Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #103

[ilovewings]

That's because we always, always, always wait too long to take action. We knew a winter wave was coming but didn't bother to take action until it was already in progress. Instead of masking up and limiting gatherings in advance, we wait until the you-know-what hits the fan. jmo

When the CDC said those who are vaccinated can take their masks off- that was it- everyone went unmasked and took that as a signal that we could get back to normal living. So people went to concerts, sporting events and all of that- including indoor dining and bars and that was in Michigan as well as Florida and other places. So yeah, it is hitting the fan!!!!

 

[MimosaMornings]

When the CDC said those who are vaccinated can take their masks off- that was it- everyone went unmasked and took that as a signal that we could get back to normal living. So people went to concerts, sporting events and all of that- including indoor dining and bars and that was in Michigan as well as Florida and other places. So yeah, it is hitting the fan!!!!

Weddings with no masks, eating, dancing, etc. Yep, that’s a heck of a dream wedding.

Church services with no masks, elbow to elbow, singing, hugging, etc.

I was sad to see a local pastor of a small church pass away recently from Covid. On the church’s website there were prayers for several church members with Covid plus 4 funerals!

 

[MimosaMornings]

Schools, classrooms close doors again in latest Covid surge (nbcnews.com)

As schools brace for another rise in Covid cases, driven by the omicron variant, some are closing their doors again ahead of the winter break.

As schools brace for the rapid rise in omicron cases amid delta’s continued onslaught and the onset of flu season, some are closing their doors once again and moving back to online learning ahead of the holiday break.

Prince George’s County in Maryland on Friday became the first major school district to announce that all students will transition to remote learning as cases surge. The shift to online learning will begin Monday, four days before the start of winter break, and continue for two weeks after school resumes on Jan. 3.

"Educators, administrators and support staff must be able to deliver in-person instruction and other activities in conditions that prioritize their own health, as well as the wellbeing of the school community," Monica Goldson, the CEO of the county’s public schools, said in a letter to the community. "The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to do so, causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day."...

Are these schools with mask mandates? Our elementary school has had very few positives since early August and if close contact you are only out 3 days and then test to go back. Is it spreading quicker in the upper grades versus lower?

 

[CharlestonGal]

I agree but as other research has pointed out, it's only because we live in incredibly large, incredibly dense and incredibly interconnected groups, that we're so affected by this natural process of virus mutations. Humans spent millions of years not doing that.

Some people might get the bright idea that the way to eliminate pandemics and encourage our modern lifestyle, is to exterminate all creatures that we might catch a virus from. I wouldn't put it past future generations, unfortunately.

JMO

Agreed. If this outbreak had happened in China 100 years ago this scenario would look much different. It would have taken much, much longer to spread globally (if it ever did). We don't live in that kind of world anymore. Now, in the weeks it takes to identify a new contagious respiratory virus outbreak, you can be certain it is already everywhere in the world. And the only thing driving this kind of thing is human behavior. It is us, the hosts, who have changed the fabric of the landscape in favor of viral evolution. In essence, we have stacked the deck against ourselves.

In a way, really, what's happening now is the natural and expected order of things. jmo

 

[Arkay]

I agree but as other research has pointed out, it's only because we live in incredibly large, incredibly dense and incredibly interconnected groups, that we're so affected by this natural process of virus mutations. Humans spent millions of years not doing that.

Some people might get the bright idea that the way to eliminate pandemics and encourage our modern lifestyle, is to exterminate all creatures that we might catch a virus from. I wouldn't put it past future generations, unfortunately.

JMO

I can't see humans even attempting to eradicate all potentially virus-carrying creatures. Every creature can give humans some kind of disease. People got the human version of mad cow disease from eating cow brains, cats are dangerous to pregnant women, birds carry avian flu, etc. It's not just bats and bushmeat.

I definitely do agree that our interconnected lives and the ability to fly around the world has put humankind in a position to encroach on animals that are outside of our natural environments. And I agree with @CharlestonGal that our modern lifestyle has brought together, in markets and zoos, species that live on different continents and would never normally interact. In the days of the explorers, animals from different lands were transported by ship to foreign continents, but not to the degree that we have now.

However, humans used to have a much more intimate connection with animals in the flesh that we no longer have. We buy our food in supermarkets instead of hunting and slaughtering these animals ourselves. People all through history have died of many a virus or bacterial infection from animals, like the Black Death stemming from fleas on shipboard rats. They didn't know about germs and the microscopic world and certainly didn't have vaccines or refrigeration in older times. But others diseases were localized to each community. Even among hunter-gatherers and other nomads, they weren't flying to other continents.

