Coronavirus Megahtread 9: Year of Living Dangerously

Sorry for the typo.

They are finally opening up Oslo after a 6 months long lockdown! Couldn't have come at a better time because today is really nice. I assume lots of people are eating at restaurants and pubs (in Norway it's normal to drink and dine on tables outside in summer).

Are you drunk OP?

There aren't enough oh dears.

Should be year and half of living dangerously... this is interminable.

Will there be another wave of infection in the U.S.? Quite likely, if vaccinations don't pick up.

R3 I posted it too fast, sorry. I hate typing on my phone because I always get typos, ugh. You are free to make a new thread.

Is this only the ninth thread? It seems like a lot more than that!

BBC: Zero daily Covid deaths announced in the UK for the first time since pandemic began.

9th of the post-freak-out threads R7.

anyone talking about fauci's emails?

As the world’s less affluent countries scramble for COVID-19 vaccine and contend with deadly surges of the disease, researchers in South Africa have just documented an ominous development: the collision of the pandemic with HIV/AIDS.

Geneticists and infectious disease specialists there have uncovered potentially dangerous coronavirus mutations in a 36-year-old woman with uncontrolled HIV who was unable to shake the SARS-CoV-2 virus for close to eight months. The driving force behind the patient’s rapid accumulation of genetic changes is probably her impaired immune response due to her unsuccessfully treated HIV.

HIV patients whose infections are not controlled with medication could "become a factory of variants for the whole world," said Tulio de Oliveira, a geneticist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, who led the new research.

[quote]I hate typing on my phone because I always get typos

In that case OP, in the future please proofread or refrain from starting threads. It wounds.

[quote] Will there be another wave of infection in the U.S.? Quite likely, if vaccinations don't pick up.

IF that were to happen, the overwhelming majority of people who get it will be the ones who have chosen to remain unvaccinated. I don't have much sympathy for them.

I don't give a lot of credit to all of the "A new wave is a'-comin'" doom and gloom. I started out being really concerned when they would say that, and I'd follow the data . . . and more often than not, there was not a spike as predicted.

US to donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, senator says

From CNN's Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong

The United States will donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan as part of its plan to share vaccine doses globally, US Sen. Tammy Duckworth announced upon her arrival in Taipei on Sunday, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

"It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership," Duckworth said at Taiwan's Songshan Airport.

Duckworth, along with Sens. Dan Sullivan and Christopher Coons, arrived at the airport in Taipei on Sunday morning, CNA reported.

The senators' visit is part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

"The bipartisan congressional delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest," the AIT said on Saturday, without giving more details.

US to distribute 25 million Covid vaccines in first tranche of 80 million doses across the globe

From CNN's Nicole Gaouette and Jennifer Hansler

The US will distribute 25 million Covid vaccines as part of an initial tranche of the 80 million doses President Biden has pledged to share internationally, the State Department’s coordinator for global Covid-19 response and health security, Gayle Smith, said in a call with reporters Friday. She offered no timeline for the vaccines’ delivery.

The US will distribute 25% of that first tranche bilaterally, Smith said.

“It gives us greater flexibility and as we’ve seen there are a lot of pop-ups and flares in this pandemic and we want to be able to move vaccines on an urgent basis if needed,” Smith said. She added that the “current expectation” is that the vaccines would be produced by AstraZeneca.

The remaining 75% of the first tranche of US vaccines will go to COVAX, the international group focused on the global vaccine distribution, Smith said, and added that the Biden administration has “identified the countries we want these vaccines to go to.”

Roughly 6 million doses will be distributed across Latin America, including the Caribbean, 7 million will go to South and Southeast Asia, and 5 million to Africa, Smith said.

“This is the first round, this is just the beginning,” said Smith. She was not able to say when the 55 million doses that make up the total 80 million vaccines would be delivered.

Going forward, the Biden administration will pursue a three-part strategy to maximize vaccine supply by sharing doses, encouraging US manufacturers to increase vaccine production “by the last quarter, if not earlier, of this year, and well into next year,” Smith said. The administration will also work to improve global vaccine production by increasing production capacity “so there are more places in the world, manufacturing, and able to distribute vaccines,” Smith said.

“Our goal is to end the pandemic and maximize that as quickly as we can,” Smith said. “It's in our interest to do this, our own health security is at risk… none of us is safe until all of us are safe.”

CDC study shows how vaccination coverage reduces Covid-19 cases, severe illness and death

From CNN’s Naomi Thomas

Declines in US Covid-19 cases, emergency department visits, hospital admissions and deaths were largest in age groups that were most vaccinated and show how vaccinations are working to fight the coronavirus, according to a new study published Tuesday in the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

CDC researchers calculated the rates of Covid-19 cases, emergency department visits, hospital admissions and deaths by age group between Nov. 29 and Dec.12, before vaccines were available, and April 18 to May 1, after vaccines had been available for several months.

Covid-19 incidence was 69% lower among all adults during April 18 to May 1 when compared with the prevaccination period. For people age 65 and over, 50 to 64 and 18 to 49, it was 79%, 71% and 66% lower, respectively.

Emergency department visits for Covid-19 per 100,000 visits during the latter time frame were 59% lower among all adults when compared to the prevaccination period. People 65 and older had the largest change – 77% lower.

For hospital admissions, when compared with the prevaccination period, overall adult Covid-19 hospital admission rates were 63% lower in April 18 to May 1, again with the largest change – 78% – happening among people age 65 and older.

The study notes that although hospital admissions remained highest among people age 70 and over, the proportion of adult Covid-19 hospital admissions among that age group decreased from 45.6% in the first time period to 27.6% during the second.

People age 65 and older had the highest mortality, but the proportion of Covid-19 deaths that occurred in this group decreased from 84.2% during the prevaccination period to 68%.

“Comparing the 2-week prevaccination period with 2 weeks in late April, declines were significantly greater among older adults, who had higher vaccination coverage, than younger adults, who had lower coverage,” said the report.

The study suggests that tailored efforts from states and local jurisdictions to increase vaccine coverage among all groups could help to further reduce Covid-19 cases and severe outcomes. The efforts should include effective communication of the benefits of vaccination and ensuring equitable access, the study said.

Pfizer to trial smaller doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in children 11 years old and younger

From CNN's Nadia Kounang

Pfizer announced it will trial smaller doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for children 11 years old. The company said it is moving to a Phase 2/3 trial, and plans to enroll up to 4,500 children across 90 sites in the US, Finland, Poland and Spain.

“Based on the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity from our Phase 1 study, we’ve select a 10 ug to advance in children from 5-11 and 3 ug between 6 months to below the age of five,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday.

Children will also be on a two-dose regimen. Currently the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has emergency authorization in the US for people 12 years and older at 30 micrograms per dose, taken two times, 21 days apart.

CDC study finds vaccinated people have milder disease in rare breakthrough infections

From CNN's Maggie Fox

People who have been vaccinated against coronavirus are more than 90% protected against infection and, if they do become infected, they have milder disease than unvaccinated people, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study shows.

The ongoing, real-life study also shows even partially vaccinated people are 81% less likely to become infected than unvaccinated people, the CDC team reported.

The study of more than 3,900 health care staff, first responders and other frontline essential workers who have been tested weekly since December showed that so far 5% have tested positive for coronavirus. Only 16 of the 204 people who became infected had been vaccinated.

The findings are reported in an online preprint on the medrxiv site and have not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.

“This adds to the growing body of real-world evidence of their effectiveness,” the CDC said in a statement.

“Findings from the extended timeframe of this study add to accumulating evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective and should prevent most infections — but that fully vaccinated people who still get COVID-19 are likely to have milder, shorter illness and appear to be less likely to spread the virus to others. These benefits are another important reason to get vaccinated," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky added in the statement.

The workers got either Pfizer/BioNTech’s or Moderna’s two-dose coronavirus vaccine and have been testing themselves weekly since December, regardless of whether they have symptoms. That’s the only way to tell if the vaccines prevent asymptomatic infections.

Those who got “breakthrough” infections after one or two doses of vaccine had 40% less virus in their bodies and were 58% less likely to have fever. They spent two fewer days in bed than unvaccinated Covid-19 patients.

I’m calling it: Covid is dead to me.

I’m not going to pay it any attention.

I had sex with 7 men this weekend, all bareback and unmasked.

Life is a vaccinated banquet.

Just heard on abc news tonight, the Delta variant is dominant in the UK. They said the pfizer vax is only 33 % effective against this strain!!!!!!!!

Sorry, correction, 33% effective after 1 dose of pfizer. 80 something percent after 2nd dose.

Are camels the next bats?

New study finds that camel-borne Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) "is just a few mutations away from becoming a serious pandemic threat."

This may an even better incentive than a million-dollar lottery for a lot of folks:

"Joints for Jabs" promotion to give away a free joint for receiving a COVID vaccination shot in Washington state.

How many times a week can I be vaccinated r23?

Younger, unvaccinated UKers are driving what might turn out to be a substantial fourth wave there. We can expect the same in the U.S. as vaccinations continue to slow.

Hey Miss OP, typos happen. No prob. Thanks for the new thread. Neighbor has a sign on her lawn. “I CHOOSE FREEDOM OVER FEAR”. Let’s everyone know she won’t vax. Crazy cunt. Masks are “useless” and makes a fuss at the local grocery store. Attitudes like this will keep the virus going into 2023.

She also has a sign in her garage hanging on her small boat….Stop the Steal. And yet, she hasn’t had COVID. Life is so unfair.

Well, at least she makes it clear that she is to be avoided r26.

R26, she probably had an asymptomatic case of it and spread it all around. One of my right wing idiot customers was like that and then went on a big hunting trip this winter. He brought it home to his wife and nearly killed her and did kill his 65 year old hunting buddy and probably spread it all over town too. His only symptom was that his manic ass had naps 3 days in a row, something he never does.

CDC issues new travel advice for more than 120 countries

From CNN's Ryan Prior

As more people get vaccinated the spread of Covid-19 becomes more controlled, public health officials are issuing new travel advice for more than 120 countries.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its international travel guidance on Monday to give specific advice for both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.

The update includes moving 33 countries, including Iceland, Israel and Singapore, into the lowest risk category.

The CDC's Covid-19 revised Travel Health Notice guidelines also seek to "better differentiate countries with severe outbreak situations" from countries in which Covid-19 is "sustained, but controlled."

The CDC’s threat levels are determined by the number of Covid-19 cases in a given country. At each level, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated, but its guidance for unvaccinated people varies by how severe the pandemic is in each country.

The CDC recommends avoiding travel to countries at level 4, the highest threat level, which have more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days. They include nations such as Brazil, India and Iraq.

For countries at level 3, such as Mexico, Russia, and Iran, the CDC recommends against nonessential travel for that those who are unvaccinated. These are currently reporting 100 to 500 cases per 100,000 residents.

At level 2, the agency recommends that unvaccinated travelers who are at severe risk for severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid visiting. These nations, such as Finland, Cambodia and Kenya, are currently reporting 50-99 cases per 100,000.

Finally, countries at level 1, such as Australia and New Zealand, are considered the lowest risk destinations, and have reported less than 50 Covid-19 cases in the last 28 days. The CDC still recommends getting vaccinated before traveling to a low-risk location.

Half of those 12 and older in the US now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, CDC says

From CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas

Less than a month after the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine was authorized for use in people as young as 12 years in the US, half of those 12 and older have now been fully vaccinated, according to data published Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported that 303,923,667 doses have now been administered, 81.7% of the 372,100,285 doses delivered. That’s 1,071,750 more doses reported administered since Monday, for a seven-day average of more than 1 million doses per day.

The data shows that 140,411,378 people ­– about 50.1% of the eligible population of those 12 and older in the US – are now fully vaccinated.

More than 171 million people ­– about 51.7% of the total US population – have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and more than 141 million people – 42.3% of the population – are fully vaccinated.

Remember: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the day reported.

J&J testing if shelf life can be extended as millions of doses set to expire

Millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine are set to expire this month — leading to urgent trials to see if the shots’ shelf life can be extended, a White House adviser confirmed Tuesday.

Demand for all coronavirus vaccines has plummeted since mid-April, but the drop has been significantly steeper for J&J’s one-dose shot after it was temporarily halted in April over blood-clot fears.

Close to half of the 21 million doses the company has produced for the US now remain unused — with millions set to expire by the end of June, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While demand has also slowed for vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, around 83 percent of the doses produced for the US have been administered, the paper said.

Shots from both companies can be stored for six months, compared to just three months for J&J doses — with the pharmaceutical giant testing to see if that can be extended to save them.

White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt also confirmed Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration is “looking at opportunities for continued storage” of the unused shots.

“I would encourage every governor who has doses that they worry may be expiring to work with the FDA directly on the proper storage procedures as they continue to examine processes that will allow them to potentially last longer,” Slavitt said on a Tuesday press call.

Asked about the WSJ report, Slavitt insisted that it amounted to a “very, very small fraction of doses that have been sent out to states that will ultimately not be used.”

“It’s not realistic to expect that not a single dose will go to waste. I will tell you that a very very small fraction of the doses that have been sent to states that are in the hundreds of millions will end up not being used,” he said.

Slavitt said the government is “working aggressively … to try to get those doses into arms.”

Some states have asked for permission to ship the unwanted doses to developing nations rather than see them wasted, the WSJ said.

However, doing so faces significant logistical and legal hurdles, with many needy nations not having the tools in place to administer them, the United Nations Children’s Fund told the outlet.

More than a dozen states have given at least one COVID-19 shot to 70 percent of adults or more, Slavitt said Tuesday.

However, as of Monday, 63.7 percent of adults in the US have received at least one dose — with plummeting demand threatening President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of adults vaccinated by July 4.

While the J&J shot was allowed to resume on April 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still advises women under 50 to “especially be aware of the rare risk of blood clots with low platelets after vaccination.”

Plant-based eaters are less likely to get severe COVID: study says

Vegetarians are missing out on more than just meat — and it’s a good thing.

Researchers have revealed a link between diet and COVID-19 which showed plant-based eaters were 73% less likely to come down with the virus compared to those who include animals in their diet. Meanwhile, pescatarians, whose primary protein source is fish, were at a 59% lower risk.

The new study, published in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, based these findings on a self-reported questionnaire submitted by a total of 2,884 individuals, all health-care workers, from six European countries, 568 of which had had confirmed cases of the coronavirus during the previous year.

Among those cases, 138 said they suffered moderate to severe symptoms, while the remaining 430 experienced mild effects of the respiratory illness.

Details regarding participants’ eating habits were also included in the survey, which had 10 diet categories: “whole food” diet, keto diet, Mediterranean diet, Paleolithic diet, low fat diet, low carbohydrate diet and high protein diet, all of which include red and white meats, plus plant-based/vegan diet, vegetarian diet, and pescatarian diet, which omit red and white meats. “Other” was also made an option.

Of those who had reported illness, only 41 had claimed to be on a plant-based diet while another 46 were pescatarian. The remaining 481 had all been on some form of meal regimen which included livestock and poultry.

“Our results suggest that a healthy diet rich in nutrient dense foods may be considered for protection against severe COVID-19,” study authors posited in their press release.

It is unclear why seafood and plant-based eaters have potentially fared better during the pandemic as “limited” study can only show an association between the groups and severe COVID-19 illness, “so caution is needed in the interpretation of the findings,” said the deputy chair of the UK’s NNEdPro Nutrition and COVID-19 Taskforce, Shane McAuliffe, in a separate statement attached to the press release.

Added McAuliffe, “This study highlights the need for better designed prospective studies on the association between diet, nutritional status and COVID-19 outcomes.”

Let's hope this is the start of a trend.

I believe Columbia in NY will be making vaccination a job requirement as of the fall.

When the virus arrived in New York.

Variant first identified in India now comprises 91% of new cases in the UK, health minister says

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy

The B1.617.2 variant — also called the Delta variant, which was first identified in India — now comprises 91% of new coronavirus cases in the UK according to British Health Minister Matt Hancock.

Speaking before a special parliamentary committee on Thursday, Hancock said that he saw the figure in the latest assessment on Wednesday night. The spread of the Delta variant has prompted concerns about the likelihood of the UK lifting its final stage of restrictions as planned on June 21.

Hancock told the committee that the government is "looking at this data every single day" to establish the impact of the variant on government plans. The government still has "a couple more days data to look at" it but will "make the decision very soon," Hancock added.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to address the nation on on Monday about the final stage in the ease of restrictions. Parts of North-East England have observed great surges in cases of the variant prompting the UK government to call in the UK army for assistance.

Troops will be deployed across Greater Manchester and Lancashire to help with testing, door-to-door community engagement, planning and logistics with decisions made based on local needs, according to the UK Health department.

Moderna asks FDA to OK its Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 17-year-olds

From CNN’s Ben Tinker and John Bonifield

Moderna has filed with the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 17-year-olds, according to a news release from the company.

Last month, Moderna released results from a Phase 2/3 trial of 3,732 children ages 12 to 17 in the United States; blood tests showed that the vaccine produced an immune response that was equivalent to earlier findings in adults.

In that trial, initial observations found that none of the children who received the vaccine got sick with Covid-19 starting 14 days after their second dose. Four of the children who received the placebo tested positive for Covid-19.

The company has already filed for younger-age vaccine authorization with regulators in Canada and Europe.

