outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-armed-men-attack-liberia-ebola-clinic-freeing-patients/

holy shit

Yeah,

Plague Inc is my favorite game

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/19/341412011/shadow-and-d-12-sing-an-infectious-song-about-ebola?

dr. brantly speaking now, was just discharged from emory

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/tests-under-way-for-ebola-following-donegal-death-1.1904073

Shit got real. school with this guys sister

Pharmeceutical industry person tries to defend the industry re charges they have not done enough re ebola because it is in poor countries

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2014/08/18/washington-post-off-base-in-critiquing-pharma-efforts-in-ebola/

the incentives for the pharmaceutical industry are what they are, unfortunately

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/ebolanomics

Irish guy didn't have Ebola. Was a false alarm.

South Africa and Senegal trying to bar some folks from countries at issue from entry

First US case in Dallas. Take that NYC & LA! We're number one!

Yikes!

I wonder how many crisis of this kind will happen before countries take the WHO seriously and decide to invest in a proper international health structure to prevent this kind of outbreak. Freaking hate to see institutions like the FMI giving up to 130 millions $ but then pressure politicians in the region to go for austerity, it's a waste of money for everyone.

ebola USED to be at the top of my list of irrational fears. presbyterian hospital is about 5 miles north of where i'm sitting right now.

welp

#patientzero

The Frontline piece on this a week or so ago was eye-opening. Hospitals that are barely more than cordoned off fields, mass graves, disinfecting the back of trucks (where patients ride, near death) by tossing in buckets of bleach, doctors and other aid workers more or less forced to visit villages free of any special suits for fear of scaring the shit out of everyone, children orphaned and alone overnight. Just heartbreaking. It's both a matter of doctors struggling to keep up with a rapidly and easily spreading illness and a population almost impossible to isolate. Bodies being dumped and left by the side of the road, families taking members out of quarantine, superstitious treatments co-mingling with modern medicine ...

Here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ebola-outbreak/

The saddest bit may be at the end, where grave diggers, one by one, list all their families members who have succumbed.

I'm just a few miles further away, art. Drive by it almost every day as I head up to Richardson.

Your risk of dying from ebola (total confirmed 2014 ebola deaths: a few thousand worldwide) is still lower than your risk of dying due to complications related to seasonal influenza (on average, 5800-7500 a year in the US). Get a flu shot. Don't get too preoccupied by ebola.

wanna c&p that on every damn facebook post I see for the next week

be my guest

i have total confidence in the medical system to properly handle any other arising cases. that said, i am still illogically terrified

Sick Burn I saw on FB:

Don't worry about Ebola spreading in Dallas. The Cowboys have shown us that people in Dallas can't catch anything.

Ebola spreads by physical contact with bodily secretions and fluids. That makes it easier to contain in a place like the USA or Europe, where there are lots of medical facilities and a patient's recent contacts can be quickly discovered and tracked down.

Even so, if ebola strongly establishes itself in Africa, with a reservoir of infected people who keep the virus continuously viable and circulating, then not only will massive numbers of africans die, but ebola will keep leaping to other parts of the world, including the USA and Europe. It can be compared to sparks thrown out from a wildfire, which land on tinder and start other fires away from the main fire. You can put out many of these small satellite fires, but it is hard to extinguish all of them, and the more new places that start burning the harder the firestorm is to keep contained.

That's a good analogy. I really wish international focus between the Ebola outbreak and ISIL was better divided.

run for the hills imo

*not the hills of West Africa, tho*

http://i.imgur.com/LHm72Rq.png

ugh goddamned parody accounts :(

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/world/africa/ebola-spreading-in-west-africa.html

this is a very difficult article to read

apparently the problem is not money but organization and time

Oh jeez:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/texas-ebola_n_5919522.html

at what point is it ok for me to start panicking?

supposed to go to the state fair this weekend and have resolved not to touch any surfaces and to bathe myself in hand sanitizer after it is all over.

the panic is hilarious. Especially from folks who drive on the streets of Dallas. You should be much more afraid of north Texas drivers than ebola.

until there is an effective vaccine I consider ebola as a threat, but in the USA it is a long term threat, which gives the researchers plenty of time to develop that vaccine.

truly despicable imo for rand paul, a physician, to be saying things like this to score political points

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-rand-paul-sounds-ebola-alarm/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/world/africa/ebola-spreading-in-west-africa.html

this is a very difficult article to read

apparently the problem is not money but organization and time

― I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, October 1, 2014 7:27 PM (Yesterday

disorganization and lack of preparedness (not to mention distrust of medical authorities, belief in traditional healing, etc) are consequences of poverty, though. this was from a few weeks ago but i think it's a good primer

