bsjkki Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 Blood type A is more susceptible to infection. Darn, that is me. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9321745/People-blood-type-greater-risk-catching-Covid-19.html
Calm Posted March 4, 2021 Author Posted March 4, 2021 (edited) 24 minutes ago, bsjkki said: Blood type A is more susceptible to infection. Darn, that is me. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9321745/People-blood-type-greater-risk-catching-Covid-19.html Me too. There has got to be something about me that doesn’t automatically increase my risk...what about having light brown eyes and hair (well, silver somewhat these days)? I prefer spicy to sweets? I am a second soprano? Edited March 4, 2021 by Calm 3
Peacefully Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 1 hour ago, The Nehor said: I am not 100% sure I am qualified. In my submission I laid out why and said I was not sure if I qualified. I do wonder if they don’t even look at it and just schedule everyone who submits a request. My instructions are to show up some time between 9 and 5. I guess there is a chance they will look at it and ask me why the hell I am even there but I will take the risk. Seems easier to qualify here in Texas. I qualified because I am overweight (they since changed the qualification to obese or morbidly obese) and hubby qualified because of high blood pressure. We are both under 65. No one asked for any kind of proof or raised an eyebrow when we went to get our vaccines.
provoman Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 Just looking for opinions. Discussed vaccines with colleague, and I brought up that even with the vaccine one can contract covid 19 but the resulting infection will not be a severe. Another spoke up and said basically, "well yes, there is the small % where the vaccine does not work". My statement was based on this article Does vaccination completely prevent infection? The short answer is no. You can still get infected after you’ve been vaccinated. But your chances of getting seriously ill are almost zero. On the CDC website is this Will a COVID-19 vaccination protect me from getting sick with COVID-19? Yes. COVID-19 vaccination works by teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19, and this protects you from getting sick with COVID-19. So which is it? Or could it be the "no" response likely couched in the small percentage wherein the vaccine is not effective?
Rain Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 2 hours ago, The Nehor said: I am not 100% sure I am qualified. In my submission I laid out why and said I was not sure if I qualified. I do wonder if they don’t even look at it and just schedule everyone who submits a request. My instructions are to show up some time between 9 and 5. I guess there is a chance they will look at it and ask me why the hell I am even there but I will take the risk. Interesting how the states all do it Here is AZ you go online and answer a series of yes or no questions. You also put in insurance info. I think my daughter might have also scanned something from her work, but I'm not sure. Then it tells you if you can have an appointment or not. The appointments are spread out every few minutes. As long as you come within a 1/2 of it you are good. At the state sites (I don't know about county) you show your ID. Then they write numbers on your windshield for each person receiving it. You wind around the parking lot answering questions at various spots. You stay in your car to get your shot. Then you wind around again and wait at the last stop till it has been 15 minutes since you got the shot to watch for complications.
The Nehor Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 Texas is strange because the state has done virtually nothing in terms of guidelines or planning and just gives vaccines to counties and lets them figure it out. In practice it means it is a crapshoot based on whether your county has a plan or not. Some are doing well and are pretty organized. Others not so much. 2
Kenngo1969 Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 Apologies if anyone already has posted this: https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2021/3/4/22313326/covid-symptoms-immune-system-attack 1
The Nehor Posted March 6, 2021 Posted March 6, 2021 Got the first dose this afternoon. 9 hours later and nothing but my arm aching a bit which is normal for getting the flu vaccine. Most likely if I wake up tomorrow with no side effects it is likely I won't have any. The members of my family who have gotten it have not had a reaction except for my brother's wife (she is still feverish two days later) but since we are not blood related that is really weak anecdotal evidence of a genetic component but weak anecdotal evidence is pretty worthless. The vaccination site was the baseball stadium. National guard were involved in parking direction, ushering, helping people to sign up, and administering the vaccine (the last all have medical training). There were also civilian medical personnel on site and stadium security. I did see one area that looked like it was set up for defense in case of something happening but it was subtle. Process was pretty quick. Only wait was waiting for the vaccine to arrive at the table I was assigned to. They have to be careful not to warm up and mix too much at one (Pfizer vaccine) so none is wasted. Only complaint I have was the incoming traffic was routed near the area where the outgoing traffic had to exit. It could have been avoided though admittedly it would require people to walk a bit further. I realize that could create an accessibility issue but they had a huge wheelchair station set up so I would think that was mitigated. Told I would get an email in about three weeks to come back for second dose. 1
