S/O Monkeypox news & polio news

[Arcadia]

7 minutes ago, KSera said:

Do we know if the cases of kids contracting it have all come from household transmission? 

The breakdown by the UK govt doesn’t go by age. No idea if the ones affected in the primary schools are staff or student.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monkeypox-outbreak-epidemiological-overview/monkeypox-outbreak-epidemiological-overview-12-july-2022

”A high proportion of England cases were known to be London residents (75%, 1,229 of 1,644 with reported home address). For confirmed cases in the UK, where gender information was available, 1,633 (99.4%) confirmed cases were male, with 10 confirmed female cases. The median age of confirmed cases in the UK was 36 years (interquartile range 31 to 43).”

[KSera]

30 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

The breakdown by the UK govt doesn’t go by age. No idea if the ones affected in the primary schools are staff or student.

Oh right, I was assuming staff in the case of the school. But there have been a few kids who have gotten it and I was wondering if all were household members of adult cases. 
 

here is an article on some of the recent child cases, but it doesn’t give any information about where they are getting it:

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-07-01/who-concerned-about-first-cases-of-monkeypox-in-children.html

Edited July 13, 2022 by KSera

[TexasProud]

Ok, I am confused. I thought you could only got monkeypox by sexual contact or really, really close contact. So how are kids getting it, or are they?

[Arcadia]

5 minutes ago, KSera said:

Oh right, I was assuming staff in the case of the school. But there have been a few kids who have gotten it and I was wondering if all were household members of adult cases. 

The kids aren’t listed in the UK govt database 

Investigation into monkeypox outbreak in England: technical briefing 3, underlying data

““

[KSera]

3 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

Ok, I am confused. I thought you could only got monkeypox by sexual contact or really, really close contact. So how are kids getting it, or are they?

No, that has just seemed to be the primary mechanism of the current outbreak. But hasn’t typically been the case with monkeypox. that’s why I’m wondering if the kids are household contacts have other cases. I can certainly see parent and child could have enough close contact for it to pass.

Just to clarify, I’m currently asking about kids not because I’m feeling super concerned about that at this point, but because I have an adult child who is really concerned about the whole thing and I reassured them the other day that it was not generally spreading throughout the entire population but explained what populations it was currently in, they brought up the kid thing and they were worried because kids were getting it.

[vonfirmath]

8 minutes ago, KSera said:

No, that has just seemed to be the primary mechanism of the current outbreak. But hasn’t typically been the case with monkeypox. that’s why I’m wondering if the kids are household contacts have other cases. I can certainly see parent and child could have enough close contact for it to pass.

Just to clarify, I’m currently asking about kids not because I’m feeling super concerned about that at this point, but because I have an adult child who is really concerned about the whole thing and I reassured them the other day that it was not generally spreading throughout the entire population but explained what populations it was currently in, they brought up the kid thing and they were worried because kids were getting it.

As of June 30, two pediatric cases had been detected globally.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-06-30/can-kids-get-monkeypox-health-experts-say-yes

[KSera]

8 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

As of June 30, two pediatric cases had been detected globally.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-06-30/can-kids-get-monkeypox-health-experts-say-yes

In the associated press story I quoted above from July 1, there were five at that point, but several of them were brand new. I don’t know if there have been any since. Fortunately it’s still seeming rare in kids, I’m just curious to know what the contact tracing has shown just to give us a better idea how this is spreading.

[vonfirmath]

4 minutes ago, KSera said:

In the associated press story I quoted above from July 1, there were five at that point, but several of them were brand new. I don’t know if there have been any since. Fortunately it’s still seeming rare in kids, I’m just curious to know what the contact tracing has shown just to give us a better idea how this is spreading.

Everything I have read is they are considering it primarily sexually transmitted at this point. But we know in general monkeypox can be transmitted in other manners and there is information we just won't get because they don't want to stigmatize those who have monkeypox/once it covers sexual stuff it is private information and none of our business.

 

[KSera]

48 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Everything I have read is they are considering it primarily sexually transmitted at this point. But we know in general monkeypox can be transmitted in other manners and there is information we just won't get because they don't want to stigmatize those who have monkeypox/once it covers sexual stuff it is private information and none of our business.

