***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[MahomesMagic]

WHO changes definition of herd immunity.

This is 1984.

WHO changes definition of herd immunity.

2019 definition and 2020 definition. Spot the difference... pic.twitter.com/kweKDaztQv

— Simon Dolan #KBF (@simondolan) December 22, 2020

[Marcellus]

Home | America
Tags: Coronavirus | fauci | coronavirus strain | uk | travel ban | britain
Experts Say New UK COVID-19 Strain Most Likely Already in US
fauci in a dark gray suit and tie with brown background
Dr. Anthony Fauci (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)
By Brian Freeman | Tuesday, 22 December 2020 08:53 AM

The new, apparently more infectious coronavirus strain spreading throughout Britain is most likely already in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci told PBS NewsHour.

"I would not be surprised if it's already here," the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director said, citing the prominence of international travel, especially between the two countries. "When we start to look for it, we're going to find it."

Former Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb was even more emphatic, telling CNBC that the new strain "is already in the U.S." and that the coronavirus will keep on mutating until vaccination is widespread enough to end the pandemic.

Despite this, Fauci said a ban on travelers from the U.K. would be "premature," even as many countries have already taken that step, telling CNN that the U.S. should "without a doubt keep an eye on" the new strain, but "we don't want to overreact."


If the subject came up at a White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting, Fauci said he would be against suspending flights from the U.K., telling PBS that "I don't think that that kind of a draconian approach is necessary. I think we should seriously consider the possibility of requiring testing of people before they come from the U.K. here. But I don't think that there is enough evidence right now to essentially lock down any travel from the U.K."

The U.K. put London and areas of southeast England under new lockdown restrictions over the weekend after officials there identified the new strain, which they estimated could be 70% more transmissible, according to Business Insider.

Interesting, I see a pattern.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Interesting, I see a pattern.

Fauci also said we shouldn't wear masks before he said we should.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

WHO changes definition of herd immunity.

This is 1984.

WHO changes definition of herd immunity.

2019 definition and 2020 definition. Spot the difference... pic.twitter.com/kweKDaztQv

— Simon Dolan #KBF (@simondolan) December 22, 2020

The one on the left is verbatim from Wikipedia, not the WHO, and it's still up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity

[Donger]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

It's going to be much harder for the flu to travel with substantial reduction in travel abroad. Combined with the fact that it is significantly less transmissible than COVID (1.3^10 is 13.8 infections for the flu vs 2.4^10 is 6340 infections for COVID) and you are going to see a virtually non-existent flu season if patterns hold.

Have you heard any updates on the R0? Last I saw, it was still ~2.5

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Fauci also said we shouldn't wear masks before he said we should.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

[Donger]

CDC now has a vaccine tracker up, such as it is:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations

[O.city]

Dentist got bumped to 1a in MO, so looks like I may be getting stuck next week or the week after.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by O.city

Dentist got bumped to 1a in MO, so looks like I may be getting stuck next week or the week after.

Woo hoo!

Do you know who will be doing your vaccination? I'm still trying to figure out who is going to provide the vaccine for our company

[O.city]

Originally Posted by TLO

Woo hoo!

Do you know who will be doing your vaccination? I'm still trying to figure out who is going to provide the vaccine for our company

Health dept here in our county supposedly.

[BigBeauford]

I've spent the past couple of days assisting scheduling employees at our facility for their COVID vaccine. It has been really uplifting to hear the joy of people who are ready to put this all behind us.

[DaFace]

Does anyone know if there is a set process for rolling this out more broadly? Obviously healthcare workers are a closed population that can be reached fairly easily, but how about everyone else? Do people just have to call up and ask for it or what?

I'm mainly just curious how people like my mid-90s grandparents know when they're up.

I know there's probably not a consistent answer, but just curious if anyone's heard anything.

[DaFace]

Cousin got to go home today. He's basically not allowed to move because he gets exhausted by just walking across a room, but his O2 levels are stable as long as he doesn't do much. Sounds like a slow recovery is ahead, but at least he's through the toughest spot.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Does anyone know if there is a set process for rolling this out more broadly? Obviously healthcare workers are a closed population that can be reached fairly easily, but how about everyone else? Do people just have to call up and ask for it or what?

I'm mainly just curious how people like my mid-90s grandparents know when they're up.

I know there's probably not a consistent answer, but just curious if anyone's heard anything.

CVS says that people will be able to schedule vaccination through their app, but I haven't looked into it beyond that.