Definitely. So many wanted to blame the holidays, but they did not even look at the data to see how hospitalizations were increasing well in advance of the holidays. The holidays were likely a contributor to the growth, but they were not the only cause. The timing matches up very closely to the onset of cold weather in NC and mirrors the yearly increases (and decreases) we see with the flu. As the weather gets colder, people spend more time indoors and viruses love it when people are inside. As the heat comes on in houses and buildings, the air dries out and viruses love dry weather. This is why the flu follows a similar pattern every year and coincides with the onset of colder weather.Civilized said:
Interesting. Hospitalizations clearly took a sharp upward turn several weeks before Thanksgiving and they're a trailing indicator since it takes people several weeks to get sick enough to be hospitalized typically. So the dramatic rise in infections began a month or more prior to Thanksgiving.
Makes it look more like the fall and winter surge was mostly cold weather related rather than holiday related.
That bodes really well for the sudden and dramatic downturn we've seen over the last few weeks. Still cold, and people are still inside, but far fewer are getting seriously ill than a few weeks ago.
Awesome - hopefully this becomes part of the CDC recommended approach. I've had it and currently have antibodies per the two plasma donations I've done. Wouldn't want to jump someone who is in line for vaccine but would like to get a dose to pair with antibodies to achieve the levels you mentioned. I"ll have to read it again to see if 1 shot is still as effective if you have gone outside of the period they think you have antibodies (3-6 months).Mormad said:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.29.21250653v1
Those with previous covid only need single dose of mRNA vax, and may still get up to 10x the antibody response compared to those fully vaxed but no previous infection.
Sorry to hear this. Hopefully your daughter will recover quickly and you and the rest of your family can avoid catching it.WPNfamily said:
Found out a few minutes ago my 11 yr old daughter is positive. She had sniffles for 2 days, that was her only symptom. Hey gymnastics team is all positive so she wanted to get tested. It will be interesting to see how my wife, 7 yr old, and I do.
I felt like I was walking in sand, heavy legged, on Monday. My morning workouts the past two days have been bananas good, I pr'd yesterday and again this morning on the peloton, but after I got off felt beat down, but I was going all out so I am not shocked. Hopefully this means I have it and it will be mild. We will see. Update to come.
Daviewolf83 said:Definitely. So many wanted to blame the holidays, but they did not even look at the data to see how hospitalizations were increasing well in advance of the holidays. The holidays were likely a contributor to the growth, but they were not the only cause. The timing matches up very closely to the onset of cold weather in NC and mirrors the yearly increases (and decreases) we see with the flu. As the weather gets colder, people spend more time indoors and viruses love it when people are inside. As the heat comes on in houses and buildings, the air dries out and viruses love dry weather. This is why the flu follows a similar pattern every year and coincides with the onset of colder weather.Civilized said:
Interesting. Hospitalizations clearly took a sharp upward turn several weeks before Thanksgiving and they're a trailing indicator since it takes people several weeks to get sick enough to be hospitalized typically. So the dramatic rise in infections began a month or more prior to Thanksgiving.
Makes it look more like the fall and winter surge was mostly cold weather related rather than holiday related.
That bodes really well for the sudden and dramatic downturn we've seen over the last few weeks. Still cold, and people are still inside, but far fewer are getting seriously ill than a few weeks ago.
Teachers are considered frontline workers, as are many other professions that have workers under 65. Plus, all of the health department's staff families have received the vaccine, which I think is distasteful at best. We have a lot of issues at our health department if you could not tell.statefan91 said:
I don't think anyone < 65 unless a HCW should have gotten a shot yet based on NC's grouping, isn't that right?
Got it - I didn't think frontline workers outside of HCW were in a group yet. I don't think they've opened up to grocery / retail / etc workers.PackPA2015 said:Teachers are considered frontline workers, as are many other professions that have workers under 65. Plus, all of the health department's staff families have received the vaccine, which I think is distasteful at best. We have a lot of issues at our health department if you could not tell.statefan91 said:
I don't think anyone < 65 unless a HCW should have gotten a shot yet based on NC's grouping, isn't that right?
I do have the same concern. My father is 86, has a couple of severe preexisting conditions, and has not gotten his first vaccine. They have had a couple of large events in his county (Davie County which is a small, still somewhat rural county) and they were a mess. No appointment and people came from other counties and even other states. He did not go, since the lines were 4-5 hours long and he would need someone to take him and he would be with them in the car for that period of time. He only goes out to go to the doctor, but he does have a couple of people who come to his house daily to help him with meals and make sure he is doing okay. This is the biggest risk of exposure he faces.PackPA2015 said:
I appreciate the large scale vaccination clinics, but I do have one issue with them. It has now hurt the rural areas, because of a lack of supply. For example, my grandmother aged 75+ with multiple chronic medical problems is 4-5 weeks out for her first dose. I have many elderly patients whom have been calling the health department constantly trying to get scheduled and cannot for many weeks.
