#Current Coronavirus Wave

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Benjamin Mateus

The ninth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is finally receding, with estimated daily new infections based on wastewater data now standing at 669,000 per day, down from the August peaks of over 1.3 million. However, experts predict that the tenth wave will begin in late fall and continue through the winter holidays, as has taken place every year of the pandemic so far.

With one in 70 individuals currently infectious, the risk of coming into contact with someone in a classroom, work, or dining at a local facility with 25 to 50 people is considerable. And despite the relative lull in cases, there is more COVID-19 transmission now than during 56.1 percent of the pandemic. In other words, the “forever COVID” policy essentially means that COVID is now everywhere all the time.

Under these conditions, forced upon society by the capitalist ruling class, repeat infections act like a battering ram, taking a growing toll on the foundation of everyone’s overall wellbeing. There is a growing body of evidence that each hit weakens the organ systems, aging them biologically beyond the person’s stated age until sufficient injury begins to manifest in physically measurable symptoms.

At present, more than one billion cumulative COVID infections have occurred in the US, at a rate of around one per year per person, with somewhere between 3-4 infections on average among the entire population. Estimates place the number of Long COVID cases at over 410 million globally in just the first four years of the pandemic, while excess deaths are nearing 30 million.

Clearly, the pandemic is ongoing and remains a significant health risk for the global population. The criminality of the “forever COVID” policy is highlighted by the fact that virtually no funding is allocated to the development of next-generation mucosal vaccines, improved treatments during the acute phase of infection, or any treatments for Long COVID patients. While trillions are squandered on war and bank bailouts for the rich, nothing is provided for critical life-saving research.

Last week, results from the first clinical trial of a mucosal vaccine were released, showing remarkable levels of efficacy after a second dose.

The important study published by Chinese investigators demonstrated that an intranasally administered anti-COVID vaccine can induce robust mucosal immunity against the coronavirus in human subjects (128 healthcare workers). The study found that the vaccine provided substantial immune protection against COVID while demonstrating safety and tolerance.

Esteemed clinical researcher Dr. Eric Topol wrote on Twitter/X, “[two] doses of a COVID nasal vaccine spray led to more than a 50-fold increase in spike specific secretory IgA antibodies against 10 strains of SARS-CoV-2, indicative of potent mucosal immunity.” Furthermore, Topol added, “At least 86.2 percent of participants who completed two nasal vaccines doses maintained uninfected status, likely without even asymptomatic infection, for at least three months.”

Emergency room physician and indoor air quality proponent, Dr. Kashif Pirzada, replied, “This could potentially give a real ending to the pandemic. No more waves of illness, no more rushing for tests and antivirals if you’re elderly or vulnerable. Hope this comes out soon!”

However, large Phase 3 clinical trials are costly, requiring multiple participants to obtain statistically relevant information on clinical endpoints, not to speak of the research and development investment to identify a therapeutic that can be tested. Thus, under capitalism, there is virtually no investment in these large-scale trials and nothing is being done beyond offering boosters of the current vaccine, despite their greatly reduced efficacy in preventing transmission.

The mucosal vaccine study was conducted just as Chinese officials acquiesced to the demands of the imperialist powers to abandon their life-saving Zero-COVID public health program, resulting in the infection of virtually the entire population and the deaths of 1-2 million people. What could such a vaccine have meant to these millions that perished needlessly and the millions more globally since then?

This raises the broader question of why the international community, facing a devastating pandemic, could not bring its accumulated scientific bodies to address the need to develop a preventative treatment against COVID?

As a trigger event in world history, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated and exposed the deep-seated contradictions in global capitalism, which demands the accumulation of profits at any costs. The ruling class has nothing but contempt for workers, refusing to invest in any social programs that can improve the lives of masses of people. Short sightedness, corruption, mistrust, and suspicion epitomize their actions, which are rapidly progressing to a world conflagration carrying the danger of nuclear war.

Simply put, the ruling class cares not one iota about mucosal vaccines, just as they harbor resentment against any public health policy that infringes on their ability to conduct business.

Refusing to invest in these life-saving technologies, the capitalist ruling class has condemned humanity to face a lifetime of reinfections with COVID-19. What are the implications of this criminal policy?

Multiple previous studies have highlighted the dangers posed by reinfections with SARS-CoV-2. A recent study uploaded as a pre-print publication on Research Square (under review with the journal Nature Portfolio) by the Patient-Led Collaborative has once again found similar results when attempting to characterize the association between reinfections and the chronic debilitating condition known as Long COVID.

Among 3,382 participants (22 percent never had COVID, 42 percent with one prior infection and 35 percent with two or more infections), the risk of Long COVID was 2.14 times more likely among those with two COVID infections and 3.75 times more likely among those who had three or more COVID Infections compared to just one. Limitations in physical functioning measured in their study included ability to dress, bathe, perform moderate activities like vacuuming and functioning socially. Reinfections led to poorer overall health and worse immune health, including more severe outcomes and longer recovery from other infections.

As the authors wrote:

"Relative to those who did not report infections or experienced COVID-19 once, reinfections were associated with increased likelihood of severe fatigue, post-exertional malaise, decreased physical function, poorer immune health, symptom exacerbation before menstruation, and multiple other Long COVID symptoms. While vaccinations and boosters prior to infection are associated with lower likelihood of Long COVID, reinfections diminish their protective effect. The probability of reporting Long COVID remission is generally low (11.5 percent to 6.5 percent."

Another interesting finding of the study, which underscores the complete abandonment of public health efforts regarding COVID, is that a tiny number of those infected were prescribed antivirals during their acute COVID infections. Those with reinfections were also less likely to test, as the “forever COVID” policy has inured people from taking any protective measures to prevent infections.

The current alphabet soup of COVID strains is sees KP.3.1.1 dominate across the US and Europe, accounting for nearly 60 percent of all strains. However, a new variant known as XEC that was first detected in Germany in June has spread to more than 27 countries and accounts for six percent of all recently sequenced SARS-CoV-2 viruses in the US. Virologists expect this strain, derived from JN.1 through a complex recombination event and which has nearly twice the growth advantage, to overtake KP.3.1.1 and be the dominant variant during the winter season.

In a COVID update by TACT [Together Against COVID Transmission], the authors explain the dangers posed by these evolutionary developments of the SARS-CoV-2 viruses, writing:

"These variants can evade much of the immune responses from both vaccines and recent infections. Since they can evade antibodies to earlier variants, then that raises the risk of organ damage, vascular and neurological dysfunction, brain damage, and persistent infections which often leads to Long COVID. The unmitigated spread is raising concerns about their impact in the coming months."

Hospitalization rates for those 65 years and older and children were one of the highest during the summer from COVID and remain on par with the prior year’s summer/fall wave. The number of people that died from COVID In the week ending August 31, 2024, has climbed to 1,239, four times higher than the lows seen in June. At the present rate, it is expected that at least 60,000 people will officially lose their lives from acute COVID this year, not including deaths incorrectly attributed to another cause or due to the impact on the population’s health from accumulated infections.

These are not incidental and speculative issues. In a provocative report released by the Swiss Re Group, titled “The future of excess mortality after COVID-19,” one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance and insurance, who specialize in financing the risk of death, they said, “[If] the ongoing impact of the disease is not curtailed, excess mortality rates in the general population may remain up to three percent higher then pre-pandemic levels in the US and 2.5 percent in the UK by 2033.”

They advised their investors:

"Based on current medical trends and expected advancements, we conclude that COVID-19 is still driving excess mortality both directly and indirectly. In the long term, lifestyle factors that contribute to poor metabolic health and lead to obesity and diabetes may become another compounding factor in population excess mortality. Insurers may wish to continue to monitor excess mortality and its underlying drivers in the general population closely, as well as the differences between general and insured populations."

