COVID-19 - Wuhan Coronavirus (a non-political thread, see pg. 36 #1778)

[Edward64]

Thanks for the reminder. Ordered my free 8 test kits tonight.

Haven't used the first batch yet but figured if I really need to use one, I may have to do multiple tests.

[SirFozzie]

The thing about COVID is that some symptoms go away (like the congestion and runny nose for me), but others take forever to go away (the cough, fatigue and general shortness of breath, today I went to the front door, picked up a package, brought it in, and had to sit quietly for a minute till I could breathe properly again)

[Edward64]

More info on what Biden is on.

That's a lot of pills daily. Wonder what the out-of-pocket costs are for a regular person.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/22/healt...-19/index.html

Paxlovid is an antiviral medication from Pfizer that uses two drugs: nirmatrelvir and ritonavir. It comes in pill form.

The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized Paxlovid for emergency use in people ages 12 and up who weigh at least 88 pounds and who have mild to moderate Covid-19 but are at high risk for severe disease.

The standard regimen is three pills twice daily for five days.
:
Clinical trials of Paxlovid showed that it reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 88% when given within five days of the start of symptoms.

However, the drug was tested in unvaccinated people during the Delta variant surge, so the results could look different for people who take the pills now, with the Omicron variant dominant.

Pfizer has said the drug works well against Omicron, and additional lab studies have shown similar results.
:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that when he got Covid-19, he took a five-day course of Paxlovid and was feeling better but had a rebound with worse symptoms. He went back on the drug and recovered.
:
Some scientists think that some people metabolize Paxlovid more quickly than others and that they may need a longer course of treatment. Research is still underway.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Edward64

More info on what Biden is on.

That's a lot of pills daily. Wonder what the out-of-pocket costs are for a regular person.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/22/healt...-19/index.html

I have a friend who is a scientist who works for Pfizer. He says that there is a huge difference between the vaccine and Paxlovid in terms of production. The vaccines are not difficult/expensive to produce--they can pretty much crank them out assembly line style (Note: this isn't about how difficult/expensive they were to develop, test, etc. He's just talking about the physical act of creating doses once you have the product, which is the part of the business he is in). But Paxlovid is a very complex molecule and it is difficult to make, requires more specialized equipment, etc.

So his take was that he does not think that it will be anytime soon that Paxlovid is cheap* or just something anyone will be able to get from the local CVS without special needs.

*Cheap meaning cheap to produce. I could see various changes in the law making it cheaper for the public based in insurance mandates, govt. subsidy, etc.

[Edward64]

Thanks. Appreciate you sharing your friend's insight.

[sabotai]

Three covid tests done, three negatives. I managed to avoid getting covid at that wedding just to pick up the flu there or right after.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Three covid tests done, three negatives. I managed to avoid getting covid at that wedding just to pick up the flu there or right after.

Oof, that sucks.

[sabotai]

And finally, I went to the doctor and it's not Covid or the flu. Bronchitis (with a side of Conjunctivitis) is the final verdict. What a fun week for me.

[Edward64]

Looks like the epidemic started in the market.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/healt...-19/index.html

In June, the World Health Organization recommended that scientists continue to research all possible origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a lab leak. Two newly published studies take totally different approaches but arrive at the same conclusion: The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, was most likely the epicenter for the coronavirus.

The studies were posted online as preprints in February but have now undergone peer review and were published Tuesday in the journal Science

I know it's not politically expedient to say it occurred naturally (and not a lab leak) so let's see what Fauci/CDC says.

Andersen said the studies don't definitively disprove the lab leak theory but are extremely persuasive, so much so that he changed his mind about the virus' origins.

"I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself, until we dove into this very carefully and looked at it much closer," Andersen said. "Based on data and analysis I've done over the last decade on many other viruses, I've convinced myself that actually the data points to this particular market."

Worobey said he too thought the lab leak was possible, but the epidemiological preponderance of cases linked to the market is "not a mirage."

