Omicron anecdata?

[TexasProud]

Just now, KSera said:

My take, based on having read similar elsewhere, is that it is anxiety provoking to see first hand what Covid is doing to people’s brains and bodies. Covid causes some pretty concerning changes in the brain, even after just mild infections, so I take it the tech was seeing that and it freaked him out.

The long Covid part I take as meaning that long Covid patients know very well already how badly it affected their bodies, and most of them also had only mild infections, and it’s pretty darn freaky to see most people living life as if this isn’t happening and would never happen to them.

 

Ok thanks.  That helps.  I didn't understand it.  I couldn't tell if the tech had quit or what. 

[Ausmumof3]

Said to DH last week I was pretty sure Covid was starting to take off again as I’d heard of a handful of cases after a break. In the last two weeks I’ve heard of 7 cases and several other people I know are quite sick though they haven’t specifically said Covid. Was sat near one yesterday - outdoors but closer than I’m comfy with. 
 

Thinking I should try and get flu plus Covid vax done after all 😞 

[bookbard]

52 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Said to DH last week I was pretty sure Covid was starting to take off again as I’d heard of a handful of cases after a break. In the last two weeks I’ve heard of 7 cases and several other people I know are quite sick though they haven’t specifically said Covid. Was sat near one yesterday - outdoors but closer than I’m comfy with. 
 

Thinking I should try and get flu plus Covid vax done after all 😞 

Yes, there's an outbreak at the local school. I know Covid vax is hard for you - I didn't have any side effects from the flu shot though. 

I've got to start masking again. This is why I didn't want to stop - it's hard to start back up again. 

 

[Ausmumof3]

56 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Yes, there's an outbreak at the local school. I know Covid vax is hard for you - I didn't have any side effects from the flu shot though. 

I've got to start masking again. This is why I didn't want to stop - it's hard to start back up again. 

 

There’s five novavax slots left at Port Lincoln! Pity it’s a 10 hour drive 

I think you can only have it as a first shot though not a booster 

[bookbard]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

There’s five novavax slots left at Port Lincoln! Pity it’s a 10 hour drive 

I think you can only have it as a first shot though not a booster 

My friend told me all Novavax had expired and ATAGI hasn't approved the new lot, so the slots are probably computer glitches (my local chemist had Novavax slots too, but definitely no Novavax). 

I think Pfizer slightly less full on than Moderna, if you had to choose between the two.

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, bookbard said:

My friend told me all Novavax had expired and ATAGI hasn't approved the new lot, so the slots are probably computer glitches (my local chemist had Novavax slots too, but definitely no Novavax). 

I think Pfizer slightly less full on than Moderna, if you had to choose between the two.

I had both - I think Moderna was slightly better for me but likely because it was a fourth booster

[kbutton]

4 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I had both - I think Moderna was slightly better for me but likely because it was a fourth booster

My last Covid shot really didn’t bother me—I think I hit the magic number to not be miserable. I hope this time you feel fine!!!

[mommyoffive]

https://www.health.com/covid-variant-flirt-identified-8644893?hid=e29223e5c3eddfd4a2c8c0f58b17511036c2d98c&did=12975481-20240513&utm_campaign=hth-thedaily3_newsletter&utm_source=hth&utm_medium=email&utm_content=051324&lctg=e29223e5c3eddfd4a2c8c0f58b17511036c2d98c&lr_input=29d633aae90dc05f4b0bbcc8984257f70188fddb1ba0399390b3f65f9eebc5d1

[mommyoffive]

https://peoplescdc.substack.com/p/peoples-cdc-may-13-2024-covid-19?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1004289&post_id=144621645&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[mommyoffive]

https://longcovidweekly.substack.com/p/long-covid-weekly-93-4000-subscribers?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=999185&post_id=144606205&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[Acadie]

Well-written column by a guy who developed Long Covid after his 5th infection. I appreciate the summary of the science as well as his admission that he was skeptical LC even existed before it happened to him. His grief at losing his ability to ski and adventure outdoors is really poignant.

