Coronavirus Tidbits # 219 11/13/22

Announcements:

First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.

Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.

New Post:

Medscape removed my post on the Fetterman - Oz debate as being "too political," although my focus was on disabilities. They kindly have allowed me to repost it (although they have not allowed me to repost others here).

https://www.drjudystone.com/the-fetterman-oz-debate-highlights-gops-disdain-for-the-disabled/

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Special:

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Elections Update - Ballot Curing need

Some of the races (e.g., Nevada, Arizona, CO, CA local races) have razor thin margins. Many ballots were not counted because of signature mismatches. "Curing" these ballots is not hard in some states, like Nevada, but requires the voters to be contacted quickly. If you can help call these voters (list and script provided), please look on Mobilize.us or contact me.

This is critical in saving Congress.

Please share this link widely with friends and family in Colorado, and anyone who can travel to Colorado to cure ballots until the Nov. 16th deadline: tinyurl.com/cocurecanvass

News 

Covid:

Biden administration to extend COVID-19 public health emergency until at least April

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Despite its location in one of the most remote locations in the world, a COVID-19 outbreak hit a U.S. research station in Antarctica with at least 98 people testing positive out of 993 workers since the beginning of October.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-research-station-antarctica-pauses-travel-covid-outbreak/story?id=92874842

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Masks:

Long Covid:

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Ebola:

Other:

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https://twitter.com/HelenBranswell/status/1590844570572816384?s=20&t=XCyt8qMQjrqf19xfqwxjJw

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs:

Study: Cholesterol drug Fenofibrate has no significant effect on COVID-19

After showing promise in early laboratory research, the cholesterol-lowering drug fenofibrate had no significant effect on COVID-19 outcomes in a multicenter international randomized controlled trial, where use of the drug did little to curb severity of disease or deaths. The study is published in Nature Metabolism.

Nov 7 Nat Metab study
Nov 7 Penn Medicine 
press release

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/11/news-scan-nov-08-2022

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Devices:

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Epidemiology/Infection control:

Covid:

22% of kids with COVID-19 or MIS-C had neurologic involvement in 2020-21

A study of US patients aged 0 to 20 years hospitalized for COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in 2020 and 2021 shows that 22% had a neurologic condition, including 9% with life-threatening illness.

"COVID-19 vaccination is effective at preventing hospitalization for acute COVID-19 and MIS-C and may decrease associated neurologic complications."
Nov 7 JAMA Neurol study

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/11/news-scan-nov-08-2022

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Monkeypox:

Household contact, sex among risk factors in monkeypox cases in kids, teens

In a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers detail 83 confirmed monkeypox cases among US children and teens, noting household contact in younger kids and sex in teens as the major risk factors.

Young kids most often exposed at home

Among 20 children aged 0 to 12 (71%) with available exposure data, 19 were exposed in the household setting, the authors said. Among 17 of these children, the reported exposure was direct skin-to-skin contact that routinely occurs between a child and an adult caregiver.

In one case fomite transmission—towels shared with a caregiver with monkeypox—was the suspected route of exposure for a young child.

Among 35 adolescents (64%) with available exposure data, 32 were boys with direct skin-to-skin sexual contact as the presumed mode of spread:

In an important finding, 10 instances were investigated in which a child or adolescent with monkeypox attended a child care facility (2) or school (8) while symptomatic, but no secondary transmission in these settings took place.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/11/household-contact-sex-among-risk-factors-monkeypox-cases-kids-teens

Tips, general reading for public:

Ventilate.

Mask.

Vax.

Politics:

Covid:

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Election:

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Alabama:

Arizona:

Florida:

Georgia:

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Illinois:

Michigan:

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Pennsylvania:

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Texas:

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Wisconsin:

TFG:

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Abortion/Reproduction:

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Antisemitism:

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Climate/Environment:

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Elon/Twitter:

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Greed:

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Guns;

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Immigrants

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LGBTQ:

Poverty/Homelessness:

Racism:

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Feel good du jour:

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Perspective/Poem

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Bits of beauty:

 

 

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