COVID-19 >>"True and Helpful" Covid Information Thread

[Anonymous]

Alberta reported 134 cases today with 71 of them to the Stampede.

[Anonymous]

Alberta reported 194 new cases today with 84 cases now linked to Calgary Stampede.

[Anonymous]

Google, Facebook and Netflix announced their plans to require vaccines for their on-site employees in the United States.

[cc]

Fash .. What's this I hear about Alberta's latest "rules" ...  "contact with someone infected do not have to quarantine ...  and even those infected do not have to quarantine?



Did I hear it right  on Global News?

[Anonymous]

Canada and Mexico imported millions of doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and offered them to the public without health officials properly inspecting the operations of the U.S. manufacturer, according to inspection records and the regulators involved.

[Anonymous]

Fash .. What's this I hear about Alberta's latest "rules" ...  "contact with someone infected do not have to quarantine ...  and even those infected do not have to quarantine?



Did I hear it right  on Global News?

I just looked it up and people who are infected are no longer legally required to quarantine. Cases are climbing in Alberta too.

[Anonymous]

Fash .. What's this I hear about Alberta's latest "rules" ...  "contact with someone infected do not have to quarantine ...  and even those infected do not have to quarantine?



Did I hear it right  on Global News?

 :2r4ml1j_th:

[cc]

Fash .. What's this I hear about Alberta's latest "rules" ...  "contact with someone infected do not have to quarantine ...  and even those infected do not have to quarantine?



Did I hear it right  on Global News?

I just looked it up and people who are infected are no longer legally required to quarantine. Cases are climbing in Alberta too.

So it is true. That's absurd & guaranteed to cause another wave



We are so stupid. We bounce from one extreme right straight to the other extreme .... and then wonder why we keep getting set back again

[Anonymous]

The legal requirements to isolate and tracing still apply to acute and long term care facilities.

[cc]

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2021/07/30/cdc-document-paints-more-dire-picture-of-threat-posed-by-delta-variant-than-previously-believed.html">CDC document paints more dire picture of threat posed by delta variant than previously believed



The highly transmissible delta variant is a more formidable foe than previously believed, largely due to its ability to infect and be spread by people who are fully vaccinated, according to data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



A confidential document prepared by the agency cites evidence from a recent outbreak in Massachusetts involving at least 145 people who were infected with the delta variant, which was first detected in India. In the Massachusetts outbreak, the viral loads of the 80 people who were vaccinated were essentially the same as the viral loads of the 65 people who were not vaccinated.



The CDC document also cites reports about so-called breakthrough cases in India. The viral loads of vaccinated people who nonetheless became infected with delta were higher than the viral loads of vaccinated people who were infected with other coronavirus strains, those reports found.



Some of the data in the document was described Tuesday by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky when she announced new guidance regarding the use of face masks. In parts of the country where coronavirus transmission rates are "substantial" or "high," everyone — regardless of vaccination status — should wear face coverings when they're in indoor public spaces, the agency now says.



The confidential document was obtained by the Washington Post and posted on its website.





The delta variant was already known to be about 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom and is itself about 56% more transmissible than the original coronavirus that sparked the global pandemic.



Scientists have also established that people infected with Delta have about 1,000 times more viral particles in their upper respiratory systems than people who are infected with earlier coronavirus strains.



That difference allows delta to jump from person to person just four days after an initial infection, said Chunhuei Chi, director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University. With previous strains, it took about six days for that to occur, he said.



This rapid spread helps explain why the delta variant, which is thought to have arrived in the U.S. in March, now accounts for an estimated 82% of recent coronavirus infections in the United States, according to CDC estimates.



The CDC document suggests that breakthrough cases are expected to rise — not only because of delta's enhanced transmission powers, but because the number of vaccinated people is rising as well.