It’s so hard to explain why my family still masks and tests—next time I’ll try sharing this. 

https://www.aspendailynews.com/opinion/marolt-if-i-haven-t-seemed-like-myself-lately/article_514db18c-11c1-11ef-a507-3fb6e81cde90.html

[kbutton]

8 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

https://peoplescdc.substack.com/p/peoples-cdc-may-13-2024-covid-19?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1004289&post_id=144621645&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

I really hope the mask bans don’t catch on. That’s crazy for the immune compromised issue alone, not to mention that LONG before Covid, I needed to mask outside during allergy season, and everyone instantly recognized it was for allergies—I rarely had to explain because we have horrid pollen levels here.

[Corraleno]

11 hours ago, Acadie said:

Well-written column by a guy who developed Long Covid after his 5th infection. I appreciate the summary of the science as well as his admission that he was skeptical LC even existed before it happened to him. His grief at losing his ability to ski and adventure outdoors is really poignant.

I must admit I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy. The fact that he got infected FIVE times suggests that in addition to believing long covid was fake, he also believed covid was NBD for a fit healthy guy like him, so why inconvenience himself by taking precautions?  I wonder how many other people this guy infected during his FIVE covid bouts, and how many of the folks downstream from him ended up dead, disabled, or financially screwed by hospitalization or time off work? But now that he's the one suffering from long covid, suddenly he realizes that all those other people weren't faking, and it's just so sad he can't ski Aspen anymore. 

 

[popmom]

57 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

I must admit I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy. The fact that he got infected FIVE times suggests that in addition to believing long covid was fake, he also believed covid was NBD for a fit healthy guy like him, so why inconvenience himself by taking precautions?  I wonder how many other people this guy infected during his FIVE covid bouts, and how many of the folks downstream from him ended up dead, disabled, or financially screwed by hospitalization or time off work? But now that he's the one suffering from long covid, suddenly he realizes that all those other people weren't faking, and it's just so sad he can't ski Aspen anymore. 

 

I was thinking the same. 
 

But at least he tested! 🫠That’s more than some people do. 🤦‍♀️

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Corraleno said:

I must admit I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy. The fact that he got infected FIVE times suggests that in addition to believing long covid was fake, he also believed covid was NBD for a fit healthy guy like him, so why inconvenience himself by taking precautions?  I wonder how many other people this guy infected during his FIVE covid bouts, and how many of the folks downstream from him ended up dead, disabled, or financially screwed by hospitalization or time off work? But now that he's the one suffering from long covid, suddenly he realizes that all those other people weren't faking, and it's just so sad he can't ski Aspen anymore. 

 

While it seems ridiculous to me that he’s had five Covid infections, somehow I didn’t even have that same take you did. That seems to be so standard for pretty much everyone at this point to have had at least a couple Covid infections (heck, I even know a few Covid cautious people who’ve had two), and it’s super common for people to be showing up on long Covid support forums having just had their third or fourth infection, so this guy seemed very unfortunately normal to me. I mean, it’s unacceptable that this is normalized to people, but they’re just following what doctors and the CDC are telling them. So it’s wrong, but I don’t blame the individuals anymore in the way that I did earlier on when they just weren’t following what they were supposed to be doing. I actually thought this particular story was a better example for my friends and family who think we’re nuts for still taking all the precautions, because it shows they can’t be thinking that they don’t have to worry about it just because they’ve had it a time or two and don’t think they’ve had any after effects and/or they’re young and fit and assume they would be immune.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it did any good. It’s still, “well we can’t live like we’re in a pandemic forever..” I feel pretty certain that for most people, if they really thought this might happen to them, it would be worth it to them to take precautions for however long they needed to in order for it not to happen to them. Unfortunately, it’s too late by the time they realize that. 

