Deadly Wuhan Coronavirus

JahaRa

Noble
Fully Vaccinated People Accounted for 74% of Infections in Massachusetts COVID Outbreak

Nearly three-fourths of the infections in a recent Massachusetts COVID-19 outbreak were breakthrough cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study on Friday that found 346 of the 469 reported coronavirus infections occurred in people who were fully vaccinated. The outbreak happened between July 3–17 in Barnstable County as large summer gatherings took place in Provincetown.

Of the breakthrough cases, 274 were symptomatic, while just four people were hospitalized. One other infected who had not been vaccinated was also hospitalized.

Testing found that 90% of specimens from 133 patients contained the Delta variant. The most common side effects were cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, and fever. No deaths were reported.


(More on the link)

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I would be curious to know a percentage of each vaccine was represented in that group.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Virus used world’s longest Covid sufferer as ‘gym’ to get fitter, say scientists

The world's longest Covid sufferer had the virus for nearly 11 months during which time it mutated 40 times, using her as a "gym" to get fitter, scientists have discovered.

A Russian woman known as "Patient S" was suffering late-stage cancer when she caught Covid in April last year, having two serious bouts of illness during her infection.

She eventually tested negative this March, but during that time doctors had sequenced the virus to see how it was changing inside her body. They discovered 40 mutations, showing it was rapidly evolving.

Scientists from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow said Covid had effectively used her as a "gym" to become fitter.

"Consider the Sars-Cov-2 variants of concern that have recently spread widely and gained notoriety," said Prof Georgii Bazykin. "When such a variant originates, it often accumulates multiple mutations rapidly, just as it does when evolving in immunosuppressed individuals.

"This has led people to suggest that such individuals can be a sort of a gym for the virus where it gains the traits needed to infect humans better. While the virus we studied probably never got out of the gym, our findings imply that the gym equipment is more diverse than we thought."

The virus mutated to allow it to survive better and reproduce faster, including changes to the spike protein, which is used to enter cells. It also changed its surface proteins as if to escape antibodies, even though the patient was so immunocompromised that there were no antibodies present.

"This was puzzling,” said Evgeniia Alekseeva, the joint first author of the paper. "Why would the virus hide from something that is not there? And why would it camouflage its parts that antibodies cannot see anyway?"


Scientists said the virus may have been evolving to escape T-cells, a second part of the immunity system. Although there was no onward transmission of the mutated virus, researchers said other variants could emerge in similar ways.

Researchers believe that the alpha or Kent variant originally arose in an immunocompromised patient. The research was published on the website Research Square.

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Sheltie

Fratty and out of touch.
Am I the only who feels outraged that politicians are finally calling for Andrew Cuomo to resign only because he may have inappropriately hugged and kissed a few young women? It was all over the evening news today.

They seem to be ignoring the fact many people may have died due to his order to return people to nursing homes who had been discharged from hospitals.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's bad that he may have created a toxic work environment for some of his staff, but is that really more important than the lives of as many as 15,000 people who died from Covid in nursing homes in New York State? Also, it appears he may have intentionally underreported the true fatality figure by as much as 3,000. Why does no one seem to care?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Am I the only who feels outraged that politicians are finally calling for Andrew Cuomo to resign only because he may have inappropriately hugged and kissed a few young women? It was all over the evening news today.

They seem to be ignoring the fact many people may have died due to his order to return people to nursing homes who had been discharged from hospitals.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's bad that he may have created a toxic work environment for some of his staff, but is that really more important than the lives of as many as 15,000 people who died from Covid in nursing homes in New York State? Also, it appears he may have intentionally underreported the true fatality figure by as much as 3,000. Why does no one seem to care?

Another problem is the federal government, the Biden administration, pushes for American citizens to be vaccinated while letting thousands of illegal aliens cross our southern border daily unvaccinated with many of those people already infected with Covid and they are releasing those people into various communities and not reporting the whereabouts of those who are infected...Biden is allowing the coronavirus to come through our border unchecked and allowing it to spread by not having control over the border which I think should be shut down while this pandemic rages on...This is asinine and extremely hypocritical...

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JahaRa

Noble
Another problem is the federal government, the Biden administration, pushes for American citizens to be vaccinated while letting thousands of illegal aliens cross our southern border daily unvaccinated with many of those people already infected with Covid and they are releasing those people into various communities and not reporting the whereabouts of those who are infected...Biden is allowing the coronavirus to come through our border unchecked and allowing it to spread by not having control over the border which I think should be shut down while this pandemic rages on...This is asinine and extremely hypocritical...

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No one is releasing illegal aliens into the country, if they cross the border illegally they are Not being "Let In". Those who cross legally are being tested and turned back if they have covid, those who test negative are held and tested again after a week, none of them get processed quickly so they wait in holding facilities until their credentials or paperwork is checked and it is determined that they can enter the country.
 

