Coronavirus
Goats and Soda : NPR
"I don't think it's a sustainable strategy to ask people to get boosters of the same vaccine every two months or three months. People just aren't going to do it.," he says. "I myself felt awful after I got the second of the third shots."
Perhaps, instead, the goal may need to shift from stopping infections to making sure everyone is protected against severe disease over the long-term.
"Could we get to the point where public health officials recommend a shot once a year," Bhattacharya says. "I think that's fairly likely. Now, whether everyone will absolutely need that shot to prevent severe disease each year, that's a different question, and we'll have to wait for the data. I think it's possible that yearly shots won't be absolutely essential for everyone."
Goats and Soda : NPR
Just as the virus is changing and evolving, so is your immune system. At the population level, immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is growing rapidly in the United States. More than half of the U.S. population has likely been infected. After the omicron surge, that percentage could rise above 80% or 90%. And more than 60% of people are vaccinated.
Both of those types of exposures to SARS-CoV-2 will reduce a person's risk of severe disease in future surges, many studies have found. "Whether you've been previously infected or vaccinated, you're more likely to have a milder course than a person who is immune naive," Goldstein says.
And thus, over time, all future variants will likely look less severe than delta or earlier versions of the virus. "Even if the variant had no change in virulence, if the population now has a high level of existing immunity, then [the variant] will, in effect, be less virulent because the average severity of infections will go down over time," he says.
So the hope among scientists is that no matter what the virus throws at us, future waves of COVID-19 will be less deadly and less disruptive, not because the virus itself has changed but because our bodies will be better able to handle the virus.
I truly tend to believe that COVID-19 is on its way out for the year – that the worst is behind us
I truly tend to believe that COVID-19 is on its way out for the year – that the worst is behind us. Omnicron spiked too quickly, it’s burn rate will be as quick as its spike. Biological creatures tend to spike and then over populate, hit a wall and then collapse. COVID-19 started to drop dramatically last year the second week of January and continue to plunge through the February and March.
A lot of the experts credit the vaccine for the great decline in COVID-19 cases come last January. By then many elderly and frail people where getting vaccinated. I’m sure that was a lot of it but also maybe the virus reached its winter peak and started to burn itself out – the big declines in the spread came before the vaccine was particularly widespread. Then of course you can credit the end of the holiday season with the end of family gatherings slowing the spread. But the drop last January was so dramatic. And we are seeing that again in New York State.
I am fine with my cloth mask but I still think mask mandates are silly and obnoxious for a quick run into the gas station, especially when you are vaccinated. If your the clerk at the gas station, yes you probably do want to wear an ordinary mask plus maybe plexiglass. I don’t agree with N95 masks unless maybe you are working in the COVID-19 ward. Cloth masks should be good enough for any casual exposure to others especially if you are fully vaccinated. Omnicron doesn’t seem that bad for those who are up to date with their shots, and those who aren’t well it’s their own problem not mine.
CareCube Accused of Running COVID-Testing Scam
Getting surprise medical bills is one of the many grim realities of the U.S. health-care system and one that was legal until recently. Three former CareCube employees say, however, that the company crossed the line by purposely lying to insurers and customers like Ramirez in order to charge them unnecessary payments. The employees, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution, say CareCube management conspired to use complicated billing procedures to exploit little-known exemptions in federal law, which requires that most COVID tests be given free of cost to patients, and then charged both parties for the same test. They say customers and insurers complained of fraudulent billing practices and that upper management has been aware of the complaints, which go back more than a year. The allegations have quietly drawn attention from federal investigators, who have interviewed at least one former employee about the alleged scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment, and neither CareCube nor any of its employees has been charged with a crime.
Coronavirus Updates : NPR
Could the U.S. really be in "good shape" in terms of the pandemic in six to eight weeks?
Yeah, I think that's the likeliest outcome. I should always caveat it by the fact that over the past two years, every time things have started looking good, something bad happens. So it's possible that will happen again. There'll be another variant that will be a curveball. But if that doesn't happen, I think the likeliest outcome for February and March is that we'll be in pretty good shape.
Most of the openly unvaccinated people I know at this point have gotten COVID-19 and it sure doesn’t seem like fun
Most of the openly unvaccinated people I know at this point have gotten COVID-19 and it sure doesn’t seem like fun. Some have gone to the hospital but I those who haven’t have had high fevers and felt like shit for days.
I don’t celebrate vaccination mandates and I don’t think they are a good thing but I think people should seriously consider the benefits of vaccination on their own, especially because it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to get at this point. If people want to harm themselves and feel like shit for many days, then all the more power to them.