On Topic Discussion 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2)

[belamyi]

Read it in a book, hear someone say it before time, the message will get trashed as irresponsible academic machiavellian fancies: say it after personal enlightenment, it becomes wisdom.

 

[cityboy-stl]

It's starting to get really bad here. Hospitals are full and turning away some people. Patients are not getting the care they need, and they are not surviving in some cases.

St. Louis region’s hospital systems at breaking point as latest COVID surge fills beds, packs ERs [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, which includes the major hospitals in the St. Louis area, reported a total of 1,378 COVID-19 patients on Friday — more than triple the number six weeks ago — and much higher than the 962 seen last winter. Hospitalizations in Missouri hit 3,310 patients on Wednesday, the latest data available, almost 500 higher than last year’s peak.

 

[KaraBulut]

A few updates....

Cases may be starting to plateau in the US, Canada and Ireland. This seems to reflect the omicron variant hitting the unvaccinated, including children under the minimum vaccination age and break-through cases in the vaccinated and partially vaccinated.

Australia, which has a >90% vaccination rate, is seeing cases still increasing. About 2/3 of the cases are in the southeastern part of the country where Sydney is located.

Contrast this with Brazil, which was believed to have "herd immunity" because of the unchecked infections in 2020. Brazil also used Sinovac's CoronaVac, which produces a low level of immunity (~50% protection, dropping to ~25% in people over age 80). Brazil started switching to mRNA vaccines in the last quarter of 2021 for their boosters.

At-Home Testing In The US

The US still has a shortage of at-home rapid tests. However, starting next week, you can go to COVIDtests.gov and request 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests per home address from the federal government.

Also, if you can find home tests, private insurance policies will start paying for any tests purchased on or after 15-Jan-2022. The maximum number that they will cover is 8 tests per person per month. It's unclear whether insurance companies will ship tests to you on request or whether you will need to submit receipts for reimbursement. Your plan's website should have information.

 

[Kulindahr]

I noticed that the medical plaza down the street is open even on Sunday now for testing anyone who wants to drop in.

 

[rareboy]

Just a reminder...I have posted this before....

When I go back to Post #1 and think how Mikey was among those that saw this as over-kill.....hope that he and his American BF were smart enough to take all this shit seriously.

From the very first day when it hit the news....all I could think of was SARS and months and months and months later.....wow...SARS was nothing.

 

[KaraBulut]

Just a reminder...I have posted this before....

When I go back to Post #1 and think how Mikey was among those that saw this as over-kill.....hope that he and his American BF were smart enough to take all this shit seriously.

From the very first day when it hit the news....all I could think of was SARS and months and months and months later.....wow...SARS was nothing.

Mikey was a harbinger of what the future held.

Hopefully, he didn't continue to fall down the rabbit hole of the websites that he was reading. His age and health issues put him at risk. I hope for his sake and his childrens' sake he got vaccinated and didn't get sick.

 

[belamyi]

 

[belamyi]

 

[ruggerladirish]

A few updates....

Cases may be starting to plateau in the US, Canada and Ireland. This seems to reflect the omicron variant hitting the unvaccinated, including children under the minimum vaccination age and break-through cases in the vaccinated and partially vaccinated.

Australia, which has a >90% vaccination rate, is seeing cases still increasing. About 2/3 of the cases are in the southeastern part of the country where Sydney is located.

Contrast this with Brazil, which was believed to have "herd immunity" because of the unchecked infections in 2020. Brazil also used Sinovac's CoronaVac, which produces a low level of immunity (~50% protection, dropping to ~25% in people over age 80). Brazil started switching to mRNA vaccines in the last quarter of 2021 for their boosters.

At-Home Testing In The US

The US still has a shortage of at-home rapid tests. However, starting next week, you can go to COVIDtests.gov and request 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests per home address from the federal government.

Also, if you can find home tests, private insurance policies will start paying for any tests purchased on or after 15-Jan-2022. The maximum number that they will cover is 8 tests per person per month. It's unclear whether insurance companies will ship tests to you on request or whether you will need to submit receipts for reimbursement. Your plan's website should have information.

Cautious optimism from public health that we are at, or on, the peak. Hospitalizations (especially ICU) a fraction of previous waves. Believed to be combination of the success of the vaccination and booster campaigns, and also a belief that Omicron is less lethal than Delta.

General administration of the 'junior' vaccine for 5-11 Yr olds is only really now getting off the ground.

 

[KaraBulut]

Cautious optimism from public health that we are at, or on, the peak. Hospitalizations (especially ICU) a fraction of previous waves. Believed to be combination of the success of the vaccination and booster campaigns, and also a belief that Omicron is less lethal than Delta.

General administration of the 'junior' vaccine for 5-11 Yr olds is only really now getting off the ground.

Ireland's case numbers were higher than expected considering that their vaccination rates were high and they've done a good job in the previous surges.