 

I feel like they’ve been pretty straightforward at this point about the sexual transmission and targeting vaccines at the populations most at risk currently, but I haven’t heard anything about how people are getting it who aren’t getting it that way. I know they probably don’t have much information yet, but even just knowing they were household contacts would be useful. Maybe that information will be forthcoming soon. 

[TexasProud]

2 hours ago, KSera said:

No, that has just seemed to be the primary mechanism of the current outbreak. But hasn’t typically been the case with monkeypox. that’s why I’m wondering if the kids are household contacts have other cases. I can certainly see parent and child could have enough close contact for it to pass.

Just to clarify, I’m currently asking about kids not because I’m feeling super concerned about that at this point, but because I have an adult child who is really concerned about the whole thing and I reassured them the other day that it was not generally spreading throughout the entire population but explained what populations it was currently in, they brought up the kid thing and they were worried because kids were getting it.

Ok, so basically what I told my husband is correct.

We shouldn't really worry about it ( ourselves, government entities are another matter). We are a monogamous couple, so our chances of getting it are practically nill at this point. Too many other things for me to worry about. 

[ktgrok]

19 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

YES.  YES.  YES.  This is the worst to feel like it is 2020 all over again.  

I just can't....I'm BARELY holding it together now, with one plague upon us. I can't do a second one. I just can't. 

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I just can't....I'm BARELY holding it together now, with one plague upon us. I can't do a second one. I just can't. 

I know right?  A pandemic with a side of another pandemic?  This sounds like a movie.

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, mommyoffive said:

I know right?  A pandemic with a side of another pandemic?  This sounds like a movie.

pretty sure we are living through multiple dystopian movies at once at this point

[Arcadia]

[mommyoffive]

Public health clinics running out of monkeypox vaccine as lines form and systems crash (msn.com)

[Ausmumof3]

11 hours ago, TexasProud said:

Ok, I am confused. I thought you could only got monkeypox by sexual contact or really, really close contact. So how are kids getting it, or are they?

Typically this is not necessarily true of monkeypox but it seems to be and it’s possible the virus has changed someway. It’s possible that it’s only being picked up in certain groups because they’re the only ones eligible for testing (but not super likely with so many cases). I am certainly not panicking (but I wasn’t about covid in the early days). It could become an issue for prison/aged care settings if it breaks out of the current group. Asymptomatic cases are unfortunately a concern

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monkeypox-outbreak-technical-briefings/investigation-into-monkeypox-outbreak-in-england-technical-briefing-3
 

I found the information here useful - not overly dismissive or overly sensationalised/panic inducing. I do think our opportunity to control it is slipping.

 

“There is considerable data lag. Of cases with information, 97% (681 out of 699) are in gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Trends in key epidemiological indicators from case questionnaires are stable, indicating transmission remains within the known high risk GBMSM group, although coverage of questionnaire data is now just 31%.

Where known, more than half had history of STI in the last year (54%, 233 out of 445); 30% (123) were living with HIV; 16% (67 out of 445) had one or no sexual partners, and 31% (134) had 10 or more sexual partners in the last 3 months. There have been 4 female cases and one child (under 16) in 2022 in England. Indications that transmission has moved outside the current network would be multiple cases in women or children. Despite potential uncertainty around ascertainment, there is no evidence of this in the UK at present.

Assessment (confidence): level 2(moderate).

Route of transmission

Whilst the primary reported route is through close or sexual contact, monkeypox virus has been detected in air and environmental samples in the hospital room of infected patients. There are no confirmed instances of airborne transmission. Limited household transmission has been described in the UK.

Assessment (confidence): transmitting primarily through close or sexual contact (moderate).

Severity

Observed clinical severity

Approximately 10% of cases receive hospital care but this includes some cases admitted as unable to isolate at home. Antiviral therapy is an unreliable indicator at present. There are no reported deaths in the UK. In the 2022 global outbreak, 3 deaths have been reported from 6,027 cases. There is significant morbidity in the majority of people who are admitted to hospital for clinical care reasons, including complications due to secondary bacterial infection.

Assessment (confidence): in current population group, low mortality but significant morbidity (moderate). In wider population, insufficient data.

Virological characterisation

Outbreak cases are current in a distinct clade which has mutations of unknown significance. There is evidence suggestive of previous human transmission but not clear-cut evidence of adaptation for improved human transmission. There are no phenotypic data available for this clade to date.

