Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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Now that was simple. I put an order for some Moldex 4200 N95 Airwave Respirator. And they show up in the mail two days later. This is the way things should have been a year ago. It is a sign just like the arrival of Spring, that this pandemic is winding down. It will soon become a long forgotten memory.

Our state Indiana, has now lowered the qualifying age to get the vaccine down to age 50 and above. Soon everyone who wants to get vaccinated will get vaccinated in Indiana.

It is now over a week since my second vaccine shot, Moderna. So essentially, I am fairly immune from this coronavirus. This coming week my wife will receive her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Then a week after that, we will be immune together. At that point I will feel safe enough to visit a fine restaurant and enjoy a meal together INDOORS maskless.

Around 40% of Britain is now vaccinated

Progress of COVID Inoculations

According to the coronavirus vaccine tracker, the U.S. has now administered 87.91 million vaccine doses with around 26.3% of the U.S. population vaccinated (with at least one dose). In the United States an average of 2.16 million doses were injected daily.

Globally 299.06 million vaccine doses have been given with the U.S., China and U.K. in the top three positions. India will pass the U.K. in the next few days and enter third place. India is administering vaccines to almost three times as many people per day as the U.K.

Source: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Promising New Drug

First-stage testing of the experimental COVID-19 pill called Molnupiravir, by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, showed promising signs of effectiveness in reducing the virus in patients.

"It may be the holy grail on this because it was just studied in phase two trials and it literally stopped the virus in its tracks," he explained. "And there wasn't any virus found in the patients that were studied."

The drug would function as an at-home, five-day treatment, similar to Tamiflu, to stop the virus from reproducing before causing major damage. Siegel said the therapeutic could come to market in as little as four to five months.

Source: COVID-19 pill effective in preliminary testing may be 'holy grail' of pandemic

One of the problems with N95 facemask is that they are restrictive and it is difficult to wear them for several hours. Yet the very fact that they are restrictive is what makes them the best mask to wear because they prevent the coronavirus from passing through the mask. They are an effective barrier to the virus. But there are several different kinds of N95s.

Now that masks are becoming available again, I was able to order a type called a Moldex 4200 N95 Airwave Respirator. The masks arrived in two days time and now I have had several days to try them out. This mask solves the main problem of airway restriction. The mask is a molded design and as such has a gap between the face and the mask. This dead space acts like a buffer. The mask construction also uses a fan shaped design so that there is significantly more surface area. The net result is that I can barely tell the difference between wearing this type of mask and wearing no mask at all. It has very minimal restriction. And as such it seems to solve that limitation quite nicely.



The only problem I noted with the mask is that the noseguard is a little thicker than most N95s. I wear glasses and this puts a little more setback for the glasses.

Aerosol Transmission

A group of US experts in medicine, public health, and industrial health, penned a letter to White House officials, including Anthony Fauci, MD, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asking them to fully address the inhalation, or airborne, nature of COVID-19 transmission and provide frontline workers with appropriate respirators and ventilation strategies to cut the infection risk.

The group said the United States must follow Germany, Austria, and France—countries that recently mandated respiratory protection equivalent to N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and higher-quality filtration systems for all workers in public.

Source: Experts push CDC, White House to address COVID-19 aerosol spread

Sometimes the so-called experts are wrong, dead wrong. Take for example Anthony Fauci. Today marks the one year anniversary when Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, went on 60 Minutes and said the following:

Fauci told "60 Minutes" at the time that there was "no reason to be walking around with a mask." "When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face," he said at the time.

Faucci 60 Minutes Interview

Aerosol Transmission

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has been slow in revising its recommendations regarding respiratory protection for workers because of the fear that there might be a supply shortage of N95 masks, which provide the highest level of protection against aerosol transmission of COVID-19. Aerosol is a suspension of fine droplets in air that can disperse more widely than large droplets. A year ago we had a shortage of personal protective equipment, but there is no longer a shortage. In fact, manufacturers of N95 masks say there is a big inventory.

Current CDC guidelines don’t recommend the use of N95s to protect against COVID-19 in non-healthcare settings. But at this point, the several million workers in higher-risk categories, in places such as meatpacking plants, food processing plants, warehouses, and prisons, should be given N95s. There’s no reason these workers have to be at increased risk.

