Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #102

[Herat]

For me, it highlights the continued risk of international travel, which various people I know or have heard of doing.

For one, you could have your return flight suddenly cancelled and have to figure out how to return home, plus have to do unexpected quarantine measures. Then, you could be at increased risk of catching some kind of variant suddenly appearing where you are, and, mild or not, getting sick in a foreign country is a miserable experience.

Yes, we keep reading story after story about people who were traveling in mid 2020 or even 2021 who were caught in a foreign land in quarantine and could not return to their homes, family, or jobs, at least for a considerable amount of time !

 

[Satchie]

Yes, we keep reading story after story about people who were traveling in mid 2020 or even 2021 who were caught in a foreign land in quarantine and could not return to their homes, family, or jobs, at least for a considerable amount of time !

I know...but many vaxxed people here in Canada believe that's all over. I know one woman who just headed off on an extended trip through Europe (as cases climb back up to last winter's levels), and many have gone off to winter sun destinations.

 

[SouthAussie]

There is a pic here of the spike protein in Delta and the spike protein in Omicron.

The Omicron variant has mutations in more than 70% of the spike variant.
The Delta variant has fewer mutations.



Covid-19 SA: Robe exposure sites named as borders stay open, drive-in jabs begin
(The SA in this article headline is South Australia, not South Africa)


We are just starting our 10th day of having our state borders open and, yep, we now have community covid cases. That didn't take long.

 

[jjenny]

"These initial results have led the infectious disease experts at Sheba, which houses one of Israel’s leading coronavirus laboratories, to cautiously hope that people who have been vaccinated three times may not be as vulnerable to Omicron as was first feared."
Surgeon Was First Omicron Case in Israel. Only One Contact Is Sick. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Some nice stats and graphs for you from the ONS (Office for National Statistics)



Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights - Office for National Statistics

We have only vaccinated age 12+ in the U.K so it’s school kids who are testing positive the most (shortly followed by their parents, by the looks of it) . It’s still overwhelmingly the elderly who are dying, though.

 

[CrimeAway]

TWIV Q&A weekly podcast starts at 8.00pm EST. I'm sure that they will mention the Omicron variant.

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[Cool Cats]

Thinking about getting a COVID-19 antibody test? Here’s why medical experts urge caution

But medical experts caution people against making decisions about getting vaccinated based on the results of an antibody test.

A test might reveal you have antibodies, but it can’t tell you if they will keep you from getting infected or very sick. The tests available to the public generally don’t offer the most accurate information of how resistant you are to getting reinfected, researchers say.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reminded the public and health care providers that results from authorized antibody tests “should not be used to evaluate a person’s level of immunity or protection from COVID-19 at any time, and especially after the person received a COVID-19 vaccination.”

Both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say antibody testing should not be used to decide if someone should be vaccinated.

What a positive result means
A positive antibody test result shows you may have antibodies from a previous infection or from vaccination, the CDC says. It does not mean you have a specific amount of immunity or protection from infection.

You can test positive for antibodies even if you never had COVID symptoms or haven’t been vaccinated — you could have had an asymptomatic infection. Always talk to your health care provider about what the test results mean. They might suggest having a second test for comparison.

 

[Grouse]

South Africa's Covid cases double in a day, but hospital admissions remain flat amid fears of an Omicron-driven wave of infections.

RSBM

According the report below "hospitalisations are now rising in Gauteng province." but it does also say (BBM) "And given the rise in cases is being driven by Omicron, it's reasonable to assume these admissions are caused by it, too." - so at this stage only an assumption.

COVID-19: Emerging picture from South Africa suggests Omicron variant could be real cause for concern

ETA: to add some perspective on this I see that, although Gauteng has the highest vaccination rate of the ZA provinces, as of 22/11/21 it would only appear to be around 42% (6.68m out of an estimated 2021 population of 15.8m)

South Africa: COVID-19 vaccination by province 2021 | Statista

 

[Grouse]

From Jerusalem Post

COVID: First signs that vaccine protects against Omicron – health minister

There are indications that individuals fully vaccinated against corona within six months or with the booster are also protected against the Omicron variant, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Tuesday, after another two cases were identified, bringing the total to four.

<snip> Later in the evening, a report by Channel 12 said the Pfizer vaccine is just slightly less effective in preventing infection with Omicron than with Delta – 90% as opposed to 95% – while it is as effective – around 93% – in preventing serious symptoms at least for those vaccinated with a booster.

According to the report, the ability of the variant to infect is higher than Delta but not as much as feared – around 1.3 times higher.

At the same time, those not inoculated have a 2.4 times greater chance of developing serious symptoms, a significant figure.

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-we...icacy-against-omicron-expected-tuesday-687392

Very early days but that's encouraging. If I'm understanding this correctly, although they've only had a very small number of cases in Israel they have used their contact tracing system against these cases to come to that conclusion?

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Covid: Trigger of rare blood clots with AstraZeneca jab found by scientists

More positive news - scientists finding why the Zeneca jab can cause clots (still v rare).

 

[HongKongPhooey]

UK approves another antibody treatment for Covid

And another little bit of positivity! Trials suggest this will be effective against variants "such as Omicron".

 

[Grouse]

Covid: Trigger of rare blood clots with AstraZeneca jab found by scientists

More positive news - scientists finding why the Zeneca jab can cause clots (still v rare).

Yay, we need positive news!

I was reading earlier that the 100+million doses the UK government has now put on order for the next round are all Pfizer or Moderna. I wonder if the AstraZeneca one will be discontinued.

 

[ilovewings]

Yay, we need positive news!

