Coronavirus Tidbits #313, September 22, 2024

September 21, 2024 /

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Announcements:

First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.

Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.

New post: 

What You Can’t See Can Kill You — Health, Wildfire Smoke And Covid

News 

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R&D for long COVID is collapsing

...thought that Ampligen, which is approved for ME/CFS in Argentina but not yet in the US, might be a good fit for treating long COVID. They started with a tiny study, just 4 people. When most of those participants responded well, they scaled up to 80. While initial data were mixed, people taking Ampligen were generally able to walk farther in a 6 min walk test than those who took a placebo, indicating improvement in baseline fatigue.

Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER), the National Institutes of Health’s $1.7 billion initiative to fund projects investigating causes of, and potential treatments for, long COVID...

Instead of funding novel medicines like Ampligen, the NIH has directed most of its RECOVER resources to observational studies designed to learn more about the condition, not treat it. Only last year did the agency begin to fund clinical trials for long COVID treatments, and those investigate the repurposing of approved drugs. What RECOVER is not doing is funding new compounds.

RECOVER is the only federal funding mechanism aimed at long COVID research.

Other initiatives, like the $5 billion Project NextGen and the $577 million Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern, put grant money toward next-generation vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and antivirals for COVID-19. They stop short of testing those compounds as long COVID treatments.  Private funding is even harder to come by.

https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/drug-development/RD-long-COVID-collapsing/102/i30?

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Austrian woman is found guilty of fatally infecting her neighbor with COVID-19

A judge sentenced the 54-year-old on Thursday to four months’ suspended imprisonment and an 800-euro fine ($886.75) for grossly negligent homicide--this is her 2nd conviction...the virus DNA matched both the deceased and the 54-year-old woman. The family said there had been contact in a stairwell between the neighbors on Dec. 21, 2001 — when the defendant would already have known she had COVID-19. But the woman’s doctor told police that the defendant had tested positive with a rapid test and told him that she “certainly won’t let herself be locked up” after the result.

https://apnews.com/article/austria-covid-conviction-court-coronavirus-ef341c5f6714526f05c67662a94eeb13

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Other:

Avian flu H5N1

has confirmed four more H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in diary herds, two in Texas and one each in California and Idaho. The new confirmations push the nation’s total to 207 herds from 14 states. California, the most recently affected state, now has eight outbreaks.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/quick-takes-more-h5n1-dairy-cattle-taliban-halts-polio-vaccination

(215 per Helen Branswell)

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HCW sickened w H5N1--Missouri

Last week, we learned about a person in Missouri who contracted bird flu in what STAT’s Lev Facher brilliantly referred to as an “immaculate infection” — meaning the person somehow got sick without any exposure to any sick animals or poultry. But the plot thickened on Friday, when CDC revealed that a close contact of that person was also sick around the same time. But the second person was not tested for influenza.

The information about this second person — a potential second human bird flu case — was not mentioned once in an hour-long press briefing involving CDC officials on Thursday, STAT’s Helen Branswell reported. Rather, the information was disclosed Friday in its weekly report on influenza activity. Read more from Helen on what we know.

@HelenBranswell:
Another Friday surprise: A 2nd health worker who cared for a Missouri person who had #H5N1 #birdflu got ill after the fact. Missouri only learned of this illness after he/she recovered, so no diagnostic test. Will be asked to submit blood for testing.
[So now we have the first case, who was hospitalized, a household contact, and a healthcare worker (who tested negative for flu); Now there is this 2nd HCW]

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Swine flu:

@CDCgov  reports that Minnesota discovered 2 cases of swine #flu (called variant flu here) in kids who went to a state fair. This sounds like it was a challenging situation to investigate, with concurrent Covid infections in one of the households. cdc.gov/fluview/survei

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More dengue acquired in LA

3 this month in Baldwin Park neighborhood.

Other cases that stemmed from mosquito bites originating in the U.S. have been reported this year in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where officials have declared a dengue epidemic. There have been 3,085 such cases in the U.S. this year, of which 96% were in Puerto Rico.

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Oropouche virus

CDC reported 22 more imported Oropouche virus cases, raising the national total to 74 in five states. Florida's arbovirus report -- all of the state's cases involve travel to Cuba,

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/oropouche-virus/imported-oropouche-virus-cases-continue-steady-us-rise

 

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs and Vaccines:

Metformin:

Metformin, in people with T2 diabetes already taking this medication, was associated with a reduction in risk of developing LongCovid and mortality 6 months after an infection

https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article-abstract/doi/10.2337/DCa24-0032/157171/Prevalent-Metformin-Use-in-Adults-With-Diabetes?

