Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) resources and discussion thread (Discussion guidelines in OP)

[Witness]

So maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like Republican messaging on the vaccine is shifting rapidly.

In the last couple of days:

Sean Hannity urged his viewers to get vaccinated (yes, I know he talked out of both sides of his mouth while doing it)
Steve Scalise was public about being vaccinated and talked up how safe it is
Steve Doocy urged people to get vaccinated
Mitch McConnell is making a point of really pushing vaccination

The Atlantic actually ran an article on it earlier:

Suddenly, Conservatives Care About Vaccines

A number of leaders on the right suddenly urged their audiences to get vaccinated in the past day. Why now?

www.theatlantic.com

Its definitely notable and it could be the start of something. Its possible that we've reached a point where so many of the deaths are among the unvaccinated, who are so frequently Republican, that they realize they're actually going to see a disadvantage in future elections if they let this continue, especially if numbers keep rising.

Even if that's the case though, I wonder, have they lost control of these people? Will their supporters even listen at this point? Or have they gone too far down the rabbit hole to be pulled back? Could even Trump loudly pushing for this at this point make a major impact? I'll still take it. It probably will convince a small number to get their shots. But how small are we talking? Can they get us another 10% of the country? Or are we looking at 1-2% at best?

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I'm thinking all they care about is the economy, these people are going to lose a lot of fucking money if the economy stumbles the rest of the year with Delta.

 

[XMonkey]

The stock drop was pretty minor all things considered. Doesn't seem like a big enough factor on its own.

 

[ChippyTurtle]

Insight: SOS: Stranded and shattered seafarers threaten global supply lines

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home.

www.reuters.com

Not only are sailors stuck on ships, many sailors are trapped from earning wages stuck in their home countries due to spreading Delta variant. This is about to cause even more delays for the global economy.

Snippets:

They are among about 100,000 seafarers stranded at sea beyond their regular stints of typically 3-9 months, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), many without even a day's break on land. Another 100,000 are stuck on shore, unable to board the ships they need to earn a living on.

The Delta variant devastating parts of Asia - home to many of the world's 1.7 million commercial seafarers - has prompted many nations to cut off land access to visiting crews, in some cases even for medical treatment. Just 2.5% of seafarers - one in every 40 - have been vaccinated, the ICS estimates.

The United Nations describes the situation as a humanitarian crisis at sea and says governments should class seafarers as essential workers. Given ships transport around 90% of the world's trade, the deepening crisis also poses a major threat to the supply chains we rely on for everything from oil and iron to food and electronics.

Bulk carrier master Singh, from northern India, is not optimistic of going ashore anytime soon; his last stint at sea lasted 11 months. He said his crew of Indians and Filipinos were living out of cabins measuring about 15ft by 6ft.

"Being at sea for a very long time is tough," he says, adding that he had heard reports of seafarers killing themselves on other ships.

India and the Philippines, both reeling from vicious waves of COVID-19, account for more than a third of the world's commercial seafarers, said Guy Platten, secretary general of the ICS, which represents over 80% of the world's merchant fleet.

"We are seriously disturbed that a second global crew change crisis is looming large on the horizon," he told Reuters, referring to a months-long stretch in 2020 when 200,000 seafarers on ships were unable to be relieved.

The crisis has led to almost half of commercial seafarers either considering leaving the industry or being unsure whether they would stay or go, according to a survey by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in March.

This suggests a looming labour crunch that would strain the world's 50,000-strong merchant shipping fleet and threaten the integrity of global supply chains.

"You don't have enough crew anyway. The shipping industry was working on a very lean model," said Mark O'Neil, CEO of leading ship manager Columbia Shipmanagement and also president of the international association for ship and crew managers.

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Only 3 countries vaccinate every container ship going in and out of their ports regardless of nationality.

The chamber says 12 countries have prioritized the push to vaccinate merchant crews, while ports in the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands are vaccinating all crews who arrive, regardless of nationality.

