Coronavirus 📍

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Goats and Soda : NPR

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What are the symptoms for mild, moderate and severe COVID? : Goats and Soda : NPR

Doctors think in terms of how your lungs and other organs are doing and what treatments might be required.

"SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus that causes COVID, and the designations refer largely to how well a patient's lungs are able to oxygenate and what treatment is necessary to keep the illness from progressing," says Stanford University infectious disease physician Dr. Abraar Karan.

"So when we move from mild to severe, we mean how easy or how difficult is it for you to breathe and maintain certain oxygen levels in your blood, and what treatments, if any, should we be using."

Patients, meanwhile, think in terms of how horrible they might feel. This is an important distinction because some patients can have very low oxygen levels without many other symptoms or could have bad symptoms such as high fever and a painful headache but have normal oxygen levels.

Boosterism 💉

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Boosterism 💉

I am no fan of Boosterism, the public form of masterbation by some liberals over the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s the use of coercion over others to get self pleasure by feeling morally superior because you are vaccinated and are forcing others to get vaccinated.

It’s hard to disagree with the benefits of choosing to get vaccinated. Especially the first two shots – they can save your life and keep you out of the hospital. Arguably those first two shots are the most important – but getting a booster isn’t a half had idea either because it gives you extra protection from the virus. I got my shots and the booster.

But whatever. I can see the benefits of vaccine – less risk of hospitalization and missed work – but I’m not sure of the booster. Sure it does reduce your risk of getting sick for a few days but the evidence suggests that vaccination alone is quite protective from serious illness without the booster.

And I really don’t like the moving goal posts of vaccination mandates – first the vaccine and then the booster. Vaccination should be enough. And it’s not like the vaccine is free – it takes time and effort to get to your appointment and then you feel like crap the next few days.

My view is if you want to be a jack off over the vaccine, do it in your own bedroom. Keep it to yourself. Get vaccinated, and you will have much lower risk of getting COVID-19. But don’t celebrate coercion and mind your own business. If you are vaccinated your chances of getting sick are greatly reduced compared to your neighbor. Keep it to yourself, and feel better. 

Shots – Health News : NPR

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FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Paxlovid for COVID-19 : Shots – Health News : NPR

In a highly anticipated decision, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 at home.

The pill, called Paxlovid, is made by Pfizer. It's taken twice a day for five days in combination with a second medicine called ritonavir, a generic antiviral.

"Today's authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic," said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19."