COVID-19 Outbreak Information Updates (Reboot) [over 150.000,000 US cases (est.), 6,422,520 US hospitilizations, 1,148,691 US deaths.] (5 Viewers)

[bclemms]

We paid a very heavy price. I can't say how I really feel here without getting political. I will say I follow our 2 Senators
and my district reps FB pages and it's obvious most of their followers are still fighting the civil war.

No need. At this point we can just glance at each other, give a nod and nothing else is needed.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Thanks for posting this article.

The expense and the difficulty procuring N95s has kept me in cloth masks (Rolls Royce cloth masks to be sure) so far.

Are people now able to easily find N95s in big -box stores, especially in the New Orleans area? Or are they still items that pretty much have to be ordered online still?

While I can and have ordered things online ... I consider ordering N95s online as something of a barrier due to how long they seem (seemed?) to take to come in. If the logjam is broken, and you can now readily online-order N95s and get them within a few days ... that changes the calculus.

Many of my cloth masks have a pocket for a filter. I use the P2.5 filters.

I still mostly use the surgical style. Only use the N95 in certain situations and if someone is actually sick around me.

When my wife flies, she's using an N95. Mostly cramped quarters while boarding and deboarding. In the air, it's generally safer due to rapid air filtration.

 

[St. Widge]

The UK data on vaccine effectiveness against Omicron is pretty robust at this point, covering hundreds of thousands of cases. It also indicates that the protection against symptomatic disease holds up for longer after a booster (e.g. for one example the protection, against specifically Omicron, 5-9 weeks after a Pfizer booster is higher than the protection 5-9 weeks after the second dose of Pfizer), and that the protection against hospitalisation is higher after a booster than it is after a second dose. Those are all factors to take into account when considering the merit of boosters.

I appreciate you're not cherry-picking data, but I think you're making a lot of assumptions in how you're interpreting that data. We know that with some degree of evasion, two doses and a substantial waning effect meant vaccination effectiveness against infection and symptomatic disease from Omicron was very low for many people when Omicron waves began. The data shows the protection across the board (including against hospitalisation) is higher after boosters, especially for protection against infection and symptomatic disease. Given that boosters have typically been given out during the Omicron wave, rather than prior to, it doesn't seem robust to consider the rapid increase in cases as indicative of the merit of boosters; it would seem more reasonable to consider that the rollout of boosters has had an impact on the extent and rate of decline of the wave.

I mean, put it this way, the data indicates that I, unboosted, with two doses of Moderna six months ago, had around 20% protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron when the Omicron wave started in the UK. With a Pfizer booster, that's now about 65%. The Delta figures are around 80% and just under 100% respectively. While that certainly represents a still significant chance of infection, particularly with Omicron being dominant and generally more transmissible, that's still a significant difference that will have an effect both in terms of individual risk, and in terms of reducing the overall spread and impact thereof as more people are boosted.

There are reasonable arguments to be made about the timing of boosters, and the merits of revised vaccines, but those would have to account for both the significance and duration of increased protection of boosters, and the practicality of rolling out boosters and new vaccines in advance of a new wave. Given how fast a new wave can arrive, and in particular in nations that are reluctant to implement other mitigations to otherwise slow the spread, I think there's a limit in how practical that can be.

I do think the argument that boosters aren't necessarily the optimum usage of vaccines when much of the world has extremely poor vaccine coverage is a reasonable one; however, as I've said before, I don't think those are inherently exclusive (in principle we can do both), and that some of the reasons we're not doing both are also why doses not being used for in wealthier nations aren't actually going to those parts of the world that need them.

I'll also reiterate that we do not know the full impact of Omicron. We do know it has less severe impact on the lungs, which was a primary driver of admissions to hospitals and ICUs, but we don't yet know, for example, whether it has less impact in terms of damage to other organs, myocarditis, long Covid. I don't think it's wise to assume that because it's substantially less likely to cause one severe effect, that it also doesn't have other, different, impacts. For example, we saw in earlier waves that myocarditis rates increased within three months of having Covid. We're only really two months into Omicron.

