Fogbow

Staggering.

BREAKING: U.S. reports more than 900,000 new coronavirus cases, biggest one-day increase on record

Sen. @MittRomney pushes CDC’s Walensky on covid data lags.

Businesses get daily data reports to make decisions, Romney says - so why is US data picture so bad?

ROMNEY: “Do we need to invest in either developing a new subagency or a task force to get... immediate data?”

Now that Omicron infections are dropping in places like the UK and New York State there seems to be a rush to end measures implemented to combat the virus.

I am not an expert in such matters but it seems to me that the number of infections is dropping at least in part because of those measures. Lifting those measure may let Omicron infect more people.

Laurie Garrett
@Laurie_Garrett
·
35m
THREAD is a must-read: "Having ~40% of the population infected by a single pathogen in the span of 8 weeks is remarkable and I can't think of an obvious modern precedent."
#Omicron

I'm not sure where to put this, so I'll copy it here. Fake Covid testing sites is now an issue being addressed in Minnesota and it looks like it's an issue throughout the country.

From CNN -

Fake Covid-19 testing sites put consumers at risk, officials say as they struggle to keep up

In recent months, mobile Covid-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Some of the sites run by private companies offer legitimate, timely and reliable results, but others are more like weeds.

High demand and scarce supply opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are having a hard time keeping up their oversight amid the proliferation. And they are sounding the alarm that by visiting the pop-up industry's sometimes makeshift tents, desperate patients could be putting their health, wallets and personal data at risk.

Consumers seeking testing — either a rapid antigen test that provides results in under an hour or a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test that generally takes longer but is more accurate — may think all testing sites are created equal, but they're not. Unfortunately, telling the good from the bad is not always easy.

Consumers at testing sites in the Chicago area have encountered employees who aren't wearing masks or gloves or have been asked to provide a Social Security or credit card number before a test is provided , said Dr. Eve Bloomgarden, who co-founded the Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team, an advocacy group.

Fake testing sites put consumers at risk for identity theft, inaccurate or missing test results, and financial losses if they're charged for the tests, which are typically free to consumers.

Houston Chronicle
@HoustonChron
·
10m
It took Houston 21 months to hit 300K COVID cases. Thanks to omicron, a month later we're nearing 400K.

Unique numbers, and the guy in FL cannot even claim ownership

Astonishing. One would think.

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 3:32 pm Astonishing. One would think.

Purely anecdotal about Omicron infectiveness.

On January 13-15, my partner and I went to a very small, local science fiction convention that we have been attending for years. 2021 was cancelled, of course. The con committee decided to go ahead with the convention this year, requiring that attendees be fully vaccinated (they checked cards) and wear masks in public areas, except when eating or drinking. Congoers were told to stay home if they felt sick.

Saturday night had a food buffet. Everyone was required to be masked in line and wear food service gloves. After my partner and I ate, we put our masks back on.

At one point, we were about six feet from someone that I will call D. D was eating not too far from us and coughing like he was trying to get rid of a lung. I couldn't stand it and went back to our room. Sunday morning, someone managed to convince D to take one of the rapid tests, and he tested positive. (D is an older fan, and I suspect that he is starting to suffer from some significant cognitive impairments. On the other hand, he has always seemed rather odd, and SF fandom tends to tolerate oddness, sometimes past the point of public safety.)

Partner and I isolated for over a week, but didn't test. We had no symptoms, and I hope that the six feet of distance, our boosted and vaccinated status, and our masks prevented us from getting sick. Someone who gave D a ride during the weekend had some symptoms but tested negative on the PCR and she seems to be fully recovered now. (Dammit: I just thought to check the Facebook of someone else who is very high risk. She got it and had symptoms but seems to be recovering.)

Despite (or because) so many of us are double vaxed and boosted, there's no telling how many of us have/had Omicron and never knew it unless we had breakthrough symptoms. Unless you have a job that requires regular testing, symptomatic or not, or later found out you were exposed to someone, you're not getting tested.

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:19 am Despite (or because) so many of us are double vaxed and boosted, there's no telling how many of us have/had Omicron and never knew it unless we had breakthrough symptoms. Unless you have a job that requires regular testing, symptomatic or not, or later found out you were exposed to someone, you're not getting tested.

I know, right? After eight days of isolating and no symptoms, I asked an older friend (who wanted some help at her house, and is also fully vaxxed and boosted) if she was comfortable with me coming into her house. She was, and we had a pleasant and productive couple of hours together. I trusted her risk assessment better than my own.

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:19 am Despite (or because) so many of us are double vaxed and boosted, there's no telling how many of us have/had Omicron and never knew it unless we had breakthrough symptoms. Unless you have a job that requires regular testing, symptomatic or not, or later found out you were exposed to someone, you're not getting tested.

I have four tests coming from the US gubbermint, they're in the mail and my question, to which I think I know the answer, is:

These tests don't show antibodies, i.e., whether you've had the virus in the past, isn't that right? These tests only show positive or negative, meaning are you sick TODAY, because otherwise how do you get on an airplane after you have recovered? You need a negative result, which means it isn't an antibody test. I think.

And to find out whether you have had COVID-19 in the past but have recovered, you have to find an antibody test of some sort, isn't that correct?

I haven't had anything but stomach and knee problems since this all started, no Covid-type symptoms, so I haven't been tested. At all. But I'm interested in finding out whether I had it and was asymptomatic or if I've been super-lucky and haven't had it at all.

Foggy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:39 pm

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:19 am Despite (or because) so many of us are double vaxed and boosted, there's no telling how many of us have/had Omicron and never knew it unless we had breakthrough symptoms. Unless you have a job that requires regular testing, symptomatic or not, or later found out you were exposed to someone, you're not getting tested.

I have four tests coming from the US gubbermint, they're in the mail and my question, to which I think I know the answer, is:

These tests don't show antibodies, i.e., whether you've had the virus in the past, isn't that right? These tests only show positive or negative, meaning are you sick TODAY, because otherwise how do you get on an airplane after you have recovered? You need a negative result, which means it isn't an antibody test. I think.

And to find out whether you have had COVID-19 in the past but have recovered, you have to find an antibody test of some sort, isn't that correct?

I haven't had anything but stomach and knee problems since this all started, no Covid-type symptoms, so I haven't been tested. At all. But I'm interested in finding out whether I had it and was asymptomatic or if I've been super-lucky and haven't had it at all.

I may be totally wrong, but I'm under the impression that the vaccine makes you positive for the antibody test.

I've often thought the same thing. Look how many patients go into the hospital for one thing to be surprised to find that they test positive.

dan1100 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:46 pm I may be totally wrong, but I'm under the impression that the vaccine makes you positive for the antibody test.

Fairly sure that is correct.

Foggy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:39 pm

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:19 am Despite (or because) so many of us are double vaxed and boosted, there's no telling how many of us have/had Omicron and never knew it unless we had breakthrough symptoms. Unless you have a job that requires regular testing, symptomatic or not, or later found out you were exposed to someone, you're not getting tested.

I have four tests coming from the US gubbermint, they're in the mail and my question, to which I think I know the answer, is:

These tests don't show antibodies, i.e., whether you've had the virus in the past, isn't that right? These tests only show positive or negative, meaning are you sick TODAY, because otherwise how do you get on an airplane after you have recovered? You need a negative result, which means it isn't an antibody test. I think.

And to find out whether you have had COVID-19 in the past but have recovered, you have to find an antibody test of some sort, isn't that correct?

I haven't had anything but stomach and knee problems since this all started, no Covid-type symptoms, so I haven't been tested. At all. But I'm interested in finding out whether I had it and was asymptomatic or if I've been super-lucky and haven't had it at all.

The home tests are antigen tests. They detect certain parts of certain proteins of the virus, so you have to have an active infection to test positive. A blood test is needed for an antibody test. An antibody test should be able to determine if your immune response is due to vaccine alone, or if you've had an infection (probably can't tell if you've had both or in what order). It is unlikely to be able to distinguish if you have an active infection.

Covid can cause different levels of antibodies in different people. Moreover, the durability of those antibodies differ by person. So one person having Covid 6 months ago may show strong antibodies while another person infected at the same time may show no antibodies. I'm pretty sure I've read that the vaccines are more consistent at antibody production and durability.

Ah, that's good news, because it means an antibody test on me (2 vaxes + booster) wouldn't have much meaning, I'm probably full of antibodies right now.

Well, one of our tests is set aside for ol' Wifehorn, our niece is delivering a baby girl next month and ol' Wifehorn MUST BE NEAR THE BABBY. Which means she'll have to fly back to Seattle, and a negative test would be nice. But the other three tests? No point in using them unless somebody in this house gets sick.

Hey Foggy. Mrs. Reeve got the rona a while ago as you know. She was exposed by her idiot brother (she MADE him take an in home test at our house and he was positive). She quarantined then and got a test at a clinic 3 or 4 days later and was positive. I took a couple of the at home tests cuz potentially exposed - all negative. We also used them before our delayed XMas get together with the kids and grandkids cuz potential exposure. We have stacks of them but won't use them unless we get the sniffles or something. Good idea to self test before seeing a baby IMO.

Possibly of interest. The “Excess deaths since country’s first 50 covid deaths” figures are perhaps most revealing.

“Tracking covid-19 excess deaths across countries”:
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detai ... hs-tracker

I cannot provide support for these numbers, but I do believe them.

Just got an email from our local CBS affil that says our local county health system had its worst week of the year in covid deaths, 200. So Omicron still kills people (I guess it's Omicron. Even DeathSantis said that's the overwhelming majority of cases in FL now and just because his buddy's monoclonal antibody treatment doesn't work on Omicron is no reason for Biden to stop funding the therapy.)

Jeeze, my county has a million plus, and we've only had 967 deaths since the very beginning of this thing.