It has been eleven (11) days since this article ran https://t.co/ZPrlCD3Mzp pic.twitter.com/YU2smsd4cY
— Martha Lincoln (@heavyredaction) July 29, 2023
The pandemic might officially be over, but the endemic effects will be with us for a long time to come. Some good news, though:
New research reveals that #Covid vaccination reduces *severity and mortality* after breakthrough infections. Study is the largest of its kind & answers a long-persistent question—whether vaccination reduces sickness & mortality after #SARSCoV2 infection https://t.co/z9XJt3EuPp
— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) August 2, 2023
"The increases vary around the country, with the virus appearing to be spreading the most in the southeast" – shocking! – "and the least in the Midwest….But overall, the numbers remain very low — far lower than in the last three summers."https://t.co/cR2cIHk20n
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 31, 2023
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: July 26, 2023
US: Biggest rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations since December 2022.
At least 7,109 admissions of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were reported for the week of July 15 nationwide, up from 6,444 during the week before.https://t.co/YihLLui2Zf
— CoronaHeadsUp (@CoronaHeadsUp) July 26, 2023
What juddering from epidemic to endemic looks like:
… At least 7,109 admissions of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were reported for the week of July 15 nationwide, the CDC said late Monday, up from 6,444 during the week before.
Another important hospital metric has also been trending up in recent weeks: an average of 0.73% of the past week’s emergency room visits had COVID-19 as of July 21, up from 0.49% through June 21.
The new figures come after months of largely slowing COVID-19 trends nationwide since the last wave of infections over the winter.
“U.S. COVID-19 rates are still near historic lows after 7 months of steady declines. Early indicators of COVID-19 activity (emergency department visits, test positivity and wastewater levels) preceded an increase in hospitalizations seen this past week,” CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley said in a statement.
Conley said virtually all counties are at “low” COVID-19 hospital admission levels, below the thresholds at which the CDC recommends additional precautions to curb the virus.
Only one part of the country did not record more hospitalizations last week compared to the week prior: the Midwestern region spanning Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin…
Unlike previous waves, no single variant has yet emerged this summer to dominate infections nationwide.
Instead, the CDC’s current projections estimate that a mix of descendants from the XBB variant that first drove infections last winter are now competing around the country…
… [T]he CDC says current supplies of shots will still be shipped until September for “exceptional” situations.
“While many individuals may wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine until the updated version is released, as it is expected to provide more robust protection against currently circulating variants, certain individuals may need or desire a COVID-19 vaccine prior to the anticipated release of the updated vaccine in the fall,” the agency said.
David Quammen is always worth reading. “The Ongoing Mystery of Covid’s Origin”: (Unpaywalled ‘gift’ link):
Where did it come from? More than three years into the pandemic and untold millions of people dead, that question about the Covid-19 coronavirus remains controversial and fraught, with facts sparkling amid a tangle of analyses and hypotheticals like Christmas lights strung on a dark, thorny tree. One school of thought holds that the virus, known to science as SARS-CoV-2, spilled into humans from a nonhuman animal, probably in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a messy emporium in Wuhan, China, brimming with fish, meats and wildlife on sale as food. Another school argues that the virus was laboratory-engineered to infect humans and cause them harm — a bioweapon — and was possibly devised in a “shadow project” sponsored by the People’s Liberation Army of China. A third school, more moderate than the second but also implicating laboratory work, suggests that the virus got into its first human victim by way of an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (W.I.V.), a research complex on the eastern side of the city, maybe after well-meaning but reckless genetic manipulation that made it more dangerous to people.
If you feel confused by these possibilities, undecided, suspicious of overconfident assertions — or just tired of the whole subject of the pandemic and whatever little bug has caused it — be assured that you aren’t the only one.
Some contrarians say that it doesn’t matter, the source of the virus. What matters, they say, is how we cope with the catastrophe it has brought, the illness and death it continues to cause. Those contrarians are wrong. It does matter. Research priorities, pandemic preparedness around the world, health policies and public opinion toward science itself will be lastingly affected by the answer to the origin question — if we ever get a definitive answer.
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: July 19, 2023
Remember: Sharing is caring!
Natural immunity is like your first layer of sunscreen — it helps protect you for a time. But it’s a long summer, and repeat infections increase your risk of Long COVID.
