https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html
metmike: Getting vaccinated is still the best way to help provide protection, especially from a severe case and death.
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/u-s-faces-a-double-coronavirus-surge-as-omicron-variant-advances/
The new omicron coronavirus mutant speeding around the world may bring another wave of chaos, threatening to further stretch hospital workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend holiday plans for the second year in a row.
The White House on Wednesday insisted there was no need for a lockdown because vaccines are widely available and appear to offer protection against the worst consequences of the virus. But even if omicron proves milder on the whole than delta, it may disarm some of the lifesaving tools available and put immune-compromised and elderly people at particular risk as it begins a rapid assault on the United States.
“Our delta surge is ongoing and, in fact, accelerating. And on top of that, we’re going to add an omicron surge,” said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School.
“That’s alarming, because our hospitals are already filling up. Staff are fatigued,” leaving limited capacity for a potential crush of COVID-19 cases “from an omicron wave superimposed on a delta surge.”
Most likely, he and other experts said at a news briefing Tuesday, an omicron surge is already under way in the United States, with the latest mutant coronavirus outpacing the nation’s ability to track it.
Based on specimens collected last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said omicron accounted for about 3% of genetically-sequenced coronaviruses nationally. Percentages vary by region, with the highest — 13% — in the New York/New Jersey area.
But Harvard experts said these are likely underestimates because omicron is moving so fast that surveillance attempts can’t keep up.
Globally, more than 75 countries have reported confirmed cases of omicron. In the United States, 36 states have detected the variant. Meanwhile, delta is surging in many places, with hot spots in New England and the upper Midwest. The five states with the highest two-week rolling average of cases per 100,000 people are New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Michigan, Minnesota and Vermont.
Universities are abruptly closing classrooms during finals week with infections multiplying at a fast rate. Both t he NBA and NHL have had to postpone games, and the NFL had its worst two-day outbreaksince the start of the pandemic, with dozens of players infected.
PLEASE GET VACCINATED....DON'T BE A VICTIM....... of the disease or the intelligence stealing taking place with disinformation!!!! If using a mask, wear one that actually works.....N95!!
The vaccine effectiveness starts wearing off at 6 months........just like flu vaccines so PLEASE GET YOUR BOOSTER SHOT too........I did.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/75252/#75261
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/75252/#75262
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/78087/#78098
Find this data here:
https://coronavirus.1point3acres.com/en
COVID data for YOUR county
Started by metmike - Dec. 22, 2021, 5:05 p.m.
Times like this, with Christmas around the corner and Omicron spreading at a mind boggling rate are evidence of how important getting vaccinated is to having more freedom in your life.
Unvaccinated people, if they live in any of the orange or red shaded areas below should NOT go into any places that have a lot of people without wearing an N95 mask.
Omicron is so dang contagious, that N95 masks may not be as effective as with other virus's.
Fully vaccinated people, that includes having their booster shot(I got mine last month) have no restrictions but those that are most vulnerable can also wear an N95 mask for extra protection in high risk places if they want.
If you haven't had a shot in 8 months, you are NOT fully protected but still have some protection. You should wear an N95 mask in these high risk places.
The more shots you've had.......... the more freedom that you have to go to, especially high risk places/environments.
Whether you were smart and decided to get the shots or your own or were mandated/forced/coerced to get the shots by your employer.......same affect. You have MORE freedoms and everybody around you is safer too.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
I'll be going to Detroit for the annual Christmas visit to see my 96 year old dad in his assisted living facility next week from Dec 26-30th.
They are in lockdown mode at his facility because the COVID rates are pretty high in Wayne County MI.
So they will be window visits.
We always play chess for several hours each day while there. I spot him my queen and he holds his own but has been fading a bit in recent years.
Regardless he's extraordinarily rare, as a 96 year old person to still play skillful chess.
In 2020, it was window chess too. I sit or stand outside his window and he sets the chess board up and I tell him what moves to make for me on the chess board.
