Coronavirus

[Hoosier]

This map represents weekly cases per 100k people.  0 is the best and 3 is the highest level.  

Lots of 2s in the northern part of the state.  It is interesting to note that every county in the northern row except for one is at least at 2 with a couple at 3.  I know this was alluded to, but I wonder if there is beginning to be some spillover effect happening from Michigan.  The county I live in and the county directly to my east technically do not border Michigan, but since the Indiana portion of Lake Michigan is not extremely wide, it's still not far away from Michigan.  I can be there in 45 minutes and most people in the northern row of counties could get there even faster. 

 

  

[outflow]

My supervisor is out with a covid like illness waiting on his test result. If positive it will be the second time in 5 months he had gotten covid as he tested positive and was sick in early December. 

[Hoosier]

7 minutes ago, outflow said:

My supervisor is out with a covid like illness waiting on his test result. If positive it will be the second time in 5 months he had gotten covid as he tested positive and was sick in early December. 

Would be pretty unusual but not unheard of to have it twice in 5 months.  I know at least some of the variants seem to be able to reinfect people who already had covid more easily.  Curious to see if he really does have it again.  Let us know.

[StormfanaticInd]

Worldwide starting to get close to the winter peak. Over 800k cases and 13,533 deaths today 

[StormfanaticInd]

Remain hopeful that this will be our last real surge in America before the vaccines begin to beat back this surge hopefully by June

[Hoosier]

2 minutes ago, StormfanaticInd said:

Remain hopeful that this will be our last real surge in America before the vaccines begin to beat back this surge hopefully by June

Something has gone wrong if we're not trending down in cases/hospitalizations by then.

[outflow]

42 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Would be pretty unusual but not unheard of to have it twice in 5 months.  I know at least some of the variants seem to be able to reinfect people who already had covid more easily.  Curious to see if he really does have it again.  Let us know.

Him and his wife had to go to the local credit union last Thursday to do some paperwork for there house. They both got sick Monday. Today it was announced the credit union is closed til monday. No reason was given but I've got a good idea why.....

[StormfanaticInd]

7 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Something has gone wrong if we're not trending down in cases/hospitalizations by then.

What's starting to make uneasy is the amount of virus still out there globally. I believe this is where vaccine passports are going to have to become necessary to travel internationally 

[TimB]

9 hours ago, StormfanaticInd said:

What's starting to make uneasy is the amount of virus still out there globally. I believe this is where vaccine passports are going to have to become necessary to travel internationally 

I’m obviously of the opinion that vaccine passports to attend sporting events, concerts, etc. are just fine and dandy. That said, I think there’s even more of a case to be made for having vaccine passports for international travel. Do we really want unvaccinated Americans or whatever country is having a surge at the time traveling to other countries and spreading covid? It’s one thing for unvaccinated people to spread it to other willfully unvaccinated Americans who know the risks they’re taking, but it’s an entirely different thing to go to Jamaica or Cancun or something and start an outbreak among people who haven’t even had the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Yes, there’s the argument that it discriminates against people in poorer countries with less vaccine access, but I can’t imagine a lot of people in these countries are jet-setting around the world.

[MJO812]

Cuomo extends curfew on restaurants and Bars starting April 19.

 

11pm to 12am

[schoeppeya]

2 hours ago, TimB84 said:

I’m obviously of the opinion that vaccine passports to attend sporting events, concerts, etc. are just fine and dandy. That said, I think there’s even more of a case to be made for having vaccine passports for international travel. Do we really want unvaccinated Americans or whatever country is having a surge at the time traveling to other countries and spreading covid? It’s one thing for unvaccinated people to spread it to other willfully unvaccinated Americans who know the risks they’re taking, but it’s an entirely different thing to go to Jamaica or Cancun or something and start an outbreak among people who haven’t even had the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Yes, there’s the argument that it discriminates against people in poorer countries with less vaccine access, but I can’t imagine a lot of people in these countries are jet-setting around the world.

I agree that it definitely makes sense for international travel

[StormfanaticInd]

 

[schoeppeya]

20 minutes ago, StormfanaticInd said:

 

What’s the IFR like over there?

[winterwx21]

I've been criticized by a few people here that think I go too far with talk about how much exercise can help to prevent severe Covid, but here is a brand new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that provides powerful evidence. In this study they compared people that were physically inactive to people that got a lot of physical activity, and the people that were inactive developed severe Covid and died at much higher rates. In fact, physical inactivity was actually seen as the greatest risk factor for severe Covid outcomes other than advanced age and organ transplant. Even higher than all the other CDC listed risk factors like obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Here is a good quote from Professor Jim Sallis, one of the study's authors...

