Covid- Thank you, Next! Get out of our lives.

[DireWolfSpirit]

I'm so ready to move on.

When we return to work Tuesday, the mask mandate will be over for those of us that have our shots. For my workmates that aren't innoculafed they will still be under masking requirements.

This should hold up about 2 weeks I imagine. At which point our workforce will be in full revolt or people will succumb to the hot weather and say screw it , give me the shot and freedom from this muggy thing on my face.

Sucks to be them, they had the opportunity to be vaccinated right here in our facilities, I have no empathy for them, they can sweat all summer for all I care. Thats the price for their paranoia.

[Luzifer's right hand]

Well sweating under the mask might be the least of their problems if there is another wave among the unvaccinated. 

[Padraig]

 

12 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

2nd dose seem fully safe if you didn't get a clot the 1st time

Unfortunately, there was updated guidance on that.  You are a lot less likely to get this blood disorder on a second shot but originally it was hoped to be practically 0.

Quote

Based on the latest case reports from Canada and other countries, the risk of developing VITT after a first dose ranges from one in 26,000 to one in 127,000.

“The data from the U.K. suggests that the risk is far lower with the second dose than with the first – that it might be in the range of one in 600,000,” says Dr. Sholzberg.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-should-i-get-my-second-astrazeneca-shot-or-wait-for-another-type-of/

Interestingly, the EMA has only reported 1 such case with J&J so far (out of 2m doses).  But admittedly, this may be due to the people that it is been used on.

The Financial Times has a longer article on it but nothing groundbreaking.

[Clueless Northman]

5 minutes ago, Padraig said:

Unfortunately, there was updated guidance on that.  You are a lot less likely to get this blood disorder on a second shot but originally it was hoped to be practically 0.

Damn, that's annoying to say the least.

 

4 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

Well sweating under the mask might be the least of their problems if there is another wave among the unvaccinated. 

Hopefully for them, I will be wrong, but I expect at least 2/3 of the unvaccinated to get covid before next winter is over, because obviously all restrictions will be lifted (unless a nasty variant escapes vaccines) and only conscious safety measures on their part (like wearing masks) will protect them.

[JoannaL]

38 minutes ago, Clueless Northman said:

 

Hopefully for them, I will be wrong, but I expect at least 2/3 of the unvaccinated to get covid before next winter is over, because obviously all restrictions will be lifted (unless a nasty variant escapes vaccines) and only conscious safety measures on their part (like wearing masks) will protect them.

Yes this will be happening, and its a good thing, afterwards we have herd immunity...

[Zorral]

 @Padraic -- just wanna say thank you for all you've done to keep us up-to-date on the constantly shifting medical and molecular information from so many sources.  You are a tremendous help and resource for those of us here.  Others here, too, have been and continue to do so much to help people like me who are more technically challenged to stay in informed.  You all are very much appreciated.

And now for more bad news regarding non-vaccinated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/29/vietnam-hybrid-variant-covid-virus/

"Vietnam detects highly contagious new coronavirus variant as infections surge
The new variant is a mix of the coronavirus strains first detected in the United Kingdom and India, the country’s health minister said"

W/o vaccination this is inevitable.  Bodes badly for the USA. 

 

Quote

 

Vietnam’s Health Ministry announced Saturday that it had detected a highly transmissible new variant of the coronavirus that has helped fuel a recent wave of covid-19 infections in the country.

Genetic sequencing indicated that the new variant was a mix of the coronavirus strains first detected in the United Kingdom and India, said Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long, according to the VnExpress newspaper.

The minister said that the new variant was particularly contagious via air and that viral cultures have revealed that it replicates extremely quickly, the newspaper reported.

“The new variant is very dangerous,” Long said in a statement.

 

 

[Clueless Northman]

Still, I'd say there's a silver lining to this new variant: if it's faster, then the presymptomatic phase should be quicker, and people will be obviously infected faster, so detection will be hastened and presymptomatic spread should be reduced. In the long run, I don't think this will help this variant to prosper. (or I might be totally wrong on how it works, of course, which is probable)

 

Another thought I had recently: It is known that vaccines don't offer 100% protection, as in some people won't be immunized, or not protected as strongly as most. 5-10% of those with Moderna or Pfizer, more with others, iirc.

