Couple down the road were in their 90's. She recently fell, broke a hip and passed away.

He called yesterday and asked if we could take him into town. "I'm too pissed off to drive". The Mrs. took him and called me later.

"On her death certificate, it listed cause of death as Covid. He marched into the doctor's office, slapped the death certificate on the M.D.'s desk. Told the doctor "Covid my ass".

Friend of ours is going in for surgery and had to take the obligatory covid test. She came back positive. She has no symptoms.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
A local private urgent care facility seems to have the monoclonal antibodies but I’m not sure I’m going to go that route… probably not.

Do it. Yesterday.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
I developed a fever Tuesday evening, woke up Wednesday and felt like a truck had hit me. Tested positive Thursday morning.

Main complaint for me alternates between the body aches and the persistent fever. A doctor friend offered a Rx for ivermectin so I’ll get that going tomorrow. A local private urgent care facility seems to have the monoclonal antibodies but I’m not sure I’m going to go that route… probably not.

Take care, all.

Do the research on the monoclonal antibody infusion. Statistically, its proven very successful with no lasting side effects. If I get Covid 'and' symptoms at some point, I've planned to use this treatment as part of my approach to recovery (assuming I can still get it here in Florida).

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
....no one recommended me take the rvidisvier stuff....

If you're talking about Remdesivir, you're likely better off given the potential side effects of that drug. Shame they didn't recommend the Regeneron (monoclonal antibody) infusion given the success they've had with that drug.

Agreed. Its the only treatment virtually guaranteed to improve your condition. And truly effective the earlier you get it.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
A local private urgent care facility seems to have the monoclonal antibodies but I’m not sure I’m going to go that route… probably not.

Do it. Yesterday.

FDA Advisors Meet To Decide On Booster Jabs As "The Science" Remains Uncertain

The big day has finally arrived.

On Friday, a group of key FDA advisors - the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - is meeting to debate and vote on Pfizer's request for approval of a third COVID booster shot of its "Comirnaty" vaccine for all Americans age 16 and older. The two big questions they must answer are: is there enough evidence to suggest that booster shots are safe and should be made available to everyone, or should they be limited to a smaller group of older and immunocompromised Americans?

On the agenda are presentations from Pfizer, FDA staff, CDC staff, Israeli researchers, and others. At the end of the virtual meeting, which began at 0830ET Eastern, members will be asked to vote yes or no. That vote isn't expected until later in the afternoon after a long day of debate.

After the White House waffled on whether the shot could be delivered five or eight months after the second dose, Pfizer has requested approval for the booster dose about six months after the second shot after submitting data showing efficacy wanes over time. And while Moderna has made a similar request and submitted similar data, it's vaccine isn't being considered on Friday. A committee of advisors from the CDC will meet next week to develop booster shots. Despite the drug companies' best efforts, the FDA has seemingly remained unconvinced about the necessity of booster jabs.

In recent weeks, scientists have become increasingly vocal about their opposition for the US pushing ahead with booster jabs so soon. Most argue that these jabs would be better utilized in the developing world, where vaccination rates are lower, and the risk of a deadly new variant arising are higher. One exasperated scientist lamented that the scientific process was being "short circuited" by politics, a reference to President Biden's push to start doling out booster jabs in the face of the delta driven wave that surged over the summer and - in the US, at least - appears to have finally peaked (with deaths hopefully soon to follow). The WHO has also urged President Biden to hold off on the booster jabs, arguing that there's greater need elsewhere.

University of Florida biostatistician Ira Longini (a co-author on the Lancet paper we will mention below) said it would be "immoral" to begin widespread boosters before the rest of the world has been vaccinated, per CNN.

On the data front, new data published this week out of Israel offer a "compelling" case for a booster to be administered at some point as vaccines-induced efficacy wanes. But the data is based on a sample of just 300 patients.

Meanwhile, on Monday, an international group of scientists led by Dr. Philip Krause, deputy chief of the FDA's vaccine regulation office, and his boss, Dr. Marion Gruber - both of whom are leaving the FDA, apparently in protest, published an essay in The Lancet that questioned the need for widespread booster shots right now. Gruber, who has decided to remain at the agency until later this fall, is listed as a participant in Friday's meeting, .

In a nutshell, the Lancet paper argues that vaccine-based protection against severe Covid is still strong, while evidence is lacking that booster shots will be safe and effective.

So far, the real-world data is scant and inconclusive. While Israel has doled out hundreds of thousands of booster jabs to patients as young as 12, it hasn't done much to stop the latest wave of cases (like in the US, deaths and hospitalizations are much lower than their 2020 peak).

