Family of three all found dead at home from Covid
Police visited the home after the family wasn’t heard from for days
"WW C"- COVID-19, GLOBAL CASES SURPASS 676 MILLION...Here we go again 2025 are we ready for Trump to fuck this up again?
- Thread starter lightbright
- Start date
-
- Tags
- vaccination
Let these white people do silly shit Black people don’t follow the footsteps of these people wear a mask and get vaccinated
I'd say perhaps 200k, probably less, are unavoidable deaths from COVID-19. The rest are directly attributable to trump and his politicizing the virus and efforts to stop the spread and vaccinate the population. More concerned about his poll numbers than human lives. And his cult members continue to spread the lies and virus with their anti-vax bullshit.
Welp, they'll be over a milly soon. Hope they're happy.
Welp, they'll be over a milly soon. Hope they're happy.
I really do believe the majority of humans wants to be led. They really don’t want to have to make decisions for themselves.
Globe editorial: If restrictions and mandates are being lifted, thank the silent majority that got vaccinated
The reason the provinces are relaxing the rules now is because people got vaccinated, not because a handful of anti-vaxxers are soaking in hot tubs in front of Parliament Hill
www.theglobeandmail.com
Vancouver police report downtown conflicts after capacity limits at bars, clubs lift
VANCOUVER - Police in Vancouver say they are investigating a stabbing in the city’s entertainment district.
Justin Bieber Tests Positive for COVID-19, Tour Date Postponed
Justin Bieber has tested positive for COVID-19, and at least one tour date has been pushed back.
www.tmz.com
Belgium announces 4-day work week; right to disconnect after office hours
Belgium has become the latest country to announce four-day work weeks.
The Belgian government on Tuesday agreed to a new labour accord to bring flexibility to an otherwise rigid labour market.
PM Alexander De Croo said the pandemic had forced people to work more flexibly and combine their private and working lives. “This has led to new ways of working.”
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Belgium has become the latest country to announce four-day work weeks.
The Belgian government on Tuesday agreed to a new labour accord to bring flexibility to an otherwise rigid labour market.
PM Alexander De Croo said the pandemic had forced people to work more flexibly and combine their private and working lives. “This has led to new ways of working.”
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
I like this Idea
Damn I was watching the news last week and they were talking like this shit was nearly over, never mind.
Y'all better keep those goddamn masks on. Another surge is inevitable and folks finna get caught with their pants down.
Omicron’s Surprising Anatomy Explains Why It Is Wildly Contagious
Specific mutations hide the COVID variant from the immune system and give it a new route into more cells
By Megan Scudellari
February 11, 2022
The Omicron coronavirus variant is likely the fastest-spreading virus in human history, according to experts. While one person with the measles virus—a standout among infectious microbes—might infect 15 others within 12 days, Omicron jumps from person to person so quickly that a single case can give rise to six cases after four days, 36 cases after eight days and 216 cases after 12 days. By mid-February, Omicron will infect up to 40 percent of the U.S. population, one projection estimates, vastly more than the 8 percent that get sick from flu each season.
When the Alpha variant was spotted in November 2020, scientists knew little about how its few mutations would affect its behavior. Now, with a year’s worth of knowledge and data, researchers have been able to link some of Omicron’s 50 or so mutations to mechanisms that have helped it spread so quickly and effectively. That investigative process normally takes a lot longer, says Sriram Subramaniam, a biochemist at the University of British Columbia. “But we’ve been looking at these variants for a year, so we were prepared,” he adds.
Omicron, including its new BA.2 subvariant, hosts twice as many mutations as other variants of concern. There are 13 mutations on its spike protein that are rarely seen among other variants. Those changes to its anatomy have given it new and surprising abilities. If Delta is the brute-force Hulk variant, think of Omicron as the Flash—masked and wicked fast. Here, we explore four ways that the virus has physically changed. Three of those alterations have helped the virus evade our immune systems and become more infectious, while the fourth may have led it to produce more mild disease.
It donned a disguise. Scientists are reaching a consensus about what makes Omicron so transmissible, and most evidence points to a single, potent mechanism: among the variants, Omicron has an unparalleled ability to hide from the immune system.
