77 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – December 20 2021”

  2. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio will make a decision shortly with regard to the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

      1. I haven’t heard anything yet about First Night events here in Boston. I bet at least “some” adjustments will have to be made though. The new variant is becoming too prevalent now to ignore.

  3. JPD….I don’t remember whether you subscribe to the globe

    “Heading into the new year, as COVID-19 cases surge, office employers are yet again wrestling with return-to-work plans.

    There’s a new wrinkle: Breakthrough cases among employees are expected to become common, so companies are figuring out how to deal with that risk once they reopen.

    But in the past week, several large companies in Greater Boston have closed their offices, which had been open on a voluntary basis, or have delayed their return timelines. The situation mirrors the response to the Delta variant, which led to a slew of reopening delays around Labor Day. Now, it is rising cases and the Omicron variant that are wreaking havoc on plans for 2022.”

    1. I hope JPD’s office takes some action. Based on some of his posts, it’s becoming a potential super spreader, if not already.

      1. I don’t either and will let my $1.00 a month subscription lapse. I am sick of all of them. The Christian Science monitor is expensive, but I think once I get rid of the others, I’ll subscribe to it

  4. Vicki, I did indeed take a day off from Covid and other things.

    Novavax has been approved by the European Medicines Agency – Europe’s `umbrella’ FDA. It’s a vaccine that’s been developed on a traditional platform. I’ve written about it. Its approval is so late in the game. If it had been approved many months ago, that would have been good, to appease some of the vaccine hesitant. Now, I’m unsure.

    Hard lockdown in the Netherlands means that the Dutch are traveling to neighboring countries to do their Christmas shopping. The Belgians and Germans have responded by introducing stricter rules for those shopping or going to restaurants.

    I’m encouraged by some of the data on Omicron’s lack of severity. This hasn’t been proven yet, but I do think we see subtle signs of it. The lower attack rate in the lungs is really important. Covid pneumonia is a killer in some, and with Omicron there may be less of an opportunity for pneumonia to occur.

    Biden has already had a horrible week, though much of it is NOT his fault. He’s been blindsided by arrogance and ignorance, in my view. I support Joe Manchin’s right to be an independent voice. But, I do NOT support his lying to the President and not acting in good faith. You don’t tell the President you’re negotiating one day and then go on the news on Sunday to say there’s no deal. If there’s no deal, fine, but you tell the President that first. I’d be mad as hell if I were Biden. I think Biden’s week may worsen, however, Tuesday night when it’s revealed the extent to which this Administration is pretty much the same as the previous one in terms of its Covid response. https://twitter.com/UniversalMaski2/status/1472750750463938564

    It pins ALL the blame on the unvaccinated, and once again divides the nation into the good and bad guys. That is not going to convince the unvaccinated to get vaccinated. It will embolden them not to. Also, hopefully Zients and others realize that of the 205,000 Americans who have died in the last 5 months, 45,000 were fully vaccinated. This is NOT strictly a pandemic of the unvaccinated. The Administration and the drug companies have oversold vaccines. They’re not magic, not miracles. They’re good and should be taken. But clearly the vaccination without mitigation approach has failed. We lost another 2,214 people on Friday, 25-30% of whom were fully vaccinated.

  5. Joshua, I am so happy to hear that you took a day for you. I hope your daughter continues to improve. I don’t think I can begin to tell you how much your input here means….to me and I think to all of us.

    I thank everyone also for Being part of this blog….whether we agree or not, it is important to hear the views of others. It is the only way we can see an entire picture.

    I learned last night and this morning how very much we are Aware of here compared to what we in this country are told by media and leaders. A friend last night, another today and my youngest are all individuals I consider very well informed. All were shocked by the media finally focusing on the shutdowns in other countries. And sadly, the media tends to portray the other countries as separate from anything here. That last sentence isn’t worded well so I hope it makes some sense.

    I am afraid of how Biden might approach covid in his speech tomorrow night. When I said we need to hear more from them, My daughter just made the comment that they need to be silenced because anything they say only makes things worse. Sadly, she is correct IMO

  6. Looks as if we are cracking down some. But why wait till mid January and why only the city…and I know making mandates statewide isn’t easy but Baker could at least out a mask mandate in place.

