***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.”

[RunKC]

I’m a 32 year old with a good BMI, healthy immune system and no pre-existing conditions. I won’t get this vaccine.

I don’t want to be subject to a rushed vaccine. I prefer taking medicine/vaccines with at least one decade of case study unless I absolutely need it.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

I've seen your work. You have no room to talk, Kimosabi.

I've seen your avatar. You should be banned from the thread.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

I've seen your avatar. You should be banned from the thread.

Shocked I haven't been. It's for sure a LWNJ echo chamber at this point except for a few posters.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I’m a 32 year old with a good BMI, healthy immune system and no pre-existing conditions. I won’t get this vaccine.

I don’t want to be subject to a rushed vaccine. I prefer taking medicine/vaccines with at least one decade of case study unless I absolutely need it.

Why a decade?

Before this you had this same policy?

[sedated]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

100% and that's why it drives me nuts a vocal minority keep crying for the mandate.

I'm curious what makes you think its only a vocal minority?

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by sedated

I'm curious what makes you think its only a vocal minority?

Because hardly anyone wears them unless it's somewhere "required". I don't know about other parts of the country but in my local area its probably 75% anti mask.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Agreed. I just hope they don’t fast track the approval for any reason except that it is safe and it works.

My money is on a vaccine fast tracked to be available by the end of October.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Because hardly anyone wears them unless it's somewhere "required". I don't know about other parts of the country but in my local area its probably 75% anti mask.

I guess that's what makes it relative.

Its the complete opposite from every place I've been and everyone I've talked to, its 99.9% masks, with no issues.

[phisherman]

Same here. It's been months now in the KC area and I've seen maybe a handful of people at the most in private businesses without masks on. Shit, man, I see tons of people walking on the streets with nobody around them and they're still wearing masks.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I’m a 32 year old with a good BMI, healthy immune system and no pre-existing conditions. I won’t get this vaccine.

I don’t want to be subject to a rushed vaccine. I prefer taking medicine/vaccines with at least one decade of case study unless I absolutely need it.

I get the concept. But you realize there are plenty of 32-year-olds with lingering and possibly permanent heart and lung damage from this right? I'm not sure why you are more worried about the vaccine than that.

Scientific American: COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms

Beyond its scientific backing, the notion that a COVID-19 patient might wind up with long-term lung scarring or breathing issues has the ring of truth. After all, we hear the stories, right? The virus can leave survivors explaining how they struggled to breathe, or how it can feel, in the words of actress Alyssa Milano, “like an elephant is sitting on my chest.”

We’ve also known for a while that some COVID-19 patients’ hearts are taking a beating, too—but over the past few weeks, the evidence has strengthened that cardiac damage can happen even among people who have never displayed symptoms of coronavirus infection. And these frightening findings help explain why college and professional sports leagues are proceeding with special caution as they make decisions about whether or not to play.

From an offensive lineman at Indiana University dealing with possible heart issues to a University of Houston player opting out of the season because of “complications with my heart,” the news has been coming fast and furiously. More than a dozen athletes at Power Five conference schools have been identified as having myocardial injury following coronavirus infection, according to ESPN; two of the conferences—the Big Ten and the Pac-12—already have announced they are postponing all competitive sports until 2021. And in Major League Baseball, Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez told reporters that he felt “100 years old” as a result of his bout with COVID, and of MLB’s shortened season because of myocarditis—an inflammation of the heart muscle, often triggered by a virus. Said Rodriguez: “That’s [the heart is] the most important part of your body, so when you hear that … I was kind of scared a little. Now that I know what it is, it’s still scary.”

Why are these athletes (and their leagues and conferences) taking such extreme precautions? It’s because of the stakes. Though it often resolves without incident, myocarditis can lead to severe complications such as abnormal heart rhythms, chronic heart failure and even sudden death. Just a few weeks ago, a former Florida State basketball player, Michael Ojo, died of suspected heart complications just after recovering from a bout of COVID-19 in Serbia, where he was playing pro ball.

Here’s the background: Myocarditis appears to result from the direct infection of the virus attacking the heart, or possibly as a consequence of the inflammation triggered by the body’s overly aggressive immune response. And it is not age-specific: In The Lancet, doctors recently reported on an 11-year-old child with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)—a rare illness—who died of myocarditis and heart failure. At autopsy, pathologists were able to identify coronavirus particles present in the child’s cardiac tissue, helping to explain the virus’ direct involvement in her death. In fact, researchers are reporting the presence of viral protein in the actual heart muscle, of six deceased patients. Of note is the fact that these patients were documented to have died of lung failure, having had neither clinical signs of heart involvement, nor a prior history of cardiac disease.

Ossama Samuel, associate chief of cardiology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, told me about a cluster of younger adults developing myocarditis, some of them a month or so after they had recovered from COVID-19. One patient, who developed myocarditis four weeks after believing he had recovered from the virus, responded to a course of steroid treatment only to develop a recurrence in the form of pericarditis (an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart). A second patient, in her 40s, now has reduced heart function from myocarditis, and a third—an athletic man in his 40s—is experiencing recurring and dangerous ventricular heart rhythms, necessitating that he wear a LifeVest defibrillator for protection. His MRI also demonstrates fibrosis and scarring of his heart muscle, which may be permanent, and he may ultimately require placement of a permanent defibrillator.