Find free updated COVID vaccines at https://t.co/jDq2UIHFmT. #WeCanDoThis pic.twitter.com/YvLcAuvacf
— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) June 21, 2023
… We also expect that vaccine manufacturers planning to offer updated COVID-19 vaccines are preparing an ample supply of doses for the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccination campaign that is sufficient to support wide and timely access to the vaccine. Further, we expect that vaccine manufacturers will remain ready to support potential surges in demand and evolving circumstances of COVID-19. Manufacturers are advised that they should plan the updated COVID-19 vaccine supply and regulatory submissions so that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can take regulatory action and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can make recommendations on vaccination by the latter part of September...
This whole post is really good — I owe someone a thank you for the link to Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist:
Yesterday, the New York Times suggested the pandemic is over. We are in a very different place. And, I understand the desire for a “thank goodness that’s done” mindset. And I hope COVID-19 isn’t always on top of your mind.
But COVID-19 is still around. I hope you continue to join me on the scientific discovery ride. Here is your state of affairs.
United States
After a few quiet months, COVID-19 is increasing in the Southern and Western United States. Three early indicators—wastewater, ED visits, and test positivity— are increasing uniformly, albeit from low absolute levels. Using back-of-the-napkin math, this equates to ~1 in 1,180 people infected today. If you squint really hard, hospitalizations are starting to increase, too…This isn’t surprising; we’ve consistently seen a Southern summer wave throughout the pandemic. While the latest Omicron subvariant soup may partly drive this uptick, it’s more likely behavior; people moving inside due to ridiculous heat…
Since late January 2023, excess deaths have reached pre-pandemic levels. This has been a massive reprieve…
International surveillance
Zooming out, eyes are on two particular places around the globe:
– Okinawa, Japan. COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase exponentially, surpassing their winter wave and overwhelming hospitals. This is driven by XBB, changing behavior (big holiday), and a large pool of susceptible people— it’s been about six months since their last wave. Everyone is waiting to see if this transpires outside of Okinawa…– Dominican Republic: A new Omicron variant— FL1.5.1— is showing its teeth by exponentially increasing quickly. This variant has the same spike protein as what’s currently circulating (XBB) but several non-spike mutations. It’s in its infancy, so it’s unclear if (and how) it will impact real-world metrics. It’s one to keep an eye on…
Bottom line
COVID-19 is increasing; don’t be surprised to hear more people getting infected around you. I already am. This isn’t enough reason to change my personal behaviors, but that time may come this fall…
US: Hospital emergency department visits for COVID up 10.7% in one week.
Alaska, Florida, and Hawaii reporting percentages that were higher than other states.https://t.co/oJXmp1RTFa
— CoronaHeadsUp (@CoronaHeadsUp) July 17, 2023
Biobot now showing a few weeks of increases. Current estimates:
🔸️280,000 new cases/day
🔸️1 in every 1180 people were infected today
🔸️1 in every 118 people currently infected. pic.twitter.com/JoNuzu7L4R— JWeiland (@JPWeiland) July 14, 2023
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“You can’t depend on others when the world is competing for a resource.”
Demand for Covid vaccines is down but global south researchers have learned their lesson & press ahead w mRNA vaccine development for disease X.
My latest @washingtonpost ?? https://t.co/4w0FLUmhIv
— Amy Maxmen, PhD (@amymaxmen) July 16, 2023
One of China’s most populous provinces has deleted mortality data that offered an indication of the heavy death toll from Beijing’s relaxation of Covid-19 controls at the end of last year.
The statistics reported by Zhejiang province on Thursday showed the number of cremations in the wealthy coastal region during the first quarter of the year jumped 73 per cent from a year earlier to 171,000.
The figure was well above the 99,000 and 91,000 deaths reported in the same period in 2022 and 2021 respectively. By Monday, with the statistics attracting attention on Chinese social media, Zhejiang had pulled the information offline.
Hospitals and crematoria were inundated with Covid patients after Beijing reversed its pandemic policy in December, but Chinese officials have not published detailed and accurate statistics that would allow researchers to better assess the deadly spread of the virus through the population.
For nearly two weeks in December the country reported no Covid-19 deaths in daily updates, even as bodies piled up in hospitals and crematoria. Then Chinese health authorities narrowed the definition of what constituted a Covid death and told local governments to keep “Covid-19” off death certificates to limit reported numbers.
In early January the World Health Organization accused China of underrepresenting the severity of its coronavirus outbreak and the real number of deaths…
But seven months later China has not released any excess death data. Aside from rough estimates of annual deaths by the state planning agency, the local-level cremation data is China’s only publicly available statistic for tracking the number of deaths in the country. Nearly everyone who dies in urban areas is cremated as burials are banned.