This observational study adds to the randomized trial that showed a 40% reduction of #LongCovid with metformin vs placebo thelancet.com/journals/lanin And there are more data coming out soon to lend further support for metformin's effect

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In another study of patients already taking metformin for DM, there was a 13 to 15% lower risk of death and a 21% lower risk of Long COVID  than people not on Metformin.

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A review on Novavax by Ed Nirenberg

He's really very good at explainers although this is way over my head. Edward is considerably less enthralled by Novavax than some others I've read though agrees that for some, because the side effect profile with Novavax’s vaccine is milder than for the mRNA vaccines, it is a better choice.

He says, the "Durability of protection from Novavax’s vaccine is not clearly much better than mRNA. The immune responses seem to be on par with mRNA when it comes to the antibody and CD4 T cell response, but the vaccine clearly loses on CD8 T cell responses. The exact significance of that is not totally clear."

https://deplatformdisease.substack.com/p/novavax-has-a-good-covid-19-vaccine?

Devices and Masks:

Meta-analysis by the Royal Society royalsociety.org/-/media/policy reported " the weight of evidence ... suggests that wearing masks, wearing higher quality masks (respirators), and mask mandates generally reduced the transmission of SARS-CoV-2".

Also, the Royal Society royalsociety.org/-/media/policy states (Box 2) "There is also evidence, mainly from studies in healthcare settings, that higher-quality ‘respirator’ masks (such as N95 masks) were more effective than surgical-type masks."

Epidemiology/Infection control:

the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection via the fomite transmission route is low, and generally less than 1 in 10,000, which means that each contact with a contaminated surface has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of causing an infection 7, 8, 9.

https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html

10,000:1... And this study makes the case it's even higher... 1,000,000:1 to 100,000,000:1...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438942103020X?via%3Dihub

So Well-fitting high-quality masks and air cleaning mitigate against the predominant route -- airborne transmission.

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This new study used surveillance videos from two COVID-19 outbreaks in restaurants. “Airborne transmission predominated with a relative contribution of more than 88%” “A ventilation rate of 30m3/(h person) reduced long-range airborne risk by 62.9%” sciencedirect.com/science/articl

Tips, general reading for public:

Vaccinate

Ventilate

Mask

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The free, printable “zine” pocket-guide on how to keep air clean in schools  looks like a useful resource to share.

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LinkedIn is now using anything you post to train AI. It's easy to opt out:

LinkedIn is now using everyone's content to train their AI tool -- they just auto opted everyone in. I recommend opting out now (AND that orgs put an end to auto opt-in, it's not cool) Opt out steps: Settings and Privacy > Data Privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement (OFF)

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If you get Covid, ask your doc for a Rx for Metformin. Carolyn Bramante's studies showed a 41% reduced long COVID incidence. (absolute reduction of 4.1%)

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00299-2/fulltext

In patients already taking metformin for DM, there was a 13 to 15% lower risk of death and a 21% lower risk of Long COVID  than people not on Metformin.

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Resource sheets for people w Long Covid:

FREE from Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis at The Sick Times,

Introducing Long COVID Essentials, a new resource series

Politics:

Covid:

Another example of what “we have the tools” looks like. “A small study published by the CDC found that 4 out of 5 high-risk patients were not offered an antiviral by their doctors. Black and Latino patients were far less likely to receive the drug.” --  @AcrossTheMersey

If doctors aren’t prescribing it and it’s costing people $1400-$1600 out of pocket, then saying that “we have the tools” is simply untrue. Paired with limiting access to Novavax and the cost of tests and quality masks, you could say we have NO tools.

uniondemocrat.com/lifestyle/arti

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Why does Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (currently ill w/ covid) think L.A. needs a new mask ban to ensure public safety, when it's already illegal in Calif. (since 1872, in fact) to wear a mask during commission of a crime or to evade justice afterwards? Penal Code Sec. 185 PC:  J Offir @dontwantadothis
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Covid protocols at the Emmys include neg Covid test within 48 hrs
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Netherlands mandates CO2 monitors in each classroom.
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Abortion/GOP:

A healthy 28-year-old mom is dead. Not because doctors couldn't help her; because they refused until it was too late. Because they feared HELPING HER would land them in prison. A young mom is dead. A 6-year-old boy lost his mom. "Everybody wanted this," Donald Trump told us. -- @MalloryMcMorrow

At least two women in Georgia died after they couldn’t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state, per medical review panels and Propublica.