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Merchant ship crews still stuck at sea amid pandemic

More than 15 months into the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of seafarers vital to the global shipping industry remain stranded at sea or in ports, unable to leave their ships or get to new assignments due to global travel restrictions.

apnews.com

 

[Senator Toadstool]

Insight: SOS: Stranded and shattered seafarers threaten global supply lines

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home.

www.reuters.com

Not only are sailors stuck on ships, many sailors are trapped from earning wages stuck in their home countries due to spreading Delta variant. This is about to cause even more delays for the global economy.

Snippets:


Only 3 countries vaccinate every container ship going in and out of their ports regardless of nationality.

Merchant ship crews still stuck at sea amid pandemic

More than 15 months into the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of seafarers vital to the global shipping industry remain stranded at sea or in ports, unable to leave their ships or get to new assignments due to global travel restrictions.

apnews.com

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Good to see the US is doing that. All countries that are able should.

 

[eathdemon]

Good to see the US is doing that. All countries that are able should.

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at the moment the us is 1 of the few that can.

 

[Senator Toadstool]

Of the 100,249 people who tested positive in the Netherlands during the last week 77% weren't vaccinated at all, 14% were partially vaccinated and 9% were fully vaccinated

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Its young people ignoring everything that's driving this. At least in the west.

 

[Just Some Rando]

So maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like Republican messaging on the vaccine is shifting rapidly.

In the last couple of days:

Sean Hannity urged his viewers to get vaccinated (yes, I know he talked out of both sides of his mouth while doing it)
Steve Scalise was public about being vaccinated and talked up how safe it is
Steve Doocy urged people to get vaccinated
Mitch McConnell is making a point of really pushing vaccination

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NPR's All Things Considered talked about that tonight. The White House is asking Fox News to get their shizznit together. ( audio article & transcription )

How heavy-handed the "asking" is, is anyone's guess - but Fox at least appears to be starting to play a little ball. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Dave.]

That's the positivity rate, not the actual number of cases. In order to know the raw numbers you would have to know the total number of tests and I don't think they mention the numbers in the article (they probably do in the paper but I didn't look it up). I am not sure if the proportion of positivity rate can be extrapolated to the raw numbers of infections...if they do you could have something like 10% of all infections happening in fully vaxxed people I think?

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You actually should be able to get the total number of tests and positivity from here, which I think gives enough to calculate the numbers you are after:

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing

 

[kc44135]

I haven't seen this discussed here yet. I saw this article posted on Reddit, and it is very scary if true: https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bytq34n0u

Apparently according to data from Israel, Pfizer loses up to 42% efficacy against infection and up to 60% efficacy against severe illness after only a few months in those 65+. The only thing is this article is the only place I have seen this. A loss of 60% efficacy against Severe illness is horrible news, especially for the most vulnerable population. Why isn't this being discussed anywhere else? Is it possible this is incorrect or not legitimate? I'm not familiar with the site at all. If true tho, it's deeply concerning and I'm wondering when we will see booster shots in the US?

 

[Hollywood Duo]

I haven't seen this discussed here yet. I saw this article posted on Reddit, and it is very scary if true: https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bytq34n0u

Apparently according to data from Israel, Pfizer loses up to 42% efficacy against infection and up to 60% efficacy against severe illness after only a few months in those 65+. The only thing is this article is the only place I have seen this. A loss of 60% efficacy against Severe illness is horrible news, especially for the most vulnerable population. Why isn't this being discussed anywhere else? Is it possible this is incorrect or not legitimate? I'm not familiar with the site at all. If true tho, it's deeply concerning and I'm wondering when we will see booster shots in the US?

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I wouldn't put too much stock in a small study from one country. Who knows what external factors are at play? Maybe there was a bad lot of the vaccine distributed there. It's something to keep an eye on but the data from Europe and the US doesn't seem to match with this data from Israel.