[mommyoffive]

https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/covid-vs-influenza-wars-2024-update?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1183526&post_id=144665222&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[KSera]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/covid-vs-influenza-wars-2024-update?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1183526&post_id=144665222&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

This is a really frustrating/irresponsible reply to me because it’s acting like all that matters is acute outcomes. Those matter, and are worse for Covid as he says, but for the vast majority of people, it’s the long term effects that will matter, not the acute illness. The flu can have long term effects as well, but at not nearly the same rate as with Covid. Covid affects tissues and organs throughout the body. Faust is usually decent, but boy does everyone seem to want to put their heads in the sand at this point about the biggest risks from covid (chronic illness and disability). 

[Amoret]

16 hours ago, kbutton said:

I really hope the mask bans don’t catch on.

NC bill removing health and safety exception for wearing masks passes Senate

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Amoret said:

NC bill removing health and safety exception for wearing masks passes Senate

I’ve been trying to not pay too much attention to this and hope that it went away, but this is just horrible to read this morning. I don’t think it would stand up in court, as it’s surely discrimination against those with disabilities and health conditions (though I don’t think those are the only people an exception should be made for—everyone deserves the right to keep themselves healthy, and to keep those around them healthy). How does this even work when official CDC guidance actually requires that people wear a mask for five days when they return to public after respiratory illness? Does North Carolina want to go back to a 10 day isolation? I mean, that works for me, but I doubt they want to do that. So they just want to ignore all health guidance altogether and send people out sick and not give anyone a way to protect themselves or the sick people even a way to not spread their own germs. 

and it’s not a valid defense of the bill for them to say, “no one’s going to arrest granny for wearing a mask.” You can’t write a law that says one thing and then tell people not to worry because there’s no intention to actually enforce the law evenly and they will pick and choose who it applies to. You can imagine how such laws would be applied. No, thank you, that doesn’t work for me at all.

[kbutton]

Mask bans are insane. My DH is currently having to test again for TB next month because a patient got diagnosed with TB. DH always wears a KN95 and will wear an N95 if he suspects he needs to, and this patient came in with a surgical mask, but TB patients don’t always know they have TB. I believe they are REQUIRED to mask at least at certain points.

This is so messed up. The vast majority of us are not hurting anyone by masking, and the ones who are committing crimes won’t follow the law anyway, or they wouldn’t be criming in the first place.

[Acadie]

Totally get where you’re coming from, @Corraleno and @popmom. 

I guess like @KSera I place less blame on the average person and more on those who have cynically—and to my mind sociopathically—decimated public health while protecting themselves, like state-of-the-art ventilation and filtration at WHO, the White House and other government buildings, PCR testing for corporate and political events, double courses of Paxlovid and vaccine access only for the privileged.

The ignorance among the public and even clinicians about the impacts of serial Covid infections on human health is mind-boggling. But so is the fact that our public health and political leaders are actively trying to keep people—including health care workers who not only have the responsibility to provide care but also massive personal exposure—uninformed and unprotected. And that they’re willing to weaponize ableism, eugenics, anti-mask and anti-vaccine sentiment, disinformation like “immunity debt” and cherry-picked stats to do it.
 
The messaging is just so relentless that some people are “vulnerable” to Covid and some are not, and that we “have the tools” to “protect the vulnerable.” Even though it’s inaccurate and twisted, it’s helped me see how repetition can make anything more believable, and how exploitive, immoral leadership propagates the same in society. 

These betrayals of the public good take my breath away and sometimes literally immobilize me. It’s just so dark that our leaders are actively working against the public good. I can’t really blame the average person for not functioning as their own CDC, or for not seeing or being able to cope with the enormity of this. 
 

In practical terms, given the harm they have done, I don’t see politics or public health shifting until there’s absolutely no choice. Sadly I’m guessing that only when enough people feel long term impacts for themselves or their families will there be sufficient pressure for change. That’s why I liked the article, because it illustrates some of the cognitive and ethical shifts that need to happen, and because I hope some will be able to connect the dots from stories like that rather than overwhelming health issues in their own families. 

[Amoret]

6 hours ago, KSera said:

and it’s not a valid defense of the bill for them to say, “no one’s going to arrest granny for wearing a mask.” You can’t write a law that says one thing and then tell people not to worry because there’s no intention to actually enforce the law evenly and they will pick and choose who it applies to

Right.

