COVID-19 - READ THE RULES BEFORE REPLYING

[captain_to_fire]

7 hours ago, Mister Woof said:

They usually don't give these to people under 65 - I was given this one a few years ago because I have diabetes though.

Well that sucks! Is it because of logistics issues or concerns for supply? I got mine last year in a private clinic with no questions asked other than my intent to get a shot. The only adverse effect I experienced is mild soreness and feeling of heaviness in my deltoid for two days. 

[Mister Woof]

35 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

Well that sucks! Is it because of logistics issues or concerns for supply? I got mine last year in a private clinic with no questions asked other than my intent to get a shot. The only adverse effect I experienced is mild soreness and feeling of heaviness in my deltoid for two days. 

It's just not generally indicated most of the time unless you have a compromised immune system 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/pneumo/public/index.html

 

 

Quote

Who Should Get Pneumococcal Vaccines?

CDC recommends pneumococcal vaccination for all children younger than 2 years old and all adults 65 years or older. In certain situations, older children and other adults should also get pneumococcal vaccines. Below is more information about who should and should not get each type of pneumococcal vaccine.

Talk to your or your child’s doctor about what is best for your specific situation.

I know I never had them as a kid under 2 - but my kids received them.

 

I think at a certain point they started giving it to people, but if you didn't get it as a kid they don't give to you until you're older if you missed out.

 

 

Quote

 

PCV13

CDC recommends  PCV13 for

• All children younger than 2 years old
• People 2 years or older with certain medical conditions

Adults 65 years or older also can discuss and decide, with their doctor, to get PCV13.

PPSV23

CDC recommends PPSV23 for

• All adults 65 years or older
• People 2 through 64 years old with certain medical conditions
• Adults 19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes

 

•  

My kids got the PCV13; I got PPSV23 a few years ago.

[captain_to_fire]

13 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

t's just not generally indicated most of the time unless you have a compromised immune system 

Well our gov't basically said screw the CDC guidelines and let anyone who want it have it because even before Covid, we have high cases of bacterial pneumonia. I had it before I started my treatment for my autoimmune disease, my mom, dad and my sister had it. But I can understand as to why some countries would restrict it to healthcare workers and people with preexisting conditions in order to maintain adequate supply. 

[Mister Woof]

2 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

Well our gov't basically said screw the CDC guidelines and let anyone who want it have it because even before Covid, we have high cases of bacterial pneumonia. I had it before I started my treatment for my autoimmune disease, my mom, dad and my sister had it. But I can understand as to why some countries would restrict it to healthcare workers and people with preexisting conditions in order to maintain adequate supply. 

I've never asked for it before, so for all I know they could just administer them upon request. So I'll wait for others to confirm.

 

I got mine because they told me to.

 

Seems most kids born these days get it before age 2

 

As an 80s kid I just got left out lol

[Donut417]

6 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

I got mine because they told me to.

 

Im not even sure if I got mine. I know I got vaccinated for Hepatitis, due to an out break that happened a few years ago in my area. I generally get a vaccine if my doctor suggests it. My only answer is "Does it cost me anything?".

[Andreas Lilja]

Can't wait to be vaccinated in 2023.

 

GG Canada.

[Andreas Lilja]

https://globalnews.ca/news/7664476/vaccine-passports-covid-equity-experts/

"Experts"

“There’s a huge moral crisis in equity globally because in high income countries like Israel or the United States or the EU countries, we’re likely to get to herd immunity by the end of this year,” he said. “But for many low-income countries, most people won’t be vaccinated for many years. Do we really want to give priority to people who already have so many privileges?”

 

Goddamn, another Ph.D. in privileges.

[PhantomJaguarr]

Bruh. They are closing a vaccine superstation again just when it reopened in response to a national shortage of the Moderna vaccine. *insert sad Pepe meme here* 

 

Think I’ll just go to one of my work location’s pharmacies instead. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7664476/vaccine-passports-covid-equity-experts/

"Experts"

 

 

 

Goddamn, another Ph.D. in privileges.

