Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

now lord god fauci says we should keep a open mind about the origin, it could have, but he doubts it, been man made, he flip-flops more than a fish on a boat deck.

 

How exactly is that different from his position at any point? A good scientist goes with the more likely outcomes most of the time while keeping open the possibility of far less likely outcomes as well.

 

Curious to see how this piece will stand up once it is "peer reviewed" on this thread

 

I read a long time ago the average person gets into a car accident about once every 10 years. Chances of getting hit is very low each time you get into a car. But what if you are hit? That's why you wear a seat belt. Best precaution to prevent tragedy.

We don't know if a vaccine resistant variant will ever come about. But we do know, there will be more variants, especially with the virus raging in places like India and Brazil. So what if a vaccine variant becomes a reality?

The vaccine is our best precaution against COVID-19. Especially true as the number of serious cases among teens has risen the last two months according to the CDC.

Viruses mutate. COVID-19 is no different, and in 18 months, there has already been about a dozen major variants. There will be more.

 

someone is screwed. I've been driving 40 years with no accidents

 

Drivers get into an accident about once every 18 years of driving. Take into consideration passengers, then it's closer to a person getting into an accident once every 10 years. So, do you wear your seatbelt every time you drive? Even with these low odds? I do.

 

I guess I just don’t have hang-ups about wearing a mask. No big deal for me. I Don’t think the Govt is “trying to control me “.

 

Here's an article on increased hospitalizations for teens due to COVID-19. Likely because new variants that replicate much faster are overwhelming T-cells, which doctors believe help kids fight off COVID, and aren't found in adults. More schools being open and less mask wearing also possibilities. From the article:

While most hospitalizations occur in older adults, severe disease that requires hospitalization has been shown to occur in all age groups. Covid-19 hospitalization rates among adolescents declined in January and February, the report said, but increased during March and April, even as hospitalization rates stabilized for those 65 and older, probably because of their higher rates of vaccination.

Researchers suggest that the increased hospitalization among adolescents may be related to several factors, including more transmissible and potentially more dangerous virus variants; larger numbers of young people returning to school; and changes in physical distancing, mask-wearing and other prevention behaviors.​

 

So, around a total of 20 kids went on either CPAP, BiPap or vent (although I doubt that any were ventilated). Still, an extremely low number and percentage of both the population as a whole and the population of Covid infections.

I get wanting to have everyone, including kids, vaccinated. I wish everyone would get the VAX. But I also abhor fear mongering. It has caused a mass (or mask ) psychosis in otherwise normal folks to the point of vaccinated people STILL wearing masks outside even though there is a much higher chance of them getting killed by a bee sting than getting Covid.

 

The study only looked at 10 states. So multiply by 5 to get nationwide numbers. Still not a huge number, but a number that is almost completely preventable. And a number that has been moving in the wrong direction the last two months.

 

it’s not your fault that you are wrong on this. It’s the CDC’s fault for putting out this propaganda to try to up the vaccine rates of kids by scaring parents. The CDC is a complete embarrassment at this point. And people wonder why no one trusts what the CDC says. Look at when they stopped their “study”. Just coincidence that they stopped before those numbers fell off a cliff.

 

CDC said teen hospitalizations went up March through April. Your graph agrees. Teen hospitalizations went down beginning in May. What happened around the 2nd week in May that may have changed the trajectory and moved the needle back in the right direction? Just guessing here, and certainly study is needed, but maybe the vaccine opening up for all teens made a difference?

 

Don't you just love it when the news readers lead with, OMG the number of teens in the hospital for covid has tripled!!!! Then they never cite any numbers. OK, so it went from 6 to 20!!! Shameful.

 

Figured you would’ve gone there. That’s not how it works. Remember you like to use “wait two weeks” but I guess that part only is useful when you want it to be…

 

Pfizer, which is the only vaccines approved for 12-15 year olds, is up to 85% effective 2 weeks after 1st dose. And it's not like a light switch where one day you're susceptible, next day 80%+ covered. Protection usually begins around day 3 or 4 after the first shot.

So with the first 12 - 15 year olds getting their first shot 3 weeks ago last Thursday, seeing a drop in major cases is to be expected.

 

It’s ok to admit the cdc study was a thinly veiled attempt to make it seem like kids need to get vaccinated. But the math still doesn’t work. Go look at the chart again. Numbers were already dropping like a stone before kids starting getting vaccinated. It’s not complicated

 

Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator. And if teen Hospitalizations drop to almost zero a month from now, vaccines will be the reason.

It would be interesting to study why, over the full graph, teen Hospitalizations fluctuated. Do outbreaks in certain areas lead to school closures which stop the spread of COVID-19? Why was there a peak mid Feb that was about as high as March?

What we do know is 3+ weeks after the vaccine was approved for 12+, very few issues with myocarditis being the only potential issue. And there's still no definitive causation link. And there have been less hospitalizations from the vaccine than from the virus itself.

There are also COVID long haulers. About 10% who get the disease will still have symptoms weeks, if not months later. The vaccine? Nothing indicating any long term effects yet.

 

This has been a recurring habit among a lot of people regarding Covid. As awful as Covid is and was at it's peak, it has been awfulized even more by the press and certain politicians. It has created a bunch of neurotic people and the depth of this neurosis has still not been fully realized.

 

Absolutely. Difference is, I am not using a "what if" scenario to convince you to do something different than me.

 

Are you suggesting the increase in hospitalizations is not statistically significant given the stated populations? If so, show your work. If not, explain why experts should be unconcerned by an unexplained, significant change in teen hospitalizations as it is occurring. During a pandemic.