Coronavirus Tidbits #284, March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024 /

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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.

All copyrights belong to their respective owners! Message me if you don't want images posted here.

New post:

CDC Drops Five Day Covid-19 Isolation Despite Controversy

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2024/03/01/cdc-drops-five-day-covid-19-isolation-despite-controversy/?sh=39505b2919d8

News 

The nightmare of CDC dropping 5 day isolation. See link above.

~ ~ ~

@BNOFeed Weekly U.S. COVID update: -
New cases: 187,416 est. - Average: 222,304 (-15K) - States reporting: 50/50 -
In hospital: 16,786 (-1K) -
In ICU: 1,907 (-83) -
New deaths: 1,569 - Average: 2,062 (-252)
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~

Excellent article:

Covid Taught Us a Lot. The CDC Now Wants Us to Forget It.

https://newrepublic.com/article/179304/covid-cdc-guidelines-isolation-symptoms

~ ~ ~

“Toronto is having an inaugural screening of Masked at the Movies | Innis Town Hall on Mar 13. MaskBlocTO will be there with free respirators!" … “Respirators are mandatory and are to be worn at all times. The space is fully accessible. There are 13 air changes an hour.

Wouldn't it be great if we could make this a thing across the country!

~ ~ ~

Protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination vs long Covid

“A new study of almost 1.2 million people in Hong Kong demonstrates the protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination against long COVID, and suggests that the more doses people have had the less likely they experience long-term symptoms related to the virus." [CIDRAP]

~ ~ ~

CDC authorizes an additional Covid vax booster for immunocompromised > 65 yo

[one could argue that anyone over 65 is immunocompromised]

~ ~ ~

Novavax

1-year durability data for Novavax 2-dose primary series. Though there is some expected waning, there was >65% efficacy at 1y (mRNA options typically wane to this level by ~4-5 months). Also fewer waning differences by age.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X24000689?via%3Dihub

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More evidence of cognitive defects after Covid

@EricTopol
2 important large prospective cohort studies of cognitive deficits with #LongCovid were published today' NEJM
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10 nejm.org/doi/full/10.10 and editorial by @zalaly @clifford_rosennejm.org/doi/full/10.10 Reviewed in a new Ground Truths Substack
[Multiple doses of vaccine associated w/ LESS cognitive impairment & mult infections w/ MORE cognitive impairment.]
~ ~ ~

CDC Monitoring Rare Guillain-Barre After RSV Vaccination

 slightly higher than background rates--but still says risk-benefit ratio tilts towards getting the RSV vaccination.

Risk of severe RSV is higher in those >75 and with chronic kidney disease, lung or heart disease.

[fwiw, I'm still going to wait for more data since not in the highest risk groups]

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/vaccines/108969?

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs and Vaccines:

The Misleading Headlines Behind the New COVID Vaccine Safety Study

— The study just confirms what we already knew

there are small risks w any drug/vaccine

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/108939?

~ ~ ~

Devices:

Best masks-Rolling Stone review

how are N95 masks different from KN95 masks? The main difference lies in how the masks are certified. “In general,” says Sean Kelly, founder of New Jersey-based PPE of America, “N95 is the U.S. standard, and the KN95 is the China standard.” Because of this, only N95 masks are approved for health-care use in the United States, even though KN95 masks have many of the same protective properties.

The FDA has released a list of approved KN95 masks here. You can view the CDC list of approved N95 masks here.

N95 masks and KN95s are not meant to be reused.

A different type of KN95 mask is the “FFP2 mask“, which is the European equivalent of the KN95 mask. The best FFP2 masks online are certified to EU standards and are a five-ply foldable mask with up to 95% filtration efficiency of particles of 0.3-micron levels.

https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/n95-vs-kn95-masks-1044184/

~ ~ ~

COVID Safety For Schools Course.

It’s a free, comprehensive online course for Australian schools to help them keep students and staff safe during the COVID pandemic. covidsafetyforschools.org

Epidemiology/Infection control:

Covid-19 in US jails and prisons: implications for the next public health crisis

"Despite the problems of mass incarceration, it is not monitored like other public health crises in the US. For instance, there is no real time or comprehensive health data reporting from the country’s 53 disaggregated prison systems..."

https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-076975

Tips, general reading for public:

Vax

Mask

Ventilate

~ ~ ~

over 100 inspiring, must-watch movies focused on global health topics via Madhu Pai

https://communities.springernature.com/posts/inspiring-global-health-films

 

Politics:

Covid:

@luckytran
Reminder that Governors are repealing sick leave, and the CDC's weakened guidelines will make it easier for them to erode worker protections.

https://hellgatenyc.com/hochul-moves-to-kill-covid-sick-leave

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Sources: Delta Letter to CDC news.delta.com/sites/default/

