Coronavirus

[ceecee]

There is one theory with research that proposes that Omicron developed independently from the original Wuhan strain in the mice population in Africa. I know Stanford is also doing research that it developed in immunocompromised human populations in Africa, likely connected to the HIV epidemic there. I don't have any personal conclusions, but it is just interesting.

mice population theory

[video=youtube;aH1u1GIPU2A]

immunocompromized human population theory

[video=youtube;hwX5D4PP9jo]

Also, hospitalizations have broken previous records in the U.S., with much higher proportion than what happened in South Africa or the U.K. It is making me wonder if Omicron is slightly mutated here. Some propose that the U.S. has more comorbidities, which could be true, but then hospitalizations should have been higher throughout the pandemic.

It absolutely is true. The number of Americans unaware that they have comorbidities, is staggering. Ask anyone in any level of healthcare. The reason for that is that millions and millions have no way of getting any kind of healthcare in this country (on top of dealing with the reasons for the comorbidities in the first place). Do you think that these people are going to go for hospitalization? No they're going to die at home and save their family from being bankrupted by an ambulance ride or a single visit to the ER and there is no way to track this. I'm incredibly tired of the theories and the hypothesis about how COVID started. Who fucking cares?

 

[Vendrah]

It absolutely is true. The number of Americans unaware that they have comorbidities, is staggering. Ask anyone in any level of healthcare. The reason for that is that millions and millions have no way of getting any kind of healthcare in this country (on top of dealing with the reasons for the comorbidities in the first place). Do you think that these people are going to go for hospitalization? No they're going to die at home and save their family from being bankrupted by an ambulance ride or a single visit to the ER and there is no way to track this. I'm incredibly tired of the theories and the hypothesis about how COVID started. Who fucking cares?

When I was a teen, I did played GTA IV and there was this line when you called an ambulance when you were dying:
"and make sure your credit card is ready!"
And I used to joke with my cousin:
"If they came by and there is no credit card with the person, are they going to just go away and let the person die on the street??"
I thought this was so insane that it was funny!!!! We used to both laugh at that.
Oh my, couldn't I imagine that it was no joke, it was real.

I even read at reddit/depression several people saying they tried to commit suicide due to debt and the hospital end the suicide and then gave them even more debt. On a sensible word, that would be a joke (a person commiting suicide by debt being "saved" by other people and have even more debt). But this reality is insane no doubt.

I live in a country where health care has both private and public service. This place has its own insanity, though, its worse than US in many aspects but not everything.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This is a great article about the Stanford study linking Omicron to HIV. The article describes pragmatic reasons this understanding is important.

"“If omicron did arise from a patient with HIV, it represents a wake-up call to the world that we can’t forget about the HIV pandemic in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jonathon Li, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School... Li said that HIV patients are at high risk, and additional measures to keep them safe must be taken. Researchers agree that the next steps include addressing the global vaccine equity gap to deter the emergence of future variants and increasing accessibility to HIV testing and therapy. "

Full article

Stanford COVID-19 case suggests possible link between Omicron variant and HIV​

 

[SD45T-2]

I've been away from this thread for some time because life has been busy, but also because I (and my immediate family) had what was likely Delta in October. It was annoying enough that I found no joy in posting about it. I missed about 2-3 scattered days of work even though I already work from home, mostly so that I could get some rest (sleeping about 12-16 hours per day). It was similar in impact to handful of severe influenza infections I've had, but it didn't come close to the viral pneumonia I had in my early 20's.

Anyway, I wanted to post this because I think it's a good summary of why we're quite possibly at a good point in the pandemic with the latest Omicron variant.

My mom tested positive day before last (presumably it's Omicron), but she's only slightly sick. My dad and I seem to be unaffected. So far so good. I guess I'll need to call my supervisor tomorrow about when I should come back. I can't remember all of the city's latest protocols for employees off the top of my head.

Besides, there are only so many letters left in the Greek alphabet.

Well they skipped Nu because that seemed liked it would be too confusing, and skipped Xi because it sounds like the leader of China. But they could still use, Theta, Kappa, and Gamma, right?

