Covid-19 News and Discussions

[Yommie]

Rise in summer cases of Covid 'may have peaked' in Scotland

Experts believe a recent increase in the number of people presenting with the new KP.3 variant could plateau.

www.bbc.com

Rise in summer cases of Covid in Scotland 'may have peaked'​

5 hours ago
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Experts said Covid-19 does not follow a seasonal pattern
A recent rise in cases of coronavirus in Scotland may have "peaked", according to the latest provisional data.
Dr Kimberly Marsh, a consultant healthcare scientist at Public Health Scotland (PHS), said the virus did not appear to follow seasonal illness patterns, such as flu.
The latest data from PHS, for the week ending 14 July, had the number of cases in Scotland at 1,130.
That was a fall from the previous week's total of 1,245.

Are we in a summer Covid wave?​

Scotland not properly prepared for pandemic – Covid inquiry​

Covid deaths rise as booster vaccine take-up falls​

Dr Marsh told BBC Radio Scotland's The Sunday Show: "Our data in Scotland shows that there has been an increase in Covid-19 and this has been really seen since mid April, with a steeper increase in June.
"There are, however, some early signals that this wave may have peaked, but our data are still provisional for this week."
She said there could be a number of reasons behind the summer increase in cases, including the variant known as KP.3.
But Dr Marsh added the Covid vaccine was still effective against the new variant.
Asked about the latest advice, she said: "If you're feeling unwell, if you have symptoms, you should avoid contact with others until you're better and fever-free."
The expert also told the programme good hand hygiene and ventilation were still important to protect those with weaker immune systems.

 

[Yommie]

Row Over India's Covid Deaths | Study: Deaths 'Underreported' | Centre Rejects Independent Report​

 

[Yommie]

New studies on how healthy prenatal diet and COVID impact pregnancy​

 

[Yommie]

Valley pharmacies reporting shortages in COVID medication Paxlovid​

 

[Yommie]

Sunday's Pandemic Update: A Look At The Rising Covid Levels In The US​

 

[Yommie]

https://www.cnyhomepage.com/news/why-your-covid-symptoms-may-feel-different-with-this-wave-of-infections/

Why your COVID symptoms may feel different with this wave of infections​

by: Alix Martichoux
Posted: Jul 21, 2024 / 03:00 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 18, 2024 / 02:51 PM EDT
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(NEXSTAR) – Coronavirus levels are once again “very high” in several U.S. states as the country experiences a summer wave of COVID-19 infections. For many Americans it’s been more than six months since they’ve had a booster shot or a recent infection, leaving them vulnerable to getting sick again.
For those experiencing a reinfection, the symptoms they feel this time around may be different.
“No two COVID infections really have behaved the same,” Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a pulmonary and critical care doctor at Cleveland Clinic, recently told the New York Times.
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The virus is constantly evolving, with new variants and subvariants popping up regularly. Your body is also changing, and may respond differently to the virus depending on other health factors.
Plus, once your body has encountered COVID-19, it may respond differently – even stronger –the second or third time around. Your body’s immune response may kick into gear right away, causing you to feel symptoms – like a fever – before you even test positive, infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong told the Times.
Symptoms that were once common – like the loss of taste and smell – are reported much more rarely in 2024. Now, COVID is frequently confused with a cold due to so many overlapping symptoms.

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The most common symptoms of a COVID-19 infection these days, according to Mayo Clinic‘s Dr. Daniel DeSimone, are congestion, runny nose, headache, sore throat and coughing. These issues are reported in more than half of patients who have a symptomatic case of COVID.
Other typical symptoms include chills, fever, body aches, fatigue, chest pain, changes in smell, or confusion (especially in elderly patients).
Diarrhea, vomiting and other stomach issues are more common with current variants than they were early in the pandemic. There’s increasing evidence of these gastrointestinal issues – but they have been overlooked until more recently.
Cases overall are typically milder, with fewer severe symptoms, for those who are vaccinated.

