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COVID-19 detected in United States

Jacob

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Chased out by COVID or reduced by anti-COVID measures that have been in place for months such as masks, social distancing, staying home, etc.

That idea is out there, but I don't think it holds up to scrutiny. You might expect a modest, perhaps even significant, reduction in flu activity due to those measures, but we are talking a 99+% reduction in flu activity, and the same occurred in countries (and states) with much less restrictions than others such as Sweden, parts of eastern Europe, etc. So far the only places we are seeing any decent amount of flu is in SE Asia, where COVID is much less prevalent.
 

KoD

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I wonder how much cultural norms play into that. Family unit proximity and whatnot. You'd think though that if it did, covid cases would be similarly noted. I'd like to see a comparison chart of covid cases too and see if both are about the same. Remarkable how low influenza cases are in the US though. I've heard of a positive case this year but I've not personally seen one - incredible. I wonder how Europe is doing with flu.
 

Jacob

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Europe is doing the same as North America, its non-existent mostly


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StormStalker

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The weather has delayed my Covid jab for about 3 weeks. I was hoping to get that first one today and the follow up then.
 

ghost

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I am scheduled to get my first Covid shot this coming Tuesday. I'm having to drive nearly an hr and half to get it but I'm good with that. Think it's going to be the Pfizer brand
 

Jacob

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It'll be interesting to see how far hospitalizations in Alabama fall as we head into March. Probably the best gauge of where things stand is the # hospitalized per hospital, since the # hospitalized in the state changes based on how many hospitals are reporting data.

In the state of AL, that average peaked in July at a little over 16 per hospital, and then fell until early September where it bottomed out around 7. It stayed near that for 3-4 weeks before starting to rise in early October. It peaked again in early January at a little over 30 patients per hospital, and has been falling like a rock ever since. As of this afternoon, we are under 9 per hospital, and it has been dropping at a steady rate for about 6 weeks. If we continue to fall at the current rate (about -3 per week), we'll be under September lows by this time next week.
 

bjdeming

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The boffins took a look at when life might return to normal: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/how-soon-will-covid-19-vaccines-return-life-normal

Wish they would include lockdown effects (social, economic, psychological) and costs in these articles when comparing COVID and flu. That definitely is a major part of the situation, too.

Anyway, you all are lucky to be getting vaccines. I'm 67 but not allowed to get one yet here in Oregon. That's okay: am very healthy, no predisposing conditions, and I'm on a waiting list. And I agree with vaccinating workers and the most vulnerable first. Still, I no longer think, after a year, that Oregon's regimented, top-down "sensible" approach is any more effective than any other state's approach, nor any worse. We're all just doing the best we can.

Kind of wish I lived in Iowa right now (mask fatigue is strong). Good luck to them!
 

Jacob

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The boffins took a look at when life might return to normal: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/how-soon-will-covid-19-vaccines-return-life-normal

Wish they would include lockdown effects (social, economic, psychological) and costs in these articles when comparing COVID and flu. That definitely is a major part of the situation, too.

Anyway, you all are lucky to be getting vaccines. I'm 67 but not allowed to get one yet here in Oregon. That's okay: am very healthy, no predisposing conditions, and I'm on a waiting list. And I agree with vaccinating workers and the most vulnerable first. Still, I no longer think, after a year, that Oregon's regimented, top-down "sensible" approach is any more effective than any other state's approach, nor any worse. We're all just doing the best we can.

Kind of wish I lived in Iowa right now (mask fatigue is strong). Good luck to them!

Hopefully more states start to do what Iowa (and Florida) have done, but unfortunately masks have become almost a religion to some people and they greatly overstate/believe what the benefits of them are, so I don't see it happening quickly.
 

gangstonc

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Hopefully more states start to do what Iowa (and Florida) have done, but unfortunately masks have become almost a religion to some people and they greatly overstate/believe what the benefits of them are, so I don't see it happening quickly.
I hate wearing a mask, but it definitely increases my comfort level wrt the virus.
 

Jacob

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I hate wearing a mask, but it definitely increases my comfort level wrt the virus.

That's completely fair, and for people that feel how you do, you should do what makes you the most comfortable.

The mask thing from the professionals and doctors honestly baffles me at this point, at least to the extent that it is prioritized. I was pro-mask early on, I think I even made a post here last spring wondering if masks were why the west did so poorly vs. Asian countries, but we now have 9+ months of data on masks and unfortunately they don't appear to actually do much (if anything) to slow the spread.
 

Lori

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I’m wondering if the winter weather helped keep the numbers down some since people literally had to stay at home??
 

Lori

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That's completely fair, and for people that feel how you do, you should do what makes you the most comfortable.

The mask thing from the professionals and doctors honestly baffles me at this point, at least to the extent that it is prioritized. I was pro-mask early on, I think I even made a post here last spring wondering if masks were why the west did so poorly vs. Asian countries, but we now have 9+ months of data on masks and unfortunately they don't appear to actually do much (if anything) to slow the spread.
I’m still pro-mask WITH social distancing, hand washing plus no large gatherings inside!!
I think it’s helped with the flu so maybe there’s a small bit of help there for Covid19 control...
 

warneagle

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NYT published and article with some new data on the J&J vaccine. Not perfect by any means, but the single dose hopefully means we can get a lot of unvaccinated people vaccinated more quickly, which would make a massive dent in the curve and the raw numbers, even if it's not as effective as the two-dose vaccines.

 

Jacob

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NYT published and article with some new data on the J&J vaccine. Not perfect by any means, but the single dose hopefully means we can get a lot of unvaccinated people vaccinated more quickly, which would make a massive dent in the curve and the raw numbers, even if it's not as effective as the two-dose vaccines.



The storage requirements of the J&J vaccine versus the Moderna/Phizer vaccine is a huge advantage for it as well, as it doesn't have to be stored at cryogenic temperatures.
 

Jacob

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Alabama's 7 day average # of cases is at its lowest point since June 2020. To be fair, it's at roughly the same level as September, but it is safe to say this latest wave has officially passed. Edit: The numbers on BamaTracker have changed since this morning, and this statement is not correct. I think the day had updated, but the 7 day average was using a 0 for today, making it artificially low. It's around the September level still.

I'm sure we all have different ideas of where this goes next.
 
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gangstonc

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Alabama's 7 day average # of cases is at its lowest point since June 2020. To be fair, it's at roughly the same level as September, but it is safe to say this latest wave has officially passed.

I'm sure we all have different ideas of where this goes next.
I have no idea where it goes next! I hope it goes away!
 

Jacob

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I have no idea where it goes next! I hope it goes away!

I think we can all agree on that.

In my view, the unfortunate reality (in all likelyhood) is that COVID is never fully going away. Hopefully between natural immunity and vaccine immunity we won't see anymore large surges like we've seen over the last year, but given the type of virus it is we'll likely see a resurgence of it each winter (and possibly summer in certain areas).

In time it'll likely become another virus that causes a "common cold", but that's a few years away from happening (if it does). The theories on human coronavirus OC43 causing the 1889-1890 Russian Flu pandemic are fascinating to read about, and if I had to venture a guess that's eventually what SARS-COV-2 will become. (this paragraph is little more than a guess, FWIW)

The big question should be what is the plan going forward in 2021? I'm of the opinion that once everybody that wants a vaccine can get one, which estimates put that perhaps by mid-summer, that all restrictions should be lifted.
 

ghost

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This is my opinion only... I think when we hit 150 million vaccinations (150 million with at least 1 dose), then pull mandatory restrictions and make any mask wearing / social distancing / etc optional to the discretion of the individual. Currently we have vaxed about 65 M and are vaxing at about 1.5 M per day and that should ramp up to 2 M in another week or 2. We should be close to 150 M by mid April if things go well
 
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