 

[Luminous]

My mom tested positive day before last (presumably it's Omicron), but she's only slightly sick. My dad and I seem to be unaffected. So far so good. I guess I'll need to call my supervisor tomorrow about when I should come back. I can't remember all of the city's latest protocols for employees off the top of my head.

Well they skipped Nu because that seemed liked it would be too confusing, and skipped Xi because it sounds like the leader of China. But they could still use, Theta, Kappa, and Gamma, right?

I am sorry that your mom caught it. I hope you all remain well. Get an oximeter for your mom if there's any doubt whether she needs to see a doctor. It really helped my mom to know what the number was rather than to have to decide when it was important to go just by feel.

 

[SD45T-2]

I am sorry that your mom caught it. I hope you all remain well. Get an oximeter for your mom if there's any doubt whether she needs to see a doctor. It really helped my mom to know what the number was rather than to have to decide when it was important to go just by feel.

It's about like a routine cold and she seems to be on the mend. I know the department I work for got a supply of tests recently but I have no idea if they've been used up yet or not.

 

[Red Herring]

The German economy grew by 2.7% in 2021. According to several estimates, about 0.5 percentage points of that 2.7 are down to just one company: BioNTech (the brains behind the Pfizer vaccine).

Ironically, the vaccine is in short supply in its own country. The government bought lots of Moderna because BioNTech had supply issues. However, the population tends to prefer BioNTech over Moderna, so there are a bunch of people showing up at the vaccination centers asking for BioNTech (which in Germany is often viewed as the best vaccine on the market). You can't choose your vaccine though, they are picked mainly based on age group (Moderna for over 30 year olds, BioNTech for the younger). Right now about 72.5% of the total population (including children) are completely vaccinated (87.7% of the over 60s are at least twice vaccinated). That's more than the 62.9% (total population) in the USA but still not enough for omicron.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

This morning on my FB I just read about half a dozen people dying of COVID-19 over the past couple of months, so I think it's from Delta infection. Many are from the church I grew up in that has about half of the people as deniers, but they tend to all gather for their services, so it's a particularly bad combination. Some of the people who died I knew back in college, so it's unsettling.

I wonder if anyone else in the U.S. received notification from their health insurance companies for lowered COVID-19 coverage? I suspect it's an overall trend even though mine is a least expensive marketplace insurance plan, so I have bottom-of-the-barrel health insurance (although I'm thankful that the idea is that my $7K deductible would limit my hospital bill if I had an emergency). I get two doctor visits a year with $30 copay, and my BC prescription is covered, and my asthma medication down to $25, but I had to pay $100 for blood test and labs. I appreciate what it is, but it's not a great safety net.

My letter reads "Beginning Jan 1, 2022 COVID-19 testing that is not deemed medically necessary will not be covered. This includes COVID-19 testing performed for monitoring purposes such as: employment requirements or return to workplace, education, travel or entertainment. Coverage for COVID-19 testing costs performed for these purposes will be denied and will be your responsibility. Medically necessary testing will continue to have $0 cost-share through the end of the national Public Health Emergency. Inpatient and observation treatment for COVID-19 will no longer be covered at 100%. Costs for these services will apply towards your plan's deductible, coinsurance, copays, and/or out-of-pocket costs."

 

[Red Herring]

This morning on my FB I just read about half a dozen people dying of COVID-19 over the past couple of months, so I think it's from Delta infection. Many are from the church I grew up in that has about half of the people as deniers, but they tend to all gather for their services, so it's a particularly bad combination. Some of the people who died I knew back in college, so it's unsettling.

I wonder if anyone else in the U.S. received notification from their health insurance companies for lowered COVID-19 coverage? I suspect it's an overall trend even though mine is a least expensive marketplace insurance plan, so I have bottom-of-the-barrel health insurance (although I'm thankful that the idea is that my $7K deductible would limit my hospital bill if I had an emergency). I get two doctor visits a year with $30 copay, and my BC prescription is covered, and my asthma medication down to $25, but I had to pay $100 for blood test and labs. I appreciate what it is, but it's not a great safety net.

