Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #94

[MsArk]

Another possible J&J vaccine reaction in my state.

‘Young, healthy’ South Mississippi man suffers stroke hours after receiving J&J vaccine

 

[SouthAussie]

Another possible J&J vaccine reaction in my state.

‘Young, healthy’ South Mississippi man suffers stroke hours after receiving J&J vaccine

Wow ... that was quick! Within three hours of having the vaccine. Blood clot lodged in his left middle cerebral artery.

I think these reactions are happening in younger people (under 50 years old) with strong immune responses.

 

[ilovewings]

Another possible J&J vaccine reaction in my state.

‘Young, healthy’ South Mississippi man suffers stroke hours after receiving J&J vaccine

this surely is concerning: he had a blood clot in the left middle cerebral artery.

 

[weepingangel]

Ashish Jha challenges continued pause of Johnson & Johnson vaccine | Boston.com
More at link https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/04/15/ashish-jha-johnson-and-johnson-vaccine-pause
Dr. Ashish Jha is expressing disappointment after a panel at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention determined administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine should remain “paused” while more time is taken to investigate reports of rare, severe blood clots.

 

[weepingangel]

OSHA fines Lynn tax business $136K for prohibiting face masks in office | Boston.com
More at link
A Lynn (MA)tax preparation business is facing $136,532 in fines from the U.S. Department of Labor after an inspection found its owner prohibited employees and customers from wearing face masks while in the office.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Ariana Murrell-Rosario, owner of Liberty Tax Services, for “willfully failing to develop and implement measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” the agency said in a press release on Tuesday.

According to OSHA, Murrell-Rosario banned masks despite the state’s mask order that required they be worn in places of business; made employees and customers work within six feet of one another without face coverings; did not provide proper ventilation in the office; and did not use physical barriers, enhanced cleaning practices, or employee health screenings to help stem the spread of the contagious virus.

The OSHA inspection launched on March 17 after the agency received a referral from state officials.

“This employer’s willful refusal to implement basic safeguards places her employees at an increased risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus,” OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton said in a statement. “Stopping the spread of this virus requires business’ support in implementing COVID-19 Prevention Programs, and ensuring that staff and customers wear face coverings and maintain physical distance from each other.”

In an interview with WBZ-TV, Murrell-Rosario said she believes the masks are potentially spreading the virus — an unfounded claim.

 

[MsArk]

DBM- duplicate

 

[weepingangel]

Sem sedativo, pacientes intubados no Rio ficam acordados e amarrados ao leito, diz enfermeira
Without sedative, intubated patients in Rio stay awake and tied to bed, says nurse

More at link /graphic
Rio de Janeiro has the largest volume of patients intubated due to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, and officials denounce that the lack of sedatives for treatment is already beginning to cause deaths, as RJ1 showed on Wednesday (14).

A nurse at Albert Schweitzer Municipal Hospital in Realengo, in the West Zone of Rio, says that patients with the most severe form of the disease are intubated, awake and tied to beds due to the absence of medicines.

 

[tabitha111]

Update on my retirement community living: We are fully opening the dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner starting Monday. If you want meals delivered to your apt, you incur a $5 fee each meal delivered (!!) So, you eat or starve (lol)...anyways, they are also dropping the mask mandate here in our little community - and as for me- I will still be wearing mine as all of the folks who work here have said to me "we know you will still wear yours Tabitha!" yep...there are 8 residents and 4 staff that did not choose to get the jabs!
Then there are all the visitors that come here, the medical aids that come here for some and outside workers to do stuff like I just got vinyl plank laid in my apartment- - no carpets anymore in my place (yay!!)
I digress, but the main point I am trying to make is - I don't believe we are 100% safe from the virus, especially with VARIENTS, Which is something no one here seems to get.
Will let you all know how this "new" phase goes. I sit by myself in the dining room by the way...everyone seems to have accepted my interesting ways

 

[Inthedetails]

Update on my retirement community living: We are fully opening the dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner starting Monday. If you want meals delivered to your apt, you incur a $5 fee each meal delivered (!!) So, you eat or starve (lol)...anyways, they are also dropping the mask mandate here in our little community - and as for me- I will still be wearing mine as all of the folks who work here have said to me "we know you will still wear yours Tabitha!" yep...there are 8 residents and 4 staff that did not choose to get the jabs!
Then there are all the visitors that come here, the medical aids that come here for some and outside workers to do stuff like I just got vinyl plank laid in my apartment- - no carpets anymore in my place (yay!!)
I digress, but the main point I am trying to make is - I don't believe we are 100% safe from the virus, especially with VARIENTS, Which is something no one here seems to get.
Will let you all know how this "new" phase goes. I sit by myself in the dining room by the way...everyone seems to have accepted my interesting ways

Can you go to the dining room and then take the food to your own place? Pack it in your own plastic container? Or maybe being with others - at a distance - is a welcome change of pace.

jmo

 

[mimi56]

Dr. Fauci has the patience of Job!!