Another issue is that there is still the impression among some in the medical community that since most COVID-19 is transmitted only by larger droplets, you don’t need widespread use of N95s for the general public. It’s true that not everyone going outside or to the market needs this level of protection. But among certain groups of workers, aerosol transmission of COVID-19 has been shown to be an issue, even though it may not be the predominant mode of transmission. For example, in closed spaces without adequate ventilation, some workers are at really high risk.

Source: A call for stronger worker protections from COVID-19 aerosol transmission

Aerosol Transmission

National Nurses United (NNU) and 44 allied unions and organizations, representing over 13 million members and their communities, are joining in coalition to urge the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update its Covid-19 guidance to fully reflect the latest scientific evidence regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission through aerosols that infected people emit when they breathe, speak, cough, sneeze, or sing.



Today, the undersigned unions and organizations delivered a petition with over 10,000 signatures, including scientific experts, urging the CDC to fully recognize Covid-19 aerosol transmission now.

Fully recognizing aerosol transmission would require the CDC to update and strengthen its Covid-19 guidance to provide protection from inhalation of virus in the air, including through ventilation, filtration, and optimal respiratory protection, among other measures. It would also require the CDC to update its definition of “exposure,” which would improve the efficacy of contact tracing and case isolation. Recognizing the scientific evidence and making these improvements are essential and necessary steps to bringing the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

“Since the start of the pandemic, the nation’s nurses have demanded that the CDC’s guidelines be based on scientific evidence. Nurses know that to effectively battle this virus, we all need to get on the same page about how it spreads. The CDC’s failure up to this point to recognize aerosols as the primary mode of transmission hurts all other guidance and efforts that stem from this lack of understanding. We urge the Biden administration to honor its commitment to listen to experts in the battle against Covid-19, which includes having CDC and other federal agencies explicitly recognize aerosol transmission,” said Bonnie Castillo, RN and executive director of National Nurses United (NNU).

“Ensuring strong COVID-19 protections for working people is key to preventing outbreaks, pulling us out of the pandemic and rebuilding our economy—and that starts with policies based on science. Workers' lives and all of our lives depend on the CDC updating its guidelines and strengthening protections on the job,” said Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President.

“Recognizing the ever-changing science of COVID-19 transmission is key to fighting the virus effectively, and keeping our nurses, healthcare professionals, educators and communities protected from further transmission. As it becomes increasingly clear that aerosol transmission – breathing, speaking, coughing, sneezing, and singing – can spread the virus, we urge the CDC to officially recognize this issue and offer the science-based guidance we have come to trust and expect from the agency,” said Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers.

“We have hundreds of thousands of members considered essential workers and risking their lives every day to support us all. They and their employers depend on accurate science from CDC. And the science clearly shows the danger of aerosol transmission,” said Thomas M. Conway, International President, United Steelworkers.

"The CDC's failure to update their guidelines has life and death consequences. Workers are going into confined spaces every day without sufficient control measures and employers are justifying it by saying they are following CDC guidelines. If workers are going to be given the title "essential", then they deserve the essential measures that keep them safe,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH).

“For the past year, the CDC guidance on COVID-19 has been ignoring science and health experts. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) has been saying aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a problem on public transit as evidenced by our 135 brothers and sisters killed by this deadly virus and more than 4,600 infected. The ATU has been pushing for better airflow, more effective filtration systems on buses and trains, and improved PPE for transit workers and riders to help stop the spread of COVID-19 along with other safety measures. We hope the CDC acknowledges the danger of aerosol transmission of this deadly virus and makes serious safety recommendations that will help save the lives of transit workers, riders and the public,” said John Costa, International President of the Amalgamated Transit Union, the largest union representing transit workers in the United States and Canada.

