Omicron anecdata?

[Ausmumof3]

5/7 EDs over capacity here right now and it’s not even peak time of day yet.

Four students out of eleven this week won’t be there - three have Covid the other ones mum has it. Mostly the kids seem ok when they come back though so that’s a plus. Hopefully no longer term issues show up.

The school I was on today has lovely buildings with new windows that open easily. The weather was perfect. And every window was shut. I wish the government would do an education campaign on ventilation 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[mommyoffive]

FDA authorizes second COVID-19 booster for Americans 50 and older (usatoday.com)

According to the FDA's decision, people 50 and over who received a booster shot of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine more than four months ago can get a second Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster at no cost.

Anyone 12 or older with a weakened immune system because of medical treatment or conditions is eligible for an additional shot aimed to provide them the same level of protection someone with a healthy immune system received after three doses. Immunocompromised adults can receive a Moderna booster, though it is not authorized for use in minors.

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by mommyoffive

[wathe]

FDA removes EUA for Sotrovimab in U.S. states with high BA.2 prevalence, reasoning that Sotrovimab is not effective against BA.2

[mommyoffive]

The power of ventilation and filtration (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

CDC Recommends Additional Boosters for Certain Individuals | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

[mommyoffive]

Who can get a second Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster? Here's what you should know. (msn.com)

Studies have shown that people who have certain medical conditions are more at risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19, according to the CDC. 

These medical conditions include obesity, diabetes, chronic lung, kidney or liver disease, heart disease, smoking, pregnancy and many mental health conditions. 

[Harriet Vane]

21 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

The power of ventilation and filtration (substack.com)

YES. Exactly. 

[Terabith]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Who can get a second Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster? Here's what you should know. (msn.com)

Studies have shown that people who have certain medical conditions are more at risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19, according to the CDC. 

These medical conditions include obesity, diabetes, chronic lung, kidney or liver disease, heart disease, smoking, pregnancy and many mental health conditions. 

But it seems like the new rules allow a second booster only for people under 50 who are deemed immune compromised like solid organ transplants or equivalent immunodeficiency?  Those of us with elevated risk under 50 from other things (obesity, diabetes, mental health conditions, pregnancy, etc) are not eligible for a second booster, correct?

[mommyoffive]

This site just went live

COVID.gov - Find COVID-19 guidance for your community

[Pam in CT]

re slooooooooooooooow shift to thinking about ventilation and filtration as tools within the public policy- and household-level toolkits

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

The power of ventilation and filtration (substack.com)

 

3 hours ago, Harriet Vane said:

YES. Exactly. 

I'm glad to see this, but, it amplifies the 5 micron Repetition Fallacy over in the other thread..

Quote

In the beginning of this pandemic, most were concerned about droplets of transmission, but scientists quickly learned that aerosol transmission was a main driver. The problem was that the WHO, CDC, and the public took a long time to shift perspectives. In July 2020, 239 scientists wrote a letter to the WHO indicating their concern about aerosol transmission. But it wasn’t until April 2021 that the WHO and May 2021 that the CDC changed their guidance to recognize airborne spread as a key mode of infection.

The difference between droplets and aerosols are size and its implications. Droplets are large (50-100 micrometers), and so they are heavier. Droplets can travel up to 6 feet, but then they fall to the ground due to gravity. This is why the famous 6 foot rule was implemented. People spread droplets by coughing and sneezing.

Aerosols, on the other hand, are much tinier (<5 micrometers) and lightweight, so they can become suspended in air and float. There are 100 times more aerosols than droplets. And you don’t need to sneeze or cough. These can be spread by just talking. Lab studies have shown that aerosols can stay in the air for up to 16 hours. So, hypothetically, a sick person doesn’t need to be in the room with you to transmit the disease. They could be in the room before you and left particles everywhere.

... that looks also to be part of the messaging issue around this.

However, the bottom line recommendations are both eminently practicable and also eminently feasible.

Improvements can be done three ways:

1. Outdoor air ventilation, like opening windows;

2. Recirculating air that passes through a filter with at least a minimum efficiency rating value 13 (MERV 13) rating; or

3. Passage of air through portable air cleaners with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters.

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, Terabith said:

But it seems like the new rules allow a second booster only for people under 50 who are deemed immune compromised like solid organ transplants or equivalent immunodeficiency?  Those of us with elevated risk under 50 from other things (obesity, diabetes, mental health conditions, pregnancy, etc) are not eligible for a second booster, correct?