During infection, a fist-shaped clump of amino acids atop the coronavirus spike called receptor-binding domains (RBDs) grab onto a protein on the outside of human cells: the ACE2 receptor. To prevent that ill-fated attachment, the immune system creates antibodies—Y-shaped proteins induced by prior infection or vaccination—that recognize an RBD and stick to it like Velcro, getting in the way so the virus cannot link up with ACE2.
In previous variants, one, two or maybe three amino acids on RBDs were mutated, altering each RBD just enough to prevent some but not all antibodies from recognizing it. But Omicron harbors 15 RBD mutations, many on prime antibody-binding sites, forming an elaborate disguise to avoid many more antibodies. It is as if the virus donned a full-blown Mission: Impossible–style latex mask to change its face. “There are just so many mutations and so many new ones,” says Matthew McCallum, a biochemist at the University of Washington.
In a recent analysis published in the journal Science, McCallum, with his lab head David Veesler and their colleagues, showed a consequence of this dramatic transformation: only one of eight antibody treatments for COVID used in hospitals—which are based on natural antibodies—still bind to RBDs. Other research has shown mutations on RBDs and a second site called the N-terminal domain enable the virus to avoid antibodies gained by vaccination or infection. Thanks to Omicron’s convincing disguise, the variant has little to slow it down, and it spreads with lightning-fast speed. Vaccines, however, still ward off serious illness, especially with booster shots.
It stabilized. When Omicron drastically altered its spike to hide from the immune system, those changes eliminated some chemical residues the spike needed to attach to ACE2. But other mutations compensated: RBDs formed new chemical bridges to still effectively bind the protein, according to a recent study in Science. “It clearly lost some residues important for binding, but it made them up with other interactions,” says Subramaniam, who is lead author of the paper.
The spike protein also became sturdier. In other variants, two subunits within the spike, S1 and S2, are loosely connected. This allows them to split apart quickly so the spike can bury itself in a human cell when the virus encounters one. The downside of this delicate arrangement, however, is that many spikes split prematurely, before getting close to a cell. Once asunder, the spikes can no longer help the virus attach.
Mutations in Omicron have led to slim molecular bridges that hold the subunits together better, according to recent studies, one published in the Journal of Medical Virology and the others released as preprints, or studies that have not yet been formally reviewed by other scientists. “This virus has really protected itself from prematurely triggering,” says Shan-Lu Liu, author of one of the papers and director of the Viruses and Emerging Pathogens program at the Ohio State University. “When the virus is in the right place at the right time, it can be triggered and get into the cell, but not prior to that.”
It slipped in the side door. Across previous variants, there’s been one constant: The virus relies on a protein on the surface of human cells called TMPRSS2 (pronounced “tempress two”) to help it break through the cell membrane. But Omicron is not using TMPRSS2. It is taking a wholly different route into the cell. Instead of breaking down the front door, it slips in through the side.
While other variants require both the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins to inject their genome into a cell, Omicron binds only to ACE2. Then it is engulfed in a hollow bubble called an endosome. The bubble drifts into the cell, where the virus breaks out and begins a takeover.
Scientists speculate that Omicron gains two possible advantages this way. First, many cells do not have TMPRSS2 on their exterior, so if the virus does not need the surface protein, it has a wider buffet of cells to infect. “The current hypothesis is that there should be maybe seven or even 10 times more cells available to the virus if it goes through endosomes and isn’t reliant on TMPRSS2,” says Wendy Barclay, a virologist at Imperial College London, whose team, among others, detected the new entry pathway, which is described in a preprint.
Second, while the Delta variant often dives down to infect TMPRSS2-rich lung cells, Omicron replicates quickly in the airway above the lungs, which likely helps it spread from person to person. “We may be seeing a switch to the upper airway, which is promoting spread of the virus through coughing, sneezing and such,” says Joe Grove, a virologist at the University of Glasgow and co-author of a preprint that also detected the entry change.
It dropped its defenses. A final, fourth change to Omicron’s anatomy has not helped to make the variant more infectious, unlike the first three. Instead the alteration has created a surprising weakness, rendering the variant more vulnerable to a part of our bodily defenses known as the innate immune system.
Scientists examined the responses from Omicron and Delta to small proteins called interferons, which act like highway flares that alert innate immune cells to invaders. Delta was masterful at subduing the interferon response—but Omicron was terrible. It actually activated interferon signaling.