Assessment (confidence): insufficient data.”

 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.science.org/content/article/why-the-monkeypox-outbreak-is-mostly-affecting-men-who-have-sex-with-men
 

I can’t remember whether I shared it already but this was a good article explaining how this virus could follow the spread pattern without specifically being an STI. Not sure if that still hold true now.

[mommyoffive]

US demand for monkeypox vaccines outstrips supply (msn.com)

"We're still having problems with availability of testing and vaccine supply, all these issues that we saw with Covid," Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told Kaiser Health News last week. "Now, the prospects for containment are receding quickly."

[SHP]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

US demand for monkeypox vaccines outstrips supply (msn.com)

"We're still having problems with availability of testing and vaccine supply, all these issues that we saw with Covid," Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told Kaiser Health News last week. "Now, the prospects for containment are receding quickly."

It's like we have learned nothing over the last couple of years 

[mommyoffive]

9 hours ago, SHP said:

It's like we have learned nothing over the last couple of years 

That is what I was at last night.  I can't even comprehend how we learned nothing from Covid.  It makes me so mad.   Like everything that everyone went through, all the deaths, all the stress the health care workers went through didn't teach us anything.     

[mommyoffive]

First case identified in my county.  Oh joy

[mommyoffive]

Fauci: Monkeypox outbreak needs to be taken more seriously as virus continues to spread (wisn.com)

[Arcadia]

US cases more than doubled from last week

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/22/first-monkeypox-cases-children-united-states/
 

2 paediatric cases in the US. Believed to have been spread by household contact.

[Arcadia]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62279436.amp

”The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.

The classification is the highest alert that the WHO can issue and follows a worldwide upsurge in cases.

… More than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries, said WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

There had been five deaths so far as a result of the outbreak, he added.

There are only two other such health emergencies at present - the coronavirus pandemic and the continuing effort to eradicate polio.”

[wathe]

Unfortunately, I think that we've missed our chance to take control of this this.

I think that the number of known cases is just the tip of the iceberg.  I think that many cases are going unidentified, or are misidentified as something else - mpx can mimic may other viral infections: herpes, hand-foot-and-mouth (of which we've seen a tonne of lately), chicken pox, shingles, etc.  

Please don't quote this bit: The one confirmed mpx case that I've seen looked exactly like primary genital herpes; you could have knocked me over with a feather when the mpx culture came back positive. (I'd bet that most of my colleagues likely wouldn't have even considered sending for mpx, bc clinically it was herpes. Except it wasn't.)

[thewellerman]

@wathe Do you it is possible it has been transmitting for years and people just thought it was herpes? 

[Faith-manor]

And now polio. NYC had a polio case in an unvaxed individual. I worry about this starting to go around and overwhelming hospiyald. Anti-vax is strong in our area. Pur county has less than 75% of children vaxed for polio. My great nieces have been vaxed for exactly nothing. Not even tetanus. Something like polio if it starts raging among unvaxed persons could mutate and begin evading the current vaccine.

Mark and I were talking about how in all likelihood epidemics and pandemics are here to stay. This is the new "normal". What does the future look like? We have no idea. However, it does make sense to us to make it priority one to get the Alabama house more homestead worthy. It is a place where we can grow a lot of food, can be converted to off grid solar, and is large enough to hold all of our adult children and their spouses, the grandmothers, our grandchildren as well as us. Mark turns 59.5 in 18 months so he can access his 401K without tax penalty. We will probably withdraw enough to pay off the house, and dig a well so we aren't dependent on city water. I hate even thinking this way. But, current data would suggest that we are not returning to our former lifestyle any time soon.

The thing is, it doesn't have to be this way. Our leadership DOES know what will greatly improve the chances of tamping down outbreaks of dangerous viruses. They learned a lot this time around. But here is the deal. N.o.n.e. of them care. They only care about being re-elected and holding onto power. We have seen that half this country will not comply with public health safety measures. The end. They aren't going to go get a smallpox vaccine, or get their unvaxed kids a polio vaccine, or anything else. They aren't going to mask, or wash their hands more, or avoid large groups when asked to do so. They are not going to do "the dance" which is what must be done to make life move forward. So then it becomes up to us to figure out how to carve out a life for our kids in a world that is being brought down by climate change bringing us disease, famine, drought, and increasing numbers of devastating storms. I hate that this is the way it is. I am reading "Field Notes of a Catastrophe" by Elizabeth Kolbert, and it is clear that the point of no return has already been reached. We will have more viruses coming to us courtesy of ravaging rainforests, more natural disasters, more drought and famine.

