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

[KaraBulut]

Last night I felt like a furnace; getting under the blankets in bed felt like climbing under an electric blanket turned up to "high".

You ran a fever probably. About 15-20% of people will run a fever (usually less than 100.5F/38C) after their second or third shot. That's why I strongly recommend taking whatever you normally take for a fever- Tylenol, etc early before the fever spikes. It really will make a difference.

The fact that you are having a response is a good sign. It means that your immune system recognized the spike protein and mounted a reaction to it.

This morning I feel okay unless I try to move fast, though I've got a continuous low-level headache and mild muscle weakness. I just went outside for a while hoping the cold air would help the headache, but instead it just made things worse. So I'm typing slowly and hoping the headache fades; I have to haul a trailer-full of trash this afternoon.

Between 25-30% of people reported a mild headache after their second or third shot. Headaches are a common side effect of vaccines- it can also happen with the flu shot or the shingles vaccine. For people who have migraine, you should take your normal rescue medication. For others who don't have migraines, Tylenol or Advil- whatever you typically take for a headache should help.

It's better to listen to your body and rest. I know several people who tried to overdo it the day after their booster and it makes it all worse. It's always better just to plan on taking a day to lay around, do self-care and take it easy.

So, please- for those who are getting their second or third shot of Pfizer or Moderna: plan on taking the day after your shot as a sick day. About half of the people who get the second and third shots will have a mild flu-like reaction. It is a good day for Netflix on the couch. It's a good day to take an aromatherapy soak in the tub. It's a good day to just sleep all day. If you use that day to rest, it will feel like it passes much quicker.

 

[Kulindahr]

^
The doc said my reaction to the booster should be like it was to the second shot. Boy, was that off!

I slept in till 11 a.m. Headache didn't fade till about 6. I skipped dinner because things were still tasting odd.

So tomorrow should be back to normal....

 

[eddielee]

I got the Moderna booster shot a few days ago. It gave me a nasty headache, a fever, and a swollen arm at the injection site. I'm okay now, and happy that I got the shot. I strongly feel that there will be another serious wave of Covid infections as we move through the Holiday season into Winter. Another factor is that people, mostly the unvaccinated, no longer give a damn whether they wear a mask or social distance. Vaccinated people are getting a bit lazy about mask wearing as well. It's important to protect yourself.

 

[ruggerladirish]

You ran a fever probably. About 15-20% of people will run a fever (usually less than 100.5F/38C) after their second or third shot. That's why I strongly recommend taking whatever you normally take for a fever- Tylenol, etc early before the fever spikes. It really will make a difference.

The fact that you are having a response is a good sign. It means that your immune system recognized the spike protein and mounted a reaction to it.


Between 25-30% of people reported a mild headache after their second or third shot. Headaches are a common side effect of vaccines- it can also happen with the flu shot or the shingles vaccine. For people who have migraine, you should take your normal rescue medication. For others who don't have migraines, Tylenol or Advil- whatever you typically take for a headache should help.

It's better to listen to your body and rest. I know several people who tried to overdue it the day after their booster and it makes it all worse. It's always better just to plan on taking a day to lay around, do self-care and take it easy.

So, please- for those who are getting their second or third shot of Pfizer or Moderna: plan on taking the day after your shot as a sick day. About half of the people who get the second and third shots will have a mild flu-like reaction. It is a good day for Netflix on the couch. It's a good day to take an aromatherapy soak in the tub. It's a good day to just sleep all day. If you use that day to rest, it will feel like it passes much quicker.

The point re a reaction being a good sign, doesn't make me feel so good......For both of my pfizer shots, I had zero injection site pain/soreness and zero side-effects. My second jab was in late May, and we are now advised that my age cohort (50-59) will commence receiving third shots in late December or early January, which by my estimation means I will be in the 'waning immunity period by then.

The medical advice over here has been that for flu-like symptoms after the jab, ibuprofen should be taken. I don't know the difference between the different medicines - they are all just brands to me.