Correct. The FDA announcement defines immunocompromised as "people who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are living with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise." I suppose there could be a little wiggle room there with the word "equivalent."

There seems to be a lot of variation in how different pharmacies handle the "immunocompromised" criteria: some have online registration where you just click a box saying you meet the criteria and you don't have to specify what it is or provide further proof, some required a doctor's note or medical record proving the person has one of the very specific conditions on the original list, and others fell somewhere in the middle. So for anyone under 50 who feels they are high risk and wants another booster, but aren't sure if they meet the strictest definition of "immunocompromised," I would check the policies of various local pharmacies and see which ones are the most flexible about it.

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

re slooooooooooooooow shift to thinking about ventilation and filtration as tools within the public policy- and household-level toolkits

 

I'm glad to see this, but, it amplifies the 5 micron Repetition Fallacy over in the other thread..

... that looks also to be part of the messaging issue around this.

However, the bottom line recommendations are both eminently practicable and also eminently feasible.

Improvements can be done three ways:

1. Outdoor air ventilation, like opening windows;

2. Recirculating air that passes through a filter with at least a minimum efficiency rating value 13 (MERV 13) rating; or

3. Passage of air through portable air cleaners with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters.

There's also this new tech for indoor air - have you guys seen this?  Supposed to knock down bacteria/virus levels to outdoor air levels.  Hopefully as safe as they say.n  Probably be cheaper to implement widely vs. adding lots of new high-quality venting and new windows that open...

https://scitechdaily.com/new-type-of-uv-light-makes-indoor-air-as-safe-as-outdoors-variant-proof-effective-against-covid-flu/

 

[Pam in CT]

re "far-UVC light" zappers laser-beaming the particles (= VERY TECHNICAL TERM)

19 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

There's also this new tech for indoor air - have you guys seen this?  Supposed to knock down bacteria/virus levels to outdoor air levels.  Hopefully as safe as they say.n  Probably be cheaper to implement widely vs. adding lots of new high-quality venting and new windows that open...

https://scitechdaily.com/new-type-of-uv-light-makes-indoor-air-as-safe-as-outdoors-variant-proof-effective-against-covid-flu/

 

I had not; thank you.  These parts sound promising:

Quote

Far-UVC light is variant-proof

“Previous studies have shown that far-UVC light can kill the COVID virus, other human coronaviruses, influenza, and drug-resistant bacteria,” Brenner says. “What’s particularly attractive about far-UVC technology as a practical method of preventing indoor disease transmission is that it will be equally good at inactivating all future COVID variants, as well as new infectious viruses that have yet to emerge, while retaining efficacy against ‘old fashioned’ viruses like influenza and measles.”

Finally, because of the way ultraviolet light kills microbes, viruses and bacteria cannot develop resistance as they do with vaccines and drug treatments.

Hoping it pans out in more studies.

[Harriet Vane]

58 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

There's also this new tech for indoor air - have you guys seen this?  Supposed to knock down bacteria/virus levels to outdoor air levels.  Hopefully as safe as they say.n  Probably be cheaper to implement widely vs. adding lots of new high-quality venting and new windows that open...

https://scitechdaily.com/new-type-of-uv-light-makes-indoor-air-as-safe-as-outdoors-variant-proof-effective-against-covid-flu/

 

This brings vivid images to mind from Star Trek: Enterprise with Scott Bakula. It's a Star Trek prequel, and every time the crew returns to the ship after leaving, they have to spend time in a super-special decontamination chamber for a certain amount of time.

I would love to see ventilation as the first course of action with tools like filtration and air-purification as solid supplements. My only real concern would be to wonder if it's the equivalent of antibiotics or water purification that takes out bad germs but also takes out good stuff, too. I really have no idea as I am not a scientist, but that's why I think our first line of defense should be on aggressive air exchange practices.

[Matryoshka]

12 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

This brings vivid images to mind from Star Trek: Enterprise with Scott Bakula. It's a Star Trek prequel, and every time the crew returns to the ship after leaving, they have to spend time in a super-special decontamination chamber for a certain amount of time.

Let's just hope that this tech doesn't also involve us sponging each other down in our undies (that was a blatant fanservice 'let's show the fan-dudes the hot Vulcan being sponged down in her skivvies' move).

[Harriet Vane]

18 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Let's just hope that this tech doesn't also involve us sponging each other down in our undies (that was a blatant fanservice 'let's show the fan-dudes the hot Vulcan being sponged down in her skivvies' move).

