Moderator notice: Please do not ask for medical advice in this forum!
- If you are interested in Crafting, maybe try ordering a craft kit online (something substantial that would take time would be best, like a Latch hook kit
(and crochet hook if you don’t have one), a potholder loom and cotton loops, or cross stitch kit), to work on.
- learn something physical, like an instrument, how to sew or knit, etc
- a lot of museums and zoos and the like are doing virtual tours or free online classes, so keep an eye out for that as well.
- do a giant puzzle
- Join an online bookclub
- Take an online class
While the outbreak started around New Year's Day (12/31), it's picking up steam around the Asia-Pacific region especially since Mainland Chinese people tend to travel a lot.
For reference, the BNO Newsroom twitter has a special feed for any info on the coronavirus:
https://twitter.com/bnodesk?lang=en
The WHO has page about COVID-19 and any other concerns people may have. I suggest peeps go to the Q&A page to check for official details.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Edited by nombretomado on Jun 3rd 2020 at 3:21:48 AM
Oh, bother.
NVM
Edited by M84 on Jan 25th 2022 at 10:39:06 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
There isn’t really any evidence at this point that Omicron is particularly dangerous for children. Like with Delta and Beta this variant is more contagious overall, so inevitably the number of children who fall ill will be higher, but proportionally they still only represent a tiny fraction of overall cases.
They should have sent a poet.
A tiny fraction of a big number will still be a big number.
The numbers of children with long COVID in the UK are starting to shoot up; the numbers who have LC have trebled in the past six months and doubled for LC suffers of 12 months or more. Those figures are obviously for the Alpha and Delta waves, and won't include Omicron BA1. BA2 will be further down the line again.
Regardless of whether people dismiss the amount of children who catch it (and people can end up with LC from mild cases of COVID, not just hospitalisations), this is a ticking time-bomb for health services for future years.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Jan 26th 2022 at 4:29:44 AM
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Time bomb? It’s starting to blow up right now. Nurses are being treated like shit and quitting en masse.
@Galadriel: The UK has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with over 90% of the age 12+ population having had at least one dose. According to a British Medical Journal report at the start of this year (which was also, incidentally, around the peak of hospitalisations from our Omicron wave) over 60% of those ending up in intensive care at that time were from the 10% of unvaccinated people. It's safe to say that the vaccines still massively cut your risk from covid, and the hospital resources you'll be taking up on average when you catch it.
And at that time, the majority of people were only partially vaccinated against Omicron - they had not yet received a booster (only 23% of hospital admissions had been boosted, see later on the same article). So we're really comparing two doses with being unvaccinated there - those who are fully boosted should do even better. And, according to the later parts of that report, that seems to mean a reduction in hospital admissions - only 23% of admissions were for boosted patients, despite the fact that at that time most of those who had been boosted before catching covid were old or otherwise vulnerable. The report quotes an estimate that being fully vaccinated and boosted cuts your hospitalisation risk by a factor of eight!
Speaking of the United Kingdom, is it true or false that they’re discontinuing their mask mandates?
I smell magic in the air. Or maybe barbecue.
Ontario also has a little over 90% of the 12+ population with at least one dose, and two-thirds of the people in hospital (and about half those in ICU) are vaccinated at present: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data/hospitalizations
This is a huge change from back in November, before the omicron wave, when at least two-thirds of those hospitalized with COVID were unvaccinated. Omicron’s changed the game here. Vaccination and a recent booster still helps, certainly. But with Delta being vaccinated meant you could practically go back to normal fairly safely - seeing family and friends, going to indoor restaurants and movie theatres. Now there’s far more risk.
Canada’s got 37% of the population boosted, compared to the UK’s 54%, so that probably plays a role in the differences.
Edited by Galadriel on Jan 25th 2022 at 4:52:28 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60129830
COVID restrictions are going to be eased in the Netherlands despite a rise in cases.
Canada’s showing hopeful signs of being past its peak of cases (they’ve been dropping for two weeks now, though still very high), and perhaps of hospitalizations having peaked.
Only in England. And not because of anything to do with it being safe - Boris wanted a bunch of stuff to distract people from the “held massive parties during lockdown” scandal.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Looks like us in Canada has a FREEDOOOMM TRUCKERS MOVEMENT against the vaccine mandate for anyone driving truck in and out of the country.
Italy's vaccination campaign: Cheating impossible
Loosely translated:
Recently the human rights organization Amnesty International demanded that the government coalition led by Mario Draghi cease the "disproportionate discrimination of unvaccinated people" in Italy. Indeed, no other country in Western Europe has decreed coronavirus countermeasures this strict, no one else has gone as far into the web of ethics and law during the fight against the pandemic. In this regard Italy is a laboratory under the eyes of the world. Thus many prominent antivaxxers like to use it as a platform for their appearances.
