COVID-19 News and Discussions

[wjfox]

In the long run, maybe that's a good thing. Kill lots of stupid people off, boost the collective national IQ.

/half-joking

[weatheriscool]

Pfizer Submits Data To FDA For Authorization of Covid Vaccine Booster Shot For General Population
Source: MSN/CNBC

Pfizer and BioNTech said they have submitted early stage clinical trial data to the FDA as part of their U.S. application seeking authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot.

In a phase one trial, a booster dose generated "significantly higher neutralizing antibodies" against the original coronavirus strain as well as the beta and delta variants, the companies said. Federal health officials aren't recommending booster doses for the general public at this time.

Pfizer and BioNTech said Monday they have submitted early stage clinical trial data to the Food and Drug Administration as part of their U.S. application seeking authorization of a Covid vaccine booster for everyone 16 and older — not just people with weak immune systems.

In a phase one trial, a booster dose of the vaccine generated "significantly higher neutralizing antibodies" against the original coronavirus strain as well as the beta and delta variants, the companies said in a press release...

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medica ... ar-AANnGS1

[weatheriscool]

U.S. to Advise Boosters for Most Americans 8 Months After Vaccination
Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a coronavirus booster shot eight months after they completed their initial vaccination, and could begin offering the extra shots as early as mid-September, according to two administration officials familiar with the discussions. Officials are planning to announce the administration’s decision as early as this week.

Their goal is to let Americans know now that they will need additional protection against the Delta variant that is causing surging caseloads across the nation. The first boosters are likely to go to nursing home residents and health care workers, followed by other older people who were near the front of the line when vaccinations began late last year. Officials envision giving people the same vaccine they originally received.

Among other worrisome signals, Biden administration officials are particularly concerned about data from Israel suggesting that the Pfizer-BioNTech’s protection against severe disease has fallen significantly for elderly people who were vaccinated in January or February. Some administration officials have viewed Israel as a kind of template for the United States because it started vaccinating its population sooner. Israel has almost exclusively used the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and it has a nationalized health care system that allows it to systematically track patients.

The latest data from Israel, posted on the government’s website on Monday, shows what some experts describe as continued erosion of the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine over time — both against mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 infections in general and against severe disease among the elderly.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/us/v ... shots.html

[wjfox]

UK reports most COVID-19 deaths since March

August 17, 20214:20 PM BST

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday reported 170 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, the highest level since March, alongside 26,852 further cases, according to official data.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-rep ... 021-08-17/

[weatheriscool]

Texas requests five mortuary trailers from FEMA, bracing for more covid-19 deaths
Source: Washington Post

Texas health officials have requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of a possible spike in deaths brought about by surging coronavirus numbers in the state.

The Texas Department of State Health Services made a request Aug. 4 through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for five mortuary trailers, agency spokesman Douglas Loveday confirmed to The Washington Post, adding the request was made as a precaution. NBC News previously reported the state’s request for mortuary trailers.

The trailers will be kept in San Antonio in case any nearby areas need the additional resource, though Loveday said no specific requests have been made. Still, officials are anticipating a potential need for these trailers in the state. Loveday said FEMA had also provided trailers for earlier increases in covid-19-related deaths.

Mobile and refrigerated mortuary trucks were seen as a grim symbol during earlier waves of the pandemic. Trailers were delivered to cities to keep pace with mounting deaths, and in some places they reportedly remained in place as makeshift morgues months into the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... vid-surge/

[weatheriscool]

More than 8,000 Florida students isolate or quarantine because of a school district's covid-19 spike
Source: Washington Post

A Florida school board is set to hold an emergency meeting this week to consider a mask mandate as more than 8,000 students and hundreds of employees in its district are in isolation or quarantine because of a surge in coronavirus cases and possible exposure.

Hillsborough County Public Schools, which includes Tampa, has 8,400 students and 307 staff members either in isolation because of a positive test or in quarantine after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive, district spokesperson Tanya Arja told The Washington Post on Tuesday. The number of students who are either in isolation or quarantine jumped by nearly 3,000 from the total given by the school district on Monday.

Arja said that the district is following quarantine and isolation guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health. The CDC recommends that people should quarantine for 14 days after their last contact with someone who tested positive, while those in isolation should be at home at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared.

“All quarantines are not necessarily associated with a school or district site,” Arja told The Post. “For attendance reasons, students who are quarantined due to exposure to an off-campus COVID positive case are included in our overall quarantine numbers.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/educatio ... lsborough/

[weatheriscool]

Chicago mandates masks indoors as new COVID-19 cases top 400 a day; no plans for state to follow sui
Source: Chicago Tribune

More than two months after most COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, Chicago announced Tuesday it’s reimposing an indoor mask mandate — and businesses prepared for possible renewed pushback from customers.

