Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #110

[Mo Thuairim]

Covid-19 is no longer global health emergency - WHO​

Covid-19 no longer represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization has said, a major step towards the end of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.9 million people, disrupted the global economy and ravaged communities.

"Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I've accepted that advice. It's therefore with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

(...)

The status helps focus international attention on a health threat, as well as bolstering collaboration on vaccines and treatments.

Lifting it is a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas, but Covid-19 is here to stay, the WHO has said, even if it no longer represents an emergency.

(...)

Covid-19 is no longer global health emergency - WHO

Covid-19 no longer represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization has said, a major step towards the end of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.9 million people, disrupted the global economy and ravaged communities.

www.rte.ie

 

[Gemmie]

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, submitted her resignation Friday, saying the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic was a good time to make a transition.

Walensky's last day will be June 30, CDC officials said, and an interim director wasn’t immediately named.

In her letter to Biden, she expressed “mixed feelings” about the decision and didn't say exactly why she was stepping down, but said the nation is at a moment of transition as emergency declarations come to an end.

CDC's Rochelle Walensky resigns, citing pandemic transition

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, submitted her resignation Friday, saying the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic was a good time to make a transition. Walensky's last day will be June 30, CDC officials said, and an interim director wasn’t...

news.yahoo.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is stepping down from agency

Walensky took over at the beginning of Biden's term in January 2021 as the administration began to roll out vaccines for Covid-19.

www.nbcnews.com

WASHINGTON — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who has played a vital role in the administration's pandemic response over the past two years, is leaving as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a job she has held since President Joe Biden came into office in January 2021.

Her departure was confirmed on Friday by the White House in a statement from Biden that said Walensky "has saved lives with her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American."

"As Director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the frontlines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity. She marshalled our finest scientists and public health experts to turn the tide on the urgent crises we’ve faced," Biden said...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

OIGs COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Flexibilities End on May 11, 2023 Upon Expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration

This notice reminds the health care community that OIG flexibilities, described further below, end upon the expiration of the COVID-19 Declaration on May 11, 2023.

oig.hhs.gov

In connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration (COVID-19 Declaration) first issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act on January 31, 2020, and subsequently renewed, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued two Policy Statements and answered a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs). The Policy Statements and FAQs were designed to provide flexibility and minimize burdens for the health care industry as it faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on current COVID-19 trends, HHS plans to let the COVID-19 Declaration expire at the end of the day on May 11, 2023.

The information below describes the Policy Statements and FAQs OIG instituted during the time period covered by the COVID-19 Declaration, explains what each flexibility did, and provides other information...

 

[Teche]

i live in Michigan but i have no idea how to find a medical director unless i talked to the medical
director of a hospital

Michigan might have a Department of Health and Hospitals. Our regional medical directors supervise the immunizations, health inspections, etc. I believe a hospital medical director will be helpful or provide you with the name/number of someone who could answer your questions.

 

[margarita25]

Must watch Doc T’s intro

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[ilovewings]

Some Pilot COVID-19 At Home Tests recalled by FDA over bacteria risk | CNN

The US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Friday to consumers and health providers to discontinue using and discard recalled Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests made by SD Biosensor, Inc. over "significant concerns" of bacterial contamination.

www.cnn.com

 

[Knox]

I have been very sick for 2 weeks. I had to go to urgent care twice because of breathing difficulties. Started as body aches, eye pain, fever. Progressed to lungs. The drs told me that there are now 3 new viruses circulating that mimic covid symptoms but tests negative because it is not a coronavirus. They think that’s what I had. Terrific! I hope this doesn’t become another mess.

I’m three weeks post Covid. Went all this time, without catching it! Just now on the upswing, still dizzy and brain fog. Hopefully I won’t catch again! I’m in California…

 

[Gemmie]

I’m three weeks post Covid. Went all this time, without catching it! Just now on the upswing, still dizzy and brain fog. Hopefully I won’t catch again! I’m in California…

Sorry to hear you caught it after all this time and that you're still not feeling well. I hope it doesn't develop being long-Covid! *fingers crossed*

Just curious... did you get the updated bivalent booster when it became available in early Sep for some, Oct for others? Just curious how protected you were.

