Vilka nationella eller regionala åtgärder mot coronavirus är evidensbaserade?

[Nemesis]

Sahlgrenska skärper covid-19-åtgärderna

Sahlgrenska avråder omgående från besök hos patienter på sjukhuset, efter en ny ökning av covid-19 i samhället.
Dessutom skärps uppmaningarna om munskydd, och inbokade patienter med symptom måste kontakta sin mottagning innan.

Trots att det är sommar ser smittspridningen av covid-19 ut att öka i samhället. På måndagen återinförde Västra Götalandsregionen därför munskyddskravet för all personal i vårdlokaler, och nu skärps tonen ytterligare i Göteborg.

– Vi har kompletterat på Sahlgrenska med skärpta rekommendationer, säger Maria Taranger, områdeschef på Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset (SU).

Bland annat innebär det att inte bara vårdpersonal, utan samtliga som vistas på SU återigen rekommenderas att använda munskydd samt att hålla avstånd. Munskydden delas ut i sjukhusens entréer.

https://www.gp.se/nyheter/g%C3%B6teborg/sahlgrenska-sk%C3%A4rper-covid-19-%C3%A5tg%C3%A4rderna-1.76308868

Varför ska de använda munskydd? Räcker inte handtvätt? Är viruset luftburet? Är det inte tillräckligt att stanna hemma när man är sjuk, eller förekommer presymtomatisk och asymtomatisk smittspridning?

Och hur innebär inte munskydd längre en möjlig ökad smittorisk, vilket Anders Tegnell hävdade så sent som januari 2021?

Tegnell: ”Då är munskydd smittorisk”

CORONAVIRUSET Munskydd kan göra dig sjuk, i stället för att skydda.
– Hanterar man dem inte rätt innebär det definitivt en risk, säger statsepidemiolog
Anders Tegnell till Läraren.se.

Flera kommuner har förbjudit lärare att använda munskydd i jobbet.
Statsepidemiolog Anders Tegnell säger att användningen faktiskt innebär risker.

https://www.lararen.se/nyheter/coronaviruset/tegnell-da-ar-munskydd-smittorisk

[Nemesis]

Victoria is about to roll out air purifiers on public buses to help entice passengers back to public transport. It's the first project of its kind in Australia, designed to make the daily commute much safer.

https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1543513929900789763

(Se filmklippet i länken.)

Den australiensiska delstaten Victoria imponerar! Detta borde vara självklart även i Sverige och resten av världen.

[dann]

Nässpray mot t ex allergi brukar väl ha kortvarig effekt? Inte förvånande om detsamma skulle gälla en nässpray mot Covid. Jag skulle inte ha några som helst problem med att ta en nässpray mot Covid varje morgon.

Yes, but nasal sprays against allergies contain antihistamine. They are not supposed to strengthen immunity. Neither is the Finnish nasal spray, apparently.
Skeptic Ginger, a medical nurse, answered my question about why it takes so long to develop nasal vaccines:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=13848389#post13848389

[dann]

Folksagomyndigheten (July 6, 2022)
Det verkar som att BA.5 inte är så mycket av ett orosmoment längre.
Just det, det kommer viss en värre variant nu, som kallas BA.2.75,
men vi tror inte det är någon fara heller, jämfört med varianten efter.
https://twitter.com/JonasHell1/status/1544654629857857537

[dann]

New Covid subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are the most contagious yet - and driving Australia's third Omicron wave (The Guardian, July 5, 2022)
The latest variants are masters at evading immunity - meaning previous infection and vaccines are unlikely to provide much protection against catching it.
(...)
The original Wuhan strain has an R0 of 3.3
Delta has an R0 of 5.1
Omicron BA.1 has an R0 of 9.5
BA.2, which is the dominant subvariant in Australia at the moment, is 1.4 times more transmissible than BA.1, and so has a R0 of about 13.3
A pre-print publication from South Africa suggests BA.4/5 has a growth advantage over BA.2 similar to the growth advantage of BA.2 over BA.1. That would give it an R0 of 18.6.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/new-covid-variants-ba4-ba5-most-contagious-australia-third-omicron-wave-coronavirus-subvariants-ba-4-5

The slightly shorter and simpler version:

So just for context
Wuhan strain R0 of 3.3
Delta strain R0 of 5.1
Omicron BA.1 R0 of 9.5
BA.2 R0 of approx 13.3
BA.4/5 R0 of 18.6
We still don’t know for sure what it is for BA.2.75.
The game has changed, make wise decisions and #WearAMask
https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1544302654351892480

[Nemesis]

Nässpray mot t ex allergi brukar väl ha kortvarig effekt? Inte förvånande om detsamma skulle gälla en nässpray mot Covid. Jag skulle inte ha några som helst problem med att ta en nässpray mot Covid varje morgon.

Yes, but nasal sprays against allergies contain antihistamine. They are not supposed to strengthen immunity. Neither is the Finnish nasal spray, apparently.
Skeptic Ginger, a medical nurse, answered my question about why it takes so long to develop nasal vaccines:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=13848389#post13848389

Jag tror inte att en nässpray mot Covid, om det kommer någon, skulle vara "hela lösningen", utan snarare en del av schweizerosten. Perfekt? Nej. Något som bidrar till minskad smittspridning och minskad smittorisk? Ja.

