Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #97

[Niner]

Thank You katydid and socalDavidS. The surgery center has excellent reviews. You brought up some really good points! I will plan on having the surgery.

I had carotid artery surgeries in January & March of this year - and had not had my vaccine shots yet. Local hospital - everyone wore masks - I had no problems. If that helps your decision! Good luck!

 

[Satchie]

Here in Florida, cases are increasing. Florida virus cases soar, hospitals near last summer's peak

The state has also stopped publishing daily Covid statistics, and has allowed long term care facilities to stop reporting cases. Florida no longer tracking COVID-19 nursing home data

It appears Florida stopped asking long term care homes to submit stats, back in early June. IMO this may have been because cases were very low, and the care homes lobbied not to have to do it. But I agree, everything has changed and there could easily be serious outbreaks in nursing homes, among staff and involving low-immunity vaxed seniors.

I don't know what the requirements are for reporting outbreaks to local medical authorities: I don't think the requirement for statewide stats is as important as immediately taking action to stop an outbreak by shutting down access by visitors, etc, which I hope is still the response by local public health authorities.

 

[sds71]

Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021:


Summary
What is already known about this topic?

Variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to emerge. The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant is highly transmissible.

What is added by this report?

In July 2021, following multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, town, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who had traveled to the town during July 3–17; 346 (74%) occurred in fully vaccinated persons. Testing identified the Delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients. Cycle threshold values were similar among specimens from patients who were fully vaccinated and those who were not.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Jurisdictions might consider expanded prevention strategies, including universal masking in indoor public settings, particularly for large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.


Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, including COVID-19 ...

 

[weepingangel]

Six cruise ship passengers test positive for Covid: 4 vaccinated, 2 unvaccinated
More at link
Six guests have tested positive for Covid-19 on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas cruise ship, the cruise line confirmed Friday.
Four of the guests are vaccinated and two are unvaccinated minors, Royal Caribbean International said in a statement. The seven-night cruise departed from Nassau, Bahamas, on July 25.

One of the four vaccinated guests has mild symptoms, the company said, and three are asymptomatic. The four are not traveling together. The two unvaccinated minors were in the same party and are asymptomatic, according to Royal Caribbean.
"The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative," the cruise line's statement said.
The infections were detected during routine testing that is required of all guests before returning home.

All travelers age 16 and older were required to be fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 before boarding Adventure of the Seas, and all crew are fully vaccinated.

 

[Warwick1991]

It appears Florida stopped asking long term care homes to submit stats, back in early June. IMO this may have been because cases were very low, and the care homes lobbied not to have to do it. But I agree, everything has changed and there could easily be serious outbreaks in nursing homes, among staff and involving low-immunity vaxed seniors.

I don't know what the requirements are for reporting outbreaks to local medical authorities: I don't think the requirement for statewide stats is as important as immediately taking action to stop an outbreak by shutting down access by visitors, etc, which I hope is still the response by local public health authorities.

In Florida, the local (county) health departments are a part of the state health department - there's little autonomy. As far as reporting goes, I'm not sure what is going on. My local newspapers regularly sue for statistics (Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald). My mother is in an assisted living facility, and they are beginning to reinstate some Covid controls. But the most troubling thing of all is that most facilities do not require their staff members to be vaccinated. Most also have personnel shortages, and the facilities apparently feel that potential job candidates will refuse if vaccination is required. This is much riskier than family visits....

 

[Reasonable & Just]

We now have to mask in school all the time (not just around kids). Feeling some rage at the people who made it so that all our sacrifices of the last year were thwarted because they had to have it their way and let the virus replicate like crazy.

 

[pocketaccent]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/dr-...itter_impression=true&recirc=taboolainternalP

Dr. Scott Gottlieb estimates up to 1 million Americans infected with Covid daily as delta spreads

Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday he believes the coronavirus is significantly more widespread in the U.S. than official case counts reflect as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps the nation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if, on the whole, we’re infecting up to a million people a day right now, and we’re just picking up maybe a 10th of that or less than a 10th of that,” the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner said in an interview on “Squawk Box.” Gottlieb now serves on the board of Covid vaccine maker Pfizer.
...

 

[WildOrchid]

Agreed! But 1)it’s all a conspiracy to rule the world and if it’s not that then....oh yeah...it’s 2)not as bad as “they” say...just the flu and also 3)masks don’t help and even if masks help what about 4)our freedumb!!! Yes, I hear these excuses Every. Single. Day. My brain hurts and I’m mad.

