Anything COVID related

For now, I'll take comfort in this:

  • Is this sub-variant as dangerous as Omicron?

The World Health Organization (WHO), which had classified Omicron as a “variant of concern”, does not at this stage distinguish between it and its BA.2 sub-lineage. For his part, Véran said that "as far as we know at the moment, it corresponds more or less to the characteristics we know about Omicron". It is not "a game changer" at this stage, added Véran in an attempt to reassure.

BA.2 is being closely studied by the scientific community, but there is as yet no precise data on its resistance to vaccines or the severity of the cases of Covid-19 it causes. Scientists are beginning to speak out on the subject, while remaining cautious.

Virologist Tom Peacock of Imperial College London tweeted that "very early observations from India and Denmark suggest there is no dramatic difference in severity compared to BA.1. This data should become more solid (one way or another) in the coming weeks.”

Peacock added that "there is likely to be minimal differences in vaccine effectiveness against BA.1 and BA.2. Personally, I'm not sure BA.2 is going to have a substantial impact on the current Omicron wave of the pandemic.

"Several countries are near, or even past the peak of BA.1 waves. I would be very surprised if BA.2 caused a second wave at this point. Even with slightly higher transmissibility this absolutely is not a Delta-Omicron change and instead is likely to be slower and more subtle," he predicted.



sprout said:

LaSalePute said:

 Children's immune systems are, for the most part, with the exception of some special individuals who for some reason or another have known weakened immune systems, strong enough to limit COVID to mild symptoms. 

 I don't think "strong enough" is the correct term, as cytokine storms are "too strong" of an immune response.

yeah, only 4 kids in NJ have died from covid this year...no reason to be concerned...while i don't know these stories, there are reports of kids who were otherwise healthy dying....so no need to be responsible and vaccinate and mask around kids...so what if a few die....no big deal....

(I'm being sarcastic)


Did everyone who got vaccinated with Essex County get a calendar and free Turtle Back Zoo pass?  I got mine.


jamie said:

Did everyone who got vaccinated with Essex County get a calendar and free Turtle Back Zoo pass?  I got mine.

We got the calendar. A bit late... but on the bright side, the other calendar we had just purchased supports our local bookstore.  

I think we were stiffed the Turtle Back Zoo pass! Or maybe I totally missed it being in the envelope. My kids have outgrown the zoo now anyway.


as of a few months ago, about 700 kids died from covid......


jamie said:

Did everyone who got vaccinated with Essex County get a calendar and free Turtle Back Zoo pass?  I got mine.

I did not.  However, I don't think they were offering any inducement other than being less likely to contract a serious case of COVID - 19 back when I got vaccinated at SEARS.


We received our calendar and zoo pass. I received my first shot last January. 


More confirmation that omicron is an example of how the COVID (and others) mRNA virus is a moving target. Some monoclonal antibodies are not showing efficacy against omicron and so they're getting pulled.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-f8cbfdb48f6c78aea16930b45af4e024?utm_medium=APHealthScience&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow


jamie said:

Did everyone who got vaccinated with Essex County get a calendar and free Turtle Back Zoo pass?  I got mine.

Ours came the other day.  It's been a long time since we've been to the zoo as our kids are grown, but we might check it out now.  (Vaxed at Sears in March/April and boostered there in November.)


This isn't good news. These studies have data that runs counter to the assumption that omicron would infect just about everyone left to infect and then we'd be inoculated.

I know I was hoping it might be true. Still don't want to get it though.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1487833014965055495?t=Aqt_2Q_OmK925ziFMRFjMQ&s=19


Pete:

The numbers I check every day continue to go in the right direction - often dramatically - from new case totals, to transmission rates, to hospitalizations.   That's the bottom line for me.  Studies or reports about variant's don't upset me much if they don't translate into facts on the ground. 


Good news for anyone who was worried about taking a medication authorized under emergency, rather than regular, authorization:

Moderna’s vaccine receives full FDA approval (WaPo)

Moderna’s vaccine, now known as Spikevax, was previously available under emergency use authorization and is the second coronavirus vaccine to get full FDA approval. Pfizer and BioNTech’s product was approved in August.

