re: Covid In Georgia - 2021 The Reckoning

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Funny you didnt quote the next paragraph...

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Yes... Underreporting is a problem for identifying trends... if I get one report of X but 10 of X actually happened, I'm miscalculating by a factor of 10. In the paragraph you quoted, however, it states "more serious and unexpected medical events are probably more likely to be reported than minor ones, especially when they occur soon, after vaccination, even if they may be coincidental and related to other causes."

If you want to argue that minor side effects are likely severely underreported in VAERS, I don't think anyone would argue with you there... arm pain, headache, fatigue, etc... Major problems on the other hand, are not going significantly underreported. They identified the TTS issues with the J&J vaccine (which led to 3 deaths I think?). If other instances of vaccine associated severe conditions exist, VAERS will likely be the place where it's first identified.

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But I would call healthy people dying shortly after the injection a negative reaction. And as to causality, very few autopsies have been done? Why?

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Where are you getting the idea that very few autopsies have been done? I haven't seen that stated with any credible source. From the CDC:

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As stated here by the CDC, “Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.”

According to CDC guidance listed on its page reporting adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines, seen here , there have been 6,340 reports of death (0.0019%) recorded from December 14, 2020, to July 26, 2021 "among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine." It is important to note that the "FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it is unclear whether the vaccine was the cause.”

Martha Sharan, a CDC spokesperson, told Reuters that “reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.” All deaths must be verified because VAERS does not determine the cause of death.

According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccine deaths are rare, but they do occur.

Sharan told Reuters that “a review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines.” She did note that “recent reports (here) indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. TTS is a rare and severe adverse event—blood clots with low platelets—which has caused deaths." Sharan confirmed there are three known deaths associated with vaccines, and that deaths "were confirmed cases of TTS following the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine."

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It is wildly misleading to attempt to point to VAERS data and say "look at what the vaccine did". You won't see any posts from me where I said "everyone should get vaccinated, who cares about the consequences"... As you said above, talk with your doctor, determine if you have a reason to be concerned. But... by and large, most of them will tell you, whether you've had Covid or not, you should probably get vaccinated barring some extreme limiting condition. We have more data at this point with more than 1 billion vaccinations given worldwide than we have on a typical medication that is given FDA approval. The Pfizer and I think the Moderna vaccine is up for full approval within the next month or two and expected to be granted. The risk of this vaccine relative to the risks of Covid simply aren't in the same realm at this time.

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And the ones that have been done have shown significant inflamation in the heart, liver and other vital organs due to the spike protein causing an inflammatory response after getting into the blood stream.

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This is the *same* inflammatory response that occurs if you contract Covid. And to my knowledge it's been shared that it's been to a lesser degree than actually contracting Covid. This is no different than the already debunked concern about women and potential breast cancer screenings needed because if you get a mammogram within a few months of the vaccine you may also see inflammation that could lead to a false positive for breast cancer.

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all information needs to be shared, good and bad. And concerns shouldn't be demonized, delegitimized or downplayed. I really dont see how that helps anything.

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Here's the thing... if "all information" is shared, and everyone assumes it's all equivalent, then you have a problem. Some information is verifiable, accurate, and has been accepted by experts in their field. Some information on the other hand is anecdotal, unverified, and can be misleading. Put it out there, absolutely. But do so with CONTEXT. I don't think anything I've said has demonized others' concerns... I would say that the math and science simply disagree with the concerns that most people are putting out there. And that's not my opinion, that's the opinion of the CDC, AAP, NHI, WHO, etc... Again, speak with your doctor to figure out if you have an actual reason to be concerned medically.

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And the personal decisions people make should be respected and free from harm (employment, etc).

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That's the thing though... your personal decisions have impacts on others if you become a liability. If we want a free market, you have to accept the challenges of that free market. If an employer deems you a liability for not getting a vaccine, that's within their rights. You aren't guaranteed the opportunity to work at a specific employer. If the customer voice says, I don't feel comfortable spending money with a company that doesn't prioritize my safety or the safety of their employees, then guess what... the reaction is going to be "get vaccinated or get replaced". Guess what's coming next... benefits exceptions. If you elect to skip the vaccine without medically qualified exemption, you likely will see your benefits costs go up... why? Because your risk is higher... There are consequences to decisions, and while I respect everyone's right to make personal decisions, they are not exempt from the consequences of those decisions, and it shouldn't be everyone else's job to subsidize those decisions (just as I feel about 80% of the liberal policies that get put forth... it's hard out here for a moderate. )

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Everyone in my family got the virus, and now has natural immunity, without in a serious or long-term side effects. Do I need a vaccine?