“We are pleased to announce that we have submitted for an emergency use authorization for our COVID-19 vaccine with the FDA for use in adolescents in the United States,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the statement. "We will file with regulatory agencies around the world for this important younger age population. We remain committed to helping to end the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is currently authorized for people ages 18 and older in the United States.

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine received an EUA for 12- to 15-year-olds on May 10.

The one-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is still only authorized for people ages 18 and older in the US.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated the age of teens covered in the emergency use authorization granted for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in May. It was authorized for 12- to 15-year-olds.

8 states have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents, CDC data shows

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

Eight states — all but one of them in the Northeast — have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents against Covid-19, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They are: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Vermont leads the country with nearly 60% of residents fully vaccinated.

Overall, nearly 141 million people – 42.5% of the US population – are fully vaccinated, and about 172 million people – nearly 52% of the population – have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Nearly 305 million total doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been reported administered, about 82% of the 372 million doses that have been delivered, CDC data shows. That’s about 829,000 more doses reported administered since Tuesday, for a seven-day average of about 1.1 million doses per day.

Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the day reported.

Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine neutralizes some worrisome variants, study finds

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine appear to provide good protection against some of the worrisome new variants of the virus that are circulating, including the B.1.617.2 or Delta variant, which was first seen in India, researchers reported Thursday.

Global leaders are warning about the spread of the new variants, some of which seem to be more transmissible, but the study published in the journal Nature indicates full vaccination elicits an immune response that should be expected to protect people well against infection with the new variants.

Researchers at BioNTech, the University of Texas Medical Branch and elsewhere tested lab-engineered viruses against blood taken from 20 fully immunized people – meaning they’d had both doses at least two weeks prior.

The immune cells in the blood neutralized several lab-made versions of the strains, including B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.618 (all first identified in India) and B.1.525 (first identified in Nigeria), they reported.

“A recent real-world study in participants who had received two doses of BNT162b2 (the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) demonstrated an effectiveness of 75% against any documented infection and 100% against documented severe, critical, or fatal disease caused by the variant B.1.351, which showed a similar reduction of neutralization titers as B.1.617.1,” they wrote.

“New variants will continue to emerge as the pandemic persists. To date, there is no evidence that virus variants have escaped BNT162b2-mediated protection from COVID-19,” they added.

“Therefore, increasing the proportion of the population immunized with current safe and effective authorized vaccines remains a key strategy to minimize the emergence of new variants and end the COVID-19 pandemic.”

It took less than six months for the globe to record more than 1.88 million Covid-19 deaths this year, surpassing the total number of deaths in 2020.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The chief obstacle now for cruises departing from Florida comes from Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who made his tourism-dependent state one of the first to drop its pandemic restrictions.

Last month he signed into law a bill barring businesses from demanding vaccination 'passports,' stopping them from requiring that employees provide proof of vaccination - and threatening fines for noncompliance that could amount, for cruise lines, to $5,000 per passenger.

The measure takes effect July 1, just when cruise lines hope to resume operations after a year in which Covid played havoc with their industry.

'While the governor, on the one hand, wants to see jobs back and tourism back... (he) is kind of his worst enemy, because he's also saying, you can't ask for that same proof,' Parker said.

The governor's terse response: 'Our state policy is our state policy.'

To DeSantis's critics, his is a political decision aimed at winning the votes of Donald Trump sympathizers - many of them vaccine skeptics - ahead of a possible re-election campaign in 2022.

With the world's three biggest cruise lines all based in Miami, the coming months offer a calendar of confusing and shifting health requirements, with conflict a near-certainty.

Carnival Cruise Line will require vaccination on cruises leaving from Texas - another Republican-led state that has been quick to drop Covid curbs - but Carnival has provided no detailed information on a cruise set to leave Miami on July 4.

This Monday, Norwegian Cruise Line - which has threatened to abandon Florida ports altogether - directly defied the governor by saying it would demand proof of vaccination on all its cruises.

'We are currently in communication with his (DeSantis's) staff and legal counsel to ensure that we can offer the safest cruise experience for our passengers departing from the cruise capital of the world,' the company's CEO, Frank Del Rio, said.

The third big cruise line, the Royal Caribbean Group, meantime reversed itself.

Having initially announced that it would demand proof of vaccination, it said Friday that passengers and crew were only 'strongly recommended' to get the vaccine, and that anyone unvaccinated would face 'other protocols.'

Celebrity Cruises (part of Royal Caribbean) will launch the first trip from Florida, sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on June 26. A 'test' cruise six days earlier will depart from Miami.

'It's confusing,' Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer, told AFP. His Cruise Law News blog last year provided daily updates on the distress of those on cruise ships stranded at sea by the pandemic.

Now, he said, there's 'different companies trying to solve a problem differently.'

'The impression that the public have is that the cruise line is not taking appropriate steps to send out a message that their ships are safe,' said Walker, pointing to a survey by CruiseCritic.com that found that 80 percent of potential passengers would prefer to travel on ships that demand vaccination proof.

He also pointed out that ships making Caribbean port stops could spread Covid to islands lacking the vaccine access enjoyed by the US - 'although quite frankly,' he added, 'very few cruise lines seem to express concern about that potential.'

And cruise lovers, Walker continued, 'don't really seem to care if they infect people in the Bahamas or throughout the Caribbean.'

'It's so reckless and dangerous and irresponsible,' he said.

The cruise industry is hugely important to the Florida economy, generating yearly revenues of $9 billion and providing jobs for 160,000 people, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Since ocean voyages were suspended in March last year as the pandemic cut a devastating path around the world, Florida has lost an estimated $5.6 billion.

Both sides in the current standoff, Parker said, 'have a lot to lose.'

Chicken egg vaccine finally in phase 1 clinical trial. Fingers crossed

Novavax says a version of its vaccine targeting the B.1.351 variant shows positive results in animal studies

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

Biotechnology company Novavax said Friday that studies in mice, baboons, and humans suggest that a version of its coronavirus vaccine specifically developed to target the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa can elicit "strong" immune responses.

That may indicate it protects against both the B.1.351 and the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, the company said.

The studies compared data on the B.1.351-directed vaccine with data on Novavax's original coronavirus vaccine, the company noted, and the vaccines were tested on their own, in combination, and as primers or boosters. The findings published in a preprint paper on the medical server biorxiv.org and the company said the data have been submitted for peer review.

"These data suggest that not only could one booster dose of this variant-directed vaccine potentially provide a robust, protective immune boost after vaccination against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also the potential to provide broad protection against various virus strains if used as a primary vaccine regimen," Dr. Gregory Glenn, president of research and development at Novavax, said in a statement.

"This broad immune coverage is vital to controlling the pandemic as variants of concern continue to emerge worldwide that could jeopardize the protection created through ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts," Glenn said.

In the rodent study, mice were immunized with either the B.1.351 or original vaccine alone, in combination, or in a prime-boost series. Novavax announced that whether immunized with any of those options, mice were protected when challenged with live strains of the B.1.1.7 or B.1.351 variants.

In the baboon study, the animals that had been immunized with the original vaccine a year before were boosted with one or two doses of the B.1.351 vaccine. Seven days after a first boost, the baboons exhibited a strong immune response and the results suggest one dose of the B.1.351 vaccine "may be sufficient" for boosting after previous immunizations with vaccines that are based on the original virus strain, the company said.

In the human study, researchers analyzed serum samples collected from 30 people participating in Phase 2 clinical trials of Novavax's original vaccine. The serum samples demonstrated neutralizing capacity against the B.1.1.7 variant, but there was a "modest reduction in neutralizing capacity" against the B.1.351 strain, the company noted, adding that the finding supports the development and production of a B.1.351 vaccine.

United Airlines planning to bring most employees back by the fall

From CNN's Greg Wallace

United Airlines said Friday it expects to have most of its workforce back on the job by this fall, and the union representing its flight attendants says it understands the airline will not furlough any employees.

The airline said it is “accelerating our business to meet a resurgence in customer demand,” including adding hundreds of flights this month.

“When Payroll Support Program funding expires on Oct. 1, 2021, we plan to have welcomed the vast majority of our employees back to work,” United spokesperson Leigh Schramm told CNN.

The Payroll Support Program was part of the federal stimulus plans and paid the airlines billions of dollars to keep on the job employees who would have been furloughed as the aviation sector slumped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The surge in travel demand is showing across the industry. Representatives for ultra-low-cost carriers say their businesses are already back at between 95% and 100%, and the air carrier group Airlines for America says domestic departures and passengers are each down about 25%. (International travel is worse off.) The Transportation Security Administration last weekend recorded the busiest day in more than a year, when it screened nearly 2 million people.

The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents employees at United and other airlines, called United’s announcement a victory for the massive federal investment in airlines.

“We proposed the PSP to keep workers whole AND to keep our industry solvent and ready to fly. Simply put, PSP delivered,” Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson said in a statement.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

^^ GOOD!

Most coronavirus rules will remain in place in England for another four weeks after the planned 21 June unlocking, government sources have told the BBC.

England was due to move to stage four of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown on 21 June, when venues and events would be allowed to operate without capacity limits and the cap on guests at weddings would be lifted.

But many scientists have called for the reopening to be delayed to enable more people to be vaccinated and receive second doses, amid rising cases of the Delta variant.

Main COVID-19 symptoms now headaches and sore throats, UK expert warns

The main symptoms of COVID-19 appear to have changed — with headaches and sore throats now more common than fevers and coughs, according to a warning by UK experts.

“COVID is acting differently now, it’s more like a cold,” Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology who has been tracking symptoms throughout the pandemic, told the Telegraph.

Now, the most likely warning sign is a headache, followed by a sore throat and runny nose, the King’s College London professor said.

“All those are not the old classic symptoms,” he said, with the previous main indicators — a fever and cough — now respectively the fourth and fifth most likely symptoms, Spector told the UK paper.

Spector said the shift became evident last month. It’s not yet clear exactly why it has changed, although one theory is it reflects the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant, which Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned could become the most dominant one in the US.

“This variant seems to be working slightly differently,” Spector said.

Another theory is that younger people are now catching the virus and reporting milder symptoms.

Either way, the fear is that people are infected but “aren’t realizing” it, the scientist said.

“People might think they’ve got some sort of seasonal cold and they still go out to parties and they might spread it around,” he said.

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has regularly updated its list of symptoms, with all those Spector mentioned in the list of 11 key things to watch out for.

Others include shortness of breath, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting or a loss of taste or smell. Even that “does not include all possible symptoms,” the CDC warns.

Judge in Texas ruled that hospitals can mandate employees get Covid Vaccine.

Texas legislature will ban vaccine mandates in 1, 2. 3.

Covid-19 cases drop in states where more than half of residents are vaccinated, CNN analysis shows

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

In the 11 states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents, new Covid-19 case rates are lower than average and dropping, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some states that have vaccinated less than half of their residents, however, have seen cases increase over the past week and higher average case rates.

Over the past week, the US recorded about 3.6 cases per 100,000 residents. But the average case rate in the 11 states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents was about 24% lower, at about 2.8 cases per 100,000 people. With Washington as the one exception, each of those 11 states recorded fewer than 4 cases per 100,000 people.

Each of those 11 states – Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – also recorded fewer cases in the past seven days than the week prior, dropping by an average of 25%.

All of the states that saw an increase in cases over the past seven days compared to the week before have fully vaccinated less than half of their residents.

In fact, the nine states that have fully vaccinated less than 35% of their residents recorded an average of about 5.9 new cases per 100,000 people over the past week. That’s about 1.6 times higher than the US rate and more than double the average rate among states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents.

Wyoming recorded the highest case rate over the past week — more than 11 new cases per 100,000 people – and only a third of residents are fully vaccinated in that state. Vermont recorded the lowest case rate – about 1 case per 100,000 people — and about 62% of residents are fully vaccinated there.

12 states have now fully vaccinated at least half of their residents, CDC data shows

From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid

Twelve states have fully vaccinated at least half of their residents against Covid-19, according to data published Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Oregon is the latest state to reach this threshold, reporting 50% of its residents fully vaccinated. Oregon joins Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

All of these states have administered more than 75% of vaccines received, and all but Oregon have met the Biden administration’s goal of 70% of adult residents given at least one dose by July 4. Oregon is reporting 68% of adult residents with one dose of a vaccine.

Overall, 52.6% of the total US population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 145 million people – 43.9% of the US population – are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.

More than 311 million doses of vaccine have been administered in total, about 83.2% of the 374 million doses that have been delivered.

According to CDC data, more than 1.2 million doses have been reported administered since Monday. This gives the country a seven-day average of 1,137,572 doses administered per day, the highest this number has been since Saturday, and the third-highest the average has been since the beginning of June.

Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the day reported.

New York lifts all state-mandated Covid restrictions with 70% of population at least partially vaccinated

From CNN's Laura Ly

At least 70% of New Yorkers have now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine dose and effective immediately, all state-mandated Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a press briefing in lower Manhattan Tuesday.

“This is a momentous day, and we deserve it because it has been a long, long road,” Cuomo said. “We can now return to life as we know it.”

All state-mandated Covid-19 restrictions will now be immediately lifted across all commercial and social settings, including the requirements on social gatherings, capacity restrictions, social distancing, health screenings, cleaning and disinfection protocols, and contact tracing. Mask requirements will continue in pre-K settings, on public transit and in health care settings, Cuomo said.

Cuomo noted that at one point, New York state had a Covid-19 positivity rate of 48.16% – once the highest positivity rates in the world. The governor said Tuesday that New York state now has a positivity rate of 0.40% – now the lowest rate in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“We were alone, and it was frightening. It was like living through a science fiction movie…people abandoned New York, but others stayed and others fought,” Cuomo said. “Where are we today? We have the lowest positivity rate in the United States of America…we went literally, from worst to first.”

Cuomo said that New York state has administered more than 20.2 million vaccine doses to date and has fully-vaccinated “a larger share of adults than any other big state in the country.”

The governor also announced that all of the state’s assets, including the Empire State Building, will be lit in blue and gold Tuesday night. Additionally, firework shows will occur at 9:15 pm ET at various sites across the state Tuesday night.

“It’s our way of saving thank you all across to the state to our essential workers,” Cuomo said.

FAA will continue zero-tolerance policy for unruly passengers as long as the problem continues

From CNN's Greg Wallace

Safety officials will continue their steep enforcement against a surge of unruly passengers as long as it remains a problem, Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson said Tuesday.

“We’ll keep it in place until the rates drive back down to where we have seen them historically,” Dickson said of the zero-tolerance policy for in-flight misbehavior and violence launched in January. The agency has said the policy will remain in place as long as the Biden administration requires passengers on airplanes to wear face masks.

The FAA has said the zero-tolerance policy means pursuing the maximum civil penalty or criminal prosecution against passengers who violate federal rules, interfering with the instructions of aircraft crews. Approximately 3,000 reports of unruly passengers have been filed this year, and 2,300 of those include face mask violations.

“The flight crews are on the aircraft for passenger safety, and it is extremely important and critical and required to follow the flight crew instructions,” Dickson said at a virtual event hosted by the website Aviation Week.

More on this: The agency said it has begun enforcement proceedings in 57 cases so far, and identified potential violations in 465 cases. In a normal year, the agency pursues as many as 150 violations.

Dickson’s comments came as the FAA announced four new fines against allegedly unruly passengers.

One passenger faces a proposed $15,500 fine for ignoring the instructions of flight attendants, who “told the passenger at least 10 times to wear his facemask over both his mouth and nose.” That passenger also drank alcohol that was prohibited under federal rules because it was not served by the airline.

Three other passengers also face fines of between $7,500 and $10,500 for refusal to wear face masks. One “smoked an e-cigarette in the airplane lavatory,” in violation of federal rules, and another’s yelling and profanity caused a flight to be diverted, the FAA said.

Including the four new penalties, the FAA has announced 26 fines under its zero-tolerance policy so far this year, totaling around $440,000 in proposed fines. The amounts are not final because the passengers receive a violation notice and have 30 days to respond.

Nearly a quarter of Covid-19 patients have a post-Covid condition, study finds

From CNN's Naomi Thomas

Nearly a quarter of Covid-19 patients, 23.2%, had at least one post-Covid condition 30 or more days after their initial diagnosis, according to a new white paper study from FAIR Health posted on Tuesday.

While post-Covid conditions were found to a greater extent in patients who had more severe Covid-19, they were also found in a “substantial” share of asymptomatic cases.

Half of patients who were hospitalized with Covid-19 had a post-Covid condition 30 days or more after their initial diagnosis, as did 27.5% of those who had symptoms but were not hospitalized and 19% who were asymptomatic.

The five most common post-Covid symptoms were pain, affecting 5.1% of patients; breathing difficulties, 3.5%; hyperlipidemia, 3%; malaise and fatigue, 2.9%; and hypertension, 2.4%. While these were the five most common overall, the rankings did change by age group. For example, among 0- to 18-year-olds, pain and breathing difficulties were the top two conditions, but intestinal issues replaced hyperlipidemia as the third most common.

The nonprofit FAIR Health looked at nearly 2 million people who had a Covid-19 diagnosis between February and December 2020, from a database of over 34 billion private health care claim records.

FAIR Health says the study was not formally peer-reviewed, but was evaluated by an independent academic reviewer. The organization says it believes this is the largest population studied for post-Covid conditions.