Calm Posted March 6, 2021 Author Posted March 6, 2021 I don’t know if there are many, but my local clinic is doing waiting lists. You might want to call up clinics near you and see if they are doing it for the end of the day leftovers (ten shots to a vial and the vial gets tossed whether it is used up or not when it is time to go home) if you don’t qualify, but feel it is important to get the vaccine as quickly as possible (for example...technically on paper I am not high risk; up close on the other hand with all the borderline issues combined with the fact I don’t respond well to many drug treatments, I am). Here is the easiest way to find a place that has the vaccine. They may show as out of stock, but I think that means all their appts for the next whatever are filled....but people miss appts, so they may still do waiting lists. Not all states are complete listings (apparently Utah is one that is), so if they don’t show something close to your work or home that would be convenient for you to get to quickly, you might want to call a nearby clinic or pharmacy just to see if they have them or are on schedule to get vaccines. https://vaccinefinder.org
Bernard Gui Posted March 6, 2021 Posted March 6, 2021 Sister Gui and I got both Pfizer’s at Overlake Hospital in Seattle. We qualified because of age and she being a teacher. Very smooth efficient process. I had no reaction to either shot except for the expected sore arm. The second shot sore arm was the worst I have had with many flu shots over the years, but we were advised not to take any pain meds. About 24 hours after shot #2 Sister Gui was flat on her back with fever, body ache, and fatigue. Lasted about 18 hours. She was tired for a couple of days after. 2
The Nehor Posted March 6, 2021 Posted March 6, 2021 I felt tired this morning but I think that was mostly due to only getting two and a half hours of sleep. Feel fine now other than sore arm. I tend to sleep on my side some and kept waking up when I turned onto the side that was vaccinated. The soreness is worse than any flu shot I have gotten but it is only something that is distracting when I am sleeping or trying to reach for something high up. 1
The Nehor Posted March 7, 2021 Posted March 7, 2021 Now I am in an every muscle hurts when I move bit. Not a lot and it is tolerable but I really don’t want to get out of bid. At least the heavy ache at the injection site is gone. Woke up for virtual Bishopric meeting and then went back to sleep. Thankfully it is getting better. I think I am at the tail-end of it. All in all, four out of five stars, would vaccinate again and will vaccinate again in a few weeks. 4
Calm Posted March 7, 2021 Author Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) A very interesting article on Covid variants and how they may affect the future (caution needs to be extended, but no need to panic). The description of how variants can dramatically increase in those who are infected over a longer period of time, such as can happen with immunosuppressed patients is fascinating and depressing (these patients have typically already more than enough of a burden to carry): https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/what-the-coronavirus-variants-mean-for-the-end-of-the-pandemic Quote McLellan has been tracking coronavirus mutations and how they change the structure of the spike protein. For much of 2020, he told me, the protein seemed to accumulate a few mutations a month. Then, in December, variants began to emerge with as many as twelve mutations simultaneously. “We were like, Wow, how did this one variant get so many mutations all of a sudden?” he said. McLellan hypothesizes that, in addition to the usual factors—the passage of time, uncontrolled viral spread—certain individuals vastly accelerate the rate of mutation. “Some people aren’t able to eliminate the virus for a long time—sixty days, a hundred days,” McLellan said. “They mount enough of an immune response to not die, but not enough to get rid of the virus. That creates selective pressure. There’s an evolutionary experiment going on inside these people. The virus emerges with a bunch of changes, some of which improve its fitness.” Such individuals become not superspreaders but supermutators. A growing body of evidence suggests that persistent infection within a person can greatly accelerate the speed with which the virus mutates. Last year, in Boston, a forty-five-year-old man with an autoimmune condition contracted the coronavirus. The man suffered labored breathing, fatigue, abdominal pain, a fungal infection, and extensive bleeding throughout both lungs and was admitted to the hospital six times; he was given the usual covid-19 therapies—remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies, steroids—as well as other powerful immunosuppressants to treat complications of his autoimmune condition. All the while, his compromised immune system struggled to clear the infection. In total, he experienced a five-month illness. He died a hundred and fifty-four days after he was diagnosed, with the virus still circulating in his body. Quote Effective vaccines, emerging