Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #101

[jjenny]

Moderna urges FDA to authorize a half-size booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine for some adults

The company is asking for authorization for a 50-microgram booster dose -- half the size of the 100-microgram doses used in the primary series of the two-dose vaccine. The company says halving the dose increases protection against the coronavirus while helping the worldwide Covid-19 vaccine supply.

It will also decrease side effects. Anyhow, I got the full dose booster already.

 

[jjenny]

Our local pharmacy is taking names of individuals who will qualify for the 3rd Moderna vaccine. I'm disappointed that the 3rd Moderna dose will be a half dose.

Moderna's half dose is still higher than Pfizer's full dose.

 

[Cool Cats]

It will also decrease side effects. Anyhow, I got the full dose booster already.

I wonder if someone who got the 2 Pfizer could then get a Moderna for their booster?

I like the idea of how strong Moderna is and it seems to be lasting longer. Hummm.

I got the impression that there are more side effects from Moderna and assume it's because it is a stronger dose. Like more reaction at the injection site.

 

[jjenny]

I wonder if someone who got the 2 Pfizer could then get a Moderna for their booster?

I like the idea of how strong Moderna is and it seems to be lasting longer. Hummm.

I got the impression that there are more side effects from Moderna and assume it's because it is a stronger dose. Like more reaction at the injection site.

I believe FDA will soon allow mixing of the vaccines-someone who got Pfizer will be able to get Moderna booster, and the other way around. Moderna does appear to have more side effects, likely because it's a larger dose, but it's also the best of the three in terms of reducing infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Also, for someone who got J&J, Moderna booster produced most antibodies, so it would make sense for them to get Moderna booster.

 

[ilovewings]

NHL SUSPENDS San Jose Sharks Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a FAKE COVID vaccine card | Daily Mail Online

I guess the NHL is not fooling around although vaccinations are not required in the NHL. Here in Detroit, one of the Detroit Red Wings is refusing to get vaccinated and there is no punishment for that except he will not be allowed to play in Canada.

 

[Skigh]

Is an even MORE infectious strain of Delta now taking off in Britain? | Daily Mail Online

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Is an even MORE infectious strain of Delta now taking off in Britain? | Daily Mail Online

Marvellous news

Anecdotally, I am hearing of a LOT of school children testing positive via the twice weekly home tests with no symptoms at all, none. On one hand it’s a good job we are catching these cases and keeping the (outwardly) healthy kids away from school and minimising contact, but on the other hand it’s making our case stats look alarmingly high in comparison to countries who are only testing ill people and therefore not picking up asymptomatic cases.

It’s all STILL an absolute mess, going on two years now, god knows what this winter is going to look like

 

[Skigh]

UK's daily Covid deaths hit SEVEN-MONTH high of 223 while cases jump 13% in a week to 43,738 | Daily Mail Online

 

[jjenny]

NHL SUSPENDS San Jose Sharks Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a FAKE COVID vaccine card | Daily Mail Online

I guess the NHL is not fooling around although vaccinations are not required in the NHL. Here in Detroit, one of the Detroit Red Wings is refusing to get vaccinated and there is no punishment for that except he will not be allowed to play in Canada.

I believe he could be charged criminally because forging covid card is a crime.

 

[musicaljoke]

NHL SUSPENDS San Jose Sharks Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a FAKE COVID vaccine card | Daily Mail Online

I guess the NHL is not fooling around although vaccinations are not required in the NHL. Here in Detroit, one of the Detroit Red Wings is refusing to get vaccinated and there is no punishment for that except he will not be allowed to play in Canada.

Andthecrowdburstintowildapplause!!GO NHL!!!
(sorrymyspacethingieisn'tworking)

 

[musicaljoke]

Brazilian Leader’s Pandemic Handling Draws Explosive Allegation: Homicide

BRASÍLIA, Brazil — A Brazilian congressional panel is set to recommend mass homicide charges against President Jair Bolsonaro, asserting that he intentionally let the coronavirus rip through the country and kill hundreds of thousands in a failed bid to achieve herd immunity and revive Latin America’s largest economy.

A report from the congressional panel’s investigation, ... also recommends criminal charges against 69 other people, including three of Mr. Bolsonaro’s sons and numerous current and former government officials.
[...]
The extraordinary accusations appear in a nearly 1,200-page report that effectively blames Mr. Bolsonaro’s policies for the deaths of more than 300,000 Brazilians, half of the nation’s coronavirus death toll, and urges the Brazilian authorities to imprison the president, according to the excerpts from the report and interviews with two of the committee’s senators.
[...]
“Many of these deaths were preventable,” Renan Calheiros, the centrist Brazilian senator who was the lead author of the report, said in an interview in his office late Monday. Mr. Calheiros, who is one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the Senate and a former chairman of the 81-member body, said of Mr. Bolsonaro: “I am personally convinced that he is responsible for escalating the slaughter.”
[...]
The report found that the president had pushed unproven drugs like hydroxychloroquine well after they had been shown to be ineffective for treating Covid-19

 

[weepingangel]

US Supreme Court Won't Stop COVID Vaccine Mandate for Maine Health Workers
More at link
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear an emergency appeal of a vaccine requirement imposed on Maine health care workers, the latest defeat for opponents of vaccine mandates.

