… Administration officials have been working for months to increase access to Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription for Paxlovid. The FDA change will make thousands more pharmacies eligible to quickly prescribe and dispense the pill, which must be used early to be effective.
“Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment,” FDA drug center director Patrizia Cavazzoni, said in a statment.
Still, use could be limited by paperwork requirements. Patients are expected to bring their recent health records— including blood tests — and a list of their current medications so pharmacists can check for health conditions and medications that can negatively interact with Paxlovid. As an alternative, pharmacists can consult with the patient’s doctor.
Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill. That includes older people and those with other health issues like heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes that make them more vulnerable. It isn’t recommended for patients with severe kidney or liver problems. A course of treatment is three pills twice a day for five days…
This is good news, but: There’s a long list of medications, including OTC drugs and what some summaries delicately refer to as ‘herbals’, that can affect how Paxlovid works. If you’re on a regular prescription regimen, your pharmacy probably already has a list of your drugs, and at least for some chains an automated red-flag interaction notification. I’d certainly take Paxlovid if / when the ‘rona catches up with me — but I’ll be sure to read all the instructions, first!
The most transmissible coronavirus subvariant yet, BA.5, is threatening a new wave of infections in the U.S., even among those who recovered from the virus fairly recently. The risk from Covid is increasing in much of the country, according to the CDC. https://t.co/LRSQENUVXD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 7, 2022
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Broadening impact of BA.5 around the world pic.twitter.com/kkpT6Zgodr
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) July 6, 2022
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… The seven-day average of new cases has risen to the highest since February, signaling a new wave of infections in the South Asian nation. Bangladesh’s health system nearly collapsed during a Covid-19 wave last August.
The seven-day average rose to about 2,000 on Wednesday, more than double the number of cases two weeks ago, according to data from the health ministry. Before the current wave, which began in mid June, Bangladesh had not recorded a death from the virus since May and often went weeks without one.
The number of cases is rising because people are not wearing masks and some people have hesitated to get third dose of a vaccine, said Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, an epidemiologist and adviser at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research in Dhaka.
The Eid holidays, which begin on Saturday and last until July 13, could prove to be a superspreader event, experts say, as millions of people are expected to travel home and gather at mosques, markets and family celebrations.
“People are traveling to villages through overcrowded public transport,” said Be-Nazir Ahmed, an epidemiologist and a former director of Disease Control at the Directorate General of Health Services. “If the new wave spreads to remote areas, the elderly population will face a dangerous situation.”…
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Not *the* solution, but a piece of the solution jigsaw…
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Ed's fantastic article on addressing indoor air quality can be found here:https://t.co/YOK0CE6zyp
— Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) July 7, 2022
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Since I’ve seen the Tybee article mentioned in the comments — here’s part of a long, informative thread by an actual expert:
This article is making the rounds.
Sounds scary, right? Constant reinfections and no immunity! Plague doctor! Forever plague!!!
Too bad it is almost entirely poorly sourced, grossly misinterpreted, hyperbolic bullshit. pic.twitter.com/NgxfcXWtvP
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) July 6, 2022
Reader Interactions
44Comments
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NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
NYSDOH says 43 new cases for 7/6/22
60 new cases for 7/7/22
(PCR tests only).
We’re at 1908 deaths now, up 3 from last week.
New Deal democrat
Biobot updated yesterday, indicating an increase of near 10% in COVID in the past week, primarily in the Northeasr and South. There was a smaller increase in the Midwest, but a big decline in the West.
Nationwide cases declined to 102,300. Hospitalizations have continued to increase, to 38,300. Deaths rocket to 426, due to a data dump by OK, excluding which the number is 324.
None of the big States show any major increase in cases in the last week, including TX which previously had a tripling in cases. There were increases in some Southern States, including AL, MS, AR, MO, and also AZ.
By now BA.4&5 make up about 75% of all new US cases, but despite some Doomsaying, there was been no significant national increase whatsoever in either cases or deaths. The continued rise in hospitalizations is a concern, and a reminder to continue to take this disease seriously.
There has been no significant news in the past several days about BA.2.76, the newest variant of concern.
Kayla Rudbek
I had my fourth shot yesterday, and I did switch it up to Moderna after 3 Pfizer. My arm is still sore, and my muscles feel a bit stiff overall. But I’m not as cranky as I was yesterday and I don’t really have a headache any more. The pharmacy seemed a bit reluctant to give me a fourth shot, but I told them that I was immunocompromised (which I would argue is true w/ the breast cancer and radiation treatment in the last year)
Nicole
@Kayla Rudbek:
Good for you. I can’t get why pharmacies are making a fuss at all; it’s not like there’s a huge demand.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: Wastewater counts are still frustratingly flat in eastern Mass., with a lot of noise in the signal–there was a blip up in averages but it’s hard to tell if it’s real. It seems to me that BA.4 and BA.5 have drawn out the tail of our spring wave, though they’re not causing a huge spike on their own.
