Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #105

[mickey2942]

That's actually tragic for her. My daughter never finished college. I swear she needs 2 classes of credits to finish. I really hope things work out for your daughter.

Well, you know "we" can't say a word. And honestly, this pandemic has been very stressful for kids. I guess part of the problem for her, on campus is how cruel and devisive it has been. Wear a mask? Get derided. Don't wear a mask, get just as much drama. The politics have been crazy. And school is on, then off, back and forth...
As omicron spreads, will colleges go online, require COVID booster shots? What we know

 

[KALI]

Supply shortages due to Covid? What are you doing, if anything?
As a small family, I have been stocking up a bit. Here in Southern California I have been to several major markets with empty shelves for items.
I'm not going crazy, but, I am buying extra non perishable items like rice and pasta on my shopping trips.
As a restaurant owner, we are experiencing unavailability of certain critical ingredients. As well as astounding price increases.
Sometimes, we just have to tell a customer, I'm sorry, we've had to take this off our menu because we cannot. Obtain it now.
Meat and Seafood are the hardest hit at the moment.
As a small business owner, my job is to predict future problems and try to get in front of them.
I can absolutely inform you, that restaurant owners are scrambling.
I would love to believe that our problems sourcing our food items will be over within 30 days.
However, I do not believe that for a minute.
As a family, we are not into hoarding.
We are okay with buying some back ups.

 

[Midgie2]

I had my 2nd chemo last Thursday. Have Breast cancer, second dx. I might have a UTI, or just bladder irritation from the chemo. But I’m TERRIFIED to even go get a test at the dr’s office right now. Some hospitals around here are canceling surgeries it’s so bad. Hubby had to travel this week for work.

 

[Lilibet]

Are they in only because they are sick with Covid or are the majority coming in for other reasons and just happen to test positive? Big difference.

this is in Canada but is precisely what you're describing

46% of those currently hospitalized with COVID in Ontario were admitted for other reasons: new data

We discussed this several days ago, and it really isn’t a big difference whether a patient arrived at a hospital because of covid or tested positive while there for something else…once they are there. They still have an infectious disease and have to be isolated from other patients in the hospital, creating a logistical nightmare. So if a patient comes in with a heart attack and is being treated in the cardiac ICU and tests positive, s/he has to be moved and cared for by nurses in the covid wing, so staff and other patients aren’t exposed. The 46% statistic is meaningless when push comes to shove in the hospital. All hospitalized covid cases need to be counted as covid hospitalizations because they impact everyone in the hospital…patients and staff. Focusing on whether a patient is hospitalized because of covid or not is just a way of implying that the case numbers in hospitals are being sneakily inflated by hospitals IMO.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Great. My daughter has dropped out of college. Since Spring Semester 2020, it has just been one drama after another on campus. They can't even commit to in person classes for next semester, which is supposed to start next week. Looks like she is not the only one...

College enrollment plummeted during the pandemic. This fall, it's even worse

I hope she will reconsider and re-enroll next semester. Things have been so difficult for students but it may have a lasting impact on her future.

 

[Lilibet]

I had my 2nd chemo last Thursday. Have Breast cancer, second dx. I might have a UTI, or just bladder irritation from the chemo. But I’m TERRIFIED to even go get a test at the dr’s office right now. Some hospitals around here are canceling surgeries it’s so bad. Hubby had to travel this week for work.

I’m so sorry @Midgie2. You have enough on your plate. I don’t know how old you are and I totally understand your fear, but it’s really important for seniors to get a UTI treated quickly to avoid serious complications like sepsis. I lost my MIL this way so I nag my friends. Maybe check with your doctor if you’re a senior. Sending hugs.

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=219075

 

[acutename]

So which is it? Positive or negative? Can't be both.

Q&A: the key questions that are still to be answered in Djokovic saga
...
Did Novak Djokovic actually test positive for Covid-19?
...
However on Monday, Der Spiegel claimed that when it scanned the QR code belonging to Djokovic’s PCR test at 1.19pm German time it said: “Test result Negative.” However an hour later, after another scan, it said: “Positive.”

