Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #84

[dixiegirl1035]

Two-in-five Californians have doubts about safety of COVID-19 vaccine, survey says

Even as the world anxiously awaits a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of Californians remain unconvinced they would get immunized if a shot was available today, a new survey released Wednesday found.

Two-in-five Californians have doubts about safety of COVID-19 vaccine, survey says

from your link.. the study was "40% of Californians remain unconvinced they would get immunized if a shot was available today"

Well, that is an ODD survey MOO that would ask just in those terms... if they would get immunized if a vaccine was available TODAY. What a disservice MOO to do such with a headline and fuel non vaccine bent.

HE$$$$$$$$$$$$ NO! They aren't ready TODAY! They haven't been proven! I would NEVER consider as that would mean only option would be in a trial. If so, they should have phrased that way MOO.

What an awful survey that is misleading with the headline if phrased that way. Hope it doesn't get MSM momentum.

MOO

ETA: Headline speaks to safety, body speaks to analogous to who wouldn't get a vaccine. IIRC, there are 6 US government funded vaccines, or is it four? Two are making headlines.

 

[MimosaMornings]

I think we need to treat churches as special cases because "true believers" will think just as your mother thinks and they will put their faith first. It's just what they do.

Masks should be worn and social distancing could probably be attained if the church held six or seven small and short services rather than one large one and assigned members to time slots and seats.

I've heard that some of the greatest pushback has come from devoutly religious communities.

Around here, no one is discouraging religious services - just basic guidelines they are asking everyone to follow.
Masks and social distancing. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp I don’t think?

There are many outdoor services being held. Still warm and nice fall weather under the changing colors of the trees. Indoor can continue with social distancing and masks. Just not 500 people crammed together indoors, small gatherings done with health of the church members being foremost.
Is that what people are objecting?

But then you had 1,000 from New York to Florida gathering indoors at a church in North Carolina. With the numbers continuing to grow from that event. Which puts the community at an even higher risk. Which I don’t agree with.
JMO

 

[weepingangel]

Massachusetts set to launch $115 million program to boost small businesses


State to begin noting if clusters at facilities are pushing communities into COVID red zone


COVID-19 outbreak centered on Maine church grows again

 

[ilovewings]

The accuracy of death certificates has never been more important

One of my beefs has always been the inaccuracy of death certs. My favorite cause of death is: Cardiac arrest- Okay- yeah, the patient's heart stopped but WHY DID IT STOP?
My mother passed away 20 years ago after she fell, broke a hip, could not have surgery due to her medical condition. Nowhere on that death certificate was any mention of a fall, fractured hip. I can't recall now what the cause of death is but I am leaning towards
cardiac arrest!! In my work reviewing medical records for 35 years, I was so disappointed in the inaccuracy of death certificates. It is a big deal, especially now with this Virus.

 

[ilovewings]

that's one habit I think I'm going to continue doing after the pandemic
the thought of what could be on my groceries is bleck ~shudder~

It is gross to think of the germs that could be on our groceries, but I figure I have lived to my 70's not washing groceries, so i see no reason to start now-----

 

[Trino]

They lie? This is from the Jerusalem Post, but I'm guessing it's also true in the US.

At least 50% of coronavirus patients lie during their epidemiological investigation, the Home Front Command said on Thursday, according to reports.

Over 50% of coronavirus patients lie during epidemiological investigation

 

[Rose in SC]

SC coroners explain process of removing COVID-19 from incorrect death certificates

"Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says of his county’s 263 COVD-19 deaths, he’s removed the virus from three death certificates. “If I have a death certificate, and someone says it’s COVID, and they weren’t tested, I have changed that,” Watts explained.

Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher says of her county’s 173 COVID-19 deaths, she’s changed five. “We reached out to DHEC and said we have these death certificates, and family is saying they need to be changed,” Fisher noted. “I asked do we have the right to do that, and she said yes, of course.”

Coroner Fisher says she’s found COVID-19 sometimes incorrectly appears on a death certificate because the doctor wasn’t personally involved in writing it. She says they sometimes have a staff member who writes them. She also believes medical certifiers occasionally miss things. “It’s a constant check and balance with us,” said Fisher. “Every death certificate that comes across us, we are responsible for it, and we like to have our numbers accurate.”

