Coronavirus (Covid-19) informational thread

[Ethrem]

I've been through chemo, radiation, and multiple surgeries. It's fairly horrible stuff but I'd guess that most people go through it. I've chatted with many that have survived stage 4 through treatment and some of the new treatments are basically miracles.

See for me, I would rather die than go through all that. I'm not afraid of death, just don't want to go in a particularly painful way (too many panic attacks have made me quite fearful of dying from a heart attack, for example). I don't have the normal will to live that most people who don't struggle with anxiety and depression have though. Congratulations on winning those battles, that's awesome.

A family I know had their son in terrible pain and asked our minister what they should do. He said that it was up to them and to use medical help if they thought it best. Most of the people in this group do not have a science background and haven't taken courses in biology, chemistry and physics. So they believe a lot of things or assume understanding that may or may not be correct.

They took him to the hospital, diagnosed as kidney stones and blasted them with a machine.

Lots of people question doctors, modern medicine, vaccines; but they run to the hospital when they get very sick.

In my cancer communities, some try natural remedies. They all wind up in the obituary section.

I have an above-average understanding and do more than just read on WebMD or whatever. I spend a lot of time perusing the studied posted on NIH and elsewhere. One thing I've learned is that doctors don't know everything either. I'm tapering off of 17 years of prescription anxiety meds right now and my psychiatrist has no idea how any of these meds actually work because pharmacology is not a big part of what they're taught in school. I have found out the same thing with previous psychiatrists. In fact they're all quite intimidated about the fact I can spew off terms like muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist and GABA-A receptor agonist when I'm trying to explain to them why I will and won't take certain medications or lately why I refuse to take any of them.

I don't claim to be an expert but I have shown time and time again to have a deeper understanding of how drugs work than the doctors I see do which makes me question how much they know about vaccine science as well.

Regardless, it was never a question of IF I would get the vaccine but rather when. I knew from the start of the pandemic that it was not going to go away. We already have 4 endemic coronaviruses and RNA viruses mutate rapidly so the best case scenario is for it to continue to mutate until it stops being lethal. I wanted to wait until cases ramped up in the fall but since I'm going to be going to the eye doctor to get treatments for dry eye over the coming months, I decided it was time. Mainly what I was waiting for was the inevitable emergence of a strain that evaded vaccines and needed a new vaccine so I could just get it all done at once. When you have agoraphobia, you try to leave the house as little as humanly possible. 🤷‍♂️

 

[SactoGuy18]

The only thing I worry about is the Mu variant, which has been detected in the USA. But unlike Delta, while it's quite contagious it's also pretty much has the effects of the common cold, so it might as well be another variant of the common cold.

 

[Mainsail]

Chart from NY Times that show’s vaccination rate by county in California vs hospitalization:

 

[pshufd]

The Federal Government is looking at rationing MABs as six southern states are using them up at a high rate.

 

[Cave Man]

Chart from NY Times that show’s vaccination rate by county in California vs hospitalization:

I'm having trouble finding this article on the Times' web site. Can you post its link? TIA.

 

[Mainsail]

I'm having trouble finding this article on the Times' web site. Can you post its link? TIA.

I subscribe to the Times, and the chart was in an article that I got on their newsfeed about the California recall election. Here is the link. You might need to be a subscriber…not sure. Anyway, politics aside, I found the data interesting.


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/...-referendum.html?referringSource=articleShare

 

[Cave Man]

Yes, subscriber, too. Thanks much for the link. Didn't even think to look in that article.

 

[Mainsail]

Yes, subscriber, too. Thanks much for the link. Didn't even think to look in that article.

Yeah, I kind of stumbled upon it.

