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U.S. POPULATION - is 345,920,832 of 6 October 2024, 12:29 p.m. PST based on Census U.S. and World Population Clock.

The job market surprisingly increased by 254,000 jobs in the month of September.
Unemployment dropped to 4.1 in the month of September
- The rate in California is 5.3%.

OCTOBER BLOG

HEALTH UPDATES

With all the misinformation that is being presented prior to the election, let’s talk about this. This is a health issue.

Opinion: Voters should read this Georgia judge’s abortion ruling.

Georgia’s Living Infant’s Fairness and Equality Act, LIFE, a 2019 law that bans abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, around six weeks of pregnancy, absent a “medical emergency,” was declared unconstitutional by a state court judge declared.

Gov. Brian Kemp (R) characterized it as “a declaration that all life has value, that all life matters, and that all life is worthy of protection.” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C.J. McBurney agreed, but included the lives of women and girls, too.

McBurney rejected the state’s claim that anyone who engages in or facilitates termination of “a post-embryonic cardiac activity pregnancy” can be guilty of a felony. Until the fetus is viable, can live outside the mother and enjoy the protections of the state, “the only person in this great wide world who can, by choice or legislative imposition, maintain that pregnancy until it is viable” is the pregnant mother herself.

The Judge also wrote, “Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote. He also noted, “It is generally men who promote and defend laws like the LIFE Act, the effect of which is to require only women — and, given the socio-economic and demographic evidence presented at trial, primarily poor women, which means in Georgia primarily black and brown women — to engage in compulsory labor, i.e., the carrying of a pregnancy to term at the Government’s behest.”

GUESS HE TOLD THEM!!!!

What is Abortion? According to dictionary.com – The voluntary removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus to end a pregnancy, utilizing various surgical or non-surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, especially during the first six months.

What Are the Types of Abortion Procedures? Medically Reviewed May 28, 2024. WebMD Editorial Contributors. An abortion is a medical procedure to end a pregnancy growing in the womb or uterus. The type of abortion you get will probably depend almost entirely on how far you are along in your pregnancy. Surgical procedures to induce an abortion are done in clinics or hospitals. A medical abortion can end an early pregnancy at home with prescription medication, such as mifepristone, RU-486, followed by misoprostol.

If in the first trimester, have a vacuum aspiration.
If in the second trimester, or more than 13 weeks since your last menstrual period, have a dilation and evacuation, or D&E.
If further along , have a dilation and extraction, or D&X.

Almost all abortion procedures are outpatient, which means you won’t have to stay overnight in the doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital.

Is Abortion Common? In 2017, the Guttmacher Institute estimated 1 in 4 women in the U.S. would have an abortion by the age of 45. In 2019, over 625,000 legal induced abortions were reported by the CDC, with the abortion rate at 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women 15 to 44 years of age. More than half got these abortions in their 20’s before their 13th week of pregnancy.

Is Abortion Safe? In general, abortion is very safe. It comes with small risks, like any medical procedure does.

If a surgical abortion, go to a doctor or a nurse with special training in a clinic or hospital. It can be very dangerous to try and end a pregnancy on your own.
If a medication abortion at home, important to have access to accurate information, reliable abortion medications and safe, nonjudgmental and supportive care within the formal medical system in case you need it.

Mpox in the United States and Around the World: Current Situation. CDC.

What to know

There are two kinds of mpox, clade I and clade II. You can't tell which kind of mpox someone has by looking at them.
Each clade has subclades, clade Ia and clade Ib; clade IIb. Outbreaks from subclades have different characteristics, like who they affect, how they're spread, or even how many deaths they cause.
Mpox is spread by mainly through skin-to-skin contact, living in close quarters or through sexual contact with a person with mpox.
It may also spread through direct contact with contaminated items or surfaces used by people with mpox.
In real-life outbreaks, the likelihood of human-to-human respiratory spread of the virus that causes mpox appears to be low.
CDC recommends vaccination with two doses of JYNNEOS for people in the United States at risk of mpox. The vaccine is FDA approved for and expected to protect against both clades and all subclades of mpox.

In the United States

Clade II mpox is still circulating at low levels.
There have been no reported cases of clade I mpox

VARIANT UPDATES

New COVID Variant XEC Is Spreading in Europe. Here's What You Need to Know. Verywell Health

Key Takeaways

The new COVID-19 variant XEC is spreading quickly in Europe and may soon become the dominant variant worldwide.
XEC is a recombinant variant made up of two JN.1-related strains.
A CDC spokesperson said the current COVID-19 vaccines are expected to provide some protection against XEC and other circulating variants.

XEC may “become the dominant variant globally in the next few months” because of its growth advantage over other circulating variants, according to researchers at the University of Glasgow. Cases have been reported in the United States, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, has not started tracking this new variant. .

XEC, a “recombinant” variant made up of two JN.1-related variants, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. The new variant’s spike protein, which allows it to enter human cells and cause an infection, is related to JN.1 and KP.2, targeted by the latest COVID vaccines, indicated Andrew Pekosz, PhD, professor and vice chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

COVID doesn’t circulate seasonally like the flu does, even though a new COVID shot is launched each fall. Cases are being detected at high numbers year-round. All the emerging variants are related to the Omicron variant. Prior Omicron infections and getting vaccinated may keep people from severe case of COVID, said Harish Moorjani, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Phelps Hospital in Briarcliff Manor, NY.

