Coronavirus and Avian Flu Tidbits #303, July 14, 2024

Quick links

News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty

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.

~ ~ ~

Everyone paying attention knows that these are increasingly desperate times if we are to save our democracy (with all its warts). This is no time to sit out the election because you don't like Biden, or whoever the Dems hastily nominate in their (likely misguided) rush to replace him.

Just a casual reminder that Germans who “didn’t bother to vote” in 1932 didn’t get a chance again until 1946, after Hitler’s death. — There’s a lesson there." - Andrea Junker @Strandjunker Jul 1

So please work to register Dems in swing states. You can do that at fieldteam6.org and GOTV. Want other suggestions? email me. Thanks.

~ ~ ~

Worth a read: How to prevent America and the world from falling into fascism robertreich.substack.com/p/these-are-th

~ ~ ~

New Post:

Mask Bans Grow, Threatening Public Health And Immunocompromised People

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2024/07/10/mask-bans-grow-threatening-public-health-and-immunocompromised-people/

News

WHO notes surge in Covid cases in UK and US with KP.3, one of the FLiRT variants.

The current variants also seem to have more severe symptoms, with people complaining of razor like throat pain, chills, fever, headache.

Canadian forecast is also very high:

Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:

-Infections ~10X higher, -Long COVID ~5X higher, -Hospitalizations ~17X higher, -Deaths ~10X higher

~ ~ ~

Independent labs in the U.S. and Canada are now estimating *identical* levels of national COVID transmission.

1 in 73 Americans and Canadians are presently infectious with COVID.

In a room of 50, there's a 50-50 chance someone has infectious COVID. pic.twitter.com/hWsQ603J2T
— Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA (@michael_hoerger) July 12, 2024

~ ~ ~

“Only 34% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, which is similar to last week but down from 91% in May. This means actual case numbers and hospitalizations are higher than reported… This is the 225th week in a row with more than 400 new COVID deaths in the U.S., or nearly 1.2 million deaths during the same period. So far this year, more than 3.7 million COVID cases have been reported in the U.S., causing 300,520 hospitalizations and 32,048 deaths.” [BNO News]

~ ~ ~

“Nationwide, the average share of emergency room patients with COVID-19 is also now the highest it has been since February and has increased 115% from a month ago” - cbs

~ ~ ~

Nearly 1 in 10 pregnant people who get COVID will develop long COVID, study finds

a report in Obstetrics & Gynecology has found. A COVID infection during pregnancy is more likely to lead to hospitalization or death. It also increases the risk of pregnancy-related complications such as preterm birth or stillbirth.

~ ~ ~

Initial COVID-19 infection severity predicts reinfection severity

~ ~ ~

Antihistamine drugs, primarily HRH1 antagonists can prevent viral entry.

They do this by competitively binding to histamine receptor H1 (HRH1) antagonists and thereby blocking entry.

Commonly used H1 antagonists currently available in the United States are cetirizine (Zyrtec), levocetirizine, desloratadine, loratadine (Claritin), and fexofenadine (Allegra).

"These findings revealed that the administration of repurposable antihistamine drugs could be a therapeutic intervention to combat coronavirus disease 19.” [American Society for Microbiology] https://journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10.1128/mbio.01088-24

~ ~ ~

Antihistamines improve cardiovascular manifestations and other symptoms of long-COVID attributed to mast cell activation

“One study evaluated retrospectively the clinical response to antihistamines in 26 patients with long-COVID... Patients treated with antihistamines showed a significantly better response than the 23 untreated patients… As shown, each symptom improved (in terms of improvement or disappearance of the symptom) in a significant proportion of the treated patients after 20 days of antihistamines treatment. Among them, fatigue fully vanished in six patients (43%), brain fog disappeared in six patients (43%), increased heart rate was no longer present in eight patients (57%), and abdominal disorders disappeared in eight patients (57%).” [Frontiers] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1202696/full

~ ~ ~

Cognitive decline after Covid

the overall incidence of cognitive impairment among older COVID-19 survivors was 19.1% at 2.5 years after infection and hospitalization. Severe COVID-19, cognitive impairment at 6 months and hypertension were associated with long-term cognitive decline.

~ ~ ~

via Violet Blue: at least one knowingly covid-positive person attended the 2024 American Library Association conference unmasked. [Perhaps this type of irresponsible behavior is part of why there is a summer surge]

~ ~ ~

Avian flu:

Why CDC decides NOT to allow vets, farmworkers & others working w/dairy cattle protection with bird flu vaccines. Finland is. And several researchers think it's a gamble to wait.

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/bird-flu-vaccines-finland-farmworkers-veterinarians-us-stockpile/

Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen

~ ~ ~

3 more potential bird flu cases in Colorado.

1. Colorado has tested 55 symptomatic poultry workers as of Friday. 2. The potential cases are connected to the recent #birdflu outbreak at a Weld County egg-laying operation. 3. Nearly 70 people have been tested for #H5N1 since March.

They only have results on 3!