Most of the post-Covid conditions studied were more common in females. However, there were 12 conditions which were more commonly experienced by males.

One of these, cardiac inflammation, the researchers call “notable” as the age distribution was skewed towards a younger cohort. The largest share — 25.4% — of patients reporting this condition were in the 19- to 29-year old age group, a number which was also disproportionate to the age group’s share of Covid patients overall.

Four mental health conditions were also evaluated as post-Covid conditions: anxiety, which was associated with the highest percentage of patients in all age groups, followed by depression, adjustment disorders and tic disorders.

When it came to risk of death 30 or more days after initial diagnosis, patients who were hospitalized and discharged had the highest percentage of deaths — 0.45% of these patients died. For symptomatic, non-hospitalized patients, 0.02% of patients died and 0.01% of asymptomatic patients died.

Regardless of how severe their Covid-19 was, males were more likely to die 30 or more days after initial diagnosis, with 57%, 53% and 55% of these deaths happening among hospitalized, non-hospitalized symptomatic and asymptomatic males, respectively.

Tartan Army invasion: Scotland fans party through the night in London despite Met dispersal order as 20,000 descend on capital in defiance of pleas to stay way

Public Health England confirms the low risk of covid reinfection in a new study:

"There were 15,893 possible reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 identified up to 30 May 2021 in England throughout the pandemic, out of nearly 4 million people with confirmed infections. This is equivalent to around 0.4% cases becoming reinfected."

Researchers present more evidence coronavirus vaccines protect against variants

From CNN’s Maggie Fox

There’s more evidence that at least some of the current coronavirus vaccines protect people against the ever-changing variants of coronavirus.

Tests done using the blood of both people who had recovered from Covid-19 and those who had been vaccinated with Moderna’s vaccine showed big differences in how the immune system responded to mutations in the virus, Dr. Allison Greaney of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington told a meeting of federal vaccine advisers.

“We know that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is evolving to evade antibody immunity,” Greaney told a meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, which advises the US Health and Human Services Department.

“What we found for the Moderna-1273 mRNA vaccine was that, overall, that antibody immunity elicited by this vaccine to be less affected by single mutations,” Greaney said.

The team, which is tracking viral mutations and their effects, made artificial versions of mutant virus and tested them against samples of blood. While some mutations caused a 30-fold loss of antibody effectiveness against the virus in the blood of people who had recovered from an infection, the loss of efficacy was far lower in the blood of people given two doses of Moderna vaccine, she said.

In some samples, there was no effect on the immunity – which suggested that the vaccine stimulates a broad immune response that covers the current mutations, she said.

“This suggests that the vaccine-elicited antibodies are much more broad and are less affected by single mutations,” Greaney told the meeting.

Federal officials have been urging Americans to get vaccinated quickly to stop the virus from circulating and acquiring the mutations that help it evade the immune system. Tests such as those done at the University of Washington lab support the idea that people who have been infected will be more vulnerable to catching variant versions of the virus than vaccinated people will be.

WaPo: Trump wanted to quarantine Covid patients at Gitmo.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as White House officials debated whether to bring infected Americans home for care, President Donald Trump suggested his own plan for where to send them, eager to suppress the numbers on U.S. soil.

“Don’t we have an island that we own?” the president reportedly asked those assembled in the Situation Room in February 2020, before the U.S. outbreak would explode. “What about Guantánamo?”

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Michigan has fully re-opened. No more mask mandate or capacity limits.

After being vaccinated, can you still tell if you had COVID?

I have always thought I had it in January 2020.

Vaccinated since March here, but lately I have been having that dry, small cough quite often for a few weeks now.

I wonder if it is from having COVID.

R66, get an antibody test done. If you've had Covid, it may show as "Positive". If you've been vaccinated but have not had Covid, it may show as "Reactive".

The link here is from the Red Cross blood donation site, but I'd imagine it's valid for any of the antibody-testing results.

Update on vaccines in development.

Israel has recommended vaccinating teenagers following several coronavirus outbreaks clustered around schools, with even fully vaccinated people contracting the virus as authorities blame the more infectious delta variant.

Nearly a third of the new cases in the past week have been vaccinated individuals, and many of the new infections are with the delta variant. Most of the new cases among vaccinated persons are mild.

Delta variant on track to make up 90% of new Covid-19 cases in Europe by late August

From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite

The Delta variant is on track to make up 90% of new cases of Covid-19 in the European Union by the end of August, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warned in a threat assessment published Wednesday.

The variant, first identified in India and scientifically labeled B.1.617.2, is 40% to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant first identified in England, the ECDC said.

A single dose of a two-dose vaccine appears to offer less protection against the variant than it would against other strains, the agency said, regardless of which vaccine is used.

Full vaccination does appear to offer nearly the same protection against the Delta variant as other variants, the threat assessment said.

Because of that transmission advantage, models suggest it will make up 70% of new European cases by early August, rising to 90% by the end of the month, the agency said.

CDC is making plans for boosters of Covid-19 vaccines, Walensky says

From CNN's Naomi Thomas

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that while the agency is planning for boosters of Covid-19 vaccines, she doesn’t think that there will be enough data to make the decision about when they will be available during the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting today.

“We, in an interagency way, are planning to boost,” Walensky said during the Milken Future of Health Summit. “Because, quite honestly, we want to make sure that if we see more disease out there we have a mechanism, we’re fully ready to combat it.”

Speaking about Wednesday’s ACIP meeting, she said that it would be “a scientific discussion about how those decisions should be made. We are not, I don’t believe, planning on any decision about when those boosters will come.”

No vote is scheduled during today’s ACIP meeting.

Asked if the idea of boosters seems real, she said “I guess the question would be six months, a year, two years, how long, you know, how long will that be. It’s possible that it’ll be on the shorter end, I don’t think we’ll have the data today to make that decision. I think those discussions will be about the data we’re going to need to inform that.”

Delta variant detected in all states but South Dakota

From CNN’s Naomi Thomas

The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2 and first identified in India, has been detected in 49 states and Washington, DC, according to GISAID, an independent data sharing initiative, and the Hawaii Department of Health.

A South Dakota Department of Health spokesperson told CNN Wednesday there are no cases to report in the state at this time.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates Delta made up 20.6% of cases in the US in the two weeks leading up to June 19. In the region that includes South Dakota, it’s more than twice as high – 46.4%. Other states in the region are Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

If the Delta variant doesn't kill us, climate change will. This is this end folks.

It's taking forever r74.

Hey Elder Lez @68 I forget exactly your precise field of Specialization, but you're the only source I know who might speak intelligibly to this question. My nephew who is currently 13, and therefore eligible to be a recipient of the Covid Vaccines currently available, actually cannot due to a high-allergic profile ( the poor kid is allergic to everything but Rocks and Dinosaurs). Specifically among these is a near Anaphylactic-like reaction to PEG which my sister and her husband found out the hard way, when my nephew"s idiot pediatrician instructed them to dose him with near half a bottle of Miralax for a one-time occasion of Constipation when he was 5. They barely made it to the ER on time.

As you are probably aware, PEG and it's cross-reactive cousin Poly Sorbate, the additives in the current crop of Covid-29 vaccines, have more or less been identified by no less than the CDC , as the likely culprit which triggered the rare but scary allergic reactions in some individuals.

So my question is, are you aware if any of the newer Covid vaccines in development, will be designed to precisely eliminate these possibly dangerous allergenic components? I am very grateful that you posted the link you did which enumerated the various Vac's but it's truly 'All Greek to me'. I understand if you don't have the time yourself to to dig into such matters as these, but could you direct me as to what specific language I might be looking for or certain *Type* of Vaccine that would not necessitate the use of such chemicals? And even more so, do you think going forward, we can trust vaccine manufacturers will do their due diligence to eliminate PEG, Polysorbate or whatever the hell is causing these reactions, or will it all be 'swept under the rug" in a calculation of the health of hundreds of millions vs a random few?

Hi R76, sadly I am not a scientist. My specialty is in the regulations that govern research and the mechanics of getting funding and meeting sponsor requirements. But I can ask an actual scientist for you if you’d like. There are so many vaccine candidates in development one would hope a couple would take that allergy into account.

Mild or asymptomatic covid can lead to major complications down the line. What will happen to vaccinated individuals who get infected – the vast majority won't even know they've had the virus, but will it come back to haunt them months later, as well?

R76 no answer yet.

Thanks E.L., You're a Doll! - R76

The person I asked (who generally knows most things) didn’t know either R80. I will try to keep eyes and ears open and circle back when/if I get more information.

via CNN

A new and slightly different version of the Delta coronavirus variant is spreading in countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and India, health officials say. It's called the Delta Plus variant, and it could be even more contagious than the Delta version. So far, about 200 cases in 11 countries have been identified. Meanwhile, more than 1 in 10 people who got one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine in the US have missed their second dose, according to CDC data. That could leave people more vulnerable to dangerous coronavirus strains like the Delta variant.

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Scientists at the National Institutes of Health who studied blood samples from across the United States have discovered that for every coronavirus infection recorded during the spring and summer of 2020, nearly five more went undetected — amounting to nearly 17 million additional cases by July 2020.

The discovery, published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine, reveals that the coronavirus was far more widespread in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic than previously thought, and could help scientists and health officials better respond to future outbreaks.

Malaysia declares "total lockdown" for two weeks after Covid-19 cases increase

From CNN's Elaine Ly and Jaide Garcia

Malaysia will implement a two-week "total lockdown" on social and economic sectors, according to a statement from the prime minister's office and reported by state media Bernama News Agency on Friday.

The Malaysian National Security Council will oversee the lockdown, according to the statement. Beginning June 1, "all sectors will not be allowed to operate, except for essential economic and service sectors to be listed by MKN."

The statement attributes the decision to the latest rise in Covid-19 cases, saying the country is seeing "daily cases exceeding 8,000 and over 70,000 active cases," as well as the presence of a new variant with a high and rapid infection rate.

According to the security council, a total of 2,552 people have died as a result of the pandemic, and the numbers are increasing.

1 in 10 Americans have been infected with Covid-19, data shows

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

About one in 10 Americans have had a confirmed Covid-19 infection, with more than 33.2 million total reported cases United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University

But reported infections are likely an undercount. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that closer to one in three Americans have had Covid-19 – with about 115 million total infections estimated through mid-April.

Official case rates are highest in North Dakota, Rhode Island and South Dakota, according to JHU data, with more than 14% of the population infected in each state since the beginning of the pandemic

They’re lowest in Hawaii, Vermont and Oregon – each with reported cases for less than 5% of the population.

As previously posted, Michigan ended their mask mandates and capacity limits last week. I went to Target over this weekend and I still saw maybe 40%-50% of the people wearing masks in the store. I'm also still seeing masks worn in restaurants (went there to pick up carry-out)

You must be in a different part of the state than I am, R87. Here, nobody is wearing a mask, save for the occasional person of color.

WHO recommends masks — even for vaccinated people — because of delta variant

As the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus gained traction around the world, the World Health Organization urged vaccinated people to continue to wear masks and social distance, according to reports.

“Vaccine alone won’t stop community transmission,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said during a briefing in Geneva, according to CNBC. “People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene … the physical distance, avoid crowding. This still continues to be extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing.”

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday called the delta variant “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far … and is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated populations,” the Voice of America reported.

The recommendation comes weeks after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated people can go most places without masks. However, federal mandates remain on airplanes, for example.

The US has a higher vaccination rate than many countries struggling with the variant and daily infection rates have fallen sharply in the US in the last few months as more Americans have gotten the vaccine.

At least 53.9 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, 63 percent of Americans over 12 as of Saturday, according to the CDC. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine.

Nearly all virus-related deaths by May were from unvaccinated people, an analysis from The Associated Press found. Deaths of vaccinated people was 0.1 percent of the total.

The Delta variant has primarily taken hold in countries that haven’t been able to beef up their vaccine numbers but it has spread to the US.

In the United Kingdom, the variant is now responsible for 90 percent of all new infections. In the US, it represents 20 percent of infections and health officials say it could become the country’s dominant type as well.

The vaccines are considered “highly effective” against the delta variant, according to a recent study by the British government, although slightly less than the original strain.

But the WHO urged those vaccinated to “play it safe” and wear a mask because so many remain unvaccinated globally and the variant has become the main spreader in several countries, CNBC reported.

Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Portugal and Israel have all been forced to return to some form of lockdown because of the variant, which originated in India, according to Voice of America.

It’s not clear yet whether the variant makes people sicker since more data needs to be collected, said Dr. Jacob John, who studies viruses at the Christian Medical College at Vellore in southern India.

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Moderna study suggests COVID-19 vaccine protects against delta variant, others

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in protecting against virus variants — including the particularly worrisome delta strain, the drugmaker said Tuesday.

The company said it ran a lab study on the blood of eight people one week after they received their second dose of Moderna’s immunization.

The results indicated that the vaccinated group had produced antibodies against variants of the deadly virus — including India’s highly contagious delta mutation, as well as the country’s kappa variant and South Africa’s beta strain, the Massachusetts-based drugmaker said.

The levels of protection against the variants weren’t immediately clear, but Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the results are “encouraging.”

“These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants,” Bancel said in a statement.

“These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine,” he added.

Meanwhile, a study published Monday in the journal Nature suggested mRNA vaccines, produced by Moderna and Pfizer, could provide “persistent” protection against COVID-19 for years — as long as the virus doesn’t mutate too much beyond its current forms, the New York Times reported.

“It’s a good sign for how durable our immunity is from this vaccine,” Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis who led the study, told the outlet.

Both studies come as the delta strain has gained traction around the globe — prompting the World Health Organization to announce that it is recommending people wear face masks even if they are fully vaccinated.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled the delta mutation a “variant of concern.”

Still, the public health agency hasn’t echoed the WHO’s concern and still says those who are fully immunized against the coronavirus can almost always leave their masks at home.

Hong Kong to ban passenger flights from UK to curb virus

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Gosh, how many lashes nowadays there for not wearing a mask I wonder.

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USA Today: COVID-19 cases are trending upwards in nearly half of all states in the U.S.

Coronavirus infections in Alaska and Arizona more than doubled in the last week. Cases in South Carolina and Kansas have increased by more than 50 percent.

In Missouri, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients jumped by nearly 30% over the Fourth of July weekend in a hard-hit area where immunization rates are low, leading to a temporary ventilator shortage and a public call for help from respiratory therapists. The delta variant is spreading rapidly throughout the state, straining hospitals in Springfield and raising fresh fears that the situation could soon grow worse as holiday gatherings seed fresh cases.

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These parts of the US could become 'breeding grounds' for potentially more Covid-19 variants, expert says

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

CNN)Out of the Covid-19 pandemic, two Americas are emerging: One protected by vaccines and the other still vulnerable to infection -- and experts say progress made across the entire US is being threatened by low-vaccinated regions.

"We're already starting to see places with low vaccination rates starting to have relatively big spikes from the Delta variant. We've seen this in Arkansas, Missouri, Wyoming ... those are the places where we're going to see more hospitalizations and deaths as well, unfortunately," Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha, told CNN.

"And any time you have large outbreaks, it does become a breeding ground for potentially more variants."

Parts of the South, Southwest and Midwest are starting to see spikes in cases, and many of those states -- like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi -- are among those with the lowest rates of vaccination, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent Covid-19 case rates are an average of three times higher in states that have vaccinated a smaller share of their residents than the United States overall, CDC data shows.

If there is another surge, Dr. Megan Ranney, associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University, said young unvaccinated adults could be a big part of the problem.

"We've already seen that the highest number of infections over the past few months have been in those younger adults," Ranney said. "These are the people that thought they were invincible." But after weeks of declining cases and with a surplus of vaccine doses, there should not be an uptick in infection in the US, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said Monday.

"We have the ability to stop Covid in its tracks," Wen said. Only 47.4% of the US population is fully vaccinated against the virus, according to CDC data. And with so much transmission among those that are hesitant to get vaccinated, Wen said it is a good idea for vaccinated people in high transmission areas to continue wearing masks indoors. While some experts have held that vaccines provide good enough protection that vaccinated people can forgo face coverings, the transmission rates have made others more cautious. "If you're in a low-infection, high-vaccination area, you don't need to be wearing a mask indoors if you're fully vaccinated," Jha told CNN Monday. "If I were in southwest Missouri right now, I'm fully vaccinated but I would be wearing a mask indoors."

What the willfully unvaccinated in Missouri have wrought:

Do you guys think Christmas will be cancelled this year in Europe?

Connecticut to stop daily reporting of COVID-19 deaths

Global COVID-19 death toll tops 4 million

Just this week, Britain reported 30,000 daily new infections for the first time since January, but government lockdowns are still expected to be lifted later this month.

Of the global COVID-19 deaths, the US has the most with over 600,000. Brazil has the second highest with more than 520,000 deaths — though it’s believed the country has underreported the true total.

In my American community, the celebrations continue. It’s over. Back to normal. Maybe m just a Grumpy Gus but this thing is far from over.

Olympics organizers announce that the Summer Games will have no spectators, foreign or local, due to the rise in Japan's COVID-19 rate.

Infection rates are up ever so slightly in my neck of the woods, but I am still optimistic about prospects for vaccinated persons in 70% vaccinated areas (assuming use of not Sino- vaccines)

I do not want xmas to be cancelled this year!