Don't read the book unless you are steeled for it emotionally. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

[wathe]

1 hour ago, thewellerman said:

@wathe Do you it is possible it has been transmitting for years and people just thought it was herpes? 

Worldwide?  Probably not years, but maybe longer than we realize.

I think that providers in specialty clinics (sexual health clinics, or clinics that specialize in MSM health) would have noticed a trend pretty quickly.

It's community providers who will be likely to miss it, I think.  We see primary herpes in the ED from time to time, but not all that often - it's certainly not something we see every day.  I hadn't seen a case in at least a year. Walk-in clinics and primary care probably see a little more, but still not all that often, I think.  

Once mpx finds its way out of the MSM community and starts circulating more widely, we'll be in a lot more trouble.  I think that maybe we're already there.

 

 

[mommyoffive]

Monkeypox is global emergency, rapidly spreading: WHO (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

This freaks me out.  I guess because I am still worried about Covid.  And since at least at this point it seems like the 2 of them are spread more in different ways, now I have to worry about things that I wasn't worrying about with Covid.  Does that make sense?  I was not cut out to deal with 2 pandemics at the same time or back-to-back.  

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

This freaks me out.  I guess because I am still worried about Covid.  And since at least at this point it seems like the 2 of them are spread more in different ways, now I have to worry about things that I wasn't worrying about with Covid.  Does that make sense?  I was not cut out to deal with 2 pandemics at the same time or back-to-back.  

I’m not exactly freaking out but in many ways a potential surface transmission virus seems so much harder to me. Wearing a mask is actually pretty easy but having to sanitise and wash everything with outside contact really sucks. 
 

Does monkey pox at least give lasting immunity once you’ve had it? 

[mommyoffive]

18 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m not exactly freaking out but in many ways a potential surface transmission virus seems so much harder to me. Wearing a mask is actually pretty easy but having to sanitise and wash everything with outside contact really sucks. 
 

Does monkey pox at least give lasting immunity once you’ve had it? 

Yes.  I guess this is what I was trying to express.  It has been a hard day.  🙂     I remember cleaning everything in the start of Covid and having to worry about that.  It was such a relief when surface transmission was shown to not be how it was being spread really.  

[Corraleno]

I thought I had read at one point that previous vaccination against smallpox offered little to no protection because of waning immunity, but an article in the NYT refutes that, which may be of some comfort to those of us who had the smallpox vaccine, even if it was many decades ago:

"Many of the most vulnerable groups may already be protected. In one study, Dr. Slifka and his colleagues drew blood from 306 vaccinated volunteers, some of whom had been immunized decades earlier, including one who had been immunized 75 years before. Most of them maintained high levels of antibodies to smallpox.

In another study, Dr. Slifka and his colleagues showed that antibodies produced by even a single dose of the smallpox vaccine decline very slowly in the body, dropping to half after about 92 years.

Dr. Ferrucci and his colleagues at the N.I.H., as well as other teams, have also found that antibody levels persist for decades after vaccination. Some studies have found that other branches of the immune system also wane slowly, but antibodies produced from smallpox vaccination may be enough on their own to protect against monkeypox."

There was also a study during an outbreak in 2003:

"One way to study the vaccine’s effectiveness in people is to gather evidence during an outbreak. Dr. Slifka’s team did just that in 2003, when dozens of Americans became infected with monkeypox after being exposed to infected prairie dogs.

The researchers flew into Milwaukee and drew blood from 28 people who had been exposed to the infected prairie dogs. Of the eight people who had previously been vaccinated, five developed an average of three pus-filled blisters, compared with an average of 33 in those who were unvaccinated. The other three vaccinated individuals had no symptoms at all. “They didn’t even know they had been infected,” Dr. Slifka said.

