***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.”

[Sure-Oz]

@NPR: Some people who've had COVID-19 will develop symptoms that resemble early Alzheimer's.

Now, researchers are trying to figure out whether these patients are more likely to develop the disease itself.
https://n.pr/3x6AlsQ

[TLO]

What in the blue hell.

New data from Israel and the UK is showing a contradictory picture on the effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine in fighting off the Delta variant, the media reported.

A new Health Ministry statistics from Israel indicated that, on average, the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is now just 39 per cent effective against infection, while being only 41 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19.

Previously, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was well over 90 per cent effective against infection, reports The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, a new UK study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine found the same vaccine to be 88 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 -- more than twice the rate found in the Israeli data.

Israel's research agreed, at least, that the shot was highly effective in avoiding serious illness, at 91.4 per cent effectiveness, the report said.

Some analysts have warned that the figures on vaccine effectiveness are prone to major inaccuracies because of a range of factors, including questions over whether there is accurate data on infection levels among the non-vaccinated, which is vital for such stats.

The Israeli statistics also appeared to paint a picture of protection that gets weaker as months pass after vaccination, due to fading immunity.

People vaccinated in January were said to have just 16 per cent protection against infection now, while in those vaccinated in April, effectiveness was at 75 per cent.

[O.city]

Everywhere but Israel is showing the same. It seems like an outlier

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Everywhere but Israel is showing the same. It seems like an outlier

Why though? It's so odd.

[suzzer99]

Israel got vaccinated very early, and they have something like 85% vaccine coverage. They have a ton of delta cases but hardly any hospitalizations and deaths. The vaccine is working on that.

But the longer you go from vaccination time, the less antibodies you have, which means you can still catch it. But then your memory T and B cells kick in and you don't get very sick or sick at all. Or at least that's the theory. Also why they're looking at boosters after 6 months.

Also Israel's cases already seem to have peaked and are on the way down. Same with UK. Delta seems to burn through its available tinder very fast.

[MahomesMagic]

Why people who are fully vaccinated are getting breakthrough COVID infections
evening-news
BY JON LAPOOK

JULY 23, 2021 / 12:26 PM / CBS NEWS

Even though COVID-19 vaccines are more than 90% effective at preventing serious illness, millions of vaccinated people will likely have a breakthrough infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, explained that breakthrough cases do not mean the vaccines are failing.

"It isn't that it doesn't protect against infection. It does have a high degree of protection against infection, but not nearly as high as the very high protection against severe disease," Fauci told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. "Just because you're seeing breakthrough infections, that doesn't mean that it lessens the ability of that vaccine to protect you from severe disease."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...cases-vaccine/

Well, seems like a change in messaging...

[O.city]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Why people who are fully vaccinated are getting breakthrough COVID infections
evening-news
BY JON LAPOOK

JULY 23, 2021 / 12:26 PM / CBS NEWS

Even though COVID-19 vaccines are more than 90% effective at preventing serious illness, millions of vaccinated people will likely have a breakthrough infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, explained that breakthrough cases do not mean the vaccines are failing.

"It isn't that it doesn't protect against infection. It does have a high degree of protection against infection, but not nearly as high as the very high protection against severe disease," Fauci told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. "Just because you're seeing breakthrough infections, that doesn't mean that it lessens the ability of that vaccine to protect you from severe disease."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...cases-vaccine/

Well, seems like a change in messaging...

When you've vaccinated hundreds of millions, you'll have millions of mild breakthroughs even with a highly efficacious vaccine as we have.

[O.city]

If you’re looking to Israeli data on vaccine effectiveness and hospitalization, this should clear things up. Early on there were similar vax and non vax hosp numbers - mostly bc of the VERY high vax rate for over 40s. Now? Non-vax clearly make up bulk of hospitalizations. https://t.co/u4hYAGIO2F

— Aaron Astor (@AstorAaron) July 27, 2021

Looks like the Israeli data is making more sense now in that it was an outlier.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by O.city

When you've vaccinated hundreds of millions, you'll have millions of mild breakthroughs even with a highly efficacious vaccine as we have.

And even with not high efficacy in preventing infection.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

And even with not high efficacy in preventing infection.

The only place we see it doesn't prevent infection in the high 80 % is in Israel and it looks like that is normalizing.

So it appears at this point they still do.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by O.city

The only place we see it doesn't prevent infection in the high 80 % is in Israel and it looks like that is normalizing.

So it appears at this point they still do.

What do you make of the Iceland data?

Let's compare the proportion of fully vaxxed infections from the current wave to the proportion of fully vaxxed people.

Almost a perfect 1:1 ratio.

It seems, at least in Iceland, that the vaccine provides little protection against infection.

What vaccines are being used? pic.twitter.com/cgaozym51C

— Knowledge Acquisition (@KnowledgeAcqui1) July 26, 2021

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Why people who are fully vaccinated are getting breakthrough COVID infections
evening-news
BY JON LAPOOK

JULY 23, 2021 / 12:26 PM / CBS NEWS

Even though COVID-19 vaccines are more than 90% effective at preventing serious illness, millions of vaccinated people will likely have a breakthrough infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, explained that breakthrough cases do not mean the vaccines are failing.

"It isn't that it doesn't protect against infection. It does have a high degree of protection against infection, but not nearly as high as the very high protection against severe disease," Fauci told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. "Just because you're seeing breakthrough infections, that doesn't mean that it lessens the ability of that vaccine to protect you from severe disease."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...cases-vaccine/

Well, seems like a change in messaging...

My interpretation of that is he talking about the Delta variant. With the original strain(s) that the MRNA vaccines was designed around they have very high degree of protection.

Just IMHO.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

What do you make of the Iceland data?

Let's compare the proportion of fully vaxxed infections from the current wave to the proportion of fully vaxxed people.

Almost a perfect 1:1 ratio.

It seems, at least in Iceland, that the vaccine provides little protection against infection.

What vaccines are being used? pic.twitter.com/cgaozym51C

— Knowledge Acquisition (@KnowledgeAcqui1) July 26, 2021

Looks similar to Israel in terms of deaths and serious infections as well as the UK, but I'd have to look closer.

[O.city]

I reads to me like the countries with extremely high vax rates have breakthrough infections in about the range you'd think, but the unvaxed percent is so small it skews the math making it look less efficient. I'm not sure, it's been a while since bio stats.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by O.city

Looks similar to Israel in terms of deaths and serious infections as well as the UK, but I'd have to look closer.

I'm not talking about protection against severe disease and death.

We were discussing their efficacy against infection.