Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #92

[nhmemorymaker]

Eric Feigl-Ding[URL='https://twitter.com/DrEricDing']@DrEricDing·[/URL]
2h
What’s worse than simple mutation? RECOMBINATION! Recombination is the large scale “copy and pasting” mixing of whole sections of genome
swapping from one virus to another. And the bad news is—many experts think it’s likely happening with #SARSCoV2.

The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists

i always run out of free reads to the NYT... but this is fascinatingly scary.... so i appreciate you keeping us updated on this issue.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

The police sergeant was welcoming us to quarantine, wedged in the doorframe of the bus.
"We've heard every excuse under the sun to get an upgrade, but the answer is no," he said. "Try picking up the guitar to pass your time."

After almost a year, five cancelled flights, possibly three cases of COVID and thousands of dollars, we had finally made it home.

Arriving in Australia is entirely different to landing in the UK, where borders have remained open and quarantine is completed at a nominated residence.
It has proven financially, mentally and physically testing for myself and thousands of other Australians. But it has been worth it. The death toll here is 909. The UK has passed 100,000.

Towards the end of the year, as people were forced inside with the cold weather, cases inevitably began to climb.
A friend who had been at home in an apartment for six months with her children went to one outdoor kid's party and contracted the virus within a week, along with all the attendees.
Another broke up with her partner after he refused to let her flatmate's asthma "dictate his lifestyle".

The "COVID fight" was a thing. How careful you were seemed to signify your values of community, respect, safety and hygiene. People around me were confronted by each other's judgment and hypocrisy.

And then, this abstract idea we'd been revolving around was happening. At dawn, we stood outside Heathrow, pulling down our masks to take the last breath of fresh air until we would be released in Australia more than 16 days later. It started snowing.

It was difficult to breathe on the plane, between the mask and recirculated air for 28 hours (we had to stay in our seats while refuelling in Singapore). And yet we were so relieved, knowing we were the lucky few.

The chaos of this past year makes the kindnesses stand out. Finding gifts from friends by our window in quarantine. Taking part in community projects. The neighbourhood banding together to make sure those who were vulnerable had everything they needed. Watching heroes show up everywhere.

Even the "Welcome Home/ Thank you for Keeping Australia Safe" drawn in colourful texta on a paper bag in our hotel room.

Five cancelled flights, three likely COVID cases and thousands of dollars later, we're finally home

I strongly recommend READING THIS WHOLE ARTICLE... It is truly such a living diary of personal struggle with Covid, and a tale of two countries.....
Such resilience to just ....get home.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

'Vaccine Hunters' Cross State Lines in Search of Shots

The federal government has created this ‘Hunger Games’ scenario.

The scramble to get inoculated has turned attention to the patchwork of vaccination rules devised by states, given a lack of national, standardized protocols.

With states varying widely in prioritizing who can get shots, “vaccine hunter” groups, which scour the country for places where people qualify for the vaccine, have sprung into action on social media.

People driving across the country to get a shot at Texas Motor Speedway

When Chanel Maronge saw on Facebook that she was eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, she seized the opportunity. The only catch? She had to cross the state line to Mississippi last week, driving 1 1/2 hours from her home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to get her first shot.

“The idea of having to wait an unlimited amount of time in Louisiana to get a vaccine just didn’t work for us,” said Maronge, 37, a school librarian who has high blood pressure. Her husband, who has diabetes, and both her parents were able to get vaccinated along with her in McComb, Mississippi.

Kentucky Health and Family Services announced Wednesday vaccine recipients in Kentucky will have to prove they're either KY residents or KY healthcare workers.

Maronge said she was trying to keep herself and her family safe. People ages 16 to 64 who have chronic health conditions, including diabetes, are eligible to get the vaccine in Mississippi, but not yet in Louisiana.

Maronge’s mother, who is 69, missed the cutoff for Louisiana vaccine eligibility by just a year, but her age group was eligible in Mississippi.

At the vaccination site in McComb Mississippi no one asked for proof
of residency, Maronge said, and workers inquired only about medical history and preexisting conditions. Maronge said that she and her husband made it clear they lived in Louisiana, but that it did not seem to bother the staff.

In my county in Illinois, we have to show our state ID. They make a copy of it right there in the parking lot. I assumed this was necessary for accuracy for the vaccine card they produce, but also so county residents stick to their own counties. Although, if you work in another county as a teacher or other essential worker, you can get vaccinated in that county.

