I too recently heard the same thing but it was among two young mothers (in their 30s) talking to each other about one of the kids recovering from RSV while I was at the mall. wrbtrader
RSV is dramatically increasing in North America (Canada and the United States). In an ironic way, the misinformation idiots can not post misinformation about the vaccines for RSV because there are no vaccines for RSV. Historically, with every Pandemic in the history of mankind...as the world traverses from the Pandemic to an Endemic...other diseases make a dramatic surge for a few years. There's a term for it although I can not remember it that was coined during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. ------- High RSV activity is burdening health systems in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Hawaii and the continental United States and some pediatric hospitals in these areas are reaching capacity as a result of this surge, Etienne said during a briefing in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. https://globalnews.ca/news/9283833/americas-triple-threat-rsv-covid-flu-paho/ ------- I was recently at three pharmacies to look for Pediatric FLU medicine for a relative visiting from the United States (Arizona) with her family...two of her children had the FLU and were not vaccinated against the FLU. Luckily, all the hospitals have medicine and we had to endure a 3-hour wait at a local hospital to see a Doctor, tests, and get FLU medicine. A crappy way to spend your vacation, sick in a hotel, trying hard not to get a double whammy (RSV) instead of enjoying Québec, Canada. Mom discovers while here in Québec, Canada that the daycare back in Arizona had an outbreak of both FLU and RSV...two kids from that daycare needed to be hospitalized...one on a ventilator. wrbtrader
i would like to know how the 1918 influenza pandemic was handled... and over with in 2 years, with 50 million deaths world wide, with a population half of what it is today? no antibiotics, no antivirals, no masking, no lockdowns... so?
They used very strict restrictions and infection camps but no lockdowns...easy to do in World War I. Further, the world was not as globally connected during World War I as it is today. Thus, cross-border travel was not easy especially crossing the oceans unless you were military. On top of that, they discover the importance of face mask wear, social distancing, and hand washing. The above allowed a pandemic to end simply because individuals who were infected either died off or developed immunity. Thus, it was a brutal time during the World War and people very easily accepted death as if there was no prevention...a lot fewer politics too involving mixing politics and a global health crisis. My great-grandfather lost (death) two of his children to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and he was an Army military officer who then saw his other children (one was sick too) taken away and put in an infection camp for children. They were then isolated for about a month before being allowed to return home. As an example of strict restrictions...only sick children that recovered (survived) were allowed back into schools. Children not sick...they were not allowed to go to school until it was clear that the Pandemic was over. On top of that, many schools closed during the War. It made it very easy to shut things down except for what was needed to make War machines in reference to Europe. Forced natural immunity is what he called it in his military journal and other angry parents used that phrase too especially immigrants that felt they were being targeted. It's the reason why +50 million of the global population was easily killed off (forced together) and another 450 million became infected but survived. Unfortunately, military soldiers were the ones spreading the disease from one country to another country. Simply, the strict restrictions didn't work too well and the infection spread fast. Note: Many military bases in the U.S. did lockdown because of the Influenza Pandemic after they were hit harder with disease spread & death than the general U.S. public. wrbtrader
Meet the new dangerous Covid Omicron BF.7 variant which evolved in China... Covid variant BF.7 spreading like wildfire in China: How worried should you be? According to World Health Organization (WHO), BF.7, which is a shorter term for BA.5.2.1.7, is the fastest spreading Covid virus, and is currently responsible for the outbreak in China. https://www.businesstoday.in/corona...a-how-worried-should-you-be-357236-2022-12-21 The fresh surge in Covid cases in China has sent shock waves through the subcontinent, especially in India. As per news reports, China has been hit by omicron subvariant BF.7, which is spreading like wildfire and has already affected thousands across the country. According to World Health Organization (WHO), BF.7, which is a shorter term for BA.5.2.1.7, is the fastest spreading Covid virus. China has so far reported 3,101 new symptomatic Covid infections on Tuesday, of which 3,049 were domestic cases. The total number of confirmed cases with symptoms reached 386,276. China reported five deaths on Monday and two on Sunday, according to a Reuters report, taking its total death count to 5,242. But as per several local reports, the situation is much worse than what is been reported by the state media. What is BF.7 subvariant? BF.7 is an Omicron's subvariant, which has been in transmission for almost a year and has hit many countries so far. Cases of BF.7 subvariant hit the US in October, while in the UK over 7 per cent of the cases were of this variant. As per health experts, there are over 500 Omicron sub-variants that have been affecting people in different countries. It has now reached Australia and Belgium. The virus is highly infectious and can escape the immune response to the earlier versions, either from natural infection or through vaccination. As per experts, Omicron BF.7 has more immune escape capability, a shorter incubation period, and a faster transmission rate, as compared to the BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5 variants detected previously. Also Watch: What Is BF.7 Covid Variant? China's New Covid Variant Reaches India Li Tongzeng, a medical expert at Beijing's Xiaotangshan Hospital, told The Global Times, that the symptoms caused by BF.7 are similar to other Omicron sub-variants. Patients may have fever, cough, sore throat, and other symptoms, with some symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, and others. Li said BF.7 is believed to have an R0, or basic reproduction number, of 10 to 18.6. Therefore, an infected person will transmit the virus to an average of 10 to 18.6 other people when he or she is in contact. Research has shown omicron had an average R0 of 5.08. besides, BF.7 has more mutations in its spike protein than its base variant, which makes it even more infectious and dangerous, even to those who are fully vaccinated. China’s struggle Of late, China has been reportedly struggling to contain a sudden surge in Covid-related deaths after an abrupt shift from its Zero Covid policy earlier this month that imposed strict lockdowns and mass testing after a round of severe protests from its citizens. Several reports have been doing rounds on social media about the current crisis. The hospital staff and workers at funeral homes and crematoriums are working overtime to handle the growing number of bodies. In one such video, shared by The Telegraph on Twitter, a doctor, after long hours at work, collapsed on his chair. Unable to revive him, his colleagues moved him out of the chair, The Telegraph video said. On Monday, Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist based in the US, in a long Twitter thread, said that more than 60 per cent of China and 10 per cent of Earth's population are likely to be infected over the next 90 days with deaths likely in the millions. As per various reports, the Chinese are still vulnerable to the virus because of low vaccination rates and poor investment in emergency care.
