Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[SorcererMC]

There's an increased possibility of a diabetes diagnosis following coronavirus infection and the reasons for it aren't entirely clear just yet.

Researchers tie covid survivors, rise in diabetes | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

When Ziyad Al-Aly's research team told him how often diabetes appeared to strike covid-19 survivors, he thought the data must be wrong, so he asked his five colleagues to crunch the numbers again.

www.nwaonline.com

 

[danlb_2000]

What’s the percent positive been? Is it just less testing resulting in less confirmed cases?

I am not talking about just the current state, but the all the ups and downs of case number from the start.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Don't you think you should have tested yourself to be sure? Nothing personal but there are a lot of colds still circulating that may or may not have been that. To test would given data we need to understand this all. Especially if you were in full PPE and such knowing would help science figure this out.

The only way I can get tested in my area over a weekend is at the ER, and that seemed too excessive. If I had felt those symptoms during the work week, I would have definitely called out from work and gotten tested.

I'm pretty sure it was COVID, simply because of our protocols at work, I haven't been exposed to anything else suspicious lately.

 

[GoofGoof]

Switching gears a little. Disney has posted a job listing for a seasonal fireworks and special effects designer. The first step towards the return of nighttime entertainment?

Not sure if we are supposed to do this but I saw this on blog Mickey:

Disney World Hiring Seasonal Fireworks & Special Effects Designer

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

 

[Chomama]

Strange thing is, Alabama also has the lowest COVID rate in the entire country!

At other times, Alabama has had the highest COVID rate in the country. At one point, California was leading the nation in the COVID infection rate, despite its restrictions. Now, California has the second-lowest rate in the country.

Since the start of the pandemic, tiny Rhode Island has had an infection rate that matches sparsely populated North Dakota. These two states took nearly opposite approaches to COVID prevention.

There's something random about the spread COVID that no one has been able to solve.


View attachment 555908

I know! This is one of those things I feel isn’t discussed enough. People blame masks, no masks, schools open, vaccine, politics etc etc. We have had waves down here over and over. We will likely have another. Right now transmission is so low that gathering mask free is probably low risk behavior. That said, we will likely get another wave and then we will need to mask again. There is more nuance to all of this than either side would like to discuss or admit.

 

[Chomama]

What’s the percent positive been? Is it just less testing resulting in less confirmed cases?

2.5-3.5% for over a month. Hospitalizations all time low for weeks

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I know! This is one of those things I feel isn’t discussed enough. People blame masks, no masks, schools open, vaccine, politics etc etc. We have had waves down here over and over. We will likely have another. Right now transmission is so low that gathering mask free is probably low risk behavior. That said, we will likely get another wave and then we will need to mask again. There is more nuance to all of this than either side would like to discuss or admit.

I'm sure it's being discussed behind closed doors. The problem is that they have to make policy taking into account stupid humans (not speaking about anyone/any group in particular, just humans in general can be VERY stupid).

 

[correcaminos]

The only way I can get tested in my area over a weekend is at the ER, and that seemed too excessive. If I had felt those symptoms during the work week, I would have definitely called out from work and gotten tested.

I'm pretty sure it was COVID, simply because of our protocols at work, I haven't been exposed to anything else suspicious lately.

That stinks. Here weekend locations are available. I'd still test tomorrow. I'm one of those who never assume covid unless tested, but too many I know claimed they had covid so no masks needed types (not you, but it's something that bugs me now). Just feel it's not wise to assume especially with needing to track and such for efficacy data. More as an fyi, I have known more with non-covid illnesses recently. A few kids have been out with nasty non-covid colds (tested negative) lately. No clue where they picked it up either (been doing a middle school play lately so hear a bunch of stories).

 

[Patcheslee]

I am not talking about just the current state, but the all the ups and downs of case number from the start.

It would be interesting to compare test availability, type, count, positive case count, etc. at some point. Until recently there was only 1 rapid test site in our county that had limited supply, around 30 a day and open Mon-Friday 8am-5pm, first come first serve. The other sites were the slow ones and still are lagging a week for results. Many people I know choose just to quarantine without a test because the result time is abysmal and didn't change when they could return to work or school. Lots of variables for sure.

