Tag: covid 19

new complications for COVID vaccines in the US

(COVID Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)

Last week, after reading a newsletter from Your Local Epidemiologist founded by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, I got a COVID vaccination. I will be going to my annual poetry residency with the Boiler House Poets Collective at The Studios at MASS MoCA in early October and wanted my immunity to be as strong as possible while I’m there.

The newsletter had warned that there might be label changes coming from the US Food and Drug Administration that would impact the availability of COVID vaccines and that it might be advisable to get the vaccine soon, especially for people younger than 65.

I’m glad I took action.

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration changed the guidelines, making it more difficult for people under 65 to qualify for COVID vaccines without consulting their doctor. In response, CVS and Walgreens, whose pharmacies are a major source for vaccinations to the public, suspended giving any COVID vaccines to anyone in sixteen states, including mine, unless you have a prescription from a health provider. Part of the confusion is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to issue its guidance and just suffered the loss of its top leadership through firing and resignations, grounded in the fact that they were being pressured to put forward recommendations not backed by scientific research.

That’s what happens when you have a Health and Human Services Secretary like Robert Kennedy, Jr., who does not have a background in medicine and disrespects rigorous scientific inquiry.

The fact is that COVID-19 vaccines have been rigorously tested and are safe and effective, cutting down on infection rates and keeping most people from becoming seriously ill and needing hospitalization. Serious side effects are very rare, so the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Tragically, vaccines have been politicized in the US, which has cost lives. The death rate from COVID-19 for Republicans is higher than for the population as a whole because of this.

I urge everyone with questions to talk to a trusted medical professional about the research and science behind vaccines. Don’t fall for the misinformation coming from Kennedy and the people he has put in place at the CDC and FDA who disregard valid scientific findings.

You can also look for recommendations from medical associations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Don’t let misinformation keep you from taking the best care possible of your and your family’s health.

5 years of COVID-19

(COVID Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)

The COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns began in the United States five years ago this month. I’ve written a lot of posts about it over those years and I’m proud to say that they have been added to the archives of the Newark Valley (NY) Historical Society to be preserved for future research.

To date, there has only been one case in our household, when B contracted it at a work event in November, 2023. Fortunately, T and I did not get sick.

All three of us participated in Phase III clinical trials for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and have kept up to date on recommended doses as the virus has mutated into new variants over these past five years. We’ve also taken other precautions, such as masking and avoiding crowds when virus levels are high. Admittedly, it’s been harder and harder to get information about virus levels in our area as the public health emergency lapsed and reporting became optional.

I do still get some public health and long COVID newsletters that give some information. I found out today, for example, that there is a new variant, BA.3.2, in South Africa that has 50 new spike mutations. It could stay localized and fizzle out; if it out-competes other strains and spreads, it could create a wave similar to Omicron.

As far as the United States goes, I’m concerned that the vaccination rates are likely to fall even further with a vaccine skeptic now in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. The United States has already suffered over 1.2 million deaths from COVID with millions more dealing with long-lasting health repercussions. Vaccines can help people avert more severe symptoms and decrease the chances of being infected but work best if a large proportion of the population are vaccinated. This also helps protect people who have more fragile immune systems, such as the very young, elders, and people with compromised immune systems.

I believe that information is power, but it needs to be factual information, not wishful thinking or political posturing. We can’t pretend that the virus doesn’t still kill or sicken people and that the United States is not continuing to lose hundreds of people each week due to COVID-19.

To deny the existence of COVID and/or its impact on our lives dishonors those we have lost, those who have been sickened by the virus, their loved ones, and their communities.

Take care of each other and do what you can to keep us all as healthy as possible.

SoCS: in person online?

I think that the COVID pandemic expanded my concept of being in person.

It used to mean physically being together in the same room, but now I feel like I’m meeting in person if I’m in a real time meeting online where everyone is on camera, even though they are in a little box on my screen.