This is an incredibly tricky diagnosis. Patients with myocarditis often experience symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, fever and fatigue—while some have no symptoms at all. J.N., a health care provider who asked that his full name not be used, told me that COVID-19 symptoms first appeared in his case in late March. He ultimately was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Medical Center after developing unrelenting fevers spiking to 104 degrees, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

“Even the Advil and acetaminophen wouldn’t help my fevers,” said J.N. Just 34 years old, he was diagnosed with COVID-induced myocarditis and severe heart failure. Doctors admitted him to the intensive care unit and placed him on a lifesaving intra-aortic balloon pump due to the very poor function of his heart. He spent two weeks in the hospital, has suffered recurrences since his discharge, and now says, “I’m very careful. I’m very concerned about the length of time I’ve been feeling sick, and if these symptoms are lifelong or will go away anytime soon.” J.N. said that everyday activities, like carrying his one-year-old daughter up a flight of stairs, leave him feeling winded and fatigued. He has been unable to work since March.

According to some reports, as many as 7 percent of deaths from COVID-19 may result from myocarditis. (Others feel that estimate is too high.) The arrhythmia that sometimes accompanies it is also worrisome, and researchers have found that to be fairly common among COVID-19 patients. In J.N.’s case, he noticed his heart racing on several occasions into the 130 beats per minute range. And while the prevalence of this in virus patients is not known exactly, a study found that ventricular arrhythmias occurred in 78 percent of patients without COVID-19, with up to 30 percent of them experiencing serious arrhythmias 27 months later.

Experts estimate that half of myocarditis cases resolve without a chronic complication, but several studies suggest that COVID-19 patients show signs of the condition months after contracting the virus. One non–peer reviewed study, involving 139 health care workers who developed coronavirus infection and recovered, found that about 10 weeks after their initial symptoms, 37 percent of them were diagnosed with myocarditis or myopericarditis—and fewer than half of those had showed symptoms at the time of their scans.

Any such cardiac sequelae lingering weeks to months after the fact is clearly concerning, and we’re seeing more evidence of it. A German study found that 78 percent of recovered COVID-19 patients, the majority of whom had only mild to moderate symptoms, demonstrated cardiac involvement more than two months after their initial diagnoses. Six in 10 were found to have persistent myocardial inflammation. While emphasizing that individual patients need not be nervous, lead investigator Elike Nagel added in an e-mail, “My personal take is that COVID will increase the incidence of heart failure over the next decades.”

Taking on myocarditis is a chore. Thankfully, some acute cases resolve on their own, requiring only hospital monitoring and possibly some heart medications. We’ve learned that steroids and immunoglobulins—useful elsewhere—aren’t effective in acute viral myocarditis, although Samuel said there may be a role for steroids in younger COVID-19 patients who seem to present with more of an autoimmune type of the condition. And, of course, an effective vaccine could help prevent cases in the first place.

Samuel called it “extremely dangerous” for athletes diagnosed with myocarditis to play competitive sports for at least three to six months, because of the risk of serious arrhythmia or sudden death, and several athletes already have made the decision to heed those dire warnings. We’ll likely see more such decisions in the very near future, as each sport enters its peak season.

And for the rest of us? Wear a mask, social distance, avoid large gatherings, and spend more time in the great outdoors. I would echo the advice of J.N.: “Be careful. Just don’t get the virus in the beginning.” As of today, it’s still the best defense we’ve got.

[Strongside]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Because hardly anyone wears them unless it's somewhere "required". I don't know about other parts of the country but in my local area its probably 75% anti mask.

I just completed a 2,200 mile road trip. People without masks were OVERWHELMINGLY the minority. Not even close. And I spent zero time in any town larger than 10k people. I’m talking rural Wyoming and Montana here.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Because hardly anyone wears them unless it's somewhere "required". I don't know about other parts of the country but in my local area its probably 75% anti mask.

You might want to leave your comfy little county once in a while before citing minority mask wearing.

It's 90%+ masks here everywhere now. As it should be in a state the surged to the top with COVID.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by TLO

I'd be interested in hearing more on your strongly worded HELL NO

I don't trust it. It has not gone through the normal trials and even then there are problems with vaccines that have gone through those extensive trials. I don't want to be a test subject.
There are problems with the Flu vaccine and its effectiveness as well. I have never had one of those either and don't plan on it any time soon.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

[TLO]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I get the concept. But you realize there are plenty of 32-year-olds with lingering and possibly permanent heart and lung damage from this right? I'm not sure why you are more worried about the vaccine than that.

Scientific American: COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms

The heart stuff is somewhat concerning, but it still seems pretty anecdotal at this point. I'm optimistic it won't turn out to be anything that happens with any great regularity.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

I don't trust it. It has not gone through the normal trials and even then there are problems with vaccines that have gone through those extensive trials. I don't want to be a test subject.
There are problems with the Flu vaccine and its effectiveness as well. I have never had one of those either and don't plan on it any time soon.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

the amount of people who die from the flu shot is quite a bit smaller than the people who die from the flu and I assume it will be the same with the COVID one and remember it is not just for your safety but also the safety of your family and friends , you would be taking a very small risk to yourself for protecting your family.