Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #111

[anneg]

Sorry to hear that you may have been exposed to Covid, @katydid23. Just so you know, there are no more "boosters" in the traditional sense of the word.

The new vaccine, put out in September 2023, no longer includes the original strain like the previous vaccines had. It targets what was currently going around (Omicron). In fact, they changed the 'recipe' with the last batch as Covid has mutated SO MUCH that it's no longer useful to "boost" people for something no longer going around (the way they were doing it before the last batch/vaccine).

The FDA calls this an updated vaccine (not a “booster” like previous shots) because it builds a new immune response to variants that are currently circulating. This change reflects the current approach of treating COVID-19 similarly to the flu, with preventive measures such as an annual vaccination.

Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different?

Keeping up with COVID-19 vaccines can be a daunting task. To help people keep up, Yale Medicine mapped out a comparison of the most prominent ones.

www.yalemedicine.org

The new fall 2024 vaccine will target what's been going around (JN.1 - offshoots of Omicron).

Q: Are people who had an older vaccine (you) or who’ve had COVID from another variant (your husband) likely to be reinfected by JN.1?​

A: The older vaccines were based on SARS-CoV-2 variants that are very different from variants circulating now. That, combined with the fact that your immunity from vaccination or infection tends to drop off over time, means that you won’t get a lot of protection from COVID-19 if you are relying on the vaccines you received nearly a year ago. It's very similar to why we have annual influenza vaccines: The virus is changing, so we have to change the vaccine to make sure it is a good match with the virus variants that are causing infection right now.

JN.1, the Dominant Variant in the COVID Surge | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

JN.1 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., causing over 60% of COVID cases. The good news: Vaccines, tests, and antivirals are effective against it.

publichealth.jhu.edu

Lastly, the vaccine doesn't prevent you from catching covid. It helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

What you need to know about getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

www.cdc.gov

While COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against serious disease and death, no vaccine is 100% effective. Vaccinated people can get infected and may fall ill with COVID-19. This is known as a 'breakthrough infection' or 'breakthrough case'.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Vaccines and vaccine safety

This page answers the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety. If the information you are looking for is not here, check out our related links on the right-hand side of the page.

www.who.int

See my post above--the FDA made a recent decision to ask vaccine makers to target the KP.2 variant in the updated vaccine for Fall 2024 instead of JN.1. Novovax isn't able to switch quickly so its vaccine will target JN.1.

 

[Gemmie]

See my post above--the FDA made a recent decision to ask vaccine makers to target the KP.2 variant in the updated vaccine for Fall 2024 instead of JN.1. Novovax isn't able to switch quickly so its vaccine will target JN.1.

Thanks. I'm seeing the FDA say "if feasible". Hopefully it will be feasible!

Content current as of: 06/13/2024​

Based on the most current available data, along with the recent rise in cases of COVID-19 in areas of the country, the agency has further determined that the preferred JN.1-lineage for the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 Formula) is the KP.2 strain, if feasible. This change is intended to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 Formula) more closely match circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains. FDA has communicated this change to the manufacturers of the licensed and authorized COVID-19 vaccines. The agency does not anticipate that a change to KP.2 will delay the availability of the vaccines for the United States.

Updated COVID-19 Vaccines for Use in the United States Beginning in Fa

FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met on June 5, 2024, to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of the 2024-2025 Formula for COVID-19 vaccines for use in the United States beginning in the fall of 2024.

www.fda.gov

I sure hope it's KP.2 as I had expressed concern a while back that JN.1 was on the outs. Looks like KP.3 is overtaking KP.2. Close enough to KP.2 as covid isn't soup! There are no Covid vaccines du jour!



Data as of 6/22: COVID Data Tracker

 

[Lilibet]

So it seems there has been a sudden reemergence of Covid here in Los Angeles area...

