What about heart conditions becoming more to light. I wouldn't want my 4 year old being put in line.
your 4 year old isnt eligible yet anyway. In the meantime more will be
learned and applied. Further, there are signs of myocarditis to look
for as with any potential side effect.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Anyone think it's pointless to use kids 5-11 vaccines when they become available in BC in the next couple weeks given that Delta peaked in my small town during summer tourism?
Not much news about how this formula is being tested and changed for the young ones.
Not pointless at all. Vaccinating kids will reduce the reservoir of infection in the communities. By late October kids under 12 made up 20% of the cases in BC, and I saw recently that covid is now within the top 10 causes of death for kids.
The formula doesn't need to be changed for children. With virtually all of the other vaccines in the usual schedule, kids get the same version of the vaccine that adults get, unless there is a different mode of delivery (like the nasal flu vaccine). Kids get the same vaccine for measles, rubella, etc. They get a different version for Hepatitis B but the only difference is dose. Their immune system isn't really all that different from that of adults; they have all the same components, it's just that some are more active, because their bodies are naive to more new infectious agent, and some are less active, since they don't have that prior exposure to work from.
I would like to see that top 10 with death rates. I did a search but did not find much
Anyone think it's pointless to use kids 5-11 vaccines when they become available in BC in the next couple weeks given that Delta peaked in my small town during summer tourism?
Not much news about how this formula is being tested and changed for the young ones.
Not pointless at all. Vaccinating kids will reduce the reservoir of infection in the communities. By late October kids under 12 made up 20% of the cases in BC, and I saw recently that covid is now within the top 10 causes of death for kids.
The formula doesn't need to be changed for children. With virtually all of the other vaccines in the usual schedule, kids get the same version of the vaccine that adults get, unless there is a different mode of delivery (like the nasal flu vaccine). Kids get the same vaccine for measles, rubella, etc. They get a different version for Hepatitis B but the only difference is dose. Their immune system isn't really all that different from that of adults; they have all the same components, it's just that some are more active, because their bodies are naive to more new infectious agent, and some are less active, since they don't have that prior exposure to work from.
I would like to see that top 10 with death rates. I did a search but did not find much
Me too
brixton 93
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
what we KNOW. There's been a discovery of a new varient. Originating in S Africa. Found to be a handful cases, at this point , in several countries of people who traveled from S Africa.
what we DONT know. Efficacy of current vaccines with this new varient.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus
Omicron
has sparked alarm among epidemiologists worried the new variant’s
mutations could make it more transmissible. Scientists are racing to
learn more as new cases are confirmed.
What we know about the new omicron variant
A
new coronavirus variant was detected in southern Africa on Nov. 25.
Here’s what we know about it. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
A new variant of the coronavirus that causes covid-19 is raising concern around the globe.
South
Africa on Thursday confirmed that scientists there had detected a
variant with a high number of mutations that could make it more easily
transmissible. On Friday, the World Health Organization labeled it a
“variant of concern,” a classification it has given to four other
variants. The global health agency also gave it a Greek letter
designation: omicron.
Several
countries, including the United States, moved to curb flights Friday
and Saturday from southern Africa, while epidemiologists began working
to identify how far the variant may have spread. Cases have been
identified in at least eight nations, most but not all tied to recent
travel to Africa.
There
is too little research to draw conclusions, with experts urging caution
but not panic. Studies are underway to examine how vaccines hold up
against the new variant, with some experts expressing initial optimism
that they will offer protection. Officials in South Africa said most of
those hospitalized with omicron had not gotten immunized.
“This
is the most concerning variant we’ve seen since delta,” Eric Topol,
director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said in an
interview Friday. “It’s going to take a really high bar for something to
take over for delta, and we don’t know whether this is going to do it."
Where has omicron been confirmed?
Although
it is unknown where the variant came from, it was first detected in
southern Africa. On Tuesday, scientists in South Africa made data of the
variant public. Noticing the distinct sequence, a virologist at
Imperial College London, Tom Peacock, raised alarms about the “really awful Spike mutation profile.”
In
South Africa, where nearly 25 percent of the adult population is fully
vaccinated, the variant has spread rapidly. There were 50 new daily
cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people in South Africa from Nov. 20 to
Saturday, a 592 percent increase from the previous week, according to
The Washington Post’s virus tracker.