[thoughtportal]

COVID-19 makes a worrying comeback, WHO warns amid summertime surge

COVID-19 infections are surging globally, including at the Paris Olympics, and are unlikely to decline anytime soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The UN health agency is also warning that more severe variants of the coronavirus may soon be on the horizon.

“COVID-19 is still very much with us,” and circulating in all countries, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of WHO told journalists in Geneva.

“Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over several weeks,” she said. “Overall, test positivity is above 10 per cent, but this fluctuates per region. In Europe, percent positivity is above 20 per cent,” Dr. Van Kerkhove added.

New waves of infection have been registered in the Americas, Europe and Western Pacific. Wastewater surveillance suggests that the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is two to 20 times higher than what is currently being reported. Such high infection circulation rates in the northern hemisphere’s summer months are atypical for respiratory viruses, which tend to spread mostly in cold temperatures.

“In recent months, regardless of the season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19, including at the Olympics where at least 40 athletes have tested positive,” Dr. Van Kerkhove said.

As the virus continues to evolve and spread, there is a growing risk of a more severe strain of the virus that could potentially evade detection systems and be unresponsive to medical intervention. While COVID-19 hospital admissions, including for Intensive Care Units (ICUs), are still much lower than they were during the peak of the pandemic, WHO is urging governments to strengthen their vaccination campaigns, making sure that the highest risk groups get vaccinated once every 12 months.

“As individuals it is important to take measures to reduce risk of infection and severe disease, including ensuring that you have had a COVID-19 vaccination dose in the last 12 months, especially, if you are in an at-risk group,” stressed Dr. Van Kerkhove.

Vaccines availability has declined substantially over the last 12-18 months, WHO admits, because the number of producers of COVID-19 vaccines has recently decreased.“It is very difficult for them to maintain the pace,” Dr. Van Kerkhove explained. “And certainly, they don't need to maintain the pace that they had in 2021 and 2022. But let's be very clear, there is a market for COVID-19 vaccines that are out there.”

Nasal vaccines are still under development but could potentially address transmission, thereby reducing the risk of further variants, infection and severe disease.

“I am concerned, “ Dr. Van Kerkhove said. “With such low coverage and with such large circulation, if we were to have a variant that would be more severe, then the susceptibility of the at-risk populations to develop severe disease is huge,” Dr. Van Kerkhove warned.

[sataniccapitalist]

#thewaronyou

Another winter of death is now unfolding in the United States and across the Northern Hemisphere as the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus continues to surge globally. Wastewater data from the United States released Tuesday indicate that upwards of 2 million people are now being infected with COVID-19 each day, amid the second-biggest wave of mass infection since the pandemic began, eclipsed only by the initial wave of the Omicron variant during the winter of 2021-22.

There are now reports on social media of hospitals being slammed with COVID patients across the US, Canada and Europe. At a growing number of hospitals, waiting rooms are overflowing, emergency rooms and ICUs are at or near capacity, and ambulances are being turned away or forced to wait for hours to drop off their patients.

According to official figures, COVID-19 hospitalizations in Charlotte, North Carolina are now at their highest levels of the entire pandemic. In Toronto, Dr. Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, told City News, “I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been. It’s not even close.” He added, “We’ve got people dying in waiting rooms because we don’t have a place to put them. People being resuscitated on an ambulance stretcher or a floor.”

Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told the Today Show website: “The current strain right now seems to be packing a meaner punch than the prior strains. Some features of the current circulating strain probably (make it) a little bit more virulent and pathogenic, making people sicker than prior (variants).”

Indeed, two recent studies indicate that JN.1 more efficiently infects cells in the lower lung, a trait that existed in pre-Omicron strains which were considered more deadly. One study from researchers in Germany and France noted that BA.2.86, the variant nicknamed “Pirola” from which JN.1 evolved, “has regained a trait characteristic of early SARS-CoV-2 lineages: robust lung cell entry. The variant might constitute an elevated health threat as compared to previous Omicron sublineages.”https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1MGIQxPf0Ig?rel=0An appeal from David North: Donate to the WSWS todayWatch the video message from WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North.DONATE TODAY

The toll on human life from the ongoing wave of mass infection is enormous. It is estimated that one-third of the American population, or over 100 million human beings, will contract COVID-19 during just the current wave. This will likely result in tens of thousands of deaths, many of which will not be properly logged due to the dismantling of COVID-19 testing and data reporting systems in the US. When The Economist last updated its tracker of excess deaths on November 18—before the JN.1 wave began—the cumulative death toll stood at 27.4 million, and nearly 5,000 people were continuing to die each day worldwide.

The current wave will also induce further mass suffering from Long COVID, which has been well known since 2020 to cause a multitude of lingering and often debilitating effects. Just last week, a pre-print study was published in Nature Portfolio showing that COVID-19 infection can cause brain damage akin to aging 20 years. The consequences are mental deficits that induce depression, reduced ability to handle intense emotions, lowered attention span, and impaired ability to retain information.

Other research indicates that the virus can attack the heart, the immune system, digestion and essentially every other critical bodily function. The initial symptoms of COVID-19 might resemble those of the flu, but the reality is that the virus can affect nearly every organ in the body and can do so for years after the initial infection. While vaccination slightly reduces the risks of Long COVID, the full impact of the virus will be felt for generations.

The latest winter wave of infections and hospitalizations takes place just eight months after the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Biden administration ended their COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declarations without any scientific justification. This initiated the wholesale scrapping of all official response to the pandemic, giving the virus free rein to infect the entire global population ad infinitum.

A virtual blackout of any mention of the coronavirus in the corporate media accompanied the swan song of official reporting. From then on, if illnesses at hospitals or among public figures were referenced at all, it was always with the euphemism “respiratory illness.” The words COVID, coronavirus and pandemic have been all but blacklisted, and the facts about the dangers of the disease have been actively suppressed.

Summarizing the cumulative results of this global assault on public health, the WSWS International Editorial Board wrote in its New Year 2024 statement:

All facts and data surrounding the present state of the pandemic are concealed from the global population, which has instead been subjected to unending lies, gaslighting and propaganda, now shrouded in a veil of silence. There is a systematic cover-up of the real gravity of the crisis, enforced by the government, the corporations, the media and the trade union bureaucracies. Official policy has devolved into simply ignoring, denying and falsifying the reality of the pandemic, no matter what the consequences, as millions are sickened and thousands die globally every day.

In response to the latest wastewater data, there have only been a handful of news articles, most of which have sought to downplay the severity of the current wave and largely ignored the deepening crisis in hospitals.

The official blackout has given rise to an extraordinary contradiction in social life. The reality of mass infection means that everyone knows a friend, neighbor, family member or coworker who is currently or was recently sick, or even hospitalized or killed, by COVID-19. Yet the unrelenting pressure to dismiss the danger of the pandemic means that shopping centers, supermarkets, workplaces and even doctor’s offices and hospitals are full of people not taking the basic and simple precaution of masking to protect themselves. Every visit outside one’s home carries the risk of being infected, with unknown long-term consequences.

As the pandemic enters its fifth year, it is critical to draw the lessons of this world historical experience. The past four years have demonstrated unequivocally that capitalist governments are both unwilling and incapable of fighting this disease. Their primary concern has always been to ensure the unabated accumulation of profits by corporations, no matter the cost in human lives and health.

The real solution to the coronavirus is not to ignore it, but to develop a campaign of elimination and eradication of the virus worldwide. To do so requires the implementation of mask mandates, mass testing and contact tracing, as well as the installation of updated ventilation systems and the safe deployment of Far-UVC technology to halt the spread of the virus. The resources for this global public health program must be expropriated from the banks and financial institutions, which are responsible for the mass suffering wrought by the pandemic.

All of these measures cut directly across the profit motive and the real disease of society: capitalism. As such, the struggle against the coronavirus is not primarily medical or scientific, but political and social. The international working class must be educated on the real dangers of the pandemic and mobilized to simultaneously stop the spread of the disease and put an end to the underlying social order that propagates mass death. This must be developed as a revolutionary struggle to establish world socialism.

