Coronavirus

[Tiger]

You need to use better sources of information than this guy. Why do you persist?

He has an agenda that includes misinforming you.

Thanks for the perspective, it is what I was hoping to get by posting.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Interesting data (though CO2 levels are not representative of risk if the air is filtered, you are trusting that filtering).

The small perturbations during flight are associated with plane (and cabin) elevation changes.

As has been said elsewhere, probably sitting at the gate & also taxiing are the more hazardous times.

 

[madodel]

Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden’s COVID and Influenza Vaccination

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Interesting thread about why Omicron is less virulent than Delta and a couple of the other early variants (it’s similar in virulence to the wild type/OG/ancestral COV2). It’s apparently NOT because of the different pathway used, meaning NOT because it does NOT use TMPRSS2 (common in lung cells - in fact Omicron seems to rely on this path - just not efficiently in lung cells!), which was the earlier hypothesis :

https://x.com/LongDesertTrain/status/1708301438642729378?s=20

 

[dhanson865]

from

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/16xugjc/_/k34nail

Given that this years Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, whose pioneering work helped create mRNA vaccines, I figured it would be a good time to share this chart from a while back. It shows estimated lived saved because of covid-vaccines (including non-mRNA vaccines).
The red shows actual (excess) deaths due to the pandemic (in thousands per day), while the blue shows the additional deaths that would have occurred if vaccines had not been administered. Both are estimates, the former by me in a separate project, the latter by a team of scientists who used them to estimate the lives saved by vaccines (“Global impact of the first year of covid-19 vaccination”, by O.J. Watson et al., The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022).00320-6/fulltext)
Tools used: R, Illustrator. All credit for design to my colleagues.
Full article here: Covid-19 vaccines saved an estimated 20m lives during their first year
(I cannot control the paywall, sorry - but you can register to read for free, and doing so would help me out as we would know people found this worthwhile.)
I sometimes post updates on X:https://twitter.com/Sondreus - also a way to reach me if needed.

 

[madodel]

I'm in Portugal for the past week. Violated my own rules. Didn't wear a mask on the plane (we booked business class and had no one sitting within eyesight of us.) also didn't wear one most of the time we were on tours except when indoors in crowds. Now have a decent case of bronchitis. Not anywhere near the worse case I've had, but the first time in over 3 years. Will test when we get home tomorrow just to see if it is COVID.

 

[DrGriz]

Promises of availability by end of the week were premature! At least for Moderna.

Anyway, I have my appointment rescheduled for 8:30AM Monday.

It's hard to compare Pfizer and Moderna responses. Moderna appears to have been tested in humans while Pfizer data shows mouse studies. Anyway I'll stick with Moderna I guess.

Looks like there is an enormous rush for these vaccines, for the first two days. Then lots of openings.

Slow rollout here. Our local pharmacy just last week started getting 4 doses a day (!) of Pfizer, and expects no Moderná until next month! Clinic has nothing!

 

[madodel]

I'm in Portugal for the past week. Violated my own rules. Didn't wear a mask on the plane (we booked business class and had no one sitting within eyesight of us.) also didn't wear one most of the time we were on tours except when indoors in crowds. Now have a decent case of bronchitis. Not anywhere near the worse case I've had, but the first time in over 3 years. Will test when we get home tomorrow just to see if it is COVID.

Home and just tested with a quick antigen test. It was positive after a couple minutes. So current COVID isn't all that bad. Like a nasty cold and sinus infection with some body ache and lots of coughing so far. Though my wife says there are some pretty sick people in her hospital with COVID. Will be using some of our tiny supply of Phenergan and codeine tonight to suppress the endless cough.

 

[DrGriz]

Home and just tested with a quick antigen test. It was positive after a couple minutes. So current COVID isn't all that bad. Like a nasty cold and sinus infection with some body ache and lots of coughing so far. Though my wife says there are some pretty sick people in her hospital with COVID. Will be using some of our tiny supply of Phenergan and codeine tonight to suppress the endless cough.

Hang in there!

 

[CatB]

Slow rollout here. Our local pharmacy just last week started getting 4 doses a day (!) of Pfizer, and expects no Moderná until next month! Clinic has

I finally got an appt for flu and Covid (Walgreen's website says Spikevax, but the data sheet they made me read did not, so crossing my fingers - I guess this underscores YLE's email on what a mess vax rollout is due to not having a DoD master logistician in charge), but I had to do it near my Mom's house (rural MD) because nothing available near my home.

 

[dhanson865]

I finally got an appt for flu and Covid (Walgreen's website says Spikevax, but the data sheet they made me read did not, so crossing my fingers - I guess this underscores YLE's email on what a mess vax rollout is due to not having a DoD master logistician in charge), but I had to do it near my Mom's house (rural MD) because nothing available near my home.

https://spikevax.com/consumer-guide

Spikevax is the brand name of the Moderna vaccine now.

