BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[PeterMP]

3 minutes ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

I said he knows as much about rapid antigen tests as anyone else not antibody tests.

 

Either way my point still stands.  He's got one paper doing mathematical modeling and appears to have no experience designing, making, or testing them.  And there are going to be people out there that have made a career out of designing, making, and testing them.

 

There's no way he's the world expert.

[Sticksboi05]

2 minutes ago, PeterMP said:

 

Either way my point still stands.  He's got one paper doing mathematical modeling and appears to have no experience designing, making, or testing them.  And there are going to be people out there that have made a career out of designing, making, and testing them.

 

There's no way he's the world expert.

 

I'm not calling him "the world expert" or that nobody else's opinion/experience matters, all I meant (and I am happy to accept my wording may have been too strong) was I personally value his opinion on them a lot 🤷‍♂️

Edited January 6, 2022 by Sticksboi05

[gbear]

All I know is my two older kids are in a school right now that had 108 positive tests yesterday (not the way I want my kids' school to make the news because that means 108 kids came to school with it and spread it until told to go get tested).  My other two are in 2 different elementary schools.  From talking with friends teaching in the schools, I know there are already enough teachers out that no subs are available.  I know the portion of my daughter's class where they teach preschoolers has already been canceled for the week due to covid cases. The mitigation plan to keep schools open is to combine classes.  Thus our normally full classes will have twice as many students being baby sat in the room (teaching a class of 30 is hard, but try doubling that in the same confined space). It's OK because we don't need a mask mandate and the kids don't wear them well anyway.  

 

So our family is a maximum exposure case.  I know I am waiting to switch meds for my MS because the initial dosage will drastically deplete my immune system because I want all hand on deck for my immune system for the next month.  I basically assume our family will all get it in the next month, and I am thankful we are all vaccinated with everyone over the age of 12 having had a booster.  I think the spread of this is going to happen, and I am just glad we made it through Christmas testing negative so we could see grandparents and our family can fly back home to the countries where they are currently living.  I just hope none of us need a hospital any time soon (for anything) because there seems to be no empty beds.

  

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by gbear

[TradeTheBeal!]

Welp, we lost Doug.

 

 

[China]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:39 PM, China said:

How Full Are Hospital I.C.U.s Near You?

 

About one in 4 U.S. hospitals with intensive care units, or 713 total hospitals, recently reported that at least 95 percent of their I.C.U. beds were full. In the week ending Dec. 30, an average of 77 percent of intensive care hospital beds were occupied nationwide, according to a dataset released weekly by the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

As the more transmissible, but apparently milder, Omicron variant becomes increasingly common, surges in cases may not translate as directly to strained hospitals, especially in highly vaccinated places. But if cases rise high enough, or enough people are vulnerable or unvaccinated, hospitals and I.C.U.s will fill up.

 

This week’s dataset may not yet capture the effect that holiday gatherings and travel have had on the number of U.S. residents who are very sick with Covid-19. For the last two weeks of 2021, the Transportation Security Administration said it screened an average of almost two million travelers per day — nearly twice as many as in 2020.

 

Because days pass between when a person becomes infected and requires hospitalization, and because lags in reporting may have been exacerbated by the holidays, the picture may become clearer with the dataset that the Health Department is expected to release Jan. 10.

 

See how the pandemic has affected recent hospital capacity in the map below, which shows data reported by individual hospitals. Health officials have said that the data should not discourage sick people from seeking care.

 

Click on the link for an interactive map

 

The ICU at Sibley Hospital in DC is at 166% of capacity.  

 

 

'No ICU beds left': Massachusetts hospitals are maxed out as COVID continues to surge

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

1 hour ago, TryTheBeal! said:

Welp, we lost Doug.

 

 

I hope his family can take comfort in knowing that he is in hell right now getting porked by Beelzebub.

[China]

COVID-19 Is Bringing Back One of the Oldest and Strangest Fake Cures

 

In late December, right-wing personality and relentless headline-chaser Candace Owens generated a minor wave of news when she exuberantly declared her love for colloidal silver, a very old faux-medical treatment making a strange—but unsurprising—comeback in the pandemic age. In a post highlighted by liberal activist and tech entrepreneur William LeGate and then reported on by the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer, Owens said she takes “a teaspoon a day” of colloidal silver, which is more than enough to cause the product’s best-known side effect: argyria, which can turn one’s skin a permanent shade of blue-grey.