I was reading earlier that the 100+million doses the UK government has now put on order for the next round are all Pfizer or Moderna. I wonder if the AstraZeneca one will be discontinued.

It is good that they are investigating the mechanism of how some people (rarely)develop blood clots as a result of this vaccine, but honestly, I would not want to take this vaccine so I could see it being discontinued. Yes, fatal blood clots are very rare but if a loved one was someone who developed this rare side effect and they died, knowing it was rare would not make one feel any better.

 

[Skigh]

Christmas party leaves 50-60 people infected with suspected Omicron Covid in Norway | Daily Mail Online

A Christmas party in Norway has left between 50 and 60 people infected with Covid-19, suspected to be the new super-mutant Omicron variant.

If confirmed, it would be the world's biggest outbreak of the new strain so far.

Medics have ruled out the possibility the infections are Delta variant cases and said there was a 'high probability' it was the new strain.

Officials confirmed 50 people tested positive for Omicron with a PCR test following the party at Louise Restaurant & Bar in Aker Brygge, Oslo, on Friday.

A further 10 people received positive results from lateral flow tests, NRK reported, bringing the total cases up to 60 - half of all 120 attendees.

At least one of the Scatec employees had recently returned from the company's South Africa in Cape Town.

The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub.

At least two restaurant guests not involved in the Christmas party also later tested positive, though it is not yet clear if they were infected at the event or from a different contact. Ten waiters who served the table were tested after the party, but none have tested positive.

Over 71 per cent of Norway's population are fully vaccinated, higher than the 69 per cent of Brits and 59 per cent of Americans who have had both jabs.

 

[ilovewings]

Christmas party leaves 50-60 people infected with suspected Omicron Covid in Norway | Daily Mail Online

A Christmas party in Norway has left between 50 and 60 people infected with Covid-19, suspected to be the new super-mutant Omicron variant.

If confirmed, it would be the world's biggest outbreak of the new strain so far.

Medics have ruled out the possibility the infections are Delta variant cases and said there was a 'high probability' it was the new strain.

Officials confirmed 50 people tested positive for Omicron with a PCR test following the party at Louise Restaurant & Bar in Aker Brygge, Oslo, on Friday.

A further 10 people received positive results from lateral flow tests, NRK reported, bringing the total cases up to 60 - half of all 120 attendees.

At least one of the Scatec employees had recently returned from the company's South Africa in Cape Town.

The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub.

At least two restaurant guests not involved in the Christmas party also later tested positive, though it is not yet clear if they were infected at the event or from a different contact. Ten waiters who served the table were tested after the party, but none have tested positive.

Over 71 per cent of Norway's population are fully vaccinated, higher than the 69 per cent of Brits and 59 per cent of Americans who have had both jabs.

It would be important to know if the people who tested positive had symptoms or required hospitalization. That is a pretty big outbreak.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

It is good that they are investigating the mechanism of how some people (rarely)develop blood clots as a result of this vaccine, but honestly, I would not want to take this vaccine so I could see it being discontinued. Yes, fatal blood clots are very rare but if a loved one was someone who developed this rare side effect and they died, knowing it was rare would not make one feel any better.

I'm not sure how I feel about this really. All the vaccines seem to have pros and cons, and we had to risk assess what would be worse at the time. I would have it again, on balance. I had my booster today and it was Pfizer. I like that we are mixing them up, feel it may be added protection somehow,

The risk is 4 in one million people of having a blood clot, vs something like 7.8% of people with covid having them (I read that on healthline.com I think).

 

[sds71]

Gia Vang
@Gia_Vang

BREAKING: MDH confirms Omicron variant has been detected in the state. The Minnesota resident recently returned from NYC.
MDH says the variant was found through the MDH variant surveillance program.

MDH says "Having a robust virus surveillance system in place allowed MDH to quickly identify Omicron once it entered the state and made it more likely that Minnesota would be among the first states to find the variant."



- Adult male - Had been vaccinated - Mild symptoms on Nov. 22 - symptoms have resolved

News Release: Lab testing confirms state’s first COVID-19 case involving Omicron variant

 

[Grouse]

It is good that they are investigating the mechanism of how some people (rarely)develop blood clots as a result of this vaccine, but honestly, I would not want to take this vaccine so I could see it being discontinued. Yes, fatal blood clots are very rare but if a loved one was someone who developed this rare side effect and they died, knowing it was rare would not make one feel any better.

I would take it again if it was the only one available. Of more concern to me than the blood clot risk is that the efficacy (particularly against the Delta variant) of AZ reportedly waned more than Pfizer after 6 months.,

 

[Skigh]

Germany Covid: Merkel approves lockdown for the unvaccinated | Daily Mail Online


Germany will lock down its unvaccinated citizens while parliament debates making jabs mandatory, Angela Merkel said as she threw her weight behind the move today.

The outgoing Chancellor said that un-jabbed people will soon be barred from non-essential shops and all cultural and leisure facilities, with only those who have got their shots or been infected with Covid allowed to enter.

The Bundestag will also begin debating a vaccine mandate as soon as possible with a view to making it law by February next year, Merkel added.

Speaking alongside incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz who has also signalled his support for the move, she said: 'If I were in the Bundestag, I would vote for it.

'We all hoped that volunteering would be better accepted. [But] there is a vaccination gap that means... the health system is coming to the brink of overload.'

 

[Grouse]

It would be important to know if the people who tested positive had symptoms or required hospitalization. That is a pretty big outbreak.

Yes, this looks like the biggest sample size outside Africa so far so the analysis of this should hopefully tell us more, both of those who tested positive and also how many of their contacts go on to test positive.