😂

[Harriet Vane]

19 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Let's just hope that this tech doesn't also involve us sponging each other down in our undies (that was a blatant fanservice 'let's show the fan-dudes the hot Vulcan being sponged down in her skivvies' move).

I always kinda wondered why application of the antibiotic gel had to be done as partners, yanno? Space soap operas at their finest...

[Matryoshka]

44 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

I always kinda wondered why application of the antibiotic gel had to be done as partners, yanno? Space soap operas at their finest...

To get at all those hard-to- reach places, dont'cha know... 😆

[Matryoshka]

Just saw this article on a 'new' drug that's just been approved in Europe that is for people who either have a poor immune response to the vaccines or are immunocompromized and have been advised medically not to get them. It prevents catching Covid by 77%. That's a good number. And it's taken preventatively pre-exposure, more like a vaccine than a treatment,  but it's not a vaccine, more like the antibody treatments, but those are taken post-exposure in a tiny window.

Anyway, this sounds like it could really help the medically fragile whose immune systems don't mount proper responses to vaccines - BUT it's not actually 'new' - it's been available in the US for months under an EUA, doses have been ordered and are sitting in warehouses an pharmacies unused because no one knows about it, apparently including doctors. 😒

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/drug-prevents-catching-covid-19-114739878.html

[Danae]

24 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Just saw this article on a 'new' drug that's just been approved in Europe that is for people who either have a poor immune response to the vaccines or are immunocompromized and have been advised medically not to get them. It prevents catching Covid by 77%. That's a good number. And it's taken preventatively pre-exposure, more like a vaccine than a treatment,  but it's not a vaccine, more like the antibody treatments, but those are taken post-exposure in a tiny window.

Anyway, this sounds like it could really help the medically fragile whose immune systems don't mount proper responses to vaccines - BUT it's not actually 'new' - it's been available in the US for months under an EUA, doses have been ordered and are sitting in warehouses an pharmacies unused because no one knows about it, apparently including doctors. 😒

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/drug-prevents-catching-covid-19-114739878.html

 

1) It reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid by 77%

2) It is a vaccine.  It’s an alternate vaccine that may work better for people who didn’t have a strong response to the other types of vaccines.

[mommyoffive]

Fourth Dose Q&A - Your Local Epidemiologist (substack.com)

 

This week the FDA and CDC officially recommended the following:

• mRNA series: A booster for certain immunocompromised individuals and people over the age of 50 who received an initial booster dose at least 4 months ago

• J&J: All adults who received a primary J&J vaccine and booster dose at least 4 months ago may now receive a second booster dose using an mRNA vaccine

Edited March 31, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Danae said:

1) It reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid by 77%

2) It is a vaccine.  It’s an alternate vaccine that may work better for people who didn’t have a strong response to the other types of vaccines.

It says it is an antibody drug, that can be used like an alternate type of vaccine.  Sounds like it contains antibodies itself rather than the more normal vaccines that introduce an irritant for the body to use as a pattern to make its own antibodies.

And it sounds like that's what is fueling the confusion on the messaging - it's labeled as a drug but used like a vaccine.

(and I'd totally take reducing risk of getting symptomatic covid by 77% over nothing. I think that's even better than what the second booster will get me.  Getting that posthaste).

Edited March 31, 2022 by Matryoshka

[wathe]

3 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Just saw this article on a 'new' drug that's just been approved in Europe that is for people who either have a poor immune response to the vaccines or are immunocompromized and have been advised medically not to get them. It prevents catching Covid by 77%. That's a good number. And it's taken preventatively pre-exposure, more like a vaccine than a treatment,  but it's not a vaccine, more like the antibody treatments, but those are taken post-exposure in a tiny window.

Anyway, this sounds like it could really help the medically fragile whose immune systems don't mount proper responses to vaccines - BUT it's not actually 'new' - it's been available in the US for months under an EUA, doses have been ordered and are sitting in warehouses an pharmacies unused because no one knows about it, apparently including doctors. 😒

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/drug-prevents-catching-covid-19-114739878.html

I'll just take the opportunity to state: knowing about a drug is completely different than knowing how to access a drug.  The administrative hoop-jumping involved in accessing novel therapeutics can be ridiculous. I can only imagine that the US health insurance model makes it even harder.  Figuring out how to access MAB and Paxlovid here has been much harder than it needed to be, partly because we've gone with a regional model - each region has to figure out their own process, so there's a very inconsistent patchwork of processes that are not well communicated.  Many docs here still have no idea.  I literally got three calls from different colleagues yesterday asking for help navigating access.  