IMO vaccines are fine to be distributed first to the people who buy. Creating a vaccine takes a lot of money - more orders -> more vaccines --> more production etc. Not to mention getting larger economies going should be a priority. Larger economies once back on track can contribute to COVAX later. 

 

To be perfectly frank - COVID vaccines have pretty low chance of success regardless - smallpox took such a huge effort. People forget that Ebola vaccination programmes are still running after so many years. 

 

It's not fair at all, but it is what will happen. 

[Master Disaster]

1 hour ago, RorzNZ said:

IMO vaccines are fine to be distributed first to the people who buy. Creating a vaccine takes a lot of money - more orders -> more vaccines --> more production etc. Not to mention getting larger economies going should be a priority. Larger economies once back on track can contribute to COVAX later. 

 

To be perfectly frank - COVID vaccines have pretty low chance of success regardless - smallpox took such a huge effort. People forget that Ebola vaccination programmes are still running after so many years. 

 

It's not fair at all, but it is what will happen. 

This is going to sound very callous but sometimes reality is harsh...

 

Its not just what will happen, its what has to happen. As you pointed out, vaccines cost money and even the most philanthropic person must realise that if the vaccine manufacturers don't make their money NOBODY will get vaccines.

 

The way this disease has caused worldwide collaboration from businesses that 18 months ago would have been direct competitors shows how serious of a problem it is.

 

COVAX is a good thing, I'm glad it exists and that rich countries are putting funds forward to help the less fortunate but putting everyone else at risk to help those who cannot afford to help themselves is every bit as stupid as allowing those who can't help themselves to suffer.

 

No life is worth any more or less than any other life no matter what background, the important thing is that we allow the vaccine manufacturers to do what they need to.

[Master Disaster]

5 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7664476/vaccine-passports-covid-equity-experts/

"Experts"

 

Goddamn, another Ph.D. in privileges.

I think you're missing the point somewhat. Geographical privilege is 100% a thing that exists and unfortunately the more we allow the virus to spread in the wild the higher chance there is of it mutating to avoid our current vaccines.

 

In lots of places on Earth, the poorer areas are also the most densely packed (South America, India & parts of Africa) which is a perfect storm for mutation. You have large groups of people living in less than ideal circumstances with very little money and no access to healthcare at all.

 

While the richer nations are all vaccinating the virus is still running rampant in the poorer countries, all it takes is for a new variant to emerge that can avoid our current vaccines and suddenly all our work to this point has been for nothing.

 

There are VERY legitimate reasons to want to get the poorer people vaccinated as quickly as possible aside from having a "Ph.D in Privilege" as you put it, apart from the obvious saving as many lives as we can reason.

[RAM555789]

Don't forget to take the time to thank all those hard working white blood cells!

[dalekphalm]

13 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

Can't wait to be vaccinated in 2023.

 

GG Canada.

Health Canada just approved a third vaccine (AstraZeneca) - it's a more traditional vaccine (viral vector vaccine) compared to the mRNA ones, which for some may make them less reluctant to get one.

 

This will significantly help the supply issues Canada is currently facing.

 

The vast majority of Canadians are likely to still get vaccinated this year, or maybe next year at most.

12 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7664476/vaccine-passports-covid-equity-experts/

"Experts"

 

 

 

Goddamn, another Ph.D. in privileges.

They have a point - a virus doesn't care about which country it's in, or where the border is. As long as people are moving around (which, they are, despite all best efforts), the virus can and will still spread.

This means it's in the best interests of places like Canada and the US to ensure that third world countries get at least some vaccines in the short to medium term, and that we don't let it drag on for years and years. Why? Because if they're still having a massive infection rate, it will slow down herd immunity in countries like ours.

 

It's a balancing act, of course. Our politicians have a responsibility to put their own citizens first, but there's also a global responsibility to ensure that poor countries aren't just left to the wayside.

[Master Disaster]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

Health Canada just approved a third vaccine (AstraZeneca) - it's a more traditional vaccine (viral vector vaccine) compared to the mRNA ones, which for some may make them less reluctant to get one.