[beardedmrbean]

Even liberal San Francisco voters are getting tough on crime and public disorder.

Residents of the City by the Bay approved ballot measures Tuesday to set minimum police staffing levels, allow officers to chase suspects under reasonable suspicion they have committed or will commit a felony or nonviolent misdemeanor — with the help of drones — and set up public safety cameras that could use facial recognition technology to apprehend perps.

Another proposition that passed requires anyone who receives employment assistance, housing, shelter, utilities or food from city coffers to submit to drug screenings — and denies them those benefits unless they enter a treatment program.

The San Francisco Police Department had prohibited officers from pursuing nonviolent offenders unless there was an imminent risk to public safety.

Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, backed the ballot measures as she eyes re-election to a second full term in November — while facing challenges from Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit executive, and current and former city officials including ex-interim mayor Mark Farrell.

“We want San Francisco to be exactly what the people who live here want to see,” Breed said at a cocktail bar surrounded by supporters as the results rolled in Tuesday night, according to Politico. “And that is a safe, affordable place to call home.”

Voters also overwhelmingly approved tighter ethics rules for city employees regarding the receipt of gifts and mandating the teaching of Algebra I in schools by eighth grade.

Ballot measures allow voters to directly change laws during elections without the help of their elected officials.

Following a spate of state and local changes to crime policies in recent, San Francisco has been dogged by retail crime sprees, burglaries, rampant open-air drug use and public defecation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, during a high-profile TV debate this past November against former San Francisco Mayor and current California Gov. Gavin Newsom, pointed to the city’s downfall as proof of failed liberal policies.

Dozens of big-name businesses have departed the city’s formerly bustling downtown area since 2020, the year after Breed was elected. Drug overdose deaths also hit a record high last year, with 806 recorded.

The descent into lawlessness was turbocharged by the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread rioting following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in summer 2020, as San Francisco and other cities embraced calls to defund law enforcement.

Breed supported a $120 million cut from the city’s police budget in 2020 — but reversed course the following year and pleaded with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to restore funding.

“I’m proud this city believes in giving people second chances,” she said in December 2021. “Nevertheless, we also need there to be accountability when someone does break the law … Our compassion cannot be mistaken for weakness or indifference … I was raised by my grandmother to believe in ‘tough love,’ in keeping your house in order, and we need that, now more than ever.”

The pivot to the center came just in time, as disgruntled San Francisco voters went on the following year to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a progressive prosecutor and former public defender.

Before that, parents had ousted three members of the city’s school board for pushing a progressive political agenda and keeping classrooms closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

A former city supervisor, Breed was elected mayor in 2018 to finish out the term of the late Ed Lee, who died in office. She was later elected to a five-year term in November 2019.

She is still working to regain the trust of law enforcement officials, however, with the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association saying in November that her “commitment to dismantling the criminal justice system has remained a focal point.”

Breed is battling a high disapproval rating, with 71% of likely general election voters taking exception to her job performance, according to a San Francisco Chronicle poll last month.

The city’s ranked-choice voting system could also throw a wrench into Breed’s re-election bid if she does not receive at least 50% support in the initial round, as second- and third-place candidates often receive more votes than those at the top of the ticket.

[berniesrevolution]

CATALYST JOURNAL

While the uptick in strike activity in 2021 is heartening, its influence should not be exaggerated. The number and extent of job actions was noticeable but still very small by historical standards, and union density continued to decline. A significant labor upsurge might be in the works, but it is not in evidence yet.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis spoke movingly of the workers keeping the world turning in dark times:

People who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone.1

These workers have done everything we’ve asked of them and more. They have been through hell, particularly those who have risked their health and well-being to care for the sick, educate the young, feed the hungry, and deliver the things the rest of us need to get through this period of grinding uncertainty. Employers, politicians, and talking heads have lauded them as essential workers, but the stark gap between the praise and the grim realities of working life in the United States — which was already miserable for millions before the pandemic — have pushed many to the breaking point. Indeed, record numbers of American workers have quit their jobs in what the media has dubbed the Great Resignation. According to the US Labor Department, 4.5 million workers voluntarily left their jobs in November 2021. The number of monthly quits has exceeded three million since August 2020, and the trend shows no sign of slowing down.2 Job switchers span the employment ladder, but turnover has been largely concentrated in the low-wage service sector, where workers are taking advantage of the very tight labor market to get a better deal for themselves. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, workers with high school diplomas are currently enjoying a faster rate of wage growth than workers with bachelor’s degrees, a remarkable situation that has not occurred in decades.3

Worker discontent is not only finding expression in the form of quitting and job switching. In 2021, we witnessed a modest increase in the frequency and visibility of collective action in the workplace. Tens of thousands of workers, union and nonunion alike, challenged employers through protests and strikes across sectors and in many different geographical regions. Workers in health care and social assistance, education, and transportation and warehousing led the way, but they were joined by workers in hotels and food services, manufacturing, and other industries. Protests and strikes tended to be concentrated in states where labor is relatively stronger, namely California, New York, and Illinois, but some states with low union density, like North Carolina, saw an uptick in labor action, too. Pay increases were easily the most common demand, but health and safety, staffing, and COVID-19 protocols were high on the agenda as well.

The year 2021 was less a strike wave than a strike ripple, and it has not yet resulted in any appreciable increase in unionization. A few trends stand out. The first is that labor protest and strike action were heavily concentrated among unionized groups of workers. Unionized groups of workers accounted for nearly 95% of all estimated participants in labor protests and more than 98% of all estimated participants in strikes. The second is that protests and strikes were concentrated by industry — namely health care and education, which together accounted for roughly 60% of all labor actions. Finally, protests and strikes were heavily concentrated geographically. Just three states with relatively high levels of union density — California, New York, and Illinois — accounted for more than half the total estimated participants in protests and strikes. In short, collective workplace action is by and large taking place where organized labor still retains residual sources of strength. In this context, spreading protest and strike action beyond its current industrial and regional confines depends on unionization in new places.

Conditions conducive to labor action — rising inflation, pandemic-related pressures, and a tight labor market — are likely to persist into 2022, and the Biden administration’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been meaningfully supportive of worker organizing. US labor is probably not on the verge of a historic breakthrough, but in this context, workers may have an opportunity to make modest material and organizational gains.

Making new organizational gains is critical to the fortunes of the labor movement and the reviving US left. The vast majority of the workers involved in strikes and labor protests last year were already members of unions, not unorganized workers looking to unionize. This is why it is so concerning that last year’s uptick in labor action occurred amid a further decline in union density in 2021. The overall rate of union membership stands at 10.3% of the total labor force, while the total number of union members, just over fourteen million in 2021, continues its long decline.4 While some have argued that treating union density as the key measure of labor’s strength is a mistake, it seems clear that, at least in the US context, where union density and union coverage almost entirely overlap, it does provide an effective measurement of working-class power.5

Boosting the level of union density should therefore be among the leading priorities of progressives and socialists in the United States. As the power resources school of welfare state scholars has long argued, the relative strength of the labor movement and its affiliated political parties has been the single most important factor shaping welfare state development over time and across countries. Here in the United States, where we have never had a nationwide social democratic party aligned with a strong labor movement, the weakness of working-class organization is clearly reflected in the fragmentation and stinginess of our welfare state. The state-level wave of attacks on organized labor that began in 2010 have made it that much harder for unions to defend working-class interests and reduce inequality. But the fact that they were able to meaningfully mitigate the growth of inequality, even during the period of neoliberal retrenchment, shows that rebuilding the labor movement needs to be a chief priority of any progressive political agenda.6 The Biden administration’s pro-union stance suggests it understands this. But if it’s unable to act decisively to boost union membership, all the pro-union rhetoric it can muster will ultimately amount to little.