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1409494

First, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia are resource-poor countries already coping with major health challenges, such as malaria and other endemic diseases, some of which may be confused with EVD. Next, their borders are porous, and movement between countries is constant. Health care infrastructure is inadequate, and health workers and essential supplies including personal protective equipment are scarce. Traditional practices, such as bathing of corpses before burial, have facilitated transmission. The epidemic has spread to cities, which complicates tracing of contacts. Finally, decades of conflict have left the populations distrustful of governing officials and authority figures such as health professionals. Add to these problems a rapidly spreading virus with a high mortality rate, and the scope of the challenge becomes clear

rand paul, a physician

He's an ophthalmologist without board certification so this is something of a stretch, but yeah obv his statements are fear mongering nonsense.

does anyone know what's the hard libertarian faithful take on institutions like the cdc?

viruses are information that wants to be free?

It seems to be under control in Nigeria! Good news!

Slate: Spread of Ebola Appears to Have Been Stopped in Nigeria

Meanwhile, local health workers paid 18,500 face-to-face visits to repeatedly take the temperatures of nearly 900 people who had contact with them. The last confirmed case was detected on Aug. 31, and virtually all contacts have passed the 21-day incubation period without falling ill.

wow, don't think i knew about paul's board certification controversy before this, that's pretty messed up. at any rate tho he's still a physician and should know better

context:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/02/352983774/no-seriously-how-contagious-is-ebola?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202402

how about this madness

http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/09/04/illegal-immigrant-related-pandemic-diseases-are-appearing-in-the-us/

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/09/the_invasion_of_enterovirus_evd68.html

meanwhile in dallas officials seem to be handling things well

from cnn.com

Cleanup delayed
As concerns grow over how many people he may have exposed to the deadly virus, a plan to sanitize the apartment was delayed late Thursday.
Brad Smith of the Cleaning Guys, the company hired to sanitize the apartment, said they do not have the proper permits to transport hazardous waste on Texas highways.
Smith said authorities sent them away late Thursday before they entered the apartment and told them to come back with proper permits. It's unclear how long that will take.
"The permit is being processed through DOT (Department of Transportation) because it is a special permit," Smith said.
"This is a unique situation. Once awarded our hazmat teams will be allowed back inside to do their jobs."

CNN: Dr. Irwin Redlener, a professor at Columbia University's school of public health, called the handling of the quarantine "hair raising."

<3 cnn.com

EBOLA IN DC & MARYLAND

UNNECESSARY IRONIC ALL-CAPS HAVE INFECTED ILX

Let me know when DC ebola fatalities exceeds http://mpdc.dc.gov/page/traffic-fatalities

RIP Thomas Eric Duncan

novavax 2024 approved https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-updated-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-better-protect-against-currently-circulating. two doses 3 weeks apart required.

I had the vid in June so I'm waiting until thanksgiving to get mine, but I'll probably try novavax this year.

two doses 3 weeks apart is only if you’ve never had a COVID vax before. otherwise a single dose at least two months after any previous formula.

also great news and ta!

i can't even remember the last time a vaccination was offered to me. I took every one I had and I think that was, like... two? I think the UK gives them to the very old and very vulnerable, but my other half was on some vulnerable list (free flu jab) and hasn't been eligible for one for a long time.

anecdotally quite a few friends here (UK) have had covid recently.

ok so Spring 2024 booster was very ltd (age 75 years+, care homes, immunosuppressed) but Autumn 2024 is the usual over-65, frontline workers, care homes, clinical at-risk).

my mom has the covid booster, flu shot, RSV and one other vax scheduled for the same appointment next week, human pincushion time

Thanks, kinder - got one last winter because of risk, hope I can get one soon on that basis.

twooter thread with more detail on novavax vs RNA

I made this graphic to show how different vaccine types work (back in 2021).

We can just look at line 1 (protein vax like Novavax) and line 3 (RNA vax).

In protein vax, antigen-presenting cells take up the antigen to activate B cells and Thelper cells.... pic.twitter.com/lSsNIR2iIO

— Michael Lin, MD PhD 🧬 (@michaelzlin) September 1, 2024

How does one find a novavax shot? My normal Walgreens seems to only have mRNA right now.

there's been a big increase in novavax ads, in fact the ad directs you to http://choosenovavax.com/

probably going to go for some novavax in a little while. I had the virus we all know and despise last week, for the first time since the first week of June 2022. still not a fan!