 

This will significantly help the supply issues Canada is currently facing.

 

The vast majority of Canadians are likely to still get vaccinated this year, or maybe next year at most.

They have a point - a virus doesn't care about which country it's in, or where the border is. As long as people are moving around (which, they are, despite all best efforts), the virus can and will still spread.

This means it's in the best interests of places like Canada and the US to ensure that third world countries get at least some vaccines in the short to medium term, and that we don't let it drag on for years and years. Why? Because if they're still having a massive infection rate, it will slow down herd immunity in countries like ours.

 

It's a balancing act, of course. Our politicians have a responsibility to put their own citizens first, but there's also a global responsibility to ensure that poor countries aren't just left to the wayside.

The common consensus between the virologists is that COVID19 is going to be around for most of this decade, most believe its going to become endemic.

 

A crazy stat though, we've gone through Winter, Spring is a few weeks away and throughout the entirety of "flu season" we've not had a single reported case of seasonal flu in the whole of the UK.

[dalekphalm]

18 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

The common consensus between the virologists is that COVID19 is going to be around for most of this decade, most believe its going to become endemic.

Quite possibly - but with the vast majority of people vaccinated, if they catch a new strain of COVID-19, it'll be like a mild cold (thus, not a problem).

18 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

A crazy stat though, we've gone through Winter, Spring is a few weeks away and throughout the entirety of "flu season" we've not had a single reported case of seasonal flu in the whole of the UK.

Just goes to show how much more contagious COVID-19 is compared to the Flu. The measures we're using against COVID-19 are extremely effective against the Flu.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

 

Just goes to show how much more contagious COVID-19 is compared to the Flu. The measures we're using against COVID-19 are extremely effective against the Flu.

Influenza is more contagious than the flu . Keep in mind there will be a substantial amount of underreporting when it comes to the flu - mild symptoms, people are not likely to visit the hospital with flu.

 

The other hand with COVID, you go to get tested, and get reported as a statistic.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, RorzNZ said:

Influenza is more contagious than the flu . Keep in mind there will be a substantial amount of underreporting when it comes to the flu - mild symptoms, people are not likely to visit the hospital with flu.

 

The other hand with COVID, you go to get tested, and get reported as a statistic.

The theory is that social distancing and everyone using alcohol hand gel multiple times per day meant that the flu virus never had a chance to take hold.

 

Pretty interesting though, it means we might be able to control the flu more moving forward. If everyone keeps using hand gel like we are now we could probably prevent a good 50% of the cases we'd normally get.

[Master Disaster]

4 minutes ago, Benji said:

You might want to fix that because usually "flu" is just short for influenza. But I do agree with that. I just think that, due to the labs being overwhelmed with the large (and in terms of sports massively overzealous) amounts of tests, the flu just doesn't get any recognition. Because I find it incredibly hard to believe that the flu has been practically "eradicated" all of a sudden.

It hasn't and it probably never will. COVID19 has been around all year, Flu season is Nov to Feb, the measures people were taking to avoid COVID also worked for the Flu which probably means the Flu virus never got a chance to spread.

 

Next year it will come back as it does every year.

[Letgomyleghoe]

On 2/23/2021 at 6:03 PM, Andreas Lilja said:

https://www.journaldequebec.com/2021/02/22/covid-19--nouvelle-eclosion-dans-un-chsld-de-gatineau

 

Only 41% of people who work in old people home accepted to be vaccinated.

 

Morons.

general concern about a vaccine is no reason to call someone a moron, I plan to take the vaccine when I have the option to, but I understand where people are coming from when they don't want to take the vaccine. 

I'm not exactly 100% comfortable with mRNA vaccines, especially since they're not authorized for use in children, but fuck it. 

[Master Disaster]

35 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

general concern about a vaccine is no reason to call someone a moron, I plan to take the vaccine when I have the option to, but I understand where people are coming from when they don't want to take the vaccine. 

I'm not exactly 100% comfortable with mRNA vaccines, especially since they're not authorized for use in children, but fuck it. 

2 things to consider here.