Right now, evidence suggests boosters would have the greatest benefit for patients over 65, and the immunocompromised. Already, 1.9MM Americans have received booster jabs after they were authorized by the CDC for people with compromised immune systems.

Shares of vaccine-makers including Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and others could be volatile Friday as advisers meet, and inevitable leaks hit the tap.

"My guess is we are going to end up with a recommendation for booster doses for a certain subpopulation, such as adults older than 65," said Bill Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Before we go, let's review: The FDA (and plenty of advisers and third parties) say vaccines are largely still effective enough that there's no need for boosters. Pfizer has submitted data showing efficacy is waning, and that boosters are necessary. Dr. Fauci, and seven other top health officials including the heads of the CDC and FDA have spoken in favor of the need for booster jabs. The WHO and plenty of private scientists have insisted instead that those jabs should instead go to the emerging world where vaccination rates are much lower. For what it's worth, when confronted about natural vs. vaccine-induced immunity, Dr. Fauci said "I really don't know what to tell you."

But most importantly: the White House says 'GET YOUR BOOSTER JABS NOW!' with President Biden pushing ahead with a plan to start doling out the jabs on Monday (contingent (though that plan must receive the blessing of the FDA and CDC first).

The bottom line is this: while the White House, Dr. Fauci and every other party involved claim to be following "the science", but the reality is the science hasn't really given us a clear answer. It's clear that vaccine-induced immunity fades over time - and generally more quickly than natural immunity - but as for whether a third dose will make a material difference in preventing death and serious illness in the vast majority of patients? Scientists still haven't collected and analyzed enough data.

The bigger question: will 'Uncle Joe' and myriad state and local officials require Americans to get booster jabs like they're requiring even those with natural immunity to get vaccinated, potentially exposing these patients to rare side effects while it's unclear whether they're making a meaningful difference in immunity.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covi...ce-remains-uncertain

Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr

New Cleveland Clinic study found people who had COVID were less likely to be reinfected than fully vaccinated individuals who never had virus—suggesting vaccine is of no benefit to people who already had COVID.

Cleveland Clinic: Already Had COVID? Vaccine Provides No Added Benefit

A Cleveland Clinic study of the effectiveness of COVID vaccines in people with a history of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without found those who had COVID but weren’t vaccinated appeared...
childrenshealthdefense.org

https://noqreport.com/2021/09/...political-narrative/

quote:

Originally posted by HuskySig:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
I developed a fever Tuesday evening, woke up Wednesday and felt like a truck had hit me. Tested positive Thursday morning.

Main complaint for me alternates between the body aches and the persistent fever. A doctor friend offered a Rx for ivermectin so I’ll get that going tomorrow. A local private urgent care facility seems to have the monoclonal antibodies but I’m not sure I’m going to go that route… probably not.

Take care, all.

Why wouldn’t you try to throw the kitchen sink at it if you could?

I’m not too high risk and the monoclonal antibodies used HEK293T during the testing phase, so I won’t be using it. I did reading about that yesterday after my first post in this thread. Principal of the thing and all that.

It’s so far just a bad cold, except for some very minor gastro issues. I have no real reason to be specifically concerned, at this time and feel pretty good this morning.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
@RobertKennedyJr

New Cleveland Clinic study found people who had COVID were less likely to be reinfected than fully vaccinated individuals who never had virus—suggesting vaccine is of no benefit to people who already had COVID.

Cleveland Clinic: Already Had COVID? Vaccine Provides No Added Benefit

A Cleveland Clinic study of the effectiveness of COVID vaccines in people with a history of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without found those who had COVID but weren’t vaccinated appeared...
childrenshealthdefense.org

https://noqreport.com/2021/09/...political-narrative/

Makes me wish all the more there was a reliable antibody test!

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
If, and I know you can't or couldn't talk to the nurse's who had previously staffed the icu's across this country through better than 18 months of this situation who have recently been terminated because of these illegal mandates by administrative hospital staff in bed with the gov for the $ and only the $. Those nurse's would and are telling a completely different story than the one you are telling. These hospitals are not overrun with patients. Their very limited capacity for covid patients is a result of this crap (mandates and the $)by firing large numbers of their nursing staff and putting the rest of those still employed under a terrible amount of stress due to low staffing levels. This is sending us into a real manufacturer ed by design crisis's. People need to wake up and demand better.

I originally typed a one word response but thought better of it.

So many things in your post go against what I've personally seen working as an ER nurse. Where are you getting your information and numbers from?

Yes, vaccine mandates have recently come out. So far no one at my hospital has been fired because of them. Large numbers of nurses? We've probably got close to 200 nurses that staff our department. Of those 200, I know of only 5 or 6 who have strong convictions against the vaccine and have not been vaccinated.