At
a news conference Friday, Ian Sanne, an infectious-disease specialist
and member of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Council on COVID-19,
said that the new variant was becoming the dominant type and that
“overall, we do think it’s more transmissible.”
Cases
have also been identified in Britain, Belgium, Botswana, Germany,
Italy, Hong Kong, Israel and the Czech Republic. Dutch health
authorities said Saturday that testing of about 600 passengers who
arrived from South Africa found 61 were infected with the virus. Authorities confirmed Sunday that 13 of the infections were attributable to the omicron variant.
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that omicron had
not been detected in the United States, but that doesn’t have officials
resting easy. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a state of emergency Friday in response to a cold-weather surge of infections and the threat of the new variant, saying, “It’s coming.”
What do we know about the new variant?
Omicron’s genetic profile is unique from other circulating variants, meaning it represents a new lineage of the virus.
It
is distinct from other variants in another critical way: There’s a
greater number of mutations. Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center
for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, said there are
more than 30 mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus that
binds to human cells, allowing it to gain entry.
Scientists
say omicron could be more transmissible and better at evading the
body’s immune defenses, making vaccines less effective. The WHO said
Friday that preliminary evidence suggests an “increased risk of
reinfection” compared to other variants.
“The
one good news, if there’s any good news, is that this variant, the
B.1.1.529, can be detected by one particular PCR assay,” de Oliveira
said at a news conference, meaning diagnostic labs can quickly identify the new variant.
Jesse
Bloom, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who
has conducted mutational scanning experiments for the variant, noted
that three mutations could make the virus a more elusive target for
antibodies produced through vaccines or prior infection,but cautioned there is still much to learn.
“What
that’s going to mean for how likely people are to get infected, even if
they’ve been vaccinated, it’s too early to say,” Bloom said, noting
that more traditional experiments should provide more data. “But having a
drop in the antibody neutralization is never a good thing.”
Linda Bauld, a professor of
public health at the University of Edinburgh, said there were “genuine”
causes for concern given that “it does look like a more transmissible
variant.” But she added: “I think it’s premature to panic. … There’s
just a lot we don’t know at the moment.”
Coronavirus
variants like omicron, delta and mu are an expected part of the virus's
lifecycle, but vaccines can prevent more infectious strains from
developing. (John Farrell, Hadley Green/The Washington Post)
Why is it called omicron?
The WHO named B.1.1.529 on Friday, following the tradition of giving variants a Greek letter name.
After using the most recently named variant, mu, officials chose to skip the next letters available for variants, nu and xi.
“‘Nu
is too easily confounded with ‘new,’ and Xi was not used because it is a
common surname,” the WHO said in a statement to The Post, adding that
the agency’s “best practices for naming new diseases suggest avoiding
‘causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional,
professional or ethnic groups.’”
What’s being done to halt the spread of omicron?
Within
days of the discovery of the variant, several countries began imposing
restrictions on flights to and from South Africa and its neighbors.
Israel closed its borders to “foreigners from all countries.”
Australia, Britain, Japan, Thailand and others introduced travel bans
or quarantine rules for air passengers arriving from the southern
African region. The European Union and the United States have also
announced restrictions. The United Kingdom said Saturday that it would
require all international travelers to take a PCR test within two days
of arrival and to quarantine until their test returns a negative result.
The
U.S. restrictions will apply to travelers from South Africa, Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. They do not
apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents. President
Biden, in a statement, said the move is “a precautionary measure,” and
urged Americans to get vaccinated and get booster shots.
“If you have not gotten vaccinated, or have not taken your children to get vaccinated, now is the time,” he said.
“It
really doesn’t look scientific in any way,” he said. “That kind of
reaction is quite a knee-jerk and panicked and almost wants to put a
blame on other countries rather than work together.”
Before
the novel coronavirus spread through the world, a study published in
February 2020 in the Journal of Emergency Management found that a travel
ban could delay the arrival of an infectious disease in a country by
days or weeks. However, little evidence suggested it eliminated the risk
of it jumping borders in the long term.
Amesh
Adalja, an infectious-disease physician and professor at Johns Hopkins
University, said the measure would do little or nothing for curbing the
spread of a variant that may have been “spreading for probably several
days or weeks before it was noticed.”
When
“full containment is not ever going to be possible,” he said, the focus
should shift toward improving nations’ testing capabilities and
boosting vaccinations — particularly in places where the virus continues
surging, such as the United States and Europe.
