Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[mongers]

Sister has it, tested positive after flying back from spring break with the girls in Ireland on Sunday.  Feels like crap, but sounds better than she was.

I'm glad she's not too bad, but man this variant is super contagious, seems like everyone is likely going to catch it somehow.

[crazy canuck]

Heard a Doctor say this morning that the UK hospital count has sky rocketed but the reporting to the public is slow due to the time it takes for the data to get to government and then get disseminated through the media.

His opinion was that Canada is not far behind since we have followed the trend of removing restrictions.

[mongers]

Heard a Doctor say this morning that the UK hospital count has sky rocketed but the reporting to the public is slow due to the time it takes for the data to get to government and then get disseminated through the media.

His opinion was that Canada is not far behind since we have followed the trend of removing restrictions.

Hospital cases have gone up about 20% in a week, so not good.

Found this on the bbc site:

Hospital numbers rising
The most recent government figures for the whole of the UK show 14,948 people with coronavirus were in hospital, up from 12,206 a week earlier.

Of those in hospital with coronavirus, 287 are in mechanical ventilation beds - using ventilators to help them breathe - up from 254 a week earlier.

From this page, which is quite useful as it's a UK wide daily update off official figures:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274

[Sheilbh]

Although with this variant as with omicron 1, about half of the hospital cases are people in hospital for other things who test positive and half are people being treated for covid. It's been a huge shift from earlier variants when 80% of hospital cases were being admitted for covid.

I'm not sure if it's that slow either - on the dashboard the hospital data's up to date until 19th March (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/), so it's out by 3-4 days.

It looks like we're just at the start of this variant (the US and, I assume, Canada) are even further behind. But, on the upside, it looks from Denmark and the Netherland who got it first that it'll be a bit like omicron 1 in spiking very quickly and then falling very quickly. My worry is that it coincides with third shots waning for the vulnerable/elderly - and I still don't know why no-one seems to be talking about doing another booster shot

[viper37]

- and I still don't know why no-one seems to be talking about doing another booster shot

Quebec is offering a 4th dose for some vulnerable people.

I'm not sure it would be wise to get everyone vaccinated right now with a 4th dose of a non adjusted vaccine.  Moderna and pfizer are supposed to have their new vaccine ready by May, probably able to distribute sufficiently by the summer.

If we can, we should wait for that and squash that disease righ there.

[Barrister]

Alberta is handing out 4th doses to certain categories of immuno-compromised people, 5 months after the third.

I hadn't heard about new Moderna / Pfizer vaccines though...

[Sheilbh]

I've checked - apparently they are giving fourth doses to some very high risk people

Edit: And they've apparently just widened it to include all over 75s, immunosuprressed people and some specific conditions

[garbon]

I've checked - apparently they are giving fourth doses to some very high risk people

Edit: And they've apparently just widened it to include all over 75s, immunosuprressed people and some specific conditions

Yeah I'd already seen when they previously announced that.

[Duque de Bragança]

I've checked - apparently they are giving fourth doses to some very high risk people

Edit: And they've apparently just widened it to include all over 75s, immunosuprressed people and some specific conditions

All people over 80 over here, but that's the only difference.

[viper37]

Alberta is handing out 4th doses to certain categories of immuno-compromised people, 5 months after the third.

I hadn't heard about new Moderna / Pfizer vaccines though...

Seems to be aimed for August rather than May.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-eyes-covid-booster-by-august-not-clear-yet-if-omicron-specific-needed-2022-02-16/

[Gups]

It is crazy how many people I know - friends, work people etc - who have caught it in the last two weeks.

It really feels like it's mopping up all those people like me who were getting a little smug at not having had it

It's also really weird being back basically in full first lockdown style lockdown - excellently timed to coincide with a bout of nice weather I'm starting to feel like Bart when he breaks his leg.

Ditto. Got it for the first time, just a week before due to jead off on my first proper holiday for two and a half years. It's really seems to be spreading like wildfire through my work and friendship circles.  Maybe I'll get lucky and test negative before then.

[garbon]

Yeah once you click place order you are told there isn't any.

Finally tried again today and got that message, so looks like I got my initial requests in right before mad rush. Also I like how website lets me know that if I'm in one of the other UK nations, I can still go to central locations to pick ones up. Helpful.

[mongers]

Turns out this still might be a thing

Covid cases have climbed by a million in a week in the UK, data from the Office for National Statistics reveals.

Swab tests suggest about one in every 16 people is infected, as the contagious Omicron variant BA.2 continues to spread.

That's just under 4.3 million people, up from 3.3 million the week before

[Josquius]

Worth noting it's just recorded numbers too. With tests unavailable and so many ceasing to care...

[Sheilbh]

Worth noting it's just recorded numbers too. With tests unavailable and so many ceasing to care...

No - that's the ONS survey which is a random sample taken every week.