As far as a manufactured crisis? Personal observations from last Tuesday night when I worked, 50% of the beds in the ER held patients that were positive for Covid. That was also with our department running fully staffed for the shift with all available beds. The majority of those were hold patients that had been admitted but still in the ER because there are no beds available in the hospital. This is not due to a staffing issue, it's a physical issue of the hospital only being so big and only having so many beds. The bed report for the hospital showed only 2 beds not occupied, they were both down for maintenance issues, not staffing.

So with every bed in the ER occupied, 50% of which are Covid positive and very limited capacity to move patients out of the department, we were overrun with 30+ patients in the waiting room some with 6 hour waits. It wasn't a manufactured crisis.

quote:

50% of the beds in the ER held patients that were positive for Covid

Are these people in the ER with covid or because of covid?

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:

quote:

50% of the beds in the ER held patients that were positive for Covid

Are these people in the ER with covid or because of covid?

Majority of them because of Covid and having difficulties breathing or other symptoms. Only 2 that I know of that night were admitted for other reasons and found to have Covid as part of their admission.

quote:

This is not due to a staffing issue, it's a physical issue of the hospital only being so big and only having so many beds.

People seem to always use the scarier version of the number. How many beds do you have in your hospital? How many ICU beds? How many ER beds?

Certainly sounds worse to say we've seen a 30% increase than to say we've filled 3 more beds in a 10 bed ICU. Not to mention that hospitals are designed to be fairly full the majority of the time. Not much different than hotels. They aren't built to sit empty.

quote:

Not to mention that hospitals are designed to be fairly full the majority of the time. Not much different than hotels. They aren't built to sit empty.

Yep.
They are high-priced hotels. With expensive mechanics and plumbers.

It’s not just hotels. It’s almost every business. Especially where overhead of maintenance, staff, calibration, etc is required despite utilization or lack thereof. No business wants extra unused capacity beyond an expected ‘busy’ range. Especially when the extra unused capacity is heavy in capital or overhead.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Not to mention that hospitals are designed to be fairly full the majority of the time. Not much different than hotels. They aren't built to sit empty.

What happened to all of those temporary hospitals that sat empty a year and a half ago?

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
If, and I know you can't or couldn't talk to the nurse's who had previously staffed the icu's across this country through better than 18 months of this situation who have recently been terminated because of these illegal mandates by administrative hospital staff in bed with the gov for the $ and only the $. Those nurse's would and are telling a completely different story than the one you are telling. These hospitals are not overrun with patients. Their very limited capacity for covid patients is a result of this crap (mandates and the $)by firing large numbers of their nursing staff and putting the rest of those still employed under a terrible amount of stress due to low staffing levels. This is sending us into a real manufacturer ed by design crisis's. People need to wake up and demand better.

I originally typed a one word response but thought better of it.

So many things in your post go against what I've personally seen working as an ER nurse. Where are you getting your information and numbers from?

Yes, vaccine mandates have recently come out. So far no one at my hospital has been fired because of them. Large numbers of nurses? We've probably got close to 200 nurses that staff our department. Of those 200, I know of only 5 or 6 who have strong convictions against the vaccine and have not been vaccinated.

As far as a manufactured crisis? Personal observations from last Tuesday night when I worked, 50% of the beds in the ER held patients that were positive for Covid. That was also with our department running fully staffed for the shift with all available beds. The majority of those were hold patients that had been admitted but still in the ER because there are no beds available in the hospital. This is not due to a staffing issue, it's a physical issue of the hospital only being so big and only having so many beds. The bed report for the hospital showed only 2 beds not occupied, they were both down for maintenance issues, not staffing.

So with every bed in the ER occupied, 50% of which are Covid positive and very limited capacity to move patients out of the department, we were overrun with 30+ patients in the waiting room some with 6 hour waits. It wasn't a manufactured crisis.

IU Health Center here in Indiana had 300 nurses who were suspended for no vaccine. Now 125 have quit because they were mandated to take the jab. THAT IS HOW I KNOW. I don't believe 10% of what I hear but I do believe there is a real agenda behind this and it isn't to protect us. I read this statement on this board: When was the last time the U.S. Government was so concerned about your health and really cared about you. Answer: Never before in the history of this country.

Are we finally seeing some rational pushback against this administration?

FDA advisory panel votes against recommending COVID-19 booster shots

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted against green-lighting COVID-19 booster shots Friday — throwing up a major hurdle for President Biden’s plan to dole out a third dose to most Americans.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/17/...campaign=android_nyp

I don't believe shit the FDA says. If this is their conclusion, they must be misleading us and holding out on the boosters that we should be getting.