[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ In january 2022 the US did see a few days with 900,000 confirmed-tested cases per day. The above 1,2 - 1,8 million US cases are based on a model linked to waste water samples...

DJ, testing may be in hospital cases-missing most/all a/mild symptomatic cases...Since a lot of "Long CoViD" cases will be chronic cases (80% ?) -with the virus still hidden in some organs-also Delta/other variants may be around. Spread in non-human hosts will result in even more variants-sooner or later jumping to humans...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-health-authorities-report-that-sars-cov-2-infections-are-rising-in-thailand-with-new-cases-surging-over-536-and-3-deaths-in-the-last-wee[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-health-authorities-report-that-sars-cov-2-infections-are-rising-in-thailand-with-new-cases-surging-over-536-and-3-deaths-in-the-last-wee k

Cat in the Hat    reposted

Cat in the Hat   

@_CatintheHat

·

Oct 18

ENGLAND’S MORTALITY RATE: a tale of two halves  I’ve been having a peek at the underlying data from the CMI Mortality Monitor. It tells a very interesting story… In UNDER 45’s, the mortality rate was HIGHER in the first half of this year than any other pandemic year.

-

Cat in the Hat    reposted

Cat in the Hat   

@_CatintheHat

·

9h

Replying to 

@ActuaryByDay

 and 

@LancetRH_Europe

In addition to the high levels of excess deaths in middle-aged adults, I’m also concerned about the high level of deaths in children & younger adults. I appreciate that some of this is due to data lag but, even so, we are still seeing very high excess mortality in these ages.

DJ, If indeed CoViD would still be high risk and spreading like wildfire it soon has to show its effects in a.o. hospitals, economy etc. 

What is CoViD doing in war zones (Gaza, Ukraine etc ) ? 

DJ, One of the (many) questions I have;

-Are we "still dealing" with "only" SARS-2 or do the many variants of CoViD (in the "pandemic history put all together over 1 million ???) bring such a variaty of variants we are already dealing with SARS-3/SARS-4/SARS-5  (Sars-2.1 etc) ? 

Dealing with CoViD as if it is a type of "flu" is VERY !!!! wrong ! Flu may limit itself (via immunity after infection). CoViD/SARS does NOT limit itself-we may NOT have such a thing as "natural herd/group immunity"....

Laura Miers

@LauraMiers

·

Dec 4

According to wastewater, the US would currently be reporting an estimated 8,400,000 new Covid cases WEEKLY if we were testing & reporting data. By New Years Day, we can expect 12,6000,00 new cases per week. If all the mass disease & death isn’t reported, is it even real?

DJ, or do new variants not (yet) result in "mass disease & death"? Does previous infection/vaccination limit disease ? If so "can we live with it"? Or is there an underlying trend of disease getting worse (via co-infections ?) Is "mycoplasma pneumonia" following/linked to CoViD ? (mycoplasma is a bacteria-in some cases NOT detected in pneumonia cases...)

Do some variants of CoViD escape a lot of testing (PCR/LF) however still detected in waste water ? 

Very high numbers of CoViD infections may NOT mean healthcare in crisis-if we are very lucky...It may show CoViD did become more like a cold...For now that idea -for me- is to optimistic...Long term damage of CoViD is much worse (so far) than long term flu damage...

More info on age, gender, regions would be welcome...Maybe some food/drink (tea?) may offer better protection. Men have more ace-2 receptors so a virus does spread faster and "deeper" in men...

We need a lot more info. 

(see also "december" update) 

DJ We may be on the start of a gigantic JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) Corona infection wave-get vaccinated (only very young children excluded in NL) -often without making an appointment. 

DJ, The (NL) vaccine is based on XBB(.1,5), not on JN.1, I think the vaccine may offer some protection against severe disease.

-

JWeiland

@JPWeiland

·

Dec 5

December 4th Update: As predicted, a huge jump in numbers this week. 40%  over last week.  Pirola . 850,000 new infections/day 1 in every 390 new people were infected today 1 in every 39 people currently infected

US numbers (thanksgiving-spread)

Stephen Griffin

@SGriffin_Lab

·

Dec 6

For the love of toast, can we PLEASE STOP referring to the pandemic in the past tense? Just because countries like the UK have chosen blissful ignorance, SARS2 shows no sign whatsoever of adopting predictable patterns of infection. People are still suffering, and will suffer.