It's also clear some people have an obvious immune reaction to the vaccine - sore arm, chills, fever, headache, whatever else. 
Is it wrong to assume that anyone who got a clear if not strong reaction will actually be immune, because we have concrete proof of the body reacting against the nasty invaders? Specially if reaction to 2nd dose is clear and stronger than to 1st dose, hinting that the body acknowledges the threat and is pissed off? Or am I totally off course once again?

 

[DaveSumm]

I don’t know universal it is, but got my first jab in the UK and damn it if volunteering to give vaccines doesn’t just draw out the absolute nicest people there are. Everyone was just so sweet and lovely, there was like three times as many people as they needed so they’d posted someone every two steps to make sure you were still going the right way. Person by the road pointing out the turn, person at every slight bend in the car park to point it out. Really life affirming just being there, let alone the reason for it.

[ljkeane]

Yeah, speaking to some of them while I was waiting I think in general they feel pretty good about doing something really worth while so that probably engenders a positive attitude.

[Zorral]

14 minutes ago, DaveSumm said:

I don’t know universal it is, but got my first jab in the UK and damn it if volunteering to give vaccines doesn’t just draw out the absolute nicest people there are. Everyone was just so sweet and lovely, there was like three times as many people as they needed so they’d posted someone every two steps to make sure you were still going the right way. Person by the road pointing out the turn, person at every slight bend in the car park to point it out. Really life affirming just being there, let alone the reason for it.

It was like that too, where I got my two Moderna jabs.  Very different from the Duane Reade, where Partner got the two Pfizer shots.  Not that this difference had anything to do with the vaccines, only with the sorts of venues where we got them -- one was a center specifically for vaccination, set-up to handle very high numbers, and the other was a pharmacy, within a drugstore chain.

[Padraig]

7 hours ago, Zorral said:

 @Padraic -- just wanna say thank you for all you've done to keep us up-to-date on the constantly shifting medical and molecular information from so many sources.  You are a tremendous help and resource for those of us here. 

Hah.  Thanks!  But while I have written my fair share, there have been far more knowledgeable posters on this topic than me!

Thanks for the Vietnamese angle also!  Although, thanks is probably not the right word!

[Kalbear]

I'm going to be wearing a mask every day I go to work because getting a cold FUCKING SUCKS YALL

[Wall Flower]

13 hours ago, Padraig said:

 

Unfortunately, there was updated guidance on that.  You are a lot less likely to get this blood disorder on a second shot but originally it was hoped to be practically 0.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-should-i-get-my-second-astrazeneca-shot-or-wait-for-another-type-of/

Interestingly, the EMA has only reported 1 such case with J&J so far (out of 2m doses).  But admittedly, this may be due to the people that it is been used on.

The Financial Times has a longer article on it but nothing groundbreaking.

As Zorral said, thanks for keeping us up to date on this. I'm booked in for my first shot of Astra Zeneca next week as it's the only one available to me in my age group in Australia. It would be a lie to say I don't have some concerns, particularly the 26 day wait to see if clots develop and the fact that I won't be fully vaccinated until the end of winter here. I'd already booked in but the fact that we have an outbreak of the Indian variant in Melbourne has strengthened my resolve a bit (I don't live there but have close family who do).

In Australia, the current odds of developing clots from the first dose are estimated at 1/62,000. The good news is that they seem to be getting better at early detection and treatment so that we have had one death from 27 confirmed cases - a 48 year old woman with underlying health issues.

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, Wall Flower said:

I'm booked in for my first shot of Astra Zeneca next week as it's the only one available to me in my age group in Australia. It would be a lie to say I don't have some concerns, particularly the 26 day wait to see if clots develop and the fact that I won't be fully vaccinated until the end of winter here.