variants, expanding testing—what does it all add up to? In September, I wrote about two models of infectious-disease control that can help us think about the fight against covid-19. On the one hand, there’s the silver-bullet model, typified by the eradication of polio: vaccines for that disease were so effective that, within a few years, we had extinguished it entirely in the U.S. On the other hand, there’s the incremental, multipronged approach, which was used to tamp down tuberculosis. There is no silver-bullet vaccine for TB; instead, the disease has been beaten back slowly, over a long period, using a series of interventions, including better sanitation, contact tracing, masking, and therapies. In the days after we learned of the spectacular efficacy of the covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the polio model felt within reach. To an extent, it still is: universal vaccination would drastically reduce the damage of covid-19, even if it doesn’t stamp out the coronavirus completely. But, given how easily sars-CoV-2 spreads, how entrenched the virus has become, and how many people are skeptical of vaccines, the TB model remains relevant. We live in a liminal state, requiring progress on both fronts. Now, variants have further complicated the story. Quote For millions of unvaccinated Americans, however, the variants pose a heightened danger. More transmissible variants mean that activities such as travel, shopping, socializing, and dining carry a higher risk of infection; if individuals infected by variants do become ill, they may be less likely to benefit from existing therapies. This spring, people who haven’t been vaccinated—the vast majority of Americans—have reason to be concerned. The variants may well provoke another viral surge, especially as governors rush to reopen states and discontinue mask mandates. With the addition of a third coronavirus vaccine, the U.S. should have enough supply to immunize every American adult by the end of May. The emergence of variants is a reason to strengthen, not weaken, public-health measures—surveillance, masks, distance, isolation—until widespread vaccination has been achieved. In a way, the beginning of the pandemic was simple: the virus was spreading, and we had to stop it. Its ending will be more complicated. While the arrival of the virus changed life swiftly and decisively, our return to normalcy won’t mirror our departure from it. There probably won’t be a day, week, or month when the U.S. rises out of the pandemic, with a “Mission Accomplished” banner unfurled overhead. Instead, as more of the population gains immunity, either through infection or inoculation, daily life will become less risky. We’ll feel more comfortable running errands and seeing friends. More of us will trek to the office, board planes, eat in restaurants. With time, concerts, weddings, and spin classes will return, too. The variants may postpone or complicate this reality, but they won’t foreclose it. A likely future is one in which most Americans are protected by the end of the summer. From there, we will line up for coronavirus booster shots the way we do for flu vaccines. The virus will linger and it will evolve. New variants, constrained by the virus’s molecular limitations, will arise, in a game of evolutionary cat and mouse. But, step by step, our old rhythms will return. We’ll end up finding a new equilibrium, one more favorable to humanity than to the virus—a slight variation on the way we used to live. I want to know how they can predict what possible mutations will do. Quote Recently, researchers have mapped the universe of useful mutations available to the spike’s receptor-binding area. They’ve found that most of the changes that would weaken the binding ability of our antibodies occur at just a few sites; the E484K substitution seems to be the most important. “ Also don’t understand this below...Pogi, anyone....help if possible please...how does their mutations locking the protein in place make a difference, is it in the vaccines and interacts with the virus to prevent the spike changing or the vaccine has the locked proteins so the vaccine itself won’t infect the person as its spike can’t latch on to the body’s cells or something else? Iirc, the vaccines are only partial versions of the actual virus. Quote In the coming weeks, McLellan and his team determined the structures of key proteins in the new coronavirus. They learned that sars-CoV-2 had an “unstable” spike protein, capable of changing shape when it attaches to cells, and sometimes before. The immune system makes more effective antibodies against the initial, “prefusion” version of the protein. The trick, therefore, was to lock the protein in that state. Drawing on their work with mers-cov, McLellan and Graham introduced two mutations to stabilize the spike protein. Every successful covid-19 vaccine developed in the United States works by presenting the immune system with the “locked” proteins that McLellan and Graham devised; the paper describing their work, published online last February in the journal Science, has been cited nearly four thousand times. Edited March 7, 2021 by Calm