 

[Yommie]

Biden’s third COVID infection and the ongoing dangers of the pandemic

Biden is one of millions of Americans who have been infected in recent weeks amid the deepening annual summer surge.

www.wsws.org

Biden’s third COVID infection and the ongoing dangers of the pandemic​

Benjamin Mateus​

17 hours ago​

In the public statement announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential elections, Joe Biden claimed, “Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic.” Out of a series of delusional claims about his presidency, this was the most glaringly absurd, as Biden issued the letter while still in isolation with his third COVID-19 infection.
Undoubtedly, Biden’s bout with COVID played a role in his decision to withdraw from the elections. While official pronouncements on his infection have stated that he is on the way to recovery, COVID-19 remains a dangerous pathogen for anyone, especially those above 65 years old.

President Joe Biden coughs during an event with Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., in Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Biden tested positive for COVID-19. [AP Photo/Susan Walsh]
Now at 81, Biden’s body and mind were clearly impacted by his first infection and subsequent rebound in July-August 2022. While one cannot say with certainty that his mental decline is directly attributable to his prior COVID infections, it is entirely possible that he could be showing symptoms of “brain fog,” fatigue and other neurological symptoms commonly associated with Long COVID.
The fact that Biden, the most protected person on the planet, was allowed to contract COVID-19 last week underscores the growing recklessness and self-delusion of the American ruling class. Having fallen for their own lies that “the pandemic is over,” the last remaining testing measures were lifted in the White House in March.
Great pains are being taken to care for Biden round the clock, including checks on his vital signs led by a team of highly trained healthcare practitioners and access to costly anti-viral medications. Additionally, Biden is isolating, not according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) anti-public health policies, but based on actual scientifically grounded recommendations.
The double standards for the American and international working class are glaringly obvious. Anti-viral medications and vaccines have become cost prohibitive or entirely inaccessible for the vast majority of the world’s population. For workers in the US, attempting to obtain a prescription for the anti-viral Paxlovid usually means waiting days for a call back from your physician.
Meanwhile, regardless of the infectious nature of the constantly evolving virus, those with asymptomatic infections or mild symptoms are forced to return to work, risking the well-being of colleagues. Without proper rest and treatment, which the medical community emphatically endorses, workers raise their risk of developing Long COVID, which can have tremendous consequences on their ability to earn wages and provide for their families.

Biden is one of millions of Americans who have been infected in recent weeks amid the deepening annual summer surge. According to the latest wastewater data released Friday, the US now has the highest concentrations of the coronavirus in wastewater for this date of any year in the pandemic, with current estimates placing daily infection rates somewhere between 780,000 to 850,000 per day. The surge is deepest in the West and South, but spreading to every region of the country.

The 9th wave of mass infection in the US is being driven by the KP.3 and KP.2 subvariants and their daughters, which account for more than 75 percent of all recently sequenced viral genomes. In particular, the emergence of KP.3.1.1—with high ACE2 binding affinity and considerable immune evasive characteristics—and its ability to outcompete its recent descendants, underscores the tremendous capacity for this virus to continue to evolve and infect humanity.

Test positivity rates are now at a highly elevated 12.6 percent across the US, while in the Southwest this has reached 16.4 percent. Both hospitalizations and emergency room visits for COVID have been climbing once more, despite the concerted efforts to cover-up these data. Official weekly fatality rates are up 31 percent over two weeks at nearly 400 deaths per week, while more than 25,000 people have already died of COVID in the first six months of 2024.
These limited statistics, which are no longer being addressed in the media, underscore the complete lie being promulgated by Biden and the entire state that the pandemic is over.
Now in the fifth year of the pandemic, as the world faces yet another massive wave of infections, a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month demonstrated that uptake of the anti-COVID vaccines across the globe has by all accounts come to a virtual halt.
Given the known benefits of vaccines, which have been proven to reduce severity of disease and one’s risk of Long COVID, these developments are deeply disturbing from a public health perspective.
In the first quarter of 2024, across 73 WHO Member States, only 9.8 million doses of the vaccines were given, representing 0.12 percent of the general population. Only 4.9 million older adults from 60 Member States (0.42 percent)—people who are at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization, and death—received the COVID-19 vaccines. Most egregious of all, only 0.17 percent of healthcare workers across 40 Member States reported being inoculated against COVID in the first quarter of 2024.

