Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston: credit, buy, assessment)

[porterhouse]

Availability of home tests is dwindling fast. They were readily available a week ago, but supplies are almost depleted for the time being. Be prepared to waste an entire day chasing one.

This wave will be over before anyone gets a free test from Uncle Sam.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Massnative - BIDMC’s chelsea location has a free drive through testing site that doesn’t require and appointment. Opens at 8am, but cars line up earlier. It was busy this AM.

Thanks, and that's actually not too far out of my way tomorrow. I'll give it a try and hope the wait isn't too long. You know what kind of tests they do? Not much info on their website.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by redplum33

It won't do you any good now, but the federal gov't is buying half a billion at-home COVID test kits and they're going to start mailing them to anyone who wants them in January.

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Availability of home tests is dwindling fast. They were readily available a week ago, but supplies are almost depleted for the time being. Be prepared to waste an entire day chasing one.

This wave will be over before anyone gets a free test from Uncle Sam.

I wonder if the reason for the current shortage is because the gov't bought 'em all up. If so, pretty stupid move.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by redplum33

I wonder if the reason for the current shortage is because the gov't bought 'em all up. If so, pretty stupid move.

The Washington Post has an article with a photo showing people lined up down the block in Philadelphia to get the test kits: "Walgreens and CVS struggle against ‘unprecedented’ holiday demand for home tests amid Omicron surge... 'As the nation experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases coinciding with the holidays, we are seeing unprecedented demand for testing services,' Alexandra Brown, a Walgreens spokeswoman, said in a statement to The Washington Post. 'Due to the incredible demand for at-home rapid testing, we put in effect a four item purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 testing products in our stores and digital properties in an effort to help improve inventory while we continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands'."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...walgreens-cvs/

[Mayei]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

The Israeli government is now recommending a 4th round of vaccination to better ward of Omicron. Oddly enough, I haven't read of any hysteria there over vaccines. People just seem to stay calm, stay rational and do what will mitigate a bad situation. Imagine that.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/health...t-risk-groups/

I am very pro vaccination, I got two shots and was boosted. However, I am anti-mandate. People who have concerns about its safety, however misguided, will be alarmed at the covid authorities taking away their agency and trying to strong-arm them into having a medical procedure they're uncomfortable with. This will inevitably undermine trust in the covid authorities &, in the long term, public health guidance in general. Imagine that.

Are you at all aware of how much trust Fauci has lost, for example, since he started advocating for Australia-like Covid measures? Convince, don't coerce. We are already dealing with a mental health crisis.

(Also, there is a Wikipedia article for protests against Israel's Covid measures here.)

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Thanks, and that's actually not too far out of my way tomorrow. I'll give it a try and hope the wait isn't too long. You know what kind of tests they do? Not much info on their website.

I don’t know the brand/lab, but it’s PCR (“5 circles each nostril”). We got results in 24 hours.

[redplum33]

Breaking News


FDA authorizes 1st antiviral pill for COVID


"In a highly anticipated decision, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 at home.

The pill, called Paxlovid, is made by Pfizer. It's taken twice a day for five days in combination with a second medicine called ritonavir, a generic antiviral.

"Today's authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic," said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19."

The Pfizer treatment could help keep people infected with the coronavirus from getting so sick that they need to be hospitalized."

[rach5]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Breaking News


FDA authorizes 1st antiviral pill for COVID


"In a highly anticipated decision, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 at home.

The pill, called Paxlovid, is made by Pfizer. It's taken twice a day for five days in combination with a second medicine called ritonavir, a generic antiviral.

"Today's authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic," said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19."

The Pfizer treatment could help keep people infected with the coronavirus from getting so sick that they need to be hospitalized."

It has to be emphasized that the treatment is "extremely limited" right now and for the foreseeable future. https://turnto10.com/news/nation-wor...ainst-covid-19 "Pfizer currently has 180,000 treatment courses available worldwide, with roughly 60,000 to 70,000 allocated to the U.S." This will be for the rich, powerful and connected during Omicron. The US has purchased only 10 million treatment courses so far. 9 months production time. This may actually risk more lives than it will save over the next couple of months, since even at risk people will think they are safe and behave accordingly, because there is a pill to pop if they get sick.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

The Israeli government is now recommending a 4th round of vaccination to better ward of Omicron. Oddly enough, I haven't read of any hysteria there over vaccines. People just seem to stay calm, stay rational and do what will mitigate a bad situation. Imagine that.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/health...t-risk-groups/

This is just rhetoric, with all due respect. Israel and the U.S. are within a few percentage points of each other in terms of percent of the population fully vaccinated. It was this way at the beginning of booster availability, and it's still that way.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by rach5

It has to be emphasized that the treatment is "extremely limited" right now and for the foreseeable future. https://turnto10.com/news/nation-wor...ainst-covid-19 "Pfizer currently has 180,000 treatment courses available worldwide, with roughly 60,000 to 70,000 allocated to the U.S." This will be for the rich, powerful and connected during Omicron. The US has purchased only 10 million treatment courses so far. 9 months production time. This may actually risk more lives than it will save over the next couple of months, since even at risk people will think they are safe and behave accordingly, because there is a pill to pop if they get sick.

Those are fair observations I highlighted, however, it's still better having a new therapy coming online soon, than not. I am not in agreement with your prediction that the new drug will cause more deaths, FWIW.