Still very disheartening. The Spanish Flu traveled worldwide due to soldiers in World War I, and they didn't have vaccines as we do, so we hoped to have conquered Covid by now. Here in NYC things are shutting down again, and even though I'm triple-vaxed, it's really a mental and emotional challenge to be still going through this.

MOO

 

[CharlestonGal]

Something strange is happening in Michigan. They have a similar number of new cases to New Jersey and Massachusetts (~7,000) yet the number of deaths yesterday in Michigan was 140, the number of deaths in Massachusetts was only 46, and New Jersey was only 16.

The previous highest peak in Michigan was 291,000 actively infected in April 2021. Today's number of currently infected is a whopping 440,000. I fear their healthcare system is well beyond it's ability to cope and people are dying because of it. jmo

Michigan COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

 

[Satchie]

I can't see humans even attempting to eradicate all potentially virus-carrying creatures. Every creature can give humans some kind of disease. People got the human version of mad cow disease from eating cow brains, cats are dangerous to pregnant women, birds carry avian flu, etc. It's not just bats and bushmeat.

I definitely do agree that our interconnected lives and the ability to fly around the world has put humankind in a position to encroach on animals that are outside of our natural environments. And I agree with @CharlestonGal that our modern lifestyle has brought together, in markets and zoos, species that live on different continents and would never normally interact. In the days of the explorers, animals from different lands were transported by ship to foreign continents, but not to the degree that we have now.

However, humans used to have a much more intimate connection with animals in the flesh that we no longer have. We buy our food in supermarkets instead of hunting and slaughtering these animals ourselves. People all through history have died of many a virus or bacterial infection from animals, like the Black Death stemming from fleas on shipboard rats. They didn't know about germs and the microscopic world and certainly didn't have vaccines or refrigeration in older times. But others diseases were localized to each community. Even among hunter-gatherers and other nomads, they weren't flying to other continents.

Still very disheartening. The Spanish Flu traveled worldwide due to soldiers in World War I, and they didn't have vaccines as we do, so we hoped to have conquered Covid by now. Here in NYC things are shutting down again, and even though I'm triple-vaxed, it's really a mental and emotional challenge to be still going through this.

MOO

I hope you're right.

I like the phrase 'take what you want and pay for it': IMO there's always a cost to what we do, individually and/or collectively, just sometimes it's hidden for a while. Sometimes it takes time to figure out what's worth the cost. For example, it took a couple of world wars for people to get really focussed on preventing those...just waxing philosophical this morning.

 

[indicolite22]

While we observe an explosion of Omicron cases in the UK, here on Europe's perifery (not literally) the variant's presence has just been detected. We've been coming down from the biggest Delta wave for a month now, luckily with fewer deaths than last winter (no doubt due to vaccines). It looks like Omicron might become a problem in a couple of weeks (or sooner).

 

[jjenny]

"Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown."

Netherlands 'going into lockdown again' to curb omicron - ABC News

 

[CharlestonGal]

I hope you're right.

I like the phrase 'take what you want and pay for it': IMO there's always a cost to what we do, individually and/or collectively, just sometimes it's hidden for a while. Sometimes it takes time to figure out what's worth the cost. For example, it took a couple of world wars for people to get really focussed on preventing those...just waxing philosophical this morning.

Air travel is the culprit here, if you think about it. What a marvelous and luxurious thing it is to be on one side of the world in the morning and the other side of the world when you go to bed that night. It's just so fantastic.

Until a virus comes along for the ride. And as you said, the bill comes due. Nothing is without cost. jmo

 

[MrX]

When the CDC said those who are vaccinated can take their masks off- that was it- everyone went unmasked and took that as a signal that we could get back to normal living. So people went to concerts, sporting events and all of that- including indoor dining and bars and that was in Michigan as well as Florida and other places. So yeah, it is hitting the fan!!!!

Recalling that time, I think that was more about giving cover to certain Governors. Most of the country had gone back to normal, but some places (Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, etc.) had invested so much political capital into restrictions that they needed help in order to pull the plug. I'm very interested to see if we get a repeat of last year, when people upped sticks from NYC, Chicago and Seattle and moved to Tampa, Dallas and Phoenix. I'm sure many thought the worst was over, never to be repeated, but new closures on Broadway show that, in some places, this will never end.

