Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[plaques]

Here I am trying to catch up with Stanley in the longevity stakes when I find the Buffoon has enrolled me in a covid experiment I don't really want to take part in.

[Tripps]

From the Mail online

Even more infectious sub-variant of Omicron is now DOMINANT in England but health chiefs insist BA.2 strain is no more lethal - and they reveal they've now also spotted 32 case of 'Deltacron'

UKHSA scientists say Omicron sub-type BA.2 now makes up 52 per cent of cases
But there is no evidence it leads to more admissions or is better at dodging jabs
Scientists also warned 32 cases of 'Deltacron' have been detected in the UK


I'd been wondering what would be added to the mix for the fourth booster for the vulnerable. If the same as the original - then what's the point? Not that it even protected you from the then current Delta variant. Now even slanting it towards Omicron looks like it will already be out of date if distributed now, and by the time it comes out - there will probably be yet another mutation.

I heard of the Omicron variant first on 27th November 2021, the Deltacron variant on 9th January 2022, and the BA2 Variant on 21 Jan 2022.

I'm close to declaring the pandemic is over.

But what about Long Covid came a cry from afar. . . .

[Sue]

Long covid is an example of post viral fatigue which until covid, sufferers were often not believed. I know I was one of them in the 1980s.

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.c ... g-fatigue/

[Tripps]

I sympathise, but I find it hard to visualise you as lethargic in any way.

Always think of you as Rochdale's answer to the Duracell bunny.

[Sue]

I was ill for about two and a half years , the first year I spent a lot of time in bed, even in hospital as they did endless tests to see what was wrong. For several years afterwards even a cold floored me. In that two years I hardly ever managed a full week at work , two days and i was off the rest of the week. I knew I was getting better when I managed a 4 day week. I was nauseous, permanently tired, felt hot and cold at the same time, ached all over , would spontaneously fall asleep after only about 30 minutes being awake. I couldn't walk any distance. I remember one day even peeling a carrot put me in bed for the rest of the day. I was brought home from work on more than one occasion, or spent several hours a sleep in a darkened room with the heating turned up high. I remember it so well and I was told it was psychosomatic, stress, depression, anxiety. None of which made sense. I had however had a violent gastric virus whilst camping in France, followed in days by a cough and chest infection that just never cleared. This was a week before I returned to work after the summer . I was off work two weeks almost immediately . When I went back I could not function, brain fog, fatigue, and it all got worse over a few weeks. My biggest fear with covid, was that coming back, though there is no logical reason why it should happen again. Now it does not worry me, I feel confident about present medical prevention and treatment, two years ago not so.

[Tripps]

That sounds awful. Good of you to describe it. Can it be possible that your immune sytem was 'supercharged' as a result? I note you have not had the Covid whilst people close to you have. Do you agrree it is effectively over now - or am I being too hopeful?

Or has the biggest dead cat ever, been thrown on to the table.

[Stanley]

That does indeed sound horrible Sue.
I think one of the problems is that we had reached the stage where we weren't being attacked by many of the common viruses of my youth, Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Measles, German Measles. So when we suddenly had a fresh candidate, Covid, it was like the end of the world. I can never remember being frightened of any of the childhood diseases but Covid did it, I think because of my age and the fact I was told two years ago that if I caught it I would probably die. That phase seems to have passed and now it's more like Winter Flu than a killer, although Flu can be a killer as well.
So people like me are confused and our only defence is to keep isolating and taking precautions.
Like Sue I have not had Covid (Touch wood) even though I have probably contacted it in the family. I have no idea why. An immune system honed by BCG Immunotherapy for the cancer? I haven't a clue.

[Sue]

That sounds awful. Good of you to describe it. Can it be possible that your immune sytem was 'supercharged' as a result? I note you have not had the Covid whilst people close to you have. Do you agrree it is effectively over now - or am I being too hopeful?

Or has the biggest dead cat ever, been thrown on to the table.

I have felt for some time, as I am sure you will have noticed, that the worse is over. To me it is another of a whole bank of illnesses that can strike. It has a potential to be severe, it has a potential to mutate to a more severe form but it is no longer a complete foreigner to our immune system. Those that have had omicron or indeed any other form of the disease will have a wider immune response than those that are just vaccinated as other parts of the virus that tend not to change will also have triggered a response as I understand it.

However the way the vaccines can now be made, different from older methods means a new vaccine can be made fairly quickly if needed. As yet this has not been necessary. The immune response is very complicated, and I am far from an expert , but experts there are and I trust them. If they say the present vaccine is sufficient at the time being I believe them, if we are told a new vaccine is needed I believe them too. What we do know is that each time you are exposed to any disease then the immune response is triggered creating a better response to that disease. In a way I feel cheated that I did not catch covid when all my close family and friends did, because my immune response is still at a basic level responding only to the spike protein. The more exposure you have the higher and faster the response and if you are ill the less ill you will be. Its possible I suppose that my immunity slowly built up when I was exposed to my infectious friends and family. Perhaps I received a dose sufficient to activate my immune system but not enough to cause the illness. Perhaps its a genetic response as the same happened to our daughter Julia, who also never caught it.