 

[ruggerladirish]

Week ending 20-Nov-2021:

Global COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Global Cases reported: 257,447,558 (up from 253,224,606 / 1.7%) - *‬*4,222,952 new cases this week
• Global Deaths: 5,149,871 (up from 5,099,548) - **50,323 people died this week

US COVID-19 Weekly Mortality/Morbidity

• Cases reported in the US - 47,715,238 (up from 47,061,204 / 1.4%), 654,034 new cases, 15.5% of world's new cases were in the US
• Deaths reported in the US - 771,044 deaths, 7,988 deaths this week , 15.8% of the world's deaths this week were in the US

US Vaccination Weekly Stats

• Approx number of US doses distributed - 449,955,588 (up from 439,034,461 / +10,921,127) - 79.3% US doses have been administered
  
  Total US residents vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 229,837,421 (up from 226,157,226 / +3,680,195) - 69.6% of US population
• 2nd dose: - 196,128,496 (up from 194,951,106 / +1,177,390) - 59.4% of US population
• 3rd dose: - 34,503,462 (up from 28,571,625 / +5,931,837) - 17.6% of US population
  
  US residents over age 5 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 227,091,798 (up from 224,975,987 / +2,115,811) - 80.1% of US population > 5 yo
• 2nd dose: - 195,988,302 (up from 194,813,832 / +1,174,470) - 69.1% of US population > 5 yo
  
  US residents over age 12 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 227,091,798 (up from 224,975,987 / +2,115,811) - 80.1% of US population > 12 yo
• 2nd dose: - 195,988,302 (up from 194,813,832 / +1,174,470) - 69.1% of US population > 12 yo
  
  US residents over age 65 vaccinated
• 1st dose: - 54,731,466 (up from 54,210,394 / +521,072) - 99.9% of US population >65 yo
• 2nd dose: - 47,282,382 (up from 47,095,462 / +186,920) - 86.3% of US population >65 yo
• 3rd dose: - 18,912,073 (up from 16,400,302 / +2,511,771) - 40.0% of US population >65 yo

