Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) (SARS-CoV-2) [2020]
- Thread starter RDGoodla
- Start date
Then again, I'm assuming hospitalizations and deaths in the older groups were always much higher than in younger groups so other factors which were causing declines, such as restrictions to limit/prevent gatherings, is impacting the older age groups faster, even without vaccinations?
Maybe I can sell itAre you trying to give your spot away
green.pixel
Veteran
And, encouragingly, there is a pre-print paper based on studies of the over-70s vaccinated in England whose results seem to indicate that a single dose of either the Pfizer or AZ vaccines offers a good level of protection even to the elderly:
https://khub.net/documents/13593956...c-b255-8e88-c2dc-88979fc2cc1b?t=1614617945615
Roughly a 60% reduction in symptomatic infection for both vaccines after a single dose and it may be that the AZ becomes more effective the longer after vaccination. A single dose of both vaccines showed reduction of 80% in hospitalisations and the data for the Pfizer showed a reduction of 85% in deaths. Too early to calculate a number for reductions in deaths for the AZ vaccine as not as many of the elderly had received the AZ vaccine early enough (most had received the Pfizer) and also the additional time required to seroconvert.
If this holds true, we're well on the way to beating down the worst of the pandemic as regards hospitalisations/deaths. The only proviso is that we don't know how long such protection will last and don't have the data to see how effective they are in older groups against the potential immune escape variants such as B1351 and P1. Both vaccines seemed to have similar efficacy against B117 as to earlier variants.
Hopefully, the vaccines will be able to prevent 'Long Covid' as well, though many of those infected are younger so won't be receiving a dose of vaccine for some months yet.
https://khub.net/documents/13593956...c-b255-8e88-c2dc-88979fc2cc1b?t=1614617945615
Roughly a 60% reduction in symptomatic infection for both vaccines after a single dose and it may be that the AZ becomes more effective the longer after vaccination. A single dose of both vaccines showed reduction of 80% in hospitalisations and the data for the Pfizer showed a reduction of 85% in deaths. Too early to calculate a number for reductions in deaths for the AZ vaccine as not as many of the elderly had received the AZ vaccine early enough (most had received the Pfizer) and also the additional time required to seroconvert.
If this holds true, we're well on the way to beating down the worst of the pandemic as regards hospitalisations/deaths. The only proviso is that we don't know how long such protection will last and don't have the data to see how effective they are in older groups against the potential immune escape variants such as B1351 and P1. Both vaccines seemed to have similar efficacy against B117 as to earlier variants.
Hopefully, the vaccines will be able to prevent 'Long Covid' as well, though many of those infected are younger so won't be receiving a dose of vaccine for some months yet.
green.pixel
Veteran
(CNN)The US is at risk of losing all its recent gains in the battle against Covid-19 as highly contagious variants take advantage of Americans getting lax with safety measures.
"Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After weeks of tumbling case numbers, new infections are on the rise again -- about 2% more this past week compared to the previous week, Walensky said Monday.
"Similarly, the most recent seven-day average of deaths has also increased more than 2% ... to nearly 2,000 deaths per day."
...
March will be a very important chapter in this pandemic. The CDC has predicted the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the UK will become the dominant strain in the US this month.
More than 2,460 infections involving variant strains have been reported, according the CDC data. The vast majority of those cases -- at least 2,400 -- are of the highly contagious B.1.1.7 strain.
Those counts are probably much lower than the actual number of people infected by variants. The numbers represent only those variant cases found through genomic sequencing, the CDC has said.
The US has lagged behind dozens of other countries in the proportion of cases tested for variants, but the CDC said it's working to scale up those efforts.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/01/health/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html
"Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After weeks of tumbling case numbers, new infections are on the rise again -- about 2% more this past week compared to the previous week, Walensky said Monday.
"Similarly, the most recent seven-day average of deaths has also increased more than 2% ... to nearly 2,000 deaths per day."
...
March will be a very important chapter in this pandemic. The CDC has predicted the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the UK will become the dominant strain in the US this month.
More than 2,460 infections involving variant strains have been reported, according the CDC data. The vast majority of those cases -- at least 2,400 -- are of the highly contagious B.1.1.7 strain.
Those counts are probably much lower than the actual number of people infected by variants. The numbers represent only those variant cases found through genomic sequencing, the CDC has said.
The US has lagged behind dozens of other countries in the proportion of cases tested for variants, but the CDC said it's working to scale up those efforts.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/01/health/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html
USA will be probably fine until the next big holiday event. Spring break or 4th of july are likely potential super spreader events causing a lot of havoc. I really hope things are under control before halloween+thanks giving+christmas. Those were massively detrimental last year. Here in california most places are still closed/limited to outside spaces. Last time I went to gym, workplace or ate inside restaurant was almost year ago.
For those who are following along, Greg Abbot (Republican governor of TX) has decided Covid is completely solved in his state.
By mandate, everything is now 100% open. Local jurisdictions can create mask requests if they like however they are not allowed to enforce mask rule punishments on anyone. No arrests, no tickets, no fines, none of it.