Several others – including the New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg – reported the same findings, with Rothenberg also posting a photo of the two different results. When the Guardian tried on Tuesday it returned universally positive results.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Der Spiegel said it had found an anomaly in the timestamp for the digital version of Djokovic’s positive test which, it claimed, indicated the result may actually be from 26 December and not the 16th.
...

Mr Djokovic attended a panel discussion and a ceremony for the unveiling of a stamp in his honour in Belgrade on 16 December (before 20:00), which he posted about on Twitter the next day.

Djokovic Covid timeline: Did he break rules after testing positive? - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com › news

can anyone imagine playing in a tennis tournament with all this investigation and drama going on? And he could be deported at any moment? ... or not...

 

[LaborDayRN]

I had my 2nd chemo last Thursday. Have Breast cancer, second dx. I might have a UTI, or just bladder irritation from the chemo. But I’m TERRIFIED to even go get a test at the dr’s office right now. Some hospitals around here are canceling surgeries it’s so bad. Hubby had to travel this week for work.

I'm so sorry Midgie! Can you give your doctor a call and as to pick up a specimen collection container, collect your specimen at home and drop it off at the lab? I'd hate to see a possibly minor infection turn in to something very serious.

 

[Cool Cats]

We discussed this several days ago, and it really isn’t a big difference whether a patient arrived at a hospital because of covid or tested positive while there for something else…once they are there. They still have an infectious disease and have to be isolated from other patients in the hospital, creating a logistical nightmare. So if a patient comes in with a heart attack and is being treated in the cardiac ICU and tests positive, s/he has to be moved and cared for by nurses in the covid wing, so staff and other patients aren’t exposed. The 46% statistic is meaningless when push comes to shove in the hospital. All hospitalized covid cases need to be counted as covid hospitalizations because they impact everyone in the hospital…patients and staff. Focusing on whether a patient is hospitalized because of covid or not is just a way of implying that the case numbers in hospitals are being sneakily inflated by hospitals IMO.

Difference is between Covid causing people to be sick enough to be hospitalized and Covid causing no or mild symptoms.

Those headlines without context make it seem Covid is making people sicker than they really are.

Misleading.

 

[Turkeytrot]

Difference is between Covid causing people to be sick enough to be hospitalized and Covid causing no or mild symptoms.

Those headlines without context make it seem Covid is making people sicker than they really are.

Misleading.

Bingo. That's the issue I've had with quite a few articles I've read on hospitalization rates..

 

[Cool Cats]

Bingo. That's the issue I've had with quite a few articles I've read on hospitalization rates..

Yup!

Sensational vs Sensible

 

[Midgie2]

I will give my onco a call in the morning…..see if I can somehow get a test fast. I’m just dreading going to a medical facility right now. And not feeling very strong. I’m 53.
I wish this pandemic would be over! It’s hard just having to go through chemo and isolate yourself, but add in not being able to see friends/family is just awful. Thinking is it safe to have the hospital transportation come and get me? Would it be better if my daughter with little ones in school take me? Just all these things go through my mind. Thank You

 

[CrimeAway]

We discussed this several days ago, and it really isn’t a big difference whether a patient arrived at a hospital because of covid or tested positive while there for something else…once they are there. They still have an infectious disease and have to be isolated from other patients in the hospital, creating a logistical nightmare. So if a patient comes in with a heart attack and is being treated in the cardiac ICU and tests positive, s/he has to be moved and cared for by nurses in the covid wing, so staff and other patients aren’t exposed. The 46% statistic is meaningless when push comes to shove in the hospital. All hospitalized covid cases need to be counted as covid hospitalizations because they impact everyone in the hospital…patients and staff. Focusing on whether a patient is hospitalized because of covid or not is just a way of implying that the case numbers in hospitals are being sneakily inflated by hospitals IMO.

I agree @Lilibet.

I also think that the amount of Covid infections that are found in those hospitalized for other reasons will also depend on hospital testing policies, where the hospital is located, the local vaccination rate, and local infection numbers, JMO.