Ireland Cases for Last Two Weeks:

Ireland Cases Since Mar 2020:

You're on-the-mark about the hospitalizations and deaths in Ireland. Ireland's death rate is so low that they report death numbers weekly.
Ireland Deaths Since Mar 2020:

One thing that the graphs distort is the actual number on the X axis. Ireland's case and death numbers are much better than UK's. UK has had a major increase due to Omicron but deaths are still relatively low compared to the case increases.

UK Cases Since Mar 2020:

UK Cases for Last Two Weeks:

UK Deaths Since Mar 2020:

Reading through news stories on other country's websites, there's an implied and consistent theme: in countries that have used mRNA vaccines and have implemented fall/winter booster programs, the case numbers go up but the hospital/ICU/ventilator numbers don't go up in equal proportion. On the contrary, in countries that used the viral vector vaccines like Sinovac, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and did not use a fall/winter booster, there is a higher percenttage of hospital/ICU/ventilator patients.

There's some very interesting reports coming out of Eastern Europe in countries that have a Russian-speaking minority. In those countries, the Russian-language media is running stories that Pfizer makes people sick and Sputnik V is the safer vaccine. The local media in the countries' local language (e.g. Ukrainian, Estonian, et al) are not promoting conspiracy theories about vaccines. In areas that have a higher Russian-speaking population, the vaccination rates are lower, the case and hospitalization rates are higher.

Consistent patterns in Omicron- rapid, sharp increases in cases. More acute illness in children. Disproportionately higher rates of severe hospitalization rates in chlidren under age 16. This pattern is attributable to adaptations in the virus, the lower vaccination/booster rates in children and the massive numbers of cases in school-age children.

 

[belamyi]

 

[belamyi]

Curfew ends this Thursday

 

[KaraBulut]

Week ending 15-Jan-2022:

Global COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Global Cases reported: 327,273,614 (up from 306,458,415 / 6.8%) - *‬*20,815,199 new cases this week
• Global Deaths: 5,537,995 (up from 5,487,422) - **50,573 people died this week

US COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Cases reported in the US - 65,526,274 (up from 59,767,342 / 9.6%), +5,758,932 new cases, 27.7% of world's new cases were in the US
• Deaths reported in the US - 850,434 deaths, 13,170 deaths this week , 26.0% of the world's deaths this week were in the US

US Vaccination Weekly Stats

• Approx number of US doses distributed - 651,532,915 (up from 639,717,695 / +11,815,220) - 80.9% US doses have been administered
  
  Total US residents vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 248,707,432 (up from 246,447,823 / +2,259,609) - 75.4% of US population
• 2nd dose: - 208,995,438 (up from 207,452,448 / +1,542,990) - 63.3% of US population
• 3rd dose: - 79,681,686 (up from 74,617,848 / +5,063,838) - 22.8% of US population
  
  US residents over age 5 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 248,661,024 (up from 246,405,068 / +2,255,956) - 79.6% of US population > 5 yo
• 2nd dose: - 208,985,262 (up from 207,442,344 / +1,542,918) - 66.9% of US population > 5 yo
  
  US residents over age 12 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 240,739,178 (up from 238,991,810 / +1,747,368) - 84.9% of US population > 12 yo
• 2nd dose: - 203,683,825 (up from 202,651,117 / +1,032,708) - 71.8% of US population > 12 yo
  
  US residents over age 65 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 56,273,869 (up from 56,118,100 / +155,769) - 95.0% of US population >65 yo
• 2nd dose: - 48,213,626 (up from 48,108,603 / +105,023) - 88.0% of US population >65 yo
• 3rd dose: - 29,806,572 (up from 28,969,461 / +837,111) - 61.8% of US population >65 yo

Coronavirus weekly cases/deaths in active countries (preference to countries with JUB members):