IIRC, the U.K. was at least a month, maybe more, ahead of the U.S. in their Omicron outbreak so it makes sense that you guys would have much more data and better data than we have in the U.S. where Omicron only really broke out in mid-to-early December.

 

[bclemms]

IIRC, the U.K. was at least a month, maybe more, ahead of the U.S. in their Omicron outbreak so it makes sense that you guys would have much more data and better data than we have in the U.S. where Omicron only really broke out in mid-to-early December.

Could also be that Omicron hit just on the backside of a mass booster effort in UK while the US was caught months past the time we had a big booster push and immunity waned that it makes the efficacy appear a lot lower.

I'm laying big money on the ability of vaccines to prevent infection being a lot lower in the US. I'm also betting that timing boosters with waves becoming a big part of the battle against covid. It's really no different than what we do with flu vaccines because it is making little sense to push boosters at times that efficacy becomes reduced when needed.

 

[St. Widge]

Could also be that Omicron hit just on the backside of a mass booster effort in UK while the US was caught months past the time we had a big booster push and immunity waned that it makes the efficacy appear a lot lower.

I'm laying big money on the ability of vaccines to prevent infection being a lot lower in the US. I'm also betting that timing boosters with waves becoming a big part of the battle against covid. It's really no different than what we do with flu vaccines because it is making little sense to push boosters at times that efficacy becomes reduced when needed.

Sure that's possible. And, I do expect that sooner or later COVID vaccines will be like yearly flu shots where we get them just before "COVID season" and we hope that the vaccine makers picked the right variants to target. Some years the protection will be better than others. Let's just hope future COVID strains are relatively mild. Although I do get that even if relatively mild, there is the risk for long COVID. Which is not something you get with the Flu.

 

[Doug B]

Although I do get that even if relatively mild, there is the risk for long COVID. Which is not something you get with the Flu.

It doesn't get a lot of attention ... but any major viral infection can and do cause long-hauler symptoms, I'm not even sure long COVID is more common than "long influenza", "long meningitis", etc.

When my son was an infant, he contracted RSV like most babies do. Instead of just snapping right back after getting over the infection, however ... he required home-administered albuterol treatments for about another year-and-a-half.

Post-viral syndrome: Symptoms, causes, and treatment

Post-viral syndrome, or post-viral fatigue, refers to tiredness or weakness that lingers after a person recovers from a viral infection. Learn more here.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is associated with pandemic influenza infection, but not with an adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccine - PubMed

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection was associated with a more than two-fold increased risk of CFS/ME. We found no indication of increased risk of CFS/ME after vaccination. Our findings are consistent with a model whereby symptomatic infection, rather than antigenic stimulation may trigger CFS/ME.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long Covid symptoms aren’t as unique as we thought

The nagging symptoms long-haulers experience reveal a frustrating blind spot in medicine.

www.vox.com

 

[SaintInBucLand]

It doesn't get a lot of attention ... but any major viral infection can and do cause long-hauler symptoms, I'm not even sure long COVID is more common than "long influenza", "long meningitis", etc.

When my son was an infant, he contracted RSV like most babies do. Instead of just snapping right back after getting over the infection, however ... he required home-administered albuterol treatments for about another year-and-a-half.

Post-viral syndrome: Symptoms, causes, and treatment

Post-viral syndrome, or post-viral fatigue, refers to tiredness or weakness that lingers after a person recovers from a viral infection. Learn more here.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is associated with pandemic influenza infection, but not with an adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccine - PubMed

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection was associated with a more than two-fold increased risk of CFS/ME. We found no indication of increased risk of CFS/ME after vaccination. Our findings are consistent with a model whereby symptomatic infection, rather than antigenic stimulation may trigger CFS/ME.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long Covid symptoms aren’t as unique as we thought

The nagging symptoms long-haulers experience reveal a frustrating blind spot in medicine.

www.vox.com

Yeah I did a lot of research when I had long covid issues and saw a lot of similarities to post viral syndrome that can occur from other infections. Also something known as mast cell activation syndrome has impacted many people.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Here comes the near-vertical downslope in Orleans...