 

[10ofRods]

Washington D.C. is currently in Phase 2 of the city's reopening plan, which prohibits gatherings of over 50 people. The city's guidelines also encourage people to wear face coverings both in and outdoors when coming within 6 feet of others.

However, Washington D.C.'s guidelines outline that certain activities, including religious gatherings, are permitted to exceed the capacity limits through an approved local waiver.

It's unclear how the city approves these waivers and whether Feucht's rally this weekend has obtained one.

Thousands expected to gather for religious rally at National Mall this weekend despite D.C. COVID-19 restrictions

There have been quite a few articles about the fact that D.C.'s laws and rules do not extend to the National Park properties (the Mall). This has been a huge concern for D.C. and people are miffed about it.

The city did not approve this gathering and the mayor has spoken out about it. The mayor remains firm on her ban, reiterated and the White House is disregarding it:

Trump to go ahead with "law and order" protest amid D.C. mayor's ban on "mass gatherings"

15,000 expected at National Mall in DC for 'worship protest'

 

[Rose in SC]

DHEC, UofSC team up for year-long COVID-19 testing project | WBTW

"A total of 32,500 South Carolinians have been randomly selected to take part in the first wave of testing and will receive a blue envelope in the mail.

Participation entails just two steps: complete a private online survey and take part in one free COVID-19 test – both a nasal swab and blood sample – that will identify both current and past infection.

“This widescale public health project will track current infection rates and provide scientific evidence of immunity among various populations,” Dr. Daguise said. “Each participant’s information will remain confidential. This is an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for South Carolinians to directly support public health experts’ understanding of this new and deadly disease that continues to impact our state and nation.”

Randomly selected participants include those five years of age and older. Parents or guardians will be responsible for minors’ participation."

 

[10ofRods]

I’ll be 77 in a few days. We have stayed home almost constantly since March. We have a bubble of two. Apart from visiting neighbours passing by outdoors at a safe distance we really haven’t been socializing. We haven’t been unhappy or uncomfortable doing this and have spent our time doing landscape projects and home repairs. But yes, in response to your query, there will come a time when if this pandemic drags on say for two or three more years when I will say enough. I will go and visit my adult children and my now adult grandkids just to see them one more time knowing that I will neither be able to drive forever, nor will I live forever. It’s in my head that this is a temporary price to pay while waiting for a vaccine,,,,but it’s not life and when you are older you realize that the few years left are too precious to waste.

On another note we did go out and about five days ago to get a few chores done. Dogs to groomers, pharmacy, grocery store and to vote. We wore N95 masks, glasses, made very liberal use of hand sanitizer, sanitized the shopping cart, vehicle surfaces, did not eat out, used no public washrooms, were in no line ups and were in and out of each business establishment in minutes. Washed the groceries at home, and washed hands and faces. So,,,,why then did we both come down with head colds? No coughs,,,just sneezes and runny noses.

I am grateful for everyone's responses to my questions (I'm feeling less nervous about the old people - I sure don't see our elderly neighbors at all, so I can't ask them anything).

But, @Black Widow, your response is concerning. I know someone else who almost never goes out, went on a couple of errands recently and also ended up with a head cold. I'm betting on the grocery store since they try to keep the whole store fairly cool (that's why they have those mister things in produce departments, because humidity is low due to the cooling).

We forget that rhinoviruses (the usual cause of the common cold) is everywhere. But it's very strange that you got a cold with N95 masks on!

Also, I wanted to say that your words of wisdom about seeing grandkids brought tears to my eyes. The decisions that led to me living in the same city as my grandchildren (there are only 2) are the best ones that all of us made and nothing makes me happier than being with them. Facetime is not the same.

You giving out your own personal time line (2-3 years) is so helpful. I feel less alone and I haven't been able to think about how many years it might be.

I do think there will be a vaccine (and California says it's going to vet the vaccines here, and we have some of the best medical researchers in the world). So I do hope it will be less than 2-3 years for you, and that you'll see your grandchildren and adult children many more times. Though I live close to mine, we are spending Thanksgiving apart because...I just know we won't really be able to socially distance.

Your attitude is so impressively realistic and rational.

