Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #60

[10ofRods]

I think people have been warned plenty by now. Obviously not all public health experts are encouraging large gatherings. The states are also opening up, and we have large gatherings-we are going to see increase in covid, there seems to be no doubt of that.

Speaking of which, I've been watching the Vegas Strip webcam off and on all weekend. Let's just say the crowds are underwhelming. The TV shots inside casinos show that almost no one has come back - yet. The people who were there...well, many were over 60 or 0ver 70. Many were obese. No one wore masks. Everyone was having a good time or so it seemed. But, with so few people out (the casinos were allowing two people to sit together at slots, every other seat at roulette tables, etc), I wonder what the risk really is?

Overall mortality from CoVid is, apparently, fairly low. For the US it's .03% (3/1000ths of a percent). It would be half that without NYC and New Jersey in the numbers. Risk of transmission outdoors seems low; indoors with A/C seems moderately high; indoors with recirculated air in a hospital - very high. Public transportation with packed buses and trains - very high. Nursing homes with the elderly, and recirculated air, crowded dining rooms - very high.

I think all the places with mass protests will see some increase in CV cases and subsequent mortality, but it will probably be less than 1/1000th of a percent extra.

We went to a farmer's market/greenhouse last weekend. At least 50 people there, all ages and everyone out there were wearing masks. I was pleasantly surprised until I walked into the small building to pay for everything and the young girl at the counter wasn't wearing a mask. They even had stacks of masks for sale on the counter. The other workers all wore masks except her. Ohio law mandates all businesses and employees must wear masks. They had a great selection and reasonable prices but I won't be going back now.

I reported a restaurant and County Health came out within 12 hours. My DH prefers to write Google reviews and it's amazing how many places have responded and fixed the situation.

That one young girl, maskless, is harming the overall business, which is probably already in trouble. WHY do the operators not take heed and why isn't she wearing a mask? Some people I know would open their mouths and mention it, but my DH and I tend...not to go back.

 

[tmar]

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Bradley Jolly
7 hrs ago
...
A vaccine for coronavirus could be ready in the form of an inhaler in just weeks, it is believed.

Researchers at University of Oxford are "80 per cent confident" the Covid-19 vaccine they've been developing will work, particularly on younger people.

Drug company Astra Zeneca will produce two billion doses of the vaccine when it gets the green light, it is reported today.
He said: “We are guessing that might be around about August time - it might be before if cases do not decline as quickly as we expect, or be later if we run out of cases."

He added the drug will be in the form of an inhaler, it is understood.

The trial, which started in April, began recruiting up to 10,260 adults over 55 and children.
Since then, Astra Zeneca has already agreed to supply 100 million doses of the potential vaccine to the UK. The Anglo-Swedish company has also signed a massive $1 billion deal for a coronavirus vaccine with the US government.

 

[tmar]

Brazil govt yanks virus death toll as data befuddles experts

Brazil govt yanks virus death toll as data befuddles experts

DIANE JEANTET, Associated Press
12 hrs ago
...
Brazil's government has stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections in an extraordinary move that critics call an attempt to hide the true toll of the disease in Latin America's largest nation.
The Saturday move came after months of criticism from experts saying Brazil’s statistics are woefully deficient, and in some cases manipulated, so it may never be possible to gain a real understanding of the depth of the pandemic in the country.

Brazil's last official numbers showed it had recorded over 34,000 deaths related to the coronavirus, the third-highest number in the world, just ahead of Italy. It reported nearly 615,000 infections, putting it at the second-highest, behind the United States. Brazil, with about 210 million people, is the globe's seventh most populous nation.

 

[tmar]

New York City Begins Reopening After 3 Months of Outbreak and Hardship

New York City Begins Reopening After 3 Months of Outbreak and Hardship

J. David Goodman
3 hrs ago
...
Exactly 100 days since its first case of coronavirus was confirmed, New York City, which weathered extensive hardship as an epicenter of the worldwide outbreak, is set to take the first tentative steps toward reopening its doors on Monday.

