Thursday, June 01, 2023

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog May 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. More people are going back to pre-pandemic lives. I continue my cautious life minimizing my chances of testing positive for COVID-19. May started slow which speeded up towards the end.

Mon May 1. Completed errands at AAA Insurance and Trader Joe's.

The Department Of Homeland Security announced foreign travelers entering the US no longer need to be fully vaccinated starting on May 12, 2023.

President Joe Biden announced federal employees no longer need to be vaccinated.

Tue May 2. A COVID-19 outbreak at the Center For Disease Control (CDC) annual conference resulted in 35 positive cases. Many attendees didn't wear masks or socially distance. The conference was held on Apr 24-27, 2023 in Atlanta, GA.

Thur May 4. The CDC reported COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death in the US in 2022. 245,000 people died from COVID-19. Heart disease was the number one leading cause of death in 2022. Cancer was the number two leading cause of death in 2022. Unintentional injuries including drug overdoses, shootings, and vehicle fatalities were the third leading cause of death in 2022.

COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020 and 2021.

Fri May 5. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 global health emergency is over. WHO issued the first emergency declaration on Jan 30, 2020. The public health emergency of international concern has been used for seven outbreaks since 2007. The outbreaks were monkey pox, COVID-19, Zika, H1N1 flu, polio, and Ebola twice.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky resigned. Her last day is Jun 30, 2023.

Sat May 6. King Charles III coronation.

Mon May 8. Shopped at Costco to purchase a new car battery.

Thur May 11. The federal COVID-19 public health emergency ended.

Mon May 15. The CDC said Johnson & Johnson vaccine is no longer available in the US. All remaining doses expired last week. 7% of vaccinated people got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as their first shot. The mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna represented the vast majority of shots administered.

Thur May 18. Shopped for used books at local libraries.

Fri May 19. The WHO recommended the 2023 COVID-19 booster shot targets the XBB variants; in particular, XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16. The original strain is excluded because it's no longer circulating and is poor neutralizing the current variants.

Mon May 22. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tested positive for COVID-19. The 71 year old was prescribed Paxlovid. Loong returned home from work trips in Indonesia for the Southeast Asian Nations Summit May 10-11, South Africa May 14-16, and Kenya May 17-19. Loong was boosted in Nov 2022.

Thur May 25. Shopped at REI and The Sports Basement.

The National Institutes Of Health study identified the 12 most common symptoms associated with long COVID-19. The symptoms are the following: post-exertional malaise which is debilitating fatigue getting worse after a physical or mental activity, fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms, heart palpitations, weak sex desire, loss of smell or taste, thirst, chronic cough, chest pain, and abnormal movements. 6% of the 100 million Americans infected with COVID-19 experience long COVID-19. The study was a first step establishing a foundation for further and long lasting research.

The latest omicron variant XBB is increasing the number of cases in China. Respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan discovered the increase outbreak which started in late Apr 2023.

Tue May 30. High cholesterol is likely developed for people who tested positive for COVID-19. There is a 1 in 4 chance people with no cholesterol problems develop high cholesterol after recovery in the future.

Wed May 31. Shopped at Daiso, Mitsuwa, and Marukai Japanese stores. Almost all of the employees wore masks.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tested positive for COVID-19 again. It was a rebound case. Loong tested positive nine days ago on Mon May 22.

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