"It's a real thing," he said. "It's just not plausible that this virus was introduced any other way than through the wildlife trade

[PilotMan]

The same people who understand this and still want to buy the lab leak theory, are the same ones who say gravity and evolution are still only 'theories'.

[flere-imsaho]

It's possible it could have been a lab leak in the same way that it's possible the Detroit Lions could win the Super Bowl this upcoming season.

[Edward64]

Or the Cubs finally winning a World Series

Wait a minute ...

[Edward64]

September.

I'll probably get it right away but because the prior booster saw significant decline in efficacy after 2-3 months, wonder if it'll be better to get the shot in late Oct/early Nov to better prepare for Thanksgiving & Christmas get togethers.

U.S. to begin offering updated booster shots in September

The Biden administration will begin offering updated COVID booster shots in September, Axios confirmed on Thursday.

Why it matters: Though efficacy data is so far limited, the updated boosters are expected to serve stronger protection against the new Omicron subvariant BA.5 —the most transmissible subvariant yet. It has quickly overtaken previous strains to become the dominant version in the U.S. and much of the world

Both Pfizer and Moderna have told the Food and Drug Administration that they are prepared to deliver millions of doses of reformulated vaccines by mid-September

[albionmoonlight]

That's sooner than I thought. I'll get one as soon as I'm eligible.

[Ksyrup]

If you've already gotten the 2nd booster, I guess you should have waited?

[Edward64]

Don't think so. I've read that second booster will not preclude you from getting this 3rd one in Sept.

[Ksyrup]

I might be able to get it, but I wonder if insurance will refuse to pay for it.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I might be able to get it, but I wonder if insurance will refuse to pay for it.

My guess is yes. The backlash would be significant

[Edward64]

US and EU are getting 2 different Fall boosters based on the different BA variants. Scientists don't seem to agree here. To me, it makes more sense to go with the more recent mutation (US) vs a "largely extinct" one (EU).

Some countries may go with vaccines based on the BA.1 Omicron subvariant this fall. It's not fully understood to what extent the sublineages of Omicron influence vaccine effectiveness, but some scientists who advise the World Health Organization argued that BA.1-based shots would be "more distinct" than other subvariants.

Moderna said it's developing a booster for the European Union, the UK and Australia that uses the original strain and BA.1. The subvariant is largely extinct, but the company said its studies have shown that this booster candidate still drew "significantly higher neutralizing antibody responses" against BA.4 and BA.5 compared with the currently authorized booster

In the United States, a vaccine updated for BA.4/5 got the go-ahead for fall.

Dr. Larry Corey, a vaccine development expert and professor of medicine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the data makes a strong case for the addition. Research on infections shows that the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants seem to induce stronger immune response than BA.1 and BA.2.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Don't think so. I've read that second booster will not preclude you from getting this 3rd one in Sept.

third booster??? OMFG I need to collect them all!

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

third booster??? OMFG I need to collect them all!

You should be ahead of all of us on this-just imagine they are Steam badges

[Edward64]

This article made we wonder if we'll see a statistically higher drop out/failure rate in colleges in the next 2-4 years. Also made me wonder about other countries too.

Big cities in China being locked down also means their kids didn't attend school and probably didn't have access to as much remote learning?

Different & non-physical impact of Long Covid.

https://apnews.com/article/covid-sci...9b854355770a1a

Across the country, there are countless others like him. Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are heading to college this fall after spending more than half their high school careers dealing with the upheaval of a pandemic. They endured a jarring transition to online learning, the strains from teacher shortages and profound disruptions to their home lives. And many are believed to be significantly behind academically

[whomario]

Meet a new board member of the Idaho Public Health Department:

Dr. Ryan Cole’s journey from Boise to Nashville to France. His new focus? Monkeypox. - Idaho Capital Sun

[sterlingice]

CDC's new COVID guidelines, basically the "we've given up" shrug emoji: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/healt...ate/index.html

"What the CDC is, in my opinion, trying to do, they are trying to still be relevant, and maybe when they say something, people will listen to them instead of being completely 180 degrees away from what behavior is anyway," Chin-Hong said.

Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, agrees that the new guidance shows that the CDC is trying to meet people where they are.

"I think that this is a point where you actually have to sort of get real and start giving people tools they can use to do something or not. Because otherwise, people will just will not take you seriously," Hanage said.

I'm sure the folks who were disregarding the CDC's recommendations for the last 2+ years, avoiding masking and ingesting horse paste, will definitely come around and agree with them now!

SI

[GrantDawg]

My favorite summary of the new guidelines "The CDC says: Spit in our mouths."

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Edward64

My guess is yes. The backlash would be significant

Insurance isn't picking up the tab on the boosters. The nsurance is only covering the admin fee that the pharmacy receives, and that is being reimbursed by the government.

Now some payers put restrictions in place for age and maybe for the number of doses within a given period of time. My educated guess is that most are not placing limits on obtaining a booster "too soon".

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Insurance isn't picking up the tab on the boosters. The nsurance is only covering the admin fee that the pharmacy receives, and that is being reimbursed by the government.

Now some payers put restrictions in place for age and maybe for the number of doses within a given period of time. My educated guess is that most are not placing limits on obtaining a booster "too soon".

Okay, good point. Insurance isn't paying for it but the government is.

[Edward64]

Coming to a theatre near you soon.

Unless there is a major outbreak, I think I'm going to wait till Dec to get this 3rd booster. I'm planning on overseas trip Jan/Feb so figure it'll be best to wait to 2-4 weeks before.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/18/ever...cial-says.html

White House Covid coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Wednesday that the newly updated Covid boosters will be available to teens and adults “in a few short weeks.”

“I believe it’s going to be available and every American over the age of 12 will be eligible for it,” Jha told NBC News’ Lester Holt.

The new boosters target the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, as well as the original strain of the virus. BA.5 accounts for nearly 90% of new Covid cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[whomario]

Kenneth Branagh stars as Boris Johnson in the new trailer for ‘THIS ENGLAND’.

The series releases on September 21 on Sky. pic.twitter.com/OWjJbdH7H4

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 18, 2022

What in the World ? (No, it is not a spoof. Nice extra touch: England, huh ?).

Still possible the trailer is just weirdly done and it's more critical than "ah shucks, everybody tried hard, didn't they ? That poor Johnson fella sure had it rough", given the people involved ...

[CrimsonFox]

A thrift store in Indiana received these lovely horse pastes after he passed away. FOr sale cheap! And oooooo those mildewed flip flops! GIMME!

[flere-imsaho]

Well, we made it 2 years, 5 months without a positive test in the house (or even COVID-like symptoms, though I can't rule out anyone -- especially the kids -- having it and being asymptomatic at some point).

Wife starts feeling bad late yesterday, takes a test, is positive. Younger son & I test negative (though I definitely have some sort of cold - aches, congestion, etc...). Older son (who started high school on the 17th) tests positive.

So, I'm pretty sure it came from high school via the older son. Which doesn't really bode well for reinfections.

Oh well, we did what we could for as long as we could.

[Thomkal]

Sorry to hear that Flere. Hope you all have a quick recovery!

[JPhillips]

My wife and daughter are positive, but I'm not. Almost certainly they got it at the Harry Styles concert in MSG.

[bhlloy]

Well, after two and a half years it finally got me too. Not my most favorite of experiences, but haven’t had the cough so far so hoping it stays that way. Just a lot of aches, pains and fatigue.

[Cuckoo]

I finally got it this summer as well. I have some issues such as severe asthma, so I was a bit worried. In the end, and probably thanks to the vaccine and booster, it was almost nothing for me - sore throat for a day or so, slightly run-down for a couple.

So my wife has had it once, my oldest daughter twice and me now once. Always weird, though, is that none of us caught it from another, despite being around each other in close contact for several days. In fact, for mine, we all rode in a car together for 8 hours during what was supposed to be my most contagious time. Nobody else got it.