Which is why I'm outraged at the media here in the USA blathering on we're at the end of the pandemic (among many other reasons).  We are not.  It's a PANDEMIC for etc. godessas's sake!  As long as it rolls everywhere nowhere is safe, no matter what we idiots may fantasize.  O gee, we're amurkins, we don't suffer like the rest of the benighted world does coz we're so gddmed special.  We had months of inconvenience, followed by terrific vaccinations, which an enormous number of USA won't get -- we're special and safe and IT won't come here, and then it did but it wasn't our fault, and still, it's all over and besides that it never happened.

Give me a frackin' break.

[Fragile Bird]

Well, 135,000 people will be allowed to attend each day of the Indy 500 weekend, so it should be interesting to see what happens in two weeks. And I’ve been watching the PGA golf tournament happening this weekend in Texas, and the crowds are not masked. Both events are outdoor events, so...it should be ok? 
 

Indiana and Texas are number 37 and 38 on the list of fully vaccinated states, both at about 35%.

[JoannaL]

18 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

It's also clear some people have an obvious immune reaction to the vaccine - sore arm, chills, fever, headache, whatever else. 
Is it wrong to assume that anyone who got a clear if not strong reaction will actually be immune, because we have concrete proof of the body reacting against the nasty invaders? Specially if reaction to 2nd dose is clear and stronger than to 1st dose, hinting that the body acknowledges the threat and is pissed off? Or am I totally off course once again?

 

I know that some part of the side effects can be to adjuvants (other helper materials which are in the vaccination mix) and not only to the actual vaccine. So I wouldnt be sure.

[rotting sea cow]

12 hours ago, Kalebear said:

I'm going to be wearing a mask every day I go to work because getting a cold FUCKING SUCKS YALL

It sucks but it's harmless for most and help to keep your defenses in alert. There have been a lot of articles speculating about cross-reactive antibodies between endemic HCoV and SARS-COV-2, which may explain the different observed course of disease. E.g.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23074-3

But even rhinovirus, the most common cause of the cold, might be very helpful, by stopping replication of SARS-COV-2

https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiab147/6179975

Since people haven't got sick much during last year, there is some fear that next flu session might be bad, because the immune system might overreact to the virus. Besides, scientists might be having a hard time figuring out which strains will dominate next session.

 

 

 

 

 

[Padraig]

12 hours ago, Wall Flower said:

In Australia, the current odds of developing clots from the first dose are estimated at 1/62,000. The good news is that they seem to be getting better at early detection and treatment so that we have had one death from 27 confirmed cases - a 48 year old woman with underlying health issues.

Yes.  The EMA has said this for Europe also.  The fatality rate is falling.  Awareness is bound to be very important.  The best of luck with it!

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/astrazeneca-blood-clot-risk-still-100000-to-one-but-fatality-rate-has-fallen-says-eu-watchdog-40481248.html

I see ourworldindata is reporting that the US now has 49.98% of its total population vaccinated with one dose.  A good milestone to break today.

But because we can't have good news.  There are still countries with high proportions of their population vaccinated that are having issues.  I wouldn't want to suggest that only one reason is to blame though.  And Israel (the poster child for vaccination) is not having any issues.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/05/29/some-countries-with-the-highest-vaccination-rates-are-facing-a-surge-in-covid-deaths-and-infectionsexperts-say-complacency-is-partly-to-blame/?sh=1dc508cc4457

While cases are continuing to fall in the US, there has been a spike in deaths.  So much so that the EU fatality rate has now dropped below the US one for the first time in a couple of months.  WIth vaccinations, a declining case rate but an increasing fatality rate is surprising.  It may be just a blip though.  The trend in the UK isn't good either but their overall figures remain very low, so it may be ok.

Despite everything, trends are still way better than they were.  The warmer weather may be helping also.