I see this persistent trickle of cases among family members of people I know, consistent with that. Generally minor and resolved in a few days with vaccinated/boosted people; if we weren’t worried about COVID the reaction would be “yeah, there’s some kind of bug going around.”
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Same here.
NotMax
FYI.
Matt McIrvin
@Nicole: They may just be following government guidelines, which recommend the second booster only for people over 50 and the immunocompromised.
(Personally I think they should extend this to all adults, but I’m not making the rules.)
daveNYC
Still not getting how China was willing to impose very strong controls on movement to try and stop COVID, but somehow doesn’t seem to have done nearly as much to get everyone vaccinated.
Ohio Mom
Thank you Anne Laurie for the take down of the Tybee article, I can now un-bookmark it with a giant sigh of relief.
@Kayla Rudbek: That is what I did, Moderna after three Pfizers. The pharmacist was not at all reluctant but I am old enough for Medicare and also have asthma.
However, I took the shot in my non-lymphedema arm, which is also my preferred sleeping side, and that resulted in two nights of fitful sleep as that arm was SORE. One’s life is never quite the same after BC, no matter how successful the treatment.
Ohio Mom
@Matt McIrvin: I think eventually all ages will be encouraged to take additional boosters.
I’m guessing that the health authorities are basing their recommendations partially on what they think will fly. No use in pushing second boosters if it’s going to cause a backlash against all boosters.
I read somewhere last year (maybe here or a link from here) that infections are science but pandemics are sociology.
Professor Bigfoot
Got my fourth Pfizer at the regular doc checkup (oh, the joy of my doc saying, “I can’t find anything to complain about!” ) on the 7/1, and was dragged and fatigued for a couple of days— the shingles in the other arm was pure moidah, I tells ya.
Awaiting delivery of a bunch of N95s after spending too many weeks not masking at all.
I’ve managed to dodge this shit so far; gotta keep that up.
evap
When I tested positive, I asked my doc about taking Paxlovid. She was willing to prescribe it, but said that they have noticed a “rebound effect” where symptoms go away and then come back. I am over 60, but otherwise have no risk factors for serious illness so I decided not to take it. I had only a couple of days of more than very mild symptoms. Meanwhile, my 29 year old daughter caught it and was really sick with fever and vomiting. She probably would have been helped by Paxlovoid.
Matt McIrvin
On Twitter particularly, there seems to be this split between vaccine boosters who happy-talk the effectiveness of vaccination to the point of underplaying the need for nonmedical interventions, and zero-COVID alarmists whose downplay the effectiveness of vaccines to the point that they end up fueling antivaxxerism even if they don’t intend that at all.
This “T-cell depletion” idea is a new one on me, though–seems to be one guy’s crankery.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 4,020 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, for a cumulative reported total of 4,586,322 cases. It also reported three deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,795 deaths – 0.78% of the cumulative reported total, 0.79% of resolved cases.
There were 33,839 active cases yesterday, 2,299 more than the day before. 1,158 were in hospital. 45 confirmed cases were in ICU; of these patients, 23 confirmed cases were on ventilators. Meanwhile, 1,718 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,516,688 patients recovered – 98.5% of the cumulative reported total.
4,011 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. Nine new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 11,475 doses of vaccine on 7th July: 343 first doses, 9,884 second doses, and 1,248 booster doses. The cumulative total is 71,301,952 doses administered: 28,046,673 first doses, 27,318,740 second doses, and 16,152,022 booster doses. 85.9% of the population have received their first dose, 83.7% their second dose, and 49.5% their booster dose.
mali muso
Well after avoiding it for the past two years, the rona finally got me. I’m vaccinated and boosted (just one booster as I’m in my early 40s and don’t have any of the risk factors to qualify for the second booster). Feels like a regular cold and took several days of symptoms before I got a positive test. I have been masked up in the interim just in case my “cold” was something else; didn’t want to be spreading whatever I had. Pretty sure I picked it up last weekend during my return trip from Portugal as I was in airports full of international travelers from everywhere. I’d like to mix it up and get a Moderna booster when and if I’m eligible for the next shot.
Nicole
@Matt McIrvin: No, I get it, but as there’s no indication of any harm, what’s the harm if there’s no real shortage?
