The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 137 (637)

The Professor somewhat pooh-poohed the thing in this morning's news that most concerned me. News from the CDC on Friday was that most of the Omicron cases in the US--34 out of 43--were fully vaccinated. Fourteen of those had also gotten a vaccine booster, though five of those were within the two-week post-injection period in which the experts say the vaccine is not at full strength. The bottom line is that nine out of 43 people, or 21 percent, were as fully vaccinated as one can get right now. So far it seems as if any symptoms for Omicron are mild, but that's not what scares me. It's the long-term effects, both long covid and the problems like heart inflammation that can pop up later. It's also the possibility of transmitting Omicron to someone more vulnerable, like an 89-year-old parent. 

Tuesday is the first anniversary of the first covid vaccination in the US. Since then, 200 million people have been fully vaccinated. At the same time, the US could this week pass 800,000 deaths. I expect that in 2022, that number will pass one million. How soon in 2022 that happens is up to us. An article in today's Outlook section of The Washington Post lays out just how we are our own worst enemy in fighting covid, or at least many or most of us are. In Bangor, Maine, the organization sponsoring the Christmas Parade decided to cancel it this year as it did last year. After a public outcry, another organization took over holding the parade. As it turned out, the weather the day of the parade was cold and rainy which may have lessened the number of spectators. Do the people who protested the initial cancellation not understand the role crowds play in the transmission of any virus, let alone this one? Do they think covid can't or won't happen to them? I do not understand. 

It seems that Omicron developed from the original coronavirus not one of the variants. One theory behind this is that Omicron arose in a remote region of southern Africa and only recently spread. That seems a bit far-fetched to me. Another theory is that the virus mutated in an animal infected with covid (more on animals with covid coming) and then was transmitted back to humans. The final theory is that Omicron arose in a person with a weakened immune system, someone like a person undergoing cancer treatment or who had received a donated organ. Given that sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of the global population living with HIV, Omicron could also have arisen in a person with HIV. Under this scenario, the virus mutates in an HIV patient's body until it gets the right mutations to burst out and infect others. Viruses have been known to live in the body of an HIV-infected person for 216 days. My money is on this third theory.

Still, the coronavirus has been confirmed in a number of animals including hippos, snow leopards, gorillas, lions, tigers, cougars, ferrets, hamsters, minks, dogs, and cats. Research is ongoing to develop a vaccine suitable for animals. The worry is that the virus can mutate in animal(s) and then be transmitted back to humans. Early in the pandemic, mink farms were shut down and minks slaughtered because of the disease coming back to humans. In the Netherlands, scientists visited the homes of pet owners who were infected with covid. In 20 percent, the pet cats and dogs had antibodies for coronavirus. 

Other random notes: Across US prisons, 34 of every 100 people are known to have been infected with covid. That's roughly four times the infection rate of the general US public. The major factor? Crowding. Scientists are advising the government of the UK that Omicron could cause between 25,000 and 75,000 deaths in England in the next five months if no additional mitigation measures are taken. Taiwan found the first Omicron cases there in three people who had traveled abroad. And protests continue in Vienna against the extra restrictions imposed on unvaccinated people.