[Gansan]

I think it is not prohibited to take a different kind of vaccine afterwards. There was some study done about giving a viral vector vaccine first (such as Covishield) and then an inactivated virus vaccine (such as Covaxin) for the second dose (or the other way around), the effects of which were supposed to be better. Don't know what happened to the results.

I think those who have already taken three doses of covaxin/Covishield, if 9-12 months have passsed since the third (booster) dose, can have any other vaccine they prefer. Even the intra nasal vaccine, if it is available. Doctors in the forum please comment.

[DigitalOne]

FBI chief Christopher Wray says China lab leak 'most likely'

Source: BBC

FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the bureau believes Covid-19 "most likely" originated in a "Chinese government-controlled lab".

"The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident," he told Fox News.

It is the first public confirmation of the FBI's classified judgement of how the pandemic virus emerged.

Do not forget that risky virus research in the Wuhan lab was funded by Dr. Fauci's NIH. Also never forget, for 2 years, the people who said that lab leak theory is a possibility were censored by the social media.

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

FBI chief Christopher Wray says China lab leak 'most likely'

Source: BBC



Do not forget that risky virus research in the Wuhan lab was funded by Dr. Fauci's NIH. Also never forget, for 2 years, the people who said that lab leak theory is a possibility were censored by the social media.

No use. The China-lovers of the world will continue to deny it.

BTW, what happened to the latest China wave. Nothing in the news these days.

[BoneCollector]

The current wave is H3N2 variant of Influenza virus in all probability.

[hamster]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

The current wave is H3N2 variant of Influenza virus in all probability.

I m not sure about other cities in India, but in Chennai this wave of the influenza has started more than a month ago. It was most prevalent amongst school going children and have seen multiple cases in my known circle, where a school going kid catches this from his class mate and spreads to his/her entire family. My family is also amongst it.

With kids the temperature goes upto 102, 103 and even higher and it passes on to adults without the temperature but as throat infection/irritation, escalates itself into severe dry cough, mostly when the affected person lies down and further into chest congestion/wheezing cough. It also affects the eye. Antibiotics, nebulization for around 2 weeks is the only remedy the doctor(s) have suggested.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by hamster

I m not sure about other cities in India, but in Chennai this wave of the influenza has started more than a month ago. It was most prevalent amongst school going children and have seen multiple cases in my known circle, where a school going kid catches this from his class mate and spreads to his/her entire family. My family is also amongst it.

With kids the temperature goes upto 102, 103 and even higher and it passes on to adults without the temperature but as throat infection/irritation, escalates itself into severe dry cough, mostly when the affected person lies down and further into chest congestion/wheezing cough. It also affects the eye. Antibiotics, nebulization for around 2 weeks is the only remedy the doctor(s) have suggested.

My family (including myself) is going through what you have just described. I did not get fever but have/had all other symptoms. Kids had all the above and now my parents have caught the same. The wave is there for sure. Few kids in neighborhood also have the same. Not sure how prolonged it is or will be.

[anoopGTkrish]

Originally Posted by hamster

With kids the temperature goes upto 102, 103 and even higher and it passes on to adults without the temperature but as throat infection/irritation, escalates itself into severe dry cough, mostly when the affected person lies down and further into chest congestion/wheezing cough. It also affects the eye. Antibiotics, nebulization for around 2 weeks is the only remedy the doctor(s) have suggested.

Went through a likely episode of this infection over the last 4 weeks. Started with my 1.5 year old who is vaccinated for flu and pneumonia. Moderate fever and minor cough. She was back to normal within a week.

After 3 days of her getting it, I started getting a runny nose and terrible irritation to the throat. Waited it out for 2 weeks during which the throat irritation worsened and turned to acute sore throat and ear pain. Consulted a doctor at the 2 weeks mark. CBC, CRP was clear and negative for Covid 19. Since this was prior to the H3N2 notifications, doctor assumed its allergic and gave allergy medication. Over next two days, I developed cough and minor chest infection. Put of antibiotics and after 4 days of it, finally started getting better. Ordeal started on Feb 10th, almost cured as of 6th March

TLDR: Caught what is most likely is this flu. Causes covid like symptoms minus the fever and could last up to a month.

[am1m]

Seeing a couple of posts that talk about antibiotics being prescribed for flu-like symptoms. Antibiotics won't work for viral infections, so not sure if that's a good idea.

https://indianexpress.com/article/li...virus-8479053/

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/...904245394.html

"As H3N2 flu cases surge, Indian Medical Association advises to ‘avoid antibiotics’"

"Antibiotics DO NOT work on viruses, such as those that cause colds, flu, or COVID-19."

https://www.cdc.gov/patientsafety/fe...ics-aware.html

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by am1m

Seeing a couple of posts that talk about antibiotics being prescribed for flu-like symptoms. Antibiotics won't work for viral infections, so not sure if that's a good idea.

Definitely, and I think many who self-medicate don't know that.

But when qualified doctors prescribe antibiotics, it's to guard against secondary infections. Usually people with viral infections recover in a week or two, but if they don't (and this is not a small number in absolute terms), it's usually suspected to be a secondary bacterial infection. I think the IMA advisory is for doctors to be even more conservative in prescribing antibiotics for suspected secondary infections.

