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Double Retired
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27 Sep 2022, 8:58 am

From Yahoo!, attributed to Fortune: "Why COVID isn't like the flu (yet) in one brutal graph"

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“We’re now trying to treat [COVID] like a seasonal influenza and it’s just not yet,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), recently told Fortune.

There were 1,055 COVID deaths in the U.S. two weeks ago, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to only 4 flu deaths the same week.

COVID deaths have spiked several times over the past few years due to new variants of the virus, taking hundreds of thousands of lives annually (463,210 last year). By contrast, the flu only took an estimated 22,000 lives during the 2019-2020 season, according to the CDC.

Over the past 12 years, the flu’s estimated annual death toll has been as low as 12,000, but never higher than 61,000—just an eighth of COVID’s death toll in the first year of the pandemic.


I think I'll stay in my COVID bunker a bit longer. :silent:


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27 Sep 2022, 10:41 am

My covid bunker was my covid bunker before covid.



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27 Sep 2022, 2:01 pm

A distinct symptom pattern emerges for COVID-19 long-haul: a nationwide study

An interesting study, although it's no surprise to those of us who suffer with Long Covid.

This line echos what I've been saying all this time (and nobody in power has the sense to say it):

Quote:
Initial COVID-19 symptom presentation varies; however, the development of PASC appears to be independent of COVID-19 symptom presentation, severity, or the presence of pre-morbid (pre-existing) health conditions. Persons at risk for PASC include those who were initially asymptomatic, as well as symptomatic persons independent of needing hospitalization.

It bothers me so much when Covid deniers continue to shout "Keep vulnerable people locked in their basements, and let the rest of us live our lives!"

:roll:

ASPartOfMe wrote:
IMHO the author is wrong to conclude that Long Covid is largely psychosomatic. Most of us have experienced real conditions that were dismissed as “all in our head”.

Like most auto-immune diseases, roughly 80% of Long Covid sufferers are female, so it's easy for Covid deniers to take the sexist path and claim that it's just women being hysterical.


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27 Sep 2022, 4:38 pm

Rising Covid-19 cases in the UK may be a warning for the US

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There are signs that the United Kingdom could be heading into a fall Covid-19 wave, and experts say the United States may not be far behind.

A recent increase in Covid-19 cases in England doesn’t seem to be driven by a new coronavirus variant, at least for now, although several are gaining strength in the US and across the pond.

Generally, what happens in the UK is reflected about a month later in the US. I think this is what I’ve sort of been seeing,” said Dr. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London.

Spector runs the Zoe Health Study, which uses an app to let people in the UK and US report their daily symptoms. If they start to feel bad, they take a home Covid-19 test and record those results. He says that about 500,000 people are currently logging their symptoms every day to help track trends in the pandemic.

Spector says the study, which has been running since the days of the first lockdown in England in 2020, has accurately captured the start of each wave, and its numbers run about one to two weeks ahead of official government statistics.

After seeing a downward trend for the past few weeks, the Zoe study saw a 30% increase in reported Covid-19 cases within the past week.

“Our current data is definitely showing this is the beginning of the next wave,” Spector said.

On Friday, that increase was reflected in official UK government data too, although it was not as large as the increases reported by Zoe loggers.

Data from the National Health Service showed that after falling for nearly two months, the seven-day average of new cases in England and Wales rose 13% for the week ending September 17 over the week before. The seven-day average of hospitalizations was up 17% in the week ending September 19 compared with the week prior.

The data aligns with what models have predicted would happen in both the UK and the US.

“They predicted that we’d get a June to July peak and then there’d be a month where nothing happened in August and then it would flatten in in August and September and then start again in October. So it’s exactly matching what the modelers have have been predicting,” Spector said.

In the US, some models have predicted that Covid-19 cases will begin to rise again in October and continue to increase into the winter. Experts are hopeful that because most of the population now has some underlying immunity to the coronavirus, this wave would be less deadly than we’ve seen in previous winters.

It’s not clear what’s driving the increase in the UK or whether it will be sustained.

“These trends may continue for more than a week or two, or they may not,” said Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England.

Broken down by age, he says, there are clear increases among adolescents who are around middle school age and younger adults, those 25 through 34.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if there were some increase in infection as people come back from summer holidays and as the schools reopen,” McConway said in a statement to the nonprofit Science Media Centre. “Even if it is, there’s certainly no clear indication yet that it will continue.”

He’s not the only one who needs to see more data before calling this the start of a new wave.