I've been following the University of Kansas Health System and they have stated that most of their hospitalized patients who test positive for Covid are there because of Covid. I can't recall the specific episode that they referenced this, but here is the YouTube channel:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCEPoZX5aGC0rGnMqlMkJBxQ

 

[Lilibet]

I will give my onco a call in the morning…..see if I can somehow get a test fast. I’m just dreading going to a medical facility right now. And not feeling very strong. I’m 53.
I wish this pandemic would be over! It’s hard just having to go through chemo and isolate yourself, but add in not being able to see friends/family is just awful. Thinking is it safe to have the hospital transportation come and get me? Would it be better if my daughter with little ones in school take me? Just all these things go through my mind. Thank You

I’m sure your onco can get this sorted out for you. All this is way too much to juggle mentally while going through chemo! Would some Zoom visits help or do you already do this. It’s saved me for the past almost two years. Feel free to vent. You’re totally on topic…covid!

 

[RANCH]

Difference is between Covid causing people to be sick enough to be hospitalized and Covid causing no or mild symptoms.

Those headlines without context make it seem Covid is making people sicker than they really are.

Misleading.

I agree. The statistics I posted above show us that there is a huge number of infections compared to the peak last year but not a corresponding number of hospitalizations and deaths.

That means that the current variant of Covid is not causing the same amount of severe illness or death as previous ones. JMO.

 

[CrimeAway]

I heard today that Covid hospitalizations had reached a pandemic peak, and surpassed those of the previous high in January, 2021:
U.S. COVID hospitalizations hit new record high, raising risks for patients

Deaths tend to lag 2-4 weeks behind cases and hospitalizations, so although I am hopeful that Omicron will be less severe, I am keeping an open mind for now. JMO.

 

[RANCH]

I heard today that Covid hospitalizations had reached a pandemic peak, and surpassed those of the previous high in January, 2021:
U.S. COVID hospitalizations hit new record high, raising risks for patients

Deaths tend to lag 2-4 weeks behind cases and hospitalizations, so although I am hopeful that Omicron will be less severe, I am keeping an open mind for now. JMO.

I am sure that the number of deaths will rise in the next couple of weeks. Will it reach the level of last winter? I don't know for sure but I doubt it will. JMO.

 

[mickey2942]

I hope she will reconsider and re-enroll next semester. Things have been so difficult for students but it may have a lasting impact on her future.

Yes. It is frustrating. As we know, once you take a semester off...it just becomes that much harder to go back.

 

[Cool Cats]

'Like playing with dynamite': Five reasons you should not deliberately catch Omicron

The question hung in the air like a bad odour, silencing the small group of fully vaccinated and boosted friends and family at my dinner table.

"Why not just get Omicron and get it over with? It's mild, right? And it can boost immunity?"

The fully vaccinated, boosted, well-educated friend who asked was sincere, echoing opinions heard on many social platforms.

The idea of intentionally trying to catch Omicron is "all the rage," in the US said Dr Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Centre at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with an exasperated sigh.

"It's caught on like wildfire," agreed Dr Robert Murphy, executive director of the Havey Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"And it's widespread, coming from all types of people, the vaccinated and boosted and the anti-vaxxers," he added, with a warning. "You'd be crazy to try to get infected with this. It's like playing with dynamite."

In case the thought had crossed your mind, here are five reasons why you should not purposely try to catch Omicron.

1. It's not a 'bad cold'
2. You could get long COVID
3. You're spreading the disease to children
4. You'll stress the health care system
5. Don't mess with Mother Nature

 

[beatrixpotter]

But it's not just the amount of hospitalized patients who happen to have covid that increases cyclically. It's the drastically increased rate in hospitalized patients. Do people honestly think that a couple of weeks into each new wave of covid cases the hospitals just happen to have increased rates of hospitalized patients who incidentally have covid on top of some other reason for hospitalization? Increased rates of patients in the ICU who just happen to have covid? Hospitals massaging the stats to make it look bad? How is that not a conspiracy theory?

This is exactly the theory repeatedly put out by people who downplay covid for the last 2 years. "Eh, people aren't there because of covid. They just happen to have covid."

I follow some pages locally for my state and have for nearly 2 years now. I know when the cases start to go up just from looking at how busy the hospitals start to become. It's this insane and consistent pattern of the hospitals suddenly being overwhelmed and needing to divert for almost everything. Last week it was hands down the worst I had ever seen it. 5 straight pages of hospitals listed in red and on various diversions. What exactly is going on then that suddenly loads of sick people (but not because of covid) need to start packing the hospitals coincidentally in each wave?
Georgia Coordinating Center