DJ, to many indicators for serious winter problems...

In NL [url]https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/224080/coronabesmettingen-weer-terug-aantal-virusdeeltjes-in-riool-op-een-na-hoogste-niveau[/url] or https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/224080/coronabesmettingen-weer-terug-aantal-virusdeeltjes-in-riool-op-een-na-hoogste-niveau ;

Corona infections back: number of virus particles in sewers at second highest level

14 december 2023, 16.32 uur · Door Bas Velzel

The number of corona infections is currently increasing again, as the number of virus particles in Amsterdam's sewage water shows. According to the RIVM, 3255 particles per 100,000 people were found last week. It is the second highest number ever measured.

Because most people no longer test at the GGD or at home when they have symptoms, the RIVM is investigating sewage to monitor the coronavirus. This is because if you are infected with the coronavirus, there are often virus particles in your stool. For example, a possible rebound of corona can be recognized in time

.

Amsterdam has five treatment plants and a total of nine measurements were taken last week. The largest amount of particles was found at the treatment plant near Weesp; the least particles were found at the Westpoort installation

.

Since the week of November 12, the number of virus particles has risen sharply, even by 20 percent last week. Last week's reading is even the second highest ever measured. Only in the week of July 17, 2022, were more virus particles found in the water, namely 3354

Hospitals also notice it

At both the OLVG and the Amsterdam UMC, which includes the AMC and the VUmc, they see an increase in the number of patients with corona. However, the hospitals do make a comment: corona is now often discovered in patients who are in hospital due to another condition. The alarm bells are therefore not going off yet, but the OLVG says it is “following the development very closely”. “It's a different situation than during the coronavirus wave

, though.”

Hospitals generally see an increase in the number of patients with the flu, something that actually always occurs at the end of the year. “Before covid, it was also regularly the case that there was a lot of bed pressure during the flu season,” said a UMC spokesperson

DJ; [url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-7-9-million-germans-sick-with-respiratory-infections-as-ba-2-86-and-jn-1-now-constitutes-49-3-percent-of-all-circulating-strains-in-germ[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-7-9-million-germans-sick-with-respiratory-infections-as-ba-2-86-and-jn-1-now-constitutes-49-3-percent-of-all-circulating-strains-in-germ 

So far in NL extreme high levels of virus particles in waste water do NOT YET !!! bring extreme healthcrisis in NL YET !!!

[url]https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps[/url] or https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps Only Switzerland have "moderate excess deaths"+4-7% above normal...NL, DK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden "low excess" +2-4% above "normal"...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news-surge-in-covid-19-cases-prompts-urgent-measures-in-singapore-second-makeshift-hospital-to-open-as-weekly-infections-top-56,000[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news-surge-in-covid-19-cases-prompts-urgent-measures-in-singapore-second-makeshift-hospital-to-open-as-weekly-infections-top-56,000 link to 

[url]https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/update-on-local-covid-19-situation-and-measures-to-protect-healthcare-capacity[/url] or https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/update-on-local-covid-19-situation-and-measures-to-protect-healthcare-capacity ;

As COVID-19 infections continue to rise, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is taking additional measures to ensure that our healthcare capacity remains protected. 

2.      The estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of 3 to 9 December 2023 rose to 56,043 cases, compared to 32,035 cases in the previous week. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations rose to 350 from 225 the week before, and the average daily Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cases increased to nine cases compared to four cases in the previous week. 

3.      Cases infected by JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86, currently account for the vast majority of the COVID-19 cases in Singapore. Based on the available international and local data, there is currently no clear indication that BA.2.86 or JN.1 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants. 

4.      To preserve our healthcare capacity, MOH has been working with public hospitals for contingency planning, including ensuring adequate manpower and deferring of non-urgent electives to maximise bed capacity for urgent cases in need of acute care. In addition, hospitals are tapping on step-down facilities like Transitional Care Facilities and alternative care models like Mobile Inpatient Care@Home (MIC@Home) to ensure proper right-siting of patients. 

5.      MOH will also open the second COVID-19 Treatment Facility (CTF) this weekend to increase CTF capacity. The new CTF at Singapore EXPO Hall 10, together with the existing CTF at Crawfurd Hospital, will be able to care for more than 80 stable COVID-19 patients who do not require intensive hospital care. If the need arises, the CTF capacity at EXPO can be further increased.

