Official Thread: Coronavirus "COVID-19"

[Sasquach]

between the pandemic and climate change and all the other manmade stuff in betwen.....

I think the planet is trying to correct itself....but humans keep getting in the way.

[nutcrackr]

China is going full crazy with its zero policy. I love zero policy as a rule but there comes a time when it makes no sense. That time is a) with vaccines and b) with omicron that's crazy contagious.

Their current lockdown situation is doing too much harm. I really don't think they can get back to zero and so they're doing all of this for no gain. Plus there is heaps of confusion about how they register case numbers.

In my view they need to throw away their hopes of zero and just implement tough-but-fair measures to keep it from overwhelming hospitals.

If cases aren't reducing in a week or two they really have no choice but to let it go.

[KAC]

China won’t have this problem if they started using US vaccines.

[ugly]

As much as the mRNA vaccines are being villified for myocarditis, it appears that what we're seeing might be just an immune response. And the pearl clutching over myocarditis might just be reporting bias (with a healthy dose of antivax amplification).

Myopericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination and non-COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Added value of this study
Our meta-analysis was conducted to determine if the increased reporting of myopericarditis was a true increase in incidence or a result of improved reporting systems and recall bias. Among 260 million people who received more than 405 million vaccine doses as reported in studies and databases, we found that the incidence of myopericarditis was not elevated after COVID-19 vaccination (18 cases per million vaccine doses) when compared with after non-COVID-19 vaccination (56 cases per million vaccine doses) or relative to the background pre-pandemic incidence rate of myopericarditis. In people who received a COVID-19 vaccine, a significantly higher incidence of myopericarditis was found in males (vs females), those younger than 30 years (vs those aged 30 years or older), those receiving a second dose of vaccine (vs a first or third dose), or those receiving an mRNA vaccine (vs a non-mRNA vaccine). Using robust-variance estimation methods to account for intra-study correlation, decreasing age (excluding people younger than 12 years) was associated with an increased incidence of myopericarditis.

Implications of all the available evidence
In the general population, the risk of myopericarditis after receipt of COVID-19 vaccination is low. The incidence of myopericarditis from COVID-19 vaccination also appears to be lower than that from COVID-19 infection. However, the incidence of myopericarditis for young men after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination appears higher than expected. These findings might be of interest to policy makers determining national vaccination protocols, particularly as many countries will be encouraging a booster dose of vaccination during 2022. Finally, our findings inform the general public of the rarity of myopericarditis, placing the risks into perspective and allowing for a more informed decision regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

The increased incidence of myopericarditis after non-COVID-19 vaccination might suggest that myopericarditis is a side-effect of the inflammatory processes induced by vaccination and is not uniquely a result of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins through COVID-19 vaccination or infection. The risks of such infrequent adverse events are outweighed by the benefits of vaccination, which include a lower risk of infection, hospitalisation, severe disease, and death from COVID-19.73, 74 In people aged 30 years or older, the incidence of post-vaccination myopericarditis was 2·9 cases (95% CI 1·8–4·7) per million vaccine doses. Being aware of a possible association between COVID-19 vaccination and myopericarditis, clinicians might have had an inherently lower threshold for investigating a patient with non-specific chest pain after COVID-19 vaccination, eventually leading to a diagnosis of myopericarditis. Additionally, given current robust vaccine surveillance systems and the fact that COVID-19 vaccines have received a much higher degree of scrutiny than previous vaccines, the possibility of relative under-reporting of adverse events following non-COVID-19 vaccinations cannot be excluded, despite mass vaccination of more than 6 billion people in the past year.

[Shapeshifter]

Had to catch it sometime guess our luck ran out, my mom and brother as well.

[Greasy]

Co-workers mother in law ended up in the ER after her second booster. Fainted and her lips were turning blue when they got her to the ER. I think I'm good for a bit on the boosters.

[Java Cool Dude]

Co-workers mother in law ended up in the ER after her second booster. Fainted and her lips were turning blue when they got her to the ER. I think I'm good for a bit on the boosters.