OT, many thanks to ElderLez and SylviaFowler for their intelligent, helpful posts since this mess started over 1 & half years ago. I appreciate all your insightful contributions. Thank you.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Can’t imagine the Olympics without spectators. Seems weird and a bit creepy.

they should cancel Olympics forever...most of them are drug cheats.

Already lacking in brain cells, the unvaccinated are likely to lose even more if infected. Sad!

awww thanks R108/Cal.

R109 also, it’s really boring.

r109, I want an all-drug Olympics. ANY drug. Records will be broken, sinews will be snapped, colons shat out.

EVERYONE would watch that shit.

[quote]colons shat out

Pics please.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Inflammatory heart conditions may occur as side effect of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, agency concludes

From CNN’s Niamh Kennedy in Dublin

The inflammatory heart conditions of myocarditis and pericarditis may occur as side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded Friday, recommending that the two rare conditions be added as side effects to the product information for both vaccines, as well as a warning highlighting the risk to medical professionals and patients alike.

Myocarditis causes inflammation of the heart muscle whereas pericarditis involves the swelling and irritation of the thin, saclike tissue surrounding the heart.

According to the EMA, while symptoms may vary, they "often include breathlessness, a forceful heartbeat that may be irregular (palpitations), and chest pain."

The EMA Safety Committee conducted an "in-depth review" of all available evidence, looking into the 145 cases of myocarditis reported in the European Economic Area (EEC) of people who received the Pfizer vaccine. They also examined the 19 cases reported among people in the EEC who received the Moderna vaccine.

The safety committee also reviewed reports of 138 cases of pericarditis following receipt of the Pfizer vaccine and 19 cases following receipt of the Moderna vaccine.

At present, no link between the two other EMA-authorized vaccines — Oxford/AstraZeneca and Janssen — and the heart conditions has been identified.

The EMA concluded that the cases mainly occurred within 14 days of vaccination, were most frequently found among younger adult men and most often after the second vaccine dose.

Of those examined, five died and all were "either of advanced age or had concomitant diseases."

Despite the side effects, the EMA has affirmed that the "benefits of all authorized COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh their risks."

Pfizer says it is seeing waning immunity from its Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Pfizer said Thursday it is seeing waning immunity from its coronavirus vaccine and says it is picking up its efforts to develop a booster dose that will protect people from variants.

“As seen in real world data released from the Israel Ministry of Health, vaccine efficacy in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease has declined six months post-vaccination, although efficacy in preventing serious illnesses remains high,” the company said in a statement emailed to CNN.

“Additionally, during this period the Delta variant is becoming the dominate variant in Israel as well as many other countries. These findings are consistent with an ongoing analysis from the Companies’ Phase 3 study,” it added.

“While protection against severe disease remained high across the full six months, a decline in efficacy against symptomatic disease over time and the continued emergence of variants are expected. Based on the totality of the data they have to date, Pfizer and BioNTech believe that a third dose may be beneficial within 6 to 12 months following the second dose to maintain highest levels of protection.”

A Pfizer spokesperson later told CNN the company planned to file for emergency use authorization for a booster dose with the US Food and Drug Administration in August.

Israel’s health ministry said in a statement earlier this week that it had seen efficacy of Pfizer’s vaccine drop from more than 90% to about 64% as the B.1.617.2 or Delta variant spread.

The company said booster doses of its vaccine, developed with BioNTech, produces levels of neutralizing antibodies that are five to 10 times higher than what’s produced after two doses.

“The companies expect to publish more definitive data soon as well as in a peer-reviewed journal and plan to submit the data to the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities in the coming weeks,” Pfizer said in a statement.

And it says it’s also developing a new formulation for a booster dose that may more thoroughly protect people from new variants.

“While Pfizer and BioNTech believe a third dose of BNT162b2 has the potential to preserve the highest levels of protective efficacy against all currently known variants including Delta, the companies are remaining vigilant and are developing an updated version of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that targets the full spike protein of the Delta variant,” the company said. Current vaccines target just a piece of the spike protein – the part of the virus it uses to attach to cells.

“The first batch of the mRNA for the trial has already been manufactured at BioNTech’s facility in Mainz, Germany. The Companies anticipate the clinical studies to begin in August, subject to regulatory approvals.”

What I’m hearing more and more lately about mRNA is that the unnatural protection is gives, on encountering the virus or really any other infectious disease in the wild, will release a cytokine storm more dangerous than the virus itself, enough to injure or kill you. There are ex-higher ups recently resigned from the boards of Pfizer backing this up.

And isn’t it mighty convenient that what was initially called a respiratory illness was redefined as a vascular inflammatory one, right as it was found that many adverse blood/heart/vascular events from vaccines to protect against said illness were getting reported? Hmmm, food for thought...

Lest we forget; injury, fatality and disability caused by widespread prescription of thalidomide did not emerge for some years after its approved clinical recommendation.

And before any of you scream me down as a troll denialist—this is the first time I’ve ever posted any scepticism whatsoever, though I had alarming adverse effects. I’m very concerned, but trying to stay realistic and see both sides. My intuition has a sinking feeling, but I know that most others are better informed than I and can give perspective.

If you go to the 4h30m mark in the linked video, you will hear the admission that the U.S. patented an exact match for the COVID-19 sequence in 1999, and one for SARS in 2002 (the patent numbers are quoted therein for cross-reference—you can look them up, I did and they’re legit). They were studied as part of veterinary research, mainly to address illness in rabbits & dogs. A correlation was found during this early research with spike proteins seen in HIV—a correlation that was not deemed critical enough to look into..

This implies that this virus type we’re seeing right now is not ‘novel’ as described, and possibly not shocking or serious enough to warrant all these drastic invasive and draconian measures against it. The U.S. government have been sitting on these Petri dishes for years, and did nothing with or about them, presumably because they weren’t considered important or useful or a threat...until now. The question is, why now all of a sudden, and what for?

Potentially (even probably), this is some very deeply scary dystopian sludge we’re in.

Oh shut up, R118 and R119. Idiot.

[quote] This implies that this virus type we’re seeing right now is not ‘novel’ as described, and possibly not shocking or serious enough to warrant all these drastic invasive and draconian measures against it.

Brazil's dead and dying would like to speak with you. Long-Covid sufferers also have some choice words, but they can't get up from their chairs to speak.

R120/R121 ok but, how come you can’t explain or justify the patents? Or the Pfizer indemnity? Isn’t that the least bit suspicious and worrying to anyone else? Establishments cover their backs all the time, but this is extreme and in defiance of all Hippocratic ethics.

Just telling someone to “shut up” with no logical factual rebuttal, and chanting “take the shot take the shot” with no impetus besides fear-porn & emotional blackmail (“look at all these Dead People”) doesn’t really inspire confidence.

There are now more and more hugely respected doctors, such as Dr. Peter McCullough, making depositions about how effective non-invasive treatment for this virus has been suppressed using silencing and threats. New Zealand & Germany have entire commissions set up to look into this.

Why wouldn’t a society want doctors to heal patients and make them well, before pushing those doctors out of the way to have entire populations of otherwise well people taking an untested dangerous vaccination that reportage has proven to cause significant harm? (check VAERS, the numbers rise daily).

And I repeat, I don’t say this to troll. I’m just someone who took a vaccine, endured ill effects that concerned me, went digging and found scary information, and now would like answers. It’s about realising a potential mistake and trying to learn. Willing to hear from anyone who can actually explain my findings with depth and knowledge.

[quote]The U.S. government have been sitting on these Petri dishes for years

Pics please.

No one needs to argue with lies posted on YouTube R122. I suggest you go back to the beginning of these threads, read all of them and then come up with a factual rebuttal to every claim ever made by every poster about everything and then maybe we’ll engage with you.

As for VAERS, denominators matter when looking at numerators. I know that is confusing for the innumerate.

Countering the false claims of "hugely respected doctor" Peter McCullough. As for R122's claim that he's not a troll, if it looks like a duck ...

[quote] As for VAERS, denominators matter when looking at numerators. I know that is confusing for the innumerate.

Ok, then explain it. That’s what I’m asking for.

If you have the privilege of specialist knowledge and intelligence on a subject, then as part of that privilege & right isn’t it also your responsibility to disseminate it in a way that makes sense to laypersons?

Maybe you can create a remedial math thread for yourself R126? If you create it, I’d be happy to teach on it. Here’s a little something to get started, but I don’t want to derail this thread since the other posters have a better understanding of numbers than you do.

Elderlez, I may not have good mathematical or logical understanding (and for that I apologise), but even I can tell that it really is counterproductive for you to refuse those who ask for basic help to grasp something. How can I come to any agreement with you or change to your way of thinking if I don’t know what you mean? How can I see sense like you want me to? How can I shake off my kneejerk scepticism and doubts when I don’t even know where I’m going wrong?

And FYI, I did post and ask questions on a couple of the previous threads (I wanted to know about cykotine storm reactions post-vaccine, and no one could or would tell me anything), but was similarly hounded out and shut down by gatekeeping. Bit suspect. There have been plenty of rabid anti-science trolls around these parts, so I get the assumptions that I’m one too, but I’m not; I’m just worried, and have legitimate questions that any concerned non-scientifically--minded citizen would, and that shouldn’t be treated as criminal. I’m not even anti-vax, just unsure about this one due to my own experience (I seem to have suffered microvascular damage that my doctors aren’t taking seriously).

My sincere apologies if I have offended or annoyed you. I’m lesbian, too, just not as mature or educated as you, so I hope we can come to some sort of peaceable middle-ground.

[quote]If you go to the 4h30m mark in the linked video, you will hear the admission that the U.S. patented an exact match for the COVID-19 sequence in 1999, and one for SARS in 2002

The patent nonsense has been roiling around social media since early in the epidemic, in one form or another.

Like I said R128 I am happy to help you on a math thread. But this isn’t that thread.

And Hey if you want to start an in general cytokine storm thread I’m also there with you, having been in septic shock for for a day and a half several years ago I’ve got lots to say on that topic.

But if you are going to post links to nonsense, outright lies such as that the FDA approved vaccines didn’t undergo testing and gaslighting structured questions of the “when did you stop beating your wife?” “Why do you want to shut down discussions about why you beat your wife?” “ If you are an expert on domestic violence why won’t you discuss your wife beating?” while stuffing every debunked division troll post talking point into a string posts debuting the newest talking point - cytokine storm then people are going to respond accordingly.

Btw here’s a link from the cytokine storm from the New England Journal of Medicine.

Bravo, ElderLez!

FYI I haven’t posted this before because I’m pretty sure most folks on DL can’t get past the pay wall, but when someone starts nattering on about the failure to properly test hydroxycloroquine just remember that half of all clinical studies at the beginning of the pandemic were looking at that one drug. Half!

ElderLez, I need to make a decision between AstraZeneca and Pfizer. I have a history of pericarditis so the cytokine storm issue is of concern. I really like the efficacy numbers on Pfizer. But this pericarditis/myocarditis link has me a little spooked.

Netherlands reimposes restrictions on nightclubs and restaurants due to rise in Covid-19 cases

From Sharon Braithwaite via CNN

The Netherlands has reimposed coronavirus restrictions on nightclubs and restaurants following a 'rapid' rise in cases, the government announced Friday in a statement, just two weeks after society almost completely reopened.

The new measures took effect Saturday at 6 a.m. local time and will remain in place until Aug. 13.

The government forced nightclubs to close again after it registered that most infections occurred in nightlife settings and parties with high numbers of people.

"The Delta variant is causing more cases of illness among people who are not fully vaccinated, and there have even been cases of this variant infecting people who are fully vaccinated or who have already had a coronavirus infection. The possibility of new virus mutations arising also raises uncertainty. And the lingering symptoms of ‘long COVID’ can also have a big impact on people’s lives," the government said.

According to the new restrictions, restaurants and bars may remain open provided all visitors have assigned seats that are placed 1.5 meters apart. All restaurants and bars must be closed from midnight until 6 a.m. local time. Entertainment such as live performances and loud music is prohibited.

Cultural venues may remain open provided all visitors have assigned seats that are placed 1.5 meters apart, the government said.

Official government figures show that new daily Covid-19 cases have been rising rapidly since the end of June, while the number of deaths remains low.

The country registered Saturday 10,345 daily cases and one new death.

[quote] "The Delta variant is causing more cases of illness among people who are not fully vaccinated, and there have even been cases of this variant infecting people who are fully vaccinated or who have already had a coronavirus infection.

This has, of course, always been the case, since the vaccines were first rolled out during the time of the alpha Covid. With no data given whatsoever, this bit of information is meaningless.

Interesting story about an unvaccinated Belgian woman who contracted two Covid variants at the same time. They think she caught them from different people.

Vaccine tracker for countries around the world

R133 pericarditis/myocarditis are not cytokine storm. You need to have multi organ dysfunction to be in cytokine storm. I don’t think you are using that term correctly.

I am not a doctor and not qualified to give medical advice. You need to speak to a doctor about this important decision.

I can tell you that my mother has a history of very bad reactions to vaccines including a very serious and long lasting case of ITP after her adult MMR. Information about vaccine linked ITP came out right when she had her first Pfizer shot. She called her doctor, they made a treatment plan for if she developed ITP again (treating early helps lessen severity and duration) and she got her platelets checked a few days before the second dose to make sure the first dose didn’t have any impact. She had almost no side effects from the Pfizer thank goodness, but the important thing was she and her doctor were prepared if she had.

Good luck with whatever vaccine you pick R133.

Unvaxed ER Nurse kicks it. There should be some mandated vax rules. ER, Elderly Housing workers etc.

R119/R122 It has been my experience that those who identify as "critical thinkers" based on their online "research" are the biggest imbeciles God put on this green earth.

Israel starts giving Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to at-risk population

Israel is offering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to people with weakened immune systems, as the country mulls whether an added jab is necessary for the general population.

Israel’s health minister, Nitzan Horowitz, announced Sunday that immunocompromised people in the highly vaccinated country who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get an immediate booster shot, the Guardian reported.

“These are for instance people who have undergone organ transplants or suffer from a medical condition which causes a drop in immunity,” Horowitz explained, according to the outlet.

“We are examining this issue and we still do not have a final answer,” the health minister added about a potential third jab for non-immunocompromised Israelis.

Israel’s decision to go ahead with booster jabs comes as Pfizer’s executives will soon meet with US health officials to discuss a potential greenlighting of a third dose.

Pfizer and vaccine partner BioNTech recently said a booster COVID-19 vaccine ensures the “highest levels” of protection against mutations — including the Delta variant, the highly infectious strain which first emerged in India in December.

“As seen in real-world evidence released from the Israel Ministry of Health, vaccine efficacy has declined six months post-vaccination, at the same time that the Delta variant is becoming the dominant variant in the country,” the drugmakers told CNBC on Thursday.

According to data released last week by Israel’s Ministry of Health, the effectiveness of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in warding off both infection and symptomatic disease dropped to 64 percent — down from the 95 percent protection it offered against the initial strain of the bug, the ministry said.

Still, the mRNA vaccine has a 93 percent success rate at preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from the bug.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci insisted Sunday that data and studies don’t prove a third dose is needed to protect against the highly contagious Delta variant “right now.”

However, there may come a time when a booster jab of Pfizer is deemed warranted.

“Right now, given the data and the information we have, we do not need to give people a third shot, a boost, superimposed upon the two doses you get with the mRNA and the one dose you get with J&J,” said Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Even though the CDC and the FDA correctly said, right now, we don’t feel you need a booster, that doesn’t mean that we’re not very, very actively following and gathering all of this information to see if and when we might need it,” he then reiterated Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration maintain that Americans don’t yet need a third dose.

“Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time,” they said Thursday in a joint statement.

[quote]It has been my experience that those who identify as "critical thinkers" based on their online "research" are the biggest imbeciles God put on this green earth.

But they have The Google and everything!

Mayo Clinic map-based tracking of cases, by state and county level. Goes back 60 days and it’s interesting to see how under control it was two months ago and then Delta showed up. I linked to the Arkansas map which, all I can say is, DON’T GO THERE. There’s also a 14-day forecast which is even more grim.

It’s so irresponsible for publications to quote Pfizer re: waning effectiveness after 6 months, as well as to repeat that data showing a drop to *64% effectiveness* in Israel. The study was too small and too flawed, and the UK has better data.

Shame on the NY Post and anyone else credulously parroting that stuff.

Scariest words in the English language:

Hi I'm Dr. Yu Toob.

Interesting to read denigration of replies asking questions about the safety of these vaccines—denigration with no attachment of any explanation or assurances about why the vaccines are not dangerous.

Some are asking “why?”, and the rest are screaming “BECAUSE.”. Share what you know, put down those cold hard facts that apparently exist to support ubiquitous vaccination of young healthy people with a powerful trial medication. Where is R140 getting research and information, for example, and why isn’t he sharing it with the class?

As of this month, so far VAERS is showing something like 400,000+ serious reactions, and over 500 deaths related to the Pfizer *vaccine* alone. Brain inflammation and encephalopathy, corneal disintegration, organ failure (@R133 related to those cykotine storms, maybe?), as well as the more-widely reported clots and pericarditis. This is not concerning any of you? Why? Who do you work for?

Historical reminder: friendly well-intentioned educated doctors used to push cigarettes, opium, and thalidomide too. Yet there is no vaccine for Ebola, TB, cholera, SARS, any other viral plague. How come?

