COVID is back, says French PM

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Tuesday that "the COVID epidemic is starting again" and called for preventative measures.

Borne said that more than 40,000 cases are being detected every day at the moment, while "an increase of almost 10 percent in hospitalizations, 22 percent increase in hospitalizations in critical care and 400 deaths from COVID" was observed last week.

"This new wave reminds us: The virus has not disappeared, the epidemic strikes again, kills again," she added.

The prime minister stressed that hospitals are facing additional pressure due to an epidemic of bronchiolitis as well as the flu season.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/french-pm-warns-covid-19-coronavirus-returns-recommends-wearings-masks-in-public-transport/

[elleng]

1. I was interviewed by CDC today. 'We're' on it.

[Justice matters.]

20. Posting up-thread here: Link to FDA-information about Bivalent vaccines.

https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-bivalent-vaccine-boosters

Everyone must tell everybody to wear a mask outside and indoors in public!

[elleng]

21. Thanks

[Orrex]

2. The most important thing is to keep the economy open, just like last time

Because, in the end, is life worth living if billionaires are raking in slightly less on a given day?

[brooklynite]

6. Or if the blue collar workers aren't raking in anything at all?

[Orrex]

7. You're right--better that they become sick and either die or infect others

Excellent point. Thanks for chiming in as always.

[brooklynite]

9. Plenty of people are vaccinated and not at risk. Plenty more can be if they choose to.

Do you really think President Biden and the Democratic Governors are going to lock us down again? Or are they in the pocket of those billionaires?

[Orrex]

11. You're trying to maneuver me into answering in a way that will seem like bashing Democrats

Biden and Democratic governors aren't particularly in the pocket of billionaires, but that is separate from my initial assertion. Here we see you engaging in one of your beloved tactics of convenient wiggle-room: if I hold you to your literal meaning, you'll squawk that you're being figurative (probably with some condescending jab about my reading comprehension); if I reply with equally figurative language, you'll object that my statement isn't literally correct.

Gosh, it's almost as though you think I've never read your posts before.

Biden and Democratic governors won't lock us down again for two reasons:

1. There was no real "lock down" to begin with, so we can't be locked down "again."
2. There is no political will to initiate a shutdown

And you're wildly ill informed if you think that vaccinated people are not at risk. At reduced risk, perhaps, but still at risk of illness and longterm consequences. And they can certainly convey the illness to vulnerable people and even to unvaccinated people who, though stubborn and misguided, don't deserve to die.

Perhaps you think otherwise.

[progree]

14. For age 65+ that are fully vaxxed + twice boosted, the risk is about 54 Covid deaths per 100,000

per year, about 4.6 times the vehicle accident fatality rate of this age group.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3000544

For the week of 9/3/22, the latest week on this graph.
Links in above DU URL.

[Orrex]

16. What's the fatality rate for immune-compromised people?

Or don't they count?
Also, it's interesting that we have the numbers that you cite, considering that no agencies are maintaining an active tally of ongoing covid cases, both because many states/counties have simply stopped and because many people are home-testing without reporting the results. How do you account for these unknowable figures?

And let's see some hard numbers on the long term health effects of covid, even on the vaccinated.

Some discussion here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=786511

The overwhelming sentiment, here and elsewhere, is that the trifling inconvenience of masks and reduced public gatherings is absolutely unacceptable, and it's no biggie if anyone dies or is sickened as a direct result.

[littlemissmartypants]

23. Hear! Hear! ❤️

[BumRushDaShow]

29. "How do you account for these unknowable figures?"

At this point, you are forced to rely on trend lines and what probably would be (and generally are) reported for the more severe outcomes - the hospitalizations and deaths. With a triple set of viruses circulating, those admitted to hospitals would likely be tested for all 3 (and that would capture the COVID-19 stats). IOW, that ends up becoming the "signal" that can be detected above the positive cases "noise".

PA is still updating but does it once a week and Philly is doing some kind of data update every other week, but it's like a scavenger hunt to find the data.

I expect that the incidences of long covid are going to primarily come from researchers until more in the medical community get a better handle on it enough to prompt the public health agencies to develop something to track it. This would also require some back-data gathering to the beginning of the pandemic to get a fuller picture of the common long-term maladies as some eventually resolve, and others like loss of taste/smell, have lead to various therapies designed to help people regain those senses.

[progree]

34. In that post, I only reported on the deaths, not on the cases

When I do report on cases, I try hard to remember to specify "reported cases". If reported cases are trending up, as they are in the U.S. and the world currently, that is bad news, given the general trend of a declining percentage of the cases being reported.