Getting here took the sacrifice of millions of New Yorkers who learned to live radically different lives. More than 205,000 have been infected, and nearly 22,000 have died.
As many as 400,000 workers could begin returning to construction jobs, manufacturing sites and retail stores in the city’s first phase of reopening— a surge of normalcy that seemed almost inconceivable several weeks ago, when the city’s hospitals were at a breaking point and as many as 800 people were dying from Covid-19 on a single day.
...
State and city officials said they were optimistic that the city would begin to spring back to life. Testing is robust and growing, reaching 33,000 people on a recent day. And new infections are now down to around 500 a day — half as many as there were just a few weeks ago.
...
New York City, like nine other regions in the state, was required to meet seven health-related metrics before beginning reopening. New York City was the last part of the state to do so; much of upstate has already moved on to Phase 2, which allows most stores, offices and hair salons to open, with restrictions on capacity and social distance.

 

[jjenny]

"Americans may wish the virus to be gone, but it is not. While the outbreak has eased in the Northeast, driving down the overall national numbers, cases have only plateaued in the rest of the country, and they appear to be on the rise in recent days in COVID Tracking Project data. Twenty-two states reported 400 or more new cases Friday, and 14 other states and Puerto Rico reported cases in the triple digits. Several states—including Arizona, North Carolina, and California—are now seeing their highest numbers of known cases."
America Is Giving Up on the Pandemic

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Bradley Jolly
7 hrs ago
...
A vaccine for coronavirus could be ready in the form of an inhaler in just weeks, it is believed.

Researchers at University of Oxford are "80 per cent confident" the Covid-19 vaccine they've been developing will work, particularly on younger people.

Drug company Astra Zeneca will produce two billion doses of the vaccine when it gets the green light, it is reported today.
He said: “We are guessing that might be around about August time - it might be before if cases do not decline as quickly as we expect, or be later if we run out of cases."

He added the drug will be in the form of an inhaler, it is understood.

The trial, which started in April, began recruiting up to 10,260 adults over 55 and children.
Since then, Astra Zeneca has already agreed to supply 100 million doses of the potential vaccine to the UK. The Anglo-Swedish company has also signed a massive $1 billion deal for a coronavirus vaccine with the US government.

This sounds promising as Astra Zeneca is a well known pharmaceutical company here in the UK. Even more promising that the US have already bought into it.

An inhaler is a good idea, but I wonder if it's single dose or something that has to be taken longer term.

 

[tmar]

Coronavirus could 'smoulder' in Africa for several years, WHO warns

Coronavirus could 'smoulder' in Africa for several years, WHO warns

Jason Burke and Emmanuel Akinwotu
3 hrs ago
...
The Covid-19 pandemic could “smoulder” in Africa for several years after killing as many as 190,000 people in the coming 12 months, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO warned last month that there could be 10m infections on the continent within six months, though experts said the pandemic’s impact would depend on governments’ actions.
A study released by the organisation this week predicts that between 29 million to 44 million people could become infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail. This “would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of Africa” where there are only nine intensive care unit beds per million people.

“While Covid-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots,” said the director of the World Health Organization’s Africa region, Dr Matshidiso Moeti. “Covid-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”
The research looked at 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion.

More than 51,000 people in Africa have been infected and 2,012 have died. The total number of cases has risen sharply in the past week.

“Overall … we are looking at community spread in some countries … We are estimating that this will peak in four to six weeks if nothing is done,” Moeti told reporters on Thursday.

Most countries have imposed lockdowns of varying severity that appear to have slowed the spread of the virus.

 

[tmar]

This sounds promising as Astra Zeneca is a well known pharmaceutical company here in the UK. Even more promising that the US have already bought into it.

An inhaler is a good idea, but I wonder if it's single dose or something that has to be taken longer term.

Many, many year ago, my Genetic's Professor, stated 'vaccines by inhalers' will be on the rise, and effective.
Let us see!!!!
MOO.

 

[SA55]

I was just going to post - yes, we are finally home: Thought we'd never get here!!!
Now I am going to be counting the days , hoping I didn't contract the virus on our
journey---- thank you so much for asking!!! You guys really helped me get through that
stressful time. It was eye opening in many ways. You really see a swath of America (some of it you wish you didn't see LOL).

YAY
Relieved for you as I know you were anxious making that trip
One question
Did you decide to travel through TN on your way home and if so did you wave to the east to me as you passed?

 

[tabitha111]

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Bradley Jolly
7 hrs ago
...
A vaccine for coronavirus could be ready in the form of an inhaler in just weeks, it is believed.

Researchers at University of Oxford are "80 per cent confident" the Covid-19 vaccine they've been developing will work, particularly on younger people.