ISDA President Announcement in 2022 idsociety.org/news--publicat

Carlos Del Rio Emory profile whsc.emory.edu/about/leadersh

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@luckytran
The CDC Director claimed "the folks who are more vulnerable were top of mind" when they changed the COVID isolation guidance. Yet, right after they released the new guidance, the CDC account censored vulnerable folks criticizing it by hiding their comments.
~ ~ ~
@mileswgriffis March 2

NEW: After blocking public comment on their new guidance released today, the

@CDCis now hiding critical comments from the public on X, many of them from disabled, immunocompromised, or #pwLongCovid. Studies & articles in opposition of the guidance were also hidden.
~ ~ ~
Supreme Court has sided with religious liberty, striking down California's COVID-19 restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, including Bible studies and prayer meetings. This 5-4 ruling marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over the balance between public health measures and the First Amendment rights.
[This will be bad news for controlling measles as well.]
~ ~ ~

Abortion/Reproduction/Misogeny

CVS and Walmart pharmacies will begin dispensing mifepristone in states where abortion is still legal

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-03-pharmacy-chains-abortion-pill-rollout.html?

~ ~ ~

Missouri judges cannot legally finalize a divorce if a woman is pregnant. Three other states have similar laws: Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas.

~ ~ ~

@JoJoFromJerz
The same Republicans telling folks if & how they can get pregnant, forcing them to stay pregnant, barring them from getting divorced while pregnant & denying them lifesaving medical care because they are pregnant, burned masks during a pandemic because it was “government overreach.”

~ ~ ~

GOP:

Robert Reich:

Let me get this straight. Republicans are banning books, drag shows, and life-saving gender-affirming care, all to "protect children" But they're also rolling back child labor laws, blocking gun reform, and passing laws to force adolescents to give birth. Do I have that right?

~ ~ ~

Corporate greed/taxes:

@RBReich
GE boasted $7 billion in profit in 2023. So it must have paid a lot in federal taxes, right? If you guessed $1, you’d still be high. In fact, GE got a *refund* of $423 million. This is what I mean when I say the tax system is rigged for the rich.
~ ~ ~
@EricWelchWCS
Chew on this…. A family of four making $56K isn’t eligible for free & reduced school lunch in TN. But with Jack Johnson’s Voucher bill, a family of four making $560K can receive more than 14K in private school subsidies. #ReverseRobinHood #EntitlementsJack
~ ~ ~

Arizona:

@PeccaryNotPig
A federal court ruled 6-5 that multinational mining giant Resolution Copper’s proposed destruction of Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site, is not subject to fed laws protecting religious freedom. Apache Stronghold plans to appeal to Supreme Court.
~ ~ ~
Massachusetts:
~ ~ ~
Israel:
Sally Abed of Standing Together, a Palestinian citizen of Israel (this is how she defines herself), was elected yesterday to the Haifa city council.
~ ~ ~
Ukraine:
@RBReich
Ukraine had the world's 3rd largest nuclear arsenal, but gave it up in return for a pledge that the US & UK would defend Ukraine. Republicans blocking aid are making liars of the US. They're also telling Iran & North Korea that it would be foolish to give up their nuclear plans.
~ ~ ~
@KyivPost
Speakers from 23 parliaments have appealed to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Johnson, urging him to consider the bill passed by the Senate, which provides for the allocation of $60 billion to Ukraine, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Stefanchuk said.
~ ~ ~
Russia:
@Billbrowder
Oleg Orlov: Russia jails Nobel Peace Prize winner for 'repeatedly criticising armed forces'

~ ~ ~

Remarkable scenes, given the risks people are taking

~ ~ ~

TFG:

Why Is Trump Trying to Make Ukraine Lose?

The former president isn’t in office—but is still dictating U.S. policy.

By Anne Applebaum  GIFT LINK
 
~ ~ ~ 
 
 

Feel good du jour:

https://twitter.com/pnwkate/status/1763752933659918843?s=20

Comic relief:

https://twitter.com/Yoda4ever/status/1761928064106434835?s=20

~ ~ ~

https://twitter.com/Greenfleeves/status/1763476396968439920?s=20

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https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1763425040765510014?s=20

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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1763871613424992501?s=20

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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1762596017109950796?s=20

Perspective/Poem

Plague Poems
I know, my exhausted friend,
that when the guidelines change
it can become unclear
what to do and how to feel
but you already know
that regardless of how
the guidelines change
our obligation
to take care of of each other
remains the same.
~ ~ ~
@PlaguePoems
I saw a teacher
ask educators to mask
if they see a masked student
and when I asked
my friend, the teacher,
for her opinion on this
she said it was good advice
but she explained the reason
she wears one
is that she wants
her students to learn
to take care of each other.

Bits of beauty:

Sea grapes

 

 

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