62 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – November 30 2021”
Thank you, TK.
This is political but also very much covid related. It is an excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson’s daily post. I need to repeat that I absolutely understand why folks who are nervous about the vaccine for safety reasons. I will never understand purely political reasons.
“Upon announcement of Omicron, Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX), former White House physician for Trump, tweeted that the news was manufactured by Democrats to enable them to “push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election—but we’re not going to let them!” he concluded.
There were no COVID-related deaths yesterday in New York City, where the vaccination rate is 90%. For adult Democrats the vaccination rate is about 90%, while the vaccination rate for adult Republicans hovers around 60%. Counties that went strongly for Trump have a death rate three times that of counties that voted heavily for Biden.“
Ronny Jackson should be imprisoned for statements like that.
The virus doesn’t give 2 craps about anyone’s political views.
I sure agree. Every one of the politicians who intentional contribute to vaccine hesitancy for political gain should be. They disgust me. He sits at the top of my list
Thanks TK.
For those still enjoying events virtually, I thought this might be of interest.
Speaking of events, First Night in Boston returns this year with the usual parade, ice sculptures, fireworks, etc.
Regardless of how much of a threat the Omicron variant will ultimately be, under a microscope, it’s deep bluish purple with those usual red spores sticking out just like the alpha and delta. Even more creepy looking imo.
YECCH! Frightening to say the least.
I detest those photos. Media at its worst IMO
Gov. Baker is now considering “vaccine passports” throughout the state and Boston Mayor Wu is considering them for the city as well.
Good idea
About time.
Actually…. Vaccinated are not a whole lot safer than unvaccinated at this point. But still may help some
That’s incorrect. You can’t just make that statement with showing the facts. Vaccinated folks are far less
likely to get serious illness, require hospitalization or death.
If you read, my friend, I was speaking of transmission. And positive vaccinated do have an equal viral load
Sure but this is all about illness, hospitalization and death.
I wonder if the traditional office Christmas parties will return this year. I bet those events would help restaurants to get back on their feet.
Also, a Christmas office party especially outside of work could help with morale during this still difficult time.
On Omicron the news is all over the place. BioNTech says not to worry about the vaccine at all, as it will be effective against Omicron. Astra Zeneca’s partner, Oxford University, is saying something similar about its vaccine. Meanwhile, Moderna’s CEO says vaccine efficacy will “definitely go down … it’s just a matter of how much.” Keep in mind, Moderna has a leg up on the others, evidently, in tweaking the vaccine to accommodate new variants.
Then there’s more bad news for the Merck pill, which apparently loses A LOT of efficacy – people are saying it’s “mediocre” precisely for the high-risk Covid-19 patients. This may go down as an epic tease – remember when Merck declared its pill was 89% effective, just 3 weeks ago, long before the FDA even had a chance to review the data!
I’m a believer in companies that have commercial interests NOT being allowed to make any statements about the efficacy of their treatments or vaccines before these have been established by an independent agency. The conflict of interest is too blatant. I feel like companies often paint a much rosier picture of their products to attract more investment and make more profits. This is a disservice to public health.
Still no confirmed Omicron cases in the U.S., with only 2 in Canada.
The U.K. does extensive sequencing and have only found 22 cases thus far.
In my view, it’s being under-reported how comparatively few Omicron cases are showing up.
By now, with all the sequencing Europe does, it should be well into the hundreds if not thousands of Omicron cases if indeed the new variant is as transmissible and as competitive with Delta as many say it is.
I may be proven wrong this week. But thus far, there doesn’t appear to be extensive Omicron spread outside of Africa.
Let’s take the optimistic route and consider that perhaps countries may be actually ahead of this virus for a change, even if temporarily. If I recall, the world was somewhat slow recognizing Delta right away. I suppose we will need another week from the Thanksgiving holiday for more accurate numbers.
The state is rolling out COVID-19 mobile pop-up vaccination clinics, as many people struggle to find booster appointments at pharmacies. There are currently no time slots available at most CVS locations. Maybe the sudden high demand for vaccines are a good thing?
I believe I saw on the tv news yesterday a line stretched around the corner at Tufts Medical Center waiting for boosters.
