Coronavirus

[jimm01]

I have children who are old enough to be vaccinated.

I am trying to get a handle on the statistics as far as actual COVID risk to them personally. I know the media trumpets any child that gets sick... it is the nature of the industry to fear monger, always. In NYC, the death rates for COVID 19 for ages 0 to 17 is 1.7 per 100,000, which is higher than influenza, although not dramatically as the older age groups are in comparison.

I know of at least three physicians who have not vaccinated their children. Their take is that the children do not need it. They are not in any real risk. They themselves are vaccinated (as am I and my SO).

My understanding of statistics tells me the risk reward is there for vaccinating. My SO has been dragging their feet and pointing to the MDs who do not agree that children are at real risk, no more than the flu, and that this was a rushed vaccine (I do not agree with the vaccine rush argument at all, simply too large a sample size of vaccinations lol. Didn't agree with it when I was vaccinated in January).

Was hoping to get expert feedback from the learned posters here.

Thanks!

I don't know how much this will help, but I believe this article covers what is know at this time.

Coronavirus Resource Center - Harvard Health

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is very contagious, and spreads quickly. Most people with COVID-19 have mild respiratory symptoms that feel much like a cold or flu. But it can be much more serious for older adults, people with...

www.health.harvard.edu

 

[NikolaACDC]

So it seems Surgis caused what was predicted/expected:

South Dakota Covid cases quintuple after Sturgis motorcycle rally

"Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold.

South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths, up from 644 cases in the 14 days preceding it. That makes it the state with the largest percent increase in Covid cases in the past two weeks.

The state's rate of Covid-19 infections per capita in the past two weeks is in the bottom half of the country, but it's the sharp and sudden increase in case counts that sets it apart.

Meade County, home to Sturgis, has counted 330 new cases in the last two weeks, up from the 20 reported in the two weeks before the rally, according to Johns Hopkins University's case count. The 1,550 percent increase comes after the motorcycle rally, which usually draws around half a million people, possibly had its biggest year ever, according to County Sheriff Ron Merwin."
________________

And quite a few attendees will have taken home a souvenir...

 

[madodel]

We continue in the wrong direction.

U.S. Covid Hospitalizations Jump Above 100,000 For The First Time Since January

 

[dhanson865]

I know someone will complain about this presentation of data but here it is anyway

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/pbzaeg

Source Data:
Covid cases from NY times : https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nytimes/covid-19-data/master/us-counties.csv
County level voting patterns from MIT election lab: County Presidential Election Returns 2000-2020 - U.S. Presidential Elections

 

[dhanson865]

my quote of the day:

"Avoid it like the plague" has to be retired as a phrase now, since many people see no need to take any steps to avoid a plague.

from AgoraiosBum

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/pbzaeg/_/hag8yu4

 

[EVNow]

I know someone will complain about this presentation of data but here it is anyway

What I don't like about such analysis is there is no control - at all. They should do a multi-variant analysis - including voting patters and see what factors best describe facts.

 

[TespaceX]

California Assembly members not vaccinated against COVID-19 should be suspended, lawmaker says
I could get behind this idea.

If the law punishes misbehaving, and even accidental, actions that lead to another individual’s pain and suffering whether from car accident or falling on the sidewalk, people who become seriously infected with COVID should seriously have the right to go after the index case if found through contact tracing. Maybe people who are against masks and vaccines would change their stance then.

 

[Jeff N]

More about the aerosol transmission of respiratory viruses including SARS-Cov-2.

Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses

A Review discusses the scientific basis of and factors controlling airborne transmission of respiratory viruses including coronavirus.

t.co

Context:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1430967286244970502

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

We continue in the wrong direction.

U.S. Covid Hospitalizations Jump Above 100,000 For The First Time Since January

Brutal. Clearly my optimism from June/July was misplaced! It just doesn't seem that government officials have the will to do the work anymore. People listen to their local officials.

A lot of the worst states aren't showing any signs of a sudden decline...it's like the cases are limited by testing capacity, etc. No evidence of NPIs being used in an effective manner.

I'd like to think that the continued high cases just mean a lot of children with the disease, but the high hospitalization numbers show that's not really the case.

I guess we hope the peak is this week or early next week and then finally we will see hospitalizations decline.

Meanwhile the number of people getting vaccinated continues to decline (under 500k per day). I wonder if that will take an even bigger hit with boosters starting up. Hopefully at some point the CDC starts tracking booster doses separately - right now the info appears to be there but you have to subtract the "first dose" and the "fully vaccinated" from the "total shots administered" - and even that isn't right with J&J out there still.