I don’t feel so much in person if it is a large meeting/presentation where only the speakers are visible and able to speak.

I wonder if others feel similarly.

I think that part of my sense of being in person when online live comes from my being pretty introverted. I find being in a group uncomfortable to begin with; being online gives me a little higher comfort level, although it is still draining for me.

I’d be interested to know others’ thoughts about this…
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “in person.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/02/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-22-2025/

Summer ’24 COVID wave

(COVID Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)

It’s become more difficult to keep track of COVID-19 cases here in the United States, as less data is being collected and shared with the public.

We do know that this summer’s wave has been substantial, mostly due to the Omicron subvariants known as FLiRT. While death rates have been lower than in previous waves, they have still been ranging in the 400s-700s per week this summer, which is upsetting. These figures may also be lower than the actual count because reporting is less robust than it was under the public health emergency protocols.

Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines based on the KP.2 variant, one of the FLiRT family. Doses are already available from some pharmacies and are recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older. While some people will choose to wait until later in the fall to have the strongest protection possible going into the expected winter wave, I will be getting mine in mid-September so that my immunity will be strong when I go to North Adams for the annual Boiler House Poets Collective residency at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts). It looks as though the vaccine will be a good match for the strains that will likely be dominant in the coming months.

The FDA is also expected to approve the Novavax vaccine in the coming weeks. It is a more traditional protein-based vaccine rather than an mRNA one. Some people prefer it because it can cause fewer side effects.

Many people are choosing to ignore any news about COVID and vaccines but it is still a serious problem, here in the US and around the world. This is a reminder that some people are still getting very sick and dying from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Updated vaccines are known to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death, so please get one if they are available to you. (Contact your health care provider for any special recommendations that may apply.)

Other measures can also help reduce your chances of getting COVID. Wearing a high quality mask, especially in crowded, indoor areas, dramatically decreases the rate of infection. Increasing indoor ventilation and air filtration and holding events outdoors are helpful in preventing the spread of COVID and other viruses. If you are sick, stay home and take precautions against spreading your illness to others in your household. Get adequate rest and nutrition to keep your immune system strong.

COVID-19 has not settled into a pattern like we see with flu and is still much more serious in terms of hospitalizations and deaths. It also impacts more systems in the body and can cause symptoms over a longer period of time, such as we see in cases of long COVID. Some people are willing to risk their own health but please remember that you are also putting your family and vulnerable community members at risk if you spread the illness to them.

Wishing everyone good health in the coming months.

losing Joan

(Photo by July on Unsplash)

I got news yesterday of the death of a college friend.

Joan and I met in Ron Perera‘s first-year music theory class. Like me, Joan was a western Massachusetts native and a Catholic with close ties to her family. She was a talented violinist. I remember her giving a demonstration to our theory class, showing us all the techniques used to create different sonorities for us to use in our compositions.

For junior year, Joan went to the University of Michigan and decided to transfer there to finish her education. However, “once a Smithie, always a Smithie,” Joan remained a member of the Smith College class of ’82.

Joan went on to a successful career playing in orchestras, concluding with a long tenure with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra in Washington, DC. Her performance schedule kept her busy but, two years ago, she was able to attend our 40th reunion in Northampton, visiting family in the area which hadn’t been possible during the height of the pandemic. While we had been keeping in touch over the years, it was the first time in decades that we had seen each other and it was great. We started speculating where we would each be living post-retirement when our 45th reunion rolled around.

Right after reunion, Joan developed COVID. Fortunately, she wasn’t very sick but she was bummed about missing some of her opera performances.

It was a shock when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoma that fall. She immediately began chemotherapy. Due to the intensity of the treatment and her weakened immune system, she had to stay at home, where her husband Paul was her loving and capable caregiver.

In summer of last year, Joan was able to resume performing while her treatment migrated to a maintenance regimen. This January, she was posting about the orchestra.

And, sometime since, her remission ended and the cancer came back with a vengeance.

