HeartDoc Andrew wrote:
> Michael Ejercito wrote:
>> HeartDoc Andrew, in the Holy Spirit, boldly 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!
>
> While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
> 8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, are rapture ready (Luke
> 17:37 means no COVID just as eagles circling over their food have no
> COVID) and pray (2 Chronicles 7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6)
> Father in Heaven continues to give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy
> Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so that we'd have much more of His Help to
> always say/write that we're "wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways
> including especially caring to "convince it forward" (John 15:12) with
> all glory (Psalm112:1) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
> the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
>
> Laus DEO !
>
Thank you for noting that I have no COVID.

Michael