Hope it works for us older folks too!!

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Many, many year ago, my Genetic's Professor, stated 'vaccines by inhalers' will be on the rise, and effective.
Let us see!!!!
MOO.

Kids get offered the flu vaccine at school every winter, it's done with a nasal spray, is that a similar thing/method?

 

[ilovewings]

Opinion | Our Next Crisis Will Be Caring for Survivors of Covid-19
BBM & SBM
Our Next Crisis Will Be Caring for Survivors of Covid-19

Many among the most ill may emerge with debilitating infirmities that will present major challenges in care By Robert Klitzman






Dr. Klitzman is professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

June 4, 2020

We have plenty of data on rates of death versus survival from the virus, but not much on the quality of survival. But what we do know from the limited data about survivors of Covid-19, and about how ventilated and critically ill patients fare after spending weeks in intensive-care units, raises significant concerns.


....patients who end up in I.C.U.s for extended periods often develop post-intensive-care syndrome, which can include cognitive, muscular and neurological problems, as well as PTSD. These problems can persist for months and even years. In Britain, as of mid-May, about a third of Covid-19 patients in I.C.U.s were still there after 20 days, putting them at high risk for these conditions.

At discharge, almost all ARDS patients have significant neuro-cognitive deficits, including impaired memory, attention and concentration (the result, for instance, of low oxygen levels). These problems can still be found in up to 20 percent of these patients five years later, according to a 2016 article in the journal Intensive Care Medicine.

In a recent article on the blog of the journal Health Affairs, three public health experts at Harvard estimated that assuming 40 percent of the country is infected over the course of the pandemic, more than 20 million Americans will be hospitalized and nearly 4.5 million will require intensive care.

.....some of these patients remain in hospitals, using resources that could be used for other Covid-19 patients or those who have cancer, diabetes or other serious diseases but have had to postpone treatment because of the pandemic.

Others who are being sent home may have significant physical or cognitive impairments, preventing them from working or caring for themselves.

The needs of Covid-19 survivors have received little attention and must be addressed.

We are simply not prepared to handle them.

A very eye opening article---apparentlyfor many patients surviving
this hideous disease is only half the battle

 

[ilovewings]

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Coronavirus breakthrough as vaccine ‘using inhaler could be ready by August'

Bradley Jolly
7 hrs ago
...
A vaccine for coronavirus could be ready in the form of an inhaler in just weeks, it is believed.

Researchers at University of Oxford are "80 per cent confident" the Covid-19 vaccine they've been developing will work, particularly on younger people.

Drug company Astra Zeneca will produce two billion doses of the vaccine when it gets the green light, it is reported today.
He said: “We are guessing that might be around about August time - it might be before if cases do not decline as quickly as we expect, or be later if we run out of cases."

He added the drug will be in the form of an inhaler, it is understood.

The trial, which started in April, began recruiting up to 10,260 adults over 55 and children.
Since then, Astra Zeneca has already agreed to supply 100 million doses of the potential vaccine to the UK. The Anglo-Swedish company has also signed a massive $1 billion deal for a coronavirus vaccine with the US government.

80% isnt enough of a percentage of confidence for me

 

[ilovewings]

YAY
Relieved for you as I know you were anxious making that trip
One question
Did you decide to travel through TN on your way home and if so did you wave to the east to me as you passed?

we sure did travel thru TN--thru Knoxville---and of course i waved to you!!!!!
it was good to get home though things in Michigan are a lot different
than Florida--they are just beginning to reopen in Michigan--lots of
masks in my suburb----employees and customers

 

[tmar]

When you read (in the article) the progress of Covid 19, it is horrid.
Stay safe guys!

'It feels endless': four women struggling to recover from Covid-19

'It feels endless': four women struggling to recover from Covid-19

Luke Harding
8 hrs ago
...
Last month, the Guardian published an interview with Paul Garner, a professor of infectious diseases, about his experience of Covid-19. The piece was shared widely and viewed nearly 1m times. Readers got in touch to say they too were suffering from lingering and often strange Covid-19 symptoms.