Source: Nurses, Unions, Allies Urge CDC to Acknowledge Covid-19 Aerosol Transmission to Help Bring Virus Under Control

Unions and organizations that signed the petition urging the CDC to fully recognize aerosol transmission now (listed alphabetically):

AFL-CIO
AFSCME 1526, Boston Public Library Employees Union
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Amalgamated Transit Union
American Federation of Teachers
Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Miller’s International Union
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Core Extension Health & Safety Company Ltd
COVID Action Group
Dr. Yolanda Whyte Pediatrics
Finding Your Balance Counseling
Franchimon ICM
Government Accountability Project
Health Professionals & Allied Employees (Debbie White, President, RN)
HEALTHY SCHOOLS NETWORK
Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Chemical Workers Union Council
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers
Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
Kids for Saving Earth
Labor Occupational Health Program
LEGACY-The Landscape Connection
MassCOSH
Migrant Clinicians Network
Minnesota Nurses Association
National Center for Health Research
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health
National Nurses United
New York State Nurses Association
NYS Public Employees Federation
Occupational Health Management Services inc
Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals
Public Citizen
Quality First EHS, Inc.
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
SafeWork Washington
Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust Inc.
Transport Workers Union of America
UFCW Local 222
United Steelworkers
Utility Workers Union of America

Progress of COVID Inoculations

According to the coronavirus vaccine tracker, the U.S. has now administered 92.09 million vaccine doses with around 27.6% of the U.S. population vaccinated (with at least one dose). In the United States an average of 2.17 million doses were injected daily.

Globally 312.05 million vaccine doses have been given with the U.S., China and U.K. in the top three positions. India will pass the U.K. in the next few days and enter third place. India is administering vaccines to three times as many people per day as the U.K.

Source: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

COVID still ravaging Europe

The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive. Genetic analysis confirmed what officials already suspected: The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in England was racing through the community, a densely packed city of nearly 40,000.

Europe recorded 1 million new COVID-19 cases last week, an increase of 9% from the previous week and a reversal that ended a six-week decline in new infections. "The spread of the variants is driving the increase,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. The variant first found in the U.K. is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 countries: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal. It is up to 50% more transmissible than the virus that surged last spring and again in the fall, making it more adept at thwarting measures that were previously effective, WHO experts warned. Scientists have concluded that it is also more deadly.

The situation is dire in the Czech Republic, which this week registered a record-breaking total of nearly 8,500 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Poland is opening temporary hospitals and imposing a partial lockdown as the U.K. variant has grown from 10% of all infections in February to 25% now.

Kluge cited Britain’s experience as cause for optimism, noting that widespread restrictions and the introduction of the vaccine have helped tamp down the variants there and in Israel. The vaccine rollout in the European Union, by comparison, is lagging badly, mostly because of supply problems.

While the U.K. variant is dominant in France, forcing lockdowns in the French Riviera city of Nice and the northern port of Dunkirk, the variant first detected in South Africa has emerged as the most prevalent in France’s Moselle region, which borders Germany and Luxembourg. It represents 55% of the virus circulating there.

Austria’s health minister said Saturday the U.K. variant is now dominant in his country. But the South Africa variant is also a concern in a district of Austria that extends from Italy to Germany, with Austrian officials announcing plans to vaccinate most of the 84,000 residents there to curb its spread. Austria is also requiring motorists along the Brenner highway, a major north-south route, to show negative test results.

The South Africa variant, now present in 26 European countries, is a source of particular concern because of doubts over whether the current vaccines are effective enough against it. The Brazilian variant, which appears capable of reinfecting people, has been detected in 15 European countries.

“People are starting to get tired that after a year there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” Vassallo said.

Source: Europe staggers as infectious variants power virus surge

There is an old saying "Don't put all your eggs in one basket". Vaccines have been developed and continue to be refined but tackling this pandemic means that you pull out all the stops and attack the threat from many angles. The world has been slow to recognize that this virus is being transmitted by aerosols. As such they have failed to appreciate that several simple steps can dramatically reduce the risk of infection. These steps include wearing better mask, N95s. Using UVC to kill off the virus in indoor environments. This can be done by installing such systems such as the REMI-HALO in the ductwork of HVAC systems or using stand alone systems, such as the OION Technologies B-1000. It can be done by ensuring adequate ventilation of indoor spaces. It can be done by filtering indoor air through HEPA filters.

