libera/##covid-19/ Wednesday, 2024-02-07

BrainstormNew from r/Coronavirus: Coronavirus: Not wearing a mask during COVID-19 health emergency isn’t a free speech right, appeals court says - ABC News → https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/1aknzb9/not_wearing_a_mask_during_covid19_health/00:32
BrainstormNew from Marc Veldhoen on Mastodon: (news): Upon previous infection, you will have local antibody production in the nasalpahryngal tract as well as local memory T cells. These and many non-neutralising antibodies will largely ensure containment of the virus and prevent severe disease. → https://mastodon.online/@marc_veld/11188721109833693700:51
BrainstormNew from Marc Veldhoen on Mastodon: (news): Upon boosting, there is mainly selection and outgrowth of memory B cells (against conserved/crossreactive sites), although as reported previously, some new XBB.1.5 specific B cells are selected. → https://mastodon.online/@marc_veld/11188721237484070201:00
semY'all I have COVID. Healthcare app says to isolate for 5 days after symptoms resolve01:02
semIs it ok to stay in a very warm room to help the body maintain a fever01:08
LjLsem, hey, sorry... i've seen all sorts of opinions about fever, i'm not sure we have a *clear* understanding of the mechanism and why it kicks into place... I feel that if you don't want to *suppress* the fever by taking paracetamol or similar, that might be fine (unless the fever becomes too high, if it's over 40°C or so I think the priority becomes protecting the brain and turning the fever *down*), but going so far as to have saunas to *increase* the fever may01:11
LjL be a little overkill01:11
semYeah that makes sense01:12
LjL(paracetamol is acetaminophen)01:12
semI am cold outside of the "sauna" but I bet more layers will help01:13
LjLI mean, by all means don't be in a cold room, I'd just stay somewhere as warm as you feel comfortable staying01:14
LjLwhen we don't have a clear idea, I think maybe you should just let your body tell you01:14
LjLhow high of a fever are you running, anyway?01:16
semYeah while staying below 40C/104F. I don't trust my fever body to make the best decisions01:16
semIt was 103.9 when I left the "sauna"01:16
semI guess that's within the error of the thermometer so I should have left earlier01:17
LjLyikes01:18
semAnyway after it "beeps" it still climbs and I've never seen documented if it drifts after the initial reading or if you leave it in until it stops rising01:18
semNow it is 103.6 and I'm not shivering as much01:18
LjLsem, it stops rising in my experience, and that's what it also logically should do. the "beeps" are always WAY too early with all digital thermometers i've tried. i just keep it 5 minutes like I would an analog one01:18
semOk01:19
LjLsem, anyway, that's pretty high fever and note that many people with COVID don't even get fever at all... that's not to scare you but just are you sure you have COVID and not a flu, for instance? (worst would be both...)01:19
semI had a positive take home test earlier but outside of that I have no proof01:21
semBesides all the other symptoms I guess01:21
LjLsem, that's reasonably good evidence :P rapid tests have many false negatives but not so many false positives01:22
semThat's what I figured01:22
semIt is lowering only 103.2 now01:22
LjLif you want to be extra careful, try taking a flu test as well, although i've found those on Amazon for a brief period and then they were gone01:22
semThat's a good idea01:23
LjLI mean, what I found were combo flu+COVID test, I didn't even find flu test on their own01:23
LjLbut flu+COVID tests are basically just the two separate tests... spliced together01:23
semI didn't know there even was a flu test01:23
LjLodd, i'm not even finding COVID test on American Amazon, are they banned from selling them or something I wonder?01:24
LjLmy searches come back with drug tests and other stuff instead like... an infidelity test? O.o01:25
LjLsem, it's like this sort of thing, look at the picture https://www.amazon.it/Adeste-Confezione-Inscatolati-Singolarmente-lInfluenza/dp/B0BJZZCVQ1/01:27
LjLthe C T on the left is the COVID part, C B A on the right is influenza (it tells you whether influenza A or B)01:27
semSimilar to COVID test boxes01:27
semMaybe illegal in USA?01:28
LjLmy aunt thought she had flu and it was a good idea to suggest this test to her, because, well, she had COVID instead01:28
LjLsem, shouldn't be illegal but the thing is I'm not even finding COVID tests on amazon.com and those are definitely legal. But maybe they can only be sold by pharmacies or something?01:28
burythe u.s. doesn't have at-home rapid influenza testing except for the expensive Lucira tests, to my knowledge.01:28
LjLflu tests weren't a common thing here either before, but now I've seen all sorts of rapid tests on amazon.it after people got acquainted with the COVID ones (or... maybe they were there before and I never knew)01:29