Warning over new Covid variant that evades immune system as US cases double in one week The new XBB1.5 subvariant of Omicron is reportedly more immune evasive and better at infecting than other subvariants, experts warn. https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1715938/covid-variant-xbb1-5-omicron-us-cases An expert has warned that the new XBB1.5 Covid subvariant could be of concern in 2023 after case numbers in the US doubled in one week. According to experts, XBB1.5 is just one out of a swarm of emerging subvariants of the Omicron strain that officials are keeping an eye on. In fact, the subvariant has now become responsible for more than 40 percent of Covid cases in the US, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed. US-based epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, who shared the information on Twitter, argues that the new variant is more immune evasive and better at infecting than other Omicron subvariants. He wrote: “Wow. XBB.1.5 more than doubled across the United States in 1 week, now – 40 percent, out-competing all variants.” The scientist added: “We’ve not seen such rapid growth of a variant since Omicron BA.1 a year ago. Total US XBB1.5 last week = 18 percent of cases. Northeast now ~75 percent XBB.1.5. Perhaps CDC and media will finally take note.” But while data for the US is appearing to cause alarm, XBB1.5 is threatening to spread across the world. For instance, India reported its first case of the Omicron subvariant last week, according to Timesnow. British epidemiologist Tim Spector also warned on Twitter that "XBB could be the new variant to watch out for ..in 2023". And surveillance data from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, have suggested that the strain may be behind one in 25 cases in the UK. Its figures indicate that four percent of cases in the week to December 17 were caused by the XBB.1.5 subvariant. Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, told Reuters: "Ironically, probably the worst variant that the world is facing right now is actually XBB.” However, experts say that XBB.1.5 is most likely to have originated in the US, with the first case detected in the New York area in October back in October. Scientists at Columbia University have also warned that the rise of subvariants including the XBB family could “result in a surge of breakthrough infections as well as re-infections”. Dr Stephen Griffin, an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds, previously told Express.co.uk that the emerging subvariants could be a cause for concern for the UK too. He explained: “New omicron subvariants are increasingly dominant and they are even more capable of evading antibody responses than even BA.4/5 were over the summer. This is important because many of us will not have had a vaccine for some time now, meaning that antibody levels in the blood have naturally declined. “The booster programme targeted at the elderly and clinically vulnerable has sadly faltered for the age groups under 70 in particular – only around half of 50-59-year-olds have taken up this offer. "The Government ought not to be surprised by this; if you spend most of the time saying a disease is nothing to worry about, it follows that people will be less inclined to understand the need for booster vaccinations.” The fact that a large number of especially younger adults and children remain unprotected by vaccines, the offer has been withdrawn from children turning 5 since September, and the MHRA-approved vaccines for under 5s remain to be reviewed, speaks to the UK yet again being well off the pace in terms of vaccine coverage. The level of reinfections and prevalence amongst younger people is shocking as a result.”
Grim Covid warning as 'ultra-transmissible' strain dubbed The Kraken sweeps across UK Despite the UK declaring the pandemic over almost a year ago, World Health Organisation experts are now warning that a new strain could be the "most deadly" ever seen https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/grim-covid-warning-ultra-transmissible-28879386 A new strain of Coronavirus has been labelled as the “most transmissible” yet – and it's already sweeping the UK. Despite the pandemic which took hold of the country in 2019 officially being declared over almost a year ago, the World Health Organisation has issued a worrying warning about a new strain. Called XBB.1.5, it is said to be more deadly than all previous dominant variants It is thought to be so bad that it has been nicknamed The Kraken. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for Covid at WHO said: 'We are concerned about its growth advantage in particular in some countries in Europe and in the US, particularly the Northeast part of the United States, where XBB.1.5 has rapidly replaced other circulating variants. “Our concern is how transmissible it is, and the more this virus circulates, the more opportunities it will have to change.” It has already been stated by experts at CoVariants.org that around 8% of cases in the UK are now of the Kraken variant as of Monday (January 2) – and 50% of those in the Wirral have been identified as being of that variant. Speaking to the Mail Online, Professor Lawrence Young from Warwick University said that the new strain should be a “wake-up call” to the UK. He said: “'The XBB.1.5 variant is highly infectious and is driving increased hospital admissions in New York, particularly among the elderly. “Waning immunity, more indoor mixing because of the cold weather and lack of other mitigations, such as wearing facemasks, are also contributing to this surge of infection in the US. “This is a wake-up call - a sharp reminder that we can't be complacent about Covid. “The threat of XBB.1.5 and other Covid variants further exacerbating the current NHS crisis stresses the need for us to remain vigilant.” “We need to continue to monitor levels of infection with different variants in the UK, encourage those who are eligible to get their boosters shots - why not extend this to the under 50s - and promote the value of other mitigation measures.” Some experts have called on the Government to re-introduce mask wearing in public settings, but no announcement has been made yet.