Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

Our systems here have the same requirement for the flu shot. It's written in when they sign their employment contract. The opt out no matter the excuse has been PPE.

 

If everyone were vaccinated or had exposure by prior infection, that would be fine. There would be a 1000 percent lower risk of severe disease. This would be a cold again. We would be closer to normal

 

Yeah one of the best presentations when I was younger was a science center field trip. Guy came in with 2 containers. Put out this pink thing first then another black glob that looked like it came out of the sewer. Pink one was a healthy looking lung. The other was the lung of a pack a day smoker. He just said "make your own choice but here's the visual. Your call." Was never tempted to smoke after that.

 

Guess what else can lead to death if you are healthy or unhealthy. Heart disease/cancer/you name it…

One of the reasons I run is to have a baseline for if oxygen is moving properly. After discussing with my dad and hearing him tell me that looking back before his heart attack that he realized he could not do certain things without getting tired…I want to be prepared. And with that you can be in phenomenal shape and ignore those signs.

Heart disease in marathon runners: a review - PubMed

 

I could say the same thing for being healthy. The reduction in severe disease would be drastically lower. Some people are going to take a holistic approach to their health and minimize drug intake. There is nothing wrong with that approach. Health is not a one size fits all issue.

 

You completely ignore the reality we have no long term data on the new drugs. You ignore the fact that the disease is low risk.

Health is not one size fits all. It is art and science. Unfortunately we have tunnel vision being used to advise on this.

 

Great opinion piece on the WSJ about CDC/FDA push to give boosters to teens. No big deal, just need to vax them to see if it works, right?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/danger...k9i04ivnoly78&reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter

Booster mandates for healthy young people, which some colleges are imposing, will cause medical harm for the sake of transient reductions in mild and asymptomatic infections. In a study of 438,511 males 16 to 24, 56 developed myocarditis after their second Pfizer dose (or 1 in 7,830, at least seven times the usual rate). True, most cases were mild, but in the broader group of 136 people (including older and female patients) who developed myocarditis after the vaccine, seven had a “complicated course,” and one 22-year-old died. Moderna’s vaccine carries an even higher rate of heart complications, which is why some European countries have restricted it for people under 30. But in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indiscriminately push for boosters for all young people.

Those recommendations came over the objections of the agencies’ own experts. The last vote by FDA advisers, in September, rejected the proposal 16-2. FDA leaders revisited the proposal in November and simply bypassed the experts. So did the CDC, whose advisers had rejected boosters for people not at high risk. Two top FDA scientists, including the head of the agency’s vaccine efforts, quit around the time of the September vote over White House pressure to authorize boosters for all. They wrote in detail about their concerns.

A study by Oxford researchers, published last week in Nature Medicine, validated those concerns. It found young people suffered myocarditis, pericarditis and arrhythmias more frequently from Moderna’s vaccine than from Covid itself. And the long-term cardiac effects of boosters in young people are unknown.

 

Well Said!

 

His previous oped said we would all have herd immunity long ago and the pandemic would be over. Everyone in this mess is cherry-picking data to bolster their side, rather than pro’s, con’s, breakdowns by categories or even being a thoughtful citizen and looking out for others. Any all encompassing statements are ideological rubbish. Ymmv

 

I always considered myself healthy. Blood work has always been good. I noticed that sometimes in the morning when I ran up 4 flights of stairs to my office I would be winded. That lasted for about 2 months. When I went in for my yearly physical, I mentioned that to the doctor. His response was that i'm probably not in as good shape as I think I am . But since I was over 50 and never had a stress test, he went ahead and ordered one. 4 days later I had a triple bypass.

 

We have around 15-20 athletes getting monitored for any long-term issues after vaccine induced myocarditis (2 had arrhythmia too). My own son had myocarditis twice from the vaccine/booster. They're all ok now they're just under observation.

With my son and the few that are younger, their doctors suspect that the guidelines for "you can play in a day or 2" was incorrect. It was too much strain too soon for some. I got to watch my kid nearly collapse on the mound. About 3 weeks after the 2nd shot is where I'd say he was 100%.