Another study of that outbreak found that in a family of three, the previously vaccinated father developed just two monkeypox lesions compared with 200 in the unvaccinated mother. Their unvaccinated 6-year-old daughter had about 90 lesions and was in a coma for 12 days."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/health/monkeypox-vaccine-immunity.html

 

[Arcadia]

@Ausmumof3smallpox vaccination discontinued for the general public in 1972 for US, 1977 for Australia, 1971 for UK, 1982 for Singapore. Basically seniors and my generation would have been vaccinated but not those 30s and younger.

https://amp.france24.com/en/live-news/20220723-thailand-s-first-monkeypox-patient-found-after-fleeing-to-cambodia

“A Nigerian man who went on the run after becoming Thailand's first monkeypox case was found in Phnom Penh Saturday and taken to hospital, the Cambodian Health Ministry said.

The 27-year-old tourist -- who had overstayed his visa in Thailand -- was diagnosed with monkeypox in the resort city of Phuket on Monday, a Thai health official said.“

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m not exactly freaking out but in many ways a potential surface transmission virus seems so much harder to me. Wearing a mask is actually pretty easy but having to sanitise and wash everything with outside contact really sucks. 

My understanding was that Monkeypox requires more prolonged contact. I would expect it would be spreading to more groups by now if there was a lot of brief fomite transmission happening. I was a Covid grocery washer/quarantiner until after everyone but the youngest was vaccinated, but Monkeypox seems to me that I can just wash my hands after putting away groceries (as is always my routine now anyway) and it should be okay. I hope? Disinfecting groceries was the pits. 

[Ausmumof3]

5 hours ago, Arcadia said:

@Ausmumof3smallpox vaccination discontinued for the general public in 1972 for US, 1977 for Australia, 1971 for UK, 1982 for Singapore. Basically seniors and my generation would have been vaccinated but not those 30s and younger.

https://amp.france24.com/en/live-news/20220723-thailand-s-first-monkeypox-patient-found-after-fleeing-to-cambodia

“A Nigerian man who went on the run after becoming Thailand's first monkeypox case was found in Phnom Penh Saturday and taken to hospital, the Cambodian Health Ministry said.

The 27-year-old tourist -- who had overstayed his visa in Thailand -- was diagnosed with monkeypox in the resort city of Phuket on Monday, a Thai health official said.“

Yep. My older siblings have had it and have the scar to prove it but I haven’t.

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yep. My older siblings have had it and have the scar to prove it but I haven’t.

Hmmm.  I don't think I have a scar. Apparently UK parents were avoiding or apathetic about the vaccine by 1963, so maybe I didn't get it.

[Arcadia]

[freesia]

On 7/24/2022 at 8:23 AM, Laura Corin said:

Hmmm.  I don't think I have a scar. Apparently UK parents were avoiding or apathetic about the vaccine by 1963, so maybe I didn't get it.

Mine is more like a white spot on my left arm. I kind of have to twist the arm to see it and only know it’s there bc I remember talking about it with my mom as a kid and her pointing it out. 

[Arcadia]

On 7/24/2022 at 5:23 AM, Laura Corin said:

Hmmm.  I don't think I have a scar. Apparently UK parents were avoiding or apathetic about the vaccine by 1963, so maybe I didn't get it.

Mine looks exactly like this image but I forgot where on my arm it is now.

(source https://www.healthline.com/health/smallpox-vaccine-scar#vs-bcg-with-photo)

[Arcadia]

News from my county

https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/public-health-department-releases-new-data-showing-latino-gay-and-bisexual-men

“SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA. – The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department releases race and ethnicity of monkeypox cases to further strengthen critical outreach to those most impacted in the community. Among those diagnosed with monkeypox infection, a disproportionate number are among Latino and Hispanic men, similar to patterns seen in other jurisdictions. In Santa Clara County, 41 percent of cases are among Hispanic or Latino gay and bisexual men, as compared to 26 percent of Latinos in the population of Santa Clara County. Anyone can get monkeypox, however this outbreak currently is spreading mainly among men who have sex with men. The Public Health Department collects and analyzes the race and ethnicity of monkeypox cases to ensure resources and information are being shared where needed most.”

San Francisco https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/monkeypox-outbreak-san-francisco-latinos/2961203/?amp=1

“And in San Francisco, Latinos account for nealry 30% of all cases in the city, even though they make up only 15% of the population, according to the DPH data.

The city has reported 215 monkeypox cases as of Monday. Health officials have recommended community members protect themselves amid a limited supply of vaccine doses. On Tuesday, a clinic at San Francisco General Hospital had to close its doors because of a lack of supply. It is still unknown when the clinic will reopen.