Ok, dialing back the sarcasm a bit -- I know we all know that the majority of people who claimed it was the "emergency authorization" that scared them off from getting vaccinated were probably lying. Still, here's to hoping that, however unlikely, this does help push more people into getting vaccinated.

For employers who take their responsibility to keep their workplaces safe (and for those who, less altruistically but more self-interestedly simply recognize the economic downsides of a contagious disease running unchecked), this should also make it easier to require vaccinations.


bub said:

Pete:

The numbers I check every day continue to go in the right direction - often dramatically - from new case totals, to transmission rates, to hospitalizations.   That's the bottom line for me.  Studies or reports about variant's don't upset me much if they don't translate into facts on the ground. 

Facts on the ground? Unfortunately, it's more than just the number of infections. Here's a quote from this NPR report from 2 days ago highlighting the pattern in the U.S.:

It's fortunate because omicron is so contagious that even with a smaller proportion of patients getting very ill, the absolute numbers are still enormous. As a result, new hospital admissions have been higher than during any other surge.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/29/1075871661/omicron-symptoms-treatment-hospital

America's COVID numbers are appalling. We currently have almost 3 times the number of serious/critical cases than the next two hardest-hit countries (23,746 vs. 8,944-India or 8,318-Brazil) and those numbers drop off sharply after that.  Our death rate has been climbing significantly but the narrative is "this variant is mild." 


One to two or even three thousand deaths a day is horrifying.  As a nation, we have become inured to this and the worst part is that these deaths and hospitalizations are almost entirely preventable.   Why cannot the anti-vax talking heads and politicians see this?   It is a sad thing when you look at public issues entirely through the lens of a political agenda.   We Americans can be our own worst enemies.  


The only reasonable explanation I have heard for not getting the covid vaccine (aside from personal health issues such as allergy), is that a person wanted to see if the vaccine was safe and they were worried about long-term unknown problems from the vaccine.   But the answer to these concerns is that the vaccines are right now proven to be safe and effective and the vaccines are preventing hundreds of thousands of deaths and hospitalizations. in the US.    Perhaps we may in twenty years find a bad vaccine side effect, but right now, the vaccines are saving lives and serious illnesses.  And of course, the covid infection has already been shown to have bad long-term effects.  ....... I just have to vent sometimes.    


Pete:

The latest hospitalization total in NJ is less than half of what it was at the peak of Omicron.  This site shows how fast and dramatic the fall in the transmission rate has been across the country after its rapid rise due to Omicron.
https://covidestim.org/

Daily cases in NJ were over 38,000 earlier in the month.  They were a little over 2000 today. 

We're not out of the woods but don't avert you eyes to good new either.


its impossible to know all the real COVID numbers.  Most who do home tests will not be counted.  I know someone that may have had covid, but never bothered to test (mild symptoms).  I am disabled and can barely got out of the house..I'm not about to go get tested unless I have reason to suspect I have been exposed...I can't afford home tests when there isn't a specific reason to test (known exposure/symptoms) ...and I have medicare so I can't get them for free at the pharmacy....I will be getting the free ones delivered soon.....but that's all I got...so I could have had covid once or twice and never knew.....

also, many of the people in the hospital with covid are actually there for something else and the covid doesn't need hospital treatment.

and now they say the new variant is even more contagious than omicron.


Yes there are lots of uncounted cases.  But doesn't it make sense to infer that the uncounted cases have dropped in roughly the same proportion as the counted cases?


I am still angry at the anti-vaxers.    Most of us people in the US over a certain age have co-morbidities. But most of these co-morbidities are manageable.  So, the covid infection put them into more dangerous, unmanageable,  life-threatening territory that required hospitalization and perhaps death.   For talking heads, (who portend to be experts at everything), to say that these people did not die of covid is wrong, disingenuous, and dangerous........ I am still venting about irrational, ignorant, disingenuous, politically motivated TV, radio, and internet people who are killing people.  