JahaRa

Noble
600 new positive tests today in New Mexico. 478 yesterday. One hospital in Santa Fe has 148 new patients this week. My brother in law was just admitted to the hospital today. He has been struggling with covid (again) for over a week. My sister and her daughter are feeling better, still have a cough. They got re-tested yesterday and were still positive, 2 weeks after the started feeling ill. This thing is not going away this year. (for an idea of why 600 is a large number for our state, the population of the whole state is less by almost 250,000 than the population of Houston,Texas).

I have decided I am going to continue to wear my mask when I go out. It is a simple thing and even though it is not 100% effective, it does help.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
No one is releasing illegal aliens into the country, if they cross the border illegally they are Not being "Let In". Those who cross legally are being tested and turned back if they have covid, those who test negative are held and tested again after a week, none of them get processed quickly so they wait in holding facilities until their credentials or paperwork is checked and it is determined that they can enter the country.

That's not what is being reported by the media and by other elected officials, very few are being turned back and many are being air lifted to different states and cities and being released without court appointments...There are much fewer legal crossings unless it's commercial, most are illegal and with ICE and the border patrol on catch and release orders...

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nivek

As Above So Below
What is happening in India?...How did the daily infection numbers get so low with them having such a large population?...Are they all locked down or is there underreporting occurring?...

Screenshot_20210804-192633.jpg
 

JahaRa

Noble
That's not what is being reported by the media and by other elected officials, very few are being turned back and many are being air lifted to different states and cities and being released without court appointments...There are much fewer legal crossings unless it's commercial, most are illegal and with ICE and the border patrol on catch and release orders...

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I found this. Could it be that someone just finds it useful to keep everyone upset and emotionally manipulated?
Rumors swirl of undocumented immigrants arriving in South Carolina

according to the washington times they are not being released they are being sent to detention centers in other states than California because they are over crowded.
Revolving door at border

This one has more detail
Fact Check: Are COVID-positive migrants allowed to cross the southern border into the U.S.?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
I found this. Could it be that someone just finds it useful to keep everyone upset and emotionally manipulated?
Rumors swirl of undocumented immigrants arriving in South Carolina

according to the washington times they are not being released they are being sent to detention centers in other states than California because they are over crowded.
Revolving door at border

This one has more detail
Fact Check: Are COVID-positive migrants allowed to cross the southern border into the U.S.?

Possibly but irregardless of how those migrants are being handled and where they are being sent, why are we dealing with it?...S
Just like many other countries have done, shut the border down while this pandemic continues to rage on, refuse entry, don't detain, arrest and send back...We are risking lives and the spread of covid by dealing with all those people right now, during pandemic times it's not the right time, it's irresponsible...

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nivek

As Above So Below
I think this is a bad option, we cannot start witch-hunts and vilify people in this way...This pandemic cannot be compared to traffic laws...

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Vaccine Mandates Aren’t Enough. Make Unvaccinated People Pay if They Harm Others

(Excerpt)

But there are other policy options to consider in addition to mandates, or instead, in states where mandates are not politically viable. A natural option is to require those who choose not to vaccinate or mask and infect others to pay the cost.

We routinely impose costs on those who harm others by failing to take precautions. We impose costs on drivers who don’t stop at stop lights, campers who are not careful and cause fires, and homeowners who don’t shovel snow from their sidewalks. If a person negligently failed to take precautions against Covid-19, we can and should require them to be responsible.

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nivek

As Above So Below
I would be curious to know a percentage of each vaccine was represented in that group.

It seems the J&J vaccine is holding up better if this Massachusetts breakthrough infection incident is a good example...

I found it here:

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

PDF

Among the 469 cases in Massachusetts residents, 346 (74%) occurred in persons who were fully vaccinated; of these, 301 (87%) were male, with a median age of 42 years. Vaccine products received by persons experiencing breakthrough infections were Pfizer-BioNTech (159; 46%), Moderna (131; 38%), and Janssen (56; 16%); among fully vaccinated persons in the Massachusetts general population, 56% had received Pfizer-BioNTech, 38% had received Moderna, and 7% had received Janssen vaccine products.

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nivek

As Above So Below
South African study shows high COVID protection from J&J shot

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is working well in South Africa, offering protection against severe disease and death, the co-head of a trial in the country said on Friday.

The J&J vaccine was administered to healthcare workers from mid-February in a research study, which was completed in May, with 477,234 health workers vaccinated, joint lead investigator Glenda Gray told a media briefing.

South Africa's health regulator approved the J&J shot in April, and it is being used in the national vaccine programme alongside Pfizer's. Gray said the single-shot J&J vaccine offered 91% to 96.2% protection against death, while offering 67% protection against hospitalisation when the Beta coronavirus variant dominates and about 71% protection against hospitalisation when the Delta variant dominates.

"Consistently after receiving the vaccine, there was very little death occurring in the vaccinated group as compared to the control group and showing a remarkable up-to 96.2% protection against death," Gray said. "This was our primary endpoint and we are able to say this vaccine protected health workers against death," she added.

