Covid-19

[Mark H.]

8 hours ago, Wideleft said:

In all fairness - and closer to home - Quebec and PEI have extended their mask mandates until at least the end of April. 

Not everyone has to jump off a building because their friend does.

I wouldn't write it off as simply copy cat behaviour.  Austria was one of the few countries considering compulsory vaccinations. Even countries like that have done a complete 180.  

[JCon]

[MOBomberFan]

Went for a visit to the Mantario hiking trail unfortunately right when there was a fire ban and the trails were closed. Lousy government denying me the right to burn to death miles from the nearest hospital. This is fascism in action. Buncha commies!

[rebusrankin]

13 minutes ago, MOBomberFan said:

Went for a visit to the Mantario hiking trail unfortunately right when there was a fire ban and the trails were closed. Lousy government denying me the right to burn to death miles from the nearest hospital. This is fascism in action. Buncha commies!

This is all the fault of the World Economic Forum.

[iHeart]

ugh my supervisor at work has COVID

[FrostyWinnipeg]

2 hours ago, iHeart said:

ugh my supervisor at work has COVID

On Monday, the WHO announced it has added BA.4 and BA.5 to its list for monitoring.

You know what's coming next?

Edited April 11, 2022 by FrostyWinnipeg

[FrostyWinnipeg]

7 more COVID deaths in Manitoba, 40 more hospitalizations since Wednesday.

Edited April 11, 2022 by FrostyWinnipeg

[Goalie]

On 2022-04-08 at 11:30 AM, JCon said:

As a boat owner I'll tell you right now, the amount of ppl I see without life jackets is insane 

Thinking of taking a trip to Saudi Arabia this summer, their vaccination rate is the highest in the world. 

[Tracker]

Philadelphia Restores Indoor Mask Mandate Amid New Wave Of COVID-19 Cases

Philadelphia is restoring its indoor mask mandate as the number of COVID-19 cases rise across the region.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced the reinstatement of the mandate on Monday, giving residents and businesses a “one-week educational period” to prepare for the change.

COVID-19 rates are rising in Philadelphia, with an average of 142 cases per day within the last two weeks and a 4.5% increase in positive COVID tests, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

Since the pandemic started, over 275,000 city residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and over 5,000 have died because of the virus. Currently, 76.9% of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated, while nearly 94.7% have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Philadelphia has four COVID-19 response levels. The city is currently at a Level 2, which indicates that the average number of new cases per day are less than 225, hospitalization numbers are less than 100, and cases have increased by more than 50% in the previous ten days. At Level 2, masks must be worn indoors, but there are no vaccine or testing requirements for places that serve food and beverages.

In the press release, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said the city’s response levels “allow us to be clear, transparent and predictable in our response to local COVID-19 conditions.”

“Given the recent rise in cases, we are moving to Level 2 in hopes of preventing higher case rates and stricter measures,” Kenney stated. “Our city remains open; we can still go about our daily lives and visit the people and places we love while masking in indoor public spaces. I’m optimistic that this step will help us control the case rate.”

[the watcher]

I heard a report yesterday that they are finding that unlike previous variants that Omicron and it's subvarient are very good at reinfectng people who have had Covid previously. I believe this was out of Quebec and maybe Ontario. 

[iHeart]

18 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

On Monday, the WHO announced it has added BA.4 and BA.5 to its list for monitoring.

You know what's coming next?

yeah XE 

 

[Tracker]

Super-contagious COVID variant XE has a key deficiency that could be our saving grace. XE may be more contagious than BA.2 — but its spike protein isn't different. Here's why that's a good thing

At the beginning of this year, the extremely contagious BA.1 variant (also known as the omicron variant) set an astonishing record: scientists believed it was likely the most contagious virus ever, surpassing even measles. 

That is, until BA.2 — or "stealth" omicron, as it has been called — came along. Studies suggest that BA.2 is between 30 and 50 percent even more contagious than its predecessor, which was already more contagious than measles. 

But while contagiousness is certainly an alarming trait for a viral mutation, scientists warn that the worst possible mutation would be the emergence of a new variant that was both contagious and more inclined to cause severe disease. Luckily, BA.1 and BA.2 don't fit that bill. Indeed, while BA.2, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), caused 86 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. last week, hospitalizations remain quite low. 

