Covid Corner

Compilation from various sources: Video from DW News. Articles from The Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Hill. All the links are below.
Tip: The numbers are referring to the news sources, just like Wikipedia. For example, number [1] refers to the Reuters link, [4] refers to Harvard.edu and so on.


Lambda variant research results: Shows vaccine resistance in lab.
[1] From The Reuters:
In laboratory experiments, they found that three mutations in Lambda's spike protein, known as RSYLTPGD246-253N, 260 L452Q and F490S, help it resist neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. Two additional mutations, T76I and L452Q, help make Lambda highly infectious, they found. In a paper posted on Wednesday on bioRxiv ahead of peer review, the researchers warn that with Lambda being labeled a "Variant of Interest" by the World Health Organization, rather than a "Variant of Concern," people might not realize it is a serious ongoing threat.

[2] From Al Jazeera:
With a team of scientists, Soto-Rifo carried out preliminary studies – not yet peer-reviewed – assessing the effect of the Chinese-developed CoronaVac vaccine on the Lambda strain. The results showed that Lambda was able to neutralise the antibodies generated by the vaccine. “These results were expected,” Soto-Rifo said. “The virus has changed and that can make the vaccine not as efficient as it was with the original virus, but that doesn’t mean the vaccine doesn’t work any more.

[3] From The Hill:
A preliminary study, which has not been peer reviewed yet and is available as a preprint, suggests that the antibodies induced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are able to neutralize the lambda variant.


Below is the summary from the article. To read the full article, follow the link [2] below.

About the Lambda variant: Where and when was it first detected?
- The Lambda variant was first detected in Peru last December.
- The exact origins of the Lambda variant, which was previously known as the Andean strain, remain unclear, but scientists say it first emerged in South America.
- Over the last three months, Lambda has grown to represent 80 percent of all cases in Peru, according to the country’s National Institute of Health.
- Around May, Chile and Peru requested the WHO to consider the variant and to add it to the list of variants of interest. In mid-June, the WHO accepted and labelled it as Lambda

Where has it spread?
The Lambda strain has already reached 28 countries. That includes Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Aruba, Belgium, France, Portugal and the United States.
Map from the Al Jazeera article.
lambda-8august2021-2-map.png


What are the strain’s characteristics?
- Lambda strain has registered several mutations in its spike protein, the part of the virus that makes contact with human cells, binds to them, and then infects them.
- The mutation observed in the spike protein might be the reason for its “increased transmissibility… and it could provide a reduction of protection by current vaccines”, according to a study released in July by a team from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and released on the medical website bioRxiv ahead of peer review.
- According to virologist Ricardo Soto-Rifo of the University of Chile’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, one of the mutations labelled as L452Q was similar to a mutation also shown in the Delta variant that is believed to have contributed to that strain’s high rate of infection.
- But Soto-Rifo cautioned that the real effect of the mutations remains unclear.

Should we be concerned?
According to Tsukayama at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru:
- He remains cautious.
- Peru’s research capacity to measure the effect of Lambda is limited, which makes it harder to evaluate the variant’s spread.
- Gamma showed up in Brazil and expanded throughout the region, and it’s already considered a variant of concern.
- Lambda shares many of the characteristics of Gamma, and it has also spread in other countries.

According to Dr Roselyn Lemus-Martin (US):
- Not yet, said Dr Roselyn Lemus-Martin, who holds a PhD in molecular and cell biology from the University of Oxford and is based in the US.
- Right now, in the US, for example, we’ve seen that Delta keeps being the dominant strain, and what we’ve noticed is that Lambda is not spreading as quickly [in other areas].


[1] Reuters August 3, 2021 - reuters.com
[2] Al Jazeera July 27, 2021. aljazeera.com
[3] Article from The Hill July 29, 2021

About the sources/news portals above:
Al Jazeera, is a Qatari government-funded international Arabic news channel based in Doha, Qatar, that is operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera Media Network. - Wikipedia.
The Hill is an American digital media company, based in Washington, D.C. which began as a newspaper publisher in 1994. - Wikipedia.
BioRxiv (biorxiv.org) is an open access preprint repository for the biological sciences co-founded by John Inglis and Richard Sever in November 2013. It is hosted by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). - Wikipedia


Sources: Harvard School Of Public Health [4] and WHO International [5]

[4] From Harvard.edu:
Q: Does climate change affect the transmission of coronavirus?

A: We don’t have direct evidence that climate change is influencing the spread of COVID-19, but we do know that climate change alters how we relate to other species on Earth and that matters to our health and our risk for infections. As the planet heats up, animals big and small, on land and in the sea, are headed to the poles to get out of the heat. That means animals are coming into contact with other animals they normally wouldn’t, and that creates an opportunity for pathogens to get into new hosts.

Many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. Deforestation, which occurs mostly for agricultural purposes, is the largest cause of habitat loss worldwide. Loss of habitat forces animals to migrate and potentially contact other animals or people and share germs. Large livestock farms can also serve as a source for spillover of infections from animals to people. Less demand for animal meat and more sustainable animal husbandry could decrease emerging infectious disease risk and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Q: Will warmer weather slow the spread of coronavirus?
A: We don’t yet have a sense of what the changing weather will mean for COVID-19 and so we shouldn’t rely upon warmer weather to curtail transmissions.