 

[MikeHattsu]

I wouldn't put too much stock in a small study from one country. Who knows what external factors are at play? Maybe there was a bad lot of the vaccine distributed there. It's something to keep an eye on but the data from Europe and the US doesn't seem to match with this data from Israel.

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It's not a study (yet):

Ministry officials deemed the findings disturbing but claimed those were only preliminary analyses of very raw data.

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Not much to look at when they've not shared the data or anything yet.

 

[kc44135]

I wouldn't put too much stock in a small study from one country. Who knows what external factors are at play? Maybe there was a bad lot of the vaccine distributed there. It's something to keep an eye on but the data from Europe and the US doesn't seem to match with this data from Israel.

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Ok man, I really hope you're right. That was pretty concerning to read.

 

[Lishi]

I wouldn't put too much stock in a small study from one country. Who knows what external factors are at play? Maybe there was a bad lot of the vaccine distributed there. It's something to keep an eye on but the data from Europe and the US doesn't seem to match with this data from Israel.

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Actually, Singapore released the statistic of cases by vaccination yesterday. It's around the ballpark of what Israel is showing.
But there is 2 thing :
1) is likely that this is the efficacy rate vs delta, not you lose protection with time.
2) Is efficacy vs infection. Efficiency vs hospitalization is still almost perfect.

The truth of the data from the US and Europe is that they are likely missing most of the people not requiring hospital care, I think CDC flat out said that they will not track those breakthroughs.

Number of first dose

second dose.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Israel's Delta data has been really weird. That doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong or completely wrong but it definitely needs to be reconciled with what most of the rest of the world has been reporting so far.

 

[kc44135]

Actually, Singapore released the statistic of cases by vaccination yesterday. It's around the ballpark of what Israel is showing.
But there is 2 thing :
1) is likely that this is the efficacy rate vs delta, not you lose protection with time.
2) Is efficacy vs infection. Efficiency vs hospitalization is still almost perfect.

The truth of the data from the US and Europe is that they are likely missing most of the people not requiring hospital care, I think CDC flat out said that they will not track those breakthroughs.

Number of first dose

second dose.

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Are you sure on point 2? That would be very reassuring, but the article I posted was saying Pfizer lost up 60% efficacy vs severe illness, which is what I found so disconcerting about it.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Actually, Singapore released the statistic of cases by vaccination yesterday. It's around the ballpark of what Israel is showing.
But there is 2 thing :
1) is likely that this is the efficacy rate vs delta, not you lose protection with time.
2) Is efficacy vs infection. Efficiency vs hospitalization is still almost perfect.

The truth of the data from the US and Europe is that they are likely missing most of the people not requiring hospital care, I think CDC flat out said that they will not track those breakthroughs.

Number of first dose

second dose.

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The only thing that matters is if you need hospital care TBH. If you get mildly sick honestly its more or less irrelevant.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Ok man, I really hope you're right. That was pretty concerning to read.

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I could be wrong obviously but from what I see there is not enough to drawn a definitive conclusion that is applicable worldwide. We'll have that data soon enough though with how much its spreading in the US and Europe.

 

[Lishi]

Are you sure on point 2? That would be very reassuring, but the article I posted was saying Pfizer lost up 60% efficacy vs severe illness, which is what I found so disconcerting about it.

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Yes, so far pretty good.

The only thing that matters is if you need hospital care TBH. If you get mildly sick honestly it's more or less irrelevant.

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It would depend if you are infective or not.
I known that people around here stopped care about the unvaccinated but:

1) some are still waiting for their first doses here.
2) Even if you don't care about them, well it's still a drag to society if they get sick and fill the hospitals.
3) that is honestly a sad view to take, some of the people I known probably have not taken their vaccine, they are not assholes just idiots. That is not deserving covid. Especially if i could have prevented it.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Yes, so far pretty good.

It would depend if you are infective or not.
I known that people around here stopped care about the unvaccinated but:

1) some are still waiting for their first doses here.
2) Even if you don't care about them, well it's still a drag to society if they get sick and fill the hospitals.
3) that is honestly a sad view to take, some of the people I known probably have not taken their vaccine, they are not assholes just idiots. That is not deserving covid. Especially if i could have prevented it.

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I get where you are coming from...my comment is really only about personal protection. When we get to the point that kids can get the vaccine (hopefully within 3-4 months) then everyone has the ability to protect themselves and their families and you should have nothing to worry about.

 

[kc44135]

Yes, so far pretty good.

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I see, thank you, that is reassuring then. :)

 

[kc44135]

I could be wrong obviously but from what I see there is not enough to drawn a definitive conclusion that is applicable worldwide. We'll have that data soon enough though with how much its spreading in the US and Europe.

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Right, gotcha, hopefully the vaccines remain as effective as they have been so far.

 

[cyba89]

Number of administered first doses in Germany has dropped drastically the past week. It's currently at their lowest since March. 60.2% got their first dose so far. Wonder if we will even get to 70% without some incentives and mass-vaccination of below 18 year-olds.

The official goal to control the pandemic set by the RKI is 85% for below and 90% for over 60 year olds. There's no way we will archieve that.

 

[KungFuKunta]

Whatever doomposting I was doing before I never imagined this sort of a vertical jump in July. In both cases and hospitalizations.






We're gonna hit 100k cases a day before August at this rate

 

[grmlin]

Number of administered first doses in Germany has dropped drastically the past week. It's currently at their lowest since March. 60.2% got their first dose so far. Wonder if we will even get to 70% without some incentives and mass-vaccination of below 18 year-olds.

The official goal to control the pandemic set by the RKI is 85% for below and 90% for over 60 year olds. There's no way we will archieve that.

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I don't see that happening anytime soon, kids alone are more than 10% of the population that can't be vaccinated soonish.

 

[52club]

It is going to get rough in a lot of areas in the US…

 

[WinniethePimp]

The only thing that matters is if you need hospital care TBH. If you get mildly sick honestly its more or less irrelevant.

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I will agree that hospitalizations and deaths are the most pressing issue for the healthcare system. However, if we get to a point where we are mainly using these criteria to judge the situation, we are ignoring two other major factors which, if neglected, can really turn around to come back and haunt us:
1) long term consequences of "mild" or even asymptomatic cases, for which medicine still has no real answer as it's still being studied.
2) troublesome mutations, the chances of them happening are exponentially heightened in parallel with rising cases even if they are mild cases.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

I will agree that hospitalizations and deaths are the most pressing issue for the healthcare system. However, if we get to a point where we are mainly using these criteria to judge the situation, we are ignoring two other major factors which, if neglected, can really turn around to come back and haunt us:
1) long term consequences of "mild" or even asymptomatic cases, for which medicine still has no real answer as it's still being studied.
2) troublesome mutations, the chances of them happening are exponentially heightened in parallel with rising cases even if they are mild cases.

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Agreed, the only proper solution is full vaccine coverage.

 

[WinniethePimp]

Agreed, the only proper solution is full vaccine coverage.

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Even THAT is no guarantee since we are still lacking solid data about transmission rates of vaccinated people to vaccinated people, we KNOW it's less though, just by how much is still unclear, but we should be getting more data about that hopefully soon now. The more important point though, as far as mutations are concerned is, can the virus still mutate and if so at what rate in vaccinated people that are getting a mild case? Either way though, i agree if we get full vaccination coverage (which we won't), it would certainly help slow down this troublesome process by quite a bit.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

NJ Daily Numbers:

+655 new PCR cases (899464 total)
+5 deaths (23844 total)

Total fully vaccinated 5243814
Rate of transmission is 1.40
369 people in hospitals
63 in ICU
26 on ventilators

 

[Serpens007]

Hey folks. I figure I would ask here becase I'm sure it'll be better than a google search.

What does the current studies show on the possibility of reinfection after already having Covid? I know it can happen, but I remember data being very unclear on it. I got covid in between dosis, but already got my second shot last thursday (AZ + Pfizer as second). Daily infections have decreased a lot here these days, but I was wondering about this. I guess my chances of getting it would be pretty low all things considered. I'll still wear my mask and alcohol but it would be good to feel safer.

 

[gcubed]

Hey folks. I figure I would ask here becase I'm sure it'll be better than a google search.

What does the current studies show on the possibility of reinfection after already having Covid? I know it can happen, but I remember data being very unclear on it. I got covid in between dosis, but already got my second shot last thursday (AZ + Pfizer as second). Daily infections have decreased a lot here these days, but I was wondering about this. I guess my chances of getting it would be pretty low all things considered. I'll still wear my mask and alcohol but it would be good to feel safer.

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you got Covid and then you got Pfizer?

Last study showed you are in the "elite" group of highest protection. Infection + Vaccine has the highest level of protection

 

[Serpens007]

you got Covid and then you got Pfizer?

Last study showed you are in the "elite" group of highest protection. Infection + Vaccine has the highest level of protection

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Yeah, got AstraZeneca, then got covid, then got Pfizer

So it's safe to be banderas.gif

I'll take good care of myself, but feels so amazing to know this

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Maybe it's noise but I'm definitely noticing a bump in vaccinations in NJ lately. I think some of the non MAGA hesitant people are changing their minds after seeing the delta surge.

 

[XMonkey]

Some interesting data breakdowns in San Diego county: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19 Watch.pdf

Page 13 breaks out cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among fully vaccinated vs not fully vaccinated (so partial and none).

Maybe it's noise but I'm definitely noticing a bump in vaccinations in NJ lately. I think some of the non MAGA hesitant people are changing their minds after seeing the delta surge.

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I could believe it. I'm starting to notice the decrease in doses administered has now leveled off in CA and it's now at a pretty consistent pace. No increase so far, but I'll take what we can get.

 

[grmlin]

Yeah, got AstraZeneca, then got covid, then got Pfizer

So it's safe to be banderas.gif

I'll take good care of myself, but feels so amazing to know this

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That's interesting. My neighbors got COVID too in April/May. He had one shot of Pfizer before and won't get a second shot now. She wasn't vaccinated and will get a single shot after 6 months. Both have a "we are vaccinated/immune" certificate now.

That's in Germany though.

 

[Kyrios]

Maybe it's noise but I'm definitely noticing a bump in vaccinations in NJ lately. I think some of the non MAGA hesitant people are changing their minds after seeing the delta surge.

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Yeah I could see that being the case. My line manager's daycare she takes her kids to had to get shut down per the Health Department because of multiple cases. (Her kids tested negative thank god).

 

[Serpens007]

That's interesting. My neighbors got COVID too in April/May. He had one shot of Pfizer before and won't get a second shot now. She wasn't vaccinated and will get a single shot after 6 months. Both have a "we are vaccinated/immune" certificate now.

That's in Germany though.

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Here in Chile the second dose of AZ for 45 and younger got replaced with a Pfizer one while an investigation of a case of thrombosis in a 31 yo man happened. We need two shots and a two week wait after the second shot to get the certificate

 

[grmlin]

Here in Chile the second dose of AZ for 45 and younger got replaced with a Pfizer one while an investigation of a case of thrombosis in a 31 yo man happened. We need two shots and a two week wait after the second shot to get the certificate

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Same here. Got Pfizer after Astra last week. But if you tested positive one shot seems to be enough here.

 

[THE210]

I finally went in for my Pfizer booster trial appointment yesterday after a few weeks of delay. It's been over 24 hours with no side effects so it's safe to assume I'm in the placebo group.

 

[kai3345]

Breakthrough Case here. Got Pfizer back in March.


I went to a live wrestling event here in Austin Texas last week. Knew I probably shouldn't go but I knew I was vaccinated so I thought I'd be fine.

