***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.”

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by O.city

They're transferring her to Barnes in STL, think she has a small bleed but that it should be ok. Want her close to better service if it were to get worse.

2021 off to a great start. ****.

Sorry about your Mom.....

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by loochy

Do they already have their second shots scheduled?


My wife gets the second dose on Sunday. The first shot was uneventful. The government did not use it to mind control her (yet).

Yea they both have the 2nd shot scheduled.

[Donger]

https://news.trust.org/item/20210104140005-hnx99

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - UK scientists expressed concern on Monday that COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in Britain may not be able to protect against a new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in South Africa and has spread internationally.

Both Britain and South Africa have detected new, more transmissible variants of the COVID-19-causing virus in recent weeks that have driven a surge in cases. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday he was now very worried about the variant identified in South Africa.

Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said that while both variants had some new features in common, the one found in South Africa "has a number additional mutations ... which are concerning".

He said these included more extensive alterations to a key part of the virus known as the spike protein - which the virus uses to infect human cells - and "may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccines".

Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, also noted that the South African variant has "multiple spike mutations".

"The accumulation of more spike mutations in the South African variant are more of a concern and could lead to some escape from immune protection," he said.

Scientists including BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, have said they are testing the vaccines against the new variants and say they could make any required tweaks in around six weeks.

Public Health England said there was currently no evidence to suggest COVID-19 vaccines would not protect against the mutated virus variants. Britain's health ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The world's richest countries have started vaccinating their populations to safeguard against a disease that has killed 1.8 million people and crushed the global economy.

There are currently 60 vaccine candidates in trials, including those already being rolled out from AstraZeneca and Oxford, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm .

Scientists say both the South African and UK variants are associated with a higher viral load, meaning a greater concentration of virus particles in patients' bodies, possibly contributing to increased transmission.

Oxford's Bell, who advises the UK government's vaccine task force, said on Sunday he thought vaccines would work on the British variant but said there was a "big question mark" as to whether they would work on the South African variant.

BioNTech's Sahin told Germany' Spiegel in an interview published on Friday that their vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the human immune system to fight the virus, should be able to protect against the UK variant.

"We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralise this variant and will soon know more," he said. (Reporting by Kate Holton, Kate Kelland, Guy Faulconbridge and Alistair Smout; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

[Marcellus]

It seems some people never tire of articles with nothing but speculation and the unknown, spelling more doom and gloom ahead.

[O.city]

If it doesn't protect against, you can tweek the mRNA variant to this new spike.

Again, though, until it shows it doesn't protect against it, i'd assume it does.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

It seems some people never tire of articles with nothing but speculation and the unknown, spelling more doom and gloom ahead.

It's not speculation that there are variants.

It's not speculation that these variants have multiple spike mutations.

It is being tested to see if existing vaccines are effective against these variants.

If not, they expect to be able to tweak the vaccines in about six weeks.

In other words, it's just news. It's not doom and gloom.

[TLO]

Inpatients at our hospital have sky rocketed over the past few days after being down to some of the lowest numbers we'd seen not all that long ago.

[TLO]

I wonder how soon we'll know if this version of the vaccine offers protection?

[O.city]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-since-october

[Donger]

Thought this was interesting. If this new variant has an R0 of 1.5 - 1.7, adding .4 to the previous bug, they are saying that it has an R0 of ~1.2?

https://www.who.int/csr/don/21-decem...ed-kingdom/en/

The new VUI-202012/01 variant has been identified in several countries including Australia, Denmark, Italy, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Preliminary reports by the United Kingdom are that this variant is more transmissible than previous circulating viruses, with an estimated increase of between 40% and 70% in transmissibility (adding 0.4 to the basic reproduction number R0, bringing it to a range of 1.5 to 1.7). Laboratory studies are ongoing to determine whether these variant viruses have different biological properties or alter vaccine efficacy. There is not enough information at present to determine if this variant is associated with any change in severity of clinical disease, antibody response or vaccine efficacy.

[Demonpenz]

I had to see the site nurse last week when I was sick. I was left with with the understanding positive or not I need to do the same shit since i was exposed 6 feet mask etc. So I wasn't in a panic to go get tested because i would be doing the same shit positive or not sleeping in my tomb. I got tested today though because I want to go back to work.

[Dunit35]

Vaccine distribution at my Oklahoma location is going along smoothly. I’ve been watching hundreds of elderly roll through since 9am getting their shots. This event is for 65+ Aged people. I’ve seen all sorts of people from 2+ hours away. I’m guessing people are in and out in half an hour.

We did the same last week for first responders and health care workers.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by O.city

They're transferring her to Barnes in STL, think she has a small bleed but that it should be ok. Want her close to better service if it were to get worse.

2021 off to a great start. ****.

Damn! Good thoughts headed her way.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by O.city

They're transferring her to Barnes in STL, think she has a small bleed but that it should be ok. Want her close to better service if it were to get worse.

2021 off to a great start. ****.

What type of anticoagulation is she on?

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Dunit35

Vaccine distribution at my Oklahoma location is going along smoothly. I’ve been watching hundreds of elderly roll through since 9am getting their shots. This event is for 65+ Aged people. I’ve seen all sorts of people from 2+ hours away. I’m guessing people are in and out in half an hour.

We did the same last week for first responders and health care workers.

Are you in OKC, Tulsa or a small city?