My letter reads "Beginning Jan 1, 2022 COVID-19 testing that is not deemed medically necessary will not be covered. This includes COVID-19 testing performed for monitoring purposes such as: employment requirements or return to workplace, education, travel or entertainment. Coverage for COVID-19 testing costs performed for these purposes will be denied and will be your responsibility. Medically necessary testing will continue to have $0 cost-share through the end of the national Public Health Emergency. Inpatient and observation treatment for COVID-19 will no longer be covered at 100%. Costs for these services will apply towards your plan's deductible, coinsurance, copays, and/or out-of-pocket costs."

The first paragraph is sad. The second infuriating (because there are place where insurances offer much more) and the third sounds like an unwise decision on their part (because fewer tests means more infections and thus more expensive hospitalizations as well as more colateral damages and additional costs due to people that couldn't be treated on time in overcrowded hospitals).

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Isn't testing free? Insurance information is collected, but then isn't the government covering what insurance doesn't? (So, you can not give insurance info for test, and the government will cover it?) I haven't had a test done, but that's my understanding.

I'm pretty sure the current arrangement for home tests is that insurance will reimburse for something like eight a month (like, they aren't given a choice). Or someone can request several directly from the government?

 

[Z Buck McFate]

@Virtual ghost Aren't you in Croatia? What's the general opinion about that tennis player (from Serbia?) who can't play in some tournament because he refused vaccination? (I mean, the guy lied about testing positive and attended events without a mask days afterwards, and I think that alone should have consequences - but I'm wondering what kind of anti-vax presence you have there).

 

[ceecee]

Isn't testing free? Insurance information is collected, but then isn't the government covering what insurance doesn't? (So, you can not give insurance info for test, and the government will cover it?) I haven't had a test done, but that's my understanding.

I'm pretty sure the current arrangement for home tests is that insurance will reimburse for something like eight a month (like, they aren't given a choice). Or someone can request several directly from the government?

I received an EOB from my insurance company for the tests (antigen and PCR) I got right before Thanksgiving ($30 and $250). Reason for the full price charge: Out of network (lab) provider.

 

[ceecee]

@Virtual ghost Aren't you in Croatia? What's the general opinion about that tennis player (from Serbia?) who can't play in some tournament because he refused vaccination? (I mean, the guy lied about testing positive and attended events without a mask days afterwards, and I think that alone should have consequences - but I'm wondering what kind of anti-vax presence you have there).

I'm pretty sure he was the one that proposed a pro tennis players union - but for men only.

Not VG, Novak Djokovic lol.

 

[Virtual ghost]

@Virtual ghost Aren't you in Croatia? What's the general opinion about that tennis player (from Serbia?) who can't play in some tournament because he refused vaccination? (I mean, the guy lied about testing positive and attended events without a mask days afterwards, and I think that alone should have consequences - but I'm wondering what kind of anti-vax presence you have there).

I really don't care about the guy. For me all of this is just pointless spectacle in which you have nothing to see. Also if he broke some rules he should suffer the consequences.
But here the antivaxx agenda is very strong and only 53% got both doses (14% booster) . What means that death rare per capita is so bad that is even above Brazil at this point. However as you look further east it gets even worse in various numbers.

 

[Red Herring]

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073...twitter.com&utm_medium=social&t=1642596649203

So Gorsuch refuses to wear a mask even though it poses a serious threat to the life and health of Sotomayor?

Leaving aside for a moment what a dick move that is and how I still don't understand America's course in this pandemic... I wonder what working together will feel like for them over the next few years. How awkward will that be?! "Yeah, sorry about not giving enough of a fuck for your life to wear a mask. Need anything from the canteen?"

 

[Abcdenfp]

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073...twitter.com&utm_medium=social&t=1642596649203

So Gorsuch refuses to wear a mask even though it poses a serious threat to the life and health of Sotomayor?

Leaving aside for a moment what a dick move that is and how I still don't understand America's course in this pandemic... I wonder what working together will feel like for them over the next few years. How awkward will that be?! "Yeah, sorry about not giving enough of a fuck for your life to wear a mask. Need anything from the canteen?"

I will never understand the visceral response to the mask mandates, in our country it has been mandatory for the past 2 years (and still is)

 

[Red Herring]

I'm with him:

 

[Red Herring]

Para los que entienden el castellano y quieren un poco más de contexto, aca tienen el clip completo:

 

[Virtual ghost]

Today there is chance that global record falls again.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Worldometer