Senate Pandemics in the Age of Globalization: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion: See OP Warning

Id read that about the vaccine and thinking back don’t recall have any issue with my arm after being vaccinated. But my symptoms went away so slowly it’s hard to tell.

 

I'd just had the usual soreness in my arm with the vax and boosters that I do when I get my flu shot. *shrugs*

 

Update, my son does not have Covid. I didn't think he did, but tested since the school requested.

 

Thankfully just got another bivalent booster yesterday, since it's a little past the 6 months in September. Shot #7 for me overall (had one bad case of COVID in February 2022, even after already having had 4 shots at that point).

 

Shot #7. Wow. Do you just stream Netflix to devices via thought now?

I’m joking. Is that what’s being advised now? Every six months? I’d be due in April.

 

Yeah, that's what's being advised now, and what my CVS approved as enough time.

Spring 2021:
-the 2 Pfizer (when they first became available, around March)

Summer 2021
-the 2 Modernas (approved because I'm immunocompromised, when 90 days had passed since the previous series)

got COVID in February 2022

got the first true "booster" shortly after, in April 2022, from Pfizer

got the first "bivalent" booster when it became available in September 2022, from Moderna

and now got another bivalent booster this week, March 2022, from Pfizer


Figured as long as my insurance still pays 100%, it can't hurt. I hear how insurance is going to change for COVID soon. It's already so much harder to find a place to get tested.

 

Is it profitable?

 

I thought I had heard that they were not advising every six months, but only once a year. Or maybe they recommended every six months to more vulnerable populations?

If it's every six months for everyone, then I'm due now.

 

Every six months is the (almost entirely ignored) recommendation here as well.

 

I can't for the life of me figure out if Ontario Canada is recommending every 6 months or not or even annually or anything past my 4th shot.

 

Raccoon dogs illegally poached from the Avatar cartoon series possibly implicated in the origins of Covid if as seems prudent you’re still in the Wuhan market camp.

 

@Runjedirun Good to hear, hope he is feeling better!

@jcgoble3 Depends on the country. In the US, for the vast majority of the population, the FDA is recommending one shot a year (I believe that is the authorization now) but for certain at risks populations they can received one every 6-8 months. My parents are now both in their eighties and cancer survivors therefore are in that higher risk population that could receive a booster once every 6-8 months. They just had theirs in November as my mom had a case of pneumonia and had to wait to receive it therefore so did my dad. Their doctor wants to play it by ear and see how cases are trending with perhaps getting more towards the fall since that is when they will want their immunity at their highest. They both had COVID last May and luckily had mild cases particularly my dad as they responded to Paxlovid well but my mom wound up in the hospital for about a week due to being dehydrated so bad due to not drinking/eating as much (and lying about it which sent us all over the moon) and kind of interacting with some of her other medication poorly. The doctor told us if she gets it again and needs to take Paxlovid again, then they will simply cut down on her other medications for a bit which they wound up doing anyway when she was in the hospital and that should guard against her having a repeat issue with being dehydrated...and not lying about not drinking or eating as much as she should be!

@Rylo Ken Still better then the it crawled out of the lab somehow like how in the Brady Bunch the clumsy jaintor knocked over the crazy heart in the story I believe Peter Brady told. Or worse yet like the MAGAers said it is some bio weapon China unleashed that caused more damage to their country then many other ones as they are just starting digging itself out of it after three years. The WHO wants answers for sure now which they will never get even though it would help solve a lot of things including helping protect us from the next one.

And speaking about the WHO, it is sending the clearest signal yet that the pandemic is at it's tail end and it is now an endemic disease:

 

an endemic disease that will kill 10,000 Americans every month in perpetuity?

 

Remember this tip from DeSantis: if you don't measure deaths, then you don't have to count deaths!

 

The trick to good public health is to not publicize it. Check.

 

@blackmyron He wants to use those dead bodies to make him look taller since unlike when he was on FNC, he won't be able to stand on a pitching mound all the time.

And the flu has been with us over a hundred years, still kills thousands each year in this country alone even though we have a vaccine for it since WWII. and honestly caused more damage in many ways then COVID did this past fall even though it's an endemic. Again there are pluses and minuses to an endemic over a pandemic doesn't mean it's not a issue, just means it's not everywhere all at once at high rates. And again pulling the fire alarm after the first jump in cases every few months like some folks love to do particularly one "expert" from the NYT who every time it happens screams there is a new variant that is going to be the worst one yet is about the worst thing you can do in terms of guarding against COVID. It erodes trust in public health, gets people burnt out over false alarms, and perhaps worst of all gives unintended ammo to the COVID deniers to further muddy the waters. All the WHO doing is admitting basic facts as they become apparent which again helps keep trust in public health. Doesn't mean nobody is taking it seriously, doesn't mean they won't continue to monitor it in case another significant variant comes along that could cause real damage, and doesn't mean they aren't looking for better treatments and vaccines (which btw there seems to be good initial reports on the nasal vaccine early trials) just means in terms of COVID, it's at the lowest form of danger to the general public in 3 years and nobody can dispute that.

