#Covid new variant Precautions

[drnishthasingh]

COVID NEW VARIANT SYMPTOMS & PRECAUTIONS IN ADULTS – DR. NISHTHA SINGH

Dr. Nishtha Singh is an experienced Chest Specialist and Pulmonologist in Jaipur at Asthma Bhawan with special interests in respiratory medicine, critical care, and sleep medicine. Dr. Nishtha Singh offers complete diagnostic and treatment of all Respiratory conditions, including Tuberculosis, Allergy, Asthma, Lung Cancer, and SLEEP APNEA. Make an appointment with the best doctor or call us: at +91 946 1685 766 and get more information.

[reasonsforhope]

Article | Paywall Free

"The Food and Drug Administration approved new mRNA coronavirus vaccines Thursday [August 22, 2024], clearing the way for shots manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to start hitting pharmacy shelves and doctor’s offices within a week.

Health officials encourage annual vaccination against the coronavirus, similar to yearly flu shots. Everyone 6 months and older should receive a new vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

The FDA has yet to approve an updated vaccine from Novavax, which uses a more conventional vaccine development method but has faced financial challenges.

Our scientific understanding of coronavirus vaccines has evolved since they debuted in late 2020. Here’s what to know about the new vaccines.

Why are there new vaccines?

The coronavirus keeps evolving to overcome our immune defenses, and the shield offered by vaccines weakens over time. That’s why federal health officials want people to get an annual updated coronavirus vaccine designed to target the latest variants. They approve them for release in late summer or early fall to coincide with flu shots that Americans are already used to getting.

The underlying vaccine technology and manufacturing process are the same, but components change to account for how the virus morphs. The new vaccines target the KP.2 variant because most recent covid cases are caused by that strain or closely related ones...

Do the vaccines prevent infection?

You probably know by now that vaccinated people can still get covid. But the shots do offer some protection against infection, just not the kind of protection you get from highly effective vaccines for other diseases such as measles.

The 2023-2024 vaccine provided 54 percent increased protection against symptomatic covid infections, according to a CDC study of people who tested for the coronavirus at pharmacies during the first four months after that year’s shot was released...

A nasal vaccine could be better at stopping infections outright by increasing immunity where they take hold, and one is being studied in a trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

If you really want to dodge covid, don’t rely on the vaccine alone and take other precautions such as masking or avoiding crowds...

Do the vaccines help prevent transmission?

You may remember from early coverage of coronavirus vaccines that it was unclear whether shots would reduce transmission. Now, scientists say the answer is yes — even if you’re actively shedding virus.

That’s because the vaccine creates antibodies that reduce the amount of virus entering your cells, limiting how much the virus can replicate and make you even sicker. When vaccination prevents symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, people expel fewer respiratory droplets carrying the virus. When it reduces the viral load in an infected person, people become less contagious.

That’s why Peter Hotez, a physician and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, said he feels more comfortable in a crowded medical conference, where attendees are probably up to date on their vaccines, than in a crowded airport.

“By having so many vaccinated people, it’s decreasing the number of days you are shedding virus if you get a breakthrough infection, and it decreases the amount of virus you are shedding,” Hotez said.

Do vaccines prevent long covid?

While the threat of acute serious respiratory covid disease has faded, developing the lingering symptoms of “long covid” remains a concern for people who have had even mild cases. The CDC says vaccination is the “best available tool” to reduce the risk of long covid in children and adults. The exact mechanism is unclear, but experts theorize that vaccines help by reducing the severity of illness, which is a major risk factor for long covid.

When is the best time to get a new coronavirus vaccine?

It depends on your circumstances, including risk factors for severe disease, when you were last infected or vaccinated, and plans for the months ahead. It’s best to talk these issues through with a doctor.

If you are at high risk and have not recently been vaccinated or infected, you may want to get a shot as soon as possible while cases remain high. The summer wave has shown signs of peaking, but cases can still be elevated and take weeks to return to low levels. It’s hard to predict when a winter wave will begin....

Where do I find vaccines?

CVS said its expects to start administering them within days, and Walgreens said that it would start scheduling appointments to receive shots after Sept. 6 and that customers can walk in before then.

Availability at doctor’s offices might take longer. Finding shots for infants and toddlers could be more difficult because many pharmacies do not administer them and not every pediatrician’s office will stock them given low demand and limited storage space.

