Bless you! I've been donating to MSF monthly for years plus frequent one-time donations for special needs. Was gonna add match-able dollars, but since your and James Gleick's have already been exceeded, it seems redundant to do so. Again, all blessings to you for your compassion!
The material attempting to separate the intrinsic properties of a particular variant from the context (always shifting) is especially valuable to me. I also appreciate the fundraising Doctors Without Borders. Few things are as frustrating as the tendency for those in the US to see only within our borders. It is especially concerning regarding Yemen where bombs I paid for are doing so much damage. Thank you.
In brief: "Covid denialism, like AIDS denialism, reveals that many of doctors’ assumptions are incorrect. We overestimate the value of reasoning and facts. We believe in our clinical authority. We expect patients to behave rationally. But we all develop our beliefs through interactions with other people — what you believe depends on whom you trust."
Zeynep, please publish some statistics on the current situation (Delta plus Omicron) and the statistical fate of us vaccinated or vaccinated + boosted elderly. and very elderly. You see a lot more data than I do, and I have quit spending 2-4 hours a day studying this issue because, life. Thank you very much.
That Civic is probably good for another 50,000 -100,000 miles.
As time goes on in Omicron hotspots, I wonder if we're using the wrong endpoints when talking about intrinsic severity. Outcomes like 'hospitalisation' are surely partly based on doctors' expectations of disease course and prognosis; if a lot of people are being hospitalised with Omicron but aren't even on cannula oxygen, I sort of wonder why they're being admitted in the first place.
In the Imperial study, Omicron cases had 25% lower hospitalisation than Delta, but 41% lower overnight admissions. How would it look if we measured Length of Stay, say, which is the big one for bed capacity planning. To be fair, the IC authors note this limitation:
_"It is quite possible that larger reductions in hospitalisation risk for Omicron vs Delta may be estimated for the endpoints of ICU admission and death, given that remaining immune protection against more severe outcomes of infection are expected to be much higher than those against milder endpoints."_
This isn't to dismiss the real concerns here and of course the impact of Omicron on CoV-naive populations, but the longer this wave continues, the longer it seems like if the health systems in highly-seropositive countries were going to collapse under the strain, we'd be seeing it already.
I like the recommendation to get a pulse ox! Is there any way to know what brands are most reliable? Are they all fine? I remember having a beast of a time trying figure it out last time I looked into this.
Covid spikes cast the long shadow of Long Covid into the future. Perhaps the next time you are looking for content, focus on Long Covid, particularly how children are damaged.
I am so excited! I just talked to an Amazon Customer service agent. When he said he was in Mumbai (I ask because I always want to know,. I told him about the Corbevax, and he said he is getting his vaccination *tomorrow!*
Corbevax is being shared patent-free and it is easier to make and store than the ones we are using here. I have kept up with it because it was developed right here in Houston.
I am also really interested in seeing the nitty gritty of independent comparative data on omicron health outcomes and severity for seropostive vs unvaccinated people. It feels like the media is glossing over the details.
I have seen some charts, omicron is worse for children than the previous variants. Have you looked into that ? Would you let a 4 year old go to kindergarten ?
Sincerely hoping covid has cycled into the pool of other well-known viruses that plague us year to year. I fear we're approaching a point where vaccinated and well-intentioned people are ready to revolt at more restrictions.
It's such a long time since you wrote "This must be your first" and I have seen precious few references to Jan 6 as an attempted coup. There must be more nuance to what's happening to prevent another, successful, attempt than only the Jan 6 committee investigation. What's the landscape and how likely are we to survive as an actual democracy?
And thanks for your sponsorship of DWB, that's amazing!
Any insight as to whether those infected with O are contagious for a shorter period? I think we're going to see a huge uptick in those who test + and fail to isolate for 10 days (or avoid testing to avoid isolation). The combination of >> transmissibility and potential < severity of O -- plus the CDC lowering isolation days for HCP - could be driving people to decide the costs of isolation don't outweigh the benefit of avoiding infecting others.
What are your thoughts on boosters for healthy, young, vaccinated individuals? I have both shots of Pfizer plus a breakthrough infection from September and I'm trying to determine whether or not it makes sense to get a booster.
Bless you! I've been donating to MSF monthly for years plus frequent one-time donations for special needs. Was gonna add match-able dollars, but since your and James Gleick's have already been exceeded, it seems redundant to do so. Again, all blessings to you for your compassion!