“Question one is, how significant is that rise? Is it, for instance, the beginning of something, a new wave, or is this a temporary blip because of all of the getting together around the Queen’s funeral and other events that have been going on?” said Dr. Peter Hotez, who co-directs the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

A second important question will be whether the increase is being driven by a new variant.

“That’s the worst possible situation. Because historically, when that situation occurs in the UK, it’s reflected within a matter of weeks in the United States,” Hotez said. “That was true of the Alpha wave; that was true of the Delta wave; that was true of Omicron and its subvariants.”

That’s where the US may catch a break this time around.

Instead of new variants, Christina Pagel, a professor of operational research at University College London, thinks cases are going up in the UK because of a combination of waning immunity and behavioral changes.

Many people in the UK are several months past their last Covid-19 booster or infection, and government statistics show that just 8% of adults 50 and older have gotten an Omicron-specific vaccine since the government started its fall vaccination campaign in September. School and work have fully resumed after the summer holidays, and people are spending more time indoors as the temperature drops.

Immunity is also waning in the United States, and Americans have also been slow to get boosted. Just 35% of those for whom a booster is recommended have had one, according to CDC data.

The updated boosters in the US are slightly different from the ones in the UK. The UK is using vaccines that have been updated to fight the original version of Omicron, which is not circulating anymore. US boosters have been updated to fight the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which are currently causing infections both here and abroad. It’s not clear whether the strain differences will have an effect on cases or disease severity.

There are a mix of new variants – offshoots of BA.4 and BA.5 – that are waiting in the wings. They represent just a small proportion of total cases, but several are growing against BA.5, which is still dominating transmission.


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28 Sep 2022, 6:30 am

I received my Moderna COVID bivalent booster about 2 weeks ago, so I should be at the point of being fully vaccinated against the Omicron variant of COVID. My wife is going in for her shot (the Pfizer) in a few minutes. So we should be fully protected from all the main variant out there.

The current strains of COVID are not as serious as the earlier strains. But they are much more contagious. So although I do not believe that a major deadly pandemic will occur around November of this year in the Northern states of the U.S., we will be protected should I be wrong.


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28 Sep 2022, 8:15 am

We got the bivalent booster (Pfizer) Monday last week.

Predictably, my bride had some minor side effects. The only time she has had no side effects was when they gave her a Moderna booster in April...but this time what they had was Pfizer.

I have not had any side effects for any of the COVID shots other than the expected "It feels like someone stuck me with a needle!" This time, however, I didn't have even that; even when I felt around the shoulder there was no tenderness and the only way I knew where the shot had been was because that's where the band-aid was. (Though that night I discovered that sleeping on my side with that shoulder down made it a little sore.)

So I guess we're as protected as we can be. But I still want to stay in my COVID bunker and wear a mask when I'm in stores, etc. Our county still has high transmission levels and has not gotten the hospital usage down to trivial, yet.


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28 Sep 2022, 9:48 pm

At least where I am, it seems like everyone caught it over the Summer. So I'd be really surprised if there was a surge here in the Fall.... just because the virus doesn't have much time to mutate in between.

As an aside, does anyone know what the logic is for vaccinating against the original strain, as opposed to just vaccinating against the newer strains? Is the original strain still in circulation?


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30 Sep 2022, 7:59 am

Quote:
As an aside, does anyone know what the logic is for vaccinating against the original strain, as opposed to just vaccinating against the newer strains? Is the original strain still in circulation?


The original strain was much more deadly. The current Omicron strain is not so deadly but it is much more contagious. The current shots provide protection against both the earlier strains combined with the later strains.

I would guess the original strain is still in circulation in the U.S. but only a minute amount of people are vulnerable.


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30 Sep 2022, 2:55 pm

Did a mod delete all the posts I made in this thread? I made loads in 2020 but I can't find any of them. I want to read them again.


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30 Sep 2022, 3:52 pm

Joe90 wrote:
Did a mod delete all the posts I made in this thread? I made loads in 2020 but I can't find any of them. I want to read them again.

First 2020 post here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=384318&p=8446741#p8446741
Last in 2020 here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=384318&p=8634755#p8634755

You can find them all by searching your own posts here: search.php?author_id=33962&sr=posts

and typing "emergence deadly coronavirus" in the "Search these results" box

Image

A few other threads pop up, but I don't know a better way to do it.


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30 Sep 2022, 4:10 pm

Joe90 wrote:
Did a mod delete all the posts I made in this thread? I made loads in 2020 but I can't find any of them. I want to read them again.
We've all been talking about COVID a lot of places. Might you be looking for one of these?