More Variants than can be Counted

Several variants of the coronavirus have appeared over the last year and caught our attention. These include the U.K. variant, the South African Variant and the Brazil Variant. These are of concern because some of the variants are more infectious, more deadly and some exhibit immunity to some of the vaccines that are being developed and deployed.

So how many variants are there? Probably more than can be counted. Here is a map of the U.S.



Some individual states have submitted between 5.478 and 21,892 different variants to the international GISAID repository. That is a whole lot of variants. Other states have submitted far less but that is rather due to the level of genome testing within a state rather than the variation that actually exist in the state - the level of testing.

“It’s a Wild West,” says Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport who co-led a team that, last month, spotted a fast-rising variant in Louisiana, New Mexico and elsewhere. In the absence of clear data on a variant’s behavior, “it’s as if there’s an unofficial policy that every variant is a variant of concern until proven otherwise”, says Kamil.

In the absence of clear-cut epidemiological or medical data, scientists can gauge some of a variant’s potential threat by the mutations it carries. Researchers have drawn up a growing list of mutations that might boost transmission or help a virus evade immune responses, based on laboratory and epidemiological studies.

The variant that Ho’s team identified in New York, also known as B.1.526, carries a notorious mutation called E484K that has been found in variants identified in South Africa and Brazil. Studies by multiple labs have shown that the E484K change — which is in a portion of the coronavirus spike protein that recognizes host cells — weakens the potency of antibodies that can ordinarily disable the virus. That could help explain observations that similar variants in South Africa and Brazil are behind cases of reinfection and reduced vaccine efficacy in field trials. The first cases of the B.1.526 variant appeared in November, growing to 5% of the New York city’s total cases in mid-January and 12% by February. In public sequencing databases, the researchers found B.1.526 up and down the northeast coast of the U.S. and as far away as Singapore.

Last week, researchers in California raised a red flag over variants found there that carry a spike protein mutation called L452R1. A team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found that a variant with the mutation was rising rapidly in one city neighborhood, from being present in 16% of sequenced samples in November to more than half in mid-January. Another UCSF team found, in lab tests, that a variant with the L452R mutation was more infectious and less susceptible to antibodies, according to media reports.

Source: Multitude of coronavirus variants found

Eli Lilly COVID-19 Drug Combo

A combination of two Eli Lilly antibody drugs cut the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by 87%, the company announced Wednesday, further upholding dosing already authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.

The findings draw from a BLAZE-1 Phase 3 cohort with 769 mild-to-moderate coronavirus patients aged 12 and up at high-risk of progressing to severe disease. There were 15 "events" like hospitalizations or deaths in the placebo group, and four "events" in a group of patients taking 700 mg of bamlanivimab and 1400 mg of etesevimab together, "representing an 87 percent risk reduction," Lilly announced.

Skovronsky added that the results show the drugs remain effective despite the recent concerning variants, "particularly" those coursing throughout the U.S.

Source: Eli Lilly COVID-19 drug combo cuts risk of hospitalizations, deaths by 87%: study

Progress of COVID Inoculations

According to the coronavirus vaccine tracker, the U.S. has now administered 93.69 million vaccine doses with around 28.1% of the U.S. population vaccinated (with at least one dose). In the United States an average of 2.11 million doses were injected daily.

Globally 319.17 million vaccine doses have been given with the U.S., China and India in the top three positions. India just pass the U.K. India is administering vaccines at approximately four times the rate as in the U.K. India has a far larger population than the U.K. and now that they are ramping up they might even surpass China.

Source: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Vaccine Booster

The first participants in Moderna’s trial assessing new variant-specific booster shots have been vaccinated, the company announced. The new vaccines target a coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, which has demonstrated reduced vaccine efficacy.

Moderna is testing three variations of a booster among 60 vaccinated participants. First, it will study the variant-specific jab, which will be given at a lower dose than its original vaccine (20 micrograms), and will require an evaluation and an approved amendment to the original emergency use authorization from the FDA before distribution to the public, should the results of the trial prove promising.

Secondly, Moderna said it plans to study a combination of the original vaccine and the variant-specific one in a single jab at 50 micrograms. Lastly, it will study the effects of the variant booster shot at a higher dose, 50 micrograms.

Source: Moderna's new COVID-19 vaccine variant booster shots tested in humans