Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Democrats are back in array!

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Cole is on a roll !

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

People are complicated. Love is not.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

The revolution will be supervised.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: January 24, 2024

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: January 24, 2024

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71Comments

  3. 3.

    New Deal democrat

    Both Biobot and the CDC have updated their wastewater info, and both show that the peak of the JN.1 winter wave has passed (as expected, now that holiday gatherings are over).  Biobot shows a 33% percent decline from peak, and the CDC a 25% decline. The two differ on some regional trends, with Biobot showing a nearly 50% decline in the Northeast, while the CDC’s site shows the biggest decline is 35% decline in the West. Both show only a 10% or so decline in the Midwest. Even so, both show particles 2.5* higher than at their summer lows.

    Speaking of JN.1, as of last Friday it was 85% of all cases, per the CDC. XBB has all but vanished.

    Hospitalizations have also peaked, per the CDC. As of the week of January 13, there were 32,900, vs. 36,300 the previous week. This compares with the zjanuary peak last year of 44,300, and the June low of 6,300.

    Deaths as of the week of December 30 were 1,730, the highest during this wave so far, and will likely be revised higher since that is not the final count. This compares with a peak of almost 3,900 one year ago, and the low of 488 early last July.

    Perhaps the most useful comparison is that of total deaths for the 9 months of April 1 through December 31 for the four years of the pandemic:
    2020 – 388,000
    2021 – 285,000
    2022 – 96,000
    2023 – 43,000

    It’s clear that vastly improved medical treatments, plus resistance via vaccinations and (repeated) infections, is leading to much better outcomes each year. Also, those most vulnerable to the disease have mainly already died. Still, even now the number of deaths is equivalent to a bad year for influenza. And of course we are increasingly dealing with the cumulative toll of long COVID.

    On another note – that COVID-19’s ultimate future is to become, via resistance and natural selection, just another “common cold”-type infection, always seemed the most likely long term outcome.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JR: I got my covid booster and flu vax at the same time, no problem, but I live in the land of the deluded. That might have something to do with it.

  5. 5.

    JR

    @OzarkHillbilly: PCP wouldn’t carry COVID vaccine because of uncertainty about how long they would be able to hold it / storage issues. That’s going to take a few years to work out IMHO so it removes one very straightforward path to vaccine administration.

  6. 6.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Someone I know went to a new doctor a week ago, and when he checked her vaccination record, he said that there were “questions” about the covid and RSV vaccines. She is NOT going back to him.

  7. 7.

    JMG

    Perhaps because I live in a land of old people, Cape Cod, getting both a flu and covid shot was relatively easy. Made an appointment at a pharmacy about 15 miles from home and did it in an hour and a half back last October.

  8. 8.

    satby

    I think one of the problems with covid vaccine uptake is it’s the only vaccine I’m aware of that you basically had to get every six months. As the virus evolves to an apparently milder disease I’ve heard people say things like “I’ve had 5 shots, I think I’m good”. That, and the politization of the vaccine in the first place are affecting the rate of vaccinations.

  9. 9.

    satby

    @JR: Since I had 3 Pfizer and 2 Moderna vax, I got the Novovax for covid the last time this winter. It’s more traditionally formulated and stored in the refrigerator like most other vaccinations, so that should make it more accessable.

  11. 11.

    CindyH

    @JMG: I’m in a blue bubble in NC – no problem getting the Covid vaccine – my in-laws are in red area of NC and they had no problem.   My sister and her kids are in blue areas in the northeast and they didn’t have any problems – would be good to know more about areas where it is a problem and why.

    and thank you AL for continuing with updates – so very helpful!

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    I think one issue with getting people to take the Covid shot is that it hurts. Yes, I know not that much. I recognize that a couple of days of soreness and a swollen lymph node are not a big deal, all told. But even these little hurdles dissuade a few people, especially if they only experience Covid as a minor annoyance.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Sticking with \the every six months regimen (Thanks,. medicare. Thanks, Costco>.) Easy to keep track of, as spring shot is the day before my birthday in May and mentally adding six months to that is elementary.

    Ventured into Walmart yesterday (masked) for the first time in years as they claimed online to have a canned good no one else on the island carries anymore. (Newsflash: they didn’t. )

    Gawd, what a dingy, depressing store. Even smelled sickly.

    Fingers, toes and eyes crossed my escaping COVID thus far keeps holding true.

  15. 15.

    Suzanne

    Also, I will note, getting the newest Covid vax for my kids has been an incredible pain in the ass, The pediatrician’s office never got it.

  16. 16.

    Butch

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I can’t say I “took part” in this discussion because I know what I don’t know, but I overheard a group of medical folks talking about the same thing a few weeks ago.  The concern is that by the time the vaccine is formulated and released the virus has already mutated and the vaccine is out of date.  They fear it will lead to more vaccine hesitancy because people will get vaccinated and still get sick.  I know that’s been the case with me.  I’ve stayed completely up to date and still had Covid four times.

  17. 17.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Anne:

    I know people have said this before but we can’t say it often enough:

    Thank you for these updates.  They’ve been a godsend going on 4 years now.

  20. 20.

    Princess

    @Suzanne: This. I’m part of the data set that got the flu vaxx and not the covid vaxx this year. In my case it was because i caught covid itself two weeks before my vax was scheduled. But honestly, I suffer more from the vaxx (though for fewer days) than from the  disease itself and I do question what good my sixth or so dose will do me. I’m looking forward to the targeted nasal vaxx. As long as people need a sick day or two to get vaxxed for Covid, uptake will be lower than it could be.

    ETA this post is crashing my phone too.

  21. 21.

    NorthLeft

    Thanks again Anne. This is my must read of the week.
    Up here in Canada, our COVID vax rate has sunk to levels around the US’s, even though they are estimating (because no one tests and reports anymore) that one in thirteen people are currently infected.

    The Ontario government is proudly doing it’s part by completely ignoring COVID and simultaneously gutting public health budgets while getting back to their core policy objectives…..privatizing our health care system.

  22. 22.

    Suzanne

    @NotMax: I did try Costco. I got my vax there. But they don’t do the littles. Spawn the Younger’s age cohort is provided at some pharmacies, Spawn the Youngest’s age cohort only at the pediatrician. And then only on some days, during work hours.

  24. 24.

    artem1s

    @Suzanne: ​ 

    I think one issue with getting people to take the Covid shot is that it hurts.

    Joint inflammation and pain is the symptom that I noticed is more noticeable than other vaccines (and Moderna was way worse for me than Pfizer). And the overall symptoms tend to be slightly worse than any other vaccine I had with the exception of shingles. That one is the queen bee of pain and a two part-er to boot. But not bad enough to make me risk a bout of shingles. If the new COVID booster had been available earlier I would have preferred to go thru those symptoms rather than having to go thru a second (although significantly milder) bout of COVID. I’m hoping now that the FDA emergency approval has been lifted that insurance companies and doctors will OK getting multiple boosters a year if people are traveling a lot or otherwise immune compromised. Hopefully someone can get a combo influenza/COVID booster developed and it will just be part of everyone’s annual checkup.

  25. 25.

    CCL

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:  Ditto what you said.  Thank you, Anne.  We are on the East Coast…I truly believe your posts kept us informed and alive that first year – especially those horrible first months in 2020.  I read every one of these posts and they definitely help inform my decisions.

  26. 26.

    Yarrow

    @NotMax:

    Sticking with \the every six months regimen (Thanks,. medicare. Thanks, Costco>.)

    You’re allowed to get the Covid vaccine every six months on Medicare? Lucky you! Regular insurance people can’t. And once you get around 9 months since your last vaccine you’re much more at risk.

  28. 28.

    jonas

    @JR: My employer held a vaccine fair early in the fall so all of us could get the updated covid/flu combo — easy peasy. But if you’re getting it from a pharmacy, you have to 1. go online to make an appointment, 2. go out to the pharmacy, 3. fill out a bunch more paperwork because they inevitably can’t retrieve the info you filled out when you made the appointment (this has happened to me twice), 4. get the shot.

    It’s an hour or two out of your day and for a lot of working people, they’re like “meh, I’m probably protected enough at this point.” It should be easier. If you’re at the doctor’s and he asks if you’ve got the updated vaccine and you haven’t he should be able to pull out a syringe right there and take care of you. Or just walk into a pharmacy off the street and ask for it.

  29. 29.

    Yarrow

    @OzarkHillbilly:  I guess so. But it seems really wrong not to allow younger people to get the vaccine every six months given that its effectiveness is clearly mostly gone by then. At least as far as I can tell. Uptake is so low it’s not like it’s going to increase the number of people getting vaccines all that much. But it will help those that do.

  30. 30.

    jonas

    @Suzanne: CVS doesn’t vax minors, either. I’m told it’s because they only stock the Moderna vaccine, which is a strong dose and not indicated for kids. Sigh. So we had to schlepp the youngs over to Wallgreens across town for their shots.

  31. 31.

    Matt McIrvin

    That USA Today headline is weird, asking “could this be a new wave?” about the wave that obviously already happened and is past peak. I thought they might be talking about some other wave but no.

  33. 33.

    catclub

    @artem1s: And the overall symptoms tend to be slightly worse than any other vaccine I had with the exception of shingles. That one is the queen bee of pain and a two part-er to boot.

     

    Maybe my immune system is very bad at painfully responding to vaccines.  Even the shingles was no big deal, maybe pain in the arm for a day.

  35. 35.

    jonas

    @jonas: 2. go out to the pharmacy,

    Oh, yeah. Forgot to add: “Be asked to wait 20 minutes because the pharmacist who dispenses the vaccines — and is apparently the only one in the store who can do it for some reason — is on break or out for lunch or something and will be back later.” They apologize for the fact that the automated appointment system allows you to make an appointment when there is, in fact, no one on duty to give it to you at that time. This happened with one of our kids’ appointments last year.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Yarrow: Oh, I agree with you, and it’s really stupid that insurance companies aren’t on the band wagon for it, considering the possible long term consequences. What’s the old saying?

    “Penny wise and pound foolish.”​​

  37. 37.

    Matt McIrvin

    @satby: Last I checked, most people haven’t had ANY boosters, let alone all of them. They got one or two shots and stopped there. Some regret that they got any.

    For most of us, the most they’ll even give us is a yearly booster like the flu shot. But the *lower* uptake than the flu shot suggests to me that the difference is political/conspiracy theory/fear of the new. Few people ever had a political identity that revolved around refusing the flu shot.

  39. 39.

    jonas

    @Butch: What the general public has never grokked from the very beginning, and the medical community can’t seem to get across for some reason, either, is that the vaccine doesn’t keep you from getting Covid ever; it keeps you from getting seriously ill if you do get it. There is some protection against infection for a couple of months, but that’s not really the point of the vaccine.

  40. 40.

    Suzanne

    @jonas: So I can get Spawn the Younger’s vaccines at CVS here in PGH, but only some CVS locations. And, of course, not any of the CVS locations convenient to us. That’s where she got her original Covid shots.

    This shit is a giant pain in the ass. If you’re wondering why people don’t do it…. this is why.

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: So, not to be fucken gross, but…. the Covid vaccines can have a pretty strong effect on the cycle of people who menstruate. (And, I will note, there was no warning about this in the media. So that’s how all this “vaccines destroy your fertility!” misinformation gets going around the internet.)

    I will also note that I had a lymph node under my clavicle swell up a couple of days after I got one of the shots. No one had mentioned to me that this is to be expected and is not alarming. So, of course, I freaked out that I had cancer. (And my bra strap knocked over it when I moved, so it was annoying.) I figured it out after some frantic Googling, and it went away, and I was prepared for it the next time I got a booster. It happened again, but I wasn’t freaked out.

    But this is the shit that makes people feel crazy, and feel lied to. Like, my first period after the first vaccine was insane.

  42. 42.

    Soprano2

    @catclub: Wow you’re lucky, that one kicked my ass both times, plus the shot hurt! The pharmacist even apologized in advance for how much the shot was going to hurt. Still worth it to be protected from shingles.

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Suzanne: Reason # 2,367 why I am glad I am not a woman. The shit you ladies have to tolerate would make me homicidal. OK, not really, but you get my meaning.

  44. 44.

    catclub

    @Soprano2: Still worth it to be protected from shingles.

    Yeah, shingles is worth avoiding. Like the Australian Table wines in the Monty Python skit.

  45. 45.

    suzanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: I know that there are hordes of women (and black people, and trans people, etc) who have a long history of being ignored or undertreated or, quite frankly, maltreated by the “medical establishment”.

    Letting people know what to expect (like a heavy period is okay, like, no, you’re not getting breast cancer) is really critical to building credibility, especially around something new and politicized like the covid vaccine. And that really did not happen, in an effort to make people less afraid of taking it. But that shit backfires.

    i can fully understand why people who menstruate would feel more sidelined by a heavy period than a bout of covid.