Though delta's superspreading abilities have been clear for some time, scientists have not been sure whether infections caused by the variant are more dangerous. The CDC document cites three reports that link the variant with more serious health outcomes:



— In a preprint study from Ontario, Canada, people infected with delta were more than twice as likely to be admitted to the hospital, nearly four times more likely to be treated in the intensive care unit, and more than twice as likely to die of COVID-19 compared with people infected with earlier versions of the coronavirus.



— In a preprint report from Singapore, people infected with delta were 4.9 times more likely to require oxygen treatment, be admitted to an ICU or die of COVID-19 than were people infected in the initial months of the pandemic.



— In a peer-reviewed study from Scotland, the odds of needing hospital care were 85% greater for people with delta infections than for people infected with other versions of the virus.





In another potentially ominous sign, the CDC document also noted that among people who had already weathered a coronavirus infection at least 180 days earlier, the risk of a subsequent infection with the Delta variant was about 46% higher than the risk of a subsequent infection with the Alpha variant.



Studies from Britain, Canada and Israel suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine loses some effectiveness when it goes up against delta. Although its ability to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections and COVID-19 cases was diminished, the vaccine was highly effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization — by 96% in England and Scotland, by 100% in Canada and by 93% in Israel.





Overall, the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. are making an impact, the CDC document says.



As of July 24, there were 178.6 new cases per week per 100,000 unvaccinated people, compared with 21.4 new cases per week per 100,000 vaccinated people — an eightfold reduction.



The weekly incidence of COVID-19 hospitalization and death were both 25 times lower in those who were vaccinated than in those who were not.



[While the last 2 paragraphs are encouraging, the gist of the this monster does keep moving the goal posts]

[Anonymous]

As of July 24, there were 178.6 new cases per week per 100,000 unvaccinated people, compared with 21.4 new cases per week per 100,000 vaccinated people — an eightfold reduction.



The weekly inciden

ce of COVID-19 hospitalization and death were both 25 times lower in those who were vaccinated than in those who were not.

[/quote]

While not perfect, any betting person would take the vaccination odds.

[Anonymous]

Here are the reasons Dr Deena Hinshaw gave for her suprise decisions yesterday.



There's going to be a large number of other respiratory viruses that we're going to have to respond to this fall. We know that influenza and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] will be coming back, two viruses that cause a lot of illness in our population, and we need to get our system ready.



We knew that we wouldn't be able to continue to test everyone with just a mild illness because there's going to be so many more viruses out there. We also know that the vaccines we have are highly effective and that they really shift the risk that COVID-19 brings to our population in general.



There's going to be a large number of other respiratory viruses that we're going to have to respond to this fall. We know that influenza and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] will be coming back, two viruses that cause a lot of illness in our population, and we need to get our system ready.



We knew that we wouldn't be able to continue to test everyone with just a mild illness because there's going to be so many more viruses out there. We also know that the vaccines we have are highly effective and that they really shift the risk that COVID-19 brings to our population in general.



 It's important that we continue to monitor COVID-19. We will be expanding our wastewater surveillance program. That can help us at a geographical level to know where COVID-19 is spreading.



We are using the Sentinel Surveillance Network of primary care physicians to understand the community impact of COVID-19 for those who are presenting to their physician's offices.



We'll be monitoring spread and outbreaks and there will be testing for those who need care. If they're sick enough to require emergency care, we'll be monitoring those results as well.



What's critical about the shift in how we're approaching COVID-19 is that individual cases are not as important when we have high vaccine coverage. Vaccines provide a very effective layer of protection, particularly against severe outcomes.



What we're doing is we're moving away from a universal provincial approach to COVID-19 that we needed to use before we had widely available vaccines. What we're moving towards is an approach that monitors and intervenes at a local level, as we do with many other diseases.That is the plan, to make sure that our interventions are targeted and focused on areas where we do see problems emerging.

[cc]

Contrast to BC: (Spoken this afternoon)

Asked whether the focus on immunization reflected an impending shift in the province's strategy similar to that underway in Alberta, Health Minister Dix was adamant that no such change is forthcoming.



