Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #104

[MimosaMornings]

I understand the reasoning above---however, I would want to know if we had Covid or not because if so, I'd hope to get the antibodies or some kind of early treatment to keep it from becoming severe.

From what I have read, the treatments are more effective if done at the early stages of the illness.

It would be great to know but that’s impossible here. No at home rapids, people driving 50-60 miles to find one and lucking out. CVS will show in stock and when you get there - they’ve been sold out for a week. Good luck getting anyone on the phone too. They’re swamped.

Testing center shut down because of high number of staff with Covid.

I know several neighbors with Covid and none could get early treatment because they weren’t sick enough for an ambulance call but definitely not a mild case.

People going to ED to be tested too.

ED/ER’s with wait times in the double digits and there is no separation of likely Covid intake from others in ER. They are laying down in hallways, one which goes to the main entrance of the hospital. I was not a happy camper. Easy transmission to other patients, staff or visitors.
JMO

 

[MimosaMornings]

People get together relying on those rapid antigen tests being negative and I really don't think they should. Those tests are not sensitive enough as far as I can tell.

I definitely agree.

 

[acutename]

Bless her heart. I'm sure it wasn't easy being in the tiny bathroom for 5 hours. I applaud her for recognizing the symptoms, taking the test and then isolating to protect others.

ug... this just shows how ineffective pre-flight testing is and how fast omicron (?....guessing, IMO) overtakes some one. let us hope that she did not get exposed from someone else on the flight....

 

[acutename]

US hits record of nearly 500,000 Covid cases in 24 hours: Experts says US will see 'viral blizzard' | Daily Mail Online

He warns that even fully vaccinated people should avoid large, crowded, environments in the near future because of how infectious the new virus strain is.

As the Omicron variant continues to spread, Osterholm has other dire warnings as well. The former Biden advisor told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday that spread of the variant could cause 'everyday life' to stop operating as normal.

'Right now we have a very imperfect situation that's going to require some very imperfect responses,' he said.

'Over the next three to four weeks, we are going to see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically that we'll have a hard time keeping everyday life operating.'

'Already we are seeing it in our healthcare settings where we can lose 10 to 20 percent of healthcare workers who are not available to work.

'We are seeing that right now in critical infrastructure areas where people can't come to work.'

just want to report my crisis du jour: phone problems I tried to resolve on line repeatedly... no answer. was advised to visit a particular store. could not make an online appt either. when I arrived, there was a burly guy in front of the store (reminded me of a bouncer) who said they had employees out for COVID and could only allow one customer in at a time and that I could have an appt in 6 or 7 days....nice huh? he suggested I go to another store that was "fully staffed" but since it was rush hour, and I would have no appt at that store, I just made the distant appt and left.... fun times.

 

[acutename]

My first thought was: Were there enough bathrooms for everyone else?? I assume so...

I thought that too... probably not a comfy flight

 

[acutename]

Omicron is not the last of this, imo. It did not evolve from Delta and shares no common ancestors with Delta. It split off the main family tree some time last year and evolved separately on its own. It's likely there are other variants on their own evolutionary paths right now and it's impossible to know how those variants are going to mature. This is the reason Delta confers no immunity to Omicron. They are not relatives. It's kind of interesting if you want to dive into the genetics of the thing.

"It's been very common to use an evolutionary tree — or a family tree — of these SARS-CoV-2 viruses to catch introductions in places like Australia and Taiwan that have not had a lot of local spread," says Bedford. "You can figure out where the importations are coming from by looking at the viral genome and checking, 'Is it close in its sequence characteristics to [strains] that are circulating elsewhere that have been sequenced and shared with the database?' "

Scientists can then see, as they continue to take samples in the new region over time, how each particular strain starts to pick up additional — often benign — mutations step by step until it morphs into a significantly different strain.

But Bedford says that when you look at the family tree for this omicron variant, there's something surprising: "With omicron, your closest sequences are back from mid-2020 — so over a year ago. That is very rare to see."

In other words, while scientists can tell that this variant evolved from a strain that was circulating in mid-2020, in the intervening months there has been no trace of all the intermediate versions that scientists would have expected to find as it morphed into its current form.