ETA - Everyone (MD's) here knows that Paxlovid and MAb are available.  The eligibility criteria are easy to find.  Knowing how to actually get your hands on some for your patient is a completely different matter.

Edited March 31, 2022 by wathe

[mommyoffive]

Why is the UK seeing near-record Covid cases? We still believe the three big myths about Omicron | Christina Pagel | The Guardian

[Faith-manor]

Be the way, in the race to be the state that puts its head as far into the sand as possible, Michigan has decided to only report covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Once per week.

[Kassia]

44 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Be the way, in the race to be the state that puts its head as far into the sand as possible, Michigan has decided to only report covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Once per week.

Ohio has been doing that for a couple of weeks now - only on Thursdays.  I just assumed all states moved to once a week but I guess I was wrong.

[ktgrok]

55 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Be the way, in the race to be the state that puts its head as far into the sand as possible, Michigan has decided to only report covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Once per week.

We just went to only every TWO weeks. We’ve been only week for gosh…a LONG time. 

[Faith-manor]

9 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

We just went to only every TWO weeks. We’ve been only week for gosh…a LONG time. 

Oh my word! That is nuts. I guess DeathSantis figures that all the folks considering whether or not to hit DW, Daytona, and Miami Beach really don't need to know if cases are trending up or down.

I am just so tired of politics. So.very.tired.

[mommyoffive]

NIH begins clinical trial evaluating second COVID-19 booster shots in adults | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 

COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape Trial (COVAIL Trial) - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Be the way, in the race to be the state that puts its head as far into the sand as possible, Michigan has decided to only report covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Once per week.

NC started weekly reporting last week.

[Danae]

2 hours ago, Kassia said:

Ohio has been doing that for a couple of weeks now - only on Thursdays.  I just assumed all states moved to once a week but I guess I was wrong.

Huh.  I'm still annoyed that MN is bundling Saturday and Sunday and only reporting on weekdays.

[El...]

Just to report back, we're pretty much all better. DH had it worst, and is still clearing his throat and occasionally sniffing after 9 days. His pcr test was positive. He was only really down with a fever for about 18 hours, and has been working from home the whole time. He's extremely grateful he was vaxed and boosted, because those 18 hours were horrible, he says. He won't be going back into work until he's all better.

Dd14 is all better. She never had a fever, and her pcr test was negative, but we're assuming she was positive because she had a bad cough, headache, sniffles, etc, at the same time as Dh, though for less time.

DS10 and I never caught it. Tests were negative. So weird. So great that the vaccines worked! We've all been staying home, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it didn't. Whew!

[mommyoffive]

State of Affairs: April 1 - Your Local Epidemiologist (substack.com)

BA.2 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., making up 55% of new cases. This is up 39% from the week before. Prevalence ranges from 37% in the Midwest to 73% in the Northeast. Genome sequencing shows that case growth is right on track with projections. If this trajectory continues, we’ll see about 40,000 new cases per day by mid-April. How big this wave will be is anyone’s guess.

 

This week we also finally broke the threshold of 1000 deaths per day. Today we are averaging 700 people dying per day. While this is incredibly welcome news, the majority of these are still vaccine-preventable. As Kaiser Family Foundation recently published, COVID-19 was still the second leading cause of death last month.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

New Mutant “XE” Omicron Variant May Be The Most Transmissible Version Of Covid Yet, According To WHO (yahoo.com)

[mommyoffive]

First human challenge study of Covid-19 yields valuable insights about how we get sick - CNN

[wathe]

Sotrovimab (our only remaining monoclonal antibody) removed from Ontario covid treatment guidelines today.  Not effective against BA.2.  (Current BA.2 prevalence is not publicly available.  Guideline makers have access to non-public data)

Access to outpatient therapeutics remains a bureaucratic mess.  Sadly, this is a common story.

Cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions are rising, waste water is very concerning.

Three docs in my dept out with covid.  Similar all over the province.

Despite all this, government plans to forge ahead with re-opening.  No plan to re-instate mask mandates (were lifted March 21)or any other public health protective measures.

I am tired.

[mommyoffive]

COVID Vaccine Side Effects for Babies, Toddlers in Moderna Trial (businessinsider.com)

[mommyoffive]

[Catwoman]

12 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

New Mutant “XE” Omicron Variant May Be The Most Transmissible Version Of Covid Yet, According To WHO (yahoo.com)

Not for anything, but every time there is a new variant, we are cautioned that it is waaaaaay more contagious than all of the previous variants. Seriously, how much more contagious can this thing get?