Monkeypox spreads via close physical skin-on-skin contact that can occur during sexual interaction. It can also be transmitted by touching objects that have been in contact with someone that has monkeypox, as well as through respiratory secretions.”

[Ausmumof3]

It has been declared a Disease of National Significance by our CHO, for what that’s worth.

 

[Arcadia]

15 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

It has been declared a Disease of National Significance by our CHO, for what that’s worth.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/chief-medical-officers-statement-declaring-monkeypox-a-communicable-disease-incident-of-national-significance
“Most cases of MPX in Australia have been among people aged 21 to 40 years. The experience internationally and in Australia to date is most cases have been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

… The National Medical Stockpile has available stock of MPX treatments, such as antivirals, for states and territories to access on request.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has updated clinical guidance on vaccination against monkeypoxusing the ACAM2000 vaccine to include the use of MVA-BN vaccine to prepare for supplies of the third-generation vaccine being made available in Australia.”

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/atagi-clinical-guidance-on-vaccination-against-monkeypox

”ATAGI clinical guidance on vaccination against Monkeypox as PDF - 443 KB, 18 pages https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/07/atagi-clinical-guidance-on-vaccination-against-monkeypox-atagi-clinical-guidance-on-vaccination-against-monkeypox.pdf

Publication date: 

26 July 2022

Last updated: 

28 July 2022”

[Arcadia]

@KSera@kbutton@TexasProud

The national stockpile number was way off 🤦‍♀️
https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-infectious-diseases-a96bc16dab10013a2decd585a5449899

“The sluggish federal response has drawn comparisons to the initial days of the COVID-19 outbreak, but experts have pointed out that the U.S. had one huge advantage: more than 1 million doses of vaccine in the strategic national stockpile.

But it turned out U.S. officials had only about 2,000 doses on hand when the outbreak was first identified in May. Shipping and regulatory delays have meant only a portion of the rest were deployed.

“There’s not enough doses,” said Dr. Perry Halkitis, a public health specialist at Rutgers University. “I think with some quicker action on the part of federal government we might not be in the situation we are now.”

The doses previously shipped came from a separate facility in Denmark that already had FDA clearance. Another 786,000 doses made at a newly opened Bavarian Nordic facility were awaiting the U.S. certification announced Wednesday.

The FDA requires inspections of all vaccine manufacturing plants to assure safety, sterility and consistency of production.

U.S. officials announced orders this month for 5 million more doses, though most of those are not expected to arrive until next year”

[vonfirmath]

1 minute ago, Arcadia said:

@KSera@kbutton@TexasProud

The national stockpile number was way off 🤦‍♀️
https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-infectious-diseases-a96bc16dab10013a2decd585a5449899

“The sluggish federal response has drawn comparisons to the initial days of the COVID-19 outbreak, but experts have pointed out that the U.S. had one huge advantage: more than 1 million doses of vaccine in the strategic national stockpile.

But it turned out U.S. officials had only about 2,000 doses on hand when the outbreak was first identified in May. Shipping and regulatory delays have meant only a portion of the rest were deployed.

“There’s not enough doses,” said Dr. Perry Halkitis, a public health specialist at Rutgers University. “I think with some quicker action on the part of federal government we might not be in the situation we are now.”

The doses previously shipped came from a separate facility in Denmark that already had FDA clearance. Another 786,000 doses made at a newly opened Bavarian Nordic facility were awaiting the U.S. certification announced Wednesday.

The FDA requires inspections of all vaccine manufacturing plants to assure safety, sterility and consistency of production.

U.S. officials announced orders this month for 5 million more doses, though most of those are not expected to arrive until next year”

?? If there were supposed to be 1 million doses and there were only 2000 -- what happened to the rest?

[Arcadia]

7 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

?? If there were supposed to be 1 million doses and there were only 2000 -- what happened to the rest?

No idea. According to https://aspr.hhs.gov/SNS/Pages/JYNNEOS-Distribution.aspx, 

Jurisdiction	Total Allocation	Total Requested	Total Shipped (Doses)
All Jurisdictions	333,218	321,615	310,385

[KSera]

35 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

@KSera@kbutton@TexasProud

The national stockpile number was way off 🤦‍♀️
https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-infectious-diseases-a96bc16dab10013a2decd585a5449899

“The sluggish federal response has drawn comparisons to the initial days of the COVID-19 outbreak, but experts have pointed out that the U.S. had one huge advantage: more than 1 million doses of vaccine in the strategic national stockpile.