All these are legitimate questions not being addressed here, hence the suspicion. If anyone has firm legit answers that make sense and aren’t sketchy (instead of just yelling “NOOO FUCK YOU DEPLORABLE GET THE SHOT!!!”), perhaps that might get some people on side, yes?

FWIW I’m a left-of-Center voter with moderate ideas, and I am College educated. And I don’t work for any country or nation.

[quote]As of this month, so far VAERS is showing something like 400,000+ serious reactions, and over 500 deaths related to the Pfizer *vaccine* alone.

The use off the word “from” in reference to VAERS is inaccurate R146. VAERS shows things that have happened to people who have received the shot regardless of relationship. I’ve managed to stub my toe since being vaccinated and if I told my MD he’d be required to report it to VAERS, but my guess is that it is completely unrelated. (And all deaths get reported, cause deaths are public records) To determine whether the thing is “from” you have to compare the rate in the vaccinated vs. the historical rate while controlling for things like differences in average age between the two groups. I am not sure why you consider 400 deaths out of about 100 million people over the period of a month in a population significantly older than the average US population particularly alarming especially compared to mortality from COVID.

"Individual case reports in VAERS are also often cited as though they were studies of what can go wrong with vaccination. But because of the system's openness, these anecdotes are unverified. In the early 2000s, an anesthesiologist falsely reported he had been turned into the Incredible Hulk by the flu shot, and the report appeared in VAERS."

Because relying on the "proper, respectful behavior" of citizens worked out so well when America lifted its restrictions.

Vermont leads US with two-thirds of residents fully vaccinated against Covid-19, CDC data shows

From CNN's Deidre McPhillips

Vermont currently leads the nation with two-thirds of residents fully vaccinated (66.5%), according to the latest data published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, 20 states have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as Washington, DC.

About 48% of the US population is fully vaccinated (159,499,224 people).

US health officials say they are investigating risk of rare nerve complication after Johnson & Johnson vaccine

From CNN’s John Bonifield and Maggie Fox

Federal health officials are investigating the possibility that Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine might slightly raise the risk of a rare neurological complication known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, a spokesperson from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement to CNN on Monday.

But even if the vaccine does raise the risk, it’s still better to get vaccinated, the CDC stressed.

“CDC and FDA are monitoring reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine,” the spokesperson said.

“GBS is a neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness or in the most severe cases paralysis. Each year in the United States, an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS; it is typically triggered by a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection. Most people fully recover from GBS."

“Reports of GBS after receipt of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) are rare, but do likely indicate a small possible risk of this side effect following this vaccine. Around 100 preliminary reports of GBS have been detected in VAERS after 12.8 million doses of J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine administered. These cases have largely been reported about two weeks after vaccination and mostly in males, many aged 50 years and older.”

The same pattern is not seen with the other two vaccines authorized in the United States, made by Moderna and Pfizer. The spokesperson said the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would discuss the matter in an upcoming meeting.

“In the United States, nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are now occurring in unvaccinated people. The risk of severe adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination remains rare. Everyone age 12 years and older is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” the statement added.

The CDC and FDA briefly paused use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine earlier this year because of a risk of a rare type of blood clotting complication, but they lifted the pause in April after determining the risk was low and the condition was treatable. The vaccine’s label was updated to warn about the risk.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration is preparing to announce a new warning for the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus that links it to Guillain-Barré syndrome.

CNN has reached out to Johnson & Johnson and the FDA for comment.

WHO leaders ask wealthy countries to hold off on possible boosters until more are vaccinated globally

From CNN's Virginia Langmaid

World Health Organization leaders asked wealthy countries on Monday to hold off on giving booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to their residents before people in other countries can even get their first doses.

“Some countries and regions are actually ordering millions of booster doses before other countries have had supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing.

“Instead of Moderna and Pfizer prioritizing the supply of vaccines as boosters to countries whose populations have relatively high coverage, we need them to go all-out to channel supply to COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition task team, and low and middle income countries, which have very low vaccine coverage," he said.

Tedros said vaccine access isn’t always a question of ability to pay, and many under-vaccinated countries are willing to pay for doses as long as they can get them.

“When we say share, it's not like giving it for free. I can bring you a long list of countries that are saying ‘We have money. Where can we buy the vaccines? Just give us the vaccines. We can pay for it,’” Tedros said.

“It's becoming a two-tier system,” Tedros added. “That is dangerous. You have seen it, and everybody's seeing it now — high income countries are starting to say, ‘We have managed to control it. It's not our problem.’”

Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director with the WHO Health Emergencies Program, agreed.

“We need to decide what our priority is, and what part of ‘this is a global crisis,’ are we not getting? This is still a global crisis,” Ryan told the briefing. “If we move on to other matters,” he said, “I think we will look back in anger, and we will look back and shame,” he added.

“There's some people who want to have their cake and eat it, then they make some more cake, and they want to eat that as well.”

WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said data do not yet support the use of booster vaccines or vaccine mixing, and that decisions about boosters should be led by research.

“It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who should be taking a second or a third or fourth dose,” she said.

More on the possible boosters: Last week, Pfizer/BioNTech said they are seeing waning immunity among people who received their vaccine and said they are picking up efforts to develop a booster dose that will protect people from variants. But in an unusual move, two top federal agencies — the FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — said Americans don't need boosters yet and said it was not up to companies alone to decide when they might be needed.

Pfizer will virtually brief US government officials today about the potential need for booster shots of its Covid-19 vaccine.

Fuck WHO, if I need a booster, I'm gonna get it!

England will lift most of its remaining restrictions next week, UK prime minister says

From CNN’s Sarah Dean in London

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed most of the remaining coronavirus restrictions will be lifted in England on July 19.

Johnson said the “single most crucial thing is you get that jab" as he warned “this pandemic is not over” and said life will not simply revert back to how it was before Covid-19.

However, despite rising Covid-19 infections due to the Delta variant, Johnson said the government will stick to its plan to lift restrictions on social contact on July 19.

It will also remove its mask mandate but Johnson said “we expect people to wear a face covering in crowded and closed spaces,” such as on public transport.

He said the government will keep its “tough border policy” and test, trace and isolate system.

It’s curious to me that this years’ England football squad haven’t been vaccinated, though they are valued as extremely expensive Premier League assets, and have spent the last month playing inside packed stadiums in close proximity too thousands of civilian people who were not tested before entering.

Why hold off? Surely these fit twenty-something star athletes would be pushed to queue-jump for their Pfizer/Moderna by the mega-wealthy football organisations & clubs who manage them. Unless of course the risk of physical damage from the vaccines was too great....

As far as I have heard and managed to find out, training & coaching staff for this squad, numbering hundreds, have not been vaccinated either. The only given reason I have come across for this is ‘fairness’ optics I.e., not wanting to upset a public ravenous to get their own jabs, but since when have government ever actually given a toss about that in the face of enough money?

Anyone care to explain?

R156, I believe many players have already recovered from covid. I don't think they reveal the names of those players for privacy reasons.

I wonder if their covid numbers will shoot up in a few weeks, they were packing not only stadiums but pubs and restaurants to watch the soccer matches, screaming and shouting...

And they got the astrazeneca vaccine in the UK? I'm not too sure but I don't think it's as good as pfizer or moderna. still, better than nothing...

R157 if enough time has elapsed since recovery, you can have the mRNA vaccines and it is apparently recommended. If it’s possible and indeed easy to catch COVID twice, surely the risk is too high for clubs & managers to leave their players unvaxed. So again, why haven’t those players had jabs? Something really doesn’t add up, there.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Amen, ElderLez.

R160 well that would be mighty convenient for the depopulationists at the G@tes F0undation...

As England prepares to drop all Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, even with a steep growth in new cases, France, Spain, Greece, and The Netherlands prepare to tighten up restrictions as new cases fueled by the Delta Variant grow. Italy will ban massive cruise ships from docking at certain ports beginning August 1.

In the United States, Missouri and Arkansas residents will not be allowed in Chicago without current testing. Both states are considered hot spots due to a rejection of vaccines by the majority of citizens, and an acute growth of Covid-19 cases, mostly with the Delta Variant.

According to AP this past week, 99.2% of all Corona cases being reported are people who have not received vaccinations. I don’t know what wave we are seeing develop here in the US (5th wave in Europe), but reports from major cities—Los Angeles and Chicago—show steady increases over the past week. It’s difficult not to believe we are following other parts of the world into a deadly summer.

Who cares? ^^

[quote]In the United States, Missouri and Arkansas residents will not be allowed in Chicago without current testing.

Just exactly how will that be enforced?

Well I imagine any flights from those states will be checked? Like passengers can’t buy a ticket without showing a test?

If anyone is interested FYI although I think it is wrong to downplay the impact of the 1918 flu.

I'm 34. I'm getting my first shot on Tuesday. This was the earliest I could get it. That's how slow vaccination is here in Europe.

Good for you R169!

Thank goodness R169. What are you getting?. Let us know how it goes.

I don’t know about other people but I’d love to also get updates from the New England Geneticist, Concerned European (I know, not a fan of mine, but I don’t hold a grudge), Naked Beneath my Clothes (I want that Drink) And Dr. Jack Mehoff. (Sorry if I’ve offended by missing anyone and I know Sylvia and VOTN are both vaccinated, RIP dear Pierre)

VOTN reported today that he has a breakthrough infection:

Is England relaxing the tiered travel restrictions, or will those stay in place?

More breakthrough cases.

Oh no R172!

In Europe, Spain, France and Portugal have either a COVID level 3 or 4 warning. So no trip to Europe for us this year! Not taking the chance, considering their vax rate is even lower than ours.

Wear your masks.

I hope they don't cancel xmas!

I knew the CDC jumped the gun by telling everyone it was safe to go without a mask even if vaccinated.

Where I live in Flori-DUH many stores have signs that say "You can enter without a mask if you are vaccinated." Well, why do they think the idiots here (over half of whom have not been vaxxed) are going to wear a mask if they didn't get the vaccine? The honor system won't work. AND our idiot governor passed a law that says businesses cannot require proof of vaccination. Inside stores, I still wear a mask.

Go L.A.,,

Argghi hate my iPad....

I think Biden is gonna lift the travel ban...omg we're gonna die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

r180, stores in Portland, OR have the same signs.

Finally got my first jab today. It was Pfizer.

Congratulations R185

Nearly 2 in 50 Americans have now died of Covid related conditions.

Sorry, I meant 1 in 50. We're not up to 1 in 25, thank Frith.

Um no 1 in about every 500 people in the US has died from COVID-19, which is consistent with about a fifth of the population having been infected and the introduction of life saving treatment interventions.

ElderLez is right.

More than 600,000 Americans have died of COVID.

There are about 330 million people in the USA.

600,000 / 330,000,000 = 0.0018 = 0.18% = 1.8 per 1,000 = about 1 in every 500.

Still, even 1 in 500 is a staggering number.

Is there any point in double masking?

[quote]Is there any point in double masking?

Double masking doesn't allow for good airflow. You're better off with a single high quality mask, like a KF94, KN95 or level 3 surgical mask. If you are not vaxxed, you could go full N95, but those are much less comfortable.

“I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” wrote Dr. Brytney Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, in an emotional Facebook post Sunday. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

Today in exciting vaccine candidate one that targets the hidden, unchanging of the binding domain.

Link this time

But let’s say you are from a low resource country, and forget about the above, even a chicken egg vaccine would be too expensive for you? Surely you have yeast?

(Warning this vaccine not kosher for Passover)

On my job (I'm in film), we've had 4 positive cases in 5.5 weeks, one person was fully vaccinated and had only cold-like symptoms, I don't know about the other 3. We were told this morning about the 4th person, and have shut down for 2 days like Westword and AHS, who also shut down this/last week for 2 days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that the Delta variant is responsible for 83.2% of new coronavirus infections. Just two weeks ago, that number was 51.7%.

However, scientists are now reporting that Pfizer’s vaccine provides major protection against the highly infectious Delta variant — but only if you’ve received both doses, according to new research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Pfizer’s two-dose protocol was initially found to be 94% effective against the original Alpha strain of COVID-19 — the same as Moderna’s version of the mRNA vaccine, whereas Johnson & Johnson’s single jab offers 66.3% protection.

As yet there has been little clear data on the strength of Johnson & Johnson’s or Moderna’s vaccines against the aggressive Delta variant, which is thought to be approximately 225% more infectious than the first strain, according to a recent NPR report.

After my 2nd shot of Moderna, 4 months ago, I had several days of upset stomach, nausea, dizziness, tinnitus, headache and slight fever. Then it went away. I woke up this morning to the exact same issues. I work on an open sales floor and always use a mask, even though the customers don’t. Is it possible I picked up Covid, and my issues are Moderna fighting them off?

R199, get tested.

good luck.

Pfizer efficacy drops to 84% after 6 months.

R201 - source? Not that I don't believe you (I don't want to believe you). Also, I am too lazy to look it up.

And is that efficacy against hospitalization or severe illness or mild symptoms or asymptomatic infection?

R201 must be referring to this -- and it's for "any symptomatic infection."

I'm R201, I saw that report on CNBC, they had the pfizer CEO on in the morning.

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The Delta variant has also shown a rare ability to cause breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people.

The ability to cause breakthrough cases was cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the reason for the reintroduction of masks for fully vaccinated people in some parts of the country.

If Pfizer's findings - which are not peer-reviewed - are correct, then the third dose could be a valuable tool in combatting the variant.

The company's findings also found that a third dose could be particularly effective in combating the South African Beta variant.

The variant accounts for less than 10 percent of active cases in the United States.

Pfizer also revealed on the earnings call that they are working on a flu vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology used to develop its COVID vaccine.

Moderna, who also developed an mRNA COVID vaccine, began trials of an mRNA flu vaccine at the start of the month.

11 of the 12 were vaccinated.

From article:

The postponement came one day after Nationals All-Star shortstop Trea Turner exited the game against Philadelphia in the first inning following his positive test for the virus.

Washington manager Dave Martinez said Turner was among four players who tested positive. He didn't identify the others.

Martinez also said he believes one of the 12 people who tested positive is unvaccinated. Sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan that a number of the breakthrough cases came from those given the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

On Wednesday Twitter announced that it was closing its two biggest offices - in New York City and San Francisco - amid the rise in cases.

Twitter opened its offices two weeks ago, and was requiring proof of vaccination for any employees wanting to return to the office.

Earlier Google and Facebook said that they would be requiring proof of vaccination for all people returning to the office in October.

From R208 's article----------

Martinez said all but one of those who tested positive have been vaccinated. Those who tested positive have either no symptoms or minor symptoms, such as a head cold, the manager said. Martinez believes the fact they are vaccinated has prevented or limited symptoms.

"I encourage people to get vaccinated,' Martinez said. "It does help. I'm seeing it firsthand. It's basically a small head cold, but they're doing fine.'

Sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan that a number of the breakthrough cases came from those given the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

[quote] Earlier Google and Facebook said that they would be requiring proof of vaccination for all people returning to the office in October.

If Google and Facebook required proof of vaccination for people who used their websites, we'd reach herd immunity within a week.

I've been reading these posts for over a year and am so thankful to the people who post factual information. In reading these most recent posts regarding the return of Covid-Delta variant, I am happily double-vaxxed. I will never understand the other 50% of the people in the US who are against vaccinations. Not a clue. We have tried very hard to avoid this virus and we don't want even a head cold, much less thousands of little covids happily living anonymously in my nostrils! We don't want any of it. Thanks for the great posts- you know who you are. Stay safe and good luck.

Hopefully the third Pfizer dose is approved quickly; Delta moves so quickly, it might burn out and be replaced by another variant before we know it. Though one would hope a third mRNA dose would be effective against Delta’s successor, too.

R212 - these are the idiots who won't get vaccinated. Lucky me, I am currently in a country where only 30% are vaccinated but I won't stick around too long.

My elderly relative who lives in the Philippines and was making the difficult decision between Sinovac now or something potentially better who knows when later, just got surprise J&J courtesy of a donation from the US. Thank you Biden.

Some people in Missouri are getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in secret, doctor says. They fear backlash from loved ones who oppose the vaccines

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN

"They've had some experience that's sort of changed their mind from the viewpoint of those in their family, those in their friendship circles or their work circles. And they came to their own decision that they wanted to get a vaccine," said Dr. Priscilla Frase, a hospitalist and chief medical information officer at Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains, Missouri.

"They did their own research on it, and they talked to people and made the decisions themselves," Frase told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "But even though they were able to make that decision themselves, they didn't want to have to deal with the peer pressure or the outbursts from other people about them ... 'giving in to everything.'"

In a hospital produced video, Frase said one pharmacist at her hospital told her "they've had several people come in to get vaccinated who have tried to sort of disguise their appearance and even went so far as to say, 'please, please, please don't let anybody know that I got this vaccine.'"

Frase told CNN if a patient asks for privacy to get vaccinated, the hospital tries to accommodate the request -- whether at the drive-thru window or at their cars. "Anything we can do to get people in a place that they're comfortable receiving the vaccine," Frase said. "It's not a large number, but every single person that we can reach who wants to get vaccinated and we can provide that for them, that's a win. And we take every win that we can get."

Missouri has 41% of its population fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state is one of 49 in the US experiencing at least a 10% surge in new Covid-19 cases over last week, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.

