Coronavirus, Monkeypox, and Other Contagious Diseases

[Bact PhD]

Rut roh!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday they are recommending a "pause" in the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine out of an "abundance of caution" while an investigation is conducted into reports of apparently rare, potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two agencies said they are "reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine."

The rare blood clot has also been an issue with the Oxford-AstraZeneca formulation in the UK & EU. I can't help wondering what the occurrence of these blood clots is during the course of natural infection with SARS-CoV2. I remember hearing about "COVID toes" fairly early on, and there was a hypothesis back then about unusual blood clotting being part of the response during natural infection, but very little since last summer.

[Deleted]

Apparently, according to Tucker Carlson, vaccines do not work. That the medical and pharmaceutical communities are suppressing this information. Which means Tucker Carlson is saying Trump lied when he extolled the tremendous success of Operation Warp Speed. After all Trump's FDA approved the vaccines. Trump was mighty pissed the approvals happened after the 2020 elections. He wanted those to occur earlier. A few months ago the clamor was to name one of the Covid-19 vaccines as the Trump Vaccine. Trump's minions were all full of praise for him. Trump was dreaming about winning the Nobel Prize on Physiology, I imagine.

So Tucker is calling this all a lie. I suppose progress at last.

[LFC]

Apr 14, 2021 17:13:38 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Apparently, according to Tucker Carlson, vaccines do not work.

Here's more on this. What a f***ing tool.

[goldenvalley]

Apr 14, 2021 17:13:38 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Apparently, according to Tucker Carlson, vaccines do not work. That the medical and pharmaceutical communities are suppressing this information. Which means Tucker Carlson is saying Trump lied when he extolled the tremendous success of Operation Warp Speed. After all Trump's FDA approved the vaccines. Trump was mighty pissed the approvals happened after the 2020 elections. He wanted those to occur earlier. A few months ago the clamor was to name one of the Covid-19 vaccines as the Trump Vaccine. Trump's minions were all full of praise for him. Trump was dreaming about winning the Nobel Prize on Physiology, I imagine.

So Tucker is calling this all a lie. I suppose progress at last.

Looks like Trump is in Carlson's rearview mirror.  Gotta stir up controversy to keep ratings up and advertisers happy.

In the meantime, this further discourages those who are "vaccine hesitant" and that will be a problem if the unvaccinated are clustered together.  

Americans will soon begin to fall back into the rhythms of pre-pandemic life—attending sunny summer weddings, squishing into booths at chain restaurants, laughing together at movies on the big screen—and it will feel like a victory over the coronavirus. But the virus might not actually be gone. In pockets of the country, vaccination rates could stay low, creating little islands where the coronavirus survives and thrives—sickening and killing people for months after the pandemic has ebbed elsewhere. In a worst-case scenario, the virus could mutate, becoming a highly transmissible and much more lethal version of itself. Eventually, the new variant could leak from these islands and spread into the broader population, posing a threat to already-vaccinated people.

The article quoted singles out rural areas, but I'm thinking there are suburban areas filled with people who are anti-vax whether it be because of the traditional anti-vax stuff or the freedumb people who don't want Joe Biden telling them what to do.  In the meantime, the virus mutates as viruses do.

[LFC]

Just what the world needs, another nutjob with money. Mental illness sure doesn't seem to be an impediment to amassing a fortune. So when does he run for PM of Australia?

In recent months, Australia—a country that weathered the pandemic far better than the United States, reporting fewer than 30,000 cases and 1,000 deaths—has struggled to get its citizens vaccinated, battling a deluge of sign-up glitches, shipment blockades, and devastating floods that forced more than 40,000 to evacuate their homes.

Amid the strained rollout, the country has also had to contend with a different kind of hurdle: an erratic billionaire, described by the Western Australian premier as an “Olympic-scale narcissist,” whose political ambitions, immense resources, and faulty grasp of science have helped him drive an aggressive campaign to undermine public confidence in the shots.