This year’s updated coronavirus vaccines are supposed to have a longer shelf life, which eases the financial pressures of stocking them.

The CDC plans to relaunch its vaccine locator when the new vaccines are widely available, and similar services are offered by Moderna and Pfizer."

-via The Washington Post, August 22, 2024

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

It's frustrating how this article admits that vaccination does not substantially stop spread, but it give the reader no further information. Mask up. Improve ventilation. Filter the air. Distance when you can. Those are actual, implementable advice that keeps covid from spreading, and it has to be done by the public at large to keep individuals safe. It's much less effective when the nebulous "high risk" are left to fend for themselves while everyone else pretends that it's 2019 forever.

By Kelly Ashmore

The XEC strain is 'just getting started' and is rapidly spreading throughout Europe and the rest of the world, experts have warned

Experts have issued a warning about a new, "stronger" Covid variant that is "just getting started" and spreading rapidly across Europe and the rest of the world. The XEC strain, first identified in Germany in June, has now been linked to 15 countries across three continents. As colder weather approaches, specialists anticipate this strain will become the dominant variant.

In California, Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said: "XEC is just getting started now around the world and here. And that's going to take many weeks, a couple of months, before it really takes hold and starts to cause a wave," according to the LA Times. He added, "XEC is definitely taking charge. That does appear to be the next variant. But it's months off from getting into high levels."

Experts have issued a warning about a new, "stronger" Covid variant that is "just getting started" and spreading rapidly across Europe and the rest of the world. The XEC strain, first identified in Germany in June, has now been linked to 15 countries across three continents. As colder weather approaches, specialists anticipate this strain will become the dominant variant.

In California, Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said: "XEC is just getting started now around the world and here. And that's going to take many weeks, a couple of months, before it really takes hold and starts to cause a wave," according to the LA Times. He added, "XEC is definitely taking charge. That does appear to be the next variant. But it's months off from getting into high levels."

What is Covid XEC? The Covid XEC is a recombinant variant of Covid-19, resulting from a combination of the BA. 1 and BA.

2 Omicron subvariants. While some Covid strains have proven more severe than others over the past years, it will take additional time for health professionals to determine the severity of symptoms associated with the XEC strain.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not yet provided detailed information on the XEC variant.

However, recent statistics from the UKHSA have shown a 4.3 per cent increase in Covid-19 cases, but a decrease in virus-related deaths. The weekly figures revealed an increase of 1,587 Covid cases as of September 4.

Despite recording 102 deaths in the week ending August 30, this was a decrease of 20.9 per cent (27) from the previous week. Furthermore, hospital admissions due to the virus also fell by six per cent to 1,465, in the week up to August 29.

What are the symptoms of Covid XEC? The strain presents symptoms similar to those of a typical cold and flu. These include shortness of breath, high fever, persistent cough, loss of taste or smell, and feelings of fatigue or exhaustion.

Classic cold symptoms such as headache, sore throat, runny or blocked nose, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, and general malaise are also common. While most people will recover within a few weeks, some may require hospitalisation and others may need longer.

How to stay protected As with earlier Covid variants, the same precautions should be taken against the newest variant, including regular booster doses and vaccinations. Vaccines remain the best defence against serious illness, hospitalisation, and even death, even if they may not completely prevent infection.

If you're vulnerable to the virus or share a home with someone who is, donning a face mask can offer some protection, particularly in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor spaces. Boosting indoor ventilation where possible can further reduce the risk of falling ill.

[coldhearthotlove]

For Disability PRIDE Month - It’s EXTREMELY important to remember that COVID still exists.

It never went away, and it’s as dangerous as ever.

Here are some facts everyone should be aware of:

1) COVID has killed millions around the world (directly and indirectly - such as causing heart problems, for example, and then causing a lethal heart attack months later), and debilitated tens of millions, if not more, around the world in only a few years.

2) COVID can and often does cause long term effects which can last for months, years, or even a lifetime. These long term effects commonly include: fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell, etc. - but there are countless other long term effects. Ongoing health issues that come from an infection is called “Long COVID” - and can range in severity.

3) Most people with Long COVID have reported being dismissed, and even gaslit or made fun of by family, and even medical staff. They have been told “it’s all in their head” or “not that serious”.

4) No age, gender, race, nationality, etc. is immune to COVID. ANYONE can get it. There are some groups of people, however, that are more likely than others to have more severe outcomes from an infection.

5) Herd immunity cannot be achieved with COVID, because the virus mutates every time it infects a group a people. This new mutation can dodge any immunity you have from a previous infection, and infect you again. Millions of people around the world have already had COVID multiple times - often different mutations/variants of the virus. The less often you and the people around you get COVID, the better.

6) While vaccines and boosters can prevent more severe illnesses and even death - you can still get COVID and Long COVID, even if you’ve been vaccinated. Vaccine efficacy only lasts a few months, and the vast majority of Americans are not up to date with their boosters.

7) COVID can wreck your organs and immune system, and make you more susceptible to other diseases and conditions - such as Pneumonia.

8) Since COVID is a relatively new virus, there’s still a lot not known about it; but the limited knowledge we do have on it is terrifying.

9) “Mainstream Media” doesn’t talk about COVID anymore, because society wants to pretend it doesn’t exist anymore. Lockdowns, masking, taking precautions, etc. was costing too much money and inconveniencing too many people - so the average person would rather just pretend it doesn’t exist, even though it does. Just because everyone around you thinks “COVID is over”, doesn’t mean it is. Don’t be fooled.

10) An experiment was done on lab mice: reinfecting them with COVID. By the 10th infection - all the mice were dead…

10 infections sounds like a lot, but if you’re 20 and you get 1 infection every year on average - you’re not likely to live past 30…

If you do, you’re almost guaranteed to have some from of Long COVID.

Please take COVID seriously, for yourself, and everyone around you…

[probablyasocialecologist]

Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped counting Covid-19 cases, according to wastewater data—which emerged early on as an accurate tracker of the ebbs and flows of the virus—we are currently in one of the biggest surges of the pandemic, amid the spread of a new variant, JN-1, as the virus keeps mutating. More than three-quarters of U.S. hospital beds are currently in use due to Covid hospitalizations. Uptake of the most recent booster shot, which should help to protect against the new variant and lower the risk of severe cases and the odds of getting long Covid, hovers around 19 percent. Meanwhile, the most recent White House response to a question about whether they had any guidance for hospitals, some of which have brought back mitigation protocols in response to the most recent Covid spike, came courtesy of press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: “Hospitals, communities, states, they have to make their own decisions. That’s not something we get involved in,” she replied, appearing exasperated. “We are in possibly the second-biggest surge of the pandemic if you look at wastewater levels,” said Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, who runs a long-Covid clinic at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and has had ongoing Covid symptoms since August 2022. “There is no urgency to this. No news. No discussion in Congress. There is no education.”

[...]

Since the Biden administration declared the end of the national emergency in May, Americans across the political spectrum have largely followed the example set by the government and entirely disposed of any level of Covid precautions. Liberal and left-wing outlets have participated in the normalizing of Covid too, dismissing or even ostracizing people who still take precautions as if they are tin-hat conspiracy theorists. “We can’t be in lockdown forever,” has become a common refrain, as if wearing a mask on the subway constitutes “lockdown.” In September, Biden himself participated in the spread of this kind of harmful disinformation when he declared the pandemic “over” on 60 Minutes. “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks,” he said. “Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.” This is, essentially, governing via “vibes”—so much for “following the science.”

[...]

The consequences of discarding all Covid precautions are becoming clearer, as more people get repeated infections and long-term symptoms, amid an alarming spike in heart problems among healthy young people. People are getting sick more often not due to the myth of “immunity debt,” which posits that the lack of exposure to other people during lockdown has made people less able to fight off infections (three years later), but because Covid weakens the immune system. Each time someone contracts Covid, the odds of long-term complications increase.

[theculturedmarxist]

Eugenics is still the rule of the fucking day.

"People 65-plus and people who are immunocompromised should strongly consider masking during flu, RSV, COVID season while in indoor public spaces," said Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. "And for everyone else — it all depends on what their risk tolerance is."

"Depends on what their risk tolerance is." Are you fucking kidding me?

CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook says he likes to use the "weather report analogy" for the general public. "What's the weather out today? If it's raining, you will probably want to bring an umbrella. If you are in an area where there is an uptick in airborne respiratory infections like COVID, flu or RSV, you may want to take extra precautions, such as wearing a high-quality mask in indoor public spaces," he said.

People should be masking up before there's a fucking "uptick." That's how you prevent a fucking "uptick". Especially considering testing isn't the metric the people in power are going by any more, but hospitalizations, which are always going to be lagging indicators. By the time the "uptick" is registered these diseases are going to have been present and active for days or even weeks.