Q: How likely are we to see infectious disease spread as a result of climate change?
A: Climate change has already made conditions more favorable to the spread of some infectious diseases. Future risks are not easy to foretell, but climate change hits hard on several fronts that matter to when and where pathogens appear, including temperature and rainfall patterns.

Q: Why are emerging infectious diseases on the rise?
A: Most of these diseases have entered into people from animals, especially wild animals. This trend has many causes. But a look at the origins of COVID reveals that other forces may be in play. With fewer places to live and fewer food sources to feed on, animals find food and shelter where people are, and that can lead to disease spread. (Too long to post the full answer here. Read the link [4] for details).

Q: Does air pollution increase the risk of getting coronavirus? Does it make symptoms worse?
A: Poor air quality are more likely to die from COVID-19 even when accounting for other factors that may influence risk of death such as pre-existing medical conditions, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare. This finding is consistent with prior research that has shown that people who are exposed to more air pollution and who smoke fare worse with respiratory infections than those who are breathing cleaner air, and who don’t smoke.

Q: Can you identify the communities most at-risk, and how and why both COVID-19 and climate change harms them?
A: People with chronic health conditions, lower-income, and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by both COVID-19 and climate change. We know that African American communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution and we’re now seeing this pollution driving higher mortality rates from COVID-19.

Note: Some Q&A from Harvard.edu are not posted here. Click link [4] below if you want to read more.

[5] From WHO.Int:
Q: How concerned should we be about air pollution and COVID-19?

A: We are very concerned, because air pollution – as probably many people know by now – represents 7 million premature deaths caused every year due to the exposure of air pollution.

If you realise that exposure to air pollution will increase the risk of diseases of the respiratory system – and the COVID-19 is mainly a disease of the respiratory system – you will realise that we are increasing the susceptibility, the vulnerability of people who are exposed to air pollution.

Q: Explain to us exactly how air pollution impacts our body.
A: In the case of the patients with COVID-19, those who will be more at severe risk of developing illness are those with underlying conditions like high blood pressure or heart diseases or respiratory diseases. We see where air pollution might exacerbate those diseases and make the patients, the population, more vulnerable to the disease, plus to the severity of developing a more serious illness.

Q: What can we do to protect ourselves from air pollution, as well as COVID-19?
A: Well, I think for COVID-19, WHO has repeated many times what are the measures we need to take: from washing your hands, maintaining good hygiene, ensuring that you respect the physical distance that it is recommending, avoiding the very crowded places where you have very close contact with other people, ensuring natural ventilation, and the use of masks whenever they are recommended.

But in the case of air pollution, the most important recommendation we can say is, that in those countries where the levels of air pollution are very high, we need to enforce legislation to reduce those levels of air pollution. We need to make sure that as citizens, we are aware of the fact that the air pollution is affecting our health.

Sources and full details from these links:
[4] Coronavirus and climate change. harvard.edu - Harvard School Of Public Health.
[5] Air pollution and COVID-19. who.int - Full transcript + video from World Health Organization.


[6] From the World Economic Forum:
- Daily new COVID-19 cases have reached a six-month high in the United States, with more than 100,000 new cases reported nationwide.
- Sydney reports record COVID-19 case rise for second day. With Brisbane, Queensland, also in lockdown it means that more than 60% of the country's population are currently under hard lockdowns.
- Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 200.92 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.26 million.
- New data in Indonesia shows that the COVID-19 death rate for unvaccinated people was more than 3 times higher than for vaccinated people.
- Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is about 93% effective through six months after the second dose.
- Research suggests that children who contract COVID-19 rarely suffer long-term symptoms - so-called long COVID.
- The United Nations is concerned about COVID-19 vaccines going unused, and has offered its help - but can only do so at the request of governments.

[7] Global daily statistics this week. Chart from The Reuters:
Ten days ago, the WHO Director-General expected the total number of cases to pass 200 million, in the next two weeks. Today, it already passes 200 million cases.

9aug2021-reuterscovidchart.png


Sources:
[6] What you need to know about Coronavirus pandemic 6 August 2021. weforum.org - World Economic Forum
[7] Coronavirus Tracker And Maps - reuters.com - Chart from The Reuters


PS: Sorry for the long post. The above article concluded some of my researches so far. I will post on this thread again in one week. Thanks for reading everyone.
NzE5Ni5qcGc
 


Plant-based vaccines for COVID-19 and other viruses | COVID-19 Special - DW News

Q & A: What we know about breakthrough COVID-19 infection so far. Compilation from various news sources
Tip: This Q & A is written similar to Wikipedia. CNET [3] means the info is from the CNET website. You can find the full news link at link number 3 at the end of this Q&A.

What a breakthrough COVID-19 infection means
From CNET [3]:
A breakthrough COVID-19 infection is when a fully vaccinated person becomes infected with the coronavirus without any symptoms or experiences symptoms, is hospitalized or dies from the infection.

Are vaccines useless?
The answer is NO.

