Omicron anecdata?

[mommyoffive]

Thinking through the holidays this year (substack.com)

There are still ~2,600 Americans dying each week from COVID-19. The vast majority are older and vaccinated (but not up to date). As an epidemiologist, I refuse to accept this as the “new normal.” So my professional bias influences my priorities: Ensure the vulnerable around us (like grandparents) do not end up in the hospital with COVID-19 (or flu or RSV). This means we are going to do everything in our power to break transmission chains before gathering for the holidays. This includes…

At least three weeks before event:

• Ensure everyone is up-to-date on their flu shot and fall booster (especially the older adults). The fall booster rate is currently 7.3% (20% for those aged 65+).

One week prior to the event:

• Wear an N95 mask. In public. Everywhere I go. This will help ensure we don’t bring COVID-19 (or flu) to Thanksgiving dinner. It will also help make sure I don’t miss the event because I’m sick. Don’t rely on case levels to influence masking decisions; at this point, they don’t accurately reflect transmission.

• Cadence testing. Use COVID19 at-home antigen tests two days before seeing grandparents and the morning of. Test everyone. Including my toddlers who scream when I approach their nose.

  • For people who have the virus and are asymptomatic, the average antigen test will catch 44% to 70% of cases. This isn’t perfect, so we don’t rely solely on this layer. But it sometimes works.

  • If I’m positive a few days before the event. We see strong evidence (here, here) that an Omicron infection lasts, on average, 8-10 days. Some people will be infectious for less, and some will be infectious for more. You won’t know unless you test. Antigen tests are very good at telling us when we’re not infectious anymore (very few false positives). If I get a negative after a positive, then I would trust that I’m not contagious anymore and go to the event. With Paxlovid, we are seeing rebounding. So for anyone who tests negative after Paxlovid, I would continue to test for another couple of days. If you turn positive again, assume you’re infectious until you turn negative again.

Day of the event:

• Ventilation and filtration are powerful tools. This is especially important in the middle of winter when people head indoors. You can use a CO2 monitor if you want to take safety at your family event to the next level.

• If we have symptoms, stay home. This is lonely during the holidays, but the best thing to do. When symptoms are present, COVID-19 antigen tests are great at detecting highly infectious people: the average antigen test will catch 78% to 97% of cases in the first week of symptoms. False negatives are more common at the beginning of infection, especially with Omicron. If you have symptoms and test negative, it’s a good idea to re-test in 24-48 hours. But, because flu and RSV levels are high right now, there’s a good chance it could be something other than COVID-19, too. Just stay home.

After the event:

• If an older adult gets infected, make sure they know about Paxlovid and get it within 5 days of symptoms, even just the sniffles.

Edited November 3, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Faith-manor]

I am getting my booster next week. I have been in Alabama taking care of grandsons, and since I am a serious reactor and am down for 72 hours with each booster, I have not been able to do that. So, I need to mentally gear up for booster sickness next week. Ugh! Oh well. Better than getting long covid or giving it to my mom. I will.continue to do my part.

[Corraleno]

The author of Julie & Julia died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 49, 6 weeks after she had covid. The number of nasty posts and tweets, not only blaming her death on the vaccine but actually celebrating her death as "another libtard sheep killed off by the vaccine," is beyond disgusting. This pandemic has forever changed my view of the human race; I guess the upside of that is it makes the choice of just staying the hell away from most people even easier. 

[vonfirmath]

17 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

The author of Julie & Julia died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 49, 6 weeks after she had covid. The number of nasty posts and tweets, not only blaming her death on the vaccine but actually celebrating her death as "another libtard sheep killed off by the vaccine," is beyond disgusting. This pandemic has forever changed my view of the human race; I guess the upside of that is it makes the choice of just staying the hell away from most people even easier. 

One horrible thing about the Internet is that it focuses attention on the worst parts of society. It is well known that people will say things online they would never say face to face. 

I had not read of her death or these comments but I've read that book and am sad to hear she's dead -- and I had no idea she was the same age as I!

