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SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by tochatihu, Jan 26, 2020.

  1. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    You question isn't phrased correctly - it argumentatively implies there is only one answer.

    Yes I do believe the US would do that. Maybe more importantly as a citizen I would insist they do it. The majority may disagree and it might not get done but it wouldn't stop me from standing up and voicing what I feel we should do.
     
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    What if ...

    ... the U.S., China, and many other countries collaborated, working together on surveillance for emerging diseases, with U.S.-fund staff working in Wuhan and other major virus labs around the world, sharing ideas and data and best safety practices, so that everyone can have an early heads-up to emerging disease threats? Sort of like this:

    10th anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Global Disease Detection program
    A ten-year China-US laboratory collaboration: improving response to influenza threats in China and the world, 2004–2014


    Oh, wait! We did? Why was it slashed about five years ago?

    Exclusive: U.S. slashed CDC staff inside China prior to coronavirus outbreak

    FOLLOWING 2018 STATE DEPARTMENT WARNINGS OF SAFETY ISSUES AT WUHAN LAB STUDYING CORONAVIRUSES, MURPHY, MARKEY PRESS POMPEO FOR ANSWERS ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE

    Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronaviruses


    "Two months before the novel coronavirus is thought to have begun its deadly advance in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200-million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat.

    The project, launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2009, identified 1,200 different viruses that had the potential to erupt into pandemics, including more than 160 novel coronaviruses. The initiative, called PREDICT, also trained and supported staff in 60 foreign laboratories — including the Wuhan lab that identified SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

    Field work ceased when the funding ran out in September, and organizations that worked on the PREDICT program laid off dozens of scientists and analysts, said Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a key player in the program."


     
  3. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    "Oh, wait! We did? Why was it slashed about five years ago?"

    Are these questions or statements? Who is the expected person to answer?

    They are non sequiturs.

    Though I don't belong, others have implied FHOP -Politics side- are meant for those type of rants.
     
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    You're the one being critical of China's actions calling on them to give unfettered access to the outside world here, including "Pledge to be a cooperative part of any World Coordinated Approaches to fight future epidemics." Which is something they were once part off, but not ended by them.
     
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  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    This thread and its FHoPol twin (Coronavirus) have been scrambled and overlapping since the beginning. Your posts here the past couple days are no less guilty.
     
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  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Usually for my own amusement, I follow a few right-wing publications:
    upload_2023-8-13_11-33-42.png

    Sounds like the stuff any anti-VAXer would spout. Regardless, the weather will soon cool.

    Cooler temperatures and we'll gather together so influenza, COVID-19, and even cold viruses will easily pass through the community. So it will soon be time for us 'elderly' to get protective vaccinations: CDC to Launch “Bridge Access Program” in Fall 2023 to Provide Free COVID-19 Vaccines to Uninsured and Underinsured Adults | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

    To help ensure that millions of uninsured and underinsured American adults continue to have access to no-cost COVID-19 vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching the Bridge Access Program for COVID-19 Vaccines this fall.

    There are an estimated 25-30 million adults without insurance in the U.S., and there are additional adults whose insurance will not provide free coverage for COVID-19 vaccines after these products transition to the commercial market for procurement, distribution, and pricing, later this fall. The pandemic highlighted longstanding barriers to adult vaccination, including lack of accessibility, lack of availability, and lack of confidence. Under the management and oversight of CDC, the Bridge Access Program – for a limited time – will allow adults who are uninsured or underinsured to receive free COVID-19 vaccinations.
    ...

    Source_2: https://www.medicare.gov/publications/12118-Medicare-Covers-COVID-19-Vaccine.pdf


    Medicare covers the original coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and updated vaccine at no cost to you. The updated vaccine targets the original COVID-19 viral strain and 2 Omicron variants (BA.4/BA.5).

    You can get an updated vaccine from the same COVID-19 manufacturer that you got your original shot from, or choose to get it from a different manufacturer.

    If you got a Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, you can get an updated shot at least 5 months after you complete your second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine series. If you got a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, you can get an updated shot at least 2 months after you got your first shot.

