Coronavirus 5: Let the Vaccination Begin

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

1 hour ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I'm afraid it means that my stupid, crazy fellow residents are refusing to get vaccinated. 

So I looked up the numbers. Apparently approximately 36% of my state's population has at least gotten a first vaccination and a little under 32% of us are fully vaccinated. Sigh.

In my household, 50% of us are fully vaccinated, and we'll be up to 75% when my 12 year old gets hers. My 10 year old (who is waiting semi-patiently for his turn) is absolutely horrified when he sees anyone not wearing a mask in public, even outdoors. Smart kid.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

There's this news story. 

[Destiny]

There's this news story. 

And what’s it about? Please don’t post links without an explanation. It’s a rule.

[Coconut Flan]

Next time a little blurb or a short quote  would let people know if they want to read the article or not.  That said, I'm very glad you posted it.

I haven't lost anyone in our family to COVID and all except the young children are vaccinated, yet every time I hear of someone 50 or so and up dying of COVID now I get sad.  It's likely the vaccine was available to them and they refused so their families are probably going through the needless grief.

Quote

While just over 50% of the adult US population is now fully vaccinated, seeing the nationwide dropoff in vaccinations has been upsetting to Berry. She hopes the loved ones of unvaccinated people who die will take it as a wake-up call to get their shot. “When you go through grief, you already think of all the things you could’ve done differently leading up to their death,” she said. “Knowing there’s something that was free, accessible, and could have prevented their death, it’s heartbreaking.”

 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

9 hours ago, Destiny said:

And what’s it about? Please don’t post links without an explanation. It’s a rule.

Sorry about that. It was late and I forgot. I'll do better next time.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Bluebirdbluebell

[ILoveJellybeans]

Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Had my first vaccine 48 hours ago, and I am completely fine. I expected to feel ill afterwards, booked the next day off just in case, but I really didnt need to.

I was so surprised at how little the actual vaccine hurt, like, I felt it, but I wouldnt even go as far to say it hurt, it was more like being poked. It had begun to ache a little by the time I got home, thought I was getting a headache but it stopped as soon as I got off the bus full of noisy children. Didnt bother me, was still able to use my arm just fine, in fact, I tried to use it more as I heard that exercising it makes it stop hurting faster-played Pokemon Go during my 15 minute wait to leave. I didnt sleep too well that night, but that was only because I hadnt considered just how many times my five cats step on me in the night. Five times I had a cat stand right on my arm and wake me up, and that was the only painful part. Glad I chose to get it on the arm that I dont sleep on, as getting comfortable in bed was difficult when I last had a shot ages ago and had it in the arm I sleep on. Next morning, only really felt mildly sore when I lifted my arm above my head or leaned on it in certain ways. Pretty much gone now, felt the slightest twinge when I carried the shopping into the house with that arm, but not enough for me to stop.

Overall, this was a very positive experience. I think it cured my fear of needles, and Im proud of myself for facing it. Also it feels so good to know that this is the last stretch of the journey, another step closer to life beyond the pandemic. 

I wonder if I should take as much careful planning for dose two or just do what I normally do.

Should I expect worse side effects the second time around (Pfizer, if it makes a difference)?

[thoughtful]

2 hours ago, ILoveJellybeans said:

Overall, this was a very positive experience. I think it cured my fear of needles, and Im proud of myself for facing it.

I hope you're right - it would be great if you got a double bonus from this vaccination.

2 hours ago, ILoveJellybeans said:

I wonder if I should take as much careful planning for dose two or just do what I normally do.

Should I expect worse side effects the second time around (Pfizer, if it makes a difference)?

I have heard that side effects after the second shot tend to be stronger, and also that Pfizer reactions are generally weaker than Moderna.

It's such a personal thing, I don't know if you can generalize. My Mom had no side effects, other than a very slightly sore arm, to either Pfizer dose. And she's in her 90s, arthritic, bruises easily, and, like me, is allergic to planet earth.

When something that's coming up worries me, I tend to go pretty "suspenders and a belt" in my planning. I'd rather be very prepared and not need any of the things I had prepared, than be caught off guard.

