COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

[Blackhawk]

And both Ian and I are negative. Michelle's test should come in tomorrow, not sure when we're supposed to hear about Caiden's.

[Kraken]

Glad to hear it. And yeah, change your plans (risk map at the bottom)

3,196 COVID-19 cases reported in Massachusetts today.

From yesterday's Globe:

Massachusetts, the most populous state in the region, is seeing the greatest number of overall cases. But on a per capita basis, it is faring better than other New England states besides Connecticut, according to data on confirmed and probable cases collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Hampshire and Vermont have traded places several times recently as the hardest-hit states. As of Monday, the seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents was 58 in New Hampshire and 52.5 in Vermont. It was 35.9 in Maine and 32.2 in Rhode Island.

In Massachusetts, the rate was 27.6. And in Connecticut, the rate was 16.1, though it appeared to be rising sharply.

In July, by contrast, when hopes for a return to normalcy were high and the Delta variant had not reared its ugly head, some states reported less than one case per 100,000 per day.

[Max Peck]

Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children

Health Canada has officially approved Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for children ages five to 11, heralding it as more than 90 per cent effective against COVID-19.

"After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age outweigh the risks," Health Canada wrote in a release Friday morning.

"This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada for use in this age group and marks a major milestone in Canada's fight against COVID-19."

Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine is delivered in doses one-third the size of those given to adults and kids 12 and older. Health Canada authorized a two-dose regimen to be administered three weeks apart.

However, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is recommending that the spacing between doses be increased to at least eight weeks, as evidence has been growing that a longer interval generates a more robust immune response.

Moderna asks Health Canada to approve its COVID-19 vaccine for children

Moderna has asked Health Canada to approve its COVID-19 vaccine, for children six to 11 years of age, the department announced.

This is the second pediatric COVID-19 vaccine awaiting authorization in Canada. Health Canada is still reviewing Pfizer-BioNTech's application for its kid-sized shots.

Pfizer's submission, received by Health Canada on Oct. 18, is for kids age five to 11. It would be one-third the size of the dose given to adults and kids 12 and older.

The turn-around for approving Pfizer was about a month, so I'd expect Moderna to be approved by mid-December, assuming no issues crop up while reviewing the data.

[Blackhawk]

And both Ian and I are negative. Michelle's test should come in tomorrow, not sure when we're supposed to hear about Caiden's.

Michelle is also negative. Bullets dodged. Now we just have to wait on Caiden's results.

[Daehawk]

So no.....?

[Blackhawk]

"What is it?"

"Space COVID."

[Blackhawk]

[Daehawk]

Ice Pirates makes me nearly pee my pants its so funny.

[Blackhawk]

So, Caiden's test just came back positive.

The surgery scheduled for Monday will be canceled.

We are other-than-pleased.

[Smoove_B]

Oh no. Any symptoms?

[Blackhawk]

Oh no. Any symptoms?

Nope. Which means we don't know when it started, so we have to assume the latest possible date, and no real option for isolation given the size of our house. We just have to cross our fingers.

He's been waiting for this surgery for four years. He was two days away. He's pissed. Like, 'big vulgarities in front of your parents and they let it go' pissed.

[Zaxxon]

Uuuuugghhh.

[Jeff V]

Here's a chance to show off my kids! First dose Pfizer today.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Well here’s some pretty outstanding news:

[LawBeefaroni]

100% at preventing infection? That's almost unbelievable.

[Zaxxon]

100% at preventing infection? That's almost unbelievable.

Agreed, sans the 'almost.' Still, good news.

[Blackhawk]

I was all ready to go start boosting the family this week. Caiden's positive has pushed that back a couple of weeks.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

100% at preventing infection? That's almost unbelievable.

Agreed, sans the 'almost.' Still, good news.

Well, I'm sure it's not 100% 100% effective, but they did have a decent sample size (over 2,000 participants) and the vaccinated group had 0 infections while the unvaccinated group had 30. So while I'm sure you'll get a few breakthrough cases once that's expanded to the real world, it seems pretty likely the efficacy is super high (98%+?).