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, Padraig said:

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/05/29/some-countries-with-the-highest-vaccination-rates-are-facing-a-surge-in-covid-deaths-and-infectionsexperts-say-complacency-is-partly-to-blame/?sh=1dc508cc4457

While cases are continuing to fall in the US, there has been a spike in deaths.  So much so that the EU fatality rate has now dropped below the US one for the first time in a couple of months.  WIth vaccinations, a declining case rate but an increasing fatality rate is surprising.  It may be just a blip though.  The trend in the UK isn't good either but their overall figures remain very low, so it may be ok.

Despite everything, trends are still way better than they were.  The warmer weather may be helping also.

Go back and look at Zorral’s post about the infection, hospitalization, ICU and death rates among the unvaccinated. Those numbers have not fallen. The US numbers look good because of the number of vaccinations, but things are bad among the unvaccinated.

[Zorral]

This Covid 19 pandemic is so far from over.

"Latin Americans Head to U.S. for Covid Shots
Frustrated with the lagging pace of vaccinations at home, well-off Latin Americans have been flying north for a shot"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/world/americas/latin-america-vaccine-tourism.html?

Quote

 

....The access has proved a bonanza for the privileged in countries where the virus continues to take a brutal toll — even if many, including those who are benefiting, struggle with the fact that vaccine tourism exacerbates the inequality that has worsened the pandemic’s toll.

Sean Simons, a spokesman for the ONE Campaign, which works to eradicate disease and poverty, said vaccine travel could have serious unintended consequences, and urged nations with vaccine surpluses to funnel them instead through a World Health Organization vaccine distribution system known as Covax.

“Millionaires and billionaires traveling across continents or oceans to get a vaccine, usually twice, means greater exposure, higher likelihood of variants spreading and access only for the most elite,” he said.

The Biden administration said this month that it would give 80 million vaccine doses by the end of June to countries that are scrambling to vaccinate their people....

....Prominent politicians in Latin America have been among those who have flown to the United States for a shot....

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A new vaccine available soon?  The more vaccines available the better!

"Early analysis suggests that another mRNA vaccine is safe, but its effectiveness isn’t yet known."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/science/curevac-vaccine-coronavirus-results.html?

Quote

 

The German company CureVac said on Friday that its Covid-19 vaccine had passed its first interim analysis, but that it was not yet ready to share data on how well it protects against infection. The shot could be cheaper and more accessible to low-income countries that lack vaccines.

The company said that an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board found no safety concerns. But the board did not share any efficacy data, suggesting that it’s not yet clear just how much protection the vaccine provides.

“The trial will continue to collect sufficient data in order to conduct statistically significant efficacy analysis,” the company said in its statement.

The CureVac vaccine is based on mRNA technology, like the ones developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. Those vaccines are in use in the United States and the European Union and have proved to be highly effective, boosting hopes that CureVac’s might provide similarly strong protection against Covid-19....

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gun sales continue to climb. USA! Yay!  We're  shootin' this pandemic effer to death.  That shows em USA gets 'er  done!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/us/gun-purchases-ownership-pandemic.html?

Quote

 

....Not only were people who already had guns buying more, but people who had never owned one were buying them too. New preliminary data from Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center show that about a fifth of all Americans who bought guns last year were first-time gun owners. And the data, which has not been previously released, showed that new owners were less likely than usual to be male and white. Half were women, a fifth were Black and a fifth were Hispanic.

In all, the data found that 39 percent of American households own guns. That is up from 32 percent in 2016, according to the General Social Survey, a public opinion poll conducted by a research center at the University of Chicago....

....Many gun store workers reported that last year set records for sales and also that they noticed different types of buyers walking in the door. Thomas Harris, a former law enforcement officer who works at the gun counter at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Roanoke, Va., said that around March last year, the customers he would speak with began to include more white-collar workers, such as people from insurance firms and software companies. He said many of the buyers were not conservative and most had never handled a gun.

“Outside of seeing something on TV or in a movie, they knew nothing about them,” he said, adding that they did not know how to load a gun or what a caliber was. He said many of these apparent first-time buyers purchased more expensive guns, in the range of $400 or more. The purpose, he said, was not to carry the gun around in public, but to keep it at home....