Faheem
Younus, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Maryland,
said that by the time travel bans are imposed, “the new variant has
already traveled out of the country.” He noted that the O.R. Tambo
International Airport near Johannesburg serves more than 1 million
travelers a month.
“These
bans also come at a cost and will disincentive other countries in the
future,” he said. “‘Why alert the world promptly if that means your
people will be punished and your economy crushed?’ they might wonder.”
Scientists
can get a good indication that a person probably has the new variant
through a traditional PCR test that can detect whether a specific part
of the virus is missing, signaling a mutation in line with omicron,
though more complete genome sequencing is needed to confirm this, said
Eric Feigl-Ding, a senior fellow with the Federation of American
Scientists.
Countries
such as Belgium are now on the hunt to see whether there are signs of
transmission within their country by retroactively examining those
tests.
Do we know whether vaccines are effective against omicron?
Even
if the variant limits the effectiveness of vaccines, it probably will
not completely subvert the protections that vaccines provide, experts
say.
“My
expectation would be that the mutations in this variant are not going
to ablate or completely escape that type of antibody neutralization”
from vaccines or prior infection, Bloom said.
“Regardless
of whether or not this new variant ends up spreading, I would suggest
that people do what they can to minimize their chances of getting
infected with SARS-CoV-2,” Bloom added, referring to the virus by its
technical name. “There are certain obvious things you can do: Get
vaccinated, get a booster vaccination, wear a mask.”
Though
the sample size is small, Sanne said physicians have seen a higher rate
of breakthrough infections among those previously vaccinated in South
Africa. But he added that initial data indicates the vaccines are still
proving effective, with the majority of hospitalizations being among
those who hadn’t gotten immunized.
“We
have every indication that the vaccines are still effective in
preventing severe disease and/or complications,” he said. “The data,
however, is small and early.”
Meanwhile,
vaccine makers, which have done preliminary research using vaccines
with formulas tailored for other variants, are working to understand how
well their vaccines can counter omicron.
“In
the event that vaccine-escape variant emerges, Pfizer and BioNTech
expect to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against
that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval,”
a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement.
Given
the spread of omicron in South Africa, several experts have pointed to
the critical need to vaccinate underserved countries to bolster the
world’s protection from future, more-evasive variants.
“I
think vaccine equity is a really important issue,” said Bauld, noting
the low vaccination rates in many African countries and the fact that
high prevalence of the virus means it can undergo many genetic changes
each time it jumps between individuals.
However,
Bauld added, transmission of the coronavirus probably will not be
eliminated even with a vaccine, as seen with the delta variant, with
mutations ultimately able to “occur in any country.”
Viral immunologist Kizzmekia Corbett, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, tweeted
that “by the time you detect one variant another is already circulating
under the radar somewhere,” and that a combination of surveillance
lags, low vaccine uptake and inequitable vaccine access meant “we will
be chasing variants endlessly.”
Could omicron evade treatments?
We
don’t yet know how omicron might stand up to therapeutics developed to
treat covid-19, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies.
Bloom,
whose scanning experiments could inform further research about omicron,
said it is too soon to base clinical recommendations on available
information. Because multiple mutations could combine in a way that
dulls the impact of monoclonal antibody treatments, he said it’s
difficult to assess which would be effective.
“I have low confidence in assessments at this point of which antibodies will still work,” Bloom said Saturday.
Companies that have developed cocktails, including Roche and AstraZeneca, say they are monitoring the variant.
Bloom said his experiments show initial indications that the Regeneron-Roche cocktail could “take a hit.”
“I
think this shows the importance of work going on in academia and in
industry to continue to find more antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 because
it’s clear the reason people were doing this is we know that new
variants were arising,” Bloom said. “It’s clear that’s going to continue
to happen.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Anyone think it's pointless to use kids 5-11 vaccines when they become available in BC in the next couple weeks given that Delta peaked in my small town during summer tourism?
Not much news about how this formula is being tested and changed for the young ones.
Not pointless at all. Vaccinating kids will reduce the reservoir of infection in the communities. By late October kids under 12 made up 20% of the cases in BC, and I saw recently that covid is now within the top 10 causes of death for kids.
The formula doesn't need to be changed for children. With virtually all of the other vaccines in the usual schedule, kids get the same version of the vaccine that adults get, unless there is a different mode of delivery (like the nasal flu vaccine). Kids get the same vaccine for measles, rubella, etc. They get a different version for Hepatitis B but the only difference is dose. Their immune system isn't really all that different from that of adults; they have all the same components, it's just that some are more active, because their bodies are naive to more new infectious agent, and some are less active, since they don't have that prior exposure to work from.