From CNN [2]:
- The CDC is recording about 35,000 breakthrough cases a week among 162 million vaccinated Americans, a rate of 0.02%. That data may be limited, since the CDC in May stopped tracking asymptomatic, mild, and moderate breakthrough cases at a national level. So far, breakthrough cases are more likely to resemble a cold than our original picture of COVID-19, which focused on symptoms like fever, a dry cough, and shortness of breath.
- Vaccination more than halves chance of Covid-19 reinfection, study suggests. For adults previously infected with Covid-19, vaccines do a better job at protecting them from reinfection than natural immunity on its own, a new study shows. The study, published Friday by the CDC, suggests that people who got Covid-19 in 2020 and didn't get a Covid-19 vaccine were more than twice as likely to be reinfected in May or June 2021, compared with people who also had Covid-19 but were later fully vaccinated.
- Full vaccination is necessary for optimal protection against Covid-19 -- especially the highly contagious Delta variant, which accounted for an estimated 93.4% of all cases in the US in the two weeks ending July 31.
- Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, echoed Walensky's take on how vaccination lowers the intensity of Covid-19 symptoms when breakthrough cases happen.

From WebMD [4]:
- Fully vaccinated people still face considerable risks for contracting COVID-19, according to a new study published Wednesday by Imperial College London. At the same time, they were three times less likely to test positive for the coronavirus than unvaccinated people. “These findings confirm our previous data showing that both doses of a vaccine offer good protection against getting infected,” Paul Elliott, director of the survey program and a professor at Imperial’s School of Public Health, said in a statement.
- “However, we can also see that there is still a risk of infection, as no vaccine is 100% effective, and we know that some double vaccinated people can still become ill from the virus,” he said. “So even with the easing of restrictions, we should still act with caution to help protect one another and curb the rate of infections.”
- The latest findings, which come from an ongoing study of the U.K. population, were based on more than 98,000 swabs taken between June 24 and July 12. During that time, about 1 in 158 people, or .63%, were infected with COVID-19. This represented a four-fold increase from early June and appeared similar to the numbers seen in October 2020 to January 2021. Among the 254 samples that were sequenced, the Delta variant accounted for 100%, as compared with 80% in the previous report in June.

Why you should get vaccinated
From Business Insider [1]:
- Vaccinated people have milder illnesses and faster recoveries. Studies from England and Scotland indicate that Pfizer's vaccine reduces the risk of a symptomatic Delta infection by 88%, down from 95% for the original strain. The vaccine also lowers the risk of any type of Delta infection by 79% and of hospitalization from Delta by 96%, the studies found.
- So it's no surprise that the biggest difference between infections among the vaccinated and unvaccinated in the COVID Symptom Study was the severity and duration of their illnesses. Vaccinated people reported fewer symptoms, which were more fleeting, than those who were unvaccinated.
- Delta appears to cause more severe illness than other variants, making vaccines all the more necessary to protect against hospitalization and death. The CDC recently estimated that unvaccinated people represented about 97% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US.

From WebMD [4]:
- Unvaccinated people had a three-fold higher prevalence of COVID-19 than vaccinated people. The prevalence rate was 1.21% among unvaccinated people, as compared with .4% in fully vaccinated people. Both groups had more than a five-fold increase in infections from the previous report in June.
- Based on the numbers, the researchers estimated that fully vaccinated people in this testing group had a 50% to 60% reduced risk of infection, including asymptomatic cases, as compared with unvaccinated people.
- “The Delta variant is known to be highly infectious, and as a result, we can see from our data and others’ that breakthrough infections are happening in fully vaccinated people,” Steven Riley, a professor of infectious disease dynamic at Imperial, said in the statement.
- “We need to better understand how infectious fully vaccinated people who become infected are, as this will help to better predict the situation in the coming months,” he said.

What are the symptoms?
From Business Insider [1]:
- Vaccinated: Headaches, runny noses, and sore throats were commonly reported in the COVID Symptom Study, regardless of a person's vaccination status. But fully vaccinated people were more likely to report loss of smell.
- Unvaccinated: Unvaccinated people were more likely to report fevers. A persistent cough was also more common among unvaccinated people and those who'd received just one dose of a vaccine than among fully vaccinated people.
- The following chart shows the five most common COVID-19 symptoms based on your vaccination status. The data comes from the COVID Symptom Study, a project that tracks self-reported COVID-19 symptoms among more than 1 million people in the UK.
Chart from The Business Insider [1]
covid-symptoms-businessinsider.png


What experts saying about the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus
From CNET [3]:
- The breakthrough infections don't mean the vaccines aren't powerful. "The effectiveness against severe disease is still substantial," Fauci said during a White House press briefing July 22. "Get vaccinated. It offers good protection against disease."
- The main reason for breakthrough cases is the number of people who still haven't been vaccinated. Once more people are fully vaccinated, the virus likely won't infect as many people. Until then, the virus can continue to mutate and spread, creating new variants.