"There is no plan, none, to change our approach to self-isolation with respect to COVID-19 in B.C.," Dix said Friday. "No plans, none, to change our approach to contact tracing.

No plans, none, for public health not to be fully engaged, as they've been, in the COVID-19 pandemic."



B.C.'s focus on encouraging as much immunization as possible will continue alongside mitigation efforts such as self-isolation, contact tracing and targeted restrictions like the reinstated mask mandate in the Central Okanagan, Dix said.

(Central Okanagan is where 60% of our cases are now coming from)

[Anonymous]

Here are the reasons Dr Deena Hinshaw gave for her suprise decisions yesterday.



There's going to be a large number of other respiratory viruses that we're going to have to respond to this fall. We know that influenza and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] will be coming back, two viruses that cause a lot of illness in our population, and we need to get our system ready.



We knew that we wouldn't be able to continue to test everyone with just a mild illness because there's going to be so many more viruses out there. We also know that the vaccines we have are highly effective and that they really shift the risk that COVID-19 brings to our population in general.



There's going to be a large number of other respiratory viruses that we're going to have to respond to this fall. We know that influenza and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] will be coming back, two viruses that cause a lot of illness in our population, and we need to get our system ready.



We knew that we wouldn't be able to continue to test everyone with just a mild illness because there's going to be so many more viruses out there. We also know that the vaccines we have are highly effective and that they really shift the risk that COVID-19 brings to our population in general.



 It's important that we continue to monitor COVID-19. We will be expanding our wastewater surveillance program. That can help us at a geographical level to know where COVID-19 is spreading.



We are using the Sentinel Surveillance Network of primary care physicians to understand the community impact of COVID-19 for those who are presenting to their physician's offices.



We'll be monitoring spread and outbreaks and there will be testing for those who need care. If they're sick enough to require emergency care, we'll be monitoring those results as well.



What's critical about the shift in how we're approaching COVID-19 is that individual cases are not as important when we have high vaccine coverage. Vaccines provide a very effective layer of protection, particularly against severe outcomes.



What we're doing is we're moving away from a universal provincial approach to COVID-19 that we needed to use before we had widely available vaccines. What we're moving towards is an approach that monitors and intervenes at a local level, as we do with many other diseases.That is the plan, to make sure that our interventions are targeted and focused on areas where we do see problems emerging.

We will see how this works out.

[Anonymous]

This shit changes by the hour.



Study claims vaccinations aren't enough to stop COVID variant spread and everyone needs masks for duration of the pandemic

https://www.theblaze.com/news/study-vaccinations-not-enough-masks-needed?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202021-07-30&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM">https://www.theblaze.com/news/study-vac ... Daily%20PM">https://www.theblaze.com/news/study-vaccinations-not-enough-masks-needed?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202021-07-30&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM



The study, published Friday in Nature's "Scientific Reports," follows unpopular new guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommends Americans once again mask up in areas where the virus is surging — even if they're vaccinated.



The team of researchers reportedly applied a mathematics model to the rate of transmission manifested by the coronavirus pandemic to predict how vaccination efforts may actually encourage a vaccine-resistant mutation of the virus.



"We found that a fast rate of vaccination decreases the probability of emergence of a resistant strain," the researchers wrote. "[But] counterintuitively, when a relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions happened at a time when most individuals of the population have already been vaccinated, the probability of emergence of a resistant strain was greatly increased."



Consequently, the scientists suggest "that policymakers and individuals should consider maintaining non-pharmaceutical interventions and transmission-reducing behaviors throughout the entire vaccination period."



"When most people are vaccinated, the vaccine-resistant strain has an advantage over the original strain," said Simon Rella of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, one of the study's researchers, according to CNN.



"This means the vaccine resistant strain spreads through the population faster at a time when most people are vaccinated," he added.



The report comes alongside a "pivotal discovery" about the Delta variant that led the CDC to update its mask guidance. The CDC's study reportedly found that the Delta variant produced a similar amount of viral load in both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals that had been infected.



"High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the agency's director, said in a statement.