COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[jamestroll]

Does this megathread still need to be pinned?  There hasn't been much new on the COVID front in months and the thread title is from 2021.

How Dare You. We're still in the middle of a pandemic. Listen to the science, trust the experts, mask up, get your vaccines and stay 6 feet apart. We're all in this together.

I want this thread stickied forever and ever.

In fact, I still propose we have a covid 19 sub board.

[SnowLabrador]

We're back to well over 500 people a day dying of COVID in the US, and those are just those we know about. And yet, nobody's talking about it. What a depraved country we are.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Prevention.com: Study Finds Pregnant Women With COVID Are 15 Times More Likely to Need a Ventilator

The study, which was published in BMJ Global Health, analyzed data from 13,000 pregnant people across 12 studies conducted in 12 countries, including the U.S. Of those study participants, about 2,000 had a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, and their outcomes were compared against about 11,000 pregnancies where the patient tested negative for COVID-19 when they delivered.

The findings were eye-opening: Pregnant people who contracted COVID-19 were nearly four times more likely to be admitted to the ICU compared to those who weren’t infected, and were 15 times more likely to need to be put on a ventilator. They were also seven times more likely to die.

It didn’t end there. Pregnant people also had a higher risk for serious complications like pre-eclampsia, blood clots, and high blood pressure issues, and their babies were at an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight.

As a whole, about 3% of women with COVID-19 needed to be admitted to the ICU and 4% required critical care—but the numbers are much greater than those who did not contract the virus.

“These findings are very, very important,” says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “This emphasizes again just how dangerous COVID can be to people who are pregnant.”

(Just passing along information and I modified the title; if this post gets replies about about "pregnant people," I'm reporting thread derailment.)

[Frodo]

I think one way of obtaining 'hybrid immunity' is if you are vaccinated/boosted and living life like you did pre-Covid without taking precautions like masking and social distancing.  I imagine I have probably been infected numerous times without even realizing it:

Hybrid Immunity: Why It Is Highly Effective Against Covid And Hospitalization

Get those vaccines, people, boosters and all.  You're better off with them than without them.  

[emailking]

Dozens?

[Frodo]

It was always going to be a winter of transition, as we leave the Covid pandemic behind in the rearview mirror, but then reacquaint our immune systems with the usual seasonal viruses as we abandon lockdowns, masking, social distancing, and other measures we took to fight the pandemic.  It is good to see it wasn't quite as bad as feared:

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1616624385153982464

[QAnonKelly]

Got my booster yesterday, first since last Thanksgiving. TBH I probably wouldn't have gotten it if I wasn't going to Japan in July (since you need to have a booster within six months). I'm feeling okay. About somewhere between as bad as the second and third, which really made me quite sick.

[emailking]

Same here when I got it. My 2nd booster was also Pfizer whereas the other shots Moderna which might have played a role.

[QAnonKelly]

Same here when I got it. My 2nd booster was also Pfizer whereas the other shots Moderna which might have played a role.

I'm four for four on Moderna. Since I'm doing this to go to Japan and they're particular about the approved vaccines, I'm trying to play it safe.

[Frodo]

The vast majority of those with Long Covid are unvaccinated, or were when they were infected.  Just an FYI:

https://twitter.com/NYTHealth/status/1617964837664874497
And for those without a New York Times subscription:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/long-covid-is-keeping-people-out-of-the-workforce/

[Frodo]

https://twitter.com/JulianneMcShane/status/1618623618103279617

[Frodo]

Starting this year, it looks like we may be entering the endemic stage, and that we are going to treat COVID like the flu going forward with most of us getting a single, annual COVID shot updated for the latest variants:

FDA panel votes to move to one form of COVID vaccine
----------------

An FDA advisory panel endorsed a one-shot approach to COVID-19 vaccination. Here’s what that means

[emailking]

Sounds good but I don't want the price to go over $100 like they want to raise it.

[Frodo]

Time to rename this megathread: the Beginning of the End.

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1620197029149278209

[Horus]

Time to rename this megathread: the Beginning of the End.

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1620197029149278209

Time to unsticky.

[jamestroll]

Time to rename this megathread: the Beginning of the End.

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1620197029149278209

Time to unsticky.

no!!! keep it going forever!!!!

[2016]

U. S. House of Representatives votes to kill CDC Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travellers. Probably good News for World Class Athletes like Novak Djokovic
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1623457028403347457

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-votes-kill-cdcs-vax-requirement-foreign-travelers-entering-us

[100% pro-life no matter what]

U. S. House of Representatives votes to kill CDC Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travellers. Probably good News for World Class Athletes like Novak Djokovic
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1623457028403347457

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-votes-kill-cdcs-vax-requirement-foreign-travelers-entering-us

The US is one of the only countries in the world that still has this policy.  In most countries, it's not even a partisan debate anymore.  Interestingly, all of Nevada's Democrats were among the seven Democrats to vote for it.  I wonder if the tourism industry led to that.

[2016]

U. S. House of Representatives votes to kill CDC Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travellers. Probably good News for World Class Athletes like Novak Djokovic
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1623457028403347457

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-votes-kill-cdcs-vax-requirement-foreign-travelers-entering-us

The US is one of the only countries in the world that still has this policy.  In most countries, it's not even a partisan debate anymore.  Interestingly, all of Nevada's Democrats were among the seven Democrats to vote for it.  I wonder if the tourism industry led to that.

You may be on to something with Nevada. I think you are right with the Tourism Industry.

https://twitter.com/USTravel/status/1623457145474940929
US Travel Associations applauds House move, wants Mandate to end immediatedly.

[Frodo]

Seems to be the logical next step, as COVID has (like the flu) effectively become endemic:

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1623828101493817344

[Frodo]

Another anti-vax conspiracy theory goes down in a fiery death:

New study finds COVID-19 vaccines protect pregnant people from severe complications

A UW-backed study found that vaccinations offer pregnant people significant protection against severe COVID-19-related complications during pregnancy. The multinational study, published last month in The Lancet medical journal, provided new insight on the importance of vaccinations and boosters for pregnant people.

The study, led by the University of Oxford, is the largest of its kind, involving 41 hospitals across 18 countries. Various UW Medicine sites, including UW Medical Center - Montlake, UW Medical Center - Northwest, and Harborview Medical Center were among some of the United States medical centers that participated in this study. Dr. Michael Gravett and Dr. Alisa Kachikis, both obstetrician-gynecologists within the UW School of Medicine, led the Seattle research effort, gathering data from 75 people across the UW medical complex.

Of the 4,618 people who participated, 1,545 tested positive for COVID-19 while the remaining 3,073 people remained negative. Research for this study was conducted between Nov. 27, 2021 and June 30, 2022, a time in which infection due to the omicron variant had just begun.

This study is a followup to a 2021 UW-backed study that also examined maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in relation to COVID-19 infections. However, the previous study did not cover the effectiveness of the vaccine and the bivalent booster in protecting pregnant people from newer variants of COVID-19, like omicron. In the 2023 study, researchers were mainly focused on observing the evolution of the virus in pregnant people.

[Roll Roons]

Pregnant people? Seriously?

[Horus]

Pregnant people? Seriously?

This is the paper for UW in Seattle. I'd be surprised if they didn't say pregnant people.

[JGibson]

There is nothing wrong with the phrase "pregnant people." It does NOT erase womanhood at all.

The reason for this phrase is that it's not just cisgender women that get pregnant, but also trans men, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people.

[emailking]

It's not a big deal. I didn't even understand what RR was getting at. I didn't even notice it lol