After COVID hospitalizations climbed nearly 22% this week, the CDC is predicting further increases over the coming month as new variants spread. This replaces previous projections from the agency that admissions would "remain stable or have an uncertain trend."

Oh, cool, so things are already bad and the are predicting that things are going to get worse, but the decision is being made to not do a fucking thing about it.

In a 2021 "60 Minutes" interview, virologist Paul Duprex explained the current (and future) emergence of new variants — a concept applicable to the current situation. "Is there anything we can do to stop the virus from mutating so much?" LaPook asked Duprex at the time. "We can certainly stop it making as many mutations by stopping it infecting as many people - if we block its transmission, if we wear a mask, if we get vaccinated, if we do social distancing," Duprex said.

None of which will be happening because "Covid Is Over" and doing any of the necessary things to prevent it are voluntary at best.

After news broke about the BA.2.86 variant earlier this month, the CDC said the agency's advice on protecting yourself from COVID-19 — which includes wearing a high-quality mask among other recommendations listed on its website — "remains the same."

Oh alright let's see what the CDC recommends

In addition to basic health and hygiene practices, like handwashing, CDC recommends some prevention actions at all COVID-19 hospital admission levels, which include:

Ugh. At least its recommendations implicitly admit that covid is airborne.

Still, some experts fear it could be hard to convince Americans to don masks again even if COVID cases continue to rise. Dr. Danielle Ompad, an epidemiologist at the NYU School of Global Public Health, said "It's a bit like putting the genie back in the bottle." Still, she has personally started wearing a mask again recently in crowded places, where the risk of exposure is greater.

Huh, I wonder why it would be hard to convince people to mask up again. Who's responsible for letting the genie out of the fucking bottle? Maybe they should be taken to task for this fucking decision?

"If I were with people who aren't public health-trained, I would wear a mask, particularly in crowded situations, because I really don't have time for COVID. Mask mandates are challenging because they make people really bent out of shape out of proportion to the ask."

What people are getting "really bent out of shape" by mask mandates? Just "people" huh? No specific people at all? Okay then.

"Who wants to get sick while on vacation?" she says. "If you're going to be in a crowded public place — the subway, an airplane, a crowded theater — those are the kind of places I would at least consider wearing a mask."

Hey maybe these fucking super-spreader places shouldn't be open especially with multiple variants spreading across the country with no mask mandates in place.

Though increased cases and hospitalizations are prompting precautions, Gounder says she doesn't see another lockdown in our future. "That ship has sailed. Has sailed for years now," she said. 

"That ship" just sailed itself, huh? Another development with no cause and no active participant? Just up and sailed on its own, did it? And there's no one to sail it back? Man, that's crazy.

[arorabbit]

The United States is in the midst of a summer wave of COVID-19 fueled by highly contagious, new variants sweeping the country from coast to coast. As summer travel peaks, experts are warning people to take precautions to stop the spread, no matter the COVID rates in your state.

Currently, levels of COVID found in wastewater are considered “high” nationally, for the first time since last winter. What's more, 44 states have "high" or "very high" levels individually, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The West and South are being hit especially hard.

quick reminder that covid is far from over. stay safe, even if you aren't in a state that has a high rate/risk of covid.

[vague-humanoid]

Just a few days before our interview, Jill’s (Ed: not her real name) immunologist sent her to the hospital to rule out pulmonary embolism, which happens when a blood clot gets stuck in an artery of the lung. In Jill’s case it would be a Long COVID symptom amongst many others she had been battling over the last year: including swelling around the tissue of her heart, memory deficits, sudden heart-rate surges, fatigue and abnormal kidney test results.

By that point, she’d had COVID four times, despite taking stringent precautions. She was born with a primary immune deficiency. And, without a fully functioning immune system she needs weekly injections of human immunoglobulins from plasma donations. A very small viral load can make her sick and she’s at a much higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID than most people.

“Every time I catch it, it adds new layers to my disabilities,” she says. “COVID is slowly killing me.” Her haematologist believes the past COVID infections have further damaged her immune system. She is looking at a possible lupus diagnosis.

Her voice is raspy and soft over the phone. She pauses when I ask how she is doing.

“Well, I got COVID,” she says. “Again.”

At the hospital appointment several nurses were not wearing their masks properly, and one kept pulling it down to talk with Jill, who had to remove hers to get her lungs checked. As someone who is very isolated with her family — everyone works and goes to school from home — Jill believes that the appointment led to her most recent infection.

