***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.”

[Otter]

and i'll rest my case...

Originally Posted by penguinz

So apparently trump owns shares in the company Sanofi which makes Plaquenil.

How convenient for him to be pushing this constantly without knowing what he is talking about.

Originally Posted by penguinz

Unfortunately with the leadership in place, ALL parties, I do not seeing this happening.

[Demonpenz]

New Covid breakout just in time for elections

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Hank Hill

Thank you



Right now, I'm with you. I had omicron in June (which version is an unknown, but it was likely BA.4 or BA.5 based upon wastewater surveillance)

I'd like more data on what kind of benefit a 4th shot with the reformulated version would do to benefit me.

My wife (early June) and son (same as me in mid July) both have had COVID fairly recently. Though my daughter has never tested positive in spite of very close contacts multiple times. Including being at the same concert where my wife picked up COVID. I'm starting to think my daughter is just totally immune to it at this point.

Unless some really convincing data comes out, I doubt my wife or son will get boosted, not as sure about my daughter, but I'm leaning towards no.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

My wife (early June) and son (same as me in mid July) both have had COVID fairly recently. Though my daughter has never tested positive in spite of very close contacts multiple times. Including being at the same concert where my wife picked up COVID. I'm starting to think my daughter is just totally immune to it at this point.

Unless some really convincing data comes out, I doubt my wife or son will get boosted, not as sure about my daughter, but I'm leaning towards no.

Everybody in our house has had it at least once. My wife's grandpa has had it twice. My mother in law still hasn't gotten it.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Everybody in our house has had it at least once. My wife's grandpa has had it twice. My mother in law still hasn't gotten it.

I still haven’t gotten it yet we fe and both kids once , girls at work all have , I got a bug for the first time two weeks ago but all the tests were negative including pcr . Not sure about another booster yet I assume can still help vs severe disease but I might wait for a newer one targeted towards newer strains, not sure yet

[MagicalFruit]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Just because I'm tired of strictly thinking negative. It's amazing to think about all of the good that will come out of COVID-19. We should have some pretty amazing medical advancements and this is good training for if we have another much more dangerous pandemic. I'll be interested in a couple of years from now to see what has come from Covid.

Any updated thoughts on this? Do we think anything good has really come from this pandemic? Any amazing medical advancements? Are we more prepared for a much more dangerous pandemic?

I am thinking that at this point we are less prepared, honestly.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by MagicalFruit

Any updated thoughts on this? Do we think anything good has really come from this pandemic? Any amazing medical advancements? Are we more prepared for a much more dangerous pandemic?

I am thinking that at this point we are less prepared, honestly.

The development and refinement of mRNA vaccine processes could be one of the more major advancements of our lifetimes.

[phisherman]

Originally Posted by MagicalFruit

Any updated thoughts on this? Do we think anything good has really come from this pandemic? Any amazing medical advancements? Are we more prepared for a much more dangerous pandemic?

I am thinking that at this point we are less prepared, honestly.

We were vastly underprepared and we still are.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by MagicalFruit

Any updated thoughts on this? Do we think anything good has really come from this pandemic? Any amazing medical advancements? Are we more prepared for a much more dangerous pandemic?

I am thinking that at this point we are less prepared, honestly.

The vaccines will be better and even fewer people will take them.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by phisherman

We were vastly underprepared and we still are.

What does "being prepared" mean, though? If a tornado wipes out a town, does that mean the town wasn't prepared? If someone dies in a car accident, was the driver not prepared? Was Steve Irwin prepared when a stingray killed him?

Everything we do is a calculation between risk we face and effort required to mitigate that risk. We could blow the entire world's budget doing research and drills for pandemics, only to have an asteroid hit us in a year and wipe out all life on the planet because we didn't fully appreciate that risk.

We've certainly learned a lot these past few years, and I disagree strongly with the idea that we're "less prepared" - most people just didn't appreciate the risks like they do now. And it's almost undeniable that our mitigation efforts kept the death toll much lower than it could have been otherwise.

But does that mean that it'll never happen again? Of course not. We live on a rock that doesn't give a shit if we're here or not, so all we can do to "be prepared" is to assess the risks as accurately as we can, prepare accordingly, and hope that the probabilities play in our favor.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by DaFace

The development and refinement of mRNA vaccine processes could be one of the more major advancements of our lifetimes.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by phisherman

We were vastly underprepared and we still are.

I don't disagree, but it's really, really, hard to plan for a pandemic. Add in that a large percentage of people don't want to follow through with the guidance that is put out there. The CDC also dropped the ball big time during COVID, so unless the next pandemic hits after our lifetimes, there's going to be a large dose of skepticism by a lot of folks regarding what they say.

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

The vaccines will be better and even fewer people will take them.

Not only will the vaccines be better, but they'll be ready sooner too. (At least I imagine now that mRNA vaccines have been studied to a large degree the approval process will be quicker.)

[MagicalFruit]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Eh, I don't think you'll see that at this point. I could see it driving people further apart, though. If we DO see any sort of a surge this fall and most people are like me and don't have any sympathy for unvaccinated people who die, it's probably gonna piss a lot of people off.

I just don't have any patience left. If you die from driving drunk, not wearing a seat belt, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, playing russian roulette, or not getting a COVID vaccine, that's on you.

Modern day Nostradamus with that first bolded part!

For the second bolded part...it cuts both ways my friend.

[MagicalFruit]

Originally Posted by DaFace

The development and refinement of mRNA vaccine processes could be one of the more major advancements of our lifetimes.

mRNA technology was develop decades ago, no? The devil is in the detail of the refinement part that you speak of...seems they have been trying to do that for years. Although, finally putting it in some humans will probably help move the process along quicker than if they had to keep using lab rats...I agree.

[MagicalFruit]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

The vaccines will be better and even fewer people will take them.

I sure hope the vaccines will be better, hopefully a lot has been learned from this go around. But why do you think fewer people will take them?

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by MagicalFruit

I sure hope the vaccines will be better, hopefully a lot has been learned from this go around. But why do you think fewer people will take them?

Why didn't people take it the first go around?
- Supposed fear of long term side effects
- Vaccines being more(?) dangerous than what it's preventing
- Do the really work at all
- Youtube doctors
- People die everyday, who cares if they die from this thing (while simultaneously caring deeply about the minuscule chance of dying from the vaccine)
....other reasons?

Which of those reasons goes away with another pandemic, considering as you just said, the technology had already been in development for decades? And add to it, didn't die last time.

Hell, you just quoted Daface to say we should be afraid of the vaccines killing people, which his hilariously terrible math... if you still aren't convinced they're safe 2 years later, well, just multiply that by a 150 million people.

Fewer people will take them because Dunning Kruger + confirmation bias is a hell of a drug.