Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #97

[margarita25]

Delta variant and viral load: What scientists are watching in the Covid pandemic (nbcnews.com)

What sets delta apart, experts say, is how much virus is produced by those who are infected — a measure known as viral load.

The delta variant of the coronavirus, now the most common strain circulating in the United States, is causing cases of Covid-19 to surge across the country. Key to the variant's dominance is its supercharged transmissibility, driven in part by how the mutated virus behaves in the body after infection.

The delta variant is thought to be the most contagious of all the known variants to date, with research suggesting it's more than twice as transmissible as the original strain of the coronavirus. What sets delta apart, experts say, is how much virus is produced by those who are infected — a measure known as viral load.

"We've seen through testing that people infected with the delta variant have more virus in their samples than people who had any other subtype of the virus," said Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the University of Southern California. "That's a large part of what's going to account for this enhanced transmissibility."...

Yes, last I heard, Delta has 1000 times the viral load than the original strain. ONE THOUSAND. This to me is insane. It’s more contagious than everything except measles, I think.

Ref:
Delta variant viral load 1,000 times higher than original coronavirus strain

Also, I’ve heard the R-Naught is 5-8!! I think Dr. Wallensky said 5, and Dr. O or Dr. G said 8.

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Eta- we haaave to get the world vaccinated. There are front liners who don’t even have one dose!

Dr. Mike and Doc T:

“Ryan said world leaders and public health officials can help defend the most vulnerable through the donation and distribution of Covid vaccines.

“We can protect those vulnerable people, those front-line workers,” Ryan said, “and the fact that we haven’t, as Director-General [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] has said, again and again, is a catastrophic moral failure at a global level.”” - source

 

[SouthAussie]

One J&j is considered fully vaxed. Have they mentioned boosters for that one anywhere?

There's this ... but they are calling it a supplement.

San Francisco will provide an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people who got the single-shot Johnson & Johnson variety but public health officials aren’t calling it a booster, authorities said Tuesday.

In a possibly unique decision in California, the Department of Public Health said people who request it can receive a supplemental dose at city-run clinics. The second shot will be a vaccine produced by either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

While Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is effective at preventing serious infections, “we have gotten requests based on patients talking to their physicians, and that’s why we are allowing the accommodations,” said Naveena Bobba, the department’s deputy director of health.

Public health officials described the shot as a supplement rather than a booster shot.

“It’s not a booster because it’s not specific for some of the variants, which the booster ultimately will be,” Colwell said.

San Francisco is giving extra COVID vaccine dose to Johnson & Johnson recipients | KTLA

 

[ilovewings]

Some Americans are getting COVID-19 boosters. But the FDA hasn't approved it

Some Americans are getting COVID-19 boosters. But the FDA hasn't approved it

From what I recall the booster won't be a full dose, but rather a half dose: is my recollection correct?

 

[Cool Cats]

New Texas school COVID-19 guidelines rattle medical experts



The new guidelines state that schools don't have to inform parents of positive cases; schools do not have to contact trace; and parents can choose to send a student to school if he or she has been in close contact with a positive case, among other updates.

Texas rules maintain that school systems must exclude students from attending school in person who are actively sick with COVID-19 or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19.

Parents must ensure they do not send a child to school if he or she has COVID-19 symptoms or is test-confirmed with COVID-19 until the conditions for re-entry are met. TEA says schools may offer remote learning to students who are out.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

New Texas school COVID-19 guidelines rattle medical experts



The new guidelines state that schools don't have to inform parents of positive cases; schools do not have to contact trace; and parents can choose to send a student to school if he or she has been in close contact with a positive case, among other updates.

Texas rules maintain that school systems must exclude students from attending school in person who are actively sick with COVID-19 or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19.

Parents must ensure they do not send a child to school if he or she has COVID-19 symptoms or is test-confirmed with COVID-19 until the conditions for re-entry are met. TEA says schools may offer remote learning to students who are out.

A UK study showed that 98.4% of school children asked to isolate did NOT end up catching Covid - I’m not sure what period of time that study covered but it’s recent. Originally a Telegraph article (which is behind a pay wall) here is another version:

Oxford study suggests forcing children to self-isolate was ‘needless’ and ‘destructive’

 

[margarita25]

New Texas school COVID-19 guidelines rattle medical experts



The new guidelines state that schools don't have to inform parents of positive cases; schools do not have to contact trace; and parents can choose to send a student to school if he or she has been in close contact with a positive case, among other updates.

Texas rules maintain that school systems must exclude students from attending school in person who are actively sick with COVID-19 or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19.

Parents must ensure they do not send a child to school if he or she has COVID-19 symptoms or is test-confirmed with COVID-19 until the conditions for re-entry are met. TEA says schools may offer remote learning to students who are out.

WHAT.

 

[margarita25]

Omg, so it seems there’s a check box for parent’s to “opt out” of mask requirement for their child at Florida school...I can see potential issues with this as far as dynamics between students...some masked, some not.

6 church members all previously healthy and unvaccinated died of covid in 10 days at one church, many others ill

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eta: This man was supporting the burning of masks and antivax, now he’s dead:

 

[SouthAussie]

A UK study showed that 98.4% of school children asked to isolate did NOT end up catching Covid - I’m not sure what period of time that study covered but it’s recent. Originally a Telegraph article (which is behind a pay wall) here is another version:

Oxford study suggests forcing children to self-isolate was ‘needless’ and ‘destructive’

So, 1.6% of those children did catch covid. Which is the point of isolation. Don't let those unidentified 1.6% be out in their community spreading the virus.

We isolate hundreds .. thousands ... as well. Because to stop large community spread, you must catch that 1.6% quickly.

If you leave them in the community, before you know it those 1.6% will each have spread the virus to 8 people, who each will spread it to 8 more people ... and on and on, until there are large numbers of cases to deal with. (As you well know, just reminding others of that. )

 

[Tiff23fr]

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