Calm Posted March 7, 2021 Author Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Possible treatment: https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/03/04/molnupiravir-last-of-the-small-molecule-coronavirus-hopes (This article was written before announcement, but informative; read the comments for additional info, including on cost (that part is depressing) https://www.foxnews.com/health/covid-19-pill-preliminary-testing-dr-marc-siegel this part bugs me...as if once the US gets the virus under control, it’s controlled...ignoring some countries are tail end in getting the vaccine and may not get vaccines in significant enough numbers until 2024. Quote Siegel predicted the U.S. will be free of the coronavirus pandemic by the summer, making the Molnupiravir treatment "very helpful" for managing isolated cases. What about helpful for stopping the virus in its tracks where still prevalent or will it be too expensive for that? also: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-merck-co-idUSKBN2AY07U Edited March 7, 2021 by Calm
Calm Posted March 7, 2021 Author Posted March 7, 2021 Comments in the first link mention other possible drugs...listing here for anyone wanting to look them up: Favipiravir Brilacidin
Calm Posted March 7, 2021 Author Posted March 7, 2021 Someone suggested Ivermectin in the comments, which led me to this which says not a good drug for Covid: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/health/ivermectin-covid-19-fda-statement-wellness/index.html Quote The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday said that people should not use ivermectin to attempt to treat or prevent Covid-19. The drug is typically used to treat parasites, such as lice and scabies. "There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19. Ivermectin is often used in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses," the agency's announcement said on Friday. The announcement noted that the FDA has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent Covid-19 in humans and the drug is not an anti-viral medication. "Taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm," the announcement said, noting that even levels of ivermectin approved for other uses can interact with other medications, such as blood thinners.
rodheadlee Posted March 8, 2021 Posted March 8, 2021 I have not received my second shot yet. it got diverted to BIPOC and low income zip codes. Funny thing, my zip code is a wealthy area but it's only a mailbox. I'm an economic refugee living in Mexico, working in California. 1
bsjkki Posted March 11, 2021 Posted March 11, 2021 https://www.timesofisrael.com/aspirin-may-protect-against-covid-19-israeli-research-finds/amp/?__twitter_impression=true Aspirin may help protect from covid 1
mfbukowski Posted March 11, 2021 Posted March 11, 2021 On 3/8/2021 at 3:12 PM, rodheadlee said: I have not received my second shot yet. it got diverted to BIPOC and low income zip codes. Funny thing, my zip code is a wealthy area but it's only a mailbox. I'm an economic refugee living in Mexico, working in California. California is in a terrible mess. 1
bsjkki Posted March 11, 2021 Posted March 11, 2021 3ft vs 6ft with masks doesn’t matter. https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab230/6167856
rodheadlee Posted March 11, 2021 Posted March 11, 2021 Can you get the Pfizer vaccine if you are allergic to penicillin?
Calm Posted March 11, 2021 Author Posted March 11, 2021 (edited) On 3/8/2021 at 4:12 PM, rodheadlee said: I have not received my second shot yet. it got diverted to BIPOC and low income zip codes. Funny thing, my zip code is a wealthy area but it's only a mailbox. I'm an economic refugee living in Mexico, working in California. India is considering going with just one shot because it makes more sense to have two people mostly covered than one fully covered and one not at all. I have seen it suggested for the US as well to move up herd immunity faster. While not as secure as the two shots, your chances of severe Covid and hospitalization is still much lower. I am getting the impression the bigger concern with the second shot is to make it last longer, delaying the second shot may not be a big issue for that. I can look for the Indian article if you are curious about the stats they are using to justify moving to one shot for now. Edited March 11, 2021 by Calm
Calm Posted March 11, 2021 Author Posted March 11, 2021 39 minutes ago, rodheadlee said: Can you get the Pfizer vaccine if you are allergic to penicillin? Quote Yes, allergy to penicillins is not a contraindication to the Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna vaccine If you have a history of immediate onset anaphylaxis to multiple classes of drugs or unexplained anaphylaxis – please also refer to the additional information at the end of these FAQs. https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/covid-19-advice/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-and-allergies/ 1
rodheadlee Posted March 11, 2021 Posted March 11, 2021 30 minutes ago, Calm said: India is considering going with just one shot because it makes more sense to have two people mostly covered than one fully covered and one not at all. I have seen it suggested for the US as well to move up herd immunity faster. While not as secure as the two shots, your chances of severe Covid and hospitalization is still much lower. I am getting the impression the bigger concern with the second shot is to make it last longer, delaying the second shot may not be a big issue for that. I can look for the Indian article if you are curious about the stats they are using to justify moving to one shot for now. No need to look it up. I understand I have 6 weeks to get the second shot.
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