There are pockets of outbreaks. Last week a school in Ohio closed because half the students and staff had the flu (Some had RSV or COVID as well) and a Pittsburgh-area school district moved to remote learning due to the increase in flu cases.
Covid and flu rising ahead of holidays, increasing ER visits
Thankfully, the RSV chaos of October is waning, so there is some good news. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/12/12/covid-rising-flu-rsv-variant/
Mississippi
was forced to grant religious exemptions from vaccines. Now, doctors and public health officials brace for the fallout. (This read is heart breaking, in a state already low of the list for healthy outcome... and often the bottom!)
Mississippi had previously allowed children to opt out only if they had a verified medical condition that precluded vaccination. It was one of the most stringent standards in the country and year after year the state led national government rankings, with 99% of its kindergarteners being immunized.
Canada:
CHEO's emergency room medical director says flu season has come early and the children's hospital is facing both a spike in influenza cases and a 'significant number of children' with RSV and even pneumonia. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-hospital-respiratory-numbers-stats-danger-children-1.7052499
The World:
Walking Pneumonia Likely Culprit Behind Mysterious Pediatric Illnesses
Mycoplasma pneumoniae are bacteria that can cause illness by damaging the lining of the respiratory system (throat, lungs, windpipe). People can have the bacteria in their nose or throat at one time or another without being ill. People spread Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria to others by coughing or sneezing.
Although normally only a huge problem for the immunocompromised... COVID may have made the population more vulnerable, due to weakened immune systems, lung scarring and more. Presently, there are huge outbreaks in Asia, some pockets in Europe and cases in the USA as well. Children are the most affected likely because of crowded daycares and schools. https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/mycoplasma/about/causes-transmission.html
Measles is again on the march across the world, thanks to anti-vaxxers such as RFK Jr.
When you see stats like... an increase on cases up 3,266%, it makes me want to throat punch that POS several times. I know there is a long line ahead of me. I think I know what actually caused his voice fry.
West Africa grapples with a wave of diphtheria as vaccine coverage slips
Low vaccination rates have allowed infections to surge in what is thought to be the region’s worst ever outbreak. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/west-africa-diphtheria-infections-outbreak-vaccine-gaps/
Long COVID:
Take it from me and millions of others... you do not have to have a severe case of COVID to have Long COVID symptoms stay with you for an undetermined amount of time or cause autoimmune, heart and vascular problems chronically! I am so much better, but still have a lot of lingering symptoms. Right now, I am exhausted and still have to make whipped shortbread and spiced sugar cookies so I can decorate my famous snowflakes. I have been at it for 8 hours (Made 3 lasagnas with homemade sauce and made 2 tray of goodies) but usually I would bake an entire day and never falter. It is only finnertime for goodness sake! Good thing I love to bake.
The reality is, the goal should be to NOT catch Covid. This is a novel pandemic virus. We have no idea what the long-term fallout from the “let it rip” strategy is going to be. Long Covid is real, and it’s just one signal that we shouldn’t be messing around with infection at all. A recent study found that long Covid complication continued to affect those with a previous Covid infection 6.6% of the time at 6 months post-acute recovery, 6.5% at 12 months post-acute recovery, and 10.4% of the time at 18 months post-acute recovery. The American Heart Association is warning that a Covid infection may induce new-onset high blood pressure. It increases the risk of new cases of Type 2 diabetes.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/14/2211711/-FFS-Stop-contracting-Covid#comment_87630976
Research Highlights:
An analysis of more than 45,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 found a significant association between the virus and the development of persistent high blood pressure among those with no prior history of high blood pressure.
In addition, people with COVID-19 infection and no history of high blood pressure were significantly more likely to develop persistent high blood pressure compared to people with the influenza virus.
People with COVID-19 who are over age 40, men, Black adults or those with preexisting conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease or chronic kidney disease, had an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the study.
School closures worked and were not the crisis that asshole politicians, the proudboys, anti-vax/maskers and freeDUMB dummies made it out to be.
You know what was a crisis???
... it was not only school closings that affected both test scores and mental health. By May 2023, nearly 16 million children had gotten COVID. While most cases were relatively mild or entirely asymptomatic, 2,300 children died, 200,000 got sick enough to require hospitalization, and over a million had serious symptoms (including memory and concentration deficits) lasting three months or more. Almost 220,000 children lost a primary caretaker; millions experienced the death of a family member, relative, neighbor, or friend, or the serious illness of a parent or grandparent. Black and Latino kids lost their caregivers at nearly twice the rate of white children. An entirely reasonable fear of illness created a tidal wave of anxiety for children and their families. Any of these, and certainly all of them together, certainly played an important role in affecting children’s learning and emotional well-being during the pandemic.
(This article contains lots of valuable info...please read)
https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/school-closures-covid-pandemic-learning-loss.html
Found on Reddit... an unvaxxed nurse happily blames the deaths in an entire wing of her nursing home on the booster... because hey, she could never blame herself. These people are f'ing nuts!
I guess we best bone up on out sex education... Whaaaaaaaat?
My in-law went on a Mediterranean cruise in November. She claims to be vaxxed but on day 14 she came down with a "cold" and 4 weeks later is still coughing. Never got a covid test, of course.