[dann]

I would remove the hand-hygiene-&-surface-cleaning slice since it does nothing to prevent the spread and convinces people that they have taken actual precautions and are safe against transmission of the virus if they wash their hands and wipe off their desk. Govt messaging & financial support depend on the message and what is supported. I would replace it with something along the lines of 'Evidence-based epidemiological advice & paid sick leave'.

And then I would add staying away from public indoor settings if possible. I know that the owners of gyms, restaurants, cinemas, concert venues etc. will hate me for that unless they are compensated. As it is, I stay away from those places, and many others do, too, because we know they are lying when they claim that the virus is harmless.

[Tokig tant]

Den här danske mannen drabbades av långtidscovid innan han smittades med covid 19. Det fick till följd att han inte längre kan höra syrsor sjunga. Inte ens om han inbillar sig att han bor i Havanna.

[dann]

This new Swedish study doesn't make it sound as if long Covid is all in the mind, does it?

Amyloidogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein (ACS Publications, May 17, 2022)
Our data propose a molecular mechanism for potential amyloidogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 S-protein in humans facilitated by endoproteolysis. The prospective of S-protein amyloidogenesis in COVID-19 disease associated pathogenesis can be important in understanding the disease and long COVID-19.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.2c03925

See also:

Ny forskning kan ge svar på långtidscovids mystiska symptom (SVT, May 28, 2022)
De komplexa sjukdomssymptom som uppstår vid långtidscovid är än så länge oförklarade. Nu har forskare vid Linköpings universitet hittat en möjlig mekanism som kan vara en viktig pusselbit för den fortsatta forskningen.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/ost/forskarnas-upptackt-ett-mojligt-svar-pa-covid-19

I would love to see Cuba's pandemic response influence Scandinavian countries, including masking up until the numbers have decreased so much that face masks become superfluous.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=13835568#post13835568
It would be an immense improvement over the current 'post-pandemic' denialism.

[Nemesis]

Med reservation för att mina lite mer ingående kunskaper i epidemiologi och pandemiberedskap är baserade på en handfull timmars egenstudier de senaste veckorna, så tycker jag Sverige agerar rätt.

Det övergripande målet är att minimera död och lidande. Om sjukdomen hade haft samma smittsamhet men 50% dödlighet hade vi tvingats till extraordinära åtgärder för att förhindra att den alls sprids. Dessa åtgärder hade i sin tur lett till död och lidande, t ex genom att i stort sett all vanlig sjukvård ställts in och folk svälter ihjäl pga matbrist. Det hade varit värt det för att rädda miljontals liv.

Covid-19 däremot har så låg dödlighet att det är rimligt att låta de flesta smittas, men att bromsa spridningen så att vårdsystemen inte överbelastas. Då är det viktigt att inte sätta in åtgärder som har ett onödigt stort pris för samhället, och att de sätts vid rätt tillfälle. Vi kan inte leva i ett samhälle som är helt stängt många månader utan att det har ett stort pris, så därför är det viktigt att inte införa den åtgärden förrän precis i det ögonblick det behövs och har maximal effekt, och minimera tiden för det.

Vem är Emanuel Lindgren och vad är hans roll?

Påståendet att man skulle ha hållit skolorna öppna för att snabbare nå flockimmunitet är så uppenbart galet att det knappast kan vara någon seriös debattör? Det talar ju emot även vad de seriösa kritikerna av Sveriges hantering har framhållit.

Och vad är ett "okontrollerat utbrott"? Har det förekommit "kontrollerade" utbrott av covid?

Dubbeltänk?

[dann]

Reinfections

The Health Risks of Getting Covid-19 a Second (or Third) Time (Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2022)
New research details the risks of Covid-19 reinfection as more-infectious Omicron subvariants circulate.

Covi-19 reinfections can bring some new risks of serious medical problems, hospitalizations and death, a new study has found.
The risk of developing medical issues such as lung and heart problems is most acute in the first 30 days after an infection. Those risks remain elevated for up to six months for most conditions and increase with each subsequent infection. For instance, out of 100 people with a reinfection and 100 who had only one infection, five more people with reinfection developed developed a lung or respiratory issue or heart problem within a six-month period.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-risks-of-covid-19-reinfections-for-patients-detailed-in-new-research-11656691792

Tokig tant should pay attention to the number of people who 'inbillar sig' that they have an increased risk of lung or respiratory issues or heart problems after a Covid-19 reinfection. They also 'inbillar sig' that they have twice the risk of dying for the first six months after their most recent infections:

Covid-19 reinfections may increase the likelihood of new health problems (CNN, July 5, 2022)
compared with those with just one Covid-19 infection, those with two or more documented infections had more than twice the risk of dying and three times the risk of being hospitalized within six months of their last infection. They also had higher risks for lung and heart problems, fatigue, digestive and kidney disorders, diabetes and neurologic problems.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/05/health/covid-reinfection-risk/index.html