Anyway, I'm assuredly not one of the Covid bubbly boo brigade that posts about how fine things are, as long as we're vaxxed and boosted, and the rest can fuck off and die as many here do. I wrote my post to support what you were saying that it is not riskless by showing, according to the stats, that Covid deaths for the fully vaxxed and boosted elderly are still several times their vehicle crash fatality rate. Obviously if covid deaths are being seriously undercounted, then the multiple of actual covid deaths to vehicle fatalities is even worse. Some say covid deaths are being overcounted by ascribing the cause of death to Covid when they died with Covid, not because of it. EDIT: I don't doubt that that's true, but the reverse also happens -- their cause of death is abscribed to something else, but Covid exacerbated it enough to cause the other condition to be fatal.

In my post above, I linked to this post, https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3000544 , I said

So those "smartest people in the room" types that constantly console us that we're perfectly safe and everything is fine if we are keeping up with our boosters are, well, right if one considers 4.5 times the auto crash fatality rate to be perfectly fine

At 4.6X the auto fatality rate, I don't feel perfectly safe. But I'll admit I'm a tentative driver, not a "real man" driver like I am supposed to be.

Back to covid -- I don't want the hospitalization risk and the long covid risk either.

As a progressive, I don't want to be responsible for spreading the damn thing around or aiding in the development of new mutations. But I realize that's a silly "woke" personality glitch of mine.

And I don't want to blow off the risk to the unvaxxed immunocompromised who are following sound medical advice and wish them all dead.

Edit: Covid deaths for the elderly are still several times the vehicle crash fatality rate. ==>

Covid deaths for the fully vaxxed and boosted elderly are still several times their vehicle crash fatality rate.

[Orrex]

36. I apologize; I misread your intent

Last edited Wed Nov 30, 2022, 01:25 PM - Edit history (1)

But thank you for the follow up.

[progree]

38. 😊 No problem, I'm glad to have a chance to clear it up, and for others who read it

that might have gotten the same impression.

[littlemissmartypants]

22. ❤️

[oldsoftie]

30. China has proven that lockdowns don't work. Yes, keep the economy open.

It was a good idea to try at the time, but Covid simply is not going away like we had HOPED back then.

[louis-t]

3. Which means we will soon see an uptick here.

I watch Michigan stats every day. Had a spike a few weeks ago but trending lower right now. My Mom just got over it. Most of the cousins on her side had it and her last living sister had it right before she died.

[Blues Heron]

5. Total US cases have been rising slowly now for several weeks

This is from the CDC data tracker

week ending - total new cases
11/23 - 305,082
11/16 - 281,691
11/09 - 290,879
11/02 - 274,451
10/26 - 262,483
10/19 - 261,423

Be safe!

[progree]

10. Worldwide: Daily new cases (moving 7 day averages): +66% in the last 27 days

Last edited Wed Nov 30, 2022, 11:58 AM - Edit history (1)

7 day moving average of reported daily new cases
Nov 2: 319,858
Nov 29: 531,527
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-cases.html
(no paywall, no quota)

14 day change is +41%.

An astonishing spike-up in Europe (see the graph "Cases by Region" just below the top graph)
From 18 to 27 per 100k in just one day (Nov 28 to Nov 29) ... credible?

Edited to add 11/30 1058a ET - just to emphasize that reported cases are small fraction of all cases.

[Blues Heron]

13. Maybe they got a data dump that manifested as a sharp spike

Definitely not good news, going in the wrong direction all over the place.

[progree]

15. Yes, it's been heading up concerningly for nearly a month even without the spike/nt

[AllaN01Bear]

4. never left . and will be here for a long time as we have stoopid people .

[SoCalDavidS]

8. This!! nt

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. You're on your own- politics overrules public health. Nt

[Jacson6]

17. Covid has never gone away. Get vaccinated and get any boosters you need if you are over 50 or

have any immunocompromising disease.

[BigmanPigman]

18. I noticed that since I follow Worldometers.

It has been almost 3 years since it started and we all said, at least the realistic scientists said, that this would take 3-4 years to get through. Japan's Covid is rising again as well as other countries and it is NOT over, no matter how much Bill Maher and his "I'm done with Covid guests". DUers acknowledged back when this started it would take this long to get it done. I saved the posts.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

I wear a N95 every time I go out since I know others don't mask anymore (I have eyes) and I will protect myself as much as possible. My immune system sucks and I do NOT want to get this crap into my system. It's every man out for himself in this world and my primary care doctor agreed and supports my actions. I will continue to listen to my doctors and fuck everyone else and their two cents.

