SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Agreed. Technically I would say close to 50% on either side, but many things are grayer than black and white. There are some who do not take either side. Independent, centrist, agnostics, or whatever you call. I am one of them for sure.

 

me 2

 

went for our usual walk this morning. most people were maskless since governor goober decided the virus was no longer an outdoor threat as of 12:00 pm 04/30/21

 

This is known as "following" the science.

Of course you can follow by many months.

Mike

 

We are very fortunate in the US to be able to sit around and argue about wearing masks. Sometime we forget how fortunate

India's COVID-19 human crisis spirals with record new cases - ABC News

India: ‘The worst humanitarian crisis I’ve witnessed' - BBC News

 

Two new papers appeared on the current Nature issue providing clearer but very disturbing pictures of the pathology in the most severe and lethal cases of COVID-19. It is a huge data set on the single-cell atlas postmortem tissue samples taken from patients who died from severe COVID-19. If anyone is interested in this area here are the citations. They will now serve as an important foundational resource for the development of promising therapies, with the goal of preventing future complications and deaths due to COVID-19.

A molecular single-cell lung atlas of lethal COVID-19. Melms, et al. Nature. 2021 Apr 29.

COVID-19 tissue atlases reveal SARS-CoV-2 pathology and cellular targets. Delorey et al. Nature. 2021 Apr 29.

 

Vaccinated, I wonder about the utility of getting a COVID-19 test. My speculation:

• PCR - detects virus DNA (or more accurately RNA?) I would expect it to work only when infected with a rapid loss, 7-10 days, of sensitivity. Does recovery from a COVID-19 infection soon purge the DNA?
• Antigen - detects the antibodies. I would expect a positive result for vaccinated people that would be indistinguishable from recovery from COVID-19. This may be the only assay giving a metric for effectiveness of COVID-19 resistance.

There is a question of wasting a test on a COVID-19 on a vaccinated individual versus evaluation of the general population and infection tracking. If asked to participate in a 'study', no problem, but I'm loath to seek either test without know someone is going to use the results to better understand COVID-19 in both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

If someone has found papers addressing COVID-19 testing in vaccinated populations, I would read them.

Bob Wilson

 

The antigen test is not the same thing as the antibody test you described. The COVID-19 antigen test currently approved for use by FDA is ELISA based technology that detects a smidgen of viral particle which are detected by use of a specific antibody (most of them are not likely to be the human source, but likely to be developed in animal or monoclonal antibody by hybridoma cultures).

AFAIK, the testing requirements in many of states has been relaxed now, and in our state, fully vaccinated people are no longer required to take the test to enter our state nor required to quarantine upon arrival. Previously negative test result within 72 hours was required to travel to our state. But I think the testing even for the fully vaccinated person having had contact with the COVID-19 case recently and showing COVID-19 symptoms is still continuing. Without it, they would not know the "breakthrough" cases.

Here is the CDC page on the way they treat breakthrough vaccine cases epidemiologically.
COVID-19 Breakthrough Case Investigations and Reporting | CDC

 

nurse told me i would need a test for colonoscopy in july, but by july, that might change

 

Found this information on the CDC site. They recommend a fully vaccinated person to be tested only if he/she develops COVID-19 symptoms or living in a congregate setting.
Test for Current Infection | CDC

 

Here is the CDC page on the way they treat breakthrough vaccine cases epidemiologically.​

I’ll contact the Alabama Department of Health to let them know I’m available IF they need me.

Bob Wilson

 

No need to contact them. The study is ongoing. They will test you only if you develop COVID-19 symptoms and if turn out to be positive, then the data will be treated as a "breakthrough case" for the study. Here are the excerpts of the study explained on the page I linked. The second linked pdf will explain in detail how the CDC is asking states to participate in this case study.

What CDC is doing
CDC is leading multiple vaccine effectiveness studies to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are working as expected. In addition, CDC is coordinating with state and local health departments to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infections among people who received COVID-19 vaccine and identify patterns or trends in:

• Patient characteristics, such as age or underlying medical conditions
• The specific vaccine that was administered
• Specific SARS-CoV-2 variants that causes the infection

 

congratulations on finally getting to breath normally again !

 

i read that the cdc dropped tracking infected vaccinated persons unless they were hospitalized

 

Here is the excerpt from the CDC page on that. They are currently not recommending the asymptomatic fully vaccinated person to be tested. The CDC says, as of April 26, 2021, less than 0.01% of 95 million people fully vaccinated so far have been reported to be "breakthrough" cases, of which 27% are asymptomatic cases. The CDC estimates this count to be a undercount. My thinking is that most of the asymptomatic and mild cases of breakthrough are probably not reported. I don't think the national CDC or state CDC actively "track" individual positive cases anymore regardless of the vaccination status of the patient. Case investigation and report maybe, but "tracking" meaning contact tracing is only being done on outbreak cases even that seems to be a low priority nowadays.

In the coming weeks, CDC will transition from monitoring all reported vaccine breakthrough cases to focus on identifying and investigating only vaccine breakthrough infections that result in hospitalization or death. This shift will help maximize the quality of the data collected on cases of greatest clinical and public health importance.

How to interpret these data
It is important to note that reported vaccine breakthrough cases will represent an undercount. This surveillance system is passive and relies on voluntary reporting from state health departments which may not be complete. Also, not all real-world breakthrough cases will be identified because of lack of testing. This is particularly true in instances of asymptomatic or mild illness. These surveillance data are a snapshot and help identify patterns and look for signals among vaccine breakthrough cases.

As CDC and state health departments shift to focus only on investigating vaccine breakthrough cases that result in hospitalization or death, those data will be regularly updated and posted every Friday.​

 

I'm seeing stories of cross-border vaccination sharing expanding to other areas. In Montana, the Blackfeet Nation reached out to share its surplus first with its Albertan tribal members, then to others in the same community. In Alaska, the governor offered vaccines to the BC town of Stewart, in an effort to get the border with a nearby isolated Alaskan town open quicker. Stewart residents already received their first dose from their own government, but are facing a months-long delay for second doses. That is the apparent rollout plan for much of their nation, which hasn't been able to acquire enough vaccine supply.

Idaho has dropped all its residency or work requirements, though I haven't heard of any programs encouraging Canadians to come and get it.

Here in Washington State, the fire chief of Point Roberts, an isolated part of Washington State with land access only through Canada, and thus very strongly tied to and highly dependent upon Canada, invited Canadians there and very nearby (and U.S. citizens residing on the Canadian side) to come get vaccinated. This invite was in line the state's health department that there is no longer any residency or work requirement to get vaccinated here. But a layer of government bureaucracy in between, the Whatcom County health department, is trying to stop that outreach.

I'll have to watch for updates on how this squabble settles out.

 

The break-through infections remain a low probability risk that still attracts my attention. Yes, it is the "novel coronavirus" so a lot to learn. Still, being vaccinated, I have a dog in that fight. Happily, the CDC web sites suggests we are looking a very low, <<1%, rates.

Bob Wilson

 

the plot thickens:
694.1

 

Indeed. Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate On Covid-19 Origin - WSJ