[hamster]

Originally Posted by anoopGTkrish

Went through a likely episode of this infection over the last 4 weeks.

Waited it out for 2 weeks during which the throat irritation worsened and turned to acute sore throat and ear pain. Consulted a doctor at the 2 weeks mark.
CBC, CRP was clear and negative for Covid 19. Since this was prior to the H3N2 notifications, doctor assumed its allergic and gave allergy medication. Over next two days, I developed cough and minor chest infection. Put of antibiotics and after 4 days of it, finally started getting better. Ordeal started on Feb 10th, almost cured as of 6th March

Almost similar symptoms but with different members in our family.
My 9 year old son had Ear Pain, Fever going upto 103, Chest Congestion and finally ended up with Eye Infection.

For me it was starting with Throat infection (no fever) escalated to chest infection with ESR and CRP both indicating high infection level . Consulted first a GP, then an ENT and finally the pulmonologist. Was giving Montex LC twice a day along with antibiotics, nebulizer (twice a day) by the pulmonologist, the tough coughing episodes were down after a 5 day course with these medications. Ended up with Eye infection and the allergy in the eye still persists for me.

Next my wife - very similar to mine - eye infection, chest congestion and prescribed with nebulizer, anti allergens and antibiotics. Thought it started for her couple of weeks back, she is yet to fully recover from it. THe semi-intense coughing episodes are still lingering.

Overall, starts with kids and affects everyone in the family.
Kids - Fever, Eye, Ear, Chest
Adults - mostly Throat, Chest and Eye.

[anoopGTkrish]

Originally Posted by am1m

Seeing a couple of posts that talk about antibiotics being prescribed for flu-like symptoms. Antibiotics won't work for viral infections, so not sure if that's a good idea.

https://indianexpress.com/article/li...virus-8479053/

https://www.cdc.gov/patientsafety/fe...ics-aware.html

Doctors prescribe antibiotics for chest infections/ throat infections that lasts longer than 3 to 4 weeks. This is to avoid/ fight secondary infections caused by opportunistic bacteria. Never good to self-medicate with antibiotics. My daughter's pediatrician told us about the rise of antibiotic resistant infections in children.

My doctor prescribed antibiotics as my symptoms were not fading away even after 3 weeks. I was given Advent 625 for 5 days along with VSL3 probiotics to control damage to the gut microbiome.

[vivek95]

WHO officially declares an End to Covid-19 emergency. COVID-19 is now an established viral illness and will be an ongoing health issue but no longer an emergency.

Hopefully next time when there is a pandemic, health agencies worldwide devise a reasonable approach depending on the severity of the illness rather than resorting to meaningless prolonged lockdowns ! Hope routine health emergencies and economic impacts are not undermined in future.

-- Dr. Vivek

[DigitalOne]

Biden administration halts Wuhan Institute of Virology’s access to federal funding over Covid stonewalling

Source

The Biden administration has halted the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s access to federal funding after the lab failed to provide documents about safety and security measures, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

The action guarantees that the institute won’t receive any more federal funding, an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The lab hasn’t received money from the National Institutes of Health since July 2020.

2014 Grant
In 2014, the NIH awarded a grant to EcoHealth Alliance, a US-based organization focused on preventing infectious diseases, for “understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence." The Wuhan Institute of Virology received a subaward of that grant.

For a pandemic that killed 7 million people, and brought the world to a halt, this is just too little, too late. Why did the US NIH, led by Dr.Fauci, fund bat coronavirus research in Wuhan, China? Zero accountability !!

[ex-innova-guy]

COVID 19: Indian government issues advisory on COVID cases and JN.1 subvariant, urges health preparations.

Link- https://www.livemint.com/news/world/...040740385.html

[saket77]

The Chinese are experimenting with a similar virus which has 100% mortality rate.

Is this even required? Given that even general people across the world had to go through what they did in 2019 & beyond, I think no external force is required to wipe out humanity. We humans are good enough for the cause:

As the world continues to reel under the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and new strains, China is now reportedly experimenting with a new Covid-like virus that has a “mortality rate of 100 percent.”

According to media reports, chinese scientists have allegedly made their version of “pangolin coronavirus” which has been found to have 100 percent mortality in mice.

This strain, GX_P2V, is a mutation of GX/2017, a virus initially identified in Malaysian pangolins in 2017. Reportedly, the strain has lethal impact on genetically-modified mice with human-like genetic structures.The virus targets multiple organs including the brain and led to rapid deterioration in the mice’s condition, culminating to death within eight days.
SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus GX_P2V(short_3UTR) can cause 100% mortality in human ACE2-transgenic mice, potentially attributable to late-stage brain infection. This underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans and provides a unique model for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses,” wrote the authors.

The pre-print version of the study has been published in bioRxiv, a preprint server for biology, earlier this month.

The study noted elevated viral loads in the mice’s brains and eyes, indicating a unique pattern of multiplication and a potential “spillover risk into humans.” Professor Francois Balloux of University College London took to X (formerly Twitter) and slammed the study as scientifically pointless and potentially risky.

Source:
https://www.financialexpress.com/hea...-know/3367893/