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Covid surges across US after holidays amid low booster uptake (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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Summary

Covid cases are surging across the U.S. post-holidays, with rising test positivity, hospitalizations, and deaths, while booster uptake remains low.

Only 21.4% of adults and 10.3% of children have received the latest booster, leaving vulnerable groups, including the elderly, at higher risk.

Experts warn of continued dangers from Covid, including long Covid and economic impacts, as the virus has not yet reached an endemic state.

With uncertain federal priorities, researchers stress the importance of monitoring infections, updating vaccines, and using preventive measures to mitigate future waves.

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[-] clarinet_estimator@lemm.ee 51 points 1 month ago

I live in NYS. I had to pay $200+ out of pocket for the booster because my medical insurance would only cover vaccines administered by a doctor's office, and the booster was only distributed to pharmacies. My medical insurance does not cover ANY prescriptions because apparently it's an optional DLC now.

Only CVS and Walgreens were given the boosters too so they could set whatever price they wanted.

I don't know a single other adult other than my partner that paid out for the booster because it was so expensive. If my immune system worked I could play roulette with vaccines too, but it doesn't so I just continue to get my physical safety held hostage for more money.

[-] SuperIce@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago

CVS MinuteClinic are actual doctors, so they may be covered. That's how I got my HPV vaccines, which would have been $300 per dose if the pharmacist administered it instead. It was free with MinuteClinic.

[-] clarinet_estimator@lemm.ee 12 points 1 month ago

That is really helpful to know. I don't recall there being any MinuteClinics around here, but I'll take a look for next time, thank you :)

[-] flames5123@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

I have to go to the doctors office every 3 months for ADHD check in with my medication. They ask me every year if I want the flu vaccine, and I take it. Every year I ask if I can get the COVID booster, ans they say “only for kids.” It’s wild to me.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago

CVS and Walgreens are not the only pharmacies that received the latest booster.

[-] clarinet_estimator@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Perhaps, but that is what I was told by my doctor for my area. Seems like she would know.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 30 points 1 month ago

Covid, pneumonia, norovirus all surging at the same time.

[-] Rhaedas@fedia.io 21 points 1 month ago

Mpox and bird flu glare from the corner, bidding their time.

Ebola looks up from their book and yawns.

[-] anon6789@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

I was reading the posts from one of my local animal rescues last night about how they're dealing with hundreds of dead snow geese that are testing positive for avian flu. They were begging for more money, PPE, and medicine to euthanize the ones not dead yet and crematory fees for dealing with the hundreds of contaminated bodies. That state and fed don't seem to be pulling their weight in this, and they're nervous about using the same equipment and vehicles they have for their healthy animals for so much bird flu. The photos and videos they showed were devastating.

Meanwhile, comments section was filled up asking how they know it's bird flu, that bird flu is a gov conspiracy (US or China, both were covered) or this is what the mystery drones were gassing us with, and something about a "fog you could taste" (???) that was to blame for this.

If other animals like vultures get to the dead geese first, it just spreads the flu more, and if people try to dispose of the geese themselves, it can spread to their cats or birds at home.

People will just complain about the price of eggs as we lose so many animals, and potentially people.

[-] Rhaedas@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago

And such news doesn't seem to be hitting mainstream, or at least I've missed some of it. Pandemic level stuff is so 2020 and not click worthy maybe.

If other animals like vultures get to the dead geese first

My mind always goes to the "what ifs", and reading that my first thought past more spread was...what happens when a natural system of carrion breakdown loses part of its mechanism? Dead animals will still decay, but not as fast and complete without the help, and diseases can come from rotting corpses that just sit.

[-] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I'm not the most up to date on what all one should know, but it's rapidly rising on my list of need to knows. I only ever hear blips about it from MSM and it always gets played like oh some more birds died today or this is why eggs got expensive. At the most bad I've noticed it get reported is when it hurts business by wiping out giant portions of large poultry farms. I don't even think all these dead geese would make local news.

We do have a good test run of what happens without scavengers. This is just the first link that came up, but India near killed off their entire vulture population a few years back and it killed over half a million people from disease and such.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 7 points 1 month ago

*biding

[-] socsa@piefed.social 10 points 1 month ago

Norovirus is far and away the worst thing I've ever gotten. I cannot emphasize how much it sucked to be shit-puking every 20 minutes for three days. Sip of water? Hour on the toilet somehow. It made no sense. Where was the liquid coming from?