Since the fourth quarter, statistics on the number of cremations have been systematically left off the dozens of quarterly reports published by local and national civil affairs bureaus. Some areas have even refrained from publishing the reports themselves, which also include information on the number of marriages, divorces and other population changes…
China’s most recent data on Covid deaths comes from a mid-January report by the National Health Commission, which said nearly 60,000 people had died from the virus in healthcare facilities during the first five weeks of reopening.
Research groups such as Airfinity estimate Covid deaths during those early weeks were roughly 10 times the NHC figures.
COVID-19 cases in Japan are continuing their recent rise, with experts predicting the trend will continue amid high heat, declining immunity and the start of the holiday season. https://t.co/WNyd7W0iCp
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) July 18, 2023
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Detailed thread from @chrischirp looking at a wide range of data regarding #COVID19 in the UK. Overall, she sees no evidence that COVID is making a comeback, with ongoing infection and cases at a low level.https://t.co/1ierniuVeO
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) July 15, 2023
It’s not just the American Midwest…
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“Even though infection numbers have come down considerably compared to 2022, we’re still seeing roughly about six times more infections per day than we were before Omicron and before the lowest period of the epidemic in Canada to date,” Moriarty said. https://t.co/wMmrpkG3qc
— Jess (@MeetJess) July 15, 2023
Some Canadians might be feeling a little panicky:
Long COVID presents ‘unfathomable’ burden as health-care system reaches ‘boiling point’
“And besides the best-known symptoms like fatigue and brain fog, long COVID also appears to increase the risk of stroke, heart attacks and diabetes types 1 and 2” https://t.co/nuMWKFqI6k
— Jess (@MeetJess) July 18, 2023
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Not enough seniors are receiving Paxlovid, or too often physicians wait too long to Rx the medication. It needs to be prescribed early in the illness, bc the drug targets virus replication https://t.co/sXABgoqwrh
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) July 17, 2023
(*Sigh*)… Since this is still useful information:
The Best Face Masks for Omicron and Its Subvariants, According to Epidemiologistshttps://t.co/4zBUBAJ9Dm
— Global Health Observ (@GlobalPHObserv) July 17, 2023
"In comparison to those who fully recovered, those
who developed PASC [#LongCovid] demonstrated significantly higher maximum levels of #SARSCoV2 RNA, infectious virus, and N-antigen, longer duration of viral shedding, and lower Spike-specific IgG"https://t.co/w47OvlWX3X pic.twitter.com/MhvubXXkrb— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) July 17, 2023
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19: understanding and addressing the burden of multisystem manifestationshttps://t.co/8o7q0Fd9gL pic.twitter.com/K3cY5VqgDA
— Emmanuel (@ejustin46) July 18, 2023
Study shows dogs can detect COVID-19 faster, better than most PCR tests
Studies show that dogs can detect asymptomatic people, those who had #LongCOVID, and new #COVID19 variantshttps://t.co/LNO4QrwU0V pic.twitter.com/E8d1LOyBFr
— CIDRAP (@CIDRAP) July 18, 2023
3 Years On, Why Don’t We Know the Extent of Long COVID?
H/t @AcrossTheMersey https://t.co/MiwB0L13Vd
— Jess (@MeetJess) July 19, 2023
Always another exciting intriguing new complication!
(link)
Now this important report summarized @Nature by @heidiledford https://t.co/4UJeJTMNSy #LongCovid
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) July 11, 2023
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I did not know that In-N-Out was another ‘Christian’ / GOP-supporting chain:
In-N-Out Burger, the beloved California-based fast food chain, has issued new workplace guidelines that will ban its employees in several states from wearing protective masks.
The use of face coverings is currently optional for restaurant employees. But starting Aug. 14, workers in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas and Colorado will not be allowed to mask as a preventive measure against spreading the coronavirus.
According to a company memo announcing the policy change, the only exception granted will be for employees with valid medical reasons.
In-N-Out’s California and Oregon establishments are exempt from the new policy due to prevailing state laws that safeguard workers’ rights, including the freedom to wear a face covering unless it would create a safety hazard.