We were supposed to show proof of essential worker status, and I had my pay stub, but nobody asked for it.

Our vaccine clinic went off without a hitch. Super efficient, even yesterday when the wind chills were well below freezing (high without wind chills was about 14) and we had just had a snowstorm with flash freeze and white-out conditions the night before.

There was only a tent for the workers copying the ID. The other workers, including the ones administering the vaccination, were out in the open at a card table.

I have not heard a single complaint, only accolades, for how incredibly efficient our vaccine system is. There are difficulties getting registered. But as for the actual vaccine process - impeccable. Other counties should study how ours is done.

I really wish I could do something for these workers, though.

 

[mickey2942]

In my county in Illinois, we have to show our state ID. They make a copy of it right there in the parking lot. I assumed this was necessary for accuracy for the vaccine card they produce, but also so county residents stick to their own counties. Although, if you work in another county as a teacher or other essential worker, you can get vaccinated in that county.

We were supposed to show proof of essential worker status, and I had my pay stub, but nobody asked for it.

Our vaccine clinic went off without a hitch. Super efficient, even yesterday when the wind chills were well below freezing (high without wind chills was about 14) and we had just had a snowstorm with flash freeze and white-out conditions the night before.

There was only a tent for the workers copying the ID. The other workers, including the ones administering the vaccination, were out in the open at a card table.

I have not heard a single complaint, only accolades, for how incredibly efficient our vaccine system is. There are difficulties getting registered. But as for the actual vaccine process - impeccable. Other counties should study how ours is done.

I really wish I could do something for these workers, though.

Yes. I dropped off a few Starbucks cards the other day.

 

[24Roses]

Iowa numbers today and recent news: As of 10:00-11:00 a.m., we had 555 new confirmed cases of which 293,101 are recovering (+1,565). 41 more were reported to have passed for a total of 5,108. 47 or 52 were hospitalized in the last 24 hrs. for a total of 336 (-12). Feb. 6: Iowa reports 555 new COVID-19 cases, 41 more deaths
access
Governor Kim Reynolds rolling back COVID-19 restrictions on Iowa businesses
Mercy Iowa City announces more layoffs due to pandemic struggles
Iowa's 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate dips below 9%
Bars & restaurants react to proclamation lifting COVID-19 restrictions
Des Moines Public Schools to Receive 1,000 Vaccines at Clinic Saturday | who13.com

 

[Niner]

snipped...
“It’s actually a normal response that the body has to the vaccine,” said Marshall. “It means that the body is making antibodies to fight the COVID-19 infection.”

Does that mean if you get the shot but do NOT have COVID - you won't have any side effects?

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Does that mean if you get the shot but do NOT have COVID - you won't have any side effects?

Nope.

If you get the shot and do not have COVID, you have a % of getting the effects we have seen mentioned on the threads. Finally, the public is getting educated that the vaccine is causing an immune reponse.. and the reactions such as headache, fever, malaise, etc. are not infection.. but happens with immune response.

I just had my second Shingrex two days ago... and felt like chit for 24 hours with body aches, malaise etc.

Most ALL data is on folks who did not have the infection, and it was an exclusion to get a trial vaccine (if you had COVID, not qualified to continue with vaccine study). The data you see on side effects is yes, Vaccines cause side effects.

Misunderstanding as to immunity reaction of vaccine vs. reaction to TRUE infection perhaps?
.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Yes. I dropped off a few Starbucks cards the other day.

It's so rural, there is nothing close like that.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

It's so rural, there is nothing close like that.

Jane, you've already done what you can by showing up for your vaccine and no doubt wearing one of your hand made masks. So glad you have had it.

 

[RosalindaA]

Great post @RosalindaA ! The British are nothing if not organised.

Hopefully the vaccinating is proceeding well in Ireland also.

Ah-ha-ha, you flatterer! I'm not so sure about the organized bit, I think it is sheer desperation that is motivating the rollout. And having a fairly simple healthcare system at least in terms of primary care in that nearly everyone has a GP and you just wait for them to give you an appointment and tell you where to go (as it were!). They seem to be using bigger well-ventilated buildings, even the cathedrals so people can keep spaced out. Obviously some of the older/frail people find it harder to get to a vacc centre so I think they must be going to them to jab them so I am pleasantly surprised that this is going reasonably quickly. And obviously the vaccines have to be taken to the elderly homes and staff.