From the ghost hitting me in the stomach with a bat every 30s I guess.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 4 points 1 month ago

I had something like that when I was a lot younger. I had pneumonia recently. I had to take a week off work, and I work from home. Was down and out for the entirety of November, it started coming back mid-December, but I was smart enough to notice right away and got a third round of antibiotics.

Pneumonia was worse, in my opinion. However, I am told that norovirus is only killed by bleach - not by hand sanitizer or ammonia-based wipes. And that you're contagious for a couple of weeks after your symptoms start, so people "get better" after three or four days, then go wandering out in the world unwittingly spreading infection. That's just plain evil.

[-] maccentric@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 month ago

Genuine question (not an anti vaxxer): If the vaccine doesn’t stop you from getting the virus (my understanding is that it makes the symptoms less severe but doesn’t prevent the infection), how does it help keep it from spreading?

[-] traceur204 63 points 1 month ago

It both reduces chance of infection and severity of infection, and furthermore reducing the symptoms makes it less transmissible because the congestion symptoms are part of how it moves from person to person (coughing and such). The vaccines aren't perfect because covid can evolve so quickly but they're miles better than nothing

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

No, Chance of infection is unchanged. Only environmental factors like masks, hygiene and location stop a virus from entering the body.

No, Viral load is unchanged.

Yes, symptoms are reduced.

Yes, recovery time (and therefore time in an infectious state) is reduced.

[-] Tinidril@midwest.social 2 points 1 month ago

Your link is to one study at one point in time with the mutations that were currently prevalent and the vaccines at that time. Beyond all those limitations, it was also only looking at identified breakthrough infections.

Here is a counter example study.

People have a tendency to cherry pick and misinterpret studies. That's what experts are for.

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

it was also only looking at identified breakthrough infections.

As opposed to what? Testing people without Covid?

Can't access the details for your link (maybe because you didn't link to an actual published paper), but it may be discussing total viral load. Total viral load, measured over many days, is lower when vaccinated, but peak viral load is not statistically different whether vaccinated or not.

When it mattered there was no significant difference in cycle threshold values between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Delta, overall or stratified by symptoms.

[-] Lennnny@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

I got a booster in September as I was planning a trip to India, but I will say that thing knocked me on my fucking ass so much. As much as I believe in vaccination, it's gonna be a hard sell to my brain to go back next year and get it again.

[-] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 28 points 1 month ago

Whenever a vaccine kicks my butt like that I just tell myself "good job, having a strong immune reaction." If the vaccine was that bad I imagine the real deal would be much worse, especially without the vaccine.

Also, my dad died of COVID pre-vaccine, so I'm taking the vaccine whenever it's offered to me.

[-] blind3rdeye@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

I know what you mean. Like, I understand that the vaccination is definitely worth taking. But feeling sick for a day after taking it saps the motivation to get it again. I want the vaccine, but it's so much harder to organise getting it again after having a negative experience like that. (Note, I've have a few covid vaccinations; and only once did I feel sick for a day because of it.)

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Boosters arent free anymore, are they?

[-] Scrollone@feddit.it 8 points 1 month ago

It's free in Italy. I mean, all healthcare is free here.

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Thanks. Thats real helpful.

[-] BrundleFly2077@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Yanks 🙄 You know we’re not all all from there, right?

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Yes, How dare I ask a question about the US, in a thread about the US.

Does my american arrogance no know bounds?!

[-] Entropywins@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Preposterous as an American, I know all nationalities, cultures, and races both originate and are only located in bald eagle land... sometimes I do wonder though like I tend to assume most people I interact with are from the US, but do folks from Brazil or New Zealand assume they are chatting up fellow citizens of their country?

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

You read the thread title, right?

[-] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Even if they were, getting a significant amount of people to get them every 6-12 months isn't likely to happen. Even the flu vaccine is only around 50% after decades of campaigns for getting it regularly.

[-] padge@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

Not free from the government I don't think, but most health insurance would cover it like the flu shot

[-] spyd3r@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

How is it not endemic yet? Oh wait the pharma companies aren't done making money off it yet.

[-] Mbourgon@lemmy.world 38 points 1 month ago

Flu is endemic yet millions get a flu shot every year. I’d rather the booster than the brain fog++, thanks.

[-] Philippe23@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I don't see any stats in the article about the "serge", and the source linked by the article only offers a weeks snapshot and last week's #.

ER diagnosis are at 2.1%, up from 1.9% the week before. Not sure that counts as a serge, especially since for all I know that's within the margin of error.

Anybody have better stats?

[-] exploitedamerican@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago

when do we think pharmaceutical companies will roll out weekly or daily covid boosters?

this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2025
369 points (100.0% liked)

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