Hopitalizations peaked below the delta wave even though cases were 400%+ greater than delta

 

[Arathrael]

Could also be that Omicron hit just on the backside of a mass booster effort in UK while the US was caught months past the time we had a big booster push and immunity waned that it makes the efficacy appear a lot lower.

I'm laying big money on the ability of vaccines to prevent infection being a lot lower in the US. I'm also betting that timing boosters with waves becoming a big part of the battle against covid. It's really no different than what we do with flu vaccines because it is making little sense to push boosters at times that efficacy becomes reduced when needed.

I don't think there was much difference in initial timing between the booster effort in the UK and the US. The UK started late September, and that was also when the US's booster dose recommendation was given according to the CDC data tracker (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends). The US had been boosting before that, but at a relatively low rate, <100k per day.

The difference, I think, is in scale. In October, the UK was boosting around 200-300K per day, rising to around 350k per day (~0.5%) of the population through November. (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations). The US was boosting around 400k per day in October, rising to 900k per day in November. But that's still only around half the rate per capita in November for the US compared to the UK.

So prior to Omicron showing up and really kicking in, both countries had started pushing boosters, but the UK had actually been boosting substantially more relative to population than the US already.

And then after Omicron had started making noise, in December, the UK had an additional push which took the levels substantially higher still, up to nearly 900k per day (~1.3% per day). The US only had a small increase over November levels (with a dip over Thanksgiving as well).

So both countries really started pushing boosters around the same time, but the UK has been boosting at a higher rate right from the start of official recommendations in late September, and had an additional really big push in December. The US has just been consistently boosting at a lower rate. At this point the UK has given out over 36 million booster or third doses, which represents 62.9% of over 12 year olds. In the US, it's over 78 million, but that's only 40.6% of over 18 year olds (UK dashboard is giving those percentages in terms of over 12 year olds, and I'm not trying to convert that right now, but you can see it's a substantial difference even without that).

So while it's true to say a higher proportion of boosters in the US were given in the earlier part of the period compared to the UK, that's not because of an earlier big push in the US; rates have risen as time has gone on, they just haven't risen that much, relative to the UK. With the UK consistently boosting at a higher rate, I'd suggest the more significant difference is likely to be the relative absence of boosters, rather than the relative timing.

I have seen some discussion about timing boosters with waves, but I think the problem is in predicting them. So far, Covid hasn't as seasonal as flu, for example.

 

[SaintInBucLand]

Hopitalizations peaked below the delta wave even though cases were 400%+ greater than delta

Good friend in NYC who is a nurse told me that the average stay for their Omicron patients was less than a day. Many times the patients were coming in for the headaches and were frightened it was going to get worse.

 

[DaveXA]

Good friend in NYC who is a nurse told me that the average stay for their Omicron patients was less than a day. Many times the patients were coming in for the headaches and were frightened it was going to get worse.

Yeah, I was having horrific headaches last weekend and couldn't put my finger on it. But, wouldn't surprise me if it was Omicron now that I'm seeing that as a major symptom. I didn't really have any other symptoms at the time so I wasn't thinking about it maybe being Covid.

 

[St. Widge]

It doesn't get a lot of attention ... but any major viral infection can and do cause long-hauler symptoms, I'm not even sure long COVID is more common than "long influenza", "long meningitis", etc.

When my son was an infant, he contracted RSV like most babies do. Instead of just snapping right back after getting over the infection, however ... he required home-administered albuterol treatments for about another year-and-a-half.