"It doesn't tie into anything that was circulating more recently," says Bedford." Yet its mutations put it a long way from that 2020 strain."

The mystery of where omicron came from — and why it matters

early on I remember them saying maybe fulminated in a SA HIV patient for a long time....

The birth of Omicron: Did HIV play a role? - Medical News Today
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com › articles › did-hiv-...
Dec 6, 2021 — One theory gaining ground is that the high levels of HIV in South Africa might have provided an ideal environment for the variant to evolve. “ ...

Why fighting Omicron should include ramping up HIV prevention
https://www.theguardian.com › world › dec › why-unc...
Dec 11, 2021 — With Omicron, one possibility is that the virus lingered in an immunocompromised patient for months – explaining why it descends from such an ...

Stanford Researchers Looking at Possible Link Between ...
https://www.nbcbayarea.com › news › coronavirus › stanf...
Stanford Researchers Looking at Possible Link Between Omicron COVID Variant and HIV · Scientists have speculated that of all the other unnamed ...
Dec 8, 2021

Omicron: South African scientists probe link between variants ...
https://www.bbc.com › news › world-africa-59697807
Dec 21, 2021 — Researchers have already observed that Covid-19 can linger for many months in patients who are HIV positive but who have, ...

"early on" now means earlier this month and a few weeks ago! Dr. Fauci is an HIV expert if you recall.... and some medical experts have been saying that focusing on COVID, we have lost time fighting other diseases.

 

[tabitha111]

I follow her on twitter- she is advising to prepare now for shortages, store closings, office closings, in the next 6-8 weeks. Get your supplies in!


Tatiana Prowell, MD

@tmprowell

To all the people who harassed me overnight & said I was peddling “fear ” when I said in Jan we’ll call 911 & no one will come or we’ll be unable even to enter an ER, this is a #DC suburb, now. Ambulances waiting 8 HOURS to be able to drop a patient at ER. #STAYHOME








Tatiana Prowell, MD

@tmprowell

Listen to me. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY #OMICRON. From modes of transportation to places you shop to places you get medical care to places you worship to places you learn. The public is not ready. Every single thing is going to be affected. Everything. Get ready.

 

[IceIce9]

A ‘very strange’ omicron variant symptom has emerged

 

[acutename]

Princeton bars students from leaving host county amid COVID

Princeton University in New Jersey will forbid students from leaving the school’s host county once the new semester starts due to rising COVID-19 concerns.

Barring “extraordinary circumstances,” students can’t venture beyond Mercer County and Plainsboro Township beginning on Jan. 8 through at least Feb. 15.

The restriction does not apply to sports teams.

this would make more sense to me if any of the NJ counties or any other place was not currently surging

 

[tabitha111]

MOO - With numbers skyrocketing and some of the predictions I've read about our immediate future, I've ordered refills and delivery for all prescriptions, ordered groceries to last a couple of weeks, xtra dog food (priorities lol), car is filled with gas and taken out a little cash just in case. Definately not a hoarding order, just thinking immediate time frame . If things go better than predicted, cool I'm caught up on all errands and can kick my feet up, start on the stack of books I got for Christmas and my little dog will be fat and happy (me too). MOO

You are smart. I have gone back to Walmart delivery myself. Put in an order yesterday for essentials. Will put another order in next week for stuff I forgot Car is gassed up, picked up new N95 3M Aura masks from Home Depot (I LOVE them! they fit so well). Have a few things coming via Amazon and other places. Books to read too!

 

[IceIce9]

I follow her on twitter- she is advising to prepare now for shortages, store closings, office closings, in the next 6-8 weeks. Get your supplies in!


Tatiana Prowell, MD

@tmprowell

To all the people who harassed me overnight & said I was peddling “fear ” when I said in Jan we’ll call 911 & no one will come or we’ll be unable even to enter an ER, this is a #DC suburb, now. Ambulances waiting 8 HOURS to be able to drop a patient at ER. #STAYHOME








Tatiana Prowell, MD

@tmprowell

Listen to me. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY #OMICRON. From modes of transportation to places you shop to places you get medical care to places you worship to places you learn. The public is not ready. Every single thing is going to be affected. Everything. Get ready.