Researchers do not yet know how this change came about. At least 11 of the coronavirus’s 26 proteins interact with the interferon system, and many of those are mutated in Omicron. But even without knowing the exact mechanism, scientists can see hints of the consequences of this change.
Because the lungs are characterized by a more pronounced interferon response than the upper respiratory tract, Omicron’s vulnerability to that response may prevent it from spreading to the deeper organ. “It makes biological sense for what we see,” says Martin Michaelis, a biologist at the University of Kent in England, who analyzed how Omicron interacts with interferon in a paper published in Cell Research. “Omicron seems to be less capable of making it further into the body and into the lungs to cause severe disease.”
While Omicron’s impact on our whole population is not mild—including a giant surge in hospitalizations and deaths and a record number of hospitalized children—the new variant does appear to cause less severe disease in some infected individuals, as well as in animal models. Those who are unvaccinated or have other risk factors are still at greatly heightened risk for severe symptoms and death, however.
Additional mechanisms behind the variant’s unusual behavior are likely to be identified in coming months. “The picture always evolves over time,” Michaelis says. And future variants, when they appear, may have yet other modifications. “I’m not confident that we can rest on our laurels and say this is all over,” Barclay says. With infections continuing to spread and evolve among many populations around the world, the virus is going to come up with more ways to transmit—including ones that scientists haven’t even thought of yet.
Click Above To View Related Graphics
Specific mutations hide the COVID variant from the immune system and give it a new route into more cells
By Megan Scudellari
February 11, 2022
The Omicron coronavirus variant is likely the fastest-spreading virus in human history, according to experts. While one person with the measles virus—a standout among infectious microbes—might infect 15 others within 12 days, Omicron jumps from person to person so quickly that a single case can give rise to six cases after four days, 36 cases after eight days and 216 cases after 12 days. By mid-February, Omicron will infect up to 40 percent of the U.S. population, one projection estimates, vastly more than the 8 percent that get sick from flu each season.
When the Alpha variant was spotted in November 2020, scientists knew little about how its few mutations would affect its behavior. Now, with a year’s worth of knowledge and data, researchers have been able to link some of Omicron’s 50 or so mutations to mechanisms that have helped it spread so quickly and effectively. That investigative process normally takes a lot longer, says Sriram Subramaniam, a biochemist at the University of British Columbia. “But we’ve been looking at these variants for a year, so we were prepared,” he adds.
Omicron, including its new BA.2 subvariant, hosts twice as many mutations as other variants of concern. There are 13 mutations on its spike protein that are rarely seen among other variants. Those changes to its anatomy have given it new and surprising abilities. If Delta is the brute-force Hulk variant, think of Omicron as the Flash—masked and wicked fast. Here, we explore four ways that the virus has physically changed. Three of those alterations have helped the virus evade our immune systems and become more infectious, while the fourth may have led it to produce more mild disease.
It donned a disguise. Scientists are reaching a consensus about what makes Omicron so transmissible, and most evidence points to a single, potent mechanism: among the variants, Omicron has an unparalleled ability to hide from the immune system.
During infection, a fist-shaped clump of amino acids atop the coronavirus spike called receptor-binding domains (RBDs) grab onto a protein on the outside of human cells: the ACE2 receptor. To prevent that ill-fated attachment, the immune system creates antibodies—Y-shaped proteins induced by prior infection or vaccination—that recognize an RBD and stick to it like Velcro, getting in the way so the virus cannot link up with ACE2.
In previous variants, one, two or maybe three amino acids on RBDs were mutated, altering each RBD just enough to prevent some but not all antibodies from recognizing it. But Omicron harbors 15 RBD mutations, many on prime antibody-binding sites, forming an elaborate disguise to avoid many more antibodies. It is as if the virus donned a full-blown Mission: Impossible–style latex mask to change its face. “There are just so many mutations and so many new ones,” says Matthew McCallum, a biochemist at the University of Washington.