    ■ Bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card with you, even if you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan. Your provider will need your Medicare Number to bill Medicare.
    ■ Visit Medicare.gov for more information on Medicare coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine and other related services.
    ■ Visit CDC.gov/coronavirus for information on vaccines and steps you can take to keep yourself and others safe from COVID-19.

    Of course, time to wash your favorite cloth masks and become more hygiene self-aware. As for the vaccine skeptics, we'll pray for you.

    Bob Wilson


     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm waiting for the targeted booster, but we've already got a number of lung and gut viruses running around.

    positive covid tests have doubled in the last month in ma, but i'm more interested in sewage results, which are hard to find.
    i have noticedmore mask wearers in stores lately, and there were about ten of us sitting on the lawn at church this morning, where it's been mostly just mrs b and myself all summer.
     
  8. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Interesting read here when weighing the risks of getting a vaccine (so glad nowadays we can talk about that without being canceled or branded a Nazi/vax denier LOL)versus experiencing long covid & the likelihood of still getting long covid symptoms despite vaccination.

    https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/long-covid-19-poses-risks-to-vaccinated-people-too/

    .
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    agreed. vaccination isn't a guarantee, but it sure beats no vaccination in most cases.

    and the more people vaccinated, the better it is for everybody
     
    #6429 bisco, Aug 13, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2023
  10. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    That is over a year old, with data from mostly pre-Omicron, but still interesting.

    "...vaccines seem to only provide modest protection against long COVID."

    "The study of more than 13 million veterans also found that vaccination against the virus that causes COVID-19 reduced the risk of death by 34% and the risk of getting long COVID by 15%, compared with unvaccinated patients infected with the virus. However, vaccines were shown to be most effective in preventing some of the most worrisome manifestations of long COVID – lung and blood-clotting disorders – which declined about 49% and 56%, respectively, among those who were vaccinated."
     
  11. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    "...i'm more interested in sewage results, which are hard to find." I went to CDC website for this. They have a national monitoring program. It may not include sites in Mass. - hard to know that immediately. (CDC may devote little bandwidth for downloads, or it might be a problem at this end).

    Anyone interested in their sewage surveillance could contact public health office and ask for action.

    Meanwhile, this page

    NWSS Public SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Metric Data | Data | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    Has not downloaded. Just keeps twirlin'
     
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    unfortunately, mass dept of health has pretty much moved on. if covid gets worse, they'll probably up their game, but burnout is a thing
     
  13. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Just between us :) the National Program leaves it up to local operators to decide whether data should be publicly available. Not sure I'd tske that approach in a open society :)
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ya, me neither. that leaves a lot of red states out of the picture, and many blue states.

    honestly, it's over around here, until it isn't. currently, mask requirements have been dropped in all hospitals, and covid shots are downplayed
     
  15. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    More opinions from me. Not impressed by a burnout explanation. Wastewater surveillance has additional value in illuminating national patterns. When the local 'hands' get good at it, it can be expanded to other diseases of interest simply by adding different DNA primers.

    This is sloth not burnout. With apologies to sloths.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i won't argue with that, but in the end, we have the same result. most (all) politicians are not forward looking. we need scientists to step up, but they are eerily quiet.
     
  17. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    More opinions from me. RNA vaccines were ~impossible until COVID drove that technology (and those profits too, OK, fine). Wastewater pathogen surveillance was impractical until COVID drove that technology.
    All COVID's societal and economic disruptions, deaths and long Covidians are terrible tragedies. The best can be made of all those things is to improve responses to other pathogens.
    Active personal measures to improve public health 'came of age' during COVID. With many people kicking and screaming about loss of freedoms. Against which freedom to still be alive ought to be reckoned in.
    Putting COVID and its beneficial spinoffs in the rear-view mirror - that's what the viruses want.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    exactly. no one is running for office on a 'let's mitigate future pandemics' platform.

    all i can do is avoid dangerous places and situations, and mask up when i can't.

    when the shot is available for the hopefully prevalent strain, i'll get it.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm in the middle of 'guns, germs and steel', and the germs section is fascinating, as are the others.
     
  20. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I don't think viruseses actually want anything at all, they just work better when certain conditions are met. Otherwise I agree.
     
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