"Getting vaccinated and following public health safety guidelines such as social distancing and mask use remain critical for reducing risk of transmission. But we recommend public health authorities inform all populations that engaging in regular physical activity may be the single most important action individuals can take to prevent severe Covid -19 and its complications, including death. We also recommend clinicians encourage their patients to be physically active, especially those who have other risk factors."

Here is the article and study...

https://www.miragenews.com/shot-of-exercise-can-prevent-covid-19s-deadly-543704/

So no, I am not exaggerating when I talk about how important exercise is in preventing severe Covid. It's a powerful tool and is absolutely critical. This pandemic would not have been anywhere near as bad as it has been, had most people gotten the recommended amount of physical activity rather than being sedentary. It's very sad. And of course I am not saying exercise instead of getting vaccinated. It's important for most people to get vaccinated. But only a small percentage of the world is vaccinated, and it's going to take a long time to get the majority vaccinated. There will also be plenty of people that decide to not get vaccinated, for different reasons. So this is very important information. Getting into shape is critical in preventing severe Covid. We would not have had this type of pandemic had people just been physically active.

[BuffaloWeather]

3 minutes ago, winterwx21 said:

I've been criticized by a few people here that think I go too far with talk about how much exercise can help to prevent severe Covid, but here is a brand new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that provides powerful evidence. In this study they compared people that were physically inactive to people that got a lot of physical activity, and the people that were inactive developed severe Covid and died at much higher rates. In fact, physical inactivity was actually seen as the greatest risk factor for severe Covid outcomes other than advanced age and organ transplant. Even higher than all the other CDC listed risk factors like obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Here is a good quote from Professor Jim Sallis, one of the study's authors...

"Getting vaccinated and following public health safety guidelines such as social distancing and mask use remain critical for reducing risk of transmission. But we recommend public health authorities inform all populations that engaging in regular physical activity may be the single most important action individuals can take to prevent severe Covid -19 and its complications, including death. We also recommend clinicians encourage their patients to be physically active, especially those who have other risk factors."

Here is the article and study...

https://www.miragenews.com/shot-of-exercise-can-prevent-covid-19s-deadly-543704/

So no, I am not exaggerating when I talk about how important exercise is in preventing severe Covid. It's a powerful tool and is absolutely critical. This pandemic would not have been anywhere near as bad as it has been, had most people gotten the recommended amount of physical activity rather than being sedentary. It's very sad. And of course I am not saying exercise instead of getting vaccinated. It's important for most people to get vaccinated. But only a small percentage of the world is vaccinated, and it's going to take a long time to get the majority vaccinated. There will also be plenty of people that decide to not get vaccinated, for different reasons. So this is very important information. Getting into shape is critical in preventing severe Covid. We would not have had this type of pandemic had people just been physically active.

Tell that to Quinton Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks.

[winterwx21]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Tell that to Quinton Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks.

I don't know anything about Quinton Hughes, but there will always be exceptions. Exercise greatly reduces severe Covid risk, but it doesn't eliminate it. Your attitude is downright puzzling. Greatly reducing risk isn't important, just because there will still be some cases of severe Covid among people that exercise? Is that what you're trying to imply? You'd much rather have very low risk than high risk, wouldn't you?? I would hope so.

[TimB]

13 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Tell that to Quinton Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks.

Careful, remember what happened the last time an athlete’s name was mentioned in this thread. That said, of course having a heart and lungs that are in good working order (as many athletes do) will likely reduce the severity of covid if you do get it in many cases. But I do see two issues here: 

1. A massive number of people died in the early months of this pandemic. Even if a lot of them started exercising as soon as they heard about covid, they wouldn’t have had time to get into good enough shape to make a significant difference before they contracted covid and died.

2. We now have something that prevents severe covid even more effectively than exercise.

[BuffaloWeather]

8 minutes ago, winterwx21 said:

I don't know anything about Quinton Hughes, but there will always be exceptions. Exercise greatly reduces severe Covid risk, but it doesn't eliminate it. Your attitude is downright puzzling. Greatly reducing risk isn't important, just because there will still be some cases of severe Covid among people that exercise? Is that what you're trying to imply? You'd much rather have very low risk than high risk, wouldn't you?? I would hope so.

There are exceptions to everything. But statistics dont lie. Vaccine protects me against severe covid and long term covid complications. If a statistician did a risk/benefit analysis for you specifically it would 100% be in favor of getting the vaccine. But I respect each persons choice. Just don't make it seem like you are some zeus and can't get really sick from covid, because that simply isn't true. I know you've had it, but other athletes are getting pretty sick from it. Hughes was on several IVs and lost 10 lbs, and he is an elite athlete with the best care in the world, one of the best skaters in the NHL. I mean I can deadlift 500 lbs and run 3 miles in 20-21 minutes and I got it.

[Wmsptwx]

Get your vaccinations, low risk, highly effective...win win.