 

1) The Pfizer vaccine (mRNA) is licensed for 16 years and up. The Astrazenica vaccine is licensed for 18 and up.

2) The reason for the discrepancy is not because either vaccine is dangerous to kids, the simple answer is that we just don't know how kids will react to it. Remember from newborn to teenager is 4 steps and during each phase of development their bodies will react very differently to medicines. Because of this its normal for paediatric medicines to spend MUCH longer in trials than for adults and in this case its just not a priority since kids are the least affected by it anyway.

 

There's a case to be made to allow the virus to spread amongst young children. One of the reasons it so deadly to us is because its novel and letting kids get it while their young and practically immune allows their bodies to develop better defences against it as they age. I understand the logic but I think its a dumb idea.

[dalekphalm]

44 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Influenza is more contagious than the flu . Keep in mind there will be a substantial amount of underreporting when it comes to the flu - mild symptoms, people are not likely to visit the hospital with flu.

Uhm...

 

The Flu is Influenza. Influenza is the virus - the Flu is generally shorthand for the virus, or is the "disease" caused by the virus (just like COVID-19 is not actually the virus, it's the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2).

 

The Flu and Influenza are interchangeable words.

 

I do believe there is some underreporting on the Flu - but there have also been next to no flu deaths (these would generally be reported).

44 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

The other hand with COVID, you go to get tested, and get reported as a statistic.

There's also significant underreporting of COVID-19 too most likely. Some people, even now, with cold-like symptoms may not get tested, and they may have COVID-19.

42 minutes ago, Benji said:

You might want to fix that because usually "flu" is just short for influenza. But I do agree with that. I just think that, due to the labs being overwhelmed with the large (and in terms of sports massively overzealous) amounts of tests, the flu just doesn't get any recognition. Because I find it incredibly hard to believe that the flu has been practically "eradicated" all of a sudden.

I doubt it's been wiped out, but the Flu is significantly less contagious than COVID-19.

 

Granted, there's some generalizing going on here (different Flu strains have different R0 values), but generally the Flu sits around R1.3. COVID-19 sits around R2 to R3 (with the new SA and other Variants likely pushing that upwards even higher, perhaps into R4+ territory).

 

The simple fact then becomes, if you're washing your hands religiously, wearing a face mask around other people, and keeping 6+ feet away from them in public, you're likely going to reduce Flu transmission to near zero. Not completely eradicate it, but heavily reduce it's spread.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, Benji said:

You might want to fix that because usually "flu" is just short for influenza. But I do agree with that. I just think that, due to the labs being overwhelmed with the large (and in terms of sports massively overzealous) amounts of tests, the flu just doesn't get any recognition. Because I find it incredibly hard to believe that the flu has been practically "eradicated" all of a sudden.

6am here sorry haha 

4 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Uhm...

 

The Flu is Influenza. Influenza is the virus - the Flu is generally shorthand for the virus, or is the "disease" caused by the virus (just like COVID-19 is not actually the virus, it's the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2).

 

The Flu and Influenza are interchangeable words.

Yeah I know lol oopsies 

4 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I do believe there is some underreporting on the Flu - but there have also been next to no flu deaths (these would generally be reported).

There's also significant underreporting of COVID-19 too most likely. Some people, even now, with cold-like symptoms may not get tested, and they may have COVID-19.

I doubt it's been wiped out, but the Flu is significantly less contagious than COVID-19.

 

Granted, there's some generalizing going on here (different Flu strains have different R0 values), but generally the Flu sits around R1.3. COVID-19 sits around R2 to R3 (with the new SA and other Variants likely pushing that upwards even higher, perhaps into R4+ territory).

 

The simple fact then becomes, if you're washing your hands religiously, wearing a face mask around other people, and keeping 6+ feet away from them in public, you're likely going to reduce Flu transmission to near zero. Not completely eradicate it, but heavily reduce it's spread.

Social distancing and wearing masks works for any virus realistically. I'd still probably argue the flu is more contagious than COVID. COVID is just a more severe seasonal coronavirus, whilst there are many circulating strains of flu. I'm still finding R numbers vague (estimates for COVID are 2 to 5.7?) 