And you know for sure it's related to boosters or vaccines at all?
Doing a little bit of research I see fainting does occur after vaccination (regardless of the vaccine type), but happens most commonly in young folks:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fainting-and-vaccination-what-to-know-and-what-to-do

[Jay20016]

Co-workers mother in law ended up in the ER after her second booster. Fainted and her lips were turning blue when they got her to the ER. I think I'm good for a bit on the boosters.

Strange, I had a co-worker's mom and sister die from Covid because they weren't vaccinated.

[Greasy]

Dunno, I had my booster. It sucked, but I'm alive. She got her second booster and ended up in the ER. Until I hear back, that's all I know.

You guys gonna try and paint me as an anitvaxer, because that's how you two roll though. Every post I've had in favor of vaccines, and all the other **** you agree with. You hear one thing you disagree with and burn the witch. Not even surprised, because I'm used to that sort of thing these days... lol

[KAC]

Dunno, I had my booster. It sucked, but I'm alive. She got her second booster and ended up in the ER. Until I hear back, that's all I know.

You guys gonna try and paint me as an anitvaxer, because that's how you two roll though. Every post I've had in favor of vaccines, and all the other **** you agree with. You hear one thing you disagree with and burn the witch. Not even surprised, because I'm used to that sort of thing these days... lol

That’s because we love you.

[Greasy]

That’s because we love you.

You're used to it too my man.

[Greasy]

Strange, I had a co-worker's mom and sister die from Covid because they weren't vaccinated.

Strange. My Grandmother died from it, and she wasn't vaccinated. Because there was no vaccine then. GFYS

[Java Cool Dude]

Dunno, I had my booster. It sucked, but I'm alive. She got her second booster and ended up in the ER. Until I hear back, that's all I know.

You guys gonna try and paint me as an anitvaxer, because that's how you two roll though. Every post I've had in favor of vaccines, and all the other **** you agree with. You hear one thing you disagree with and burn the witch. Not even surprised, because I'm used to that sort of thing these days... lol

Nope, I don't think you're an anti-vaxxer; an anti-vaxxer wouldn't get near any of the covid vaccines and you had 3 shots already.
I found it a bit strange you're holding off the second booster based on a story you heard from a co-worker.
As for me, I am not currently planning on getting the second booster. I am hoping a better vaccine(s) comes along that A-lasts more than a few weeks B-prevents infection AND transmission.

[12Bass]

I'm up for a second booster in a few months as my immunity wanes. Anecdotal reports don't mean that much to me... too many potential confounding variables at play. My friend's twenty-year-old son reacted badly to his first Moderna shot, yet that's what I got as my booster, which was my preference. Rather, I look at the peer-reviewed science for a better understanding of the risks. There are all sorts of possible reasons which are not vaccine-related that could be responsible. I'm hoping for a reformulation that is better against Omicron by summertime.

[koralis]

I'm hoping for a reformulation that is better against Omicron by summertime.

Early tests are not looking promising. No worse, but not appreciably better.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00003-y

Most of the studies involved only a small number of animals — just eight primates, in one case — and none has been peer reviewed. But they offer early hints that a single dose of a customized vaccine won’t change the game against Omicron.

“What we’re seeing coming out of these preclinical studies in animal models is that a boost with a variant vaccine doesn’t really do any better than a boost with the current vaccine,” says David Montefiori, director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, who has been studying COVID-19 vaccines.
...
“What these studies are teaching us are the rules of engagement of the immune system when you boost with a variant vaccine,” says Montefiori. Those rules suggest that single boost of a variant-matched vaccine probably isn’t the solution, he says. “There are important questions that still need to be addressed. Hopefully Pfizer and Moderna’s Omicron studies in humans will do that”.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-roll-out-omicron-specific-vaccine-autumn-german.html

BioNTech/Pfizer and mRNA rival Moderna both said in late January they had launched clinical trials of Omicron-specific vaccines.

