

2. Free Covid-19 tests are coming back! Starting Monday (Sept 25), households can receive 4 free rapid tests through USPS again. Order here: COVIDtests.gov. Shipments will start Oct. 2.

Edited September 21, 2023 by mommyoffive

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

The ped hospital here is back to fully masking for all staff and workers. I don’t know if it’s compulsory, but literally every person I saw who works there was masked during our latest visit.

The policy previously was staff will mask if patients/families ask.

Our local one is going back to workers fully masking on Monday, I believe. So glad!

[Laura Corin]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a268115e-48e3-11ee-9359-63e432ab6148?shareToken=c7390ae2220b53bbf8b7f014e1e981af

Covid in the UK.

Eta and study on organ damage and long covid https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66890505

Edited September 23, 2023 by Laura Corin

[mommyoffive]

Long Covid Weekly #61: Mount Sinai & Federal Funding announcements, EBV lurking & more (substack.com)

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Long Covid Weekly #61: Mount Sinai & Federal Funding announcements, EBV lurking & more (substack.com)

That BMJ article about doctors with long Covid is haunting. 

[mommyoffive]

Merck Covid drug linked to virus mutations that can spread between people, new study says (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

Researchers Develop Algorithm To Predict Whether A Person Gets Long Covid (forbes.com)

[mommyoffive]

Arizonans can now receive workers comp benefits for getting Covid-19 on the job | Arizona News | kvoa.com

[bookbard]

10 hours ago, kbutton said:

That BMJ article about doctors with long Covid is haunting. 

I will just link the article here: Long covid: the doctors’ lives destroyed by an illness they caught while doing their jobs | The BMJ  

and agree with you - it is both haunting and shameful. 

[KSera]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Researchers Develop Algorithm To Predict Whether A Person Gets Long Covid (forbes.com)

I’m trying to understand the numbers in this part:

“One in 13, or 7.5%. That’s how much of the entire U.S. adult population was experiencing long Covid symptoms as of June, regardless of whether they’ve been infected or not, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which defined long Covid as symptoms lasting at least three months after an initial infection. Among only patients that have had Covid-19 in the past, that number is one in five.”

That makes it seem like a much larger portion of the adult population has not had Covid than what I thought it was. Is it just me or would those numbers require less than half of adults to have had Covid? Which is definitely not accurate. I’ll have to look at the actual study in the morning. Maybe that will clarify. 

[wathe]

On 9/21/2023 at 2:45 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

The ped hospital here is back to fully masking for all staff and workers. I don’t know if it’s compulsory, but literally every person I saw who works there was masked during our latest visit.

The policy previously was staff will mask if patients/families ask.

We've been back to universal masking for clinical care for a few weeks.  Still not required in non-clinical areas.   Previously was only if patients ask, but that only lasted a few months.

[Martha in GA]

8 hours ago, KSera said:

That makes it seem like a much larger portion of the adult population has not had Covid than what I thought it was. Is it just me or would those numbers require less than half of adults to have had Covid? Which is definitely not accurate. I’ll have to look at the actual study in the morning. Maybe that will clarify. 

From the CDC link above: 

New data from the Household Pulse Survey show that more than 40% of adults in the United States reported having COVID-19 in the past, and nearly one in five of those (19%) are currently still having symptoms of “long COVID.”

So, to me, it looks like that is what the CDC is saying -- a little over 40% of adults have had COVID-19.

[KSera]

6 minutes ago, Martha in GA said:

From the CDC link above: 

New data from the Household Pulse Survey show that more than 40% of adults in the United States reported having COVID-19 in the past, and nearly one in five of those (19%) are currently still having symptoms of “long COVID.”

So, to me, it looks like that is what the CDC is saying -- a little over 40% of adults have had COVID-19.

I see now they also say,

“The percentage of all U.S. adults who ever said they had COVID is also included to provide context for the other percentages. It should be noted that the percentage of adults who said they ever had COVID based on the Household Pulse Survey is lower than other estimates based on seroprevalence studies.”

And it was a mid-2022 number. 

It jumped out at me how much more prevalent it is among transgender people. I’d like to see if that’s accounted for primarily by the presence of autism or other disabilities (a known risk factor), since that’s the other category with a much larger prevalence. That is the most likely reason I can think of for that difference. State to state differences were much much smaller. 

[mommyoffive]

People's CDC Weather Report September 25, 2023 (substack.com)

As the first COVID uptick since the end of the national emergency continues, this week’s Gallup polls show that 1 in 4 Americans view the COVID situation in the US as worsening. Additionally, public concern about catching COVID has increased for the first time since July of 2022. 

