BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[China]

 

This latest covid variant could be the best yet at evading immunity

 

A highly mutated form of the coronavirus that threatens to be the most adept yet at slipping past the body's immune defenses is capturing the attention of virologists and health officials.

 

While only about a dozen cases of the new BA.2.86 variant have been reported worldwide - including three in the United States - experts say this variant requires intense monitoring and vigilance that many of its predecessors did not. That's because it has even greater potential to escape the antibodies that protect people from getting sick, even if you've recently been infected or vaccinated.

 

The latest variant does not appear to make people sicker than earlier iterations of the virus; antiviral treatments should still work against it and tests should still detect it, according to a risk assessment published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's too soon to know whether the updated booster formula expected to come out next month that targets a different subvariant would be effective against this highly mutated one.

 

If this feels like déjà vu, it should.

 

After igniting a global explosion of cases in the winter of 2021-2022, the highly contagious omicron variant spawned a slew of immune-evading descendants. Most fade into irrelevance. Others, such as the XBB lineage accounting for most U.S. cases this year, outcompete the rest with their transmissibility and ability to infect - and reinfect. Nearly every announcement of a new variant came with reassurance from public health officials that it did not cause more severe illness.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

It seems like everyone has Covid-19. Here’s why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests

 

Covid-19 certainly didn’t take a vacation this summer. Virus levels in the US have been on the rise for weeks, but it’s hard to know exactly how widely it’s spreading.

 

Federal data suggests that the current increases have stayed far below earlier peaks and notable surges. But judging by word of mouth among family, friends and coworkers, it can seem like everyone knows someone who’s sick with Covid-19 right now.

 

“We have several folks down with Covid, unfortunately,” one health-focused nonprofit told CNN when seeking comment for this story.

 

Rates of severe disease may be staying at relatively low levels, but experts agree that there are probably more infections than the current surveillance systems can capture.

 

“There is more transmission out there than what the surveillance data indicates,” said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. “And we should be paying attention to it, because we are starting to see an increase.”

 

From 2020 to 2022, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation produced regular estimates of Covid-19 case rates and projections for trends. But the research institute paused that modeling in December.

 

All of the measures that factored into the model had stopped being reported or had changed in some way, said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences and chief strategy officer of population health at the University of Washington.

 

Mokdad declined to quantify an estimate for current case counts, but he said he’s been getting lots of calls and questions about Covid-19 recently — similar to what he experienced around the end of last year. In mid-December, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was reporting about 500,000 cases a week. And IHME estimates from that time suggest that the US was in one of the worst waves of the pandemic, second only to the Omicron surge.

 

There were about 15,000 new hospital admissions for Covid-19 in the week ending August 19, according to CDC data — less than half of what the numbers were at this time last year and lower than they were for about 80% of the pandemic.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[Thinking Skins]

So I'm about to read this study by the Harvard Medical Review (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-exercise-help-protect-against-severe-covid-19-202106092475), asking the question if exercise prevents COVID. And I'm like what am I missing here. People space out to exercise. Spacing out prevents COVID. Exercise prevents COVID. Hell, break a sweat or not I don't care. 

 

I'm thinking about the concept of a crowded gym now and that may change my perspective. Hmm. Maybe I should leave the original question alone and say outdoor exercise prevents COVID. 

 

 

[88Comrade2000]

Jill Biden has covid. Joe tested negative.

[China]

Huntington Beach bans mask and COVID vaccine mandates

 

Huntington Beach voted to ban mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the city on Wednesday as cases continue rising across the state.

 

Council members approved the ban 4-3 following an hours-long meeting that began on Tuesday night.

 

The motion introduced by Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark was met with both supporters and detractors during the hearing, with at least one attendee being removed after yelling at Van Der Mark.

 

After “declaring the city to be a no-mask, no-vaccine mandate city,” Van Der Mark mentioned an exception to the order would apply to those who have tested positive for COVID. Those individuals would still be required to wear masks in certain settings. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Captain Wiggles]

Tripledemic. 😒

[China]

Right-wing rag more upset by crying toddler than 1 million dead

 

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, and there have been well over 6 million hospitalizations. But according to The Federalist, “One of the most disturbing images of the Covid-19 pandemic was when a teacher tried repeatedly to force a mask on a crying toddler, despite his visible distress.”