Frase said her hospital had 33 patients admitted with Covid-19 as of Wednesday and she's expecting that number to rise. "The patients that are coming in are generally younger than what we saw before. It's more people requiring a lot more oxygen, a lot quicker," Frase said.

"The majority of people we've admitted have not been vaccinated," she added. "The biggest thing that I think has been shocking for us is, back in the fall, in the winter, it took us four months to get to our peak admitted patients, which is around 22. It's taken us 30 days to exceed that and be up to 33 today." Frase said. And it's not just Frase's hospital that is dealing with an influx of patients in Missouri.

The CoxHealth health system said it's expanding morgue capacity in due to an increase in Covid-19 related deaths. "We've actually brought in a portable piece of technology that allows bodies to be cooled and placed outside the morgue. We have had to expand that because the mortality has gone up so much lately," CoxHealth President and CEO Steve Edwards said during a news briefing in Springfield-Greene County Tuesday.

AstraZeneca says it will apply for full approval of its Covid-19 vaccine in the US by end of the year

From CNN’s Jen Christensen

AstraZeneca said in investor documents published Thursday that it will ask the US Food and Drug Administration for full approval of its Covid-19 vaccine in the second half of 2021.

Rather than apply for an Emergency Use Authorization like the other Covid-19 vaccines currently authorized in the United States, the company said it will file a Biologics License Application.

The vaccine is being used to protect patients from Covid-19 in more than 100 countries around the world. By the end of this year, the company said it will deliver up to three billion doses of the vaccine globally.

Some more background: AstraZeneca’s vaccine was one of the first Covid-19 vaccines developed. The US government pledged to invest $1.2 billion in the vaccine, but it was plagued with problems from the beginning. There were questions about its trial data after the company initially said that a half dose worked better than a full dose in the trial.

Days later, the company admitted the half dose was administered by mistake and dropped that approach. There were additional questions about its effectiveness in the elderly, and reports of rare blood clots.

In April, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that even if the FDA granted an emergency use authorization, there was no need for a fourth vaccine in the US. The company did not respond to Fauci’s comments at the time.

Israel’s health care system prepares for third Covid-19 vaccine dose pending final government decision

From CNN's Amir Tal

Israel’s healthcare system has been told to make arrangements to begin vaccinating people over 60 with a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from Sunday, according to a source with knowledge of Israeli health care planning, pending a final government decision to go ahead with the move.

Recipients of a third dose will need to show that more than five months have passed since they received their second dose, the source said.

Beijing reports first Covid-19 case in nearly 6 months

From CNN's Jessie Yeung

Beijing recorded its first Covid-19 case in nearly six months on Wednesday, as Chinese authorities scramble to prevent the spread of the Delta variant amid an outbreak linked to an airport in the populous eastern city of Nanjing.

The latest outbreak first emerged last week after more than a dozen cases were detected among cleaning staff at Nanjing Lukou International Airport. It prompted officials to launch mass testing for more than 9 million residents starting July 21; a second round of mass testing was completed over the weekend, and a third round began on Wednesday.

So far, at least 175 cases are connected to the airport cluster, which officials have linked to the more infectious Delta variant.

"The recent spike in infections in the city can be attributed to the special location of the outbreak and the highly contagious nature of the (Delta) strain," said Ding Jie, vice director of Nanjing's center for disease control and prevention, at a news conference, state media reported Tuesday.

Despite the rapid and aggressive testing campaign, the virus appears to have already spread beyond Jiangsu province.

China recorded 49 new cases on Wednesday, including 24 local infections from three additional provinces, according to the National Health Commission (NHC), taking the total number of cases associated with the new cluster to at least 175.

A second new case was reported in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, with health authorities describing the two local cases as a husband and wife who had recently traveled outside of the capital. Close contacts of the couple have been placed under quarantine.

Though the latest nationwide count marks a slight drop from the 86 cases recorded Tuesday – the highest single day increase since January – the virus' spread across provincial borders is sparking alarm among the country's leaders, after more than a year of low case numbers and resumed daily life.

Some background: The coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, rapidly spreading across China and the world. Yet despite being the first country to succumb to the virus, China has since managed to successfully contain its spread. Since March 2020, the official case figures have remained low, and occasional flare-ups have been quickly contained with mass testing and severe restrictions, including mass lockdowns of hundreds of millions of people across the country.

The current outbreak, however, poses a new threat, with the more transmissible Delta variant identified in the eastern city of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province and a major industrial and transport hub home to more than 9.3 million people.

It will also be a test of the efficacy of China's massive vaccination program, which has administered more than 1.5 billion doses so far – a scale and speed unrivaled by any other country in the world.

Other countries in the region, including Thailand and Australia, have also been hit by the Delta variant and are currently battling outbreaks. But these countries have also struggled with a slow vaccination rollout beset by delays and shortages. This is in sharp contrast to China, which is on track to reach its goal of achieving so-called "herd immunity" – the point at which enough people have either been infected or vaccinated to end community transmission – by December this year.

Lauren Boebert Throws Mask At House Staffer During Tantrum

Rep. Ryan Criticizes Leader McCarthy For Mocking House Mask Mandate

I know a man in his mid 40, unvaccinated who’s in icu. He had to get a plasma treatment. Does that mean he’s really bad off?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]If Google and Facebook required proof of vaccination for people who used their websites, we'd reach herd immunity within a week.

Some Twitter wag suggested shutting off access to online porn for the unvaccinated. We'd reach herd immunity in no time.

Pfizer x 1, 29/F, general good health and normal weight, and I’m experiencing painful tingling and prickling and constriction in my legs & feet (and occasionally arms) that isn’t going away.

So I tried going to a hospital three weeks ago (via ambulance and everything) to get it scanned in the emergency room, but they only agreed to take blood and briefly monitor my heart, then said it was nothing and sent me on my way. Because of that, my NHS GP surgery now say they won’t need to test for anything, and I seem fine to look at and I can still walk. Currently I’m waiting to hear back from a private clinic to get an assessment, which I can’t really afford yet have no choice but to go with at this point.

It’s upsetting. I feel like I’m going crazy trying to explain to paid health professionals that I really don’t feel physically well, that it hurts to sit down, that I can only sleep in certain positions, that I feel as if I have agonising pins & needles constantly, and have to walk around for hours at a time to relieve the sensation and even then I still feel like my circulation or my nerves aren’t working right. I also have to piss more often than usual, can’t retain much water, have low mood and distress, and feel nausea when having to eat main meals.

What is this likely to be? Symptom Checker online says it could be Guillain-Barré (triggered by the Pfizer?), sciatic endometriosis, stenosis or herniated lumbar disc, a kidney problem (vague, that’s all it said), diabetes, a blocked artery, or the onset of peripheral neuropathy. None of that is reassuring in the least. I just want to know what’s going on ASAP, and how to make it better (or at least, not worse).

You're being dismissed, R225, because you're exhibiting classic symptoms of anxiety, as has been suggested here before. Are you in therapy?

R225, can I have your stuff, ya hypochondriac?

R225, wasn't sure whether you got recently tested for Covid or maybe you did and are waiting for results. I'm no doctor and your symptoms are interesting. If you had posted this a year ago, I would have felt more sympathy. Good luck.

R228 thanks, but why would a year make a difference in your sympathy? Sorry, I don’t really understand what that comment means.

No, I haven’t been tested for COVID in the last ten days, though I had a home kit test two weeks ago that was negative. Are you implying that I have it? I’m not showing other classic symptoms at all, so if I do then it’s almost asymptomatic and I caught it recently. It seems unlikely I’d have it, as I rarely go out—but maybe an ill-advised outdoor jaunt a fortnight ago was the kicker.

R227/R226 as I’ve mentioned before (which since you seem to be stalking me, you might have read), I already have a diagnosis of dysthymic depression without anxiety. Last I checked, parathesia was not an observed symptom of depression.

What is more, my mother’s healthy and mentally-well coworker, who is about my age and had the Pfizer about the same time, is exhibiting the same painful tingling symptoms in her limbs & extremities, without knowing about mine. Bit of a strange coincidence, no?

Last night I wolfed down a couple of high-strength curcumin, to see if my symptoms are inflammatory. There has been some relief in pain overnight, though my legs still prickle and hurt and the veins still show. I’m at a loss. I booked to speak to my GP one last time (a different doctor), in the hope they won’t fob me off again.

R229 if you aren’t making this up, in addition to the GP appointment, go see a Neurophysiologist for a nerve conduction study. All sorts of things can cause the onset of polyneuropathy, but you want to establish that that’s really what you have and I don’t see a GP doing that.

I think states should be notified to be prepared for the possibility of scheduling booster shots. If my Pfizer vaccine is only good for six months then I would need another one late October. I don't want to wait until the last minute and if they find it's not needed, it can easily be cancelled.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Trump testing czar Brett Giroir told Fox news yesterday:

“Anyone who’s not vaccinated and who did not have COVID previously, the Delta variant is so contagious that you’re going to get it. It is just a matter of time."

And approximately .00003 % of Fox viewers took him seriously.

R229 There is a word for this.

HYPOCONDRIA

Marjorie Taylor Greene Encourages Supporters To Use 2nd Amendment Against Government

'I'm embarrassed': Constituents react to Boebert defying Covid-19 rules

Have any of you stayed in hotels lately? Do you trust that they're covid-safe if you eat in your room and don't spend a lot of time in the lobby?

Here's what I understand. You can't cure a virus, you can only treat it. That's what the vaccine is, a treatment. Like the flu shot, we get it every year, feel like shit, but not as shitty as we would without the shot. But the flu isn't eradicated by the flu shots, just like Covid won't be eradicated. It will only ever be treated, year after year after year. Its here to stay folks.

Well, then we're going to become a nation of invalids, because Covid doesn't disappear in your body after a couple weeks.

Vaccines aren’t treatments. They are preventive medication that allows your body to “see” something about a pathogen in advance so that you already have t and b immune memory cells in your body when you encounter the pathogen in real life and can thus mount an immediate and effective response. Some vaccines offer sterilizing immunity (never get it). Others offer attenuating immunity where you might be infected, but the disease course will be much milder or completely asymptomatic. Longevity of the memory cells vary so some vaccines need to be repeated every so often. And seasonal flu changes so much, it’s a whole new disease every year and the yearly flu vaccine is a “guess” of the three most likely new flus based on the knowledge of usual evolutionary trends.

With a treatment the medication fights the virus. With a vaccine, the vaccine trains your immune system and your body fights the virus better.

But you are right R238 that unless we discover a vaccine with sterilizing immunity and vaccinate the majority of the world this virus is probably here to stay. Which is why getting everyone vaccinated with effective vaccines that offer good attenuation is so important, because at the level of infectiousness, morbidity (lonnnnng hospital stays) and mortality in unvaccinated people this virus will destabilize societies.

Doctors Beg Ron DeSantis To Do Something To Slow COVID Spread In Florida

Florida Governor Abandons State As COVID Cases Rise To Campaign In Utah

The FDA is pulling in extra help to speed full approval of Covid-19 vaccines

From CNN's Virginia Langmaid

The US Food and Drug Administration is pulling in extra help from across the agency to speed final approval of Pfizer/BioNtech’s coronavirus vaccine, an agency spokesperson told CNN Friday.

“We have taken an all-hands-on-deck approach, including identifying additional resources such as personnel and technological resources from across the agency and opportunities to reprioritize other activities, in order to complete our review to help combat this pandemic surge,” the FDA’s Abby Capobianco told CNN in an email.

“Our ongoing review of the biologics license application for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is moving forward as rapidly as possible in keeping with the high-quality complete assessment that the public expects from the FDA,” she added.

The three vaccines in current use in the United States — Pfizer’s, Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s — have emergency use authorization. Pfizer has filed for full approval in a process known as biologics license application or BLA.

“We recognize that for some, the FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccines may bring additional confidence and encourage them to get vaccinated,” Capobianco said. She said acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock was helping reassign people and other resources.

“FDA staff will conduct a thorough review process, while balancing the incredible sense of urgency necessary, both of which are needed to ensure that any vaccine that is authorized or approved meets our rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and quality. In this regard, Dr. Woodcock has reiterated her appreciation for the diligence and integrity to this process and offered all agency resources to the team to make this happen.”

COVID Spreading 100% Faster in Republican Counties

Go Covid! Go Covid!

I know someone who has now lost both of their parents just days apart. They were both vaccinated but in their 70s. MO-Ozarks. I am fucking terrified for my own 70s parents and myself. I locked them down today. Thankfully I live with them and can do all the shopping, etc.

oh wow, that sucks!

At work yesterday, we found out about one of our unvaccinated Transpo drivers, who tested positive about 2-3 weeks ago, is in the hospital in serious condition. Meanwhile, the 2 vaccinated people that did get it, said it was like a bad cold or a sinus infection are back at work after 10 days of quarantine. That Delta variant is no joke for the unvaccinated.

[quote]That Delta variant is no joke for the unvaccinated.

The previous variants weren't a joy ride, either.

Vaccines required for restaurants, gyms etc in NYC!

Yay!

Great, but why are they waiting to implement it until mid-September?

I thought this interesting. If you got the J&J jab, SF Gen Hosp will give you a Pfizer or Moderna jab as a supplement. Hadn’t heard about this new approach.

Florida Doctors Say That Ron DeSantis Is A National Embarrassment

Trust me r253, it's not just the doctors.

I'm hoping for Moron Tawdry Greed to get it.

A little vaccine humor.

Delta Plus variant is in California.

Trending on Twitter with people joking that Delta Plus sounds like another streaming service.

Delta plus is not as infectious, right? But it's more deadly?

I'm watching my figure. Is there a Delta lite?

I rather think that Delta Plus is the customer loyalty program at Delta Airlines.

[quote] The Delta plus variant, not to be confused with its horrible Delta predecessor, is said to latch onto lung cells more easily, be more resistant to therapies, and is supposed to be overall more transmissible than previous COVID-19 variants. The announcement comes as many parts of the world rethink reopenings due to the initial Delta variant.

Sush y'alls mouth.

Can we just nuke China for fucking up the world with this cunt virus?

Jen keeps unvaccinated people out of her circle.

There is an effort to get immunocompromised people a Covid-19 vaccine booster "very soon," says Fauci

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

People with compromised immune systems may need additional protection after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, and there is an effort to make vaccine boosters available to that population “very soon,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

“There are those individuals who are immune compromised – transplant patients, patients on cancer chemotherapy, patients on immunosuppressive regimen, for example, for autoimmune diseases,” Fauci said during a virtual event hosted by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Tuesday. “Those individuals we know almost invariably do not have an adequate response, so the need to give them an additional boost is much more emergent than the general population.”

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have met to discuss whether immunocompromised people may need additional protection from a vaccine booster, but have not yet presented a formal recommendation or voted on guidance.

“We are trying very hard to get the regulatory mechanism in place very soon to get those individuals a boost that might bring up their immunity to the level where it should be, if possible,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Conservatives Freak Out After NYC Implements Vaccine Passport Rules For Restaurants

WHO asks wealthy nations to hold off on Covid vaccine boosters at least through September

The World Health Organization on Wednesday called on wealthy nations to stop the distribution of Covid-19 booster shots, citing vaccine inequity around the world.

The agency said the halt should last at least two months, to give the world a chance to meet the director-general’s goal of vaccinating 10% of the population of every country by the end of September.

“We need an urgent reversal from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the majority going to low income countries,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing.

The request is part of Ghebreyesus’ plan to vaccinate 40% of the world by December, according to his senior advisor, Dr. Bruce Aylward.

“The big picture here is as a policy not to be moving forward with boosters until we get the whole world at a point where the older populations, people with comorbidities, people who are working at the front lines, are all protected to the degree possible with vaccines,” Aylward said at the briefing.

Vaccinating all the world’s population is critical to ending the coronavirus pandemic, experts say. The delta variant that is now ravaging the U.S. was first detected by scientists in India after the original Covid strain was allowed to spread, replicate and ultimately mutate. The result was a highly infectious variant with a higher chance of vaccine evasion that has come to dominate in most countries.

More strains will emerge, posing more of a risk to all countries, vaccinated or unvaccinated, unless more of the world’s population is immunized.

“The entire world is in the middle of this and as we’ve seen with the emergence of variant after variant, we cannot get out of it unless the whole world gets out of it together, and with the huge disparity in vaccination coverage, we’re simply not going to be able to achieve that,” Aylward said.

The duration of the moratorium request could be extended if vaccine rates in countries with low rates do not increase.

“Right now, if you look at how vaccines are being used globally, the uptake rate by high-income countries, upper-middle-income countries, is absorbing too much of the global supply for the lowest-income countries,” Aylward said.

The move comes after Israel announced the country would give booster doses to its elderly population. The Dominican Republic has also been administering booster doses to its population, while neighboring country Haiti only recently secured its first batch of vaccine doses.

People in the U.S. are also finding ways to secure booster shots.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital said Tuesday that they would allow patients who have received the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to receive a supplemental shot of an mRNA vaccine.

Vaccine giant Pfizer has maintained that people will need a booster shot, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the data warranting the need for booster doses remains unclear.

WHO officials also said beyond December, they hope to have 70% of the world vaccinated by the middle of 2022, “and that’s when we can really start focusing around the edges on just how high it needs to go beyond that,” Dr. Kate O’Brien, WHO director of the department of immunization, vaccines and biologicals, said at the briefing.

