SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the pandemic virus first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Why that name? Because it looked genetically similar to the virus that caused the 2003 SARS outbreak. You've regularly seen the COVID-19 virus as a sphere with what looks like golf tees sticking out of the surface. First, this virus is so small that you can't see it using an ordinary microscope.
- Bacteria are between 0.2 and 2 micrometers, so you can't even see this in a compound light microscope.
- Viruses are not measured in micrometers, but nanometers, which is one-thousandth a micrometer. The coronavirus is just 50 nanometers across, or 0.05 micrometers.
- But visible light ranges from 300 to 700 nanometer, so light photons are too large to distinguish something so small as 50 nm.
- You thus turn to an electron microscope, invented in 1930, but improved to what is now called a Scanning Electron Microscope, or SEM.
- Yes, instead of photons, something so small as an electron must be utilized.
- How small is an electron? Too small to be measured, but larger than a neutrino, which is the smallest sub-particle.
- No one has yet measured either one.
- More recently, a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) has been developed to generate higher-resolution images. But a TEM costs more ($100,000 to $10 million vs $50,000 to $1 million for a SEM) and takes more time to generate an image.
So based on the above, here are photos of a COVID-19 virus using them.
- Here is an image showing the SARS-CoV-2 virus (those round gold objects) emerging from the surface of cultured cells using a SEM.
- COVID-19 virus particles isolated from a patient. Yup, those golf tees are there. The following comes from a TEM.
- The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) was identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
- Came from camels infected by bats.
- Only 2578 cases, with 888 deaths. Mortality rate of 35%.
- No vaccine.
- The U.S. had only two patients, and they both had traveled to Saudi Arabia.
- The Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began in 2002 when cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in Xiyang Yi Ethnic Township, Yunnan, China, transferred this disease to an Asian palm civet.
- Virus called SARS-CoV-1.
- Into 2003 there were 8,469 cases, with 783 deaths for a mortality rate of close to 10%.
- Most of the deaths were in China, with 27 in the U.S.
- The CDC reported that they developed a vaccine for this virus.
- The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2.
- Virus descended from a wild bat that transferred to an intermediary, most likely wildlife sold in a market in the city of Wuhan.
- There is some evidence that this virus might have first circulated in Guangdong before Wuhan as early as October 2019.
- Also, too, traces of this virus were found in wastewater samples collected in Milan and Turin, Italy and Brazil on 18December2019.
- But confirmed cases started and spread from Wuhan, so that by 20January2020 there were 120 cases/day in the country, including Beijing. Total cases by that day was up to 6,714.
- On 30January, WHO declared COVID-19 an international concern.
- Italy confirmed two cases on 31January2020, Chinese tourists.
- By 19March2019 there were more deaths in Italy (except China is not honest about data) than anywhere else.
- By 26March2019 the U.S. overtook Italy and China in cases.
- Most animals can get COVID-19, but not pigs, ducks or chickens. Mink farms were especially a problem.
- Worldwide deaths exceeded 5 million as of 1October2021.
- Everyday life in most countries returned to normal by May 5, 2023.
- We had close early encounters with COVID-19.
- Sailed on the Diamond Princess in December of 2019.
- In January, the Diamond Princess had an outbreak, essentially beginning the internationalization of this disease.
- On 14February2020 we flew from Honolulu to Tokyo to Bangkok. At that time Thailand was #2 to China in cases. The name COVID-19 was not yet named.
- On 20February2020 we flew from Phuket to Chiang Mai. Here is what we encountered:
- Returned home on 27February2020 and said I'M HOME AND FEELING FINE. The next day I wrote a bit about COVID-19, using that graphic to the right. Only earlier that month was this name announced.
So far, 6,972,344 deaths and 702,194,845 cases, for a 1% mortality rate.
- But this is particularly interesting by age group.
- 0-34 0.004%
- 35-44 0.068%
- 45-54 0.23%
- 55-64 0.75%
- 65-74 8.5%
- 85+ 28.3%
- The U.S. had the most cases with 110,672,611.
- India was #2 with 45,024,190. However, in mid-2022, WHO estimated that more than 4.7 million had died, ten times more than reported.
- Did India really have two-thirds the COVID-19 deaths in the world?
- Probably not because the reporting rate from Africa was even more suspect.
- #3 France with 40,138,560 to #4 Germany, #5 Brazil, #6 S. Korea, #7 Japan, #8 Italy #9 UK and #10 Russia, with 23,851450.
- Maybe more meaningful, deaths/million population.
- #1 Peru 6,595
- #2 Bulgaria 5,657
- #5 Hungary 5,098
- #4 Bosnia/Herzegovina 5,041
- #16 USA 3,564
- #21 Brazil 3,292
- #51 Germany 2,163
- #101 Norway 1,040
- World 895
- #97 New Zealand 1108
- #108 Australia 917
- #122 S. Korea 700
- #129 Japan 595
- #139 Thailand 493
- #152 Singapore 325
- #221 China 4
Who believes China?
- China reported to Worldometer 503,302 cases and 5,272 deaths. Total, from the beginning till today.
- From an August 2023 briefing by Emerging Infectious Diseases, China had 1.41 million COVID deaths just in 35 days after it relaxed their stifling policy in December of 2022. Also, because the population was protected during the pandemic, they were all susceptible, and 90% of the country got infected. This death total was relatively low because of vaccinations.
- Thus that deaths/million population of 4 shown above should be at least 941, placing them at around #100 in the world. Maybe there is some wisdom in what they did.
One more analysis?
- Recall that South Korea and Japan led the world in new cases/day in most of 2023, while Oceania also showed high numbers.
- So why was the death rate so low?
- Most of their citizens were vaccinated by the time they got infected. These shots did not protect them from the virus, but prevented them from dying.
Finally, Time magazine indicated earlier this month:
We’re In a Major COVID-19 Surge. It’s Our New Normal
The original COVID-19 was bad enough.
- Then came those Greek letters, starting with Alpha, then Beta...up to Omicron, which has stuck with us, even to the current JN.1, which derived from BA.2.86, which had more than 30 mutations compared to the XBB.1.5 Omicron that dominated most of 2023. The new ones were more contagious and took over.
- But this JN.1 picked up an additional mutation, a spike protein that was only responsible for 1% in November, jumped to 20% in weeks, and is now up to 85.7%.
- Fortunately, JN.1 has relatively mild symptoms, or at least those vaccinated are not getting too sick.
- Current tests can apply to JN.1.
- But does the new COVID vaccine protect against JN.1? Yes, because this vaccine was made for BA.2.86, from which came JN.1.
- But only 21% of adults have gotten the updated vaccine.
- There is some confusion about what is the latest COVID-19 booster vaccine.
- Sure you took the Fall 2023 version, but this spring there is a newer one targeting the Omicron varian XBB.15, which also works against JN.1.
- I don't recall any CDC notification for the public to take this latest version. Here is their January 2024 release showing the following.
Who is considered up to date with COVID-19 vaccination at this time (Quarter 1 of 2024: January 1, 2024 - March 31, 2024)?
An individual who has received a 2023-24 updated COVID-19 vaccine.
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