8 votes

Weekly coronavirus-related chat, questions, and minor updates - week of April 4

This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the situation is like where you live!

6 comments

  1. skybrian
    Link
    Here's a Twitter thread from Michael Mina about how the timeline of COVID changed with Omicron for vaccinated people. (Originally from December but I don't think the message was widely heard.) The...

    Here's a Twitter thread from Michael Mina
    about how the timeline of COVID changed with Omicron for vaccinated people. (Originally from December but I don't think the message was widely heard.)

    The timeline seems to be as follows:

    • You get symptoms early due to a quick immune system reaction. But tests are still negative because the virus didn't reach the nose yet.

    • A few days later, tests turn positive.

    • Symptoms stop early. But you're still infectious and tests are still positive.

    • Eventually, the infection dies down and tests should turn negative.

    He insists that tests work, because they are useful for confirming diagnosis (after a few days) and for deciding when to stop isolating. However, it seems that he implicitly admits that they aren't so good for screening? Which is what people wanted to use them for.

    Instead, the recommendation is to take symptoms seriously because they might be COVID, but hold off a few days before testing.

    4 votes
  2. skybrian
    Link
    From Monday: Senators cut global aid from $10B covid deal

    From Monday: Senators cut global aid from $10B covid deal

    Congressional negotiators announced a deal Monday for $10 billion in additional funding for the U.S. coronavirus response but were unable to agree on global aid, stirring warnings from health experts that they would rue the decision if another overseas variant sparked an outbreak in the United States.

    The bipartisan package, unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), would enable U.S. officials to purchase more therapeutics, tests, vaccines and other supplies, after the White House repeatedly warned that it needed more funding for those priorities. The legislation also calls on federal officials to invest at least $5 billion to develop and procure therapeutics, and at least $750 million in efforts to fight future variants and to build vaccine manufacturing capacity.

    But it includes no money for the global response [...]

    4 votes
  3. skybrian
    Link
    Shanghai Covid lockdown extended to entire city (BBC) [...]

    Shanghai Covid lockdown extended to entire city (BBC)

    Reported cases have risen to more than 13,000 a day, although the numbers are not high by some international standards.

    Residents in some areas of the city said the strict policy meant no-one was allowed to leave their housing compounds, not even to collect essential provisions.

    They reported difficulties in ordering food and water online, with restrictions on when customers are able to place their orders, because of a shortage of supplies and delivery staff.

    [...]

    [T]he lockdowns continue and it's not only Shanghai closed right now. Jilin City (3.6 million people), Changchun (nine million), Xuzhou (nine million), the steel city of Tangshan (7.7 million) and various other towns and villages are keeping their residents indoors.

    3 votes
  4. [3]
    118point3ml
    Link
    Is there reliable information out there about how the under-60, relatively healthy, and vaccinated are faring post-infection? Are they losing taste/smell? Experiencing long COVID? I could look for...

    Is there reliable information out there about how the under-60, relatively healthy, and vaccinated are faring post-infection? Are they losing taste/smell? Experiencing long COVID?
    I could look for myself, of course, but I’m too afraid.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      I haven't been keeping up with Long COVID, but Your Local Epidemiologist has some in depth articles, starting here.

      I haven't been keeping up with Long COVID, but Your Local Epidemiologist has some in depth articles, starting here.

      The burden of long COVID has been extremely difficult to grasp. Prevalence and incidence estimates have vastly ranged from 2% to 75%. This is due to three main reasons:

      1. Varying definitions. [....]

      2. Different settings. [...]

      3. Lack of comparison groups. [...]

      Nonetheless, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation uses an estimate of 30% on their long COVID dashboard, which equates to 23.44 million Americans currently experiencing long COVID. The U.K. officially estimates a 2.3% burden of long COVID, which would equate to 6 million Americans.

      3 votes
      1. 118point3ml
        Link Parent
        Thanks for your reply. I’m taking away from this: time will tell a more accurate picture and keep trying to avoid getting sick.

        Thanks for your reply. I’m taking away from this: time will tell a more accurate picture and keep trying to avoid getting sick.

        2 votes