She’s always been careful with her health but in the past, she worked in the school system. By 2020 she moved to a remote position and at that time still had many options for safely connecting with those around her and she could attend health-care appointments without concern. About a year ago, nearly all restrictions were lifted in Alberta and that’s when she got her first COVID infection.

Three years in, nearly everyone she knows has moved on including — most bafflingly to her — many of the medical professionals she sees. But, Jill says, moving on is not a privilege afforded to people like her.

Recently, PCR testing became inaccessible to health-care providers, who, in the past, were able to test regularly. And while Alberta Health Services (AHS) still requires masks, any health-care settings outside AHS can make their own rules. So, once masking was no longer mandated in public settings, many dropped requirements — this includes many of the specialists seeing immunocompromised people, including those Jill now sees due to Long COVID.

“The variants have been left to run rampant and I have really become more and more scared,” she says.

“Governments are saying: Oh we can re-open because we have all these tools. But they are not available to the immunocompromised population. So, the monoclonal antibodies are no longer effective against the current variants. Because the variants are so immune-based, the vaccines were never particularly effective for immunocompromised people because of the nature of our immune systems.”

As well, Jill says that there are many contraindicated drugs that cannot be taken with Paxlovid, the drug which is used to treat COVID patients in specific circumstances. According to Health Canada, Paxlovid “is used in adults to treat mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients who have a positive result from a severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 viral test and who have a high risk of getting severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.”

She still takes the vaccines with hopes they will help, and while she believes Paxlovid is saving her life with this current infection, she says it is not a guarantee against more Long COVID symptoms. And, for the infection prior to the current one, the drug was not available due to a kidney infection caused by the virus.

“I have to access my medication, my health care. And by people not masking around me, I have no way to protect myself,” she says. “If you don’t want to wear masks as a society then you are going to leave the immunocompromised people behind.” And she says many high risk people are not able to work from home, or have their kids in online classes or maybe struggle to afford masks or air purifiers — many social and financial issues make individual protections far more challenging or impossible. She is currently in a court battle with her ex.

“He wants increased access, in-person school and group extracurricular activities. All things that put me at higher risk of infection,” says Jill.

Recently, she went to her cardiologist to find that no patients or staff were masking.

“I really realize now I have to be my own advocate,” she says.

She has to constantly think ahead. So, she now calls beforehand to see if the appointment can be done remotely or if the staff can mask. She’s also decided to start carrying around a laminated sheet that explains her medical condition as it is often something she needs to repeat at each appointment or in the emergency room. 

Like many others, she’s found ways to navigate her way around a harrowing array of risks. And yet, even with all these precautions, she can not control the actions of others which can directly affect her health.

Holly (Ed: not her real name), is retired and lives in a small community just outside Edmonton. She’s currently thinking about her next visit to her doctor, who hasn’t been taking precautions from the beginning.

“It’s exhausting always trying to get around how there is no protection for us anymore,” she says. “I’m thinking why am I made to feel crazy when my own doctor won’t wear a mask? Won’t acknowledge that it’s airborne?”

But the worst part, she claims, was that he minimized the effects of COVID, saying it was rarely an issue and only affects a certain demographic. Holly does not believe that is true, but regardless it is of little comfort when her husband, who’s in his 70s, has chronic health complications.

“I think patients are rightfully concerned, particularly when they go in for health care,” says physician Neeja Bakshi. “I think the medical community should be doing whatever we can to protect those who are coming in.”

It’s true, she says, that hospitals are no longer overwhelmed, and fewer people are dying; there is less of an acute emergency. But COVID is still circulating, people are still dying, and Long COVID (aka post COVID-19 condition) should be on everyone’s radar.

Recently, the World Health Organization announced an end to the global health emergency. But it also said earlier that “one in 10 infections result in post COVID-19 condition suggesting that hundreds of millions of people will need longer term care.”

COVID can cause organ damage — particularly affecting the heart, kidneys, skin. Plus, there’s risk of brain and immune damage, along with increased risks for cancer and autoimmune disease.

And, while no one knows yet how long that damage could persist, a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine says 59 per cent of Long COVID patients had organ damage a year later.

In 2022, Bakshi started a Long COVID clinic at her health facility Park Integrative Health, treating patients from across Canada. Every week she completes upwards of 20 disability forms for people who need to take time off work due to the debilitating effects of Long COVID.