Until that goal is met, global health officials hope that countries with high vaccination rates will comply with the moratorium request, and more importantly, the call to end vaccine inequity.

“We need a strategy of vaccines, and we need the public health and social measures at individual level and community level, we need everybody to step up right now,” WHO Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said.

Congress Scraps $30 Billion Plan To Prevent The Next Pandemic

FUCK the WHO! I want my booster shot NOW!!!

BIDEN TALKS ABOUT COVID PROBLEMS...HE IS THE PROBLEM...7000 ILLEGALS TESTED POSITIVE AND RELEASED INTO THE PUBLIC IN TX..

[bold]'Dark times': Houston's fourth COVID-19 wave to be the largest yet, medical leaders predict[/bold]

Fueled by the delta variant, a surge in Houston COVID-19 hospitalizations is growing as fast as at any time during the pandemic so far, and is projected to pass previous records by mid-August — even though roughly half of all eligible Houstonians are fully vaccinated.

“We’re heading into dark times,” said Texas Medical Center CEO Bill McKeon. Already, he said, “our ICUs are filled with unvaccinated people.”

On Tuesday, Texas Medical Center hospitals listed 1,372 people in intensive care — more than the number of regular ICU beds. The hospitals are now in Phase II of the medical center’s surge plan, opening unused wards to accommodate the gravely ill patients expected to need them.

more at link

Bless your heart, r270. The all caps is so creative!

AND so PERSUASIVE!

New York Auto Show canceled due to Delta variant

From CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapen

The New York International Auto show, set for later this month, was canceled by organizers on Wednesday due to an increasing number of cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant and the local measures used to combat them.

"It is with great disappointment that the upcoming 2021 New York International Automobile Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center has been cancelled due to the growing incidences of the Covid-19 Delta variant and the increased measures announced recently by State and local officials to stop its spread," the show organizers said in a statement.

The New York Auto Show was set to take place between Aug. 20 and 29 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. In a typical year, the 121-year-old New York Auto Show says 628,000 households attend.

New York City recently announced it will require proof of vaccination for people to enter indoor public events as well as restaurants, fitness centers and indoor entertainment venues. The policy will take effect over the next few weeks.

White House convenes meeting of all living former US surgeon generals to discuss Covid-19

From CNN's Kate Sullivan and Jeremy Diamond

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and members of the White House Covid-19 response team convened a meeting of all living former US surgeon generals on Wednesday morning, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, as the White House ramps up efforts to get the rest of the population vaccinated.

“These esteemed public health leaders, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, discussed the importance of ensuring that communities of color, those hardest hit by the virus have the information and access they need to get vaccinated. And they discussed how we can work together of course moving forward,” Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday.

Those attending the meeting included Dr. Antonia Novello, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Dr. David Satcher, Dr. Richard Carmona, Dr. Regina Benjamin and Dr. Jerome Adams.

In a Q&A session with reporters following the meeting, Murthy talked about the misinformation about the vaccine that is spreading in some communities of color and said he spoke with the former surgeons general about ways to ramp up partnerships with trusted messengers in those communities to counter that misinformation.

Asked by CNN why the administration only began to take more urgent action in response to the Delta variant last week even though it was identified as a variant of concern in June, Murthy said he believes the CDC moved quickly to act on new information about transmission among vaccinated individuals last week. He stressed that the CDC has to strike a balance between being confident in the data that is informing decisions and moving quickly enough.

He also stressed that vaccinated people “still have a high degree of protection” and stressed that “the majority of transmission is among unvaccinated individuals.”

Addressing a question about booster shots, Murthy said it is very possible booster shots will be needed but noted that the FDA and CDC are still studying that issue.

Sure, r270, *that's* the problem...

So the conspiracy theorists have gone from "Covid is a hoax" to "It's no worse than the flu" to "Biden is sneaking Mexicans into Texas to give everybody Covid!"

From Resist Programming:

[quote]This is Texas State Republican Executive Committee Member Scott Apley.

[quote]Scott posted this COVID conspiracy theory rap video to his Facebook.

[quote]Scott is now dead from COVID-19.

[quote]Don’t be like Scott.

Here's more about the fatass Republican at R278 who died. He had mocked COVID in a Facebook post last Friday (July 30), was admitted to the hospital on Sunday (Aug. 1) and died on Wednesday (Aug. 4). That was fast. Of course, his wife now has COVID too, and a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.

This is my concern. I'm fully vaccinated and I don't even want a minor case of this. My sister got covid in early December, and while she recovered without needing hospitalization, she's still having problems.

yes, I don't want to get the virus, I don't want memory problems or any mental issues!!

I was on the subway yesterday and there were a few people without masks ! fuck them cunts!

Moderna says its Covid-19 vaccine booster shot produced a “robust” antibody response against the highly contagious delta variant.

The booster shots produced a promising immune response against three variants, including delta, with antibody levels approaching those seen in previously unvaccinated people who received two 100-microgram doses.

[quote]Arkansas hospital overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients is so short on nurses it is offering $25,000 signing bonus - Daily Mail US

'They couldn't take it anymore': Hospital workers quit amid Covid-19 surge

My internet went out yesterday. I called Spectrum, they tested everything from the office and said it was either the modem had died or something was wrong with the wiring. I asked them to send me a new modem and surprisingly, it arrived today. I hooked it up, still no service, so they are having to send someone to my place to check the wiring and I'm freaking out about having someone in my apartment. But I need my internet for so many things, not least of all work.

I'm going to greet the guy at the door on Saturday with an N95 mask and an outer mask and watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't take either off or lower it under his nose. I'm still super worried.

"I'm going to greet the guy at the door on Saturday with an N95 mask and an outer mask"

*

And nothing else on?

Hahaha. No, I meant for him to put on.

I'll be in a life sized Ziplock bag.

Florida Schools Stand Up Ron DeSantis By Defying His Ban On Mask Mandates

Covid-19 vaccine booster might just be a one-time shot, not a yearly one, leading FDA researcher says

From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid

A booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine might just be part of the completion of immunization, not an annual requirement to revaccinate, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the US Food and Drug Administration, said Tuesday.

“I don't think that we want to think that these vaccines have somehow failed us,” Marks said at a discussion hosted by the Covid-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project.

“It may simply be that to get the kind of really good immunity against Covid-19 that we get with some other vaccines, it may take a series of three vaccinations, much the same way that Hepatitis B for adults and multiple childhood vaccination primary series, you need to get a vaccination, you know, zero, one; or zero, two and four; or zero, two and six months," he said.

Marks also distinguished between two ways of considering third doses — one to aid people without an effective immune response, and one to address continuing circulation of the virus.

“There is the third dose of vaccine as part of the upfront series for people who don't make a good immune response – that's one type of third dosing. And then there may be a third dose, or a booster, depending on how you look at it, that will be given to make sure we have good immunity against the circulating strains of Covid-19,” Marks said. “I think we need to make sure we present this correctly.”

White House says US is not headed toward lockdown despite Delta variant surge

From CNN's Kate Sullivan

The White House said the US is not headed for another lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19 despite the highly contagious Delta variant spreading throughout the country.

“This is not March 2020, or even January 2021. We're not going to lock down our economy or our schools because our country's in a much stronger place than when we took office thanks to the President’s leadership in vaccinating the American people and getting economic relief to those who need it,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday. “We've been preparing like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts for this moment and the potential that there would be ups and downs in our recovery."

Psaki added: “We are not going back. We are not turning back the clock.”

Earlier Friday: President Biden said more work needs to be done to vaccinate the rest of the country amid the Delta variant surge.

But he said the national vaccination program, which has so far resulted in 50% of the country getting fully vaccinated, has protected the population from the worst of the Delta variant.

FDA set to authorize COVID booster shots for immunocompromised

Federal health officials are soon set to authorize COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for people with weakened immune systems, even though others in the Biden administration say the additional shots might not be necessary, according to a report.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to review new data from the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention in the next week or two and swiftly move toward authorization, The Washington Post reported, citing anonymous federal officials.

The CDC data supports the use of additional vaccine shots, especially for the immunocompromised, to bolster immunity against the Delta variant, the report said.

If the data persuades FDA officials as expected that the booster shots would help, the FDA would then amend the vaccines’ emergency-use authorizations to permit the use of extra shots, the report said.

After the EUAs are amended, an advisory board to the CDC would then urge people with underlying conditions and weakened immune systems to consult their doctors or pharmacists about getting an additional shot, the outlet said.

But the report comes amid mixed messaging from other federal health officials.

The head of the National Institutes of Health said just Monday that there is no reason to believe at this point that Americans will need to get booster shots.

“I would say right now, there is not evidence that we need to go ahead with boosters in the United States, but that’s an ongoing debate,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“Let me just be clear, though, that actually the existing approved vaccines in the US, Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, do have high effectiveness against [the] Delta [variant]. There is no reason to rush forward at this present time for a booster decision, but we’re going to watch that day by day,” he added.

In recent days, though, others in the administration have ramped up their messaging that it’s important for immunocompromised people who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 to get a booster.

“It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters, and we are now working on that, and will make that … implemented as quickly as possible, because for us and for the individuals involved it is a very high priority,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Thursday at a White House briefing.

There are at least 7 million immunocompromised adults in the US, according to the CDC.

Republican Leaders Throw In The Towel When It Comes To Covid | MSNBC

Of course they aren't going to lock down again because money is more important than anything. Meanwhile where the fuck are many of us going to work when private companies decide to close or lay off or the business is just not there and we've exhausted unemployment?

New data says J&J vaccine offers good protection against Delta, doesn't require booster

Uh… that’s odd ^^

J&J is fine as long as you don’t believe the nonsense about it being effective after two weeks and wait six weeks to start being out and about.

[quote] Of course they aren't going to lock down again because money is more important than anything.

But that's what the entire western world was saying in Feb 2020. Don't people understand by now that lockdowns are not a choice ? It's about hospital overflow.

Acosta: People shouldn't have to die so some politicians can 'own the libs'

Trump Official Blames COVID Chaos on FEMA

Rand Paul Pushes Crazy Conspiracy About Democrats 'Seeding' COVID Variants

Covid hits Lynyrd Skynyrd.

CDC: More than 99.99% of fully vaccinated people have not had a severe breakthrough case of Covid-19

From CNN's Deidre McPhillips

More than 99.99% of people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization or death, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Aug. 2, more than 164 million people in the United States were fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the CDC. Fewer than 0.001% of those individuals — 1,507 people — died and fewer than 0.005% — 7,101 people — were hospitalized with Covid-19.

CDC last published data on breakthrough cases through July 26. These latest figures include 938 additional severe breakthrough cases — 862 additional hospitalizations and 244 additional deaths — reported over that seven-day period. The CDC does not provide more detail about the timing of the breakthrough cases.

About three-quarters (74%) of all reported breakthrough cases were among seniors age 65 or older. Of the roughly 1,500 people who died, one in five passed away from something other than Covid-19 even though they had a breakthrough case of the virus, according to the CDC.

Since May, the CDC has focused on investigating only hospitalized or fatal cases among those who have been fully vaccinated.

According to the CDC, this data relies on “passive and voluntary reporting” and are a “snapshot” to “help identify patterns and look for signals among vaccine breakthrough cases.”

“To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in the case demographics or vaccine characteristics among people with reported vaccine breakthrough infections,” according to the CDC.

Orange County wastewater shows significant increases of Covid-19 virus

From CNN's Natasha Chen and Kevin Conlon

The Orange County, Florida, Utilities department said it has recently detected significantly higher concentrations of Covid-19 virus in the wastewater. The testing of wastewater is done as part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services' National Wastewater Surveillance System.

As of Aug. 2, the Northwest wastewater service area in particular, saw a 1,255% increase in about a 9-week timeframe, according to a statement from the Orange County Utilities department.

According to the statement, as of August 5, the detected viral concentration in the Eastern wastewater service area had increased 775% in about a 13-week timeframe. In the Southern wastewater service area, the increase was about 588% in the same timeframe.

An Orange County Utilities spokesperson shared a statement from the department, saying that the Eastern and Northwestern wastewater service areas “are primarily residential areas, which alerts us that the virus is spreading rapidly in our community as residents infect others in their local neighborhoods and surrounding areas. By contrast, although our Southern wastewater service area, which includes the tourism district, is also seeing a spike, sampling shows a slower increase in virus remnants. The difference in rate of increase may be reflective of varying vaccination rates in the wastewater areas, including special health requirements for travel.”

The concentrations reflect both symptomatic and asymptomatic residents, alerting authorities to spikes in infections 4 to 10 days before positive case numbers would reflect changes within the community, according to the Orange County Utilities department.

The county’s reclamation facilities serve about 870,000 people. A spokesperson for Orange County utilities said staff will closely monitor these levels as the school year begins.

Norwegian Cruise Line can require proof of Covid-19 vaccination in Florida, federal judge rules

From CNN'S Liz Stark

Norwegian Cruise Line can require proof of Covid-19 vaccination for passengers and crew members, a federal judge ruled Sunday, after the cruise line operator had challenged Florida’s ban on vaccine passports.

US District Judge Kathleen Williams granted Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ request for a preliminary injunction to Florida's law that prohibits companies from requiring customers and employees to provide documentation of Covid-19 vaccination status.

The complaint, filed last month in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, named Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees in his capacity as "the responsible state official."

In April, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning the use of Covid-19 passports in the state. The order prohibited any government entity from issuing vaccine passports and blocks businesses from requiring any such documentation. State lawmakers passed legislation codifying the order that was signed into law on May 3.

Offices for DeSantis and the Florida surgeon general did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

The lawsuit sets up a key showdown between state laws and the ability for companies to mandate vaccines to their customers.

The company said it plans to resume cruises on August 15, with the Norwegian Gem departing from Miami – its first from Florida since the pandemic disrupted operations more than a year ago.

Frank Del Rio, Norwegian Cruise Line’s president and chief executive officer, praised the judge’s ruling said in a statement Sunday.

“We want nothing more than to sail from Miami, the Cruise Capital of the World, and from the other fabulous Florida ports and we welcome today’s ruling that allows us to sail with 100% fully vaccinated guests and crew which we believe is the safest and most prudent way to resume cruise operations amid this global pandemic,” he said.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. operates three cruise lines: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises

You might start hearing about the Lambda variant. Here's what we know about it so far.

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, infections caused by the Lambda variant have been emerging in the United States, including in Texas, where Houston Methodist Hospital last month reported its first case.

There is a lot left to learn about Lambda, but here's what we know so far:

So far, it's rare in the US: The variant is not nearly as worrisome as the Delta variant in the US, which has been driving a rise in cases nationwide, but early studies suggest that it has mutations that make it more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus.

“Lambda has mutations that are concerning but this variant remains quite rare in the US despite being around for several months,” Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, wrote in an email on Friday.

We're not sure how transmissible it is: it “It’s difficult to know for certain how transmissible Lambda is and how well vaccines work. So far, it seems that Lambda is more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus,” which is similar to Delta and other variants, wrote Malani, an expert with the Infectious Diseases Society of America. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

“Thankfully studies suggest that the currently available vaccines remain protective. We have learned during the pandemic that things can change quickly, so controlling spread of COVID-19 in general will help manage Lambda,” Malani wrote. “As long as there is uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2, we will see more variants in the future. The only way out is widespread vaccination to control spread and prevent further mutation of SARS-CoV-2. It’s a race between getting enough of the world vaccinated and the development of new variants that are less responsive to counter measures.”

About vaccines: So far, data remain split on how well vaccines protect against the Lambda variant, and scientists say they need to study this more.

In July, researchers wrote in a lab study that they found some evidence that people who got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine might benefit from a booster dose to better protect them from new variants of the coronavirus, including the Lambda variant. The study was done in the lab and does not reflect real-world effects of the vaccine – and it’s published online as a preprint to the server biorxiv.org, meaning it was not subject to careful peer review.

Nathaniel Landau of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and colleagues said their tests of blood taken from vaccinated volunteers shows that at least some of the newly emerging variants may evade the protection offered by a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. A boost of a second dose of J&J vaccine, or even with Moderna’s or Pfizer’s, might help, the researchers reported.

In the study, the variants Beta, Delta, Delta plus and Lambda showed only “modest” resistance against antibodies elicited by the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, suggesting the vaccines still work.

Debunking COVID Microchip Conspiracy Theory

Pentagon expected to mandate Covid-19 vaccine for active duty troops by mid-September

From CNN's Barbara Starr

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is expected seek the President’s approval to make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for all members of the active duty military by mid-September or sooner if fully approved by the FDA, according a US defense official.

The news is expected to be released in a memo Monday.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley will communicate a message on this to the troops after the announcement.

The AP was first to report this.

Can you fucking believe we have to "debunk" a Covid microchip theory???

Unfortunately, the US has an even larger core of Covid-19 refuseniks than Israel, so boosters need to be coming soon.

Can you believe we still have people running around insisting Earth is flat?

Touche, R310.

Last week...

Boris Johnson's reopening strategy for the UK doesn't appear to be going well:

Who keeps posting YouTube links of that creepy bald guy with the goatee? You’re pissing in the punch bowl here.

Just don't watch them.