While the results are yet to be published, early studies on animals suggest they "offer no advantage over a third dose of current vaccines," according to an article in the science journal Nature last month.

One of the studies, on eight rhesus macaques, found that boosters from both original COVID vaccines and from Omicron-specific ones improved antibody response, but with no clear advantage for the latter.

[12Bass]

Yeah, saw the early results... waiting for the results on humans.

[ugly]

TWiV did a recent episode on variant-specific boosters.

[yt]GMZLSLZBu5A[/yt]

[Jay20016]

Strange. My Grandmother died from it, and she wasn't vaccinated. Because there was no vaccine then. GFYS

I've lost family, that was the thing that people were tired of me talking about in the beginning. I've had to preface saying that I lost them before we had vaccines to not make it seem like my family members were <P&R redacted>.

So, no, I don't think I will GFMS.

Edit: And, honestly, the original reply wasn't a slant at you, more so the fact that personal anecdotes really amount to a hill of beans and I'm just offering my own because if yours means truth, but mine mean something different.... how is yours real but mine not? All I'm trying to argue is that maybe we should stop trying to pull any meaning from them...

[12Bass]

I've lost family, that was the thing that people were tired of me talking about in the beginning. I've had to preface saying that I lost them before we had vaccines to not make it seem like my family members were <P&R redacted>.

So, no, I don't think I will GFMS.

Edit: And, honestly, the original reply wasn't a slant at you, more so the fact that personal anecdotes really amount to a hill of beans and I'm just offering my own because if yours means truth, but mine mean something different.... how is yours real but mine not? All I'm trying to argue is that maybe we should stop trying to pull any meaning from them...

Gather that different epistemic methodologies are at play here. Roughly speaking, some people value anecdotal information more than peer-reviewed science, and vice versa. My friend's eighty-something mom believes the stuff she gets on facebook and hears from her friends and neighbors and places higher value on those anecdotes than anything a doctor, scientist, or public official might suggest (and much of what she hears and reads anecdotally has been deliberately constructed to undermine legitimate sources of information). Some people also seem to think that they are more competent at "doing their own research" than specialists in the field. Such differences can also correlate with ideology and group membership. For some "my gut" beats your science.

[koralis]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/combo-covid-booster-is-the-way-to-go-this-fall-moderna-data-suggests/

Moderna now has data on one of its first combination shots, which targets the ancestral strain plus the beta variant. The beta variant was first identified in South Africa and dubbed a "variant of concern" in December 2020 after it demonstrated an ability to evade vaccine-derived immune responses. Though experts initially feared it would cause an omicron-like wave of infections, beta never became widely prevalent in the US and has since been completely elbowed out by omicron.
...
The fresh data released by Moderna looked at neutralizing antibody levels in around 300 people who received a 50-microgram dose of the beta/ancestral combo vaccine (dubbed mRNA-1273.211). Antibody levels in that group were compared with those from around 150 people who received the current 50-microgram booster (mRNA-1273) that targets the ancestral version of the virus. Compared with the current booster, the beta/ancestral combo shot generated higher levels of neutralizing antibodies against the ancestral virus as well as the beta, omicron, and delta variants. In the case of omicron, the combo shot generated neutralizing antibody levels twice as high as the current shot (when comparing geometric mean titres). That two-fold advantage was maintained after six months, as well. Further, there were no safety concerns with the combo vaccine during the trial and the side-effect profile looked about the same as that of the current booster.

...

Of course, this study has limitations. The number of people in the trial was not huge, and the study is not large enough to look at vaccine effectiveness. The study also does not look at other types of immune responses, such as cell-based responses. But it did strongly suggest that a bivalent vaccine could out-compete the current vaccine, because neutralizing antibody levels tend to correlate with protection.

[ugly]

COVID outbreak as nearly 100 prom goers test positive

Dozens of high school students in California contracted COVID-19 after attending their prom.

San Mateo High School held the party on April 9 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, about 18 miles away. Following the event, however, 90 out of the nearly 600 students who attended tested positive for the virus.

