Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #88

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Midgie2 said:
Our youngest daughter, who is an army nurse is being deployed to Wisconsin tomorrow to work in hospital with Covid patients.
This is her second deployment this year, first one was to the Javits center N.Y.
Click to expand...

I remember when you told us about her first deployment.

God Bless her, and please let her know that we support and appreciate her, that she and her comrades are heroes.
 
Well I was looking for updated news on our vaccine rollout and teensy *lockdown* rollback but this jumped out at me
Nearly 90% of residents at New England care facility test positive for COVID-19
Nh/more at link
HANOVER, N.H. —

Nearly 90% of residents at Hanover Terrace Health and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Acting Administrator Martha Ilsley, as of Tuesday, 65 residents have tested positive for the virus via a lab test. Seven residents were not positive.


"Most of our residents have had, I guess, more of a milder case, have not been seriously ill as a result of the COVID, although we do have some residents who are ill," Ilsley said.

There have been 22 employees and "2 outside essential vendors" have tested positive as well, according to Ilsley. She said the outbreak began with test results done on Nov. 27, which was the day after Thanksgiving.

"So we had two residents, I believe it was, come back positive then, and then we retested everybody again on Nov. 30 and we have been testing everyday and more results have been coming in, every single day," she said.

Ilsley said they're not certain how the outbreak began.
 
ilovewings said:
More than half of NYC firefighters say they will NOT take a COVID vaccine | Daily Mail Online

Half of New York City fire fighters say they will not take the vaccine for COVID

I find that scary----
Click to expand...

Additionally, according to a survey I posted a few days ago upstream, only 30ish percent of health workers said yes they would take it, the others were “no” and “undecided”, both at 30ish percent.

My health worker friend said she’s not taking it immediately and neither are some of her colleagues, that they want to wait. I asked “isn’t it mandatory for health workers?”, and she said no, as is the same case with the flu vaccine.
 
As Wellsandt-Zell led those mourning Timmins in the hymn “Jesus Loves Me,” the rumble of an approaching helicopter cut through the sound of the singing and the mourners’ soft tears. In Mitchell, the medical emergency helicopter, once a rare occurrence, now comes nearly every day, ferrying the growing number of people desperately ill with covid-19 to a hospital that might be able to save them.
~snip~
That morning, Nov. 16, Buck woke after a restless night and called out for his wife. He mumbled something — she thought he said, “I love you” — so she wrapped her arms around his head and said, “I love you, too!” Just after noon, he was gone. They had planned on taking an Alaskan cruise together next year, but now she was alone, 10 days before Thanksgiving with a stack of bills on the table she wasn’t sure how to pay.
~snip~
So many town leaders have died in such a short time that the impact has been profound, Tjarks said. Who will fill Timmins’s shoes as a mentor for young referees in the state high school athletic association? Who will raise money for the veteran’s park and the rodeo stampede now that state legislator Lance Carson is gone? There would be smaller absences too: her neighbor, John, now missing from the morning group at the doughnut shop.
~snip~
The anti-mask forces sat with naked faces, defying the mayor’s order. One by one, they got up to air their grievances. They wept. They swore. They cited junk science: Positivity defeats the virus. So does a healthy lifestyle, eating wild-caught sardines, pasture-raised beef liver and drinking raw organic kombucha. A young mother stood up and compared anti-maskers to Jews persecuted in the Holocaust: “The bare face is the new yellow star of Nazi Germany,” she said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/09/south-dakota-mitchell-covid-masks/?arc404=true
 
DA Ben David tests positive for COVID-19 following meeting with Charlotte group

With the numbers in NC, especially Charlotte - you FLY to Wilmington for an in person meeting?
What about each person driving a car for a 3.5 to 4 hour drive? A rental car for the day would not have been more than $60 a day per person. Versus a round trip airfare for 6 people.

“I learned definitely that I tested positive and I, of course, had a difficult day not only notifying my office but my friends and taking whatever precautions now we need to do to make sure that people around us are safe,” David said.

David says the group, which included a total of six people from Charlotte, all wore masks the entire time with the exception of when they broke for lunch. And even then he says they socially distanced in a conference room.

“If I let my guard down at all, and I think this is a good lesson, I was driving a car with someone in it who I believe tested positive and I think that’s the most likely rate of transmission now. But we can’t know. We’re not doctors,” he said.”

