Covid BA.5 hits Israel hard

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-sees-over-10000-new-cor…

**Israel sees over 10,000 new coronavirus cases, highest daily number since April**
**Health Ministry reports 168 people in serious condition, a rise of 95% from last week; health officials tell hospitals to prepare for reopening of dedicated COVID-19 wards**
**By Times Of Israel staff, 6/20/2022**

**...**
**The reproduction number (R) continued to fluctuate, standing at 1.32 as of Monday morning.**

**Earlier in the month it stood at 1.52. The R figure is based on rates from ten days earlier, and it measures how many people each coronavirus carrier infects on average, with any number above 1 meaning the spread of COVID-19 is increasing. It began to rise above 1 in mid-May, having stayed below that threshold for nearly two months....**

**While Israel has seen rising infection numbers for a few weeks, an increase in seriously ill patients presents a real concern as the country deals with the spread of the new variant BA.5....** [end quote]

Israel had an indoor mask mandate until April 24, 2022.

Covid cases are rising again in the U.S. but the death toll isn’t rising as quickly for many reasons. That shift stemmed in part from a growing share of cases occurring in people who were fully vaccinated, previously infected or both. In Arizona, for instance, the share of Covid cases being recorded in vaccinated people grew to 60 percent in April from 25 percent five months earlier. Anti-viral pills are available. As before, the death rate is highest in the elderly. Most people in the ICU have exacerbations of previous illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Even though Covid deaths have dropped, there are still about 350 per day in the U.S. – twice as high as vehicle accidents or suicide. And the death rate is spiking in New York, which was hit first in 2020 and gets the latest variants from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/health/covid-deaths-plate…

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html…

The latest research shows that booster vaccination does provide some protection against BA.4 and BA.5 (which have identical spike proteins but different mutations in other places that provide immune escape). Unfortunately, the booster is not as effective against 4&5 as it was against Omicron BA.1 & 2. This was in people who had previously been infected by Delta or Omicron and also boosted.

Infection during the Omicron BA.1 wave did not appear to offer effective protection against the newly emerged sublineages, 4 & 5. This is a huge concern because millions of people were infected last winter with Omicron BA.1 but many of them have not been boosted. According to Reuters (June 14), Omicron sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 account for 21% of COVID variants in U.S.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2206725
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/…

We have all seen how dangerous Covid variants have rapidly spread from a small percentage to a wave that rolls across the U.S.

With the summer travel and party season upon us, expect a wave of Omicron 4&5 to hit the U.S. in 2022 the way that Delta hit in 2021.

I am continuing my Covid precautions. Shopping early in the morning when the store is empty and masking.

DH felt unwell this week and had a temperature of 100 degrees. I took 2 Covid tests but was negative on both. (DH didn’t go out so the only way he would catch it would be from me.) He’s feeling better now. We are both vaccinated and double boosted. We’re both over age 65 with chronic lung problems.

I’d like to travel this year but the combination of a new, dangerous strain of Covid plus the nightmares in commercial aviation is giving me doubts.

Wendy

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I’m with you Wendy. I’m taking more precautions now compared to a year ago, because the risk is so much larger. The wastewater viral load is more than 10 times higher now than it was at this time last year. Reinfections and breakthrough infections were quite rare a year ago but quite common now.

People are behaving as if the pandemic were completely over. The authorities who seem to think that masking up is no longer necessary remind me of those clueless and wimpy authority figures in cheesy horror movies who refuse to believe that there’s a killer on the loose.

And there’s STILL no mass movement towards universal Vitamin D3 supplementation, universal selenium consumption, or healthier eating habits.

Hopefully, the updated COVID vaccines become available soon. While it’s a no-brainer to be up-to-date on vaccines, it’s clear that the current vaccine is horribly outdated.

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Wendy,

DW and I buried her 93 year old mother today. She died in the hospital rather than in her nursing home. We had a graveside funeral under tents with a reception afterward under a big tent in a family member’s yard.

DW and I wore N95 masks, but only a few mourners wore any kind of mask, despite the instructions that Covid precautions be observed. DW and I did not eat until after the event to avoid unmasking.

A few close friends got in DW’s face and tears caused her to adjust or remove her mask a few times.

We’re praying that the outdoor setting and slight breeze might have protected us, but the virus is spreading fast in the Florence, SC area where we are.

The hotel we are staying in was packed with boisterous Juneteenth celebrants this weekend, so we masked whenever passing through the hallway.

We are fully boosted, but we are concerned due to the numerous interactions we have had while preparing for the funeral, viewing the casket, and functioning in a hotel away from our home.

How many days should we count after these encounters to determine whether we came through unscathed?

I am worried.

'Hound

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We are fully boosted, but we are concerned due to the numerous interactions we have had while preparing for the funeral, viewing the casket, and functioning in a hotel away from our home.

You should be doing everything you can to help your immune system work better and minimize inflammation. Does your doctor have anything to say on this? Is there any pre-emptive treatment you can start? It’s a shame that there’s never any talk about stopping a disease during the incubation stage.

My SPECULATIVE ideas for ways to improve immune system strength and minimize inflammation include:

  1. AVOID eating junk food and restaurant food. Unhealthy foods weaken your immune system and promote inflammation. Even if you think I’m weird because I’ve been avoiding junk foods and restaurant foods for over 2 years, you should at least avoid them for the next week.
  2. Take more Vitamin D3. Unless your Vitamin D level is too high, it might be a good idea to take 10,000 to 20,000 IUs per day as a TEMPORARY LOADING DOSE for the next week. (I’ve read that infections can deplete Vitamin D levels.) After that, return to your normal maintenance dosage.
  3. Make sure you’re getting enough selenium, but don’t go overboard. If you’re relying on Brazil nuts for your selenium, it may be a good idea to eat two or three per day instead of one per day for the next week. (I’ve read that infections can deplete selenium levels.)
  4. Eat foods containing enzymes. This includes pineapple, papaya, kiwi fruit, and figs. These enzymes break up proteins and are said to have numerous health benefits. It’s even been speculated that these enzymes can break up viral spike proteins.
  5. Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin B12.
  6. Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices. There’s more on this at https://theana.org/COVID-19#nutrition . The point isn’t to fixate on any particular healthy superfoods. The gist is that it’s a good idea to consume a wide variety of them so that you get a wide variety of nutrients. While fiber, potassium, magnesium, and Vitamin C are common, some less well-known nutrients are exclusive to certain foods.
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Same. Don’t ever want to get this.

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At this point I’m beginning to get annoyed that they haven’t released a new version of the vaccine that covers the new variants a little better. I’m also beginning to suspect that they don’t want to release it until the massive stocks of the current vaccine have been depleted.

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How many days should we count after these encounters to determine whether we came through unscathed?

2 or 3 days probably gets you to 70-80% chance you are clear. A day or two more and you are at 90 or 95% clear. A couple more days to 99.x%. This is from memory on the current variants. I think 2 years ago they were saying up to 10-14 days total.

Mike