***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]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

My 65 yr old mother got it and had a cough and sore throat. Never had a fever. She has fibromyalgia and is a cancer survivor and got through it pretty well. She is 3x vaxxed. Myself the wife and kid were exposed and never got it. So glad it wasn't worse for her.

Interesting how it impacts people differently.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Hank Hill

Interesting how it impacts people differently.

It really is. Myself and the guy I work with (that I most likely got it from) got hit hard. His wife tested positive, but for her it was just like a minor cold. My wife thus far has been fine, testing negative.

All of us Vaxxed and Boosted.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Hank Hill

Interesting how it impacts people differently.

It is a really complex situation. Looking at:

Different strains
People with varying levels of vaccination
Different ages
Different levels of general health
Different viral loads when they get infected/exposed

Luckily the current strains that seem to be very infectious even for people already vaccinated, don’t seem to cause the worst symptoms.

[cdcox]

If person A has tested positive and person B living with person A start showing symptoms, it is safe to assume that person B is infected, regardless of the testing status of person B.

My wife was person B. On the day she tested the test had the faintest line imaginable. It could have easily been read as a negative test. But her symptoms were worse than mine.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by cdcox

It is a really complex situation. Looking at:

Different strains
People with varying levels of vaccination
Different ages
Different levels of general health
Different viral loads when they get infected/exposed

Luckily the current strains that seem to be very infectious even for people already vaccinated, don’t seem to cause the worst symptoms.

Well at this point, there aren't many people who are neither unvaccinated nor have never gotten it. So most people have some base immunity, even if it takes a while to ramp up.

If the current strain was the original strain it may have caused worse symptoms.

But it's true, it's probably not as severe. However, the current strain still seems to be debilitating enough (for a week or so) to a good chunk of the people who get it. It's just getting less attention.

Hopefully we don't get any new strains from this point on that are worse, but there are no guarantees of that.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by Hank Hill

Interesting how it impacts people differently.

It is. My perfectly healthy neighbor who is a few years younger was 2x vaxxed at the time had to go to the hospital to get breathing treatments a few times and was sick for 10 days with fevers chills etc. My uncle who was 3x vaxxed had to have a breathing treatment once and had a terrible cough and aches. Both of them way healthier than my mother.

[RollChiefsRoll]

Woke up Friday feeling like a ****ing truck hit me. Body aches, feverish, all I wanted to do was lay down and die basically. Self test returned positive. Vaxxed and boosted. Have spent the past two days bed ridden and hacking up my lungs. This thing SUCKS.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by RollChiefsRoll

Woke up Friday feeling like a ****ing truck hit me. Body aches, feverish, all I wanted to do was lay down and die basically. Self test returned positive. Vaxxed and boosted. Have spent the past two days bed ridden and hacking up my lungs. This thing SUCKS.

Yeah, man it's rough as hell. I started to get symptoms last Sunday night. Today is the first day I feel somewhat normal. Still coughing, but overall feel pretty good.

FWIW, I took a home test Monday and it showed negative. Went to urgent care that morning and got a PCR test and the results came back positive on Tuesday. Called my Doctor and he prescribed the Paxlovid Anti-Viral treatment. I don't really have any co-morbidities, but he gave it to me anyway. I'm wondering how much worse I would have been without it? The absolute worst part is the upper-respiratory infection. The coughing and phlegm are unreal. I was in bed pretty much Monday through Friday. Hang tough.

I might attempt a run later this morning...I think I'm feeling up to it.

[TLO]

Just found out my mom tested positive. There goes our 4th of July plans.

She's running a bit of a fever. Scratchy throat. Aches. Hope she gets to feeling better soon.

Yes it's very anecdotal, but it seems like everyone who has avoided covid over the past couple years is getting it now. (Though she's fairly certain she had it in March 2020 before testing was really a thing)

[chinaski]

Couple things I did...

Lounged in my backyard in the Sun. My thought is the sunlight/Vitamin D aspect.

Showered at least twice a day. If you are shedding the virus, it might help keep the viral load down.

Washed my bedding twice during the week. Again, keep the viral load down.

Took extra Zinc and Vitamin C.

Drank Pedialite.

Lots of water. Herbal tea etc.

[RollChiefsRoll]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Couple things I did...

Lounged in my backyard in the Sun. My thought is the sunlight/Vitamin D aspect.

Showered at least twice a day. If you are shedding the virus, it might help keep the viral load down.

Washed my bedding twice during the week. Again, keep the viral load down.

Took extra Zinc and Vitamin C.

Drank Pedialite.

Lots of water. Herbal tea etc.

Smart man. I’m doing a lot of this.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Couple things I did...

Lounged in my backyard in the Sun. My thought is the sunlight/Vitamin D aspect.

Showered at least twice a day. If you are shedding the virus, it might help keep the viral load down.

Washed my bedding twice during the week. Again, keep the viral load down.

Took extra Zinc and Vitamin C.

Drank Pedialite.

Lots of water. Herbal tea etc.

Quite frankly, all of that sounds like stuff you should do anyway

[jdubya]

My wife and son had raspy chest cough/cold....wife tested positive, son was negative. Now my daughter just tested positive and she presents with low grade fever and sore throat. I'm still asymptomatic. Purely anecdotal but maybe I am part of a test group to see if a 6-pack of coors lites prior to bed each night keeps the covid away

[DaFace]

A friend of mine got it a month or so ago and, along with the usual symptoms, she got a really bad rash on her arm. Super weird, but apparently that's a rare presentation as well.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by DaFace

A friend of mine got it a month or so ago and, along with the usual symptoms, she got a really bad rash on her arm. Super weird, but apparently that's a rare presentation as well.

My son gets molescum and abcesses on his skin when he gets a virus. It's caused by an immune overreaction and it's not unique to covid.