“The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson County, said the bill is not intended to “prosecute granny [!?] for wearing a mask in the Walmart [!?] — unless she was sticking steaks in her bag.” If what he says is true, then why delete section 6 of HB237? Let "Granny" wear her mask and then prosecute her for shoplifting, which is already illegal, mask or no.

Edited May 16 by Amoret

[Amoret]

 

Honesty About Covid is Essential for Progress John Snow Project

The High-Risk/Low-Risk Fallacy: Part 1 Pandemic Accountability Index.

Navigating the Long Haul: A Comprehensive Review of Long-COVID Sequelae, Patient Impact, Pathogenesis, and Management by Nishant Rathod Jr., Sunil Kumar, et al.  / Cureus 

Biden, CDC silent as North Carolina lawmakers vote to ban masks The Gauntlet.

Long Covid: Devastating millions of people’s lives, families, careers, the economy, and more (The Covid-Is-Not-Over Newsletter)

Edited May 17 by Amoret

[Pawz4me]

Recommended updated (2023-2024 formula) Covid 19 vaccines for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised (CDC)

[Happy2BaMom]

18 hours ago, Amoret said:

Right.

“The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson County, said the bill is not intended to “prosecute granny [!?] for wearing a mask in the Walmart [!?] — unless she was sticking steaks in her bag.” If what he says is true, then why delete section 6 of HB237? Let "Granny" wear her mask and then prosecute her for shoplifting, which is already illegal, mask or no.

So government laws requiring mask-wearing are evil governmental overreach but government laws prohibiting mask-wearing by any citizen, pretty much anywhere, are absolutely fine/OK.

Make it make sense. Really, I'd love to hear the "rationale".

ETA: I just learned that there is an exemption for this law for certain types of work, and...there's also a long-standing exemption for 'members of a secret society or organization' to 'wear masks or hoods in a demonstration or parade if they have a permit'.

Yes, the exemption specifically says *hoods*.

You can't make this sh*t up.

Edited May 17 by Happy2BaMom

[Happy2BaMom]

On 5/16/2024 at 12:26 PM, KSera said:

and it’s not a valid defense of the bill for them to say, “no one’s going to arrest granny for wearing a mask.” You can’t write a law that says one thing and then tell people not to worry because there’s no intention to actually enforce the law evenly and they will pick and choose who it applies to. You can imagine how such laws would be applied. No, thank you, that doesn’t work for me at all.

Yeah, he skips over the fact that it's still illegal for granny to wear her mask.

But the entire point of the bill is to give the police state increased powers to harass, ahem, 'certain people' whom police might like to harass and to leave members of the 'protected' class (aka white people, esp old ones) alone.

His example is quite the dog whistle.

Edited May 17 by Happy2BaMom

[kbutton]

16 minutes ago, Happy2BaMom said:

Yeah, he skips over the fact that it's still illegal for granny to wear her mask.

But the entire point of the bill is to give the police state increased powers to harass, ahem, 'certain people' whom police might like to harass and to leave members of the 'protected' class (aka white people, esp old ones) alone.

His example is quite the dog whistle.

Which is really horrifying considering that my personal observation is that most of the time when I see someone else masking, if they aren’t older, they are not white. 

[bookbard]

Was just dreaming (just woke up) about the pneumonia outbreak - I don't know if you're seeing it in the USA but there are lots of people just getting pneumonia out of nowhere. No one is linking it to previous Covid, of course. Anyway, they seem to be fine with a course of antibiotics but I was thinking that surely it's hastening the whole antibiotic uselessness thing?

[KSera]

20 minutes ago, bookbard said:

I don't know if you're seeing it in the USA but there are lots of people just getting pneumonia out of nowhere.

Seeing it here as well, though not reading about it in the media anywhere here. But anecdotally, hearing about multiple families having pneumonia.  This seems like a weird time of year for it here as we are getting ready to head into summer.