At this point, it feels like if some guy two blocks away from my house sneezes on his way out to his mailbox, and I happen to be outside at the same time, I am doomed.

It is becoming so difficult to know what to believe, and what precautions we should all, realistically, be taking to avoid contracting Covid.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm finding so much of the messaging to be very frustrating.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Catwoman

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, Catwoman said:

Not for anything, but every time there is a new variant, we are cautioned that it is waaaaaay more contagious than all of the previous variants. Seriously, how much more contagious can this thing get?

At this point, it feels like if some guy two blocks away from my house sneezes on his way out to his mailbox, and I happen to be outside at the same time, I am doomed.

It is becoming so difficult to know what to believe, and what precautions we should all, realistically, be taking to avoid contracting Covid.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm finding so much of the messaging to be very frustrating.

Reminds me of anytime I watch the Bachelor.  Every time, every year it is the "Most Dramatic Rose Ceremony Ever!"

 

I totally get what you are saying though.  

[Ausmumof3]

32 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Not for anything, but every time there is a new variant, we are cautioned that it is waaaaaay more contagious than all of the previous variants. Seriously, how much more contagious can this thing get?

At this point, it feels like if some guy two blocks away from my house sneezes on his way out to his mailbox, and I happen to be outside at the same time, I am doomed.

It is becoming so difficult to know what to believe, and what precautions we should all, realistically, be taking to avoid contracting Covid.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm finding so much of the messaging to be very frustrating.

I’m hearing you! I think there was a big increase with omicron but it also becomes a convenient excuse - it was so much more transmissible we couldn’t possibly control it, etc. It’s still lower than measles at this point (but faster which is a separate issue).

Thing is there are some people looking at the structure of the virus and they have an explanation for why it’s more transmissible. It did seem like with the earlier variants quite often a couple of people in a family would get it but not all, whereas now it gets everyone.

I mean they have to keep evolving to be more transmissible to outcompete previous variants, but we don’t seem to see those huge changes with flu. But I think that’s something to do with the structure of the viruses?

[Matryoshka]

15 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

State of Affairs: April 1 - Your Local Epidemiologist (substack.com)

BA.2 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., making up 55% of new cases. This is up 39% from the week before. Prevalence ranges from 37% in the Midwest to 73% in the Northeast. Genome sequencing shows that case growth is right on track with projections. If this trajectory continues, we’ll see about 40,000 new cases per day by mid-April. How big this wave will be is anyone’s guess.

 

This week we also finally broke the threshold of 1000 deaths per day. Today we are averaging 700 people dying per day. While this is incredibly welcome news, the majority of these are still vaccine-preventable. As Kaiser Family Foundation recently published, COVID-19 was still the second leading cause of death last month.

Okay. Message received. Just scheduled my second booster. 

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, Matryoshka said:

Okay. Message received. Just scheduled my second booster. 

Report back in on how it goes for you.  The 1st booster kicked my ass even though the other 2 shots I didn't have anything but a sore arm.  I am worried about getting my next one.  But my thought is maybe it went so poorly for  me was that I got my flu shot the same day.  But yeah I am still worried.

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Report back in on how it goes for you.  The 1st booster kicked my ass even though the other 2 shots I didn't have anything but a sore arm.  I am worried about getting my next one.  But my thought is maybe it went so poorly for  me was that I got my flu shot the same day.  But yeah I am still worried.

I am definitely not ever getting a flu shot at the same time. Sorry, Moderna.

[mommyoffive]

9 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I am definitely not ever getting a flu shot at the same time. Sorry, Moderna.

Never again will I do that.    Are you mixing vaccines or staying with what you had?  

[thewellerman]

My family just recovered from covid within the last few weeks, so I assume it was omicron.  We should have immunity through this new wave, right? 

[Hilltopmom]

9 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I am definitely not ever getting a flu shot at the same time. Sorry, Moderna.

Yes! That was a big mistake on my part- seemed like a good idea at the time though.

[Hilltopmom]

9 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Okay. Message received. Just scheduled my second booster. 

Ugh I’m not quite old enough. It’d be great if people who are not old enough but who, say, work in enclosed spaces with 20 maskless kids a day could also get another booster. 

[mommyoffive]

If anyone sees or hears anything about a booster for the 5-11 crowd let me know.  My kids are coming up on 5 months.

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Never again will I do that.    Are you mixing vaccines or staying with what you had?  

I had Pfizer for the first two, with a Moderna chaser.  Doing a second Moderna booster.