***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.”

[wazu]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

complete destruction of civilization? I’m thinking there is some solution between what we are doing and that hyperbole remark.

.@NYGovCuomo: "You want to have reckless disregard for your life? It's not about your life. It's about the health care worker who'll have to treat you in the emergency room. It's about the vulnerable person who you infect, who you could kill... Sometimes it is not about you."

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) April 9, 2020

You started to make a sane statement, then embedded a tweet implying that anybody who tries to earn a living for their family has reckless disregard for the lives of others.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This.

I wasn't advocating that people should avoid the flu shot, just that I've never needed it personally.

Also, immediate family members always seem to get sick after the shot, so that's not very encouraging, either.

Pro-tip: It usually takes about two weeks to build up full immunity and the effectiveness of the shot will wane over the course of the season as the virus mutates. You are generally best off getting the shot sometime in October.

Fortunately, all flu shots have been inactivated vaccines for several years now, which means you can't get the flu from the shot, but a mild fever and malaise are not uncommon.

[Monticore]

The odds of dying from the flu shot are a lot smaller than dying from the flu.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Monticore

The odds of dying from the flu shot are a lot smaller than dying from the flu.

You're definitely still new here.

[FloridaMan88]

People waiting in long lines not exactly social distancing to get paper unemployment forms because they lost their jobs from said social distancing mandates... sad irony.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Pro-tip: It usually takes about two weeks to build up full immunity and the effectiveness of the shot will wane over the course of the season as the virus mutates. You are generally best off getting the shot sometime in October.

Fortunately, all flu shots have been inactivated vaccines for several years now, which means you can't get the flu from the shot, but a mild fever and malaise are not uncommon.

From my understanding, the sickness that occurs in some people after the flu shot isn't the flu but an allergic reaction to the "wrapper".

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

People waiting in long lines not exactly social distancing to get paper unemployment forms because they lost their jobs from said social distancing mandates... sad irony.

The great state of Florida

[Eleazar]

Many of the young people who are hospitalized with COVID are smokers/vapers. It's thought that because of the particular type of receptors the virus binds to in the lung, which are also affected by smoking and vaping, that smokers and vapers might be more vulnerable than first thought. Either one should be considered to put even a young person into a high risk category.

Perhaps vapers are overrepresented among covid patients as well because of how much sharing of those devices goes on or correlation with other risky behaviors such as a lack of distancing.

In any case, among people you wouldn't normally expect to get hit this hard by a virus, smokers and vapers seem to be right alongside the obese, diabetics, and people with other chronic lung/heart issues. FWIW

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Many of the young people who are hospitalized with COVID are smokers/vapers. It's thought that because of the particular type of receptors the virus binds to in the lung, which are also affected by smoking and vaping, that smokers and vapers might be more vulnerable than first thought. Either one should be considered to put even a young person into a high risk category.

Perhaps vapers are overrepresented among covid patients as well because of how much sharing of those devices goes on or correlation with other risky behaviors such as a lack of distancing.

In any case, among people you wouldn't normally expect to get hit this hard by a virus, smokers and vapers seem to be right alongside the obese, diabetics, and people with other chronic lung/heart issues. FWIW

Well great. I'm ducked.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Many of the young people who are hospitalized with COVID are smokers/vapers. It's thought that because of the particular type of receptors the virus binds to in the lung, which are also affected by smoking and vaping, that smokers and vapers might be more vulnerable than first thought. Either one should be considered to put even a young person into a high risk category.

Perhaps vapers are overrepresented among covid patients as well because of how much sharing of those devices goes on or correlation with other risky behaviors such as a lack of distancing.

In any case, among people you wouldn't normally expect to get hit this hard by a virus, smokers and vapers seem to be right alongside the obese, diabetics, and people with other chronic lung/heart issues. FWIW

Thanks for taking the time to type this out

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

From my understanding, the sickness that occurs in some people after the flu shot isn't the flu but an allergic reaction to the "wrapper".

The egg i think was the culprit which i think they removed.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Many of the young people who are hospitalized with COVID are smokers/vapers. It's thought that because of the particular type of receptors the virus binds to in the lung, which are also affected by smoking and vaping, that smokers and vapers might be more vulnerable than first thought. Either one should be considered to put even a young person into a high risk category.

Perhaps vapers are overrepresented among covid patients as well because of how much sharing of those devices goes on or correlation with other risky behaviors such as a lack of distancing.

In any case, among people you wouldn't normally expect to get hit this hard by a virus, smokers and vapers seem to be right alongside the obese, diabetics, and people with other chronic lung/heart issues. FWIW

Seems like a common sense connection that if people are weakening the health of their lungs by vaping or smoking, they are at higher risk from a respiratory virus.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Looks like about 250 more cases today and 40 less deaths so far today per Worldometer.

[TLO]

I wonder if quitting smoking now would have any impact - or if it's too late.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

Many of the young people who are hospitalized with COVID are smokers/vapers. It's thought that because of the particular type of receptors the virus binds to in the lung, which are also affected by smoking and vaping, that smokers and vapers might be more vulnerable than first thought. Either one should be considered to put even a young person into a high risk category.

Perhaps vapers are overrepresented among covid patients as well because of how much sharing of those devices goes on or correlation with other risky behaviors such as a lack of distancing.

In any case, among people you wouldn't normally expect to get hit this hard by a virus, smokers and vapers seem to be right alongside the obese, diabetics, and people with other chronic lung/heart issues. FWIW

I mentioned this obliquely earlier in the thread, but there is a thought that *some* the deleterious effects of COVID come from the downregulation of ACE2, an enzyme which converts angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7. Ang 1-7 has several protective effects on the cardiovascular system, where as angiotensin II has harmful effects. If you remove the good and keep the bad, you will in essence create a positive (which is actually bad in homeostatic systems) feedback loop that will lead to cardiovascular and pulmonary injury.

Animal models have also demonstrated that smoking leads to an increase in Ang II and a decrease in ACE2. Again, more of the bad, less of the good.

If you take those factors together (again this is a theory without much evidence yet), then the mechanism of insult makes sense to me.