Still, despite the increase in cases, heightened pessimism, and decrease in widely accessible resources, few Americans report regularly wearing a mask when they leave home. As we move towards the Fall/Winter season and the anticipated return of last year’s “tripledemic”, here is a reminder that if you are one of the newly anxious, but have long stopped masking in public and communal spaces, now might be the time to even gradually re-introduce masking into your day-to-day routine.

 

[mommyoffive]

Don't be surprised if masks come back to hospitals and nursing homes (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

I got my flu shot and my new COVID vax at the same time. Here’s why. (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

Should I get a COVID-19 booster? | Science | AAAS

[Laura Corin]

New England dashboard for Covid and Flu 

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

Edited September 27, 2023 by Laura Corin

[prairiewindmomma]

Primary care is back to universal masking for workers AND requiring all patients and visitors to mask.

The signage on the door has changed—it’s stating you won’t be turned away for being ill but asking patients to be honest in their disclosure of symptoms.

[bookbard]

Covid 3rd leading cause of death in Australia 2022. COVID-19 the third-leading cause of death in Australia in 2022, data shows - ABC News

Notably this was not the case in 2020 or 2021, due to border closure and lockdowns. The article mentions around 10,000 deaths, but with excess deaths it's more likely to be around 20,000 who died because of covid (according to the bmj). The 10,000 are just those with covid mentioned on the death certificate. I certainly know of one elderly woman close to me who had pneumonia on the death certificate as cause of death, although she had Covid at the time (the nursing home had an outbreak). 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

Free rapid Covid tests are coming back. How should we use them? (substack.com)

[bookbard]

So the newspapers already trying to downplay the Covid being 3rd leading cause of death thing by breaking it down by age, oh, it was mostly old people who died. 

They then had the top 3 causes of death by age and one of them for the 15-35yr olds was 'accidental poisoning' which confused me. People were getting poisoned?

Looking at it further, apparently almost all of that statistic is alcohol. And, ironically, the 3rd leading cause of death in the next group up is liver failure.

I wish they'd be more open about the dangers of alcohol. It's ridiculous to hide it. 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/tuberculosis-outbreak-in-sa-triggers-tb-warning/102908620
 

we have a second TB cluster here 

“What's causing the outbreaks? 

Professor Spurrier said Western Australia and the Northern Territory have recently also seen a rise in TB cases, which could be due to less access to regular health checks during the pandemic, particularly across remote communities. 

"If people have had latent TB ... and then have had a COVID infection, it may be why we've seen more active disease and cases," she said.”

So either less access to healthcare checks or Covid is causing immune suppression leading latent cases to become active? 
 

[Matryoshka]

16 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

So either less access to healthcare checks or Covid is causing immune suppression leading latent cases to become active? 

 

My guess is mostly the latter plus also Covid dinging the immune system seems to make people more susceptible to all sorts of new infections, including TB.

[Pawz4me]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/tuberculosis-outbreak-in-sa-triggers-tb-warning/102908620
 

we have a second TB cluster here 

“What's causing the outbreaks? 

Professor Spurrier said Western Australia and the Northern Territory have recently also seen a rise in TB cases, which could be due to less access to regular health checks during the pandemic, particularly across remote communities. 

"If people have had latent TB ... and then have had a COVID infection, it may be why we've seen more active disease and cases," she said.”

So either less access to healthcare checks or Covid is causing immune suppression leading latent cases to become active? 
 

FWIW, I'm on an immune suppressing medication and have to be tested periodically for TB (and hepatitis). I assume the periodic testing is because the immune suppressant makes me more susceptible to catching a new case. I think the initial test, before I started on the suppressant, would have caught a latent case. Anyway, I've always assumed TB was floating around trying to find susceptible hosts.

[mommyoffive]

Vaccine rollout is a mess today, but wasn't during the pandemic. (substack.com)

[kbutton]

Public comments to OSHA requested:

https://peoplescdc.substack.com/p/osha-must-protect-workers?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1004289&post_id=137490083&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=er6bp&utm_medium=email

[mommyoffive]

Q: COVID. RSV. What other new vaccines are coming? (substack.com)

 

Wow, I didn't know the one for Lyme was coming!!  Yay.

[I talk to the trees]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Q: COVID. RSV. What other new vaccines are coming? (substack.com)

 

Wow, I didn't know the one for Lyme was coming!!  Yay.

I have been telling my vet for years that she was welcome to “accidentally “ slip and stick me with the dogs’ Lyme vaccines! 😄  I’d enjoy romping with the pups in the great outdoors if I were vaccinated! 