 

[Teche]

I’m three weeks post Covid. Went all this time, without catching it! Just now on the upswing, still dizzy and brain fog. Hopefully I won’t catch again! I’m in California…

I’m sorry to hear that you're still feeling the side effects of covid. My sister-in-law is is vaccinated and boosted but ended up with Covid and she was sick for about 3 weeks. She experienced exhaustion and brain fog. It did clear up shortly afterwards.

 

[Gemmie]

I’m sorry to hear that you're still feeling the side effects of covid. My sister-in-law is is vaccinated and boosted but ended up with Covid and she was sick for about 3 weeks. She experienced exhaustion and brain fog. It did clear up shortly afterwards.

Sorry to hear she was sick for so long. Just curious about her vaccination status. Did she receive the bivalent booster (Sep/Oct) or did she catch it before that? "Vaccinated and boosted" can mean so many different things (timingwise) so it's hard to tell.

 

[Teche]

Sorry to hear she was sick for so long. Just curious about her vaccination status. Did she receive the bivalent booster (Sep/Oct) or did she catch it before that? "Vaccinated and boosted" can mean so many different things (timingwise) so it's hard to tell.

She had the booster that was available. She had Covid the week before she was scheduled to get the bivalent booster. Everyone in the household got Covid.
She cares for her special needs child who requires 24 hr. care. Their vaccinations are done by one particular pharmacist. Because of her child fragile medical condition, he was able to receive the bivalent booster as soon as he recovered. Mom and father had to wait 2-3 months before getting boosted.

 

[Gemmie]

She had the booster that was available. She had Covid the week before she was scheduled to get the bivalent booster. Everyone in the household got Covid.
She cares for her special needs child who requires 24 hr. care. Their vaccinations are done by one particular pharmacist. Because of her child fragile medical condition, he was able to receive the bivalent booster as soon as he recovered. Mom and father had to wait 2-3 months before getting boosted.

I really appreciate you responding to my question and I am VERY sorry all in the household caught Covid. What you said was what I had guessed (caught Covid before getting the bivalent booster, which makes total sense). I'd have been alarmed had she caught Covid weeks after getting the bivalent booster. Hence me wondering about the timing.

 

[Sundog]

I really appreciate you responding to my question and I am VERY sorry all in the household caught Covid. What you said was what I had guessed (caught Covid before getting the bivalent booster, which makes total sense). I'd have been alarmed had she caught Covid weeks after getting the bivalent booster. Hence me wondering about the timing.

I know a number of people from my office who got Covid after the bivalent booster. And I'm guessing that a lot of the people who got Covid at the CDC annual meeting were also boosted with the bivalent dose. The bivalent booster doesn't stop one from getting Covid, hopefully for most people it will lessen the severity of the illness and people shouldn't need hospitalization or die from it. That's the goal. It doesn't stop a person from getting Covid. Also, as additional protection from very severe illness and death, there is paxlovid if one comes down with Covid.

One of my colleagues who was boosted with the bivalent dose got Covid and she is immuno compromised. She took paxlovid, but she has had a long recovery.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

The bivalent booster doesn't stop one from getting Covid, hopefully for most people it will lessen the severity of the illness and people shouldn't need hospitalization or die from it. That's the goal. It doesn't stop a person from getting Covid. Also, as additional protection from very severe illness and death, there is paxlovid if one comes down with Covid.

I agree. I believe the booster will increase (er, "boost") one's immune system, which MIGHT, in specific circumstances, be enough to entirely fend off covid after exposure (and I believe this is what happened to me).

But if the exposure is strong enough, or the immune system isn't quite able, even with the boost, to fend it off, a person will still catch covid, but hopefully experience a lesser severity of illness.