Can coronavirus symptoms still be severe if you're fully vaccinated?
From CNET [3]:
- Someone who's fully vaccinated has a much smaller risk of experiencing severe symptoms from COVID-19. People who've received all their doses of a vaccine are less likely to be hospitalized or die than those who haven't been vaccinated, the CDC says. Vaccinated people typically see symptoms like a runny nose, which they mistake for a sign of a common cold, Rock said.
- But that's not to say serious cases can't happen. The CDC says some fully vaccinated people can still be hospitalized and die. This can include people who have medical conditions that make them immunocompromised, Rock said, including those with cancer and people who've had organ transplants -- in general, people who are more vulnerable. Data released in Israel by the Israeli Health Ministry shows that people who are unvaccinated are five times more likely to experience a severe infection, as opposed to the elderly who are fully vaccinated, Haaretz reported.

How can you keep yourself protected from breakthrough COVID-19 infections?
From CNET [3]:
If you're fully vaccinated but worried about getting sick, you can take the following precautions.
- Wear a mask in public places.
- Practice social distancing.
- Keep your home well-ventilated by opening windows.
- Wash your hands.
- Get a COVID-19 test if you're experiencing symptoms.

What is WHO's position on mask wearing?
From CNET [5]:
- Wearing a mask consistently continues to be important, even for people who are vaccinated, a WHO official said during a press briefing in late June. "People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves." Wearing masks in public places is essential to keep people from inhaling particles that will cause them to become sick, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious disease epidemiologist, said during the same briefing.
- While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are showing robust protection against variants, "breakthrough" infections may still sporadically occur. In a case in early June, a fully vaccinated woman in Napa, California, died from COVID-19. She was over 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions.

Which variants are causing the COVID-19 breakthrough infections?
From CNET [3]:
- The variant causing the most concern right now is the delta variant, which is now the dominant strain in the US and other countries. This variant has caused an increase in COVID-19 cases, which is also affecting people who are fully vaccinated.
- In comparison with the alpha variant, researchers have found delta to be 60% more transmissible, and hospitalization risks are much higher in unvaccinated people. In most instances, the cases are happening in areas with low vaccination rates. For instance, US states like Louisiana and Florida have low vaccination rates and their COVID-19 cases are surging again.

How can fully vaccinated people become infected with coronavirus?
From CNET [3]:
- Someone can become infected with COVID-19 just before or right after they get the vaccination, because it takes roughly two weeks before the vaccine is most effective. However, even after the immunity builds up, there's still a chance they can become infected, according to the WHO, since the vaccines aren't silver bullets against disease (though they're highly effective). With millions of unvaccinated people around the world, new variants will emerge, Rock says.
- For example, the delta variant can pose a threat to people who are fully vaccinated -- especially those who have high-risk medical conditions (see the next section). Dr. Anthony Fauci said that more COVID-19 testing needs to be done on fully vaccinated people to better understand the breakthrough cases.

Will fully vaccinated people eventually have to get booster shots?
From CNET [3]:
- Given the current circumstances, it's likely a booster shot will be necessary. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a COVID-19 booster shot by the weekend, but the CDC will need to also give authorization before booster shots can be distributed. The shot would be a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
- Scientists are continuing to study the immunity of fully vaccinated people to get a better idea of how well the vaccines protect them. Moderna is currently researching when a booster shot may be necessary. For instance, Rock said vulnerable people who don't have a robust immune system -- such as those with chronic medical conditions -- may need an additional shot.
- Pfizer says it's working on a booster shot for its COVID-19 vaccine (PDF) to enhance immunity among those who've already received both doses. The UK is also prepping for booster shots, with vaccine experts in the UK saying a booster shot may be needed before winter.

Sources and links:
[1] Business Insider, Aug 7, 2021
[2] CNN, August 7, 2021
[3] CNet, Aug. 13, 2021
[4] WebMD, Aug. 5, 2021
[5] CNet, July 29, 2021

What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this week - World Economic Forum
From World Economic Forum [6]:
- More than 4.54 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.
- Canberra, the Australian capital, has announced a snap one-week lockdown after its first reported locally acquired COVID-19 case in more than a year.
- New daily COVID-19 cases in France have risen above 30,000 for the first time since April.
- Cuba is converting hotels into isolation centres and hospitals and bringing back doctors working abroad in an effort to cope with a surge in COVID-19 cases.
- Nearly half of children with COVID-19 display no symptoms, according to a new study.

Situation in the US:
- California has become the first US state to require teachers and other school staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 – or face regular testing.
- Hawaii is set to reimpose COVID-19 restrictions, limiting social gatherings to reduce the strain on the state's healthcare system.
- Pregnant women should be vaccinated against COVID-19, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday. A new analysis showed no increased risk of miscarriage.

From WHO:
- WHO announces new trial to examine possible COVID-19 treatments.
- Solidarity PLUS will test three drugs as treatments for COVID-19.

Map of Delta variant
Map below is from GISAID [7]. The link is below.
Tip: If you want to use the map, disable the ad block first. And then click on the spot (like the red spot) to view total cases on each area.
gsaid-map-delta.png


Global COVID Statistics This Week
Chart from Reuters World Coronavirus Tracker And Maps.
(I linked to this chart a few times before on this thread, so check out my previous posts if you need a link. Or you can Google that.)
coronavirus-chart-16aug2021.png


Sources and links:
[6] World Economic Forum - Aug 12, 2021
[7] https://www.gisaid.org/hcov19-variants/ - Disable the ad block to view the map.