[mommyoffive]

Are the unvaccinated still a danger to the rest of us? (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

Florian Krammer on Twitter: "Now there is data suggesting the bivalent booster is inducing better responses to BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1. This is in contrast to earlier reports a few days ago. The difference may be caused by the assays used (pseudotype versus authentic virus). @SutharLab https://t.co/7stArOjROH https://t.co/AfbInZn6mI" / Twitter

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

My extremely good chiropractor (who masks and is vaccinated) shares office space with an avid anti-masker and anti-vaxxer.  The partner technically meets our state dept. of health rules about masks in the office but it hasn't stopped him from running anti- mask, anti-vax ads on his monitors in the waiting room and exam rooms.  I simply want to go and get my spine taken care of without a load of propaganda to go with it. 

[whitestavern]

4 hours ago, Corraleno said:

The author of Julie & Julia died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 49, 6 weeks after she had covid. The number of nasty posts and tweets, not only blaming her death on the vaccine but actually celebrating her death as "another libtard sheep killed off by the vaccine," is beyond disgusting. This pandemic has forever changed my view of the human race; I guess the upside of that is it makes the choice of just staying the hell away from most people even easier. 

I don’t condone any nasty posts or tweets, but have you seen any of the similarly horrible things she posted or tweeted? 

[Corraleno]

46 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

I don’t condone any nasty posts or tweets, but have you seen any of the similarly horrible things she posted or tweeted? 

The possibility that she may also have tweeted nasty things, as well as the whataboutism of pointing that out, do not in any way mitigate my dim opinion of the human race, but simply reinforce it. 

[Faith-manor]

6 hours ago, Corraleno said:

The author of Julie & Julia died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 49, 6 weeks after she had covid. The number of nasty posts and tweets, not only blaming her death on the vaccine but actually celebrating her death as "another libtard sheep killed off by the vaccine," is beyond disgusting. This pandemic has forever changed my view of the human race; I guess the upside of that is it makes the choice of just staying the hell away from most people even easier. 

Ditto for me. I am beyond disgusted by the way a large number of people have acted, and really find I am happy to live a life remote from an awful lot of traditional socialization.

[mommyoffive]

Fauci says U.S. is at a ‘crossroads’ as COVID kills 2,600 a day and new Omicron variants bloom with winter coming soon (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

COVID booster may lower protection against omicron reinfection, study finds. Here’s why (msn.com)

 

Pfizer, BioNTech say bivalent booster performs better against BA.5 omicron subvariant (msn.com)

Edited November 4, 2022 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions

 

 

 

 

COVID variants to watch, and more — this week’s best science graphics (nature.com)

 

 

 

 

 

A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat | Nature

 

 

Pandemic daily update, 2 November 2022 - by Eric Topol (substack.com)

 

 

 

 

Christian Janeway 🖖🥂🔍🏴‍☠️ on Twitter: "Remember, they JUST released a study showing COVID kills white blood cells. ("Apoptosis" means, "the cell explodes, kersplat.") https://t.co/wCL7alDoDE" / Twitter

 

 

 

[Corraleno]

This is scary as hell. If the huge uptick in pediatric hospitalizations is the result of post-covid immune system damage, then the whole no-masks-in-schools, let-it-rip, kids-need-to-see-faces approach that so many people pushed for is having precisely the long term consequences that many scientists warned about.  And then add in the 72% increased risk of developing T1 diabetes, and other possible long term effects. The idea that wearing a mask is too much hassle to mitigate those risks just boggles my mind.

 

[KSera]

6 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

This is scary as hell. If the huge uptick in pediatric hospitalizations is the result of post-covid immune system damage, then the whole no-masks-in-schools, let-it-rip, kids-need-to-see-faces approach that so many people pushed for is having precisely the long term consequences that many scientists warned about.  And then add in the 72% increased risk of developing T1 diabetes, and other possible long term effects. The idea that wearing a mask is too much hassle to mitigate those risks just boggles my mind.

 

Right there with you in this concern. I’m still dearly hoping that this concern that keeps being ignored doesn’t turn out to materialize as a real problem, but at this point we really don’t know and there are some pretty troubling indicators right now. Enough to keep us masking well. The problem is that unless the risk starts being acknowledged and treated as important, there’s not going to be any progress made in a medical solution that could mitigate the risk. which keeps those of us who are worried about it having to be very cautious and those who aren’t worried about it potentially opening themselves and their kids to great risk without knowing it or intending to.

