***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.”

[TLO]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

The science just doesn't back boosters for the majority of people.

That's kind of what I've been waiting to see. The data just isn't there. Will be interestingto see how the CDC meeting on the 17th goes.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

The science just doesn't back boosters for the majority of people.

But the politicians seem to be pushing back anyway...

[loochy]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Tensions mount between CDC and Biden health team over boosters

Top Biden Covid-19 officials are increasingly clashing with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the administration pushes to begin distributing booster shots widely by Sept. 20.

In meetings and conversations over the past month, senior officials from the White House Covid-19 task force and the Food and Drug Administration have repeatedly accused CDC of withholding critical data needed to develop the booster shot plan — delaying work on the next step of President Joe Biden’s vaccination campaign and making it more difficult to set clear expectations for the public.

One particularly frustrating episode occurred last month, two officials said, when the agency appeared to publicly reject the administration’s plan to offer boosters to all adults. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky had joined other top Biden health officials in signing a high-profile statement on Aug. 18 endorsing the approach. But less than two weeks later, when it came time for CDC to make the case for boosters to an influential advisory panel, senior agency officials argued that priority should be given to nursing-home residents and frontline health workers before expanding access to other groups based on their vulnerability.

The new approach blindsided senior health officials across the federal government, further straining the tenuous relationship between the White House and the CDC.

Seven senior administration officials working on the federal pandemic response, and three other people familiar with the matter, described the growing tension in interviews with POLITICO. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter more openly.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...oosters-511529

Kind of political, BUT maybe the executive branch should quiet down until the data folks make their recommendation.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by loochy

Kind of political, BUT maybe the executive branch should quiet down until the data folks make their recommendation.

In a way, I kind of hope they end up deciding not to recommend boosters for now. Perhaps having the CDC push back on it will give people a little more confidence that they (CDC) really are trying to be reasonable and not going overboard with their recommendations.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by DaFace

In a way, I kind of hope they end up deciding not to recommend boosters for now. Perhaps having the CDC push back on it will give people a little more confidence that they (CDC) really are trying to be reasonable and not going overboard with their recommendations.

I think you're going to see a recommendation for people over a certain age. Maybe 60? That's just a gut feeling.

[O.city]

Back to early June levels of hospitalizations here TLO. Cases even lower.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Back to early June levels of hospitalizations here TLO. Cases even lower.

Nice! We have had a pretty dramatic drop in cases, yet a bit of an uptick in hospitalizations.

Positivity rate is sitting around 8% now. Down from a high of 18% or so in late July and August

[carlos3652]

There is an article in the Atlantic stating that 50-58% of hospitalizations since January 2021 have been mild to asymptomatic cases, meaning only 1/2 of the numbers of hospitalizations were true issues (94 oxygen or lower) on admission.

Compare that to 38% pre delta, it looks like hospitalization numbers are not as bad this go around (even though there are more people getting checked in)

Makes sense considering they didn’t allow elective surgeries or people who were not showing severe symptoms into hospitals in 2020.

[carlos3652]

Also, I’m pretty sure the UK this weekend said no to Vaccine Passports so hopefully the US follows suit.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DaFace

In a way, I kind of hope they end up deciding not to recommend boosters for now. Perhaps having the CDC push back on it will give people a little more confidence that they (CDC) really are trying to be reasonable and not going overboard with their recommendations.

The CDC has always been reasonable.

[Sure-Oz]

I assume if a booster isn't necessary then a shot sometime next year will be? Like the flu every year.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

I assume if a booster isn't necessary then a shot sometime next year will be? Like the flu every year.

The short answer is we don't know yet.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

I assume if a booster isn't necessary then a shot sometime next year will be? Like the flu every year.

Hep B is 2nd shot at 1-2 months, then 3rd shot at 4-6 months, then you're good for 10 years.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by TLO

The short answer is we don't know yet.

Yeah I'm curious about it. Many I know aren't interested in the booster except a few older folks with health issues.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Hep B is 2nd shot at 1-2 months, then 3rd shot at 4-6 months, then you're good for 10 years.

Ahh...would be cool to have that for this. I wonder if the booster would help note with variants? I assume they are still trying to figure that out.