While certain health complications make Long COVID more likely, anyone can be affected regardless of the severity of their infection or the state of their health. The indiscriminate nature of COVID is one of the things that’s been most shocking to Bakshi. She’s treated a number of elite athletes who went from performing at a professional level to struggling to have enough energy to brush their teeth.

Many patients struggle with stigma not just from medical professionals but from family, friends and employers. It’s an invisible illness, says Bakshi, so patients may look fine and are often misdiagnosed as something psychosomatic.

“I’m immersed in the world. But I don’t feel like you can deny it exists. And I think it’s a bit of ignorance on the medical community’s part if they say they don’t know anything about Long COVID. There are very specific disease patterns and symptoms,” says Bakshi.

There is also a lack of support. The most proven management strategy for Long COVID or even any COVID infection is recovery and rest, says Bakshi. But that’s not possible for many people. Initially, in 2020, there was forced rest through quarantine periods, but that time off has become shorter, as employers don’t have to pay for employees to be off at all.

“We are not a society that is built on support. We’ve already set ourselves up to fail from a recovery perspective,” says Bakshi.

Jill has found validation in Bakshi’s clinic as one of her patients. But that experience stands out amongst a sea of specialists who have given up on precautions.

“Instead of recommending upgraded masks, air cleaners and UV, or working from home, immunologists that manage my condition recommend wearing a mask if you want and enjoying your life—as short as that may be. I am not sure if this is complacency, or giving up… Either way, education and change need to happen or far too many valuable lives will be lost and disabled unnecessarily,” says Jill.

Savvy AF.  Blunt AF.  Edmonton AF.

[orcboxer]

you said you were keeping up with the variants and boosters and research, and I'm trying to but it's so overwhelming. how do you know what to read? where to look? do I need access to academic journals? I feel like I'm the only person I know who gives a shit about not dying and not killing the people around me. thoroughly going nuts. thanks for any advice 😞👍

Okay so honestly, for just your everyday layman, most of what you need is right on the CDC's website, that's where you'll find most of the important numbers. The most telling piece of information is usually the covid death rate and the hospitalization rate. It's a lot harder now with so many covid deaths not being reported, but thousands of deaths per week from a disease is not normal or acceptable.

Scientific journals are a great resource if you can access them, but I understand not everybody can do that. And realistically speaking, most people aren't gonna be able to parse the language in those, and you don't necessarily have to know all the fine details to be safe. If covid cases are going up, take the precautions and don't take risks. If there's a new vaccine, get it. Wash your hands. If you get sick, do everything in your power to not spread it to other people. Covid precautions are not primarily a choice you're making for yourself, they're a choice you're making for everyone else. Periodically search if there's a new strain, because if there is, there will be tons of articles about it. If you're gonna get your info from social media, which tbh I don't really recommend, you're gonna want to be following immunologists, virologists, the people who actually study this.

And understand the emotional and social forces at play in all of this. Nobody wants to deal with a pandemic, they want things to feel normal, so it becomes incredibly easy to just tune out all the data. And on top of that, there's increasing social pressure to play along. But if someone's so sure covid is no longer a problem, ask for numbers. How many cases are we at now compared to 2020? How many deaths? What's the current wastewater data? Anyone taking covid seriously will either tell you the most recent data they saw, or they will look it up on the spot if necessary. If they give you vague generalizations instead, if their attitude is lackadaisical or apathetic, then they're just going on vibes, which I don't have to tell you is not a reliable source of information.

Anyway, I hope that's at least sort of helpful

[drascua]

I know I know, no one wants to hear about it, but COVID denialism is making me crazy.

No vaccines on the NHS anymore for most people, and even then you're getting leftovers from last year that are about as effective against new variants as salt water. You can pay privately, but the government are dragging their feet on making them availible at all. Can't afford it? Tough shit. Posts on NHS-run social media accounts urging people to get their measles/flu/whooping cough/etc vaccines but no mention of COVID. Constant articles titled like "should we be worrying about the summer surge?" that all conclude with "don't worry it's just a cold. Also wash your hands I guess". Most people have no idea that it's airborne or that it has any consequences beyond "mild flu". Time off work for COVID is reduced all the time. Kids have to go back to school while still infectious. Many have long covid, but it's brushed off as behavioral problems, laziness, or the result of too much screen time. No more masks, no more regular testing, and hostility towards the idea of them. No one is told to take any precautions at all or given any information about the dangers of COVID, in fact all protections put in place have been removed. The sudden rise in cancer, heart attacks, and strokes in younger people is blamed on "ultraprocessed" food. We're all going "back to normal", we all have to "learn to live with it". Why is this what living with it looks like? Why could it not be regular testing, respiratory protection, the most effective vaccines for everyone, readily availible antivirals for the sick, and air purifiers indoors? This is just what I see living in the UK. I haven't even touched on how bad it still is all over the world.

