***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]

13k cases today and 200 deaths.

[BigCatDaddy]

Time to close thread and nuke it like it never happened.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Time to close thread and nuke it like it never happened.

The reduction in US cases is fantastic news but the virus has hardly disappeared from the rest of the world.

It would be fantastic news if the vaccines gave life long immunity but more realistically the subject of booster shots is going to come back up.

And I wouldn't be shocked to see local outbreaks of one the variants here and there going forward. There are pockets of the country where vaccination rates are relatively low.

[BigCatDaddy]

Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine

[MahomesMagic]

Major finding: people who’ve had mild COVID-19 cases are left with long-term antibody protection, according to a #WashUMed study.

Senior author: @TheBcellArtisthttps://t.co/wFbXjPmWZR

— Washington U. Med (@WUSTLmed) May 24, 2021

“Last fall, there were reports that antibodies wane quickly after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, and mainstream media interpreted that to mean that immunity was not long-lived,” said senior author Ali Ellebedy, PhD, an associate professor of pathology & immunology, of medicine and of molecular microbiology. “But that’s a misinterpretation of the data. It’s normal for antibody levels to go down after acute infection, but they don’t go down to zero; they plateau. Here, we found antibody-producing cells in people 11 months after first symptoms. These cells will live and produce antibodies for the rest of people’s lives. That’s strong evidence for long-lasting immunity.”

During a viral infection, antibody-producing immune cells rapidly multiply and circulate in the blood, driving antibody levels sky-high. Once the infection is resolved, most such cells die off, and blood antibody levels drop. A small population of antibody-producing cells, called long-lived plasma cells, migrate to the bone marrow and settle in, where they continually secrete low levels of antibodies into the bloodstream to help guard against another encounter with the virus.

The key to figuring out whether COVID-19 leads to long-lasting antibody protection, Ellebedy realized, lies in the bone marrow. To find out whether those who have recovered from mild cases of COVID-19 harbor long-lived plasma cells that produce antibodies specifically targeted to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Ellebedy teamed up with co-author Iskra Pusic, MD, an associate professor of medicine. Ellebedy already was working with co-authors Rachel Presti, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, and Jane O’Halloran, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, on a project to track antibody levels in blood samples from COVID-19 survivors.

[O.city]

Yeah, memory B cells.

I believe I brought those up in here. Antibodies always wane.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yeah, memory B cells.

I believe I brought those up in here. Antibodies always wane.

Yes. We've discussed this at length.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

The reduction in US cases is fantastic news but the virus has hardly disappeared from the rest of the world.

It would be fantastic news if the vaccines gave life long immunity but more realistically the subject of booster shots is going to come back up.

And I wouldn't be shocked to see local outbreaks of one the variants here and there going forward. There are pockets of the country where vaccination rates are relatively low.

Bah, that's FUD.

The reality is that it is increasingly likely that people who have had COVID have strong immune protection for a very long time, if not life.

While it remains to be seen, it is just as likely that the jabs also confer this type of long lasting protection.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by TLO

Yes. We've discussed this at length.

Our bodies are evolved to conserve energy and resources. Continually producing antibodies while you aren't currently infected is a waste of both.

Hence we have plasmoblasts (memory B cells) that recognize antigens (pieces of the virus we were infected with) and produce antibodies when we encounter it again.

It's really amazing.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

Bah, that's FUD.

The reality is that it is increasingly likely that people who have had COVID have strong immune protection for a very long time, if not life.

While it remains to be seen, it is just as likely that the jabs also confer this type of long lasting protection.

Jabs yes. I'm still a bit skeptical on the natural infection conferring long lasting protection due to genetic drift of the virus, but you will still likely have some protection aka, you won't die.

[dirk digler]

Read some concerning news today about what is going on in Livingston County and Linn county MO. Livingston health dept is reporting 12 vaccine breakthrough cases and Linn county (which is next to Livingston) has seen a alot of new cases. They are thinking it is a variant that is spreading.

Since MO has a low vaccination rate overall I would be cautious when being around other people for the time being.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Read some concerning news today about what is going on in Livingston County and Linn county MO. Livingston health dept is reporting 12 vaccine breakthrough cases and Linn county (which is next to Livingston) has seen a alot of new cases. They are thinking it is a variant that is spreading.

Since MO has a low vaccination rate overall I would be cautious when being around other people for the time being.

Vast majority of breakthru cases are mild to asymptomatic.

So I wouldn't worry.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by O.city

Vast majority of breakthru cases are mild to asymptomatic.

So I wouldn't worry.

thankful the vaccines save lives and hospitalizations but for such a small county to have that many breakthrough cases is eye opening. Wondering how many were J&J vaccines compared to the others

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

thankful the vaccines save lives and hospitalizations but for such a small county to have that many breakthrough cases is eye opening. Wondering how many were J&J vaccines compared to the others

The vast majority of break through cases I've seen reported are from the J&J.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by O.city

Jabs yes. I'm still a bit skeptical on the natural infection conferring long lasting protection due to genetic drift of the virus, but you will still likely have some protection aka, you won't die.

Not what the science is pointing towards, but you go with that.