I had trouble getting an appointment when it was approved for a limited fee. After the fiasco with the original vaccine, you’d think we would have rolled out a bit at a time
That ship just keeps on sinking.
Speaking of vaccines, I have my booster tomorrow and admit to being nervous re reaction
I wish you all the best Vicki!
Thank you. Very much appreciated !!
Good luck Vicki!
Thank you, Philip!
Evidently, Omicron was in Europe BEFORE it got to South Africa. IF that is the case, then I’m slightly more optimistic about this variant not being as troublesome as many believe it is. Consider that in Europe they do a lot of sequencing. If it was in Europe 3 weeks ago, and perhaps longer than that, then if it was a viable competitor with Delta it would be turning up in large numbers by now. Yet, we’re only seeing relatively small numbers of Omicron cases, compared to Delta and its sub-lineages.
I could be very wrong about this. All variants start out small and then grow to completely dominate. But, my intuition is that Omicron is not a particularly stable or fit variant, in comparison to Delta and its sub-lineages.
We shall see.
I should have states: All variants start out small AND SOME then grow to completely dominate. Others wither away.
I should have stated, not states. Gee wiz, what’s wrong with me today?
Oddly I read your first post exactly as you intended. I think we are all used to the written word sometimes not appearing as intended; but when we know the author, we somehow see it as we are meant to. Weird really, but I notice more and more that I do that
But…..if it had been in Europe, do you think they knew and didn’t mention it??
Philip, as far as the Christmas parties are concerned, I’m hoping we don’t see them return quite yet. I do think it’s premature to have large indoor gatherings.
So, even if I’m not as concerned about Omicron as some, I continue to be worried about Delta and its sub-lineages. It’s an ongoing real threat. And Massachusetts Covid-19 indicators show that it’s a growing problem.
Agree and agree and agree
Good luck with your booster tomorrow. Drink a lot of water before and after.
I don’t recall ever hearing that advice re drinking lots of water. Does water help with any potential vaccine side effects?
Yes, it’s supposed to help quite a bit. It’s recommended to hydrate well both before and after for a day or so.
Thank you. I hydrate anyway with kidney stones but have been floating the past few days.
I just counted how many times I’ve emptied my Yeti. I’m close to 80 ounces. I may hit 100 but suspect it’ll be closer to 90. I don’t want to be awake and in the bathroom all night either 🙂
I am laughing, but really at myself! I had never heard of Yeti water bottles. When I first read this, I thought that “Yeti” was some sort of nickname for a body part. If you read your post with that in mind, you will understand why I was laughing!
Hahahahaha. I can’t stop laughing. I needed a laugh tonight. Thank you
Seriously….I’m still laughing. I’m going to think of this when I get the vaccine. It will force me to relax my arm
I’m glad I could help!
And honestly, I sometimes wonder whether folks who are truly vaccine hesitant have good reason to be. How can the pill be approved.
Then have Fauci and others get the honest message out
From NYT
Greece will make Covid vaccines mandatory for people ages 60 or older, and those who fail to book a first shot by Jan. 16 will face fines.
The policy is “an act of justice for the vaccinated,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Thanks for sharing, Vicki.
I do love Greek names, like the Prime Minister’s.
The Merck pill may not even get approved. It narrowly passed the committee. FDA will vote on it soon. Its efficacy is “mediocre” among high-risk Covid-19 patients (precisely the group it’s supposed to target) and safety risks are quite significant (could in fact be carcinogenic).
If I was a betting man, I’d say a similar fate awaits the Pfizer pill. Right now it looks great. The same could be said for the Merck pill as recently as 10 days ago.
I do not trust CEOs or spokespersons of companies when they present results … ever. Remember what Gilead’s CEO said about remdesivir back in April 2020. Turned out that is a failed drug. Remember what Pfizer’s CEO kept repeating until Israel shut him up, namely, that the vaccine was 98% effective against transmission. It’s more like 45% after about 4 months. Or, how about Boeing’s CEO on the 737-MAX. Not that I always trust a government official or civil servant. But at least government officials (FDA, for example; or FTC, for that matter) are held accountable, and everything they say or write becomes public knowledge.