About the sources:
GISAID is a global science initiative and primary source established in 2008 that provides open-access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. - Wikipedia.
WebMD is an American corporation known primarily as an online publisher of news and information pertaining to human health and well-being. - Wikipedia

PS: Thanks for reading everyone. I will post again next week.
 
@MatsuShimizu .....Brilliant Report.....Again !
BTW, in case you are a fan of the Terminator and Predator. This news appear on news.com.au. I'm not going to include the direct link here, but you can Google the news title.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger expands on his comments calling out covid anti-vaxxers".
terminator-16aug2021.png
 
No doubt about Arnie, he gets his message across.

If only the numbskulls will listen.
 
If only the numbskulls will listen.

LOL I kinda doubt that he'll have changed even a single mind.

No, I don't think I'm being overly cynical.
 
No doubt about Arnie, he gets his message across.

If only the numbskulls will listen.
People are just plain stupid and willing to play Russian Roulette with their lives and their kids lives by not getting vaccinated or wearing masks.

Wife is back to working from home and goes in one day a week at her job.

I'm three days a week at home and only go in twice a week or when needed.
 
The Science Behind Why New Covid Variants Are Spreading Faster - Wall Street Journal Youtube Channel

Q & A: COVID-19 (coronavirus) in babies and children
Tip: This Q & A is written similar to Wikipedia. Mayo Clinic Health System [2] means the info is from the Mayo Clinic Health System website. You can find the full article link at link number 2 at the bottom of this post.

How likely is it for a child to become sick with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?
From Mayo Clinic [1]:
While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don't become sick as often as adults. Most children have mild symptoms or no symptoms. However, some children become severely ill with COVID-19. They might need to be hospitalized, treated in the intensive care unit or placed on a ventilator to help them breathe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some children continue to experience symptoms of COVID-19 after their initial recovery. Rarely, some children might also develop a serious condition that appears to be linked to COVID-19.

Why do children react differently to COVID-19?
[1]: The answer isn't clear yet. Some experts suggest that children might not be as severely affected by COVID-19 because there are other coronaviruses that spread in the community and cause diseases such as the common cold.

How are babies affected by COVID-19?
[1]: Babies under age 1 might be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children. This is likely due to their immature immune systems and smaller airways, which make them more likely to develop breathing issues with respiratory virus infections.

Is there a COVID-19 vaccine for children?
[1]: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is now available to people age 12 and older. The FDA first gave this vaccine emergency use authorization for people age 16 and older in late 2020. Research has shown that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus in children ages 12 through 15. Previous research has shown that the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus with symptoms in people age 16 and older. Studies on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in younger children are also in progress.

What are children's COVID-19 symptoms?
[1]: While children and adults experience similar symptoms of COVID-19, children's symptoms tend to be mild and cold-like. Most children recover within one to two weeks. Possible symptoms can include:
- Fever or chills
- Nasal congestion or runny nose
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches or body aches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Poor feeding or poor appetite
- New loss of taste or smell
- Belly pain

What is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)?
[1]: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious condition in which some parts of the body — such as the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin or eyes — become severely inflamed. Evidence indicates that many of these children were infected with the COVID-19 virus in the past, as shown by positive antibody test results, suggesting that MIS-C is caused by an excessive immune response related to COVID-19.

Possible signs and symptoms of MIS-C include:
- Fever that lasts 24 hours or longer
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Pain in the stomach
- Skin rash
- Fast heartbeat
- Rapid breathing
- Red eyes
- Redness or swelling of the lips and tongue
- Feeling unusually tired
- Redness or swelling of the hands or feet
- Headache, dizziness or lightheadedness
- Enlarged lymph nodes

Emergency warning signs of MIS-C include:
- Inability to wake up or stay awake
- Difficulty breathing
- New confusion
- Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds — depending on skin tone
- Severe stomach pain

If children don’t frequently experience severe illness with COVID-19, why do they need a COVID-19 vaccine?
[1]: A COVID-19 vaccine can prevent your child from getting and spreading the COVID-19 virus. If your child gets COVID-19, a COVID-19 vaccine could prevent him or her from becoming severely ill.

How the COVID-19 delta variant is impacting younger people?
From Mayo Clinic Health System [2]:
In the last couple of weeks, the American Academy of Pediatrics has reported a significant increase in COVID-19 cases amongst people under 18 years of age. We know that the delta variant is much more transmissible than the other prior variants of COVID-19. And that extends to children as much as to older teenagers and adults as well.
mayoclinic23aug2021.png


What are ways adults can protect their children?
[2]: The most important thing we can do to protect kids under 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated themselves is to ensure that as many people who are around them and who are interacting with them are vaccinated. Anyone over 12 should be getting their vaccine, both to protect themselves, but also to protect people who are not yet eligible, such as children under 12.

Why should 12- to 18-year-olds get their COVID-19 vaccine before returning to school?
[2]: We do want kids to return to school, we know all the benefits of going to school. But right now, with what's going on in our country and in our communities with delta variant spread, you're really making a choice between getting vaccinated or getting COVID-19. This delta variant is just that contagious.