But this is mid Winter for the first time. There's a chance of rain/snow in Detroit every day next week too.
I'll need to wear a couple pairs of long johns and bundle up with the maximum in Winter weather clothing!
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.
The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals.
The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection.
READ MORE: Pfizer confirms COVID pill’s results, effectiveness against omicron
An antiviral pill from Merck also is expected to soon win authorization. But Pfizer’s drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
“The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it’s oral. It checks all the boxes,” said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic. “You’re looking at a 90% decreased risk of hospitalization and death in a high-risk group — that’s stunning.”
The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s drug for adults and children ages 12 and older with a positive COVID-19 test and early symptoms who face the highest risks of hospitalization. That includes older people and those with conditions like obesity and heart disease. Children eligible for the drug must weigh at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms).
The pills from both Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective against omicron because they don’t target the spike protein where most of the variant’s worrisome mutations reside.
Pfizer currently has 180,000 treatment courses available worldwide, with roughly 60,000 to 70,000 allocated to the U.S. Federal health officials are expected to ration early shipments to the hardest hit parts of the country. Pfizer said the small supply is due to the manufacturing time — currently about nine months. The company says it can halve production time next year.
The U.S. government has agreed to purchase enough Paxlovid to treat 10 million people. Pfizer says it’s on track to produce 80 million courses globally next year, under contracts with the U.K., Australia and other nations.
Health experts agree that vaccination remains the best way to protect against COVID-19. But with roughly 40 million American adults still unvaccinated, effective drugs will be critical to blunting the current and future waves of infection.
metmike: I agree with this view. Omicron could get us to herd immunity in just a few months!!!
Hundreds more U.S. flights canceled on Christmas Day due to Omicron
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-delta-cancel-holiday-flights-omicron-covid-19/
United, Delta and other U.S. airlines have canceled more than 950 flights for Christmas Day, after canceling over 600 Christmas Eve flights the day before, as a surge in COVID-19 cases impacts their staff. The cancellations came as the Transportation Safety Administration said the number of people traveling for the holiday is returning to pre-pandemic levels.
"The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation," a United Airlines spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. "As a result, we've unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport."
Real-time flight tracking data from FlightAware showed 951 flights within, to and from the U.S canceled as of Saturday afternoon. Delta listed 309 flight cancellations, United had 240, Jet Blue had 123 and American Airlines had 92.
From your article
"The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation," a United Airlines spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
I guess that firing 600 employees who didn't vaccinate was not a solution
United Airlines Is Firing Workers Over Vaccine Noncompliance - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The airline also said that 99 percent of its U.S. work force of 67,000 had been vaccinated.
COVID data for YOUR county
looking at the map,... look east of the mississippi river. more cases in the north. fewer cases in the south. weather is probably a bigger factor than policy.
and all those people in montana go to arizona for the winter. and they tend to be older and have more health problems.
on a personal note... thru all this, i have only known of 1 person who died after getting covid. he was 90 years old with multiple severe health problems.
Thanks bear. I know several and they were all around my age (66) and younger.
I've also known quite a few that got COVID and had symptoms that lasted for a couple of months.
My older son at 32 got extremely sick.
102 fever for 7 days and slept 21 hours a day.
A couple of weeks after he was recovered and back at work, he said that he felt like he weighed 500 lbs(he's lean).
His sense of smell and appetite were gone for 3 months.
The same level of sickness probably would have killed my wife and maybe me.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211013114112.htm
I .
should note that he got COVID 13 months ago, before vaccines.
My 96 year old dad got COVID earlier this month. Fortunately, he had 2 shots and the booster. He got the monoclonal antibody infusion the day after testing positive.
For him, it was like a mild cold!
Over in just a few days.
He says that he’s never had the flu in his life and before last year, he never received a flu vaccine!
I never remember him getting sick from anything.
Guess that powerful immune system is why he’s made it to 96!
