Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #96

[SouthAussie]

This isn't encouraging. I'm glad it's still preventing the most serious illness, but was it overrated to begin with? Or, is it actually losing effectiveness? Is Delta breaking through more than we thought? Any ideas?

Israel on Monday said the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was still very effective in preventing serious illness, while also reporting a decrease in preventing infections and symptomatic illness. The observation coincided with the ending of social distancing requirements and the spread of a new Delta variant.

The vaccine effectiveness of preventing infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 6, the Health Ministry said, Reuters reported. The good news is the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing serious illness from the coronavirus, including hospitalizations.​

Pfizer vaccine protection against infection declines to 64% in Israel

This article (about the newer Lambda variant) has some ideas.

It seems to say that the neutralising antibodies created by the vaccines can build up a natural resistance in our bodies as well. And these play a part in our ongoing protection. So when the neutralising antibodies wane, the built-up natural resistance is still there.

Vaccines that are better at promoting this are the ones that contain a strand of the genetic code (Pfizer contains one strand, Astra Zeneca contains a double strand).

The Lambda coronavirus variant has arrived in Australia. Here's what we know so far

At least, that is how I understand what Infectious Disease and Vaccines Specialist from the University of Qld, Paul Griffin, says.

I am guessing that when the neutralising antibodies wane, we might catch the virus. But due to our now-built-up natural resistance, we can usually avoid hospitalisation and death.

 

[Niner]

So what is this Lambda virus - from what country? TIA!

 

[SouthAussie]

So what is this Lambda virus - from what country? TIA!

Peru. First found in Dec 2020.

It is now in 29 countries ....

"In April and May this year, Lambda accounted for over 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Peru, with a high proportion of cases also in Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador."

"On 14 June, Lambda was listed as a 'variant of interest' by the World Health Organization due to its vast spread in South America."

 

[Skigh]

Coronavirus Australia: Covid-19 strain Lambda more infectious than Delta variant | Daily Mail Online

 

[weepingangel]

Offering $1M Prizes, Ohio Hoped to Boost Vaccinations. The Lottery Didn't Appear to Do That, a Study Found
More at link
Big cash prizes that are aimed at boosting vaccination rates might not be as motivating as organizers hoped, a Boston University study shows.

As registration opened last week for VaxMillions, Massachusetts' vaccine lottery — for which hundreds of thousands of fully vaccinated people in the state were expected to enter for a chance to win either a million-dollar cash prize or a $300,000 scholarship grant — researchers were reporting their findings from studying a similar Ohio vaccine lottery program that launched in May.

In Ohio, five $1 million prizes were put up for grabs, an effort the state hoped would "increase awareness of the availability and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and provide incentives to get Ohioans to get a COVID-19 vaccination," according to the program's website.

But it's not clear that the promotion played a substantial role in increasing vaccinations.

Researchers analyzed Ohio's vaccination data one month before the state announced the lottery and one month after the lottery announcement. They found no significant change in Ohio's vaccination rate that could be linked to the lottery.

In fact, the only bump they noted happened after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the go-ahead for teens ages 12 to 15 to receive their vaccine.

"Our results suggest that state-based lotteries are of limited value in increasing vaccine uptake. Therefore, the resources devoted to vaccine lotteries may be more successfully invested in programs that target underlying reasons for vaccine hesitancy and low vaccine uptake," said author Allan J. Walkey, a professor at BU's School of Medicine and a physician at Boston Medical Center.

Researchers did also note that Ohio is above the national average for vaccinations, so another possibility is that people who would have gotten their shot already have it.

 

[Niner]

Thanks for the explanation @SouthAussie ! I plan on traveling to Australia - one of these days.... but not in the near future!

 

[MimosaMornings]

Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them? — The Washington Post

Incredibly sad.

I am still amazed about FB being the fount of knowledge.

 

[anneg]

Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them? — The Washington Post

Incredibly sad.

I am still amazed about FB being the fount of knowledge.

I was just coming here to post a link to this excellent article, MM, and saw your post. It's well worth reading, IMO. Article excerpt below.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/

For the nurses in the Appalachian highlands who risked their lives during the pandemic, it is as if they fought in a war no one acknowledges.

ABINGDON, Va. — The hospital executives at the lectern called her a hero, and the struggle that had earned Emily Boucher that distinction showed on her face: in the pallor acquired over 12-hour shifts in the intensive care unit, the rings beneath eyes that watched almost every day as covid-19 patients gasped for their final breaths.