Graph showing drastic decline in anti-COVID vaccine uptake globally [Photo: World Health Organization]
The downward trends in immunization became firmly established after May 5, 2023, when Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency. At the time, the WSWS wrote, “This decision has no scientific basis, but rather serves to provide ex post facto justification for all capitalist governments’ scrapping of anti-COVID public health measures since the emergence of the Omicron variant in November 2021.”

Dr. Nilufar Ahmed, a psychologist in social sciences at the University of Bristol, attributed the decline in vaccinations to the lack of any media coverage of the virus and opaque public health directives that have created a false sense that the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. Ahmed added, “It’s very low in public communications. We see very few people masking, and the response if you see someone wearing a mask is that you assume they must have COVID – not that they’re wearing it as a preventative measure.”
Indeed, even as the ink was drying, Ghebreyesus admitted then that COVID was claiming a life every three minutes, “and that’s just the deaths we know about.” In his comments to the press just over one year ago, he stated that COVID was here to stay, even though “it is still killing, and it is still changing. The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths.”
The ending of the vaccination campaigns are not just a byproduct of an anti-public health campaign and blackout in the media that have promoted the false notion that the pandemic is over. They are also due to the profit imperatives of the pharmaceutical monopolies, whose executives calculate that the profits their shareholders can expect no longer make their manufacturing and distribution lucrative.
The criminality of the capitalist denigration and denial of vaccines was underscored by the latest study published by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly and colleagues, which showed that the incidence of Long COVID in the era of Omicron can be lowered to 3.5 percent if people are vaccinated. Without vaccination, the risk of Long COVID rises to 7.76 percent if someone is infected with an Omicron subvariant of the virus. Given the stalled rates of vaccination and the high rates of transmission now being experienced, these will have untold consequences for the world’s population.
Based on modeling estimates from wastewater data, two-thirds of all Americans will be infected this year. If one projects these rates to the rest of the world and employs the incidence of Long COVID from infections as illustrated by Al-Aly, this would mean well over 200 million more people may face some level of debilitation this year alone, irrespective of the severity of their acute infection. In 2020, the global estimate of Long COVID cases was at least 65 million.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a trigger event in world history, proving that capitalism has no progressive solution for the broader issues raised by climate change and unplanned globalization, both of which raise the threat of pandemic pathogens. In their use of imperialist war to prosecute their economic interests, the financial oligarchy eviscerate all the gains made by more than a century of developments in public health infrastructure.
Not only have infectious diseases skyrocketed internationally this year, but there has also been a historic backslide in providing routine immunizations to children, according to Dr. Katherine O’Brien, director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biological at WHO. World targets for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccinations have fallen two percentage points from 2022 to 2023 and stand at 84 percent, far short of the agenda goal of 90 percent set for 2030.
These setbacks are part of the broader disruptions in health services, growing logistical challenges especially in places like Gaza where the genocide is deepening, and, to a significant degree, anti-science and anti-public health campaigns being proffered to discredit outlooks based on science and socialism. These are part of the deepening promotion of fascistic politics that sees scientific truth and socialism as a threat to the capitalist profit system.
Biden, literally exhausted in his service to the capitalist state, has fallen victim to his own “herd immunity” policy and is now being put to pasture.

 

[Yommie]

COVID in California keeps rising: Wastewater levels worse than last summer

Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater now exceed last summer’s peak, an indication of the ready spread of the super-contagious new FLiRT strains.

www.latimes.com

COVID in California keeps rising: Wastewater levels worse than last summer​

Across the nation, COVID-19’s shadow has become more pronounced lately, with the usual seasonal uptick in travel and socialization spawning a fresh spate of infections. Above, travelers at Los Angeles International Airport on July 19, 2024.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
By Rong-Gong Lin IIStaff Writer
July 22, 2024 3 AM PT

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Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater now exceed last summer’s peak, an indication of the rapid spread of the super-contagious new FLiRT strains.
California has “very high” coronavirus levels in its wastewater — one of 21 states in that category, up from seven the prior week, according to estimates published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That means about 155 million people — nearly half of America’s population — live in areas with “very high” coronavirus levels in sewage. Besides California, the other states with “very high” levels are Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., is also in that category.

