Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #104

[indicolite22]

'Mass deaths and hospitalisations are now history': Vaccines expert backs PM's light-touch Covid measures as hospital admissions fall to half of level last Christmas despite record-breaking Omicron infection surge

• Professor Sir John Bell said the public had been 'pretty responsible' so far as he said decision was 'fine'
  
• Oxford don said 'horrific scenes' of overwhelmed NHS 'is now history in my view' as he backed PM
  
• Despite surge in Omicron variant cases, figures on hospital admissions down 50% on December 2020
  
• Stats reveal 842 Covid patients in ICU on ventilators - the lowest in two months

'There are a lot of people who are aware that we are in the face of this large wave of disease. The behaviour of people in the UK, in England in particular, has been pretty responsible in terms of trying not to go out and spending a lot of time exposing yourself to the virus.'

 

[musicaljoke]

Sorry to hear this. If there is any consolation, babies seem to do okay.

Yes, fortunately most babies do okay. Parents still really need to do all they can to protect their babies from getting covid. Long term effects of damage to the brain are not common, but they have been observed, even in cases where babies had no symptoms.
New UK study reveals extent of brain complications in children hospitalized with COVID-19

 

[indicolite22]

Revealed: Nearly all pregnant women on ventilators with Covid haven't had jab... as heartbroken father says his daughter might still be alive if she had been vaccinated

• More than 500 expectant women or those who have just given birth have been treated in ICU over past eight months in England
• 118 were on ventilators within 24 hours
• 15 of those died; 24 are still in ICU battling the virus
• With only about 25% of pregnant women getting the vaccine, experts have laid out further warnings in light of the figures

'We don't know yet about what is going to happen in relation to the Omicron variant but what we have seen with other variants is that they are causing more severe disease in pregnant women.'

 

[weepingangel]

Delta CEO asks CDC to cut quarantine time for breakthrough COVID cases

 

[jjenny]

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't explain why my son's brother-in-law who is vaccinated, now has covid. The only difference between him and the 7 other family members is that he never got the booster shot. A few days will tell if the rest of the family is infected. I spoke to my son again today and he thinks he has covid. When he gets his test, he'll know for sure.

Thank you for the information SouthAussie. Much appreciated.

Omicron is highly mutated, so vaccines don't work as well against it as against Delta or Alpha.
Two dose vaccine regimen has very low efficiency. Adding a booster helps, but still nowhere near 95%. Vaccines still help to prevent severe complications, but against infection, efficiency is a lot lower with Omicron.

 

[ilovewings]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/27/covid-test-shortage-pandemic/

I am sure people can relate to this person who could not find a test in time to get the MAB -- she went looking all over two states --- I heard someone commenting on Morning Joe this morning about why the administration did not have tests ready for the American people. Apparently the president was relying on the American people to get vaccinated and thought that testing therefore would not become the issue it has become. He, like many of us simply did not count on such resistance to the vaccine. However, his administration should had plan B and they did not.

In the case of the woman who wrote the article, she got over her illness rather quickly and never needed the MAB she thought she would. She is still very angry though about the difficulty in securing a test. It is inexcusable IMO. Again, the United States is operating like a third world country.

 

[ilovewings]

Omicron is highly mutated, so vaccines don't work as well against it as against Delta or Alpha.
Two dose vaccine regimen has very low efficiency. Adding a booster helps, but still nowhere near 95%. Vaccines still help to prevent severe complications, but against infection, efficiency is a lot lower with Omicron.

I hate to say this but it seems to be against Omicron, the two injections of the vaccine we had earlier this year are useless. If a person does not get the booster, they are very vulnerable to Omicron. In addition to that, what I have read is that the booster's efficacy lasts for about ten weeks, and that is not very long. The way I see it we are going to need a fourth shot pretty soon. I had my Moderna booster on Nov 17---so by February I will need another booster and if the boosters are not ready until March, then many of us will be vulnerable to Omicron. Hopefully Omicron will be gone by then. Of course another variant may develop by then, one that can completely bypass the vaccines we have to date. We have the unvaccinated to thank for this horror.

 

[mickey2942]

I hate to say this but it seems to be against Omicron, the two injections of the vaccine we had earlier this year are useless. If a person does not get the booster, they are very vulnerable to Omicron. In addition to that, what I have read is that the booster's efficacy lasts for about ten weeks, and that is not very long. The way I see it we are going to need a fourth shot pretty soon. I had my Moderna booster on Nov 17---so by February I will need another booster and if the boosters are not ready until March, then many of us will be vulnerable to Omicron. Hopefully Omicron will be gone by then. Of course another variant may develop by then, one that can completely bypass the vaccines we have to date. We have the unvaccinated to thank for this horror.

Which is why this disease needs to be acknowledged as a "world" problem, not just local. People continue to fly around the world, 12 hours ago, in Africa.

So, people who are not vaccinated in Africa are affecting you, even if you are vaccinated. We are all in this together.

COVID cases surging in Africa at fastest rate this year, but deaths remain low

 

[Skigh]

Yes. We had Pfizer.

I have just had Moderna. I asked the person giving the jabs why some people were have Pfizer and others Moderna and he did not know why. He said that as far as he knew it was around 60/40 with the 60 being Moderna.

It might be how much of each type the government has purchased.

 

[MimosaMornings]

I have just had Moderna. I asked the person giving the jabs why some people were have Pfizer and others Moderna and he did not know why. He said that as far as he knew it was around 60/40 with the 60 being Moderna.

It might be how much of each type the government has purchased.

Here we didn’t have a choice. The mass vaccination sites were giving Pfizer so that’s what you got. Pharmacy had Moderna so that’s what I got.
Walgreens said they only had either or, they never had both vaccines at the same time for patients to have the choice.

