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 lawrenceRaider:
Based on what I read today it certainly is. You can link me up though I'm totally open to being wrong. Media isn't exactly reliable.
Originally Posted by Hank Hill:
What did you read?
The two dominant strains, B4 and B5 are 4-5 times more resistant to antibodies from the vaccine as B1 was, and they don't seem to have any response to B1 antibodies. That second bit I may have misunderstood. [Reply]
Wife and one of the kids have it. Mom had it last week and unknowingly brought it to us. Nothing for me. Wife is having sore throat and coughing. 2nd bout with it. Had it in January, same for me.
Some congestion but I’ve tested and it’s negative so far [Reply]
Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider:
The two dominant strains, B4 and B5 are 4-5 times more resistant to antibodies from the vaccine as B1 was, and they don't seem to have any response to B1 antibodies. That second bit I may have misunderstood.
Originally Posted by :
Moderna and Pfizer executives have claimed that the Omicron vaccines will be protective for longer. That may be true, but how long is longer? A few weeks? A month or two? Again, detailed modeling of the data might provide important information. It’s important to be sure that changing the booster vaccine to include the Omicron sequence offers enough of an advantage to justify the cost and complexity associated with making the switch.
The reason why the Omicron and earlier variant boosters are little or no better than a standard booster is rooted in immunology. The immune system responds to the first sight of the viral spike protein by making neutralizing antibodies and by starting to lay down memory cells that are an archive of what it is seeing. Those memory cells improve over a multi-month period and are then triggered into action when the immune system reencounters the spike protein, either as an infection or in a booster vaccination. The resulting neutralizing antibody response doesn’t appear to depend very much on whether the boost was with the original sequence, the Beta sequence, the Delta sequence, or the Omicron sequence — all are about equally as good at reawakening immune memory cells. The Omicron vaccines also seem to elicit some neutralizing antibodies that are unique to that variant and that make a minor contribution to the overall response. It’s possible that component could improve over time or after additional boosts, but we have no data to evaluate.
Because no one can predict how SARS-CoV-2 will further evolve, there’s no way to tell whether one or more Omicron-based boosts over the next year would be beneficial against what may emerge. What is known is that the increasingly prevalent BA.4 and BA.5 variants are even more resistant to neutralizing antibodies, typically by three- or four-fold, than the now-vanished BA.1 variant on which the Omicron vaccines are based. The trend toward greater resistance of neutralizing antibodies may well worsen.
Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider:
People aren't reporting testing from home tests, and they mailed out millions of them.
That makes a lot of sense. Most I know are down for days, much more symptomatic than a lot of the people who reported it previously. Nobody hospitalized or anything, just feel crappy. [Reply]
This fall when they update the shots, I'm planning on getting a booster then. I'm not against the vaccines at all. Just not sure taking more of something that is losing efficacy is the right move. [Reply]
Wife tested positive today and has cough and chest congestion. My 22 year old son has had same symptoms for a week but tests negative. Myself and my 18 year old daughter have zero symptoms.
And yes, all vaxxed and boosted but still sick.
Don’t watch news much but has anybody figured out how this particular virus started? Bats vs something else? [Reply]
Originally Posted by jdubya:
Wife tested positive today and has cough and chest congestion. My 22 year old son has had same symptoms for a week but tests negative. Myself and my 18 year old daughter have zero symptoms.
And yes, all vaxxed and boosted but still sick.
Don’t watch news much but has anybody figured out how this particular virus started? Bats vs something else?
I havent looked into it for a year but this podcast presented some pretty damning evidence that it was a lab leak. I trust the host to ground the arguments in science and not sensationalize.
Originally Posted by jdubya:
Wife tested positive today and has cough and chest congestion. My 22 year old son has had same symptoms for a week but tests negative. Myself and my 18 year old daughter have zero symptoms.
And yes, all vaxxed and boosted but still sick.
Don’t watch news much but has anybody figured out how this particular virus started? Bats vs something else?
Most likely bats and:
It's believable that it was transferred from a bat in the wild to a human.
It's believable that it was at a 'wet' market selling meat.
It's believable that a Chinese lab studying the virus had a lab leak. (Which is not to say they were trying to militarize the virus. They were just studying the naturally occurring virus because it was a threat. Like no shit, guys.)
China has gone out of their way to make it difficult for outsiders to figure anything out. [Reply]
Daughter suddenly spiked a fever out of nowhere last night. 103. Gave her some Motrin and she cooled right off. Low grade fever this morning but she tested negative. Wifes cough much better today. I'm still cruising and boozing [Reply]
After avoiding it entirely up to now (that we know of) my 3 year old has it. Tested positive 2 days ago. Fever, mild cough. Has been mostly good today. My wife has a bit of a cough but testing negative. I’m good so far but fully expect to get it. It’s impossible to put any kind of preventative measures in place when the primary case is a toddler. Wife and I are both vaxxed + boosted. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Strongside:
After avoiding it entirely up to now (that we know of) my 3 year old has it. Tested positive 2 days ago. Fever, mild cough. Has been mostly good today. My wife has a bit of a cough but testing negative. I’m good so far but fully expect to get it. It’s impossible to put any kind of preventative measures in place when the primary case is a toddler. Wife and I are both vaxxed + boosted.
Don't worry, YBF. By far the worst part is the quarantine BS. [Reply]
My 65 yr old mother got it and had a cough and sore throat. Never had a fever. She has fibromyalgia and is a cancer survivor and got through it pretty well. She is 3x vaxxed. Myself the wife and kid were exposed and never got it. So glad it wasn't worse for her. [Reply]