LjLanyway I always go a bit too far probably, just rest and don't get worked up too much on seeking tests that may not be there...01:32
LjLbut get checked if the fever stays around01:32
LjLdo you breathe easily?01:33
BrainstormNew from r/Coronavirus: Coronavirus: Hidden death toll of COVID-19 pandemic revealed → https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/1akopp8/hidden_death_toll_of_covid19_pandemic_revealed/01:48
semYes I'm breathing ok I have a pulse ox that was $1002:33
LjLthose are the best ones!02:33
LjLespecially because they all kinda suck unless you get really expensive ones so might as well stay cheap :P02:34
semI decided to take 650 mg acetaminophen to control the fever bc it's104.1 and I have a headache02:34
semYeah :)02:34
LjLi'll call that a good call02:34
semI heard they are ± 1 sp%02 for spot checks02:34
LjLsem, for a while, a couple of prominent doctors (hospital directors and such) in Italy were trying to advocate using aspirin on TV, not just to keep fever down and control symptoms but because they were actually seeing improvements faster than without. Then again there have also been calls to caution about aspirin, so I don't know what to think, and then I stopped hearing anything anymore (because COVID stopped being covered or cared about), but if COVID is as02:38
LjLmuch a disease of blood clotting as it seems to be, aspirin could conceivably be helpful. Personally I would probably not take it but for the simple reason that I've never taken it in my life as I had many allergies and I was cautioned against taking it, so taking it the day I get COVID and risk making things worse doesn't seem like a great idea. But if you take it, maybe something to be considered.02:38
LjLsem, in my experience they're nowhere near just 1% error :(02:38
LjLand I've got two, so I can compare them and sometimes they're really discordant02:38
LjLstill, over 95% good, over 90% probably still good at least if the dip isn't long/consistent, below 90% you can start worrying a little bit02:39
LjLif you had a precise one, you could start worrying a bigger bit02:39
semOh02:46
semIt was 95 but I wasn't trying to breath extra02:46
semOh yeah that makes sense why you wouldn't take it02:47
semAspirin02:47
LjLsem, you shouldn't try to "breathe extra", but anyway it often reads 95% for me even though to my knowledge I haven't had COVID or any other pulmonary diseases, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. sometimes it reads 98% instead, but even when it's reading 95%, the other one might be reading something totally different02:48
LjLwell not totally, but different02:48
semIt used to always read 98 or above for me, often 100. But I'm older now and less fit02:49
LjLthese pulse oximeters are generally very accurate in terms of the heartrate, but not so much in terms of the SpO2, even though that's what they're mainly meant to measure. if they come with a graph, that may also give some vague information about what exactly your heart is doing, but i don't really know how to interpret it (and it's very small anyway, but one of the oximeters i have has USB connectivity and on the computer the graph is much clearer)02:50
semI was wondering if breathing deep could trigger the cough response and help cancel secondary infections02:50
semOh that's cool I never tried to connect it02:50
semI just disabled beeping02:51
semIt has a little graph on it though02:51
LjLsem, well, if it always read 98 or above and only now that you have COVID it's reading lower, that could be meaningful. the fact that you've got fever just makes me worry, perhaps unnecessarily, that you might have a secondary infection (just because i am under the impression fever is not a very common symptom with current COVID variants, but i don't really have actual percentages in mind)02:51
LjLno idea about your coughing idea02:52
LjLbut so it does have a USB port?02:52
semThat is just conjecture, similar to me thinking the sauna would be a good Idea02:52
semSo I'll desist02:52
semI don't see a connector of any kind but it has Bluetooth I'm pretty sure02:53
LjLsem, that'd be usual for $10, although things are cheaper in the US02:53
semMaybe I can look up what my latest pulse ox measurements were02:54
LjLsem, I'm not a medical anything so I don't even know if the sauna idea was actually bad, I'm just trying to reason it out. But about coughing I really don't know where to start reasoning.02:54
LjLFWIW, the instruction they gave people here at least for a period was for people to call their doctor if the saturation went below 93% for an amount of time02:56
semI think here they've been saying 90 but it doesn't hurt to be cautious02:57
LjLIf you have 95% now, getting 94% or 93% for some time would probably still be okay, but if it goes below that and stays below that, you'd probably do want to get checked02:57
semI asked about paxlovid and they prescribed it. I didn't think I would qualify02:57
LjLsem, 90% is definitely not normal saturation for a healthy person02:57
semIt is 96 now :)02:58
semSometimes 9802:58
LjLsem, really? that's interesting, they really prescribe it very sparingly here. do you plan to buy it / take it?02:58
LjLsem, if you take any other medications, check interactions carefully, as Paxlovid is known to have a bunch of interactions.02:59
semYeah I will take it -I've only been taking acetaminophen02:59
semThey are worried about allergies and other things02:59
LjLsem, expect a bad metallic taste in your mouth, that's a very common side effect (just so you know it doesn't mean you're losing smell/taste due to COVID)02:59
LjLsem, do you have any history of allergic asthma then?03:00
semGood to know -- no, no history of asthma03:00
LjLWell I don't quite understand their rationale for prescribing it, but... I think Paxlovid is probably good to take especially if you're actually told to take it :)03:01
LjLwhen will you be able to obtain it?03:01
semTonight03:05
semBefore midnight. It's ready someone is going to pick it up now03:05
LjLsem, i'm surprised you can even be here typing coherently with nearly 40°C fever... people sure are different. I can only shiver on a couch at 39°C and i've never been near 40 but I'm pretty sure I'd be KO03:09
semThat's why I don't exactly trust this thermometer, but its measurements have been pretty consistent and make sense given the context, just on the high side03:10
semI have an icepack on my head now too, but the chills are getting less anyway03:11
LjLmercury thermometers are sometimes missed03:11
LjLsem, how much acetaminophen did you take?03:11
semYeah for sure just don't break it somehow03:12
sem650 mg03:12
semI tried to drink 400 mL water but fell short03:12
LjLyeah, they do have that contraindication, and eventually they're gonna be broken :P i think i remember breaking one and playing with the resulting mercury...03:12
semThat sounds very fun03:12
LjL650mg? that's a weird amount for here (either 500 or 1000 generally) but i guess it's probably some round amount in furlongs per forthnight ;P03:13
semProbably a rite of passage for the scientifically inclined03:13
LjLi was a kid, what did i know03:13
semHeh each pill is 325 and it says take 2 every 4-6 hours03:13
LjLwe've had some non-mercury analog thermometer but they sucked03:13
LjLand not just because they're nearly unreadable03:14
semI never liked how they seem to keep rising and rising03:14
semAnd beep so early03:14
semWhy even beep at all if it's going to be so wrong03:14
LjLthey do stop rising at some point, i promise03:15
LjLjust ignore the beeps03:15
LjLi don't know why they beep so early03:15
LjLbut my guess is because people have no patience, so they try to suit people03:15
semI've been checking it at 5 min and again later to see if it's the same03:15
semYeah. "This thermometer takes too long. I'm getting the one that says rapid results"03:16
LjLsomething like that is my suspicion yeah03:16
LjLbut i've never actually had one that took "too long". they *all* beeped way early :P03:16
semYeah - that's the hypothetical case that may have driven manufacturers to beep early03:17
semWho knows if that's really why03:17
semMaybe there is someone hacking thermometers to make them beep later03:18
sem:p03:18
semIn some corner of the world03:19
semUnknown to us03:19
LjLsem, i tried asking GPT, twice, but it gave me unconvincing answers, twice :P03:24
LjL"Digital body thermometers often beep early in the process because they provide a quick indication of the temperature being measured. This initial reading is usually not the final temperature but rather a preliminary indication to alert the user that the measurement is in progress. The thermometer continues to measure the temperature until it stabilizes, at which point it typically beeps again to indicate that the final temperature reading is ready."03:25
semHahaha03:25
LjL"The early beep you hear from digital body thermometers typically indicates that the device has reached a preliminary temperature reading. It's a signal that the thermometer has gathered sufficient data to provide an initial measurement. However, the temperature reading continues to rise because the device is still refining its measurement by continuously sampling and analyzing the temperature. This process helps ensure accuracy and provides a more precise reading03:25
LjLover time. The early beep serves as a prompt for users to be aware that the thermometer is working, while the subsequent rise in temperature display reflects the ongoing measurement process."03:25
LjLsometimes I ask things twice to test for it making shit up03:25