It's so tempting to think of vaccines as black-or-white, 100%-or-0%, will completely prevent a disease or not at all. And some diseases/vaccines no doubt work that way. (shingles? smallpox? polio? tetanus? I'm only guessing but don't think I've heard of folks getting those diseases after having received those vaccines).

But others aren't 100% in that way, and clearly covid vaccines are in that category.

What I want to know, when people get sick even after the vaccines, is how many people they were around, for how long, and were they unmasked around those folks. And what the ventilation was like. If people getting the vaccine then relax their masking and social distancing protocols, that's a big problem IMO.

All MOO

 

[killarney rose]

In answer to your question- DH and I caught Covid on the first round of it during the fall of 2020. we were exposed to a relative. No vaccine yet. I had barely any symptoms. DH tested positive but was asymptomatic. We are both higher risk due to several factors.

when the vaccines came out we stayed caught up on them and we also masked and avoided crowds.

last year, we stopped masking. We still avoid crowds. Last fall we went to the drs office to get the bivalant vaccine,we were told they had it. After we were vaccinated, we were told no, we don’t have that one yet, this is the last one you took. I face palmed and walked out. I was so angry!
at this point I have decided, no more vaccines until an annual vaccine like the flu shot is available. Then I will take that one. I do not believe that several vaccines per year is the answer. I believe Covid is here to stay and each of us has to decide how we are going to live with it. Like we do with the flu. I’m going to live my life, not stay hidden at home. No more masking as long as levels stay low. I will go about my normal activities while avoiding large crowds like concert venues. I’m a germphobe anyway so it’s not much of a change for me.

 

[Sundog]

In answer to your question- DH and I caught Covid on the first round of it during the fall of 2020. we were exposed to a relative. No vaccine yet. I had barely any symptoms. DH tested positive but was asymptomatic. We are both higher risk due to several factors.

when the vaccines came out we stayed caught up on them and we also masked and avoided crowds.

last year, we stopped masking. We still avoid crowds. Last fall we went to the drs office to get the bivalant vaccine,we were told they had it. After we were vaccinated, we were told no, we don’t have that one yet, this is the last one you took. I face palmed and walked out. I was so angry!
at this point I have decided, no more vaccines until an annual vaccine like the flu shot is available. Then I will take that one. I do not believe that several vaccines per year is the answer. I believe Covid is here to stay and each of us has to decide how we are going to live with it. Like we do with the flu. I’m going to live my life, not stay hidden at home. No more masking as long as levels stay low. I will go about my normal activities while avoiding large crowds like concert venues. I’m a germphobe anyway so it’s not much of a change for me.

I agree, I think for many in society an annual covid shot, along with the flu shot, is likely the direction we're heading, these will probably mostly be seniors and others who have medical conditions or physical conditions that put them at risk for serious outcomes if they get Covid. and/or the flu. It will be up to each individual to access his or her risk tolerance and decide accordingly regarding vaccines, masks, public places, etc.

For some reason I get some Boston news' emails in my inbox, I must have signed up some time in the past and they continue to send me their Covid updates. I just read the headlines and scroll by, but I did notice that they were down to 300 deaths from Covid about six months ago, and now they are reporting about 11. That's pretty significant for a city the size of Boston.

Of course we all know things can change, and different regions of the country can have a surge while another does not. I think it's important to monitor the Department of Health webpage in your city/town and region to track how your community is doing and take measures accordingly.

Right now I think they are watching to see the pattern in the southern U.S. given that the last two summers Covid infections surgedas everyone was indoors during the heated months due to air conditioning. With vaccines, natural immunity, etc., health officials are watching to see what this summer will look like. And, of course, in northern states what will the fall be like when everyone goes back inside for the fall and winter.

My own thinking is that maybe one more bivalent booster vaccine in mid-autumn, and then wait and see how our fall and winter seasons go in regard to Covid infections and deaths.