But you do know how it most likely spreads.
Indoors with other people at any one of the following places - and you hit all three.
On a plane. In a car. Eating with others without a mask.
Guess they didn’t get the covid memo.
 
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So...my take on this is that it will be impossible for authorities to get compliance (mask or otherwise) for COVID...from about 50% of Americans.

With the vaccine rolling out and about half of us willing/eager to take it, we will be living in parallel realities. At this point, I'm so used to unmasked people (I encounter them rarely but see them every time I go out) as well as living as an almost complete shut-in, that I will survive and they can go their own way (the COVID way - as eventually, over the next 4-5 years, almost everyone is going to get COVID, possibly more than once).

Speaking of which, there's startling evidence of various longterm damage in both the symptomatic and asymptomatic. I had a viral nerve infection when I was 19 (trigeminal nerve). It flared up off and on for years, due to the damage to the myelin sheath and then it went full on major/debilitating when I was in my late 40's and now I deal with it on a recurrent basis. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I do hope that the little kids who are getting COVID continue to avoid having it go system-wide in their little bodies and that they get humoral immunity. If that happens, it will be their parents' generation who suffers from the longterm consequences, but at least that's a limited group. The strain on healthcare from all our American chronic bad health/bad habits is upon us.

Hospitals near me are receiving helicoptered patients throughout the day. Now, all but one local hospital is at capacity and that one has only 1-2 days left. Cases continue to rise here in SoCal (not quite exponential yet, but that's likely in our future). I have no idea what to say about it. SO many very sick people. 800,000 active cases in California and record numbers of hospitalizations, with patients getting zoomed around all over the state:

California Hospitalizations From COVID-19 Surging; ICUs May Be Overwhelmed In Weeks

Idaho is sending people out of state and sending people home from hospitals early.

ER waits in California are prohibitively long, urgent care centers are trying to take up the slack, but I gotta tell you, now is not the time to sprain your ankle (if you do, take care of it at home) or break something in a fall or require stitches. Or to get any other illness.

But the vaccine awaits and for half of us, life will return (somewhat) to normal.
 
“Two British people with severe allergies apparently had allergic reactions to Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, raising questions about whether it is safe for people with preexisting allergies.

In response, British regulators advised those with severe allergies to avoid the vaccine.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the allergic reactions. Unlike some vaccines, in the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine there are no preservatives or egg products, which have been known to trigger reactions with other types of vaccines.“

[...]

“Slaoui said he assumes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee meeting Thursday will discuss this issue and will suggest that people with severe allergies "should not take the vaccine until we know exactly what happened."

But a vaccine that triggers dangerous reactions in people with severe allergies poses a major challenge in the U.S., said Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"If you start issuing recommendations that anyone with an EpiPen doesn't get vaccinated, that could be a showstopper for Americans," he said. About 3 to 4 million Americans carry epinephrine with them at all times in case of allergic reactions, Hotez noted, and 50 million have less severe allergies.

Hotez was confused by the allergic reaction, which was not predicted by trials in tens of thousands of people.“

[...]

“Dr. Paul Offit told CNN early Wednesday that severe allergic reactions to vaccines occur in about one of every 1.4 million shots. That's why people are asked to stay in a doctor's office for a few minutes after a vaccination, said Offit, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Rather than a "blanket recommendation" for people with allergies, "the smarter thing to do would be to try and look at these two patients and see what specific component of the vaccine they were allergic to," he said.“

More at link
COVID vaccine allergic reaction: How Pfizer side effect may affect US
 
margarita25 said:
“Two British people with severe allergies apparently had allergic reactions to Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, raising questions about whether it is safe for people with preexisting allergies.

In response, British regulators advised those with severe allergies to avoid the vaccine.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the allergic reactions. Unlike some vaccines, in the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine there are no preservatives or egg products, which have been known to trigger reactions with other types of vaccines.“

[...]

“Slaoui said he assumes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee meeting Thursday will discuss this issue and will suggest that people with severe allergies "should not take the vaccine until we know exactly what happened."

But a vaccine that triggers dangerous reactions in people with severe allergies poses a major challenge in the U.S., said Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"If you start issuing recommendations that anyone with an EpiPen doesn't get vaccinated, that could be a showstopper for Americans," he said. About 3 to 4 million Americans carry epinephrine with them at all times in case of allergic reactions, Hotez noted, and 50 million have less severe allergies.