I hear it's quite good with a Negroni and espresso.

free testing and shots in US:

The ICATT program will continue to provide no-cost COVID-19 testing for uninsured people that are symptomatic or exposed. More than 19,000 ICATT sites will offer no-cost COVID-19 vaccines under the CDC Bridge Access program to adults without health insurance and adults without full vaccine insurance coverage. An estimated 10,000 ICATT sites continue to support testing and disease surveillance needs at non-emergency levels. A list of no-cost COVID-19 testing sites can be found on the COVID-19 Testing Locator website. To find a no-cost COVID-19 vaccine near you please visit vaccines.gov.

Novavax is starting to be rolled out. According to this page it's currently only available at Publix but lots of other places say "coming soon."

https://us.novavaxcovidvaccine.com/find-a-vaccine

cvs and walgreens have it in NYC

bump
while a lot of people are logged in
for those who haven't seen recent post re free tests and shots.

got my novavax today :)

i got one on monday at my doctor's office. felt crappy all day yesterday. fine today. i have to go back there in 6 weeks and i'll get a flu shot then. maria and my dad got both shots yesterday and are fine today. i can't do that. i get ill. maybe cuz i'm a redhead.

i got moderna.

for the record: the nurse was NO on getting covid vax for herself. my doctor was YES.

Nursing has for some reason some of the dumbest employees to breathe air.

lol my CVS got ten (10) doses of novavax and expect to get no more

nursing is such a wild job space. overworked, dealing with people
having the worst days. no time for
food and the break room is just snacks on snacks. a crazy percentage of smokers. complete fatalism about some medical risks. overrepresented among careers on the lowest tier of dating apps

i always feel good when i read stuff like this. i am always the only one in the house who gets sick for a day or two after a covid shot.

"The good news: new research shows that more side effects might be beneficial because they reflect greater production of virus-fighting antibodies after vaccination."

“The more symptoms people reported, the higher their antibody levels were,” says Aric Prather, a clinical psychologist at the University of California San Francisco, who led the study."

https://www.bu.edu/neidl/2023/12/its-good-to-feel-bad-after-your-covid-shot/

so if you feel shitty after a shot just remember this:

A study found that people who reported more symptoms after receiving a COVID shot had higher levels of antibodies that fight viruses.

In a study of adults with heart failure who received a flu vaccine, those who experienced side effects were less likely to be hospitalized or die prematurely

i still - i shouldn't say this out loud - have never had symptomatic covid. i also never get the flu and i get a flu shot every year. flu is my least favorite thing. that nurse the other day said when she first got covid it felt like "the flu on steroids". ahhhhh! so scary. i'm so sorry for anyone who has gone through that. i have had insane flus in my life where i honestly felt like i should go to a hospital and i just suffered them out alone. but its been years. i love flu shots.

FWIW, I’m no-vid too. Last time I got the flu was maybe over ten years ago? I get the shot…

I get almost zero side effects post-vaccine but have had covid twice. My friend feels like crap for two days after a vaccine but her brother died of covid and she’s never had it. That’s my anecdotal data.

I’d say my cases were mid, in the grand scheme of things

That case I had about a month ago was the first time I've had symptomatic Covid as well. The one thing that seems to be lingering is the dry eyes, and they're severe enough to feel like I have glass splinters in them at times. I'm starting to use artificial tears, and that seems to be helping.

i've never had covid either as far as i know. about 15 years ago a bad flu triggered my alopecia and i lost all the hair on my body, seemingly permanently. so basically i take every precaution to make sure i don't get covid / long covid. once bitten...

speaking of which, gotta get my shot. i think it will be moderna.

think of all the money you've saved on shampoo? hair brushes? there must be a silver lining somewhere! fun wigs? but yeesh yeah that must have been very alarming! the flu is no joke.

i worry about my dad obviously. he's never had covid either and if he ever got a bad case...well....he's 89 and three days in the hospital last month for a stomach obstruction left him weak for a month or more. can only imagine what a bad virus would do. actually i don't want to imagine.

Tracked down a Novavax shot today and got it along with flu. They had it at CVS but apparently CVS doesn't take my insurance, which is wacky because I work for the state university system that has like 50k employees and excellent coverage. Ended up getting it at a grocery store pharmacy, where, because my wife and I both got covid and flu shots, gave us a $40 rebate that we can use on anything at the store. So it a way we got paid in groceries to get the shots! I'm gonna buy wine.

triggered my alopecia and i lost all the hair on my body, seemingly permanently.

There’s hope still… my sister lost all her hair and then went on this trail treatment for alopecia and all her hair is back now. They are bringing it into market and wanted her paying full price for it, but they made a big stink, so the trail people get to stay on it (either free or very cheap). So it might be costly, but there should be an option for you soon.

Tracked down a Novavax shot today and got it along with flu. They had it at CVS but apparently CVS doesn't take my insurance, which is wacky because I work for the state university system that has like 50k employees and excellent coverage.

My story three weeks ago exactly.