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

• US: 47,715,238 (up from 47,061,204 / +654,034 / 1.4%) - 771,044 deaths (+7,988) - avg daily: cases (+93,433) / deaths (+1,141)
• Germany : 5,382,587 (up from 5,042,840 / +339,747 / 6.7%) - 99,082 deaths (+1,394) - avg daily: cases (+48,535) / deaths (+199)
• UK : 9,897,197 (up from 9,608,483 / +288,714 / 3.0%) - 144,369 deaths (+1,032) - avg daily: cases (+41,245) / deaths (+147)
• Russia: 9,170,898 (up from 8,918,926 / +251,972 / 2.8%) - 259,107 deaths (+8,498) - avg daily: cases (+35,996) / deaths (+1,214)
• Turkey: 8,552,347 (up from 8,388,512 / +163,835 / 2.0%) - 74,847 deaths (+1,505) - avg daily: cases (+23,405) / deaths (+215)
• Netherlands : 2,483,042 (up from 2,335,547 / +147,495 / 6.3%) - 19,411 deaths (+234) - avg daily: cases (+21,071) / deaths (+33)
• France : 7,497,920 (up from 7,377,493 / +120,427 / 1.6%) - 119,409 deaths (+324) - avg daily: cases (+17,204) / deaths (+46)
• Belgium: 1,581,500 (up from 1,484,712 / +96,788 / 6.5%) - 26,568 deaths (+247) - avg daily: cases (+13,827) / deaths (+35)
• India: 34,510,413 (up from 34,437,307 / +73,106 / 0.2%) - 465,662 deaths (+2,132) - avg daily: cases (+10,444) / deaths (+305)
• Italy : 4,925,688 (up from 4,860,061 / +65,627 / 1.4%) - 133,177 deaths (+402) - avg daily: cases (+9,375) / deaths (+57)
• Brazil: 22,012,150 (up from 21,953,838 / +58,312 / 0.3%) - 612,587 deaths (+1,365) - avg daily: cases (+8,330) / deaths (+195)
• Iran : 6,077,438 (up from 6,037,718 / +39,720 / 0.7%) - 128,956 deaths (+789) - avg daily: cases (+5,674) / deaths (+113)
• Ireland: 528,964 (up from 494,643 / +34,321 / 6.9%) - 5,609 deaths (+43) - avg daily: cases (+4,903) / deaths (+6)
• Spain : 5,080,663 (up from 5,047,156 / +33,507 / 0.7%) - 87,810 deaths (+137) - avg daily: cases (+4,787) / deaths (+20)
• Switzerland : 941,218 (up from 909,038 / +32,180 / 3.5%) - 11,382 deaths (+57) - avg daily: cases (+4,597) / deaths (+8)
• South Korea : 415,425 (up from 395,460 / +19,965 / 5.0%) - 3,274 deaths (+171) - avg daily: cases (+2,852) / deaths (+24)
• Canada : 1,773,185 (up from 1,755,643 / +17,542 / 1.0%) - 29,546 deaths (+167) - avg daily: cases (+2,506) / deaths (+24)
• Mexico: 3,862,137 (up from 3,844,791 / +17,346 / 0.5%) - 292,372 deaths (+1,283) - avg daily: cases (+2,478) / deaths (+183)
• Columbia: 5,045,412 (up from 5,029,335 / +16,077 / 0.3%) - 128,054 deaths (+288) - avg daily: cases (+2,297) / deaths (+41)
• Argentina: 5,314,702 (up from 5,305,151 / +9,551 / 0.2%) - 116,374 deaths (+146) - avg daily: cases (+1,364) / deaths (+21)
• Australia : 198,443 (up from 189,588 / +8,855 / 4.7%) - 1,944 deaths (+62) - avg daily: cases (+1,265) / deaths (+9)
• Lebanon: 658,467 (up from 651,788 / +6,679 / 1.0%) - 8,635 deaths (+58) - avg daily: cases (+954) / deaths (+8)
• Sweden: 1,188,735 (up from 1,182,471 / +6,264 / 0.5%) - 15,110 deaths (+28) - avg daily: cases (+895) / deaths (+4)
• Israel: 1,340,435 (up from 1,337,163 / +3,272 / 0.2%) - 8,176 deaths (+33) - avg daily: cases (+467) / deaths (+5)
• New Zealand: 9,973 (up from 8,693 / +1,280 / 14.7%) - 39 deaths (+6) - avg daily: cases (+183) / deaths (+1)
• Japan: 1,725,850 (up from 1,724,893 / +957 / 0.1%) - 18,343 deaths (+20) - avg daily: cases (+137) / deaths (+3)

Our case numbers are really bad, pro-rata. We are basically back where we were last March. Although stabilising, they are stabilising at a very high rate with a current 20% positivity rate.

94% of the adult population fully vaccinated.

However a couple of stats released yesterday. Despite accounting for only 6% of adults, around 60% of hospitalizations are unvaxxed. Of the vaccinated who end up in ICU, 98% have underlying conditions.

Further restrictions being considered over the coming days. I note very high mask-wearing compliance (if only more people would wear them properly. I fail to see the point in wearing a mask with the nose exposed), the number of people hand sanitising or sanitising shopping trolleys as they enter stores etc, has dropped. COVID fatigue, I guess.

Finally, the greatest number of new cases is in the primary school-going cohort. There is no clearance here yet for under 12s to receive the jab, although this is apparently 'on the way.

 

[KaraBulut]

^The doc said my reaction to the booster should be like it was to the second shot. Boy, was that off!

The manufacturer put out research saying that "the reaction to the third shot will be like the second shot".

I've talked to well over a hundred people who have done the series. It's very unpredictable. What I generally expect is that they will have the flu-like reaction to at least one of the three shots. I just can't predict which one, so I tell everyone to just assume that they'll need a day to rest after both the second and third shot.

So tomorrow should be back to normal....

Only 1 person that I have talked with complained of symptoms that persisted beyond 48 hours after her shot. She had COVID-19 about 6 months before she got her shots, though.