Fast forward to Sunday evening and im getting some fatigue/body aches and a scratchy throat. I've been dealing with some chronic acid reflux & asthma stuff since March 2020 and have had spells of scratchy throats and body aches before so I figured it was just another one of those popping up. They usually went away in a day or two. The thought of going to the wrestling show was still in the back of my mind though. By Monday night I had a cough and congested sinuses.

So finally this morning I got up and did a rapid test and sure enough it came back positive. Told everyone I went to the show with and everyone I'd seen since (including my parents ugh) and all got tested today or are getting tested tomorrow. Most from today have come back negative thankfully.

So now im just sitting here with a sore throat, cough, stuffy nose and sinus headache crossing my fingers that it doesn't get any worse and that I didn't end up infecting my parents.

Any other recovered breakthroughers on here? How long after the onset of your symptoms did it take to get better?

 

[eathdemon]

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891?query=featured_home new study shows mrna vacines 88% v delta.

 

[WinniethePimp]

I finally went in for my Pfizer booster trial appointment yesterday after a few weeks of delay. It's been over 24 hours with no side effects so it's safe to assume I'm in the placebo group.

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Not necessarily. Plenty of people didn't report any side effects after 1st or 2nd dose for their actual vaccines.

 

[Dan]

Two doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca shots effective against Delta variant: study

Two doses of Pfizer (PFE.N) or AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant as they are against the previously dominant Alpha variant, a study published on Wednesday showed.

www.reuters.com

Delta variant findings at preventing symtomatic disease:

Pfizer (two doses), 88% effective vs Delta variant (compared to 93% effective vs Alpha variant)
Astrazenica (two doses), 67% effective vs Delta variant (compared to 74.5% effective vs Alpha variant).

So with both types of jab, close to the original levels provided vs the Kent variant, which is excellent news.

 

[Joni]

Two doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca shots effective against Delta variant: study

Two doses of Pfizer (PFE.N) or AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant as they are against the previously dominant Alpha variant, a study published on Wednesday showed.

www.reuters.com

Delta variant findings at preventing symtomatic disease:

Pfizer (two doses), 88% effective vs Delta variant (compared to 93% effective vs Alpha variant)
Astrazenica (two doses), 67% effective vs Delta variant (compared to 74.5% effective vs Alpha variant).

So with both types of jab, close to the original levels provided vs the Kent variant, which is excellent news.

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Original efficacy was not versus Alpha, it was versus the old strain.

 

[grmlin]

it explains the amount of new cases in the UK though. Didn't the mainly use Astra?

Any words on the effectiveness of the Astra/mRNA combination

 

[Joni]

it explains the amount of new cases in the UK though. Didn't the mainly use Astra?

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About 50-50.

 

[Jokerman]

it explains the amount of new cases in the UK though. Didn't the mainly use Astra?

Any words on the effectiveness of the Astra/mRNA combination

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It doesn't explain the amount of new cases at all. The number of young unvaccinated people and a highly infectious strain account for those.

 

[grmlin]

It doesn't explain the amount of new cases at all. The number of young unvaccinated people and a highly infectious strain account for those.

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Hm, ok. I thought I read an article about the pretty high percentage of new cases under the vaccinated. Sorry if I remembered that wrong.

 

[Lishi]

Hm, ok. I thought I read an article about the pretty high percentage of new cases under the vaccinated. Sorry if I remembered that wrong.

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I just think the vaccine is very good preventing hospitalization, but not as good as preventing infection.

You will notice that the countries that test more and have better tracking record less vaccine efficiency. Likely because many breakthrough they never turn up for testing.

 

[Jokerman]

Hm, ok. I thought I read an article about the pretty high percentage of new cases under the vaccinated. Sorry if I remembered that wrong.

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The highest number of infections are in the 12-18 range here, which are not vaccinated at all. Of course, no vaccine is able to completely remove the risk of infection anyway. Their purpose is to prevent serious illness. People need to stop comparing vaccines really as it only serves to undermine them - Israel shows that mRNA vaccines are being broken through as well. Just get whatever you are offered.