Hotez was confused by the allergic reaction, which was not predicted by trials in tens of thousands of people.“

[...]

“Dr. Paul Offit told CNN early Wednesday that severe allergic reactions to vaccines occur in about one of every 1.4 million shots. That's why people are asked to stay in a doctor's office for a few minutes after a vaccination, said Offit, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Rather than a "blanket recommendation" for people with allergies, "the smarter thing to do would be to try and look at these two patients and see what specific component of the vaccine they were allergic to," he said.“

More at link
COVID vaccine allergic reaction: How Pfizer side effect may affect US
Click to expand...

This is very serious-and could be a game changer, instilling a level of fear on top of
an existing distrust of the vaccine--- how could it not show up in not one person
in the trials, and if it did show up, did they disclose that data??? did they
eliminate anyone with allergies from their trial?
 
margarita25 said:
Additionally, according to a survey I posted a few days ago upstream, only 30ish percent of health workers said yes they would take it, the others were “no” and “undecided”, both at 30ish percent.

My health worker friend said she’s not taking it immediately and neither are some of her colleagues, that they want to wait. I asked “isn’t it mandatory for health workers?”, and she said no, as is the same case with the flu vaccine.
Click to expand...

I've been reading that, historically, this type of suspicion is common pre-roll out of a vaccine. In this situation, some of those surveys were done a couple of months (or more) ago - at a time when many of us were justifiably concerned that the vaccine would be a for-profit venture by a certain political group. Canada just approved Pfizer's vaccine, with good health information accompanying the approval, IIRC. That'll make a big difference to a lot of healthcare workers.

I said "undecided" on a survey about vaccines as late as 1 month ago because the survey said "would you take it right now?" The answer is no, I wouldn't take it right now. I want people who are unable to work from home and are essential workers, along with all the vulnerable elderly and healthcare workers to get it before I do. There's only so much of it.

I will take it when it's available to me. Since so many people are going to refuse it (apparently, at least at first), I assume it'll be available to me sooner than it would be otherwise.

Midgie2 said:
Our youngest daughter, who is an army nurse is being deployed to Wisconsin tomorrow to work in hospital with Covid patients.
This is her second deployment this year, first one was to the Javits center N.Y.
Click to expand...

Godspeed to her. I'm sure the experience will be difficult but also invaluable to her career as a nurse. I hope everything goes well.
 
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We know that obesity (and hypertension, diabetes, which often go hand in hand with obesity) is a major factor in patients who go on to develop severe disease.

My health worker friend told me the majority of her hospitalized patients right now
are obese, and Hispanic. She said the Hispanic population is taking a beating sadly; as we already know, minority populations are getting hit the hardest.

My question is why it is exactly, medically and scientifically, that obese patients suffer more severe disease? Iirc, this is also a factor in children who develop MIS-C.
 
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margarita25 said:
“Two British people with severe allergies apparently had allergic reactions to Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, raising questions about whether it is safe for people with preexisting allergies.

In response, British regulators advised those with severe allergies to avoid the vaccine.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the allergic reactions. Unlike some vaccines, in the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine there are no preservatives or egg products, which have been known to trigger reactions with other types of vaccines.“

[...]

“Slaoui said he assumes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee meeting Thursday will discuss this issue and will suggest that people with severe allergies "should not take the vaccine until we know exactly what happened."

But a vaccine that triggers dangerous reactions in people with severe allergies poses a major challenge in the U.S., said Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"If you start issuing recommendations that anyone with an EpiPen doesn't get vaccinated, that could be a showstopper for Americans," he said. About 3 to 4 million Americans carry epinephrine with them at all times in case of allergic reactions, Hotez noted, and 50 million have less severe allergies.

Hotez was confused by the allergic reaction, which was not predicted by trials in tens of thousands of people.“

[...]

“Dr. Paul Offit told CNN early Wednesday that severe allergic reactions to vaccines occur in about one of every 1.4 million shots. That's why people are asked to stay in a doctor's office for a few minutes after a vaccination, said Offit, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Rather than a "blanket recommendation" for people with allergies, "the smarter thing to do would be to try and look at these two patients and see what specific component of the vaccine they were allergic to," he said.“

More at link
COVID vaccine allergic reaction: How Pfizer side effect may affect US
Click to expand...