In November Robert F. Kennedy jr., one of America's leading antivaxxers, was a guest in Milan with his crude theories. Now the French physician and Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier has gotten the honours. Supposedly the vaccine is harmful, the distribution should be stopped instantly, the unvaccinated would be tomorrow's saviours, he blathered in front of about 2000 antivaxxers on Milan's Piazza 25 Aprile. Only a few hours later, during "vaccine night", one could see in the hospital San Giovanni, how Italian doctors distributing vaccines made extra turns.
Everybody could come, no booking necessary. In the evening people were queueing at zero degrees, and when the tired doctors declared the operation finished the next morning, 1006 people had been vaccinated. For most it was the third dose, for some the second. For about fifty men and women it was the first. "The more we are, the readier we win" is the promise of the vaccination campaign, and maybe the novices had indeed the feeling that it was time to follow the "we" and not the "I". It's more probable though that yet another tightening of the coronavirus rules had induced them.
Fines of 600 to 1500 euros.
Since 10 January, there are not just fewer amenities for unvaccinated people in Italy. Only fully vaccinated or recovered can use the subway, buses, trains and airplanes. Same for cultural or sport events, museums, cinemas, friseurs and both the inside and outside of restaurants and cafés. Beginning with 1 February the 2-G-rule will expand to shops, malls and banks. Anyone still not vaccinated can only access apotheces, shops selling food, gas stations, newspaper shops and markets.
The pressure to get vaccinated is immense. With 228179 new infections and 434 fatalities Tuesday there was a peak in the Omicron wave. The government however won't stop repeating that the "undecided" must be "convinced". The numbers support their persuasion work: 75% of the population is fully vaccinated, the first dose rate is 82%. Since mandatory vaccinations were introduced on 5 January for people above 50, 685000 first doses were distributed to this age group.
These who didn't get vaccinated until 1 February will have to pay a first fine of 100 euros. Beginning with the 15 February 2-G applies to working people over 50. Violations will be fined 600 to 1500 euros and with suspension without pay. Fines double for recidivism. Cheating is almost impossible, as beginning 2021 Italy has set up a national vaccination register, which is centrally administered by the state agency SOGEI. It has its seat in Rome and also administers everybody's taxes. One can practically find out whether someone is unvaccinated with a single button click.
Draghi so far has not responded to the criticism by Amnesty International. There is already speculation on what else he might have in mind. The room for additional restrictions seems exhausted. The vaccination campaign for the youngest may offer clues. Every child that gets a coronavirus vaccine receives an admission ticket for an amusement park and a pretty decorated personalized document. It says that the child has demonstrated that it is "good to set an extraordinary effort against the coronavirus". Maybe one should also set such positive examples for other age brackets.
Professional Forum Ninja
Edited by tclittle on Jan 26th 2022 at 5:09:53 AM
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Yes, but that is not the subject my post is discussing.
I'm talking specifically about long covid, which is a long-term problem no-one knows the scale of yet — or for just how many years into the future it will continue to impact. Many governments are ignoring LC completely right now, and children who get it might suffer for many years longer than adults who get it because of their younger ages; that's why it is a ticking timebomb.
Note, that is the adult age-groups that peaked. The wave in the 4-9 and 10-14 year-olds is still in the exponential growth phase, and has yet to peak. It is lagging the adult age-groups.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Jan 26th 2022 at 4:41:53 AM
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Cases have also been going substantially down in MA, although still high. We're one of the more highly vaccinated areas in the US, and everyone I've seen at, say, the grocery store, has been wearing masks (mandated in my town anyway).
My understanding is that cases have peaked and have begun to fall in the Northeast and Midwest, but are still a couple of weeks away from peaking in the South and West.
Lost in Space
Re: Italy's vaccination incentives. I'm finding myself highly unsympathetic to those "poor, unfortunate, oppressed people" who keep refusing in the face of the coercion.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Italy’s vaccination rate has gone up by 4.3 percentage points (from 78.3 to 82.6) simce the start of December, after having flattened out relatively during late Oct through Nov. So it does appear to be having an effect.
Canada’s has gone up similarly (from 80.0 to 84.8) in the same period, but almost all of that is due to vaccines for kids aged 5-11 being approved.
The US and UK are now at similar levels (76-77%) after the US having lagged many other countries for a long time - though I don’t know if Britain has approved vaccination for age 5-11. If they haven’t, the situations aren’t really comparable. US is up from 68% at the start of November, so that suggest vaccination of kids is going well.
Edited by Galadriel on Jan 26th 2022 at 7:02:16 AM
I find myself wishing we could have vaccination measures as strict as Italy’s. And why is amnesty international whining?
Cringe but free
Washington Post op-ed: New studies show a booster dose is essential. Our policies should change accordingly.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a trio of studies on Friday that erase any doubt that boosters are needed for optimal protection against covid-19. When science changes, policy should adapt accordingly. In this case, the same national effort used to deploy initial vaccinations should now occur for boosters.
