HeartDoc Andrew wrote:
> Michael Ejercito wrote:
>
>> https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/1hnwcqv/a_silent_covid_surge_may_hit_the_us_over_the/
>>
>>
>> A ‘silent’ COVID surge may hit the US over the holidays, experts warn —
>> here's what that means
>> This year's winter COVID-19 wave is off to a late start, and experts
>> expect cases to keep rising. Here's what to know.
>>
>> Christmas shopping with covid mask
>> Person wearing mask COVID surgeGetty Images / iStockphoto
>> Dec. 23, 2024, 4:09 PM EST / Updated Dec. 27, 2024, 3:30 PM EST /
>> Source: TODAY
>> By Caroline Kee
>> The United States is approaching 2025 with COVID-19 on the rise across
>> the country. COVID cases were already starting to tick up before the
>> start of the holidays, and large, indoor gatherings are likely to make
>> the virus spread even faster, experts say.
>>
>> Some experts are warning this winter COVID wave, starting later in the
>> year than usual, could lead to a "silent" surge in transmission over the
>> holidays and into the new year.
>>
>>
>> They're calling it "silent" because the wave follows a long period of
>> unusually low COVID activity this fall, so many people are unaware that
>> COVID levels have risen sharply over the past two weeks, the most recent
>> wastewater surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
>> and Prevention show.
>>
>> What's more, wastewater viral activity of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that
>> causes COVID-19 — is currently “high” or “very high” in 28 states, per
>> CDC data for the week ending Dec. 21.
>>
>> Despite these signs, people may not know their risk of infection is
>> increasing or not test if they only have mild symptoms, which can allow
>> the virus to spread at holiday events, during travel, and more.
>>
>> “There’s a good chance that a lot of people are going to get sick in the
>> next couple of weeks and be unaware of it. Most people are not tracking
>> CDC data, and so their only way of knowing whether we’re in a wave is if
>> they’ve gotten sick,” Michael Hoerger, Ph.D., associate professor at
>> Tulane University School of Medicine and public health expert on
>> tracking COVID-19 trends, tells TODAY.com.
>>
>>
>> While the data do not yet show the U.S. is in a large COVID surge, the
>> country is entering its 10th COVID wave since the pandemic started,
>> Hoerger adds.
>>
>> But there's a great deal of uncertainty about how bad this year's winter
>> wave will be and how long it will last. “This is a very risky time in
>> terms of lots of people interacting indoors, so we don’t really know how
>> quickly transmission can pick up,” Hoerger says.
>>
>> A risk of "silent" transmission over the holidays
>> Wastewater levels of COVID-19 are lower than they were at this point
>> last winter, but they have risen sharply in recent weeks. And cases will
>> likely continue to increase, experts say.
>>
>> As of Friday, Dec. 26, COVID-19 viral activity levels in wastewater are
>> high nationally, per the latest CDC data. The week prior, COVID levels
>> were “moderate” nationally. Just three weeks ago, they were considered
>> "low."
>>
>>
>> “Nationally, COVID-19 levels in wastewater have been increasing through
>> the month of December, following a period of low levels in October and
>> November,” Dr. Jonathan Yoder, deputy director of the CDC Division of
>> Infectious Disease Readiness and Innovation, tells TODAY.com.
>>
>> Currently, COVID wastewater levels are highest in the Midwest, data show.
>>
>> Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>> National and regional trends of wastewater viral activity levels of
>> SARS-COV-2CDC
>> The CDC no longer tracks the total number of new COVID cases in the
>> U.S., instead estimating transmission levels using wastewater
>> surveillance, test positivity and emergency department visits.
>>
>> COVID test positivity is at 7.5%, up 1.9% from the previous week, per
>> the latest CDC data. COVID-related emergency room visits and deaths are
>> also increasing slightly.
>>
>>
>> “The issue with this winter’s wave is it’s a lot different than previous
>> ones," Hoerger explains. In past years, COVID has followed a similar
>> pattern: Cases ramp up in November, increase steadily and peak around
>> late December or early January.
>>
>> This wave is coming on late and “out of nowhere,” Hoerger wrote in a
>> post on X on Dec. 16.
>>
>> “Normally people would have had a month or so of warning by now, seeing
>> friends and family getting infected,” Hoerger explains. "Transmission
>> was freakishly low for November, and so people are kind of lulled into a
>> false sense of security."
>>
>> COVID-19 levels are ticking up about a month later than usual, which
>> puts the country into “uncharted territory," according to Hoerger.
>>
>>
>> “You can think of the start of the wave as kind of a silent transmission
>> period where people aren’t really aware of it, and that’s coinciding
>> with the start of holiday travel,” he explains.
>>
>> Hoerger, the director of the Pandemic Mitigation Collective, uses the
>> PMC COVID-19 forecasting model, which projects there could be an average
>> of 900,000 new daily infections by January. The PMC New Year's Eve
>> forecast estimates that, if no one is testing or isolating, there is a 1
>> in 4 chance of COVID exposure at a party of 20 and a 1 in 2 chance at a
>> party of 40-50.
>>
>>
>> Other experts agree that infections are expected to go up in the coming
>> weeks.
>>
>> "We anticipate that these holiday gatherings and traveling and all that
>> will provide opportunities for an increase in COVID, as well as
>> (influenza) and RSV,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious
>> diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells TODAY.com.
>>
>>
>> “It’s silent (transmission) because most of these infections are quite
>> mild so people are not testing, or they’re blowing them off as a cold,"
>> Schaffner adds.