But it turned out U.S. officials had only about 2,000 doses on hand when the outbreak was first identified in May. Shipping and regulatory delays have meant only a portion of the rest were deployed.

“There’s not enough doses,” said Dr. Perry Halkitis, a public health specialist at Rutgers University. “I think with some quicker action on the part of federal government we might not be in the situation we are now.”

The doses previously shipped came from a separate facility in Denmark that already had FDA clearance. Another 786,000 doses made at a newly opened Bavarian Nordic facility were awaiting the U.S. certification announced Wednesday.

The FDA requires inspections of all vaccine manufacturing plants to assure safety, sterility and consistency of production.

U.S. officials announced orders this month for 5 million more doses, though most of those are not expected to arrive until next year”

That’s so confusing. I know there hasn’t been nearly enough despite the fact that the public was led to believe we had plenty, but it certainly seems far more than 2000 doses have been deployed. Maybe most of the doses were ones that were already released from the stock pile?

[Arcadia]

1 minute ago, KSera said:

That’s so confusing. I know there hasn’t been nearly enough despite the fact that the public was led to believe we had plenty, but it certainly seems far more than 2000 doses have been deployed. Maybe most of the doses were ones that were already released from the stock pile?

It seems there were only 2000 doses on hand in May according to the AP news link, there were 333,218 doses allocated on July 22nd according to the National Stockpile page . Either way far from the 1 million assumed in the national stockpile. 
 

Jurisdiction	Total Allocation	Total Requested	Total Shipped (Doses)
All Jurisdictions	333,218	321,615	310,385
Alabama	1,283	1,283	1,282
Alaska	120	102	102
American Samoa	0	0	0
Arizona	3,495	3,613	3,613
Arkansas	724	20	100
California - Los Angeles	22,982	22,982	22,982
California - Other	34,629	38,229	38,229
Colorado	5,865	6,205	4,523
Connecticut	1,778	1,804	2,004
Delaware	413	415	415
District of Columbia	13,255	13,939	13,938
Florida	36,383	36,800	31,291
Georgia	13,876	5,985	5,984
Guam	4	0	0
Hawaii	1,584	1,512	1,512
Idaho	420	440	440
Illinois - Chicago	18,709	20,849	18,707
Illinois - Other	7,392	7,458	7,371
Indiana	3,185	3,232	2,610
Iowa	649	661	660
Kansas	494	216	216
Kentucky	1,630	366	366
Louisiana	2,022	2,082	2,082
Maine	271	311	310
Maryland	6,405	6,519	6,519
Massachusetts	9,231	9,431	7,007
Michigan	3,398	1,806	1,806
Minnesota	2,758	2,208	3,176
Mississippi	591	601	416
Missouri	2,427	1,140	246
Montana	150	48	48
Nebraska	411	421	273
Nevada	1,939	711	668
New Hampshire	327	327	262
New Jersey	5,449	5,509	5,509
New Mexico	956	956	373
New York- New York City	44,604	44,604	44,604
New York - Other	16,426	17,635	21,418
North Carolina	4,548	4,608	4,607
North Dakota	95	65	65
Northern Mariana Islands	1	0	0
Ohio	4,249	4,253	4,252
Oklahoma	1,435	336	336
Oregon	3,428	3,438	3,438
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia	2,370	2,370	1,020
Pennsylvania - Other	5,219	5,251	5,251
Puerto Rico	1,227	1,267	750
Rhode Island	954	536	536
South Carolina	1,513	1,547	1,547
South Dakota	151	47	47
Tennessee	2,380	2,102	2,101
Texas - Houston	5,324	5,324	5,324
Texas - Other	15,440	15,636	15,636
Tribal Entities	13	0	0
US Virgin Islands	8	100	100
Utah	2,289	2,309	2,309
Vermont	86	86	85
Virginia	7,113	7,239	7,239
Washington	7,166	3,550	3,550
West Virginia	427	267	267
Wisconsin	1,486	803	803
Wyoming	61	61	60

[vonfirmath]

Did they ever inventory the national stockpile to make sure stuff was still there?  This opens up other questions as well.