Clive Palmer, an Australian mining magnate who is worth an estimated $3.8 billion, according to Forbes, has spent the past few weeks disseminating anti-vaxx flyers and boosting misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine across his home continent and in major national newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

[AnBr]

Apr 14, 2021 17:27:24 GMT LFC said:

Apr 14, 2021 17:13:38 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Apparently, according to Tucker Carlson, vaccines do not work.

Here's more on this. What a f***ing tool.

Wouldn't it be great if the family of a Carlson viewer that died of Covid sued Carlson?

[Deleted]

Hubby had his first shot (Pfizer) yesterday and I go for my shot this afternoon. Second shots will be about 4 months from now depending on vaccine supply and how quickly folks get their first shots. Having strictly self-isolated for 13 months this vaccine is a welcome relief. We're from a generation whose childhood was full reports of illness and deaths from whooping cough (only routinely available vaccine in the UK in the 50's) , polio (which hubby caught and still has physical effects from), mumps and measles all of which were serious illnesses or killed you until vaccines were discovered. We lived through epidemics in days where you were sent to isolation hospitals and didn't see your family unless you were lucky enough to recover. Iron lungs were part of our childhood. Then came vaccines! As you can imagine I have absolutely no time whatsoever for anti-vaxxers and their stupid selfishness or folks who get their news from social media and deny that Covid even exists. Vaccine hesitancy? Give me a break. Having some trepidation about getting the vaccine is normal but for health care workers - words fail me. It's lunacy

[goldenvalley]

Apr 15, 2021 12:35:29 GMT @islander said:

Hubby had his first shot (Pfizer) yesterday and I go for my shot this afternoon. Second shots will be about 4 months from now depending on vaccine supply and how quickly folks get their first shots. Having strictly self-isolated for 13 months this vaccine is a welcome relief. We're from a generation whose childhood was full reports of illness and deaths from whooping cough (only routinely available vaccine in the UK in the 50's) , polio (which hubby caught and still has physical effects from), mumps and measles all of which were serious illnesses or killed you until vaccines were discovered. We lived through epidemics in days where you were sent to isolation hospitals and didn't see your family unless you were lucky enough to recover. Iron lungs were part of our childhood. Then came vaccines! As you can imagine I have absolutely no time whatsoever for anti-vaxxers and their stupid selfishness or folks who get their news from social media and deny that Covid even exists. Vaccine hesitancy? Give me a break. Having some trepidation about getting the vaccine is normal but for health care workers - words fail me. It's lunacy

Ah yes islander, you've diagnosed why anti-vaxxers exist.  They don't know the diseases that the traditional vaccines protect us from and have only heard that vaccines can cause adverse effects.  At age 60 I'm among the last of the age cohorts that has memory of things such as polio in particular...I had a teacher whose leg was shortened from it and another who told us stories about her daughter being in an iron lung.  Vaccination all but eradicated that disease and small pox too.

 A little learning about the years of research and development that went on before scientists realized it could work against COVID might alleviate some concerns about Pfizer and Moderna, but if you only read social media you'll never learn about it.

[LFC]

[LFC]

[Bact PhD]

Current Status of the PhD household re vaccination:
Chem— > 2 weeks past second dose
Bact — One down, Dose #2 in about 24 hours
Dear Daughter — One down, Dose #2 in just over 2 weeks
Dear Son — First dose scheduled for just over 48 hours from now

Mommie Dearest was in one of the earliest cohorts, back in January-February.

There looks to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

[goldenvalley]

Good for PhD household.

I'm waiting to get appointment for 2nd Pfizer shot...should be next week.
Husband got J&J last week.
Daughter and husband just became eligible today. Daughter was leaning toward J&J but not anymore.
Son in OR will be eligible next week...I'll need to cyberly break his arm to get him to get one...hope his girlfriend will back me up.  Wrestler & rugby guy worries about needles but is okay with getting slammed to a mat.

[andydp]

Great news everyone !!  We've completed our two shots reginem in March so we're good to go for a while.  We traveled 90 minutes to Utica for our shots.  Just talked to someone who drove to Plattsburg (about 2 hours north). 