TRACKING LABOR ACTION

Researchers at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) began documenting strikes and labor protests in late 2020. Their ILR Labor Action Tracker provides a database of workplace conflict across the United States, based on information collected from government sources, news reports, organizational press releases, and social media. It counts both strikes and labor protests as “events” but distinguishes between the two. The major distinction between strikes and labor protests, according to this methodology, is whether the workers involved in the event stopped work. If they did, the event is defined as a strike; if they did not, it is defined as a labor protest. The Labor Action Tracker also collects data on a number of additional variables, including employer, labor organization (if applicable), local labor organization (if applicable), industry, approximate number of participants, worker demands, and more.7

ACTION TYPES

In 2021, there were 786 events with 257,086 estimated participants.8 Over 60% of the events were labor protests, while less than 40% were strikes (there was one recorded lockout). Roughly one-third of the estimated number of workers participated in labor protests, while roughly two-thirds participated in strikes. Further, the average number of estimated workers per labor protest (188) was significantly smaller than the average number of estimated workers per strike (553, see Table 1 for details).

DURATION

Neither labor protests nor strikes tended to last very long, which tracks with the generally sharp decline in strike duration in recent decades.9 Labor protests in particular were very short affairs. Of the labor protests with a start and end date, 96% lasted for just one day or less. Strikes also tended to have a short duration, but they typically did not end as quickly as protests. Of the strikes with a start and end date, one-third lasted for one day or less. Roughly two-thirds of strikes (68%) ended within a week, and over 90% ended within thirty days. One strike stands out for its unusually long duration: a 701-day strike by United Auto Workers (UAW) members against a metallurgical company in Pennsylvania, which began in September 2019 and ended in August 2021.

INDUSTRIES

An informed observer will not be surprised by which industries saw the largest number of labor action events (Table 2). The leading two industries by far were health care and social assistance and education, which are both highly unionized and have been subjected to enormous pressures during the pandemic. Together, they accounted for nearly 40% of the total labor protests and strikes. These industries also comprised over 60% of the overall number of estimated labor action participants — health care with 41.5% of the estimated participants, education with 18.8%. The overrepresentation of health care and education workers becomes even starker when we compare this to their employment shares in the overall labor force. In 2020, these two industries accounted for 16.3% of total nonfarm employment — health care with a 13.8% share and education with 2.3%.10 Put another way, the share of health care workers in 2021 labor actions was roughly three times larger than their share in the nonfarm labor force, while the share of education workers was more than eight times as large.

These two pace-setting industries were followed by a second tier of industries including transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing. It is not surprising to see these listed among the most turbulent industries, as they contain a mix of highly unionized employers and nonunion employers that have become a major focus of labor organizing activity, namely Amazon — the most frequently targeted employer, with twelve total labor actions — which was the target of twice as many labor actions as McDonald’s, the second-most targeted employer.

The industrial distribution of labor protests generally follows the overall distribution of labor action, with the notable exception of manufacturing, which saw far more strikes than protests. While the health care industry did not experience the largest number of strikes, it accounts for more than half of estimated strike participants (53%). Workers in education (12.4%) and manufacturing (16%) also accounted for outsize shares of the estimated number of participants.

(Continue Reading)

[mariacallous]

An official investigation into a pandemic would seem an unlikely source of sordid entertainment. But such is the nature of contemporary politics in Britain that the inquiry into its official response to COVID-19 has been reduced to just that.

Over the past few weeks, in an office building near Paddington Station in west London, some of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished lawyers have questioned those at the heart of the British state about their response to the pandemic. The inquiry is set to reach its peak in a few weeks’ time, when investigators question former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other key ministers, including current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was then the chancellor (finance minister), and Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, whose reputation has been little enhanced by his decision to quit politics after a very public extramarital affair and instead become a reality TV star.

Already, the inquiry has shone a light on the bombast and buffoonery in Downing Street, led by and personified in the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson. Most of the coverage so far has been focused on the questions of who said what to whom. And it has been colorful—women denigrated with sexist slurs, other civil servants dismissed with elaborate insults, multiple hatreds laid bare— with most of the vulgarity emanating from the testimony of Dominic Cummings, a self-styled Rasputin figure who had been at Johnson’s right hand until they spectacularly fell out and became archenemies.

While the palace intrigues have caught the media’s attention, the more important failures—the gradual erosion of the publicly funded National Health Service (one of very few state institutions in Britain that remain overwhelmingly popular) and the wider weaknesses of state structures—have yet to receive a proper airing. (That time may yet come. The inquiry has been split into five so-called modules, and it is only midway into the second.)

The state’s dysfunction, however, needs to be seen in a wider context. At the onset of the pandemic, Britain was mired in self-delusion. Years of austerity had drained public services of the ability to do anything more than muddle through, with no slack in the system in case anything went wrong. A sense of entitlement among a small group of Conservative Party politicians, all educated at elite schools, had reinforced a foppish self-belief rather than self-awareness. And decades of denial about the U.K.’s real place in the world had infused, in politicians of all parties, a view that Britannia did still rule the waves.

How else to account for Johnson’s approach to the pandemic, painfully laid bare by several of his former advisors? In devastatingly deadpan evidence, the deputy head of the civil service, Helen MacNamara, said she struggled to think of a single day when Downing Street adhered to the emergency rules it had set, which many citizens were prosecuted for failing to follow.

She described how in the crucial period leading up to the first lockdown, Johnson declared that the United Kingdom’s “world-beating” systems would cope better than all others. For 12 crucial days, people were allowed to go about their daily lives unaffected, even after the World Health Organization declared on March 11, 2020, that the coronavirus outbreak was a pandemic.

The disease, Johnson blithely told colleagues, would be no worse than swine flu. He and his officials had no interest in learning from others, such as from countries that had coped with the SARS virus. MacNamara revealed how ministers fell about laughing when they were told about European states shutting down, mocking the Italians for rushing to do so.

This sense of go-it-alone braggadocio, very much a Johnson hallmark, had seemingly been turned into a governing principle since the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

As early as March 13, MacNamara marched into the prime minister’s office to tell him that the National Health Service would be overwhelmed. “I think we are absolutely fucked. I think this country is heading for a disaster. I think we are going to kill thousands of people.” Johnson finally declared a lockdown on March 23. By then it was already very late, and many lives were lost that otherwise might have been saved.

That was just the start. Texts and WhatsApp messages have also provided a treasure trove of material attesting to the government’s inability to cope. The head of the civil service, Simon Case, wrote to a colleague he had “never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country.” He described the atmosphere inside Downing Street as “mad” and “poisonous.”

Throughout the two-year pandemic, Johnson would repeatedly get the science wrong, veering between desperation and complacency. One of his officials’ diary entries noted that he had expressed the belief that the coronavirus was “just nature’s way of dealing with old people.”

Nor were government structures properly equipped. The head of the health service admitted that there was a “disconnect” between government and the realities on the ground. Very few senior civil servants had any science background.

Other faults cited by experts in the inquiry and outside it have been overcentralization in the health service and a failure to consult regional authorities across broader policymaking, and a lack of understanding of demographics. Differential impacts on poorer people or ethnic communities were accepted as inevitable. Epidemiological data was inconsistent and disorganized. There were not enough hospital beds or dedicated wards. Supplies of personal protective equipment for health workers were in shambles, as was testing, and tracing was a nonstarter. Borders were not closed for many weeks. Throughout the crisis, informal procurement policies bordered on the corrupt, with several companies linked to friends of ministers receiving large contracts and sometimes producing equipment that failed to work.

In short, contingency plans for governing in an all-consuming crisis of the kind that arrived with COVID-19 did not exist. But this was not only a matter of Johnson’s administrative incompetence. The British political system has for centuries been based on the so-called good chap theory of decent people playing by informal rules and doing their best. Regulations and structures are habitually dismissed, usually by the political right, as stiflingly un-British. At the apex of power, the relationship between the prime minister, his or her cabinet, and senior officials is blurred and subject to interpretation by each set of incumbents. Civil servants have a duty to political impartiality and to not making public statements, leaving them invariably to being blamed for government mistakes. Although these pressure points have always existed, morale is said now to be at an all-time low.

