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SpiceWolf
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02 Feb 2023, 9:05 pm

jimmy m wrote:
A high-quality mask lowers the probability of infection by any respiratory virus, and vaccination reduces the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization, and death in those who become infected.


No.

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... .pub6/full

These guys are the gold standard of evidence based research.

The following is a summary of their findings.

=====
With 276,000 participants in Randomised Controlled Trials, masking does nothing.
No reduction in influenza like or Covid like illness and no reduction in confirmed flu or COVID.
=====

Their exists at this time, no reliable evidence, that Masking has any effect on Covid at all.



jimmy m
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03 Feb 2023, 10:08 am

SpiceWolf wrote:
jimmy m wrote:
A high-quality mask lowers the probability of infection by any respiratory virus, and vaccination reduces the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization, and death in those who become infected.


No.

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... .pub6/full

These guys are the gold standard of evidence based research.

The following is a summary of their findings.

=====
With 276,000 participants in Randomised Controlled Trials, masking does nothing.
No reduction in influenza like or Covid like illness and no reduction in confirmed flu or COVID.
=====

Their exists at this time, no reliable evidence, that Masking has any effect on Covid at all.


I will disagree. I have never gotten COVID, nor has my wife, nor has my two daughters, nor has their husbands, nor has my three oldest grandchildren. Only the two youngest ones got it and the sickness had minimal effect on them. Very early in 2020, I understood how to protect myself and my family and I implemented the following 3 steps to protect me and my family. And it was effective.

So protecting your self from COVID can be done and done fairly easily. It relies on three tools.
1. Maintaining indoor air temperature between 40 and 60 percent humility.
2. Using UVC filtration to clean your air from COVID particles. These devices have been around for over 20 years and are fairly inexpensive.
3. In areas (outside your home) where you might become exposed, wear efficient mask. There are many types of masks. Most will not provide protection, but real N95s are gold. They work. They can keep you safe. One N95 can be worn for up to 2 months before you throw it away. But you must purify the mask everytime you return home. You do this by blasting it with UVC radiation for less than 10 minutes after you return home. Not everyone needs to wear mask. The only individuals that need to wear them are those that are vulnerable. These are elderly, or those with vulnerabilities such as those with diabetes, smokers, etc.

But also keep in mind that the version of COVID that is out there is not the same as the original version. It is much more contagious but at the same time much less deadly.

One thing that the experts got wrong and it was a very important thing was how highly contagious this virus was. They said people must maintain a distance of 3 feet or 6 feet from someone carrying COVID to prevent becoming infected. This was wrong, DEAD WRONG. This virus can be spread 50 feet. This was documented in studies. So everyone was wrong from the very beginning on how to protect people from becoming infected.


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Silence23
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03 Feb 2023, 4:44 pm

jimmy m wrote:
I will disagree. I have never gotten COVID, nor has my wife, nor has my two daughters, nor has their husbands, nor has my three oldest grandchildren.


You may have been infected with Covid-19 without being aware of it. Not everyone has symptoms. It's not the first coronavirus pandemic. It's just that in the past centuries since the discovery of coronaviruses no one cared. So you've likely been infected with various similar coronaviruses before.

Common human coronaviruses, including types 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1, usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold. Most people get infected with one or more of these viruses at some point in their lives. This information applies to common human coronaviruses and should not be confused with coronavirus disease 2019 (formerly referred to as 2019 Novel Coronavirus).
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general ... ation.html

In May 2022 only 31% of the population of South Africa was vaccinated:
https://theconversation.com/unvaccinate ... abs-183742

Also in May 2022 97% of the population of South Africa had Covid-19 antibodies:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... protection

So that means the vast majority of unvaccinated South Africans already had Covid-19. I bet many didn't even notice it.



SabbraCadabra
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04 Feb 2023, 4:26 pm

SpiceWolf wrote:
No.

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... .pub6/full

These guys are the gold standard of evidence based research.

Interesting that the link you provide states that these "studies" they cite did not provide enough evidence.

Pro-COVID propaganda is an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to severely weaken the United States of America.

Please do not spread that kind of misinformation here.


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jimmy m
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04 Feb 2023, 8:17 pm

I wrote: "I will disagree. I have never gotten COVID, nor has my wife, nor has my two daughters, nor has their husbands, nor has my three oldest grandchildren."

The assessment that I made is good and accurate.


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SpiceWolf
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04 Feb 2023, 9:37 pm

SabbraCadabra wrote:
SpiceWolf wrote:
No.

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... .pub6/full

These guys are the gold standard of evidence based research.

Interesting that the link you provide states that these "studies" they cite did not provide enough evidence.


No, they said, they could not rule out that some small effect could later be shown, if a sufficiently large and rigorous enough study was done. But that's not what I claimed, what I said is,
'Their exists at this time, no reliable evidence, that masking has any effect on Coronavirus at all.'
and their is none.