Coronavirus levels in wastewater are also surging in Los Angeles County — and the rate of increase has been accelerating. The county also has seen notable jumps this month in newly confirmed infections, coronavirus-positive hospitalizations and the share of emergency room visits attributable to COVID-19.

COVID levels in wastewater jump​

Weekly wastewater viral activity level
Line chart shows COVID levels in wastewater. For the week ending on July 13, the California level is 9.77, considered very high. Nationwide, the level is high at 6.29.
California

U.S.












Viral activity level categoriesVery high High ModerateLow MinimalLatest data is for the week ending on July 13.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sean Greene
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Nationally, overall viral levels in wastewater are considered “high” for the second straight week, the CDC said. The estimates are subject to change as more data come in.

Most Americans probably know a family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance who has come down with COVID-19 recently, perhaps being infected while traveling or at a social gathering.
“If you call — I don’t know — 20 or 30 friends, you’re very, very likely to find a bunch of them actually have COVID, or have had COVID recently, or are starting to be symptomatic,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a COVID expert and chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri.
One notable recent case was President Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while traveling in Las Vegas. Biden returned to Delaware to recover. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tested positive a few weeks ago, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said Tuesday that she was celebrating her birthday while recovering from COVID.
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“Our fight against COVID is not over!” Lee said on social media.

POLITICS

Biden tests positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas; ‘mild symptoms’ reported​

July 17, 2024
Across the nation, COVID-19’s shadow has become more pronounced lately, with the usual seasonal uptick in travel and socialization spawning a fresh spate of infections. Many cases are relatively mild, but nevertheless disruptive — forcing trips or plans to be canceled.
Some recently infected people have described painful COVID symptoms, such as a throat that feels like it’s studded with razor blades. Overall, however, there are no indications the FLiRT subvariants are associated with increased illness severity that would trigger a substantial increase in hospitalizations.
The CDC estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 41 states, including California. There are no states where the coronavirus is declining or likely declining.
The COVID resurgence comes as the sprawling FLiRT family is increasing its dominance nationally. For the two-week period that ended Saturday, the CDC estimates that about 80% of the nation’s coronavirus specimens are of the FLiRT subvariants, up from about 65% for the same period a month earlier.

CALIFORNIA

Rising COVID clashes with carefree California summer as cases jump, precautions fade​

July 16, 2024
Across California, the rate at which COVID tests are returning positive results is also on the rise. For the week that ended July 15, 12.8% of tests came back positive. That’s up from 5.9% a month earlier and close to last summer’s peak of 13.1%, which was recorded at the end of August and early September.
For the 10-day period that ended July 6, the most recent for which data are available, coronavirus levels in Los Angeles County wastewater were at 36% of last winter’s peak, up from 27% for the 10-day period that ended June 29.
Newly confirmed COVID cases are rising faster, too. For the week that ended July 14, there were an average of 359 new cases a day in L.A. County, up from 307 the prior week. A month earlier, there were 154 cases a day.