It also helps with the interim time. I suppose some people get more anxious thinking about the worst case scenario, and can't stop obsessing about it. And maybe, for some, the things they do to plan actually heighten the stress.

But, for me, it relieves tension, and stops me from obsessing, if I've thought about the worst case scenario and actually planned for it.

If you are also comforted by being very prepared, go for it. I think planning a day off is practical, just in case. I enjoyed a gel ice pack on my arm at night, after the second Moderna dose, so you might want to get one if you don't already have one.

And be proud and pleased that you may have eliminated a fear from your life, as well as Covid!

[Smash!]

Congratulations on your shot @ILoveJellybeans! So cool that it wasn‘t as bad as you anticipated ?

As for the side effects: I‘ve heard as well that Moderna is worse as Pfizer but it depends also on a lot of factors. The older you are the less side effects you usually have (since the immune system isn‘t as active anymore). For me my 2nd Moderna shot was definitely worse than the first. But most of my symptoms were gone after 24hrs. So if you are able to work from home I would do that for the day after the shot. You can also take some paracetamol for the pain, but anti inflammatory meds like ibuprofen are not recommended since they can affect the antibody production after a shot.

[thoughtful]

1 hour ago, Smash! said:

The older you are the less side effects you usually have (since the immune system isn‘t as active anymore).

Makes sense  - I didn't know that. That makes my mom's experience make more sense.

[Ozlsn]

So frustrated with the vaccine rollout here. I am finally eligible to get vaccinated. Can I book online? Theoretically yes, practically no. It sends me in a circle between websites. There is a phone number, which is melting under the strain. We have just announced an extension to the lockdown, and it turns out that most of the vulnerable groups - who were supposed to be fully covered - have only received one dose so far. The idiots running the rollout announced that they would be prioritised. Yes, that was what was supposed to have happened, they should be finished by now.

I am so sick of the utter incompetence. Back to hitting redial in an attempt to get a booking. Sigh. 

[Alisamer]

On 5/29/2021 at 9:51 AM, ILoveJellybeans said:

I wonder if I should take as much careful planning for dose two or just do what I normally do.

Should I expect worse side effects the second time around (Pfizer, if it makes a difference)?

I had Pfizer, and my side effects were worse for the second one. For the first, mostly just a sore arm, maybe a slight headache. Nothing big, started 12 hours after the shot and lasted maybe a day. I didn't have to stay home from work. It was easier than a flu shot, for me.

For the second, I scheduled it after work on a Thursday and took the Friday off - I figured if I felt bad I'd need it, and if I didn't it'd be a treat to have the day off. I did end up needing it. With the second shot the arm soreness started quicker and was worse (the same as when I get a flu shot - big red itchy sore lump for a week), and I mostly felt really run down and kind of headachy. I did run a fever for two days, also. It wasn't terrible at all, but I was glad to have the day off and the weekend to rest. I did take an ibuprofen one night to get the fever down so I could sleep better, but otherwise just drank water and rested mostly. I watched lots of youtube.

It really depends on the person, however. I'm 47. My parents, in their 70's, had Moderna - mom just had a mildly sore arm, dad did get chills the day after the second dose, but otherwise fine. My boss got Moderna I think and had no real reactions (also in his 70s). My co-worker a few years older than me didn't have much reaction at all (Pfizer). My younger co-worker (mid-20's) did take a couple days off after hers - but she also thought she had Covid at one point when it was just a hangover so I'm not sure how much I trust her reaction!

My younger sisters didn't have major reactions to either shot, but did have sore arms and took it easy for a couple days after the second dose. They work from home so it was easier for them to do that. 

I'd say take a day off after the second dose, and plan ahead by hydrating well and being set up to stay in and relax for a day or two if you need to. If you have side effects, you'll be ready, and if you don't, you'll have treated yourself to a day off!