That's better than what I ended up with after prom:

hairy palms

[Greasy]

COVID outbreak as nearly 100 prom goers test positive



That's better than what I ended up with after prom:

hairy palms

I got laid yo, but it wasn't the first time.. Didn't count

Case counts here are still low, but ba2 is taking over.

[SubCog]

COVID outbreak as nearly 100 prom goers test positive



That's better than what I ended up with after prom:

hairy palms

Don't worry, they'll be fine. San Mateo has a very high vaccination rate. Also, wealthy enough area that everyone has great health care.

[nutcrackr]

Latest on China doesn't sound great. Outbreaks in Beijing now too.

https://time.com/6170240/china-covid-beijing-lockdown/

Shanghai reported 19,455 new cases on Sunday. While daily infection numbers are on a broadly downward trend, the government still hasn’t reached its goal of eliminating spread in communities.

Doesn't seem like zero will happen anytime soon.

[Nunz]

That zero policy ain't working out too well

[KAC]

US and Europe seem to have calmed down. I don’t know it doesn’t seem like people are talking about Covid anymore. Heard if you don’t talk about it you won’t get it.

[Greasy]

US and Europe seem to have calmed down. I don’t know it doesn’t seem like people are talking about Covid anymore. Heard if you don’t talk about it you won’t get it.

It's very much still around, but these new variants aren't nearly as bad as the older ones, so we're basically at the flu. Rarely see that in the news unless it's a really nasty one.

[Silent-Runner]

The hospitalization rate is also increasing: the incidence of corona in Germany is rising significantly
Created: 04/26/2022, 08:16

Corona update: Incidence rises to 909.1

A moment of shock when you look at the RKI dashboard: The number of daily new corona infections has risen sharply again. And the real total is likely to be even higher.

Berlin – The nationwide 7-day incidence has risen sharply – from a good 790 the day before (April 25) to more than 900 this Tuesday. However, a comparison of daily values is becoming increasingly difficult. Experts have been assuming that the number of unreported cases has been high for some time - due to overburdened health authorities and because not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only these count in the statistics.


The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the number of new corona infections recorded within 24 hours as 909.1. A week ago the incidence was 669.9. That's 136,798 new cases (a week ago 22,483). 304 further deaths from or with Covid-19 were added. The total number of corona deaths recorded in Germany rose to 134,489.

According to experts, the number of unreported corona cases in April 2022 is higher than the official RKI numbers.

Corona incidence jump in Germany - hospitalization rate is also increasing
When considering the values, it must be taken into account that individual states do not report data every day of the week, and at weekends, for example, Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony do not, or only partially, report data. This in turn leads to late registrations on the following days.

What is the hospitalization rate for those infected with corona? According to the RKI, it was 5.04 on Monday (April 25) (Friday 4.52). Here, too, there are days with incomplete reports. The RKI does not give the value at the weekend. It also includes many people with a positive corona test who have another main illness. (AFP/dpa/frs)

Source: https://www.merkur.de/deutschland/co...-91501561.html

[Canesfan2020]

It's very much still around, but these new variants aren't nearly as bad as the older ones, so we're basically at the flu. Rarely see that in the news unless it's a really nasty one.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/07/us-far-from-normal-with-covid-deaths-10-times-higher-than-flu-rsv-report.html

Apparently that flu assessment is incorrect

[SD-[Inc]]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/07/us-f...sv-report.html


Apparently that flu assessment is incorrect

That’s because of antivax movement. It is like the flu if you are fully vaccinated. Death rates among non-vaccinated people from Omicron infection are nearly 20x those that are vaccinated. So only dumb people die and for the rest of us, it is like the flu.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm

[Canesfan2020]

That’s because of antivax movement. It is like the flu if you are fully vaccinated. Death rates among non-vaccinated people from Omicron infection are nearly 20x those that are vaccinated. So only dumb people die and for the rest of us, it is like the flu.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e2.htm

Until there is a definitive answer on the vaccine proventing long covid issues covid isn't the flu.