    “In an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday announced new vaccine requirements for some indoor spaces in the city, as well as a new vaccine mandate for the city’s 18,000-strong workforce.

    Beginning Jan. 15, patrons of affected businesses — including indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment establishments — will be required to show proof of vaccination upon entering the premises. Additionally, the city is requiring vaccination of all city employees, and eliminating an option for city workers to be regularly tested instead of being vaccinated.“

  8. What surprises me most about the Biden Administration in its Covid response is its striking resemblance to the Trump Administration, at least since May. I find that very odd. I know some of the people who work for the Biden Administration behind the scenes, and I believe some are frustrated. Not because we don’t lock down. No. Lockdowns should be a last resort. Rather, it’s because the Administration only sees vaccination as our way out. They don’t talk about ventilation, distancing, crowd and gathering limits, better and free masks, free tests, etc … This is a missed opportunity.

    1. Agree 100% I am bitterly disappointed in the Biden Administration response. Never thought I would see that from him.

      Most frustrating. This country is not handling covid well.

      1. I am utterly disappointed in the entire right of this country for downplaying Covid and keeping this mess going. See different spin on that one 🙂

    1. Very interesting. And our vaccine messaging has created a problem on top of typical antivax views. Other than in 1976, I’ve never hesitated to vaccinate. Now, I vaccinate with concern. If the messaging is causing me and others like me to worry, I think there has to be a problem.

  10. Latest CDC data by vaccine status:

    Unvaccinated: 451 cases per 100k
    Vaccinated: 134 cases per 100k
    Boosted: 48 cases per 100k

    Unvaccinated: 6.1 deaths per 100k
    Vaccinated: 0.5 deaths per 100k
    Boosted: 0.1 deaths per 100k

    1. If guess that is “some” good news. It’s just a shame though that any fully vaccinated people got Covid at all, “mild” or otherwise.

        1. Thank you for asking. He returned a week ago today. He still has a bit of a cough but says he feels fine. His wife I HOPE is past the number of days

    1. Officers got tested today as we do every other week. We used to get tested every week.

      Since the pandemic began, only two officers tested positive. One was young and quickly returned to work, the other was elderly and got real sick with Covid and never returned. Both incidents occurred in 2020. As far as I know, nothing this year, so far.

      As for the students/residents, from what I can tell, cases have been very low. No big outbreaks or anything like that.

      Thanks for asking Vicki! 🙂

      1. Oh wow. That’s a good program considering you cannot work from home. Maybe they will return to once a week tests.

  13. Joshua, you mentioned that Omicron doesn’t affect the lungs like the alpha and delta variants, then what part of the body does it affect mostly?

    1. Unclear at this point. We’ll know more in the coming weeks.

      By the way, I think that Omicron can affect the lungs but its initial attack point is the bronchus and not the lungs. So, it would have to happen indirectly. This is good news, by the way. Covid pneumonia is when the lungs are attacked directly. I’m sure it can happen if attacked indirectly, but less frequently.

        1. Yes, but it’s almost exclusively fatigue. She’s usually a very energetic person, but is feeling easily exhausted. Cough is almost gone. Thanks for asking. I’ll miss her this Christmas season.

            1. Thank you.

              She had NO loss of taste or smell. And, she did have a bad sore throat that lasted 5 days. These two indicators suggest Omicron and not Delta.

              1. My son said the same. Interesting. As you know he is fully vaccinated ….J&J but just four months ago ….and had a full blown case of covid not long after we recognized it was in the US.

  14. Vicki, the 205,000 dead in the U.S. nationwide is a current estimate from the Delta wave. Most were unvaccinated: 160,000. But, some were fully vaccinated and that number increased quite a bit in recent months, indicating waning vaccine immunity.

  15. VERY interesting tidbit from Gottlieb. Delta has NOT given up the fight. It’s still challenging Omicron, if you will. What we’re seeing is a variant combination in action. https://twitter.com/ScottGottliebMD/status/1473032130984873988

    Please note, in SA Delta was `crushed’ by Omicron. Omicron is not only dominant, it’s about the only thing that shows up on sequencing tests. Not so in the UK. I think our eyes should be on the UK and not SA for clues as to how the pandemic proceeds.