[clueliss]

This just hit my email from 23andMe

Genetic link between Covid and Loss of smell.

https://you.23andme.com/p/1e6af89c09125e24/article/scientists-find-genetic-link-to-loss-of-smell-among-covid-19-patients-ada354dae887/?utm_source=23andme&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=notify_notification&utm_content=n_1851046237&route_key=article&route_resource_id=scientists-find-genetic-link-to-loss-of-smell-among-covid-19-patients-ada354dae887&target_profile_id=1e6af89c09125e24&notify_source_id=1851046237&notify_source_channel=email

 

Quote

Scientists Find Genetic Link to Loss of Smell Among COVID-19 Patients

June 2, 2021

Report article

Researchers at 23andMe have identified a new genetic variant associated with COVID-19 induced loss of smell and taste.

The findings, published in a preprint released on medRxiv, note that the genetic variant is near two olfactory genes.  Loss of smell and, or taste — also called anosmia — is a hallmark symptom of COVID-19. It is often the earliest indication of infection, and in some cases, the only symptom. An individual with one copy of the variant is about 11.5 percent more likely to lose their sense of smell or taste if infected compared to someone with zero copies.

23andMe COVID-19 Study

The research adds another piece to the COVID-19 puzzle, and it builds on the work already done by 23andMe over the last year that includes new findings around the role blood type plays in severity and susceptibility to the virus. This piece of the puzzle is intriguing because the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 first enters the body and accumulates in olfactory support cells. The findings may offer researchers important insights into the biological pathway for infection.

For these findings, the researchers again used data from more than one million people who consented to participate in 23andMe’s COVID-19 Study.  By examining the differences in the genome between COVID-19 cases who did and did not experience loss of taste or smell, our scientists identified an association on chromosome 4 near the olfactory genes UGT2A1 and UGT2A2 (Figure 1 and Figure 2a). 

Relevant for All Ethnicities

The scientists ran separate genome-wide association studies for individuals of European, Latino, African American, East Asian, and South Asian ancestries, and then combined the data via a meta-analysis. The researchers evaluated the effect of the top-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the different ancestral populations (Figure 2).

Those results show no evidence of a difference in the SNP effect between populations, although there is limited power to detect associations in the non-European populations. Nonetheless, the frequency of the risk allele does differ somewhat by population. It is most commonly observed in individuals of European ancestry (37 percent) and least commonly observed in individuals of East Asian ancestry (19 percent) (Table 1). 

PopulationVariant frequency

Europe37%

South Asian32%

African American31%

Latino30%

East Asian19%

Table 1. Allele frequencies by population or rs7688383

Table 1. Allele frequencies by population or rs7688383

 

Among the Most Common Symptoms

Early in the outbreak, the loss of smell and taste was recognised as a means to distinguish between patients with COVID-19 and those with simple colds or flu. That is, if you felt sick and had loss of smell or taste, you were much more likely to have COVID-19 than another respiratory infection (1, 2). 

In the 23andMe COVID-19 study, two-thirds (68 percent) of those who tested positive for the virus reported loss of smell or taste, compared to just 17 percent of those who tested negative (Figure 3). Furthermore, in a model adjusted for other symptoms, age, and sex, the loss of smell or taste carried a seven-fold increased likelihood of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 among those reporting illness.

Figure 3. Frequency of symptoms reported among respondents with a cold or flu-like illness who did and did not have a positive SARS-CoV-2 result in the 23andMe study, ordered by percentage difference.

Looking by Age

When the researchers looked at the symptoms by age, they found that among younger people with COVID-19 the loss of smell and taste was more common. Among those aged 26-35, 73 percent reported loss of smell, whereas only 43 percent reported loss of smell in those 85 or older (Figure 4). When the researchers looked at differences between men and women they found that women were more likely than men to report loss of smell or taste (72 percent  vs. 61 percent). While it is known that age is associated with lower sensitivity to smell, these findings held up when adjusted for self-reported ability to smell in advance of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Figure 4. COVID-19 related loss of smell by age group.

More About the Genetic Association

Little is known about what the genetic variant (rs7868383) does, or how it impacts the likelihood of losing your smell or taste during infection with SARS-CoV-2. But the olfactory genes UGT2A1/2 are part of a family of enzymes called uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases, and are expressed in the olfactory epithelium and metabolize odorant compounds. In the 23andMe database, both of these genes are related to such things as ice-cream taste preference and ability to smell as measured by a self-reported five-point scale ranging from very poor to very good. 