[BuffaloWeather]

4 minutes ago, Wmsptwx said:

Get your vaccinations, low risk, highly effective...win win.

I really hope there isn't a booster shot every 6 months though. I think I'm going to be a one and done guy. That would especially be true if the vaccine made me sick for a few days. The first shot was just a sore arm for a day.

[Hoosier]

8 minutes ago, TimB84 said:

Careful, remember what happened the last time an athlete’s name was mentioned in this thread. That said, of course having a heart and lungs that are in good working order (as many athletes do) will likely reduce the severity of covid if you do get it in many cases. But I do see two issues here: 

1. A massive number of people died in the early months of this pandemic. Even if a lot of them started exercising as soon as they heard about covid, they wouldn’t have had time to get into good enough shape to make a significant difference before they contracted covid and died.

2. We now have something that prevents severe covid even more effectively than exercise.

This is true.  I think there's still incentive to get more physical activity and lose weight though.  Besides the overall health benefits, there's at least some reason to think that the vaccine won't work as effectively in people who are very overweight.  So in particular for someone who is carrying a lot of extra pounds and is putting off getting the vaccine... maybe try to lose some weight in the meantime.  

[TimB]

1 minute ago, Hoosier said:

This is true.  I think there's still incentive to get more physical activity and lose weight though.  Besides the overall health benefits, there's at least some reason to think that the vaccine won't work as effectively in people who are very overweight.  So in particular for someone who is carrying a lot of extra pounds and is putting off getting the vaccine... maybe try to lose some weight in the meantime.  

I agree wholeheartedly that there’s always incentive to get more physical activity and lose weight, pandemic or not. I just don’t know if psychologically “because covid is more likely to kill you if you get it when you’re obese” would be enough of a PSA for the average overweight person to try harder. Think about all the arguments that smokers’ loved ones use to try to get them to quit, often to no avail. It’s not quite the same thing because of the addiction factor, but to some extent overeating is similar (though there are many, many other causes of obesity).

[schoeppeya]

1 minute ago, Hoosier said:

This is true.  I think there's still incentive to get more physical activity and lose weight though.  Besides the overall health benefits, there's at least some reason to think that the vaccine won't work as effectively in people who are very overweight.  So in particular for someone who is carrying a lot of extra pounds and is putting off getting the vaccine... maybe try to lose some weight in the meantime.  

We are a year in and half the country still doesn't have the vaccine, enough time for most people to make a dramatic improvement in their health. 

[schoeppeya]

1 minute ago, TimB84 said:

I agree wholeheartedly that there’s always incentive to get more physical activity and lose weight, pandemic or not. I just don’t know if psychologically “because covid is more likely to kill you if you get it when you’re obese” would be enough for the average overweight person to try harder.

I am sure you're right, people know being overweight increases their risk for mortality from every other leading cause of death (heart disease, cancer, diabetes) and that doesn't slow many down. 

[Powerball]

'Masks work': South Carolina's top health official says it's too early to drop mask mandates

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/south-carolina-health-director-face-mask-mandatory-spread-covid/275-60939c64-2f51-45b4-8171-a292989d2b20

SOUTH CAROLINA, USA — South Carolina's top health official is in the spotlight after saying it's too early for towns and municipalities in the Palmetto State to drop their COVID-19 face mask requirements. 

Dr. Brannon Traxler, who was recently named South Carolina's public health director after holding the interim role, made the comments during the state's COVID-19 briefing Wednesday. 

"Our analyses at DHEC (South Carolina's Department of Health and Environment Control) of the data have shown that the mask mandates decrease the number of cases in communities," Traxler said. "We've done three different mask ordinance analyses, all of which indicated what we already know, that masks work..."

[winterwx21]

5 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

There are exceptions to everything. But statistics dont lie. Vaccine protects me against severe covid and long term covid complications. If a statistician did a risk/benefit analysis for you specifically it would 100% be in favor of getting the vaccine. But I respect each persons choice. Just don't make it seem like you are some zeus and can't get really sick from covid, because that simply isn't true. I know you've had it, but other athletes are getting pretty sick from it. Hughes was on several IVs and lost 10 lbs, and he is an elite athlete with the best care in the world, one of the best skaters in the NHL. I mean I can deadlift 500 lbs and run 3 miles in 20-21 minutes and I got it.

I don't go as far as thinking I'm completely immune from getting severely ill from Covid, even though Covid had very little impact on me when I had it. My severe Covid risk is extremely low, just a tiny fraction of 1%. Low enough that I don't have to live in fear. But that doesn't mean still don't be smart. I wear the KN95 masks when I go places and never do anything dumb like go to a party. Having a very tiny risk is not having a zero risk. No one is completely immune. I realize that. But it definitely makes me feel better that my risk is extremely low due to all the exercise I do. If I was out of shape, I would be terrified of the virus and would have gotten the vaccine as quickly as possible. But right now I'm still not even eligible for the vaccine because they haven't opened it up yet for the lowest risk group here in NJ. That changes next week. I will still consider the mRNA vaccine. As you know, I am very worried about possible severe allergic reaction since I have a history of that and we've seen severe allergic reactions to the mRNA vaccines. I am going to make an appointment with my allergist to talk about it. I read that being tested to see if you're allergic to the vaccine is something that is coming out soon.

