Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #106

[KALI]

With restrictions being lifted all over by bureaucrats, is there something that they know, that the general public does not know yet? AKA: This virus is not that deadly?
Or, are their economy's in such a bad state that they HAVE to do this?
I am guessing the latter.
Reporting from my little piece of the world, the Omicron virus, is the final straw for many small businesses that depend on in person customers.
Additionally, in the USA, all programs providing financial assistance ended months ago.
There is no talk or news of possible monetary relief coming for business owners.
I forsee an avalanche of small businesses closing. Specifically in States that have had broad lockdowns. California, where I live and own a business, being really hit hard.
I feel like a boxer in the ring that has taken so many hits, that the next one could well take me out.
Actually, a small tap would probably do it. MOO

France to loosen Covid-19 measures in February

France will end audience capacity limits for concert halls, sporting matches and other events from February 2, part of a gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions made possible by a vaccine pass that will be required for most public areas starting Monday. Face masks will also no longer be required outside from February 2.

Previously, a health pass could also be obtained with a recent negative Covid-19 test, a possibility the government ended in its bid to convince more people to get jabs. Castex said 93 percent of French adults now had at least one dose.

 

[Jsizzle]

Ivermectin’s potential to treat COVID gets a serious look in Duke University study — News & Observer

“Doctors at Duke University are leading a national study to test whether three drugs will effectively treat COVID-19, including one that has generated controversy for more than a year.

Ivermectin’s potential to treat COVID-19 has been both celebrated and ridiculed. Some consider it a miracle drug that makes vaccination against the coronavirus unnecessary. But most in the medical establishment, including government regulators, say there’s not enough proof that it works and warn that self-medicating with ivermectin can make people sick in other ways.

The two other drugs being tested in the ACTIV-6 study are fluvoxamine, used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, and fluticasone furoate, an inhaler medicine prescribed for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.“

My entire family of 5 took this as soon as symptoms started. First it was my husband and I then my 3 kids trickled in and got sick one after the other. We were all feeling almost 100% after 24 hours on the meds. Maybe it worked. Maybe it was a coincidence. But we all made it out unscathed with zero complications. I hope they look more into this.

 

[Caylee Advocate]

Remember how determined we were on the thread back in March 2020 to exercise and eat right to stay healthy? Ha!

 

[CrimeAway]

That is beyond gross---besides that, what's the point?

I think that they are trying to use one test for multiple people.
I have seen in animal shelter medicine, where 2 animals' blood samples were combined for FeLv/FIV testing to save resources. The disease prevalence was low, and obviously, if there was a positive result, 2 additional, separate tests would be run for each of those animals. Not ideal, but when you have a lack of money, and many animals in need, sometimes people do the best they can with what they have.

 

[CrimeAway]

Very informative! It's a long interview, but if you can hang in there, she provides some very detailed information on "all things covid" and explains things very well. It starts off slow, but doesn't take long for her to answer some great questions.

For example, someone asks her what it means that covid-19 will become endemic. She gives the example of how lime disease is endemic in NJ where she lives. She does say, however, that we need to protect people who are immunocompromised before we get to the endemic stage, and we're not there yet.

She is good at explaining concepts for non-scientists, and is very engaging.

I'm glad that you found the video useful @Sundog. If anyone is interested, Brianne Barker PhD., does have more immunology videos posted on her YouTube channel:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDEPnp74w9CcqrndYIU7G8A/videos

 

[Cool Cats]

Beijing Olympics: 'Everyone is just worried about getting there'

It’s not catching COVID that has people worried.

It’s catching COVID in China.

It's in China, where the official “playbooks” that rule these Games state that a person who tests positive, even if they are asymptomatic, will be immediately taken to an “isolation facility." If you show symptoms, it's right to a hospital.

The details from there are sparse. That's probably on purpose. There is little on where the “isolation facilities” are located or what exactly they entail. The playbook does offer that:

• Meals will be provided three times a day.

• Free WiFi will be available (although whether that will be restricted Chinese internet or not is unsaid).

• There will be “access to fresh air” through a window that will open but no one will be allowed outside.

• Rooms will be approximately 25-square meters (about 269-square feet).

• Athletes can request training equipment which will be provided “if available."

• “Mental health support” will be available.

Does that sound fun?

Worse, the only way to get out of the “isolation facility” is to “have two consecutive negative COVID-19 [PCR] test results with a sample interval of at least 24 hours."

PCR tests, however, are now famously sensitive and mostly unnecessary after the initial positive result. The rest of the world has concluded that even symptomatic individuals stop spreading the virus after a few days. The CDC says “2-3 days.”

 

[Skigh]

Bat Out of Hell singer Meat Loaf dies aged 74 with wife by his side | Daily Mail Online


US singer Meat Loaf, who was known for hits including Bat Out Of Hell, has died at the age of 74 after selling more than 100million albums worldwide and starring in 65 movies - with reports suggesting he contracted Covid-19.