 

[poorcody]

For those who think "natural immunity" is the way to go, another reason you might want to reconsider:

Another Hidden Covid Risk: Lingering Kidney Problems

In a study of veterans, Covid survivors were 35 percent more likely than other patients to have long-term kidney damage or declines in kidney function.

www.nytimes.com

 

[pshufd]

For those who think "natural immunity" is the way to go, another reason you might want to reconsider:

Another Hidden Covid Risk: Lingering Kidney Problems

In a study of veterans, Covid survivors were 35 percent more likely than other patients to have long-term kidney damage or declines in kidney function.

www.nytimes.com

My son did a list of risks:

1% risk of death (though typically if you have comorbidities but two-thirds are overweight or obese)
15-25% chance of long COVID or months to recover or possibly permanent disability
Hospitalization costs
Loss of work
Infecting the rest of your family and network and secondary and tertiary effects

Yes, MABs have been shown effective for many but the someone bears the cost of the drugs ($1,500) and the infusions and we are starting to see shortages because the lowest-vaccinated states are using so much of the stuff.

 

[Cave Man]

FYI: Bats and viruses on NOVA.

 

[poorcody]

Yes, MABs have been shown effective for many but the someone bears the cost of the drugs ($1,500) and the infusions and we are starting to see shortages because the lowest-vaccinated states are using so much of the stuff.

I think anyone who has had serious inpatient hospitalizations find there are frequently long-term health problems that tend to "fly below the radar". For example, some people on ventilators (COVID or otherwise) take years to recover and some never do.

Don't forget to add brain-damage to the list of COVID risks:

New Covid study hints at long-term loss of brain tissue, Dr. Scott Gottlieb warns

Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned about the potential long-term effects of Covid and pointed to a new study that suggests brain tissue is being destroyed.

www.cnbc.com

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the saying goes.

 

[pshufd]

I think anyone who has had serious inpatient hospitalizations find there are frequently long-term health problems that tend to "fly below the radar". For example, some people on ventilators (COVID or otherwise) take years to recover and some never do.

Don't forget to add brain-damage to the list of COVID risks:

New Covid study hints at long-term loss of brain tissue, Dr. Scott Gottlieb warns

Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned about the potential long-term effects of Covid and pointed to a new study that suggests brain tissue is being destroyed.

www.cnbc.com

Prevention is worth a pound of cure, the saying goes.

I ran into a lady and she had been in the hospital and came out and has to carry an oxygen tank around with her for the rest of her life now. It would bother me that I have a dependency on companies and their supply chain for oxygen, tubes and other associated thing. Being in a disaster like a hurricane or earthquake can make access to supplies difficult.

If you're a runner, not being able to run would be crushing.

 

[AustinIllini]

Had a breakthrough case (2x vaxxed Moderna). If i'm honest, it wasn't too bad. No lower respiratory issues. Just a fever, headache, and a mild cough. I wouldn't recommend getting it, obviously, but the vaccine has essentially made it that I none of the serious symptoms and none of the negative outcomes.

If you're reading this and you're not vaccinated but have access, please go get vaccinated so we can continue to argue about whether Scott Forstall is a god or just like a saint or something.

 

[poorcody]

If you're a runner, not being able to run would be crushing.

Yeah. Did you see the story of this guy on CNN? Goes from a chiseled six-pack long-distance runner to barely functioning in a wheelchair:

Colorado fitness trainer declined vaccine. Stunning photos show what happened to him - CNN Video

Colorado fitness coach Bill Phillips is urging others to get the Covid-19 vaccine after ending up in the emergency room and losing 70 pounds fighting for his life from coronavirus. CNN affiliate KUSA reports.

www.cnn.com

 

[pshufd]

Had a breakthrough case (2x vaxxed Moderna). If i'm honest, it wasn't too bad. No lower respiratory issues. Just a fever, headache, and a mild cough. I wouldn't recommend getting it, obviously, but the vaccine has essentially made it that I none of the serious symptoms and none of the negative outcomes.

If you're reading this and you're not vaccinated but have access, please go get vaccinated so we can continue to argue about whether Scott Forstall is a god or just like a saint or something.