 

[Sundog]

Agreed. If this outbreak had happened in China 100 years ago this scenario would look much different. It would have taken much, much longer to spread globally (if it ever did). We don't live in that kind of world anymore. Now, in the weeks it takes to identify a new contagious respiratory virus outbreak, you can be certain it is already everywhere in the world. And the only thing driving this kind of thing is human behavior. It is us, the hosts, who have changed the fabric of the landscape in favor of viral evolution. In essence, we have stacked the deck against ourselves.

In a way, really, what's happening now is the natural and expected order of things. jmo

Except for gain-of-function research. That is definitely not the natural and expected order of things, and can be avoided by the U.S. if we eliminate funding for this kind of research.

 

[indicolite22]

Something strange is happening in Michigan. They have a similar number of new cases to New Jersey and Massachusetts (~7,000) yet the number of deaths yesterday in Michigan was 140, the number of deaths in Massachusetts was only 46, and New Jersey was only 16.

The previous highest peak in Michigan was 291,000 actively infected in April 2021. Today's number of currently infected is a whopping 440,000. I fear their healthcare system is well beyond it's ability to cope and people are dying because of it. jmo

Michigan COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

Possible explanation for the higher number of deaths in Michigan: only about 56% are fully vaccinated in Michigan compared to 70% in New Jersey and nearly 74% in Massachusetts.

 

[CharlestonGal]

This is not good. Bars and restaurants in London are voluntarily closing by their own choice, due to sick staff and lack of patrons. They simply can't sustain themselves. Unfortunately, this time they do not have support and funding from the government like they did during government mandated shut downs.

"People are really scared," said Redford, who had been planning to open two new locations in 2022. "Like really, really scared."

UK Covid: London bars and restaurants shut down as Omicron rips through the nation - CNN

 

[Chelly]

Merry Christmas, we thought that we could make plans this year. Nope. We are staying home, alone, again. Vaccinated x 3 for both of us, but that doesn't seem to matter much for people who are extreme high risk.

We have three close friends who currently have Covid, two were Vaccinated. One was not.

Agree with your decision to stay home alone over the holidays. That is what I will be doing, again. My neighbors and I are high risk (elderly....GROAN, I hate that word). Five of them recently had COVID. Two were admitted to hospital, another two were very ill, but choose not to be hospitalized. One of them displayed no symptoms, except being crabby as heck because she had to quarantine for two weeks. They all had been vaccinated twice, but had been "playing chicken with COVID"...going to social events, not wearing masks. I think the booster is important. Equally important is not letting our guard down now. Just too risky.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Possible explanation for the higher number of deaths in Michigan: only about 56% are fully vaccinated in Michigan compared to 70% in New Jersey and nearly 74% in Massachusetts.

Excellent hypothesis. I'm off to see what kind of data I can find about vaccinated vs unvaccinated deaths in Michigan. Thanks for the idea!

 

[IceIce9]

Where was this? In my area, once school went back in Sept 2020, a child only has to stay home if they test positive.

Weren't children being tested, instead of being kept home for two weeks because of a possible exposure?

That maked no sense to me.

Different school districts have different protocols. This is in Indiana.

The clinic where I was working had many patients requesting doctor’s notes stating they had to be off work for two weeks when their kids had been exposed to COVID, so they could give them to their employer.

 

[Chelly]

When the CDC said those who are vaccinated can take their masks off- that was it- everyone went unmasked and took that as a signal that we could get back to normal living. So people went to concerts, sporting events and all of that- including indoor dining and bars and that was in Michigan as well as Florida and other places. So yeah, it is hitting the fan!!!!

@ilovewings Were the folks at the hair salon masked up today?

 

[CharlestonGal]

China and Russia are about to have a big problem.

"COVID-19 vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and China's Sinopharm, as well as the Russian-made Sputnik V, were found to provide little or no protection against the newly emerging Omicron variant, according to a study out this week."

The UK's Omicron warning for America

 

[jjenny]

China and Russia are about to have a big problem.

"COVID-19 vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and China's Sinopharm, as well as the Russian-made Sputnik V, were found to provide little or no protection against the newly emerging Omicron variant, according to a study out this week."

The UK's Omicron warning for America

Russia already has a big problem with delta. China managed to keep covid cases very low.
As for US, glad to see Moderna still does well, the best of the three vaccine we use (I had Moderna). But it still drops substantially.