2024 Summer COVID wave

[Skatastrophy]

Cases aren't tracked anymore, but deaths are on the rise again.

The wife and I are down for the count right now, but it's not nearly as bad as it was the first couple of times I got it. Out of breath going up the stairs, feel stupid and tired, hard to keep warm. My wife has it in her chest already so she's struggling with sleeping. We're young and fit so we're not so worried, but we're keeping away from the world so we don't get our friends sick too.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-summer-wave-002454161.html

[jesmu84]

Sheep

[Warriors4ever]

Thank you for being responsible about exposing others. Hope you both recover soon..

[Skatastrophy]

Sheep

You're damn right. Imagine having to do all of your own science from scratch.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

Cases aren't tracked anymore, but deaths are on the rise again.

The wife and I are down for the count right now, but it's not nearly as bad as it was the first couple of times I got it. Out of breath going up the stairs, feel stupid and tired, hard to keep warm. My wife has it in her chest already so she's struggling with sleeping. We're young and fit so we're not so worried, but we're keeping away from the world so we don't get our friends sick too.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-summer-wave-002454161.html

I got it in late May and still am just on the lethargic and bad cardio end. Not enough to be freaked out but noticely still in workout recovery time.


Weirdest part when having it was the worst sore throat of my life, cause me to drop ten lbs. from sheer pain from eating. Taste loss was at tail end when the other symptoms were subsiding but was too extreme

[Lennys Tap]

I finally got it a few weeks ago. Not bad, sore throat, runny nose, just felt a little off. Actually the worst part was the awful taste that the Paxlovid left in my mouth, especially the first 5 or 6 doses.

Hope the president’s case is as minor as mine was.

[Skatastrophy]

I finally got it a few weeks ago. Not bad, sore throat, runny nose, just felt a little off. Actually the worst part was the awful taste that the Paxlovid left in my mouth, especially the first 5 or 6 doses.

How the president’s case is as minor as mine was.

Yeah, paxlovid is terrific, but it makes the back of your throat taste so bad.

Glad you're feeling better

[Lennys Tap]

Yeah, paxlovid is terrific, but it makes the back of your throat taste so bad.

Glad you're feeling better

Thanks, Skat!

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I finally got it a few weeks ago. Not bad, sore throat, runny nose, just felt a little off. Actually the worst part was the awful taste that the Paxlovid left in my mouth, especially the first 5 or 6 doses.

Hope the president’s case is as minor as mine was.

I think my wife had the exact same comment on Paxlovid, 2 years ago when she was taking for Covid.

[MU82]

A new study adds to evidence that the shots can reduce the chances of developing one of the most dreaded consequences of Covid.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/long-covid-vaccine.html?

A summer wave of Covid is surging in many parts of the nation. Infections, emergency room visits and hospitalizations are all on the upswing.

Recognizing that Covid is now a permanent respiratory threat, as are influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, federal officials have recommended that everyone 6 months and older receive the newest vaccine this fall.

If last year is any indication, many Americans may pay no heed, opting instead to take their chances with another bout. Nearly everyone has layers of immunity acquired from prior illnesses and immunizations. For many, another go-round with Covid just means a few days of misery.

But for some people with certain risk factors — age, pregnancy, chronic conditions or a compromised immune system — an infection may bring serious illness. “It’s very, very important that they get vaccinated,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the chief of research and development at the V.A. St. Louis Health Care System.

In every age group, even a mild illness may trigger a lasting set of problems. Nearly 14 million Americans, or about 5.3 percent of adults, may now be living with long Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study published on Wednesday offers strong evidence that vaccination reduces the odds of getting long Covid.

“It’s very clear that no demographic group is spared,” Dr. Al-Aly said. ...

Hospitalization and death should not be the only factors considered, Dr. Al-Aly said. Long Covid is most likely following a severe illness but can also develop in people who only had mild symptoms.

A healthy 30-year-old may not be at risk of severe disease or hospitalization, and the “risk of death is really very, very, very, very small,” he said. But “we still see tons of people in the clinic who are young and previously healthy coming down with long Covid.”

In the new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Al-Aly and his colleagues provided persuasive evidence that vaccines cut the risk of long Covid.