[Zaxxon]

100% at preventing infection? That's almost unbelievable.

Agreed, sans the 'almost.' Still, good news.

Well, I'm sure it's not 100% 100% effective, but they did have a decent sample size (over 2,000 participants) and the vaccinated group had 0 infections while the unvaccinated group had 30. So while I'm sure you'll get a few breakthrough cases once that's expanded to the real world, it seems pretty likely the efficacy is super high (98%+?).

Yeah, to be clear, that's what I'm saying (though less well). It's bound to be very good. It's also bound to not be 100% in the real world with a much larger sample size.

[Blackhawk]

So, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, my son Caiden tested positive. Because of that, Michelle's job put her on mandatory quarantine as of today. She had to go in for a quick test. If it was positive, she'd be out for ten days. If negative, for three weeks*. It was negative. That means three weeks. The first couple of days is paid, after which it takes her PTO. That'll be good for about a week. After that? Unpaid quarantine. The timing couldn't be worse, as we were already in a money pinch. But it is what it is.

*That threw me at first - the reasoning is that if she'd positive, she gets her ten days of quarantine, but if she's negative, she gets ten days from her last exposure, which will be the last day of Caiden's quarantine (so Caiden gets ten days, after which her ten days start.)

Oh, and the school sent out a letter from the Superintendent talking about how they'd only had to quarantine a dozen kids since Fall break(in a tiny district, and Fall Break was three weeks ago), and since the high school was 40% vaccinated, and the junior high was 17% vaccinated, wlell, by gosh, the decision to go mask free was a great one, and they're going to stick with it.

I'd state my feelings toward the Superintendent and the school district, but they'd just end up being used as evidence against me, so I'll shut up.

[El Guapo]

Oh no. Any symptoms?

Nope. Which means we don't know when it started, so we have to assume the latest possible date, and no real option for isolation given the size of our house. We just have to cross our fingers.

He's been waiting for this surgery for four years. He was two days away. He's pissed. Like, 'big vulgarities in front of your parents and they let it go' pissed.

Oof, that sucks. At least he's ok so far.

Any idea when he'll be able to get the surgery done after this?

[Blackhawk]

Oh no. Any symptoms?

Nope. Which means we don't know when it started, so we have to assume the latest possible date, and no real option for isolation given the size of our house. We just have to cross our fingers.

He's been waiting for this surgery for four years. He was two days away. He's pissed. Like, 'big vulgarities in front of your parents and they let it go' pissed.

Oof, that sucks. At least he's ok so far.

Any idea when he'll be able to get the surgery done after this?

It depends on if he develops symptoms. If he doesn't, five to six weeks before we can reschedule. If he does, five months+.

[Alefroth]

Damn. So sorry Blackhawk. It sucks to do everything you can and be failed by others.

[Exodor]

Finally got a booster scheduled for December 6 - most providers here are booked solid for weeks.

I thought about checking pharmacies out in MAGA country to see if I could find an earlier appointment.

[Kraken]

Glad Wife made our booster appointments a few days before Mass. threw the doors open to every adult. We're going on Friday.

[Blackhawk]

So, here's a question that's got seriously oversaturated search results: How long after contracting COVID would a test continue to show positive? I know it takes 3-5 days after exposure to first show a positive, but how long after? If you contract it on day one, would you still show a positive on day 15? Day 20?

[El Guapo]

Glad Wife made our booster appointments a few days before Mass. threw the doors open to every adult. We're going on Friday.

Unfortunately I failed to do that for my wife (I already got boosted because I was fat enough under the prior BMI guidelines), so now I'm stuck fighting with the masses. Probably will have to find some walk in vaccination location.

[gilraen]

We couldn't even get flu shots at Costco just via walk-in. We tried a couple of times but apparently they cut off vaccination hours at some arbitrary time during the day, even though the pharmacy is open until 7. I finally got us appointments at Costco the end of next week, for both flu shot and COVID booster. CVS website was showing absolutely no availability for any appointments in the area for the next several weeks. Ditto for King Soopers (Kroger pharmacy). Walgreens website was weird because it wasn't updated for the boosters-for-everyone guidelines, so unless you lied on their questionnaire, it wouldn't take you to the actual appointment calendar.