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death

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Very compelling monologue from Lawrence O'Donnell about his mom's D&C's and how Georgia Republicans have made performing a routine medical procedure for women a felony—with deadly results for Amber Thurman and others:

The video is worth a watch:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lawrence-odonnell-tells-his-moms-story-amid-abortion-rights-rollback

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Vance: "If women try to escape states that ban abortion they must be met by a federal response." Reminds me of laws involving escaped slaves. Allies were liable to persecution or execution. Trump and Vance want to enslave American women. Video:

https://x.com/i/status/1835802841769783595 

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@SusanRinkunas
A gut punch. Women on supervised release in abortion ban states can't travel for abortions, and some can't even order abortion pills because all their mail gets opened. Valuable, enraging perspective from an incarcerated writer in Texas:
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Energy use:

@parismarx
Google and Microsoft recently admitted their emissions are soaring as they build data centers to power AI. But analysis from The Guardian suggests the data center emissions of Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple are 662% higher than they’re reporting.

Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep up the ruse?

Emissions from in-house data centers of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple may be 7.62 times higher than official tally.

The International Energy Agency stated that data centers already accounted for 1% to 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2022 – and that was before the AI boom began with ChatGPT’s launch at the end of that year.

AI is far more energy-intensive on data centers than typical cloud-based applications. According to Goldman Sachs, a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search, and data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030. Goldman competitor Morgan Stanley’s research has made similar findings, projecting data center emissions globally to accumulate to 2.5bn metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/15/data-center-gas-emissions-tech

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Election interference:

Tim Walz: JD Vance got called out by the press for spreading vicious lies about immigrants. But he did something. He said he’s willing to create stories to spread fear to drum up support..At least they admitted it. What other things are they making up stories about? The reason you do that is because if you told what you really stood for, no one would vote for you.
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JD Vance's church (Catholic Conf of Ohio) has condemned him in a rare statement for spreading dangerous lies about Haitian immigrants in Ohio that have led to bomb threats and violence.
Sen. Lindsey Graham skipped votes yesterday to go to Nebraska and urge lawmakers there to switch the state's Electoral College vote allotment to winner-take-all
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If Nebraska Rs switch the state to winner-take-all, and it’s too late for Maine to do the same, the impact could be enormous. Namely, WI-MI-PA would no longer be enough to get Harris to 270. She’d need at least one more swing state (NV, GA, AZ, or NC) to get over the line --@awprokop
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How the Republican War on Women Extends to Voting Rights

Most women vote Democratic. And most still change their name when they marry. And that’s where the GOP sees an Achilles’ heel.

The SAVE Act is a proposed federal law, so, first off, it would put a future president (say, Trump) in charge of enforcing it, taking that power away from the states. Millions of voter registrations in any states the president decides are problematic could be removed until those voters “cure” their registrations, and state authorities would have no say in it.

And what will the law require citizens who want to vote do? Lacking a passport or other proof of citizenship with their married names, they must produce both a birth certificate (with the seal of the state where it was issued; no copies allowed) and a current form of identification—both with the exact same name on them. That could instantly disqualify about 90 percent of all married women without passports or other proof that matches their birth certificates or proof of a legal name change.

https://newrepublic.com/article/186160/republican-war-women-extends-voting-rights