I would like to see that top 10 with death rates. I did a search but did not find much
I can't find the same sort of data from a Canadian perspective.
It's important to keep in mind that the base mortality rate in kids is very low, so making the top ten doesn't mean that there are a large number of deaths, but it is significant.
Post edited by oftenreading on
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
Do you have kids? You come off as you do not with these comments. Comparing cancer and chemotherapy or insulin to getting a vaccine for covid are very poor comparisons. If you do have kids that are 5-11 in age and are getting them vaccinated that is great. That is your decision. I on the other hand am waiting a couple of months before we decide, There is under 1000 cases in my province right now, If I lived in a big city or province my thoughts maybe different.
Anyone think it's pointless to use kids 5-11 vaccines when they become available in BC in the next couple weeks given that Delta peaked in my small town during summer tourism?
Not much news about how this formula is being tested and changed for the young ones.
Not pointless at all. Vaccinating kids will reduce the reservoir of infection in the communities. By late October kids under 12 made up 20% of the cases in BC, and I saw recently that covid is now within the top 10 causes of death for kids.
The formula doesn't need to be changed for children. With virtually all of the other vaccines in the usual schedule, kids get the same version of the vaccine that adults get, unless there is a different mode of delivery (like the nasal flu vaccine). Kids get the same vaccine for measles, rubella, etc. They get a different version for Hepatitis B but the only difference is dose. Their immune system isn't really all that different from that of adults; they have all the same components, it's just that some are more active, because their bodies are naive to more new infectious agent, and some are less active, since they don't have that prior exposure to work from.
I would like to see that top 10 with death rates. I did a search but did not find much
I can't find the same sort of data from a Canadian perspective.
It's important to keep in mind that the base mortality rate in kids is very low, so making the top ten doesn't mean that there are a large number of deaths, but it is significant.
That’s great thanks. Your last comment was my thought as well, Also stats do not matter if your kid is the one with severe symptoms from COVID or the vaccine. I find it tough making this decision and am going back and forth daily on it.
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
Do you have kids? You come off as you do not with these comments. Comparing cancer and chemotherapy or insulin to getting a vaccine for covid are very poor comparisons. If you do have kids that are 5-11 in age and are getting them vaccinated that is great. That is your decision. I on the other hand am waiting a couple of months before we decide, There is under 1000 cases in my province right now, If I lived in a big city or province my thoughts maybe different.
The WHO articles notes that covid rates I your area are a great consideration, NB
My kid had-survived delta explosion of exposure here in the summer. It's on its way out, so the newer data that is yet to come will be an added consideration, n'est-ce que pas?
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
Do you have kids? You come off as you do not with these comments. Comparing cancer and chemotherapy or insulin to getting a vaccine for covid are very poor comparisons. If you do have kids that are 5-11 in age and are getting them vaccinated that is great. That is your decision. I on the other hand am waiting a couple of months before we decide, There is under 1000 cases in my province right now, If I lived in a big city or province my thoughts maybe different.
I have kids aged 4 and 7 and I agree with Meltdown.
7 year old got his first dose on Friday.
Everybody is going to come into contact with covid sooner or later. Not to mention I feel safer having at least one of my children partially vaccinated around his grandparents this Christmas.
Getting our kids vaccinated is an absolute no-brainer and the right thing to do.
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
Do you have kids? You come off as you do not with these comments. Comparing cancer and chemotherapy or insulin to getting a vaccine for covid are very poor comparisons. If you do have kids that are 5-11 in age and are getting them vaccinated that is great. That is your decision. I on the other hand am waiting a couple of months before we decide, There is under 1000 cases in my province right now, If I lived in a big city or province my thoughts maybe different.
I have kids aged 4 and 7 and I agree with Meltdown.
7 year old got his first dose on Friday.
Everybody is going to come into contact with covid sooner or later. Not to mention I feel safer having at least one of my children partially vaccinated around his grandparents this Christmas.
Getting our kids vaccinated is an absolute no-brainer and the right thing to do.
You agree it is as important as giving insulin to a diabetic child or chemo therapy to a child with cancer?
That is great the decision is easy for you and a no brainer. For me it is not.