People are not taking Omicron seriously. On our Nextdoor site several people were asking where they could get COVID tests, and they quickly became outnumbered by others stating no need to be tested. They said COVID was no more than a common cold, just go on about your business.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I'm wondering something speaking of stockpiles. If stores get bad enough I wonder if they would let volunteers stock shelves? I've been in retail for years and can unload freight onto shelves like none other. Liability issues would probably kill this bright idea.

Great idea..none the less...

 

[nhmemorymaker]

That's funny! The stealthy shelf straightener strikes!

i really giggled on that one too....especially because I know the shelves at our little "old" Walmart here are ALWAYS in such disarray... I should tell them to call our friend CSI to come and help.

 

[ilovewings]

Travelers infected one another across hallway in Covid-19 quarantine facility, New Zealand research shows — CNN

Interesting article
JMO

very interesting

 

[Tiff23fr]

Most large New Year’s Eve events in the United States have been canceled or diminished, as the nation shattered its record for new daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday. But Chicago, Las Vegas and San Antonio are a few of the anomalies, having neither scrapped nor pared back their plans.

In Las Vegas, city officials say that they expect more than 300,000 people on the Strip and downtown for the return — after a one-year hiatus — of New Year’s Eve fireworks. Masks remain required indoors, but face coverings and social distancing are optional outdoors.

Live Updates: Covid Wave Dampens New Year Observances Worldwide

 

[anneg]

You are smart. I have gone back to Walmart delivery myself. Put in an order yesterday for essentials. Will put another order in next week for stuff I forgot Car is gassed up, picked up new N95 3M Aura masks from Home Depot (I LOVE them! they fit so well). Have a few things coming via Amazon and other places. Books to read too!

I got some N95 3M Aura masks too, ordered them online from CVS. I know they're probably the best masks I have, but I find them hard to breathe in, and they feel scratchy where there are staples on the sides. I may have to try to cover the staples somehow. So I'm using the KN95s I ordered from Amazon instead; but they are not easy to breathe in when I'm exerting myself. I tend to breathe through my mouth when wearing the good masks.

 

[anneg]

People are not taking Omicron seriously. On our Nextdoor site several people were asking where they could get COVID tests, and they quickly became outnumbered by others stating no need to be tested. They said COVID was no more than a common cold, just go on about your business.

Good grief! Recipe for spreading the virus as fast as possible.

 

[Skigh]

Not sure how advisable this is:


London's New Year's Eve fireworks 'are ON' | Daily Mail Online

 

[mickey2942]

Good grief! Recipe for spreading the virus as fast as possible.

That seems to be the newest "solution". Get it, get over it, go back to work, ASAP.

 

[Cool Cats]

Brilliant idea!

Wasn’t there a hilarious set of “instructions” at the beginning of the pandemic about retrieving a UPS package from your front porch? Blowing an air horn to warn the neighbors and all sorts of craziness? I’ve googled and can’t find it, but it was on an early thread.

https://www.tmj4.com/rebound/one-wo...-covid-19-in-milwaukees-metcalfe-neighborhood

One woman, armed with a bullhorn, fights COVID-19 in Milwaukee's Metcalfe neighborhood

Jun 05, 2020

Every other week, Melody McCurtis and volunteers with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges drive to the same spot -- Milwaukee's Metcalfe neighborhood, on the north side of the city.

They start to unload boxes filled with food, household supplies, and school curriculum packets out of a large white cargo van.

We noticed volunteers had boxes loaded up in the back seats of their cars. The van didn't fit all of the donated supplies.

The team wears face masks and gloves but McCurtis is the only one with an accessory. She proudly carries a white bullhorn. She peels back her mask and announces her arrival.

"Hey! How you doing? We're just dropping off some more packages," she says into the megaphone to a neighbor opening her front door, still wearing her pajamas.

Then it's onto another home next door. It's just after noon on a Friday.