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GOP/TFG

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With the bomb threats and amplified rhetoric, I would strongly urge people to vote early if at all possible. There’s no telling what they’ll try to pull to suppress the vote as we get closer to Election Day. -- @Angry_Staffer
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Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who tossed out the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump in July, failed to disclose her attendance at a May 2023 banquet funded by a conservative law school, despite a rule requiring her to do so.
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Very clear and tough letter from 111 former GOP nat-security officials, on why they're voting for Harris. (Some of them have already come out for her; a debut for some; most of them are recognizable names.) Will this "matter"? Who knows. But they're standing up and choosing a side. Congrats. nytimes.com/2024/09/18/us/
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Six-term S.C. Republican Congressman Bob Inglis Endorses Kamala Harris
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This isn’t some wild accusation or scare tactic. Republicans are admitting they would side with Big Pharma and gut the Biden-Harris law that lets Medicare negotiate drug prices, if they win. -- Pete Buttigieg
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Trump said he will ban all food from other countries. Want out of season anything? Tough. Coffee? Nope. Banned. Since we don’t grow it here. Chocolate? Nope. Banned. Kosher food from Israel? BDS’ed.
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Florida:
Ghost candidate who helped swing a #Florida state senate race to the Republican candidate testifies in election-conspiracy trial. He was paid $50K to run. miamiherald.com/news/local/com via @ChuckRabin
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New York:
The NYPD spent $150 Million *extra* last year to catch people who weren't able to afford to pay the subway fare. They owed just $104,000. $150 million could buy free fares (at going rate) for 95,000 poor New Yorkers per year. Instead four people shot, including an officer.
NYPD shot 4 people, including one of their own officers, over a $2.90 fare evasion. They shot at someone over $2.90. This is what we mean when we say police protect property (wealth), not people
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The subway should be safe and free. The NYPD committed a mass shooting over $2.90, now Gregory Depelche is brain dead. We need to lift people out of poverty, not criminalize it. The NYPD put every person on the train in danger. NYC needs care, not cops -- @tiffany_caban
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Oklahoma

Republican governor of #Oklahoma just purged a fifth of state’s voters from the rolls (450,000+ of 2.3 million) 7 weeks before election, and one week after

@TheOklahoman_reported Harris could win Oklahoma County.
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Texas
Democrats tried to push through a bill that would force companies to disclose exactly WHAT CHEMICALS are burning when there's a disaster like this. Republicans killed it.  @GeneforTexas
Evacuations under way. In the last 10 days, we’ve had a neurotoxin leak and a chemical plant fire. Now, this (large pipeline fire in La Porte). This is what deregulation looks like under the @TexasGOP. #HD128 needs someone who KNOWS this industry, who will legislate for the safety of workers & the community.
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Greed
@jacobin
In Alabama, low-wage employers like McDonald’s contract with prisons to staff their operations. Inmates who refuse to work can face consequences including stints in solitary confinement and lengthening of sentences.

Feel good du jour:

The Congressional Gold Medal was just awarded to NASA's Hidden Figures: Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary W. Jackson, and the many other women mathematicians, scientists, and engineers who enabled America’s leadership in space.

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Comic relief:

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Perspective/Poem

“The duty of care doesn’t land on patients. It’s the clinicians’ job to ensure patients don’t pick up an unintended infection. Patients have a right to safety in health care facilities.”

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/yes-we-do-need-to-bring-back-masks-in-medical-settings/article_1561636c-745e-11ef-b6eb-a7a0afa441d2.html

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Rick Steves, 9/20/24

I’ve long said that we can learn more about our home by leaving it and looking at it from a distance — and since my student days, I’ve done just that for about three months every year. My mission: to equip and inspire Americans to venture beyond Orlando. And I’ve dedicated my life to teaching the value of thoughtful travel.

What does that have to do with the 2024 US election? This election is deeper than right vs. left or Democrat vs. Republican. It’s a referendum on American democracy...with our Constitution on the chopping block. And I believe if everyone could travel before they vote, the political landscape of the USA would be vastly different. I see our world as a place filled with love, joy, and good people who share similar needs and concerns. I believe fear is for people who don’t get out much. The flip side of fear is understanding…and we gain understanding by traveling, whether that be a low-budget road trip south or north of the border or a month-long European vacation. Travelers learn that if a just and stable world is the goal, we need not walls but bridges. This upcoming Monday, Sept. 23, I’ll enjoy making my case in 75 minutes on a special edition of Monday Night Travel — “Rick Steves’ Travel as a Political Act” — before entertaining your questions live. I hope to see you there...and if you have friends who could use a little vicarious travel, please invite them to join you in registering for this virtual show at ricksteves.com/mnt. It’s free...fun...and extremely dangerous.

And on Oct. 21, you’re invited to join me on Monday Night Travel for a screening of "Rick Steves’ The Story of Fascism in Europe." If you believe we can learn from history (even if you don’t!), this will be the best pre-election investment of an hour I can imagine.

Bits of beauty:

 

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