I didn’t know.

Early this month, I had emailed her some new photos of my granddaughters and Joan sent a reply about how beautiful they are. Sending photos had been something I had done during her home-bound period and continued to do from time to time. I am grateful that I was unknowingly able to add a moment of love and beauty to her final weeks.

Hearing the news of Joan’s death from our Smith friends was a shock and brought waves of tears. It’s also brought to mind this recent Washington Post article, raising the disturbing prospect that SARS-CoV -2 infection may play a role in the development of cancer, particularly rare or unusual ones. It will take years of research to determine whether or not this is the case but the mystery of it all is disquieting.

The final commendation at Joan’s funeral will begin, “May the angels lead you into Paradise.” May there be a beautiful violin waiting for you there, Joan.

Vote for Democracy #7

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Over the last several decades, it’s become customary to ask the electorate in the run-up to presidential elections if they were better off four years ago.

I can safely say that our family is much better off now than four years ago.

During Trump’s last year in office, we spent a lot of time in either complete COVID isolation or significant restrictions. There were shortages of many consumer goods. While we were fortunate that B’s job could be done remotely, our finances had been negatively impacted by the Trump/Republican tax cuts, which saved wealthy individuals and corporations millions of dollars but raised federal income taxes for those of us who live in states with higher property and state income taxes by restricting our ability to itemize. (Republican Claudia Tenney was our representative at the time and put out an illustration of how much a family with three children under 14 would save in federal income tax, ignoring that the vast majority of her constituents didn’t fit that model and certainly a household like ours, older couple with no dependents, had a significant tax increase, not a cut.) Our retirement savings took a hit as both stocks and bonds were suffering from the disruption of the world economy due to the pandemic.

While we were fortunate to have a stable home and employment, 2020 was generally a scary time. Many in our community had job losses and health problems, including serious COVID cases. Too many people suffered lasting health consequences or death from the pandemic. While our state government did their best to deal with those early pandemic months, President Trump was a hindrance rather than a help in safeguarding our well-being.

In this final year of President Biden’s first term, things are much better for our family. With federal support for vaccines and treatments and with our own precautions, we have only had one relatively mild COVID case in our household. While inflation has raised some of our household costs, wages have gone up, too. We have appreciated higher interest rates on our savings and the record levels of the stock market have helped our retirement savings to recover and grow. The current unemployment rate in Broome County NY, where I live, is 4.5%, slightly higher than the national average of 3.9%. By contrast, in April 2020, our county set its record high unemployment rate at 15.2%.

While I know there are individuals who were better off four years ago, the majority of people are healthier and in a more stable situation than they were in 2020.

Still, many people feel differently. Perhaps, the trauma of the early part of the pandemic caused them to forget the fear, illness, job losses, shortages, and isolation we experienced. Perhaps, their personal income wasn’t able to compensate for inflation. (For the record, the supply chain problems that caused some of the inflation surge have resolved but the extra profit-taking by companies has not, especially with products that have only a handful of suppliers. The blame for price gouging should fall on greedy corporations, not on the administration.) Perhaps, some people are victims of fear-mongering or misinformation about the economy and public policy.

Admittedly, as I decide which candidates to support, I prefer to look at the broader picture of my local community and the country rather than the small picture of my household. In my area, there are lots of infrastructure improvements underway, especially with our roads. The local hospital just opened a new building. There is lots of government and private support for new and expanding business because we are a nationally recognized center for battery technology. Old factory buildings that were sitting vacant for decades are being renovated for housing and business use. Our regional airport is undergoing enhancements.

Many other counties around the country have similar stories of positive change.

I hope that voters will look honestly at their own past and present when evaluating the economic and health aspects of deciding among candidates. Don’t let other people or the media tell you what you should think. It’s also helpful to look at how government helped or hindered the economy or public health. The United States economy, including employment and inflation, has recovered much more quickly from the shock of the pandemic than other countries with advanced economies. The actions of the Biden administration are a factor in this economic strength.