 

[sds71]

Remdesivir is now the first and only fully approved treatment in the U.S. for Covid-19, which has infected more than 41.3 million and killed more than 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

FDA approves Gilead's remdesivir as coronavirus treatment

 

[weepingangel]

Mass. Confirms 30 New Deaths, 986 More Coronavirus Cases, the Highest This Fall

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Remdesivir is now the first and only fully approved treatment in the U.S. for Covid-19, which has infected more than 41.3 million and killed more than 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

FDA approves Gilead's remdesivir as coronavirus treatment

I thought that The Who said it wasn't effective.

 

[sds71]

I thought that The Who said it wasn't effective.

I guess it’s up for DEBATE

October 18th, 2020

So for now, the answer to the question, “Does remdesivir actually work?” is a cautious maybe. Sometimes. For some people.

Which, given the absence of anything else right now and its low toxicity, means I’d still recommend it for most hospitalized people with COVID-19 — with the hope of giving it sooner rather than later, especially for those on oxygen at high risk for disease progression.
Does Remdesivir Actually Work? - HIV and ID Observations

 

[musicaljoke]

I think we need to treat churches as special cases because "true believers" will think just as your mother thinks and they will put their faith first. It's just what they do.

Masks should be worn and social distancing could probably be attained if the church held six or seven small and short services rather than one large one and assigned members to time slots and seats.

I've heard that some of the greatest pushback has come from devoutly religious communities.

I think it's shameful that some religious leaders are acting so recklessly. I don't think we need to treat churches as special cases. There are plenty of ways that churches are successfully continuing their faith, practices and rituals. They continue to find ways to connect and safe ways to carry on their programs. Many churches are finding the current challenges good for their growth and outreach.

I agree that it's difficult for older people. They have less access to some of the techno resources, and they are more closely knit to their church buildings and religious leaders. They can put pressure on the church to get services up and running.

Is it possible that some churches, where we see flagrant disregard for safe practices, have been politicised? The reason I am asking, is that it's very rare to see a church in Canada that is ignoring the public health guidelines. There may be a few, but they are outliers. In Canada, a church may not have any political alliances or it will loss it's charity status. That doesn't seem to be the case in the US.

 

[10ofRods]

Remdesivir is now the first and only fully approved treatment in the U.S. for Covid-19, which has infected more than 41.3 million and killed more than 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

FDA approves Gilead's remdesivir as coronavirus treatment

We need to keep in mind that it doesn't prevent death, but it does shorten the course of the illness in people with serious symptoms in hospital (or, perhaps, in all sufferers? It hasn't been given to people who are outpatients, so we don't know).

 

[10ofRods]

Your cousin sounds like a handful, to be sure, and I hope she comes around and sees the light. But, I don't think we need a "label," per se, for people who behave and believe as she does because I think those labels only further alienate them and make it less likely they will follow good health suggestions.

I think we need an educational campaign that embraces kindness rather than judgementalism if we're going to convince more people to take their health seriously. Where are all the creative geniuses who create commercials like the Budweiser Superbowl commercials with horses and puppies? We need that kind of creative influence to win hearts and minds.

At the end of the day, we all want to reduce infections and deaths from Covid and I think we have to make a choice...we can be right (as in "correct" about the virus spread). Or, we can be effective by dropping the labels and winning people over with kindness.

JMOO

So...you want us to avoid grouping people together to try and analyze what they are like?

I can't keep telling stories about individuals here, even though they are interesting. The fact is, my cousin is just one of millions who are doing the same thing. What would you like us to call them?

Can you think of a term that is short enough? Non-mask-wearers? In my profession, our goal is to try and understanding the thinking of the non-mask-wearers and the mask-wearers, but I can tell you that all the preliminary research shows that the non-mask-wearers are not one monolithic group.

Some are adamantly anti-mask. They hit, punch and spit when asked to wear masks. Or they take their masks off the instant they are on the plane. Or they put signs on their businesses saying "No service for those who are wearing masks."

Other people, as we have seen on these threads, may simply think CoVId hasn't come to town yet and they'll deal with it when it arrives. Some believe that they are certain the people they're interacting with do not have CoVid (such as people who do nails or waitresses and waiters). Some believe that God is protecting them.