I got the Moderna booster shot a few days ago. It gave me a nasty headache, a fever, and a swollen arm at the injection site. I'm okay now, and happy that I got the shot.

Just about everyone seems to get warmth, tenderness and swelling on the arm where they got their shot. With the boosters, the studies said that it is to be expected in about three-quarters of the people. We see similar reactions with flu shots occasionally. With COVID-19 vaccines just about everyone gets a sore arm. The consistent complaints that I hear are "It reminds me of when someone punched me in the arm when I was a kid" or "It didn't bother me until I tried to sleep on my side".

The point re a reaction being a good sign, doesn't make me feel so good......For both of my pfizer shots, I had zero injection site pain/soreness and zero side-effects. My second jab was in late May, and we are now advised that my age cohort (50-59) will commence receiving third shots in late December or early January, which by my estimation means I will be in the 'waning immunity period by then.

The US originally recommended a 28 day third shot for immunosuppressed people, or a 6 month booster for people over 65 years old or people over 18 who had certain conditions. Last week, they removed all requirements for the 6 month booster and said, "Everyone over age 18 should get a 6 month booster, preferably before the holidays".

If you don't have a reaction to the third shot, you might ask your doctor if you should get your antibody levels checked. The test they will run will be a quantitative antibody test instead of qualitative test. You may be one of the lucky 15-20% of people who have no reaction to any of the series of shots. Checking your antibody level will give you some peace of mind.

 

[KaraBulut]

Our case numbers are really bad, pro-rata. We are basically back where we were last March. Although stabilising, they are stabilising at a very high rate with a current 20% positivity rate.

94% of the adult population fully vaccinated.

However a couple of stats released yesterday. Despite accounting for only 6% of adults, around 60% of hospitalizations are unvaxxed. Of the vaccinated who end up in ICU, 98% have underlying conditions.

The numbers over the past month have been frustrating. Delta variant really targeted people who were unvaccinated or who had lower antibody levels. One by one, we've seen Delta peaks in the US, the UK, Germany. It even caught Australia and New Zealand by surprise after a year of keeping case numbers low in both countries.

The research on Delta said that people infected by Delta were shedding up to 1,000 more virus that people who were infected with the original strains back in 2020. Without the vaccines, we would have a mess on our hands.

In the US, our Delta peak hit kids (who had just started the Fall school semester) and the unvaccinated. Consistently, hospitals were saying that >90% of the people being admitted to the hospital were unvaccinated. Of the vaccinated people who got sick enough to be admitted, they had underlying risk factors like being over age 80 or having underlying conditions that weakened their immune system.

One thing that we're waiting to see is whether the vaccinated people report long-COVID systems. So far, it looks like the vaccines significantly reduce the incidence of long-COVID.

 

[cityboy-stl]

The most alarming thing I've seen this week is this report in "The Hill" about the number of children testing positive: 141,905 just in the past week making up 25% of the total. I bet there are way more unreported cases.

Along with another scary statistic, that despite the availability of vaccines, there are more Covid deaths in the U.S. this year than in 2020. Or maybe I should say it is due to the high number anti-vaccine idiots?

It's going to be a long and unfortunately tragic winter for a lot of people if this anti-vaccine stupidity doesn't break.

I however, am going to have a nice Thanksgiving with my vaccinated and boosted family, except for two little ones under 5 who cannot be, but they're kept pretty well isolated.

COVID-19 cases in children up 32 percent: pediatricians [The Hiill]
Between Nov. 11 and Nov. 18 a total of 141,905 children tested positive for COVID-19, according to the AAP, making up 25.1 percent of all the cases reported that week.

COVID-19 deaths in 2021 have surpassed last year's count, CDC data shows [USA Today]
COVID-19 has killed more people in 2021 than 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

 

[belamyi]

b.1.1.529

 

[KaraBulut]

The most alarming thing I've seen this week is this report in "The Hill" about the number of children testing positive: 141,905 just in the past week making up 25% of the total. I bet there are way more unreported cases.

