Coronavirus Tidbits #292, April 28, 2024

 

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.

Please share: Great explanation of BlueVoterGuide.org - How to build the blue wave in 2024! youtu.be/1l8R_jEuZyA?si 

New post: 

Bird Flu H5N1—What We Know So Far About Its Spread To Cows

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2024/04/27/bird-flu-h5n1-what-we-know-so-far-about-its-spread-to-cows/?sh=550693a36fbe

News 

Mike Hoerger: In the current "lull" of U.S. COVID-19 transmission, we are seeing an estimated 391,000 new infections per day, with 1 in 122 people actively infectious. In a group of 30, that's about a 1 in 5 chance someone is infectious.

Peter Hotez: we’re now at about our lowest levels of new COVID hospitalizations since the beginning of the pandemic…

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@VirusesImmunity (Akiko Iwasaki)
In a nutshell, we showed that over-the-counter cheap generic antibiotic neomycin can be repurposed in nasal formulation to prevent & treat infection, block transmission, and reduce disease burden against a wide array of viruses. Since this is a host-directed strategy and virus-agnostic, it holds promise as a prophylactic strategy against any viral threat.
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Most dermatologists do not recommend using Neosporin d/t risk of allergic contact dermatitis. Declared the Contact Allergen of the Year for 2010 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS). Can cause secondary dermatosis known as autosensitization. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
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Long Covid Taste Loss:

  • Taste dysfunction was gone 1 year after acute COVID-19, but smell loss remained for some people.
  • Olfactory dysfunction was present in 30% of people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and 21% of uninfected people.
  • Long-term taste loss after COVID may reflect damage to olfactory epithelium, not taste buds.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/longcovid/109802?

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Avian influenza:

see my new post: https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2024/04/27/bird-flu-h5n1-what-we-know-so-far-about-its-spread-to-cows/?sh=550693a36fbe

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Other:

Consumption of contaminated venison suspected in cases of deer hunters with prion disease

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-consumption-contaminated-venison-cases-deer.html?

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs:

Devices:

Epidemiology/Infection control:

Substantial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through casual contact in retail stores:

Evidence from matched administrative microdata on card payments and testing

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2317589121

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Report: Less than half of nursing home residents up to date on COVID vaccines

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/mpox/report-less-half-nursing-home-residents-date-covid-vaccines

Tips, general reading for public:

Ventilate.

Vaccinate.

Mask.

Politics:

Covid:

COVID-19 pandemic alters view that doctors are obligated to provide care: Study

The unique circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic altered a long-held convention that doctors provide care regardless of personal risk.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-covid-pandemic-view-doctors-obligated.html?

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Avian flu:

@LazarusLong13:

They are not testing beef cows, but the CDC added beef cooking instructions during the darkest hours of April 10, 2024 to the HPAI page. (with screen shots)

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Today feels like an ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS day for Colorado’s bill legalizing raw milk to pass out of committee. We find out there’s #H5N1 virus in the milk on grocery store shelves, but @coloradodems want RAW MILK to be legal?  archive.ph/2024.04.23-220

@CCSDMaskUp 4/23/24

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Future pandemic:

Deforestation pushes animals in Uganda forest to eat virus-laden bat poo. A SARS-CoV2 virus, among others, was present in the stool.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68875094?

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Biden:

@MaryLTrump

Two huge wins by Biden today that the corporate media will bury, while reporting every one of Donald's in-court gestures and out-of-court lies: 1. Biden just secured BILLIONS of dollars for workers. He's guaranteeing they get time-and-a-half for overtime worked – anyone who makes less than $58,656 a year. That's up from the current threshold of $35,568. 2. In a stunning development, the FTC just voted to ban non-compete agreements in contracts. That takes the handcuffs off of 18% of the work force – 30 MILLION people – including workers banned from leaving one fast food chain to work for another.

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Greed: 

@pediatricnursey
My baby got a letter in the mail today from my insurance (United Health) deeming his NICU stay medically unnecessary and says we now owe $75k
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Alabama:
bill would provide an avenue for librarians to be arrested if someone challenges a book as being “harmful to minors.”
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Florida:
@tomaskenn
Remember the 49 migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard under false pretenses by the DeSantis administration? They can now legally work in the U.S. and are protected from deportation due to being considered victims of a potential crime.
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Idaho:
Air transports out of Idaho, which has a near-total abortion ban, for pregnancy complications at one of the state’s largest hospitals have increased from one in all of 2023 to six in the past four months.
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Maine: LGBTQ

Maine Signs Trans And Abortion Sanctuary Bill Into Law, Despite Violent Threats

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/maine-signs-trans-and-abortion-sanctuary

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Michigan:
@Phil_Lewis_
Today marks 10 years since the start of the Flint Water Crisis. A decade later, kids are still sick, the city is not done replacing lead pipes and families still haven’t seen a cent from settlement funds
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Mona Hanna-Attisha, doc who revealed Flint water crisis, now takes on child poverty
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/flint-michigan-child-poverty
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New Hampshire:

New Hampshire’s GOP Is Taking a Stand—Against the Polio Vaccine

The Granite State could be the first to ditch polio and measles requirements for child care.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/04/new-hampshire-republicans-polio-mmr-measles-vaccine-antivax-bill/

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South Dakota:

Noem shoots and kills her young dog b/c it was "untrainable", "dangerous", and "less than worthless as a hunting dog". She also "hated" the dog. On the same day, she shoots once, misses, and then eventually kills her goat.

Her daughter then asks where the dog is. theguardian.com/books/2024/apr

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https://twitter.com/SundaeDivine/status/1784281809422868510

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Pro-Palestine protests

https://knightcolumbia.org/content/knight-institute-condemns-widespread-deployment-of-police-forces-on-university-campuses-nationwide

Feel good du jour:

Perspective/Poem

Image

Bits of beauty:

 

 

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