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 RunKC:
Wife feels better. I feel okay. Nothing major. Chest doesn’t feel heavy anymore.
I think I’m in the mild symptom category of this thing
That's good. You have to watch that chest stuff closely. I was lucky and didn't have any issues along those lines but it was what I was the most paranoid about. [Reply]
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is advising Americans who have already had the coronavirus – or suspect that they’ve had it – to take the coming vaccines for it anyway.
In a recent interview, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told McClatchy that he doubts previously infected individuals will be restricted from accessing the vaccines, and that he has no reason to believe that taking the vaccine will be of harm to those who have already had COVID-19.
“I don’t think that should be a concern at all,” Fauci said, encouraging those Americans to take the vaccines once available.
Originally Posted by MahomesMagic: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is advising Americans who have already had the coronavirus – or suspect that they’ve had it – to take the coming vaccines for it anyway.
In a recent interview, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told McClatchy that he doubts previously infected individuals will be restricted from accessing the vaccines, and that he has no reason to believe that taking the vaccine will be of harm to those who have already had COVID-19.
“I don’t think that should be a concern at all,” Fauci said, encouraging those Americans to take the vaccines once available.
He doesn't explain why the vaccines will be able to do something more than a recovery from an actual infection. Sounds like sales to me.
In theory, a vaccine should cause a stronger immune response than a mild case of COVID, which would provide longer lasting (and more consistent) immunity. It's probably not a high priority to get it the vaccine right away if you got COVID, but it's not a bad idea down the road.
All that said, we definitely don't have long term data about long term immunity at this point, so the guidance could change as we learn more. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahomesMagic: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is advising Americans who have already had the coronavirus – or suspect that they’ve had it – to take the coming vaccines for it anyway.
In a recent interview, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told McClatchy that he doubts previously infected individuals will be restricted from accessing the vaccines, and that he has no reason to believe that taking the vaccine will be of harm to those who have already had COVID-19.
“I don’t think that should be a concern at all,” Fauci said, encouraging those Americans to take the vaccines once available.
Originally Posted by Monticore:
With false positives it could be hard to determine who actually got it.
Took the words out of my mouth. Without engaging in an argument about testing, the simple fact is we've had a lot of testing accuracy issues. Even 8 months later, we still have issues. Recommending that people who've already had COVID-19 still receive the vaccine is simply playing it safe. And imo, best practice. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
In theory, a vaccine should cause a stronger immune response than a mild case of COVID, which would provide longer lasting (and more consistent) immunity. It's probably not a high priority to get it the vaccine right away if you got COVID, but it's not a bad idea down the road.
All that said, we definitely don't have long term data about long term immunity at this point, so the guidance could change as we learn more.
I have never heard an actual expert say that. My understanding (and this was from a few months ago) was that no vaccine could have a stronger response than the body's immunity from an actual infection. The goal of the vaccine is to get as close as possible while not putting a person at increased risk for a serious illness.
The point that I had heard a few times was that if human immunity didn't last long for Covid..the vaccines would last even less because vaccines would never be better than the immunity derived from actual infection.
This is just from my memory of this so if you have a link where someone claims a vaccine would work better than human immunity please share it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Indian Chief:
Took the words out of my mouth. Without engaging in an argument about testing, the simple fact is we've had a lot of testing accuracy issues. Even 8 months later, we still have issues. Recommending that people who've already had COVID-19 still receive the vaccine is simply playing it safe. And imo, best practice.
Well, if they would cycle the tests where they should be as literally every fucking expert has said then perhaps we would rule out a lot of BS. But for some reason they insist on keeping the cycles at an unnecessarily high level. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace: In theory, a vaccine should cause a stronger immune response than a mild case of COVID, which would provide longer lasting (and more consistent) immunity. It's probably not a high priority to get it the vaccine right away if you got COVID, but it's not a bad idea down the road.
All that said, we definitely don't have long term data about long term immunity at this point, so the guidance could change as we learn more.
You wanna back that up with something substantive? [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahomesMagic:
I have never heard an actual expert say that. My understanding (and this was from a few months ago) was that no vaccine could have a stronger response than the body's immunity from an actual infection. The goal of the vaccine is to get as close as possible while not putting a person at increased risk for a serious illness.
The point that I had heard a few times was that if human immunity didn't last long for Covid..the vaccines would last even less because vaccines would never be better than the immunity derived from actual infection.
This is just from my memory of this so if you have a link where someone claims a vaccine would work better than human immunity please share it.
Lots and lots of great and exciting science to read about in this thread and all over the internet. Real clinical trials and studies showing that vaccines work and immunity is at a minimum (with some exceptions) 6-12 months and almost certainly long lasting given what they’ve found regarding the bodies immune response both short and long term. Only time will tell us how long, but my best guess is many years to decades.