[KSera]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

COVID booster may lower protection against omicron reinfection, study finds. Here’s why (msn.com)

 

It’s still preprint, but that’s a real bummer if that ends up being the case. I wonder what the effect is on people who haven’t been infected at all? I don’t see that addressed. it seems from what they’re saying that perhaps that wouldn’t have the same impact because it’s specifically infection induced antibodies that are being counteracted, if I’m reading it right. 

[Mom_to3]

Yes - the recent literature on health impacts of covid as a whole is quite worrisome. I am quite sure however, that this message is not reaching people - even among (most of) my PhD colleagues. People have tuned out about covid. and decided that everything can be explained by the immunity gap and lack of care during lockdown. At the government level both here and abroad, it appears that there is concern about an impact on medical care and employment for long covid patients, but the focus is on developing treatment and job accommodations. I agree that treatment is important given the sheer numbers of people already affected (to what extent it will be effective, who knows!), but it should be in combination with prevention. Instead, our government is actively encouraging continuous reinfection, creating more long covid patients and hindering recovery in existing one. Plus, of course, since the message has been that the pandemic is over and we have the tools, there is no desire to invest any money...

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, Corraleno said:

This is scary as hell. If the huge uptick in pediatric hospitalizations is the result of post-covid immune system damage, then the whole no-masks-in-schools, let-it-rip, kids-need-to-see-faces approach that so many people pushed for is having precisely the long term consequences that many scientists warned about.  And then add in the 72% increased risk of developing T1 diabetes, and other possible long term effects. The idea that wearing a mask is too much hassle to mitigate those risks just boggles my mind.

 

Immune lowering has gone from being a fringe theory to something I’ve seen mentioned in more mainstream news sources three times in the last two weeks now. It fits with what happened here over winter. It does seem that the kids are getting less sick now finally, so I want to hope it’s a temporary effect.

[bookbard]

14 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

It does seem that the kids are getting less sick now finally, so I want to hope it’s a temporary effect.

I'm really hoping (based on wishful thinking) that this is the case for a lot of the post-covid complications, that what they're seeing in the first 3-6mths post covid isn't what they see 12-18mths down the track. Obviously it will depend, I certainly have seen some accounts from people who got covid in early 2020 and are still really struggling, and of course things like T1 diabetes aren't reversable. But I hope some of the heart and immunity and brain issues do get better with time. I assume that getting covid again within that time period would not help with getting better, though. 

[Corraleno]

One of the responses I saw in a discussion of post-covid immune suppression sort of dismissed it as NBD and not unusual with highly contagious viruses, since we know that measles can compromise immune response for a couple of years afterwards. But that ignores the fact that measles does not mutate like covid and once you've had measles most people are immune, and once they've gotten past that 2 year period, their immune system generally recovers.

With covid mutating at this incredibly fast rate, people can get it over and over. So even if the first bout only suppresses your immune system for 6 months or so, you're likely to come into contact with a new variant within that time period, and if you get sick again, can that start up a vicious cycle where each infection damages T-cells and makes you more likely to get reinfected, and each reinfection increases your odds of long term damage like heart and cognitive issues, diabetes, chronic fatigue, etc.?

[KSera]

8 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

since we know that measles can compromise immune response for a couple of years afterwards. But that ignores the fact that measles does not mutate like covid and once you've had measles most people are immune, and once they've gotten past that 2 year period, their immune system generally recovers.

Not to mention, we advocate for immunization against measles to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, the Covid vaccines don’t work as well anymore as the measles one.