I am hoping that things will speed up even more as we open up to the over 65s as they will be more mobile, I did see that appointments for this group should be going out this week, although there are regional differences. Then it will be the over 50s which again should go quickly. Although of course it depends on supply of jabs but so far we don't seem to be having a problem.
I will, of course say nothing about the squabbles with the EU and what we think about that............I hope still being a member of the EU doesn't hold up Ireland, Mo, how is vaccination going there?

I have noticed that there is still this sense of entitlement around vaccines as well, now they are here, that I want mine, I want the best one and I want it now! Mostly from US tv reports that I watch occasionally, but even a friend said to me that "I hope they don't make teachers a priority group because that will slow down my jab and I want to see my grandchildren". And this is someone who has only not seen them for a few months not the whole year. And a friend that is not a selfish person. Again I understand we're all sick of the restrictions but I would happily wait a little longer so that kids can go back to school and teachers can feel safe. I do get it, I want to see the babies in my family too but we are not talking about having to wait years longer. I just feel people do not appreciate how fortunate we are to have vaccines at all less than a year into this.

Further to this, my sister recently lost a friend/colleague to Covid in her early 50s. She was living with one kidney, given about 2 years to live owing to cancer. She also had antiphospholipid syndrome and had had frequent miscarriages at a younger age but eventually did have children and just wanted to have those last 2 years with her grandchildren. It made me wonder whether her treatment for Covid took into account her blood-clotting problems but I don't know the details, and probably the cancer was the main factor here.

I thought of her when I was watching that owner of the maskless Florida store talk about how it's only people that are old/sick anyway that have problems with the virus. Well, strictly speaking statistically, of course this is mainly the case but there are so many degrees of age and sickness and for a lot of people they are losing significant periods of time that otherwise they would have had.

A good article to send to your feckless friends/relatives..... I'm an NHS consultant anaesthetist. I see the terror in my Covid patients' eyes
this rang so true to me, I've never worked in ICU but I have done a lot of palliative care and there is nothing that is worse than feeling that you or the patient is running out of time to get something done/something said that is important. Thankfully, this happened very rarely to me and we always tried to keep things serene and keep ahead of things which was easier as we dealt more with slower, less dramatic illnesses, but Covid doesn't give patients or staff that luxury. And not to be able to have family there for support, it's such a cruel illness.

 

[SouthAussie]

Nope.

If you get the shot and do not have COVID, you have a % of getting the effects we have seen mentioned on the threads. Finally, the public is getting educated that the vaccine is causing an immune reponse.. and the reactions such as headache, fever, malaise, etc. are not infection.. but happens with immune response.

I just had my second Shingrex two days ago... and felt like chit for 24 hours with body aches, malaise etc.

Most ALL data is on folks who did not have the infection, and it was an exclusion to get a trial vaccine (if you had COVID, not qualified to continue with vaccine study). The data you see on side effects is yes, Vaccines cause side effects.

Misunderstanding as to immunity reaction of vaccine vs. reaction to TRUE infection perhaps?
.

Just want to add, if you currently have covid you are to wait until you are infection-free before you go for your vaccination.

And if you have recently had covid (and are now infection-free), they are asking that you wait 90 days before being vaccinated. This is so that others who are unprotected can have their shot, as once you have had covid you are thought to be protected for 90 days.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article248868369.html

 

[SouthAussie]

Jane, you've already done what you can by showing up for your vaccine and no doubt wearing one of your hand made masks. So glad you have had it.

Not to mention all of the masks that Jane has made for others. And the patterns she has shared.
What comes around goes around. Helpful people get help when they need it.

 

[SouthAussie]

Ah-ha-ha, you flatterer! I'm not so sure about the organized bit, I think it is sheer desperation that is motivating the rollout. And having a fairly simple healthcare system at least in terms of primary care in that nearly everyone has a GP and you just wait for them to give you an appointment and tell you where to go (as it were!). They seem to be using bigger well-ventilated buildings, even the cathedrals so people can keep spaced out. Obviously some of the older/frail people find it harder to get to a vacc centre so I think they must be going to them to jab them so I am pleasantly surprised that this is going reasonably quickly. And obviously the vaccines have to be taken to the elderly homes and staff.