Yes people can be very ill indeed but evidence suggests this is now the unvaccinated and those who already are seriously at risk. As my brother is one of the latter my confidence grew as I saw that he was only slightly more ill that Bob, and recovered in 6 days. I definitely feel it is time to move forward. People will get long covid or as I prefer to call it, post viral fatigue but at last even that is being taken seriously and there is hope

[Wendyf]

Well said Sue, I agree with you. If we get this milder infection now then we should have more protection against further mutations as they arrive.

[plaques]

The immune system is a very complicated beast. Why some people suffer and others don't is largely unknown. Viruses have this ability to upset the whole system in ways we know very little about. Six years ago Mrs P had a very bad gastro infection. Collapsed on the bathroom floor. Within three days she was up and about nearly back to normal. Three weeks later when going to a concern she felt wobbly in her legs. Concert abandoned and up to the EAU. Nothing wrong so back home after a night in hospital. Another week and she couldn't walk. Back in hospital where they diagnosed Guillain–Barré syndrome. Intensive care and months of recuperation. Later the Zika virus was shown to give high incidences of Guillain–Barré syndrome. All down to the immune system running wild. With respect to covid the long term affects are unknown so even with a vaccine its not all El Dorado and clapping and cheering.

[Sue]

True. I have known several people who have had the Guillain Barre syndrome, although it is quite rare. However lets keep things in perspective. Complications and long term effects are in the minority. If we all dwelt on the negatives no one would do anything. I worked with some nasty bacteria in my working life but I always feared the chemicals more than the bugs I worked with. There is no reason to suppose that for the vast majority of people will there will be long term effects. This virus is the most ever researched virus. It would not surprise me if sometime in the future we find it is not as abnormal as first thought but that most viruses behave in similar ways, so why should long term effects be expected. We all suffer from many virus infections that we put down to colds or an unknown rash, we have them, recover , and move on So lets be positive, and do the same here, at the moment there is enough going on in the world to be negative about. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing as they say, trust the experts. Remember as the general public we get offered a watered down version of the science, often biased according to who wrote it. The scientific papers are way beyond me these days so I too have to look for a watered down version, but do try to keep my readings scientific, apolitical and from trustworthy papers and magazines

[Sue]

https://post.parliament.uk/long-covid-t ... -covid-19/

[Sue]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02795-x

[Stanley]

"but do try to keep my readings scientific, apolitical and from trustworthy papers and magazines"
That's why I try to stick to what I read on OG....
Thanks for taking the trouble Sue.....

[Tripps]

I know 'Worldometers' doesn't find favour with everyone on here, but I think it's worth noting that there have been no case / death numbers given on there for three consecutive days now. Do 'they' think it's all over?

[plaques]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK: UK Summary https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk

Has it down to..

New cases 82451

Deaths There were 138 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus reported on 28 February 2022,

A case of glass quarter full or empty.

[Stanley]

How does that 138 deaths compare to other causes?

[plaques]

How does that 138 deaths compare to other causes?

I don't see any relevance in comparing one type of death with other illnesses. Someone has lost a loved one and for me it stops there. I understand that when a condition becomes endemic then we have to face reality and spend money wisely but at the same time try to minimise the spread. As I have said previously dropping all official controls in one swoop may be a step too far especially when the 'experts' are predicting a rise in cases but are unsure to what degree the rise will be. Removing all means of measurements and relying on hospital deaths as the sole indicator could result in us being slow off the mark in taking pre-emptive action.

[Stanley]

Margaret reports from Western Australia that husband Mick has had close contact with a Covid Case and in consequence she is locked down for a week of isolation. They are taking Covid very seriously.

[Stanley]

This morning Mags reports feeling lousy so she has had a PCR test. They are at the stage in WA where we were 12 months ago.

[Tizer]

I hope they are both over it quickly.

[Whyperion]

How does that 138 deaths compare to other causes?

I don't see any relevance in comparing one type of death with other illnesses. Someone has lost a loved one and for me it stops there. I understand that when a condition becomes endemic then we have to face reality and spend money wisely but at the same time try to minimise the spread. As I have said previously dropping all official controls in one swoop may be a step too far especially when the 'experts' are predicting a rise in cases but are unsure to what degree the rise will be. Removing all means of measurements and relying on hospital deaths as the sole indicator could result in us being slow off the mark in taking pre-emptive action.

I think its a reasonable question, daily deaths over say 400 from a particular cause or group of causes could indicate solutions that could assist avoiding those deaths - like better traffic management for the constant onslaught on (or by) cyclists - ok not 400 a day but still significant avoidable incidets.

On Case numbers the present reporting is about 45,000 at day ( probably under represented due to lack of testing and forwarding of results), daily deaths remain under 200, and vaccines are being dripped in at a reasonable constant rate to remnants needed. Overall Hospital Numbers continue to fall but will they get below 10,000 at the end of the day ? Overall it appears the booster vaccine did the job expected, and further medications mainly assisting the immune system to calm down looks to improve treatments and outcomes.

[Stanley]

Margaret's PCR test was negative but she says she still feels crook.....

[Big Kev]

Snotty noses this morning for both of us, a quick swab up the nose and P is positive for Covid-19. I'm still showing as negative but will test again tomorrow. We've done well to avoid it for two years.

[plaques]

Hope its only a mild infection. Now you're back playing on home ground If you need anything just shout. Drop a shopping list off at our house for anything urgent and your wish is my command.