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I don’t know. I don’t know your medical history. Have you consulted with your doctor? I have advocated for people to talk with their doctors about the vaccine, repeatedly. But the general idea is that unless you have certain congenital conditions, you are likely a good candidate for vaccination.

There are a few conclusions that can be drawn from the recent spike in COVID delta hospitalizations among the unvaccinated. (1) a COVID infection does not confer as robust “natural” immunity as the immunity conferred by a vaccine or (2) there are a lot of people who thought they had contracted COVID and therefore had natural immunity who in fact never contracted COVID or (3) some combination of the two.

At least one of the two conclusions I put forward is true. Whether that be number 1, number 2, or both, we cannot say conclusively until more data comes out. But at least one is true, barring some other explanation I haven’t considered for why 98 percent of delta-variant hospitalizations are unvaccinated individuals.

I have been looking for those studies as well, and have come up short, but I found one today. CDC study in Kentucky

The study says that reinfection rate is more than twice as likely in previously infected, unvaccinated individuals than in vaccinated individuals. It’s just one study and I’m not internalizing this as any sort of proof, but it’s the first I’ve been able to find. I suspect one reason these studies are rare is that it’s hard to conclusively determine whether someone had a COVID infection in the past unless it was confirmed by a test, whereas confirming whether someone has or has not been vaccinated is easy.

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recent spike in COVID delta hospitalizations

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Perhaps you did this innocently, or perhaps not, but there hasn't been a "spike" in covid hospitalizations recently, at least not in GA. There has been a steady rise of hospitalizations; the only spike has been the number of positive tests on a daily basis. A spike of hospitalizations may follow, but it hasn't yet.

Yeah... at most you might be able to say that some specific hospitals have seen spikes in utilization/covid needs, but statewide, as rig said, it's been pretty gradual so far.

However, with school just back in session, we're already getting the expected "super spreader" conditions... Our elementary just sent home the entirety of 5th grade in the middle of the school day today without a lot of context. Presumably a combination of too many positive tests for students and/or teachers though as we did get notices last Friday that there were close contact exposures on the bus. They haven't done anything with any of the other kids though, so not sure how they feel there is some kind of invisible barrier that protects all the other grades (or siblings of the 5th graders at the same school who are not required to stay home). Will be interesting to see how that shakes out over the coming days.

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I would love to see where they get this data. Because it doesn't look like that at the facility I work at.

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Where are you located? Are vaccinations in the community you serve above average? If so, then you’re talking a simple numbers game. Are the people you’re seeing elderly, immunocompromised, or non-seroconverters? There’s a lot that can impact what it “looks” like on the surface. Being vaccinated doesn’t guarantee a protective immune response in all of the above groups, so without knowing all of those details, it’s hard to say what’s going on.

If i am reading you correctly meansonny, you are saying your emt's are still being directed to take emt patients to particular hospitals despite their "status" of being on diversion?

It looks like the numbers in general are starting to level out some.

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Jacksonville. Vaccination rates here are probably lower than other urban areas but 11% or so of our patients admitted for covid are vaccinated. 30ish% of the positives we get are vaccinated. It clearly helps but I'll never believe the 98% of admitted patients are unvaccinated or whatever stat that was.

Edit: The amount of testing we're doing has dropped in the last few days. Positivity rate remains in the 25% range, 30% of those are vaccinated and a relatively small amount of those get admitted. The amount of inpatients we have is down from last week as well.

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When a patient's pulse-ox gets low and they are finally admitted, why not send them home with oxygen instead of admitting them and putting them on ventilators?

I remember the answer I heard last year on this subject, I'm highly curious what your frontline opinion is this year.

There's a myriad of indications that can get someone admitted. We don't ventilate until we have to and that's generally when they're in respiratory failure. We do send people home that are able to go home with oxygen.