An example of how public sentiment diverges from legislation and statistics is this poll from late April which finds that, when asked whether Biden or Trump did “more to promote infrastructure and job creation,” the results were 40% Biden, 37% Trump, 12% both equally, 12% don’t know. The fact is that no major infrastructure bills passed during the Trump administration while the Biden administration was heavily involved in crafting the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This law along with the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act have contributed to 15 million jobs added to the US economy under President Biden while the Trump presidency saw a loss of 2.9 million jobs. That the poll opinions deviate so dramatically from the legislative record and statistics suggests that other factors are at play, such as dis/misinformation, taking personal experience as universal, fear, and partisanship. Robert Reich had an interesting piece on his Substack yesterday exploring some of the facts, possible reasons they aren’t breaking through with the public, and possible ways to address the disparity.

When I look at this question of how my family, community, state, and country are doing during the Biden presidency and contrast it with the Trump presidency, it’s clear that Biden has the better record and plans for the future. I will vote for Biden and for Congressional candidates who will support Biden’s agenda.

I hope that all voters will evaluate the facts on the economy as they make decisions about voting.

COVID into the fifth year

Four years ago, here in the US, things were pretty much shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. B was working from home. I was the household’s designated shopper and would go, masked, to the grocery store every other week to stock up, although I’d sometimes have to visit more than one store because supply was a problem. We managed to keep ourselves safe, although we were horrified at the death toll in the US and around the world and at the people who became very ill. Over time, we also saw that some people had lasting damage to their lungs or other organs and others had symptoms that debilitated them for months.

Now, things are much better, due to vaccines and other precautions that have cut down on serious illnesses, although the US has slipped on vaccination, even as the virus has mutated in ways that make SARS-CoV-2 more infectious and immune-evasive. There are still way too many people getting sick and suffering long-term damage or death. While there are studies and some treatments on-going, there are still a lot of people suffering from long COVID.

We finally had our first case of COVID in our house last November, when B contracted it at a rare, in-person event for work. He isolated in part of our house and daughter T and I remained infection-free.

I don’t know how much longer we will be able to manage that status.

I was disappointed when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed their guidance about isolating when infected with COVID. The new recommendations are for respiratory viruses in general and say that people can resume normal activities when their symptoms are improving and they have been without fever for 24 hours without being on fever-reducing medication. People are supposed to use masking, distancing, and other strategies to protect others from infection for five days afterward.

While I appreciate CDC’s reasoning, which is based on statistics, I don’t find it personally useful. It is typical that a person with COVID is infectious for ten days. It’s entirely possible to be fever-free and have improving symptoms and still be infectious. I’m afraid that most people won’t hear or won’t follow through on the part of the recommendation for masking and taking precautions to avoid exposing others after they leave isolation. This is especially troubling to me because so many people are not current on their vaccinations and/or are vulnerable due to age or health conditions. It’s great that the immunity level in the population halved the rate of serious illness and death, but that’s cold comfort if you expose a loved one, neighbor, co-worker, etc. and they become seriously I’ll or die.

If/when I contract COVID, I will isolate and mask until I test negative and am reasonably sure I can’t transmit the virus to anyone else. I want to protect my family and my community, especially our elders and those with medical issues, from contracting a virus that could cause them severe symptoms.

Please remember, when you see someone wearing a mask in public, to be kind and understanding. It’s entirely possible that they are trying to protect your health, not just their own.

(COVID Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)

JC’s Confessions #29

In the first few seasons of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert did a recurring skit, then a best-selling book, called Midnight Confessions, in which he “confesses” to his audience with the disclaimer that he isn’t sure these things are really sins but that he does “feel bad about them.” While Stephen and his writers are famously funny, I am not, so my JC’s Confessions will be somewhat more serious reflections, but they will be things that I feel bad about. Stephen’s audience always forgives him at the end of the segment; I’m not expecting that – and these aren’t really sins – but comments are always welcome.

