Coronavirus positives in Bradenton and Hillsborough Counties (Sarasota, University: opthamologist, friendly)

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

I was at LabCorp in Venice today to get tests done.

They had signs all over that said masks are required.

However the 2 employees working there weren't wearing masks. About half of the people coming there for tests were wearing masks.

You'd think in a medical facility (where they have signs plastered all over that masks are required) - at the least the employees would abide by their own rules.

I asked the technician that drew my blood why he wasn't wearing a mask - and he kind of laughed and said he's been vaccinated so he didn't think he needed one.

When a technician draws your blood - they're pretty close - within a few feet. And he's been doing that all day with numerous other people that might be infected.

Yea it’s crazy, in fact the employees should be wearing 5 masks each if you ask me. How dare those employees don’t live in fear. The audacity!

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by JPrzybylski07

Yea it’s crazy, in fact the employees should be wearing 5 masks each if you ask me. How dare those employees don’t live in fear. The audacity!

They have their rules posted on the wall at several places. It was a clear violation of their policy. And it's not about how THEY feel about living in fear - it's for the CUSTOMERS that expect to feel safe in a medical facility. I imagine some of the people that go there for medical testing have health conditions, co-morbities, immunocompromised, etc....

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

They have their rules posted on the wall at several places. It was a clear violation of their policy. And it's not about how THEY feel about living in fear - it's for the CUSTOMERS that expect to feel safe in a medical facility.

Agree. They should be following the rules and making sure every sharp corner is bubble wrapped in the faculty for the customers.

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Troll

Nothing personal

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

They have their rules posted on the wall at several places. It was a clear violation of their policy. And it's not about how THEY feel about living in fear - it's for the CUSTOMERS that expect to feel safe in a medical facility. I imagine some of the people that go there for medical testing have health conditions, co-morbities, immunocompromised, etc....

I normally do not agree with you, as you know. In this instance I do. Those seeking medical testing should be able to feel secure. Some may be paranoid. Some may be justifiably concerned. In either case, their concerns should be respected.

[wondermint2]

Not a lot new to report since the last update - but it's been a while since my previous update so I'll do a short update today.

There's been a lot of different information from experts on whether BA.5 is 'mild" - IMO it's probably more virulent than BA.2 - but because of the immunity wall severe illness in FL remains muted. The following is a good article about current Covid hospitalizations in FL (presented in an unbiased manner):

A look inside Florida’s hospitals as the newest COVID wave sweeps through the state

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...ae0b9c6cd1b913

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Looking at the leading indicators that I follow (test positivity ratio) and FL wastewater - there still is no clear indication that a top is in yet. However BA.5 hospitalizations in the UK have peaked and turned down. The UK is usually a pretty good leading indicator for the USA. So I'm looking at a potential time window of mid to late August for the top to the current wave in FL. With hospitalizations trending lower in September.

This is not set in stone - and will need to be confirmed by the indicators. Also this is assuming there aren't any new variants.

[ToursLepantovienna]

We're *still* whimpering about an infectious disease with a 99%+ survival rate?

Those who choose to can live in mortal fear, triple-masked and hiding under their beds, while surviving on Netflix and Door Dash, and awaiting the latest "expert" advice that this 17th Pfizer booster will really, Really, REALLY work on the dreaded new triple-omega variant.

The rest of us will carry on with our lives just fine in your absence.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

I'm looking at a potential time window of mid to late August for the top to the current wave in FL. With hospitalizations trending lower in September

My expectations have materialized. Currently Sarasota Memorial Hospital has 50 Covid patients - this is down more than 50% from the BA.5 peak. And the SMH test positivity ratio is down to 7.6%. For the near term the downtrend remains in place.

There is a new sub-variant called BA.2.75.2 which is the most immune evasive variant yet (even more than BA.5). As best as I can tell it hasn't been detected in FL yet (or the USA for that matter). So it's still too early to tell if this new subvariant will create a new wave. IMO it has the potential to create some kind of wave by winter. As of now I'm not predicting it - but I'll be watching for new data. And as I mentioned for now the downtrend is still intact.

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BA.2.75.2 exhibits more extreme antibody escape than any variant we've seen so far. A short thread:

https://twitter.com/BenjMurrell/stat...62185819303937

[NSHL10]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

My expectations have materialized. Currently Sarasota Memorial Hospital has 50 Covid patients - this is down more than 50% from the BA.5 peak. And the SMH test positivity ratio is down to 7.6%. For the near term the downtrend remains in place.

There is a new sub-variant called BA.2.75.2 which is the most immune evasive variant yet (even more than BA.5). As best as I can tell it hasn't been detected in FL yet (or the USA for that matter). So it's still too early to tell if this new subvariant will create a new wave. IMO it has the potential to create some kind of wave by winter. As of now I'm not predicting it - but I'll be watching for new data. And as I mentioned for now the downtrend is still intact.

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BA.2.75.2 exhibits more extreme antibody escape than any variant we've seen so far. A short thread:

https://twitter.com/BenjMurrell/stat...62185819303937

I suppose that variant BA.2.75.2 isn't in the new updated vaccine?

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by NSHL10

I suppose that variant BA.2.75.2 isn't in the new updated vaccine?

Yes you are correct. What I suspect is that the new updated booster will have some effect against BA.2.75.2 - but it will be reduced. However it's still early days and we need more real world data. Such as are infections with BA.2.75.2 causing less or more serious illness? There's some very early indications from India that BA.2.75.2 infections are not causing serious illness. And in the real world there is also T-cell immunity which cannot be measured in a test tube. So it's quite possible that a prior Covid infection along with vaccination could prevent a big rise in serious illness - although transmission could be high.