According to our daily blurb from Gov Cuomo, about 25% of new Yorkers have received at least one shot.  The big effort is now to get to the homebound, handicapped, underserved populations.  Lots of "pop up" clinics are showing up mostly in minority heavy churches.  Some organization have set up shot vans.  This is hampered by the 15 minute wait time so this process takes much longer.

Big problem is people think because they have the shots they can "relax".  Not a good idea.

You're right there is light at the end of the tunnel.  This time its not a semi.  More like a Vespa.  

[jackd]

Would you believe, recent polling shows that 50% of Republicans don't believe in Covid vaccinations.  What is the matter with those people?  Do they really think that Tucker Carlson knows what he's talking about?

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2021 15:15:46 GMT Bact PhD said:

Current Status of the PhD household re vaccination:
Chem— > 2 weeks past second dose
Bact — One down, Dose #2 in about 24 hours
Dear Daughter — One down, Dose #2 in just over 2 weeks
Dear Son — First dose scheduled for just over 48 hours from now

Mommie Dearest was in one of the earliest cohorts, back in January-February.

There looks to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

0.008% Covid-19 penetration post full immunization. What?!!! 

It's mid-April and yet pace of vaccination has not picked up. Weekdays its at a steady pace of 2 million/day over the last several weeks, with weekend highs of 3-4 million/day. 4 months to get to 200 million doses. Still quite a bit of distance to go to reach 600 million doses administered. 

[LFC]

Apr 15, 2021 17:23:40 GMT jackd said:

Do they really think that Tucker Carlson knows what he's talking about?

I know the answer and it makes me sad.

[LFC]

Apr 14, 2021 17:27:24 GMT LFC said:

Apr 14, 2021 17:13:38 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Apparently, according to Tucker Carlson, vaccines do not work.

Here's more on this. What a f***ing tool.

Fauci sums up Carlson.

During a CNN appearance, Fauci was asked to comment on Carlson's remarks on Tuesday in which he suggested that maybe the COVID-19 vaccines "don't work" as the medical establishment has claimed.

Fauci quickly smacked down Carlson for being scientifically illiterate.

"That's just a typical crazy conspiracy theory," he said. "The data is overwhelming in the three vaccines used in an emergency use and emergency use authorization: The J&J, Pfizer, and Moderna, you had 30,000, 44,000, and 40,000 people in the clinical trial with an overwhelming signal of efficacy. So I don't have any idea what he's talking about."

Host John Berman then asked Fauci whether it was "dangerous" for a TV personality with such a large audience as Carlson to be spreading anti-vaxx talking points.

"It's certainly not helpful to the public health of this nation or globally," Fauci replied. "I don't want to get into arguments about Tucker Carlson, but to me it's counter to trying to protect the safety and health of the American public."

[LFC]

Another data point on blood clots.

The key finding was that the risk of CVT from COVID-19 is about eight times greater compared to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, while the risk of a CVT from COVID-19 is about 10 times greater compared to the mRNA vaccines.

Here's how the instances of blood clots broke down:

In this study of over 500,000 COVID-19 patients, CVT occurred in 39 in 1 million patients.
In over 480,000 people receiving a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), CVT occurred in 4 in 1 million.
CVT was reported in about 5 in 1 million people after first dose of the AZ-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but given the timely nature of the debate, it’s been published as a preprint paper, available to read here.

[Bact PhD]

Apr 15, 2021 21:41:37 GMT LFC said:

Another data point on blood clots.

The key finding was that the risk of CVT from COVID-19 is about eight times greater compared to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, while the risk of a CVT from COVID-19 is about 10 times greater compared to the mRNA vaccines.

Here's how the instances of blood clots broke down:

In this study of over 500,000 COVID-19 patients, CVT occurred in 39 in 1 million patients.
In over 480,000 people receiving a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), CVT occurred in 4 in 1 million.
CVT was reported in about 5 in 1 million people after first dose of the AZ-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but given the timely nature of the debate, it’s been published as a preprint paper, available to read here.