Since a country like New Zealand had very few infections, relatively speaking, during the first two years of the pandemic, they don't have as many reinfections as Scandinavian countries (some more than others), and yet:

New variants play a part as thousands contract Covid-19 twice (RNZ.co.nz, July 8, 2022)
About 14,000 New Zealanders are known to have been infected with Covid-19 twice and Ministry of Health figures show 183 people have had the virus three times. The ministry said about two-thirds of the reinfections happened between one and three months after a first infection.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/470543/new-variants-play-a-part-as-thousands-contract-covid-19-twice

I don't know how many Danes have been reinfected, but according to the numbers published on a daily basis, almost 25% of positive tests are reinfections: Smittede seneste døgn: 2.672, heraf tidligere smittede 678. And much like Sweden, but not the the same extent, the number of daily tests have been reduced considerably.

[Nemesis]

Apropå återinfektioner:

FHM: Stor del av Sveriges befolkning lär få BA.5

Covidsmittan ökar igen i Sverige, men i nuläget finns inga planer på att införa nya restriktioner. Det meddelar Folkhälsomyndigheten och socialminister Lena Hallengren (S).

...

– Liksom tidigare när vi haft nya varianter så kommer troligen en stor del av befolkningen att smittas av den nya undergruppen, säger hon och tillägger att inget tyder på att varianten orsakar mer allvarliga symptom.

https://omni.se/fhm-stor-del-av-sveriges-befolkning-lar-fa-ba5/a/8Qn9M2

Världens bästa coronastrategi in action! Forumets nationalister måste vara stolta.

[dann]

"inget tyder på att varianten orsakar mer allvarliga symptom," men allt tyder på att varianten är smittsammare.
https://www.svd.se/a/dnXBKO/coronasmittan-okar-i-sverige-ny-variant-pekas-ut-som-drivande
So more people can be expected to get those symptoms, some of them a second, third of fourth time, right?!

[dann]

I had no idea that this kind of anti-mask propaganda existed beyond Sweden at the early stage of the pandemic.

Using masks incorrectly can put you at risk (ABC News, March 25, 2020)
Many Australians also don't know how to use face masks properly, which means some people were potentially putting themselves at increased risk, said Holly Seale, and infection control expert.
"For many people, it's not a social norm … so we're kind of coming at it with no real knowledge," said Dr Seale, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales.

"One of the reasons we're not encouraging people to use them is because they may actually be giving people a false sense of security."

While some people wear face masks in a bid to reduce the number of times they touch their nose and mouth (therefore reducing their risk of infection), Dr Seale said it can also have the opposite effect.
It was common to see people in Australia adjusting their masks and touching their face without washing their hands, as well as re-using them, she said.
"We know these masks can — like any other surface — have the pathogen on them," Dr Seale said.
"If that mask is being put on and off and on and off, you are potentially putting yourself at risk or spreading it around, without even realising it."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-03-25/coronavirus-covid-19-face-mask-surgical-mask-protection/12088314

I found a reference to it here: https://twitter.com/ben__fisher/status/1545559201472483328

On March 25, 2020, there was reason to let hospital workers be first in line for the limited supply of face masks, as also mentioned in the article, but that was no reason to spread propaganda lies. (And the limited supply was no law of nature, but that's another story.) The hoarding of other stuff, too, toilet paper, for instance, was a problem at the early stage of the pandemic in some places, but I don't remember seeing any propaganda about the dangers of using toilet paper because it gives people a false sense of security.

False pandemic advice in Australia has come up because Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has sentenced a critic of the let-it-rip strategy to 'reeducation camp' to teach him to be 'courteous' to colleagues when using social media: https://twitter.com/CFPE_Australia/status/1545311555310714880

[dann]

Excellent new article about 'learning to live with Covid':

Get Ready for the Forever Plague (The Tyee, June 5 --> July 4, 2022)
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/07/04/Get-Ready-Forever-Plague/

With a good C.S. Lewis quotation I wasn't familiar with:

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

This article was subjected to vehement attacks this week, but the author hasn't given up the good fight:

‘Forever Plague’: Nikiforuk Responds to Critics (The Tyee, July 8, 2022)

But I doubt that it will make the minimizers stop minimizing.
By the way, the same author, Andrew Nikiforuk, published this in The Tyee a few months ago:

Sweden’s Deadly COVID Failure (The Tyee, April 6, 2022)
Here are seven important takeaways from the report that will sound very familiar to many Canadians.
No strategy.
No accountability.
No herd immunity.
No face mask recommendations.
Inadequate care for elders.
No transparency on schools and children.
Rampant inequality.
(...)
In sum, Sweden’s Public Health Agency failed the nation. Its risk assessments were incorrect. It suppressed vital information on asymptomatic spread, face masks, children and long-COVID. It refused to act rapidly to stop exponential spread. It ignored the precautionary principle.
And, as the report notes, “None of the official actors took notion of what could have been done better, and no one took responsibility for the results.”
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/04/06/Sweden-Deadly-COVID-Failure/

I have only copied the headlines of the "seven important takeaways". The report is the one published in Nature.