Massachusetts reports 2,915 new Covid-19 cases today; Positivity rate surges to 4.46%; Hospitalizations jumped to 906 (that’s 70 in 1 day); Deaths rose to 31. All Delta or its sub-lineages (I call them the unruly kids of Delta). That’s what we should be focused on.
For the U.S. the worst news of the day is this: Number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 tops 55,000, highest in 7 weeks. That’s a jump of >3,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Do we have the data on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated?
Not yet. But if I extrapolate from previous CDC analyses as well as assessments in other countries, I’d guess that around 35-40% of hospitalizations are fully vaccinated (but mostly not boosted) folks. Importantly, when we look at ICU (worst kind of hospitalization, obviously) the number of vaccinated drops to 25%. Still, we can see waning vaccine immunity, especially among the >65 group. Boosters are imperative. America’s doing a decent job of it – above the EU average, but still far below the UK and also below a number of European countries like Belgium and Austria. UK deaths and even hospitalizations are on a decline. It’s quite gradual, but it shows the importance of boosters.
Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a brief Forbes piece on the Netherlands, where boosters have barely gotten off the ground. And it shows up in the data.
From Washington state. As expected unvaccinated are more susceptible. I can’t imagine anyone would think otherwise Doesn’t mean vaccinated cannot spread covid which really needs to be stressed because too many vaccinated think they are impervious both to contagion and spread. The risk is that vaccinated are often asymptomatic and have the same viral load. The load may be for less time but still is something out health “experts” are hesitant to discuss
We talk of mild cases and extreme cases. We just do not talk about long covid. Shame on us. And i absolutely do not mean anyone here …I mean our health experts. Of late I have heard too many comment that it may simply be in their heads and not real
Thank you, TK.
This is political but also very much covid related. It is an excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson’s daily post. I need to repeat that I absolutely understand why folks who are nervous about the vaccine for safety reasons. I will never understand purely political reasons.
“Upon announcement of Omicron, Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX), former White House physician for Trump, tweeted that the news was manufactured by Democrats to enable them to “push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election—but we’re not going to let them!” he concluded.
There were no COVID-related deaths yesterday in New York City, where the vaccination rate is 90%. For adult Democrats the vaccination rate is about 90%, while the vaccination rate for adult Republicans hovers around 60%. Counties that went strongly for Trump have a death rate three times that of counties that voted heavily for Biden.“
Ronny Jackson should be imprisoned for statements like that.
The virus doesn’t give 2 craps about anyone’s political views.
I sure agree. Every one of the politicians who intentional contribute to vaccine hesitancy for political gain should be. They disgust me. He sits at the top of my list
Thanks TK.
For those still enjoying events virtually, I thought this might be of interest.
https://revels.org/event/welcome-yule-a-christmas-revels-preview/
Speaking of events, First Night in Boston returns this year with the usual parade, ice sculptures, fireworks, etc.
Regardless of how much of a threat the Omicron variant will ultimately be, under a microscope, it’s deep bluish purple with those usual red spores sticking out just like the alpha and delta. Even more creepy looking imo.
YECCH! Frightening to say the least.
I detest those photos. Media at its worst IMO
Gov. Baker is now considering “vaccine passports” throughout the state and Boston Mayor Wu is considering them for the city as well.
Good idea
About time.
Actually…. Vaccinated are not a whole lot safer than unvaccinated at this point. But still may help some
That’s incorrect. You can’t just make that statement with showing the facts. Vaccinated folks are far less
likely to get serious illness, require hospitalization or death.
If you read, my friend, I was speaking of transmission. And positive vaccinated do have an equal viral load
https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/covid-19/news/viral-loads-similar-between-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-people
Sure but this is all about illness, hospitalization and death.
I wonder if the traditional office Christmas parties will return this year. I bet those events would help restaurants to get back on their feet.
Also, a Christmas office party especially outside of work could help with morale during this still difficult time.
On Omicron the news is all over the place. BioNTech says not to worry about the vaccine at all, as it will be effective against Omicron. Astra Zeneca’s partner, Oxford University, is saying something similar about its vaccine. Meanwhile, Moderna’s CEO says vaccine efficacy will “definitely go down … it’s just a matter of how much.” Keep in mind, Moderna has a leg up on the others, evidently, in tweaking the vaccine to accommodate new variants.