May also have to do with the big school push. A lot of teachers/staff members whom are not necessarily 65+ and may not have many chronic medical problems have received their first dose. The health department has some balancing to do and I get that piece of the puzzle. Just wish we could do even more. Our local CVS and Walgreens have still not received their first shipment and have a waiting list 500 names strong so far. Local pharmacies have placed orders, but have not been given an estimated delivery date yet.
Not sure there is a great answer to that? NC only has so many doses to go around, but I think this contributes even further to healthcare disparity in rural areas.
My wife is a director at a behavioral health agency (falls in Group 2) and she was just told she is eligible for the vaccine. She does not regularly see clients, so she is not planning to get it until it is time for her age group. We both have a big problem with anyone getting it that does not really need it.PackPA2015 said:Teachers are considered frontline workers, as are many other professions that have workers under 65. Plus, all of the health department's staff families have received the vaccine, which I think is distasteful at best. We have a lot of issues at our health department if you could not tell.statefan91 said:
I don't think anyone < 65 unless a HCW should have gotten a shot yet based on NC's grouping, isn't that right?
Dealing with Walgreens now. You need to sign up for an online account to register with Walgreens. I am doing it for my father, since he is not able to see well enough to sign up.wilmwolf80 said:
My mom is having a very hard time finding the vaccine for my 95 year old grandmother in rural SE NC. The three surrounding counties have gotten limited numbers of vaccines, and when they do, the appointments fill up before my mom can finish filling out the online information. Hopefully with the Walgreens starting to do it in the near future it will help, but it's been frustrating. Even if they did a mass event, my grandmother can't wait in line for extended periods of time, so I'm not sure that would help her.
Davie, I am just down the road from you here in Rowan County. We had the same issue initially with large unorganized events that took several hours to get through. However, Rowan County has now gotten their s*** together (I can't believe I just typed that!!) and the process now is quite efficient and streamlined. It is by appointment only. The sign-up link on the page I am linking below goes live at 10am on Monday morning. I got on at 10am this past Monday morning and signed my Dad up...took maybe 30 seconds to sign up. He got his first shot today. He was at the vax site for less than 1 hour total. They have a good system in place for the second shots as well. No accounts to sign up for. Easy peezy.Daviewolf83 said:I do have the same concern. My father is 86, has a couple of severe preexisting conditions, and has not gotten his first vaccine. They have had a couple of large events in his county (Davie County which is a small, still somewhat rural county) and they were a mess. No appointment and people came from other counties and even other states. He did not go, since the lines were 4-5 hours long and he would need someone to take him and he would be with them in the car for that period of time. He only goes out to go to the doctor, but he does have a couple of people who come to his house daily to help him with meals and make sure he is doing okay. This is the biggest risk of exposure he faces.PackPA2015 said:
I appreciate the large scale vaccination clinics, but I do have one issue with them. It has now hurt the rural areas, because of a lack of supply. For example, my grandmother aged 75+ with multiple chronic medical problems is 4-5 weeks out for her first dose. I have many elderly patients whom have been calling the health department constantly trying to get scheduled and cannot for many weeks.
May also have to do with the big school push. A lot of teachers/staff members whom are not necessarily 65+ and may not have many chronic medical problems have received their first dose. The health department has some balancing to do and I get that piece of the puzzle. Just wish we could do even more. Our local CVS and Walgreens have still not received their first shipment and have a waiting list 500 names strong so far. Local pharmacies have placed orders, but have not been given an estimated delivery date yet.
Not sure there is a great answer to that? NC only has so many doses to go around, but I think this contributes even further to healthcare disparity in rural areas.
The advantage of the large events is you can get a lot of doses in arms in a short period of time. Many of the sites are setup already for handling large amounts of people and traffic, so they do make sense. The issue is the shortage of vaccines means some counties get slighted. Supposedly, NCDHHS was supposed to be allocating doses to counties based on population, but I do not know if this has happened.
WPNfamily said:
Rona update- the wife and the 7 year old tested positive today. So now the whole fam is positive minus myself. Thinking I will go get tested just so I would at least know for sure I should have some antibodies at some point.
7 yr old is worst off so far. She has fever and body aches.
12 year old and wife have only been sniffles so far.
I have to assume I am on deck at least...
Good to hear WPNfamily. Hopefully you do stay symptom free and the rest of your family recovers quickly.WPNfamily said:
I worked out this morning like normal and felt great. I am thinking about getting tested today. I am hoping I will be asymptomatic and have the benefit of building antibodies.
Dumb question, asymptomatic will still build antibodies right?