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, bookbard said:

Was just dreaming (just woke up) about the pneumonia outbreak - I don't know if you're seeing it in the USA but there are lots of people just getting pneumonia out of nowhere. No one is linking it to previous Covid, of course. Anyway, they seem to be fine with a course of antibiotics but I was thinking that surely it's hastening the whole antibiotic uselessness thing?

👋 Three out of four of us got pneumonia in April after the mildest cold on the planet. We had COVID exactly once in 2022. No positive Covid test with this illness, and the X-rays showed a different pattern than Covid usually does.

We didn’t have normal pneumonia symptoms either other than weird breathing—any fevers were 1-2 hours at 99.5.

It was bizarre. We thought maybe we got RSV since it was high here late. Flu was also really high late here (not terribly unusual—our flu season doesn’t ramp up until January, though cases start trickling in around Thanksgiving), but we get our shots every year.

DH didn’t even miss work—except for the funny breathing, he felt like he had a really mild cold.

[mommyoffive]

tem 2: Covid shots won’t be free to the uninsured this fall.

As we prepare for another fall Covid-19 booster campaign, Alexander Tin of CBS News reported that the CDC’s Bridge Access Program—which provides Covid-19 shots for free to people without insurance—will end in August. The program has provided millions of free shots to people who are often high risk (by virtue of their lack of health insurance). The cost effectiveness of Covid-19 boosters does depend on individual risks nowadays—but preventing severe illnesses in people who don’t have insurance (and whose costs of acute care will often be absorbed by hospitals who then pass those losses along to others, like insurers, who in turn raise premiums) is generally good policy.

https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/inside-medicine-five-on-friday-may-128?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1183526&post_id=144668460&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[mommyoffive]

https://erictopol.substack.com/p/svetlana-blitshteyn-on-the-front?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=q2z70&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

[mommyoffive]

https://longcovidweekly.substack.com/p/long-covid-weekly-94-lyme-disease?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=999185&post_id=144825941&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[KSera]

I haven’t had time to read the full study yet, but this looks at the impact of Paxlovid on post acute sequelae of Covid in people who had been hospitalized. Study was done with omicron dominant, through October 2023. The results showed a significant decreased risk of a number of post acute Covid conditions in the Paxlovid treatment group. I’ll have to read the whole thing, but thought it might be of interest to others as well @wathe
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00217-2/fulltext

[wathe]

5 hours ago, KSera said:

I haven’t had time to read the full study yet, but this looks at the impact of Paxlovid on post acute sequelae of Covid in people who had been hospitalized. Study was done with omicron dominant, through October 2023. The results showed a significant decreased risk of a number of post acute Covid conditions in the Paxlovid treatment group. I’ll have to read the whole thing, but thought it might be of interest to others as well @wathe
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00217-2/fulltext

I skimmed it.

Lots of problems.   TLDR: the pts who got paxlovid in this study were going to do better anyway, whether they got paxlovid or not.  The probability of causality for paxlovid for the outcome  of interest in this study is, I would estimate, pretty close to zero.

They are retrospectively comparing a treatment indicated for mild cases in outpatients (paxlovid - which in my province is not used in hospitalized patients at all) with treatments meant for the sickest patients (dexamethasone and remdesivir) in hospital.  It follows that the pts who got paxlovid were less sick at time of hospital admission  and those who didn't get paxlovid were more sick at time of hospital admission and therefore fated as a group to have worse longterm outcomes regardless of treatment chosen.  Ditto comorbidities - the pax group had fewer to start with.  The pts in the "control" group disproportionately got drugs used for severe covid/resp failure eg dexamethasone (28% vx 10%) and remdesivir (21% vs 6%), suggesting that the control group was actually much sicker.   Very much not apples to apples.

I wonder how many of the paxlovid pts were incidental/hospital-acquired covid that was mild (admitted for another reason, happened to have covid while in hospital, but weren't actually sick from it) vs those in the control group.   That's the only reason I can think of to give these hospitalized patients paxovid in the first place.  (If they were sick enough to be hospitalized because of covid, then paxlovid's not indicated in the first place.)  

