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

[Kulindahr]

Well, I just got my spring booster

Should we all be getting a spring booster?

 

[unloadonme]

Should we all be getting a spring booster?

I don't know the position the US, but over here spring boosters are being given to the over-75s and certain other vulnerable groups. Autumn (annual) boosters were given to the over-50s (plus said vulnerable groups) in 2022, but limited to the over-65s (ditto) last year.

 

[KaraBulut]

Should we all be getting a spring booster?

I don't know the position the US, but over here spring boosters are being given to the over-75s and certain other vulnerable groups. Autumn (annual) boosters were given to the over-50s (plus said vulnerable groups) in 2022, but limited to the over-65s (ditto) last year.

In the US, it's 65 years and older:

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more.

www.cdc.gov

Recommendation for People Who May Get Additional Updated COVID-19 Vaccines​

People ages 65 years and older should receive 1 additional dose of any updated (2023–2024 formula) COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax) at least 4 months following the previous dose of updated (2023–2024 Formula) COVID-19 vaccine.

 

[rareboy]

If you are ever looking for a history lesson in COVID, go back to the first page and read on...

BTW, even fully vaccinated, COVID took so much out of me that I still have long term effects because of other health issues.

I got my 8th shot a week ago. If you are eligible...get it.

 

[cityboy-stl]

I got the shot on Sunday. When I got the reformulated vaccine in October, I started getting a fever (101F) within a few hours and was pretty fatigued. It lasted about 36 hours. This one, I had no fever at all, just some slight fatigue on Monday plus the usual sore arm. This shot is the first of all of them, that I had no fever. Honestly, that makes wonder how effective it was, but I guess it was OK.

 

[KaraBulut]

I got the shot on Sunday. When I got the reformulated vaccine in October, I started getting a fever (101F) within a few hours and was pretty fatigued. It lasted about 36 hours. This one, I had no fever at all, just some slight fatigue on Monday plus the usual sore arm. This shot is the first of all of them, that I had no fever. Honestly, that makes wonder how effective it was, but I guess it was OK.

It's typical that each booster will have a slightly different reaction and side effects. It's also typical that people doing "mix & match" between Pfizer and Moderna experience different reactions to each. Almost everyone that I've asked has had muscle soreness at the site of the injection. Fever, chills, rashes and lymph node swelling have been very individual and could vary between boosters in the same person.

There was some speculation that the fever response might be connected to the the lipid envelope that the mRNA is coated with as part of the vaccine delivery. But the studies comparing side effects to COVID spike protein antibodies shows that patients who had more side effects were also more likely to have higher antibody levels, so this does seem to indicate that the immune response is tied to a response to the spike protein and not solely because of the lipid in the vaccines.

 

[rareboy]

And just when we think it is safer...along come the FLiRT variants.

What’s Going On With The New COVID FLiRT Variants?

Fun name, not so fun epidemiology.

www.iflscience.com

 

[KaraBulut]

And just when we think it is safer...along come the FLiRT variants.

What’s Going On With The New COVID FLiRT Variants?

Fun name, not so fun epidemiology.

www.iflscience.com

I haven't posted the variant tracker in a while but this is what has been going on with surveillance in the US in 2024. The JN.1 variants are the dark purple bar and the KP.2 (FLiRT) variants are the blue-gray bar.




The good news is that a lot of the surveillance data is coming from wastewater sampling and while there are cases of JN.1 and KP.2 in circulation in the US, we're not seeing increases in hospitalizations or deaths. Between the number of people getting boosters and the number of people who had COVID infections in the winter of 2023-2024 (which were likely to be JN.1 infections), it does seem that herd immunity is keeping acuity low.

 

[purina]

Anthony Fauci, objectively, did a bad job: Media coverage of his book has fallen short of engaging with his actions/ words

Is it too much to ask for journalists to be journalists?

www.drvinayprasad.com

 

[belamyi]

Anthony Fauci, objectively, did a bad job: Media coverage of his book has fallen short of engaging with his actions/ words

Is it too much to ask for journalists to be journalists?

www.drvinayprasad.com

Obviousy because, objectively, those pretending to have known better than him do an even worse job in analyzing his "job
The mere fact that they compare a medium-sized, sparsely and scarcely populated country like Sweden to the USA, which is bigger than the whole continent of Oceania, and mention the measures overtaken there while omitting the failure they, objectively, represented in dealing with the pandemic, tells a lot about the whole tirade and, again, why Fauci was in charge: because the others were even less apt for the job.

 

[rareboy]

mmmph.

We have it running around the retirement homes again right now.

 

[belamyi]

mmmph.

We have it running around the retirement homes again right now.

 

[KaraBulut]

mmmph.

We have it running around the retirement homes again right now.

One of the interesting things that came out in Fauci's book was something that we suspected: in 2020, Trump didn't understand the difference between influenza and COVID-19. Trump asked why the US couldn't give flu shots to everyone to stop the spread of COVID. He also told the American people that COVID would go away on its own, like the seasonal flu.

One thing that the NIH did get right is that COVID-19 comes in waves connected to behaviors and is not weather-dependent. There isn't a "COVID season" like there is a "flu season".

Right now, we are on an upswing in COVID cases in the US:


We will likely see another upswing in about 4 weeks as people gather for July 4th parties and get-togethers.

And we have a new Omicron variant, KP.3 that has become dominant since April when I posted the last variant analysis when KP.2 was becoming dominant:

 

[Thad1527]

I haven't had a COVID booster in a very long time. I'm scheduling one.

 

[LilBit]

After successfully avoided Aunt Rona, she finally caught up with me, in France of all places. I thought it was just a bad allergy day until I randomly touched my forehead and noticed it was warm. It was mild, and it was done in three days, but I ended up missing out on some fun activities that I had been looking forward to doing.

 

[belamyi]

Oh mon Dieu, the French disease!

 

[LilBit]

Oh mon Dieu, the French disease!

Syphilis?

 

[belamyi]

Tante Rona.

 

[rareboy]

After successfully avoided Aunt Rona, she finally caught up with me, in France of all places. I thought it was just a bad allergy day until I randomly touched my forehead and noticed it was warm. It was mild, and it was done in three days, but I ended up missing out on some fun activities that I had been looking forward to doing.

I am so sorry to hear that.

Covid was really bad for us this winter...be careful not to end up with a rebound respiratory illness because you wear yourself out.

Of course you are still a youngster...so that will be in your favour.

 

[LilBit]

I am so sorry to hear that.

Covid was really bad for us this winter...be careful not to end up with a rebound respiratory illness because you wear yourself out.

Of course you are still a youngster...so that will be in your favour.

I walked a LOT during my six days in Spain, and aside from a slight tickle in my throat, I have no signs of respiratory distress.

And it's nice to hear that SOMEone thinks I'm young.