In a recent analysis published in the journal Science, McCallum, with his lab head David Veesler and their colleagues, showed a consequence of this dramatic transformation: only one of eight antibody treatments for COVID used in hospitals—which are based on natural antibodies—still bind to RBDs. Other research has shown mutations on RBDs and a second site called the N-terminal domain enable the virus to avoid antibodies gained by vaccination or infection. Thanks to Omicron’s convincing disguise, the variant has little to slow it down, and it spreads with lightning-fast speed. Vaccines, however, still ward off serious illness, especially with booster shots.
It stabilized. When Omicron drastically altered its spike to hide from the immune system, those changes eliminated some chemical residues the spike needed to attach to ACE2. But other mutations compensated: RBDs formed new chemical bridges to still effectively bind the protein, according to a recent study in Science. “It clearly lost some residues important for binding, but it made them up with other interactions,” says Subramaniam, who is lead author of the paper.
The spike protein also became sturdier. In other variants, two subunits within the spike, S1 and S2, are loosely connected. This allows them to split apart quickly so the spike can bury itself in a human cell when the virus encounters one. The downside of this delicate arrangement, however, is that many spikes split prematurely, before getting close to a cell. Once asunder, the spikes can no longer help the virus attach.
Mutations in Omicron have led to slim molecular bridges that hold the subunits together better, according to recent studies, one published in the Journal of Medical Virology and the others released as preprints, or studies that have not yet been formally reviewed by other scientists. “This virus has really protected itself from prematurely triggering,” says Shan-Lu Liu, author of one of the papers and director of the Viruses and Emerging Pathogens program at the Ohio State University. “When the virus is in the right place at the right time, it can be triggered and get into the cell, but not prior to that.”
It slipped in the side door. Across previous variants, there’s been one constant: The virus relies on a protein on the surface of human cells called TMPRSS2 (pronounced “tempress two”) to help it break through the cell membrane. But Omicron is not using TMPRSS2. It is taking a wholly different route into the cell. Instead of breaking down the front door, it slips in through the side.
While other variants require both the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins to inject their genome into a cell, Omicron binds only to ACE2. Then it is engulfed in a hollow bubble called an endosome. The bubble drifts into the cell, where the virus breaks out and begins a takeover.
Scientists speculate that Omicron gains two possible advantages this way. First, many cells do not have TMPRSS2 on their exterior, so if the virus does not need the surface protein, it has a wider buffet of cells to infect. “The current hypothesis is that there should be maybe seven or even 10 times more cells available to the virus if it goes through endosomes and isn’t reliant on TMPRSS2,” says Wendy Barclay, a virologist at Imperial College London, whose team, among others, detected the new entry pathway, which is described in a preprint.
Second, while the Delta variant often dives down to infect TMPRSS2-rich lung cells, Omicron replicates quickly in the airway above the lungs, which likely helps it spread from person to person. “We may be seeing a switch to the upper airway, which is promoting spread of the virus through coughing, sneezing and such,” says Joe Grove, a virologist at the University of Glasgow and co-author of a preprint that also detected the entry change.
It dropped its defenses. A final, fourth change to Omicron’s anatomy has not helped to make the variant more infectious, unlike the first three. Instead the alteration has created a surprising weakness, rendering the variant more vulnerable to a part of our bodily defenses known as the innate immune system.
Scientists examined the responses from Omicron and Delta to small proteins called interferons, which act like highway flares that alert innate immune cells to invaders. Delta was masterful at subduing the interferon response—but Omicron was terrible. It actually activated interferon signaling.
Researchers do not yet know how this change came about. At least 11 of the coronavirus’s 26 proteins interact with the interferon system, and many of those are mutated in Omicron. But even without knowing the exact mechanism, scientists can see hints of the consequences of this change.
Because the lungs are characterized by a more pronounced interferon response than the upper respiratory tract, Omicron’s vulnerability to that response may prevent it from spreading to the deeper organ. “It makes biological sense for what we see,” says Martin Michaelis, a biologist at the University of Kent in England, who analyzed how Omicron interacts with interferon in a paper published in Cell Research. “Omicron seems to be less capable of making it further into the body and into the lungs to cause severe disease.”
While Omicron’s impact on our whole population is not mild—including a giant surge in hospitalizations and deaths and a record number of hospitalized children—the new variant does appear to cause less severe disease in some infected individuals, as well as in animal models. Those who are unvaccinated or have other risk factors are still at greatly heightened risk for severe symptoms and death, however.