 

PAUL KARASON TALKS EXCLUSIVELY WITH NBC NEWS' "TODAY" ABOUT TURNING PERMANENTLY BLUE AFTER USING COLLOIDAL SILVER ON JANUARY 7, 2008
 

Besides Owens, a host of personalities including Alex Jones and infamous televangelist Jim Bakker have promoted colloidal silver as a “treatment” for COVID-19, which it is absolutely not. FDA warning letters from the past two years also show that a host of companies, large and small, are also attempting to rebrand colloidal silver as a COVID cure-all. In all, it’s a useful demonstration of the ways in which COVID has allowed a variety of old snake oil cures to make a roaring comeback, frequently carried along by misinformation purveyors like Owens who may not have a clear idea of the long and addled history of what they’re promoting. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[tshile]

It’s a frustrating position I’m in as a relayer of information because everyone thinks I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. These aren’t even my opinions. I don’t know a god damned thing about any of it. I just happen to have connections with people that I personally think are incredibly intelligent, that are directly involved, that happen to (as far as I can tel) have a damn good track record to date on these types of things. But I hear the mocking. Cause, people mock me to my coworkers and I’m told. Or sometimes you can hear it because you’re within was shot. Most of the time you can see it in their face/eyes. I think people naturally push back against personal fear. They prefer to doubt the information that come to grips with it. But the hilarious part is my preference is that I be wrong and just sound crazy. Unfortunately I’m right too often (or the people I get info from, are, actually…)

 

Anyways. I’m gonna go over somethng probably posted multiple times from tweets and such. It’ll be lost on some random page. Cause. That’s what happens in 2+year long threads.  If you’re already familiar with MIS-C then just skip my post 😂 Otherwise, for the frequent fliers….

 

 

If you have kids or Nieces nephews or friends with kids, and they get covid, you need to be aware of MIS-C

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mis-c-in-kids-covid-19/symptoms-causes/syc-20502550

 

the short version is that while children may appear mostly asymptomatic or mild symptoms, within about 30 days there’s a chance they’ll develop that. And if they do, it is rare to die if you’re being treated, but untreated it’s incredibly deadly so the trick/goal is to be on the lookout for it and act when you see signs. Of which there are many. 
 

and as rare as it is. My buddy sent the group a request for thoughts and prayers (if that’s your thing) for his niece cause something g was wrong. Blood in urine, she was heading to the ED. I sent him that and damn if 40 minutes later the ED doc said the same thing and immediately shipped them to UVA Charlottesville and just a bit ago she tested positive for the first series of marker tests. Not a definitive diagnosis, but certainly trending the wrong direction. 
 

so. Be on the lookout for that with children. Make sure your friends know. It’s deadly if not caught and treated and monitored. 

[ExoDus84]

I'm on day 5 of a breakthrough case of the 'Rona. Full Pfizer vaccinated as of May last year, but did not get my booster. So far, intermittent low grade fever, Very mild cough, and the sniffles/congestion. Actually just lost my taste today, so I better eat all the vegetables I can while I can't taste them.

 

I've been good about washing my hands, and wearing a mask everywhere, but it seems like it's one of those things that slips by no matter how careful you are.

[skinsmarydu]

16 minutes ago, ExoDus84 said:

I'm on day 5 of a breakthrough case of the 'Rona. Full Pfizer vaccinated as of May last year, but did not get my booster. So far, intermittent low grade fever, Very mild cough, and the sniffles/congestion. Actually just lost my taste today, so I better eat all the vegetables I can while I can't taste them.

 

I've been good about washing my hands, and wearing a mask everywhere, but it seems like it's one of those things that slips by no matter how careful you are.

Good on the hand washing and masking, hope you're better soon. 

Carry on with the veggies.  They can't hurt.  

[TradeTheBeal!]

Cancelled on 24 hours notice.  2500 people already at the resort.  Woof.

 

 

[EmirOfShmo]

Yeah, it's getting bad everywhere. Aruba is now off-limits per CDC. 

 

CDC urges travelers to avoid Aruba due to a 'very high level of COVID-19'

 

The sunny shores of Aruba may have to wait. 

The Centers for Disease Control Prevention is urging Americans to "avoid travel to Aruba" due to a "very high level of COVID-19."

Its new "Level 4" ranking signifies more than 500 new COVID cases per 100,000 people in the population over the past 28 days.

