***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Please cite your sources.

Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccination Against Risk of Symptomatic Infection, Hospitalization, and Death Up to 9 Months: A Swedish Total-Population Cohort Study

34 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2021
Peter Nordström

University of Umea - Unit of Geriatric Medicine
Marcel Ballin

University of Umea
Anna Nordström

University of Umea

Findings: Vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 against infection waned progressively from 92% (95% CI, 92-93, P<0·001) at day 15-30 to 47% (95% CI, 39-55, P<0·001) at day 121-180, and from day 211 and onwards no effectiveness could be detected


https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....act_id=3949410

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Please cite your sources.

Russia.

Vaccine skepticism must be the greatest non-war Victory one country has ever had over another.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Russia.



Vaccine skepticism must be the greatest non-war Victory one country has ever had over another.

I certainly wonder sometimes. My work is starting up a digital literacy course, and one of the topics is identifying misinformation. I almost think it should be a required course for the entire population.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by TLO

Buy a pulse ox

How does the pulse ox measure? According to this PC Mag review:

The Wyze Watch features an LED cluster on the back that shines light into your skin to measure your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level.

If the pulse ox is using the same technology then I don't see any reason to buy one. And according to this review, it is as accurate as the Apple watch.

In testing, the Wyze Watch provided fast, consistent, accurate SpO2 readings when compared with the Apple Watch Series 6. I took five readings on each watch, alternating between them each time. The Apple Watch gave me an average reading of 97.6%, while my average result on the Wyze Watch was 98%

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

It's definitely not black and white.

My personal view based on looking at the data is that

1.1st shot immediately after there is NEGATIVE efficacy. You are more likely to get infected

2.After 2nd shot there is a window of some protection

3.That Protection against infection rapidly declines approaching zero or less

The overall effect in a population appears to be zero.

there is a difference between getting infected with sars-cov-v2 and developing COVID-19 , if you combine the reduced risk of getting infected no matter how slight on top of the reduced risk of developing covid and spreading it once infected multiplied by millions of people you can reduce the spread .

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by Monticore

there is a difference between getting infected with sars-cov-v2 and developing COVID-19 , if you combine the reduced risk of getting infected no matter how slight on top of the reduced risk of developing covid and spreading it once infected multiplied by millions of people you can reduce the spread .

That was the hope.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by loochy

It does, indirectly, although not completely.



It makes one less likely to get the virus in the first place. If one isn't infected then one isn't passing it along.


If one does get the virus, the severity and duration will likely be lessened. That means less virus shedding over a shorter amount of time.

Yes and no. I linked the study earlier in this thread. But they researched transmission rate in completely vaccinated households against completely unvaccinated households.

The difference in transmission was less than 10%. So transmission from a vaccinated individual to vaccinated individual was less than 10% lower than the transmission from unvaccinated to unvaccinated.

Which any decrease in transmission is always good. However, let's look at it from the other side of the argument.

Being vaccinated also means you are more likely to have mild or no symptoms if infected. So one could argue that you are more likely to be in close contact with other people while infected.

Get vaccinated or not it's your choice. But the whole I am a good person and doing this to save Grandma thing is bullshit.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Nirvana58

....But the whole I am a good person so doing this to save Grandma thing is bullshit.

This!! I am so sick of this argument. I just don't understand why we can't discuss this like adults. People on BOTH SIDES of the issue have acted like jackholes. This thread shows that very clearly in my view.

That being said and like you mentioned, as far as I'm concerned, getting the vaccine is the wise choice because it is proven to reduce the severity.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccination Against Risk of Symptomatic Infection, Hospitalization, and Death Up to 9 Months: A Swedish Total-Population Cohort Study

34 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2021
Peter Nordström

University of Umea - Unit of Geriatric Medicine
Marcel Ballin

University of Umea
Anna Nordström

University of Umea

Findings: Vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 against infection waned progressively from 92% (95% CI, 92-93, P<0·001) at day 15-30 to 47% (95% CI, 39-55, P<0·001) at day 121-180, and from day 211 and onwards no effectiveness could be detected


https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....act_id=3949410

You agree with that study?

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Please cite your sources.

He won't. He is a complete tool that thinks he is a researcher because he sees videos on youtube and memes on twitter/facebook.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Point taken but didn't the CDC recently admit that the shot doesn't prevent the spread?

If you're vaccinated, and I'm vaccinated, and one of us gets covid and spreads it to the other, neither of us is likely to end up dead.

I'm getting pretty frustrated with trying to protect people who won't do the bare minimum to protect themselves and/or their families, friends, and neighbors.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by TLO

Fantastic news. Initial lab studies show a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Omicron. A booster with the current version of the vaccine RAISES antibodies 25-FOLD providing a similar level as observed after two doses against the original virus and other variants!

— Chise �������� (@sailorrooscout) December 8, 2021

If this is true, that's great.

I just got my Pfizer booster yesterday.

My arm is sore, no other side affects.