The pandemic had hit late but hard in the Appalachian highlands — the mountainous region that includes Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee — and over the winter many of its victims had ended up on ventilators tended by Boucher and her fellow nurses at Johnston Memorial Hospital.

They were enduring the traumas known to ICU workers across the world: days filled with death, nights ruined by dreams in which they found themselves at infected patients’ bedsides without masks. But they were also enduring a trauma that many doctors and nurses elsewhere were not: the suspicion and derision of those they risked their lives to protect.

Conspiracy theories about the pandemic and lies recited on social media — or at White House news conferences — had penetrated deep into their community. When refrigerated trailers were brought in to relieve local hospitals’ overflowing morgues, people said they were stage props. Agitated and unmasked relatives stood outside the ICU insisting that their intubated relatives only had the flu. Many believed the doctors and nurses hailed elsewhere for their sacrifices were conspiring to make money by falsifying covid-19 diagnoses.

(More at link)

 

[Lilibet]

I was just coming here to post a link to this excellent article, MM, and saw your post. It's well worth reading, IMO. Article excerpt below.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/

For the nurses in the Appalachian highlands who risked their lives during the pandemic, it is as if they fought in a war no one acknowledges.

ABINGDON, Va. — The hospital executives at the lectern called her a hero, and the struggle that had earned Emily Boucher that distinction showed on her face: in the pallor acquired over 12-hour shifts in the intensive care unit, the rings beneath eyes that watched almost every day as covid-19 patients gasped for their final breaths.

The pandemic had hit late but hard in the Appalachian highlands — the mountainous region that includes Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee — and over the winter many of its victims had ended up on ventilators tended by Boucher and her fellow nurses at Johnston Memorial Hospital.

They were enduring the traumas known to ICU workers across the world: days filled with death, nights ruined by dreams in which they found themselves at infected patients’ bedsides without masks. But they were also enduring a trauma that many doctors and nurses elsewhere were not: the suspicion and derision of those they risked their lives to protect.

Conspiracy theories about the pandemic and lies recited on social media — or at White House news conferences — had penetrated deep into their community. When refrigerated trailers were brought in to relieve local hospitals’ overflowing morgues, people said they were stage props. Agitated and unmasked relatives stood outside the ICU insisting that their intubated relatives only had the flu. Many believed the doctors and nurses hailed elsewhere for their sacrifices were conspiring to make money by falsifying covid-19 diagnoses.

(More at link)

The ignorance in this BBM quote from the article knows no bounds!

Anthany and Kayla Garcia were leaving the Swirled Frozen Treats next door to Kroger with cups of strawberry shortcake ice cream. The pair from Bristol, the nearby city straddling the Virginia-Tennessee border, said they had been inoculated, but not out of concern about the virus. They hoped to avoid masking up at work, as they avoided it elsewhere.

“I think covid is just a hoax,” Anthany, 27, said.

“Even so, I don’t think a mask would particularly keep you safe,” added Kayla, 36. “If you can pass gas through the cloth of your pants and still smell it ...”

“There hasn’t been any deaths,” Anthany said, dipping a plastic spoon into his dessert.

The couple was still upset over having their work hours at a fast-food restaurant cut during lockdown, and didn’t believe the figures published by Ballad Health, which showed more than 100,000 infections and 2,100 deaths in the region.

“I’ve never seen anybody who had it,” Anthany said. “Like, how do they know it’s covid that they’re dying from?”
BBM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/

 

[margarita25]

So what is this Lambda virus - from what country? TIA!

Every time I hear “Lambda”, I think of “Revenge of the Nerds”, “Lambda, Lambda, Lambda!”

 

[anneg]

The ignorance in this BBM quote from the article knows no bounds!

Anthany and Kayla Garcia were leaving the Swirled Frozen Treats next door to Kroger with cups of strawberry shortcake ice cream. The pair from Bristol, the nearby city straddling the Virginia-Tennessee border, said they had been inoculated, but not out of concern about the virus. They hoped to avoid masking up at work, as they avoided it elsewhere.

“I think covid is just a hoax,” Anthany, 27, said.

“Even so, I don’t think a mask would particularly keep you safe,” added Kayla, 36. “If you can pass gas through the cloth of your pants and still smell it ...”

“There hasn’t been any deaths,” Anthany said, dipping a plastic spoon into his dessert.

The couple was still upset over having their work hours at a fast-food restaurant cut during lockdown, and didn’t believe the figures published by Ballad Health, which showed more than 100,000 infections and 2,100 deaths in the region.