[Mom_to3]

There are also long-term complications from measles that don't show up until quite a few years after infection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subacute_sclerosing_panencephalitis . On occasion I've read about deaths from this, but I was not aware that the rate for unvaccinated infants diagnosed with measles was this high... . I can't imagine why health organizations like the CDC are not pushing against the let it rip theory. They must know all of this, and be fully aware how risky their strategy is. Basing public health policy on hopes for a good outcome is ... insane and unforgivable. But then again, we are a country that rather deploys troops and ventilators than masks to fight a "flu pandemic" (on top of RSV and covid) and overwhelmed hospitals. https://fortune.com/well/2022/11/04/us-united-states-in-flu-epidemic-federal-health-officials-say-cdc-hhs-rsv-covid-omicron-2022/

Edited November 5, 2022 by Mom_to3

[bookbard]

Some people have talked about the 'zombie ant' theory of covid (ie, that covid in the brain actually encourages people to relax and spread it around, just as other viruses/parasites do in ants). I don't know if I totally buy that, but there's got to be some reason that so many people downplay covid, even those researching it. I mean, even people attending and speaking at the conferences about covid aren't masking. 

I hope some researchers out there are looking at all this, because it won't be the last pandemic. My personal opinion is that humans tend to follow clear instructions, look for clear boundaries, and clear directions from leaders. In Australia, when the rules were cut and dried, people followed them. 95% vaccination rate when it was required. Once the rules were dropped and it was just suggested, then the vaccination rate dropped significantly, and masking has almost entirely dropped. The less consistent the rules (eg, no masking at place X, but yes masking at place Y), the fewer people put on a mask, too. 

32 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said:

I can't imagine why health organizations like the CDC are not pushing against the let it rip theory. They must know all of this, and be fully aware how risky their strategy is.

In Australia, we don't have a CDC, but it feels like any power health officials once had has been taken from them. The politicians are openly a) not asking them and b) not following any advice. 

 

[KSera]

41 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Some people have talked about the 'zombie ant' theory of covid (ie, that covid in the brain actually encourages people to relax and spread it around, just as other viruses/parasites do in ants). I don't know if I totally buy that, but there's got to be some reason that so many people downplay covid, even those researching it.

 

Now that’s interesting! Somehow I haven’t heard anyone talk about this. It reminds me of cats and toxoplasmosis (even though different effect). I will have to look that up. I’ve chalked it up more to basic human nature, which even “experts” have. Greater familiarity with a risk makes a risk feel less risky and once someone has already been exposed to something that could cause harm and they can’t change, it’s self protective to minimize that danger in their mind. I expect that second one is likely to happen to me to some degree if/when we get it—who wants to think they’re now at increased risk of all kinds other things and it’s too late to change it? I expect I will still feel concerned enough about the risks to want to prevent reinfection though. I do know people doing that, they’re just the exception and  not the rule these days.

 

[bookbard]

24 minutes ago, KSera said:

Now that’s interesting! Somehow I haven’t heard anyone talk about this

So here is an article (by scientists) about it. A year into the pandemic, the coronavirus is messing with our minds as well as our bodies (theconversation.com) It's more subtle than I've written about above (no we are not zombies) but super interesting. Apparently people might become MORE social when they have covid. Normally with a bad cold you want to hunker down and disappear. 

(Edited to add: imagine if that was true, and it turned out covid contained a cure for being anti-social . . . and all the extroverts of the world are pushing us to 'just catch covid!' . . .)

Edited November 5, 2022 by bookbard

[Corraleno]

13 minutes ago, bookbard said:

So here is an article (by scientists) about it. A year into the pandemic, the coronavirus is messing with our minds as well as our bodies (theconversation.com) It's more subtle than I've written about above (no we are not zombies) but super interesting. Apparently people might become MORE social when they have covid. Normally with a bad cold you want to hunker down and disappear. 

Fascinating article, thanks for linking it! 

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, bookbard said:

I don't know if I totally buy that, but there's got to be some reason that so many people downplay covid, even those researching it. I mean, even people attending and speaking at the conferences about covid aren't masking. 

Well, speaking as someone who's no longer masking -- I choose not to worry about it because it was messing with my ability to live my life in a way that felt fulfilling to me and to my family. And the fact that I'm vaccinated and this variant seems less severe plays into that. I will say that I felt that before we even got COVID, so I doubt I'm a zombie ant 🤣.

Ultimately, we live most of our lives like this. We don't spend a lot of time dwelling on how dangerous driving is, for example, even though it's a leading cause of death for quite a few ages. 