COVID virus levels jump in L.A. County wastewater​

COVID virus levels as a percentage of last winter's peak
COVID virus levels jumped from 27% of the last winter peak to 36%, for the most recently reported data.
36%
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Official COVID-19 case tallies are certainly an undercount, as those figures include only tests done at medical facilities, not those taken at home, and also don’t account for the fact that fewer people are testing when they feel sick. But the overall trends are still helpful to determine the trajectory of the summer wave.
COVID hospitalizations are also ticking up, though they remain below last summer’s peak. For the week that ended July 13, there were an average of 287 COVID-positive people per day in L.A. County hospitals, up from 139 for the comparable period a month earlier. Last summer’s peak was the week that ended Sept. 9, when an average of 620 COVID-positive patients were in the region’s hospitals per day.
For the week that ended July 14, L.A. County reported that 2.8% of all emergency room visits were COVID-related — up from 1.8% for the comparable period a month earlier, but below last summer’s peak of 5.1%.
Coronavirus levels are also high in the sewage of Santa Clara County, the San Francisco Bay Area’s most populous region and home to Silicon Valley. As of Friday, coronavirus levels were “high” in all of its sewersheds — San José, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Gilroy.
Doctors say it’s important to get tested if you have COVID symptoms, such as fever, aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose or headache, as well as less-common ailments such as vomiting, diarrhea and stomachache.

CALIFORNIA

‘Playing COVID roulette’: Some infected by FLiRT variants report their most unpleasant symptoms yet​

July 8, 2024
Most health insurance plans in California — at least those regulated by the state — are required to reimburse covered people for eight at-home test kits per month, if an in-network provider is used.
Additionally, “if you have insurance, your health insurer is required to cover the entire cost of testing if a doctor orders the test. You do not need to have symptoms to request a test,” according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
Eligible individuals can also search for no-cost testing locations through a CDC website, testinglocator.cdc.gov. Those who have insurance may need to provide insurance information.
People who don’t have health insurance in L.A. County can also get free COVID testing at the county’s public health center nurse-only clinics and multi-service vaccination sites. Seniors age 65 and up who live in L.A. County, as well as residents who are unable to leave home, can also ask for two free test kits to be mailed to them by filling out a form online. Libraries in L.A. County, as well as food banks and senior centers, may also have free COVID test kits available.
Health officials also have urged people to consider asking medical providers for antiviral treatments, such as Paxlovid, to help battle an active COVID illness. Antivirals can be used to treat people with mild to moderate illness who are at risk of seeing their condition deteriorate.
“Waiting for symptoms to worsen is not recommended,” the California Department of Public Health says.

CALIFORNIA

California hits ‘very high’ COVID levels as virus in wastewater jumps significantly​

July 15, 2024
Health officials previously have said that antiviral drugs are underused and they implored healthcare providers to properly prescribe them when indicated.
In an advisory, the California Department of Public Health said, “Most adults and some children with symptomatic COVID-19 are eligible for treatments. ... Providers should have a low threshold for prescribing COVID-19 therapeutics.”
The state of California once made virtual medical COVID visits free for residents, but that program ended in March. The contractor that provided the service, sesamecare.com/covid, now offers those medical services for a fee, though with a discount for California residents.
There has been relatively low uptake of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, which became available in September. Since then, 36.7% of California’s seniors 65 and older have received at least one dose of the updated vaccine, as have 18.5% of adults age 50 to 64 and 10% of younger adults, up to age 49.

SCIENCE & MEDICINE

Positive test not needed for long COVID diagnosis, experts conclude​

June 5, 2024
For people who haven’t received an updated COVID vaccine within the last year, “you should think about getting it, especially if you’re older and immune-compromised,” said UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. People at highest risk of dying from COVID are those who are older or have weakened immune systems and haven’t been recently vaccinated.
Getting the 2023-24 vaccine now will still allow you to get the updated COVID vaccination that is on track to become available this fall. The CDC will recommend everyone 6 months and older get the updated 2024-25 version of the vaccine.

 

[Yommie]

CDC warns of summer COVID surge​

 

[Yommie]

COVID-19 cases and latest vaccine​

 

[Yommie]

California’s COVID levels continue to rise, new data shows​

 

[Yommie]

The treatment programme targeting long Covid patients online - BBC Trending, BBC World Service​

 

[Yommie]

COVID exposure closes senior center in Wake County; Meals on Wheels delivers grab & go​

 

[Yommie]

Windows Devices Go Down, COVID Rates Go Up, and Tornadoes Touchdown on the Ground and on the Big ...​

 

[Yommie]

Monday's Pandemic Update: Covid Cases Hospitalizations & Deaths All Went Up Last Week​