Coronavirus:

[Rufus T. Firefly]

But do they know they are a problem?

When in doubt, it's mask wearing time. I'm betting that mask wearing will be coming back in force very soon.

Already hit Savannah.
I have always had a mask at the ready when I am out/away from home.

Yes, it's not like this is hard to do,

[Neil]

Masks are an inexpensive, effective and safe way of minimizing the chance of contracting or spreading a respiratory infection, ranging from cold viruses to coronavirus/flu. I continue to wear one at work (required in the hospital) when outside my office and indoors in public outside the hospital. Until the rate of infection is very low over a long period of time or we have cheap, effective and safe oral anti-virals, as we do for influenza, seems a reasonable precaution.

[HONDO74]

What goes around comes around......

Nanjing: New virus outbreak worst since Wuhan, say Chinese state media
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58021911

A Covid outbreak first discovered in the Chinese city of Nanjing has spread to five provinces and Beijing, with state media calling it the most extensive contagion after Wuhan.

Almost 200 people have been infected since the virus was first detected at the city's busy airport on 20 July.

All flights from Nanjing airport will be suspended until 11 August, according to local media.

Officials also began city-wide testing amid criticism for their "failure".

All 9.3 million of the city's residents - including those visiting - will be tested, said state-controlled Xinhua news.

Posts on social media show long lines of people queuing, and authorities have reportedly urged people to wear masks, stand one metre apart and avoid talking while they wait.

Officials said the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus was behind the infections, adding that cases had spread further because of how busy the airport is.

Ding Jie, a health official in Nanjing, told reporters the cases were linked to cleaners who worked on a flight from Russia that arrived in the city on 10 July.

The cleaners did not follow strict hygiene measures, Xinhua News reported.

Officials said the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus was behind the infections, adding that cases had spread further because of how busy the airport is.

[up148]

I wonder if closing off the incoming international flights will have a positive affect or if it's too late. Certainly, hope they do.

Global economy brings global problems.

[chuck]

I wonder if closing off the incoming international flights will have a positive affect or if it's too late. Certainly, hope they do.

Global economy brings global problems.

It doesn't matter. The virus is mutating on its own everywhere. It is following it's own biological imperative to "improve itself" which may be great for the virus but not so great for the rest of us.

While first versions may have been originally detected in location "x", that doesn't translate to seal off location x and we'll be OK. It is just as likely to mutate in locations "y" and "z" if it is allowed develop and mutate there.

As long as we have 1/3 of our population unvaccinated what we really need to be concerned about is getting them vaccinated. I have serious doubts about ever achieving "herd immunity" on something that is as contagious and adaptable as this is. We need to get as many people vaccinated on the planet as quickly as possible or things will continue to get worse.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It doesn't matter. The virus is mutating on its own everywhere. It is following it's own biological imperative to "improve itself" which may be great for the virus but not so great for the rest of us.

While first versions may have been originally detected in location "x", that doesn't translate to seal off location x and we'll be OK. It is just as likely to mutate in locations "y" and "z" if it is allowed develop and mutate there.

Yes. Sadly that's not been very well understood by very many people; they generally think it's always being brought here from wherever looking to blame wherever or whoever.

As long as we have 1/3 of our population unvaccinated what we really need to be concerned about is getting them vaccinated. I have serious doubts about ever achieving "herd immunity" on something that is as contagious and adaptable as this is. We need to get as many people vaccinated on the planet as quickly as possible or things will continue to get worse.

Just is that simple.

[v8vega]

I am so sick of the Democrats and their quack doctors on TV in a last gasp desperate attempt to keep the hysteria alive.

[robert.]

It doesn't matter. The virus is mutating on its own everywhere. It is following it's own biological imperative to "improve itself" which may be great for the virus but not so great for the rest of us.

While first versions may have been originally detected in location "x", that doesn't translate to seal off location x and we'll be OK. It is just as likely to mutate in locations "y" and "z" if it is allowed develop and mutate there.

Yes. Sadly that's not been very well understood by very many people; they generally think it's always being brought here from wherever looking to blame wherever or whoever.

As long as we have 1/3 of our population unvaccinated what we really need to be concerned about is getting them vaccinated. I have serious doubts about ever achieving "herd immunity" on something that is as contagious and adaptable as this is. We need to get as many people vaccinated on the planet as quickly as possible or things will continue to get worse.

Just is that simple.

What about people with natural antibodies?

[HONDO74]

'The war has changed': Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe
https://news.yahoo.com/war-changed-inte ... 39094.html

WASHINGTON - The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must "acknowledge the war has changed."