But just as public health experts seemed to get a grip on the situation with BA.1 and BA.2, a newer, odder variant has emerged. It's called XE, it's a hybrid between BA.1 and BA.2, and it's extremely transmissible. Could this pose a renewed threat to global public health? 

Salon spoke to experts about what we know so far about this new variant and the threat that it poses. Crucially, XE seems to have one key deficiency that will prevent it from attaining that secret sauce that makes variants more dangerous.

XE is on the rise in the United Kingdom.  According to recent data from the U.K. Health Security Agency, 1,125 cases of XE have been identified in the country as of April. That number is about 50 percent more than what public health officials identified a week prior on March 25. The variant was first identified on January 19, 2022 in the United Kingdom. XE has since been detected in Thailand, India, Israel and most recently, Japan; the U.S. has not yet reported any XE cases yet.

Sriram Subramaniam, a biochemist at the University of British Columbia, told Salon that despite the rise, XE is still relatively low in prevalence in the United Kingdom.

"Given the current high level of transmission worldwide, it is likely that further variants, including recombinants, will continue to emerge. It doesn't look like it's taken off in a big way yet," Subramaniam said. "There are some cases in various parts of the world — and it's not just XE, there's XD and XF," he noted, referring to initialisms for subsequently mutated sub-variants.

XE may be more transmissible than BA.2

As Subramaniam mentioned, XE is one of three recombinant variants being monitored by the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA). A recombinant variant occurs when a new SARS-CoV-2 variant develops by picking up traits from previous variants — recombining into something completely novel, a hybrid of sorts, with traits from multiple forebears. As previously mentioned, XE is essentially a hybrid between BA.1 and BA.2; the other two recombinant variants — XD and XF — are recombinants of delta and omicron BA.1.

According to the UKHSA, 38 cases of XF have been identified in the U.K., but none have been seen since mid-February. XD hasn't been identified in the U.K. at all, and only 49 cases have been reported globally, most of which are in France. This is why, among the three, XE is hogging the headlines.

Yet the U.K. hasn't yet collected enough data to say definitively how contagious XE is. Specifically, UKHSA says "there is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about growth advantage or other properties of this variant."

 

[iHeart]

On 2022-04-11 at 2:14 PM, iHeart said:

ugh my supervisor at work has COVID

Good news, my supervisor is back in.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

1 hour ago, iHeart said:

Good news, my supervisor is back in.

7 days, should be good to go

[Tracker]

Anti-vaccine ideology gains ground as lawmakers seek to erode rules for kids’ shots.  Bills expanding religious exemptions for childhood vaccine requirements were passed by Kansas state Senate in March
Kaiser Health News.

Not long ago, Kansas showed strong bipartisan support for vaccines as a tool to support a robust public health system.

But bills with language expanding religious exemptions for childhood vaccine requirements were passed by the state Senate in March and now face the House when the legislature reconvenes April 25.

They are among the more than 520 vaccine-related bills introduced in statehouses nationwide since Jan. 1, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those bills, 66 specifically relate to childhood vaccine requirements in 25 states.

In Missouri, for example, legislators are considering a measure exempting private school students from vaccine requirements. In Louisiana, a bill in the House would prohibit vaccinations on school property and at school-sponsored events.

Fewer than 10% of the bills will likely gain any traction, but the volume of attempts to roll back vaccine requirements is alarming, said Rekha Lakshmanan, director of advocacy and public policy at the Immunization Partnership, a vaccine education organization.

"Those are all chipping away at one of the end goals for anti-vaccine activists, which is completely doing away with school requirements," said Lakshmanan. "That's what people need to be paying very close attention to."

All states require specific childhood vaccinations for illnesses such as polio, measles, and mumps, but exemptions vary. They all allow exemptions for people with medical concerns, 44 states allow religious exemptions, and 15 allow philosophical exemptions, according to 2021 data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Vaccinations are central to public health efforts at disease control and are foundational to the country's social and economic system, said Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a public health advocacy organization.

"Politicians are poking holes in our public safety net," Castrucci said of the onslaught of anti-vaccine legislation. "Vaccines, in and of themselves, are not medicine. It's all of us collectively protecting each other."

Edited April 24, 2022 by Tracker

[the watcher]

23 hours ago, Tracker said:

Anti-vaccine ideology gains ground as lawmakers seek to erode rules for kids’ shots.  Bills expanding religious exemptions for childhood vaccine requirements were passed by Kansas state Senate in March
Kaiser Health News.