There is evidence that the official NHS description of the virus’s symptoms – cough, fever, loss of taste/smell – is too narrow. Those who do not need acute hospital treatment and who are isolating at home report a far broader range of problems. Often these go on for longer than 14 days. An online survey of 151 medical professionals who fell ill in March found 68 are still unable to work. A further 26 went back, only to stop again when symptoms returned.
It appears coronavirus may be a chronic condition. How long it persists for is unknown. The symptoms can be serious and wide-ranging, affecting the lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and nervous system. Headaches, shortness of breath, sore throat and feeling exhausted are common. So is recovery followed by frequent relapses. Here are the stories of four women who are struggling to return to normal life.

 

[Chelly]

Good question! The family group will be staying in a large rental house on a beach. Our friends said they will not be going to restaurants. The younger folks will do any shopping needed and they will cook meals at the house. I hope the younger folks are careful.

I hope they stay safe and have a wonderful time together.

 

[tmar]

Has the coronavirus pandemic proved that homelessness is solvable?

Has the coronavirus pandemic proved that homelessness is solvable?

Ben Knight
1 hour ago
© Provided by ABC News Steven Coard has been sleeping rough for most of his adult life. (ABC News: Mahalia Carter)

In the days before the coronavirus shutdown took effect, a massive operation was underway in Australia's capital cities — to get more than 7,000 homeless people off the streets and into rooms in hotels, motels and empty student accommodation.

"I'm not aware of it happening on this scale before," said Jenny Smith, the chair of Homelessness Australia.

It was an emergency measure.
But it's also been wildly successful at solving a problem that for years has seemed impossible to crack — getting long-term rough sleepers off the streets, into permanent accommodation and with a chance to rebuild their lives.

"The silver lining in the pandemic is that we've got these people in our grasp for the first time," said Bevan Warner, the CEO of Launch Housing in Melbourne.

"It's shown that homelessness is solvable. For the first time, we've got an opportunity to work with them from rough sleeping into a permanent home and a good life."

The numbers are remarkable.

"They can be really hard to get your hands on."
Getting housed a 'mind-blowing' experience
Steven Coard was one of them. At nearly 50, he's been sleeping rough for most of his adult life.

"What an amazing transformation — from being at rock bottom, to back on the social ladder," he said.

"I thought we were going to be left out here to deal with it ourselves.

"All of a sudden, we're all being housed. It's a very mind-blowing experience."

But now, as COVID-19 restrictions ease across the country, homelessness agencies are deeply worried about going back to the status quo.
"We've got 1,000 people off the streets because we know that was the right thing to do," said Brownyn Pike, a former Victorian Minister for Housing and current CEO of Uniting Vic-Tas.

"If we can do it, and we can do it effectively, why can't we make it a permanent state?

"There is plenty of student accommodation that is available.

"And then what we have to do is provide the connected supports — to help people deal with their drug and alcohol issues, mental health and childhood trauma issues. A lot of those reasons why people are on the street in the first place."

Housing the homeless is cheaper
And that, says Bevan Warner, is why it is a cheaper model than leaving people on the street.

"It costs more in police call-outs, and having doctors and nurses treat people in emergency wards, than it does to provide people with a home," he said.

"With the 1,000 clients that we have currently in emergency accommodation, we'd be saving $15 million a year."
...

 

[10ofRods]

Hope it works for us older folks too!!

From the article:

//Researchers at University of Oxford are "80 per cent confident" the Covid-19 vaccine they've been developing will work, particularly on younger people.//

I wonder if this means (as I've read elsewhere) that they think the vaccine will be effective in about 80% of people. This amidst concerns about permanent antibodies and the need for annual vaccines (as with flu shots).

So, if it can be done by inhaler and is safe, that would be amazing.

From what I've read about how this vaccine is made, even if it doesn't prevent infection in older people, it dramatically reduces the seriousness of the disease. It seems to me that the Oxford scientists are beginning to prep people to understand this won't be a near 100% safety net and a once-in-lifetime deal (like small pox vaccine) but a different type of vaccine.

 

[Trino]

Well, it's back to my brother again who I still cannot believe was raised in the same household.

"Coronavirus is old news. Not even worth talking about. Every state has opened, and cases are almost gone. Employment is rising, and everyone's going to get their jobs back. Not gonna get a vaccine. It won't be safe, and you won't need one."

Oh, well... I just listened. Facts aren't important to everyone, I guess.

 

[margarita25]

Here’s what WHO says your mask should have to prevent COVID-19 spread

(Sorry if repost, must read full article)