 

pandemic-adjacent but another look at why healthcare outcomes in the U.S. are so bad despite the, and often because of, the cost.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64981965

The U.S. healthcare system for labor and delivery - slightly better than giving birth in a gutter.

 

An unintended plus of the pandemic:



Funny what happens when people no longer have to worry so much about childcare and the government is willing to assistant a bit more financially.

 

And imagine how many more kids would be born if the US government guaranteed an actual *gasp* maternity leave and statutory pay. You know, like actual first world countries.

 

The Biden administration recently announced they are putting $5 billion towards new vaccine development:

https://www.reuters.com/business/he...up-development-new-covid-vaccines-2023-04-10/

Not what it should be money wise but it was a surprise and welcome annoucement it should be none the less. Perhaps one of the nasal vaccines in development can come thru which according to my doc friends feel like it would work better against infection then needles can be develop before Trump or especially DeSantis make it illegal for anyone to get a vaccine because you know "freedom" to get really sick and possibly die from a disease we now actually have vaccines and medication to help prevent that.

Also, latest strain of COVID is showing a couple new symptoms mainly pink eye:

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/arcturus-covid-variant-xbb-116-cdc-pandemic/3119677/

Like the article says it's highly transmissible but *knock on wood* doesn't look like it's spreading at a very worrying rate. I asked my doc friend about this who is still dealing with COVID long term patients but is going back more to what he was doing before which is lung transplants and looking at how we should competely revamp them (to say he is utterly brilliant is a understatement yet is down to earth as you can get) and said he doesn't think it would be much different then the other variants we been dealing with so hopefully that continues.

The amount of cases we had in the building over the past six weeks even after spring break are eye dropping in terms of how few they been. Since the end of February there has been a total of 12 COVID cases. That's it. And keep in mind not only does staff still get COVID adminstration days (up to 5) but so do students so people are still testing if they can get sick since we don't have to use sick days for it and students get an excused absence(s) that don't count against them which is particularly important to seniors right now since they can only have 5 or less days of missed school this semester if they want to skip finals (and need to have a C- or higher in the class) unless it's an excused absence which are their mental health days (which many saved up for this time of year hence why my classes were pretty much empty yesterday due to the fact Wednesday and Thursday was mandatory state testing that does not include seniors so most just took a mental health day yesterday so they can have a five day weekend particularly it's been goregous here), college visits (which they get two of and again some have been saying at least one up for second semester even though almost all of them know where they are going at this point), bereavement (depends on who it was in terms of how many days off are excused), and COVID days. So again if people get sick they are testing, just luckily cases are staying remarkably low.

Other stuff is going around the schools including pink eye. My daughter had pink eye over spring break which luckily the boys and us managed to avoid. We tested her twice for COVID and nothing as it was going around school just before break and her doctor told us they been seeing a lot of it along with strep.

 

FDA authorizes a second Omicron second booster for older people and those who are immunocompromised:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/cov...ised-can-receive-additional-omicron-shots.htm

Interesting this comes the same day we got an email from HR talking about how testing will no longer be free once they run out of tests. My wife already called our insurance and said it will still be covered but with a small co pay now but if we go to one of their immediate care places, it will be cheaper then if we went to a pharamcy for some reason. There is one right at the junior college that we use as our immediate care but the problem is they close at 5 PM each night so really if us and/or the kids are sick overnight we will be using at home kits which won't be covered by insurance anymore. And those are not cheap as the Flowflex test is the cheapest one at home and that is $9.99 per test. If we all have to test that is $50. I guess if one is sick will give them at home test and if they test positive, will all go to the pharmacy and get tested via the drive thru or grab more at home tests whatever is cheaper.

 

I only have two questions: How much? And give it to me.

 

Tufts Hospital in Boston has reported no covid in-patients at their hospital. A first since March 2020.

 

Dare I hope that we are actually transitioning into the endemic stage? I realize that COVID is still a problem in that stage, but it's going to be a problem for, well, forever, at least unless we find a cure. But hopefully it is semi-permanently less of a problem than it has been for the past three years.