>>
>> Recommended
>>
>> Coronavirus
>> What states have the highest COVID rates? Map shows where it's spreading
>> as winter approaches
>> While this year's late summer COVID surge provided the U.S. population
>> with some immunity, it's likely starting to wane, the experts say. And
>> the current variants circulating, including XEC and the decedents of the
>> FLiRT family, are highly transmissible.
>>
>> "These current variants are causing a lot of milder infections, which
>> are going largely undetected," says Schaffner, adding that people with
>> mild or no symptoms can still spread the virus to others.
>>
>> "The communicability of these viruses is contributing to a silent
>> epidemic, if you will," he says.
>>
>> Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>> Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>> Current wastewater viral activity level of SARS-CoV-2 by state in the
>> U.S.CDC
>> As of Dec. 21, wastewater viral activity of COVID is currently "very
>> high" in 14 states, according to the latest CDC data. These are:
>>
>>
>> Arizona
>> Kentucky
>> Massachusetts
>> Minnesota
>> Missouri
>> Montana
>> Nebraska
>> New Hampshire
>> New Mexico
>> Oklahoma
>> Oregon
>> Pennsylvania
>> South Dakota
>> Wyoming
>> As of Dec. 21, COVID wastewater levels are "high" in 14 states:
>>
>> Arkansas
>> Connecticut
>> Delaware
>> Idaho
>> Indiana
>> Iowa
>> Kansas
>> Maine
>> Michigan
>> Ohio
>> Rhode Island
>> South Carolina
>> Utah
>> Wisconsin
>> “If you see increased COVID-19 wastewater viral activity levels in your
>> area, it might indicate that there is a higher risk of infection,” says
>> Yoder.
>>
>>
>> However, regional variation in wastewater data also depend on the number
>> and specific location of wastewater surveillance sites that are
>> monitoring, says Hoerger. Some states have no data, and others only have
>> limited coverage. “Take regional variation with a grain of salt,” he adds.
>>
>> Overall, decreases in testing and lags in reporting can make it
>> challenging to accurately track COVID-19 levels, the experts note.
>>
>> COVID-19 symptoms in 2024
>> The symptoms caused by the dominant variants circulating, XEC and
>> KP.3.1.1, are very similar to those caused by previous omicron
>> subvariants, according to experts.
>>
>>
>> Common COVID-19 symptoms include:
>>
>> Sore throat
>> Congestion
>> Runny nose
>> Cough
>> Fatigue
>> Headache and body aches
>> Fever or chills
>> Shortness of breath
>> Nausea or loss of appetite
>> Diarrhea
>> Loss of sense of taste or smell
>> Symptoms will vary from person to person. Even milder infections can be
>> "debilitating" for several days, says Schaffner.
>>
>> Although the latest COVID-19 variants appear to be causing milder
>> disease, they can still cause severe illness requiring hospitalization.
>> Certain people are at higher risk of developing severe disease. These
>> include people over the age of 65, people with underlying medical
>> conditions and people who are immunocompromised.
>>
>>
>> Every time a person is infected with COVID, they are at risk of
>> developing long COVID, which can cause symptoms that persist and
>> reemerge for weeks or months after infection, per the CDC.
>>
>> Are new COVID boosters effective?
>> The updated COVID-19 vaccine for 2024–2025 is recommended by the CDC for
>> everyone ages 6 months and older.
>>
>> The new mRNA COVID vaccine is monovalent, which means it targets one
>> variant — in this case, the KP.2 "FLiRT" variant. The strains currently
>> circulating are closely related to KP.2, and the new booster should
>> provide good protection, TODAY.com previously reported.
>>
>> However, uptake of the new vaccine has been low so far — just 21% of
>> adults in the U.S. have gotten the shot, per the latest CDC data.
>>
>>
>> “The best protection is to get vaccinated. Although vaccinated people
>> sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up
>> to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting
>> very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19," says Yoder.
>>
>> How to protect yourself against COVID-19
>> When COVID-19 levels are rising, it's important for people to take steps
>> to protect themselves and their families, according to the CDC.
>>
>> You can take the following actions to avoid infection and prevent
>> spreading COVID-19 to others:
>>
>> Stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.
>> Test if you have symptoms or an exposure.
>> Stay home when sick.
>> Seek treatment for COVID-19 if you are at high risk.
>> Wear a mask.
>> Practice social distancing.
>
>
> In the interim, we are 100% prepared/protected in the "full armor of
> GOD" (Ephesians 6:11) which we put on as soon as we use Apostle Paul's
> secret (Philippians 4:12). Though masking is less protective, it helps
> us avoid the appearance of doing the evil of spreading airborne
> pathogens while there are people getting sick because of not being
> 100% protected. It is written that we're to "abstain from **all**
> appearance of doing evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22 w/**emphasis**).
>
> Meanwhile, the only *perfect* (Matt 5:47-8 ) way to eradicate the
> COVID-19 virus, thereby saving lives, in the UK & elsewhere is by
> rapidly (i.e. use the "Rapid COVID-19 Test" ) finding out at any given
> moment, including even while on-line, who among us are unwittingly
> contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in order to
> "convince it forward" (John 15:12) for them to call their doctor and
> self-quarantine per their doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic.
> Thus, we're hoping for the best while preparing for the worse-case
> scenario of the Alpha lineage mutations and others like the Omicron,
> Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, Lambda, Mu & Delta lineage mutations
> combining via slip-RNA-replication to form hybrids like "Deltamicron"
> that may render current COVID vaccines/monoclonals/medicines/pills no
> longer effective.
>
> Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry (
> https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/6ZoE95d-VKc/m/14vVZoyOBgAJ
> ) and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
>
> So how are you ?
>
I am wonderfully hungry!

Michael