This doesn't mean I'm not interested in the actual risks. But the fact that I've chosen not to deform my life around COVID anymore does predispose me to think about the risks less, because then it just winds up as fruitless worry. And I don't need more anxiety. 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Not_a_Number

[KSera]

22 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

We don't spend a lot of time dwelling on how dangerous driving is, for example, even though it's a leading cause of death for quite a few ages. 

I don’t know, I personally am highly aware of this and make some decisions accordingly. Safety ratings are one of our top factors when shopping for a car, and car seat safety is huge for me with my kids, and as such they ride in car seats and booster a long time (akin to masking in many ways—it’s sometimes a bummer that my toddlers and preschoolers are rear facing, since they’re not looking the same direction we are and miss things sometimes when we point them out, but I’m aware that riding in the car is the most dangerous activity they do so I do it the safest way we can). Would be an interesting study to see the overlap between people who are still masking and those who keep their kids rear facing to the weight limit of their car seat and boostered until they pass the 5 point test 🙃. 

[Corraleno]

22 minutes ago, KSera said:

I don’t know, I personally am highly aware of this and make some decisions accordingly. 

Me too! I've had friends and relatives who were killed in traffic accidents, so I'm very aware of the dangers of driving and absolutely take that into account. I purposely chose a car with the highest possible IIHS safety rating and I consolidate errands to keep driving to a minimum. I always try to leave plenty of time when I have to be somewhere, so I never have to drive in a hurry, and I try to avoid the freeway and take surface streets when possible. I'm extra cautious at traffic lights and stop signs because I know a lot of people just blow through them.

 

22 minutes ago, KSera said:

Would be an interesting study to see the overlap between people who are still masking and those who keep their kids rear facing to the weight limit of their car seat and boostered until they pass the 5 point test 🙃. 

DS was definitely in his car seat to the maximum weight because he was huge, but DD is tiny and she'd have still been rear facing as a 3rd grader and would have still been in a booster seat when she got her license, lol!

 

[Not_a_Number]

Honestly, I just chimed in because I thought someone reading this thread might be interested in the actual psychology of what's going on. Trying to nitpick my specific example is basically the textbook example of how you don't engage with what someone is saying. 

Go on with the zombie ant theories, lol. I don't have anything to add. 🤷‍♀️ 🐜🧟‍♂️

[kbutton]

18 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Ultimately, we live most of our lives like this. We don't spend a lot of time dwelling on how dangerous driving is, for example, even though it's a leading cause of death for quite a few ages. 

I wonder what people's risk perception was when cars were still only 2-3 years old? Especially with cars mingling with horses and pedestrians and no traffic lights, etc. 

I take your point though! We get used to an awful lot of risky things, and we all probably make tradeoffs mentally and with our habits to bring us the most perceived peace of mind. 

[popmom]

On 11/3/2022 at 3:09 PM, vonfirmath said:

One horrible thing about the Internet is that it focuses attention on the worst parts of society. It is well known that people will say things online they would never say face to face. 

 

agree. I saw the news of her death and saw zero hateful comments. I don't follow anyone who would say such things on social media, and I don't follow anyone would would notice and repost or retweet the nastiness. I don't think any of the algorithms know what to do with me. lol We should all try to confuse the algorithms before we eat each other alive.

[mommyoffive]

[kokotg]

On 11/4/2022 at 11:28 PM, Not_a_Number said:

Honestly, I just chimed in because I thought someone reading this thread might be interested in the actual psychology of what's going on. Trying to nitpick my specific example is basically the textbook example of how you don't engage with what someone is saying. 

Go on with the zombie ant theories, lol. I don't have anything to add. 🤷‍♀️ 🐜🧟‍♂️

I don't think it's nitpicking to point out that your example of a high risk activity is, in fact, something that we both as a society and as individuals spend a LOT of time and energy trying to mitigate risks around, though. How much time do new parents spend researching the best car seats and fretting about how long kids should stay in them? As just one example. I know that for you wearing a mask is no longer worthwhile and is bad for your mental health, but for a lot of people, me included, deciding to grab and wear a mask when going into a high risk situation is a lot less onerous than the years I spent strapping babies and toddlers into car seats. Like masks, car seats are a way to reduce risk not to eliminate it. Like to me the analogy is not driving=never leaving the house because of covid and taking basic precautions like vaccines and masking=driving defensively, buying a safe car, following the latest research about best car seat practices, etc. ETA: I don't think we worry less about car risks than about covid risks at all; I think it's just that worrying about them is so built in to our daily lives that we don't realize we're worrying about them and taking lots of steps to mitigate them. 