Before the vaccines were introduced, about one in 10 people had long Covid one year after being infected. After the shots were available, 9.5 percent of the unvaccinated developed long Covid after an infection with the Delta variant, and 7.8 percent did so after infection with the Omicron variant.

But among vaccinated people, only 5.3 percent developed long Covid after infection with the Delta variant, and 3.5 percent after infection with the Omicron variant.

The average age of participants in the study was 64, but it included more than 63,000 people under 40 — about 14 percent.

My wife and I, for two, will be getting the newest vaccine when it's available in a couple of months. I don't want long Covid. But for those willing to roll the dice, I wish them good fortune.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

My lethargy is almost gone from my May case but dang was that a drag during the nice weather. Behind on all my yard work. It has been flying around work for a while now.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths | Health Policy | JAMA Health Forum | JAMA Network
Question  How did state restrictions affect the number of excess COVID-19 pandemic deaths?
Findings  This cross-sectional analysis including all 50 US states plus the District of Columbia found that if all states had imposed COVID-19 restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most (least) restrictive states, excess deaths would have been an estimated 10% to 21% lower (13%-17% higher) than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year period analyzed. Behavior changes were associated with 49% to 79% of this overall difference.

So, a couple of hundred thousand extra dead people.

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=62855.msg1510545#msg1510545
“On the vaccine side, I said here long ago that their calculus is that the upside of keeping their viewers perpetually in a state of misinformed rage and grievance is far greater to them than the downside of killing a few hundred thousand of them. This will continue to be true until they face the same sort of repercussions as they face with Dominion.”

[MU82]

Covid associated with increased risk for hearing loss in young adults

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/08/29/covid-hearing-loss-deafness-risk-study/?

Covid can lead to the loss of smell and taste, but another sense may also be at risk.

A recent study published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal reported that a positive coronavirus diagnosis was associated with a more than threefold increase in risk for subsequent hearing loss in young adults.

The effects of covid can linger and affect nearly every organ system, increasing the risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cognitive impairment.

The new research may be an “alert” that “covid-19 may be an independent risk factor for hearing loss and sudden sensorineural hearing loss among young adults,” said Hye Jun Kim, a biomedical sciences PhD candidate at Seoul National University and an author of the study.

The study was inspired by one of its authors, Michelle Suh, an otorhinolaryngologist at Jeju National University Hospital in South Korea who reported seeing more cases of young people with hearing problems at the outpatient clinic.

They examined South Korean electronic hospital records to analyze a population of 6,716,879 young adults ages 20 to 39 and compared diagnoses of hearing loss in those who tested positive for coronavirus with a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test to those who did not, from the start of 2020 to the end of 2022.

The incidence of hearing loss was 3.44 times higher for people who had covid than for those who did not. Similarly, the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, also known as sudden deafness — an unexplained loss of hearing all at once or over a few days — was 3.52 times higher for people who tested positive for the coronavirus.

[tower912]

Meh.  Teenagers don't listen anyway.

[rocky_warrior]

Well, I waited 4.5 years for my first positive covid test (my family never were early adopters).  This variant (after vaccines too) feels like a cold to me.  Was actually surprised by the positive test.

[tower912]

Be well.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Better late than never.

[rocky_warrior]

Better late than never.

Hah.  I would have taken never, but not awful yet. 

[tower912]

Take your revenge by replacing the server.

[rocky_warrior]

Take your revenge by replacing the server.

Hah, indeed.  I need to put in a request for that tomorrow.

[MUDPT]

Well, I waited 4.5 years for my first positive covid test (my family never were early adopters).  This variant (after vaccines too) feels like a cold to me.  Was actually surprised by the positive test.

Me too.  Didn't feel great for two days, and feel fine now.

[tower912]

Loading up on the fall vaccines.   I remember when going out to do shots was a lot more fun.

Same day after pain, though.

[rocky_warrior]

Loading up on the fall vaccines.   I remember when going out to do shots was a lot more fun.

Same day after pain, though.

I've now learned that anyone says it's easier to get "natural immunity" is full of sh*t.  Even with a mild case, the vaccine is way preferable.

[wadesworld]

I've now learned that anyone says it's easier to get "natural immunity" is full of sh*t.  Even with a mild case, the vaccine is way preferable.

Agreed.

[MUDPT]

For those wondering about timing and such, this is a really good guide.

https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/top-6-questions-answered-about-fall