In NYC you can sign up online and list your reason for getting the shot and the pharmacies don’t question. I got the 1st booster ahead of when my generally healthy cohort was eligible; I’ve had cancer, and while I currently have no evidence of disease, I just listed serious health condition (no specifics were asked) when I filled out the form online. Pharmacist asked no questions at the appointment other than which arm I wanted the shot in.
(My GP said I should get the booster when I asked about it so I figured if she had no issue with me jumping the queue, I shouldn’t either. ;) )
Matt McIrvin
@Nicole: I think it’s more that they’re being overcautious about vaccine side effects in the young. There may also be some banking against future scarcity caused by Republican fuckery in Congress (but vaccine stocks eventually expire so the utility of that is limited).
Matt McIrvin
…also, the government might want as many people as possible to be eligible for a new and improved Omicron booster in the fall, when they expect the next large wave to hit. But my attitude has been that avoiding a booster now just so you can get one later is relying on too many uncertainties.
New Deal democrat
@Matt McIrvin: I think we may be seeing a pattern whereby, if a new variant is too similar to the variant last circulating, it can’t gain traction. So by default in order to cause a new “wave,” a new variant must be sufficiently different from the dominant one from the past few months.
In the US, it has been those States least affected by BA.2.12.1 which have been most affected by BA.4&5. It seems pretty clear at this point that BA.4&5 are increasing only as fast as BA.2.12.1 fades. Similarly the big waves in other countries have been where there was no springtime BA.2.12.1 wave. I don’t think that has been a coincidence.
ant
Yeah, I don’t see why they can’t say “optional” for under 50 people. Let folks decide if they wish to be freshly boosted or not.
I’m 48, about 100 pounds overweight and a long time smoker. It’s been 8 months now since my 3 shot.
Ive not gotten sick from covid – at least never had a test come up positive – but I don’t want to get sick. You know?
I still feeling gun shy about getting another shot. Last November I got the 3rd pfizer shot and my 1st ever flu shot at the same time. And it gave me a weird side effect of swollen molar teeth. It changed my bite, with all four back molars getting loose and a great deal of pain. I ate a lot of Advil back then – went though like 4 big bottles of them. Lost weight too!
Anyway it finally went away after I got sick! I got a respiratory infection that started as a cough, then sinus congestion, and then just lingering smokers cough. 4 days in I tested negative with a home kit, and then was already on the mend at that point anyway. I think it was covid, but it didn’t really amount to much. No fever, no fatigue.
I know it was those shots that triggered that bite problem. I don’t want that again – waking up in the middle of the night in pain. It sucked.
Suzanne
@mali muso: Same thing with me…. I think I got it two weeks ago while traveling back from San Francisco because the airports are so crowded and no one is masking. I also have had one booster and don’t meet the criteria for the second. I feel mostly fine, but I do have a lingering (minor) sore throat. If I hadn’t been testing, I absolutely would have chalked this up to seasonal allergy.
Soprano2
@daveNYC: I still don’t get that either. They’re willing to do everything except make people get vaccinated!
Soprano2
That Tyee article explains why I saw a comment the other day that Covid can “completely destroy” your immune system. I agree that alarmism like that doesn’t help those of us who want people to take Covid seriously, because it’s pretty clear that’s just not true. This person also said that every time you get Covid it destroys 10% of your immune system!
pajaro
After two years of successful effort to fend it off, Ms. Pajaro and I have both gotten the virus. Between the two of us, we have one full set of BA 4/5 symptoms; she has the headache and fatigue, I’m going with the runny nose and bad cough, and we both have persistent sore throats. We’re both geezers, so we’re taking Paxlovid. She’s on day 4, I’m on day 2, but so far, the full set of vaccinations we’ve had and our meds give us hope that it won’t be any worse for us than it is now.
mali muso
@Suzanne: Did you manage to keep your family from coming down with it? Since I tested positive yesterday, I’ve been trying to be careful (masking indoors, going upstairs and keeping more to myself when possible) but it’s a little hard to “isolate” when you have kids. Husband is boosted, kiddo is vaccinated (and had a round of covid in January), so I’m hoping they will avoid getting it.
Matt McIrvin
@Soprano2: There’s this idea going around that everyone in the world except for hard isolators is eventually going to be permanently debilitated from dozens of repeated, possibly mild or undetected COVID infections. You can get there by making a whole string of assumptions with fragmentary support and extrapolating them, but there’s little evidence of this actually happening.