 

[eevee-fan]

'I think we already broke': Mississippi's nurses are resigning to protect themselves from Covid-19 burnout | CNN

Earlier this month, Mississippi ICU nurse Nichole Atherton resigned, worn down by the stress, young patients and preventable deaths that have overwhelmed the state's hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

www.cnn.com

If enough nurses go on strike, we may start to see more people getting their vaccines.

 

[wdolson]

'I think we already broke': Mississippi's nurses are resigning to protect themselves from Covid-19 burnout | CNN

Earlier this month, Mississippi ICU nurse Nichole Atherton resigned, worn down by the stress, young patients and preventable deaths that have overwhelmed the state's hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

www.cnn.com

If enough nurses go on strike, we may start to see more people getting their vaccines.

I doubt it. The bulk of the hold outs now are people who believe various QAnon conspiracies (the virus is fake, the vaccines are for mind control, etc.) with a cadre of teens and 20 somethings who think they are invincible added in. Most of these people probably aren't aware that nurses are quitting or going on strike. And most probably wouldn't care if they found out because they think they are invincible.

A friend who lives in Alabama and drives a delivery truck for Walmart said one of the drivers he works with just died of COVID. The driver thought he could keep COVID away by just praying more.

 

[jerry33]

I doubt it. The bulk of the hold outs now are people who believe various QAnon conspiracies (the virus is fake, the vaccines are for mind control, etc.) with a cadre of teens and 20 somethings who think they are invincible added in. Most of these people probably aren't aware that nurses are quitting or going on strike. And most probably wouldn't care if they found out because they think they are invincible.

A friend who lives in Alabama and drives a delivery truck for Walmart said one of the drivers he works with just died of COVID. The driver thought he could keep COVID away by just praying more.

Fantasy is a big problem when applied to real life.

 

[shinytop]

Maybe the answer to his prayers was the ability to get the vaccine.

 

[Doggydogworld]

Maybe the answer to his prayers was the ability to get the vaccine.

Man praying to God: "I'm losing faith. Every day I pray to win the lottery, but you haven't delivered."
God: "At least buy a ticket!"

 

[madodel]

Fantasy is a big problem when applied to real life.

You don't believe in magical thinking to cure all travails, evils and assorted communicable diseases?

 

[madodel]

Maybe the answer to his prayers was the ability to get the vaccine.

I think he just left out the self-flagellation.

 

[Jeff N]

Who could have known?

South Dakota Covid cases quintuple after Sturgis motorcycle rally

Meade County, home to Sturgis, has had a more than 1,500 percent increase in cases in the past 14 days.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[NikolaACDC]

These Governors Push Experimental Antibody Therapy — But Shun Vaccine and Mask Mandates

"Since mid-July, delivery of the antibody cocktail made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has soared from 25,000 doses to 125,000 doses per week, with about half shipped to four states: Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama...
...
“It’s a backwards strategy,” said Ramers. “It’s so much better to prevent a disease than to use an expensive, cumbersome and difficult-to-use therapy. It does not make any medical sense to lean into monoclonals to the detriment of vaccines. It’s like playing defense with no offense.”

The cost of Regeneron infusions: about $1,250 a dose. For now, the federal government is covering the cost.

The federal government is also covering the costs of covid vaccination, at about $20 a dose."
...
At Memorial Hospital Pembroke in South Florida, Chief Nursing Officer David Starnes has overseen treatment of more than 2,000 patients with antibody cocktails since December. At least 90% of the patients have been unvaccinated — and the numbers keep climbing.

“What’s amazing to me is that a vaccine we’ve been working on for 10 years, they are deathly afraid of,” Starnes said. “But this highly experimental cocktail? They’re willing to run in there the minute that they’re sick to get this infused into their bodies.”
_____________________

It boggles the mind...

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Tough times out there:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1431127407122128898

Undeterred though:

Hundreds Of Texans Are Ingesting Livestock Dewormer To Prevent COVID-19 — Against FDA Advice

The Texas Poison Center has received 260 calls with ivermectin poisoning. Ivermectin is a livestock dewormer, and people are using it to prevent or treat a coronavirus infection.

www.tpr.org

NFL should have an easier time this season, hopefully:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1431004968186781698

Looks like 7x reduction in risk, ~85% efficacy, which is starting to sound like a pretty common number with delta - and given the amount of testing likely done, captures some asymptomatic infections as well. Vaccine holding up well, especially in healthy people. (These are best case numbers in a generally healthy population - but that's a relevant statistic for a lot of people.).

Presumably they'll do boosters soon, too.

 

[madodel]

Presumably they'll do boosters soon, too.

Is it advisable for a booster after your first dose of ivermectin? Or does that depend on whether you go with the large dog dose or go for the sheep/horse/cow dose?