semThey always sound so convincing whether wrong or right03:25
semI think the Microsoft one checks its answers against live web results? But IDK03:26
LjLyeah, it can do that, but ChatGPT can do that too if you use the paid version03:26
semAny way it's 102.6 so down from 104.1 the highest it for03:26
semOh I didn't know that03:27
semMy "bot" uses 4-turbo-preview but it still gives wrong answers sometimes03:27
LjLthe paid version of ChatGPT can do a number of neat things, although people complain it has gotten dumber over time, just like the free version (paid version is GPT-4, free version is GPT-3.5, I'm not sure which one Bing uses)03:27
LjLoh i didn't know there was a 4-turbo-preview03:28
semI wonder if my bot can remind me which one it's using03:28
LjLwhen they released 3.5 "turbo", it was... faster but worse than the original 3.503:28
LjLsem, first hit i got about it: https://community.openai.com/t/new-gpt-4-turbo-preview-saying-it-cant-help-on-complex-prompt/60531503:28
LjL"gpt-4-1106-preview handles it just fine, but gpt-4-0125-preview responds with “I’m sorry, I can’t assist with that request”"03:29
semHuh weird. I do recognize 1106 that's what I'm on03:30
LjLare those dates or version numbers, i think they used dates, and 0125 makes sense as january 4, but... the previous one was as far back as november 6?03:33
semThat would make sense given my timeline but IDK03:53
BrainstormNew from r/COVID19: COVID19: Contralateral second dose improves antibody responses to a two-dose mRNA vaccination regimen → https://old.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/1aktb93/contralateral_second_dose_improves_antibody/04:31
BrainstormNew from r/Coronavirus: Coronavirus: Switching arms improves effectiveness of two-dose vaccinations, OHSU study suggests → https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/1akuabu/switching_arms_improves_effectiveness_of_twodose/05:38
BrainstormNew from r/COVID19: COVID19: Lung Function Trajectories in Mild COVID-19 With 2-year Follow-up → https://old.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/1akxst6/lung_function_trajectories_in_mild_covid19_with/08:59
BrainstormNew from EMA: What's new: (news): Human medicines European public assessment report (EPAR): Twinrix Paediatric, hepatitis A (inactivated) and hepatitis B (rDNA) (HAB) vaccine (adsorbed), Date of authorisation: 10/02/1997, Revision: 24, Status: Authorised → https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/twinrix-paediatric10:44
BrainstormNew from BMJ: Scarlett McNally: We need to talk money to retain our NHS: It used to be considered impolite to talk about money, but times are tough. Poverty causes ill health,1 and six million people in the UK—10% of the population—are in “very deep poverty,” with one million children in “destitution.”2 Living in [... want %more?] → http://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj.q277.short12:01
BrainstormNew from PubMed: A novel approach to guide GD2-targeted therapy in pediatric tumors by PET and [ 64 Cu]Cu-NOTA-ch14.18/CHO: Background: The tumor-associated disialoganglioside GD2 is a bona fide immunotherapy target in neuroblastoma and other childhood tumors, including Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma. GD2-targeting antibodies [... want %more?] → https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38323317/12:49
BrainstormNew from The Atlantic: Boomers Will Define the Ozempic Era: Imagine an older man goes in to see his doctor. He’s 72 years old and moderately overweight: 5-foot-10, 190 pounds. His blood tests show high levels of triglycerides. Given his BMI—27.3—the man qualifies [... want %more?] → https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/02/ozempic-weight-loss-older-americans-boomers/677371/13:28
BrainstormNew from r/Science: science: Switching arms improves effectiveness of two-dose vaccinations, OHSU study suggests → https://old.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1al1y69/switching_arms_improves_effectiveness_of_twodose/14:36
BrainstormNew from r/COVID19: COVID19: Excess natural-cause mortality in US counties and its association with reported COVID-19 deaths → https://old.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/1al3dyi/excess_naturalcause_mortality_in_us_counties_and/14:56
BrainstormNew from r/Science: science: Why Similar Policies Resulted In Different COVID-19 Outcomes: How Responsiveness And Culture Influenced Mortality Rates → https://old.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1al4ul7/why_similar_policies_resulted_in_different/16:53
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): Association between ABO blood type and coronavirus disease 2019 severe outcomes across dominant variant strains. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832237717:03
