30 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – February 11 2022”

  1. The Netherlands is reopening in stages. Gradually, restrictions are being lifted. Restaurants and bars are open, and every week they’re allowed to increase the number of hours they’re open. Right now, it’s until 10:30pm, and within two weeks it’ll be 1am.

    Carnaval – their version of Mardi Gras – is a huge thing in the South of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. All these countries will maintain at least a 1G policy. This means that in any large indoor gathering – and these tend to be massive – negative rapid antigen tests will be required (offered outside the entrances to cafes and halls).

    Masks will be still be required for the time being in secondary schools and colleges, nursing homes, pharmacies, and hospitals, as well as public transportation. Most mask restrictions are being lifted in stores, restaurants, and bars.

  4. Canadian truck drivers have been blocking the only highway bridge at the U.S.-Canadian border between Windsor Ontario and Detroit MI protesting COVID-19 restrictions. More of the same demonstrations are planned by truckers in California as well as the I-95 corridor up and down the eastern seaboard.

    Joshua, why are Canadian truckers so upset over COVID-19 policies? Will this include U.S. truckers eventually as well?

    1. Thanks for asking. I saw many Twitter comments by health folks and folks replying to health folks that the truckers in Canada were the reason we lifted mask mandates so quickly. My guess is it is not the reason but did it play a part? I meant to look into that also but have been busy with other things

  5. Joshua, I read your Forbes articles on yesterdays blog entry. I hadn’t realized your background and work focus. I worked closely with Biogen over the past year as a strategic consultant helping launch early access and compassionate use programs for their new drugs including Aducanimab. Very interesting space. I’m now working with Pfizer on their COVID programs. Curious on your thoughts on Omicron specific vaccine and if it’s really worth developing at this point.

  6. The Boston globe today. It says basically the same thing that Faust said in the link I posted a few days ago

    I will never understand why we push to approve something that either has questionable side effects or, in this case, doesn’t seem to be effective. Goes back to how horrifically this is being handled when it comes to our youngest generation

    “For some parents struggling through another pandemic winter, a COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 5 cannot come soon enough.

    But the rush to authorize a vaccine that produced disappointing results in a clinical trial of children that age has left more than a few parents struggling to understand whether vaccinations will be worth it for the youngest kids, an often wrenching calculation.

    “It all seems so very confusing to me,” said Katie Medeiros, a Woburn mother of two children, including a 3-year-old. “I feel like I need some more concrete evidence to say this is something I’m going to definitely give my child.”

  8. Ace, the work you do is very interesting. It’s also a challenging space, especially with respect to Aduhelm, the Alzheimer’s drug.

    I’m not enthused about an Omicron-specific vaccine. A pan-variant vaccine would be better, if that’s possible to develop.

  9. Philip, Canada has stricter vaccination rules than we do. This may be one of the reasons the truckers are striking in Canada. But, I haven’t followed the ongoing issue.

  10. Case numbers have steadily declined in recent weeks, as have hospitalizations. This is the good news.

    And now the bad. Both indicators are still quite elevated, however. BA.2 is on the rise (it’s an Omicron sibling). And, the number of U.S. Covid deaths this week is staggering:
    Feb 10 3,234
    Feb 9 3,450
    Feb 8 3,406
    Feb 7 3,385

    February 2022 is going to probably be in the top 10 months for deaths, and may turn out to be number 6 or 7 when the final tally for the month is done. We are headed towards 1 million deaths. It won’t happen this month or next, but it could in April.

        1. Deaths will start to decline in a couple of weeks. But, the Omicron wave is elongated everywhere in terms of deaths. Takes longer to kill, impacts multiple organs.

          I think that by summer deaths will be in the hundreds on a daily basis nationwide. Perhaps even as low as 250. Caveat applies; new variants, etc …

  11. Vicki, the case numbers are definitely falling, but still quite elevated pretty much everywhere. This said, more people now have access to rapid antigen tests, including the free ones the Biden Administration sent. So, these test results will generally not be recorded. I am an example of this. I tested positive and later negative using rapid antigen tests. I did not report my data to anyone. Well, except WHW, family, and a few friends.

    1. That was why I asked. I also know a number of people who have a relatively mild case and do not test. School numbers will no longer be even close to accurate. I guess this is all a way to justify relaxing mandates

  12. I saw this health policy Valentine:

    Roses are red
    Diamonds are indestructible
    No one can afford
    A $5,000 deductible

    Between the high deductible on my insurance plan, higher taxes (for me and about 18% of Americans since the Trump so-called tax `cut’), and inflation it’s a real struggle. And I am a lucky one. I’m not poor. I have a good education. I can earn decent money.

    1. Shaking my head. If we were to see this and react positively, I’d say….good for US. But we just don’t seem to see it

        1. Agree. I leave China out of any of these analyses. It’s a dictatorship. It also suppressed information on the virus for weeks, which really hurt us all.

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