Then there’s more bad news for the Merck pill, which apparently loses A LOT of efficacy – people are saying it’s “mediocre” precisely for the high-risk Covid-19 patients. This may go down as an epic tease – remember when Merck declared its pill was 89% effective, just 3 weeks ago, long before the FDA even had a chance to review the data!
I’m a believer in companies that have commercial interests NOT being allowed to make any statements about the efficacy of their treatments or vaccines before these have been established by an independent agency. The conflict of interest is too blatant. I feel like companies often paint a much rosier picture of their products to attract more investment and make more profits. This is a disservice to public health.
Still no confirmed Omicron cases in the U.S., with only 2 in Canada.
The U.K. does extensive sequencing and have only found 22 cases thus far.
In my view, it’s being under-reported how comparatively few Omicron cases are showing up.
By now, with all the sequencing Europe does, it should be well into the hundreds if not thousands of Omicron cases if indeed the new variant is as transmissible and as competitive with Delta as many say it is.
I may be proven wrong this week. But thus far, there doesn’t appear to be extensive Omicron spread outside of Africa.
Let’s take the optimistic route and consider that perhaps countries may be actually ahead of this virus for a change, even if temporarily. If I recall, the world was somewhat slow recognizing Delta right away. I suppose we will need another week from the Thanksgiving holiday for more accurate numbers.
The state is rolling out COVID-19 mobile pop-up vaccination clinics, as many people struggle to find booster appointments at pharmacies. There are currently no time slots available at most CVS locations. Maybe the sudden high demand for vaccines are a good thing?
I believe I saw on the tv news yesterday a line stretched around the corner at Tufts Medical Center waiting for boosters.
I had trouble getting an appointment when it was approved for a limited fee. After the fiasco with the original vaccine, you’d think we would have rolled out a bit at a time
That ship just keeps on sinking.
Speaking of vaccines, I have my booster tomorrow and admit to being nervous re reaction
I wish you all the best Vicki!
Thank you. Very much appreciated !!
Good luck Vicki!
Thank you, Philip!
Evidently, Omicron was in Europe BEFORE it got to South Africa. IF that is the case, then I’m slightly more optimistic about this variant not being as troublesome as many believe it is. Consider that in Europe they do a lot of sequencing. If it was in Europe 3 weeks ago, and perhaps longer than that, then if it was a viable competitor with Delta it would be turning up in large numbers by now. Yet, we’re only seeing relatively small numbers of Omicron cases, compared to Delta and its sub-lineages.
I could be very wrong about this. All variants start out small and then grow to completely dominate. But, my intuition is that Omicron is not a particularly stable or fit variant, in comparison to Delta and its sub-lineages.
We shall see.
I should have states: All variants start out small AND SOME then grow to completely dominate. Others wither away.
I should have stated, not states. Gee wiz, what’s wrong with me today?
Oddly I read your first post exactly as you intended. I think we are all used to the written word sometimes not appearing as intended; but when we know the author, we somehow see it as we are meant to. Weird really, but I notice more and more that I do that
But…..if it had been in Europe, do you think they knew and didn’t mention it??
Philip, as far as the Christmas parties are concerned, I’m hoping we don’t see them return quite yet. I do think it’s premature to have large indoor gatherings.
So, even if I’m not as concerned about Omicron as some, I continue to be worried about Delta and its sub-lineages. It’s an ongoing real threat. And Massachusetts Covid-19 indicators show that it’s a growing problem.
Agree and agree and agree
Good luck with your booster tomorrow. Drink a lot of water before and after.
I don’t recall ever hearing that advice re drinking lots of water. Does water help with any potential vaccine side effects?
Yes, it’s supposed to help quite a bit. It’s recommended to hydrate well both before and after for a day or so.
Thank you. I hydrate anyway with kidney stones but have been floating the past few days.
I just counted how many times I’ve emptied my Yeti. I’m close to 80 ounces. I may hit 100 but suspect it’ll be closer to 90. I don’t want to be awake and in the bathroom all night either 🙂
I am laughing, but really at myself! I had never heard of Yeti water bottles. When I first read this, I thought that “Yeti” was some sort of nickname for a body part. If you read your post with that in mind, you will understand why I was laughing!