Exercising personal and social responsibility

6.      We urge the public to exercise personal and social responsibility. Individuals who are unwell with acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms should stay at home until symptoms resolve, and avoid contact with others. If they have to come into contact while unwell, they need to exercise social responsibility by wearing a mask, minimising their social interactions, and avoiding crowded places. 

7.      MOH also strongly encourages the public to wear a mask in crowded places even if they are not sick, especially in indoor settings, or when visiting or interacting with vulnerable persons. Travellers should adopt the relevant travel precautions, such as wearing a mask at the airport, purchasing travel insurance, and avoiding crowded areas with poor ventilation. Please visit MOH’s Health Advisory for Travellers at www.moh.gov.sg/diseases-updates/travel-advisory for more information.

8.      We urge the public to seek medical treatment at a hospital’s Emergency Department only for serious or life-threatening emergencies. This will preserve our hospital capacity for patients who truly need acute hospital care and allow those with severe illness to receive timely treatment.

Vaccination remains effective in protecting against severe illness

9.      Vaccination is our primary defence against COVID-19, and continues to be effective in preventing severe illness. MOH’s analysis shows that hospitalisation rates are considerably lower amongst those who have kept up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination (additional dose received within the last 12 months) compared with those who have not. 

10.      From 1 July to 30 November 2023, the monthly average incidence rate of hospitalised and ICU cases per 100,000 population for those who did not keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination was at 16.2, meaning this group is 1.6 times more likely to have severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation or ICU admission,  compared to those who had up-to-date vaccination (10.4 cases per 100,000 population).

DJ [url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-malaysians-call-for-more-stringent-measures-as-covid-19-cases-rises-possibly-due-to-human-vectors-from-india,-pakistan,-thailand,-singap[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-malaysians-call-for-more-stringent-measures-as-covid-19-cases-rises-possibly-due-to-human-vectors-from-india,-pakistan,-thailand,-singap ore

DJ, since most countries fail to test & report lots of spread is missed...with "governments" busy with wars...

roni3470, As far as "statistics" (retrospective) indicate vaccines still would offer protection...

However it may depend on both timing and vaccines that were used...(I do not have the know how to the details look...). 

Also new variants (maybe even using other than ACE-2 receptors ????) may be even better in evading (vaccine) immunity...

Here in NL high level of CoViD in waste water are linked with a "limited increase" of CoViD cases...but also lots of "flu"...pneumonia...with limited testing may turn out to be CoViD (maybe even escaping some testing ?) 

However...it would be very welcome if the "burden" of CoViD would develop towards a cold...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-why-southern-states-in-india-are-panicking-first-few-cases-of-jn-1-variants-in-kerala-and-karnataka-had-died-jn-1-could-be-lethal-to-ind[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-why-southern-states-in-india-are-panicking-first-few-cases-of-jn-1-variants-in-kerala-and-karnataka-had-died-jn-1-could-be-lethal-to-ind ians...

[url]https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/29/pers-d29.html[/url] or https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/29/pers-d29.html ;

Surveying the official political and media landscape in the US and throughout much of the world over the holidays, there is virtually no mention of the pandemic anywhere.

After two years of continuous efforts to minimize the Omicron variant and all of its progeny as “mild,” the unstated policy towards the pandemic is now simply to ignore it.

Significantly, one of the only recent articles to break this wall of silence was a Washington Post Editorial Board statement titled, “Face it: A ban on ski masks can help fight crime without violating rights.”

While feigning concern over a rise in crime involving the use of ski masks, the article makes clear that the underlying aim is to illegalize all masking in public, including the use of face masks that constitute one of the most important public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The editorial endorses a proposal floated by Washington D.C.’s Democratic mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, to impose a “prohibition on ski masks and face coverings.”

The banning of masks is the logical next step in the American ruling class’ drive to enforce its “forever COVID” policy, in which all of society is subject to unending waves of mass infection, debilitation and death. As stated bluntly by Anthony Fauci in August, the elderly and vulnerable will simply “fall by the wayside.”

