The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 376 (876)

One of many arguments in favor of vaccinating children: A study using a large medical-claims database suggests that children ages 0 to 17 with confirmed covid develop several conditions more often than do uninfected control subjects. Those conditions include acute pulmonary embolism, myocarditis and cardiomyopathy, venous thromboembolic events, acute and unspecified renal failure, and Type I diabetes. None of those sound particularly good to me and demonstrate the wide range of organs being affected by the virus. Children with covid had low rates of several other conditions compared to controls. These conditions include respiratory, mental health, neurological, muscle, and sleeping disorders. The standard used for the various conditions was "new, recurring, or ongoing health problems that occurred 4 or more weeks after infection with SARS-CoV-2." The statistical models used controlled for possible co-variants such as age, race, gender, and so on. 

On the adult side, it appears that persistent loss of smell after covid may predict cognitive impairment in older adults. In fact, loss of smell seems to be more strongly associated with cognitive impairment than the severity of the initial infection. Says a spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association, "We're learning more every day about the link between COVID-19 and the brain. Loss of smell is often a signal of an inflammatory response in the brain. We know inflammation is part of the neurodegenerative process in diseases such as Alzheimer's." In other words, we still don't really know the big picture of covid's effect on the body and the brain. Also on the adult side, a yet-to-be reviewed study suggests that at least 43 percent of long covid sufferers may have chronic fatigue syndrome. 

I wonder sometimes if it's keeping this blog that makes me so obsessive about not putting myself in situations in which I could possibly get infected. Looking at more information each day than I write about here has shown me much more than I otherwise would know about the different ways the coronavirus can hurt me. It's certainly shown me the range of things we do not yet know about the long-term effects of the coronavirus, and that's frightening. Someone in a quilt group told me last week that they had had covid and it really was not a big deal. I just noted that each case was different and I did not want to find out how mild my own case of covid might or might not be. 

More evidence of polio is appearing in wastewater testing in New York. The State Health Commissioner said they were "... treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread. As we learn more, what we do know is clear; the danger of polio is present in New York today." If it's not covid, it's polio or monkeypox; Mother Nature must be really pissed at us over climate change. 

The Road goes ever on and on ... Days 373-375 (873-875)

I do have covid notes from today and just read some info on a new variant of concern, Omicron BA.4.6. I have unpacked but still have load(s) of laundry to work through. I'll write something for real tomorrow.

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 372 (872)

A quick morning post before I work in a quick workout and assemble the rest of the non-cooler things we will be taking. I'll be able to check news if an intermittent cellular signal permits and will write a daily something to post when we get back on Monday. And if the cellular goddesses don't want to help out, I just won't write anything those days.

Something sobering from the CDC website: "Although rare, children with prior COVID-19 had higher rates of certain conditions a month or more after diagnosis than children without COVID-19." The conditions highlighted in the graphic were heart conditions, kidney failure, blood clots, and diabetes. To vaccinate one's kids or not vaccinate them? I wouldn't be reading the above to help make my decision. My kids would have been vaccinated as early as they could be. The report on which this was based can be read HERE. The report does list seven limitations of the study.

That does it for today. Now to see that The Professor puts work and grad students aside at least for a couple of days.

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 371 (871)

The CDC is apparently about to relax some restrictions that may already be too loose in their current form. Do they think it's over? If they do, here are a few sobering observations: Half of all covid infections during the entire pandemic have taken place this year. If the current pace continues, over 80 percent of all the cases will ultimately happen in 2022. Some experts define endemicity as when each infected person infects no more than one other person. We aren't even close right now. Some epidemiologists cite an annualized death rate of 100,000 per year. This would make covid the most deadly infectious disease. One epidemiologist suggests that we may be back to covid's being an old person's disease given the difficulty older people have in building up and maintaining immunity. I wonder whether that would make many people take it less seriously than they do already. I mean, those old people are going to die soon anyway, right?

Current CDC guidelines say someone can leave isolation after five days if they have not had a fever for 24 hours and their symptoms are improving. They should wear a tight-fitting mask for the next five days and stay out of areas with high possibilities of transmission. The "however" is that a small study tested 17 patients on their sixth day. Twelve still had positive results on rapid antigen tests, and six of those had culturable virus, in other words, were still infectious. Two had symptoms that were improving, two had unchanged symptoms, and two had never had any symptoms. The results may not be generalizable because of the small sample size and the fact that most of the 17 people were young, vaccinated, and not hospitalized. Still, it's serious food for thought. 

The CDC is expected to ease quarantine restrictions for infected people, de-emphasize social distancing, and downplay regular screening testing in schools. The guidelines are just that; they are in no way legally binding. Call me overcautious or even paranoid, but in my humble opinion they're moving in the wrong direction.  

Monkeypox moment: It's being declared a public health emergency by the federal government. This will free up some emergency funding and give federal agencies the power to expedite vaccines and drugs and hire extra staff needed to help handle the increased work. It's probably a good thing this is happening now since many experts say we've passed the point at which monkeypox can be contained.

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 370 (870)

Another slow day. After taking today's notes, I worked on my next quilt; I'm embarrassed to say I started this one 25 years ago and never finished it. I can't say I was a beginner at quilting when I made it, but I see in it things I do much differently now. I then made the crust dough for the blueberry pie I will make tomorrow to take along on our weekend escape. And once I write this, I will have plenty of time for something else. Perhaps the bag I'm knitting or the 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle Son #1 gave me for my birthday. He wrapped the top of the box, so I'm doing it blind. The professor thinks that what we've done so far looks like curtains. I'm not sure what I think except that it's challengingly fun.

