COVID 19

The Dire COVID-19 Update


Hi there my beautiful lovelies! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe. Today I want to talk to you about the current dire COVI9-19 update.

COVID-19

COVID-19

Twenty-two months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world and upended our lives. Our sense of normalcy has forever changed. When things couldn’t get we saw the amazing result of people working together and coming up with not one but 4 different vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, Johnson & Johson, and Astra Zeneca in less than a year from the start of the deadliest pandemic in over a century. With the increase in vaccination, we saw a decline in cases until the beginning of the delta variant.

COVID-19 Delta Variant

hands with latex gloves holding a globe with a face mask
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

According to Yale Univesity, first identified in India in late 2020, the Delta variant swept rapidly through that country and Great Britain before reaching the U.S., where it quickly surged. It was, until mid-December, the predominant SARS CoV-2 variant, accounting for more than 99% of COVID-19 cases (at the time) and leading to an overwhelming increase in hospitalizations in some states. Delta is believed to be more than twice as contagious as previous variants, and studies have shown that it may be more likely than the original virus to put infected people in the hospital. People who are not vaccinated are most at risk, and the highest spread of cases and severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates. Delta was spreading 50% faster than Alpha, which was 50% more contagious than the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 Omicron Variant and Current COVID-19 Epidemiology

According to the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC), the Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and how easily Omicron spreads compared to Delta remains unknown. CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms. Currently, Omicron is the prominent variant circulating in the US. In the US, 61.9 million Americans have been infected with the COVID-19 virus. Just on January 10, 2022, there were 1.43 million new COVID-19 infections. The current 7-day average is 777k infections per day. Globally 311 million people have been infected with the virus with 5.5 million deaths. In the United States, the death toll is more than 839,000, which is more than the death toll of the Spanish flu of 1918.

Vaccination

person getting vaccinated
Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.com

As mentioned by the CDC, current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are likely to occur. With other variants, like Delta, vaccines have remained effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. The recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters. Vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging.

This is what the CDC says about the vaccine:

  • COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death.
  • Scientists are currently investigating Omicron, including how protected fully vaccinated people will be against infection, hospitalization, and death.
  • CDC recommends that everyone 5 years and older protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated.
  • CDC recommends that everyone ages 16 years and older get a booster shot after completing their primary COVID-19 vaccination series.  You are eligible for a booster at 5 months after completing Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, 6 months after completing Moderna primary series, and 2 months after the initial J&J/Janssen vaccine. Individuals ages 16-17 are only eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

My dear lovelies! The situation with the pandemic is dire right now. It has had caused a lack of an essential workforce. If we want to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, we will have to do our part by making sure that we are all vaccinated and boosted. We should not have to lose our loved ones to the horrible pandemic. I am urging you if you have not been vaccinated yet, please get the COVID-19 vaccine. If it has been more than 6 months since your 2nd mRA vaccines or 2 months since your J&J/Astra Zeneca vaccines, please get the booster if available. If you live in the US go to vaccine.gov to find a vaccine site near you. Please urge your loved ones to do the same. Finally please wear at least a surgical mask.

Please let me know in the comment below your feedback. I look forward to reading your comments and feedback.

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I consider myself fortunate to have good health, a full-time job, and a roof over my head. However, there are still so many people who are struggling to put food on their tables. Please join me to help those who are struggling. If you have good health, full-time jobs, and a roof over your head, please join me to help those who are struggling. Whether you donate $5 or $500, you will make a huge difference in someone’s life.

No Kid Hungry:

America’s kids need us. The coronavirus is closing schools nationwide, and millions of vulnerable children are losing the school meals they depend on. For some, it’s the only food they’ll receive on a given day. We have a plan to feed kids, but we need your help today to continue our work to ensure every kid gets three meals a day. You can click above to donate to my gofundme page donation going directly to the organization, or you can click on the direct link to the site.

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PLEASE DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN AND SHARE THE POST WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Manna Food Center, a nonprofit organization, strives to eliminate hunger in Montgomery County through food distribution, education, and advocacy. Millions of children go to bed hungry in America every year, sadly it’s worse now! Today, 14 million children regularly miss meals — three times more than during the Great Recession and five times more than before the pandemic.

Many parents have lost their job during the pandemic. Sadly, that shows no sign of stopping. Your donation can bring relief to the millions worried about where their next meal will come from. It’s even worse for Latino and Black families, whose rates of nutrition insecurity have spiked to 25% and 30%. In the world’s wealthiest country, this is unconscionable.

Even before the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 37 million people in America struggled with hunger and nutrition. The Centers for Disease Control reports 76% of people killed by COVID-19 had at least one underlying condition, most of which were diet-related. Diet-related diseases also fuel skyrocketing health care costs, which rose from 5% to 28% of the federal budget in the past 50 years.

Let’s make the world better, kinder, brighter. Every dollar you give will create real change. $1 will feed 5 hungry children here in the US, but $1,000 will feed 50,000 starving children overseas. Be the good in the lives of many by giving right now.