Also weird, my youngest has yet to get it. She's superhuman.

[flere-imsaho]

Positive test for me on Saturday. It's not pleasant, but I've had cases of bronchitis and strep that were worse. The sore throat is probably the worst part.

Of course, the bigger issue is that I'm meant to fly across country to take care of my folks for a couple of weeks after my Mom's knee replacement surgery (my Dad has Alzheimer's, so can't really operate as a primary caregiver). The operation is on Wednesday, and one of my sisters can stay a few days, but she's a social worker with a special needs kid, so that's about the max she can do.

I, on the other hand, can work remotely, so was planning to take over from her and stay there two weeks. Probably have to push that out if I can't get a negative test by late Friday. Ugh.

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Probably have to push that out if I can't get a negative test by late Friday. Ugh.

I kept throwing positive tests long after I was over it. I think it was a good 10-12 days before I got a negative.

[Edward64]

No more free test kits. Checked Amazon and it's $45 for 5.

Guess that's not too bad. Still have about 6 unused government ones.

[Ksyrup]

I mentioned in the Kids Leaving Home Support Group thread that my daughter got it at college. She's been home since Saturday morning, went and got tested today because one professor insisted on a note, and she's still positive. But since she started symptoms on Thursday, she's good to go back to school with a mask on Wednesday. She's been isolating upstairs so I hope my "unconquered" streak continues.

That said, I saw something recently that estimated that upwards of 50%+ of people who have never had symptoms likely have had Covid, just didn't know it. So I guess I could be one of those.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Guess that's not too bad. Still have about 6 unused government ones.

I noticed all of our government ones are expired. Not sure how long they're still good after that, but, I'll try to burn through them.

[albionmoonlight]

It is hard to remember now, but there was a period of about three weeks or so when humanity was united against this virus. And it felt like something I’ve certainly never experienced in my lifetime. Then our media overlords told us, “Make this about red versus blue bullshit like everything else.“ And we listened and did that. But I feel there was a real missed opportunity there.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

It is hard to remember now, but there was a period of about three weeks or so when humanity was united against this virus. And it felt like something I’ve certainly never experienced in my lifetime. Then our media overlords told us, “Make this about red versus blue bullshit like everything else.“ And we listened and did that. But I feel there was a real missed opportunity there.

I vividly remember how friendly everybody was, in the first week when we were given the go ahead to walk around outside after that first couple weeks where everyone took the call to quarantine deathly serious. Everywhere was Mayberry for like a week.

[21C]

My recollection was more of isolated cases of "Mad Max". The *majority* of people did the right thing but the loudest and most obnoxious still bellowed about having their rights infringed and did whatever they could to push the boundaries of a civil society.

[sterlingice]

Was it the second closest to peace on earth in most of our lifetimes? The first, of course, was the first couple of weeks of Pokemon Go.

SI

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

It is hard to remember now, but there was a period of about three weeks or so when humanity was united against this virus. And it felt like something I’ve certainly never experienced in my lifetime. Then our media overlords told us, “Make this about red versus blue bullshit like everything else.“ And we listened and did that. But I feel there was a real missed opportunity there.

Yeah it was the media that did that.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by molson

I noticed all of our government ones are expired. Not sure how long they're still good after that, but, I'll try to burn through them.

Thanks, I didn't think about that. I looked and my first batch expired in July and my second batch will be expiring in Sept. Looks like they're good for 6 months only.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

It is hard to remember now, but there was a period of about three weeks or so when humanity was united against this virus. And it felt like something I’ve certainly never experienced in my lifetime. Then our media overlords told us, “Make this about red versus blue bullshit like everything else.“ And we listened and did that. But I feel there was a real missed opportunity there.

You must not have had to search for toilet paper.

A man can have no peace if he doesn't have a supply of toilet paper.

[PilotMan]

I still have a stash in the basement as backup.

[tarcone]

Tested positive today with a home test. I went home early from school. 20 kids went home sick as well. We are now in yellow status.

[Thomkal]

take care