Not long ago, Kansas showed strong bipartisan support for vaccines as a tool to support a robust public health system.

But bills with language expanding religious exemptions for childhood vaccine requirements were passed by the state Senate in March and now face the House when the legislature reconvenes April 25.

They are among the more than 520 vaccine-related bills introduced in statehouses nationwide since Jan. 1, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those bills, 66 specifically relate to childhood vaccine requirements in 25 states.

In Missouri, for example, legislators are considering a measure exempting private school students from vaccine requirements. In Louisiana, a bill in the House would prohibit vaccinations on school property and at school-sponsored events.

Fewer than 10% of the bills will likely gain any traction, but the volume of attempts to roll back vaccine requirements is alarming, said Rekha Lakshmanan, director of advocacy and public policy at the Immunization Partnership, a vaccine education organization.

"Those are all chipping away at one of the end goals for anti-vaccine activists, which is completely doing away with school requirements," said Lakshmanan. "That's what people need to be paying very close attention to."

All states require specific childhood vaccinations for illnesses such as polio, measles, and mumps, but exemptions vary. They all allow exemptions for people with medical concerns, 44 states allow religious exemptions, and 15 allow philosophical exemptions, according to 2021 data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Vaccinations are central to public health efforts at disease control and are foundational to the country's social and economic system, said Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a public health advocacy organization.

"Politicians are poking holes in our public safety net," Castrucci said of the onslaught of anti-vaccine legislation. "Vaccines, in and of themselves, are not medicine. It's all of us collectively protecting each other."

What really bothers me about this is very, very few politicians, etc.. believe all the BS. Almost all of them understand how vaccinations and the vaccination of the vast majority against not only Covid but all contagious diseases are the key to the health and well being of people, countries and the world. But they sell their soul for power, money and popularity.

Edited April 25, 2022 by the watcher

[Super Duper Negatron]

Vacationing in California right now. Covid protocols are a distant memory here. Between Disney and crypto.com arena, I think I saw like 50 masks.

Started off wearing one myself, but gave up. It seemed futile.

[Noeller]

29 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

Vacationing in California right now. Covid protocols are a distant memory here. Between Disney and crypto.com arena, I think I saw like 50 masks.

Started off wearing one myself, but gave up. It seemed futile.

My life in Alberta for the past month. I tried...I really did....and there's maybe 5% of the population wearing one, so I just gave it the "why even bother anymore....?" 

[HardCoreBlue]

40 minutes ago, Noeller said:

My life in Alberta for the past month. I tried...I really did....and there's maybe 5% of the population wearing one, so I just gave it the "why even bother anymore....?" 

I continue to wear my mask where I see fit regardless of what other people are doing. I walk around like I would usually walk around in public trying to be a well adjusted human being and when I have my mask on I smile with my eyes instead of my mouth.

[Super Duper Negatron]

1 hour ago, HardCoreBlue said:

I continue to wear my mask where I see fit regardless of what other people are doing. I walk around like I would usually walk around in public trying to be a well adjusted human being and when I have my mask on I smile with my eyes instead of my mouth.

The thing is, unless it is a properly fitted n95, the benefit to you is negligible. They always said early on the masks were to protect others...not sure if the science on that has changed.

[HardCoreBlue]

27 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

The thing is, unless it is a properly fitted n95, the benefit to you is negligible. They always said early on the masks were to protect others...not sure if the science on that has changed.

Yes it seems the best public available mask is a properly fitted n95 but not sure if this is completely factually (i.e. benefits) based on studies I've come across in testing different types of mask wearing in relation to Covid and other transmissible viruses/diseases.

However, to each their own and whatever one is comfortable in doing. 

[iHeart]

I just wish my supervisor kept hers on more often, I would have thought she would have been a little less careless after coming back from COVID leave

[Tracker]

Simple answer to all this: watch what the doctors and nurses are doing.

[bustamente]

I continue to wear a mask when I go to any retail setting just a regular Jets banded or Bombers banded mask, at work I have discarded it. I think I will wait till we are into Summer if it ever arrives and the mask will probably be history. 

[Mark H.]

18 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Simple answer to all this: watch what the doctors and nurses are doing.

They wear mostly N95, which most of us probably can't access consistently

I'm surprise how many people are still wearing just a cloth mask and nothing else - they may as well spare themselves the inconvenience