Feel better very soon. I went without getting it til a few weeks ago despite living with a Doc who saw covid patients the whole time and now. Took me a month to get better. Thanks for your work and information
I suspect you're going to see more of this in the short term. EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 are becoming more prevalent in the US. BA.2.86 is an area I'm becoming more concerned about almost daily, as it's got a lot of mutations, and yet seems almost in stealth mode. And while the absolute numbers remain low, the number of cases, as indicated by hospitalizations (and wastewater detection) is increasing. Something's happening, we just need to understand it better.
As an addendum, recent research into the cellular infectivity of BA.2.86 suggests it will not pose as great a threat in immune-competent people as others of the BA and XBB lineage. This is very good news as it appears to be more immune-evasive than other recent variants. I'm calming down now.
Covid caught up with me today and due to care for Stage 4 cancer no treatment options are available. Visiting grandchildren and so excited to see them but am isolating
Caitlin hope your recovery is speedy and uneventful.
Regarding BA.2.86... I'm concerned about our lack of lab-grade infrastructure and some of the protocols for testing even in-hospital for COVID. As a result, I'm concerned we are going to miss a lot of chances to sequence positive specimens and identify this new variant. I am also beginning to grow more concerned, as we add tothe myriad substitutions/deletions and recombinants, that at some point our home-test rapid antigen kits will become less sensitive, or essentially useless. So far, I've found no documented evidence this is the case, but I'm beginning to worry along those lines.
I'm in that group of concerned scientists about BA.2.86. Because it's been identified in at least 5 countries on at least 3 continents, and mostly in people who had not traveled, it seems likely it's already a community spreader. A hypothetical here: "What If" this variant's presenting symptoms don't immediately, or ever, include overt respiratory effect, but it is an increased threat to the vascular system or one or more solid organs? Without a trigger for testing most hospitals won't worry today. Most surveillance remains focused solely on respiratory signs and symptoms (I can tell you a story about HPMV incidentally caught in a post-op patient with atelectasis).
Hope you're better soon. I've become a proponent of Paxlovid for everyone, although I'm also now a proponent of a longer treatment period (7-10 days vice 5) to try to make sure we hit viral reservoirs. I suspect, at your age, you were not offered the agent.
Best of luck for a quick recovery. Thank you for the good wishes to those of us heading back to school. At least I’m up to date with my new RSV vaccine. Wishing you well.
Thank you so much for the update, and ALL that you do ! I'm a two-time survivor of covid ( and vaccinated/masked), and I'm wishing you and your family the very best of luck and an uneventful recovery 💙🕊
Thank you for all you share. I’m so very sorry Covid caught up with you. Wishing you a full recovery with no lasting issues.
Feel better very soon. I went without getting it til a few weeks ago despite living with a Doc who saw covid patients the whole time and now. Took me a month to get better. Thanks for your work and information
Very glad that your case is mild.
I appreciate hearing about people I 'know' who just caught covid (4 in the last month) because the reminders to stay careful help me.
As always, thank you for this newsletter.
Rest well.
I suspect you're going to see more of this in the short term. EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 are becoming more prevalent in the US. BA.2.86 is an area I'm becoming more concerned about almost daily, as it's got a lot of mutations, and yet seems almost in stealth mode. And while the absolute numbers remain low, the number of cases, as indicated by hospitalizations (and wastewater detection) is increasing. Something's happening, we just need to understand it better.
As an addendum, recent research into the cellular infectivity of BA.2.86 suggests it will not pose as great a threat in immune-competent people as others of the BA and XBB lineage. This is very good news as it appears to be more immune-evasive than other recent variants. I'm calming down now.
Lots of rest - don’t make the same mistake so many of us did and try to get back to all the things too soon! Wishing you the best 😊
Sorry that it caught you, all the best.
Covid caught up with me today and due to care for Stage 4 cancer no treatment options are available. Visiting grandchildren and so excited to see them but am isolating
Caitlin hope your recovery is speedy and uneventful.
Hope this proves no more than a small speed-bump for you.
Thank you for the information and get well ❤️🩹 soon!
Regarding BA.2.86... I'm concerned about our lack of lab-grade infrastructure and some of the protocols for testing even in-hospital for COVID. As a result, I'm concerned we are going to miss a lot of chances to sequence positive specimens and identify this new variant. I am also beginning to grow more concerned, as we add tothe myriad substitutions/deletions and recombinants, that at some point our home-test rapid antigen kits will become less sensitive, or essentially useless. So far, I've found no documented evidence this is the case, but I'm beginning to worry along those lines.
I'm in that group of concerned scientists about BA.2.86. Because it's been identified in at least 5 countries on at least 3 continents, and mostly in people who had not traveled, it seems likely it's already a community spreader. A hypothetical here: "What If" this variant's presenting symptoms don't immediately, or ever, include overt respiratory effect, but it is an increased threat to the vascular system or one or more solid organs? Without a trigger for testing most hospitals won't worry today. Most surveillance remains focused solely on respiratory signs and symptoms (I can tell you a story about HPMV incidentally caught in a post-op patient with atelectasis).
Hope you're better soon. I've become a proponent of Paxlovid for everyone, although I'm also now a proponent of a longer treatment period (7-10 days vice 5) to try to make sure we hit viral reservoirs. I suspect, at your age, you were not offered the agent.
Take care!
Best of luck for a quick recovery. Thank you for the good wishes to those of us heading back to school. At least I’m up to date with my new RSV vaccine. Wishing you well.
Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery!
Sorry to hear you got Covid-19. Thanks for all the information! Prayers for a complete recovery.
Get well soon. 🙏 Nice to see those lines in the graph start to drop -- may the trend continue! 🙏
Thank you so much for the update, and ALL that you do ! I'm a two-time survivor of covid ( and vaccinated/masked), and I'm wishing you and your family the very best of luck and an uneventful recovery 💙🕊
Get well! Rest and lots of fluids… ;)
And , thank you for keeping us updated.
Hope you feel better soon. Thanks so much for these important updates. I appreciate you so much.