Sources told TMZ that Meat Loaf was supposed to be attending a business dinner this week for a reality TV show he was involved with called 'I'd Do Anything for Love…But I Won't Do That', named after his song, but it was cancelled after he 'became seriously ill' with coronavirus. TMZ also claimed he had been 'outspoken about Covid, railing with folks in Australia recently about vaccine mandates'. It is not known whether the singer was vaccinated.

 

[jjenny]

I think that they are trying to use one test for multiple people.
I have seen in animal shelter medicine, where 2 animals' blood samples were combined for FeLv/FIV testing to save resources. The disease prevalence was low, and obviously, if there was a positive result, 2 additional, separate tests would be run for each of those animals. Not ideal, but when you have a lack of money, and many animals in need, sometimes people do the best they can with what they have.

The issue is, if one of them had covid, and the rest didn't, they would spread it around to everyone in the family by using the same nose swab for everyone. It's different with blood, which you can collect first and then combine.

 

[weepingangel]

The First Wave Documentary

The First Wave documentary
National Geographic channel

With exclusive access inside one of New York's hardest hit hospital systems during the terrifying first four months of the pandemic, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning director Matthew Heineman's THE FIRST WAVE spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicenter of COVID-19 as they come together to fight one of the greatest threats the world has ever encountered. Leaving a devastating trail of death and despair, this once-in-a-century pandemic changed the very fabric of our daily lives and exposed long-standing inequities in our society.

Employing his signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, Heineman embeds with a group of doctors, nurses and patients on the frontlines as they all desperately try to navigate the crisis. With each distinct storyline serving as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, THE FIRST WAVE is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

 

[ilovewings]

I guess the point is that no one in the family tested positive! And they didn't have to use four tests to find out. But yes, seems icky. It makes me think of the olden days when families had their Saturday night baths.

The Saturday Night Bath - Petticoats & Pistols
Baths were taken in the wash tub next to the kitchen stove, which was the warmest spot in the house....

The whole family used the same bathwater. The person who carried the tub inside and added water got to bathe first. The rest followed, adding more water as it was heated. In some households, the traditional order was father, mother, then the children in descending order of age. In a large family, the water could be pretty grimy by the time the little ones had their turn. This is where the old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” originated....

I guess the point is that no one in the family tested positive! And they didn't have to use four tests to find out. But yes, seems icky. It makes me think of the olden days when families had their Saturday night baths.

The Saturday Night Bath - Petticoats & Pistols
Baths were taken in the wash tub next to the kitchen stove, which was the warmest spot in the house....

The whole family used the same bathwater. The person who carried the tub inside and added water got to bathe first. The rest followed, adding more water as it was heated. In some households, the traditional order was father, mother, then the children in descending order of age. In a large family, the water could be pretty grimy by the time the little ones had their turn. This is where the old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” originated....

Interesting story - the bath water would be more than grimy---
it would be teeming with bacteria-- besides that was the olden days
and so you can understand the way they did things back then---
these are the new days and to do what they did is not onl

The issue is, if one of them had covid, and the rest didn't, they would spread it around to everyone in the family by using the same nose swab for everyone. It's different with blood, which you can collect first and then combine.

Thank you--- I was thinking that but you put it into words---

 

[Sundog]

Omicron 'sub-lineage' BA.2 designated as COVID variant under investigation, says UKHSA

Omicron variant being studied that has emerged in Denmark at high rate. So far no evidence it is more deadly, but seems to be more infectious than the original omicron. Apparently it has been circulating in the UK, Philippines and some other countries for awhile, but now it is circulating at high rate in Denmark.

No data yet to say that it is more deadly, but seems to be data indicating that it is highly transmissible, even more so than the original omicron.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Omicron 'sub-lineage' BA.2 designated as COVID variant under investigation, says UKHSA

Omicron variant being studied that has emerged in Denmark at high rate. So far no evidence it is more deadly, but seems to be more infectious than the original omicron. Apparently it has been circulating in the UK, Philippines and some other countries for awhile, but now it is circulating at high rate in Denmark.

No data yet to say that it is more deadly, but seems to be data indicating that it is highly transmissible, even more so than the original omicron.

That's just great. I'm hoping previous Omicron infections provide a high rate of immunity against this.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Covid antibody treatments that don't work against omicron still being used in some states. (nbcnews.com)

Use of newly ineffective antibody therapies that don't work against the omicron variant is highest in a dozen states.

As the omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the highly contagious version of the virus that causes Covid-19. The antibody treatment now most recommended is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.

...They include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks in the nation’s top 20 for fully vaccinated residents, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health officials now say are almost certainly useless...

 

[sds71]

You may soon be able to get a wearable device that would help alert you to potential COVID-19 exposure.

