Trick

Posted on by Thor

Scary new variants, or scariants abound as we approach the Halloween season. As the weather cools, we are entering another pandemic winter. BA.5 is beginning to be overtaken my a wide variety of new variants. BA.4.6, makes up about 12 percent of COVID cases in the U.S, and BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, make up more than 11 percent of cases, as of October 2022, according to the CDC’s variant tracker. And those are steadily taking over. in Singapore, a sub-variant called XBB has been driving a surge in cases, and may be the most immune-evasive variant yet

Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, called this rising wave of variants “troublesome.” monoclonal antibody treatments are becoming ineffective against the new variants. Dr. Jha the White House’s Covid response coordinator, is advising people to get their omicron-specific Covid booster by Halloween, He said, ‘You don’t want to be that person who gives it to your grandma’. “Why Halloween? Because three weeks after Halloween is Thanksgiving, and there’s a lot of travel, and you’re seeing family, and you’re seeing friends — and a few weeks later, it’s the holidays,” said Jha.

Over the past two-plus years, we’ve learned new ways to enjoy pandemic holidays, and “outside is always safer” has been the mantra for these holiday gatherings. Luckily, that’s easy to do on Halloween, because trick-or-treating generally involves plenty of outdoor time.

CDC advice includes the following:

  • Stay home if you’re sick. Skip the Halloween party if you aren’t feeling well.
  • Get tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Take precautions in crowded or indoor events as informed by your county’s COVID-19 Community Level, like wearing a high-quality mask (and Halloween masks don’t count). Consider making the mask part of the costume—like a doctor, nurse, ninja, or cowboy.
  • If you’re hosting celebrations, review options for improving ventilation in your home. This can help you reduce virus particles in your home and keep COVID-19 from spreading.
  • Keep your hands clean. If you’re out trick-or-treating, bring hand sanitizer. If you’re giving out candy, wash your hands frequently.

 

Variant Race

Posted on by Thor

There are over 300 variants of Omicron now circulating. Many are more able to escape immunity offered by vaccination and former infection. They are also more effective than than BA.5 at binding to the ACE 2 receptors. In this mad race to infect, the variants to watch out for are BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BQ.1.3, BA.2.3.20, BA.2.75.2 and BA.7.

BQ.1 has taken the lead in Europe, particularly in France, Germany and Great Britain. It is very likely that the wave comming this fall and winter will be driven by many variants rather than one predominant variant like past waves.

As of October 16. 2022, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, account for about 11% of the viruses sampled in the U.S., per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BA.4.6 and BF.7 are also gaining traction in the U.S., accounting for about 12.2% and 5.3% of sampled viruses respectively, per the data. XBB, another mutated version of Omicron, may be best suited to evade immunity, including a breakthrough BA.5 infection, The Washington Post reported.

COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said earlier this month that the White House is monitoring “the rise of several subvariants.” NIAID director Anthony Fauci also warned last week about the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants, which he called “pretty troublesome” due to their rate of increase. Meanwhile the CDC director Rochelle Walensky has tested positive for a COVID-19 infection.

The director’s case comes amid concerns among Biden administration officials and public health experts alike about a tough Covid-19 winter ahead, with hospitalizations already on the rise in Europe. This despite the fact that Biden thought it wise to announce that he thought the pandemic was “over”. In the US, hospitalizations have leveled out,, and I suspect will begin to rise soon. About 300 to 400 people continue to die every day from the virus. This is the insane new normal. Just a quick news flash, COVID is an airborne virus and simply wearing a mask in crowded settings can greatly reduce your chance of infection. Walensky has abandoned advising mask wearing and look how that turned out.

Fall COVID Colors

Posted on by Thor

Emerging COVID variants and waning immunity means there will be a wave of COVID infections in the fall and winter of 2022. BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 are subsiding but other variants are in the wings to take it’s place. The effort to roll out a bi-valiant booster to combat the new variants has been anemic at best. Only 2% of Americans have opted to get the shot. Al the while Omicron is evolving with a new generation of immunity-dodging variants.

United Kingdom and some other European countries, are seeing the swift ascent of BQ.1 ( a descendant of BA5). In India, the BA.2.75 variant is on the rise. BA.2.3.20, is growing quickly in Singapore, and has turned up in Denmark and Australia. BQ.1.1 (a member of the BQ.1 family with one extra spike change) and BA.2.75.2 are the most immune evasive, being able to dodge most neutralizing antibodies elicited by infection with BA.5. That means your past infection will not protect you from being re infected.

BA.4.6, dubbed Aeterna by variant trackers on Twitter, is slowly but steadily climbing toward the top of the mountain of variants in the U.S. In early October 2022 it accounted for 14% of cases in the United States. It’s growth is exponential. Aeterna appears to have a nearly 6% growth advantage over BA.5, according to an Oct. 7 technical brief from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency.

I am sure your head is swimming with all the different variants which are competing to infect us. Those who have gotten vaccinated have some protection from severe disease and death but the anti vaccine folks are shit out of luck.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicts a coming wave of infections that will swell in October and peak in late December or early January. So far no single variant has become undeniable the most dominate. I would put my money on BA.4.6 to be knocking on your door this fall season.