Maybe spring 2024 will be that fresh start we have all been looking for.

 

[anneg]

I agree. I believe the booster will increase (er, "boost") one's immune system, which MIGHT, in specific circumstances, be enough to entirely fend off covid after exposure (and I believe this is what happened to me).

But if the exposure is strong enough, or the immune system isn't quite able, even with the boost, to fend it off, a person will still catch covid, but hopefully experience a lesser severity of illness.

It's so tempting to think of vaccines as black-or-white, 100%-or-0%, will completely prevent a disease or not at all. And some diseases/vaccines no doubt work that way. (shingles? smallpox? polio? tetanus? I'm only guessing but don't think I've heard of folks getting those diseases after having received those vaccines).

But others aren't 100% in that way, and clearly covid vaccines are in that category.

What I want to know, when people get sick even after the vaccines, is how many people they were around, for how long, and were they unmasked around those folks. And what the ventilation was like. If people getting the vaccine then relax their masking and social distancing protocols, that's a big problem IMO.

All MOO

Re Shingles, the protection from the vaccine is not 100%. From CDC--

Shingles vaccination is the best way to help protect yourself

CDC recommends two doses of Shingrix to prevent shingles in adults 50+ and immunocompromised adults 19+.

www.cdc.gov

Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and PHN. [PHN is post-herpetic nerve pain.] In adults 50 years and older who have healthy immune systems, Shingrix is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN. Immunity stays strong for at least the first 7 years after vaccination. In adults with weakened immune systems, studies show that Shingrix is 68%-91% effective in preventing shingles, depending on the condition that affects the immune system.

 

[Sundog]

Re Shingles, the protection from the vaccine is not 100%. From CDC--

Shingles vaccination is the best way to help protect yourself

CDC recommends two doses of Shingrix to prevent shingles in adults 50+ and immunocompromised adults 19+.

www.cdc.gov

Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and PHN. [PHN is post-herpetic nerve pain.] In adults 50 years and older who have healthy immune systems, Shingrix is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN. Immunity stays strong for at least the first 7 years after vaccination. In adults with weakened immune systems, studies show that Shingrix is 68%-91% effective in preventing shingles, depending on the condition that affects the immune system.

Thanks for posting this information. I keep putting it off and need to get it done. I received the earlier Shingles vaccine, but now they recommend this new two-shot regime.

My mother-in-law had a dangerous case of shingles come on quite suddenly a number of years ago. Within a day or two, she developed a rash on her head that started spreading to her forehead and could have gone to her eyes. And it was excruciatingly painful. No warning. She was hospitalized immediately when the emergency room saw her, as they were very worried about the location of the spread on her forehead moving toward her eyes. Thank goodness she recovered and didn't lose her eyesight. She really did suffer, though. Experiencing that, I know I should get the new Shingles vaccines.


ETA My mother in law was going through a stressful time in her life when the dormant shingles virus reactivated, so I suspect her immune system as weakened by the stress.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Thanks for posting this information. I keep putting it off and need to get it done. I received the earlier Shingles vaccine, but now they recommend this new two-shot regime.

My mother-in-law had a dangerous case of shingles come on quite suddenly a number of years ago. Within a day or two, she developed a rash on her head that started spreading to her forehead and could have gone to her eyes. And it was excruciatingly painful. No warning. She was hospitalized immediately when the emergency room saw her, as they were very worried about the location of the spread on her forehead moving toward her eyes. Thank goodness she recovered and didn't lose her eyesight. She really did suffer, though. Experiencing that, I know I should get the new Shingles vaccines.


ETA My mother in law was going through a stressful time in her life when the dormant shingles virus reactivated, so I suspect her immune system as weakened by the stress.

My thanks too for the shingles information, @anneg !

It's my understanding that shingles is generally triggered by stress, so part of my strong desire to avoid it is that it's most likely to appear when I could least deal with it -- namely, when I'm in the midst of dealing with other stressful issues.