The document is an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention slide presentation, shared within the CDC and obtained by The Washington Post. It captures the struggle of the nation's top public health agency to persuade the public to embrace vaccination and prevention measures, including mask-wearing, as cases surge across the United States and new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

The document strikes an urgent note, revealing the agency knows it must revamp its public messaging to emphasize vaccination as the best defense against a variant so contagious that it acts almost like a different novel virus, leaping from target to target more swiftly than Ebola or the common cold.



new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus.

[gregj410]

I wonder if closing off the incoming international flights will have a positive affect or if it's too late. Certainly, hope they do.

Global economy brings global problems.

Laughable.....almost like shutting down the southern border. Now there’s a novel idea

Joey the Dunce is being helpful as is his God awful sidekick Camel face Harris.

https://youtu.be/w58_rNmavAA

[chuck]

What about people with natural antibodies?

Your body has to manufacture antibodies based on the reaction to a foreign organism in the body. If the foreign organism can reproduce faster than the host can react it can overwhelm the host and probably kill it. Note: this is not the intent of any "infection". To be successful it has to be able to reproduce without killing off the host. In most cases when the host dies so does the infecting agent. I guess that's one way to stop it.

While we inherit some immunity through our mother placenta it is actually a pretty small percentage. In some cases a previous exposure to something with a similar properties can confer some immunity/protection. Covid 19 is a "novel" virus. It hasn't been seen before so no one has immunity.

While there are other drugs that can slow down the effects of Covid they basically are buying time for the bodies own immune system to rally round the flag and take it on. These are fairly powerful drugs and require careful monitoring or they could kill you or cause serious injury. This is what Trump was given when he was hospitalized. While this treatment regimen should work on most people it requires a battery of specialists closely monitoring the drugs effects and your bodies responses. I believe that Trump had a team of 11-17 specialists watching over him 24-7. We are having a significant amount of trouble finding enough "regular" ER staff to deal with the crush of patients/victims in the real world.

[robert.]

I’m speaking about people that gad covid and recovered. They don’t seem to be factored into being as safe as vaccinated people.
I’m betting by sept 1 we see a real shortage of employees and goods.

[chuck]

I’m speaking about people that gad covid and recovered. They don’t seem to be factored into being as safe as vaccinated people.

They are being factored in and they are not as "safe" as people who are vaccinated. That is why they recommend that people who didn't succumb to the alpha strain get the vaccine. The vaccine has an engineered spike protein "crown" to cover as many variants as possible. Someone that contracted alpha only has antibodies actually tailored against alpha. On a continuous spectrum they are likely to get the delta variant and will probably be much sicker than the people who took the shot. Hopefully not sick enough to wind up in the ICU on oxygen.

Since we did little in the way of testing and/or contact tracing we actually don't know how many people had the disease before the vaccine came out. We still don't. We probably never will.

So far the vaccine has worked remarkably well. Even people that have had both shots are not dying from infections even with the Delta variant. Its unfortunate that they can still be spreaders but they aren't winding up in the ICU on ventilators. That's what the vaccine was actually meant to do, save lives.

BTW, unvaccinated people that actually survive the infection are often left with long term health issues, possibly permanent. These include lung damage (still not clear on how permanent) and a variety to neural disorders including taste and smell as well as cognitive issues. Some of the brain scans of people that recovered are pretty scary. They have been likened to the brains of elderly dementia patients even though they aren't experiencing symptoms that are that severe.

BTBTW Nat Geo has done some nice articles on the pandemic. They do a pretty good job of explaining things in lay mans terms and as far as I can detect they don't have a political axe to grind. The main problem is you need to have some kind of electronic subscription to get access. I bought my wife Nat Geo History subscription and I expanded that to include the electronic version of the main magazine to read on my iPad (still as some of the best photography in the world). I get daily updates from them on almost every topic.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I’m speaking about people that gad covid and recovered. They don’t seem to be factored into being as safe as vaccinated people.

They are being factored in and they are not as "safe" as people who are vaccinated. That is why they recommend that people who didn't succumb to the alpha strain get the vaccine.

Another detail that is not being well presented and less understood, and lesser still being responded to by people - far too many think "I've had it so I'm immune..."

[HONDO74]

Coronavirus latest news: Booster vaccines should not be administered, WHO warns as US gives green light
https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-late ... 07234.html

The World Health Organization has said Covid-19 booster vaccines are not necessary and called on countries with high vaccination rates to donate surplus vaccines to poorer countries rather than administering third doses.

The criticism comes as the US today announced it would start delivering booster shots from 20 September.

The WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove said low vaccination rates are a major driver of infection, meaning priority should be given to vaccinating a larger proportion of the world.

She said: "Many of the places around the world where delta is surging - even in countries that at a national level have high levels of vaccination coverage - the virus, the delta variant itself, is really circulating in areas of low level of vaccine coverage and in the context of very limited and inconsistent use of public health and social measures."

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it recommends that all double-jabbed Americans be eligible for a third dose.