 

[margarita25]

Sem sedativo, pacientes intubados no Rio ficam acordados e amarrados ao leito, diz enfermeira
Without sedative, intubated patients in Rio stay awake and tied to bed, says nurse

More at link /graphic
Rio de Janeiro has the largest volume of patients intubated due to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, and officials denounce that the lack of sedatives for treatment is already beginning to cause deaths, as RJ1 showed on Wednesday (14).

A nurse at Albert Schweitzer Municipal Hospital in Realengo, in the West Zone of Rio, says that patients with the most severe form of the disease are intubated, awake and tied to beds due to the absence of medicines.

Yes, the lack of “sedatives”, in addition to other medicines as well as oxygen is something I’ve been hearing a lot about. It is heartbreaking.

 

[weepingangel]

I was going to suggest outdoor dining just for a change of scenery. If climate/arrangement/etc allows of course

Can you go to the dining room and then take the food to your own place? Pack it in your own plastic container? Or maybe being with others - at a distance - is a welcome change of pace.

jmo

 

[margarita25]

“A top federal science adviser sought to reinforce faith in the U.S. vaccination campaign on Thursday amid the pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

“Nothing should detract from the fact that Americans need to get vaccinated and that we have vaccines available today that meet our high standards for safety and effectiveness,” David Kessler, the Biden administration’s chief science officer for covid response, told lawmakers during a House subcommittee hearing.

“Let’s get Americans vaccinated, let’s get this done, and then we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s the goal,” Kessler added. “I would hope today we can send a very loud, clear signal to our fellow citizens who I mean, many understandably have questions, may be sitting on the fence.”“

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/15/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/

—

Indian hospitals battle ‘chaotic’ surge as daily virus infections cross 200,000 | Reuters

“Many Indian hospitals were scrambling for beds and oxygen as COVID-19 infections surged to a new daily record on Thursday, with a second wave of infections centred on the rich western state of Maharashtra.

India's tally of total infections is second only to the United States, with experts blaming everything from official complacency to aggressive variants. The government has blamed failure to practise physical distancing.“

—

Brazil's P1 coronavirus variant mutating, may become more dangerous -study

*also, there is P2, which I haven’t seen a lot of information about (yet).

 

[tabitha111]

Yes, you can ask for a to-go box for your food I have heard. I'm not at all sure how all this is going to work. I do enjoy eating in the dining room vs. in my apt. for one the food is so nicely presented there vs. a green plastic container its all slopped in.
Most everyone is vaccinated here (including myself) so that is a relief, but the varients do worry me.
Everyone seems so casual here- esp our director who I can not stand- he wears one of those neck gaiters that hardly does anything and he is ALWAYS pulling it down to talk- ummmm I hear you just fine through that thin piece of cloth....anyways he is the driving force to get everything back to "normal" to please all these impatient folks...ugh....

 

[LadyL]

Covid variant first detected in India is found in the UK

 

[LadyL]

Brain clots 'more likely' with Covid infection than vaccine

 

[margarita25]

Latest Dr. Sanjay Gupta podcast:
‎Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction on Apple Podcasts

“Covid-19 is wreaking havoc in Brazil right now, with a record number of daily deaths in recent weeks. CNN International Correspondent Matt Rivers provides an inside look at what went wrong in Brazil and how the country’s crisis is a warning for the rest of the world.”

—

Latest from Dr. O: (Haven’t listened to it yet)

Osterholm Update: COVID-19
April 15, 2021
Episode 51: A Balancing Act

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
(More episodes)

 

[margarita25]

Covid variant first detected in India is found in the UK

From the above link:

“In total, 77 cases of the variant, known as B.1.617, have been recorded in the UK up to 14 April, according to the latest update from Public Health England (PHE), released on Thursday. Of these, 73 were recorded in England and 4 in Scotland.

It is the first time PHE has reported the variant in the UK.”

—

Some very brief notes on this variant from the variants thread:

March 17

““Once these mutations are correlated with the existing public health scenario, only then we can say that these new variants are a matter of concern. As of now, we need to do much more to build these correlations, and that is why it is important to do more genome sequencing on samples from Maharashtra. More scientific evidence is needed to say with certainty that the surge in Maharashtra is attributable to new variants,” he said.

More than 1,200 virus samples from Maharashtra have so far been sent for genome sequencing, at the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, and the National Centre for Cell Science. So far, two mutants, named E484Q and L452R, are being further investigated. Initial studies have shown that E484Q mutant can possibly escape antibody neutralisation, while L452R can increase the rate of infection. The samples that initially showed these two mutants were from Akola and Amravati. More detailed studies are being carried out.

