CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 2/19/2022

FROM THE ATLANTIC

COVID Won’t End Up Like the Flu. It Will Be Like Smoking.

”…Hundreds of thousands of deaths, from either tobacco or the pandemic, could be prevented with a single behavioral change.

….and that many COVID deaths, like many smoking-related deaths, could be prevented with a single intervention….not to get vaccinated against COVID is, right now, a modifiable health risk on par with smoking, which kills more than 400,000 people each year in the United States..The COVID vaccines are, without exaggeration, among the safest and most effective therapies in all of modern medicine. An unvaccinated adult is an astonishing 68 times more likely to die from COVID than a boosted one. Yet widespread vaccine hesitancy in the United States has caused more than 163,000 preventable deaths and counting. Because too few people are vaccinated, COVID surges still overwhelm hospitals…”

FROM HOPKINS:

1. As Omicron Surged, Covid-19 Spread Through Patients in Hospitals (Wall Street Journal) As the Omicron variant surged through communities across the U.S., it also spread inside hospitals and infected non-Covid-19 patients, reaching a record number, a Wall Street Journal analysis of U.S. government data found. The daily total of patients with Covid-19 that they caught in hospitals reached a record of about 4,700 during the Omicron wave in January, according to the analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data.

2. California Unveils Plan To Become First State To Treat Coronavirus As ‘Endemic’ Risk (Washington Post) “We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a news conference. “People are looking forward to turning the page,” he added. “They also need to know we have their back, we’re going to keep them safe, and we’re going to stay on top of this.” California’s plan, he said, shifts from a “crisis mentality” to emphasize prevention and adaptability, allowing officials to step up measures to detect and contain fresh outbreaks, as well as to look out for new variants. It also includes more public campaigns against misinformation and the stockpiling of tests and equipment rather than mask mandates and business shutdowns.

FROM JAMA:

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Drug Use and Concurrent Infections During Hospitalization of Patients With COVID-19 in Japan

”…The findings revealed that concurrent infectious diseases rarely occurred despite the infrequent use of antimicrobial drugs during hospitalization among patients with COVID-19 infection, most of whom had noncritical cases. This finding supports the results of recent studies showing that concurrent bacterial infections were uncommon in patients with COVID-19 infection.1-3 Given that most patients with noncritical severity recovered without antimicrobial drugs, the use of most antimicrobial drugs to treat noncritical cases in many hospitals might be unnecessary. Antimicrobial drugs should be used cautiously to treat patients with COVID-19 infection…”

(J. Harris: The usual antibiotics are not indicated in Covid infections.)

CORRESPONDENCE FROM NEJM:

Protection against the Omicron Variant from Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Overall, in a national database study in Qatar, we found that the effectiveness of previous infection in preventing reinfection with the alpha, beta, and delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 was robust (at approximately 90%), findings that confirmed earlier estimates…Such protection against reinfection with the omicron variant was lower (approximately 60%) but still considerable. In addition, the protection of previous infection against hospitalization or death caused by reinfection appeared to be robust, regardless of variant.

”…Among the patients with reinfection, progression to severe Covid-19 occurred in one patient with the alpha variant, in two patients with the beta variant, in no patients with the delta variant, and in two patients with the omicron variant. None of the reinfections progressed to critical or fatal Covid-19…”

(J. Harris: This is more information from a study we looked at a week or so ago from Qatar involving a very young (31-35 Y/O) population. This second letter indicates some protection against the Omicron variant from the previous infections with other Covid organisms was found (60%) as well as milder disease with all the organisms. Perhaps, at least with young people, subsequent future reinfections won’t overwhelm our hospitals and morgues?)

LASTLY:

I plan to introduce Geriatric Ice Dancing at subsequent Winter Olympics. I expect to enter in the ”Big Boy Classification” which will include Belly Spinning. And remember, “Big Boys don’t cry!”

I don’t mean to brag, but I finished my 14-day diet food supply in 3 hours and 20 minutes

Norwegian Cake of the Day: