Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates & Alerts

[richard5933]

10 hours ago, five said:

The CARES Act provides money to hospitals for each Covid death.

Not sure what exactly is being implied here, but it sounds like you are saying that the reason the influenza death count is down is because hospitals are fraudulently reporting them all as Covid deaths in order to get more money.

If this is what's being said, it's a pretty outrageous claim to assert that every hospital, coroner, reporting physician, county health director, and every other professional with reporting responsibility is committing a felony. All at the same time and in the same way. Even more outrageous to think that a country with so many different people and agencies involved in the reporting system could actually launch such a unified deceptive plan and pull it off without there being any smoking guns pointing to it.

This is just another conspiracy theory which has been debunked numerous times. No doubt that there is additional funding for the medical system to cope with the covid cases in the CARES Act. But that doesn't mean that there is a systemic nationwide effort by the medical community and coroner's offices to commit fraud and engage in felonious acts.

Here are just a few articles fact checking this claim. There are many more, but I suppose if someone chooses to believe the false claims no amount of facts will change that.

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/hospital-payments-and-the-covid-19-death-count/

https://fox11online.com/news/fox-11-investigates/fact-check-how-are-covid-19-deaths-counted-do-hospitals-get-money-for-covid-19-deaths

http://www.healthlawpolicy.org/are-physicians-and-hospitals-of-profiting-from-over-reporting-covid-19-deaths/

[manholt]

To think and blindly believe that NO ONE had the Flu or Pneumonia in 2020!  However 538,000 deaths where COVID-19?  Feel free to look up the meaning of Coronavirus!

I do not and most of the people that we know, don't believe in "Factcheck", or "Snopes!" 

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by manholt

[richard5933]

It appears that CDC reports are not released for calendar years, but rather for flu seasons. The most recent report out is for the 2019-20 flu season, and here is the conclusion that they posted:

Quote

During the 2019-2020 influenza season, CDC estimates that influenza was associated with 38 million illnesses, 18 million medical visits, 405,000 hospitalizations, and 22,000 deaths. The influenza burden was higher in young children (0-4 years) and adults (18-49 years) compared with a recent season with the 2017-2018 season, a recent season with high severity, and provides evidence to support how severe seasonal influenza can be at any age.

Looking further into this question I found the following chart which clearly shows some influenza and pneumonia related deaths in 2020:

If you want to see the data behind the chart it is here: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2020-2021/data/NCHSData12.csv

It should not be surprising that influenza and pneumonia cases/deaths are down since the start of Covid-19 due to all the social distancing, mask wearing, etc. The fact that these deaths are down does not in any way indicate any type of malfeasance on the part of the medical community or coroners however in their reporting of Covid-19 deaths. 

Meaning of coronavirus? There are many types, ranging from the common cold to Covid-19. The reason Covid-19 was called a novel coronavirus is because it's a new variety which humans have not previously been exposed to, and this is why it had such devastating effects.

[rayin]

On 3/28/2021 at 3:43 PM, rayin said:

Interestingly, I had both Moderna shots in Jan. next Sunday I must go to hospital for a COVID-19 test, then immediately quarantine until gall bladder surgery April 9. The hospital said I could carry the virus after receiving the vaccine.

UPDATE: I had my pre-surgery hospital consultation today. I  handed the doctor my vaccination card from the CDC, she read it then said "I'm canceling your COVID19 test scheduled for Sunday morning, your shot record will meet requirements"; hurray, no quarantine next week! The state health dept. has no record of me receiving the vaccine, the rehab/nursing home facility will not forward that data to the state. Now the only complication is the  blood transfusions I had  in Jan.; I must have blood tests ran, to confirm my blood type and other stuff I can't remember.

Edited April 2, 2021 by rayin

[five]

13 hours ago, richard5933 said:

...Not sure what exactly is being implied here, but it sounds like you are saying that the reason the influenza death count is down is because hospitals are fraudulently reporting them all as Covid deaths in order to get more money...

 

I'm not "implying" anything, I'm reporting what the CDC has said.  Anybody that really thinks all the deaths are Covid is a bit naive.  Everybody has heard of the  person in his/her 90s, with a half a dozen ailments gets the Covid and the Covid is reported as cause of death....doesn't compute.  How 'bout the guy with Covid in a fatal car wreck...COD Covid.

[wildebill308]

3 hours ago, rayin said:

UPDATE: I had my pre-surgery hospital consultation today. I  handed the doctor my vaccination card from the CDC, she read it then said "I'm canceling your COVID19 test scheduled for Sunday morning, your shot record will meet requirements"; hurray, no quarantine next week! The state health dept. has no record of me receiving the vaccine, the rehab/nursing home facility will not forward that data to the state. Now the only complication is the  blood transfusions I had  in Jan.; I must have blood tests ran, to confirm my blood type and other stuff I can't remember.

Hope things go smoothly Ray.

Bill

[fagnaml]

On 3/30/2021 at 5:11 AM, richard5933 said:

I'd like to think so for us as well.

One concern is how much of the virus vaccinated people are able to carry in their sinuses and respiratory system which they will then spread as they breath/cough/talk/etc. Even if a person doesn't contract the virus and become ill, it's still possible to carry it around with you. Our sinuses are perfect Petri dishes for things like virus cells, although hopefully once vaccinated a person's immune system won't allow the virus to remain there for long.

The data I've seen so far indicate that once vaccinated the transmission rate is much lower. I've not seen anything that shows the transmission rate is reduced to zero, which is likely why masks are still recommended for vaccinated people. That, plus there can still be a percentage of vaccinated people who contract the virus and become ill themselves, meaning that their viral load will be high and transmission will be easy. Since there is no way to know if you're in the 90% for whom the vaccine is effective or the 10% for whom it's not, masks are still being recommended.