Youngest Kids More Likely to Spread COVID-19 to Family: Study
From WebMD [3]:
Young children are more likely than their older siblings to transmit SARS-CoV-2 in their households, according to an analysis of public health records in Ontario, Canada – a finding that upends the common belief that children play a minimal role in COVID-19 spread.

The study by researchers from Public Health Ontario, published today in JAMA Pediatrics, found that teenagers (14- to 17-year-olds) were more likely than their younger siblings to bring the virus into the household while infants and toddlers (up to age 3) were about 43% more likely than the older teens to spread it to others in the home.

What can be done
[3]: The obvious solution to protect a household with a sick young infant or toddler is to make sure that all eligible members of the household are vaccinated,” Coffin and Rubin state in their commentary.

What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this week
Rates of children hospitalized with COVID have reached an all-time high in the US
Chart from the Business Insider article [4]
childcovidbusinessinsider-23aug2021-2.png

From Business Insider [4], August 13, 2021:
An average of 239 children per day were admitted to the hospital with COVID between August 3 and 9, which is the most recent data set available on the CDC site. At the pandemic's peak in early January 2021, the average number of pediatric admissions per day reached 217, The New York Times reported. (The rate is higher for adults: in the under-vaccinated Southeast, the daily rate of overall hospitalizations jumped last week to 17,600.)

The spike in pediatric cases is unfortunately timed right before the start of the school year. The CDC and AAP have urged that everyone in K-12 schools wear a mask indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. But some states have already banned mask mandates.

Florida and Texas, two states that are seeing high rates of hospitalization due to COVID in the general population, have the greatest numbers of children under 18 hospitalized with the disease. Both Florida and Texas have banned mask mandates in schools, contrary to recommendations from public health experts.

Vaccinating children is a priority
From CNN [5], August 19, 2021:
In the current surge, health experts are particularly concerned about children going back to school -- especially those who are too young to be vaccinated. Currently, children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccines, although clinical trials are ongoing.

In Mississippi, there have been 20,334 students who have had to quarantine due to potential Covid-19 exposures between August 9-13, according to data from the state's department of health. The students in quarantine represent 4.6% of the total number of students in Mississippi schools, according to state enrollment figures.

And throughout Florida's 15 largest school districts, at least 4,641 students and 1,547 employees have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a CNN analysis. Another 19,072 students and staff members have been quarantined or isolated due to Covid-19.

Children and COVID: New Cases Rise to Winter Levels
From WebMD [6], August 19, 2021:
Weekly cases of COVID-19 in children topped 100,000 for the first time since early February, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

A 29% increase in reported cases over the previous week brought the count for Aug. 6-12 to over 121,000, making it the worst week for new infections in children since Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, the AAP and CHA said in their weekly COVD-19 report. The recent surge in child COVID has also brought a record high in hospitalizations and shortages of pediatric ICU beds in some areas.

The 121,000 new cases represent an increase of almost 1,400% since June 18-24, when the weekly tally was just 8,447 and at its lowest point in over a year, the AAP/CHA data show.

On the vaccination front in the last week (Aug. 10-16), vaccine initiation for 12- to 17-year-olds was fairly robust but still down slightly, compared with the previous week. Just over 402,000 children aged 12-15 years received a first vaccination, which was down slightly from 411,000 the week before but still higher than any of the 6 weeks from June 22 to Aug. 2, based on data from the CDC. . Vaccinations were down by a similar margin for 15- to-17-year-olds.

News compilation from World Economic Forum [7]
- The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa is facing new outbreaks of the viral haemorrhagic fevers Marburg and Ebola, risking huge strains on ill-equipped health systems.
- New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a nationwide lockdown on Friday as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country jumped and the outbreak widened beyond its largest city, Auckland, to the capital, Wellington.
- Two million residents of Sydney will be under nightly curfew from next week to slow the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus that is spreading across New South Wales state, authorities said on Friday as they extended lockdown orders.
- Thailand's coronavirus cases passed the 1 million mark on Friday, 97% of which were recorded in the past five month.
- Mexico is battling a new wave of coronavirus infections as daily cases hit record highs and the official death toll passed 250,000, one of the highest worldwide.

COVID Global Statistics This Week - Reuters World Coronavirus Tracker And Maps
covidstatistic-23aug2021.png


List of sources
[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases...ronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405
[2] https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem....-19-delta-variant-is-impacting-younger-people
[3] https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210817/youngest-kids-more-likely-spread-covid-to-family
[4] Business Insider, August 13, 2021
[5] CNN, August 19, 2021
[6] WebMD, August 19, 2021
[7] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-20-august-2021/

About the sources
From Wikipedia:
The Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research.
Mayo Clinic partially owns and operates Mayo Clinic Health System. Founded in 1992, Mayo Clinic Health System is as a network of community-based medical services.

PS: Sorry for the long post. I'll post again in one week. Thanks for reading everyone.
 
PS: Sorry for the long post. I'll post again in one week. Thanks for reading everyone.
Do not apologise for the length of your post. It is more than Welcome. The information it brings is enlightening and very necessary reading for all thinking adults.
 


Tip: This Q & A is written similar to Wikipedia. Mayo Clinic Health System [2] means the info is from the Mayo Clinic Health System website. You can find the full article link at link number 2 at the bottom of this post.