And on a personal note, I'm just so fucking angry and exhausted. Something as simple as getting groceries requires a ton of risk assessment. My social life hardly exists anymore. Taylor Swift puts on superspreading stadium concerts while I'll probably never get to experience being thrown around a pit in a pub basement ever again. I already have shitty lungs, a laundry list of allergies, and lower energy levels & capacity for doing things than the average person. I have to constantly worry about my safety, even in my own home. And worse still, it's impossible to talk about this without being seen as a hypochondriac or conspiracy theorist or too mentally ill to take seriously. It's so incredibly isolating and I can't stand the thought that this is just the rest of my life now. Sealed in my room as the world passes me by. "You have to live your life"? Yeah, I wish I could.

[drnishthasingh]

Dr. Nishtha Singh is an experienced Chest Specialist and Pulmonologist in Jaipur at Asthma Bhawan with special interests in respiratory medicine, critical care, and sleep medicine. Dr. Nishtha Singh offers complete diagnostic and treatment of all Respiratory conditions, including Tuberculosis, Allergy, Asthma, Lung Cancer, and SLEEP APNEA. Make an appointment with the best doctor or call us: at +91 946 1685 766 and get more information.

[karribabytarot]

FLiRT COVID-19 Variant: Impact, Precautions, and Updates

### Staying Safe During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic With the emergence of new COVID-19 variants such as the FLiRT group, it's important to stay vigilant and proactive in protecting yourself and your loved ones.

New covid variant going around june 2024. As of June 2024, a new group of COVID-19 variants, collectively referred to as the “FLiRT” variants, is circulating. These variants, which descend from the JN.1 Omicron subvariant, include KP.2, KP.1, and KP.3. The KP.2 subvariant, in particular, has gained dominance in several regions, including Canada and the United States​ (Global News)​​ (UKHSA…

[covid-safer-hotties]

Alarm bells ring in Japan as experts warn of fast-spreading new Covid variant KP. 3 - Published July 19, 2024

Paywalled at the South China Morning Post: Unpaywalled by Covidsafehotties.

The country reported a 39 per cent week-on-week surge in infections from July 1 to 7, with Okinawa the hardest hit

Japan is grappling with a new and highly contagious coronavirus variant that is fuelling the country’s 11th wave of Covid-19 infections, health experts warn. The KP. 3 variant is spreading rapidly, even among those who are vaccinated or have recovered from previous infections, according to Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases.

“It is, unfortunately, the nature of the virus to become more resilient and resistant each time it changes into a different form,” Tateda told This Week in Asia. “People lose their immunity quite quickly after being vaccinated, so they have little or no resistance.”

Tateda, who sits on Japan’s advisory panel formed at the start of the pandemic, said the coming weeks will be critical as authorities monitor the variant’s spread and impact.

While hospitals have reported a sharp uptick in Covid-19 admissions, Tateda said he is “relieved that not many of these cases are severe”. Typical symptoms of the KP. 3 variant include high fever, sore throat, loss of smell and taste, headaches, and fatigue.

According to the health ministry, medical facilities across Japan logged a 1.39-fold – or 39 per cent – increase in infections from July 1 to 7, compared to the previous week.

Okinawa prefecture has been the hardest hit by the new strain of the virus, with hospitals reporting an average of nearly 30 infections per days. The KP. 3 variant has accounted for more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 cases nationwide, the Fuji News Network reported, leading to renewed concerns about bed shortages at medical facilities.

Since Japan’s first detected Covid-19 case in early 2020 involving a man who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, East Asian nation has recorded a total of 34 million infections and around 75,000 related deaths. The country’s Covid-19 caseload peaked on August 5, 2022, when more than 253,000 people were receiving treatment.

Japan’s uptick in cases coincides with similar increases being observed globally. In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 23.5 per cent week-over-week rise in the number of people visiting hospitals with Covid-19 symptoms during the week ending July 6.

