Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

So many bastards, so little time.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

He really is that stupid.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Cancel the cowardly WaPo and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

It’s a doggy dog world.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

People are weird.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 10, 2024

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 10, 2024

by | 31 Comments

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It’s great news (as far as I’m concerned) that covid infections, per the CDC and Biobot, are dropping — for the moment — to the point where updates are a background noise rather than a non-stop battery of bad news. (Until the next peak comes along, possibly during summer vacation season, almost certainly by the year-end holidays.) There’s liable to be an ongoing shortage of news articles for me to aggregate… mostly updates on long covid research, and historical updates (recriminations) on the past four years. For the moment, I’ll keep putting up a post every Wednesday morning, but I can’t promise much actual news.

On the other hand, there’s a ‘new’ nightmare virus keeping pandemic watchers on high alert. Specifically: H5N1 ‘bird flu’, which is now infecting dairy cows in multiple U.S. states (all probably tracing back to the same herd in Texas), as well as cats sharing those cows’ barns, and at least one dairy worker. The good news: Public authorities are very much aware of H5N1’s potential; we have — thanks to Covid-19 — a global network in place to monitor, research & treat H5N1 hotspots; and there’s a considerable history of similar ‘bird flu’ outbreaks for medical personnel to draw on. (Including the 2002-2004 ‘Hong Kong SARS’ outbreak, which is when I first started paying attention to the word ‘coronavirus’.) Here’s a gift link to a NYTimes article that pretty much summarizes current information:

Again: Gift link

As a committed carnivore and major dairy consumer, I am going to continue my lifelong practice of avoiding raw milk. (I took a Dairy Science 101 semester almost fifty years ago, and even in those ancient days the advice from all the best global experts was ‘Never drink raw milk from a cow you haven’t met.’ I will, for my own reasons, continue to monitor the various twitter feeds of health experts (many of whom are gradually transitioning from covid-19 to H5N1), and will of course let you know if anything changes.

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As the United States eased into spring, only two states had increases or likely increases in coronavirus infections as of March 30, according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, the CDC reported a decline or likely decline in coronavirus infections in 29 states and territories and called infections “stable or uncertain” in 19 areas. Even so, a national covid-19 forecast predicts up to 3,400 daily covid hospital admissions in late April.

All told, nearly 1.2 million U.S. residents have died of covid-19, according to the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker.

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Reader Interactions

31Comments

  1. 1.

    Suzanne

    the advice from all the best global experts was ‘Never drink raw milk from a cow you haven’t met.’

    I will note that I’ve met quite a few cows, and I wouldn’t drink their raw milk. Not the cleanest critters. #fecaloral

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    Thanks for these continuing updates, AL.

     

    More corruption from the orange conman – unsurprising.

  4. 4.

    Suzanne

    And I know that I said this ad infinitum during the pandemic and everyone’s sick of hearing it….. but increasing air changes per hour and increasing filtration capacity are actually really difficult things to do. Oodles of older and less sophisticated (cheaper) buildings can’t do it without full replacement.

  6. 6.

    p.a.

    Yes, thanks A.L.

    Numbers down is good, obvs.  How many red states are cooking their numbers?  Blue not ahhh… immune either; didn’t Cuomo’s admin get caught?  He was a prize. 😡

  7. 7.

    Anne Laurie

    @Suzanne: I will note that I’ve met quite a few cows, and I wouldn’t drink their raw milk. Not the cleanest critters.

    And that doesn’t even get into the question of what they’re being fed!  (A portion of the class, which was designed for the mostly-male-in-those-days offspring of professional dairy farmers, was learning the math to calculate feed percentages of various common nutrients for maximum milk output.  Let’s just say that ground-up discarded phone books were among the less disgusting standard additives… )

    That’s not on the cows, though — just on the people raising them.  (Dogs aren’t exactly the cleanest mammals, either, and we let our own dogs kiss us on the face.)

  9. 9.