People *do* seem to get microscopic tissue damage from COVID infections, but the worst cases are from the worst infections. And there’s some gathering evidence that a lot of long COVID seems to actually be a persistent resident infection, which suggests that it’s treatable.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: Some of the places with the worst trouble now are the spots that had a relatively mild experience with the big Omicron wave of last winter.
Suzanne
@mali muso: No, the whole fam got it. I was most concerned about Spawn the Youngest, because she isn’t vaccinated, and SuzMom, because she’s older and has high blood pressure. Youngest had a moderate fever for two days, which we treated with OTC stuff per the doctor. By the time she tested positive, she was over it. SuzMom tested positive last Saturday and I got her Paxlovid. She finished it yesterday. She has been feeling pretty fatigued but otherwise okay.
This shit is contagious, y’all.
mali muso
@Suzanne: Well, boo. I’ll keep close tabs on both of them and hope they avoid it, but at this point, they’ve definitely been exposed plenty.
YY_Sima Qian
On 7/7 Mainland China reported 47 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic), 331 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 new domestic suspect cases, & 0 new deaths.
Guangdong Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (2 at Shenzhen & 1 at Jiangmen) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Shenzhen) cases. 1 of the cases at Shenzhen is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine, 1 via screening of residents in Medium/High Risk areas, & 4 via community screening. The case at Jiangmen was found via community screening. 3 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 14 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by jurisdictions, I cannot traced the active domestic cases in each jurisdictions due to multiple clusters at the same time. 6 sites at Shenzhen are currently at High Risk, & 6 at Medium Risk.
Fangchenggang in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both at Dongxing. 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Qionghai in Hainan Province reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both arriving from out of province & tested positive upon arrival, both had recovered from COVID-19 infections in the past. Curiously, such cases are generally not counted as new cases before.
At Wuhan in Hubei Province there currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 4 new domestic confirmed , all at Bayan Nur (3 at Urad Middle Banner & 1 at Wuyuan County). 3 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed (3 at Xilingol League, 8 at Bayan Nur, & 1 at Chifeng) & 5 active domestic asymptomatic (4 at Bayan Nur & 1 at Xilingol League) cases in the region. 4 sites at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur at Medium Risk.
Xi’an in Shaanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 6 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine, 2 via screening of residents in High Risk areas, & a person arriving from out of province & testing positive upon arrival. There currently are 14 active confirmed & 19 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 11 sites are currently at High Risk, & 11 at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 66 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Linyi) cases, 62 traced close contact under centralized quarantine & 5 via community screening. There is a cluster of cases among students & teachers at a middle school. 4 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 21 active domestic confirmed (all at Qingdao) & 95 domestic asymptomatic (20 at Qingdao & 75 at Linyi) cases. 2 sites at Qingdao are currently at High Risk, & 2 at Medium Risk. 7 sites at Linyi are currently at High Risk, & 10 at Medium Risk.
Yuncheng in Shanxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
Liaoning Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 6 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 42 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 8 sites at Dandong are currently at High Risk, & 9 sites at Medium Risk. 1 area at Dalian is currently at High Risk, & 1 area at Medium Risk.
Jilin Province did not report any new domestic positive cases.
Beijing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive. 2 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The municipality is not publishing the count of active domestic positive cases there. 5 sites are currently at High Risk, & 7 at Medium Risk.
Tianjin Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 7 sites are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 17 new domestic confirmed & 28 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine . There were 0 new deaths. 6 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 71 active domestic confirmed (none serious) in the city. The city is no longer publishing the number of active asymptomatic cases. 8 sites are currently at High Risk & 110 at Medium Risk.
Anhui Province reported 17 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 140 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 13 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 312 active domestic confirmed & 1,194 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed & 67 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 25 active domestic & 424 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. The clusters in the province are all seeded by the outbreak at Suzhou in Anhui.
Zhejiang Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
Fujian Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (2 at Ningde & 1 at Xiamen) & 14 new domestic asymptomatic (13 at Ningde & 1 at Fuzhou) cases. The case at Fuzhou arrived on 7/4 & testing positive on 7/6. 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. The case at Xiamen is a traced close contact of domestic positive cases elsewhere & under centralized quarantine. There currently are 14 active domestic confirmed (13 at Ningde & 1 at Xiamen) & 47 active domestic asymptomatic (45 at Ningde & 1 each at Fuzhou & Zhangzhou) cases in the province. 42 sites in Ningde are currently at High Risk, & 23 at Medium Risk. 2 sites at Zhangzhou are currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk.