~ ~ ~

Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why "To break inside a cell, flu viruses exploit a protein called sialic acid on the cell’s surface..studies have shown that parts of the human brain..are covered in birdlike sialic acid proteins. -- @yaneerbaryam

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bird-mammal-brain-outbreak-influenza

~ ~ ~

Pertussis making a comeback

America's pertussis wave is continuing to grow, with 215 cases reported in latest week from CDC's NNDSS This is most whooping cough reported in a single week in years, and comes as cumulative YTD cases now more than 3x larger this year versus last data.cdc.gov/NNDSS/NNDSS-We

Diagnostics:

still an incredible, negligent last of testing.

Drugs:

Devices:

Epidemiology/Infection control:

Tips, general reading for public:

Ventilate

Vaccinate

Mask

Politics:

Covid:

Introducing herself as "Violet Affleck, Los Angeles resident, first-time voter and 18," the teenager advocated for mask availability and high-quality free testing while also stating her opposition to mask bans.

"I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019," the teenager revealed during her speech at L.A.'s Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration "I'm OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief."

"One in 10 infections leads to long COVID, which is a devastating neurological [and] cardiovascular illness that can take away people's ability to work, move, see, and even think," Violet continued, pointing out that the condition affects vulnerable people more than the rest of the population.

"To confront the long COVID crisis, I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC light in government facilities, including jails and detention centers, and mask mandates in county medical facilities," Violet continued during the board meeting.

"We must expand the availability of high-quality free tests and treatment and, most importantly, the county must oppose mask bans for any reason," she added.

"They do not keep us safer, they make vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together. Thank you," Violet, concluded.

~ ~ ~

Nassau county proposing a mask ban: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/long-island-bill-jail-time-fines-face-masks-nassau-county/5588110/

~ ~ ~

Philly's mayor wins back to work:

She said the goal is threefold: to allow the taxpayers to see municipal workers on the job, improve the downtown economy and encourage private sector employers to follow her lead.

Attorneys for the Parker administration argue that only work hours, not work location are subject to the collective bargaining agreement.

“Work location is a matter of managerial prerogative that the City is not required to bargain with any of its bargaining unions,” city officials said.

https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-return-to-office-mandate-upheld-mayor-cherelle-parker-afscme/

~ ~ ~

Project 2025, TFG, GOP:

a searchable form of Project 2025: documentcloud.org/documents/2408

Top Trump aide Russ Vought, one of the authors of Project 2025, is also in charge of the Republican Party’s platform committee. Yes, the same person writing Project 2025 is writing Trump’s GOP platform. (Trump claims he knows “nothing” about his Project 2025 agenda).

~ ~ ~

several key Supreme Court decisions are bolstering Project 2025 -- the authoritarian playbook for a Trump second term. -- Marc Elias

https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/how-the-supreme-court-bolstered-project-2025/

~ ~ ~

(📣) MAJOR BREAKING NEWS: The Secret Trumpworld Target List Has Been Leaked and It Is Absolutely Bonkers—a Full-On Nazi Germany-Like Scheme to Eliminate Via Incarceration All Political Opposition to Donald Trump Inside the United States https://t.co/uUTtlvV2cn
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 13, 2024

~ ~ ~

It’s a good time to remind everyone in Beryl’s path that Trump’s Project 2025 eliminates NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) and the National Weather Service. You would be on your own with a magic 8-Ball and an Ouija Board.

~ ~ ~

Okla.'s top edu official Ryan Walters says the state's social studies standards are going to be overhauled by a committee that includes Dennis Prager, David Barton, Steve Deace and Kevin Roberts Roberts leads the Heritage Foundation, the group behind Project 25

~ ~ ~

Trump’s Doral rally tonight was a doozy. Let’s recap it: He started off by bragging about his golf course instead of apologizing for being an hour late and leaving people waiting all day under a heat advisory. He said he didn’t know what NATO was. He bragged that “being indicted is a lot of fun.” He claimed “tens of thousands” of people showed up to this sad little rally. He later said “45,000 people” when it barely looked like 2k people were there. He froze like a deer in headlights for 10 straight seconds...He also challenged President Biden to a golf tournament this week when President Biden is busy meeting with NATO leaders ...He called the fictional Hannibal Lecter “a lovely man” and compared him to immigrants. He said migrants are “preying on everybody.” https://x.com/ArtCandee/status/1810850893618704877

~ ~ ~

Trump on his speech to NATO: I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much

~ ~ ~

@TimothyDSnyder:

Thread about voter suppression tactic platformed by @nytimeson Independence Day. Btw: WalkAway (from voting, from politics) is a Russian op.

@capitolhunters: To everyone appalled by NYT's July 4 op-ed "Why I don't vote. And maybe you shouldn't either", note that 1) author Matthew Walther DID vote in both 2020 and 2022, and 2) he's an extremist Catholic graduate of Hillsdale College, part of the religious-right faction behind Jan 6.

