Corona-zona

Hi all. Stepping out of retirement for a moment to say that the day has finally arrived. After four years of successfully avoiding COVID-19 infection I had a positive test yesterday. Symptoms are very mild—I've had worse colds. The provider at urgent care said almost all the cases they are seeing are the same. Mild symptoms may also be due to the fact that I had the original vaccine then the two boosters. All this time I thought I might be a NOVID —one of those people who never get the bug. But no, it must have been my assiduous mask wearing and avoidance of high-risk situations when things were bad. So here's double middle fingers to all the kooks who think masks don't work (I've not been wearing masks for months now). I don't know what variant I have but it's likely JN.1. It is said to be extraordinarily contagious and accounts for 60% of cases worldwide . It also tends to produce mild infections like the one I have.  This article claims that right now every...

  Yesterday my sinuses felt somewhat irritated, my nose was running a little, and I had a little pang that could have been the beginning of a headache. I am fully vaxxed and boosted, so I wondered: Could I have a breakthrough case of the Omicon variant? There is growing evidence that Omicron produces less severe disease. Some people are claiming that it has different symptoms than "classic" COVID-19 too, ones more like a common cold.  Experts warn  that it's too soon to tell if the symptoms are fundamentally different from those associated with Delta. But this doesn't stop people like me from wondering whether any respiratory symptom might be COVID-19. At least four people I know—someone I work with, a friend, and two toddlers of another friend—have  symptoms of mild respiratory illness. They are all worried that they could have COVID-19 and have gotten or are seeking tests. There are many other people in the same boat. Public health practitioners are saying that th...

  A week ago I blogged about the Omicron variant, urging everybody not to panic while the experts figure out what is going on. Here are a few updates suggesting that was a good approach. Who is Getting It As of a week ago, Omicron had been detected in  24 countries . In the US it has been  detected  in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Strangely, there is also  evidence that the virus is mostly infecting younger people. Data from South Africa shows that 80% of hospital admissions were among people younger than 50, a marked departure of from the picture with Delta. Experts caution that this could be because of lower vaccination rates in that age group in South Africa, however. More Contagious but Milder Disease There is pretty good evidence that Omicron spreads more easily than Delta. Cases in one South African province are ...

Here are some pandemic stories on my radar today. Increasing Hospitalizations Among Fully Vaxxed CDC officials are reporting an increase in the number of fully vaccinated people  being admitted to hospitals or going to the emergency room. Fauci said there was a "uptick" that amounted to "a significant proportion, but not the majority by any means.” Unfortunately he didn't give any numbers.  CDC Director Walensky implied that the uptick is mainly in people 65 and older. This is probably a consequence of waning vaccine effectiveness in this age group, which was the first to be jabbed earlier this year. As I noted earlier this week, a published study done in Israel showed that the Pfizer vaccine starts losing effectiveness two months after the second dose. Delta Cousin a Reason for Concern—Or Maybe Not News has been circulating for a few weeks about a variation of the Delta variant that is gaining a foothold. Sometimes referred to as " Delta Plus ," it has b...