Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

He really is that stupid.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

We won’t go back.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

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

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus (& H5N1) Updates: September 4, 2024

COVID-19 Coronavirus (& H5N1) Updates: September 4, 2024

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Excellent news — assuming it pans out…


More details:

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In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that have become hallmarks of the disease, while also suppressing the body’s ability to clear the virus.

Importantly, the team also identified a new antibody therapy to combat all of these deleterious effects.

Published in Nature, the study by Gladstone Institutes and collaborators overturns the prevailing theory that blood clotting is merely a consequence of inflammation in COVID-19.

Through experiments in the lab and with mice, the researchers show that blood clotting is instead a primary effect, driving other problems—including toxic inflammation, impaired viral clearance, and neurological symptoms prevalent in those with COVID-19 and long COVID.

The trigger is fibrin, a protein in the blood that normally enables healthy blood coagulation, but has previously been shown to have toxic inflammatory effects. In the new study, scientists found that fibrin becomes even more toxic in COVID-19 as it binds to both the virus and immune cells, creating unusual clots that lead to inflammation, fibrosis, and loss of neurons.

“Knowing that fibrin is the instigator of inflammation and neurological symptoms, we can build a new path forward for treating the disease at the root,” says Katerina Akassoglou, Ph.D., a senior investigator at Gladstone and the director of the Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology at Gladstone and UC San Francisco.

“In our experiments in mice, neutralizing blood toxicity with fibrin antibody therapy can protect the brain and body after COVID infection.”…

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I try not to be cynical, really I do, but it feels an awful lot like as a society we’re systematically unlearning the good lessons from the pandemic and by the time the next one comes we’ll only be left with generalized resistance to taking any safety measures at all.

[image or embed]

— The Fig Economy (@figgityfigs.bsky.social) Sep 3, 2024 at 9:04 AM

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    38Comments

    1. 1.

      Baud

      New report of a nasal vaccine booster provides strong, durable #SARSCoV2 cross-variant protection—preventing infection— compared with shots in non-human primates

      This non-human primate is thrilled.

      Reply
    2. 2.

      Ramalama

      Has anyone told America’s Dairyland (Wisconsin briefly considered using the motto ‘Eat cheese or Die”) that California now produces the most dairy?

      Reply
    3. 3.

      TBone

      Thank you Anne Laurie!  Good news is so welcome and it is giving me hope (except for the last sentence about getting a patent for newly discovered antibody treatment – haven’t they heard of Jonas Salk?)

      There is a new variant of concern already, even more contagious: XEC

      https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-30/covid-new-subvariant-even-more-contagious

      Still in the middle of reading and digesting all of this good, and the some not so great, news.  Thank you!

      Reply
    4. 4.

      TBone

      Looks like Donvict and his new sniveling feal brain worm were successful 😡🤬

      Twenty-two percent believe the falsity that it’s less risky to get infected with COVID-19 than to get the vaccine, up from 10% in 2021.

      I wish we could provide video to the public of both of those fucks getting their vaccines and boosters, because you know they did.

      Reply
    5. 5.

      Matt McIrvin

      I’m trying to game out when to get my booster. Thinking about doing it a little later this time so I don’t get sick late in the winter season like I did the last two times. But maybe that’s a futile effort (protecting against infection altogether isn’t really the main goal here).

      Reply
    6. 6.

      lowtechcyclist

      @TBone:

      I wish we could provide video to the public of both of those fucks getting their vaccines and boosters, because you know they did.

      He was actually taking credit for the vaccine until he realized his base believed the vaccine was Fauci’s evil plan to kill us all, or whatever bizarre shit they believe about it.  Then he changed his tune.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      TBone

      My (admittedly limited) understanding of the first two articles has me confused – isn’t the first one talking about a new antibody treatment (which would be administered after confirmed infection) and the other talking about a neutralizing vaccine (administered before infection occurs)?  How are these connected?

      Reply
    9. 9.

      TBone

      @lowtechcyclist: I’m well aware of that and it adds much pain to the thorn in my paw.  Angry doesn’t begin to describe what I feel AND the less vaccine uptake occurs, the more at risk are us sane and sensible science believers!  I’m not snapping at you, just voicing my general frustration incandescent rage.

      Reply
    10. 10.

      Matt McIrvin

      @lowtechcyclist: So many people who should know better, probably even many who’d never vote for him, fall for Trump’s tough-guy bluster and don’t get what a fundamentally timid and reactive person he is. He still wants credit for being the bold leader on COVID but his position even on the vaccine is “sure, whatever you want to hear”.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Ohio Mom

      Getting my Covid vaccine on Friday. I was going to wait until October but I’m going to big memorial service at the end of the month.

      There will be people from all over, we’ll all be chatting and eating at the reception, and as the last post from Anne Laurie reminded me, the more people in a confined space, the higher your chances of getting Covid, plus apparently there is yet another surge in process.

