Category: Brief Messages or Announcements

Moderate Respiratory Illness Activity in Iowa

The CDC tracks respiratory illness and there is moderate activity in Iowa according the data tracker.

The weekly snapshot as of December 1, 2023 shows highlights including:

  • “COVID-19 test positivity (percentage of tests conducted that were positive), emergency department visits, and hospitalizations have increased nationally. A group of Omicron variants (XBB and its sublineages) are the predominant lineages detected in the U.S., with HV.1 being most common. The prevalence of another lineage, BA.2.86, is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants. CDC continues to monitor HV.1, BA.2.86, and all other lineages.
  • National test positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations for influenza continue to increase.
  • RSV emergency department visits and hospitalizations continue to increase across the country. RSV-associated hospitalization rates remain elevated among young children and are increasing among older adults; of note, only 14.8% of adults 60+ report having received an RSV vaccine.
  • National vaccination coverage for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccines increased less than one percentage point for children and adults, where indicated, compared to the previous week and remains low for both groups.
  • CDC has been monitoring increases in respiratory illness reported recently among children, including potential elevated rates of pediatric pneumonia in parts of the United States. These reported increases do not appear to be due to a new virus or other pathogen but to several viral or bacterial causes that we expect to see during the respiratory illness season. CDC will continue to work closely with our state and local public health partners to maintain strong situational awareness and will provide updates, as needed.”

CDC Update on Covid-19 Variant BA.2.86

I saw a news item headline which mentioned Covid-19 Variant. BA.2.86. The CDC website tracking respiratory variants has a definitive update as of November 27, 2023:

“What to know about BA.2.86

  • The virus that causes COVID-19 is constantly changing over time. Sometimes these changes allow new variants to spread more quickly or effectively. If that occurs, the new variant may become more common relative to other variants that are circulating.
  • Since CDC’s first post on BA.2.86 in August 2023, the proportion of infections caused by BA.2.86 has slowly increased. In the CDC Nowcast posted Nov. 27, 2023, BA.2.86 is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants.
  • CDC projects BA.2.86 and its offshoots like JN.1 will continue to increase as a proportion of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences.
  • At this time, BA.2.86 does not appear to be driving increases in infections or hospitalizations in the United States.
  • CDC contributed to and agrees with the World Health Organization’s recent risk assessment about BA.2.86 suggesting that the public health risk posed by this variant is low compared with other circulating variants, based on available limited evidence.
  • Updated COVID-19 vaccines are expected to increase protection against BA.2.86, as they do for other variants.
  • As mentioned in previous updates, COVID-19 tests and treatments are expected to be effective against this variant, including its offshoot JN.1.
  • It is not possible at this time to know whether BA.2.86 infection produces different symptoms from other variants. In general, symptoms of COVID-19 tend to be similar across variants. The types of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a person’s immunity than which variant causes the infection.
  • Regardless of what variants happen, CDC will continue to track them, working closely with partners around the world to understand how they are spreading and how they respond to vaccines and treatments.”

New Aromatherapy Diffusers!

Sena got some new aromatherapy diffusers made by Studio 66. They have a magical glow. One has a design of cardinals on it and it is titled Winter Ice (or Mistletoe, depending on what side of the box you read). The box says it smells like sweet orange, warm cinnamon, juniper berries and eucalpytus. The other has a design of deer in the trees, called Enchantment or Cozy Cashmere. According to the box, it has notes of jasmine, sandalwood, and vanilla with a hint of sweet musk.

They were obviously designed and named by extraterrestrials, but they look nice. So far, I can’t smell them-which could mean the nasal implant the ETs jammed up my nose is dysfunctional.

New CDC Campaign to Help Health Care Worker Burnout

The JAMA network published a brief report on the new CDC campaign to help health care workers reduce burnout and encourage well-being. An excerpt:

“Rather than focusing on what individual clinicians can do differently to improve their well-being, a new campaign by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aims to reduce health care worker burnout by encouraging hospital leaders to implement organizational changes and offering them tools to do so.”

AARO Wants UFO Info

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is now accepting information about U.S. government programs or activities related to UFOs from “…current or former U.S. Government employees, service members, or contractor personnel with direct knowledge of U.S. Government programs or activities related to UAP dating back to 1945.   These reports will be used to inform AARO’s congressionally directed Historical Record Report.”

You know who you are.