Edited May 21 by wathe

[KSera]

51 minutes ago, wathe said:

They are retrospectively comparing a treatment indicated for mild cases in outpatients (paxlovid - which in my province is not used in hospitalized patients at all) with treatments meant for the sickest patients (dexamethasone and remdesivir) in hospital.

I still haven’t been home long enough today to read it. I didn’t realize from the summary that they didn’t rule out those that got dexamethasone and remdesivir. They didn’t match groups at all? I’ll read hopefully later tonight. 

That’s a good thought that perhaps the Paxlovid group tended to be hospital acquired Covid. That would make sense.

[Amoret]

Huh. It seems like masks might actually work to prevent transmission of respiratory infections. Who knew?/s

“Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review” [Trisha Greenhalgh, C. Raina MacIntyre et al’, Clinical Microbiology Review]. Important. Magisterial. Quoting the Abstract in its entirety:

This narrative review and meta-analysis summarizes a broad evidence base on the benefits—and also the practicalities, disbenefits, harms and personal, sociocultural and environmental impacts—of masks and masking. Our synthesis of evidence from over 100 published reviews and selected primary studies, including re-analyzing contested meta-analyses of key clinical trials, produced seven key findings. First, there is strong and consistent evidence for airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory pathogens. Second, masks are, if correctly and consistently worn, effective in reducing transmission of respiratory diseases and show a dose-response effect. Third, respirators are significantly more effective than medical or cloth masks. Fourth, mask mandates are, overall, effective in reducing community transmission of respiratory pathogens. Fifth, masks are important sociocultural symbols; non-adherence to masking is sometimes linked to political and ideological beliefs and to widely circulated mis- or disinformation. Sixth, while there is much evidence that masks are not generally harmful to the general population, masking may be relatively contraindicated in individuals with certain medical conditions, who may require exemption. Furthermore, certain groups (notably D/deaf people) are disadvantaged when others are masked. Finally, there are risks to the environment from single-use masks and respirators. We propose an agenda for future research, including improved characterization of the situations in which masking should be recommended or mandated; attention to comfort and acceptability; generalized and disability-focused communication support in settings where masks are worn; and development and testing of novel materials and designs for improved filtration, breathability, and environmental impact.

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, Amoret said:

Huh. It seems like masks might actually work to prevent transmission of respiratory infections. Who knew?/s

Weird. It’s almost like physics is an actual thing 🤷‍♀️. 

[bookbard]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-23/flirt-highly-transmissible-covid-variant-arrives-in-australia/103877328

Definitely a bit of an increase locally. 

9 minutes ago, Amoret said:

Huh. It seems like masks might actually work to prevent transmission of respiratory infections. Who knew?/s

 

Actually a very nicely written abstract - clear and comprehensive.

[mommyoffive]

https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/state-of-affairs-may-23?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=281219&post_id=144879253&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[Amoret]

Biobot has ended is long-running data visualization. Instead, they will provide "easily-digestible insights from our expert Epidemiology and Data Science teams." They go on to say that "Wastewater data is a powerful tool, but raw data alone can be challenging to interpret. We recognize that through curated reports, we can weave a narrative that makes the data actionable for each community."

 

Edited May 23 by Amoret

[mommyoffive]

Does anyone know if there is going to be and updated booster in the fall?  I was at the doctor today and asked about it.  Both the doctor and the nurse told me that there is not going to be and updated booster in the fall.  They said that they would have heard by now if there is going to be one.

[Amoret]

3 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Does anyone know if there is going to be and updated booster in the fall?

I think the committee that decides these things was supposed to meet a couple of weeks ago to determine the formulation, but last I heard, the meeting had been delayed in light of the rise of the newer variants. I think that Novavax is going ahead with a JN1 booster.

Edited May 23 by Amoret

[Corraleno]

50 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Does anyone know if there is going to be and updated booster in the fall?  I was at the doctor today and asked about it.  Both the doctor and the nurse told me that there is not going to be and updated booster in the fall.  They said that they would have heard by now if there is going to be one.

The WHO and the EU have recommended an updated JN1 booster for fall, but the FDA has postponed the meeting to decide on a strain for fall until June 5th.