[Pawz4me]

Free rapid Covid tests are coming back. How should we use them? (MedPage Today)

[mommyoffive]

29 minutes ago, I talk to the trees said:

I have been telling my vet for years that she was welcome to “accidentally “ slip and stick me with the dogs’ Lyme vaccines! 😄  I’d enjoy romping with the pups in the great outdoors if I were vaccinated! 

Haha!! I have been so jealous of the dogs having this vaccine.  It is such a worry around us.

[Ausmumof3]

What precautions are people here still taking? How many haven’t tested positive for Covid yet?

Im still masking the day I’m in a school and at a supermarket. We still mask at church. I haven’t been  masking consistently on the days I work from a premises one in one although airflow isn’t great there and there’s often 12-15 kids through in a night. I have been meaning to take my portable hepa filter in but haven’t. 

At this point almost everyone I know have had it and most people in our age are ok although the kids have had more than the usual run of sickness. The last study showed no increase in hospitalisation for infectious disease after Covid (although I think there were some flaws in the study). My DH is over 12 months out and not only has he not had Covid again, he hasn’t had anything else, making me question the whole immune system thing.

I’m basically letting my kids make their own decisions around masking now. So far they’ve kept it up although with summer coming that might change.

I wanted to wait and see long-term outcomes. But at this point I realise it may be 10 years before we really know the long-term outcomes and I’m not sure that I want to maintain our precautions that long. I feel like the more Covid cautious groups are becoming extreme and not interpreting data correctly although there’s still scientists that I respect who are also being cautious.

What I really want is for public health to do what needs done so we don’t have to be the odd ones out - get airflow sorted, get schools sorted and slow the spread right down: what I want is a vaccine that actually works. Fully works. 

[Kassia]

DH and I haven't had it.  One of my adult OOS kids might not have had it yet - he got really sick in 2/2020 but Covid didn't seem to be a thing until a month later, so I don't know.  Then he got a mild cold earlier this year and didn't test.  My other kids and their SOs have all had it.  

We're not really doing any precautions right now but have very low exposure.  My kids have very high exposure - lots of traveling, crowds, stores, etc. but have been healthy so far with no precautions.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Kassia

[Pawz4me]

11 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

What precautions are people here still taking? How many haven’t tested positive for Covid yet?

 

Neither DH, DS24 nor I have ever tested positive for Covid. We haven't been masking in a long time. DH and I have limited exposure except for DS, who works a public facing job.

 

[bookbard]

17 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

What precautions are people here still taking? How many haven’t tested positive for Covid yet?

 

I still mask at work and at shops etc. We did get Covid last year and it sucked majorly. We have since had a couple of colds but I think being rural we're not in the same soup as people who live in cities (I think you're rural too?) 

I am going to continue to mask as long as I can, simply because I hate being sick. No one else in my family masks though. 

I think with bushfire season coming, masks and air purifiers are going to be really important. I think I posted about this elsewhere, but the sheer number of cancer (esp breast cancer) since the fires here 4 years ago is just astounding. I really feel that it is something to be very aware of.

[Amoret]

26 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I feel like the more Covid cautious groups are becoming extreme and not interpreting data correctly

Are there particular studies that you have in mind that are being misinterpreted?

[prairiewindmomma]

Only 2/6 of us have had it. Both exposures happened over dining, mine was outdoor dining. We still mask, wash hands, and run air purifiers. Everyone but me has occasional mask free experiences (work dinners, swim, etc.). Mine only comes off for the dentist, and I book an early am slot. The kids’ schools have extensive HVAC venting—at least five full exchanges an hour. Dh now works from home to try to shield me. 
 

The two of us who have had it had lingering issues for months, so we are more proactive than most at preventing infection. 

[Faith-manor]

We are masking, N95, at supermarket, pharmacy, farm store, and lumber yard/hardware which are really the only places we how and are indoors with a lot of people. The summer in Michigan has been pretty glorious so we spend a lot of time outdoors and doing things with family. This winter, we will be pretty well hunkered down. We are supposed to get our covid boosters in a week and half, but niece just got engaged and is getting married in March. Big wedding indoors and we would really like to go. Now we are considering putting off the booster, being careful through Christmas, and then getting it the beginning of February so we have fresh immunity for the wedding. We really want to attend. But we know it will be a covid spreader event. That side of the family is anti-vax and anti-common sense really. Mark's brother has had it twice now, and sister in law three times. Their church was a super spreader in their county back in 2020 and 2021. So I think we need to either wait and be freshly boosted or bow out. We have missed just about all of their family events, celebrations, and funerals for three straight years. We are inclined to go. We are also considering just the ceremony, and then only making a brief reception appearance, not eating there, and leaving to go back to our hotel room with take out food so we aren't just lingering for hours in a crowded venue.

