***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.”

[stanleychief]

So I got a call from the county health department today. They do follow up on 'breakthrough' (sick after vaccinated) cases, so my data does get reported back up to the CDC. Also, they save any swabs that test positive, and run further analysis if the cases are considered unusual. Since mine is a breakthrough case, it will be further analyzed.

For those curious, this is day 7 since I had my first onset of symptoms. In order, I've had: dry cough, fever, loss of taste, fatigue, dizziness, loss of smell, and now congestion. I feel quite a bit better today, and am hopeful that this thing is on its way out. I recovered my sense of taste the same day that I lost it. It was really odd, because all I could taste was salt. I still can't smell anything, which is a really odd experience. Tried bleach, lemon, vinegar, etc. Nada.

[DaFace]

Glad you're on the mend at least!

I'd recommend not trying to taste the bleach.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by stanleychief

So I got a call from the county health department today. They do follow up on 'breakthrough' (sick after vaccinated) cases, so my data does get reported back up to the CDC. Also, they save any swabs that test positive, and run further analysis if the cases are considered unusual. Since mine is a breakthrough case, it will be further analyzed.

For those curious, this is day 7 since I had my first onset of symptoms. In order, I've had: dry cough, fever, loss of taste, fatigue, dizziness, loss of smell, and now congestion. I feel quite a bit better today, and am hopeful that this thing is on its way out. I recovered my sense of taste the same day that I lost it. It was really odd, because all I could taste was salt. I still can't smell anything, which is a really odd experience. Tried bleach, lemon, vinegar, etc. Nada.

Have you tried smelling the Chiefs defense? It's the strongest smell I can think of.

[stanleychief]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Have you tried smelling the Chiefs defense? It's the strongest smell I can think of.

I think watching that entire game contributed to the lone setback in my recovery process. I'm pretty sure it's the reason I felt terrible yesterday.

[Ninerfan11]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

And WTF are kids in school spreading colds? ****in' parents, if it's one thing we should have learned in the past year and a half is to stay the **** home if you're sick.

do you live in reality?

[Rain Man]

I was having a conversation with someone the other day who stayed home with some sniffles. The person said that two years ago she would have shown up at work, but now she won't. And we agreed that we should have been doing it that way all along.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Ninerfan11

do you live in reality?

lol... I was simply pointing out the idiocy of the the thing that's supposed to help curb the spread of sickness being the problem in a scenario where kids are showing up to school sick.

There's obviously no surprise these days when it comes to a lack of self awareness or not giving a shit if you make other people sick.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was having a conversation with someone the other day who stayed home with some sniffles. The person said that two years ago she would have shown up at work, but now she won't. And we agreed that we should have been doing it that way all along.

Unfortunately PTO/Sick time is in limited supply for most folks. And if we had more we'd have assholes that abuse the system.

[DaFace]

People who received a Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine may be better off with a booster from Moderna or Pfizer, according to early data from a U.S. clinical trial. FDA advisers will discuss the findings on Friday. https://t.co/o5aD9DEW1X

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 14, 2021

[dirk digler]

The company I work for vaccine mandate went in effect on Monday. Right now only anticipating 40 or so people quitting out of 3500 employees. We are currently 98% vaccinated and in 2 weeks will be 100%

[TLO]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

The company I work for vaccine mandate went in effect on Monday. Right now only anticipating 40 or so people quitting out of 3500 employees. We are currently 98% vaccinated and in 2 weeks will be 100%

No mandate for us yet. I'm about to run the numbers and see what % are vaccinated though. I imagine it's not going to be pretty.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by TLO

No mandate for us yet. I'm about to run the numbers and see what % are vaccinated though. I imagine it's not going to be pretty.

We were around 50% until they announced the mandate.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

We were around 50% until they announced the mandate.

Just had to update my spreadsheet with a couple of folks that recently got vaccinated.

Around 60%. Not as bad as I thought.

[Swanman]

My youngest daughter (6 years old) tested positive on 9/29. Had a wicked headache at school and popped a 103 temp then tested positive on a rapid test that afternoon. Luckily her symptoms went away the next day. No one else in the house caught it as we kept her pretty well isolated in her room and the family masked (including her obviously) when we were around her. Both kids finally were back in school today, that was a long couple weeks.

[stanleychief]

Looks like the J&J vaccine got the green light from the FDA regarding boosters.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/15/healt...day/index.html

Big takeaways from the article:

• Johnson & Johnson says studies have shown boosting at two or six months can bring that effectiveness up to 94%
• Effectiveness does not wane over time in the same way that effectiveness from Pfizer's vaccine does
• Various studies suggested real-world efficacy of J&J's vaccine was anywhere between 50% and 68%