The watchword now is resilience, and it is at the heart of preparations that the opposition Labour Party, which has a consistently large lead in opinion polls, is making for government after a general election that is most likely to take place between May and October in 2024. The task is considerable. Politics based in precedence and making it up as you go along may have worked in the past (although as ever in Britain, the country’s performance is seen through rose-tinted spectacles), but there’s little reason to think they will be adequate to present and future transnational crises—from climate to migration to natural resources to another pandemic.

What is required is a thorough reconstruction of the United Kingdom’s governance. One of the key figures in any future Labour government is a top civil servant who shortly after delivering her report Johnson’s “party-gate” scandals announced that she was moving to be chief of staff to the likely next prime minister, Keir Starmer. Her main task, which she has already begun planning, is an overhaul of structures, rights, and responsibilities of government departments. This is expected to be wide-ranging.

It has been necessary and, indeed, instructive—and possibly entertaining—for the COVID-19 inquiry to delve into the miscreance of Johnson and his cabal. But it has so far been insufficient in terms of addressing deep-rooted systemic failings.

[mongpht]

CHiCO with HoneyWorks conclude their last concert with smiles before they leave for the break, and CHiCO with the support of their fans sets off on a new journey

The last concert of CHiCO with HoneyWorks before the hiatus took place on 8 April.

Their fourth album, released in October 2022 「ｉは自由で、縛れない」 With this album, CHiCO with HoneyWorks toured four cities in Japan. On February 4th, shortly before the start of the tour, CHiCO announced that they would be taking a break to improve their vocal skills, and since the band would not be able to perform as a unit yet, many fans gathered in the hall to see them perform. The last performance at Zepp Nagoya was so good that the hall was packed to capacity. However, even though it was their last live performance before they left for the break, the three-hour concert was almost completely devoid of sentimentality and the mood was positive. A change in government policy regarding the control of new coronavirus infections allowed the audience to speak out while wearing masks, and there was close communication between the performers, including CHiCO on stage, and the audience in the audience.

As soon as the sounds stopped, the stage was recreated with the tour name sign, signs, fences, vending machines, etc. in the form of an album cover. Oji (guitar), NAKANISHI (guitar), Keiki Uto (keyboard), Hiroki169 (bass), AtsuyuK! (drummer). As the curtain rose on the live performance with the band members' solo performances showcasing their individual playing styles, the audience showed they were ready to perform by raising their red lights in a powerful display of power. The silhouette of CHiCO appeared, standing majestically in the centre of the stage, and shouts of "Go Nagoya!" echoed through the audience.

CHiCO powerfully sang リベンジゲーム as if raising a battle cry, leaning forward, and the audience responded to her voice with loud shouts. In response, CHiCO said: "Come on, let's get a move on!" The guys not only performed a powerful rock tune with a sense of speed, which you could say is a feature of CwHW, but also a love song ヒミツ恋ゴ̋コロ with a devilish charm and a pop tune それいけ！サラリーマン with its comical choreography! The band showed how far they have come since their debut, changing their voices and facial expressions according to the outlook of each song.

The band's growth was evident in the middle block, composed of songs альбома「ｉは自由で、縛れない。」In 鬼ノ森, the dignified but fragile voice creates a deep soundscape, and the emotional vocals in the bittersweet love songs きっと別れるよ and あなたは恋をしてない detail the subtleties of the protagonist's emotions. The audience listened intently to the music of "adult CwHW".

Afterwards, CHiCO said: "These songs have become written thanks to our 8 years of activity" and "I think they have become songs that will stay in many people's memories," making sincere mention of the songs きっと別れるよ and あなたは恋をしてない, while adding: "It's an evil set list that will take your energy with it… …But you can get away with it, right?". She announced that she was going to change modes. The audience responded to CHiCO and the band's rousing performance by waving lightsticks, singing along and jumping up and down, enjoying the live performance in their own way.

"With everyone's voices, we can finally finish this song. Are you ready to raise your fists high and soar into the sky?" The CHiCO declaration was followed by the song 決戦スピリット, released in February 2020, the month the coronavirus began. The song had never been performed specifically at concerts with people before this tour, but CHiCO sang it with a chorus of fans. CHiCO apologised for surprising everyone but stressed that she was taking a break to improve and bring back CHiCO with HoneyWorks. She smiled and said: "I will be back with some new muscle and I hope you will keep an eye on the individual activities of CHiCO and the band members.

"We will do our best to convey our current sentiments to all of you. I'm going to take on new challenges and different feelings, which is why I chose these two songs as my last two songs." The songs ハートの主張 and ハートの誓い were performed, which contained their thoughts on the future. The audience struggled not to miss a single moment of CHiCO's performance as she sang every word with her feelings in her hands, clutching the microphone tightly.

The concert did not end there, and as soon as CHiCO left, calls for the band echoed around the building. CHiCO and her band members returned to the hall to respond to the enthusiastic encore and performed their first single and representative song 世界は恋に落ちている, BGM, which demanded appeals and responses. Afterwards, CHiCO said: "Someday when we meet again, I'm sure you'll shout I'm HOME!" and sang 今日もサクラ舞う暁に, which has impressive lyrics with a promise to meet again. Prior to the Tokyo performance, the concert ended with this particular song, but on this day there were calls for "Please, one more!" and the band performed a double encore for the first time. The audience laughed as NAKANISHI crashed into the fence in the excitement of the moment, and finally the concert reached a climax when CHiCO said: "If you sing with everyone for the last time" and the song ホーリーフラッグ was played. CHiCO sang the positive lyrics of the song with a flag in her hand and shouted ゆけー！ ('yuke' phrase from the song) as if to inspire herself. The audience loudly sang back, smiling and celebrating CHiCO and CHiCO with HoneyWorks Band's new start.

translate: mongpht original interview: https://natalie.mu/music/news/520193 (and there are other photos that won't fit in the post, but I'll throw in some more below)

[prolife-home-care]

XEC Covid Variant: Symptoms, Spread, and How to Stay Protected This Winter

A new coronavirus variant, XEC, is rapidly spreading and could soon become the dominant strain this winter, according to scientists. First identified in Germany in June, XEC has since been reported in the UK, the US, Denmark, and other countries. Experts are now monitoring its growth closely, anticipating its potential impact during the colder months.

What Is the XEC Covid Variant?

XEC is a recombinant variant that combines characteristics of two previous Omicron subvariants: KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. These parent strains have contributed to recent Covid waves across the globe. KS.1.1, known as one of the "FLiRT variants," and KP.3.3, a part of the "FLuQE" family, exhibit unique mutations in the spike protein, giving XEC an edge in transmission.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, notes that XEC possesses "tighter binding cells," potentially making it more transmissible and possibly more immune-evasive than earlier variants. While XEC may not cause a significant spike in hospitalizations or deaths, its enhanced ability to spread has scientists on alert.

How Does XEC Differ from Previous Variants?

XEC has unusual mutations, such as the T22N mutation and additional changes in the spike protein. These differences could provide it with a slight transmission advantage over other Covid variants circulating this fall. However, because XEC belongs to the Omicron lineage, its symptoms and overall severity are expected to be similar to those of previous Omicron strains.

Current Statistics on XEC and Covid-19 Spread

While specific case numbers for the XEC variant are limited, global health authorities continue to monitor its spread along with other Covid-19 variants. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that globally, during the four-week period from June 24 to July 21, 2024, new Covid-19 cases increased by 30% and deaths by 26% compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 186,000 new cases reported across 96 countries​(World Health Organization (WHO). This surge indicates that new variants like XEC may be contributing to the recent increase in cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States provides regular updates on Covid-19 trends, including hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and test positivity rates. However, specific data on the XEC variant's prevalence in the U.S. is not yet available​(CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker). Monitoring the overall Covid-19 trends is crucial as new variants emerge, especially as the XEC variant is believed to have a transmission advantage.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) actively tracks and classifies SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and interest. Detailed data on the spread of various variants, including XEC, across the EU/EEA, is regularly published, although specific numbers on XEC’s prevalence are still being analyzed​.