~ ~ ~

Grocery stores in Alabama and Oklahoma are installing vending machines that allow customers to purchase firearm ammunition. Terry Stanley, COO of Fresh Value, said he is “super excited” to offer “the first ammo kiosk.” via

@shannonrwatts

https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2024/07/vending-machines-selling-bullets-at-grocery-stores.html

~ ~ ~

Senate Republicans just blocked legislation to protect a woman’s right to travel across state lines to get the health care she needs. Make no mistake: right now in America, MAGA Republicans are trying to hold women who need abortion care captive in their own states. -- Senator Patty Murray

~ ~ ~

The Republican National Committee has denied requests from the American Association of People with Disabilities (@AAPD) for access to next week's convention in Milwaukee, claiming size restrictions.

~ ~ ~

The Miami Herald published Perversion of Justice, a three-part series about the sweetheart plea deal given to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein: Part 1: HOW A FUTURE TRUMP CABINET MEMBER GAVE A SERIAL SEX ABUSER THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME

~ ~ ~

LA Times editorial:

pic.twitter.com/KEom6ypy02
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 13, 2024

~ ~ ~

Biden:

A NY Times journalist says the publication’s chairman AG Sulzberger encourages that the organization cover the President negatively and highlight his age out of retribution for the fact that Biden hasn’t granted the Times an interview. politico.com/news/magazine/

~ ~ ~

"If you change a presidential nominee at this point in the game, the candidate loses." @HC_Richardson weighs the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate, and argues that excessive coverage eclipses the fact that his opponent is "trying to destroy our country."

~ ~ ~

Lawrence O'Donnell on Biden's cognitive abilities: Good commentary

"President Biden submitted to a televised cognitive test tonight by taking questions in a press conference." https://x.com/i/status/1811590453906526244

~ ~ ~

Bernie Sanders: “I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected. Why? Despite my disagreements with him on particular issues, he has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump — a demagogue and pathological liar.

~ ~ ~

Orban:

Orbán was interviewed on video after his Putin meeting, during his flight back from Moscow. It’s worth watching. He refers to Putin as a friend & admits that he prepared the meeting in secret, behind the EU's back, to avoid surveillance by the "big guys." ...Orbán praises both Putin and Russia, describing the country as a great empire.

weltwoche.ch/daily/viktor-o

~ ~ ~

Trump met w Orban at Mar-a-Lago: Orban recently met with Putin and Xi and widely seen to have ambitions to be Trump’s liaison with the EU, per

@guardian colleagues. (Some say the meeting violated the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from engaging in unauthorized negotiations with foreign governments. (TFG also mistakenly called Orban the "leader of Turkey" when he's the Prime Minister of Hungary, but hey, no problem unless Biden makes a gaffe)

~ ~ ~

Here's Orban explaining how Trump will let Russia win the war in Ukraine. Trump will not be giving "a single penny" to fight Russian aggression in Ukraine. That is his idea on how to end the war. (video) https://x.com/i/status/1811592578615132361

~ ~ ~

Marine Le Pen: “The policies I represent are the policies that are represented by Trump and Putin.”

~ ~ ~

Arkansas:

No one believed in Arkansas but we got 101,525 signatures to get abortion on the ballot!

~ ~ ~

Florida:

@RBReich

A law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans municipalities in Florida from mandating shade and water breaks for outdoor workers went into effect this month. A study found that heat-related deaths in FL shot up by 88% between 2019 and 2022. This is the GOP's vision for America.

~ ~ ~

Floridians' recent HIV diagnoses, hepatitis test results are among thousands of hacked records released on the dark web last week. Many records include patients’ full names, DOBs, addresses, Social Security numbers and insurance information.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/07/12/florida-hack-health-data-desantis-ransomhub-cybersecurity/

~ ~ ~

Texas:

The Whataburger app works as a power outage tracker, handy since the electric company doesn't show a map. Still nearly 1.9 million power outages.

~ ~ ~

@TristanSnell

Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick are DELAYING federal aid to Texas for Hurricane Beryl — because Abbott left the country just as the storm hit Joe Biden personally called the Houston Chronicle newspaper to try to track down Abbott. THAT is how dysfunctional Texas Republicans are.

~ ~ ~

Texas public school tax dollars have been going to the charter school network "Third Future Schools." This network has ties to Mike Miles, the Houston ISD Superintendent, who defends the practice of sending Texas taxes to Colorado. This is unconscionable, and should not be allowed. Our schools are strapped for money, can't pay teachers competitive salaries, and are struggling to do a great job for our kids. - @VikkiGoodwinTX

~ ~ ~

Wisconsin:

Marc Elias': law firm won a big case in the Wisconsin Supreme Court to restore drop boxes for 2024. Democracy is on the docket and it is winning!

~ ~ ~

More hacking:

Nearly all @ATT customers' text & call records breached. An unknown entity now has an NSA-level view into Americans' lives. Damage isn't limited to AT&T customers. But everyone they interacted with. Also a huge national security incident given government customers

I hope coverage of the ATT collectively recognizes: Metadata matters. Enough to kill people in wartime without knowing their names or seeing their faces. It tells comprehensive stories about who people are, what they are doing, and what their secrets are. via John Scott-Railton

~ ~ ~

Good news:

A court ruled that prominent civil rights activist DeRay McKesson is not legally responsible for injuries inflicted by someone else at a protest he had organized following the 2016 police killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This is a major win for our right to protest.