Contrary to the official narrative that “the pandemic is over” and society must “learn to live with the virus,” the truth is that COVID-19 remains a substantial public health threat which must be addressed. This objective reality can now only be cognized through the work of independent scientists who continue to monitor viral transmission through wastewater sampling, viral evolution, estimates of excess deaths and the impacts of Long COVID.

In the US, wastewater data from Biobot Analytics show that at present viral transmission nationally is rapidly approaching the second-highest level to date, behind only the initial wave of the Omicron BA.1 subvariant exactly two years ago.

According to the model of Dr. Mike Hoerger of Tulane University, current wastewater levels translate to roughly 1.66 million Americans being infected with SARS-CoV-2 daily, with 11.4 million people (1 in 29) now actively infectious. By January 10, there will be roughly 2 million daily new cases in the US, with nearly 14 million infectious people.

An even higher percentage of the population is currently infected in England and Scotland, where an estimated 4.2 percent of the population were infected with COVID-19 in the two weeks leading up to December 13, equivalent to roughly 2.55 million individuals, or one in 24 people.

Similar spikes in transmission have been recorded in the Baltic and Nordic countries, in Germany, Poland, Singapore, Canada and elsewhere.

This global wave of mass infection is being fueled by the Omicron JN.1 subvariant, a descendant of the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant (nicknamed “Pirola”) which is now dominant globally and was deemed a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week. Throughout much of the developing world, wastewater data are entirely unavailable, but it is safe to assume that JN.1 is causing similar spikes in transmission internationally.

Tracking excess deaths attributable to the pandemic has become increasingly difficult, as numerous countries have shifted their baseline to include 2020, thereby skewing their data. The Economist’s excess deaths tracker, long the most reliable, has not been updated since November 18. At that point, its cumulative total of excess deaths stood at a staggering 27.4 million people, roughly four times the official figure of 7 million.

In the US, the CDC stopped reporting excess deaths in September. One of the only up-to-date trackers using pre-pandemic figures as the baseline is run independently by health expert Greg Travis, whose figures indicate that excess deaths remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels, in particular for younger age groups.

Thousands of scientific studies make clear that COVID-19 is the underlying cause of the vast majority of these excess deaths. The virus has been proven to persist in myriad body tissues, with the ability to damage virtually every organ, manifesting in over 100 different symptoms that are often debilitating. A COVID-19 infection places one at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, various neurological disorders, and more.

The WHO itself estimates that one in 10 infections leads to Long COVID and multiple studies have shown this risk is only compounded by reinfections. With each new wave of mass infection, the immense crisis of Long COVID only broadens in scope, with hundreds of millions now believed to be suffering globally.

As a result of the ending of the PHE in the US, at least 13.4 million Americans have been disenrolled from Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Rapid antigen tests are unaffordable for most Americans, while more accurate PCR tests are nearly impossible to access. A growing number of Americans have had to pay over $100 for their latest booster shots, and in October, Pfizer announced that it intends to charge nearly $1,400 per five-day course of the life-saving treatment Paxlovid once the government’s stockpiles run out, likely in the coming year.

The ruling elites’ policy of simply ignoring the pandemic and forcing people to fend for themselves is untenable and will inevitably collide with reality. The basic functioning of society cannot be sustained amid unending body blows of mass infection and debilitation from Long COVID.

The year 2024 will see a deepening of the global struggle against war, the pandemic and the capitalist system. There are growing calls for renewed mass protests against the genocide in Gaza, which have involved millions throughout the world over the past two months. In the US, tens of thousands have signed a petition appealing to the Biden administration to guarantee funding for Long COVID research, a sign of the intense ongoing opposition to the pandemic.

DJ...either put more trillions of fiat currency in more war or solve problems like climate, pandemics...

Related [url]https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/23/covi-d23.html[/url] or https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/23/covi-d23.html ;

Variant trackers and data scientists agree that the rise of JN.1 to dominance in the US will only fuel the country’s eighth wave of mass infection in the weeks ahead. This could soon cause the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases of any wave so far, excluding only the initial Omicron wave exactly two years ago. It is not yet clear how high JN.1 will push hospitalization and death rates, but data from the “bellwether state” of New York are very concerning, with hospitalizations rising 36 percent over the past week after JN.1 became dominant.

DJ, newer variants are better in evading/ignoring immunity...May become a much bigger problem than this pandemic did see so far...