Recent evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 enters and accumulates in olfactory support cells, which abundantly express the viral entry proteins ACE2 and TMPRSS2 (3, 4). It has been proposed that olfactory sensation is impaired when these essential functions are disrupted, causing olfactory receptor neuron cilial impairment (5). Given their localization and essential function in the metabolization and detoxification of compounds in the olfactory epithelium, the genes identified here, UGT2A1/2, may play a role in the physiology of infected cells and the resulting changes to the cilia that contribute to our ability to smell.

Many thanks to the over 1 million research participants who answered our questionnaire and made this research possible. 

*The 23andMe COVID-19 research team includes: Adam Auton, Adrian Chubb, Alison Fitch, Alison Kung, Amanda Altman, Andy Kill, Anjali Shastri, Antony Symons, Catherine Weldon, Chelsea Ye, Daniella Coker, Janie Shelton, Jason Tan, Jeff Pollard, Jennifer McCreight, Jess Bielenberg, John Matthews, Johnny Lee, Lindsey Tran, Maya Lowe, Michelle Agee, Monica Royce, Nate Tang, Pooja Gandhi, Raffaello d’Amore, Ruth Tennen, Scott Dvorak, Scott Hadly, Stella Aslibekyan, Sungmin Park, Taylor Morrow, Teresa Filshtein Sonmez, Trung Le, and Yiwen Zheng.

The post Scientists Find Genetic Link to Loss of Smell Among COVID-19 Patients appeared first on 23andMe Blog.

 

[47of74]

Interesting article about the return to the office

Quote

With the coronavirus pandemic receding for every vaccine that reaches an arm, the push by some employers to get people back into offices is clashing with workers who’ve embraced remote work as the new normal.

While companies from Google to Ford Motor Co. and Citigroup Inc. have promised greater flexibility, many chief executives have publicly extolled the importance of being in offices. Some have lamented the perils of remote work, saying it diminishes collaboration and company culture. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon said at a recent conference that it doesn’t work “for those who want to hustle.”

But legions of employees aren’t so sure. If anything, the past year has proved that lots of work can be done from anywhere, sans lengthy commutes on crowded trains or highways. Some people have moved. Others have lingering worries about the virus and vaccine-hesitant colleagues.

At least some atop the corporate ladder seem to be paying attention. In a Jan. 12 PwC survey of 133 executives, fewer than one in five said they want to go back to pre-pandemic routines. But only 13% were prepared to let go of the office for good.

My job is completely remote so I work full time at home.  I actually would like a flexible arrangement in future roles where I can work part of the time at home and part of the time at the office, but if I need to be at the office full time that's OK too. 

[Ozlsn]

6 hours ago, 47of74 said:

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon said at a recent conference that it doesn’t work “for those who want to hustle.”

Curious to why he thinks that. I would have said that work from home perhaps shows who is actually getting the work done, possibly quietly, and who is.. Good at giving that appearance, particularly in review meetings.

The head of Dept here is an extrovert and was pushing for everyone to return full time ASAP - I think he was surprised by the response. The compromise has been at least 3 days on site, manager needs to sign off on the other two which has been working. Of course right now it's moot as we're all remote again anyway.

[Ozlsn]

So I finally managed to get through and have an appointment booked. Quick rant about process in spoiler.

Spoiler

That was one of the most frustrating things I have ever done. I was fortunate - only 4 redial attempts and a 15 minute wait on hold before I got through. And then I had to very slowly give all my information, spelling everything out, to the person at the other end. When you order something online most places have that autocomplete function sourced from Google that gives options, but this is a government database so presumably for privacy reasons they don't. The system also apparently doesn't then pop up with the closest locations that have available vaccine - or maybe they do, given the four closest centres to me were booked out. I asked how far in advance they could book - not very, because it's dependent on what supply they get (federal government sends the supply, this was a state government line). We finally managed to grab a cancellation in a centre 14km away from me in two weeks time.