I once heard a lecturer describe viral epidemics as a fire that always manages to find where the fuel is. When the virus runs out of fuel, the virus will adapt to attack a different type of fuel. In 2020, the fuel was people over age 65. Now that we have over 90% of people over age 65 fully vaccinated, the virus is adapting to attack new groups of people.

Viruses look for places where people are vulnerable. Right now, those places are in Alaska and the midwest where there is 30-40% of the people are not vaccinated. The fuel for the fire is also children under age 12 (which should get better as the 5-11 year olds get vaccinated).

A year ago with the original strains, children weren't getting the virus and when they were getting infected, they had asymptomatic cases. The virus has adapted to make children sick and in places like Texas and California, hospitals had pediatric floors overwhelmed with children with COVID-19.

Along with another scary statistic, that despite the availability of vaccines, there are more Covid deaths in the U.S. this year than in 2020. Or maybe I should say it is due to the high number anti-vaccine idiots?

It is an accurate statistic. There's a slight timing issue between 2020 and 2021.

In Nov 2020, we did not have Delta but we started another surge of infections after Hallowe'en that continued to explode through Christmas and New Years. Two weeks after Hallowe'en 2020, we hit 1 million weekly cases for the first time. That surge continued into February 2021 and was only quelled because people stopped holiday gatherings and because we started mass vaccination campaigns in Jan 2021.

In Nov 2021, we are coming out of a surge of Delta infections that went largely unchecked (and nearly ignored) in Texas and Florida. The peak for the Delta surge was 1,186,200 cases the week of 4-Sep-2021. Deaths don't peak for another 2-3 weeks after cases start their decline, so the peak weekly death numbers were 14,268 the week of 25-Sep-2021. We're now in this weird plateau of about 500,000 weekly cases and 1,000 weekly deaths. People in large areas of the South are running around with masks acting as if there's nothing going on.

Keep in mind that the summer 2021 Delta surge was primarily in two States - Texas and Florida that accounted for 20-25% of the cases and deaths.

[table="width: 400, class: grid"]
[tr]
[td]Week[/td]
[td]Cases[/td]
[td][/td]
[td]Deaths[/td]
[td][/td]
[/tr]
[tr]

[td][/td]
[td]2021[/td]
[td]2020[/td]
[td]2021[/td]
[td]2020[/td]​

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]02-Oct[/td]

[td]733,687[/td]
[td]298,717[/td]
[td]13,381[/td]
[td]5,034 [/td]​

[/tr]
[tr]
[td]09-Oct[/td]
[td]657,258 [/td]
[td]328,882 [/td]
[td]11,860 [/td]
[td]4,897 [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]16-Oct[/td]
[td]585,834 [/td]
[td]384,967 [/td]
[td]11,173 [/td]
[td]4,941 [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]23-Oct[/td]
[td]509,903 [/td]
[td]437,668 [/td]
[td]11,633 [/td]
[td]5,223 [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]30-Oct[/td]
[td]525,771[/td]
[td]552,199[/td]
[td]9,871[/td]
[td]5,833[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]06-Nov[/td]
[td]512,703[/td]
[td]695,005[/td]
[td]8,641[/td]
[td]6,452[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]13-Nov[/td]
[td]594,700[/td]
[td]998,535[/td]
[td]8,745[/td]
[td]8,267[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]20-Nov[/td]
[td]654,034[/td]
[td]1,179,898[/td]
[td]7,988[/td]
[td]10,079[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

 

[Kulindahr]

Only 1 person that I have talked with complained of symptoms that persisted beyond 48 hours after her shot. She had COVID-19 about 6 months before she got her shots, though.

I woke up during the night last night with a weird one: an intense itch on my bicep. I figured the injection spot was itching, but the itch was actually 2.25" from where the needle went in!