Additional mechanisms behind the variant’s unusual behavior are likely to be identified in coming months. “The picture always evolves over time,” Michaelis says. And future variants, when they appear, may have yet other modifications. “I’m not confident that we can rest on our laurels and say this is all over,” Barclay says. With infections continuing to spread and evolve among many populations around the world, the virus is going to come up with more ways to transmit—including ones that scientists haven’t even thought of yet.
Click Above To View Related Graphics
Get ready, cuz this is what’s gonna happen here when all these mandates are lifted.
Denmark has over a 90% full vaccination rate for its country unlike the US which is not even near 60% fully vaccinated.
COVID Rates Jump After Denmark Lifts All Restrictions
Carolyn Crist
February 17, 2022
www.webmd.com
Since Denmark became the first major country to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions at the beginning of February, it has recorded more COVID-19 cases per capita than most other places in the world.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have jumped by nearly a third, signaling a warning to the U.S. and other countries that are now easing mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and limits for crowded spaces such as bars and nightclubs, according to Yahoo News.
“Not looking good in Denmark. Deaths are now 67% of peak with a steep ascent,” Eric Topol, MD, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, wrote in a Twitter post this week.
He shared charts that showed sharp increases in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths from early February to mid-February. In a response to comments, he linked to a news story from September, when Denmark previously lifted all restrictions before cases climbed again.
“The world is looking to Denmark as a guide to removing all restrictions,” Topol said. “It seems that we’ve seen this movie before.”
In late January, COVID-19 cases appeared to peak in Denmark. After the emergence of BA.2, the Omicron subvariant, cases began to rise again and reached a new all-time high on Feb. 13, surpassing the record from December 2020.
Hospitalizations also climbed in Denmark, surpassing the U.K. rate in early February and the U.S. rate this week. About 1½ times more Danes are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before during the pandemic. If COVID-19 deaths continue to increase, Denmark could set a record in coming days, Yahoo News reported.
But Danish health officials have pointed out that hospital burden is still low in the country, compared to former surges. Denmark also tests far more people than in the U.K. and the U.S., the news outlet reported.
In addition, about 81% of Danes are fully vaccinated, including 95% of those over age 65, and 62% have received a booster dose, according to the latest data from the Danish Health Authority. Overall, Danes have remained protected against COVID-19 and have less severe illness.
“Overall mortality in Denmark in all age categories has now fallen into the normal spectrum as Omicron has become fully dominant,” Søren Neermark, an official at the Danish Health Authority, wrote in a Twitter thread on Monday.
At the same time, he noted, Denmark shouldn’t necessarily be used as a model for other countries.
“Denmark cannot be used as a (sole) argument for lifting restrictions or maintaining restrictions in other countries,” he wrote. “The capacity of the healthcare system in each country will vary and the same [with] overall vaxrate, trust, test, prior immunity etc.”
In reality, countries will need to decide based on their own factors, and restrictions will likely toggle on and off in response to changing conditions, Kristian Andersen, PhD, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute, said in a podcast this week. Andersen, a Danish expat, said he has been watching the situation in Denmark closely in recent weeks to understand the trends.
“We have to be realistic. If we say we’re not going to have restrictions, it’s up to you to get your boosters and wear a face mask if you can. … We should probably expect that for the next few years to come, most people will get infected a couple of times a year,” he said. “And we should expect 200,000 to 250,000 deaths [a year] in this country alone.”
To keep up with the coronavirus, countries will also need to prioritize innovation, namely with “better home testing, better masks, better vaccines, better antivirals,” Andersen said.
“But it also requires that we realize [COVID] is going to be a problem we’re going to continue to deal with during the next 5 to 10 years,” he said. “If we say it’s all over, my concern is that the innovation stops. Because then it’s like, ‘Well, what’s the point?’”
Click Above Link For More Information
Denmark has over a 90% full vaccination rate for its country unlike the US which is not even near 60% fully vaccinated.
COVID Rates Jump After Denmark Lifts All Restrictions
Carolyn Crist
February 17, 2022
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Overview
COVID-19 is a new type of coronavirus that causes mild to severe cases. Here’s a quick guide on how to spot symptoms, risk factors, prevent spread of the disease, and find out what to do if you think you have it.