Symptoms of XEC Covid

The symptoms of the XEC variant are similar to those of previous Omicron variants. These include:

High temperature or fever

Cough and sore throat

Fatigue and body aches

Loss of smell and appetite

Congestion and runny nose

Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea in some cases

Most people recover within a few weeks, but those who are at higher risk, such as older adults or immunocompromised individuals, may experience more severe illness.

How Is XEC Spreading?

XEC has shown strong growth in Europe, especially in Denmark and Germany. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, has suggested that XEC could become the next dominant variant over the winter. However, this process may take several weeks or even a couple of months.

Monitoring the spread of XEC is more challenging now due to less routine Covid testing compared to previous years. Health agencies, such as the CDC, are using alternative methods like wastewater surveillance to keep track of the virus's spread. Despite these limitations, early indications show that XEC is on the rise in various countries.

How Effective Are Current Vaccines Against XEC?

Since XEC is an offshoot of the Omicron lineage, existing vaccines are expected to provide protection against severe illness caused by this variant. Dr. Chin-Hong has expressed confidence in the updated vaccines, especially for those at higher risk, including older adults and individuals with weakened immune systems.

The vaccines, updated to target recent Covid variants, may not be specifically designed for XEC but should still offer a buffer of protection. Health experts recommend getting the updated booster shots to reduce the chance of infection and lower the risk of developing long Covid.

Who Should Get the Booster Shot?

Health authorities recommend that the following groups receive the updated booster:

Adults aged 65 years and over

Residents of care homes

Individuals over six months old in clinical risk groups

Front-line healthcare and social-care workers

The main vaccination drive for both flu and Covid-19 is set to start in October. However, those at higher risk or planning to travel in the fall should consider getting their booster shot earlier.

Expert opinion

Getting vaccinated is super important, especially for older adults. As we age, our immune systems just don’t work as well, which makes seniors more vulnerable to serious illnesses like COVID-19. During the pandemic, older adults were hit the hardest. In fact, according to the CDC, over 80% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were among those 65 and older. This really shows why getting vaccinated is a must – it significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and death in older adults. Plus, it helps take some of the strain off our healthcare system and keeps our communities healthier overall.

Best regards, Anna Klyauzova LinkedIn Profile Prolife Home Care

Protect Yourself This Winter

As the XEC variant continues to spread, it's important to follow public health guidelines to stay protected. In addition to getting vaccinated, wearing masks in crowded places, practicing good hand hygiene, and maintaining social distancing can help reduce the risk of infection.

FAQs About the XEC Covid Variant

Q: What are the symptoms of the XEC variant? A: The symptoms are similar to previous Omicron variants and include fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue, body aches, congestion, and gastrointestinal issues.

Q: How is XEC different from other Covid variants? A: XEC is a recombinant variant from two Omicron subvariants, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, with unique mutations that could make it more transmissible.

Q: Are current vaccines effective against the XEC variant? A: Yes, existing vaccines are expected to provide protection against severe illness caused by XEC, though they may not completely prevent infection.

Q: Who should get the updated Covid booster? A: Adults over 65, care home residents, people in clinical risk groups, and front-line healthcare workers are recommended to get the booster.

Conclusion

The XEC variant serves as a reminder that the Covid-19 virus continues to evolve. While vaccines may not be a complete shield against infection, they remain the best defense against severe illness and hospitalization. Global trends indicate a rise in Covid-19 cases, highlighting the importance of staying informed and following health recommendations. By getting vaccinated and adhering to public health guidelines, you can protect yourself and those around you as the winter season approaches.

[gazettereview]

What You Need to Know About the New COVID Vaccines -Read more at https://gazettereview.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-covid-vaccines/ - https://gazettereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/what-to-know-about-new-covid-vaccine.jpg #Health

What You Need to Know About the New COVID Vaccines

A highly contagious COVID variant fuled a summer COVID wave that increased with travel and crowded indoor activities. Health officials are hoping that the surge will prompt more people to get the new coronavirus vaccine, which was recently approved last month. It is currently recommended for those 6 months and older. Last year, less than […]

https://gazettereview.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-covid-vaccines/

[crimsonpublishers-medical]

COVID-19 “A Novel Great Imitator” and Its Cause-Effect Relationship on the Skin- Crimson Publishers

COVID-19 “A Novel Great Imitator” and Its Cause-Effect Relationship on the Skin- Crimson Publishers

The emergence of the new coronavirus in December 2019, the main actor in the current COVID-19 pandemic and type 2 acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), initially allowed elucidating the particular respiratory symptoms of the disease that regularly it culminated in severe respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation and caused death in a considerable percentage of those infected. Over time, other symptoms were recognized, including the appearance of skin lesions. Initial reports of skin manifestations were documented by Italian dermatologists, probably because Italy was the first European country to be severely affected by the pandemic. The general clinical presentation, course, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children differ from that in adults. In studies carried out during the first wave of the pandemic, it was observed that from 20.4% to 45% of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection had presented skin manifestations, the maculopapular rash being the most frequently described. Subsequently, other studies classified the types of eruption attributable to the disease and related them to the stages and severity of the infection [1-2].

For more open access journals in crimson publishers Please click on link: https://crimsonpublishers.com

For more articles on Research in Medical & Engineering Sciences Please click on link: https://crimsonpublishers.com/rmes/

[pakistanweekly99]

Indian origin South African musician Barry Baldeo dies

Surabjit Jaybelly Baldeo, a prominent South African performer of Indian origin, has passed on at 66 years old.

Prominently known as 'Barry' Baldeo, the guitarist, who died on Sunday morning, was a critical member in pretty much every Indian melodic show in South Africa, as per dear companions and colleagues.

"His last presentation was at our Tamil New Year Show in Midrand on Saturday," said coordinator Lexy Shunmugan of SA Artists Against Coronavirus.

"Barry assumed an instrumental part in setting up the gear, practicing with the band and vocalists, and afterward playing in the presentation. He was a stickler whose expertise on the scope of guitars that he played was unrivaled. What we will recall him best for is his delicate disposition and his assurance to constantly help more youthful artists to improve their abilities," Shunmugan added.

Baldeo charmed himself to partners and audience members at the East Wave Radio where he dealt with the positions to turn into the station chief.

"His authority and responsibility altogether progressed the station's development… SJ's dynamic character and brotherhood were instrumental in advancing a coordinated solidarity, especially in the midst of advancing administrative scenes in local area radio," said Vikash Maharagh, current top of the station.

The late performer is said to have moved forward as a guitarist for one of the exhibitions of late ghazal vocalist Pankaj Udhas when he and his siblings Manhar and Nirmal visited Johannesburg in 2012.

"It's uncommon that our craftsmen get a chance to play a full show with performers from India, and to get acclaim like that from somebody like Pankaj Udhas was an extraordinary quill in the cap of Barry," said one more veteran of the nearby media outlet, Anil Rambaran.

Honoring Baldeo, the South African Tamil League said the performer was a scaffold developer who took part in endless local area occasions, "stringing together the different societies that coincided".

"We honor such a noble man, who was constantly considered with extraordinary regard and was broadly perceived for his commitment to the music society. We have lost a genuine legend," the league said in its proclamation.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Changes in Population Immunity Against Infection and Severe Disease From Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Omicron Variants in the United States Between December 2021 and November 2022 - Published Aug 1, 2023

Just wanted to highlight one of the findings, proving that vax and relax will never work:

Increasing first booster uptake to 55% in all states (current US coverage: 34%) and second booster uptake to 22% (current US coverage: 11%) would increase protection against infection by 4.5 percentage points (2.4–7.2) and protection against severe disease by 1.1 percentage points (1.0–1.5).