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): The impact of public health lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of children's orthopedic injuries requiring operative intervention. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832077817:23
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): Intractable pemphigus foliaceus after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832161817:33
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): An omicron-specific neutralizing antibody test predicts neutralizing activity against XBB 1.5. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832227017:42
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: Development of SARS-CoV-2 entry antivirals.: {'title': '', 'date': '2024-02-07T12:00:00Z', '_id': '38323318'} → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832331818:21
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 strains isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832224618:31
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): Lymphocyte B Subtypes in Peripheral Blood: A Prognostic Biomarker for COVID-19 Patients. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832153718:51
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): SARS-CoV-2 Variants Genotyping and Diagnostic Performance of a 2-Genes Detection Assay. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832154919:00
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): A Comparative Study on the General and Otolaryngological Manifestations of COVID-19 in the Hospitalized Population of the Telangana Region During the First and Second Waves. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832243019:10
BrainstormNew from LitCovid: (news): [Current Status of Research on COVID-19 Patients With Concomitant Hyperglycemia and the Management Strategies of Hyperglycemia]. → https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/3832251319:30
BrainstormNew from Marc Veldhoen on Mastodon: (news): As for any pathogen, this doesnot mean there are no serious infections requiring hospitalisation or even resulting in fatalities. This is what is seen every year for pathogens, also prior to the pandemic. We now just keep a very close eye on SARS-CoV-2. → https://mastodon.online/@marc_veld/11189162306512032619:39
BrainstormNew from Reddit (test): CoronavirusUK: JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in spring 2024 and considerations on future COVID-19 vaccination, 4 December 2023 → https://old.reddit.com/r/CoronavirusUK/comments/1alatxa/jcvi_statement_on_covid19_vaccination_in_spring/20:18
BrainstormNew from CIDRAP: (news): Bivalent COVID vaccine shows 54% protection in school-age kids → https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/bivalent-covid-vaccine-shows-54-protection-school-age-kids21:46
BrainstormNew from CIDRAP: COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy shown safe for infants: The mortality rate for babies born to mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy was half the rate of those whose mothers were unvaccinated. → https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-19-vaccines-pregnancy-shown-safe-infants22:25
ublx^ "Stratifying the analysis by vaccine manufacturer did not attenuate the association between vaccination and low neonatal mortality" <-- lol?22:31
ublxdirect link to study referred to: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/281453722:32
ublxthe mortality rate changing by 0.15% is described as: "The mortality rate for babies born to mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy was half the rate of those whose mothers were unvaccinated"22:35
ublxunder limitations, it is said "residual or unknown confounding could not be excluded"22:36
ublxwell indeed something has to account for the non-interaction of vaccine manufacture22:38
ublxanyway, unlike the CIDRAP line above, the actual study paper limits its conclusion to the more sensible formulation: "In this large population-based study, vaccination of pregnant individuals with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was not associated with increased risks of neonatal adverse events in their infants."22:39
ublxdescribes itself as an observational study. does anyone pay enough attention to observational studies for them to eventually retracted?22:45
ublxall the factors for the endpoints arrived at seem suspiciously close to two (half the rate), which seems a tad ridiculous22:46
BrainstormNew from CIDRAP: COVID-19 behind thousands of excess US deaths, analysis shows: A total of 162,886 of these excess natural-cause deaths (90% PI, 14,276 to 308,480) were not reported as COVID-19. → https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-19-behind-thousands-excess-us-deaths-analysis-shows22:53

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