Since Denmark became the first major country to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions at the beginning of February, it has recorded more COVID-19 cases per capita than most other places in the world.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have jumped by nearly a third, signaling a warning to the U.S. and other countries that are now easing mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and limits for crowded spaces such as bars and nightclubs, according to Yahoo News.
“Not looking good in Denmark. Deaths are now 67% of peak with a steep ascent,” Eric Topol, MD, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, wrote in a Twitter post this week.
He shared charts that showed sharp increases in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths from early February to mid-February. In a response to comments, he linked to a news story from September, when Denmark previously lifted all restrictions before cases climbed again.
“The world is looking to Denmark as a guide to removing all restrictions,” Topol said. “It seems that we’ve seen this movie before.”
In late January, COVID-19 cases appeared to peak in Denmark. After the emergence of BA.2, the Omicron subvariant, cases began to rise again and reached a new all-time high on Feb. 13, surpassing the record from December 2020.
Hospitalizations also climbed in Denmark, surpassing the U.K. rate in early February and the U.S. rate this week. About 1½ times more Danes are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before during the pandemic. If COVID-19 deaths continue to increase, Denmark could set a record in coming days, Yahoo News reported.
But Danish health officials have pointed out that hospital burden is still low in the country, compared to former surges. Denmark also tests far more people than in the U.K. and the U.S., the news outlet reported.
In addition, about 81% of Danes are fully vaccinated, including 95% of those over age 65, and 62% have received a booster dose, according to the latest data from the Danish Health Authority. Overall, Danes have remained protected against COVID-19 and have less severe illness.
“Overall mortality in Denmark in all age categories has now fallen into the normal spectrum as Omicron has become fully dominant,” Søren Neermark, an official at the Danish Health Authority, wrote in a Twitter thread on Monday.
At the same time, he noted, Denmark shouldn’t necessarily be used as a model for other countries.
“Denmark cannot be used as a (sole) argument for lifting restrictions or maintaining restrictions in other countries,” he wrote. “The capacity of the healthcare system in each country will vary and the same [with] overall vaxrate, trust, test, prior immunity etc.”
In reality, countries will need to decide based on their own factors, and restrictions will likely toggle on and off in response to changing conditions, Kristian Andersen, PhD, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute, said in a podcast this week. Andersen, a Danish expat, said he has been watching the situation in Denmark closely in recent weeks to understand the trends.
“We have to be realistic. If we say we’re not going to have restrictions, it’s up to you to get your boosters and wear a face mask if you can. … We should probably expect that for the next few years to come, most people will get infected a couple of times a year,” he said. “And we should expect 200,000 to 250,000 deaths [a year] in this country alone.”
To keep up with the coronavirus, countries will also need to prioritize innovation, namely with “better home testing, better masks, better vaccines, better antivirals,” Andersen said.
“But it also requires that we realize [COVID] is going to be a problem we’re going to continue to deal with during the next 5 to 10 years,” he said. “If we say it’s all over, my concern is that the innovation stops. Because then it’s like, ‘Well, what’s the point?’”
Click Above Link For More Information
I knew this was going to happen this is why Joe Biden kept some shit in place.Get ready, cuz this is what’s gonna happen here when all these mandates are lifted.
Denmark has over a 90% full vaccination rate for its country unlike the US which is not even near 60% fully vaccinated.
COVID Rates Jump After Denmark Lifts All Restrictions
Carolyn Crist
February 17, 2022
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Overview
COVID-19 is a new type of coronavirus that causes mild to severe cases. Here’s a quick guide on how to spot symptoms, risk factors, prevent spread of the disease, and find out what to do if you think you have it.
Since Denmark became the first major country to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions at the beginning of February, it has recorded more COVID-19 cases per capita than most other places in the world.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have jumped by nearly a third, signaling a warning to the U.S. and other countries that are now easing mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and limits for crowded spaces such as bars and nightclubs, according to Yahoo News.
“Not looking good in Denmark. Deaths are now 67% of peak with a steep ascent,” Eric Topol, MD, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, wrote in a Twitter post this week.
He shared charts that showed sharp increases in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths from early February to mid-February. In a response to comments, he linked to a news story from September, when Denmark previously lifted all restrictions before cases climbed again.