One study found that during the omicron surge a booster dose was 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalization, compared with just 57 percent for those who had received two shots and were at least 180 days, or about six months, out from the second dose. The effects are more pronounced when comparing emergency department and urgent-care visits. Receiving a booster was 82 percent effective at preventing these visits, versus 38 percent for vaccinated people without a booster.
Two other studies looked at the likelihood of contracting covid-19. Both found that rates of the coronavirus were lowest among people who were vaccinated and boosted. In one paper that analyzed more than 10 million infections, the unvaccinated had nearly fivefold the incidence of contracting the coronavirus when omicron was predominant, and those with just two doses were 1.7 times more likely to have covid-19 compared to those who had three. In another, the odds of developing symptomatic infection was 66 percent lower for those with three doses versus those with two.
This new research adds evidence that boosters are essential to controlling covid-19. They reduce the chance of infection and therefore the likelihood of transmitting to others. And although two doses still protect against hospitalization and death, effectiveness against severe illness is also enhanced with an additional dose.
Unfortunately, less than half of Americans eligible to receive boosters have done so. Even among adults 65 years and older, more than 36 percent have not been boosted. While three-quarters of the total population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, only one in four are vaccinated and boosted.
Months of mixed messaging are largely to blame. Top health officials, including President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony S. Fauci, and then-director of the National Institutes of Health Francis S. Collins, were correct when they announced in August that most Americans would need boosters. But subsequently, some at the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC repeatedly undercut their authority by questioning the need for boosters. The confusion only worsened when these agencies initially limited additional doses to a narrow subset of the public.
Now, even though boosters are widely available and Biden has been urging Americans to get them, there is a pervasive perception that a third dose is an optional “top up,” as opposed to an essential part of protection. This misconception is leading to unnecessary hospitalization, preventable deaths and greater spread of the coronavirus. Correcting it should be a top policy priority.
To start, it’s well past time for the FDA and CDC to change the definition of the coronavirus vaccine to three doses of the Pfizer and Moderna shots (Johnson & Johnson recipients should receive at least two doses). It’s not at all unusual for vaccines to require three or more shots. The hepatitis B vaccine, for example, is a three-dose series. Polio requires four doses. In time, it may be that the coronavirus vaccine requires four doses or that there could be additional inoculations that target specific variants. But for now, the evidence is clear that it is at least a three-dose vaccine.
Changing the official definition will compel institutions with vaccine mandates to require the additional dose. Already, some nursing homes, employers and universities are starting to require the booster. More should do so, especially since that extra shot reduces the likelihood of infection and therefore transmission to others. Municipalities requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining, gyms and other venues should also update their regulations. Formal guidance from federal health officials would expedite these efforts and provide a much-needed nudge to increase booster uptake.
In addition, federal health agencies should incentivize doctors’ offices and pharmacies to call their patients who have not yet been boosted. Providers should communicate as much urgency to boost the vaccinated as they have to vaccinate the unvaccinated. It’s also critical to reactivate grass roots networks of community organizations, local health departments and churches that were so instrumental in initial vaccine outreach.
To be sure, unvaccinated Americans remain the greatest public health concern. But convincing the approximately 13 million adults who have not yet had one shot to get one will be extremely difficult. It will be a much easier lift to get an additional dose to the nearly 90 million who already decided to get two shots and are booster eligible. Focusing our efforts to do so is our best hope to protect more Americans and expedite the end of the pandemic.
Speaking as someone who experienced post-covid symptoms, I don’t think the scale of the problem there is severe enough to call it a time bomb. Most post-covid patients recover without medical care, only a very small number require any kind of additional treatment.
They should have sent a poet.
The problem with vaccine passports requiring three doses is that we don’t know if a third dose is effective in the long term, or just for another six months or so. I don’t think people will be up for making a new shot every six months for the rest of your life a precondition for participation in society.
Also, it means that we once again focus on giving more and more and more shots to those who already have them, while denying vaccines to half the world. I’m sick of that. We want to deal with COVID? Focus on the half of the world without access. They matter more than the remaining 10% fringe in developed countries, too.
A procrastination in of itself
The data I monitor has the UK is still only vaccinating those 12 and older. Our rate there is 90.9% for first doses, 83.9% for second doses and 64.4% for third doses.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Okay, then Britain is similar to Canada in terms of the eligible population. Why no vaccination for kids? Are they having difficulty with supply of Pfizer?
Edited by Galadriel on Jan 26th 2022 at 12:24:26 PM
People are bad at statistics and risk assessment in general, and that is really showing with current vaccination efforts. The vaccine hesitant clearly struggle with weighing the risks of vaccination versus being unvaccinated, and with weighing risks to the personal against risks to the community.
That last bit probably also has something to do with living in a generally individualistic society. It takes a lot more effort these days to see one's impact on society, both nearby and at larger scales, especially when you live in a city.
Optimism is a duty.