COVID-19 News and Discussions

[R8Z]

Another European country is lifting all the COVID-related restrictions. This time Denmark is planning to end it by the beginning of February. I think my prediction that this would be over this year is going to be met.

[raklian]

Another European country is lifting all the COVID-related restrictions. This time Denmark is planning to end it by the beginning of February. I think my prediction that this would be over this year is going to be met.

I think that prediction is a bit premature. As long as most poor countries (Africa, Asia, etc.) have low vaccination rates, we will have countries re-imposing restrictions during outbreak flareups by new variants. Vaccinating the entire world is the key to ending this pandemic, no question about it.

[wjfox]

Spotify removes Neil Young music in feud over Joe Rogan’s false Covid claims

Wed 26 Jan 2022 22.41 GMT

The music streaming platform Spotify is in the process of removing Neil Young’s music after the company refused to take down Joe Rogan’s podcast amid the musician’s objections that it spread vaccine misinformation.

Rogan has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most consumed media products on the planet”. His podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, is Spotify’s most popular. In 2020, Rogan signed a $100m deal that gave the streaming giant exclusive rights to his show.

But this week, Young posted an open letter to his manager and record label that was later taken down in which he said: “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, [The Joe Rogan Experience], which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”

The musician added: “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

[...]

A few weeks ago, 270 doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals and professors wrote an open letter to Spotify, expressing concern about medical misinformation on Rogan’s podcast.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... nformation

[raklian]

Here's something for those who argue because vaccines don't do anything to reduce Omicron infection it shouldn't be mandated.

[andmar74]

Here's something for those who argue because vaccines don't do anything to reduce Omicron infection it shouldn't be mandated.

That's just silly.
It's the vaccines that makes it possible for my country to open up completely. 60% of the population has the booster shot. There are only 37 persons in ICU today with Covid, for the whole country. Compare this to the USA, where there are about 26000 in ICU. In the states, only 25.8% has the booster.
USA has about 57 times more people than Denmark, so the number of ICU patients should be more like 57*37 = 2100.

[raklian]

Here's something for those who argue because vaccines don't do anything to reduce Omicron infection it shouldn't be mandated.

That's just silly.

What is?

[andmar74]

Here's something for those who argue because vaccines don't do anything to reduce Omicron infection it shouldn't be mandated.

That's just silly.

What is?

That people can claim that vaccines don't do anything to reduce omicron. Why do that? It's delusional.

[wjfox]

Flu vs. COVID: One has killed 7, the other has killed 3,344 in past few months in NC

January 28, 2022

RALEIGH, N.C. — As we’re in the midst of a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re also in the middle of flu season.

The two viruses are often compared to each other by people downplaying the severity of the pandemic.

How do the flu and COVID-19 really compare?

Death rate comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu since October, 2021
Flu deaths: 7
COVID deaths: 3,344

That's more than 450 times the number of lives lost to COVID in the same amount of time.

While flu symptoms may be similar to COVID – especially for those who are vaccinated and boosted and who contract omicron – the viruses are very different. Data shows COVID is having far more serious effects on people.

https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/flu-vs ... /20102856/

[wjfox]

[raklian]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Florida district will no longer allow excused absences for kids staying home due to Covid concerns

Jan. 27, 2022, 5:59 PM

A Florida school district, the ninth largest in the nation, will no longer allow excused absences for students who remain at home due to Covid-19 concerns.

Orange County Public Schools, which has over 206,000 students at 202 Orlando-area schools, made the announcement Wednesday, saying parents "keeping students home during the increased Covid-19 cases" will no longer be able to get excused absences for their children starting Jan. 31.

"It is ... an additional strain on our teachers as they continue to manage assignments for large numbers of absent students," the district said in a statement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fl ... -rcna13747

[raklian]

Florida district will no longer allow excused absences for kids staying home due to Covid concerns

That's ridiculous. This is definitely going to create a huge backlash against the district and ultimately at Gov. DeSantis.

[Xyls]

Russia Sees Record Population Decline As Excess Deaths Hit 1M

Russia experienced its largest population decline in 2021 since the end of the Soviet Union.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/01/ ... -1m-a76194

Russia recorded almost one million excess deaths between the start of the pandemic and the end of 2021, as the country also reported its sharpest annual fall in population since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Pushed down by record numbers of coronavirus fatalities and an already aging population, Russia's natural population declined by more than one million people during 2021 alone, the Rosstat statistics agency reported Friday.

[andmar74]

US scientists develop cheap smartphone-based test kit for Covid

That would be great to have. It also recognizes the flu.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -for-covid

More info here:

https://gizmodo.com/researchers-develop ... 1848443324

The app is called Bacticount.

[wjfox]

Thank goodness the pandemic is "over".

Back to normal and clearly time to drop all restrictions.

-----

Omicron drives US deaths higher than in fall’s delta wave

By CARLA K. JOHNSON yesterday

Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across the country, is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall’s delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks.

The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has been climbing since mid-November, reaching 2,267 on Thursday and surpassing a September peak of 2,100 when delta was the dominant variant.

Now omicron is estimated to account for nearly all the virus circulating in the nation. And even though it causes less severe disease for most people, the fact that it is more transmissible means more people are falling ill and dying.

“Omicron will push us over a million deaths,” said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. “That will cause a lot of soul searching. There will be a lot of discussion about what we could have done differently, how many of the deaths were preventable.”

The average daily death toll is now at the same level as last February, when the country was slowly coming off its all-time high of 3,300 a day.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus- ... 0007c2f1f9

[wjfox]

Long Covid: Hidden lung damage spotted on scans

By Smitha Mundasad
Health reporter

7 hours ago

Some people with long Covid may have hidden damage to their lungs, a small pilot study in the UK suggests.

Scientists used a novel xenon gas scan method to pick up lung abnormalities not identified by routine scans.

They focused on 11 people who had not required hospital care when they first caught Covid but experienced long-lasting breathlessness after their initial infection.

A larger, more detailed study is under way to confirm the results.

The work builds on an earlier study that looked at people who had been admitted to hospital with Covid.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60154398

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

'Stealth omicron' is now in North Texas. Is it a new COVID variant? What we know.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there are at least two cases of a new form of omicron, “stealth omicron,” in North Texas.

Texas is one of a few states where stealth omicron has been detected. Along with the cases in North Texas, three cases have been identified in Houston.

Stealth omicron cases have been found in 40 countries. In the U.S., there are about 100 cases.

In Denmark, where stealth omicron cases are rapidly increasing, it went from 20% of cases in December, to 45% of cases two weeks ago, and now it’s about 65% of cases.

Read more: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/coro ... 85748.html