My sister told me that there was an breakthrough outbreak at a MA nursing home. They were offered MABs and everyone recovered. I'm not sure whether or not the MABs were required but it seems a potent combination.

 

[pshufd]

Yeah. Did you see the story of this guy on CNN? Goes from a chiseled six-pack long-distance runner to barely functioning in a wheelchair:

Colorado fitness trainer declined vaccine. Stunning photos show what happened to him - CNN Video

Colorado fitness coach Bill Phillips is urging others to get the Covid-19 vaccine after ending up in the emergency room and losing 70 pounds fighting for his life from coronavirus. CNN affiliate KUSA reports.

www.cnn.com

No. The people that I chatted with on r/running who got COVID was summer 2020 before the vaccine was available and many were having difficulty getting back to their previous form. This guy clearly lost a lot. I can imagine the years of training to get to where he was. Runners were generally first in line to get the vaccine because they had heard the accounts of other runners that got COVID.

 

[poorcody]

Interesting article from the NYTimes shows the effect unvaccinated adults have on childhood hospital admissions:

 

[SactoGuy18]

Given I am over 60 years old, as soon as California allowed anyone over 50 to get the vaccine in early April 2021, I immediately got vaccinated with two inoculations of the Moderna m1273 vaccine in April and May 2021. I may have caught the Delta variant in June 2021, but the effects were only a strange taste in my mouth for 10 days.

 

[yaxomoxay]

No. The people that I chatted with on r/running who got COVID was summer 2020 before the vaccine was available and many were having difficulty getting back to their previous form.

My father in law, in his 60's, marathon and triathlon runner. Got Covid in November 2020, he's still trying to get back to run a half marathon. Granted, he was on a ventilator and given for death, probably saved by his amazing pulmonary capacity...

 

[44267547]

Interesting turn of events:

“FDA panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster doses for people 65 and older after rejecting third shots for general population.”​

FDA panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster doses for people 65 and older after rejecting third shots for general population

Scientists continued debating the need for a third dose of the vaccines for older Americans, leaving open the possibility of other votes.

www.cnbc.com

 

[AustinIllini]

Interesting turn of events:

“FDA panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster doses for people 65 and older after rejecting third shots for general population.”​

FDA panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster doses for people 65 and older after rejecting third shots for general population

Scientists continued debating the need for a third dose of the vaccines for older Americans, leaving open the possibility of other votes.

www.cnbc.com

There's just not enough data yet. I'm not a Pharma skeptic, but the only evidence for vaccine booster efficacy appears to be coming from Pfizer and Moderna themselves.

At this point, there's still too much of the world that needs vaccinations for a booster to be relevant.

 

[Clix Pix]

I am over 65 and would be a candidate for a booster going by this, but..... My initial dose of the vaccine, plus the second dose, was Moderna. I'm not too keen on the idea of mixing up the vaccines and being injected now with Pfizer at this point. Maybe soon Moderna will also be officially approved and therefore made available for boosters as well..... ?

 

[pshufd]

There's just not enough data yet. I'm not a Pharma skeptic, but the only evidence for vaccine booster efficacy appears to be coming from Pfizer and Moderna themselves.

At this point, there's still too much of the world that needs vaccinations for a booster to be relevant.

Israel's booster program is well underway. UK is rolling them out to people 50 and older next week.

Germany and France have already started offering boosters to some (don't have the criteria) this month.

They presumably have the data to justify offering them.

 

[44267547]

There's just not enough data yet. I'm not a Pharma skeptic, but the only evidence for vaccine booster efficacy appears to be coming from Pfizer and Moderna themselves.

At this point, there's still too much of the world that needs vaccinations for a booster to be relevant.

Sure, but I do think it’s necessary for the immunocompromised and geriatric demographic to have availability to this. I’d also wager it’s way too early to tell how soon the booster would be necessary,Especially with all the mutations that are slowly surfacing.


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Also, off-topic:

I can’t figure out why you’re changing your user name every other month.