Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

COVID pediatric hospitalizations are up in the UK. But they haven't reached the level of bronchitis pediatric hospitalizations! So time to break out the bubbly! Less children in the hospital from COVID than bronchitis! Celebration time!

Fact. Your chart shows pediatric COVID hospitalizations are rising the UK. No matter what it shows for any other diseases, this is not a positive thing to be celebrated. Unless, I guess, you like seeing kids in the hospital? I know I certainly don't! Which is why stories like this out of Texas, where pediatric COVID hospitalization rate is currently outpacing COVID pediatric vaccination rate is frustrating. The overwhelming majority of kids in the hospital with COVID are unvaccinated.

 

So we are clear, I'm sure you will be posting about bronchitis hospitalizations in the future since they are more than double any covid hospitalizations. I'm sure there are past post from you about the high bronchitis hospitalizations as well, right? LOL. Too predictable. No one is celebrating the pediatric hospitalizations but what some are doing is trying to scare people with "highest ever covid hospitalizations" when compared to a normal year is hardly reason for screaming fear from the roof tops.

FACT: Chart shows current covid hospitalizations(which are 50% or so incidental) aren't even half of a normal years bronchitis rate. Thanks for playing.

 

Here is the WHO saying children don't need the boosters. Healthy teen boys should get a max of 1 shot according to the data out there. Getting the second increases the odds of myocarditis way too high to risk it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/who...children-adolescents-need-covid-boosters.html

 

to be clear they are saying there isn’t sufficient evidence to need a booster for healthy teens. They didn’t say anything about getting one shot only. That was your statement. But I think your stance is a reasonable one - the risk benefit of a second shot for teens is debatable. I’d probably say it is worth it, but it isn’t clear cut.

 

Still doesn't negate the fact that pediatric COVID hospitalizations are at an all-time high both here and in the UK. And the fact the vast majority of these are avoidable with vaccinations.

 

The important distinction is are they in hospital due to COVID or some other thing and have COVID. As most all hospitalized patients get tested there are many asymptomatic COVID patients in hospital.

 

Perhaps, but even still, having Covid probably doesn’t help what they are in the hospital for, and once positive Covid additional hospital protocols are needed to keep others safe from transmission.

 

That would be true all through your graph. Patients showing up in the hospital for other issues testing positive later on is not a new phenomenon with Omicron. And often times COVID exacerbates the original issue. A broken arm? No. But RSV, highly likely. RSV usually has low hospitalizations numbers. But if the body if fighting both RSV and COVID at the same time, then more medical intervention is likely needed.

Regardless, at minimum, if 50% of the pediatric COVID hospitalizations just test positive in the hospital, and the vaccine can prevent 90% of those hospitalized because of COVID, that's 45% of kids who don't end up in the hospital. Which represents hundreds, if not thousands of kids. How is this a bad thing?

 

Sorry we can just agree to disagree the mortality for COVID in peds is ridiculously small. I don't give my kids the Flu vaccine and they won't get COVID vaccine either. (2/3) already had Delta (most likely) and were minimally ill. More time and experience with the vaccines is needed IMHO.
If a kid is high risk jab away.

I've seen far too many Approved meds get yanked years after long term trials said they were safe but when truly large numbers were given the meds issues were discovered.

 

I posted an Atlantic article on this the other day. It is not binary. People go in for an apparent problem with a comorbidity that may or may not be triggered by COVID. And then get tested.

 

Lara Logan loses her representation for comparing Fauci to Mengele.
Lara Logan dropped by talent agency after comparing Fauci to Nazi doctor

 

Mortality rate is small. But hospitalization rate is growing. If I can keep my kid out of the hospital, why wouldn't I? Even if the hospitalization rate is small, the vaccine minimizes the risk. And that's a good thing. Kind of like wearing a seat belt. The odds of getting into a traffic accident is small, but I can minimize the damage to my and my kid's by wearing them. So I do.

As for long term effects, the chances of the COVID virus having secondary issues down the line is much greater than any long term effects from the vaccine. There are several viruses known to cause secondary illnesses years, if not decades later. For example, chicken pox and shingles. The vaccine? The ingredients include a strand of mRNA that is found in the virus itself, plus some organic compounds that keep the mRNA from degrading too quickly. All of which do degrade and leave the body within 8 to 12 hours of being jabbed. The chances of long term effects from the vaccine are infinitesimally smaller than the risk from actual infection.

The vaccine isn't really a new drug either. It's an improved version of an old technology. Before, scientists would do things like inject chicken eggs with viruses in the hopes of one day finding a variant that contained the mRNA that triggered the body's immune response, but didn't cause major symptoms. The new technology is simple. Just figure out the mRNA needed to spark the body's immune response, and just use that. And again, every compound in the vaccine is out of the body is less than half a day. It's not like a drug you take on a consistent basis that over time may cause serious side effects.

 

Well said.

Curious what you are starting to hear from Docs…

At this point omicron really does appear to be a shift to omicold. And that is good news. Also with the mass transmission and the fact it is so mutated…the current mRNA drugs and these drugs designed to fight the alpha variant appear to do nothing when it comes to spread. And honestly who knows when it comes to outcome now. Delta I think there is a potential therapeutic effect. Omicron I am not sure it matters. When you add that so many run to get the monoclonal antibodies fair unvaccinated it becomes even harder to figure out whether we need to shelve the current drugs.

The flu shot is a guess each year. And at least they admit it. I think we are headed to the same for Covid vaccines. But I fear that will be a tough sell as they have botched the messaging and rollout.

I am not sure I understand the point of getting a drug that is geared for the spike protein of the alpha variant at this point (at least I believe that is the variant these drugs are based on?).

 

link to chart?

 

link?

 

Best indicator is WW samples

Record COVID-19 Levels Found In Southeast Sewage: See Latest Data

Biobot Analytics is a wastewater epidemiology company based in Massachusetts. According to the company’s wastewater dashboard, coronavirus levels detected in sewage samples across the country are higher now than at any previous point in the pandemic.
Through its analyses, the dashboard illustrates how wastewater-based COVID-19 monitoring can complement clinical testing on a regional and county basis, according to Biobot.
According to Biobot’s dashboard, on Jan. 7, the wastewater in the South was showing 196.1 clinical cases per 100,000 people, compared to just 19 cases per 100,000 on Oct. 17 — a big jump!
Nationwide, wastewater across the United States showed cases at 205.9 cases per 100,000 people on Jan. 7, compared with 22.4 per 100,000 on Oct. 17 — another significant increase.
Sewage monitoring shows case numbers surging in parts of California, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Missouri and North Carolina.

 

Yes, the 1 shot is my opinion and that of some doctors. Anyone with a teen son should seriously think twice before giving their kids 2 shots, let alone a booster.

 

He can't grasp that concept at all.

 

To me about as objective and knowledgeable of a source there is is Paul Offit. He does recommend kids get 2 shot regimen but not boosters, unless there are other issues.

 

Disagree on the 2 shots for sure. Can't fathom a doctor recommending getting 2 shots when the second shot has a higher likelihood of myocarditis than getting covid itself. But to each their own. Feel the same way on masks. If you want your kid masked, go right ahead. My kids don't mask at school and less than 5%(according to my kids) of students in their HS wear a mask.