Just about everyone seems to get warmth, tenderness and swelling on the arm where they got their shot. With the boosters, the studies said that it is to be expected in about three-quarters of the people. We see similar reactions with flu shots occasionally. With COVID-19 vaccines just about everyone gets a sore arm. The consistent complaints that I hear are "It reminds me of when someone punched me in the arm when I was a kid" or "It didn't bother me until I tried to sleep on my side".

I've still got tenderness, though it, like that itch, is centered 2.25" from the injection site. It aches when I move the arm, but (Hallelujah!) it no longer feels like I've been kicked by a horse.

But those are all that's left -- something to start my list of "What I'm Thankful For"!

 

[KaraBulut]

I woke up during the night last night with a weird one: an intense itch on my bicep. I figured the injection spot was itching, but the itch was actually 2.25" from where the needle went in!

Itching and skin rashes is another side effect that is seen from different vaccines - the HPV vaccine, the shingles vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine. It's been reported in some of the literature and I have only seen one patient who had this reaction, so it seems to be one of them more rare side effects.

If it is a vaccine-related immune response, it usually responds to OTC antihistamines like Allegra or Zyrtec.

 

[Kulindahr]

Itching and skin rashes is another side effect that is seen from different vaccines - the HPV vaccine, the shingles vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine. It's been reported in some of the literature and I have only seen one patient who had this reaction, so it seems to be one of them more rare side effects.

If it is a vaccine-related immune response, it usually responds to OTC antihistamines like Allegra or Zyrtec.

The weird thing was that the itch wasn't at the injection site.

I thought I was done with side effects today, then my 8-mo-old one-hundred-pound pup* who can put his paws on my shoulders actually bit my bicep -- it felt like when I stepped on a broken glass pottle and it went right through my foot! Ever since then its been throbbing.

Cute stinker.

* we call him "the Megapuppy"

 

[belamyi]

New Coronavirus Variant a ‘Serious Concern’ in South Africa

- - - Updated - - -

What We Know About the New Coronavirus Variant in South Africa

 

[belamyi]

https://beteve.cat/economia/unio-europea-proposa-suspendre-vols-sud-africa-variant-covid/

 

[ruggerladirish]

So, since my post yesterday, vaccines have been approved for the 5-11 age group, currently excluded from the programme. Further, the Government has accepted Public Health advice to offer boosters to all over 16s. Currently boosters are being offered to frontline health workers, the over 60s and the medically vulnerable, with the 50-59 cohort expected to be called for boosters commencing mid-late December.

 

[jaysizzles]

I got my booster shot earlier today...so far no side effects at all. Originally got the J&J and today got Pfizer. I hope any potential upcoming side effects don't interfere with Thanksgiving and 2 other events coming up on Friday and Saturday. I wasn't thinking this'd be any worse than the original dose, which was quite mild.

Just an update from 2 days ago...felt very sluggish yesterday but still managed to make dinner for 10 yesterday. Today...back to normal! 2 good nights of sleep with help from Tylenol PM.

I hadn't seen a family of 5 that were there in 2 years, and they have 3 kids ages 6 & 7. None of the kids are vaxxed yet as the parents are waiting to see research and reports of how kids are reacting to the vaccine. KaraBulut's post (#3523) about "I once heard a lecturer describe viral epidemics as a fire that always manages to find where the fuel is" makes a lot of sense and I think this is good logical info to subtly pass along, without being the preachy uncle (I won't let them know I got it from a porn site ). All of their parents are intelligent and I know they're doing their best.

 

[cabinfever]

^ Done. Moderna booster, Oct 28! Side effects were identical to the second shot: a little fever, headache, fatigue. They lasted exactly one day.

My first Moderna shot I had the fatique and chills but the second one and the booster - both Moderna - no side effects at all.

 

[cityboy-stl]

New Coronavirus Variant a ‘Serious Concern’ in South Africa

- - - Updated - - -

What We Know About the New Coronavirus Variant in South Africa

Watch this interview Dr. Fauci about it.

Fauci: New Covid variant spreading in fluid motion in South Africa [CNN]

 

[rareboy]

Well this sucks for africa,

Only 6.6% of Africa's population is vaccinated.