Is the hybrid COVID variant XEC in the US? What to know about the new strain that's more contagious. September 23, 2024. The XEC variant, which first appeared in Berlin in late June and increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and Netherlands, according to a report by Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey.

XEC has been reported in 25 U.S. states. Genetic testing is not done on every positive test, RTI International epidemiologist Joëlla W. Adams said.

The XEC strain could potentially become a dominant strain as Omicron variants are more contagious. Current available COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are particularly protective against XEC as it is a hybrid of two Omicron strains.

COVID-19 and its Omicron variants will increasingly spread during the fall and winter seasons as students return to classes, kids spend more time inside and people visit family for the holidays.

This dominant COVID-19 variant accounts for over 50% of cases, new CDC data shows. USA TODAY. COVID-19 variant KP.3.1.1 accounts for more than half of positive infections in the United States, according to latest projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Nowcast data tracker. The KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 52.7% of positive infections, followed by KP.2.3 at 12.2% in two-weeks, Sept. 1 and ending on Sept. 14.

Previously, the KP.3.1.1 variant made up 40.0% of cases for the two-week period that started on Aug. 18 and ended on Aug. 31, and KP.2.3 accounted for 14.5%. According to the data, KP.3.1.1 rose 12.7%, and KP.2.3 decreased 2.3% from Aug. 31 in projected positive infections.

VACCINE UPDATES

What to Know About the Updated 2024-2025 COVID. Yale Medicine.. September 3, 2024. Three new shots are expected to protect against Omicron subvariants that are circulating right now.

The new shots are expected to provide protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death related to COVID.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, recommends everyone 6 months and older get one of the updated vaccines. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated mRNA vaccines were fully approved for everyone 12 and older.

The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, issued emergency use authorization, EUA, for infants and children ages 6 months through 11 years. The mRNA vaccines target a SARS-CoV-2 strain KP.2. The FDA also authorized an updated Novavax for everyone 12 and older, which targets another strain, JN.1.

The new vaccines comes while closely related SARS-CoV-2 strains are circulating, all descendants of the Omicron strain. All three of the new vaccines are expected to protect against new related variants.

How is the updated 2024-2025 COVID vaccine different from previous shots? The virus that causes COVID SARS-CoV-2, continues to mutate and spawn new strains. It’s important to keep up with vaccinations that match the strain that is circulating. This is why new COVID shots are “updated” vaccines as opposed to “boosters.”

How will the updated COVID shots protect me? The shots aren’t meant to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections; rather, to protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. They also restore and enhance protection from previous shots, which wanes over time. Vaccination reduces the chance of suffering the effects of Long COVID.

Will the updated vaccines work if new variants emerge? New strains have already emerged. KP.3.1.1 became the dominant strain with 36.8% of cases. It surpassed KP.3, which overtook KP.2 earlier this summer.

The FDA changed course for the new 2024-2025 shots from advising pharmaceutical companies to focus on an updated vaccine aimed at JN.1 to recommending one aimed at the KP.2 variant. JN.1 surfaced with more than 30 new mutations. In spite of their large genetic distance between the two strains, the vaccine elicited neutralizing antibodies against JN.1, and it was effective,

How safe are the updated COVID vaccines? The COVID vaccines remain safe and effective, according to the CDC, which notes hundreds of millions of people have gotten the shots and that the COVID vaccines have received the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.

Importance of staying up to date –

Getting the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is important because:

Protection from the COVID-19 vaccine decreases with time.
COVID-19 vaccines are updated to give you the best protection from the currently circulating strains.

Getting the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is especially important if you:

Never received a COVID-19 vaccine
Are ages 65 years and older
Are at high risk for severe COVID-19
Are living in a long-term care facility
Are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or might become pregnant in the future.
Want to lower your risk of getting Long COVID

When are you up to date?

Children 6 months–4 years

Your child is up to date when they have received all recommended doses, including at least 1 dose of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.

Children 5–11 years - You are up to date when you have received:

1 dose of the 2024–2025 Moderna
1 dose of the 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech

12 years and older - You are up to date when you have received:

1 dose of the 2024–2025 Moderna
1 dose of the 2024–2025 Pfizer-BioNTech
1 dose of the 2024–2025 Novavax vaccine

If you have never received a COVID-19 vaccine and choose Novavax, you need 2 doses of 2024–2025 Novavax COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date. For more information about intervals for those specific circumstances, please see Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines | CDC

How to Protect Yourself? Getting vaccinated is your best bet!

IT’S NOT OVER!

Stay safe. Mask. Social distance. Frequent hand washing. Avoid crowds

ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL

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Comments

Barbra Rose Meyer (Tuesday, January 10 17 06:52 pm EST)

Great blog! I left my position in brilliant hands! Very Informational!
Joe Felix (Sunday, December 03 17 07:06 pm EST)

I found your COPD comments interesting. Would you consider doing a leaky gut syndrome segment?