Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

See the row that says '% of Population >= 18 Years of Age' for the column 'At Least One Dose'

COVID Data Tracker

 

Ok. I forgot how bad it was starting in November. Lots of pro-Trump, unmasked protests lead by anti-mask politicians like Kelli Ward and Andy Biggs. Zero enforcement of mask policies during the holidays didn't help either.

Interestingly enough, between August and late September, about 1000 cases a day. Since mid Feb, about 500. Still not 50% of the population of the state vaccinated.

 

7 day average is the lowest it’s been since last April. But yeah, Arizona is doing awful… Really thought you would’ve learned your lesson when we pointed out the flaws in your other posts about cases. You are the boy who keeps crying wolf. If you say literally everything is bad then by sheer luck you will be right on one like a clock is right twice a day. This is why people believe you. You are making it seem like AZ is doing awful. It’s embarrassing.

 

Find where I said everything is bad since the thread reopened? Please. I've been saying we've been doing better, thanks to the vaccine. But we're not out of the woods yet. Especially concerning is the Brazil variant, and the fact other variants will still come.

You are so hellbent in thinking I'm against you, you don't even read what I write. I want things opened. I hate wearing a mask. But I understand science. COVID-19 mutates. It's only a matter of time and number of infected people before there is a vaccine resistant variant. The best hope we have now is vaccinate everyone eligible. That will severely limit the number of hosts COVID-19 can infect and lower the number of virus copies. Less copies, less mutations, less variants, less worry, more open world.

But let's be real. The way COVID-19 is ravaging India and Brazil right now means more variants will arise in those countries. There isn't much we can do about it, and why scientists fully believe COVID-19 won't be going away soon. The Pandemic will end, but endemics of COVID-19 will continue. I've posted several articles from multiple experts all saying the same thing.

Staying indoors and masking now is better than nothing. But the safest course of action, by far, is getting vaccinated. Unless a person is truly a hermit, an unvaccinated person is more at risk at getting COVID-19 than a vaccinated one. And more people vaccinated, the quicker we get back to normal, and more we stay there.

Have kids 12-15? They should be vaccinated too. Maybe they won't get too sick with COVID-19. But if infected, it just increases the risk of variants.

By the way, I asked my daughter, who was vaccinated on Saturday, how she felt. She is doing great, but is, "Disappointed the vaccine didn't give her clairvoyance enough to find the hidden rebel base!" I love her.

 

More of the same. Either we vaccinate, or risk variants.

Dr. Michael Diamond, a viral immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, said that the longer the coronavirus circulates, the more time it has to mutate, which could eventually threaten vaccinated people; the only way to break the cycle is to ensure countries like India get enough vaccines.

“In order to stop this pandemic, we have to vaccinate the whole world,” Dr. Diamond said. “There will be new waves of infection over and over again unless we vaccinate at a global scale."
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I'm not worried about today. I'm vaccinated. But that doesn't mean a new, vaccine resistant variant won't be news tomorrow. I know the best way to prevent this? Vaccinate everyone.

 

Why Covax, the fund to vaccinate the world, is struggling — Vox

 

Here is something for people with children considering vaccination to follow. Nothing wide spread and nothing concrete, but this is good that the CDC is looking into this and it is out in the open in my opinion.

Covid Live Updates: Germany Bans Most Travel From Britain Over Variant Fears

 

A lot we don’t know about the vaccines. For sure smart for adults to get the vaccine but kids are at almost zero risk. Anyone saying this vaccine is safe for kids isnt being honest. It MAY be safe, but until it’s fully authorized there’re is zero chance my kids are taking this vaccine.

 

I respect that. As I have said, I no longer have children, so have no opinion on how other people should raise their children. The problem with this disease, unlike some others is, it is almost certainly not fatal in young people. Yet the finite risk that they suffer long term problems as a result would be very concerning to me. Certainly not a decision I would want to have to make, and would probably wait for much, much more research/data on vaccine interaction with young people before I made any choices.

 

Exactly. I’m not an anti vaxxer and I took the Covid vaccine myself. There is no point in giving a perfectly healthy adolescent an experimental vaccine unless there was a risk to the children from Covid itself. Until that happens I will wait on the sidelines until the vaccine is approved.

 

There are a growing number of child COVID-19 long haulers. Hawaii is yet another state opening up a pediatric long haul unit.

We definitely need to monitor kids for myocarditis, but to date, we have very little information. A few potential cases out of an unknown number of kids who have received the vaccine isn't much to go on. Myocarditis often clears itself in 6 months, as symptoms often go away on their own. Myocarditis is also a long haul symptom.

It's estimated that long haulers effect up to 10% of everyone infected, including kids. Let's see what the myocarditis vaccine study shows.

 

Eighth US state crosses major milestone for vaccinations.

CDC now reporting that 61% of all US adults have had at least one shot and just over 49% of all adults are fully vaccinated.

An 8th US state just reached a critical Covid-19 vaccination milestone - CNN

 

FYI, preliminary results say no link between vaccine and myocarditis. The rate of myocarditis, which can be caused by other viruses and bacteria, is no higher among vaccine recipients than what is expected in the population at large. Just preliminary results, and further study is needed.

 

A newly discovered group of people who are especially vulnerable to Covid: women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects 10% of women of childbearing age.

The women possibly at higher risk for Covid-19 that no one is talking about - CNN

 

This reminds me of a few on here.

Britons struggling to return to normal life for fear of covid 'ingrained'

“Up to one in five is believed to have developed a “compulsive and disproportionate” fear of Covid, which would likely stay in place even if the virus disappeared completely. Warnings about the dangers of Covid have heightened the problem, and mixed messages about the level of danger have made it worse.”

“The recently identified condition - Covid Anxiety Syndrome - is characterised by fear of public places, compulsive hygiene habits, worrying about the virus and frequent symptom checking.

The findings from the study, which was undertaken in March and April 2021, showed 46 percent of people feared returning to public transport, 44 per cent feared touching things, while 35 percent were checking their family members and loved ones for signs of Covid on a regular basis.”

 

Looking at the US daily case graph, there's been a sustained downward trajectory in the new case rate since the March/April plateau. Previous declines from peaks tended to round as they bottomed out - this one is a consistent linear decline, no inflection point so far. It would seem that the vaccines are working quite well. The R0 value is less than 1.0 now!

 

Gotcha. My mistake. I thought you meant fully vaccinated.

 

Good news... but THIS is why we are waiting. preliminary results, then more concrete ones.
But this is why people are waiting on their kids.

 

I understand. But the issue with COVID-19 is the public health issue race between the vaccine and variants. Wait to get vaccinated, and the risk is too many people infected giving rise to a variant that is vaccine resistant. To me, this risk is far greater than the vaccine.