Still reading the preprint. In the study, they also looked at the incidence of CVT in a representative cohort of influenza patients by way of comparison. This jumped out at me (bold mine):

The risk of being diagnosed with a CVT was significantly higher in the two weeks after COVID-19 compared to influenza (N=172,742; 0.0 per million people, 95% CI 0.0–22.2, adjusted RR=6.73, P=.003) or after receiving an mRNA vaccine (N=489,871; 4.1 per million people, 95% CI 1.1–14.9, adjusted RR=6.36, P<.001).

I'll let Dean Wormer repeat that for the benefit of those in the back of the room:

Still wanna claim that "just like flu" bit?

[AnBr]

Apr 15, 2021 14:38:44 GMT LFC said:

Attachments:

[andydp]

This is what happens when you buy snake oil from a snake oil seller

Oklahoma Bought into Trump’s Hydroxychloroquine Hype – Now They Want a Refund

As Donald Trump promoted the drug as a Covid-19 cure, Oklahoma tapped its tax income from medical marijuana to stockpile two million dollars worth of the drug.

Unfortunately, hydroxychloroquine did not help end the pandemic. In June, the FDA reported that the pharmaceutical “showed no benefit for decreasing the likelihood of death or speeding recovery.”

The Frontier provides additional context:

The state purchased the hydroxychloroquine stockpile in early April, days after Trump began to tout it as a treatment. While many acknowledged at the time that reports of the drug’s effectiveness were purely anecdotal, Trump said at a briefing in March, “What do we have to lose? I feel very good about it.”

Now Oklahoma is stuck with a two million dollar supply that is set to expire at the end of the year and officials are scrambling to get a refund. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is reportedly negotiating some sort of buyback with the supplier, California-based FFF Enterprises, Inc, a private pharmaceutical wholesaler.

www.newsandguts.com/oklahoma-bought-into-trumps-hydroxychloroquine-hype-now-they-want-a-refund/?fbclid=IwAR2YpxzsN_pjNpsunGUs2VJf063Bc2SwUlBQsZlpCLtpTyopb0lcMHHSOhw

Of course getting the idea to donate it to a country with a Malaria problem or maybe their own citizens with a medical need never crossed their minds...

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2021 14:38:44 GMT LFC said:

There are times when history hits too close to home lfc .... emulating the estimable Mr. Bikkies with a gazillion non-like likes.

Personal aside - when mr islander was confined to an isolation hospital at the age of maybe 5 or 6 years old he was next to a WW2 fighter pilot in an iron lung. He spent his entire stay in that dreadful place terrified they'd put him in one. An aside to the aside, in roughly 1968/69 a male friend of ours caught mumps and was confined in the same isolation hospital - he was none too happy either. I'm glad to say the hospital was razed to the ground

[LFC]

Apr 16, 2021 19:02:32 GMT andydp said:

Now Oklahoma is stuck with a two million dollar supply that is set to expire at the end of the year and officials are scrambling to get a refund. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is reportedly negotiating some sort of buyback with the supplier, California-based FFF Enterprises, Inc, a private pharmaceutical wholesaler.

[AnBr]

Distinct antibody and memory B cell responses in SARS-CoV-2 naïve and recovered individuals following mRNA vaccination

[andydp]

This was interesting.  Look at Wyoming !!

Vaccine hesitancy remains low in Maine, bucking rural-state trends

Maine ranks 11th-lowest in vaccine hesitancy among U.S. states, according to survey data analyzed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with 12.3 percent of the adult population considered hesitant and 7.8 percent strongly hesitant. Other New England states rank better, with Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut occupying the top three spots, all with less than 10 percent of their populations hesitant and less than 4 percent strongly hesitant.

Hesitancy rates varied widely by state, going as high as 30.7 percent in Wyoming. Among the 10 most rural states in the U.S., only Vermont has a lower hesitancy rate than Maine, the data show. In a handful of rural states, the percentage of adults deemed vaccine hesitant is more than double that in Maine.


bangordailynews.com/2021/04/18/news/vaccine-hesitancy-remains-low-in-maine-bucking-rural-state-trends-sk6sr8zcdk/