How likely is it for a child to become sick with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?
From Mayo Clinic [1]:
While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don't become sick as often as adults. Most children have mild symptoms or no symptoms. However, some children become severely ill with COVID-19. They might need to be hospitalized, treated in the intensive care unit or placed on a ventilator to help them breathe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some children continue to experience symptoms of COVID-19 after their initial recovery. Rarely, some children might also develop a serious condition that appears to be linked to COVID-19.

Why do children react differently to COVID-19?
[1]: The answer isn't clear yet. Some experts suggest that children might not be as severely affected by COVID-19 because there are other coronaviruses that spread in the community and cause diseases such as the common cold.

How are babies affected by COVID-19?
[1]: Babies under age 1 might be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children. This is likely due to their immature immune systems and smaller airways, which make them more likely to develop breathing issues with respiratory virus infections.

Is there a COVID-19 vaccine for children?
[1]: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is now available to people age 12 and older. The FDA first gave this vaccine emergency use authorization for people age 16 and older in late 2020. Research has shown that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus in children ages 12 through 15. Previous research has shown that the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus with symptoms in people age 16 and older. Studies on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in younger children are also in progress.

What are children's COVID-19 symptoms?
[1]: While children and adults experience similar symptoms of COVID-19, children's symptoms tend to be mild and cold-like. Most children recover within one to two weeks. Possible symptoms can include:
- Fever or chills
- Nasal congestion or runny nose
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches or body aches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Poor feeding or poor appetite
- New loss of taste or smell
- Belly pain

What is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)?
[1]: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious condition in which some parts of the body — such as the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin or eyes — become severely inflamed. Evidence indicates that many of these children were infected with the COVID-19 virus in the past, as shown by positive antibody test results, suggesting that MIS-C is caused by an excessive immune response related to COVID-19.

Possible signs and symptoms of MIS-C include:
- Fever that lasts 24 hours or longer
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Pain in the stomach
- Skin rash
- Fast heartbeat
- Rapid breathing
- Red eyes
- Redness or swelling of the lips and tongue
- Feeling unusually tired
- Redness or swelling of the hands or feet
- Headache, dizziness or lightheadedness
- Enlarged lymph nodes

Emergency warning signs of MIS-C include:
- Inability to wake up or stay awake
- Difficulty breathing
- New confusion
- Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds — depending on skin tone
- Severe stomach pain

If children don’t frequently experience severe illness with COVID-19, why do they need a COVID-19 vaccine?
[1]: A COVID-19 vaccine can prevent your child from getting and spreading the COVID-19 virus. If your child gets COVID-19, a COVID-19 vaccine could prevent him or her from becoming severely ill.

How the COVID-19 delta variant is impacting younger people?
From Mayo Clinic Health System [2]:
In the last couple of weeks, the American Academy of Pediatrics has reported a significant increase in COVID-19 cases amongst people under 18 years of age. We know that the delta variant is much more transmissible than the other prior variants of COVID-19. And that extends to children as much as to older teenagers and adults as well.
mayoclinic23aug2021.png


What are ways adults can protect their children?
[2]: The most important thing we can do to protect kids under 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated themselves is to ensure that as many people who are around them and who are interacting with them are vaccinated. Anyone over 12 should be getting their vaccine, both to protect themselves, but also to protect people who are not yet eligible, such as children under 12.

Why should 12- to 18-year-olds get their COVID-19 vaccine before returning to school?
[2]: We do want kids to return to school, we know all the benefits of going to school. But right now, with what's going on in our country and in our communities with delta variant spread, you're really making a choice between getting vaccinated or getting COVID-19. This delta variant is just that contagious.

Youngest Kids More Likely to Spread COVID-19 to Family: Study
From WebMD [3]:
Young children are more likely than their older siblings to transmit SARS-CoV-2 in their households, according to an analysis of public health records in Ontario, Canada – a finding that upends the common belief that children play a minimal role in COVID-19 spread.

The study by researchers from Public Health Ontario, published today in JAMA Pediatrics, found that teenagers (14- to 17-year-olds) were more likely than their younger siblings to bring the virus into the household while infants and toddlers (up to age 3) were about 43% more likely than the older teens to spread it to others in the home.

What can be done
[3]: The obvious solution to protect a household with a sick young infant or toddler is to make sure that all eligible members of the household are vaccinated,” Coffin and Rubin state in their commentary.


Rates of children hospitalized with COVID have reached an all-time high in the US
Chart from the Business Insider article [4]
childcovidbusinessinsider-23aug2021-2.png

From Business Insider [4], August 13, 2021:
An average of 239 children per day were admitted to the hospital with COVID between August 3 and 9, which is the most recent data set available on the CDC site. At the pandemic's peak in early January 2021, the average number of pediatric admissions per day reached 217, The New York Times reported. (The rate is higher for adults: in the under-vaccinated Southeast, the daily rate of overall hospitalizations jumped last week to 17,600.)

The spike in pediatric cases is unfortunately timed right before the start of the school year. The CDC and AAP have urged that everyone in K-12 schools wear a mask indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. But some states have already banned mask mandates.

