Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #112

[sds71]

Yes, Toews is dead serious — is he ever not? — about making an NHL comeback next fall, more than two years after his last NHL game, two years after his failing body finally gave out. Plagued by Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and symptoms of long COVID, Toews fought like hell for two seasons after sitting out the 2020-21 campaign with symptoms so severe he sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. But he struggled to stay in shape, struggled with the grind of the NHL season, struggled with the weight of his legacy and the pressure of propping up a Blackhawks franchise in free-fall.

But he never retired. Not officially, and not in his mind. And after what he called his “hiatus,” he’s feeling the best he’s felt in several years — physically and mentally — and he’s ready to give the NHL one last shot. It’s a decision he didn’t come to lightly but came to on his own. Asked if he had a doctor’s blessing, or if he’s even going up against medical advice, Toews demurred.

“I don’t think there’s any expert out there that has a perfect bead on what’s going on (with me), and I think in my situation, just going off of my own feeling and my own instinct, the time away was definitely good for me,” Toews said. “If this wasn’t in the cards and it didn’t feel right, I wouldn’t be pushing myself to do anything in that sense. I’m really proud of the time I took away from hockey.

Jonathan Toews is serious about his NHL comeback attempt: ‘There’s something left in the tank’

The soon-to-be 37-year-old Toews, who suffered symptoms of long Covid, will attempt a comeback more than two years after his last NHL game.

www.nytimes.com

 

[gremlin444]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-withdraws-application-covid-flu-combination-vaccine-2025-05-21/

Meanwhile we have the commissioner of the FDA, Makary, stating that the American people don't want Covid boosters. *sigh*

 

[SouthAussie]

"A new COVID-19 subvariant, NB.1.8.1, is drawing global attention, particularly in the US. As a descendant of the Omicron sublineage JN.1, NB.1.8.1 has been associated with a recent spike in infections across Asia and has now been identified in the United States.

Health officials are closely tracking its spread to assess its impact. First detected in China, NB.1.8.1 has quickly emerged as the dominant strain there, driving a sharp rise in case numbers. It has also been reported in Singapore and Hong Kong, with recent cases in the U.S. uncovered through airport surveillance programs.

As of May 2025, an average of approximately 350 people are dying from COVID-19 each week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the 2024–2025 season, only 23% of adults aged 18 and older received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, with even lower uptake among children at 13%."

US sees COVID variant NB.1.8.1 surge: Why are more than 300 people in America still dying from pandemic every week?

 

[303gmf]

"A new COVID-19 subvariant, NB.1.8.1, is drawing global attention, particularly in the US. As a descendant of the Omicron sublineage JN.1, NB.1.8.1 has been associated with a recent spike in infections across Asia and has now been identified in the United States.

Health officials are closely tracking its spread to assess its impact. First detected in China, NB.1.8.1 has quickly emerged as the dominant strain there, driving a sharp rise in case numbers. It has also been reported in Singapore and Hong Kong, with recent cases in the U.S. uncovered through airport surveillance programs.

As of May 2025, an average of approximately 350 people are dying from COVID-19 each week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the 2024–2025 season, only 23% of adults aged 18 and older received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, with even lower uptake among children at 13%."

US sees COVID variant NB.1.8.1 surge: Why are more than 300 people in America still dying from pandemic every week?

We still have a functioning CDC?

 

[weepingangel]

U.S. reports cases of new COVID variant NB.1.8.1 behind surge in China

Authorities in Hong Kong say COVID-19 levels are the worst in at least a year.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Gemmie]

U.S. reports cases of new COVID variant NB.1.8.1 behind surge in China

Authorities in Hong Kong say COVID-19 levels are the worst in at least a year.

www.cbsnews.com

Well, here's the "good" news. I put good between double quotes because nothing about Covid is good, but at least current data is saying this variant doesn't appear to be leading to more severe illness, so that's good.

NB.1.8.1 has been designated a SARS-CoV-2 variant under monitoring (VUM) with increasing proportions globally, while LP.8.1 is starting to decline. Considering the available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by NB.1.8.1 is evaluated as low at the global level. Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease. Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalizations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation.

https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/epp/tracking-sars-cov-2/23052025_nb.1.8.1_ire.pdf?sfvrsn=7b14df58_4

 

[Auntie Cipation]

So, if we don't get a new formulation this fall, how useful will a booster of last year's formulation be? Better than nothing, certainly, but if what's circulating is mostly a different variant, how much protection is that really?