My husband and my daughter were both exposed to Covid by co-workers earlier this week. It has only been about 4 days for my daughter, 3 for my husband. and no symptoms for either so far---and both tested negatively today. Hopefully they both escape it.

I REALLY don't want to get Covid as I have totally avoided it so far. And I have very bad asthma so it wouldn't be good for me.

Send positive thoughts my way please. I have been triple vaxed but haven't had a booster shot in quite awhile now. I decided against continuing because I didn't want to over do it. Now I wish I had ...

Everyone else in my immediate family has had covid at least once. My husband caught it twice, most recently last Christmas. Although he did not have a serious case last time and only knows he had it because his friend that went on a short road trip with him called to say he had it.

I'm hoping his immune system will keep him healthy this time. I didn't know he was exposed until his co-worker began to have symptoms for about 4 days, because co-worker thought it was hay fever---and by then my husband and I had been in close quarters of course...

ETA---to clarify the timeline, to help me figure out when I might be safe--- ---

Husband share a small office with 6 people---one of which is his partner, who just returned from France 6 days ago---

On Tuesday his partner came to office and was sneezing and had runny nose, and said that he had Hay Fever
On Thursday night he called us to say he just tested positive for Covid

So I assume he began his symptoms on Tuesday with his 'hay fever' feelings

On Thursday afternoon my husband worked closely with his partner, in a cubicle for part of the day, and sat next to each other at lunchtime, and late afternoon they were writing a song together in a small studio---so singing together is NOT a good thing...yikes

Thursday night partner calls , very apologetic, just tested positive...

So partner was contagious as early as Tuesday, I believe. So today, 4 days later, husband took covid home test---negative

But I think it's too early to tell

He is banished to bedroom and bathroom area---I am wearing a mask at home and so is he---I am placing his meals just outside the door---but it might be too late at this point because Tuesday and Wednesday we had no idea so ?

I’m so sorry @katydid23. You’ve been so diligent! Here’s hoping you will avoid it. I don’t know what they are suggesting now to head it off if you do test positive. Antivirals? Back in 2021 when Covid found me, monoclonal antibodies were the “soup du jour.” I have mild asthma, but was scared because I had “covid pneumonia” and ended up in the hospital for 5 or 6 days. However “all’s well that ends well” and I came through fine. Wishing you well…literally!

 

[weepingangel]

COVID summer wave grows, especially in West, with new variant LB.1 on the rise

A key COVID trend in the West is near "high" levels, the CDC says, and the new variant LB.1 is gaining ground.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[katydid23]

Sorry to hear that you may have been exposed to Covid, @katydid23. Just so you know, there are no more "boosters" in the traditional sense of the word.

The new vaccine, put out in September 2023, no longer includes the original strain like the previous vaccines had. It targets what was currently going around (Omicron). In fact, they changed the 'recipe' with the last batch as Covid has mutated SO MUCH that it's no longer useful to "boost" people for something no longer going around (the way they were doing it before the last batch/vaccine).

The FDA calls this an updated vaccine (not a “booster” like previous shots) because it builds a new immune response to variants that are currently circulating. This change reflects the current approach of treating COVID-19 similarly to the flu, with preventive measures such as an annual vaccination.

Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different?

Keeping up with COVID-19 vaccines can be a daunting task. To help people keep up, Yale Medicine mapped out a comparison of the most prominent ones.

www.yalemedicine.org

The new fall 2024 vaccine will target what's been going around (JN.1 - offshoots of Omicron).

Q: Are people who had an older vaccine (you) or who’ve had COVID from another variant (your husband) likely to be reinfected by JN.1?​

A: The older vaccines were based on SARS-CoV-2 variants that are very different from variants circulating now. That, combined with the fact that your immunity from vaccination or infection tends to drop off over time, means that you won’t get a lot of protection from COVID-19 if you are relying on the vaccines you received nearly a year ago. It's very similar to why we have annual influenza vaccines: The virus is changing, so we have to change the vaccine to make sure it is a good match with the virus variants that are causing infection right now.