We’ve played 9 games of chess this week up here in Detroit. His mind is still working well too!
I would venture a guess that he probably had mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox when he was young?
I'll bet that you're right about all those diseases cutworm but I don't know for sure.
https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-history/developments-by-year
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056803.htm
https://www.healthywomen.org/created-with-support/the-dark-days-before-vaccines
Measles is now resurgent in the United States and many other countries. Historical amnesia is partly to blame.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/cannot-forget-world-before-vaccines
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18000199/
Results: A greater than 92% decline in cases and a 99% or greater decline in deaths due to diseases prevented by vaccines recommended before 1980 were shown for diphtheria, mumps, pertussis, and tetanus. Endemic transmission of poliovirus and measles and rubella viruses has been eliminated in the United States; smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. Declines were 80% or greater for cases and deaths of most vaccine-preventable diseases targeted since 1980 including hepatitis A, acute hepatitis B, Hib, and varicella. Declines in cases and deaths of invasive S pneumoniae were 34% and 25%, respectively.
Conclusions: The number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases is at an all-time low; hospitalizations and deaths have also shown striking decreases.
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The week before Christmas I tested positive Covid 19.
Symptoms were lite and business as usual after 5-6 days.
I asked the pharmacists ( who administered the test) if the test results would indicate which covid I might have.
He said no ,they dont delve that deeply into the DNA.
SO, where does the "mutant" frequency information come from? I doubt they retest my swab for that information after they feed me what they want. Hmmmmm !
John
John to summarize where we are at currently. 12 months go, here is Biden...."I will not shut down the economy, I will not shut down our country, I will shut down the virus." Yesterday he issued this...paraphrase....The fed gov cannot shut down the virus
John,
That's a mega profound question! I was just wondering the same thing.
https://www.prevention.com/health/a38580337/how-to-know-what-strain-of-covid-you-have/
It won’t be a slam-dunk diagnosis, but there may be some indication if you have one variant or the other, depending on your COVID-19 symptoms and vaccination status, Dr. Russo says.
If you’re fully vaccinated, it’s been at least two weeks since you’ve had a booster shot, and you still contract COVID-19, the odds are high that you have the Omicron variant, Dr. Russo says. “Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to be infected with Omicron than Delta anyway,” he says. “But that’s particularly true if you’ve been boosted—Omicron seems to be more resistant to vaccination.”
According to a recent CDC study, those symptoms may include:
But if you haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19, Omicron and Delta are likely to cause similar symptoms of COVID-19. Per the CDC, those include:
For the average-risk patient, it doesn’t really matter, Dr. Russo says. “At the end of the day, if you’re infected, you want to go ahead and monitor for more serious symptoms like shortness of breath and present to your healthcare provider, regardless of if you’re infected with Delta or Omicron,” he says. “For healthcare providers, symptoms and severity of illness usually drive treatment.”
There is one exception, though. “Certain monoclonal antibody treatments don’t work against Omicron,” Dr. Adalja says. He specifically cites the Eli Lilly monoclonal antibodies as being expected to be less effective against the variant, while GSK’s monoclonal antibody treatment is expected to do well against Omicron. “It’s important from a clinical perspective for someone who is high risk to know that information,” Dr. Adalja says.
Still, “getting that information within the needed timeframe may be challenging unless the diagnosis was via PCR and S-gene target failure occurred and that information was readily available to the provider,” Dr. Russo says. Basically, there are a lot of “ifs” involved. Given that Omicron is now the dominant strain of COVID-19, Dr. Adalja says that resources are likely to shift to allow for more production of GSK's monoclonal antibody treatment, just to be safe.
Overall, doctors say it’s not vital for you or most other COVID-19 patients to know what strain of the virus you have. However, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
John,
Glad to hear that your symptoms were so light and you recovered quickly.
My wife, Deb's main plater, Billy has been out over 2 weeks now with COVID and is still very sick.