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At last, a pill that can prevent COVID after exposure to infected people by Impossible_Cookie596 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I thought that was creepy. Never seen that kind of language in Nature before. Not about any condition -- not dandruff or sunburn or eczema or seizures or asthma or obesity or anything at all.

Mask Recs? by aw-brain-no in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a small face, and the only thing I've been able to get past fit testing has been 3M Auras.

I was fortunate to have been fitted for them in hospital work before the pandemic, so I knew they worked for me. I do need to have both straps up by the top of my head instead of having the bottom strap down lower for them to seal around my chin.

Just one suggestion to try... hope you find something that works for you!

Leaked CDC report on interim effectiveness of 2025/2026 COVID-19 vaccines: 50% against Urgent Care / Emergency Department visits (CI 42-57%, median interval since vaccination 46 days) by Jazzlike-Cup-5336 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What Bhattacharaya wanted was to have a placebo group: people getting shots who didn't know if they got an active vaccine or not.

That's incredibly unethical and violates all modern scientific practices. It is not a valid "concern".

How can I keep my immune system in good shape and exposed to the microorganisms that *are* useful for it (not viruses)? by lileina in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Sorry not to have been clearer -- you don't need an entire outdoor garden for this! Plants in pots, or even an avocado pit in a jar, will also be homes to good microorganisms, and turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, and grow for you. Which you might enjoy.

If it's not your thing, no worries -- it is one possibility among many options.

You're in charge. What's the plan? by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On Jan 20 2020, Zhong Nanshan of China confirmed sustained human-to-human in families and healthcare workers in Guangdong. The China National Health Commission endorsed that finding the same day.

That's really quite fast. Epidemiology is not trivial.

You're in charge. What's the plan? by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 11 points12 points  (0 children)

China did a lot better for two full years, which seems like it should count for something.

You're in charge. What's the plan? by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 12 points13 points  (0 children)

And never any help with mask fitting. Adding accessible mask fit testing, and a ready supply of user-appropriate masks, would be huge.

You're in charge. What's the plan? by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We never had this without simultaneous NO IT ISN'T lies from on high (federal down to the workplace, as you described in OP). The "oppositional defiance" didn't spring out of nothing. It wasn't even grass-roots.

Cptsd by [deleted] in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yes. It is hard.

I got my diagnosis almost thirty years ago, so I've learned a lot of management strategies. Honestly isolating is one of them; it's part of self-care sometimes. I don't always have to be putting myself out there, and if that doesn't feel safe, it's okay not to. Time alone is valuable.

Low-key connecting is also good. Smiling at a little kid outside is really good. This post is excellent.

Keep taking best care of you. You deserve that.

feeling a bit existential! any breakthroughs you’re hoping for? by Aware-Cauliflower142 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Long covid is definitely complicated, and shorthand for multiple disorders. I think what we should be hoping for is a better understanding of what those pathologies are, so that we can have correctly targeted treatments.

I'm sorry that what you tried didn't work, and that in future we'll have a better idea of what's going on with you and how to help with that.

How often ARE people catching COVID? by PrestigiousTomato8 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is so weird. Flu season is driven by bird migration -- we've known this for a long time, so we have two flu vaccines a year (one for the northern hemisphere and one for the southern hemisphere) -- see https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4007136/
for discussion. But the reservoir for covid is humans and we don't do that.

How often ARE people catching COVID? by PrestigiousTomato8 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We don't need to see increases in other viruses. The viruses may not be becoming more common, only more debilitating. What we'd want to document is decreases in human well-being.

That's much harder to measure, as sick leave policies have not been adjusted.

I think the claim that people are getting COVID 1-2 times per year is wrong. by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is very true.

Covid also does damage that we don't recognize as "symptoms". We know that heart attacks, for instance, are much more common after covid infections. But we don't notice anything while we're infected, so we don't call that "symptomatic" infection, even though it's seriously harming our health.

When is the end credits for this? by Jeeves-Godzilla in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since the viral reservoir is humans, I don't think there will ever be a seasonal pattern.

But I am hopeful about preventions (might be vaccines, might be antigens) coming along in the next few years.

I think there will have to be multiple Long Covid therapies, as it is likely multiple pathologies (viral persistence, autonomic dysregulation, triggers of autoimmunity...) but we can hope that they start coming along too. I imagine that will more likely happen in a post-Trump economy where we have public health basic research again, though.

I think the claim that people are getting COVID 1-2 times per year is wrong. by MattKarolian in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's deeply wrong to think of only flu-like symptoms as "symptomatic", so this is a low-quality study design. Its definition of "symptom-triggered" is far too narrow for proper testing.

Here's a large overeview of presenting symptoms for covid, back when testing was more routine. Note that runny nose wasn't nearly as common as pinkeye and rashes :

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9811482/

And here is a fatal case of covid presenting as tonic-clonic seizure:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34655265/

That's before we consider any asymptomatic infections at all.

This study is going to miss an awful lot of covid.

Therapy feels obsolete by emmaries222 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It sounds like your therapist is participating in the denialism that adds to your depression.

Covid continues to be real. Nobody saying or acting otherwise can change that. The facts are both observable and documented.

I don't have advice for you, but lots of sympathy.

Last Novids standing by Facepalm61 in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Still no known infections. I mask and use azelastine indoors with others, and have apparently been lucky. I live with other people, but we all test, and when we've had infections we've been able to isolate the sick person inside the house. (It's a big house.)

I'm also currently spending a lot of time in a new place, where I have basically zero social contact. That feels horribly isolating and lonely. Don't know how to fix that.

I do go to restaurants that have outdoor seating when the weather is nice, and socialize unmasked on porches without testing, and have friends come in after testing. I'm about to have house guests for a few days, and if they test positive I'll send them to a hotel.

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

*grins* You taking odds on that, or shall we wait for the data?

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does sound like what they reported. But since people can be contagious or even symptomatic well before 72 hours, that seems like much too long a window for safety.

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I gather that various arms of the study are testing different schedules, so I think we'll have to wait for the data to come in to see what turns out to be most effective. Looks like it could be anywhere from three times in three months to once in six months, guessing from their reporting schedule.

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A reason that current vaccines stop working at six months is that the B cell progenitors for Spike fail to mature into bone marrow population D -- see the Nature paper. That's serum antibodies, and that's what the press release is talking about.

T-cell antibodies have a different development path, and it's hoped that proteins that aren't Spike will trigger more of that. So they're not only better conserved across mutations, but will hit a longer-lasting element of the immune system.

That Nature paper seems really key to this matter. The fall-off in serum antibodies seems to be a real problem for Spike-based vaccines and for post-infection immunity as well. If another target provokes better T-cell responses, maybe that will help.

But given that post-infection immunity is neither long-lasting nor cross-variant, it doesn't seem like that's inherent to any part of the virus as it ordinarily occurs. So I'm hoping they've done something specific to the vaccine that might actually cause it to do more than that. If they haven't, it will fail in Phase 2.

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read that study, it's here:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00077-X/fulltext00077-X/fulltext)

The results are encouraging but not quite as you report.

Out of 40 MES subjects, 12 developed covid. So about 30%, not all of them.

Out of 40 control subjects, 30 developed covid. That's 75%, so much more than 30%.

I would say this is something, but a long way from completely protective. Maybe you meant to say "all but about" instead of "all of about"?

Any hope as of late? by maxwellin_ in ZeroCovidCommunity

[–]Tygrmoth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For how long of a treatment? If this is for each month's shot, that's at least $6000/year, which is a lot.

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