The CDC defines covid rebound (also known as Paxlovid rebound) as the return of symptoms or a "new positive viral test after having tested negative" occurring "2 to 8 days after initial recovery." Infectious disease docs evidently can attest that some respiratory diseases other than covid also can have a bimodal course. One problem in identifying covid rebound is that there are secondary bacterial infections that may be misidentified. Another problem is antigen testing. Such testing can't distinguish between viable or dead viruses. The first would be transmissible; the second, not.

New Zealand's borders are fully open for the first time since March 2020. Most visitors will still need to be fully vaccinated, but there are no longer any quarantine requirements. 

Up in the Great White North (also known as Canada), extortion cases rose nearly 300 percent in the last decade. More of those attempts are now online thanks to the increased internet activity of the pandemic. British Columbia is now vaccinating everyone ages six months or older. They're using the Moderna vaccine at one fourth the adult dosage with two shots given four weeks apart. 

Also in Canada, Alberta just had a bout of ... wait for it ... baseball-to-grapefruit-sized hail. I would not want to be outside or have left my car out in the open, but it would definitely rock to see such hail. I wonder how long it lasted before melting away. 

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 369 (869)

Yesterday, I suggested that I did not find a statement about POTUS feeling well as grammatically correct. Back in the day when they taught grammar in English classes, I learned that because "feel" is a verb,  "well" is an adverb modifying it. If you feel well, you're doing a good job feeling things such as shapes in a canvas bag. So saying that POTUS "continues to feel quite well," I have to ask just what is he feeling? When "good" is put after it, "good" remains an adjective. It modifies the person who feels good, not the verb. So in speaking of one's health, "feeling good" is the appropriate usage. I do hope POTUS continues to feel good. 

Monkeypox moment: California has joined New York City in declaring a monkeypox state of emergency. The federal government also now has a national monkeypox coordinator.

I read a troubling article on the rise of single-issue voters for whom the single issue is ending vaccine mandates and not just the ones for covid. It's not clear how this will affect the November elections. I worry when I read that a "longtime anti-vaccine advocate" comments, "So many people, but especially young parents, have come to this cause in the last year. It's been a huge gift to the movement." Several anti-vaccine activists are trying to take control of the board that oversees Sarasota. Florida's flagship public hospital. One of them posted on social media, "All 4 of us are devoted Christians, conservatives and patriots who deserve to make the [Sarasota Memorial Hospital] system stronger, more accountable, with greater transparency." How does accountability get measured. Will they account for the people who get infected by people who have not been vaccinated against measles? Measles is a nasty disease that people can die of. And when an unvaccinated person contracts the disease they are not vaccinated against, does an insurance company have to pay for their care? Lots of questions there.

Daily covid deaths are relatively low in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Besides high vaccine compliance, mask-wearing is viewed as a way to protect other people. Besides consistent mask-wearing, people in those cultures take sick leave as needed. How many people here in the US do that? I dislike seeing high school graduates who get attendance awards for never having missed even one day of school. How many days did they go to school perhaps not very symptomatic but still contagious?

WHO is urging countries with BA.4 and BA.5 surges to urge vaccine taking and reinstate mask-wearing. In Singapore, masks are required in indoor public spaces including libraries, markets, shopping centers, and schools. Masks are also required at weddings, though the bride and groom are allowed to switch to face shields during the ceremony. Otherwise, masks stay on except when a person is eating or drinking.

In Japan, masks are referred to as "face pants." People don't typically leave home without pants on, and masks are just as important. Japanese wear masks even outdoors. During this summer's heat waves, the government has had to tell people to remove masks to reduce the risk of heat stroke. Responsibility for the common good makes infection-control measures more than just a political issue.

Responsibility for the common good. Looking after other people. What concepts! I wish more people around here cared for others as much as for themselves. What a wonderful world this could be.

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 368 (868)

Monkeypox moment: Local public health agencies, still recovering from handling covid, now have to handle monkeypox. It is going better in some places than in others. There is also concern over equitably distributing vaccines among richer and poorer nations.

Back to covid, China's factory activity shrank in July due to sporadic covid outbreaks. Factory output and new orders both fell, especially in energy-intensive industries such as petrol, cooking coal, and ferrous metals. Needless to say, there may be even more supply chain problems ahead. 

According to the White House physician, POTUS has had "no reemergence of symptoms and continues to feel quite well." I remember a lesson in high school English about the difference between feeling good and feeling well. If you had a similar lesson, you'll know why that statement bothers me.

A study done in the UK found that acute covid infection led to a six-fold increase in cardiovascular disease. Contributing to this were an 11-fold increase in pulmonary embolism, a six-fold increase in atrial arrhythmias, and a five-fold increase in venous thrombosis. Diagnosis of theses declined from four to 12 weeks after infection. From 12 to 52 weeks, things were back to normal. Starting with a pool of 13.4 million patients identified via over 1,300 family practices, the study involved 428,000 people who had had covid as well as a comparable number of patients who had not. 

As school years start, school mask mandates are coming back in places such as Louisville, Kentucky. In some other places, teachers are required to wear masks, but student mask use is up to parents. The District of Columbia is requiring students ages 12 and over to be vaccinated; this is one of the strictest such mandates in the nation. Some public school districts such as in New York City are strongly recommending that students be vaccinated but are not requiring it. 

I have decided to discontinue labels such as "pandemics." If a post has a topic considered at relative length, I'll use that as a label. Most posts will likely go label-less.