I am mad at the anti-vaxxers because every time someone gets sick it provides an opportunity for new mutations. The longer they are sick, the more chances of mutations. (because the virus keeps multiplying in the body and every time they reproduce is another opportunity for a mutation)

New mutations mean we're in this hell that much longer.
And while we lucked out with Omicron in the sense that it led to less severe disease, that is by no means a given. As long as the host survives long enough to pass it on to others, a new mutation can keep infecting people ... I.e. there is no necessary evolutionary advantage to a milder disease.

Imagine something as transmissible as Omicron but much more severe ... where would we be right now?

So yeah... they piss me off. This isn't just a personal choice on many, many levels. It is a violent act against humanity.


from the star ledger

N.J. reports 22 COVID deaths, 1,987 cases. Death toll for January is most since early months of pandemic.

New Jersey finished January with 2,380 confirmed deaths, the most in one month since May 2020.



I just can’t imagine all the people we’ve lost. All the families and households that have lost loved ones. Even broken down to monthly or weekly, or just regional figures, they’re just too big for me as continuous totals. 
If you think of the Fates weaving tapestries of lives, there are a lot of broken threads, a lot of gaping holes. 


Looks like numbers spiked up in various places yesterday.  The number I'm seeing for the U.K. is so crazy high that I'm questioning the reporting, but we'll see.


I wish NJ could post how many hospitalizations and deaths were from the unvaccinated. 


jamie said:

I wish NJ could post how many hospitalizations and deaths were from the unvaccinated. 

A quick search did not find anything immediately useful but I did find this very dense CDC report.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm

TL;DR = Vaccination works


PeterWick said:

A quick search did not find anything immediately useful but I did find this very dense CDC report.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm

TL;DR = Vaccination works

This is fine - but I was hoping that it could be stated better publicly, then people could clearly see what their risk is to be unvaccinated.

Such as this graph:


This opinion piece examining the history of flu outbreaks urges caution amidst this optimistic period. It isn't just fear-mongering. This is recorded history in 1920 that looks similar to our latest pattern. We're getting fed up with all this pandemic disruption. Except, of course, if your family has been hit hard.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/opinion/covid-pandemic-end.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20220201&instance_id=51851&nl=updates-from-the-newsroom®i_id=95252703&segment_id=81314&te=1&user_id=65b6b50ee3bd341d0c8528b438d4b8aa


PeterWick said:

This opinion piece examining the history of flu outbreaks urges caution amidst this optimistic period. It isn't just fear-mongering. This is recorded history in 1920 that looks similar to our latest pattern. We're getting fed up with all this pandemic disruption. Except, of course, if your family has been hit hard.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/opinion/covid-pandemic-end.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20220201&instance_id=51851&nl=updates-from-the-newsroom®i_id=95252703&segment_id=81314&te=1&user_id=65b6b50ee3bd341d0c8528b438d4b8aa

The pandemic is over when Mother Nature says it is over.  Meanwhile, my guess is that most Americans are okay with the current risk level and we need to look for areas where we can ease restrictions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/01/yes-more-variants-may-emerge-future-thats-why-we-should-lift-restrictions-now/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F35ea959%2F61f96a5d9d2fda14d7172da2%2F5973127fade4e21a848a5d5e%2F17%2F72%2F61f96a5d9d2fda14d7172da2


I disagree with Dr. Wen's suggestion on a couple of different accounts. 

Between the vaccinated and those with at least temporary immunity due to recent infection, we should have enough population immunity to experience a lull in the coming months.

That statement seems to dismiss the lessons we were given but didn't learn 3 times alreadyEven using the word 'lull' suggests there will likely be a return to the need for more restrictions when a new variant arises. It isn't a guarantee the next ones (yeah, plural) will be less harmful which is why I still advocate for more protection of the whole population. We know that vaccinated people can contract and spread COVID for a short while before their immune system dispenses with it. There are still people who are unprotected without vaccination for whatever reasons. Not only are they at a higher risk of serious illness, but they'll also continue to serve as an available reservoir of incubators for future variants.

I also feel her overall tone is defeatist even though it sounds optimistic. On the whole, the American population is still not behaving like a people taking this threat seriously.


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