SabbraCadabra
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05 Feb 2023, 1:28 pm

SpiceWolf wrote:
No, they said, they could not rule out that some small effect could later be shown, if a sufficiently large and rigorous enough study was done. But that's not what I claimed, what I said is,
'Their exists at this time, no reliable evidence, that masking has any effect on Coronavirus at all.'
and their is none.

Okay, I'm sure Putin is very proud of you, comrade. :salut:


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jimmy m
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09 Feb 2023, 7:50 pm

As of 4 February 2023, the estimated variants of COVID are at:

XBB.1.5 ----- 66.4 %
BQ.1.1 ------ 19.9 %
BQ.1 --------- 7.3 %
XBB ----------2.3 %
CH.1.1 ------- 1.6 %
BN.1 ---------- 1.1 %
BA.5 ---------- 0.5 %
BF.7 ---------- 0.5 %
BA.5.2.6 ------ 0.2 %
BA.2 -----------0.1 %
BF.11 --------- 0.1 %

Source: What COVID-19 variants are going around in February 2023?


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jimmy m
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09 Feb 2023, 8:16 pm

It is always good to look into the future. The new kid on the block is CH1.1. This variant is new and what do we know about it.

CH.1.1 contains the mutation L452R that’s seen in delta, but not in omicron, and this may give CH1.1 the ability to become more infectious than other omicron stains. CH.1.1 has been nicknamed Orthus, after the two-headed dog in Greek mythology.

CH 1.1 has made its presence known in the U.K., where it accounted for 28.2% of new sequence infections compared to XBB.1.5’s 10.9% of sequenced infections as of January 15, the most recent data available by that country’s Office of National Statistics.

Mary Ramsay, M.D., the head of immunization at the UK Health Security Agency, said in a press release that “it’s concerning that the recent downward trend in COVID-19 hospitalizations has started to show signs of a reverse this week.”

Ohio State researchers created CH.1.1 in a laboratory and tested it against blood taken from 14 healthcare workers who had gotten two and four doses of monovalent vaccine, as well as the bivalent vaccine aimed at omicron and its subvariants. The workers’ blood generated 17 times fewer antibodies against CH.1.1 as they did against BA.4 and BA.5, according to the study.


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ASPartOfMe
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09 Feb 2023, 10:02 pm

ASAN Objects to Ending the Federal Public Health Emergency Status of COVID-19

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On May 11th, 2023, the Biden administration will end the national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) related to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Ending the public health emergency will harm many people. Over a million people have died. The number of COVID cases are at record highs, and over 3,000 people in the United States are still dying of COVID every week. Less than 20% of the US has the bivalent booster. This is especially true for marginalized people. For all of these reasons, COVID is continuing to harm our communities.

Ending the public health emergency gives the dangerous impression that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. People need to continue to think about risk and community transmission. People need to continue to mask, people need to ensure that they are up to date with all boosters. People with developmental disabilities are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Many in our community have additional risk factors, like heart or lung issues. COVID-19 is especially dangerous in congregate settings such as nursing homes, and it will continue to spread. COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in 2020. People with disabilities, low income people, and people of color are more likely to have bad outcomes from COVID-19, including death.

Ending the PHE will negatively impact health care and health care coverage, especially for marginalized people who had difficulty accessing care even before the pandemic. During the public health emergency, Medicaid coverage has been more open and flexible than usual in many states. Medicaid has had enhanced federal funding. States could also not take people off of Medicaid. Over 19 million people enrolled in Medicaid since February 2020, whether due to this expansion or people who newly qualified due to changes in disability status, financial status, or age. On April 1, states will be able to reduce coverage and will no longer have the enhanced federal funding for Medicaid. Millions of people will no longer qualify and lose Medicaid coverage. Even more will lose coverage even though they still qualify, because the requirements to keep this coverage will be more demanding. The groups who will lose the most coverage despite qualifying will disproportionately be children and people of color. This is expected to be the biggest increase in uninsured children in the history of the United States.

Hospitals that relied on pandemic-response higher reimbursement rates for Medicare and flexible waivers and eligibility requirements for certain classes of health care will no longer receive these payments. This will result in decreased access to care. Ending these reimbursements will leave hospitals worse-equipped to handle future Covid cases. This is especially bad because COVID-19 is a mass disabling event. Health systems serving hard-hit communities will struggle to meet the additional medical need COVID has brought about. This will mean that many people who need health care because they became disabled from COVID will not have access to it.

Cost sharing provisions for COVID-19 tests for people on private insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare are ending. People on these plans will have to pay more for COVID tests. Tests will become less available as a result, leading to more spread and less-accurate information about COVID risk in communities. Uninsured people used to be covered for COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines, but without additional federal funding for these programs, people without insurance have been left vulnerable since last spring.

