COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[emailking]

They didn't hype it.

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Vice President Kamala Harris tests positive for Covid

Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday after returning from a weeklong trip to California, the White House announced.

"Today, Vice President Harris tested positive for Covid-19 on rapid and PCR tests. She has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the vice president's residence," said Kirsten Allen, the vice president's press secretary, in a statement.

Allen added, "She has not been a close contact to the President or First Lady due to their respective recent travel schedules. She will follow CDC guidelines and the advice of her physicians. The Vice President will return to the White House when she tests negative."

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/26/politics/kamala-harris-positive-covid/index.html

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Yeah I'm not with you all on that. I think it's significant. Yes she'll probably be OK, thankfully.

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I certainly haven't had any symptoms.

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Moderna seeks emergency use authorization for Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months through 5 years

Moderna is seeking emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Covid-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age, the company said Thursday.

"We believe mRNA-1273 will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against COVID-19, and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers," Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said in a news release.

In late March, Moderna announced results of a clinical trial that included 2,500 children ages 6 months through 24 months and 4,200 children ages 2 through 5. The company said that two 25-microgram doses of its vaccine led to a similar immune response in young children as two 100-microgram doses for adults ages 18 to 25. And it said this should predict protection from Covid-19 and severe Covid-19 down to 6 months of age.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/28/health/moderna-vaccine-eua-young-children/index.html

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My work now forbids anybody from coming in if sick in any way, including a cold. (You do get to work from home though.) I don't imagine this will ever change.

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Covid's toll in the U.S. reaches a once unfathomable number: 1 million deaths

The U.S. on Wednesday surpassed 1 million Covid-19 deaths, according to data compiled by NBC News — a once unthinkable scale of loss even for the country with the world's highest recorded toll from the virus.

The number — equivalent to the population of San Jose, California, the 10th largest city in the U.S. — was reached at stunning speed: 27 months after the country confirmed its first case of the virus.

"Each of those people touched hundreds of other people," said Diana Ordonez, whose husband, Juan Ordonez, died in April 2020 at age 40, five days before their daughter Mia's fifth birthday. "It's an exponential number of other people that are walking around with a small hole in their heart."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/covids-toll-us-reaches-1-million-deaths-unfathomable-number-rcna22105

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FDA puts strict limits on Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is limiting the emergency use authorization of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Covid-19 vaccine to people 18 and older for whom other vaccines aren't appropriate or accessible and those who opt for J&J because they wouldn't otherwise get vaccinated.

The FDA said in a statement that the change is being made because of the risk of a rare and dangerous clotting condition called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after receiving the vaccine.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/05/health/fda-johnson-johnson-vaccine-eua/index.html

[emailking]

On balance I think having J&J during the height of the pandemic was a good thing though since so many people are scared of the mRNA vaccines. There are other disease where the FDA has a preferred vaccine, but alternative vaccines are available if a patient wants it.

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It doesn't say he recommend that.

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Moreover, only 30% of Americans are boosted, and the virus will FEAST on them.

On the ones who aren't boosted you mean?

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I've decided I want another booster. I hope they authorize it soon.

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There's an interesting article in SciAm this month and it says that Omicron was likely the fastest spreading virus in human history! It has specific mutations that mask the spike protein from antibodies, and it also developed an easier way of getting into cells. On the flip side, and apparently coincidentally, it has mutations that make it much worse at hiding from the immune system's alarm bells, which is why it's milder.

[emailking]

There's an interesting article in SciAm this month and it says that Omicron was likely the fastest spreading virus in human history! It has specific mutations that mask the spike protein from antibodies, and it also developed an easier way of getting into cells. On the flip side, and apparently coincidentally, it has mutations that make it much worse at hiding from the immune system's alarm bells, which is why it's milder.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/

Omicron as severe as other COVID variants -large U.S. study

I'm not trying to dispute that study. But the sciam article says that Omicron is worse at evading the innate immune system, particularly in the lungs. Whereas Delta tries to hide, Omicron announces its presence.

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FDA authorizes Pfizer Covid-19 booster shots for children ages 5 to 11

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 at least five months after completion of the primary vaccine series.

Pfizer requested this EUA at the end of April, citing company data that showed that a third vaccine dose raised Omicron-fighting antibodies by 36 times in this age group.

"While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease," FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a news release Tuesday. "The FDA is authorizing the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/health/fda-covid-booster-kids-5-11/index.html

[emailking]

You're like a Star Wars crawl.

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Sounds like it's a lot harder to spread, plus smallpox vaccine works if needed.

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BA.2.12.1 is starting to dominate. It's more contagious than vanilla Omicron and even BA.2.

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Good that it eventually went away for most people though.

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BTW that new, traditional vaccine was approved according to The Year Summer Ended in June's thread.

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=497223.0

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Felines can catch and spread Covid, that's been known since the early months of the pandemic. It's canines that are almost immune.

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Fauci tests positive for Covid-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, has tested positive for Covid-19, the institute said Wednesday.

Fauci, 81, has mild symptoms and has been boosted twice, the institute said in a statement.

NIAID said Fauci found out that he was positive on a rapid antigen test. The director will work from home and follow agency protocol, returning to the National Institutes of Health campus only after he tests negative.

Fauci has not had any close contact with Biden or other senior officials recently, the institute said.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/health/fauci-covid-positive/index.html

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FDA authorizes Covid-19 vaccines for younger children

The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for emergency use in young children. The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the authorizations for the vaccines Friday to include children as young as 6 months.

However, shots can't be given until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisers have voted on whether to recommend them -- a vote is scheduled for Saturday -- and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed off on that recommendation. The White House has said vaccinations for younger children may begin next week.

Moderna's vaccine is now authorized for use in children 6 months through 17 years and Pfizer/BioNTech's for children 6 months through 4 years. About 17 million kids under the age of 5 are now are eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/17/health/fda-vaccine-authorization-younger-kids/index.html

[emailking]

Wondering when my luck will run out...

[emailking]

I think he's saying the the number dying of Covid is a lot less than 300 and may be 0. Now that's debatable, but I don't think he's saying 300 dying of Covid is trivial.