If your kid is eligible to be vaccinated and you choose not to then don’t expect society to pussy foot around your decisions…of course when billions are being vaccinated in mass some people will experience side effects … and that’s life.
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
If your kid had cancer would you deny them chemo to keep them alive? How about juvenile diabetes? Would you deny them life saving insulin?
Do you have kids? You come off as you do not with these comments. Comparing cancer and chemotherapy or insulin to getting a vaccine for covid are very poor comparisons. If you do have kids that are 5-11 in age and are getting them vaccinated that is great. That is your decision. I on the other hand am waiting a couple of months before we decide, There is under 1000 cases in my province right now, If I lived in a big city or province my thoughts maybe different.
I have kids aged 4 and 7 and I agree with Meltdown.
7 year old got his first dose on Friday.
Everybody is going to come into contact with covid sooner or later. Not to mention I feel safer having at least one of my children partially vaccinated around his grandparents this Christmas.
Getting our kids vaccinated is an absolute no-brainer and the right thing to do.
You agree it is as important as giving insulin to a diabetic child or chemo therapy to a child with cancer?
That is great the decision is easy for you and a no brainer. For me it is not.
100 with you
brixton 93
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
Off for yet another round of pcr tests.my 4 year old has another fever and is flat out. Fuck all this and fuck it again.
Hope the little one bounces back fast man and you get a negative result. It is hard when your child is so sick like that. Since school started in September my 3 kids have all had 3 separate colds/flu. From mild symptoms to high fever/stomach flu. None have been covid but the stress is always there when they start to get the sniffles and cough.
Off for yet another round of pcr tests.my 4 year old has another fever and is flat out. Fuck all this and fuck it again.
Hope the little one bounces back fast man and you get a negative result. It is hard when your child is so sick like that. Since school started in September my 3 kids have all had 3 separate colds/flu. From mild symptoms to high fever/stomach flu. None have been covid but the stress is always there when they start to get the sniffles and cough.
Totally i can't take anymore. Its relentless. Thanks for caring. Being a parent is never ending worry
brixton 93
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
Breyer turned down the challenge in the NE. Our employment law outside counsel believes the rules will stay based on previous deference given to OSHA and the executive branch in times of emergency. There just had to be an end date.
Comments
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
your 4 year old isnt eligible yet anyway. In the meantime more will be learned and applied. Further, there are signs of myocarditis to look for as with any potential side effect.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
www.headstonesband.com
Do you trust vaccines or not?
My mom grew up in the polio era…she was grateful for the polio vaccine.
What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus
Omicron has sparked alarm among epidemiologists worried the new variant’s mutations could make it more transmissible. Scientists are racing to learn more as new cases are confirmed.
A new variant of the coronavirus that causes covid-19 is raising concern around the globe.
South Africa on Thursday confirmed that scientists there had detected a variant with a high number of mutations that could make it more easily transmissible. On Friday, the World Health Organization labeled it a “variant of concern,” a classification it has given to four other variants. The global health agency also gave it a Greek letter designation: omicron.
Several countries, including the United States, moved to curb flights Friday and Saturday from southern Africa, while epidemiologists began working to identify how far the variant may have spread. Cases have been identified in at least eight nations, most but not all tied to recent travel to Africa.
There is too little research to draw conclusions, with experts urging caution but not panic. Studies are underway to examine how vaccines hold up against the new variant, with some experts expressing initial optimism that they will offer protection. Officials in South Africa said most of those hospitalized with omicron had not gotten immunized.
“This is the most concerning variant we’ve seen since delta,” Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said in an interview Friday. “It’s going to take a really high bar for something to take over for delta, and we don’t know whether this is going to do it."
Where has omicron been confirmed?
Although it is unknown where the variant came from, it was first detected in southern Africa. On Tuesday, scientists in South Africa made data of the variant public. Noticing the distinct sequence, a virologist at Imperial College London, Tom Peacock, raised alarms about the “really awful Spike mutation profile.”
In South Africa, where nearly 25 percent of the adult population is fully vaccinated, the variant has spread rapidly. There were 50 new daily cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people in South Africa from Nov. 20 to Saturday, a 592 percent increase from the previous week, according to The Washington Post’s virus tracker.
At a news conference Friday, Ian Sanne, an infectious-disease specialist and member of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Council on COVID-19, said that the new variant was becoming the dominant type and that “overall, we do think it’s more transmissible.”