Hahahahaha. I can’t stop laughing. I needed a laugh tonight. Thank you
Seriously….I’m still laughing. I’m going to think of this when I get the vaccine. It will force me to relax my arm
I’m glad I could help!
And honestly, I sometimes wonder whether folks who are truly vaccine hesitant have good reason to be. How can the pill be approved.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/30/fda-merck-covid-pill-523565
“Vaccination is the ultimate solution!”
-Dr. Anthony Fauci
Then have Fauci and others get the honest message out
From NYT
Greece will make Covid vaccines mandatory for people ages 60 or older, and those who fail to book a first shot by Jan. 16 will face fines.
The policy is “an act of justice for the vaccinated,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Thanks for sharing, Vicki.
I do love Greek names, like the Prime Minister’s.
The Merck pill may not even get approved. It narrowly passed the committee. FDA will vote on it soon. Its efficacy is “mediocre” among high-risk Covid-19 patients (precisely the group it’s supposed to target) and safety risks are quite significant (could in fact be carcinogenic).
If I was a betting man, I’d say a similar fate awaits the Pfizer pill. Right now it looks great. The same could be said for the Merck pill as recently as 10 days ago.
I do not trust CEOs or spokespersons of companies when they present results … ever. Remember what Gilead’s CEO said about remdesivir back in April 2020. Turned out that is a failed drug. Remember what Pfizer’s CEO kept repeating until Israel shut him up, namely, that the vaccine was 98% effective against transmission. It’s more like 45% after about 4 months. Or, how about Boeing’s CEO on the 737-MAX. Not that I always trust a government official or civil servant. But at least government officials (FDA, for example; or FTC, for that matter) are held accountable, and everything they say or write becomes public knowledge.
Interesting, and kind of wild. Person who is vaccinated and boosted and masked still got Omicron in … London at an in-person conference. https://twitter.com/maor_elad/status/1465700588314791947
Massachusetts reports 2,915 new Covid-19 cases today; Positivity rate surges to 4.46%; Hospitalizations jumped to 906 (that’s 70 in 1 day); Deaths rose to 31. All Delta or its sub-lineages (I call them the unruly kids of Delta). That’s what we should be focused on.
For the U.S. the worst news of the day is this: Number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 tops 55,000, highest in 7 weeks. That’s a jump of >3,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Do we have the data on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated?
Not yet. But if I extrapolate from previous CDC analyses as well as assessments in other countries, I’d guess that around 35-40% of hospitalizations are fully vaccinated (but mostly not boosted) folks. Importantly, when we look at ICU (worst kind of hospitalization, obviously) the number of vaccinated drops to 25%. Still, we can see waning vaccine immunity, especially among the >65 group. Boosters are imperative. America’s doing a decent job of it – above the EU average, but still far below the UK and also below a number of European countries like Belgium and Austria. UK deaths and even hospitalizations are on a decline. It’s quite gradual, but it shows the importance of boosters.
Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a brief Forbes piece on the Netherlands, where boosters have barely gotten off the ground. And it shows up in the data.
From Washington state. As expected unvaccinated are more susceptible. I can’t imagine anyone would think otherwise Doesn’t mean vaccinated cannot spread covid which really needs to be stressed because too many vaccinated think they are impervious both to contagion and spread. The risk is that vaccinated are often asymptomatic and have the same viral load. The load may be for less time but still is something out health “experts” are hesitant to discuss
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/data-tables/421-010-CasesInNotFullyVaccinated.pdf
We talk of mild cases and extreme cases. We just do not talk about long covid. Shame on us. And i absolutely do not mean anyone here …I mean our health experts. Of late I have heard too many comment that it may simply be in their heads and not real
https://twitter.com/dianaberrent/status/1465491124483768320?s=21
Question for those who have had the third vaccine. Do you wait for 15/20 minutes afterwards as you did for first two?
They didn’t make us wait, but that was at the place I work. Not sure about the drug stores, doctor offices, etc.
I did NOT have to wait Got jabbed and left.
Thank you both.
They didn’t make me wait at Rite-Aid. Good luck!
Thank you!!
C-19 for 12-1 is ready.