I don't know what else to call the people who lash out at the mask-wearers.

There's no way to "win over" people you don't know (a maskless person was just on my front porch). I have no idea what your social life is like, but I don't see how I would "win over" the people I see who don't wear masks (most of them are young burly males coming out of the local liquor store or smoke shop). Some are people who are running on the narrow trails in the hills, panting all over people (I can't catch up to them to speak to them kindly).

And as a teacher for 40 years, I can assure you that kindness is essential - but only gets you so far, and sometimes results in some antisocial types acting out pretty badly (they won't stop until you get authoritarian on them). Having rules in place (which we do where I live) is a start - but it isn't enough.

Have you seen the academic research (by psychologists) on the anti-mask group? The only known treatment for this cluster of disordered thinking is not "kindness," which is of course in the toolkit of every good therapist. But it doesn't always work.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Over here in the UK, Imperial College London are sending out random testing kits. I received one, so did my mum, my aunt... I thought twice because I didnt want to waste a test but as I'm back in the office a couple of days a week, thought it cant hurt. Also, I am quietly hoping I may be selected for a random antibody test as well - this is how my colleague received his. Anyway, courier is booked for tomorrow to collect it. Swab kit is ready for me to use in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes, with the timing and so on of results.

 

[10ofRods]

A looming problem: we're facing a tremendous shortage of healthcare workers.

We had a shortage prior to CoVid. The US has been importing nurses from other nations for a couple of decades. Those of us in teaching professions have received countless seminars, trainings and incentives to try and get students into the sciences, and into healthcare professions. Since I teach science (and since one of my courses is required for nursing), I have been in a position to attempt to get more young people interested in healthcare.

On average, in a given semester with 300 students, only 3-10 want to go into healthcare. Another 4-5 want to go into science. 100 want to be a "businessperson" of some kind.

Now, I have no students (out of 250) who want to go into healthcare. Not one. And hardly anyone is in a related major.

Add to that the retirements, illnesses and deaths of our healthcare population due to CoVid and we are in a real mess.

1700 have died. From CoVid. That was as of the end of September (last week of September, first 3 weeks of October not included).

We also have an aging population who needs healthcare (and for whom, the fear of getting CoVId is causing a downturn in care).

So, all those non-mask wearers bear the major part of the responsibility. There is still not adequate PPE for workers in many places. Negative pressure rooms are still rare. Hospital ventilation is still a problem. Hospitalizations are going up in many states, even as I type. Some places (El Paso for example) are already at or over capacity for ICU beds.

Washington state authorities say that 61% of their beds are going to CoVid - and that's after they "flattened the curve." They fear that if they see a winter spike, they will be overrun.

Some states are shipping patients to other states. Illinois is projected to run out of beds right around Christmas.

What are we doing to ourselves?? This damage is economic, sure, but it's devastating to the healthcare sector in particular. We know how to get this under control, because we have role models. One is right next door.

As I watch this unfold, I worry most about the essential workers who are being endangered due to the callousness of others. Freedom of speech does not extend to shouting Fire! in a crowded theater so I don't believe it extends to telling people that CoVid doesn't exist (which some crazies are still doing - and yes, their SM posts should be taken down). I know that some people think it's "their right" to be able to catch CoVid if they wish...but the changes they're causing in our overall healthcare system are unconsionable.

/end rant

What we're doing right now is not sustainable.

https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20201019.549569/full/

 

[Colorado303]

In Colorado, the number of new COVID cases hit another all-time high yesterday and hospitalizations jumped above 500 for the first time since late May.

Should be newsworthy but unfortunately we’ve had several wildfires “explode” in North Central CO, with one now the largest in state history. It’s a big deal and I’m glad the news is providing detailed coverage on evacuation orders, road closures/escape routes, projected fire paths etc. But spiking COVID trends were getting inadequate (IMO) local news coverage before and I don’t see that changing in the immediate future.

Ironically mask usage may temporarily go up anyway in northern CO due to smoke. Less likely to impact air quality enough to change mask behavior in more populous parts of the State. Where we need it the most. I expect we’ll continue to a rise in cases through the end of the month at least. I so hope I’m wrong.

Colorado COVID Trends
Source: New York Times Website 10/22/20