Today, we usually only learn about exposure to COVID when we find out someone we've been in contact has tested positive or symptoms of our own arise. Or perhaps you've scrambled to get at-home tests or queued up for a laboratory-processed COVID test. Also, many states have smartphone apps that can alert us to possible exposure, but that requires people to opt in.

It's not available for everyone yet, but Yale University researchers have developed an easy-to-use clip-on device that can detect low levels of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air around you, according to research published Jan. 11 in the peer-reviewed online journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.

COVID detector: Yale researchers develop a wearable clip

 

[Fika]

That's just great. I'm hoping previous Omicron infections provide a high rate of immunity against this.

We had few cases here in Sweden. No surprise considering closeness to Denmark. There is a talk now if you can get both omicrons but nobody knows yet. So yeah great indeed!

 

[Sundog]

Starbucks nixes vaccine mandate after Supreme Court ruling

 

[Mo Thuairim]

So this is happening in Ireland tomorrow. Yikes. Somewhat out of the blue but it has the backing of our Chief Medical Officer and his team of public health experts. Ireland has been one of the strictest countries with regard to Covid mitigation measures since March 2020 so all this will take some getting used to...

Covid restrictions Ireland: Majority of Covid restrictions to be removed from 6am tomorrow

THE majority of Covid-19 public health restrictions will be removed from 6am on Saturday under proposals to be agreed by Cabinet this afternoon.

This includes limits on household visits, early closing time for hospitality and events, capacity restrictions for indoor and outdoor events including weddings, social distancing, the rule-of-six at a table, the Covid pass system and the requirement to maintain contact details for close contact tracing.

Distancing between tables in hospitality venues, table service-only will also be removed while nightclubs will be allowed to reopen.

From Monday, businesses can begin a phased return to the workplace depending on the circumstances of the workplace and in consultation with employees.

Masks in all setting where they are currently regulated including retail outlets and public transport will be retained until February 28 as will the protective measures in schools and childcare facilities.

(More at link)

 

[anneg]

You may soon be able to get a wearable device that would help alert you to potential COVID-19 exposure.

Today, we usually only learn about exposure to COVID when we find out someone we've been in contact has tested positive or symptoms of our own arise. Or perhaps you've scrambled to get at-home tests or queued up for a laboratory-processed COVID test. Also, many states have smartphone apps that can alert us to possible exposure, but that requires people to opt in.

It's not available for everyone yet, but Yale University researchers have developed an easy-to-use clip-on device that can detect low levels of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air around you, according to research published Jan. 11 in the peer-reviewed online journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.

COVID detector: Yale researchers develop a wearable clip

Interesting! Now how about one that alerts the wearer when virus levels approach a dangerous level.... Beep beep! I'm outa here!

 

[CrimeAway]

The issue is, if one of them had covid, and the rest didn't, they would spread it around to everyone in the family by using the same nose swab for everyone. It's different with blood, which you can collect first and then combine.

Of course, I agree @jjenny, I thought about the risk of cross infecting each other through using the same swab.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

This is the rationale for Ireland's decision to drop almost all restrictions:

THERE HAS BEEN a sense of optimism across the country today after word filtered out that Cabinet has approved plans to lift rules on hospitality along with most other Covid-19 restrictions from tomorrow.

With daily case numbers still in the thousands, the wide-ranging recommendation from NPHET last night may have come as a surprise to some. It’s understandable that some people feel like it has all come on very quickly.

Professor of immunology at Dublin City University, Christine Loscher, said that there will still be a “degree of caution” from some people, especially those who are more at risk of severe illness.

“The bottom line is that nobody is saying things are over, but the threat to public health is not there in the same way as it was before,” she told The Journal.

“The likelihood is that with so much opening up, we might see increases in case numbers. But we know from what happened over Christmas that even when case numbers were high, they didn’t translate into severe illness and hospitalisations [in the same way as previous variants].”

(...)

"But because we are heavily vaccinated and heavily boosted, because population immunity is high and because this variant in general is not making people as sick – the combination of those things means that high case numbers are not impacting on us the way that they used to."

(...)

She said there is also a “degree of comfort” for people more at risk from the virus in that Omicron is “not as much of a threat to them as previous variants”, but that caution at this time is “understandable”.

“Even though we as individuals, we should still do everything we can to prevent getting an infection with Covid-19 because nobody wants to be infected with Covid, I do think that there is a larger degree of safety in everyday life now that we didn’t have before.

"I’m not immunocompromised but I will still be cautious, wear my FFP2 mask. I will still decide what kind of social contact I want to have.

“I don’t think everyone is just going to throw all caution to the wind and I do think that people's own personal level of responsibility about keeping them safe will still keep everybody safer.”

(Continues at link)

Explainer: Why are Covid restrictions lifting now?