Post-viral syndrome: Symptoms, causes, and treatment

Post-viral syndrome, or post-viral fatigue, refers to tiredness or weakness that lingers after a person recovers from a viral infection. Learn more here.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is associated with pandemic influenza infection, but not with an adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccine - PubMed

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection was associated with a more than two-fold increased risk of CFS/ME. We found no indication of increased risk of CFS/ME after vaccination. Our findings are consistent with a model whereby symptomatic infection, rather than antigenic stimulation may trigger CFS/ME.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long Covid symptoms aren’t as unique as we thought

The nagging symptoms long-haulers experience reveal a frustrating blind spot in medicine.

www.vox.com

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that there was that risk from the Flu. I do know that my brother appears to have some long term effects for a pneumonia that he had years ago, but I was unware of the issues with the Flu.

Maybe it's just the fact that COVID is in the news, but it seems the 'long COVID" issues tend to be more common and worse. But, that's anecdotal and I'd certainly concede that it isn't if the numbers show otherwise. I supposed part of it is that news just came out today that at least 4 professional soccer players have been diagnosed with "heart issues" following COVID infections. One of them, Alphonso Davies, who plays for Bayern Munich and the Canadian National Team, apparently has mycarditis which we were just talking about here yesterday. So, I guess I wonder if the issues from other viral infections are as serious as that or if they tend to be more in the nature of less life threatening issues?

 

[Doug B]

So, I guess I wonder if the issues from other viral infections are as serious as that or if they tend to be more in the nature of less life threatening issues?

Other viral infections can, indeed, lead to myocarditis.

Myocarditis

Myocarditis occurs when the heart muscle becomes inflamed. When your heart muscle is inflamed, it can affect your heart’s electrical system and functioning.

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

 

[Optimus Prime]

I had seen this 60% number before
====================================

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering updating its mask guidance due to the spread of the omicron variant, scammers online are selling counterfeit N95 and KN95 masks.

The CDC says as people decide to upgrade their cloth masks to masks with a level of higher protection, like KN95 and N95, they should be careful and do their research before buying anything online.

The agency reported that about 60% of N95 or KN95 masks in the market are counterfeit and do not meet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requirements.

Per the CDC, here's how to identify a NIOSH-approved respirator:

• NIOSH-approved respirators have an approval label on or within the packaging of the respirator (i.e. on the box itself and/or within the users’ instructions). Additionally, an abbreviated approval is on the FFR itself.
• You can verify the approval number on the NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL) or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page to determine if the respirator has been approved by NIOSH.
• NIOSH-approved FFRs will always have one of the following designations: N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, P100.

Signs that a respirator mask may be counterfeit:

• No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator
• No approval (TC) number on filtering facepiece respirator or headband
• No NIOSH markings
• NIOSH spelled incorrectly
• Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins)
• Claims of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children)
• Filtering facepiece respirator has ear loops instead of headbands......

MSN

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I had seen this 60% number before
====================================

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering updating its mask guidance due to the spread of the omicron variant, scammers online are selling counterfeit N95 and KN95 masks.

The CDC says as people decide to upgrade their cloth masks to masks with a level of higher protection, like KN95 and N95, they should be careful and do their research before buying anything online.

The agency reported that about 60% of N95 or KN95 masks in the market are counterfeit and do not meet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requirements.

Per the CDC, here's how to identify a NIOSH-approved respirator:

• NIOSH-approved respirators have an approval label on or within the packaging of the respirator (i.e. on the box itself and/or within the users’ instructions). Additionally, an abbreviated approval is on the FFR itself.
• You can verify the approval number on the NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL) or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page to determine if the respirator has been approved by NIOSH.
• NIOSH-approved FFRs will always have one of the following designations: N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, P100.

Signs that a respirator mask may be counterfeit:

• No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator
• No approval (TC) number on filtering facepiece respirator or headband
• No NIOSH markings
• NIOSH spelled incorrectly
• Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins)
• Claims of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children)
• Filtering facepiece respirator has ear loops instead of headbands......

MSN

Speaking of...

City of New Orleans distributing counterfeit N95 masks in giveaway program | The Lens

The city said that although the masks are still “protective,” even though they haven’t received official approval from the federal government to be labeled “N95 masks.”

thelensnola.org