Edited November 6, 2022 by kokotg

[kokotg]

...if your point is more something like, "why don't we TALK as much about how dangerous driving is?" i.e. why aren't there 20 threads about car safety on the front page of the chat board, then I think the explanations are that covid is newer, that it's more dangerous (even with "low" covid numbers, 3x as many people die daily of covid in the US than car accidents, although of course that varies by age), that driving has become much less dangerous over time because of the precautions we DO take, and, probably mainly because the precautions we take both personally and on a structural level around driving and cars are generally not particularly controversial. Thinking people shouldn't wear seatbelts is a very niche position in a way thinking people shouldn't wear masks is very much not. To the extent that risk mitigation having to do with cars and driving IS controversial, it's not at all difficult to find those conversations going on and getting very heated (take a look at any parenting board when someone asks when they should turn their toddler forward facing). 

[wathe]

14 minutes ago, kokotg said:

...if your point is more something like, "why don't we TALK as much about how dangerous driving is?" i.e. why aren't there 20 threads about car safety on the front page of the chat board, then I think the explanations are that covid is newer, that it's more dangerous (even with "low" covid numbers, 3x as many people die daily of covid in the US than car accidents, although of course that varies by age), that driving has become much less dangerous over time because of the precautions we DO take, and, probably mainly because the precautions we take both personally and on a structural level around driving and cars are generally not particularly controversial. Thinking people shouldn't wear seatbelts is a very niche position in a way thinking people shouldn't wear masks is very much not. To the extent that risk mitigation having to do with cars and driving IS controversial, it's not at all difficult to find those conversations going on and getting very heated (take a look at any parenting board when someone asks when they should turn their toddler forward facing). 

And seatbelt laws were very controversial back in the day.  i'm old enough to remember that first hand.  A google search of "seat belt law controversy"brings up numerous articles on the topic, both retrospective written recently, and articles written at the time in the 80's.

[kokotg]

14 minutes ago, wathe said:

And seatbelt laws were very controversial back in the day.  i'm old enough to remember that first hand.  A google search of "seat belt law controversy"brings up numerous articles on the topic, both retrospective written recently, and articles written at the time in the 80's.

I remember the days before seatbelt laws: my mom had a chevette hatchback, and my brother and I called the back of it our "playroom" because we had a bunch of toys back there and would just hang out playing. We lived sort of out in the middle of nowhere, so we spent a lot of time in the car. It was fun--way more fun than being buckled in and having to sit still for a couple of hours a day while we were shuttled back and forth to two different schools/preschools. Then one day my mom lost control of the car somehow and we spun around and went off the road, and after that we always had to wear our seatbelts. That would have been right around 1980, when the traffic fatality rate was nearly double what it is today in the US. 

[wathe]

1 hour ago, kokotg said:

I remember the days before seatbelt laws: my mom had a chevette hatchback, and my brother and I called the back of it our "playroom" because we had a bunch of toys back there and would just hang out playing. We lived sort of out in the middle of nowhere, so we spent a lot of time in the car. It was fun--way more fun than being buckled in and having to sit still for a couple of hours a day while we were shuttled back and forth to two different schools/preschools. Then one day my mom lost control of the car somehow and we spun around and went off the road, and after that we always had to wear our seatbelts. That would have been right around 1980, when the traffic fatality rate was nearly double what it is today in the US. 

I also remember going airborne inside a vehicle.  We had a cargo van that my dad had converted into to a sort of camper.  We were loose in the back.

[mommyoffive]

 

[Starr]

19 hours ago, wathe said:

I also remember going airborne inside a vehicle.  We had a cargo van that my dad had converted into to a sort of camper.  We were loose in the back.

I thought it was so cool that friends had a station wagon and the kids could all ride in the "very back". And of course the ole pick up truck. I also know the stories where these fun things came to a tragic end.