      I’m still waiting until October for the flu shot though.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      TBone

      The article on fibrin makes me wanna get up and dance and sing today!  So important!  I have inflammation that just won’t quit, I get only a brief reprieve here and there before it returns even more vengefully.

      I could kiss you, Anne Laurie!

      https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-discovery-blood-clots-brain-body.html

      In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that have become hallmarks of the disease, while also suppressing the body’s ability to clear the virus.

      …

      …the study by Gladstone Institutes and collaborators overturns the prevailing theory that blood clotting is merely a consequence of inflammation in COVID-19.

      Reply
    14. 14.

      lowtechcyclist

      Matt Yglesias can go fuck himself.

      First of all, in early to mid 2020, there was so much we didn’t know about Covid, but bodies were piling up in refrigerator trucks because the morgues were overloaded.  We didn’t know if kids who weren’t coming down with Covid symptoms could still be carrying the disease, we didn’t know if they might be fine now but would turn out to have disastrous long-term effects, or what.

      Yes, millions of children lost a year of socialization.  As one who lost a good deal more than a year of socialization during my childhood, I know the effects are real and can sympathize.  But saying it did “incredible damage” to their lives is way overstating the effects, and at the time, we had to weigh that against the possibility that millions of children would either get Covid themselves, or transmit it to their parents.  (Losing a parent or two can do incredible damage to a child’s life, I’m told.)  And of course the risk that teachers would come down with Covid en masse – which far too many of them did, in those places that decided there was no need to shut down the schools, which is part of the reason we have a massive teacher shortage these days. And that is going to wreak ‘incredible damage’ on the quality of the education that many children will get. I’m sure Matt has an easy-peasy solution to that.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      lowtechcyclist

      @Baud:

      Some, but not all, of that is because the media and other elites let him get away with things.

      Indeed!  He flip-flops on everything from abortion to Covid vaccination, and they just give him a pass, while trying to nail Kamala on fracking.

      He’s a huckster who’s good at reading a crowd and giving it what it wants.  Apparently one of those crowds is the collective editors, pundits, and talking heads of our mainstream media.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      TBone

      Fibrin article:

      Looking ahead to such trials, Akassoglou says patients could be selected based on levels of fibrin products in their blood—a measure believed to be a predictive biomarker of cognitive impairment in long COVID.

      “The fibrin immunotherapy can be tested as part of a multipronged approach, along with prevention and vaccination, to reduce adverse health outcomes from long COVID,” Greene adds.

      HALLELUJAH!!!!

      Reply
    21. 21.

      hrprogressive

      So, the other person in my household finally got tagged with C19. Likely from a co-worker. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been WFH since March of 2020, but they had to go back last year, and it finally caught up to to them.

      They first noticed symptoms and a very faint (+) on Sunday. Mitigation efforts began immediately (masking, IAQ, isolation, etc).

      Today is technically “my day 3 of potential exposure” since my first day of learning about it was Sunday.

      As of this writing, I have not developed any symptoms, and feel okay. They started Paxlovid last night.

      I am cautiously optimistic that given the swift mitigation methods, I might avoid it. I am debating on testing tomorrow to see if I pop or not.

      I truly wouldn’t expect an “asymptomatic infection” after 4.5 years and 5 vaccinations to the damn thing, however, my understanding is that one needs to time their next shot based on their last infection. I was going to go get the new booster soon, but if for some reason it ends up tagging me too, I guess I’d need to wait?

      Anyway.

      It’s fascinating to me because as I noted in the prior thread, we’ve both been doing a lot closer to 2019-style living than ever before…seeing family, went to a wrestling event, ate out, etc. and hadn’t had any issues.

      But the greatest risk appeared to have been the “8 hours around other people who might be sick” as opposed to “less contact time with others who don’t appear to be sick”.

      Anyway.

      I fully understand there’s still a lot to be concerned about with getting any infection, which is why I’m still trying to avoid it during their infection. However, this isn’t 2020 or 2021, and after as many vaccinations as I’ve had, a super severe case and/or death from a single infection seems a lot less likely now for those of us < 40 with 5 jabs.

      To Be Continued, I suppose.

      Nasal Vax news is most, most welcome. Definitely needed, and wanted.

      Reply
    22. 22.

      satby

      Great round up of the really promising research, Anne Laurie! I’m especially hoping the one on fibrin continues to show such great results; the applications could go so much farther than Covid/long Covid.

      Unlike a lot of people, I’m intranasal medication averse compared to needles because of all the allergies, but if that vaccine pans out I will get it too. Though I’m as likely to waste it sneezing it right back out as getting any benefit from it 😆

      Reply
    23. 23.