> General Discussion › General Autism Discussion › Autism and the Covid Vaccination: anyone been vaccinated?

> Coping in life › The Haven › Scared of covid

> Board index › Coping in life › Health, Fitness, and Sports › Are you fully vaccinated for COVID-19?


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30 Sep 2022, 4:15 pm

OK, thanks guys. I find the search feature here crap, and I don't know what exact month I posted so it's hard to search through my posts. I just fancy a little read of my own posts when my anxiety was at its peak with the covid pandemic.


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30 Sep 2022, 4:59 pm

This winter is supposed to be the worst for Covid and the Flu.


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01 Oct 2022, 12:20 pm

My wife received her booster shot that includes the Omicron variant of the COVID vaccine. She experienced no bad side effects. So it looks like the new shots are winners.

I expect that November of this year will be the time of COVID surge in the northern states of the U.S. But so many people have either been vaccinated or have experienced the various versions of COVID that it might not really materialize this year. Time will tell.


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02 Oct 2022, 12:21 pm

Long Covid: What science has learned about the loss of smell and taste

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Imagine waking up one morning after recovering from Covid-19 to find that your coffee smells like unwashed socks, your eggs reek of feces and your orange juice tastes metallic. Oddly, that’s a good thing: It’s a sign you still have a working sense of smell – even if it’s miswired in your brain.

Your ability to smell can also disappear completely, a condition called anosmia. Without warning, you can no longer inhale the sweet odor of your baby’s skin, the roses gifted by your partner or the pungent stink of your exercise clothes.

Taste and smell are intertwined, so food may be bland or flavorless. Appetite and enjoyment of life may plummet, which past studies show can lead to nutritional deficits, cognitive decline and depression.

Danger lurks as well. Without smell, you may not recognize the telltale signs of fires, natural gas leaks, poisonous chemicals or spoiled food and drink.

Such is the reality of some 5% of global Covid-19 survivors who have now developed long-lasting taste and smell problems, according to a 2022 study. More than two years into the pandemic, researchers found an estimated 15 million people may still have problems perceiving odors, while 12 million may struggle with taste.

Support and advocacy groups such as AbScent and Fifth Sense have mobilized to help, offering affirmation and hope, tips on smell training and even recipes to bolster appetite.

Smell or olfactory training encourages people to sniff essential oils twice a day, said rhinologist Dr. Zara Patel, a professor of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

“The way I explain it to patients is if you had a stroke, and it made your arm not work, you would go to physical therapy, you would do rehab,” Patel said. “That’s exactly what olfactory training is for your sense of smell.”

As science learns more about how Covid-19 attacks and disrupts smell, “I think you’re going to see interventions that are more targeted,” said rhinologist Dr. Justin Turner, an associate professor of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Anyone still struggling with a loss of smell and taste “should think positively and assume their sense of smell will return,” Turner said. “Yes, there are some people that won’t recover, so for those folks, we want them to not ignore it. We want them to take it seriously.”

People have been losing their sense of smell and taste for centuries. Common cold and flu viruses, nasal polyps, thyroid disorders, severe allergies, sinus infections and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis can all damage the ability to smell and taste – at times, permanently.

So can head trauma, exposure to noxious chemicals, cancer treatments, smoking, gum disease, antibiotics and various blood pressure, cholesterol, reflux and allergy medications, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Growing old is a major cause of smell loss as the ability of the olfactory neurons to regenerate declines. A study conducted in 1984 found more than 50% of people between ages 65 and 80 years suffered from “major olfactory impairment.” The number climbed to more than 75% for people over age 80.

When the virus that causes Covid-19 invaded our lives, a condition that was relatively rare among people under 50 expanded exponentially, affecting all ages.

“Covid-19 affected younger people much more than other forms of post-viral smell loss,” said surgeon Dr. Eric Holbrook, an associate professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Harvard Medical School. “You wouldn’t see much smell loss in the pediatric population, for example, and now it’s very common.”

In fact, loss of smell was so prevalent at the beginning of the pandemic it was considered the canary in the coal mine – an early sign of Covid-19 infection even in the absence of other symptoms.

That’s not true today. A study published in May found 17% of people lost their sense of smell when infected with the Omicron variant, which became the predominant variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 in late 2021. (This could change again if the virus mutates.)

In comparison, people sickened by the two original variants, Alpha and Beta, were 50% more likely to lose their sense of smell or taste. Delta was nearly as bad – 44% of people were affected, according to the study.

Statistics show most people recover their sense of taste and smell. An August analysis of 267 people who lost smell and taste at least two years ago found the majority either fully (38.2%) or partially (54.3%) recovered their ability to smell and taste. That was especially true for people under 40, according to the study.

