22 posts were split to a new topic: Their secret weakness is…copper?
I’ve had no luck getting the Statistic 
report that prompted this tweet. Via Jessica Wildfire. The report says that at 3 or more infections, the rate of Long COVID rises to 38%. 
Dr. Lisa Iannattone
@lisa_iannattone
Bill Comeau noted this page of the report. Almost half of sufferers aren’t getting better.
These aspects of the report were not been reported in today’s Toronto Star article about the study.
Global News piece on the report.
Edit: Link is working now
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You know how when a headline is a question, the answer is always ‘no’?
Not always:
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Could still be no, like “no, don’t go on a plane during holiday season”
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Reminds me - on the work trip I took last week, over half of the passengers wore masks on both the outbound and return flight. It’s worth pointing out it was a small plane and the average age was a couple decades older than my usual flight. I don’t think the high masking rate was a coincidence.
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I have a long flight coming up & I think I finally found something to help with ear discomfort.
Light headbands that have buttons seen on for the straps. I gave them a try & they seemed great. But the real world test will tell.
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I’ve been using a lanyard style like these for years, but buttons sound better. Sometimes, the clips get tangled in my hair. 
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ABAMERICA Headbands with Button for Mask, Wide Nurses Headbands Non Slip Elastic Ear Protection for Women Men Doctors Sweatband Headband Amazon.com
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I used something like that before N95s became generally available. The surgical masks made my ears miserable.
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The two buttons seem to work better for me. I’ve tried several items.
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The headband does look more comfortable if it isn’t too warm.
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Very light.
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[Vaccine effectiveness] against hospitalization was 70.7% (95% CI: 66.6; 74.3), [Vaccine effectiveness] against ICU admission was 73.3% (95% CI: 42.2; 87.6).
Just got that one this week, seventh shot. Felt draggy for a day or two but otherwise 
Based on today’s wastewater signals, COVID is ripping around Ontario a higher rate than any time in the past year, including now in the Toronto area. 
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I was walking into Home Depot at 6am this morning, some guy got out of his pick up truck and was entering behind me.
The guy hacked up something, you know the sound as someone is getting ready to spit.
He spits right on the sidewalk near the entrance.
I swear one day I’m going to lose it and tell one of these people off.
But I keep hearing my dearly departed dad…
“You’re better than that.”
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“Back during the pandemic” “when covid was still a thing”
Covid is killing over 1000 Americans each week. Covid is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. Covid is still spreading and mutating. Only 16% of Americans have gotten their boosters in a “vaccine only” strategy to fight the disease (that doesn’t work because vaccinated people can and do catch and spread covid). Covid is still a very real threat to you and those you love. Stop talking about it in the past tense. Stop living a lie. It’s not 2019. You’ll never live in a “post covid” world. Our wishes for “normal” have destroyed any chance of a true end to the pandemic unless we act. Mask up and stop the spread if you really want to past-tense covid.
I got COVID early in October and had to close down my life and recover. Yesterday afternoon i walked to my local drugstore and got this year’s vaccine (I’d already had a flu vaccine late in October).
I’ll be on a big stage in front of 1500 people on Monday and Tuesday, being Charles Dickens, and won’t be able to wear a mask. I hope enough of the audience each night masks up to help stop the events becoming spreaders.
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If under-reporting in the 
is anything like then you can double or triple that. 
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Seeing more masks in the office as well as out and about, but nowhere near a majority. We have been so scarred by the fascist backlash to the previous efforts that any attempt to control this beast is doomed from the get go.
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I think it’s somewhere around 1% here, being generous. Might see maybe one or two while we’re out and about. It seems to be a pretty even mix between surgical and N95, but at these low numbers it’s hard to be sure.
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Via Eric Topol, in a longer COVID update article.
NATURE PODCAST, 14 December 2023
Inhaled vaccine prevents COVID in monkeys
New study suggests boosters delivered to the lungs could stop infection.
By Nick Petrić Howe
That bodes well for us monkeys. 
The vaccine is described as a “dry powder”. That’s got to be pleasant…
Also, at the University Clinic in Erlangen, trials have begun with new batches of BC-007. This is the drug which cured every Long COVID patient who took it, although those patients were selected because of bio-markers which indicated the drug might be effective. They were expecting to treat 30 more patients this autumn, but results don’t appear to be available yet.
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