"Because of the current situation in Aruba, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the CDC said in a Travel Health Notice posted Tuesday.

 

 

When we were there in April, 2021

 

 

https://www.aruba.com/forum/f46/january-6-2022-a-75521/

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by EmirOfShmo

[Cooked Crack]

Quote

The administration will launch a website allowing individuals to request the rapid tests, the people said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private planning sessions. Officials aim to begin shipping the kits by mid-January.

I hope they are prepared cause this sound like it's def going to crash.

[Sticksboi05]

 

Shipping the rapid tests out in one thing, they need to also educate people on their utility, and how best to use them so these 500 million aren't in vain. There's still tons of people who think they are there to replace PCR, or who will use them the day after an exposure needlessly. And that's not their fault because not enough has been done to explain how they work and what their primary goal is.

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

 

 

[Ball Security]

4 minutes ago, Califan007 said:

 

 

 

He’s faking.  But if he dies, he dies.

[The Evil Genius]

So.....🤔

 

 

[China]

Protection from prior infection significantly reduced against Omicron

 

Prior coronavirus infections appear to be much less protective against symptomatic Omicron reinfections than reinfection with other variants, according to a new study by Qatari researchers that has not yet been peer-reviewed.

 

Why it matters: If you're counting on your previous coronavirus infection to keep you from getting it again, don't.

 

The big picture: Initial studies have found that coronavirus vaccines — particularly without a booster shot — are much less effective against Omicron infections than other variants, although they appear to hold up well against severe disease.

 

This study suggests the same is true for people with prior infections, emphasizing the benefit of vaccines for this population.

By the numbers: The study found that prior infections were 90% effective against symptomatic reinfections for the Alpha variant, 92% effective for the Delta variant and only 56% effective for Omicron.

 

Effectiveness against hospitalization and death was 69% for Alpha, 100% for Delta and 88% for Omicron.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

[China]

Looks like the US soldiers are playing the part of Typhoid Mary in Japan:

 

COVID quasi-emergency imposed on 3 prefectures hosting U.S. bases

 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday three Japanese prefectures hit by surging COVID-19 cases will be placed under a quasi-state of emergency, in line with requests by their governors, who linked the recent sharp gains to U.S. military bases.

 

The quasi-emergency declarations for Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima will be effective from Sunday to Jan 31, allowing the prefectures to bolster anti-coronavirus measures and request that dining establishments shorten their business hours as health experts warn of Japan's sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The enforcement of the measures, the first under Kishida, who became prime minister in October, is designed to rein in rapidly spreading infections, driven partly by the Omicron variant, and prevent local health systems from being stretched too thin.

 

A government panel gave the go-ahead before Kishida's decision, just as the Okinawa government said the daily count of COVID-19 cases has hit a single-day record of 1,414, up from 981 the previous day.

 

"We need to keep in mind that a further, rapid acceleration in the spread of infections is on the horizon," health minister Shigeyuki Goto said at a press conference.

 

Japan had seen a clear downtrend in newly confirmed coronavirus cases as vaccinations progressed. But the daily count topped 5,000 for the first time since Sept. 17, with community spread of Omicron found in areas including Tokyo and Osaka.

 

The governors of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima believe sharp increases in COVID-19 cases in their prefectures are connected to the spread of Omicron at U.S. military bases.

 

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said there is "no doubt" that such facilities are one of the major factors, while Yamaguchi Gov Tsugumasa Muraoka cited results of genomic analyses of virus samples taken from U.S. base workers and residents.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

80% of Florida will have caught COVID-19 by end of omicron wave, UF report says

 

According to a new report from the University of Florida, most of the state’s population will become infected with coronavirus in the latest omicron wave.

 

UF biostatisticians have been studying the way that the omicron variant behaves. They say data shows that omicron is twice as infectious as delta and spreads quicker, too.

 

“So you combine those two things and you get a very fast, large epidemic,” said Ira Longini.

 

Longini is a UF professor and one of the researchers who worked on the report. So how large of an epidemic are they predicting? This large:

 

“Probably 70 to 80% of the state will either get infected in this wave or have been infected in a prior wave,” Longini said.

 

Researchers said the most recent wave is likely to cause many more infections in part because of the variant’s shorter incubation period compared to the Delta variant.

 

“If you get infected with omicron, you start infecting other people about two days after you’re infected,” said Longini.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Renegade7]

I got a situation. 