It was the first time the Supreme Court weighed in on a statewide vaccine mandate. It previously rejected challenges of vaccine requirements for New York City teachers and Indiana University staff and students.



Mass General Brigham employees sue over COVID vaccine exemption denial
more at link
Eight Mass General Brigham employees have filed a lawsuit against the health system for denying medical and religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the denials constituted discrimination and retaliation.

The lawsuit, filed on Sunday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenges Mass General Brigham’s decision to deny hundreds of its employees accommodations and threaten to place them on unpaid leave beginning Oct. 20, followed by termination on Nov. 5. The employees are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the health system from enforcing the unpaid leaves and terminations, arguing the company created its own internal process for reviewing and granting religious and medical accommodations for the newly imposed vaccine policy.

 

[mickey2942]

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tests positive for Covid-19 - CNNPolitics

Fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19.

 

[Lilibet]

Doctors spreading Covid misinformation. So much for “do no harm”!

Covid vaccine misinformation: These doctors are part of the problem - CNN

 

[ilovewings]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/18/coronavirus-mutations/

The mutation referred to in the article is being called "Delta plus"and they are keeping a watchful eye on it. Sigh

 

[Lilibet]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/18/coronavirus-mutations/

The mutation referred to in the article is being called "Delta plus"and they are keeping a watchful eye on it. Sigh

This is an excellent…and chilling…article. The graphic about halfway through showing how a virus mutates is fascinating. This paragraph jumped out at me of course:

Scientists studying the evolution of the coronavirus say their research reinforces the need to vaccinate widely and rapidly. There is too much virus in circulation. Mutation is a numbers game. The more chances a virus has to mutate, the more likely it is that a fitter variant will gain traction.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/18/coronavirus-mutations/

 

[ilovewings]

This is an excellent…and chilling…article. The graphic about halfway through showing how a virus mutates is fascinating. This paragraph jumped out at me of course:

Scientists studying the evolution of the coronavirus say their research reinforces the need to vaccinate widely and rapidly. There is too much virus in circulation. Mutation is a numbers game. The more chances a virus has to mutate, the more likely it is that a fitter variant will gain traction.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/18/coronavirus-mutations/

It surely does not quell our anxiety that 1/4 of people in the US refuse to get vaccinated.

 

[weepingangel]

.He attended an outdoor cybersecurity event last week and on Saturday, appeared at a Peace Officers Memorial Service where he stood outside alongsidePresident Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
A White House official told CNN that "no White House principal has been determined to be a close contact of Secretary Mayorkas, given that the most recent contact was at the outdoors FOP event outside of the 48-hour close contact window."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tests positive for Covid-19 - CNNPolitics

Fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19.

 

[weepingangel]

CNN’s John King, a Massachusetts native, reveals he has multiple sclerosis
More at link
King ended his remarks reiterating why being vaccinated was essential to protecting other people.


“I worry about bring [COVID] home to my 10-year-old son who can’t get a vaccine,” King said. “I don’t like the government telling me what to do. I don’t like my boss telling me what to do. In this case it’s important.”

 

[weepingangel]

Big E western MA
More at link
Only 100 COVID cases linked to 2021 Big E, public health director says
While the Big E saw record breaking days of attendance and a total of 1,498,774 guests this year, only a “fraction of a fraction” of attendees tested positive for COVID-19.
West Springfield Director of Public Health Jeanne Galloway told MassLive there are currently only 100 cases in Massachusetts that were connected to the fair, which lasted from from Sept. 17 to Oct. 3.
************



Though mass has done well here with lots of covid things, contact tracing and employer /employee notification (imo personal experience) has pretty much been not so great.
really western MA
Welcome to City of Pittsfield, MA
More at link
Statement from Health Department on COVID-19 cluster at Fenn Street post office
The City of Pittsfield Health Department would like to inform Pittsfield residents that the city’s Contact Tracing Team and Health Department have been notified of four lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in employees of the United States Postal Office Location 212 Fenn St., with exposure dates of Sept. 28, 2021 to the present.

Our local contact tracing team and Health department have made many attempts to work with this organization, USPS location 212 Fenn St., to identify those who have had close contact with the cases. We have been unsuccessful due to the lack of cooperation and information from the United States Postal Office. Due to this lack of cooperation, the Health Department believes it is necessary to notify the public. The risk of exposure from individuals present at the post office on these dates is no greater than the risk of contracting the virus in the general community. However, it is important to be aware that the USPS location 212 Fenn St. is not providing requested information to the city’s contact tracing team. The lack of cooperation and information poses a risk to the community. Collaboration between workplaces and the city’s contact tracing team is crucial in slowing transmission.