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 :
A front-runner coronavirus vaccine developed by drug giant Pfizer and German biotechnology firm BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective at protecting people compared with a placebo saline shot, according to an interim analysis by an independent data monitoring committee that met Sunday.
!! whoa, I thought I'd read the best we should be expecting was 60% or so. I think BioNTech has 3 or 4 vaccines in testing [Reply]
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
This is article is personal for me and this nurse quoted in this article works with my daughter. My daughter is struggling with PTSD from the first wave with all the death she had to deal with but is doing it all again and is preparing for the worst that is starting.
I know alot of people have covid fatigue and see these death numbers and have become numb to it. So I think it is time for the media to embed with hospitals and show what it is like to suffer and die with covid much like what they do when we go to war. I think people would instantly change their behavior.
Anyway, keep all of our front line health care workers in your thoughts as they are going to need major mental health care once this is all done with.
I'm at a smaller hospital but still see the same things. I know the vast majority that get it survive and go on froma national and global scale. I primarily work in ICU and when you are at that end of the spectrum their is a hopelessness that once a person gets to a certain point their is no turn around. You can see it in some of the nurses faces the anxiety and stress they are dealing with then add in that in some cases we take care the patients are there for a few weeks so we get to know them at a personal level as well as their family so when then inevitable sometimes does happen it takes it toll emotionally cause the cycle happens all over again for the next one which for some they don't see an end in sight and in the next few months it's only going to get worse.
I know at some point this will end but sometimes it's hard to see. [Reply]
Originally Posted by LTL:
I'm at a smaller hospital but still see the same things. I know the vast majority that get it survive and go on froma national and global scale. I primarily work in ICU and when you are at that end of the spectrum their is a hopelessness that once a person gets to a certain point their is no turn around. You can see it in some of the nurses faces the anxiety and stress they are dealing with then add in that in some cases we take care the patients are there for a few weeks so we get to know them at a personal level as well as their family so when then inevitable sometimes does happen it takes it toll emotionally cause the cycle happens all over again for the next one which for some they don't see an end in sight and in the next few months it's only going to get worse.
I know at some point this will end but sometimes it's hard to see.
Take care of yourself mentally the best you can. The added stress of being the only person around when they die takes a toll I am sure. In the case of my daughter, who is also an ICU nurse and on the Covid unit, there was one young patient that she took care of about 6 weeks that died of Covid and I think it broke her spirit. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage:
!! whoa, I thought I'd read the best we should be expecting was 60% or so. I think BioNTech has 3 or 4 vaccines in testing
I would call it cautiously optimistic good news because this is another press release like we have had with others products so we have to see the data.
I do like though that this is a mRNA vaccine so hopefully Moderna is equally good or better because IIRC it is only a 1 shot dose instead of 2.
Since it appears we are going to have multiple vaccines hopefully we get a choice because I want one of the mRNA's I think.
I would add though that it is looking like 2022 will be the first "normal" year because it will take probably until middle of next year or maybe later to get alot of people vaccinated. But there is light ahead. [Reply]
Help me out here. So, if this is true, and there really are 5 times more cases out there then we are diagnosing, then wouldn't herd immunity be not too far away? I mean if there are roughly 10 million cases in the US ( would be an actual number of 50 million by this average), and we are adding 500K per day, and we need to get to 60 percent or so of 300 million, then we are out of this thing then wouldn't it be all over in about a year anyhow? [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
Help me out here. So, if this is true, and there really are 5 times more cases out there then we are diagnosing, then wouldn't herd immunity be not too far away? I mean if there are roughly 10 million cases in the US ( would be an actual number of 50 million by this average), and we are adding 500K per day, and we need to get to 60 percent or so of 300 million, then we are out of this thing then wouldn't it be all over in about a year anyhow?
I'm guessing we've had somewhere close to 100 million infections already at this point.
If we're catching 1 in 10 early like they thought. [Reply]
Originally Posted by LTL:
I'm at a smaller hospital but still see the same things. I know the vast majority that get it survive and go on froma national and global scale. I primarily work in ICU and when you are at that end of the spectrum their is a hopelessness that once a person gets to a certain point their is no turn around. You can see it in some of the nurses faces the anxiety and stress they are dealing with then add in that in some cases we take care the patients are there for a few weeks so we get to know them at a personal level as well as their family so when then inevitable sometimes does happen it takes it toll emotionally cause the cycle happens all over again for the next one which for some they don't see an end in sight and in the next few months it's only going to get worse.
I know at some point this will end but sometimes it's hard to see.
Originally Posted by tooge:
Help me out here. So, if this is true, and there really are 5 times more cases out there then we are diagnosing, then wouldn't herd immunity be not too far away? I mean if there are roughly 10 million cases in the US ( would be an actual number of 50 million by this average), and we are adding 500K per day, and we need to get to 60 percent or so of 300 million, then we are out of this thing then wouldn't it be all over in about a year anyhow?
There is no consensus on where herd immunity is for this. Some say it has to be 60-70% and I have seen others that think it starts to kick in between 20-30% seroprevalence. [Reply]