If I were setting this up I would 1. Have a callback function on the phone line, and have one group taking inbound and one group making outbound calls. 2. Have a website where you could register all the required details in a form, with your contact details so they could free up the phone line for people making outbound calls, and for people needing to change times. 3. Make the entire fucking system opt out to begin with, and have a system where you could go on a wait list for vaccines in your area for no shows. 

Basically I think some of this "vaccine hesitancy" is being driven by frustration at how freaking hard it is to get any appointment. You want people to get vaccinated then you need to make the damn process as easy as possible. Not run in the way this godawful system is being. The fact that the lines are overwhelmed, that it takes so bloody long even to get all the information entered, that there is no certainty of even being able to get a damn booking makes it a freaking joke, and with new variants emerging regularly and possibly being both more contagious and  resistant to the current vaccines we need to speed the bloody process up here so we have at least some degree of population immunity to limit spread before we're back to March 2020 again. 

[treehugger]

I got it done on Monday.  Quebec has done an amazing job at making it easy to get vaccinated.  I booked my appointment on line, showed up at the appointment time and 5 minutes later was vaccinated and in the waiting area, where I was monitored for 15 minutes and allowed to go back home. So quick and easy.  
I was worried about the side effects but had only a very mild headache the next day and that was it.  It was Phizer, so I am pleasantly pleased. 

[47of74]

Some good news about mRNA vaccines

Quote

When the final Phase 3 data came out last November showing the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were more than 90% effective, Dr. Anthony Fauci had no words. He texted smiley face emojis to a journalist seeking his reaction.

This astonishing efficacy has held up in real-world studies in the US, Israel and elsewhere. The mRNA technology -- developed for its speed and flexibility as opposed to expectations it would provide strong protection against an infectious disease -- has pleased and astonished even those who already advocated for it.

The messenger RNA, or mRNA, platform may be new to the global public, but it's a technology that researchers had been betting on for decades. Now those bets are paying off, and not just by turning back a pandemic that killed millions in just a year.

This approach that led to remarkably safe and effective vaccines against a new virus is also showing promise against old enemies such as HIV, and infections that threaten babies and young children, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and metapneumovirus. It's being tested as a treatment for cancers, including melanoma and brain tumors. It might offer a new way to treat autoimmune diseases. And it's also being checked out as a possible alternative to gene therapy for intractable conditions such as sickle cell disease.

 

[louisa05]

I’m so tired of the “return to work”, “should people return to work”, “anxiety over returning to work” articles filling the media. I returned to fully in person school in August and we stayed in person all year. Husband got one half day off last summer when they had a minor outbreak and closed to deep clean their facility and left an hour early for each dose of his vaccine. So all together, he had six hours off due to Covid. 
A December study reported that only 1 in 5 working people were working from home for all or most of this. That’s 20%. Those of you who did are the minority. 

[CTRLZero]

My sister is getting a lot of this, too.  “I bet you’re glad to get back to work.”  She’s tired of saying, we’ve been working in the building the whole pandemic.  The bank lobby was the only thing that wasn’t open, and those employees either spread out through the building or worked remotely from home.  Her employer turned out to be great dealing with the pandemic.  They came up with ways to keep everyone on payroll and did not count Covid-related time off (testing and vaccination recovery) against sick leave.  They are on track to fully reopen soon.  

[smittykins]

I got my second dose(Moderna)this morning.  No symptoms yet(I realize it’s been less than four hours, so it might be too soon). I got permission from my priest to leave church after Communion(a fellow parishioner drove me to the drugstore).  I ended up being half an hour early, and realized I could have stayed to the end, which would’ve been only about ten more minutes, and still made it with time to spare.

[Howl]

I think this is the right place to post this.  Today the Wall Street Journal published this op-ed from a pathologist and a physicist.

The Science Suggests a Wuhan Lab Leak The Covid-19 pathogen has a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.  "Evidence that the coronavirus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology catches up to Fauci and other Wuhan Covid deniers, despite suspicious facts that have been apparent from the start." 