    Ohio Mom

    (Putting aside Suzanne’s observation that retrofitting buildings with air filtration machinery may not be possible).

    Right now, mothers of gifted and talented kids are beginning to feel a disturbance in the force. Once again, authorities are suggesting to spend money on “them,” the special needs kids, instead of their G&T darlings.

    *Their* kids need clean air even more then anyone else’s because their kids are gifted. And talented. The world needs to nurture them for the future’s sake.

    I am imagining this of course but those G&T parents are always complaining about money spent on special needs kids, and providing air filtration to very vulnerable students would just be another thorn in their sides.

  11. 11.

    New Deal democrat

    I am on the road so I will keep this brief.

    Both Biobot and the CDC’s wastewater analyses showed another slight decline last week, to levels higher than only last May through July last year.

    Both hospitalizations and deaths continued to decline in the last week of reporting, also to levels lower than at any point in the pandemic except for last May through July. The former is at 8,015 and the latter is at 1.002. If current trends hold, we could see new pandemic lows for each bu Memorial Day.

  12. 12.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Per my state’s wastewater monitoring, my area has been on the decline for about a month now but I still managed to get infected after 4 years of avoidance. And that’s with still mask wearing in stores, often the only one. No hint of illness on Friday when I got boosted…

    Excited to see what day 4 of symptoms brings. Been awake since 4 am so probably more nose blowing and napping. The splitting headache seems to have subsided and hopefully I can stop swallowing Tylenol and Advil which I rarely use. Pretty helpful though with this glop.

  13. 13.

    Lapassionara

    @stinger: Ditto! thanks so much, AL.

    Just FYI about testing. Mr. LP had a cold and thought it might be COVID, so he scheduled a test at Walgreen’s. He was warned that it would not be free, but he went anyway. When he arrived, a key person wasn’t at the store, so they sent him to an urgent care clinic, where they tested him for both COVID and the flu, all paid for by Medicare. So there seems to be a way to get free tests for COVID, for Medicare patients.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    (Seems like the right thread for this. If it’s wildly inappropriate, feel free to delete.)

    A few days ago, the Wayback Machine reminded me that I wrote this in early April 2020. I must surely have posted it here at the time, but it’s been long enough that I thought some of you might enjoy seeing it again. So, in the interests of “are you better off now than you were four years ago?,” I share it once more:

    Some infected evening,
    Do not kiss a stranger:
    There will be a danger
    In every crowded room.

    Don’t venture too close,
    Don’t kiss and don’t hug,
    And don’t touch your face, or
    You may catch the bug.

    Each infected evening,
    COVID-19 hovers —
    Dive beneath the covers
    (After you’ve washed your hands);

    Self-quarantine now:
    Stay home in your room,
    And only reach out through
    Skype, FaceTime, or ZOOM.

    Anthony Fauci wants you to be well:
    Cover your face, and stock up on Purell.

    All infected evenings,
    Please to keep your distance —
    There is no resistance
    Within a six-foot range:

    Stay two yards apart,
    Don face mask and glove,
    And once this is over
    Embrace those you love.

    Once this has ended, on some future date —
    Once this has ended, we … can … cel … e … brate.

    — SD, 4/5/2020

  15. 15.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Got a booster yesterday – the Pfizer 1.5 XBB. Felt okay afterwards, only to face this morning with fatigue and a blinding headache. Still, better than the disease. Greece still offers them for free, though the vaccination centers have cut down their appointment hours, generally doing it once a week, on different days for different centers.

    As for tests, I’ve been able to get a 10-pack for six euro, and a 25-pack for 11 euro. (The latter is for my better half in Baltimore, who I suspect would have to pay about as much for a single self-test packet.)

  16. 16.

    TBone

    I’m really grateful for these posts AND really happy to see that Bernie Sanders has long COVID on his radar.  He’s like a terrier with teeth firmly attached to an ankle who will not let go, gawd bless ‘im.  Gives me hope and reminds me that this admin. does indeed care about all of us.