High-profile US.figures such as President Joe Biden and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, have recently tested positive and gone into isolation. Meanwhile, several riders in the ongoing Tour de France cycling race have also returned positive test results.

Experts say it is too early to determine the full impact of the new variant on Japanese businesses or cross-border activities like travel. Precautionary measures are already in place at the country’s air and seaports to monitor the health of incoming arrivals. However, the global spike in cases may deter some Japanese from venturing abroad this summer.

A recent survey by Nippon Life insurance found that just 3.2 per cent of Japanese plan to travel abroad in the coming months, which is likely to depress annual travel figures once again. In 2023, Japan saw 9.62 million outbound travellers, a recovery after three years of extremely low pandemic-era numbers, but still far below the 20.01 million outbound travellers recorded in 2019.

Despite the latest surge, infectious disease expert Tateda insists there is no need for panic in Japan. However, he emphasised the importance of following precautions implemented during the pandemic’s peak, such as mask-wearing in public, handwashing, and social distancing.

Tateda also stressed that anyone testing positive should immediately isolate themselves.

[nomorekyriarchy]

I feel like this is overemphasizing my own gravity within the local activist community, but I have some beef to rant about.

I'm immunocompromised and wear a mask everywhere. Before opening my apartment door, I'm in a mask. Nearly every person I regularly organize with also wear masks, without needing to be told, for the most part. We've had conversations in the past about how masking means that disabled people who are medically compromised in some way are able to be in the space at all. It's masks, or it's the dismantling, banishment and isolation of a vital presence in our communities.

This means we stay home when we are sick.

If you get your comrades sick, that means entire actions don't get organized. It means less people are able to provide support. Call venues for meetings. Bake food to make sure people don't go hungry. Drop off meds when others are sick. Be a medic at a protest or a legal observer. Give people training on what to do when someone is arrested. Make banners. Teach chants and protest songs. You don't do your best activism when you need to be in bed with chicken soup and a ginger ale and some binge watching and someone there to help clean up the detritus of your illness.

Last week I was in a crowded elevator at a bus station. I am a visibly disabled person with a large mobility aid who needs the elevator and cannot use the stairs. I am up to date on my vaccines. I was wearing an N95. But when your immune system is not like others, this is prevention but not complete immunity. It is not enough for me alone to try to protect myself.

I overheard someone say to their friends that they had to sneeze. One of their friends responded with, "didn't you just test positive for COVID too?" And they confirmed that and sneezed (into their elbow but inevitably in the direction of others) as everyone flooded out of the elevator.

Because of their unwillingness to stay home when positive, or even take the stairs to avoid someone they knew was disabled while they knew that they were sick, I started quarantining after that. I took two different brand of rapid tests on Monday and was faint positive in both. It is now Thursday and I am still quarantining and still positive.

This means that I can not participate in my communities without putting the entire communities at risk because of how much things spread. I am not the only or the most medically high-risk person who puts my body on the line. What's nearly asymptomatic for me will cause new variants eventually if I do not stay home and make sure that others don't catch this and pass it on.

When you chose not to wear a mask, it goes beyond just basic caring for others. One person will not stop everyone in the world from getting COVID. But it matters. It can prevent one more person from getting COVID. If it’s asymptomatic in you, what are the chances whoever you pass it to will know about that and take the appropriate precautions? How many people will it spread to before someone loses their ability to eat without everything tasting like sewage? Or lose the ability to smell? Or develop a heart arrhythmia? Or die?

We don't know the future. But we are people capable of a butterfly effect. We have choices now and we can stay home and we can mask when we can't.

All that said, I know that there are currently people being institutionalized for mask and other precaution adherence and requesting the same for medical staff who interact with them. I know it is not that simple. But if you have the choice, please understand the gravity of that.

When you choose to "live a normal life" without wearing a mask, and you go about your life totally fine, it is not always you who is paying the collateral damage of that choice.

[macmanx]

Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, says "it's still very, very clear that the hospitalizations and deaths from COVID — currently on the rise — are being driven by certain portions of the population: those over the age of 65, those with underlying medical conditions, individuals on cancer treatment, solid organ transplant recipients and people who are immunocompromised. "In my opinion, if you are in those groups that should more than justify taking a few extra precautions if you want to minimize your risk," he says. "And I think we as a society needs to be a little bit more accepting of those individuals who feel the need to take those steps to protect themselves."