[kbutton]

We mask everywhere. KN95 or N95. We eat outdoors with people, and one of the kids has to eat at school. DH sometimes has to eat at work in less than ideal circumstances, but he can usually avoid eating around people.

If someone comes to sleep at our house for more than a night, we ask them to mask for ten days first. If they aren’t likely to do a good job of that and are here briefly, we just ask them to mask except in their bedroom and shower. We run filters as well when that happens (only twice, I think). 

We had it once and aren’t sure where my son picked it up. That batch of N95s didn’t fit him quite as well, so it might’ve been that. We had no known exposure at that time. 

[I talk to the trees]

Neither dd(22), dh, or myself has had it that we know of. We (happy mask or n95) mask indoors in public, but not outdoors. Although if I were in a large group outdoors, I would. I have asthma and dh is on an immunosuppressant, so this is just the new normal for us and while a little annoying, it’s really no big deal. He works from home and my volunteer stuff is virtual, so that has certainly been a factor in us staying healthy. 
We have both had the updated vaccine. 

[SHP]

We mask, N95 always indoors. Sometimes outdoors. We have had it and know exactly what jerk gave it to us. Yes. Jerk. And that is being kind. They KNEW they were not taking precautions and they KNEW they were sick and they made a CHOICE not to stay in their room away from people. 

[Ausmumof3]

It’s kind of nice to know so many people are still cautious. It feels very rare to find anyone left down here who cares. I think most people have only experienced post vaccination Covid so there’s less awareness. It’s the whole public health dilemma thing - do too good a job and people think you’ve overreacted. I mean 20,000 extra people died last year but when it’s people in nursing homes people dismiss it.

Dh has not been on board for a long time. He thinks it’s impinging on the kids social lives too much (even though the kids mask by choice).

Im so tired

[bookbard]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

t’s kind of nice to know so many people are still cautious. It feels very rare to find anyone left down here who cares. I think most people have only experienced post vaccination Covid so there’s less awareness. It’s the whole public health dilemma thing - do too good a job and people think you’ve overreacted. I mean 20,000 extra people died last year but when it’s people in nursing homes people dismiss it.

Dh has not been on board for a long time. He thinks it’s impinging on the kids social lives too much (even though the kids mask by choice).

Im so tired

Yes, I don't know anyone irl who masks, and my DH thinks it's all rubbish and I 'forced' him to get vaccinated (tho he made the appointment and kept it!) Whatever. I do my best to reduce my risk, that's all. Now I'm not on twitter, I don't read all the experts and honestly it's better. There's nothing much I can do except mask myself anyway. It won't stop me getting cancer, getting hit by a bus, or the house burning down in the fires. But it might stop 2 weeks off work being sick, every couple of months, and that is a good thing. 

[Shoeless]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

What precautions are people here still taking? How many haven’t tested positive for Covid yet?

Masking in doctor's offices, pharmacies, any place crowded. Still using hand sanitizer after being in public. I usually mask in stores, but I don't sweat it if I realize I forgot my mask when I arrive at the grocery. 

No one here has had Covid yet. DS is homeschooled and has a few out-of-the-house activities every week where he wears a mask. DH works from home.  Our risk is probably lower because we're not around big groups of people all day, like for work or school.  

ETA: When I visited family out of state, they did not mask anywhere. I did not ask them to, and they didn't say anything about DS and I masking everywhere we went.  We also did not mask when we were at their homes because it's just not practical to mask 24/7 for a 5-day trip.  I was more concerned about picking something up on the plane or at the airport than my sister's livingroom.     

Edited September 30, 2023 by Shoeless

[MEmama]

On 9/29/2023 at 6:55 PM, Ausmumof3 said:

What precautions are people here still taking? How many haven’t tested positive for Covid yet?

We've had all the vaccines and boosters available to us, and masked religiously until this past spring. We haven't tested positive yet 🤞

[Kanin]

I'm still moderately cautious. Maybe mildly. I mask at the large grocery store. Sometimes at the small one. I haven't been masking at places where I dash in and out. 

I mask at school if there are kids in my room who are visibly sick. I really should mask all the time.

There's something horrible going around here. It sounds like the flu, and it's lasting a solid week. 

[Kassia]

On 9/29/2023 at 11:17 PM, SHP said:

 We have had it and know exactly what jerk gave it to us. Yes. Jerk. And that is being kind. They KNEW they were not taking precautions and they KNEW they were sick and they made a CHOICE not to stay in their room away from people. 

So incredibly selfish and inconsiderate.  I don't understand how people do this.

[bookbard]

Came across this: hepatitis caused by Covid. T Cell Cross-reactivity in Autoimmune-like Hepatitis Triggered by COVID-19 - ScienceDirect

Remember how initially they were blaming dogs?