“We are introducing new mask guidelines that emphasize the importance of customer service and the ability to show our associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals,” In-N-Out said in a letter to its employees. The chain emphasized that this measure would encourage “clear and effective” interactions with customers and fellow staff members…
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sole San Francisco In-N-Out, located at Fisherman’s Wharf, was closed temporarily after it allowed indoor dining without verifying proof of vaccination.
In Contra Costa County, the chain shuttered all five of its locations for indoor dining rather than complying with the county’s vaccine mandate…
In-N-Out, which opened its first location in a Los Angeles suburb in 1948 and remained exclusive to Southern California until the early 1990s, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with plans to expand its operations further around the country. The company is historically known as one of the highest-profile donors of the California Republican Party and is also famous for referencing Bible verses on its packaging.
Spoke to @innoutburger again today and they said they're taking the feedback from everyone calling and are letting their executives know.
Public pressure is powerful friends. Let them know they're going to lose customers. Speak out. #BoycottInnOut https://t.co/IzOMTzSO8R
— Myra Batchelder #KeepMasksInHealthCare (@myrabatchelder) July 15, 2023
When America’s Worst People gather, be sure that Rand Paul will have shoved his way into the crowd…
Jesse Watters: "You know what RFK Jr. is talking about, ethnically targeted bioweapon Covid-19?"
Senator Rand Paul: "There is a lot of information out of China about developing biological weapons that would be based on your genetics." pic.twitter.com/i6i1gDAw2K
— Truechucknorris (@snjegi333) July 18, 2023
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: July 19, 2023Post + Comments (48)
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: July 12, 2023
COVID infected 3 in 4 Americans by start of 2023 https://t.co/qWb2V2dzIk
— Jess (@MeetJess) July 6, 2023
Covid is still with us. Please practice normal safety routine of wearing a mask, washing your hands and take the test if you’re feeling below the weather.
New COVID-19 Variants Giving XBB.1.16, or ‘Arcturus,’ a Run for its Money | Health News | U.S. News https://t.co/qJXfmQQ1di
— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) July 10, 2023
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: June 28, 2023
NOTE: Next Tuesday is Independence Day, and a lot of people — including, I suspect, many media sources — will be taking the whole week as vacation. So, barring the unforeseen, my next Covid Update will be on Wednesday, July 12. (Probably time for us to start tapering back again, anyways.)
Emboldened by the government’s recent lifting of the public health emergency, Americans who have tried to be rule-following pandemic citizens for the past three summers are at last abandoning precautions as the coronavirus fades into a background threat. https://t.co/moSJ6mpTms
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 25, 2023
(Should be paywall-free.) Covid is not ‘over’, but the attention it draws has been reduced to that of all the other chronic uncertainties of This Modern Life — weird weather events, wildfires, various outbreaks of political insanity… plus the aftereffects of long covid.
Moderna said on Thursday it has completed a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking authorization for its updated COVID-19 vaccine to target the XBB.1.5 subvariant. https://t.co/zJQRYDZYlk
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) June 23, 2023
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: June 21, 2023
Current status of this website: the billionaire owner and a podcast host worth hundreds of millions are currently dogpiling a pediatrician who develops vaccines to give to impoverished countries.
— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) June 18, 2023
There’s many reasons — contrarianism, credulity, GOP ratf*cking — but I honestly believe *part* of the current fad for ‘Vaccines are the devil, and scientists are his servants’ is that people want to forget the pandemic. If it was just a couple of bad flu seasons, exacerbated by globalists hoping to tighten their grip on an unwilling populace and Big Pharma wanting to increase profits, well… good thing clean people, superior intellects like the guy who owns twitter and the people who pay him for it, need nothing but their own informed debate and a sufficient supply of ivermectin!
Could the 4th of July mark the start of a summer #Covid surge? Los Angeles County data suggest 2023 may be different from other years when a summer Covid wave hit. Also, this is the 1st summer of the pandemic's post-emergency phase — a distinct new chapter https://t.co/qzZAwT6uwy
— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 20, 2023
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: June 14, 2023
We've come a long way since the pandemic began, but COVID is still a threat.
Stay up to date on your COVID vaccines to reduce your risk of severe illness and hospitalization from COVID.
Find free updated COVID vaccines at https://t.co/jDq2UIHFmT. #WeCanDoThis pic.twitter.com/CRXUuHMcae
— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) June 13, 2023
COVID-19 vaccines being developed and manufactured for the 2023-2024 campaign should target one of the currently dominant XBB variants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) staff reviewers said on Monday. https://t.co/D3nrEBgcdU
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) June 12, 2023