By mandate, everything is now 100% open. Local jurisdictions can create mask requests if they like however they are not allowed to enforce mask rule punishments on anyone. No arrests, no tickets, no fines, none of it.
Nah. It'll drive another huge surge coming up in the next month or two.
A lot of the mid-west states are forcing the reopening of schools despite still having massive issues with vaccine distribution and rollouts. In Ohio they are reopening up all schools before April. Meanwhile, my father who is in the first section of people who were eligible for the vaccine when it began is still waiting for his to come in. He has received some phone calls saying "You're still on the list, don't worry" but it's been a few months now with nothing definitive setup. The complete lack of providing it to the very first group has not stopped the GOP Governor from now expanding the pool out to anyone age 60 or higher. I will be amazed if my father gets his vaccine before Memorial Day. I don't expect I'll be able to get my vaccine before September. It's a total cluster fuck caused by lack of state leadership.
Oh, also forgot to say that they're no longer providing mortality information on a daily basis. The daily new cases is still obscene, well over 1700. This should not be viewed as a good number, but it is. They're practically declaring the pandemic over.
A1xLLcqAgt0qc2RyMz0y
Veteran
Fu*king idiot.
Texas governor lifts state mask mandate, other COVID-19 restrictions
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/t...ndate-other-covid-19-restrictions/ar-BB1eajvC
Abbott also said that effective March 10, every business will be allowed to open at 100 percent capacity.
The move makes Texas the largest state to completely lift its mask mandate, though other states have been easing off broader restrictions as well.
...
Public health experts and federal officials have been warning states not to ease up too quickly, citing the threat of variants and the "stalling" of recent declines in new cases.
Nationwide, new cases had declined for weeks, from as much as 250,000 per day in January to around 70,000 per day. But the declines have leveled off and are now even showing signs of ticking back up. Even 70,000 cases per day is above last summer's peak.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said the numbers show a "concerning" trend.
"I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19," Walensky said during a White House briefing Monday.
Texas governor lifts state mask mandate, other COVID-19 restrictions
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/t...ndate-other-covid-19-restrictions/ar-BB1eajvC
Abbott also said that effective March 10, every business will be allowed to open at 100 percent capacity.
The move makes Texas the largest state to completely lift its mask mandate, though other states have been easing off broader restrictions as well.
...
Public health experts and federal officials have been warning states not to ease up too quickly, citing the threat of variants and the "stalling" of recent declines in new cases.
Nationwide, new cases had declined for weeks, from as much as 250,000 per day in January to around 70,000 per day. But the declines have leveled off and are now even showing signs of ticking back up. Even 70,000 cases per day is above last summer's peak.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said the numbers show a "concerning" trend.
"I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19," Walensky said during a White House briefing Monday.
Something to consider, perhaps a bit of "conspiracy theory" though...
Surely most folks on the forum have seen what happened to the Dallas metro area two weeks ago when all the ice and bullshit came through: massive power outages, natural gas outages, water outages, later turning into rolling blackouts, energy bills in the five figure USD range for some residents and there are still some people without water last I heard (although maybe it's fixed now...)
Most of this has been laid at the feet of the power generation facilities not winterizing their equipment. For those who might be unaware, 2021's winter failure is a repeat of a similarly large failing in 2011 which resulted in a massive investigation. Ten years ago, ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas) was warned and presented findings and documents in exquisite about how the state needed to correct these issues, yet ERCOT did literally nothing to stop it from happening again because it cost money.
The Governor (Abbott) personally appoints the three members which make up the PUC (Public Utility Commission). The PUC has oversight over ERCOT, and ERCOT has oversight over the power generators/companies in Texas, and therein lies the laundry list of people who did nothing to prevent the repeat of the situation from ten years ago.
As everybody is pointing the problem at PUC/ERCOT for the outages, Abbott all of a sudden ends pandemic regulations? Coincidence?
Surely most folks on the forum have seen what happened to the Dallas metro area two weeks ago when all the ice and bullshit came through: massive power outages, natural gas outages, water outages, later turning into rolling blackouts, energy bills in the five figure USD range for some residents and there are still some people without water last I heard (although maybe it's fixed now...)
Most of this has been laid at the feet of the power generation facilities not winterizing their equipment. For those who might be unaware, 2021's winter failure is a repeat of a similarly large failing in 2011 which resulted in a massive investigation. Ten years ago, ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas) was warned and presented findings and documents in exquisite about how the state needed to correct these issues, yet ERCOT did literally nothing to stop it from happening again because it cost money.
The Governor (Abbott) personally appoints the three members which make up the PUC (Public Utility Commission). The PUC has oversight over ERCOT, and ERCOT has oversight over the power generators/companies in Texas, and therein lies the laundry list of people who did nothing to prevent the repeat of the situation from ten years ago.
As everybody is pointing the problem at PUC/ERCOT for the outages, Abbott all of a sudden ends pandemic regulations? Coincidence?