  17. 17.

    Doug R

    I’ve had raw milk from a cow on my uncle’s farm decades ago.

    UHT milk is a VERY good approximation and way safer.

  19. 19.

    bluefoot

    @Suzanne: ​
      The NYC public school system has run into this. With the COVID money from the federal government, they were trying to upgrade or install HVAC with HEPA filters in the schools but many didn’t have electrical systems that could support it. Not to mention being able to hire contractors and electricians that could do the necessary work.

  20. 20.

    Bill Arnold

    The R for even a novel influenza is about 1.6 (Current SARS=CoV-2 is more like 6+), so proper good masks will be very effective at blocking influenza spread, where used by a large percentage of the population.
    Which, realistically, will be in enclosed areas dominated by subpopulations not irrationally hostile to mask wearing, during significant community spread. But at the least, one can protect oneself and one’s household.

  22. 22.

    JaneE

    Just got another booster last week.  Now that they are recommending it for old folks, Kaiser is telling those in the recommended list to come in and get the shot.  Also making it more convenient by offering shots at more clinics, and of course, free.  At least under most plans and Medicare.  It looks like they are folding Covid into their normal vaccination procedures.  The flu still has big banners up to encourage flu shots, but they always did.   Also seeing more masks at the clinics on patients as well as workers.

  23. 23.

    RaflW

    Looking at that CDC map, and with my plan to visit cousins in the Kansas City area (specifically, the Johnson Co., KS side) with an overnight in Hays, KS to get there, I gotta ask: What’s the matter with Kansas?!

    (Didn’t realize Frank’s book on the rise of populist/’anti-elite’ conservatism is now 20 years old. It’s been a freakin’ slog. Even if KS did wake up enough to elect a Dem woman governor.)

  24. 24.

    Anomalous Cowherd

    Blegh –

    I’m being released today, two weeks after my symptoms showed up. I have a quadrantanopsia (loss of vision in 1/4 of my visual field), cannot drive a car or use my tractor. I was fully vaccinated and always masked up when I left the house. Still got the Trump virus. I am royally pissed at the Grand Old Plague rat party. Fuck them and their apologists. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
    I’m too pissed to write any more about this right now. I wish that stupid, fat, bloated manchild and his dupes would experience Spontaneous Human Combustion even if it might accelerate global warming. I am SO done with the Republican party and its feckless acolytes.
    Vote them out before they kill us all.

  25. 25.

    gwangung

    Did my booster a week or so back….felt slightly SLIGHTLY wobbly…was able to do a small workout, but got REAL tired afterwards….

    This is really acceptable in my book. Easy routine to maintain.

  26. 26.

    West of the Rockies

    Who is dying of Covid in the US?  500 deaths a day seems like a lot.  Is it immuno-compromised people, the elderly, the unvaccinated?

    Continued thanks for your weekly C19 reports, AL!

  28. 28.

    Interstadial

    Regarding H5N1,

    Vaccines and treatments are available should they ever become necessary

    That’s if people are willing to get vaccinated.  If this later turns into a pandemic there will be a lot of people who will refuse to get vaccinated, along with a lot of conspiratorial nonsense about the vaccine floating around to encourage them to not get the shot.

    It could be very bad.

  29. 29.

    Mart

    About ten years back I visited three egg farms in Nebraska and Iowa. Each farm had about 8 MILLION birds. When the bird flu hit in the early 00’s they sent 24 Million dead birds to landfill.

  30. 30.

    Bill Arnold

    @Anomalous Cowherd:

    I wish that stupid, fat, bloated manchild and his dupes would experience Spontaneous Human Combustion even if it might accelerate global warming.

    Technically, humans are carbon-neutral. Humans do not eat much fossil carbon (the kind where all carbon-14 is decayed); mostly they eat biosphere carbon.
    So no need to worry about that.

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