Sichuan Province did nor report any new domestic positive cases. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
At Yunnan Province there currently are 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 7/7, Mainland China reported 50 new imported confirmed cases (4 previously asymptomatic), 50 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in Mainland China, 36 confirmed cases recovered (23 imported), 77 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (45 imported) & 7 were reclassified as confirmed cases (4 imported), & 6,539 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 870 active confirmed cases in the country (357 imported), 2 in serious/critical condition (both domestic), 2,403 active asymptomatic cases (386 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 68,603 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 7/7, 3,406.557M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 745K doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 7/7 Macau reported 88 positive case, 44 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 44 via community screening.
On 7/7 Hong Kong added 2,945 new positive cases, 197 imported & 2,748 domestic (1,035 via RT-PCR & 1,713 from rapid antigen tests), 3 deaths (64 – 85 y.o., all fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted).
On 7/7, Taiwan added 30,477 new positive cases, 163 imported & 30,314 domestic (including 311 moderate or serious). There were 131 new deaths (ages ranging from 20+ y.o. to 90+ y.o., actual dates of death range from 5/14 – 7/5, 127 having a range of underlying conditions, 49 fully vaccinated & boosted).
YY_Sima Qian
@daveNYC:
@Soprano2:
Just look at the popular backlash when the city of Beijing tried to implement a vaccine mandate to access public venues, likely in an attempt to increase uptake among the stubbornly resistant cohorts (who also tend to be the most vulnerable). I don’t understand that sentiment myself, but I suppose the thinking is any kind of lock downs due to outbreaks are temporary, will be reversed when the outbreak is eliminated. Deaths due to complications from vaccination, however rate, are not reversible. It shows that most people still believe in the effectiveness of the “Dynamic COVID Zero” policies, even against Omicron. In the rest of the world you get vaccinated or you get infected w/o any protection. There will be interest PhD theses about the popular mass psychologies in a pandemic, under different response regimes.
At least the elders in my extended family are all vaccinated, most boosted.
Suzanne
@mali muso: I’m hearing that the newer variant is almost as contagious as measles. That’s ungood.
Matt McIrvin
@YY_Sima Qian: I know I can personally put up with much more if I think it’s a temporary adjustment. I was a pretty fanatic isolator for the first year of the pandemic to the point that it caused a lot of friction in my family. But I put up with it because I knew the efforts to develop a vaccine were going well and that there would be some endpoint, sooner rather than later, when I could get vaccinated.
That was what made the rise of variants that could propagate through breakthrough transmission in vaccinated populations so frustrating. Suddenly this was a marathon with no end in sight. At this point, I’m pretty much reconciled to the idea that COVID with the frequency of outbreaks we’re experiencing now will be with us forever, and anything I do to avoid COVID infection is the set of measures I will have to adopt for the rest of my life. And that makes hardcore responses–cut this or that activity out of my life forever–much harder to accept.
(I remember some people adopting this fatalistic “it’s forever, so the hell with it” attitude way back in 2020. I thought that was wrong simply because the vaccines were coming.)
If there’s something like a much better vaccine that stops all coronavirus transmission, that will change my attitude. But while there are promising efforts underway, I’m not betting on anything being quite that good. Anything really substantially different is probably years off at least.
Ruckus
I got my 2nd booster (Moderna) the first week of April and my first shot in January 2021. The first 3 were Pfizer. No one has ever questioned me why, or that I need any reason or restrictions in getting any of the shots, other than the time inbetween, which has always been over the minimum required.
I still mask up indoors in public. I’d say that it seems like about 50% do wear masks here in SoCal.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Greece: not the best of weeks. Friday’s numbers: 18,948 new cases, 22 deaths, 101 intubated ICU patients. Down a bit from the Tuesday spike of 25,875, but still concerning to me, because that ICU number appears to be climbing again, after dipping below 100 in the middle of the week.
randal m sexton
Sharing my experience for what its worth: I’m male, 65 years old, took my last paxlovid dose last night, now trying to work out when I leave quarantine. I have had 2 doses of moderna, one moderna booster, one pfizer booster. Its a bit difficult to tell how I got it, have been double masking in all crowded situations, EXCEPT for the march I did after the Dobbs ruling — I wanted my face shown in the small rural community I live in. It was also exposed to someone after they concluded their paxlovid treatment, and after they tested negative, but then 5 days after that they tested positive for a day with no symptoms.
By the way, it took 3 days after symptoms for me to test positive. It seems the rapid tests accuracy is either off or slow, and I am not sure as to how it correlates with infectiousness.