 

[ilovewings]

Here we didn’t have a choice. The mass vaccination sites were giving Pfizer so that’s what you got. Pharmacy had Moderna so that’s what I got.
Walgreens said they only had either or, they never had both vaccines at the same time for patients to have the choice.

From what I can gather some facilities had Pfizer, some had Moderna,
so you got whatever that facility had available. I dont believe most facilities had both and gave you a choice--- the pharmacy I went to had Moderna

 

[Elley Mae]

The CDC said the change was informed by science demonstrating that the majority of Covid-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in one to two days before the onset of symptoms and two to three days after.

CDC Shortens Isolation for Some Covid Infections

Early studies in South Africa and the U.K. point to Omicron’s reduced severity in populations with high levels of immunity. People infected with the Omicron variant are between 50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to the hospital than those who were infected with earlier strains, according to a recent U.K. study.

Whether a person shows symptoms is also key. “We know from many, many analyses of Covid outbreaks that people who are symptomatic are far more likely to infect other people than people who are asymptomatic,” Dr. Varma said.

 

[Skigh]

Here we didn’t have a choice. The mass vaccination sites were giving Pfizer so that’s what you got. Pharmacy had Moderna so that’s what I got.
Walgreens said they only had either or, they never had both vaccines at the same time for patients to have the choice.

I did not have a choice,it was what was being given in the centre I went to. Friends have gone to other nearby places and were given Pfizer.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I have just had Moderna. I asked the person giving the jabs why some people were have Pfizer and others Moderna and he did not know why. He said that as far as he knew it was around 60/40 with the 60 being Moderna.

It might be how much of each type the government has purchased.

I think some of it might just be down to location. There is a Walgreens less than a mile from house but they only had Pfizer. I had to book a few miles further away at CVS who had Moderna, which is the one I wanted. The dosage of Moderna is 100mcg and Pfizer 30mcg and I wanted all the help I could get. jmo

 

[indicolite22]

When I became eligible, there was no choice of vaccine type, so I got AZ. Medical/care workers and vulnerable groups received Pfizer or Moderna early on. I could choose between Pfizer and Moderna for the booster. Since Moderna's vaccine had bad publicity around that time, people overwhelmingly opted for Pfizer. At the moment, AZ and JJ are available again for those afraid of the mRNA technology. Sadly not enough unvaxxed people are changing their minds.

 

[ilovewings]

The CDC said the change was informed by science demonstrating that the majority of Covid-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in one to two days before the onset of symptoms and two to three days after.

CDC Shortens Isolation for Some Covid Infections

Early studies in South Africa and the U.K. point to Omicron’s reduced severity in populations with high levels of immunity. People infected with the Omicron variant are between 50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to the hospital than those who were infected with earlier strains, according to a recent U.K. study.

Whether a person shows symptoms is also key. “We know from many, many analyses of Covid outbreaks that people who are symptomatic are far more likely to infect other people than people who are asymptomatic,” Dr. Varma said.

IMO they are changing isolation time based on worker shortage---they can say something different all day long but I dont believe it-- As far as the issue of degree of contagion of asymptomatic v symptomatic, that argument does not hold up for me. At the beginning of the pandemic masks were not recommended because it wasnt yet known that asymptomatic people could spread the disease-- once they discovered that they could spread the virus, masks were recommended. There
are still too many unknowns about this virus to know for sure. how contagious
asymptomatic people are. The CDC keeps moving the goal posts, and
in doing so they keep losing credibility.

 

[MrX]

I hate to say this but it seems to be against Omicron, the two injections of the vaccine we had earlier this year are useless. If a person does not get the booster, they are very vulnerable to Omicron. In addition to that, what I have read is that the booster's efficacy lasts for about ten weeks, and that is not very long. The way I see it we are going to need a fourth shot pretty soon. I had my Moderna booster on Nov 17---so by February I will need another booster and if the boosters are not ready until March, then many of us will be vulnerable to Omicron. Hopefully Omicron will be gone by then. Of course another variant may develop by then, one that can completely bypass the vaccines we have to date. We have the unvaccinated to thank for this horror.

I still find it very odd that in some places where people have taken no precautions, and have lower vax rates, we don't hear of massive carnage. It's like repeated exposure, throughout the pandemic, has left these people with actual super-immunity. I was talking to a friend who lives in the same city and he was commenting that everyone must be on vacation this week because every place from Chick-fil-a to the Costco gas station was packed to capacity with long lines.

It would be the height of irony if the most careless are the least likely to perpetuate the pandemic.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Delta turned flight around mid-air, saying China's new Covid cleaning rules are unworkable - CNN

New York (CNN Business)A Delta Air Lines flight originating in Seattle and heading to Shanghai last week turned around midair because of a change in cleaning rules at the China airport, the airline said.

If it had landed in Shanghai, Delta said the new rules would have caused substantial delays.

"The new cleaning procedures require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta," a spokesperson said of the December 21 flight. Details of the new cleaning rules remain unclear.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I still find it very odd that in some places where people have taken no precautions, and have lower vax rates, we don't hear of massive carnage. It's like repeated exposure, throughout the pandemic, has left these people with actual super-immunity. I was talking to a friend who lives in the same city and he was commenting that everyone must be on vacation this week because every place from Chick-fil-a to the Costco gas station was packed to capacity with long lines.

It would be the height of irony if the most careless are the least likely to perpetuate the pandemic.

Doubtful.

COVID-19 death rate more than 4 times higher in least vaccinated states than in most vaccinated

 

[ilovewings]

Doubtful.

COVID-19 death rate more than 4 times higher in least vaccinated states than in most vaccinated

This makes more sense.