21 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – October 1 2021”

  2. Dr S. I saw your comment re hippa. I am a bit unsure if employer right to your records is 100%. If I can’t access health information about a family member (including spouse or child) without permission, it seems odd that an employer has a right to all my records. But this link seems a bit unclear. When it comes to vaccine history, however, it seems that would be something an employer can request and expect to receive

    https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/employers-health-information-workplace/index.html

  4. Joshua – Is it possible that another vaccine may need to be developed “specifically” for the Delta variant? Technically, are the current vaccines really to combat the original COVID-19 and are just not nearly as effective against the latest Delta?

    1. Vaccines are periodically tweaked to adjust for changes. For example, the influenza vaccine changes from year to year. I suspect the coronavirus vaccine will be adjusted, too, to account for new variants.

        1. I think so. But, we first have to wait and see how the booster works (and which sub-population), and whether those who didn’t get a booster, need one.

        1. It essentially wreaks havoc in the virus replication process. It doesn’t block it. Rather, it causes it to go haywire.

  5. Merck’s pill is a potentially useful treatment to add to the toolkit. But, the media needs to temper its enthusiasm. Let’s wait and see what the follow-up studies show. Please keep in mind that in April of 2020 everyone was talking about how great remdesivir was. An initial study looked very favorable. Later real-world studies showed marginal benefit.

    Also, having more treatments may yield more reluctance to vaccinate.

    I’d rather prevent a problem, if possible, rather than wait to see if I need to treat it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

    2. I can picture the anti-vaxxers lined up around the corner and down the street for blocks for that pill, regardless of FDA approval.

  6. Earlier I was reading a tweet from Canada on testing, etc. Many were critical of the healthcare personnel and leadership in Canada for their conflicting views. Sound familiar ?

  7. Covid-19 is like an endless rolling rally, moving around in circles. It hits a country, recedes, then pops up in another region, recedes, and then comes to hit the country it had struck before. As I mentioned yesterday, Eastern Europe is now under siege. Let’s hope there’s no new variant involved. https://twitter.com/bpolitics/status/1443180483882409995

    The only real protection appears to be >80% fully vaccinated population. Portugal and several other European countries do appear to have more or less extinguished coronavirus.

    1. I just listened to Anderson interview Gotlieb on CNN. He asked Gotlieb where we are and Gotlieb said he thinks delta is the last wave of Covid we will see in this country

      1. And Gottlieb may be correct. But, I wish he wouldn’t say things like that. Not after he’s been wrong before. Badly wrong. I wish Cooper would have followed up by saying, “with all due respect, sir, in May of 2020 you said we would not have a summer surge and we did, and in May of 2021 you said we would not have a summer surge and we did.” Alas, American interviewers are not the best in the business. A British interviewer would have challenged Gottlieb.

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