Jay
@Soprano2:
that comment came from me, I am glad that Anne Laurie pointed to the debunking of some of the claims and posted them here. I tried to send her the article when it was first posted, but “mail fail”, contact a front pager didn’t work.
Jay
@randal m sexton:
they recommend that you wait three days after the onset of symptoms before taking a self test.
I would suspect that unlike the PCR tests, which can be highly sensitive to the viral load, ( including dead virus being shedded) the home tests are not as sensitive.
Bill Arnold
@Matt McIrvin:
There is this VA study, fairly large, that shows that reinfection is correlated with more long covid.
It is a large US Department of Veterans Affairs retrospective study, on risks of additional long covid from reinfection. It is a preprint though related to the other few large long-COVID VA studies. See the figures (mostly figure 5) for the increases in risk ration per infection. The risk is not proportional to the number of infections, but it does increase with number of infections.
Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection (Ziyad Al-Aly, Benjamin Bowe, Yan Xie, 17 Jun, 2022, preprint, authors have peer-reviewed publications on cardiovascular covid outcomes)
randal m sexton
@Jay: Now I’m trying to work out when my infectiousness period will be done — Opinions vary, data scarce.
Johnny C. Lately
a lot of talk today about the VA study on reinfections
it is very sobering, but it also draws on a pre-omicron cohort of VHA users from March 1, 2020 to September 4, 2021 (look in the supplementary materials .docx file)
so it remains to be seen if omicron or its descendants have similar added risks with reinfection
YY_Sima Qian
On 7/8 Mainland China reported 67 new domestic confirmed (6 previously asymptomatic), 304 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 new domestic suspect cases, & 0 new deaths.
Guangdong Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed (5 at Guangzhou & 1 at Maoming) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic (1 each at Guangzhou & Shenzhen) cases. 5 of the cases at Guangzhou recently returned from domestic travel on 7/5, tested positive on 7/8, & the last case is a traced close contact. The case at Shenzhen was found via screening of residents in Medium/High Risk areas. The case at Maoming is aa traced close contact of domestic positive cases reported at Guangzhou. 1 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by jurisdictions, I cannot traced the active domestic cases in each jurisdictions due to multiple clusters at the same time. 7 sites at Shenzhen are currently at High Risk, & 8 at Medium Risk. 1 site at Guangzhou is currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk.
Fangchenggang in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Dongxing. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 11 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Qionghai in Hainan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
At Wuhan in Hubei Province there currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 5 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) cases, all at Bayan Nur (3 at Urad Middle Banner & 1 at Wuyuan County). 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 13 active domestic confirmed (all at Bayan Nur) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (2 at Bayan Nur & 1 at Xilingol League) cases in the region. 4 sites at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur at Medium Risk.
Xi’an in Shaanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. There currently are 16 active confirmed & 29 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 11 sites are currently at High Risk, & 10 at Medium Risk.
Lanzhou in Gansu Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 1 via regular screening of persons in high risk occupations & 4 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 2 sites at Lanzhou are currently at High Risk, & 2 at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Weihai) & 45 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Linyi) cases. All of the cases at Linyi are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The case at Weihai came from Shanghai on 7/7 & tested positive upon arrival. 3 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed (18 at Qingdao & 1 at Weihai) & 139 domestic asymptomatic (19 at Qingdao & 120 at Linyi) cases. 2 sites at Qingdao are currently at High Risk, & 2 at Medium Risk. 7 sites at Linyi are currently at High Risk, & 12 at Medium Risk.
Yuncheng in Shanxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
At Liaoning Province 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 39 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 8 sites at Dandong are currently at High Risk, & 9 sites at Medium Risk. 1 area at Dalian is currently at High Risk, & 1 area at Medium Risk.
At Jilin City in Jilin Province 4 domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 9 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Beijing Municipality reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. The municipality is not publishing the count of active domestic positive cases there. 5 sites are currently at High Risk, & 7 at Medium Risk.
Tianjin Municipality reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 6 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 10 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 9 sites are currently at High Risk, & 8 at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 11 new domestic confirmed & 48 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 58 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 via community screening (at Pudong New Area). There were 0 new deaths. 3 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 79 active domestic confirmed (none serious) in the city. The city is no longer publishing the number of active asymptomatic cases. 10 sites are currently at High Risk & 150 at Medium Risk.
Anhui Province reported 25 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 114 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 6 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 335 active domestic confirmed & 1,298 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed & 71 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 3 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 29 active domestic & 494 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not separate recoveries by jurisdictions, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases at the different jurisdictions, due to the simultaneous outbreaks in different locations.