 

First off, I invite you to watch that video. That kid was annoyed and he was not having it, but he was not hysterical or unduly distressed. If you spend time around toddlers, you will find that things they get at least that visibly distressed about include having their food cut up before it is served to them, not having their food cut up before it is served to them, and not being allowed to run into traffic. “Ridiculous things that upset toddlers” is an entire genre of viral humor content.

 

Click on the link for the full story

[Captain Wiggles]

That kid should be the MAGA mascot. 🤣

 

[Fan since a Fetus]

Poor kid, they’re stealing his oxygen. If they just let him breathe he could be their next president! Same mentality and all and the kid is not currently being indicted. 

 

Also, probably really likes ketchup and happy meals. Let’s not overlook the important details of staying physically and mentally fit for a grueling presidential job

 

 The only problem is age , but that doesn’t matter in states like Tennessee and WV. They like them young.

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

A blood test for long Covid is possible, a study suggests

 

More than three years into the pandemic, the millions of people who have suffered from long Covid finally have scientific proof that their condition is real.

 

Scientists have found clear differences in the blood of people with long Covid — a key first step in the development of a test to diagnose the illness.

 

The findings, published Monday in the journal Nature, also offer clues into what could be causing the elusive condition that has perplexed doctors worldwide and left millions with ongoing fatigue, trouble with memory and other debilitating symptoms.

 

The research is among the first to prove that "long Covid is, in fact, a biological illness," said David Putrino, principal investigator of the new study and a professor of rehabilitation and human performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

 

Dr. Marc Sala, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Covid-19 Center in Chicago, called the findings "important." He was not involved with the new research.

 

"This will need to be investigated with more research, but at least it's something because, quite frankly, right now we don't have any blood tests" either to diagnose long Covid or help doctors understand why it's occurring, he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Florida man, sons sentenced to years in prison after being convicted of selling bleach as fake COVID-19 cure

 

Three months after a Florida man and his three sons were convicted of selling toxic industrial bleach as a fake COVID-19 cure through their online church, a federal judge in Miami sentenced them to serve prison time.

 

Jonathan Grenon, 37, and Jordan Grenon, 29, were sentenced on Friday to 151 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug, and for contempt of court, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Florida. Mark Grenon, 66, and Joseph Grenon, 36, were sentenced to 60 months in prison, the statutory maximm for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug. 

 

All four had been found guilty by a federal judge this summer after a two-day trial where the Grenons represented themselves, according to The Miami Herald. Mark Grenon is the father of Jonathan, Jordan and Joseph Grenon.

 

Prosecutors called the Grenons "con men" and "snake-oil salesmen" and said the family's Genesis II Church of Health and Healing sold $1 million worth of their so-called Miracle Mineral Solution, distributing it to tens of thousands of people nationwide. In videos, the solution was sold as a cure for 95% of known diseases, including COVID-19, Alzheimer's, autism, brain cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis, prosecutors said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

DeSantis administration settles lawsuit, will disclose COVID data and pay attorneys fees

 

After two years of denying that detailed COVID-19 data relating to 2021 infections and vaccines existed, and then being forced by a court to turn it over, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health have agreed to a settlement that will require the state to disclose coronavirus data on its web site and pay attorneys fees for attempting to circumvent state public records law.

 

The settlement, announced Monday by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit public records watchdog which sued the state on behalf of former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, requires the department to publish detailed COVID-19 data on the Florida Department of Health website and pay $152,250 in legal fees to attorneys representing FLCGA and Smith.

 

“The department lied about the existence of these public records in court and did everything to restrict information and downplay the threat of COVID even while the Delta variant ripped through Florida — a decision that cost many lives,” Smith, an Orlando Democrat, said in a statement.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LadySkinsFan]

Ordered and received my new batch of Covid tests. Waiting for my medical center to get the latest Covid vaccine in stock. 

 

I must also say that there's not much local news about the extent of infection with this latest strain. 

[Fan since a Fetus]

23 minutes ago, LadySkinsFan said:

Ordered and received my new batch of Covid tests. Waiting for my medical center to get the latest Covid vaccine in stock. 

 

I must also say that there's not much local news about the extent of infection with this latest strain. 

Same here. We got our shots at CVS. They run low though. Had a couple of cancellations before we got one.