We now have to mask in school all the time (not just around kids). Feeling some rage at the people who made it so that all our sacrifices of the last year were thwarted because they had to have it their way and let the virus replicate like crazy.

 

[SouthAussie]

Hunters beware .......

A third of the white-tailed deer tested in four states during a federal study had been exposed to the coronavirus, in yet another indication of the unpredictable nature of the disease. The percentage was highest in Michigan, where 60 percent of the animals tested positive.

The virus has shown it can jump from one species to another, and in the worse case, it could become established in a common animal species, creating a reservoir from which the virus could spill back into humans.

A third of white-tailed deer tested in a survey were exposed to the coronavirus.

 

[SouthAussie]

Broadway’s theater owners and operators, citing the ongoing dangers of the coronavirus pandemic, said Friday that they have decided to require that theatergoers be vaccinated against Covid-19 and wear masks in order to attend a performance.

Broadway audiences will need proof of vaccination and masks.


The Walt Disney Company and Walmart announced on Friday new requirements that some employees be vaccinated, as the contagious Delta variant continued to cause a surge in coronavirus cases and companies tightened their pandemic restrictions.

Disney will require vaccinations for many workers, and Walmart and others restore mask mandates.

 

[SouthAussie]

Missouri .....

“I work closely with our pharmacists who are leading our vaccine efforts through our organization,” she said, “and one of them told me the other day that they had several people come in to get vaccinated who have tried to sort of disguise their appearance and even went so far as to say, ‘Please, please please, don’t let anyone know that I got this vaccine.’”

Some people, she said in the video, are “very concerned about how their people that they love, within their family and within their friendship circles and their work circles, are going to react if they found out that they got the vaccine.”

As Missouri faces a Delta-driven surge, some people are trying to get vaccinated in secret, a doctor says.

 

[musicaljoke]

Missouri .....

“I work closely with our pharmacists who are leading our vaccine efforts through our organization,” she said, “and one of them told me the other day that they had several people come in to get vaccinated who have tried to sort of disguise their appearance and even went so far as to say, ‘Please, please please, don’t let anyone know that I got this vaccine.’”

Some people, she said in the video, are “very concerned about how their people that they love, within their family and within their friendship circles and their work circles, are going to react if they found out that they got the vaccine.”

As Missouri faces a Delta-driven surge, some people are trying to get vaccinated in secret, a doctor says.

Yeah, this need to get vaccinated in secret is very real for many folks who live in homes where there is considerable tension over vaccinations. It's weird though, isn't it, that there are family members who probably love their children/parents/siblings, but who are emphatic that their loved ones not get vaccinated. I'm sure it's not a death wish, although it seems that way.

 

[musicaljoke]

I had a couple of medical appointments today in the Big City here in N. ON., and since I was early, I thought I'd wander through the shopping mall and into a few stores. I didn't see a single person without a mask, and only one person wearing it under her nose.

When I was in the office with my optometrist, I asked her if the she had been vaccinated. She said that she had both shots and so had everyone in the clinic. Ditto when I was with the radiologist. She said how scary it was for her before we had vaccines and how thankful she is that most people she sees now, have been vaccinated.

Our public health district has 4 active cases of covid.

All the local colleges and universities put out notice today that students have to have had their first vaccine in order to live in residence, and have to have their second before the end of the semester.

 

[ilovewings]

Yeah, this need to get vaccinated in secret is very real for many folks who live in homes where there is considerable tension over vaccinations. It's weird though, isn't it, that there are family members who probably love their children/parents/siblings, but who are emphatic that their loved ones not get vaccinated. I'm sure it's not a death wish, although it seems that way.

It is just plain bizarre!!!!!

 

[weepingangel]

'I feel so lost': In five days, woman loses her mother, grandmother and fiancé to COVID-19
More at link
A Florida woman says she feels lost after losing her mother, her grandmother and her fiancé to COVID-19 in a span of five days.


Tiffany Devereaux told WXJT-TV that she had to skip her grandmother's funeral so she could say goodbye to her mother.

She also tested positive for COVID-19 but had mild symptoms. Most of her family wasn't vaccinated.

"I want my loved ones back," she told the TV station. "They're the ones that always got me through the hard times in my life and now they're all gone."