But like you I saw mixed terminology throughout the search and appointment and vaccination process.

 

[madodel]

Anyone heard of covid causing cramps or spasms in fingers and legs? It's getting really annoying today. I don't see anything directly about it on a Google search but even typing n my keyboard is becoming difficult. I've had it happen on very rare occasion in the past but today it's frequent. My wife says I'm dehydrated and to take Magnesium (which I did today) and drink a lot of water.

 

[DrGriz]

Anyone heard of covid causing cramps or spasms in fingers and legs? It's getting really annoying today. I don't see anything directly about it on a Google search but even typing n my keyboard is becoming difficult. I've had it happen on very rare occasion in the past but today it's frequent. My wife says I'm dehydrated and to take Magnesium (which I did today) and drink a lot of water.

Don't recall having anyone complain about those cramps with a case of covid, but agree with your wife's advice. I get muscle cramps frequently enough, and it's most often when I haven't been hydrated well compared to activity.

 

[Jeff N]

NEW: The BBC debunks claims about excess deaths and Covid-19 mRNA vaccine made by YouTuber John Campbell.

More or Less - Vaccine claims, Alzheimer's treatment and Tim's Parkrun times - BBC Sounds

We debunk claims about excess deaths and the vaccine made by YouTuber John Campbell.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Dave EV]

Anyone going for the Novavax vaccine vs Pfizer or Moderna now that it's been approved?

Some people have been looking forward to it to mix in with previous doses of Moderna and Pfizer...

 

[madodel]

Anyone going for the Novavax vaccine vs Pfizer or Moderna now that it's been approved?

Some people have been looking forward to it to mix in with previous doses of Moderna and Pfizer...

Does it offer anything different than P or M? I've always had Moderna and my wife Pfizer. Basically she got what the hospital was giving out originally and stuck with it and I got what I could at the time as well and that's what they always gave as followups.Is Novavax mRNA?

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Anyone going for the Novavax vaccine vs Pfizer or Moderna now that it's been approved?

Some people have been looking forward to it to mix in with previous doses of Moderna and Pfizer...

It seems like it is perhaps better long term than the mRNA in terms of efficacy against symptomatic COVID. About 50%, against Omicron.

Seems like I should just get them all. I’ll wait a few months.

Estimated Effectiveness of a Primary Cycle of Protein Recombinant Vaccine NVX-CoV2373 Against COVID-19

This cohort study evaluates the estimated effectiveness of a primary vaccination cycle with NVX-CoV2373 against SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptomatic COVID-19 among adults in Italy.

jamanetwork.com

 

[madodel]

Who'd of thunk it? Masks work, at least for COVID. Wish I read this before going on my jaunt to Europe last week.

This MacArthur 'genius' knew the initial theory of COVID transmission was flawed

When people talk or cough, they emit those large, visible, wet droplets, but they also emit thousands of tiny particles that we can't see and these can also carry the virus. They stay suspended in the air, and they can float around for a while. The particles end up depositing on the inside of your nose or along your respiratory tract, get down into your lungs, and they cause infection.


The other way that transmission can occur, in theory, is through spray of large droplets. Those can travel maybe up to six feet. In some rare cases they can go farther, but they're going to fall to the ground within seconds. And if you keep your distance, then they will not land on you.


And the distinction is really important because it defines how we would prevent transmission. If the virus is being transmitted through inhalation of these tiny particles in the air, then we need really good filters or masks or ventilation to block these particles. If you tell everyone to maintain their distance of six feet, that's not going to work because those tiny particles can easily travel more than six feet, and you can breathe them in at a distance.

 

[DrGriz]

Who'd of thunk it? Masks work, at least for COVID. Wish I read this before going on my jaunt to Europe last week.

This MacArthur 'genius' knew the initial theory of COVID transmission was flawed

Yes, there was a firm belief in the droplets theory that didn't allow for aerosols too.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Who'd of thunk it? Masks work, at least for COVID.

Yeah.

I think it's pretty much universally accepted that N95 masks work extremely well for COVID. Kind of a done deal as far as the science goes at this point! I haven't heard anyone really say otherwise.

Just came back from a trip to Disneyland/Cal Adventure. Generally CO2 levels were low-ish - did not go much over 1000ppm on any ride, with predictable rises on enclosed rides (like Guardians). We generally tried to mask inside but not 100% coverage of course. No masking outside when in the throngs of people. (In crowds or lines outside, 600ppm was generally observed - getting to 400-500ppm really requires being away from people.)

We were pretty much the only ones masking - just saw a few people here and there - seeing masked workers was the most common.

If I end up with COVID in a day or two I figure it will be from an unmasked exposure, but I would also say that it demonstrates that avoiding COVID entirely by using masks is not practically possible since no one wears them 100% of the time. But that does not mean that masks are not extremely effective.

I still don't know anyone who's gotten COVID while wearing a mask (N95).