The JN1 strain is fading at this point, and it does not include the so-called FLiRT mutations, so the FDA wanted extra time to decide whether to go with JN1 or use a strain with FLiRT mutations. Novavax and Moderna have both said that they don't believe that rescheduling the FDA meeting will delay the release of fall boosters.

[mommyoffive]

34 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

The WHO and the EU have recommended an updated JN1 booster for fall, but the FDA has postponed the meeting to decide on a strain for fall until June 5th.

The JN1 strain is fading at this point, and it does not include the so-called FLiRT mutations, so the FDA wanted extra time to decide whether to go with JN1 or use a strain with FLiRT mutations. Novavax and Moderna have both said that they don't believe that rescheduling the FDA meeting will delay the release of fall boosters.

Thanks.  I was doubting what they were telling me. 

If you didn't get the fall booster would you get it now and then another fall booster when the new one comes out?

[KSera]

17 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Thanks.  I was doubting what they were telling me. 

If you didn't get the fall booster would you get it now and then another fall booster when the new one comes out?

Thanks for that info @Corraleno. That adds to my understanding that they were advising high risk people to get a second dose of the fall booster now and then the updated version of whatever it will be in the fall. So if I were you, @mommyoffive, and hadn't gotten one in the fall, I would now. Particularly if you could find Novavax. What I'm seeing is that a lot of places are down to their final Novavax vials, which are expiring, so it might take calling or having an ear to the ground locally to know who has some. In my area, there are groups where people will share things like, "CVS on main st just opened their last vial of Novavax and said they have 2 more doses they need to use by the end of the day. Get down there quick!"

[Mom_to3]

2 hours ago, Amoret said:

Posts like this make it very difficult for other people to understand why one might continue to wear masks or take other precautions.

For example, she says, "All indicators—ED visits, deaths, wastewater—are at an all-time low." But her wastewater chart only goes back to March and the Y-axis is not defined (nor is there a link or source for this claim). And these do not constitute ALL indicators. There are plenty of others that would give a far more accurate indication of the true state of things, which may be just as rosy as she suggests. But of course, we have no way of knowing.

And now Biobot has ended is long-running data visualization: “With the abundance of publicly available wastewater data (they were the main source of this for most people) and our shift to contextualized respiratory risk reports, we are sunsetting (!?) our public data visualization platform" (www.biobot.io/data).

From what I can tell, it seems as though they, like YLE, are going to provide only data snippets and then tell us what they mean and what we should do. In their words, they will provide "easily-digestible insights from our expert Epidemiology and Data Science teams." Apparently, we can't be trusted with the raw data: "Wastewater data is a powerful tool, but raw data alone can be challenging to interpret. We recognize that through curated reports, we can weave a narrative that makes the data actionable for each community."

Biobot data was the only source of consistent data for the entire pandemic. Now we don’t have a baseline anymore. Their chart was also very simple to use and easy to understand, unlike Verily’s version. They had data down to the wastewater plant (county) level, which was actually useful to people.

 

Yes - the quote "All indicators—ED visits, deaths, wastewater—are at an all-time low" is very misleading. Some areas still have biobot data going back to the early days...and this time of year wastewater data is roughly twice as high as last year's data. Yes - it's low compared to this winter's peak, but there is constant activity. Our state also has covid deaths all year round. This is (still) not the flu.

[bookbard]

This article actually provides numbers on the flu/covid deaths this year for Australia - I hadn't been keeping track, and it's not mentioned in mainstream media. Covid four times as deadly as the flu, despite politicians assuring us that the flu shot is the one to get. 

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/05/22/covid-kills-more-people-than-flu?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqEAgAKgcICjCJopsLMM2sswMw192CAw&utm_content=rundown

[mommyoffive]

https://caitlinrivers.substack.com/p/outbreak-outlook-b76?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1017072&post_id=145035586&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[mommyoffive]

https://peoplescdc.substack.com/p/peoples-cdc-may-27-2024-covid-19?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1004289&post_id=145047035&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q2z70&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email