I also want to know what the effects were. Rash? Closing up of throat? Swelling of eyes? Swelling of tongue? Lowering of blood pressure?
 
New Data Reveal Which Hospitals Are Dangerously Full. Is Yours?

“The federal government on Monday released detailed hospital-level data showing the toll COVID-19 is taking on health care facilities, including how many inpatient and ICU beds are available on a weekly basis.

Using an analysis from the University of Minnesota's COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, NPR has created a tool that allows you to see how your local hospital and your county overall are faring. (Jump to look-up tool.)”

—
As we know, U of Minn is CIDRAP / Dr. Osterholm.

—-

So, it seems hospital data is getting back on track after the July situation.

(Reference:
COVID-19 data: the dangers in hospitals no longer reporting to the CDC
July 28, 2020

“The Trump administration issued a new rule this month requiring hospitals to shift reporting their daily data on COVID-19 hospitalizations directly to the Trump administration, instead of reporting it to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As physicians and licensed health care providers who have taken an oath to do no harm, we oppose this rule. During a pandemic, a robust public health response is critical to our ability to provide the best possible care to our patients. The CDC’s decades of experience, established infrastructure and apolitical nature position it to lead our COVID-19 response. When people continue to die from COVID-19, attempting to exclude the CDC from effective decision-making is not only misguided, it may cause more deaths that were otherwise preventable.”)
 
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margarita25 said:
We know that obesity (and hypertension, diabetes, which often go hand in hand with obesity) is a major factor in patients who go on to develop severe disease.

My health worker friend told me the majority of her hospitalized patients right now
are obese, and Hispanic. She said the Hispanic population is taking a beating sadly; as we already know, minority populations are getting hit the hardest.

My question is why it is exactly, medically and scientifically, that obese patients suffer more severe disease? Iirc, this is also a factor in children who develop MIS-C.
Click to expand...

That is a really good question--hope someome can try to answer it!!!
 
ilovewings said:
That is a really good question--hope someome can try to answer it!!!
Click to expand...

Upon a cursory search:

Why COVID-19 is more deadly in people with obesity—even if they’re young
Sept. 8, 2020

—

CDC / COVID-19 and Your Health /People with Certain Medical Conditions
Updated Dec. 1, 2020

“Summary of Recent Changes
Revisions were made on November 2, 2020 to reflect recent data supporting increased risk of severe illness during pregnancy from the virus that causes COVID-19. Revisions also include addition of sickle cell disease and chronic kidney disease to the conditions that might increase the risk of severe illness among children.

We are learning more about COVID-19 every day. The below list of underlying medical conditions is not exhaustive and only includes conditions with sufficient evidence to draw conclusions; it is a living document that may be updated at any time, subject to potentially rapid change as the science evolves. This list is meant to inform clinicians to help them provide the best care possible for patients, and to inform individuals as to what their level of risk may be so they can make individual decisions about illness prevention. Notably, the list may not include every condition that might increase one’s risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19, such as those for which evidence may be limited or nonexistent (e.g., rare conditions). Individuals with any underlying condition (including those conditions that are NOT on the current list) should consult with their healthcare providers about personal risk factors and circumstances to determine whether extra precautions are warranted.

Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19. Severe illness from COVID-19 is defined as hospitalization, admission to the ICU, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death.

Adults of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19:

COVID-19 is a new disease. Currently there are limited data and information about the impact of many underlying medical conditions and whether they increase the risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Based on what we know at this time, adults of any age with the following conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19:

Want to see the evidence behind these lists?

While children have been less affected by COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and some children develop severe illness. Children with underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness compared to children without underlying medical conditions. Current evidence on which underlying medical conditions in children are associated with increased risk is limited. Children with the following conditions might be at increased risk for severe illness: obesity, medical complexity, severe genetic disorders, severe neurologic disorders, inherited metabolic disorders, sickle cell disease, congenital (since birth) heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, asthma and other chronic lung disease, and immunosuppression due to malignancy or immune-weakening medications.

We do not yet know who is at increased risk for developing the rare but serious complication associated with COVID-19 in children called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), nor do we know what causes MIS-C. Learn about MIS-C.”
 
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