Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #107

[indicolite22]

Or we could assume that as medical professionals they know best about whether or not the vaccination benefits outweigh the risks.
Or we could assume nothing at all…because we all not what assuming does…

If they know best then why is the percentage of vaccinated much higher among doctors than nurses? At least that is the case where I live. Do nurses know something that doctors don't? I highly doubt it.

 

[indicolite22]

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, and his wife test positive for Covid-19 - CNN

Turkish president tested positive after visiting Ukraine. He was boosted last June, which was a long time ago. I didn't know that Turkey had its own Covid vaccine Turkovac.

 

[Teche]

Here is what I am going to assume as an elderly person who is high risk for contracting Covid: I definitely without question do not want a nurse or any other medical personnel around me who is not vaccinated. period. That person could surely be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. Beyond that, how could a nurse not understand that he/she is a risk to patients they come in contact with if they are not vaccinated. Covid is an infectious disease and part of the evil part of that virus is that a person can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. I will anticipate your response: that people who are vaccinated can contract the virus and be asymptomatic as well. While that is true, there is a much higher risk for an unvaccinated person to spread the virus than a vaccinated person, and in addition, I believe, though I am not sure, that the viral load would be less in a vaccinated person, thereby minimizing spread of the virus to another person.

I would say if a nurse is unwilling to get vaccinated they dont belong
in health care

My daughter is a NICU NP and her husband is an ER RN. They are vaccinated but worked throughout the pandemic. For the 1st yr no one was vaccinated, medical staff or patients. Not one day did they complain when caring for Covid patients on a daily basis. I am boosted. During the 2nd surge, I had a traumatic injury that required emergency surgery and a few days in the hospital. I was yet eligible to get vaccinated but wore a mask the entire stay except to eat and during surgery and post-op. I was extremely grateful for the staff that provided excellent care and not once did I question their vaccination status.
For non-emergency care, I ask that all providers wear masks etc. I don’t hesitate to remind others to wear masks properly.

 

[indicolite22]

Pennsylvania Doctor Accused of Prescribing Ivermectin for Covid Is Fired

A Pennsylvania doctor accused of prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, two drugs that regulators have called not safe for treating the disease, was fired this week, a regional health system said.

 

[Sundog]

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, and his wife test positive for Covid-19 - CNN

Turkish president tested positive after visiting Ukraine. He was boosted last June, which was a long time ago. I didn't know that Turkey had its own Covid vaccine Turkovac.

Turkovac was just given EUA in late December, they have been using Sinovac and Pfizer for their vaccines up until now. They will also apparently be shipping Turkovac to other countries in need of vaccines.

Turkey begins production of own 'better than Sinovac' vaccine

 

[mickey2942]

I am reading the actual information on my free government test.
"This test is more likely to give you a "false negative" result when you have Covid-19 than a lab based molecular test.".

So, basically this means it is worthless.

Thanks.

 

[Turkeytrot]

I am reading the actual information on my free government test.
"This test is more likely to give you a "false negative" result when you have Covid-19 than a lab based molecular test.".

So, basically this means it is worthless.

Thanks.

I think that's always been the case with rapid tests, no?

 

[indicolite22]

I am reading the actual information on my free government test.
"This test is more likely to give you a "false negative" result when you have Covid-19 than a lab based molecular test.".

So, basically this means it is worthless.

Thanks.

It only says it's not as accurate as a PCR test.

How Accurate Are Rapid COVID Tests? What Research Shows

For people with symptoms of COVID-19, the tests correctly gave a positive result an average of 72 percent of the time. The 95 percent confidence intervals were 63.7 to 79 percent, meaning that the researchers were 95 percent confident that the average fell between these two values.

The researchers found that people without COVID-19 symptoms correctly tested positive in 58.1 percent of rapid tests. The 95 percent confidence intervals were 40.2 to 74.1 percent.

 

[CrimeAway]

This week's TWIV Clinical Update:

 

[SouthAussie]

Looks like they are 'hoping' that a covid breath test might be ready for commercial use by the middle of this year.


"The Sunshine Coast team has already run human trials in Malaysia and the device will undergo clinical trials in Singapore this month, with the aim of making the tests commercially available mid-year."

Australian inventors have created breath tests for COVID-19 but you can't buy them yet

 

[Mo Thuairim]

‘The case for masks became hugely stronger’: scientists admit their Covid mistakes

Being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. Here, experts reveal what they got wrong during the pandemic

(...)

Prof Peter Openshaw, theme lead for infection at Imperial College London, did not expect vaccines to be successful

(...)

Prof Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, regrets not speaking out against school closures

(...)

Dr Kit Yates, director of the centre for mathematical biology at the University of Bath, made a U-turn on the role of scientists in the pandemic

(...)

Prof Susan Michie, director of the centre for behaviour change at University College London, changed her mind on the usefulness of masks

(...)

Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, thought British society would accept more intrusive surveillance

(...)

Prof Neil Ferguson, epidemiologist at Imperial College London, highlights three things he called wrong

(...)

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, has not changed his mind on boosters – but says this has been misunderstood

(Their full thoughts are detailed at link)

 

[Cool Cats]

The enduring nightmare of being a COVID ‘long-hauler’ nearly 2 years — and 27 doctors — in

Author Ed Hornick has suffered from “long COVID” conditions since May 2020.

One question continues to haunt me: Will I ever get better?

In an effort to answer it, I’ve sought out the advice of other “long-haulers,” dived into scientific research, visited medical clinics around the world and cathartically written about my fears and struggles. Now I’m documenting what it’s really like to battle this mysterious illness while trying to work a full-time job.

Every day, I meet more people just like me, whether it’s chatting on Twitter or reading posts on Body Politic’s Slack support group: long COVID patients desperately struggling to work and cope with brain fog — a phrase that doesn’t accurately reflect its true nature:

• I’m 41 years old and often find myself unable to recall basic things such as familiar names, dates and events.
  
  
• I lose my train of thought midsentence and struggle to get back on track.
  
  
• I have trouble processing what a person has just told me.
  
  
• I need to reread entire paragraphs because they don’t compute on first glance.
  
  
• Thoughts race in my head and I find it difficult to organize them.
  
  
• I’ve become a procrastinator for the first time in my life.
  
  
• I’m short-tempered, anxious and extremely moody.
  

 

[Kingsley]

If they know best then why is the percentage of vaccinated much higher among doctors than nurses? At least that is the case where I live. Do nurses know something that doctors don't? I highly doubt it.

I’ve always assumed that most health care providers have either had it or are vaccinated. Maybe nurses have more hands-on time. Just a guess …

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I am reading the actual information on my free government test.
"This test is more likely to give you a "false negative" result when you have Covid-19 than a lab based molecular test.".

So, basically this means it is worthless.

Thanks.

If it's catching some positive cases, it's not worthless.

 

[CrimeAway]

So the Kroger near me must have had the free masks for about a day, and they are now out and won't be getting more. I actually need masks.

Just fabulous

 

[mickey2942]

If it's catching some positive cases, it's not worthless.

If it gives someone a "false negative", they are going to assume that they are fine, go visit Grandma, or whatever and spread Covid-19.

It would be better to not give out tests that could be inaccurate. What is the point?

 

[Sundog]

So the Kroger near me must have had the free masks for about a day, and they are now out and won't be getting more. I actually need masks.

Just fabulous

Want a free N95 mask? These stores are distributing them. - Marketplace

Here's an article that gives a list of the pharmacies (including pharmacies that are in grocery stores) that are distributing the free N95 masks.

Only Kroger stores with a pharmacy are giving out the masks, and other grocery stores on the list that have pharmacies.

I would call Walgreens and CVS stores in your area and the pharmacy department of the grocery stores to find out if they have the free masks.

I think they were all distributed to pharmacies here in Ohio last week, but because we had a major snow storm and things were shut down for a few days, maybe that's why masks were still available this week.

 

[mickey2942]

On Facebook there is a group of people talking about how their sense of taste and smell still hasn't come back "normal" since they had Covid. Interesting, how so many people react differently to this virus.

One guy is a chef, and he believes that this is ruining his career.

Doctor Offers Tips for Regaining Sense of Smell After COVID-19 Infection

 

[GRT]

If they know best then why is the percentage of vaccinated much higher among doctors than nurses? At least that is the case where I live. Do nurses know something that doctors don't? I highly doubt it.

I think age is a significant factor. Lots of young nurses, but fewer young doctors--in comparison.

What I don't understand is how--with Omicron circulating--everyone seems to have forgotten about it. I went to the grocery yesterday, and the store still had it's "Mask Mandatory" sign, but I was in a very small minority of shoppers who was wearing one. Why?

Are they just tired of wearing the masks? Even a good number of the store workers either didn't have one or were wearing theirs around their chins. And the store was crowded.

Is this happening elsewhere?

 

[MimosaMornings]

I think age is a significant factor. Lots of young nurses, but fewer young doctors--in comparison.

What I don't understand is how--with Omicron circulating--everyone seems to have forgotten about it. I went to the grocery yesterday, and the store still had it's "Mask Mandatory" sign, but I was in a very small minority of shoppers who was wearing one. Why?

Are they just tired of wearing the masks? Even a good number of the store workers either didn't have one or were wearing theirs around their chins. And the store was crowded.

Is this happening elsewhere?

Yes. Southern states weren’t good at masking to start with and once some of the mandates expired - no matter that a highly transmissible variant was in full force - the majority of mask wearing inside grocery stores decreased.