Cases have also been identified in Britain, Belgium, Botswana, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Israel and the Czech Republic. Dutch health authorities said Saturday that testing of about 600 passengers who arrived from South Africa found 61 were infected with the virus. Authorities confirmed Sunday that 13 of the infections were attributable to the omicron variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that omicron had not been detected in the United States, but that doesn’t have officials resting easy. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a state of emergency Friday in response to a cold-weather surge of infections and the threat of the new variant, saying, “It’s coming.”
What do we know about the new variant?
Omicron’s genetic profile is unique from other circulating variants, meaning it represents a new lineage of the virus.
It is distinct from other variants in another critical way: There’s a greater number of mutations. Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, said there are more than 30 mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to human cells, allowing it to gain entry.
Scientists say omicron could be more transmissible and better at evading the body’s immune defenses, making vaccines less effective. The WHO said Friday that preliminary evidence suggests an “increased risk of reinfection” compared to other variants.
“The one good news, if there’s any good news, is that this variant, the B.1.1.529, can be detected by one particular PCR assay,” de Oliveira said at a news conference, meaning diagnostic labs can quickly identify the new variant.
Jesse Bloom, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who has conducted mutational scanning experiments for the variant, noted that three mutations could make the virus a more elusive target for antibodies produced through vaccines or prior infection, but cautioned there is still much to learn.
“What that’s going to mean for how likely people are to get infected, even if they’ve been vaccinated, it’s too early to say,” Bloom said, noting that more traditional experiments should provide more data. “But having a drop in the antibody neutralization is never a good thing.”
Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said there were “genuine” causes for concern given that “it does look like a more transmissible variant.” But she added: “I think it’s premature to panic. … There’s just a lot we don’t know at the moment.”
Why is it called omicron?
The WHO named B.1.1.529 on Friday, following the tradition of giving variants a Greek letter name.
After using the most recently named variant, mu, officials chose to skip the next letters available for variants, nu and xi.
“‘Nu is too easily confounded with ‘new,’ and Xi was not used because it is a common surname,” the WHO said in a statement to The Post, adding that the agency’s “best practices for naming new diseases suggest avoiding ‘causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups.’”
What’s being done to halt the spread of omicron?
Within days of the discovery of the variant, several countries began imposing restrictions on flights to and from South Africa and its neighbors.
Israel closed its borders to “foreigners from all countries.” Australia, Britain, Japan, Thailand and others introduced travel bans or quarantine rules for air passengers arriving from the southern African region. The European Union and the United States have also announced restrictions. The United Kingdom said Saturday that it would require all international travelers to take a PCR test within two days of arrival and to quarantine until their test returns a negative result.
The U.S. restrictions will apply to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. They do not apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents. President Biden, in a statement, said the move is “a precautionary measure,” and urged Americans to get vaccinated and get booster shots.
“If you have not gotten vaccinated, or have not taken your children to get vaccinated, now is the time,” he said.
Officials in South Africa expressed concern about the travel bans, while some experts cast doubt on the efficacy of the restrictions and whether they could “give a false sense of security.” The nation’s health minister, Joe Phaahla, characterized them as a “draconian reaction.”
“It really doesn’t look scientific in any way,” he said. “That kind of reaction is quite a knee-jerk and panicked and almost wants to put a blame on other countries rather than work together.”
Before the novel coronavirus spread through the world, a study published in February 2020 in the Journal of Emergency Management found that a travel ban could delay the arrival of an infectious disease in a country by days or weeks. However, little evidence suggested it eliminated the risk of it jumping borders in the long term.
Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease physician and professor at Johns Hopkins University, said the measure would do little or nothing for curbing the spread of a variant that may have been “spreading for probably several days or weeks before it was noticed.”
When “full containment is not ever going to be possible,” he said, the focus should shift toward improving nations’ testing capabilities and boosting vaccinations — particularly in places where the virus continues surging, such as the United States and Europe.
Faheem Younus, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Maryland, said that by the time travel bans are imposed, “the new variant has already traveled out of the country.” He noted that the O.R. Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg serves more than 1 million travelers a month.
“These bans also come at a cost and will disincentive other countries in the future,” he said. “‘Why alert the world promptly if that means your people will be punished and your economy crushed?’ they might wonder.”
Scientists can get a good indication that a person probably has the new variant through a traditional PCR test that can detect whether a specific part of the virus is missing, signaling a mutation in line with omicron, though more complete genome sequencing is needed to confirm this, said Eric Feigl-Ding, a senior fellow with the Federation of American Scientists.