 

[Heppenheimer]

No idea, but the quote from one doctor says “a bunch” which implies to me that at just that one hospital multiple people. There are a whole lot of hospitals.

Perspective... I've been practicing medicine for about 15 years. I have never seen so many people suffering months later after recovering from influenza, colds, or even severe cases of pneumonia that required ICU care. And I haven't even remotely seen so many young people so wiped out for so long from any respiratory illness, even from mononucleosis.

The only thing I've seen even remotely comparable was a single case of Legionnaire's disease in a relatively young guy who took close to a year before he felt fully back to his old self. And fortunately, Legionnaire's is pretty rare and not particularly contagious.

I can't believe we're over a year into this and we still see the "its no worse than the flu for young people" garbage.

 

[correcaminos]

There's an increased possibility of a diabetes diagnosis following coronavirus infection and the reasons for it aren't entirely clear just yet.

Researchers tie covid survivors, rise in diabetes | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

When Ziyad Al-Aly's research team told him how often diabetes appeared to strike covid-19 survivors, he thought the data must be wrong, so he asked his five colleagues to crunch the numbers again.

www.nwaonline.com

This is an older article that addresses both types. https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/why-are-people-developing-diabetes-after-having-covid19

I couldn't discern T1 or T2 from the article (ignoring a very rare third type)

 

[Heppenheimer]

Mucormycosis: The 'black fungus' maiming Covid patients in India

Doctors in India are reporting a rash of a rare infection in Covid patients which is making them blind.

www.bbc.com

It just gets worse!

Incidentally, at a round-table discussion we had with providers from across the region, I recall one them mentioning an unexplained case of a severe fungal infection after seemingly recovering from COVID. So, this is not just a phenomenon in India.

 

[Heppenheimer]

This is an older article that addresses both types. https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/why-are-people-developing-diabetes-after-having-covid19

I couldn't discern T1 or T2 from the article (ignoring a very rare third type)

The article seems to be pointing to a couple of different factors that could account for both types (recognizing now that the traditional distinction between the two subtypes is somewhat more fluid than we previously suspected).

A severe infection of any type can essentially fry the pancreas, so at least for seriously ill cases, that would point to picture closer to type I.

 

[disneygeek90]

I am hoping that if we did pick up "something" from our just-completed Disney visit we can fight it off with our Pfizer vaccines. With the amount of people not social-distancing, and with masks not worn correctly (or fixing them when requested by cm's, and then pulling them back down as soon as they walked away, which we saw numerous times) I fear at least one of us will come down with "something" no matter how careful we were.

I wouldn’t stress it too much. I still maintain the fact that the risk of spreading something at a theme park is quite low. I’ve been nearly every week to at least one theme park since reopenings. I’ve gotta think that if the chances were truly that high, my time would have come by now

I will say it’s muchhh nicer going back being fully vaccinated now. It’s a level of reassurance I haven’t experienced since the before times.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I am hoping someone tackles this mystery at some point. I would be interesting to do a deep analysis on the course of the pandemic from state to state to try to understand why it played out the way it did.

My unscientific theory:

1. There was much confusion and mixed-messaging early on, injecting randomness into what followed. People didn't know what to do and medical professionals were making best guesses. (For example, did we need to clean our packaging? No, but this was one of several early recommendations that turned out to be unneeded. We just didn't know at the time and early reports were that the COVID virus could survive on surfaces for days. Later data showed that very few transmissions could be traced to surfaces. Frankly, some of the early science proved to be wrong and we need to acknowledge this rather than get defensive about it.)
2. Many (but not all) government mandates were irrelevant. Day-to-day, most people meet outsiders at stores or their places of work. Large chains and businesses applied uniform standards throughout the entire country, reducing state-to-state variability. Some of the more extreme measures (e.g. closing beaches & parks) did not matter. Conversely, banning large indoor gatherings (e.g. places of worship and sporting events) were effective.
3. CDC guidance was extremely important. Businesses and stores looked to medical professionals to decide what to do. Although some recommendations proved to be unnecessary, many proved effective. Again, we just didn't know at the time and "better safe than sorry" was the prudent thing to do.
4. People did not follow guidelines at home. I'm pretty sure we are going to find out (if we haven't already) that most cases were transmitted at home.
5. There was some degree of randomness of when a member of a household would get infected and bring it home, thus infecting other household members. "Bad luck", if you will.
6. Once family members recovered, they became less likely to spread COVID.
7. As a result of the above, areas that were hit hard early often did better later, and vice versa. In other words, areas with high infection rates early on built up more protection than areas that had done well early. As a result, infections tended to strike in waves, with areas having fewer infections earlier on more likely to suffer later.

 

[hopemax]

How common is that with COVID?

Problem is we're still learning what COVID is doing to people beyond the initial infection, and there hasn't been enough systematic data collection because people have been focused more on preventing death and vaccine development. A preliminary UK study, found that 10% of younger patients experience COVID symptoms for more than 12 weeks. That went up to 22% of older people. And overall, it's like 1 in 7 people. But I haven't seen any further breakdowns of the severity. But even non-severe, chronic conditions are annoying and can be expensive to treat over time, as anyone suffering from one would say.

I am pretty sure if it came to the lottery (you have a 10% chance of winning $100,000), people would plop down their money. But when it comes to this, they'll say 10% is small. This is going to be a new category of medical treatment for people like @Heppenheimer to deal with. Like for other chronic conditions like Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, etc. Too many to ignore, even if "everyone" doesn't have problems.

 

[correcaminos]

The article seems to be pointing to a couple of different factors that could account for both types (recognizing now that the traditional distinction between the two subtypes is somewhat more fluid than we previously suspected).

A severe infection of any type can essentially fry the pancreas, so at least for seriously ill cases, that would point to picture closer to type I.

Yeah I noticed that. My friend who passed away a few months ago actually was a more rare retiree who developed T1 after a major illness. They actually assumed she was too old for T1 at first and thought T2 like a child of hers. I think it's not hugely surprising that any type might occur after covid.

 

[Prince-1]

View attachment 555907

I guess all those younger people who have died from CV will be happy with that data. This pandemic affected everyone and saying it’s an old person disease is one reason this pandemic continued to spread. But nice graph.

 

[GoofGoof]

2.5-3.5% for over a month. Hospitalizations all time low for weeks

I’m more thinking of over the long term. It’s possible that natural infection was much higher than reported all along and there are more people naturally immune. The combination of natural immunity and vaccination adds up even if vaccination levels aren’t that high. I think we are seeing the same in places like Texas as well where vaccination rates aren’t very high but the cases look very good.

The other factor is lack of variants. In theory FL should be in the same boat but cases aren’t down like TX or AL but they also have a lot of the variants circulating. Some of that is due to international travel into places like NYC and Miami. We saw the blow up recently in the NE and Michigan and they had a large number of variants too. Hopefully we don’t see those variants spread into new areas or maybe they were already there and we didn’t know it since we didn’t do a great job tracking variants until recently.

 

[Chomama]

I’m more thinking of over the long term. It’s possible that natural infection was much higher than reported all along and there are more people naturally immune. The combination of natural immunity and vaccination adds up even if vaccination levels aren’t that high. I think we are seeing the same in places like Texas as well where vaccination rates aren’t very high but the cases look very good.

The other factor is lack of variants. In theory FL should be in the same boat but cases aren’t down like TX or AL but they also have a lot of the variants circulating. Some of that is due to international travel into places like NYC and Miami. We saw the blow up recently in the NE and Michigan and they had a large number of variants too. Hopefully we don’t see those variants spread into new areas or maybe they were already there and we didn’t know it since we didn’t do a great job tracking variants until recently.

That is certainly part of it. We have 30% seroprevalence here. But I still think it likely isn’t quite enough. Time will tell!