Zhejiang Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both at Hangzhou, 1 via community screening & 1 at fever clinic. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
Fujian Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (2 at Ningde & 1 at Zhangzhou) & 18 new domestic asymptomatic (12 at Ningde & 3 each at Putian & Zhangzhou) cases. All of the cases at Zhangzhou are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The cases at Putian came from Nanchang in Jiangxi on 7/7 & tested positive upon arrival. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed (15 at Ningde & 1 each at Xiamen & Zhangzhou) & 65 active domestic asymptomatic (57 at Ningde, 4 at Zhangzhou, 3 at Putian & 1 at Fuzhou) cases in the province. 45 sites in Ningde are currently at High Risk, & 26 at Medium Risk. 2 sites at Zhangzhou are currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk.
At Sichuan Province 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
At Yunnan Province there currently are 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 7/8, Mainland China reported 45 new imported confirmed cases (6 previously asymptomatic), 39 imported asymptomatic cases, 2 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 44 confirmed cases recovered (23 imported), 69 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (39 imported) & 12 were reclassified as confirmed cases (6 imported), & 7,352 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 938 active confirmed cases in the country (379 imported), 1 in serious/critical condition (both domestic), 2,666 active asymptomatic cases (379 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 70,888 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 7/8, 3,407.361M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 804K doses in the past 24 hrs. As of 7/7, 1,295.626M individuals have taken at least 1 shot (91.9% of the total population), 1,261.908M individuals are fully vaccinated (89.51% of the total population), 793.279M individuals have been boosted (56.27% of the overall population). Among the > 60 y.o. cohort, 234.029M individuals have taken at least 1 shot (88.64% of the cohort), 221.218M individuals are fully vaccinated (83.78% of the cohort), 173.483M individuals boosted (65.71% of the cohort).
On 7/8 Macau reported 71 positive case, 59 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 12 via community screening.
On 7/8 Hong Kong added 2,995 new positive cases, 204 imported & 2,791 domestic (1,104 via RT-PCR & 1,687 from rapid antigen tests), 0 deaths.
On 7/8, Taiwan added 28,135 new positive cases, 107 imported & 28,028 domestic (including 196 moderate or serious). There were 94 new deaths (ages ranging from 30+ y.o. to 90+ y.o., actual dates of death range from 5/14 – 7/5, 127 having a range of underlying conditions, 31 fully vaccinated & boosted).
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On 7/9 Mainland China reported 65 new domestic confirmed (12 previously asymptomatic), 279 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 new domestic suspect cases, & 0 new deaths.
Guangdong Province reported 17 new domestic confirmed (11 at Maoming & 1 each at Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang & Zhongshan) & 8 new domestic asymptomatic (3 at Jiangmen, 2 each at Foshan & Shenzhen, & 1 at Guangzhou) cases. All of the cases at Maoming are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 of the cases at Guangzhou is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine & the other was found via screening of residents in Medium/High Risk areas. 2 of the cases at Shenzhen are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 via community screening. The cases at Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhanjiang are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The cases at Yangjiang & Zhongshan were found at fever clinics. 1 domestic confirmed & 6 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 35 active domestic confirmed & 32 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by jurisdictions, I cannot traced the active domestic cases in each jurisdictions due to multiple clusters at the same time. 12 sites at Maoming are currently at High Risk, & 11 at Medium Risk. 9 sites at Shenzhen are currently at High Risk, & 11 at Medium Risk. 6 sites at Foshan are currently at High Risk, & 4 at Medium Risk. 2 sites at Guangzhou are currently at High Risk, & 4 at Medium Risk. 4 sites at Jiangmen are currently at High Risk, & 10 at Medium Risk. 1 site at Zhongshan is currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk. 2 sites at Zhanjiang are currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk. 1 site at Yangjiang is currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk. 1 site at Dongguan is currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk
Fangchenggang in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 3 new domestic asymptomatic case, all at Dongxing. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 14 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Hainan Province reported 7 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Haikou, all traced close contacts of domestic positive cases reported at Guangzhou in Guangdong, or their close contacts. There currently are 9 active domestic asymptomatic (7 at Haikou & 2 at Qionghai) cases in the province. 1 site at Haikou is currently at High Risk, & 3 at Medium Risk.
At Wuhan in Hubei Province there currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 9 new domestic confirmed cases, all at Bayan Nur. 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed (all at Bayan Nur) & 2 active domestic asymptomatic (both at Bayan Nur) cases in the region. 4 sites at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Urad Middle Banner & 2 at Wuyuan County in Bayan Nur at Medium Risk.