[Zaxxon]

We couldn't even get flu shots at Costco just via walk-in. We tried a couple of times but apparently they cut off vaccination hours at some arbitrary time during the day, even though the pharmacy is open until 7. I finally got us appointments at Costco the end of next week, for both flu shot and COVID booster. CVS website was showing absolutely no availability for any appointments in the area for the next several weeks. Ditto for King Soopers (Kroger pharmacy). Walgreens website was weird because it wasn't updated for the boosters-for-everyone guidelines, so unless you lied on their questionnaire, it wouldn't take you to the actual appointment calendar.

Have you tried the Children's Hospital clinics? I know you're not a kid, but I was able to get my booster at one of the bus clinic sites as a walk-up. They had one bus for appointments and another for walk-ups.

https://www.mobilevax.us/clinics

[LawBeefaroni]

So, here's a question that's got seriously oversaturated search results: How long after contracting COVID would a test continue to show positive? I know it takes 3-5 days after exposure to first show a positive, but how long after? If you contract it on day one, would you still show a positive on day 15? Day 20?

From the CDC:

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory specimens for up to 3 months after illness onset in concentrations considerably lower than during illness; however, replication-competent virus has not been reliably recovered and infectiousness is unlikely. The circumstances that result in persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA have yet to be determined. Studies have not found evidence that clinically recovered adults with persistence of viral RNA have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to others. These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom-based rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of most patients.

So it can vary but the current recommendation is still 10-day quarantine rather than continued testing.

[paulbaxter]

We couldn't even get flu shots at Costco just via walk-in. We tried a couple of times but apparently they cut off vaccination hours at some arbitrary time during the day, even though the pharmacy is open until 7. I finally got us appointments at Costco the end of next week, for both flu shot and COVID booster. CVS website was showing absolutely no availability for any appointments in the area for the next several weeks. Ditto for King Soopers (Kroger pharmacy). Walgreens website was weird because it wasn't updated for the boosters-for-everyone guidelines, so unless you lied on their questionnaire, it wouldn't take you to the actual appointment calendar.

I was having a bear of a time trying to schedule my booster shot through the local drug stores, but then I remembered all the signs I'd seen at Walmart. Scheduling was ridiculously easy at Walmart. Just a relatively short wait when I got there.

[Blackhawk]

So, here's a question that's got seriously oversaturated search results: How long after contracting COVID would a test continue to show positive? I know it takes 3-5 days after exposure to first show a positive, but how long after? If you contract it on day one, would you still show a positive on day 15? Day 20?

From the CDC:

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory specimens for up to 3 months after illness onset in concentrations considerably lower than during illness; however, replication-competent virus has not been reliably recovered and infectiousness is unlikely. The circumstances that result in persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA have yet to be determined. Studies have not found evidence that clinically recovered adults with persistence of viral RNA have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to others. These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom-based rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of most patients.

So it can vary but the current recommendation is still 10-day quarantine rather than continued testing.

That I knew - but I'm trying to do it backwards. I had a cold two or three weeks prior to my test. It wasn't 'COVID-like' symptoms, but with the recent developments I'm wondering (especially since the cough has persisted.) I was trying to figure out whether the test would have detected it as a positive if I'd had COVID two weeks prior and had recovered. The answer you gave is so common that it's spoiling any search results.

[LawBeefaroni]

So, here's a question that's got seriously oversaturated search results: How long after contracting COVID would a test continue to show positive? I know it takes 3-5 days after exposure to first show a positive, but how long after? If you contract it on day one, would you still show a positive on day 15? Day 20?

From the CDC:

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory specimens for up to 3 months after illness onset in concentrations considerably lower than during illness; however, replication-competent virus has not been reliably recovered and infectiousness is unlikely. The circumstances that result in persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA have yet to be determined. Studies have not found evidence that clinically recovered adults with persistence of viral RNA have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to others. These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom-based rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of most patients.

