New Covid strains are concerning

[Halbhh]

It's urgently important to wear a mask that fits tight enough and is of good quality and/or multilayer enough to reduce the amount of virus-laden droplets you inhale to a tiny amount. (see more below)


LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Friday that a coronavirus variant first detected in the country in September may be around 30% more deadly than previous versions of the disease.

Johnson unveiled the worrying statistic in a London new conference.

British scientists already had concluded that the variant, known as B.1.1.7, spread between 30%-70% faster than the previous dominant coronavirus strain in the U.K.

New COVID variant discovered in UK may be 30% more lethal: British PM
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Both spreading easier and more deadly on average for those that get it.

It's already here in the U.S. widely.

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A new variant of the coronavirus believed to spread more easily has forced the United Kingdom into another lockdown and been detected in at least 33 countries, including the United States. Many of the U.S. cases have no known travel history — meaning the strain is spreading throughout communities. The variant, known as B.1.1.7, is not expected to be resistant to the vaccines rolled out in December, though scientists are racing to learn more about the mutation — and where it has already spread. Below is a primer for the public-health and political ramifications of the concerning development.

The B.1.1.7 (U.K.) strain has been found in at least 21 U.S. states
New COVID Strain Spreading Across U.S.: What We Know

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Here's we have a more contagious version of Covid, spreading now in the U.S., and more deadly.

So, in addition to the alarming new realization that an estimated 10% of survivors are "long haulers" that suffer for months (at least)....the new versions can kill more people, sooner.

How to protect yourself:

Wear a mask in all situations recommended, and tight fitting, multiple layer. Often adding a 2nd mask accomplishes this. Having a mask greatly reduces the amount of virus you get exposed to if you do get exposed, since the main load of virus is in droplets, which are far larger than the virus itself. Getting exposed to a low amount is very much better than getting exposed to a high amount. Doctors have observed that those that got exposed with masks on get milder cases. (see note just below on a good way to push down the edges)

More: anyone over 50 or under 50 even who has any kind of risk factor such as being a worker exposed to more people such as in a grocery store or other service business with many customers or being significantly overweight or hypertension or diabetes...or even type A blood, that they should not only have a multiple-layer tight fitting mask -- which everyone needs -- but also I'd recommend those with more risk obtain for their base layer mask a tight fitting KN-95, to go under a cloth mask for example.
OR
To do a good fitting double masking with a good quality surgical mask as the bottom layer, and a cloth mask on top to push down all the edges of the surgical mask so that no air gaps are left on any edge. The cloth mask main purpose here is to seal the edges of the surgical mask. If done well, this approaches near to the filtering of a N95.


Also, one can do good health habits like getting enough sleep, some exercise, taking some modest amount of vitamin D (usually 1,000 iu is plenty).

With such good habits as all of the above, most people will have much better odds.

 

[Isilwen]

getting enough sleep

Only if!

Now that my supervisor is in paramedic school, my schedule has changed and changes every week. Before it used to be thirteen hours plus for my shift three days a week, this past week and this week coming are four day weeks at thirteen plus hour shifts. Figure twenty minutes driving one-way for me so that's thirteen hours and forty minutes in the day gone. I wake up an hour before my shift, so that's fourteen hours and forty minutes. When I come home from work I need at least two and a half hours to be able to eat dinner and relax enough to be able to fall asleep, let alone digest my food so I don't get sick in the middle of the night. We're up to seventeen hours and ten minutes? That leaves me six hours and ten minutes for sleep if my math is correct. However, generally, I only get between five and six hours of sleep according to my FitBit. Most nights it's around five and a half hours or less.

Would love to be able to get enough sleep, but that's a tough thing to accomplish!

Sorry, just wanted to voice my frustration about sleep or in my case, the lack thereof.

 

[Richard T]

I heard an expert suggest that the new virus doubles every week, so it is expected to be dominant in the US by the end of March. Like your info, he suggested better masks will still pose a problem for this virus. It is a shame that most cannot get n-95 masks. A year in on this virus and we still can't manufacture enough PPE. Fortunately, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are said to protect against the UK variant.

 

[Halbhh]

I heard an expert suggest that the new virus doubles every week, so it is expected to be dominant in the US by the end of March. Like your info, he suggested better masks will still pose a problem for this virus. It is a shame that most cannot get n-95 masks. A year in on this virus and we still can't manufacture enough PPE. Fortunately, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are said to protect against the UK variant.

It would be worthwhile I expect for many people to look into getting a tighter fitting mask, and for those older or with various risk factors, they ought to get a KN-95 that is tight fitting for now, and I'd suggest it can even be covered over with a cloth mask, so that the KN-95 is protected some and thus will last longer before getting dirty, and the outer layer cloth mask can be washed once a week for example.

 

[Joyous Song]

It would be worthwhile I expect for many people to look into getting a tighter fitting mask, and for those older or with various risk factors, they ought to get a KN-95 that is tight fitting for now, and I'd suggest it can even be covered over with a cloth mask, so that the KN-95 is protected some and thus will last longer before getting dirty, and the outer layer cloth mask can be washed once a week for example.

Yet are they available and affordable? What we really need is more vaccines so more can get vaccinated.

 

[Halbhh]

Yet are they available and affordable? What we really need is more vaccines so more can get vaccinated.

2 solutions:
Yes on KN95, but it does take research to find out if a KN95 mask is of good quality, and also if it will fit a person's face size well.

Quicker and about as good! --> As also reported in the news is the best way to double mask with a inexpensive and easy to find surgical mask of normal (good) quality (such as you could get at Walgreens for instance) with a cloth mask on top to push down the edges of the surgical mask and create a good air seal around the edges approaches the filtering power of a true N95 mask, and I've heard a few times as much as 95% of the filtering of an N95 such as worn in hospitals. So that's an easy and quick way (and even comfortable way) to get a better quality filtering than just a single mask.

 

[Joyous Song]

2 solutions:
Yes on KN95, but it does take research to find out if a KN95 mask is of good quality, and also if it will fit a person's face size well.

Quicker and about as good! --> As also reported in the news is the best way to double mask with a inexpensive and easy to find surgical mask of normal (good) quality (such as you could get at Walgreens for instance) with a cloth mask on top to push down the edges of the surgical mask and create a good air seal around the edges approaches the filtering power of a true N95 mask, and I've heard a few times as much as 95% of the filtering of an N95 such as worn in hospitals. So that's an easy and quick way (and even comfortable way) to get a better quality filtering than just a single mask.

That what I'm doing, our church gives out free surgical masks and I put mine homemade one over it. This I wash often.