Rates of severe disease may be staying at relatively low levels, but experts agree that there are probably more infections than the current surveillance systems can capture.

“There is more transmission out there than what the surveillance data indicates,” said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. “And we should be paying attention to it, because we are starting to see an increase.”

Weekly hospital admissions have nearly doubled over the past month, including a 19% bump in the most recent week, CDC data shows. And a sample of laboratories participating in a federal surveillance program show that test positivity rates have tripled in the past two months.

There are some hopeful signs: Biobot data shows that wastewater levels may be starting to flatten, and relatively low hospitalization rates suggest that there may be a lower risk of severe disease for many.

  • downpunxx@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I’ve been wearing a mask in public since I saw people start dropping dead on the streets of wuhan in january of 2020, right through when fauci himself was advocating against public mask wearing (a purposeful lie at the start of the western pandemic, to free up ppe for first responders), and the entire time since then, i’m as vaccinated and up to date on the latest bivalent boosters i can possibly be, and I’m still agog at home many people are walking around like it’s over, there’s nothing to worry about, grammy will be fine, maybe

    • pixxelkick@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      right through when fauci himself was advocating against public mask wearing

      It was specifically advocating against people who were stockpiling/hoarding disposable masks, which were in limited supply and needed far more by first responders, doctors, nurses, etc. Hospitals at that time literally were running out of masks.

      The CDC recommendation at the time was to use reusable cloth masks, which werent/arent as good most of the time, but way way better than nothing at all.

      It was a temporary recommendation as the economy was pivoting to bump up supply to compensate. The US proceeded to enlist a bunch of fabric companies to start producing more masks as fast as possible to compensate, so there was about a 2~3 week period where the public needed to prioritize.

      It’s unfortunate a lot of people have taken to misquoting this time period as “Dr Fauci said using masks was bad” or such, which is deeply misrepresenting the state of things.

      • HubertManne@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        yeah people don’t seem to get nuance. Ive seen folks complain about people with insufficient masks as being useless and its like. They are not useless and as a matter of fact there are diminishing returns on quality which is why I use a kn95 over an n95 and keep a gater around in case I went out not expecting to be near folks but stumble into needing one. Is it as good. No. Is it wwwaaayyy better than nothing. Yes.

      • downpunxx@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Bite me : https://www.newsweek.com/fauci-said-masks-not-really-effective-keeping-out-virus-email-reveals-1596703
        Fauci knew precisely what he was purposefully doing and what he was saying, and sided with trying to defend as many first responders/medical professionals as he could, which is completely understandable, but it’s a choice that was made by him, and the trolley question he answered at that time which he later revised to “for gods sake everyone should be wearing masks”, which anyone who was watching the people drop dead in Wuhan, already knew

      • blanketswithsmallpox@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        It’s unfortunate a lot of people have taken to misquoting this time period as “Dr Fauci said using masks was bad” or such, which is deeply misrepresenting the state of things.

        Let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows EXACTLY what he’s doing.

    • HubertManne@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I still mask not because of covid but because I have not been sick in any significant way since 2019. Maybe even late 2018. Before that I used to get sick about once a year. maybe go 18 months without being sick but maybe being sick again in 3 months. Now I have went practically 5 years (I don’t recall the last time I was sick I just remember the approx rate it showed up in the before times) and if I don’t have something specific I need my mouth hole for then its staying covered unless im at home or outside without being near anyone (like when I walk my dog)

        • HubertManne@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Once a year. And yeah. I know. Crazy right. So. So. Onerous. To wear something on your face like you would your hands, or feet, or top of your head. For some silly reason like its a tad cold, or my religion says I should, or its in fashion. Yeah that is just the type of incredibly disciplined person I am. To take on such an arduous task.

        • Freeman@lemmy.pub
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          1 year ago

          I cited sources that included primary sources in their articles/citations.

          It may not be what some folks want to hear. But just because “you hate it doesn’t make it hate speech.“

          • Jay@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            Maybe it’s because you didn’t even bother to read them?

            You claim natural infection gives you better immunity response, the article states “experts say, that’s on par with what’s provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine.” and that “Still, experts stress that vaccination is the preferable route to immunity, given the risks of Covid”

            Then you claimed “the CDC advisory board is showing concerns that too frequent “boosting” may actually be training your immune system to ignore the disease and could have adverse affects.” while the proof you posted says "Boost too soon, and you don’t ramp up protection in any meaningful way, in part because the body hasn’t had enough time to build up a proper immune memory of that first vaccination yet. “It’s not detrimental, it’s just not necessarily as effective as a later boost,”

            • Freeman@lemmy.pub
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              Just keep reading its further down.

              The immunity generated from an infection was found to be “at least as high, if not higher” than that provided by two doses of an mRNA vaccine, the authors wrote.

              While Murray and Wachter agreed that vaccination remains the safest route, having a past Covid infection should at least be considered in policymaking decisions going forward, such as vaccination requirements, they said.

              Its also important to note that paper was just after the “Omicron” variant, so relatively new in the timeline of what we knew.

              Then you claimed “the CDC advisory board is showing concerns that too frequent “boosting” may actually be training your immune system to ignore the disease and could have adverse affects.”

              These are concerns that have been voiced. Both in the EU and the US.

              Marco Cavaleri, European Medicines Agency’s head of vaccines strategy, expressed similar concerns over doling out additional vaccine doses every few months—an approach he said is “reactive.”

              “While use of additional boosters can be part of contingency plans, repeated vaccinations within short intervals would not represent a sustainable long-term strategy,” Cavaleri told a media briefing in January. “We should be careful in not overloading the immune system with repeated immunization.”

              https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/events/ema-regular-press-briefing-covid-19-11#event-summary-section

              The point being, and maybe it was a bit more poorly structured initial, is that there isnt a giant consensus here in the medical community, by a long shot. Even if those expressing any doubt are shouted down because voicing doubt is now “misinformation”. The central point here is that repeated vaccination for an otherwise healthy individual is not a sustainable plan. COVID is here to stay, learning to live with it and structure your interactions around it isnt misinformation. I didnt say vaccines arent effective, especially for those with co-morbidities. I didnt say vaccines shouldnt be an option. I said its a personal decision and not something that should be some political dog whistle or joined to some sense of superiority over those that dont feel they need them. If you have some immunity because you have been recently infected, thats as good as a booster. Its lasts as long. That doesnt mean you are a bad person, or irresponsible or inferior to others. Same with if you wear a mask all the time.