Even if we were seeing 100% uptake, that would only result in an increase of protection against infection by maybe a dozen percentage points. We have to do more than just vaccinate. Mask. Clean the air. Demand your governments and bosses do more to protect us all, especially in the workplace and in public.

Abstract Background Although a substantial fraction of the US population was infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during December 2021–February 2022, the subsequent evolution of population immunity reflects the competing influences of waning protection over time and acquisition or restoration of immunity through additional infections and vaccinations.

Methods Using a Bayesian evidence synthesis model of reported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data (diagnoses, hospitalizations), vaccinations, and waning patterns for vaccine- and infection-acquired immunity, we estimate population immunity against infection and severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants in the United States, by location (national, state, county) and week.

Results By 9 November 2022, 97% (95%–99%) of the US population were estimated to have prior immunological exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Between 1 December 2021 and 9 November 2022, protection against a new Omicron infection rose from 22% (21%–23%) to 63% (51%–75%) nationally, and protection against an Omicron infection leading to severe disease increased from 61% (59%–64%) to 89% (83%–92%). Increasing first booster uptake to 55% in all states (current US coverage: 34%) and second booster uptake to 22% (current US coverage: 11%) would increase protection against infection by 4.5 percentage points (2.4–7.2) and protection against severe disease by 1.1 percentage points (1.0–1.5).

Conclusions Effective protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease in November 2022 was substantially higher than in December 2021. Despite this high level of protection, a more transmissible or immune evading (sub)variant, changes in behavior, or ongoing waning of immunity could lead to a new SARS-CoV-2 wave.

[screenshots123]

📆 04 Jan 2024 📰 Despite the cover-up, current coronavirus wave reaches new heights in Germany 🗞️ World Socialist Web Site

In a recent article in taz newspaper entitled “Coronavirus—Long-term consequences: The statistics are breath-taking,” the head of the Long Covid Outpatient Clinic in Koblenz, Astrid-Weber, reports on the everyday lives of many of those affected: “Many voluntarily reduce their [working] hours and go part-time. Others just drag themselves to work. They can just about manage, but their hobbies, leisure time and family are reduced to zero. There are a lot of people who cut everything but their job—and they don’t appear in any statistics.”

[beardedmrbean]

A state funeral for Finland's former president Martti Ahtisaari is being held in Helsinki on Friday 10 November.

President Ahtisaari's funeral begins with a service in Helsinki's Lutheran Cathedral at 1 pm when his coffin will be carried into the church with generals and admirals serving as pallbearers.

Hufvudstadsbladet writes that the public can follow the funeral procession on city streets as it makes its way from the cathedral to Hietaniemi Cemetery. The procession is scheduled to begin at 2:45 pm with the cortege escorted by mounted policemen.

Among the guests expected to be in attendance at the funeral are Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani, Namibia's President Hage Geingob, Tanzania's former President Jakaya Kikwete, and the chair of The Elders group, Ireland's former president Mary Robinson.

The burial at Hietaniemi Cemetery will be attended only by Finland's state leadership and family members.

Top health threats

Mika Salminen, the newly appointed director general of Finland's THL, the Institute for Health and Welfare, discussed what currently threatens the health of people in Finland with Helsingin Sanomat, which notes that "it is not the coronavirus."

Asked about the biggest challenges to health in the country right now, Salminen pointed the problems of lack of physical activity, increased obesity, and the mental health of young people.

Regarding mental health, Salminen highlighted efforts to promote planetary health and well-being. Climate change and the threats it brings are one thing that puts a strain on young people's mental health, Salminen explained. That's why, he said, the health and social services sector also has to take responsibility for combating climate change.

As HS notes, Finland aims to eradicate the use of nicotine by 2030. Salminen expressed satisfaction with the increased popularity of not smoking, but regarding young people, the new head of THL raised concerns about the use of various other nicotine products.

"With nicotine pouches and snus and vaping products, there is a risk that there will be a setback and an increase in nicotine addiction," he says.

Over the past few weeks, there have been again growing concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

"Now the situation is that, unfortunately, the coronavirus is here to stay. Waves will come and go. The situation is fortunate in the sense that many people have taken vaccines and many have protection from coming down with it. Very few get very seriously ill anymore," Mika Salminen pointed out.

On that topic, Ilta-Sanomat carries an interview with Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) who commented on the current backlog of vaccinations.

While stressing that Ministry of Social Affairs and Health takes the situation seriously, she pointed out that the vaccination programme is the responsibility of the nation's regional wellbeing counties.

The social affairs and health ministry is urging regional health authorities to speed up the roll out of booster vaccinations for the elderly as well as people in risk groups. Grahn-Laasonen described the situation of overcrowded vaccination points as "unreasonable", especially for the elderly.

The good old days

Was life in Finland better in past years? About one in five Finns who were asked that question in a new poll answered "yes".

Carried out by the pollster Taloustutkimus and published by the Uutissuomalainen news group, three-quarters of respondents said that life in Finland is now better, or just as good, as in past decades.

Antto Vihma, a research professor at the Institute of Foreign Policy who has studied nostalgia as a social and cultural phenomenon considered the results of the survey as what he would expect.

"It may sound radical that 22 percent think that life in Finland is worse, when so many things affecting everyday life have progressed and developed. For many, however, a nostalgic relationship with the past cancels this out," said Vihma.

Vihma considers it possible that the events of recent years, such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, were reflected in the results of the survey.

"People feel that we are now living in a time of crises. It would be interesting to know how this question would have been answered in the 1990s, for example," he added.

The survey was carried out as telephone interviews July 10–21, 2023, and included responses from 1,001 people.

The share of those who prefer the present day increased with age and was highest in the oldest group of respondents. The youngest age group had relatively the most respondents who think that life used to be better.

Taloustutkimus Research Manager Jussi Westinen pointed out that the "past decades" mentioned in the question mean different decades for different age groups.

According to Antto Vihma, the age group-specific results differ slightly from what is known about feelings of nostalgia based on previous studies.

"Generally, people start longing for the past in middle age, and after that, the longing continues steadily until old age. In this survey, there is a clear jump around the age of 50. Older people are clearly more satisfied with the present than younger people. I would explain this by the fact that the oldest age groups place the "past decades" mentioned in the question further back in history than the younger ones do," he explained.

The poll also asked people what they most miss from the Finland of past decades.

The top answer was that Finns most want their fellow countrymen to behave according to certain norms again.

What was most often longed-for is interpersonal care, respect for good manners and decent behavior, and respect for authority. About 80–85 percent of those interviewed said these values were more common in the past and that they miss them.

Cold weather returning

Ilta-Sanomat tells readers that a noticeable change in the weather is on the way.

It reports that the latest monthly forecast from the Foreca meteorological service shows colder temperatures next week.

Mild weather will continue in southern parts of the country on Father's Day, Sunday. However, over the course of the day, the weather will cool down, turning rain to snow showers in central regions.

On Monday, snow may also be seen in southern Finland.

Next week's temperatures will be mostly below freezing. The end of the week will see temperatures in the range of -3C to -10C and in Finnish Lapland, -10C to -25C, in some places as low at -30C at night.

[powermarket]

Wave and Tidal Energy Market Size, Share, Growth, and Trends

A rise in the investments by public and private sectors on the field of renewable energy resources is one of the driving forces of the global wave and tidal energy market. According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, titled, “Wave and Tidal Energy Market Size, Share and Global Trend by Type (Wave Energy, Tidal Energy), by Technology (Tidal Stream Generator, Pendulor Device, Oscillating Water Columns, Barrage, Others), by End User (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Geography Forecast till 2026,” a rise in the awareness regarding environmental hazards due to the emission of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is projected to boost the global wave and tidal energy market during the forecast period. Also, an increasing exhausting of fossil fuels across the globe is anticipated to drive the global wave and tidal energy market.