This forum is like going to a doctor's office where it's just people searching WebMD and hoping for the best

[Ziklitschli]

The #1 failing of the modern Internet is that it tricks dumb people into thinking they are smart.

Exactly what science does to people tbh. Scientists can't even decide whether tomatoes are good or bad. Just look at benzodiazepines, or proton pump inhibitors, the milions of doses, years of prescriptions, dozens of studies and how long it still took for the knowledge of true harm and danger to get to the public. Most people treat science like religion now, holding similar sense of superiority out of knowing the ultimate truth, and just as misguided.

I'm not even about vaccines here, just answering the general sentiment. I actually talked my father into vaccination, because I thought that covid is a direct threat to him. I'd also strongly consider if it was still as annoying as the initial variants. I do think though, that with such complicated subject as human body, a new ish technique, the real time change of the illness, the politics and billions of dollars at stake, all those studies are just shots in the dark.

[ugly]

FDA approved it earlier this week, and this was the final sign-off:

CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children

Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination.

Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19. All children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccines have undergone—and will continue to undergo—the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Parents and caregivers can play an active role in monitoring the safety of these vaccines by signing their children up for v-safe – personalized and confidential health check-ins via text messages and web surveys where they can easily share with CDC how a child feels after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Distribution of pediatric vaccinations for these younger children has started across the country, and will be available at thousands of pediatric practices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, local health departments, clinics, and other locations this week. Children in this younger age group can be vaccinated with whichever vaccine is available (either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech). Parents can reach out to their doctor, nurse, local pharmacy, or health department, or visit vaccines.gov to see where vaccines for children are available.

[shrike126]

People are already complaining. As though children going to school aren’t required to get a dozen shots already.

Make Polio Great Again! I guess.

[Sasquach]

People are already complaining. As though children going to school aren’t required to get a dozen shots already.

Make Polio Great Again! I guess.

its builds natural immunity.....




So long as they dont get dead in the process

[Java Cool Dude]

I have an international trip coming up in 3 weeks and I was thinking about getting a Moderna second booster (all my shots have been Pfizer so far).
Anyone here with 4 shots?

[Greasy]

I have an international trip coming up in 3 weeks and I was thinking about getting a Moderna second booster (all my shots have been Pfizer so far).
Anyone here with 4 shots?

You're young and in good health. The current vaccine doesn't give you any real protection from getting it now. You've had enough after three shots that I would think you're good to go. Maybe in the fall we'll get some targeted towards the omi family, but it's changed so much they will prob end up useless too other than just giving you a boost to help fight off severe illness.

[SD-[Inc]]

You're young and in good health. The current vaccine doesn't give you any real protection from getting it now. You've had enough after three shots that I would think you're good to go. Maybe in the fall we'll get some targeted towards the omi family, but it's changed so much they will prob end up useless too other than just giving you a boost to help fight off severe illness.

If you get exposed to latest Omicron variants you pretty much get sick no matter what now. But vaccines do pretty well fighting the infection once you get it. I had read a mix of Pfizer and Moderna gives you different antibodies for fighting infection. So, unless you had very adverse reaction to first shots, I'd go for it before a big trip. You need to get it now because it takes 14 days to take effect. My doctor confirmed the same advice also. He also recommended holding off on the 4th until closer to fall when it really hits again. He did make the exception if you plan on traveling though.

PS. Wearing a good mask is now probably the only way to prevent infection.

[Riptide]

Wife and I both ended up coming down with it. I ran a fever (100 deg) the first night which cleared up the next day. Felt like garbage for another couple days and then started to feel better after that each day. Only really persistent issue is a runny nose and chest cold that is clearing up just slower than I'd like.

I'd had the 2 moderna shots and was due for the booster basically right when I ended up getting it. Wife had her booster already. Symptoms were more or less the same between with the exception of the fever which she avoided.

[KAC]

Gays getting Covid again. This **** is not done.