      Wag

      @Matt McIrvin:

      Covid has proven to be a perennial virus, with waxing and waning degrees of infection throughout the year, and standing in stark contrast to the seasonality of influenza. As a recently retired primary care physician, I’m getting my Covid booster this afternoon.  I’ll wait until early October to get my annual flu shot.  

      Reply
    24. 24.

      sdhays

      @lowtechcyclist: He’s literally flip-flopping on ABORTION before their very eyes, and they say he’s “searching for a winning message”.

      I think this could be a potentially devastating set up for Harris in the upcoming debate. He vomits some word sausage (nothing as healthy as a salad) and then MVP says, “I’m not quite sure what Mr. Trump was trying to say there, but here is his record and his campaign’s stated position.” Highlights his incoherence and ties him down to his unpopular positions.

      He’s so used to being coddled that he relies on his nonsense being a super power. If she can backfire on him, he won’t know how to respond. So, probably a meltdown.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      Yarrow

      We’ve headed from a false summit toward a larger peak in back-to-school transmission.

      The back-to-school transmission is no joke. My neighbors traveled this summer several time to visit family and no one got Covid. Came home, kids went back to school and the kids got Covid the first week. Fortunately they didn’t get too sick but did miss several days of school.

      Reply
    26. 26.

      Matt McIrvin

      @lowtechcyclist: If I recall correctly, the loss in educational outcomes had no correlation with how long a school district stayed remote, suggesting that a lot of it was the general stress of attending school through a global pandemic. It seemed like people just assumed kids would be OK with it if they opened the schools and let it rip.

      At some point, we’re going to be hit with a pandemic much more lethal than COVID and it’s just going to rip through us because there will such huge political opposition to doing anything about it this time around. “Never give them two weeks again,” etc.

      Reply
    27. 27.

      moonbat

      Fantabulous news up top! Thanks for the update, AL! This is very good to know as I walk back into the classroom this week.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      Prescott Cactus

      Just got the triple play.  Same arm.

      Moderna – Spikevax

      GSK – RSV

      Seqirus – Flucelvax Trival 

      White Sox “Tragic Number” is now 13

      Reply
    31. 31.

      GregMulka

      My family and I got the new vaccine Saturday. I was tired Sunday and Monday. Felt like my sinuses were acting up. Get on my morning meeting Tuesday and half of the team is out or work from home because they have COVID. Just cold symptoms. I test after the meeting. Takes 15 seconds for the stripe to to turn pink. My uninfected streak is over. 3 out of 4 of us in the house tested positive and I suspect the youngest probably ran through it last week. Had a cold for a day, no fever. No other symptoms.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      Mart

      Wife and I were essential workers so early in line for the first shot. Did have to drive to the country to find them. Have a wedding coming up in a few weeks so just went for our ninth shot. Announced that to the crew at CVS. They were all gobsmacked that we were 100% on schedule. Like shouldn’t that be the norm?

      Reply
    33. 33.

      VFX Lurker

      Anne Laurie, thank you so much for keeping us up-to-date on COVID news.

      I scheduled my flu shot and my husband’s flu shot for September 14th. That way immunity kicks in before flu season starts in October.

      Still debating when to get our COVID shots — mid-October or mid-November. October is supposedly the “sweet spot” for getting the COVID shot, but mid-November would mark three months after our recent COVID infection. In 2022, Doctor Fauci waited three months after his infection before getting vaccinated. Maybe we will, too.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Harrison Wesley

      COVID, flu, TDap this a.m.  Tech asked if I wanted all 3 in 1 arm or 2 in one, 1 in the other.  I told him that I used to watch a lot of westerns and that I wanted 1 in each arm and the third right between the eyes.  He declined.

      Wasn’t a nasal vaccine produced in India a couple years ago? IIRC, they used research from Washington U. and developed and tested a vaccine.  Haven’t seen anything about that in a while.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      dc

      Good lord is Iglesias such an asshole. And the responder in the tweet is also misleading. Kids indeed were infected with the original strain of Covid, they did not often become symptomatic though. So not only did closing down in-person teaching save teachers (a very worthy goal as well as saving each teacher’s adult family members and other close contacts, and then their close contacts and so forth and so on with a contagious disease), it also saved all the kid’s adult family members from infection, because children are not islands only coming into contact with adults at school, they surprisingly do go home to other adults.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      BarcaChicago

      @Ramalama:  We know. Wisconsin is vast majority small, family-owned dairy farms and California has a lot more horrifying factory farms. Of course, we are losing family farms every year. I always make sure to buy Wisconsin dairy – Organic Valley is a good brand to look for.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      BarcaChicago

      Day 9 of my first bout of Covid. Have finished Paxlovid. Still have low grade fever, fatigue, sinus congestion, headache. No more body aches. The worst is diminished smell/taste – although it seems to be returning but I can’t taste much and what I do smell is distorted. Please let that part go away asap.

      Reply

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