 

[Gemmie]

So, if we don't get a new formulation this fall, how useful will a booster of last year's formulation be? Better than nothing, certainly, but if what's circulating is mostly a different variant, how much protection is that really?

Better than nothing IMO. But here's the thing... I WANT better than nothing, as I'm sure most everyone here does.

 

[Sundog]

Better than nothing IMO. But here's the thing... I WANT better than nothing, as I'm sure most everyone here does.

It's been stated, IIRC, that anyone over 65 (the greatest at risk group) will have access to the vaccine, and also anyone who is immuno-compromised. I think that doctors will provide access to the vaccine if they determine that a patient is at risk due to being immuno compromised or have other comorbidities. I don't think we can expect more from the point of view of public health policy setting, and I think access will be available to the most at risk in our communities, based on patients' physicians' recommendations. JMO.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

It's been stated, IIRC, that anyone over 65 (the greatest at risk group) will have access to the vaccine, and also anyone who is immuno-compromised. I think that doctors will provide access to the vaccine if they determine that a patient is at risk due to being immuno compromised or have other comorbidities. I don't think we can expect more from the point of view of public health policy setting, and I think access will be available to the most at risk in our communities, based on patients' physicians' recommendations. JMO.

Yes, but the vaccine the over-65s/immunocompromised will have access to will *probably* (still being decided but seems likely) be the same formulation as last year, rather than newly reformulated to try to cover the most recent variant/s.

MOO

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

CDC ends Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a Covid vaccine critic — made the announcement on X.

www.nbcnews.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend routine Covid shots for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.

“We are now one step closer to realizing @POTUS’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” he said in a post on X.

Kennedy said the vaccine would no longer be recommended for "healthy pregnant women," but it was unclear who would qualify as pregnancy itself is considered a risk factor for Covid complications...

RFK Jr. ends COVID shot recommendation for healthy children, pregnant women

Currently the vaccine is recommended for all people over 6 months of age.

www.detroitnews.com

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that his agency would no longer recommend the coronavirus vaccine for healthy pregnant women and healthy children - a rare move that bypasses the traditional system of vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a 58-second video posted on X, Kennedy said the vaccine had been removed from the CDC’s immunization schedule for those two groups of people...

 

[charminglane]

https://ktla.com/news/california/highly-contagious-covid-strain-detected-in-ca-amid-vaccine-crackdown/

 

[Warwick1991]

I'm thinking that the vaccines might not be covered by insurance any more for children and pregnant women if they're not recommended by the CDC. I'm not sure how those decisions are made.

The new policy will result in the spread of Covid. The unvaccinated will spread it to vulnerable people. We will be back where we started, but at least there's Paxlovid now. But I think we will have needless deaths and suffering.

 

[gremlin444]

I'm thinking that the vaccines might not be covered by insurance any more for children and pregnant women if they're not recommended by the CDC. I'm not sure how those decisions are made.

The new policy will result in the spread of Covid. The unvaccinated will spread it to vulnerable people. We will be back where we started, but at least there's Paxlovid now. But I think we will have needless deaths and suffering.

And rising long Covid numbers.

 

[Gemmie]

I'm thinking that the vaccines might not be covered by insurance any more for children and pregnant women if they're not recommended by the CDC. I'm not sure how those decisions are made.

The new policy will result in the spread of Covid. The unvaccinated will spread it to vulnerable people. We will be back where we started, but at least there's Paxlovid now. But I think we will have needless deaths and suffering.

Not entirely sure if they'll be covered or not at this point. It's a gray area.

Although the HHS secretary has the authority to modify vaccine recommendations, his action raises questions about insurance coverage for the shots, vaccine experts said. The law requires insurers to cover vaccines recommended by the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel with no out of pocket cost to consumers.

“I would say it’s a legal gray area,” said Richard Hughes IV, a former vice president of public policy at coronavirus vaccine manufacturer Moderna, who teaches vaccine law at George Washington University Law School.