JN.1, the Dominant Variant in the COVID Surge | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

JN.1 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., causing over 60% of COVID cases. The good news: Vaccines, tests, and antivirals are effective against it.

publichealth.jhu.edu

Lastly, the vaccine doesn't prevent you from catching covid. It helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

What you need to know about getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

www.cdc.gov

While COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against serious disease and death, no vaccine is 100% effective. Vaccinated people can get infected and may fall ill with COVID-19. This is known as a 'breakthrough infection' or 'breakthrough case'.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Vaccines and vaccine safety

This page answers the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety. If the information you are looking for is not here, check out our related links on the right-hand side of the page.

www.who.int

Yes, I know the vax doesn't prevent you from catching covid---but it reportedly helps lessen the severity. That's what worries me, as I haven't had any vaccinations for quite awhile. I had 3, at six months apart, each time. Nothing since then.

 

[Gemmie]

Yes, I know the vax doesn't prevent you from catching covid---but it reportedly helps lessen the severity. That's what worries me, as I haven't had any vaccinations for quite awhile. I had 3, at six months apart, each time. Nothing since then.

Yep, the vaccines help prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death, but they need to be recent in order to help as the efficacy wains fairly quickly. Hopefully you'll continue to be a Novid.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Yes, I know the vax doesn't prevent you from catching covid---but it reportedly helps lessen the severity. That's what worries me, as I haven't had any vaccinations for quite awhile. I had 3, at six months apart, each time. Nothing since then.

Just because you stopped getting the vaxes, doesn't mean you can't start up again!

It's my understanding each vax only helps for about 4 months, so I don't think there's anything to the worry about 'overdoing it' if you get one every six months or so.

I do think eventually there will be some that are longer lasting.

On the other front, I've read some really encouraging news about how much masks help, as long as they are properly worn. So for now if you're worried about catching it from family members, you can mask up with pretty high confidence that it will fend off the virus, at least keep the viral load below the infection threshold! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to not get it.

 

[Gemmie]

On the other front, I've read some really encouraging news about how much masks help, as long as they are properly worn.

SBMFF

Key words... "properly worn". I posted way upthread a year or so ago about what I call "mask watching". Think "people watching" like at an airport of someplace. It can be an interesting hobby of sorts.

Anyway, in the beginning, after it was advised that a properly fitting (preferably) N95 mask was worn it reduced your chances if catching the virus. I saw SOOOOOO many people wearing ill-fitted masks with gaps at the nose and/or cheeks, or wore them like "chin ornament", or wore just a cloth mask, and in one case, I even saw one woman wearing a hand crocheted mask, with BIG holes! Just about the only time I saw someone wearing an N95, and properly fitted, was when I saw my reflection. I saw very few people wearing them, and wearing them without gaps. It was pretty frightening to see that, and then multiply the number of people I saw by the world's population, and I realized we have a big BIG problem. And it's the reason we're still in this mess IMO.

Gaps (Source):



Chin ornament (Source):


Then there were restaurant workers (wait staff) that wore loose masks and kept pulling them up their nose with their bare fingers when they slipped down, which was often (several times in a short convo with one).

 

[Auntie Cipation]

SBMFF

Key words... "properly worn". I posted way upthread a year or so ago about what I call "mask watching". Think "people watching" like at an airport of someplace. It can be an interesting hobby of sorts.

Anyway, in the beginning, after it was advised that a properly fitting (preferably) N95 mask was worn it reduced your chances if catching the virus. I saw SOOOOOO many people wearing ill-fitted masks with gaps at the nose and/or cheeks, or wore them like "chin ornament", or wore just a cloth mask, and in one case, I even saw one woman wearing a hand crocheted mask, with BIG holes! Just about the only time I saw someone wearing an N95, and properly fitted, was when I saw my reflection. I saw very few people wearing them, and wearing them without gaps. It was pretty frightening to see that, and then multiply the number of people I saw by the world's population, and I realized we have a big BIG problem. And it's the reason we're still in this mess IMO.