Starting Friday, anyone aged 2 and older will have to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccine status.

“With the highly transmissible Delta variant causing case rates to increase, now is the time to re-institute this measure to prevent further spread and save lives,” Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. “We continue to track the data closely and are hopeful this will only be temporary and we can bend the COVID curve, as we’ve done in the past.”

The mandate will apply to places including gyms, common areas of apartment or condo complexes, private clubs and bars and restaurants, though patrons will be able to remove their masks while eating or drinking. Masks can be removed in workplaces that are not open to the public, if employees are “static” and can maintain 6 feet of social distancing, according to a city news release.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/bre ... story.html

[weatheriscool]

Federal mask mandate for planes, buses and trains to extend into next year
Source: Washington Post

The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it will extend a federal mask mandate for airline, bus and train passengers into next year, requiring the face coverings until Jan. 18, 2022. The mandate — issued in the first days after President Biden took office — was never relaxed, even during the early-summer months when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began telling fully vaccinated people that masks were generally no longer necessary.

While a CDC order imposing the transportation requirement has no end date, TSA enforcement rules had been set to expire Sept. 13. “The purpose of TSA’s mask directive is to minimize the spread of covid-19 on public transportation,” said a statement from the agency. The extension was first reported by Reuters.With the delta variant causing a new surge in coronavirus cases, the CDC has walked back its loosened guidance on masks as mandates have returned in some cities and school districts.

Transportation is one of the few areas in which the federal government has taken responsibility for imposing such rules. Violators of the mandate face fines. The rules apply at airports and train stations, as well as on planes, trains and buses. Children under 2 and people with certain disabilities are exempt. The extension of the transportation mask mandate comes as flight attendants continue to grapple with unruly passengers, some of whom have become confrontational when reminded that they must wear a mask.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been trying to crack down on bad behavior among passengers, warning of fines and potential prison time, but has struggled with the surge in cases. Nonetheless, it has proposed hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the extension of the mandate would “help tremendously to keep passengers and aviation workers safe.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... k-mandate/

[caltrek]

Louisiana and Mississippi Health Systems on Brink of Collapse as Low-Vaccinated Regions Suffer
by Jessica Corbett
August 13, 2021

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/ ... ed-regions

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) "Let us be very clear that the vast majority of cases and hospitalizations and deaths are unvaccinated," said one state health official.

Though coronavirus outbreaks largely driven by the ultra-contagious Delta variant are now even occurring in U.S. counties where over half the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, as of Friday afternoon the hospitals in two states with among the nation's lowest vaccination rates—Louisiana and Mississippi—were dangerously overwhelmed.

Louisiana has seen the most Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days compared to every other state in the country, and only 38% of Louisianans are fully vaccinated, according to data from The New York Times.

Mississippi has the third-most recent cases in ranking, and only has a vaccination rate of 35%. Both states have seen major increases in hospitalizations over the past two weeks.

Since the U.S. inoculation effort began, public health experts—including the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci—have repeatedly emphasized that the authorized vaccines not only lower the risk of getting Covid-19 but also decrease the chances of hospitalization or death for vaccinated individuals who experience a "breakthrough" infection.

[wjfox]

New Zealand becomes latest country to confirm Delta outbreak

August 18, 2021

New Zealand's first community Covid-19 case in six months is the Delta variant -- and genome sequencing shows that it's linked to the growing outbreak in neighboring Australia, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

The country of five million people went into a nationwide lockdown late Tuesday night, hours after confirming a Covid-19 case, and on Wednesday, New Zealand authorities announced they had confirmed another six positive cases all linked to the first case. One of the new cases worked at a hospital in Auckland.

The outbreak marks the first time New Zealand has confirmed the presence of the contagious Delta variant in the community. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization said more than 142 countries had reported cases of the Delta variant.

New Zealand's Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield warned Wednesday the country could see between 50 and 120 more cases based on modeling that took into account the Delta variant.

"Our job now is to find any and every case," he said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/17/asia ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

Biden administration will start offering booster shots to all Americans on Sept. 20
Source: Washington Post

The Biden administration will begin offering coronavirus booster shots to all Americans on Sept. 20, top health officials announced Wednesday after concluding a third shot is needed to fight off waning immunity.

In a joint statement from top public health and medical experts, the administration confirmed they are developing plans to begin offering the booster shots after reviewing a wide array of data. The plan, which applies only to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, calls for all Americans to get a booster shot eight months after an individual’s second dose. The officials said they expect a booster shot will be needed for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but they are still reviewing data and will announce plans at a later date.