My wife is a MSN (Master Degree Nursing) - RN who has spent most of her career working medical/surgical floors/ICUs working her way to a Nurse Manager position.   She is frustrated about the messaging of the Covid vaccine and how vaccines in general that they are a "magical medicine" that kills a virus.   She is trying to reinforce to family and friends that all vaccines do the following:

• Vaccines do not kill a virus
• Vaccines prevent serious illness from a virus  -YES folks vaccinated for Covid-19 can still contract the virus  (just like a person with annual flu vaccine can still contract the flu)  
• Vaccines greatly slow the spread of a virus as viruses have extreme difficulty trying to replicate within a vaccinated person
• With growing numbers of people vaccinated, the Covid-19 virus will become "endemic" like all other viruses e.g. flu, measles, mumps, typhod fever, chicken pox/shingles, small pox, etc.
• Covid-19, just like other coronaviruses, will be present for decades to come.  With current vaccinations and likely "booster shots" in the years to come (just like annual flu shots) the chance of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 will be near zero and the spread will be greatly minimized.  
• Covid-19 is the first of seven coronaviruses to have a vaccine developed and administered
• An mRNA vaccine was developed for the SARS virus (Covid-1) nearly 20 years ago but never had financial backing to commercialize the vaccine (federal governments provided financial backing for the Covid-19 vaccine which is how it went from R&D to commercial use so quickly - the mRNA vaccine technology has been in development for 25 years)

My wife continues to strongly encourage friends, family members, my and her work colleagues and others to receive the Covid-19 vaccine to provide protection from serous illness and to help greatly slow the ability of the virus to replicate and spread to others. 

It is a personal choice to receive, or not, the Covid-19 vaccine or any vaccine.   We both received our second Pfizer shots last Friday, March 26.   This weekend we're headed to the Texas Hill Country for the annual Wine and Wildflowers which will likely be crowded (we're staying at Buckhorn Lake RV Resort in Kerrville).  Being vaccinated, we can enjoy the event as we always have without the underlying concern of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 while enjoying some great weather and great wine.    I can already taste a very nice glass of Texas Tempranillo....

 

[manholt]

Mike, thank you for this information!  We got our Jensen J&J shot 3 weeks ago, since we hope our trip to Alaska will happen this July, we also know that Canada will only let us in if we have had the vaccine!  I suspected all along the way, that the COVID Shot will be annually, like the flu!  So, we get 2, but I wish they will incorporate both into one!

[docj]

2 hours ago, fagnaml said:

My wife continues to strongly encourage friends, family members, my and her work colleagues and others to receive the Covid-19 vaccine to provide protection from serous illness and to help greatly slow the ability of the virus to replicate and spread to others. 

An excellently written explanation of the current situation!  My wife and I had our Pfizer vaccine shots a couple of months ago and we're ready to hit the road to see grandkids.  The only thing keeping us from doing that immediately is the fact that I'm supposed to get a new knee next week.  Although I know the process will involve some pain, it is sort of akin to getting new bushings installed on your automotive front end!

One thing that often seems to be overlooked is that it's important to get the virus to an endemic level from a pandemic one because that will reduce the likelihood that a truly bad variant can propagate.  The virus is constantly mutating as it spreads.  Statistically, most mutations aren't particularly harmful to humans and can even result in "harm" to the virus's ability to replicate and infect.  The danger is that some small percentage of mutations can make the virus more transmissible or more serious once you catch it.  In an absolute worst case, some variations could even give the virus a pathway "around" the vaccines that were just developed.  That's why it's important to establish enough of a herd immunity that dangerous variants don't find "hosts" that they can infect which is why it's important for as many people as possible to get vaccinated.   There's a big difference in having 75-80% of the population vaccinated vs just 50%.

[hermanmullins]

Mike

Thank you, it is good to hear thoughts and opinions from a health care worker side of an issue.

Thank her for being one of the front line health care hero's.

Herman

[rayin]

Thank you Mike! I find it amazing the amount of false information being repeated; your recount of accurate professional information is appreciated.

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by rayin

[fagnaml]

The pandemic created many economics hardships for folks across the country (and the globe).   As spring returned to southeast Texas I've observed many more RVs, with a majority of them being quite old and in major dis-repair parking in the Walmart parking lot near my home.   I don't know if they are spending the night or just getting food/supplies.   I'm wondering if the pandemic has depleted the finances of folks to the point that all they can not afford are low cost, old RV's simply as a place to live?     Has anyone else seen more old, bad shape RV's appearing in parking lots, on the highways, etc.?

[hermanmullins]

Sorry Mike but no. I have noticed quite a number of Motorhomes, Travel Trailer and 5th Wheels on the road. As always they are of all sizes, shapes and conditions. I have been very happy to see folks hitting the road again what ever their destination may be.

Herman

[fagnaml]

Thanks Herman.  I too have seen many more RV's of all types on I-10 on the west side of Houston during my drives to/from work each day.  And two weeks ago in the Hill Country RV parks, restaurants and wineries were very busy which is a great thing to see.    And more folks at my RV storage facility are finally enjoying their RVs once again. 

My question about older, bad shape RV's I'm seeing in the Walmart parking lot during my drive home is the sadness I've felt for what look like folks "on their last leg" financially and wondering if all of the "stuff" that happened the last 12 months caused their current situations.   I wish there was a way to help our fellow RV'ers who are struggling financially due to the economic impacts of Covid. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by fagnaml