  16. I have read a few articles on what may come with Omicron or combo Omicron/Delta or OmiDel

    Specifically that so many people will become ill that it could
    seriously affect ALL supply chains, including food. A horrific
    situation should it come to that.

    Not hearing much about this, however. I truly believe that this is a real threat. HOPE it does NOT come to be.

    2. This is the top limit and fear of the second to last stage I keep mentioning Macs brother and I drew up….he was the key and I just took notes. And it is a real fear.

      We need to stop thinking everyone should just get covid and numbers do not matter. It is a dangerous folly.

  17. Vaccine passports coming to restaurants in Boston as well as a citywide indoor vaccine mandate. In response, there was a massive demonstration at Boston City Hall today while Mayor Wu was announcing it at her podium.

    Meanwhile, Baker has NO intentions on any statewide mandates.

      1. From what I can tell, Baker keeps harping over our “high” vaccination rate compared to other states so he feels any mandates unnecessary.

  18. The number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in Connecticut increased by 101 over the past three days. Of the 101, 75% were not fully vaccinated.

    If Omicron is milder for the unvaxxed than Delta, its impact hasn’t been felt yet in Connecticut.

    I’m very much hoping Omicron is milder, but I haven’t seen clear signs of this except in South Africa. And I’m unsure whether SA is a good comparator. In fact, I don’t think it is. I’m very curious to see the UK’s updated hospitalization numbers tomorrow. If steady or in decline that could be a sign that Omicron is weaker.

  19. In Massachusetts, cases are about where they were last year at this time. Hospitalizations are ~64% of what they were last year at this time. And, deaths ~50% of what they were last year at this time. While we’re in a better place than last year, I would have expected more decoupling. I also would not have expected 38% of the hospitalized to be fully vaccinated.

      1. No. Fully is defined as 2 doses in the analysis I saw. I think that 3 doses will be considered fully vaccinated by all agencies soon.

        1. There is already a messaging problem with respect to vaccine passports. The vaccinated can and do transmit. While I am not anti-vax at all, I do understand the criticism by those who say that the vaccinated can transmit. Ultimately, a better policy would be to require a passport and a negative test. But that would be a burden on customers, especially in light of the test shortage.

          1. Again, I agree and absolutely understand your concern. It would be helpful if they were to hire you as a consultant. I know that sounds off the cuff and a bit biased, but they need to find someone with knowledge and common sense. Not an easy task

        2. Thank you. I apologize for so many questions tonight. I know some consider two vaccines and a booster but until now it has been two vaccines. I hope the agencies will work through the messaging.

  20. U.S. today:

    – New cases: 268,307
    – Average: 142,973 (+10,163)
    – States reporting: 48/50 [so cases/hospitalizations/deaths are actually a bit higher]
    – In hospital: 67,191 (+326)
    – In ICU: 16,253 (+37)
    – New deaths: 1,756
    – Average: 1,342 (+27)

    The only `positive’ news is that the hospitalization growth curve is flattening. This could be due to the Omicron effect: 1. The big surge in cases is very recent, haven’t yet translated into hospitalizations; 2. Omicron less severe. Number 1 is clear. Number 2 is not (yet) proven.

    1. Columbia and Cornell have done the same. Pre pandemic, university of Chicago wss test optional in 2018. Several well know schools did the same. 90 percent of schools on best colleges etc are going test free. It is about time

  22. First confirmed Omicron death in America was in a man who had had Covid-19 before; a reinfection. One thing we know about Omicron is that the reinfection rate is very high. The virus has really evolved into an evasive menace in this regard.

    I will say this, I remember last year reading reports on Covid-19 reinfections and then talking to scientists about it. Most told me reinfections were “very rare.” I was very skeptical then, and I am extremely skeptical now. I believe reinfections with coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, influenza, etc … are common. In some ways, I think we’ve been deceived in biology class to think that our immune system is so good at recognizing a virus it has already had that it does its thing flawlessly anytime the virus is encountered. While I think that does happen often, I also think our imperfect immune system coupled with viral drift imply the very distinct possibility of reinfections of many different viruses.

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