“The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease,” the statement says.It continues: “For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.”

The statement is signed by eight health officials, including Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Vivek H. Murthy, the surgeon general, and Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... IIU3YKZ7PA

[wjfox]

Op-Ed: As a doctor in a COVID unit, I’m running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shot

Aug. 17, 2021 9:28 AM PT

My patient sat at the edge of his bed gasping for air while he tried to tell me his story, pausing to catch his breath after each word. The plastic tubes delivering oxygen through his nose hardly seemed adequate to stop his chest from heaving. He looked exhausted.

He had tested positive for the coronavirus 10 days ago. He was under 50, mildly hypertensive but otherwise in good health. Eight days earlier he started coughing and having severe fatigue. His doctor started him on antibiotics. It did not work.

Fearing his symptoms were worsening, he started taking some hydroxychloroquine he had found on the internet. It did not work.

He was now experiencing shortness of breath while doing routine daily activities such as walking from his bedroom to the bathroom or putting on his shoes. He was a shell of his former self. He eventually made his way to a facility where he could receive monoclonal antibodies, a lab-produced transfusion that substitutes for the body’s own antibodies. It did not work.

He finally ended up in the ER with dangerously low oxygen levels, exceedingly high inflammatory markers and patchy areas of infection all over his lungs. Nothing had helped. He was getting worse. He could not breathe. His wife and two young children were at home, all infected with COVID. He and his wife had decided not to get vaccinated.

Last year, a case like this would have flattened me. I would have wrestled with the sadness and how unfair life was. Battled with the angst of how unlucky he was. This year, I struggled to find sympathy. It was August 2021, not 2020. The vaccine had been widely available for months in the U.S., free to anyone who wanted it, even offered in drugstores and supermarkets. Cutting-edge, revolutionary, mind-blowing, lifesaving vaccines were available where people shopped for groceries, and they still didn’t want them.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2 ... octor-shot

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Posted by a friend on another forum (SkyscraperCity) –

"Looks like it's going crazy in Australia, they're saying they've lost control of NSW and they're talking about having to live with it now. The rest of the country are trying to quarantine NSW, specifically Queensland who haven't had any cases yet. But that's a 5000km long border."

[caltrek]

Almost Three Million Cubans Have Completed the COVID-19 Vaccination Schedule
August 14, 2021

http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2021/ ... -covid-19/

Introduction:

(Cuba Debate) At the end of August 12, 11,233,885 doses were administered in the country with the Cuban vaccine candidates SOBERANA 02 and SOBERANA Plus, and with the Cuban vaccine Abdala.

To date, 4,752,082 people have received at least one dose of one of the Cuban vaccine candidates SOBERANA 02 and SOBERANA Plus, and of the Cuban vaccine Abdala. Of these…3,491,309 people (have had a second dose) and 2,990,494 people (have had a third dose).

The Center for the State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) on July 9 decided to grant the Authorization of Emergency Use (AUE) to the Cuban vaccine ABDALA 50 µg, whose owner is the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology CIGB…

A Spanish language version of this article is also available at the link provided above the quote box.

[wjfox]

Covid: UK vaccine booster scheme likely to start in September - Sajid Javid

By Hamish Mackay
3 hours ago

A UK Covid vaccine booster scheme will take place and is likely to start next month, the health secretary has said.

Sajid Javid said he was uncertain of the exact start date as the government was waiting for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's "final advice" before proceeding.

Mr Javid added the "most vulnerable" would be offered the third jab first.

However, it remains unclear whether the booster scheme will be for all adults, or just some, more vulnerable groups.

Interim advice from the JCVI, released last month, suggested more than 30 million of the most vulnerable people - including all over-50s - should receive a third dose.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58271911

[Yuli Ban]

Wikipedia's also updated the numbers
Death toll: 4.4–9.6 million (as of 19 August 2021)

Very, VERY likely it's on the higher end of that. In fact, it's likely that even the high-end 9.6 million figure is undercounted.

Nearly 10 million! If this keeps up, we're easily going to have it ranked as the fifth deadliest epidemic in history.

[Yuli Ban]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Covid-antibody therapy approved in UK

1 hour ago

A new Covid treatment - that uses a pair of laboratory-made antibodies to attack the virus - has been approved for use in the UK.

The regulator said the drug Ronapreve had been shown to prevent infection and reduce the need for hospital treatment.

It was famously used as part of the suite of experimental medicines given to US President Donald Trump last year.

However, it is very expensive and likely to be reserved for those at greatest risk of becoming severely ill.

The antibody therapy attacks the virus, unlike other Covid treatments such as the steroid dexamethasone that calm the body's overactive immune system.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58281332