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nivek

As Above So Below
If your employer fires you because you won’t get the COVID vaccine, don’t expect to collect unemployment

'This could lead to tens of thousands of people across the United States without work or access to unemployment benefits because they refuse to get vaccinated,' one employment attorney said. Each day more employers are telling employees they need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in person or risk being fired.

On Thursday CNN revealed it had fired three unvaccinated employees for violating the company’s vaccine requirement for in-person workers, according to an internal memo signed by Jeff Zucker, the cable network’s president, and obtained by the New York Times. Unlike millions of Americans who were laid off during the pandemic, the three former CNN employees likely won’t qualify for unemployment benefits, employment law experts told MarketWatch. CNN parent company WarnerMedia, a unit of AT&T T, +0.07%, declined to comment on the firings.

In most states, individuals have to prove they’re out of work through no fault of their own to collect unemployment benefits. “This often means that they are let go due to a lack of work,” said Alana Ackels, a labor and employment lawyer at Bell Nunnally, a Dallas-based law firm.

“Typically, an employee who is terminated for failing to comply with company policies is not eligible for unemployment benefits, which would include refusing to comply with a company’s COVID-19 prevention policies, masking requirements or vaccine requirements,” Ackels told MarketWatch.


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nivek

As Above So Below
q37

 

nivek

As Above So Below
A German nurse injected patients with saline instead of coronavirus vaccines, sparking fury

An outcry is brewing in Germany as thousands are set to be revaccinated after a nurse admitted to injecting patients with saline solution instead of a coronavirus vaccine. Almost 9,000 people who may have received bogus shots in the spring will be offered new vaccinations, Friesland District Administrator Sven Ambrosy said at a news conference Tuesday.

The nurse, who has not been publicly identified, had initially admitted to giving six patients shots of saline solution after suspicions were raised in April. She said she did so to cover up the fact that she had dropped a vial of the Pfizer vaccine, German television channel NDR reported. However, since antibody testing was carried out, a much wider group of people is suspected to have been affected. Police have also discovered that the woman, who worked with the Red Cross, had shared vaccine-skeptical posts on social media, NDR said.


Local authorities said they do not know how many of the 8,577 people who could have been affected were not given a real vaccine, but advise that all of them get revaccinated as a precaution.

Those who received the shots are all older than 70, German media reported — making them more vulnerable to covid-19, the disease that has killed more than 91,000 people in the country. Police investigator Peter Beer said at a news conference that there was a “reasonable suspicion of danger” and cited witness statements.


Many expressed shock about the situation, including Ambrosy. “I am totally shocked by this episode,” he wrote on Facebook. He said officials would work to ensure that such an incident would never happen again in the Friesland district. On Twitter, others branded the health-care worker as “dangerous,” and said that her actions were “appalling.”

This is not the first incident in which vaccine injections went wrong. Earlier this year, a 23-year-old Italian woman was mistakenly given six shots of the Pfizer vaccine by a distracted nurse who officials said “had an attention lapse.” The woman who was given the high volume of vaccine was closely monitored at a Tuscany hospital but did not have any adverse reaction, health authorities said.

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nivek

As Above So Below
Why Only 27% of Young Black New Yorkers Are Vaccinated

A construction site safety manager in Queens said that as a Black man, he was more worried about the prospect of being stopped by the police than he was about getting COVID-19.

A graduate student in the Bronx who had not gotten vaccinated said her worst fears seemed confirmed when a vaccine that the government was directing to Black and poorer neighborhoods was briefly suspended over a small number of dangerous blood clots.

And a civil rights activist in the Bronx said he grew suspicious when he heard last year that politicians were prioritizing minority neighborhoods for coronavirus vaccinations.


“Since when does America give anything good to Black people first?” said the activist, Hawk Newsome, a 44-year-old Black Lives Matter leader who is unvaccinated.

All three situations reflect a trend that has become a major concern to public health experts: Young Black New Yorkers are especially reluctant to get vaccinated, even as the delta variant is rapidly spreading among their ranks. City data shows that only 27% of Black New Yorkers ages 18 to 44 are fully vaccinated, compared with 48% of Latino residents and 52% of white residents in that age group.


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nivek

As Above So Below
EU looks into Pfizer, Moderna vaccine side effects

Shares in Moderna and Pfizer sank on Wednesday after the European Union drug regulator said it was looking into possible new side effects of the companies' COVID-19 vaccines.

That includes kidney inflammation, an allergic skin reaction, and a renal disorder with heavy protein loss in urine.

Pfizer is by far the biggest supplier of COVID-19 vaccines to the European Union, issuing just over 330 million doses in the region compared to some 43 million from Moderna. Both companies did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not recommended any changes to the vaccine labels. It says the latest assessment is part of routine updates to the safety section of the authorized vaccines database.

It's also looking into menstrual disorders as a possible side effect of vaccines, including those from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Last month, the EMA found a possible link between very rare heart inflammation and Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines, which use mRNA technology. However, the European regulator and the World Health Organization have stressed that benefits from these vaccines outweigh any risks.

The watchdog did not give details on Wednesday on how many cases of the new side effects were recorded, but said it's requested more data from both companies.


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