A1xLLcqAgt0qc2RyMz0y
Veteran
Greg Abbott's head-scratching, anti-science decision to end the Texas mask mandate
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...ion-to-end-the-texas-mask-mandate/ar-BB1ecmzQ
As coronavirus case across the country are dropping, cases in Texas actually increased by 5% over the last two weeks, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University. Which makes this a very odd time for Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to do what he did on Tuesday.
"Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities," Abbott said. "Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%."
What Abbott meant by 100% is this: He is dropping the state's mask mandate and allowing all businesses to open at 100% capacity beginning March 10. He justified those moves by noting that 5.7 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been given in the state and that Texans have "mastered the daily habits to avoid getting Covid."
Uh, what?
Abbott's move seems entirely motivated by politics rather than public health. Doctors and public health experts continue to warn that letting down our guard -- and our masks -- at this point is a major mistake. While vaccinations are on the rise, we remain a long way from herd immunity. (Less than 7% of Texans are fully vaccinated.) And the precipitous drop in cases over the last month or so has quite clearly plateaued even as the number of tests has declined -- two indicators that suggest we are not out of the woods just yet.
We've also been here before. Last spring and early summer, Texas and other states controlled by Republican governors dropped strict stay-at-home orders and others measured designed to inhibit the spread of Covid-19 when their states did not show large numbers of cases. What happened? Cases, hospitalizations and, eventually, deaths soared.(More than 44,000 Texans have died from the virus, behind only California and New York.)
The Fort Worth Star Telegram editorial board asked the right question in an op-ed blasting Abbott on Tuesday night. Here's the key bit:
"Why do this now? Why, when the news is so good on cases, hospitalizations and vaccine production, increase the danger? Why, with spring break and its associated travel and activity around the corner, send the message that we can let our guard down?
"...It's lamentable that the governor can't show the patience that most citizens have. Instead, he decided to make more illness and death more likely just as the finish line is in sight."
The answer to these questions -- and stop me if you've heard this one before -- is politics.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...ion-to-end-the-texas-mask-mandate/ar-BB1ecmzQ
As coronavirus case across the country are dropping, cases in Texas actually increased by 5% over the last two weeks, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University. Which makes this a very odd time for Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to do what he did on Tuesday.
"Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities," Abbott said. "Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%."
What Abbott meant by 100% is this: He is dropping the state's mask mandate and allowing all businesses to open at 100% capacity beginning March 10. He justified those moves by noting that 5.7 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been given in the state and that Texans have "mastered the daily habits to avoid getting Covid."
Uh, what?
Abbott's move seems entirely motivated by politics rather than public health. Doctors and public health experts continue to warn that letting down our guard -- and our masks -- at this point is a major mistake. While vaccinations are on the rise, we remain a long way from herd immunity. (Less than 7% of Texans are fully vaccinated.) And the precipitous drop in cases over the last month or so has quite clearly plateaued even as the number of tests has declined -- two indicators that suggest we are not out of the woods just yet.
We've also been here before. Last spring and early summer, Texas and other states controlled by Republican governors dropped strict stay-at-home orders and others measured designed to inhibit the spread of Covid-19 when their states did not show large numbers of cases. What happened? Cases, hospitalizations and, eventually, deaths soared.(More than 44,000 Texans have died from the virus, behind only California and New York.)
The Fort Worth Star Telegram editorial board asked the right question in an op-ed blasting Abbott on Tuesday night. Here's the key bit:
"Why do this now? Why, when the news is so good on cases, hospitalizations and vaccine production, increase the danger? Why, with spring break and its associated travel and activity around the corner, send the message that we can let our guard down?
"...It's lamentable that the governor can't show the patience that most citizens have. Instead, he decided to make more illness and death more likely just as the finish line is in sight."
The answer to these questions -- and stop me if you've heard this one before -- is politics.
There were actually more cases and deaths in TX yesterday when Abbott announced the end of the mask mandate than back last July when he imposed the statewide mask mandate:
He's basically counting on people having tuned out the daily numbers. Also, people are naturally inclined to want things to return to normal, so he's telling them what they want to hear, that things are okay, that it's "Mission Accomplished!"
He's basically counting on people having tuned out the daily numbers. Also, people are naturally inclined to want things to return to normal, so he's telling them what they want to hear, that things are okay, that it's "Mission Accomplished!"
The british B.1.1.7 at 46% in Germany (KW stands for calendar week).
B.1.351 is the one from South Africa I see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variants_of_SARS-CoV-2
The one where the AZ vaccine (others) doesnt work so well on.
I keep looking at the numbers from israel & UAE and whilst dropping, they dont seem to be dropping as quickly as I would expect, perhaps we're just gonna have to get used to living with covid (god I hope not, fuck wearing this mask always, Spainish gov said yesterday we are still in lockdown till at least easter now, we started the current lockdown over 5 months ago)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variants_of_SARS-CoV-2
The one where the AZ vaccine (others) doesnt work so well on.
I keep looking at the numbers from israel & UAE and whilst dropping, they dont seem to be dropping as quickly as I would expect, perhaps we're just gonna have to get used to living with covid (god I hope not, fuck wearing this mask always, Spainish gov said yesterday we are still in lockdown till at least easter now, we started the current lockdown over 5 months ago)