 

I still agree that flu transmission has been cut down significantly - almost no cases here in NZ either thanks to social distancing and mask wearing etc. I don't think these measures will be kept up after COVID has been eliminated however. 

[dalekphalm]

5 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

6am here sorry haha 

Yeah I know lol oopsies 

Social distancing and wearing masks works for any virus realistically.

Yes of course, because most viruses are transmitted via entering your body through your nose and mouth.

5 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

I'd still probably argue the flu is more contagious than COVID.

This is not an argument you should make, because you're flat out wrong. You're 100%, unquestionably wrong. The Flu is multiple times less contagious than COVID-19.

5 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

COVID is just a more severe seasonal coronavirus, whilst there are many circulating strains of flu.

I'm not sure what your point is here - we already know that COVID-19 isn't strictly a seasonal virus, given that we still had massive transmission pretty much year-round straight.

5 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

I'm still finding R numbers vague (estimates for COVID are 2 to 5.7?) 

Part of that is because it's not straight forward to calculate an R0 value. It's also likely accounting for the different strains (such as the SA strain, which is significantly more contagious than the regular COVID-19 variant).

5 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

I still agree that flu transmission has been cut down significantly - almost no cases here in NZ either thanks to social distancing and mask wearing etc. I don't think these measures will be kept up after COVID has been eliminated however. 

No, they likely won't. As soon as COVID-19 is "over", pretty much all countries will relax, then remove the current health restrictions.

 

This is why it's important for as many people as can, to get the yearly Flu vaccine (I get mine every year these days).

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Yes of course, because most viruses are transmitted via entering your body through your nose and mouth.

This works because you are reducing the vector for viral reproduction, similar to reducing the fly population in places with high malaria. I wouldn't classify transmission as through a body part, but how the virus is spread i.e. fecal-oral / respiratory. It determines mainly where the virus will replicate in the body, and how to target therapy or vaccines. 

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

This is not an argument you should make, because you're flat out wrong. You're 100%, unquestionably wrong. The Flu is multiple times less contagious than COVID-19.

Basing how contagious a virus really is on the R number is inaccurate, as it is epidemiological evidence - a snapshot in time, and based on locality. We know there are many circulating strains of flu, and flu infections occur more frequently than COVID infections due to prevalence of flu. Underreporting is a huge challenge to overcome, and makes epidemiology quite inaccurate sometimes (esp HCV)

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I'm not sure what your point is here - we already know that COVID-19 isn't strictly a seasonal virus, given that we still had massive transmission pretty much year-round straight.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses, seasonal coronaviruses exist - many viruses make up the 'common cold'. No viruses are really seasonal, but persists longer in colder temperatures. So, whilst COVID may be more contagious, a person still may be more likely to contract the flu due to prevalence of varying flu strains. Perhaps I think you are right and I am wrong, and that is what i meant to say - apologies. 

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Part of that is because it's not straight forward to calculate an R0 value. It's also likely accounting for the different strains (such as the SA strain, which is significantly more contagious than the regular COVID-19 variant).

Definitely agree - I still don't like how people refer to the SA or UK strains as more contagious, it is simply more prevalent. Proper evidence (which has most likely come out and I haven't seen it yet) should be a viral assay in human growth media to determine virulence. 

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

No, they likely won't. As soon as COVID-19 is "over", pretty much all countries will relax, then remove the current health restrictions.

It's a shame. One of the reasons why Taiwan has controlled the virus so well is routine mask usage, esp. on public transport. 

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

This is why it's important for as many people as can, to get the yearly Flu vaccine (I get mine every year these days).

Yes definitely. 

[Donut417]

2 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

we've not had a single reported case of seasonal flu in the whole of the UK.

How much of it is due to the lock down? I mean it cant spread if people are not going out in public. Also how much of this is due to lack of reporting because people are too afraid to touch a hospital? Also how much of it is due to more people potentially getting a flu vaccine? I got mine back in the October. I get mine every year because I have had the Flu, and I dont want to get it again.