Florida and Texas, two states that are seeing high rates of hospitalization due to COVID in the general population, have the greatest numbers of children under 18 hospitalized with the disease. Both Florida and Texas have banned mask mandates in schools, contrary to recommendations from public health experts.

Vaccinating children is a priority
From CNN [5], August 19, 2021:
In the current surge, health experts are particularly concerned about children going back to school -- especially those who are too young to be vaccinated. Currently, children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccines, although clinical trials are ongoing.

In Mississippi, there have been 20,334 students who have had to quarantine due to potential Covid-19 exposures between August 9-13, according to data from the state's department of health. The students in quarantine represent 4.6% of the total number of students in Mississippi schools, according to state enrollment figures.

And throughout Florida's 15 largest school districts, at least 4,641 students and 1,547 employees have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a CNN analysis. Another 19,072 students and staff members have been quarantined or isolated due to Covid-19.

Children and COVID: New Cases Rise to Winter Levels
From WebMD [6], August 19, 2021:
Weekly cases of COVID-19 in children topped 100,000 for the first time since early February, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

A 29% increase in reported cases over the previous week brought the count for Aug. 6-12 to over 121,000, making it the worst week for new infections in children since Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, the AAP and CHA said in their weekly COVD-19 report. The recent surge in child COVID has also brought a record high in hospitalizations and shortages of pediatric ICU beds in some areas.

The 121,000 new cases represent an increase of almost 1,400% since June 18-24, when the weekly tally was just 8,447 and at its lowest point in over a year, the AAP/CHA data show.

On the vaccination front in the last week (Aug. 10-16), vaccine initiation for 12- to 17-year-olds was fairly robust but still down slightly, compared with the previous week. Just over 402,000 children aged 12-15 years received a first vaccination, which was down slightly from 411,000 the week before but still higher than any of the 6 weeks from June 22 to Aug. 2, based on data from the CDC. . Vaccinations were down by a similar margin for 15- to-17-year-olds.

News compilation from World Economic Forum [7]
- The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa is facing new outbreaks of the viral haemorrhagic fevers Marburg and Ebola, risking huge strains on ill-equipped health systems.
- New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a nationwide lockdown on Friday as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country jumped and the outbreak widened beyond its largest city, Auckland, to the capital, Wellington.
- Two million residents of Sydney will be under nightly curfew from next week to slow the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus that is spreading across New South Wales state, authorities said on Friday as they extended lockdown orders.
- Thailand's coronavirus cases passed the 1 million mark on Friday, 97% of which were recorded in the past five month.
- Mexico is battling a new wave of coronavirus infections as daily cases hit record highs and the official death toll passed 250,000, one of the highest worldwide.


covidstatistic-23aug2021.png



[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases...ronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405
[2] https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem....-19-delta-variant-is-impacting-younger-people
[3] https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210817/youngest-kids-more-likely-spread-covid-to-family
[4] Business Insider, August 13, 2021
[5] CNN, August 19, 2021
[6] WebMD, August 19, 2021
[7] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-20-august-2021/

About the sources
From Wikipedia:
The Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research.
Mayo Clinic partially owns and operates Mayo Clinic Health System. Founded in 1992, Mayo Clinic Health System is as a network of community-based medical services.

PS: Sorry for the long post. I'll post again in one week. Thanks for reading everyone.
NzE5Ni5qcGc
 
To save the tedium of reading through 13 pages of fine print, perhaps you would care to summarise for us?..... @Leonardo_B
 
To save the tedium of reading through 13 pages of fine print, perhaps you would care to summarise for us?..... @Leonardo_B

I read the entire thing and didn't learn anything that I didn't already know. I'm not sure what they're getting at.
 
correct me if i wrong from what i read it say the vaccine is on eua stil. emergency use authorization
 
 
And what’s crazy is they say they still need to follow clinical trial ppl for 24 months to determine if it’s even safe
 

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Of course they keep following up, that's how you do science. That doesn't mean it's not safe, it means they'll continue monitoring so that they can increase their level of confidence.

Nothing is 100% safe. Nothing is 100% effective.

This is something you should have learned in grade school. Not even gravity is 100% certain. Quantum physics says that if you toss a ball in the air enough times, one of those times it won't come back down. (Of course that'd take more energy than is in the entire universe before it became a likely outcome, but it's not 100%.)

We deal with 'confidence levels' and the FDA has enough confidence in the vaccine to recommend it. This confidence is based on the studies already done. That's how medical science (all science) works.
 
Of course they keep following up, that's how you do science. That doesn't mean it's not safe, it means they'll continue monitoring so that they can increase their level of confidence.

Nothing is 100% safe. Nothing is 100% effective.

This is something you should have learned in grade school. Not even gravity is 100% certain. Quantum physics says that if you toss a ball in the air enough times, one of those times it won't come back down. (Of course that'd take more energy than is in the entire universe before it became a likely outcome, but it's not 100%.)

We deal with 'confidence levels' and the FDA has enough confidence in the vaccine to recommend it. This confidence is based on the studies already done. That's how medical science (all science) works.
zantac heart burn medican was approve now look at all the damaged it has done. evern cigarettes are approved and look damaged that done
 

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