Xi’an in Shaanxi Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both new positive cases are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 16 active confirmed & 29 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 9 sites are currently at High Risk, & 11 at Medium Risk.
Lanzhou in Gansu Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed & 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases, traced close contacts under centralized quarantine or via screening of residents in Medium/High Risk areas. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed & 9 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 2 sites at Lanzhou are currently at High Risk, & 2 at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 9 new domestic confirmed (7 previously asymptomatic) & 55 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Linyi, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 2 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 26 active domestic confirmed (16 at Qingdao, 9 at Linyi, & 1 at Weihai) & 186 domestic asymptomatic (18 at Qingdao & 168 at Linyi) cases. 2 sites at Qingdao are currently at High Risk, & 2 at Medium Risk. 19 sites at Linyi are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Medium Risk.
Yuncheng in Shanxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
Zhumadian in Henan Province reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 1 found via voluntary screening & 3 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 5 sites are currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk.
At Liaoning Province 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 37 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 1 site at Dandong remains at High Risk, & 11 sites at Medium Risk. 1 area at Dalian is currently at High Risk, & 1 area at Medium Risk.
At Jilin City in Jilin Province there currently are 9 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Beijing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The municipality is not publishing the count of active domestic positive cases there. 5 sites are currently at High Risk, & 7 at Medium Risk.
Tianjin Municipality reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 8 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 9 sites are currently at High Risk, & 7 at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 5 new domestic confirmed & 52 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 56 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 via community screening (at Songjiang District). There currently are 84 active domestic confirmed (none serious) in the city. The city is no longer publishing the number of active asymptomatic cases. 13 sites are currently at High Risk & 186 at Medium Risk.
Anhui Province reported 11 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 71 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 9 domestic confirmed & 32 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 338 active domestic confirmed & 1,334 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed & 59 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed & 21 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 31 active domestic & 532 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not separate recoveries by jurisdictions, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases at the different jurisdictions, due to the simultaneous outbreaks in different locations.
Zhejiang Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Zhoushan) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic (1 each at Hangzhou & Shaoxing) cases. The cases at Shaoxing & Zhoushan are both recent arrivals form out of province, 1 tested positive upon arrival & 1 via community screening. The case at Hangzhou is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
Fujian Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (previously asymptomatic, at Ningde) & 7 new domestic asymptomatic (6 at Ningde & 1 at Fuzhou) cases. The case at Fuzhou is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. There currently are 18 active domestic confirmed (16 at Ningde & 1 each at Xiamen & Zhangzhou) & 71 active domestic asymptomatic (62 at Ningde, 4 at Zhangzhou, 3 at Putian & 2 at Fuzhou) cases in the province. 46 sites in Ningde are currently at High Risk, & 26 at Medium Risk. 2 sites at Zhangzhou are currently at High Risk, & 1 at Medium Risk.
Nanchang in Jiangxi Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all traced close contacts of domestic positive cases reported at Putian in Fujian. 5 site are currently at High Risk, & 5 at Medium Risk.
At Sichuan Province . As the province does not break down recoveries by imported & domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
At Yunnan Province there currently are 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 7/9, Mainland China reported 36 new imported confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic), 40 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 35 confirmed cases recovered (18 imported), 94 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (26 imported) & 15 were reclassified as confirmed cases (3 imported), & 6,223 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,004 active confirmed cases in the country (397 imported), 0 in serious/critical condition, 2,876 active asymptomatic cases (390 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 79,231 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 7/9, 3,407.945M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 584K doses in the past 24 hrs. As of 7/7, 1,295.626M individuals have taken at least 1 shot (91.9% of the total population), 1,261.908M individuals are fully vaccinated (89.51% of the total population), 793.279M individuals have been boosted (56.27% of the overall population). Among the > 60 y.o. cohort, 234.029M individuals have taken at least 1 shot (88.64% of the cohort), 221.218M individuals are fully vaccinated (83.78% of the cohort), 173.483M individuals boosted (65.71% of the cohort).
On 7/9 Macau reported 93 positive case, 59 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 34 via community screening.
On 7/9 Hong Kong added 2,992 new positive cases, 219 imported & 2,773 domestic (1,194 via RT-PCR & 1,579 from rapid antigen tests), 2 deaths (70 & 85 y.o.).
On 7/9, Taiwan added 27,844 new positive cases, 76 imported & 27,708 domestic (including 208 moderate or serious). There were 71 new deaths (ages ranging from 20+ y.o. to 90+ y.o., 70 having a range of underlying conditions, 20 fully vaccinated & boosted).