Affordability and vaccine uptake could be affected if insurers withdraw coverage for vaccination of people not on the recommended list or require out of pocket costs, he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/05/27/covid-vaccine-children-recommendation-rfk/

 

[Sundog]

I'm thinking that the vaccines might not be covered by insurance any more for children and pregnant women if they're not recommended by the CDC. I'm not sure how those decisions are made.

<snipped for focus>

I think that it will be up to physicians, if they deem it necessary for a patient, then health insurance will usually pay. And public health departments will likely offer covid vaccines at no (or low) charge if referred by a physician who deems it necessary. Our state's public health department has always offered free or low cost flu shots.

 

[Gemmie]

<snipped for focus>

I think that it will be up to physicians, if they deem it necessary for a patient, then health insurance will usually pay. And public health departments will likely offer covid vaccines at no (or low) charge if referred by a physician who deems it necessary. Our state's public health department has always offered free or low cost flu shots.

And then there's some physicians that deem it not necessary and don't go with the CDC's recommendations. That was my experience with my physician, and I'm in a high risk group (over 65). They didn't care. I was told "We make our own decisions and don't necessarily go with the CDCs recommendations". I was like.... And they aren't a small group either. They are the largest in my city (a big name).

 

[ilovewings]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-withdraws-application-covid-flu-combination-vaccine-2025-05-21/

Meanwhile we have the commissioner of the FDA, Makary, stating that the American people don't want Covid boosters. *sigh*

Yes, Toews is dead serious — is he ever not? — about making an NHL comeback next fall, more than two years after his last NHL game, two years after his failing body finally gave out. Plagued by Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and symptoms of long COVID, Toews fought like hell for two seasons after sitting out the 2020-21 campaign with symptoms so severe he sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. But he struggled to stay in shape, struggled with the grind of the NHL season, struggled with the weight of his legacy and the pressure of propping up a Blackhawks franchise in free-fall.

But he never retired. Not officially, and not in his mind. And after what he called his “hiatus,” he’s feeling the best he’s felt in several years — physically and mentally — and he’s ready to give the NHL one last shot. It’s a decision he didn’t come to lightly but came to on his own. Asked if he had a doctor’s blessing, or if he’s even going up against medical advice, Toews demurred.

“I don’t think there’s any expert out there that has a perfect bead on what’s going on (with me), and I think in my situation, just going off of my own feeling and my own instinct, the time away was definitely good for me,” Toews said. “If this wasn’t in the cards and it didn’t feel right, I wouldn’t be pushing myself to do anything in that sense. I’m really proud of the time I took away from hockey.

Jonathan Toews is serious about his NHL comeback attempt: ‘There’s something left in the tank’

The soon-to-be 37-year-old Toews, who suffered symptoms of long Covid, will attempt a comeback more than two years after his last NHL game.

www.nytimes.com

He was a great player-- I didn't know he had covid and then long covid- sounds like he had it really bad. It is sad that so many athletes just can't give it up-- Tom Brady for one stuck around too long- there are may others.

 

[Gemmie]

Gemmie's note - NB.1.8.1 is the strain that's hitting China really hard right now, and is also in a few states in the US.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s expert vaccine committee met May 22 to discuss whether or not to update the vaccine for the fall and winter respiratory disease season and heard about data from vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna about experimental vaccines targeting LP.8.1, which currently accounts for more than 70% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. (LP.8.1 is related to NB.1.8.1 and to the strain currently targeted by vaccines, JN.1.) These experimental vaccines appear to provide slightly stronger protection against both variants.

Ultimately, the committee voted to recommend continuing with a JN.1 vaccine—but did not specify whether the updated shot should target LP.8.1.

What to Know About the New COVID-19 Variant NB.1.8.1

NB.1.8.1 has been surging in China and has now been detected in several U.S. states.

time.com

 

[gremlin444]

Well, Gemmie....it's not like we could ever be bothered to learn. *sigh*

As further illustration of that:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cancels-more-700-million-funding-moderna-bird-flu-vaccine-2025-05-28/

"The administration has canceled a contract awarded to Moderna (MRNA.O) for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans, as well as the right to purchase shots, the drugmaker announced on Wednesday."