All athletes who have had covid here have an echo and Holter every 6 months out of an abundance of caution. Don't know about elsewhere, but sharing.

 

Perhaps omicron infections will further boost general herd immunity to strains of covid19:

The omicron variant could give fully vaccinated people ‘super immunity’

 

Your story is exactly why I have a baseline set for myself and sounds similar to my dad. Though my dad ended up actually having a heart attack. I am not committed to running (running is what works for me and may not for many others/I just think people should find something that works for them) just for the health benefits. I am aware that heart disease can creep up on you without knowing. My doctor wants me to get a Calcium Scan as another baseline since my dad had quad bypass. I have been lazy on that as the scanner here in town was down and it is across town. When they finally scheduled me…they never called with my cost and I just don’t have it high priority. Then you add in Covid and I have just continued to put it off.

Glad you are doing well!!! My dad is 18 years now since his bypass. He felt so much better after recovery!

 

They said the same thing about Delta. I don’t think this is unique to just Omicron, but rather people that are both vaxxed and natural immunity would likely have better immune response going forward than just one or the other (and far superior immunity to those who are neither).

Though one would assume vaccination + Omicron breakthrough would offer the best protection specifically against Omicron. As we saw with the transition from Delta as dominant strain to Omicron as dominant strain, that “variant specific” immunity might not even matter for long.

 

In the US, the Pfizer vaccine is the only one anyone under 16 can get. It carries the lowest risk of myocarditis among the vaccines. In addition, the risk of getting myocarditis from COVID itself is higher than the risk from the vaccine, with cases from COVID running a much higher risk of MIS-C or other complications.

If you could ensure you kid would never be exposed to COVID, that's your best option. But that's highly unlikely unless you cut yourself off from the world. With Omicron, the risk of getting COVID just increased. Option 2 is get your kid vaccinated. Low risk of myocarditis. Or, let you kid get COVID and run a higher risk of myocarditis with a higher risk of complications.

From this article, which lays out the risks:

Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine will cause a child to develop heart disease.

Fact: “Children are much more likely to develop heart issues after COVID-19 infection than after the vaccine. When children develop myocarditis after COVID-19 infection, it’s typically much more severe than when it occurs post-vaccine.”

Myth: Kids don’t get that sick from COVID-19, so they don’t need the vaccine.

Fact: “While kids are less likely to develop severe illness from COVID-19, they can get COVID-19, they can transmit COVID-19 and they can die from COVID-19. Even if they initially have no symptoms with infection, they can still develop MIS-C, which many families haven’t ever heard of.”
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Yeah, i'll go with the John's Hopkin's School of Medicine MD over you. Thanks.

 

More people haven't died under Biden, at least not from either the CDC or world-o-meter data. It's about 430k DT to 390k JB. The daily death rates are pretty close (Trump's slightly higher), however, death rates among unvaxxed are 5x-20x that of vaxxed, depending on age group.

 

True.

I might add these sort of comparisons are difficult due to changing circumstances. Our knowledge, preventatives and therapeutics have improved over time and the virus has mutated.

One thing I am confident in saying is that the Biden administration has done far better job of fighting covid, although admittedly imperfect.

 

Since you're so big on the data, I'll ask again. What does the data say about vaccines and hospitalizations/deaths?

 

First time for everything. Your article is about 3rd boosters. And states the risk for myocarditis for a third booster from Moderna in those 16 and older is higher than the risk from getting COVID. Nowhere does it say the risk from any Pfizer vaccine is higher. So give kids 16 to 22 Pfizer boosters only.

The overall risk from contracting myocarditis from COVID is higher than those vaccinated with Pfizer. Greater chance of getting myocarditis, and greater chance of serious complications like MIS-C if a kid gets COVID. And with Omicron, the chances of a kid getting COVID has risen. So either live like a hermit to avoid the virus, or, if you want to lower the risks, get the kid vaccinated.