[mommyoffive]

Now we must act: The Supreme Court agrees TSA has the authority to enact a mask mandate. The TSA and CDC should act now. (substack.com)

 

Dr. Liz M Ph.D. on Instagram: “There is so much misunderstanding about good microbes vs. pathogens. Especially now related to the "immunity debt" term that people are…”

[mommyoffive]

Covid Hospitalizations Are Rising in Kids Under 6 Months, CDC Director Walensky Says (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff | NEJM

[mommyoffive]

If anyone uses Bona Fide for masks here is a coupon code

Take 20% off using promo code: TRUSTED20

[KSera]

2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff | NEJM

Those are very strong conclusions, and even moreso considering the schools still masking (and experiencing much lower COVID incidence) were the ones with higher risk factors for more disease. 
 

The connection to structural racism as it relates to disease mitigation measures reminded me of an article I saw a few days ago that I had meant to share. i really haven't seen much press about this:

Whites now more likely to die from covid than Blacks: Why the pandemic shifted 

 

[Mom_to3]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Covid Hospitalizations Are Rising in Kids Under 6 Months, CDC Director Walensky Says (msn.com)

There is Walensky continuing on with the vaccination only strategy...What a sad joke (and when it comes to herself - she went straight to Paxlovid when experiencing mild symptoms a mere month after the bivalent vaccine; a treatment that is not available to young kids, so for herself, she clearly did not thing even a recent vaccination was sufficient). Children's hospitals and pediatricians are overflowing. Where are the stories of kids being misdiagnosed or experiencing complications due to lack of care (ruptured appendix, say)? There must be quite a lot of that going on... (and it will only get worse with the holidays that are coming up). Or of the trauma in the kids who will be old enough to remember their 'visit' to the overcrowded ER/hospital? One of my earliest memories is a traumatizing hospital stay at 4 years old... . I am sad to say that our kids are indeed like our vaccinated grandmas - for our convenience, we are willing to let them suffer.

[bookbard]

31 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said:

I am sad to say that our kids are indeed like our vaccinated grandmas - for our convenience, we are willing to let them suffer.

In Australia, they are still not allowing any vaccine for under 5s unless they are on a very narrow list (Down syndrome, cancer). The under 5 vaccine was approved by the appropriate body, but the gatekeeper committee (headed by a non-med person *) has refused to allow it. Also has refused to allow boosters for 5-12 and 12-16. They have a 'vaccine-only strategy' - which doesn't include vaccines for all.

*Ah, I am wrong about that, got mixed up with APHRA. But the leadership of ATAGI was changed when the then-PM decided he didn't like what they were saying. New boss, and suddenly he liked what they were saying. Funny that. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by bookbard

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff | NEJM

https://time.com/6231516/universal-masking-in-school-works-new-data-shows-how-well/
 

Good to see this getting some attention! I wish more people were listening.

[mommyoffive]

Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds (msn.com)

The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, according to a study published on Thursday.

"Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long COVID," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This was evident in unvaccinated, vaccinated and boosted people."

Reinfected patients had a more than doubled risk of death and a more than tripled risk of hospitalization compared with those who were infected with COVID just once. They also had elevated risks for problems with lungs, heart, blood, kidneys, diabetes, mental health, bones and muscles, and neurological disorders, according to a report published in Nature Medicine.

People with repeat infections were more than three times more likely to develop lung problems, three times more likely to suffer heart conditions and 60% more likely to experience neurological disorders than patients who had been infected only once, the study found. The higher risks were most pronounced in the first month after reinfection but were still evident six months later.

 

Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds | Reuters

Catching Covid more than once ‘doubles your risk of death’ (msn.com)

Edited November 11, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/11/kids-similar-risk-long-covid-adults-study-suggests
 

Long covid risk in kids is similar to adults 

“A large study today from Germany shows that kids and adolescents are at the same relative risk of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms 90 days or more after acute infection as adults are, according to findings in PLOS Medicine.”
 

I wish there were more longer term studies. Three months out is not great but could still resolve. Issues that carry over a year or more seem much more worrying to me.