[Donger]

Here's the information from Pfizer. Not sure what titters have to do with it:

https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-re...micron-variant

Wednesday, December 08, 2021 - 06:54am

• Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers
• Data indicate that a third dose of BNT162b2 increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses against the Omicron variant; titers after the booster dose are comparable to titers observed after two doses against the wild-type virus which are associated with high levels of protection
• As 80% of epitopes in the spike protein recognized by CD8+ T cells are not affected by the mutations in the Omicron variant, two doses may still induce protection against severe disease
• The companies continue to advance the development of a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron and expect to have it available by March in the event that an adaption is needed to further increase the level and duration of protection – with no change expected to the companies’ four billion dose capacity for 2022

NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE

(Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced results from an initial laboratory study demonstrating that serum antibodies induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2) neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant after three doses. Sera obtained from vaccinees one month after receiving the booster vaccination (third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine) neutralized the Omicron variant to levels that are comparable to thoseobserved for the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein after two doses.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...1208005542/en/

Sera from individuals who received two doses of the current COVID-19 vaccine did exhibit, on average, more than a 25-fold reduction in neutralization titers against the Omicron variant compared to wild-type, indicating that two doses of BNT162b2 may not be sufficient to protect against infection with the Omicron variant. However, as the vast majority of epitopes targeted by vaccine-induced T cells are not affected by the mutations in Omicron, the companies believe that vaccinated individuals may still be protected against severe forms of the disease and are closely monitoring real world effectiveness against Omicron, globally.

A more robust protection may be achieved by a third dose as data from additional studies of the companies indicate that a booster with the current COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech increases the antibody titers by 25-fold. According to the companies’ preliminary data, a third dose provides a similar level of neutralizing antibodies to Omicron as is observed after two doses against wild-type and other variants that emerged before Omicron. These antibody levels are associated with high efficacy against both the wild-type virus and these variants. A third dose also strongly increases CD8+ T cell levels against multiple spike protein epitopes which are considered to correlate with the protection against severe disease. Compared to the wild-type virus, the vast majority of these epitopes remain unchanged in the Omicron spike variant.

“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

“Our preliminary, first dataset indicate that a third dose could still offer a sufficient level of protection from disease of any severity caused by the Omicron variant,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech. “Broad vaccination and booster campaigns around the world could help us to better protect people everywhere and to get through the winter season. We continue to work on an adapted vaccine which, we believe, will help to induce a high level of protection against Omicron-induced COVID-19 disease as well as a prolonged protection compared to the current vaccine.”

While these results are preliminary, the companies will continue to collect more laboratory data and evaluate real-world effectiveness to assess and confirm protection against Omicron and inform the most effective path forward. On November 25, the companies started to develop an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine. The development will continue as planned in the event that a vaccine adaption is needed to increase the level and duration of protection against Omicron. First batches of the Omicron-based vaccine can be produced and are planned to be ready for deliveries within 100 days, pending regulatory approval. Pfizer and BioNTech have tested other variant-specific vaccines as well, which have produced very strong neutralization titers and a tolerable safety profile. Based on this experience the companies have high confidence that if needed they can deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022. The companies have also previously initiated clinical trials with variant-specific vaccines (Alpha, Beta, Delta & Alpha/Delta Mix) and data from these studies will be submitted to regulatory agencies around the world to help accelerate the process of adapting the vaccine and gaining regulatory authorization or approval of an Omicron-specific vaccine, if needed. The companies have previously announced that they expect to produce four billion doses of BNT162b2 in 2022, and this capacity is not expected to change if an adapted vaccine is required.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Lzen

This!! I am so sick of this argument. I just don't understand why we can't discuss this like adults. People on BOTH SIDES of the issue have acted like jackholes. This thread shows that very clearly in my view.

That being said and like you mentioned, as far as I'm concerned, getting the vaccine is the wise choice because it is proven to reduce the severity.

Why are you sick of that argument? It's literally the whole point, although over-simplified.

Most people's arguments for NOT getting the vaccine are either that they don't think they're at risk for serious illness, or they just think this is all overblown.

A lot of people are dead that didn't need to be. A lot of people have long term problems now from having Covid that they didn't have to have. If everybody that could would just get vaccinated, then this is the flu. Until then, people at risk and stubborn people will keep dying.

a lot of people THINK they're a lot healthier than they are. A lot of people have underlying issues that they're completely unaware of. Just get the damned shots. It's only partly about you. If you don't care about yourself, fine, then do it for ****ing grandma.

One of our own just had a ****ing stroke at what, 50!? Y'all eat ****ing McRibs! Argue the finer points of Whataburger vs. whatever other horrible for you fast food restaurants...you're probably not as healthy as you think you are.

The shots are free. It's insurance. I don't understand why this is a political argument.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's incredibly frustrating that the perception that's it doesn't is still so prevalent. Do a tiny bit of research, people! And your Facebook friends don't count.

Welcome to 1984 the 21century.