So it can vary but the current recommendation is still 10-day quarantine rather than continued testing.

That I knew - but I'm trying to do it backwards. I had a cold two or three weeks prior to my test. It wasn't 'COVID-like' symptoms, but with the recent developments I'm wondering (especially since the cough has persisted.) I was trying to figure out whether the test would have detected it as a positive if I'd had COVID two weeks prior and had recovered. The answer you gave is so common that it's spoiling any search results.

Too many variables and unknowns. Including:

The circumstances that result in persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA have yet to be determined.

However if your cough was a symptom and you still have it (the symptom(s)) you would likely still test positive.

[Isgrimnur]

ars technica

Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in children, and they continue to account for an out-sized proportion of infections, according to the latest data compiled by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
...
In the week of November 11 to 18, nearly 142,000 children reported getting COVID-19. That's an increase of 32 percent from two weeks ago. Overall, cases of COVID-19 in the US have increased 27 percent in the past two weeks.

Children accounted for just over 25 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the week ending on November 18. However, children make up only about 22 percent of the US population. As more adults have gotten vaccinated, children have made up larger shares of infections. Throughout the whole pandemic, children have made up nearly 17 percent of all cases. Almost 6.8 million children are known to have been infected since the pandemic began.

[Jeff V]

My kids just had their first dose of Pfizer last weekend. Second dose is Dec 11, meaning they will be considered fully vaccinated by Xmas. I bought my wife and kids tickets to the Broadway in Chicago production of Frozen for January 10, to make sure everyone would be considered fully vaccinated so we would not need a 24 hour test before attending.

I tried to get my booster today, but the supermarket isn't accepting walk-ins until tomorrow. I had left my card at home anyway.

[malchior]

So good times, my MIL was admitted to the hospital today with heart attack symptoms. Luckily, they have apparently ruled a MI out. They have been running batteries of tests and now are pursuing the theory that she might have COVID related heart damage since they can't find a cause of her elevated blood pressure and presence of heart enzymes. She has been having constant health issues since she got COVID at work in a public school here in NJ.

[Smoove_B]

Oy, I'm so sorry to hear that. Make sure you prepare yourself to hear someone tell you that the vaccine is actually the cause of her heart damage - so you don't immediately try to choke the life out of them. My mom needs to have another heart ablation because she's back in Afib and I'm legitimately concerned they're going to need to push it off until the spring due to rising hospital use now. It's not a major procedure, but it is in-patient and requires at least one overnight. They're trying to lower stroke risk now with meds and a monitor, but she definitely needs to have it done.

I wish I had a magic 8 ball and could see what the next 60 days looks like, but my gut is telling me "not so good". Hope you get better news.

[coopasonic]

Benefit of living in Texas... this weekend I checked for vaccination appts at Target, got flu appts for my kids and a covid booster for me all scheduled on the day of my choice (could have been same day if I wanted) with my appt 15 minutes after theirs. Got the shots this afternoon and we were in and out in 20 minutes. It has been 7 hours and my shoulder is a bit sore. I should probably head to bed.

[Jeff V]

The mother of some college friends of mine died via complications of Covid. Her husband of nearly 70 years had it as well, and is now attempting to recover while grappling with the loss of his soul mate. Because of this, the family opted against a traditional wake/funeral.

She was also apparently suffering from dementia these past few years. Which is too bad, they lived on a retirement farm down state, used to host wonderful summer parties, and I had always been meaning to bring my kids there to visit. Procrastination rarely works out.

[Blackhawk]

Make sure you prepare yourself to hear someone tell you that the vaccine is actually the cause of her heart damage - so you don't immediately try to choke the life out of them.

I told a relative to permanently fuck off today because of something like that (on Facebook, after discussing my situation. I haven't seen the relative - a cousin - in person in 25+ years, so no great loss.) They responded to my story with a huge stream of bullshit. It was like a buffet of misinformation.