[Justice matters.]

19. Yet, like 99% still don't wear masks outside and inside in public here!

I resumed wearing a mask on October 28, even if I am vaccinated + 4 boosters (the last one was Moderna's Bivalent BA. 1) and plan to get the next booster in February).

People should at the very least wear masks and get their boosters in time!

[leftstreet]

24. The CDC says we don't need them

Essentially. They lifted the mandate and basically said yOu dO yoU

disgusting

[wishstar]

25. Yup, spouse and I are now going through it for first time despite being fully vaxxed and boosted

Spouse tested positive and is on Paxlovid while I have slight cold symptoms but testing negative so far. But have to admit we got lax about mask wearing since we were told that cases were very low in our blue area of WNC so I highly recommend everyone keep wearing masks and avoid indoor social gatherings.

[Skittles]

26. can't imagine why it would make a comeback

oh that's right, all the stupid fucking assholes running around pretending it's gone...

[truthisfreedom]

27. Order N95/KN95 masks while you can

And get your boosters if you haven’t.

[GoneOffShore]

28. Just tested negative this AM after spending over a week isolating.

Both Mrs GoS and I are fully vaxxed and boosted(plus flu shots). I was due to get my fifth booster last Friday, but came down with symptoms and a positive test last Wednesday.

Not fully recovered: i.e. still fatigued. Cough has gone, but there is the occasional sniffle.

We'll be wearing N95 masks in closed places for the next week or so.

[Javaman]

31. it actually never left but you know...nt

[IronLionZion]

32. Always around the holidays

as people gather indoors together with house parties and family dinners.

There's bronchiolitis now too? Is that different from RSV? We just can't catch a break from these respiratory viruses.

[IronLionZion]

33. 6.6 million deaths worldwide. 1.1 million deaths in the US

1 out of every 6 people in the world who died from COVID is American. Seems a bit disproportionate by population. 1 out of every 330 Americans has died of COVID.

Get boosted and mask up DUers. We may have fewer conservatives next election.

[helpisontheway]

35. Figures..Right after I purchased plane tickets for France

Our flight is mid March. A lot can change between now and then. Held out traveling overseas for a long time. Oh well..we will see if it works out. We are fully vaxxed and wear high quality masks every single time we go out. Never stopped wearing our masks. And we don’t eat indoors in restaurants. We have been on a few long flights with High quality masks.

[Raftergirl]

37. I never see people mentioning Plaxlovid in these threads.

It prevents serious illness, hospitalization and death. Many doctors are not prescribing it for some bizarre reason and people aren’t even asking for it because they are scared of rebound (which can occur without taking Plaxovid.)

Many deaths in the US would be prevented if people took Plaxovid. Even if your symptoms are initially mild and you think why bother, that can change and you have missed the 5 day window needed to take Plaxlovid.

Also, a study is out that it also helps prevent long Covid.

https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/researcher-paxlovid-game-changer-treatment-covid-19

[RobinA]

39. I Believe The

bizarre reason is the side effects.

[Raftergirl]

40. Do you mean the metallic taste or the rebound?

I would ask would people rather be hospitalized because symptoms have gotten so bad or perhaps die than have to deal with metallic taste for 5 days?

As for rebound, that is a feature of the virus, not Plaxovid.

Researchers found that when patients received a placebo instead of treatment, a portion of them still experienced a rebound of their symptoms after they had initially improved.

“Symptom return is common,” said Dr. Davey Smith, the chief of infectious diseases and global public health at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, who led the study. “It doesn’t mean that things are going south. It’s just the natural way the disease goes.” What is surprising, however, is how many people may experience a rebound, he said.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/well/live/covid-symptoms-rebound-paxlovid.html

I listen to the pod This Week in Virology. I suggest to everyone I know they should listen to it. They discuss all the latest research and what they are seeing on the ground in hospitals.

They have been appalled that so many doctors are not prescribing it as it significantly reduces serious illness, hospitalization and death.

They also are appalled at the number of doctors who prescribe steroids (a huge No No the first week of illness) and prescribe antibiotics.

We are so fortunate to have a great treatment and that it is being ignored by a significant percentage of the medical community imo is mindboggling.

We have a treatment which would reduce the numbers of Covid deaths and most people and doctors are ignoring it.

[republianmushroom]

41. LIKE