  46. 46.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne:  Like a lot of things it takes patients posting their symptoms, finding each other online, and then basically screaming about it for the medical establishment to believe them. Symptoms affecting periods are more likely to be discounted because they’re just a woman thing. Bitches be crazy, as we all know. *eyeroll*

    A similar thing happened with the loss of taste and smell symptoms that happened for a lot of people who caught Covid early on. Initially the medical establishment told them they were crazy. That it wasn’t related to Covid. Eventually enough people had the same symptom that they finally admitted it was related to Covid. Took a long time for it to be officially added to the Covid symptom list.

    I really wish the medical establishment would listen to patients more. They are generally not trained along those lines. It’s “the research doesn’t support…” And to be fair, there are a lot of crazy people out there who “do their own research” and want their doctor to prescribe or approve nutty treatments. So I get it to a certain extent.

  47. 47.

    lowtechcyclist

    @jonas:

    CVS doesn’t vax minors, either. I’m told it’s because they only stock the Moderna vaccine, which is a strong dose and not indicated for kids. Sigh. So we had to schlepp the youngs over to Wallgreens across town for their shots.

    That’s weird. The CVS in the shopping center out on the main drag always has Moderna, but the CVS in the little neighborhood shopping center near my house always has Pfizer.

  48. 48.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I’ve been struggling to get a good answer to a problem I’m facing: what’s the mandatory wait time between having contracted COVID and getting a vaccine against the next time? Because my last shot was in June, I was planning to get vaxxed this month, but I caught COVID right after Christmas (thankfully it was a mild case and it went away shortly after New Year’s, and I’ve been testing negative since about January 4).

    The Greek government COVID vaccination portal says I’m eligible for a free Pfizer 1.5 XBB shot, which can be scheduled at any one of a number of locations around Athens, but I don’t know if it’s too soon, being only a month since my last (and first, and hopefully only) infection.

  49. 49.

    Mike in NC

    Wife came down with a cold a few days ago and wanted to do a COVID test just to be sure. We had a couple of those free COVID packs but they were expired. Went to the drug store and they’re $23 each. Ouch.

  50. 50.

    Yarrow

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:  Late last year AL posted some newer research on this question. In the US I think the CDC says wait at least a month. The research showed that if you get it too soon after an infection it actually lowers the effectiveness of the vaccine. I think the research said to wait 3-4 months after an infection before getting the vaccine for maximum effectiveness.

  51. 51.

    Yarrow

    @Yarrow:  Just checked and the CDC says you “may” wait 3 months to get the vaccine after infection. Maybe the newer research says six months is better. I would have to go look. Sorry.

    Edit: This post by AL has some good stuff about waiting to get the vaccine.

  52. 52.

    Suzanne

    @Yarrow:

    I really wish the medical establishment would listen to patients more. They are generally not trained along those lines. It’s “the research doesn’t support…” And to be fair, there are a lot of crazy people out there who “do their own research” and want their doctor to prescribe or approve nutty treatments. So I get it to a certain extent. 

    I have a distant cousin who is an anti-vax loony….full-on Ivermectin, lightbulb up the ass, Fauci is a Nazi experimenting on people, etc etc etc. She was on a ventilator with Covid, because she wouldn’t get vaccinated. And she came to be completely distrustful of medicine after suffering for years pre-pandemic with a chronic illness, getting jerked around by doctors who misdiagnosed, couldn’t help, didn’t listen, etc. The familiar story. Her daughter told me, “I don’t even recognize who my mom is anymore”.

    All that failure carries over, as much as we wish it wouldn’t. When we wonder why people aren’t getting vaccinated…. this is why.

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne:  Yep. I have a friend with unexplained fatigue issues. Probably CFS stuff due to Epstein-Barr but who knows. She has had health-threatening responses to flu vaccines (six month recovery time) so she did not get the Covid vaccine. Fair enough – I understand her hesitancy.

    But she’s also veered way into the woo woo territory on everything. I can’t really blame her given that the medical establishment has told her many times it’s all in her head and she should just take an anti-depressant. She might be depressed but who wouldn’t be when CFS has curtailed her life. More natural approaches seem to have helped her when the medical establishment couldn’t. So I understand how she got there. But it’s frustrating to watch.

  55. 55.