Ending the public health emergency also means there will be fewer tools to help people make informed decisions about COVID. States will stop having to report COVID-19 data to the government. ASAN had to end our COVID-19 case tracker for congregate settings in January of this year due to lack of data. This lack of information will make it hard for people to find out how much COVID is circulating in their communities. It also makes it more difficult to see the impact specifically on marginalized communities.

The public health emergency status provided care to many people who need care to survive the pandemic. Ending it harms our communities. COVID-19 is not over.


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jimmy m
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10 Feb 2023, 8:41 am

Is Orthrus the Next Top-Dog COVID Variant?

In a BioRxivopens in a new tab or window preprint, Shan-Lu Liu, MD, PhD, and colleagues said Orthrus emerged in Southeast Asia in November 2022, and now accounts for about a quarter of cases in the U.K. and New Zealand. At other times in the pandemic, the U.K. has served as a bellwether of what could hit the U.S. in terms of new variants and potential surges.

The February 2023 COVID epidemiological update opens in a new tab or window from the World Health Organization (WHO) lists Orthrus among the top three most prevalent variants in Europe, clocking in at 12.3%, slightly behind BQ.1 at 13% and BQ.1.1 at 31.3%.


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SabbraCadabra
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10 Feb 2023, 2:28 pm

Most accurate article I've read in a long time:

Is There a Cure for Long COVID?
Follow these steps, and you will recover. Or will you?

Key points
There is currently no cure for long COVID.


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10 Feb 2023, 2:29 pm

No cure for the Common Cold either. But it could get treated.



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11 Feb 2023, 6:13 am

I'd be interested to see the percentage of people claiming to have Long Covid who are self employed and working in the private sector as opposed to those working in public sector jobs. The implication being, if it's not obvious, that there is little or no incentive for somebody working for themselves to fake it, whilst the reverse will be true to some extent for those in a more favourable position and more ethically inclined to play the system (time off, work from home, benefits).
That would go some way to convince me whether or not it's a serious problem or largely imagined/exaggerated.

I had 'long Covid' symptoms for 3 - 6 months afterwards, not been ill with anything since (including a cold) for close to 2 years, which is unusual for me, I usually come down with something every 5 months on average, but that's for another debate.

Do I no longer have Long Covid because I'm no longer showing any obvious symptoms or does it mean any illness I come down with in the future can be blamed on Long Covid? Or is it the case that I never had Long Covid because I recovered too early to tick the box? Can or should somebody who's had mild symptoms for 3 weeks after returning to work claim to have suffered the same condition as somebody with chronic fatigue a year later?



SabbraCadabra
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11 Feb 2023, 10:26 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
No cure for the Common Cold either. But it could get treated.

Read the article ;)

Cold has treatment, but mostly goes away on its own in a week or two.
Long Covid has no treatment and doesn't appear to go away ever.

lostproperty wrote:
The implication being, if it's not obvious, that there is little or no incentive for somebody working for themselves to fake it, whilst the reverse will be true to some extent for those in a more favourable position and more ethically inclined to play the system (time off, work from home, benefits).
That would go some way to convince me whether or not it's a serious problem or largely imagined/exaggerated.

A lot of people I see in the support groups are still working, or trying to, because the only other option is becoming homeless and/or committing suicide because they have nowhere else to turn.

I live in the US and there is absolutely zero incentive to faking Long Covid or any other illness here.
There is no monetary support, no moral support, not really any health services, there is very little chance of even being eligible for disability, all of your friends and family will become too frustrated to help support you anymore.

You can't "play the system", here:
"time off" = lose your job very quickly.
Work from home = The few jobs that allow one to work remotely are shutting that option down.
Benefits = ??? Enjoy being gaslit by everyone, especially doctors? If you can afford one.


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lostproperty
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11 Feb 2023, 3:35 pm

SabbraCadabra wrote:

I live in the US and there is absolutely zero incentive to faking Long Covid or any other illness here.


One thing we can say with certainty about Long Covid is that there is no medium-long term data.
One of the scientists I pay the most attention to recounted that a conservative friend said to her recently "How come you take Covid seriously if you're against the Covid vaccine?" which probably says a lot about where people's heads are at generally. Unless you're dressed from head to toe in pro or anti narrative colours at all times, people are very confused by your position.

As for zero incentive in the US, there's clearly a big difference with the UK, as you point out, but I wouldn't say zero. People are known to look to any excuse for sympathy or attention at the best of times, it could be used as an excuse for not meeting deadlines, mental health/marriage problems and so on. That's not to suggest people aren't suffering, but if it was a serious widespread problem I'd expect the MSM to be going overboard with it, which they are most definitely not, though maybe that's because the cost/benefit to the powers that be in doing so at this stage would be negative. Here in the UK for example, getting over 50s back in to work has become a serious problem.