“I’ve never seen anybody who had it,” Anthany said. “Like, how do they know it’s covid that they’re dying from?”
BBM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/

I know... Really sad.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Delta variant confirmed in samples from League City church group COVID outbreak after summer camp

“Unfortunately, upon return from camp, 125+ campers and adults reported to us that they tested positive for COVID-19," church officials said in a statement. "Additionally, hundreds more were exposed to COVID-19 at camp. And hundreds of others were likely exposed when infected people returned home from camp.”

“Galveston County Health District officials said Friday they were investigating the outbreak at the five-day event that was attended by around 450 adults and children in sixth through 12th grades. The first case was reported to them on June 27.”

Church camp COVID-19 outbreak should serve as 'cautionary tale,' Galveston Co. health official says | khou.com

“From the beginning of the pandemic, we have sought to love our neighbors by practicing strict safety protocols. We are surprised and saddened by this turn of events. Our hearts break for those infected with the virus. Please pray for a speedy and complete recovery for all of those affected.

Grace and Peace,

Bruce Wesley”
—————
Huh? Strict safety protocols?

 

[Skigh]

Japanese government considers banning ALL spectators from Tokyo 2020 | Daily Mail Online

 

[ilovewings]

Japanese government considers banning ALL spectators from Tokyo 2020 | Daily Mail Online

It is ridiculous to have the olympics under these conditions. just foolish-- and dangerous.

 

[ilovewings]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...0bf08a-de86-11eb-ae31-6b7c5c34f0d6_story.html

Interesting statistic: In Maryland all those who died of Covid in June were not vaccinated!!!

 

[SouthAussie]

We are finally starting to get a shuffle on with our vaccinations in Australia. As of Tuesday, 25% of our population has had at least one shot (about 10% of the population have had both).

In reality, this equates to over 32% of the over-14 years old age groups having at least one dose.

Last week was our biggest week for vaccinations. The outbreaks, plus a lot of PSAs, are pushing the vaccination numbers up. The PSAs involve a good bunch of popular celebrities encouraging vaccinations, as well as our very likeable Deputy CMO.

Unfortunately, we have 2 covid patients in NSW on ventilators. It has been a long time since that has happened.

Vaccine Operations Centre – Weekly Operational Update – 7 June 2021

 

[GRT]

Japanese government considers banning ALL spectators from Tokyo 2020 | Daily Mail Online

I think that would be the smartest way to go.

Travel fees and hotel fees should be refunded and while the spectators might be disappointed, they need to remember that it's just athletics and that with today's media coverage, they can still see the events as they happen.

Japan has a bigger duty to the health of its citizens than to spectators.

 

[weepingangel]

Flight to Bahamas canceled when airline says Winthrop teens refused to wear masks
Much More at link
A group of Winthrop high school graduates are being blamed for canceling an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to the Bahamas because they reportedly refused to wear masks.


“Prior to departure on July 5, passengers traveling on American Airlines Flight 893 from Charlotte (CLT) to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) were reported to be noncompliant with the federal mask mandate, became disruptive to other customers and refused to follow crew member instructions while onboard,” American Airlines said in a statement.

 

[MajorHoople]

Covid-19 Australia: New York Times takes aim at Australia's bungled vaccine rollout | Daily Mail Online

"The New York Times has taken aim at Australia's low vaccination rates by using the country's bungled vaccine rollout as an example of how not to manage Covid-19.

In an episode of the publication's podcast 'The Daily', science journalist Carl Zimmer weighed in on why he thought Australia has swung from one extreme to the other.

Once the envy of the world boasting a country almost coronavirus-free, Australia's glacial vaccine rollout has meant frustrated residents have become all too familiar with the incessant cycle of lockdowns and border closures."

"Mr Zimmer said the highly contagious Indian Delta strain of the virus was 'a recipe for disaster among countries with low vaccination rates'.

The journalist said the lethal combination of an infectious strain and a slow rollout was playing out in countries like Bangladesh, Russia, Malaysia and Australia.

Mr Zimmer said it was interesting that Australia was a relatively wealthy country but lacked a great vaccine supply.

He put it down to the government believing lockdown strategies like contact tracing, testing and strict limits on travel would continue to keep the virus at bay.

'They had incredibly low rates, life was normal in Australia. So they thought, "We can take our time with vaccination because we've got this big wall keeping the virus out," but then the virus came over the wall and they didn't have their vaccines ready.'

Just six per cent of the population have been double-jabbed, compared to 46 per cent in the United States and 47 per cent in the United Kingdom."

 

[Skigh]

Covid UK: Daily cases hit highest level since JANUARY as deaths double to 33 | Daily Mail Online