 

Friend of my wife from college came to visit, planned to stay a day or two before catching her flight out of the country. 

 

Problem was her results took so long too come back, she missed her flight.  And the country she's going to puts a time-frame on negative results.  So she basically has to time the viability of her test results with flights to the country she's trying to go to.

 

Gets tested again and has issues with the connecting flight she needed to get to said country because of all the cancelations everywhere.

 

Tests a third time planning to leave tomorrow morning...tests positive.

 

Now she's in the guest room trying to avoid all of us with her mask on.  She's a nurse going to school to be a doctor, she did what she could to avoid catching it, vaxed and boasted, and still caught it.

 

I had to tell her I'm not mad at her so she didn't go to sleep thinking that and to not feel like a prisoner in the guest room, but to avoid picking up my 11-month old daughter until she tests negative, as my daughter is the only one unvaxxed in the house.

 

I went out to get a rapid test at a urgent care clinic, was full capacity not accepting anyone new.  Their only location not full was half hour away, not accepting calls, and full by time I got there.

 

I'm frustrated that the plan for omicron seemed to be focused on testing and the only way I can a rapid test right now as I'm typing this is going to a hospital, which I've heard not to do because they are inundated with folks getting their ass kicked by the virus, not just testing positive. Clinic said they'd be open tomorrow, so I'll likely be in line, which is what i dont want knowing what I know, but not sure what else to do.

 

I dont have the heart to kick my wife's friend out, and logic says all she's going to do if I do is further the spread while she's shedding the virus.  But that basically makes it inevitable that me, my pregnant wife, and infant daughter will test positive as well.  

 

I jus got done praying, im gonna pray some more before the night is over.  Felt like I did when this thing started, I wasn't going to be able to avoid this virus forever.  People thinking they can are deluding themselves into a false sense of security.

 

I'm jus hoping we all stay at least asymptomatic and glad I did grocery shopping right before this happened.  

Edited January 8, 2022 by Renegade7

[TheGreatBuzz]

29 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

I got a situation. 

 

Friend of my wife from college came to visit, planned to stay a day or two before catching her flight out of the country.

Dear Penthouse…….

[bearrock]

1 hour ago, Renegade7 said:

I got a situation. 

 

Friend of my wife from college came to visit, planned to stay a day or two before catching her flight out of the country. 

 

Problem was her results took so long too come back, she missed her flight.  And the country she's going to puts a time-frame on negative results.  So she basically has to time the viability of her test results with flights to the country she's trying to go to.

 

Gets tested again and has issues with the connecting flight she needed to get to said country because of all the cancelations everywhere.

 

Tests a third time planning to leave tomorrow morning...tests positive.

 

Now she's in the guest room trying to avoid all of us with her mask on.  She's a nurse going to school to be a doctor, she did what she could to avoid catching it, vaxed and boasted, and still caught it.

 

I had to tell her I'm not mad at her so she didn't go to sleep thinking that and to not feel like a prisoner in the guest room, but to avoid picking up my 11-month old daughter until she tests negative, as my daughter is the only one unvaxxed in the house.

 

I went out to get a rapid test at a urgent care clinic, was full capacity not accepting anyone new.  Their only location not full was half hour away, not accepting calls, and full by time I got there.

 

I'm frustrated that the plan for omicron seemed to be focused on testing and the only way I can a rapid test right now as I'm typing this is going to a hospital, which I've heard not to do because they are inundated with folks getting their ass kicked by the virus, not just testing positive. Clinic said they'd be open tomorrow, so I'll likely be in line, which is what i dont want knowing what I know, but not sure what else to do.

 

I dont have the heart to kick my wife's friend out, and logic says all she's going to do if I do is further the spread while she's shedding the virus.  But that basically makes it inevitable that me, my pregnant wife, and infant daughter will test positive as well.  

 

I jus got done praying, im gonna pray some more before the night is over.  Felt like I did when this thing started, I wasn't going to be able to avoid this virus forever.  People thinking they can are deluding themselves into a false sense of security.

 

I'm jus hoping we all stay at least asymptomatic and glad I did grocery shopping right before this happened.  

 

I hope you and your family make it through safe and sound.  FWIW, mothers apparently pass on covid antibodies through breast milk (not that I'm saying that should change your family's routine one way or the other.  Just mentioning that in case that already fits your situation).