 

[SoCalDavidS]

'I feel so lost': In five days, woman loses her mother, grandmother and fiancé to COVID-19
More at link
A Florida woman says she feels lost after losing her mother, her grandmother and her fiancé to COVID-19 in a span of five days. Tiffany Devereaux told WXJT-TV that she had to skip her grandmother's funeral so she could say goodbye to her mother.

She also tested positive for COVID-19 but had mild symptoms. Most of her family wasn't vaccinated.

"I want my loved ones back," she told the TV station. "They're the ones that always got me through the hard times in my life and now they're all gone."

I feel like if I were hearing this being told face to face, I'd just let her keep talking. I'd have no real response, just kind of a blank look on my face, like what could I possibly say? I've got nothing.

If a Category 5 Hurricane is coming, and you decide to exercise your FREEDOM and retain the decision of whether to stay or evacuate, and you decide to stay, don't act surprised when the roof gets torn off, and you're gasping for air above the waterline.

 

[ilovewings]

'I feel so lost': In five days, woman loses her mother, grandmother and fiancé to COVID-19
More at link
A Florida woman says she feels lost after losing her mother, her grandmother and her fiancé to COVID-19 in a span of five days.


Tiffany Devereaux told WXJT-TV that she had to skip her grandmother's funeral so she could say goodbye to her mother.

She also tested positive for COVID-19 but had mild symptoms. Most of her family wasn't vaccinated.

"I want my loved ones back," she told the TV station. "They're the ones that always got me through the hard times in my life and now they're all gone."

That is truly horrible but it did not necessarily have to be that way---

 

[ilovewings]

Lollapalooza 2021 gives big boost to downtown businesses, bars, hotels - ABC7 Chicago

So, the Lollapalooza festival or whatever it is called, is drawing thousands and thousands of people to Chicago where cases of the Delta virus are increasing significantly. but hey, who cares right, a gal/guy has to have a little fun- and well, we are vaccinated (maybe) or we have had negative tests (maybe)- we we're just gonna party down.

Ain't that great during a pandemic, at a time when we are in the clutches of the most
transmissible virus thus far in this pandemic.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Disney and Walmart mandate vaccines for employees — CNN Business

“Disney and Walmart, two of America's largest employers, announced Friday that they are requiring employees be vaccinated.

Disney is requiring all its salaried and non-union hourly employees in the US to be vaccinated. Workers who are working on-site but are not yet vaccinated must do so within the next 60 days, according to a statement from the company to CNN Business. All new hires must be fully vaccinated before beginning their jobs

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, said all its US-based corporate employees must be vaccinated by October 4, according to a Friday memo from Doug McMillon, the company's president and CEO.

While Walmart is not mandating that its store employees get vaccinated, it will soon implement a new process to verify their vaccine status, and is strongly encouraging workers to get vaccinated. As part of its push for vaccination, the company is offering employees the chance to get vaccinated while on the clock and up to three days paid leave for any reaction to the shot.”

I would think the store employees that interact with the unmasked public would be in line first versus corporate/home office associates?
JMO

 

[musicaljoke]

Disney and Walmart mandate vaccines for employees — CNN Business

“Disney and Walmart, two of America's largest employers, announced Friday that they are requiring employees be vaccinated.

Disney is requiring all its salaried and non-union hourly employees in the US to be vaccinated. Workers who are working on-site but are not yet vaccinated must do so within the next 60 days, according to a statement from the company to CNN Business. All new hires must be fully vaccinated before beginning their jobs

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, said all its US-based corporate employees must be vaccinated by October 4, according to a Friday memo from Doug McMillon, the company's president and CEO.

While Walmart is not mandating that its store employees get vaccinated, it will soon implement a new process to verify their vaccine status, and is strongly encouraging workers to get vaccinated. As part of its push for vaccination, the company is offering employees the chance to get vaccinated while on the clock and up to three days paid leave for any reaction to the shot.”

I would think the store employees that interact with the unmasked public would be in line first versus corporate/home office associates?
JMO

These companies have probably received notices from their liability insurance providers that they will not be covered in the case of a covid outbreak unless all workers have been vaccinated.

Actually, it might not yet be true, but I suspect that soon it will be a motivating factor for companies to have vaccinated workers. After all, nothing motivates companies to act like a threat to their profit margin.