First, this was not written by epidemiologists or virologists.  Second, the title equivocates.  Third, I'm suspicious of the timing. And fourth, it has a strong "Aha! Smoking gun" vibe that this aspect of the corona virus has somehow has been overlooked by the entire global science community and but was noticed by this two really smart guys who are pontificating outside their respective fields. Fifth, it implies that Fauci has been deliberately lying and misleading, so fuck them. 

The WSJ has been beating on this topic (COVID originated in a lab) aggressively since mid May.  

Some other media outlets are covering this topic in a minor way; only the WSJ is pushing so hard that the virus was modified in a lab and escaped.  

Here's an interesting article from the Forbes web site (mid April) that discusses the type of complex and detailed investigation that would have to be undertaken by epidemiologists and other scientists to determine how the virus got it's start in the human population. 

Did Covid-19 Come From A Lab? Most Likely Not, But The Jury’s Still Out

If any of you are following this topic and have related links based on hard-core science, please share. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Howl

[adidas]

Guess what I got this morning?! Woohoo! Pfizer 1 jabbed and done!

[Sarcastically spinster]

3 hours ago, Howl said:

The Science Suggests a Wuhan Lab Leak The Covid-19 pathogen has a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.  "Evidence that the coronavirus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology catches up to Fauci and other Wuhan Covid deniers, despite suspicious facts that have been apparent from the start." 

I'd totally buy an unintentional lab leak of something that was being studied.  China doesn't have the greatest safety record, and if I remember correctly they've had accidental leaks before.  I could even buy a theory that it was something that had been modified in some way for research purposes.  

But as soon as you try to claim that it's a bioengineered weapon, you've lost me.  

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, Howl said:

I think this is the right place to post this.  Today the Wall Street Journal published this op-ed from a pathologist and a physicist.

The Science Suggests a Wuhan Lab Leak The Covid-19 pathogen has a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.  "Evidence that the coronavirus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology catches up to Fauci and other Wuhan Covid deniers, despite suspicious facts that have been apparent from the start." 

First, this was not written by epidemiologists or virologists.  Second, the title equivocates.  Third, I'm suspicious of the timing. And fourth, it has a strong "Aha! Smoking gun" vibe that this aspect of the corona virus has somehow has been overlooked by the entire global science community and but was noticed by this two really smart guys who are pontificating outside their respective fields. Fifth, it implies that Fauci has been deliberately lying and misleading, so fuck them. 

The WSJ has been beating on this topic (COVID originated in a lab) aggressively since mid May.  

Some other media outlets are covering this topic in a minor way; only the WSJ is pushing so hard that the virus was modified in a lab and escaped.  

Here's an interesting article from the Forbes web site (mid April) that discusses the type of complex and detailed investigation that would have to be undertaken by epidemiologists and other scientists to determine how the virus got it's start in the human population. 

Did Covid-19 Come From A Lab? Most Likely Not, But The Jury’s Still Out

If any of you are following this topic and have related links based on hard-core science, please share. 

This article goes into the science, and why people are suspicious.

It does veer a bit into "Virologists are mad! And cannot be trusted!" territory, but the scientific points and questions raised are valid, and the science is good. 

It still doesn't definitely answer it either way - and honestly weirder recombinations have happened. Could it have been lab spillover from research into how coronaviruses enter human cells or other? Yep. Could it have been an entirely random spillover event in Nature when someone was infected by both a bat and human coronavirus and recombination occurred? Yep. Could it have been a hybrid when a lab worker managed to infect themselves with a bat coronavirus while also infected with a human coronavirus? Yep.

As said previously I don't think we're likely to get definitive answers. I also find it pretty bloody funny that they think Fauci is on top of all NIH funding... that is a lot of grants, pretty sure he's not even close to knowing that.

 

[Howl]

Thanks, y'all.  I'm willing to entertain any of those possibilities! 

My grave concern right now is how this is being politically weaponized by the right, rather than really wanting to understand what took place. 

I also think this is part of a CYA operation to help people forget that the Trump administration dismantled safeguards and oversight that were in place to monitor emerging viruses and pandemics.