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Coronavirus Pandemic – Public Health Crisis of The Century


Coronavirus Pandemic:

Hi there my beautiful lovelies! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe. Today, I want to the current public health crisis of the century, the coronavirus pandemic.

Current Epidemic of Coronavirus Pandemic in the US:

Daily New Cases in US

Before I talk about why the crisis of the current pandemic, let me update you on the current state of play in the coronavirus pandemic. Over 374,000 people have died in the United States due to COVID-19, while over 22.4 million Americans are infected. Additionally, the same day bunch of pro-Trump radical domestic terrorists stormed into the US Capitol in an attempt to the coup, the United States lost 4085 Americans from COVID-19. My friend, that is more than the amount of death on 9/11 and definitely more than the number of people who died at Pearl Harbor. Moreover, over 129,000 people are currently hospitalized due to the coronavirus.

We are on the verge of losing 400,000 people to the coronavirus pandemic that is more than the number of GI lives lost during WWII. My friends, these deaths are real. It has hit close to home for me. In a span of just a few days, I lost both my uncle and my granduncle to COVID-19, and my uncle’s entire family, and my paternal cousin getting infected with the virus. Just yesterday alone, there was 273,854 new infections, 3,735 new deaths,

Local Pandemic Numbers:

California has the highest number of coronavirus cases. close of 2.7 million with over 29,000 dead followed by Texas with over 1.95 coronavirus infections and over 30,000 death. California had 55,433 new infections followed by Texas with 28,516 new infections, 17,839 new infections in New York and 15,445 new infections in Florida. Even though Idaho has the highest positivity rate (% positive of the number tested) of 56.6% California is at the point of rationing care with a positivity rate of 14.3%. Why is that the case, California, even before the coronavirus pandemic, has fewer hospital beds per person.

Global Pandemic Numbers:

Data by Johns Hopkins
coronavirus pandemic

Globally over 90.3 millions are infected with COVID-19, while over 1.9 million people are dead. US has the highest number of COVID-19 cases followed by India with 10.47 million infections, Brazil with 8.1 million infections, Russia with 3.4 million infections, and 3.08 million infections. Brazil had 62,290 new infections, United Kingdom with 60,098 new infections, and India with 36,867 new infections, and 23,012 new infections in Russia.

What does All Data Means – What’s Lacking?

Since the first U.S. case of the new coronavirus was reported on Jan. 20 in Washington state, more than 22 million people have been diagnosed. While encouraging news has emerged on the vaccine front with positive data on Pfizer Inc.’s candidate, it is likely to be some time before most Americans have access, and infections, hospitalizations and deaths are expected to increase. More than 370,000 people have lost their lives. Access to testing has improved for people who are sick, but those who lack symptoms continue to face barriers to getting screened, obscuring the overall picture of virus spread.

The number of tests performed by each state has varied greatly. Some states, like New York and California, have significantly ramped up their screening capacity, while others have fallen behind. As of Sept. 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 104 million tests have been reported. Experts say sufficient Covid-19 testing capabilities will be especially important this fall, as the flu can present with similar symptoms and uses similar screening infrastructure. In addition? Hospitalizations due to Covid-19 are rising in 23 states or territories in the U.S., including 16 reaching their highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. California leads all states with at least 22,513 patients now hospitalized, but 3 states still have a higher rate per capita.

The Deadliest Pandemic Since 1918 H1N1 Pandemic:

My dear lovelies! As an epidemiologist I have studied about the last deadly pandemic. As I have mentioned before, never have I ever expected to witness first hand a deadly pandemic in my lifetime. Before, the coronavirus pandemic, the 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.

coronavirus

Now think about it, the United States about 675,000 people died. We already have 55.41% of the total number of death from the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Again about it. In the 21st century with even more advancement in medicine we already had over 55.4% of the total number of deaths in the US during the 1918 pandemic. Yes, it’s unprecedented to have a vaccine approved and administered (will discuss more in later post), we still lost so much people. As mentioned by Attorney Gostin in the Journal of American Medical Association, “The world is experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, causing untold human suffering and death, unraveling of social relationships, and robbing individuals of livelihoods and countries of prosperity. The coronavirus pandemic has strained health systems, revealed unconscionable inequalities, and upended international institutions.”

My dear lovelies! What are your thoughts about the current pandemic situation? I look forward to hearing your comments. I cannot emphasize enough, please following social distancing guidelines and wear mask. If not for you, please wear mask. I for one will not stop wearing the mask even after getting the vaccines.

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CAUSES CLOSE TO MY HEART

PLEASE DONATE DIRECTLY TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH MY FUNDRAISING LINKS:

I consider myself fortunate to have good health, a full-time job, and a roof over my head. However, there are still so many people who are struggling to put food on their tables. Please join me to help those who are struggling. If you have good health, full-time jobs, and a roof over your head, please join me to help those who are struggling. Whether you donate $5 or $500, you will make a huge difference in someone’s life.

No Kid Hungry:

America’s kids need us. The coronavirus is closing schools nationwide, and millions of vulnerable children are losing the school meals they depend on. For some, it’s the only food they’ll receive on a given day. We have a plan to feed kids, but we need your help today to continue our work to ensure every kid gets three meals a day. You can click above to donate to my gofundme page donation going directly to the organization, or you can click on the direct link to the site.