Countries such as Belgium are now on the hunt to see whether there are signs of transmission within their country by retroactively examining those tests.
Do we know whether vaccines are effective against omicron?
Even if the variant limits the effectiveness of vaccines, it probably will not completely subvert the protections that vaccines provide, experts say.
“My expectation would be that the mutations in this variant are not going to ablate or completely escape that type of antibody neutralization” from vaccines or prior infection, Bloom said.
“Regardless of whether or not this new variant ends up spreading, I would suggest that people do what they can to minimize their chances of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2,” Bloom added, referring to the virus by its technical name. “There are certain obvious things you can do: Get vaccinated, get a booster vaccination, wear a mask.”
Though the sample size is small, Sanne said physicians have seen a higher rate of breakthrough infections among those previously vaccinated in South Africa. But he added that initial data indicates the vaccines are still proving effective, with the majority of hospitalizations being among those who hadn’t gotten immunized.
“We have every indication that the vaccines are still effective in preventing severe disease and/or complications,” he said. “The data, however, is small and early.”
Meanwhile, vaccine makers, which have done preliminary research using vaccines with formulas tailored for other variants, are working to understand how well their vaccines can counter omicron.
“In the event that vaccine-escape variant emerges, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement.
Given the spread of omicron in South Africa, several experts have pointed to the critical need to vaccinate underserved countries to bolster the world’s protection from future, more-evasive variants.
“I think vaccine equity is a really important issue,” said Bauld, noting the low vaccination rates in many African countries and the fact that high prevalence of the virus means it can undergo many genetic changes each time it jumps between individuals.
However, Bauld added, transmission of the coronavirus probably will not be eliminated even with a vaccine, as seen with the delta variant, with mutations ultimately able to “occur in any country.”
Viral immunologist Kizzmekia Corbett, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, tweeted that “by the time you detect one variant another is already circulating under the radar somewhere,” and that a combination of surveillance lags, low vaccine uptake and inequitable vaccine access meant “we will be chasing variants endlessly.”
Could omicron evade treatments?
We don’t yet know how omicron might stand up to therapeutics developed to treat covid-19, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies.
Bloom, whose scanning experiments could inform further research about omicron, said it is too soon to base clinical recommendations on available information. Because multiple mutations could combine in a way that dulls the impact of monoclonal antibody treatments, he said it’s difficult to assess which would be effective.
“I have low confidence in assessments at this point of which antibodies will still work,” Bloom said Saturday.
Companies that have developed cocktails, including Roche and AstraZeneca, say they are monitoring the variant.
Bloom said his experiments show initial indications that the Regeneron-Roche cocktail could “take a hit.”
“I think this shows the importance of work going on in academia and in industry to continue to find more antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 because it’s clear the reason people were doing this is we know that new variants were arising,” Bloom said. “It’s clear that’s going to continue to happen.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/28/afrigen-south-africa-vaccine-moderna/
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Ontario reports first two cases of omicron COVID-19 variant
A few links with some info. The CDC link has a lot of data about covid and children: https://www.fda.gov/media/153508/download
The link from South Carolina notes that covid is the sixth leading cause of death in children 5-11 in that state: https://www.wistv.com/2021/11/03/covid-now-6th-leading-cause-death-kids-5-11-sc-health-dept-says/
I can't find the same sort of data from a Canadian perspective.
It's important to keep in mind that the base mortality rate in kids is very low, so making the top ten doesn't mean that there are a large number of deaths, but it is significant.
https://www.who.int/news/item/24-11-2021-interim-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-for-children-and-adolescents
This one has some links about ethical considerations, too.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/recommendations-use-covid-19-vaccines/pfizer-biontech-10-mcg-children-5-11-years-age.htmlPJNB said: The WHO articles notes that covid rates I your area are a great consideration, NB
My kid had-survived delta explosion of exposure here in the summer. It's on its way out, so the newer data that is yet to come will be an added consideration, n'est-ce que pas?
7 year old got his first dose on Friday.
Everybody is going to come into contact with covid sooner or later. Not to mention I feel safer having at least one of my children partially vaccinated around his grandparents this Christmas.
Getting our kids vaccinated is an absolute no-brainer and the right thing to do.
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That is great the decision is easy for you and a no brainer. For me it is not.
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this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
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this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
-not dying
-not being an asshole.
but that's clearly not enough for many.
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