“We do not have definite signals of any particular new variant that is pushing the pandemic surge, but work is underway at the genomic surveillance consortium of ten national institutes (called INSACOG) to work on genome sequencing of virus samples,” NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul said at a media briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday.“

NCDC seeks more samples to explain surge in Maharashtra

—

“New Delhi: Top sources in the Union Health Ministry reportedly revealed that the novel COVID-19 double mutant variant has been found in at least ten states in India. The double mutations could be responsible for the massive spike in coronavirus cases in the country, the sources said.

According to a report in NDTV, government sources said the states where double mutant strains have been found include Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.“

[...]

“What is a double mutant variant?
A double mutation is when two mutates strains of a virus come together to form a new third strain.

BBM:
However, health experts have said that the double mutant variant may be less dangerous than expected as the most vulnerable patients are having only mild illnesses.“

New Double Mutant COVID Strain In At Least 10 States; UK Variant In 18-19 States

—

Explained: B.1.617 variant and the surge
Genome sequencing data have presented evidence of the 'double mutant' in 61% of samples in Maharashtra. But whether this new variant is driving India's ongoing surge can be said only after more data is available.

“What is the B.1.617?
The B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV-2 carries two mutations, E484Q and L452R. Both are separately found in many other coronavirus variants, but they have been reported together for the first time in India.

The two mutations are found in the virus’s spike protein. The spike protein helps the virus to bind itself to the human cell’s receptors and gain entry into a host cell.

The E484Q mutation is similar to E484K, a mutation found in the United Kingdom (lineage B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351) variants of the coronavirus.

The L452R mutation has been found in fast spreading variants in California (B.1.427 and B.1.429). It can increase the binding power of spike proteins with ACE2 receptors on human cells, making it more transmissible. L452R can also potentially enhance viral replication.

Together, E484Q and L452R are more infectious, and can evade antibodies.“

*more at link

—

Maharashtra: double mutant found in 61% samples tested

“The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has shared data with laboratories in Maharashtra showing that of 361 Covid-19 samples taken in Maharashtra from January to March and genome sequenced, 61% or 220 had the double mutation E484Q and L452R, now classified as B.1.617 lineage.

On March 24, the Central government had announced the detection of a double mutant variant in “15-20% samples in Maharashtra” but did not link the variant with the second surge in the state.

At a meeting on April 10, NIV officials made a presentation to all district heads of government laboratories. The meeting was organised by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research under the Medical Education and Drugs Department of Maharashtra.

The genome sequencing results were shared in the presentation, but officials said the state government is yet to receive a written report on this. “It has been communicated to us only verbally,” said an official. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the state government had asked the Centre for a detailed report on the genome sequencing of all the Maharashtra samples.“

—

Can the Covid Vaccine Protect Me Against Virus Variants?
Vaccines do a good job of protecting us from coronavirus, but fear and confusion about the rise of variants have muddled the message. Here are answers to common questions.

“The variants are “all the more reason to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist. “The bottom line is the vaccines we are using very well protect against the most dominant variant we have right now, and to varying degrees protect against serious disease among several of the other variants.”

*more at link

 

[mickey2942]

Employers cannot "make" an employee get a vaccine. But in Las Vegas, major employers are offering vaccines at work. Employees who decline, will have to be tested 2x weekly for Covid, and may be charged for "surveillance" testing.

https://www.ktnv.com/news/coronavir...st-wynn-las-vegas-employee-fumes-over-options

 

[margarita25]

B.C. could hit 3,000 new COVID-19 cases a day if contact trends don’t go down: health officials
“Variants now make up an estimated 65 per cent of all new COVID cases in the province. This is a massive surge from just nine weeks ago when variants first took hold in the province.

The P.1 variant, first detected in Brazil, now makes up 49 per cent of the province’s variant cases. The B.1.1.7 variant, originally detected in the U.K., makes up 50 per cent of the variant cases.

The B.1.1.7 variant continues to be dominant in Fraser Health, making up nearly 75 per cent of all the variant cases in the province. The P.1 variant dominates spread in Vancouver Coastal Health, making up about 70 per cent of variant cases that health region.“

[...]

“The independent modelling found the growth of variants of concern (B.1.1.7 and P.1) have driven recent rise in cases and transmission must be reduced by at least 40% to control case growth.”

—

Michigan at 'record high' for COVID-19 hospitalizations of children | Bridge Michigan

“"The state is at a record high for hospitalizations for pediatrics during the entire pandemic and our hospital reflects that," said Dr. Rudolph Valentini, a pediatric nephrologist at Children's Hospital of Michigan and group chief medical officer for the Detroit Medical Center.“

[...]

“"As we're seeing more and more (COVID-19) cases in young people, we fear that we will see more cases of MIS-C at the Children's Hospital, so we're very prepared for that possibility," Olivero said.”