Food Bank of Maryland:

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covid

COVID-19 Update and A Plea


COVID 19:

Hi there my beautiful lovelies! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe! Today I want to share an urgent public health message about saving lives! Please read this message and share with everyone you know. I am not trying to sell anything just want to advocate a crucial public health message.

Current Health Crisis:

Currently, in the US, over 10.6 million people are infected and over 243,000 died from COVID. The upward trajectory of coronavirus cases in the U.S. continued yesterday with the country setting a new mark with more than 160,000 new infections, according to Johns Hopkins University data. This came just days after the US reached 1 million cases in November alone, and COVID-19 hospitalizations surpassed 60,000 for the first time. Hospitalizations have more than doubled in less than two months, the COVID Tracking Project reported Wednesday.

According to the USA today report from Wednesday, Almost 62,000 Americans were hospitalized because of COVID-19 on Tuesday. A record number of 65,368 hospitalization due to COVID occurred on Wednesday. The previous record for hospitalizations was 59,780 on April 12, after which the number began a gradual decline that reached 28,608 on Sept. 20. Since then, however, the number has been rising steadily. Finally, there were 1,893 coronavirus related deaths on Veteran’s Day.

As an Epidemiologist, I can tell you this is devastating and horrifying. Across the US, hospitals are facing severe constraints in the weeks ahead. This is to the point that hospitals are transferring adult COVID patients to pediatric hospitals to take of the patients. Imagine this, you are a pediatric nurse having to take care of an adult patient with COVID. I have worked at a pediatric hospital for a decade and the only adult I have seen in the hospital with unique congenital diseases who have been seeing the same specialist all their lives. As an adult patient, you want to be treated in a place where the healthcare providers are specialized in the adult population.

It has been clearly established, over the past nine months, that wearing masks and social distancing is key to prevent further infection. How hard is that to understand.

Population Behavioral Changes Critical to Combat Coronavirus:

We wear a seatbelt when we drive because it keeps us and everyone else protected. Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45% and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%. Seat belts prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected during a crash. People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. So why can’t we do the same for the mask? The US is already hitting over 100,000 new cases per day.

From Emergency Medicine Journal – The BMJ

In public health, for every prevention program to be successful, behavioral changes in the population, whether it’s getting vaccine on time, or practice social distancing, is critical. Hence, to combat the COVID pandemic, behavior changes, such as following social distancing, wear masks. washing hands and good hygiene, and avoiding social gathering, are critical.

Below you will find the guidelines provided by CDC on mask-wearing and social distancing:

Current Research On Mask:

According to the CDC, multi-layer cloth masks block the release of exhaled respiratory particles into the environment. Cloth masks not only effectively block most large droplets but they can also block the exhalation of fine droplets and particles which increase in number with the volume of speech. Studies demonstrate that cloth mask materials can also reduce wearers’ exposure to infectious droplets through filtration, including filtration of fine droplets and particles

A study done in Thailand showed that, among more than 1,000 people, who reported having always worn a mask during high-risk exposures experienced a greater than 70% reduced risk of acquiring infection compared with persons who did not wear masks under these circumstances. Similarly, a study of an outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an environment notable for congregate living quarters and close working environments found that the use of face coverings on-board was associated with a 70% reduced risk.

Lesson Learned:

Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The prevention benefit of masking is derived from the combination of source control and personal protection for the mask wearer. The relationship between source control and personal protection is likely complementary and possibly interdependent so that individual benefit increases with increasing community mask use.

My dear lovelies. We are at a critical point of the pandemic with the cold season and the start of the flu season. There is a kid out there who is worried sick about his/her mom/dad fighting to survive in the hospital. Just imagine that. Watching my mom fighting for her life, made me think about this more and more. We have to do better, for the worried children, for the thousands of frontline healthcare professionals, who put their lives and that of their loved ones to take care of the sick. They are exhausted.

My friends, we are all exhausted. However, we all have to do better for our children, our parents, and thousands of essential workers who are keeping the country going. Saying thank you is not enough, we all have to be serious and make a serious behavioral change to combat the pandemic. We have to do this for our families, our neighbors, our community, our country. Now I think about JFK’s famous quote more than ever: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

Conclusion:

My dear lovelies! Our kids, our families, neighbors, communities, and our country is looking at us with hopeful eyes, asking if we are going to make the right choice for them. I say yes? Are you? I leave the decision up to you. However, before you make a decision just remember the most conservative models show at least another 200,000 COVID-related death by February 1, 2021. Think about it. I am talking about 200,000 parents, children, grandparents, loved ones. I have watched my loved ones fighting for their lives and survived COVID. In fact, my aunt’s entire family is fighting to combat COVID.

What will you do to protect your children, partners, parents, grandparents, neighbors, community, and your country. I leave the ball on your court. What will you do?

Please subscribe to this blog or follow me if you have a WordPress account.  Don’t forget to check out my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram @forevernij. Are you on Bloglovin? Also please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Let’s support each other. Please follow me and comment below with your information so that I can follow you back.

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