Originally Posted by Bwana:
Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.
We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.
Thanks!
Click here for the original OP:
Spoiler!
Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.
California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”
Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.
The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.
The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.
A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.
Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.
“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”
It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.
“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”
On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”
According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.
More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.
“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”
CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.
Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.
“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”
Originally Posted by :
Age-specific IFRs increased from 0.1% and below for individuals under 40 years to greater than 5% among individuals over 80 years.
New research published late Tuesday provides evidence that people vaccinated against coronavirus would be protected against at least some of the variants.
Two teams tested two of the variants against blood taken from people who had received the full two-course dose of either the Moderna or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
While the mutations in the new variants of the virus -- the one first seen in Britain and another first identified in South Africa -- did allow them to evade some of the immunity induced by vaccination, it was far from a complete escape, the two teams reported separately.
A team led by Dr. Michel Nussenzweig of the Rockefeller University tested plasma taken from 20 people who got two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine as part of clinical trials. They found the vaccines produced strong antibody responses, as well as cells that keep producing new antibodies for months or years.
"We measured their antibody responses to the wild type virus. Then we took their plasmas and measured them against the variants," Nussenzweig told CNN.
Different mutations in the viruses did allow some escape from some types of antibodies, but the bodies of the volunteers threw an army of different types of antibodies at the viruses, the team reported in a pre-print -- not peer reviewed -- published online.
"When you start putting all these mixtures of antibodies together, what it means is that together they can take care of the variants," Nussenzweig said. Even though they had a reduced effect, overall the response was so overwhelming that it should not mater, he said.
"What we really want to do with these vaccines is keep people out of the hospital. They are extremely likely to do that, irrespective," Nussenzweig added.
Eventually, the vaccines should be updated -- but the new mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna can be changed very quickly. "Should the vaccines be tweaked?" he asked. "Probably -- but that doesn't mean that they won't be effective."
Separately, Ugur Sahin, who helped invent the BioNTech vaccine being made and distributed by Pfizer, teed his vaccine against the variant first seen in the UK. The team found "no biologically significant difference in neutralization activity," they reported in a pre-print report. But they said it would be "prudent" to start tweaking the vaccine, just in case. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BDj23:
So uh, is waking up with a raging sore throat a sign of 'rona?
Common Causes of Sore Throat
Cold and Flu: The common cold and seasonal influenza share many symptoms, including that dreaded sore throat. If you’re suffering from a cold or the flu, you may also experience fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, runny nose, sneezing, and congestion. Colds are usually milder than flu, and are more likely to include a runny or stuffy nose. Protect yourself with an annual flu vaccine, and know we are here to provide care if you do become ill.
COVID-19: Like the common cold and flu, COVID-19 is a viral, respiratory illness that can indeed cause sore throat. However, sore throat doesn’t seem to be a particularly common symptom of the novel coronavirus. One study, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), found that out of more than 55,000 confirmed cases, only 13.9 percent of people reported a sore throat. Get a COVID-19 test if you’ve been around someone who tested positive, or are exhibiting other COVID-19 symptoms, such as cough, difficulty breathing, and/or fever, along with chills, muscle pain, headache, and any new loss of taste or smell.
Strep throat: Strep throat is a bacterial infection of the throat and tonsils, caused by streptococcal bacteria. Look for red, swollen tonsils and throat; white spots or streaks on the tongue or back of your throat; and swollen lymph nodes in your neck. Strep throat can also make it difficult to swallow and cause headache, fever and chills. An in-clinic strep test or throat culture can determine if group A strep is the cause of your sore throat. If so, our providers can prescribe an antibiotic to treat the infection.
Allergies: When your immune system overreacts to a foreign substance (e.g. a food, drug, chemical, animal dander, or pollen), it can trigger an allergic response. Severe reactions are possible, but for common allergies, you’ll likely experience itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, cough, congestion and headache. A post-nasal drip can lead to an allergy-induced sore throat. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
The mutations are happening in the actual spike protein. So if the protein structure is different, the current vaccines woudlnt' have efficacy as it's making immune cells that wouldn't recognize that spike.
They targeted many spots on the spike protein. Variants are a concern, but as long as antibodies target enough antigens on the spike protein, it will still work.