[China]

COVID antiviral Paxlovid to see price increase following 400% vaccine hike

 

After raising the price of COVID-19 vaccines more than fourfold this year, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told investors Monday that the company will also likely hike the price of its lifesaving COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, raising further concern about access and health care costs.

 

The price of the drug is already $530 for a treatment course. That's what the US government paid for the drug in the emergency phase of the pandemic. But, as the drug moves from government distribution to the commercial market this year, the price is expected to increase. So far, it's unclear what the new price will be.

In a company investor call Monday, Bourla said only that the "pandemic price" of $530 is likely to be "lesser" than the commercial price and that negotiations are beginning.

 

One financial analyst who follows the company, Evercore ISI’s Umer Raffat, told CNN that the price could go up roughly three- to fivefold, to as much as $2,500 per course.

 

Whatever the price ends up being, it will likely mean a co-pay for those with commercial insurance, Bourla said. People with Medicare or Medicaid coverage or who are uninsured will still have access to the drug via government patient assistance programs.

 

Pfizer's combination antiviral drug (antivirals nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, sold together as Paxlovid) is intended to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in people most at risk of developing severe COVID-19. That includes older people, those with compromised immune systems, and the unvaccinated. Data from earlier this year suggested that it can also help protect against long-term COVID.

 

Still, several data sources have suggested that Paxlovid has already become underused in treatments recently due to a variety of possible reasons. Last week, Pfizer slashed its revenue projection for 2023 by $9 billion, from a range of $67 to $70 billion down to between $58–$61 billion. The decline was due to a $7 billion decrease in projected Paxlovid sales and a $2 billion decrease in COVID-19 vaccine sales.

 

In line with decreased Paxlovid sales, Pfizer also revealed that the US government will give back 7.9 million unused courses of Paxlovid to Pfizer in a "non-cash transaction." In exchange, the government will get credit for future purchases of Paxlovid for its federal programs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Captain Wiggles]

So Pfizer thinks raising prices will increase sales and make up for the $9 billion revenue loss? Geniuses. 🤣

[tshile]

Never mind. I read profits instead of revenue. 
 

Edited October 18, 2023 by tshile

[China]

San Francisco Bay Area's COVID death rate was among the lowest in the nation. Here's why

 

The San Francisco Bay Area fared better during the COVID-19 pandemic than many other largely populated areas, with a cumulative COVID-19 death rate among the lowest of the nation's most populous counties, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.

 

Of the nation's 88 counties with a population greater than 750,000 people, San Francisco and neighboring Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties had COVID death rates among the lowest in the country.

 

The nine-county region of the Bay Area reported 10,093 COVID-19 deaths through March, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University before it ended its comprehensive count. That translates to a cumulative rate of 130 deaths for every 100,000 residents. That's 37% of Los Angeles County's death rate of 354 deaths per 100,000 residents (the 27th-highest cumulative rate) and one-quarter of New York City's cumulative rate of 540 deaths for every 100,000 residents.

 

Each of New York City's five boroughs is technically its own county. If New York City were considered to be a single county, it would have the worst COVID-19 death rate among the nation's counties with more than 750,000 residents.

 

Other highly populated counties with death rates comparable to the Bay Area's include Honolulu County in Hawaii and Wake County in North Carolina, which is home to Raleigh, the state capital.

 

Even when the COVID death rates are adjusted for differences in the age distribution of the population, San Francisco and Santa Clara County — Northern California's most populous county — still had a relatively low rate compared with the country's two largest metropolitan areas.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

New holiday variant!

 

 

[China]

Already got my booster.

[China]

Hospitals may have to ration care if COVID and flu surge continues, CDC warns

 

Against a surge of respiratory illnesses, including flu, RSV and COVID-19, on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned hospitals might be forced to triage care if hospitalizations continue to rise. In some parts of the country, the CDC stated, pediatric hospitals are already nearly as full as they were this time last year. If these trends continue, the situation will likely strain emergency departments and hospitals.

 

“Strain on the healthcare system could mean that patients with other serious health conditions may face delays in receiving care,” the CDC warned, emphasizing that the “peak” of respiratory illness activity has yet to come. This comes one week after CDC director Mandy Cohen released a video about how to take precautions this winter, including masking, as the Pirola clan outpaces previously dominant COVID-19 variants.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[The Evil Genius]

All because most Americans are too lazy to mask and take proper precautions.