The whole world is battling with the novel coronavirus, leaving numerous industries in distraught. The authorities of several countries have initiated lockdown to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. Such plans have caused disturbances in the production and supply chain. But, with time and resolution, we will be able to combat this stern time and get back to normality. Our well-revised reports will help companies to receive in-depth information about the present scenario of every market so that you can adopt the necessary strategies accordingly.

Highlights of the Report:

Coverage of all the possible segments present in the market.

An elaborate analysis of small scale LNG terminal market trends, growth drivers, restraints, developments, opportunities, and challenges.

Comprehensive details about the organizations operating in the market.

Inclusion of the company profiles, such as new product launches, revenue, product portfolio, and strategic collaborations.

Regional Analysis:

Several Under Construction Plants to Drive Market in the Middle East and Africa

The global wave and tidal energy market is divided into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Asia Pacific. Fortune Business Insights states that the U.S. in North America is focusing mainly on the exploration of wave energy. However, there is a legal concern about underwater land ownership in the continent. That’s why, only a few tidal plants exist there. This is resulting in the lack of investments by prominent investors as they are not so enthusiastic about exploring tidal energy. The government of Europe, on the other hand, is investing huge amounts on the research and development in wave and tidal energy and it is also concentrating on low carbon economy. Wave and tidal energy has a very high potential in this region. In Asia Pacific, South Korea is leading the global wave and tidal energy market. This is because the region has the highest number of plants.

Furthermore, countries namely, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are persistently contributing to the growth of the wave and tidal energy market in Latin America. According to the report, the Middle East and Africa are expected to grow in the forthcoming years. This is likely to occur because the continent has many plants that are either currently under construction or are planned to be constructed. This will help in driving the growth of the wave and tidal energy market.

European Marine Energy Centre, Siemens, and Other Key Players Embrace Strategic Investments to Boost Wave and Tidal Energy Market Growth

Tidal turbine engineers from European Marine Energy Centre, based on Scotland, announced in March 2019, that it will support Qingdao Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology in developing their first wave and tidal test centre for marine renewables in China. The test centre will offer a model of the future test facilities that can be set up across China. The European Marine Energy Centre will provide technical specifications and design to build the test centre including connectors, microgrid, subsea cables, and substation to allow integrated environmental monitoring at the test site.

Edinburgh Wave Energy, based in Scotland, announced in April 2019, that it has raised $3.79 million to develop PLAT-I tidal energy platform system. The amount will also aid Scotland in strengthening its position and remain in the leading position in the global wave and tidal energy market. Earlier, in February 2012, Siemens, a multinational conglomerate company, headquartered in Germany, announced that it has successfully acquired the majority stake in Marine Current Turbines, a U.K. based developer of tidal power systems. Marine Current Turbines generate electricity by using water, such as tidal currents. Siemens will continue to propel the commercialization of this technology as it has good future prospects.

List of the Key Companies in the Wave and Tidal Energy Market:

Ocean Renewable Power Company LLC

Aquamarine Power Ltd.

ABB Ltd.

Nova Innovations Ltd.

Siemens

Pelamis Wave Power

Openhydro

Atlantis Resources Ltd.

Ocean Power Technologies

Tidal Lagoon Plc

AquaGen Technologies

AWS Ocean Energy Ltd.

Tenax Energy

Andritz Hydro- Hammerfest

Carnegie Wave Energy

[sandeep-health-care]

Cultivating Clinical Clarity through Computer Vision: A Current Perspective on Whole Slide Imaging and Artificial Intelligence

Diagnostic devices, methodological approaches, and traditional constructs of clinical pathology practice, cultivated throughout centuries, have transformed radically in the wake of explosive technological growth and other, e.g., environmental, catalysts of change. Ushered into the fray of modern laboratory medicine are digital imaging devices and machine-learning (ML) software fashioned to mitigate challenges, e.g., practitioner shortage while preparing clinicians for emerging interconnectivity of environments and diagnostic information in the era of big data. As computer vision shapes new constructs for the modern world and intertwines with clinical medicine, cultivating clarity of our new terrain through examining the trajectory and current scope of computational pathology and its pertinence to clinical practice is vital. Through review of numerous studies, we find developmental efforts for ML migrating from research to standardized clinical frameworks while overcoming obstacles that have formerly curtailed adoption of these tools, e.g., generalizability, data availability, and user-friendly accessibility. Groundbreakingvalidatory efforts have facilitated the clinical deployment of ML tools demonstrating the capacity to effectively aid in distinguishing tumor subtype and grade, classify early vs. advanced cancer stages, and assist in quality control and primary diagnosis applications. Case studies have demonstrated the benefits of streamlined, digitized workflows for practitioners alleviated by decreased burdens.

Introduction

Nearly 2000 years have passed since Emperor Marcus Aurelius sought reinforcement for a society decimated by the first wave of the deadliest pandemic to impact ancient Rome. The same factors lauded as strengths for the seemingly impenetrable empire, e.g., expansive trade networks and large, crowded populations, were those which ultimately led to its demise. These precarious elements had long lingered as a silent plague within a territorial superpower fully primed to combat the fiercest of invaders, yet one which succumbed to those overlooked behind its volcanic rock fortifications. A hidden tinderbox of similar proportion was ignited to plume within many pathology departments upon inception of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic [1]. New safety and practice restrictions following the wake of the pathogen’s propagation increased the demand for digital pathology (DP) solutions and remote services. Issues that had lingered throughout many departments were fervently exacerbated, e.g., specialist deficits and demands of shorter turnaround times (TAT) amidst increasing caseloads and complexity of pathology reports for aging patient demographics harboring higher disease incidence. New solutions were necessitated upon the exhumation of long withstanding problems [2,3]. Diagnostic surgical pathology remains the ‘gold standard’ for cancer diagnosis despite substantial inter-observer variability from human error, e.g., bias and fatigue, leading to misdiagnosis of challenging histological patterns and missed identification of small quantities of cancer within biopsy material. Digital (whole slide) imaging, now synonymous with DP, has achieved significant milestones within the last 20 years, with whole slide image (WSI) scanning devices evolving in tandem with challenges pervasive throughout the modern pathology landscape. Batch-scanning and continuous or random-access processing capabilities enabling the concurrent uploading of glass slides during the image capture and digitization processes of others have improved laboratory efficiency [4,5]. Many WSI devices can now handle an array of mediums cast on slides of varying dimensions, with single slide load capacity of some devices reaching up to 1000 [2]. WSI scanning cameras and image sensors deliver superior sensitivity, resolution, field-of-view (FOV), and frame rates for optimal capture and digitization of glass slide specimens [2]. Newer scientific CMOS (sCMOS) sensors are featured in many current WSI scanning devices, often as adjunctive to multiple CCD and CMOS sensors for optimization of image quality.

The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH, USA) was among the first academic institutions to invest in DP devices initially purposed for research and archival, i.e., retrospective scanning of oncology cases [6]. Complete transition to a fully integrated digitized workflow for primary diagnosis followed one year after initial steps toward DP adoption in 2016 (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Digital pathology integration at the Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (captured by David Kellough of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute): (a) Philips UFS scanners; (b) Integrated LCD touchscreen for WSI review; (c) Scan failure indicator; (d) example of scanning error (“Venetian blinding”); (e) Histology laboratory.

Beneficial returns from the preemptive digital transformation were evidenced throughout the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, during which the department was well positioned to continue educational and research activities with minimal disruption [6]. Clinical services persisted with relative fluidity with digital workflow emerging as a pillar of stability during an otherwise catastrophic downtime event for many. Temporary remote sign-out authority issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

For more information : https://www.europeanhhm.com/articles/cultivating-clinical-clarity-through-computer-vision