It’s been a hard few months.

More than a few?

Hard to keep track…

When I wrote this post at the end of October, I was re-organizing to structure my time for more poetry and less volunteering, but B’s COVID diagnosis in November, which turned into two weeks of him isolating in part of the house, leaving me responsible for keeping the household going, followed by daughter T’s shoulder surgery/aftermath in December left me with a lot to do, not a lot of holiday spirit, and very little creative brain availability. Thrown on top of this was the unexpected return of the threat of shale gas development, which we thought had ended with the New York State high-volume hydrofracking ban nine years ago, this time in the guise of an unproven scheme to use supercritical carbon dioxide to extract methane from shale and sequester carbon. This necessitated the reactivation of the coalition that won the fracking ban back then and hours of conference calls, research, and emails. Oh, and what I thought would be one or two local interviews for my alma mater turned into a series of zoom interviews across the region, taking a lot more time and energy than I had expected when I said yes to the opportunity. (There’s also some other personal and family health stuff going on, which I won’t go into here.)

I’ve been struggling with prioritizing and keeping my attention where it belongs to finish tasks. My best intentions to simplify have met with the reality tsunami and washed out to sea.

I am, though, not suffering as much as I was last January when I wrote JC’s Confessions #26. Then, I realized I was still grieving. I am in a different place in dealing with losses now.

We are spending a couple of weeks in February visiting our family in London, UK. This will get me away from most meetings. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a little bit of poetry time in the early mornings or late evenings to continue work on revision of my full-length manuscript. I’m attempting to line edit the whole thing and, perhaps, re-order it to prepare for work with a professional editor in April. It’s felt like fits and starts so far but I have worked on about 20% of the poems to this point.

I have followed through on my commitment to post daily for Just Jot It January but will be pulling back the post pace for February and trying to devote that time to poetry.

So, yes, organizing my time and following through on plans is still a work in progress.

And, come next January, there is a possibility that some version of this Confession will recur.

Or, maybe, I’ll finally stop feeling badly about having to re-vamp, re-adjust, postpone, and re-jigger my life so often.

I can hope.
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Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/28/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-28th-2024/

long COVID research summary

I realize I’ve done A LOT of COVID posts this month, but I had to share this post from Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, writing as “Your Local Epidemiologist.” She gathers together the major research advances in understanding long COVID from 2023, with lots of links to the original research.

One of the main takeaways, which I included in this post earlier in the week, is that vaccines help cut down on long COVID cases, with more doses contributing to lower risks.

Dr. Jetelina also suggests subscribing to The Sick Times newsletter, which is dedicated to sharing the latest information about long COVID weekly.

I’m grateful that the rate of long COVID has declined from early in the pandemic, but it is still affecting millions, some new cases and some months or years old. It’s important to learn more about it so treatments can be developed for long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.
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Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! You can use provided prompts or post whatever you like, even multiple posts about COVID. (Okay, that’s just me,) Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/19/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-19th-2024/

Current COVID stats

Update to my COVID post from earlier in the week: Those Nerdy Girls newest post tells us that, using wastewater surveillance, current estimates are that 5% of people in the United States are currently infected with COVID, the largest proportion since the initial Omicron wave two years ago. In the United Kingdom, JN.1 caused a similar wave just before Christmas, with London having an even higher infected rate of almost 6%.

Those Nerdy Girls remind us that about 1,500 people in the United States are dying from COVID every week, making COVID much deadlier than the flu. They also remind us that the COVID vaccine that became available in September ’23 is effective against JN.1 and urge people to receive it if they haven’t already. They also remind people that masking, ventilation, testing, and staying home when you are sick help in avoiding spread not only of COVID but also flu and other viruses.

Please do what you can to keep yourself and others safe and healthy!
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Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find our more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/18/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-18th-2024/