    Sallycat

    When a friend went online to make a Covid vaccine appointment at Publix, she was told she had to chose between two vaccines.  No explanation was given.  The choice apparently stems from the Florida surgeon general warning people not to get the latest vaccine because, well, don’t really understand why not.  But Publix management is notoriously right wing and has bought the surgeon general’s line.

  56. 56.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Yarrow: Thanks for the links and info! Based on that, I’ll aim for late March/early April for my next COVID shot. Planning to travel in early May.

  57. 57.

    Suzanne

    @Mike in NC: I went to buy a bunch of Covid tests last September before SuzMom had surgery. I had to go to three pharmacies to find them and I ended up dropping about $100. We’ve still got a couple left.

  58. 58.

    Yarrow

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:  I waited 5 months after my Covid infection to get the latest vaccine. I was traveling so wanted it to get it before that. I also wanted to maximise the natural immunity boost I got from the infection. No need to waste that.

  59. 59.

    Chris T.

    More people are lining up for a flu shot than a #Covid vaccine. It’s not clear why the disparity exists …

    I have now had both, but, when I went in to my doctor for a regular checkup towards the end of 2023, they had the flu shots but no COVID shots. “Availability” (or lack thereof) is thus one obvious possibility.

  60. 60.

    Matt McIrvin

    @jonas: With the original wild-type COVID virus and the Alpha variant, the vaccine actually was remarkably good at even preventing detectable infection (at least for a while). There were reports to that effect, the government noted it, then Delta and especially Omicron changed the situation.

    That’s what Ron DeSantis is referring to when he says they “lied about the vaccine”. They couldn’t predict that Omicron was going to happen in the future.

  61. 61.

    gwangung

    This is a futile hope, but I wish more people realized that coronaviruses as a group doesn’t have lasting immunity; you naturally lose it after a couple years.

    And I’ve definitely felt fewer side effects with each succeeding booster shot. Makes me believe my body is on guard….

  62. 62.

    JustRuss

    @Soprano2: I will say my experience was similar to catclub’s: very little pain from shingles or covid vaccines. I’ve had shingles, pre vaccine, and even if the shot does hurt, you want it.

  63. 63.

    VFX Lurker

    @Mike in NC:

    We had a couple of those free COVID packs but they were expired. 

    If you mean “past the date written on the package”, and if you still have the expired tests, check the FDA site to see if they got an extension. You may still be able to use them.

    If you mean “past the FDA extension dates”, please ignore this post.

  64. 64.

    arrieve

    @Yarrow: I really wish the medical establishment would listen to patients more. They are generally not trained along those lines. It’s “the research doesn’t support…”

    OT, but my favorite example of this was when I broke two bones in my hand about 15 years ago. The doctor gave me a shot of lidocaine in the bone before setting my hand, and I told him I needed to lie down because I was going to faint. He said, “No you’re not, just take a couple of deep breaths.” Now I have fainted several times in my life and when my skin goes warm and tingly and everything in front of my eyes goes gray, it MEANS THAT I AM GOING TO FAINT. I insisted on lying down for a couple of minutes, and my vision cleared and I felt better and I told him to proceed.

    He said, “It’s funny but people always tell me they’re going to faint after I give them that shot, but that’s not one of the effects.”

  65. 65.

    gvg

    @Sallycat: What’s wrong between giving us a choice if a store stocks both? They don’t all here in florida.  Earlier on I chose to vary which set I was getting so that I could get more benefit. Studies (limited) suggested it was better. So some of the online portals actually told you which they were giving or gave you a choice, then allowed you to choose which location that had that kind was most convenient for you.  I actually chose a longer drive to get an appointment on a better day for me too.

    I don’t think this has to do with the surgeon generals nuttiness.

    Most Publix’s had one in stock, but not all the same. Except the last time I checked it was all Pfizer and they couldn’t get Moderna due to some supply issue.

  69. 69.

    Matt McIrvin

    @arrieve: I have fainted from the old glaucoma test where they poke your eyeball with a probe. It can happen as a response to purely mechanical stuff. The doctor’s idea that you’d expect it to be on the enumerated list of side effects is absurd.

  70. 70.

    🐾BillinGlendaleCA

    The Home of the Orange Apron sends out a coupon for free flue shots, but not COVID19 shots, so if I wanted to get the COVID booster, I’d probably have to pay for it out of pocket since I have barebones coverage.  There are probably many other lower income folk that are in the same boat.

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