I am hoping that things will speed up even more as we open up to the over 65s as they will be more mobile, I did see that appointments for this group should be going out this week, although there are regional differences. Then it will be the over 50s which again should go quickly. Although of course it depends on supply of jabs but so far we don't seem to be having a problem.
I will, of course say nothing about the squabbles with the EU and what we think about that............I hope still being a member of the EU doesn't hold up Ireland, Mo, how is vaccination going there?

I have noticed that there is still this sense of entitlement around vaccines as well, now they are here, that I want mine, I want the best one and I want it now! Mostly from US tv reports that I watch occasionally, but even a friend said to me that "I hope they don't make teachers a priority group because that will slow down my jab and I want to see my grandchildren". And this is someone who has only not seen them for a few months not the whole year. And a friend that is not a selfish person. Again I understand we're all sick of the restrictions but I would happily wait a little longer so that kids can go back to school and teachers can feel safe. I do get it, I want to see the babies in my family too but we are not talking about having to wait years longer. I just feel people do not appreciate how fortunate we are to have vaccines at all less than a year into this.

Further to this, my sister recently lost a friend/colleague to Covid in her early 50s. She was living with one kidney, given about 2 years to live owing to cancer. She also had antiphospholipid syndrome and had had frequent miscarriages at a younger age but eventually did have children and just wanted to have those last 2 years with her grandchildren. It made me wonder whether her treatment for Covid took into account her blood-clotting problems but I don't know the details, and probably the cancer was the main factor here.

I thought of her when I was watching that owner of the maskless Florida store talk about how it's only people that are old/sick anyway that have problems with the virus. Well, strictly speaking statistically, of course this is mainly the case but there are so many degrees of age and sickness and for a lot of people they are losing significant periods of time that otherwise they would have had.

A good article to send to your feckless friends/relatives..... I'm an NHS consultant anaesthetist. I see the terror in my Covid patients' eyes
this rang so true to me, I've never worked in ICU but I have done a lot of palliative care and there is nothing that is worse than feeling that you or the patient is running out of time to get something done/something said that is important. Thankfully, this happened very rarely to me and we always tried to keep things serene and keep ahead of things which was easier as we dealt more with slower, less dramatic illnesses, but Covid doesn't give patients or staff that luxury. And not to be able to have family there for support, it's such a cruel illness.

I think you are all very fortunate to be having the vaccinations now. And I think that having national healthcare is helping the process along. The authorities can be more organised because they already have a good handle on who lives where, what the demographic is like, where to step things up more.

As you say, your appointment is arranged for you, you don't have to sit endlessly on the phone or internet trying to get an appointment (at least that is the impression I get).

I think things will go similarly here in Australia, once the rollout starts. I noticed yesterday that the Premier of Western Australia is already telling his state people how it will work, where they will go for vaccination, etc. I imagine the rest of our states will follow suit soon. We are still a few weeks away from commencement.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

BNO Newsroom[URL='https://twitter.com/BNODesk']@BNODesk[/URL]
·
1h
BREAKING: U.S. reports more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccinations in one day for the first time

 

[margarita25]

New blip, mid Cal:

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[acutename]

when will the National Guard go door to door?

Opinion: 'Please help' -- 20 stories of Americans trying to get the Covid-19 vaccine - CNN

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Jane, you've already done what you can by showing up for your vaccine and no doubt wearing one of your hand made masks. So glad you have had it.

Thanks. I've messaged the Health Department for suggestions! I'm thinking they need good reusable masks outside of the healthcare setting as well. I was thinking of dropping some off so they could take their pick. And snacks!

 

[margarita25]

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[SouthAussie]

‘The magic has started’: Israel’s vaccination results point a way out of the pandemic

In the most extensive real-world test so far, Israel has demonstrated that a robust coronavirus vaccination program can have a quick and powerful impact, showing the world a plausible way out of the pandemic.

Cases of COVID-19 and hospitalisations dropped dramatically among people who were vaccinated within just a few weeks, according to new studies in Israel, where a rapid vaccine rollout has made it a kind of test laboratory for the world. And early data suggests that the vaccines are working nearly as well in practice as they did in clinical trials.

Even Israel, which has outpaced every other nation in vaccinating its people, is far from out of the woods. The country extended its third nationwide lockdown on Thursday.

Still, researchers found hope in the vaccine’s ability to quickly drive down cases among Israelis getting the shots.

“I find this pretty persuasive that we are seeing actual effects of population-level vaccination,” said William Hanage, a public health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who was not involved with the Israeli study.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/cor...n-hotel-quarantine-rules-20210206-p5707q.html