But 7.5% had not recovered their sense of smell and taste two years after their Covid-19 infection cleared. Those who were least likely to recover included people with existing nasal congestion, more women than men, and those who had a greater initial severity of smell loss, the study found.

How does Covid-19 damage the olfactory system? At first scientists believed it infected neurons in the nose responsible for transmitting smells from the environment into the brain. Those neurons sit in the olfactory bulbs at the very top of each nostril and send out axons, or cables, to unique sensory spots in the brain.

Soon studies discovered the virus does not enter those neurons at all. Instead, it attacks sustentacular cells, also known as supporting cells, which provide nourishment and protection to nerve cells from birth. Unlike many other cells, neurons in the nose undergo rebirth every two to three months.

“(Covid-19) infection of those supporting cells likely has some sort of long-term effect on the ability of those neurons to regenerate themselves with time,” Turner said.

“That’s one of the reasons we sometimes see a delayed effect: People may have some smell loss that recovers, then later they have a second wave of smell loss, parosmia or other symptoms because that regenerative capacity is malfunctioning,” he said.

Parosmia is the medical term for distorted smells, which can often be quite disgusting, Patel said.

“Unfortunately, there’s these classic categories of really terrible smells and tastes,” she said. “Sometimes it’s feces, garbage or old dirty socks. There can be a sort of sickly, sweet chemical type of smell and taste. Oh, and rotting flesh is another common category.”

For many people, parosmia tends to occur or reoccur at the three-month mark, about the time olfactory neurons would naturally be regenerating, experts told CNN.

“If the reconnection misses its target and hits a different spot in the brain reserved for a different odor, your perception of smell is going to be totally screwed up,” Holbrook said.

There may also be a genetic component. A January study discovered a mutation in two overlapping genes, UGT2A1 and UGT2A2, that play a role in metabolizing odors. People with that mutation may be more susceptible to losing their sense of smell, but further studies are needed to determine the virus’s association to the genes – if any.

People who are older and have chronic diseases that affect the nervous system, such as diabetes, are often more susceptible to olfactory damage, Patel said.

“It’s the very small vessels in the body, including the nose, that are affected by diabetes, disturbing blood, nutrient and oxygen flow to these olfactory nerves,” she said. “People with chronic sinus or allergy inflammation in the nose – anything that makes it harder for our system to bounce back will likely be at higher risk as well.”


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06 Oct 2022, 7:55 am

Accordingly, the Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant may have a larger spread than other sub-variants, indicating a stronger resilience to preventive measures such as vaccinations and treatments. A total of nine alterations, including G446S and R493Q mutations, are found in the surface proteins, mainly the S1 spike proteins which permit cell entrance to generate multiple variations of Omicron, helping it to resist the immune system that has been acquired either naturally or via vaccination. BA.2.75's capacity to spread to places where BA.2 infections have already been identified can also be explained by BA.2.75 having the ability to escape the immunity against the BA.2.75 variant. Other than BA.2 sub-variants, a high growth rate of 16% each day has been identified in the majority of reported cases in India, competing with other BA.2 sub-variants, notably BA.5, which is now spreading worldwide. As a result, adding heterogeneous boosting protection against BA.2.75 to vaccinations is critical in avoiding a surge in BA.2.75 and further dissemination.

The pathogenicity of the BA.2.75 sub-variant is attributed to the presence of two distinct mutations in BA.2.75. The first is G446S, a location that contributes significantly to this variant's resistance to antibodies generated by existing vaccinations The second mutation is R493Q, which permits the virus to connect to ACE2 receptors, allowing it to adhere to cells more easily. Each of these causes is believed to contribute to the recent spike in this variant's dissemination that has been seen over the last two weeks, which has already been recorded in eleven remote Indian states and seven other nations. There is a danger to those immunized, whether through vaccination or by developing natural immunity. However, it is too early to determine whether this lineage will spread rapidly or become the dominant one in the next weeks.

Source: Could the new BA.2.75 sub-variant lead to another COVID-19 wave in the world?

From my perspective, put all this aside and focus on one thing. All the variants of COVID can be pulled away and destroyed very easily in homes and business. This is done by using a UVC (Ultra Violet C light). These devices have been around for years and are inexpensive and easy to use.

UVC radiation is a known disinfectant for air, water, and nonporous surfaces. UVC radiation has effectively been used for decades to reduce the spread of bacteria, such as tuberculosis. For this reason, UVC lamps are often called "germicidal" lamps.


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