“The world is looking to Denmark as a guide to removing all restrictions,” Topol said. “It seems that we’ve seen this movie before.”
In late January, COVID-19 cases appeared to peak in Denmark. After the emergence of BA.2, the Omicron subvariant, cases began to rise again and reached a new all-time high on Feb. 13, surpassing the record from December 2020.
Hospitalizations also climbed in Denmark, surpassing the U.K. rate in early February and the U.S. rate this week. About 1½ times more Danes are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before during the pandemic. If COVID-19 deaths continue to increase, Denmark could set a record in coming days, Yahoo News reported.
But Danish health officials have pointed out that hospital burden is still low in the country, compared to former surges. Denmark also tests far more people than in the U.K. and the U.S., the news outlet reported.
In addition, about 81% of Danes are fully vaccinated, including 95% of those over age 65, and 62% have received a booster dose, according to the latest data from the Danish Health Authority. Overall, Danes have remained protected against COVID-19 and have less severe illness.
“Overall mortality in Denmark in all age categories has now fallen into the normal spectrum as Omicron has become fully dominant,” Søren Neermark, an official at the Danish Health Authority, wrote in a Twitter thread on Monday.
At the same time, he noted, Denmark shouldn’t necessarily be used as a model for other countries.
“Denmark cannot be used as a (sole) argument for lifting restrictions or maintaining restrictions in other countries,” he wrote. “The capacity of the healthcare system in each country will vary and the same [with] overall vaxrate, trust, test, prior immunity etc.”
In reality, countries will need to decide based on their own factors, and restrictions will likely toggle on and off in response to changing conditions, Kristian Andersen, PhD, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute, said in a podcast this week. Andersen, a Danish expat, said he has been watching the situation in Denmark closely in recent weeks to understand the trends.
“We have to be realistic. If we say we’re not going to have restrictions, it’s up to you to get your boosters and wear a face mask if you can. … We should probably expect that for the next few years to come, most people will get infected a couple of times a year,” he said. “And we should expect 200,000 to 250,000 deaths [a year] in this country alone.”
To keep up with the coronavirus, countries will also need to prioritize innovation, namely with “better home testing, better masks, better vaccines, better antivirals,” Andersen said.
“But it also requires that we realize [COVID] is going to be a problem we’re going to continue to deal with during the next 5 to 10 years,” he said. “If we say it’s all over, my concern is that the innovation stops. Because then it’s like, ‘Well, what’s the point?’”
Click Above Link For More Information
Discovery of New HIV Variant Sends Warning for COVID Pandemic
Infectious disease expert William A. Haseltine cautions that a coronavirus variant could emerge with the transmissibility of Omicron and the deadliness of the original SARS
Discovery of New HIV Variant Sends Warning for COVID Pandemic
Infectious disease expert William A. Haseltine cautions that a coronavirus variant could emerge with the transmissibility of Omicron and the deadliness of the original SARSwww.scientificamerican.com
This is my worst fear
It's fucked up to think that will take something this catastrophic for people at large to take this shit serious at which point it would be too late.
Yep half of this world is not ready for the big oneThis is my worst fear
It's fucked up to think that will take something this catastrophic for people at large to take this shit serious at which point it would be too late.
Hospital Employees Union supports call to keep parking free for workers, as fee reinstatement looms
With the days of free parking at hospitals during the pandemic now numbered in B.C., there's a push to continue to give front-line workers an exemption. An online petition in support of the idea has garnered tens of thousands of signatures, and B.C.'s largest health-care union is also hoping...
What the Hell Is Happening to COVID in Israel?
The country’s response to a record Omicron surge is not exactly what you would expect.
Fox News Anchor Confirms He Was in ICU With COVID Pneumonia
Cavuto returned on-air to say he was in the ICU and that it was “touch-and-go” at times. He once again urged Fox viewers to get vaccinated.
white people are fucking hardheadedWhat the Hell Is Happening to COVID in Israel?
The country’s response to a record Omicron surge is not exactly what you would expect.www.thedailybeast.com
Fox News Anchor Confirms He Was in ICU With COVID Pneumonia
Cavuto returned on-air to say he was in the ICU and that it was “touch-and-go” at times. He once again urged Fox viewers to get vaccinated.