***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.”

[kepp]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm honestly a bit annoyed that I'm sick right now with a cold that is NOT COVID (as are a number of family members). While I would have felt a bit guilty if we'd spread it around to each other over Xmas, it sucks to be fighting off a head cold and not even getting the immunity boost.

Yep...had that last week

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm honestly a bit annoyed that I'm sick right now with a cold that is NOT COVID (as are a number of family members). While I would have felt a bit guilty if we'd spread it around to each other over Xmas, it sucks to be fighting off a head cold and not even getting the immunity boost.

Originally Posted by Fish

LOL.. same. My daughter got some mild symptoms right before Christmas. Inevitably gave it to me. Her test came back as influenza, and I'm like "I got sick for nothing?"

Wife and son spent most of the Christmas break leading up to the holiday fighting off something with a lot of the normal cold/flu/covid symptoms. Son had it first, and we home tested him twice for covid. Both tests negative. Wife eventually got it as well. I never got it, but I did think it sucked they had to spend their break that way.

This is the second time in three years for both of them. They both got the flu Christmas break of '19.


Edit: and both times my son brought it home from school. The flu in '19 a parent knowingly sent their kid to school with it. She vomited while sitting next to my son in class, and I'd assume that's when he got it.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by sedated

I'm no scientist, I don't even do my own research, but one would think that the combination of natural immunity and the initial vax would be just about as effective as the vax and booster.

I'm not even sure I got covid (I was sick after close contact Oct 2020 but never got a test), but I'm not rushing out to get the booster. I thought that was supposed to be for people at high risk, but suddenly its assumed everyone should get it(?). Add that to the new strain being less severe and I'm not really worried at all.

Booster hit me really hard, a lot worse than the first two shots (all three Pfizer).

Also, Delta didn't just magically disappear. I would be willing to suspect that a lot of the hospitalizations are probably related to that variant, considering all data is pointing to Omicron being more mild. I'm sure some people will have a difficult time with it (Omicron) and require hospitalization, folks with underlying conditions etc. But Delta is still lurking I am sure.

Plus you probably have a lot of people getting symptoms and flipping out putting a strain on ER's etc.

[Donger]

CDC variant estimate has been updated:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra...nt-proportions

[loochy]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Booster hit me really hard, a lot worse than the first two shots (all three Pfizer).

Also, Delta didn't just magically disappear. I would be willing to suspect that a lot of the hospitalizations are probably related to that variant, considering all data is pointing to Omicron being more mild. I'm sure some people will have a difficult time with it (Omicron) and require hospitalization, folks with underlying conditions etc. But Delta is still lurking I am sure.
Plus you probably have a lot of people getting symptoms and flipping out putting a strain on ER's etc.

THIS. People are going to the ER to get covid TESTS. WTF

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Donger

CDC variant estimate has been updated:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra...nt-proportions

95% Omicron last week. It's amazing how quickly it took over.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by TLO

Is this the most infectious disease in history?

More than measles without a vaccine?

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Donger

CDC variant estimate has been updated:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra...nt-proportions

That's wild. Less than a month and Omicron is 95% of the cases.

[Chiefspants]

Good Twitter Thread re: Omicron in London

NEW: first thread of 2022 is an Omicron situation update, starting with a detailed look at UK hospitals, before going international.

Let’s start with severity, and the most important chart:

Despite steep rises in cases and patients, the number on ventilators has barely risen. pic.twitter.com/p1mzD7DorK

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) January 4, 2022

[O.city]

Vaccine and natural infection is as protected as I need I think

[Fish]

Metro hospitals are feeling the results of the holidays...

KC area hospitals hold joint news conference as COVID hospitalizations rise: 'We are at a critical juncture'

Around 600 workers at the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, KS, are out sick, as the hospital is treating over 120 COVID patients. Of those patients, 90 are active infections, with 84 of those active infection patient unvaccinated. Nineteen patients are in the ICU, with 12 on the ventilator. All of KU Hospital's patients on the ventilator are unvaccinated, said Chief Medical Officer Steve Stites.

Those numbers have been climbing rapidly in the past week. Doctors are urging those who have held out to this point to get vaccinated, and get a booster shot when able.

"This is a critical time. We are at a critical juncture," Stites said during the news conference.

University of Kansas Health System:

• 90 active COVID patients (up from 80 yesterday)
• 84 of those are unvaccinated
• 19 patients in the ICU
• 12 of those on the ventilator

Children's Mercy Hospital:

• 30 kids hospitalized with COVID (up from 15 a week ago)
• 10 in ICU
• 327 staff out
• Chief medical officer: "Kids are definitely sick."

HCA Midwest local hospitals:

• 250 patients hospitalized with COVID
• Over 80 percent of those are unvaccinated
• 42 COVID patients in the ICU
• 21 on ventilator
• ERs are over 100 percent capacity
• COVID mortality rate at the hospital around 11-12 percent

Olathe Health:

• 48 COVID patients
• 10 in ICU
• 4 on ventilator
• 2 percent of the hospital's workforce is out sick

University Health (formerly Truman Medical Center):

• 98 COVID patients(45 percent higher than previous high)
• 82 percent unvaccinated
• 20 in ICU
• 9 on ventilator

Kansas City VA Hospital:

• 431 COVID outpatient cases
• 19 active COVID patients (only 1 vaccinated)
• 3 in ICU (none vaccinated)
• Over 100 employees out

Stormont Vail Hospital (Topeka):

• 50 active COVID patients
• 19 in ICU
• Total of 321 deaths in pandemic
• Over 90 staffers out sick

[stanleychief]

I was sick the last two weeks with what I thought was the flu. I went to a drive up Covid testing location and had two nasal swabs done. One was for the rapid antigen test, and the other goes off to a lab for a PCR test if the antigen test is negative. Both came back negative. It's strange, because I lost my sense of smell, which is usually a giveaway sign for Covid.

I ran across a few articles that were talking about nasal swabbing returning false negative results for Omicron. Instead, a throat swab is also being recommended by a few doctors.

Is a throat swab with a nose swab a better way to detect omicron?

It makes me wonder if this 'flu' that I had was actually the omicron variant.

[stanleychief]

Originally Posted by TimBone

Wife and son spent most of the Christmas break leading up to the holiday fighting off something with a lot of the normal cold/flu/covid symptoms. Son had it first, and we home tested him twice for covid. Both tests negative. Wife eventually got it as well. I never got it, but I did think it sucked they had to spend their break that way.

This is the second time in three years for both of them. They both got the flu Christmas break of '19.


Edit: and both times my son brought it home from school. The flu in '19 a parent knowingly sent their kid to school with it. She vomited while sitting next to my son in class, and I'd assume that's when he got it.

That seems to happen a lot to me too. I usually take the week between Christmas and New Years off. Normally, I get a cold/flu right around December 23rd and it clears up around January 2nd.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Donger

CDC variant estimate has been updated:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra...nt-proportions

Originally Posted by DaFace

95% Omicron last week. It's amazing how quickly it took over.

Originally Posted by TimBone

That's wild. Less than a month and Omicron is 95% of the cases.

I don't believe it because they just said that the numbers that had been reported earlier were wrong by a huge number percentage. IIRC they reported that it was something like 78% and it was only 27%. They also said that the first numbers were based on an algorithm of probability, not actual physical results.

[displacedinMN]

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison tests positive for COVID-19 while abroad


I knew there would be a time he would finally come out.