The material attempting to separate the intrinsic properties of a particular variant from the context (always shifting) is especially valuable to me. I also appreciate the fundraising Doctors Without Borders. Few things are as frustrating as the tendency for those in the US to see only within our borders. It is especially concerning regarding Yemen where bombs I paid for are doing so much damage. Thank you.
Dear Zeynep...you are one of the few bright lights out there...I came across this article today, and thought of you: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2115832?query=WB
In brief: "Covid denialism, like AIDS denialism, reveals that many of doctors’ assumptions are incorrect. We overestimate the value of reasoning and facts. We believe in our clinical authority. We expect patients to behave rationally. But we all develop our beliefs through interactions with other people — what you believe depends on whom you trust."
Take care, and stay well.
Zeynep, please publish some statistics on the current situation (Delta plus Omicron) and the statistical fate of us vaccinated or vaccinated + boosted elderly. and very elderly. You see a lot more data than I do, and I have quit spending 2-4 hours a day studying this issue because, life. Thank you very much.
That Civic is probably good for another 50,000 -100,000 miles.
As time goes on in Omicron hotspots, I wonder if we're using the wrong endpoints when talking about intrinsic severity. Outcomes like 'hospitalisation' are surely partly based on doctors' expectations of disease course and prognosis; if a lot of people are being hospitalised with Omicron but aren't even on cannula oxygen, I sort of wonder why they're being admitted in the first place.
In the Imperial study, Omicron cases had 25% lower hospitalisation than Delta, but 41% lower overnight admissions. How would it look if we measured Length of Stay, say, which is the big one for bed capacity planning. To be fair, the IC authors note this limitation:
_"It is quite possible that larger reductions in hospitalisation risk for Omicron vs Delta may be estimated for the endpoints of ICU admission and death, given that remaining immune protection against more severe outcomes of infection are expected to be much higher than those against milder endpoints."_
This isn't to dismiss the real concerns here and of course the impact of Omicron on CoV-naive populations, but the longer this wave continues, the longer it seems like if the health systems in highly-seropositive countries were going to collapse under the strain, we'd be seeing it already.
I like the recommendation to get a pulse ox! Is there any way to know what brands are most reliable? Are they all fine? I remember having a beast of a time trying figure it out last time I looked into this.
Any evidence that breakthrough infection after vaccine adds further super-powers to the immune system?
Covid spikes cast the long shadow of Long Covid into the future. Perhaps the next time you are looking for content, focus on Long Covid, particularly how children are damaged.
I am so excited! I just talked to an Amazon Customer service agent. When he said he was in Mumbai (I ask because I always want to know,. I told him about the Corbevax, and he said he is getting his vaccination *tomorrow!*
I have reported a few times on Corbevax. There is a story out today that it is approved for use in India!https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/30/corbevax-texas-childrens-covid-vaccine/
Corbevax is being shared patent-free and it is easier to make and store than the ones we are using here. I have kept up with it because it was developed right here in Houston.
I am also really interested in seeing the nitty gritty of independent comparative data on omicron health outcomes and severity for seropostive vs unvaccinated people. It feels like the media is glossing over the details.
I have seen some charts, omicron is worse for children than the previous variants. Have you looked into that ? Would you let a 4 year old go to kindergarten ?
Sincerely hoping covid has cycled into the pool of other well-known viruses that plague us year to year. I fear we're approaching a point where vaccinated and well-intentioned people are ready to revolt at more restrictions.
It's such a long time since you wrote "This must be your first" and I have seen precious few references to Jan 6 as an attempted coup. There must be more nuance to what's happening to prevent another, successful, attempt than only the Jan 6 committee investigation. What's the landscape and how likely are we to survive as an actual democracy?
And thanks for your sponsorship of DWB, that's amazing!
Any insight as to whether those infected with O are contagious for a shorter period? I think we're going to see a huge uptick in those who test + and fail to isolate for 10 days (or avoid testing to avoid isolation). The combination of >> transmissibility and potential < severity of O -- plus the CDC lowering isolation days for HCP - could be driving people to decide the costs of isolation don't outweigh the benefit of avoiding infecting others.
What are your thoughts on boosters for healthy, young, vaccinated individuals? I have both shots of Pfizer plus a breakthrough infection from September and I'm trying to determine whether or not it makes sense to get a booster.