Gaps (Source):

View attachment 512445

Chin ornament (Source):
View attachment 512446

Then there were restaurant workers (wait staff) that wore loose masks and kept pulling them up their nose with their bare fingers when they slipped down, which was often (several times in a short convo with one).

Yes!!

And nothing will help the folks who wear them hanging off their chin etc. But the latest thing I read (linked below) was very encouraging about both surgical masks and cloth masks (which surprisingly protected better than surgical masks!). I take that with some skepticism though, since the openings in a cloth mask MUST be bigger than in a surgical mask. I can't fathom otherwise.

And while "properly worn" N95s did best, the others were still ranked better than I would have expected.

I wear N95s with headstraps rather than ear straps, but I put both headstraps together on top of my head, because my hair is usually in a bun and I will get all tangled up if I try to put on and take off the headstraps worn lower, plus my way still feels tight. But they aren't often airtight over my nose, as evidenced by fogging my glasses, so I know I'm not getting a perfect fit. But as I'm in a very low-population-density area and am the only one around still masking at all, and as someone who is retired and fortunately able to "just stay home" if I feel there is an elevated risk, this is good enough for me, for now. I'm enough of a hermit that I don't mind missing indoor community events if that is worrying me.

N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows

Researchers Found Even Lower-Performing Masks Were Protective

today.umd.edu

 

[Arkay]

Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #111

Man, 32, becomes fully paralyzed within days of catching Covid due to rare syndrome Thu, June 13, 2024 at 1:53 PM EDT https://news.yahoo.com/man-32-becomes-fully-paralyzed-175323906.html This is a horror story and a story about a miracle that he recovered. He seems to have an amazing attitude...

www.websleuths.com

@katydid23
I’m so sorry you’re in this predicament, my friend.

Please do get vaccinated again. I have had EIGHT shots. I have never had Covid and I’ve been ferocious about proper masking.

In the early days I yelled (masked of course) at everyone who crossed my path with a lousy mask or a mask worn improperly.
Now in NYC I am one of the very few who still masks.
Every cloth mask I’ve ever purchased was with the nose wire for tightening and with a pocket for a heavy duty filter.

Here in Florida where I am currently taking care of my mother, the personnel in her facility are masked, but no one anywhere else that I’ve seen in Florida at all, nor in the airports nor on airplanes.

I think you’ve taken very wise precautions Katydid and I hope you will be fine.

My friend in NY just got Covid for the first time, and his doctor told him he didn’t need to isolate! WTH is that???? It sounds like dereliction of duty to me.

 

[ilovewings]

@katydid23
I’m so sorry you’re in this predicament, my friend.

Please do get vaccinated again. I have had EIGHT shots. I have never had Covid and I’ve been ferocious about proper masking.

In the early days I yelled (masked of course) at everyone who crossed my path with a lousy mask or a mask worn improperly.
Now in NYC I am one of the very few who still masks.
Every cloth mask I’ve ever purchased was with the nose wire for tightening and with a pocket for a heavy duty filter.

Here in Florida where I am currently taking care of my mother, the personnel in her facility are masked, but no one anywhere else that I’ve seen in Florida at all, nor in the airports nor on airplanes.

I think you’ve taken very wise precautions Katydid and I hope you will be fine.

My friend in NY just got Covid for the first time, and his doctor told him he didn’t need to isolate! WTH is that???? It sounds like dereliction of duty to me.

We winter in Florida though, due to hurricane destruction of some of our condo property we have not been there in a couple of years. We were there last in 2022 and I know what you speak of about Floridians. No masks anywhere. I decided that Floridians have the belief that Covid stopped at the Florida border!!!!

 

[Knitty]

This thread is closed. Please continue at Thread #112