Strep A and Covid

[wondersun]

Children have been repeatedly infected and exposed to covid for what seems like forever now

Two years ago they had some months remote learning, more than half of which were spring/summer months

After repeat covid infections, with a virus which is known to damage immune systems, we see a FIVE FOLD increase in Strep A bacterial infections and an alarming increase in deaths (6 child deaths in this winter so far, compared with an average of 1/2 in an average winter)

Media full of headlines linking this rise to lockdowns 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

No mention of the immune damaging virus that the government has allowed to let rip in unmitigated schools. The virus which is STILL ripping through schools

No mention of the fact that the biggest increase in strep A is in our largely unvaccinated under 10 population

No attempt made to explain away the obvious links to covid; it’s surreal, covid is just not mentioned

Its still a new virus, even without the increasing body of evidence re damage to people’s immune systems, you’d think the ongoing airborne pandemic would rate a mention…

And there is so much we could be doing to protect children and keep their world’s open but the government is doing nothing, if anything they seem to actually be pro-infection

Its just 🤯🤯🤯 and 😡😡😡

*ThaiDye
@Luxurysleuth007 "The developing immune systems of young children require continuous exposure to new viruses and germs in order to develop strong responses, it’s a scientific fact." Please show me peer-reviewed science that confirms this. Just because it's what we've allowed to happen since kids have been in nurseries and primary schools, doesn't mean it's necessary. There is ZERO benefit to catching any respiratory infections (or scarlett fever, which can damage your heart). ZERO.

If anything good can come out of covid, is to shift away from this expectation that kids should catch everything once they start nursery, by installing HEPA and ventilation. There is absolutely no reason that constant sickness has to continue. And Covid isn't making this constant sickness better because it's harming our T cells.*

Amen to this.

“A largely unvaccinated under 10 population”, but had the children that died been given a COVID vaccine?

Interesting what pp are saying about the natural immunity vs vaccine immunity generally. I always thought natural immunity was better as it usually triggered all the immune cells rather than with some vaccines only some of the cells.

Now I don’t have a phd so no idea. But it is contrary to what I believed was true through old wives tales.

@LemonSwan unfortunately with covid the reality is that the virus destroys your T cells which are essential to fighting viruses and cancer. This effect lasts at least 7-8 months (the duration of studies so far), it may actually be longer. So not only does it not really provide immunity against covid (there are way too many variants now) it also reduces your ability to fight off everything else. And viral infections often leave people more susceptible to bacterial infections in the aftermath, traditionally Strep A season followed chickenpox season.

One of the reasons I didn’t pay to get the chicken pox vaccine was my understanding - which may be wrong! - that natural immunity to chicken pox often lasts longer. Thus is the vaccine lasts 20 years or so than it might wear off at the time of reproduction.

based on my own infection with it at age 7 - still immune when pregnant at 40 - that has been my own experience.

i have also read similar with some flu infections versus vaccine but of course no one wants to deliberately get the flu!

@BeethovenNinth flu vaccine is updated very year to cover new variants, so catching flu isn't going to give you any lasting immunity and as you say it's better not to catch it at all.

It has nothing directly to do with Covid, in terms of unvaccinated under 10s getting strep A because it's damaged their immune systems. Under 10s have always been most susceptible to childhood illnesses like strep. And the lockdowns have meant they didn't build up the immunity at the time so things are circulating now, it's normal. I hate that the media scaremonger like this, strep is a normal childhood illness, I had scarlet fever as a child, both my kids have had tonsillitis (strep throat) numerous times. 6 deaths this year as opposed to 2 could quite easily be linked to the decline in out of hours services and the NHS and children not being given the right level of care. I've read a couple of articles where they have been sent away when they should have been admitted. NHS is in crisis at the moment which I think is far more worrying than Covid at this point in time.

@Lolacat1234 it's 15 children dead and 45 adults.
Immunities don't need "building up". Please read this. www.salon.com/2022/12/04/does-your-immune-system-need-a-workout-the-science-behind-immunity-debt-explained/

Lockdown was two years ago, there has been lots of mixing since, as proven by high RSV cases last year. Sweden has an RSV surge now and they never locked down at all. Catching a viral illness makes you more susceptible to bacterial infections anyway, and add on the damage that COVID does to immune systems and you have the perfect storm.

I'm happy to be proven wrong but you it will never be beneficial to continue catching COVID therefore better take measures to slow the spread through measures like HEPA filters, ventilation, masking, staying home when sick. And surprise surprise, strep A is airborne too...

"It has nothing directly to do with Covid, in terms of unvaccinated under 10s getting strep A because it's damaged their immune systems"

people say it is not connected but will quite happily blame lockdown when it's been a long time ( nearly 2 years) since kids were locked down and under 10's never had to mask etc.

Quite a lot of studies show that covid clearly damages immune systems and levels of attendance in schools seems well down on pre pandemic levels.

Covid has also totally fucked up the healthcare system as you rightly state. Nearly 3 years of hell for most NHS staff rewarded with a real terms paycut. No wonder they are striking.

100%, this. Thank you.

How many weeks were children actually locked down?

there’s evidence that chicken pox leads to vulnerability to strep A as it impacts the immune system, so why not the same with covid?

@Believeitornot

"there’s evidence that chicken pox leads to vulnerability to strep A as it impacts the immune system, so why not the same with covid?"

++++

Strep A is a bacterial infection and the reason chickenpox leads to increased vulnerability to Strep A is that chickenpox damages your skin and leaves you with open lesions on skin thereby increasing the probability of getting Strep A.

Covid does not damage the skin or cause open lesions, that's why it's not the same with Covid.

Also getting Strep A at the same time as getting chickenpox is a particularly dangerous combination in young children.

Which is why it is so important that children are vaccinated against chickenpox as early as possible and IMO a much more important vaccination than them getting the Covid jab.

Anyone else noticed every other person seems to be ill with something or another? I know of 2 people with pneumonia, several who’ve got or just had severe colds/flu/covid and all I can see and hear in the shops is folks with very hoarse coughs. Something doesn’t feel right with how many people are now getting sick so frequently where before they maybe had something once per year now it’s bi monthly. 🤔

@1dayatatime
Covid causes unseen damage. Risk of issues around every part of the body is elevated post covid. From vocal damage to hearing loss, from clots to strokes, to heart damage, kidney damage and it damages the immune responce.

Since my youngest had covid they have been ill constantly, they are more fatigued too. Pre covid they would get a bug and bounce back quickly. Since covid 5 months ago they have been more sick when ill, ill more regularly and taken longer to get better and then 5 to 9 days later the next bug hits again. While they weren't that ill with covid the impact from covid has been long lasting.

My adult son (v healthy & fit) had repeated problems with his health for over a year post covid. This included two hospitalisations requiring iv antibs and steroids. Prior to covid he hadn’t even had oral antibiotics ever in his life.

He had delta (we think, given timing) & caught it the day before his age group became eligible for vaccination. The actual illness wasn’t that bad - a sore throat but otherwise fine. But the year and a bit after covid was just illness after illness & two A&E visits & admissions. He actually had to change his work pattern to pace himself - as he kept getting ill if he worked late nights - really unlike him. He seems back to normal now but it did take a long time.

@Brrrrrrrrrrrr COVID exhausts your immune system, so it's no surprise that everyone is constantly sick because almost everyone has had COVID at least once, if not more. The more you catch it the more the risk of harm.

That's the price we pay for the government giving up on any public health measures, vaccines don't stop you catching it, only prevents severe illness, but it would make far more sense to help avoid infection in the first place. Free N95s for everyone, ventilation, a return to mandated isolation when sick, otherwise it's only going to get worse.

Plus the government is taking a "vaccine only" approach yet most people are excluded from boosters and children from even getting the initial course. So basically the government has entirely given up on trying to stop COVID. We're going to pay the price down the line.

A vaccine only approach while not giving everyone access to the vaccine is one of the most monumentally stupid things the government have done. And the list of stupid things done by the government over the last 5 years of so isn’t exactly a short one.

It’s only the success of their covid is just like the flu/it’s only a risk if you are elderly disinformation campaign that has stopped large number of people questioning why they are ineligible for vaccination if we are pursuing a vaccine only policy.

I dread to think what the situation will be like in another 12 months time for those who’ve had Covid 3/4 times already. It’s eye opening to see how acceptable it’s now become to be close to openly sick people when only last year people were more inclined to social distance if they had the slightest of symptoms of any kind.

Funny how we had a good run of very little in terms of colds and flu due to masks and social distancing during 2020/21 and now we’ve done a full 360 and shrug off the third or fourth cold of the year like it’s normal and don’t even bother to stay off work or wear a mask.

I was kind of hoping that covid might kill the idea of presenteeism in the U.K. and being socially acceptable to turn up to work with ‘just a cold’ and infect others. It’s not socially acceptable in a lot of places. If you are ill you stay home. if anything it’s the opposite.

We’ve basically ended up with a much more infectious and disabling virus circulating year round rather than seasonally, shit sick pay, shit disability benefits and an erroneous belief that more more you get infected with this and respiratory viruses the healthier you will be.

DS had covid twice this year (four weeks apart) and has been really healthy since. I also had it in the spring and haven’t been ill since. We take lots of vitamin d and c and I think it makes a massive difference. Being ill depletes vitamin d rapidly and some of this increased susceptibility to illness could be due to vitamin d deficiency after covid.
whilst I do think covid causes a lot of issues afterwards for some people I think it’s important to note that if you look at the studies of how it affects your immune system you might find other respiratory viruses do similar. There are no controls with other viruses in these research articles. I doubt it’s unique to covid. Boosting immunity with vitamin d is very easy and cheap to do.

We had vitamin D all through lockdown and I told ds2 to increase vitamin D when he had covid. It’s no magic bullet.

Covid has been shown to reactivate glandular fever so that will have an impact on the immune system as well.

I have found a link to very interesting research on the efficacy of Allicin from garlic in reducing the virulence of strep A.
I am not advocating using this instead of antibiotics , but as a preventative for children in schools where this is rife it may be useful and is safe and natural.
Here is the link to the research paper

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26911644/

A UK company sells allicin it's called "allicin max" or youncan get it from health shops

If other common resp viruses did this to this extent I suspect we’d have noticed it by now. After repeated infections, we can be talking about T cell levels that are normally only seen in patients with active HIV/AIDS infections.

If it’s not the virus, could it be frequency of infection? If flu did this we have one peak a year and most people won’t get flu every year. Whereas with covid we’re getting 4 peaks a year and immunity seems to be much shorter lived. Not to mention it seems to be evolving at an amazing rate at the moment so lots of people will be picking up multiple infections a year. Possibly before they’ve recovered properly from the last one. Although I suppose that only holds true if the damage to the T cells isn’t permanent and we don’t know whether it is or not.