One thing to remember is that athletes getting very sick, like you're talking about, doesn't mean that they're having SEVERE outcomes. There's a difference between being sick as a dog in bed, and being in a hospital struggling to breathe and fighting for your life. Exercise is proven to greatly reduce severe Covid outcomes like being hospitalized and dying. But you can still get sick as a dog if you're an elite athlete. That's rough, but it's a heck of a lot better than being at risk of dying. So even these athletes that are getting very sick are still seeing the benefit of being in great shape. If they were not in great shape, they might have needed hospitalization instead. Of course there are also lots of athletes that get mild or no symptoms.

I've noticed that many people are in denial about how much Covid risk is increased by being out of shape and decreased by getting into shape. I can provide quotes from many doctors and health experts that say it has been driving them crazy that getting into better shape through diet/exercise wasn't put into the guidelines early in the pandemic. I think that was one of the big failures during this pandemic and has cost a lot of people their lives. So I think it's important to get this type of information out, like the new study that I just posted.

[Powerball]

Nearly 7 million Americans might not get a COVID-19 vaccine because they don’t know it’s free

https://fortune.com/2021/03/10/covid-vaccine-free-people-not-getting-coronavirus-vaccines-cost-price/

 

Quote

A new U.S. Census survey found that 6.9 million U.S. residents don’t plan to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because they’re mistakenly concerned about the cost of the shot. In reality, the U.S. government is paying for the vaccine, making it free at the point of service to all U.S. residents—but the survey points to major shortfalls in efforts to communicate that to the public.

Those expressing misplaced worry about vaccine costs amount to slightly over 2% of the U.S. population. That might not seem dire, but it contributes to a broader wave of "vaccine hesitancy," or unwillingness or uninterest in receiving a vaccine, that could prolong the coronavirus pandemic.

The data was gathered as part of the U.S. Census’s Household Weekly Pulse survey ending March 1. It also found that a stunning 90 million U.S. residents feel some form of vaccine hesitancy. Hesitancy can be rooted in a variety of concerns, from worries about vaccine effectiveness to fictitious “anti-vaxx” conspiracy theories. All results are statistical extrapolations from a large, randomized sample of U.S. households.

 

[Powerball]

Ex-FDA Chief Sees 'Struggle' To Vaccinate More Than Half U.S. Population

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/04/14/987265125/ex-fda-chief-sees-struggle-to-vaccinate-more-than-half-u-s-population

One in 4 Americans would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if offered, a recent NPR/Marist poll found. Another 5% are "undecided" about whether they would get the shot. And some researchers are growing worried that this reluctance will be enough to prevent the nation from reaching what's known as herd immunity.

A former head of the Food and Drug Administration also has doubts about reaching herd immunity, the point at which the virus can no longer spread easily through the population.

More than 123 million people, or about 37% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who was FDA commissioner from 2017 to 2019, says the nation is reaching a point where supply will outstrip demand. Gottlieb is on the board of directors of Pfizer, which makes one of the coronavirus vaccines.

"I think that there's probably 150 million Americans who are eager to get vaccinated. And as we expand into the younger age cohorts and a new eligible population ... you're not going to see the demand be as brisk," Gottlieb says in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition.

"I think we get to 150 million vaccines. I think we struggle to get to 160 million," he says, which is roughly half the U.S. population. "Beyond that, I think it's going to be difficult. I'm not sure that you have the demand there."

But it's not as bad as that sounds.

"I don't know that we ever get to herd immunity," Gottlieb says. "But I think the combination of vaccinating that many people and having a lot of immunity in the population from prior infections, [is] enough that the level of spread of this virus is going to be substantially reduced..."

[schoeppeya]

1 minute ago, Powerball said:

Ex-FDA Chief Sees 'Struggle' To Vaccinate More Than Half U.S. Population

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/04/14/987265125/ex-fda-chief-sees-struggle-to-vaccinate-more-than-half-u-s-population

 

 

When was the data for this? Some of the stuff shared the other day showed almost 50% already have at least one shot and increasing quickly.... and the number of people who would refuse a shot is probably shrinking as well.

[TimB]

1 minute ago, schoeppeya said:

When was the data for this? Some of the stuff shared the other day showed almost 50% already have at least one shot and increasing quickly.... and the number of people who would refuse a shot is probably shrinking as well.

50% of adults or 50% of the US population?