• US: 65,526,274 (up from 59,767,342 / +5,758,932 / 9.6%) - 850,434 deaths (+13,170 - avg daily: cases (+822,705 / deaths (+1,881)
• France : 14,005,385 (up from 11,921,925 / +2,083,460 / 17.5%) - 127,859 deaths (+1,522 - avg daily: cases (+297,637 / deaths (+217)
• India: 37,122,164 (up from 35,528,004 / +1,594,160 / 4.5%) - 486,066 deaths (+2,276 - avg daily: cases (+227,737 / deaths (+325)
• Italy : 8,706,915 (up from 7,281,297 / +1,425,618 / 19.6%) - 141,104 deaths (+2,223 - avg daily: cases (+203,660 / deaths (+318)
• Spain : 8,093,036 (up from 7,164,906 / +928,130 / 13.0%) - 90,759 deaths (+825 - avg daily: cases (+132,590 / deaths (+118)
• UK : 15,316,457 (up from 14,422,371 / +894,086 / 6.2%) - 152,483 deaths (+1,946 - avg daily: cases (+127,727 / deaths (+278)
• Argentina: 7,029,624 (up from 6,237,525 / +792,099 / 12.7%) - 117,989 deaths (+524 - avg daily: cases (+113,157 / deaths (+75
• Australia : 1,727,843 (up from 972,987 / +754,856 / 77.6%) - 2,668 deaths (+302 - avg daily: cases (+107,837 / deaths (+43)
• Brazil: 22,981,851 (up from 22,328,252 / +653,599 / 2.9%) - 621,233 deaths (+1,579 - avg daily: cases (+93,371 / deaths (+226)
• Turkey: 10,404,994 (up from 9,918,695 / +486,299 / 4.9%) - 84,622 deaths (+1,093 - avg daily: cases (+69,471 / deaths (+156)
• Germany : 7,977,562 (up from 7,518,403 / +459,159 / 6.1%) - 115,624 deaths (+1,625 - avg daily: cases (+65,594 / deaths (+232)
• Israel: 1,785,544 (up from 1,498,367 / +287,177 / 19.2%) - 8,319 deaths (+54 - avg daily: cases (+41,025 / deaths (+8)
• Canada : 2,757,820 (up from 2,514,156 / +243,664 / 9.7%) - 31,547 deaths (+783 - avg daily: cases (+34,809 / deaths (+112)
• Netherlands : 3,646,279 (up from 3,409,015 / +237,264 / 7.0%) - 21,641 deaths (+89 - avg daily: cases (+33,895 / deaths (+13)
• Mexico: 4,349,182 (up from 4,113,789 / +235,393 / 5.7%) - 301,334 deaths (+1,031 - avg daily: cases (+33,628 / deaths (+147)
• Columbia: 5,511,479 (up from 5,300,032 / +211,447 / 4.0%) - 130,860 deaths (+572 - avg daily: cases (+30,207 / deaths (+82)
• Switzerland : 1,666,441 (up from 1,483,212 / +183,229 / 12.4%) - 12,469 deaths (+120 - avg daily: cases (+26,176 / deaths (+17)
• Belgium: 2,410,731 (up from 2,231,686 / +179,045 / 8.0%) - 28,612 deaths (+153 - avg daily: cases (+25,578 / deaths (+22)
• Russia: 10,621,410 (up from 10,470,006 / +151,404 / 1.4%) - 314,838 deaths (+5,051 - avg daily: cases (+21,629 / deaths (+722)
• Sweden: 1,560,363 (up from 1,416,650 / +143,713 / 10.1%) - 15,513 deaths (+136 - avg daily: cases (+20,530 / deaths (+19)
• Ireland: 1,103,489 (up from 978,104 / +125,385 / 12.8%) - 6,035 deaths (+83 - avg daily: cases (+17,912 / deaths (+12)
• Japan: 1,881,481 (up from 1,756,202 / +125,279 / 7.1%) - 18,429 deaths (+31 - avg daily: cases (+17,897 / deaths (+4)
• Lebanon: 814,631 (up from 769,400 / +45,231 / 5.9%) - 9,367 deaths (+100 - avg daily: cases (+6,462 / deaths (+14)
• South Africa: 3,556,633 (up from 3,521,572 / +35,061 / 1.0%) - 93,278 deaths (+907 - avg daily: cases (+5,009 / deaths (+130)
• South Korea : 692,174 (up from 664,391 / +27,783 / 4.2%) - 6,310 deaths (+273 - avg daily: cases (+3,969 / deaths (+39)
• Iran : 6,221,033 (up from 6,206,405 / +14,628 / 0.2%) - 132,075 deaths (+197 - avg daily: cases (+2,090 / deaths (+28)
• New Zealand: 15,071 (up from 14,675 / +396 / 2.7%) - 52 deaths (+1 - avg daily: cases (+57 / deaths (+0)

 

[KaraBulut]

Land of the free.... and dying.

United States as of 15-Jan-2022:

• Total Cases: 65,526,274
• Total Deaths: 850,434 deaths
• New Cases Last Week: +5,758,932 - 9.6% increase
• Deaths Last Week: +13,170

Averages Last Week:

• Cases per day: 822,705
• Deaths per day: 1,881

 

[belamyi]

80% of the people in hospitals in BCN are infected with delta.

 

[pornoboy]

​

 

[belamyi]

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................^ Oh, worst so far, not made it... so far.

 

[Alistair]

I found out today that a friend died of covid on the 16th. It’s the first.

 

[Rickrock]

I just heard today that my cousin's diabetic neighbor, who had his vaccine shots and always wears a mask, recently had covid and was in the VA hospital for 12 days. He has been released but was sent home with oxygen, which he still needs.

 

[KaraBulut]

Today is the 2 year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 diagnosed in the U.S. - 21-Jan-2020.

Since then:

• There has been 70,035,568 cases confirmed in the U.S. It is estimated that this may only represent a portion of the actual cases.
• There have been 864,142 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.
• Between Christmas and Jan 10th, an estimated 8.8 million people in the US have called out sick with COVID-19.