The Premier League (soccer) starts this week, UK's number are going up for sure 100%

Anti-Government Republicans Ask For Help From The Government

3 major airlines will not require employees to be vaccinated

From CNN's Pete Muntean

The CEOs of Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines say they will not require employees to get vaccinated, breaking with United Airlines’ mandate that workers get vaccinated by Oct. 25 or face getting fired.

In an internal memo obtained by CNN, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the airline will “continue to strongly encourage” that workers get vaccinated, but the airline’s stance has not shifted.

���Obviously, I am very concerned about the latest Delta variant, and the effect on the health and Safety of our Employees and our operation, but nothing has changed,” Kelly said.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Good Day New York on Tuesday that that 75% of its workforce has already been vaccinated even without a mandate. In May, Delta became the first major carrier to mandate that all new hires be vaccinated.

“I think we're there's some additional steps and measures we can take to get the vaccine rates even higher, but what we're seeing is every day is those numbers continue to grow,” Bastian said.

Both announcements follow a New York Times podcast interview with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker who said the airline is incentivizing workers who get vaccinated by the end of this month with one extra day of vacation in 2022.

“We certainly encourage it everywhere we can, encourage it for our customers and our employees, but we’re not putting mandates in place,” said Parker.

Why are they waiting to enforce the mandate until November?

New guidance from the CDC:

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

FDA expected to authorize booster shots for some immunocompromised people within the next 48 hours

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and John Bonifield

The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce within the next 48 hours that it is authorizing Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for some people who are immunocompromised, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

This would be a third shot of the current two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. That announcement could slide, the source cautioned, but this is the current timing.

"The FDA is closely monitoring data as it becomes available from studies administering an additional dose of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines to immunocompromised individuals," an FDA spokesperson told CNN. "The agency, along with the CDC, is evaluating potential options on this issue, and will share information in the near future."

NBC News was first to report on the expected announcement.

The FDA must give authorization for the vaccines to be used in new ways outside the existing authorization. All three Covid-19 vaccines being used in the US are given under emergency use authorization by the FDA, but full approval is pending for Pfizer's vaccine. After FDA grants approval or authorization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then advises on whether to actually use a vaccine as authorized by the FDA.

Vaccine advisers for the CDC will meet on Friday to discuss booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines and additional doses for some immunocompromised people, according to a meeting agenda posted by the agency on Monday.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins University researchers found that vaccinated immunocompromised people are 485 times more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid-19 compared to the general population that is vaccinated.

Based on an estimate by the CDC, about 9 million Americans are immunocompromised, either because of diseases they have or medications they take.

It has been known for months that Covid-19 vaccines might not work well for this group. The hope was that vaccination rates overall would be so high so that the "herd" would protect them.

But it didn't work out that way, because about a third of eligible people in the US have not received even one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Los Angeles proposal for proof of vaccination to enter indoor public places moves forward

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

A motion to require proof of vaccination to enter most indoor public spaces in Los Angeles has been pushed one step closer to reality by city council members.

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure to have the city attorney draw up an ordinance that could require the public to show proof of receiving at least one Covid-19 vaccination to enter indoor spots like retail stores, restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, and concert venues.

The legislation goes beyond the requirement announced last week in New York, adding retail stores to the list of indoor public places where residents would need to present proof of vaccination. The draft ordinance will include information on the city’s vaccination campaign and solicit feedback from teachers, parents and pediatricians on how to best protect children.

“Instead of fighting science, we should be fighting the virus,” said Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, co-author of the proposal. “The data is clear: vaccines are safe and effective. We have endured 18 months of mass illness and death, with the latest variant wreaking havoc across the globe. Free vaccinations are widely available for all who are eligible. This is a necessary and sensible step that will broadly protect the health and safety of Angelenos. It could very well ward off another economic shutdown, which would be devastating to our city and our nation.”

"Frankly, I'm tired of our politicization science and public health. And while people outside this building are protesting that this is a violation of their civil liberties, Angelenos are dying unnecessarily," Councilmember Paul Koretz said.

In recent weeks, new Covid-19 cases in Los Angeles County have increased 20-fold, but local public health data in the past few days has shown promising signs of a slowdown of the surge.

“Not being vaccinated leads to death. It leads to a prolonged pandemic. It has an impact on others. It is not a personal choice. It is a public health issue," insisted Councilmember Bob Blumenfield.

Councilmember Paul Krekorian urged the city attorney to work closely with the Los Angeles County supervisors in drafting the ordinance in an effort to ensure that the rules apply beyond city limits. The city of Los Angeles is home to about 4 million residents. Another 6 million reside outside of city limits and still within L.A. County.

"We need to stop fighting science and start fighting the virus," said O’Farrell, as he advocated for protecting retail and other workers. “I think it’s high time to move this forward. We can do this.”

US intelligence officials draft classified report as they near finish of 90-day Covid-19 investigation

From CNN's Kylie Atwood, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Katie Bo Williams

Intelligence officials are nearing the end of a 90-day investigation into the origins of Covid-19 that was ordered by President Biden, and have drafted a classified report that is now in the preliminary review process, according to three sources familiar with the probe.

Sources familiar with the initial report say that after three months of poring over data and raw intelligence, the intelligence community is still divided over two theories — one suggesting the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, and the other suggesting it jumped naturally to humans from animals, the sources said. The report as it stands now contains "nothing too earth shattering," one source explained.

In May, Biden told US intelligence agencies to "redouble" their efforts to investigate how the virus originated, including the possibility that it emerged from a lab accident. Biden ordered the investigation after receiving an earlier report on the origins and asking for follow-up information, he said in a statement. The 90-day clock that Biden set for this investigation will be up in late August.

It's possible that the draft report could undergo significant revisions during the remaining review process. Biden also tasked the intelligence community with declassifying as much of the report as possible, a process now underway as it undergoes initial reviews.

The intelligence community's inability to present one theory with high confidence after three months of intense work underscores just how hard it is to probe the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Security Council did not return requests for comment.

Last week, CNN reported that intelligence agencies had gotten their hands on a trove of genetic data drawn from virus samples at the lab in Wuhan that some officials believe could have been the source of the outbreak. It's unclear whether officials have finished analyzing that data.

Intelligence officials have also taken a fresh look at signals intelligence, like intercepted communications and satellite imagery, that could provide clues.

But ultimately, China's refusal to share information from the early days of the outbreak and the country's lack of transparency has been a major hurdle, and officials had been broadly pessimistic about finding a smoking gun during the 90-day push.

The report — which was done without any Chinese participation — is now being reviewed by the intelligence community and outside experts for feedback before it is finalized later this month, the three sources said. Once the classified version is finalized, an unclassified version will also be developed so that the Biden administration can share something with the public, one source explained.

NYSE to require full Covid-19 vaccination for access to trading floor starting Sept. 13

Fromm CNN's Richard Davis

The New York Stock Exchange announced it will require full Covid-19 vaccination for anyone entering the trading floor starting Sept. 13, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

The exchange said that exemptions would be made for medical or religious reasons but that anyone granted an accommodation needs to present a negative test within the previous 48 hours and wear an N95 equivalent or surgical mask at all times while on the trading floor.

The NYSE also announced, effective immediately, an expansion of its onsite random testing program to include vaccinated employees.

In the memo, the NYSE said the decision was made based on recent shifts in public health conditions as well as recommendations from federal, state, and local authorities.

Amtrak mandates that all employees get vaccinated

From CNN's Pete Muntean

Amtrak is mandating that all of its employees get vaccinated against coronavirus.

In a companywide memo, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said all workers will need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. All new hires will have to show proof of vaccination starting Oct. 4.

“The vaccine is proven to save lives,” Flynn said in the letter to employees. “We did not come to these decisions lightly, and we understand it may take some time to process, which is why we are providing you with time to prepare.”

The memo says that employees who resist the mandate must either prove a “valid medical reason” as to why they cannot get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid-19 test result each week.

“Many employees have shared reasons why they are apprehensive about getting the COVID-19 vaccine,” the memo said. “We understand these concerns and encourage everyone to consult with a medical professional and seek out facts from reputable sources.”

The move comes as the travel industry is taking a scattershot approach to employee vaccine mandates. Last week, United Airlines announced that all of its employees must get vaccinated by Oct. 25 or face getting fired. Since then, CEOs from Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said they have no plans to implement similar mandates.

Regarding the link at R322, what does everyone think? Should we wait to see what comes down the pike in terms of virus variants and tweaks to the vaccines to make them more effective? I would actually be eligible tomorrow because of my pre-existing conditions, but I'm not sure what to do. It’s not that i don’t trust the vaccine, but it’s shown its limits for the delta and i’m not sure they really know just how effective a third dose will be for Delta and anything new. My concern is- I don’t want to take a third dose of this and find out it makes me ineligible to get something better down the line.

I want to hear the data about the early vaxxers, the ones who volunteered for the trials. What’s their antibody count after 9 (+/-) months?

T and B cell memory can still be protective regardless of circulating antibody levels, but they are much harder to quantify.I was hoping to be able to hold out and get one of the completely different vaccines that are coming out next year. If I am really going to be eligible for a booster tomorrow and need one I’d prefer J&J to getting a third shot of Moderna. (Not that Moderna isn’t fabulous, because it is, but variety is the spice of life.)

Hmmm.... interesting strategy, ElderLez. I have to go to NYC for work in October for two months so I'm feeling I'd like to be more protected, so I'm leaning toward getting a third shot, but I feel as you do, that I'd like to see what they come up with next year.

A Mayo clinic study of the effectiveness of the vaccines against preventing Delta variation INFECTION showed a difference between the Moderna and Pfizer.

[quote] Overall, it found that the Moderna vaccine was 86% effective against infection over the study period, and Pfizer's was 76%. Moderna's vaccine was 92% effective against hospitalization and Pfizer's was 85%.

[quote] But the vaccines' effectiveness against infection dropped sharply in July, when the Delta variant's prevalence in Minnesota had risen to over 70% . [quote] Moderna was 76% effective against infection, and Pfizer was only 42% effective.

[quote] The study found similar results in other states. For example, in Florida, the risk of infection in July for people fully vaccinated with Moderna was about 60% lower than for people fully vaccinated with Pfizer.

[quote] Experts cautioned against rushing to conclusions. “This is the kind of surprising finding that needs confirmation before we should accept its validity," said Cornell virologist John Moore.

Rand Paul Thinks He's The Resistance

^ He needs to resist the urge to put that thing on his head.

Ted Cruz Calls For ‘Zero’ Covid Mandates As His Kids Safely Attend School Requiring Masks

Do all people with autoimmune disease qualify for the 3rd booster, or just people with AI disease who are on immune suppressants?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Shades of 2020:

Mississippi has requested the federal government send a military hospital ship such as the Norfolk-based USNS Comfort to help its overloaded hospitals with COVID-19 patients.

"The Mississippi hospital system will fail within the next five to seven or 10 days if the current trajectory continues.”

Let it fail.

[quote] Mississippi has requested the federal government send a military hospital ship such as the Norfolk-based USNS Comfort to help its overloaded hospitals with COVID-19 patients.

Can't Mississippians just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and maybe say a few extra prayers? That should do the trick.

I think I missed something. What do we know about the totally different vaccines coming next year, which were mentioned a few posts upthread by ElderLez?

Ivermectin, the latest supposed treatment for COVID-19 being touted by anti-vaccination groups, had "no effect whatsoever" on the disease, according to a large patient study.

That isn't true, r342. It *did* kill the worms that had Covid.

R341 see my posts at R195 and R196 on this thread.

Chicken egg vaccine I've been posting about probably for over a year. It is up to phase II testing in Vietnam and Thailand. The link is to the article from this spring.

Vaccine tracker site. I think I linked to this in the last thread.

Obviously until phase III is done, it’s all a big maybe

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote] FDA approves COVID booster shots: Agency says transplant patients and others with weakened immune systems can get third shot of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine

Will they require people to show proof that they have a weakened immune system, or can anyone basically get a third shot?

Nevada parent sent child tMore than 80 students in Reno were potentially exposed to Covid-19 on their first day of classes Monday, when a parent sent their child to school despite receiving a positive Covid-19 test two days earlier, the Washoe County Health District said.

While no faculty or staff were impacted at Marce Herz Middle School, according to the Washoe County School District, the exposed students had to quarantine at home and begin distance learning on Tuesday.

In a letter sent to the parents of impacted students on Tuesday night, Principal Brandon Bringhurst told parents that that if their student is fully vaccinated, parents can bring their vaccination card to school and the student can resume in person classes immediately. Students can also take a Covid-19 test on or after Aug. 14 and if they test negative and are symptom free, they can return to school on Aug. 17, he said.

According to the health district, both the parent and student tested positive for coronavirus two days before school started. The health district said the parent has refused to communicate with its staff or school officials.

“We are not seeking to invest our limited resources in bringing charges against the parent at this time,” the health district said in a statement. “We are seeking cooperation from our community members.”

In Nevada, all staff and K-12 students must wear a face covering while inside school buildings, regardless of vaccination status, according to a state directive.

The positivity rate for Covid-19 in Washoe County is 17% and the number of cases for children aged 0-17 increased 2.6 times between June and July, according to the Washoe County Health District.

Over 58% of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated, the health district said.o school despite positive Covid-19 test, potentially exposing 80 students

R347, you should just call and ask the place where you're gonna go to get the booster and what proof they require etc.

I don't think they will give you too much trouble.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]LMAO - I don't think this means what they think it means...

Why The Peak Of The Delta Covid Surge Is Likely Still Far Off

For those asking about proof regarding the third shot, a friend went today and said they required no proof. I made an appointment for later in the month and they did not say to bring anything in the way of proof, just my ID and insurance card. (Both of us have immune issues due to cancer.)

We made our appointments at CVS in Los Angeles. CVS is allowing appointments for the 3rd shot, Walgreens is only doing walk-ins right now for the 3rd shot, and the larger aggregate for California, myturn, has zero information about the third shot on their site as of last night.

[quote]Percent of openly-LGBTQ adults who have received at least one Covid-19 shot, according to a new HRC Foundation survey: 92%

It seems that the 3-4 week gap between vaccines in America & Israel isn't protecting against Delta infection as well as the 8-12 weeks in Canada & the UK. Still effective against serious illness, though.

Am I glad there were 10 weeks between me first and second shot..!

My*

Things going about as expected in South Carolina on the first day of school today:

Officials confirmed that a 16-year-old died of covid complications last week, in a school district that has 21 students infected and 58 students in quarantine on day one. There are 20 staff members with covid and 40 quarantining. A number of staffers called in sick with covid symptoms today.

But I'm sure it will all be fine now that hundreds of students will be confined in the same space for hours on end every day -- especially since the SC governor has banned mask mandates.

Texas Supreme Court Sides With Pro COVID Governor Greg Abbott On Banning Mask Mandates

Republican Would Support Vaccine Mandate If COVID Were "Serious"

My biggest worry

Can anyone recommend a good tape to use on the top of masks? I just got a bunch of N95s, but they fog my glasses like crazy (and worse than any other mask I've ever worn) and I can feel air escaping at the top when I breathe. I'd love to tape the top down but I can't find any adhesive that doesn't have horrible reviews on Amazon. Thanks.

Pediatric covid hospitalizations are soaring in the south - a harbinger of a bitter winter to come?

R362 you could ask make-up artists? Especially those working in film/theatre - they work with tape specifically made for the skin (wigs, prosthetics, etc)

I just got an email from my health plan – "Covid-19 treatment at $0 cost share is ending in September and coverage will return to the pre-pandemic standard benefit."

Good. I read yesterday than covid ICU care averages $13,500 a day in the U.S. -- maybe the threat of bankruptcy will help sway some vaccine-hesitant folks.

R362, it may be expensive in the long run but try the Breath-Right strips. They adhere to skin very well. I don't know how they will adhere to the mask, though. Another thought is regular, old gauze tape from J&J. See the link. Good luck!

[quote] It’s not that i don’t trust the vaccine, but it’s shown its limits for the delta

That's not true. The vaccine does an effective job of keeping delta and lambda variants from putting you into a cytokine storm, ripping big holes in your lungs, etc. But the new variants are a lot easier to catch and if you insist on not taking precautions you're still going to get Covid whether or not you're vaccinated.

R367, I believe I'm the person who wrote that sentence and, boy, did you take it completely out of context. I was discussing whether to get a third shot now or wait to see what might come down the pike in term of tweaks to the existing (and further to come) variants to give us a better shot at not contracting them. Nor did I say anywhere that I was not taking all other precautions (I am).

Lifting and separating that line makes it sound like you're addressing some anti-vaxxing loon. Nice try.

r362, makeup artist here (I was summoned). I used to use the kinesio tape (which is great, but not so great if you need to take your mask on/off repeatedly), but have found the magic KF94 adjustable Korean mask, either BOTN or Bluna (seems Amazon is out now). Now I don't have to tape at all, and I wear px aviators.

My friends with large noses don't like it at all.

I looked at those, R369, and I couldn't tell if they would do the trick or fool me. I'll give them a try on your recommend, thank you.

And thank you to the others who responded!

Trump Ignores Reality To Claim Biden ‘Surrendered’ To COVID

Chicago pharmacist faces 120 years in prison for selling fake COVID vaccination cards. He's indicted on 12 counts, each of which carries a 10-year prison term.

Which is not nearly long enough, IMO. (Of course, he'll get a slap on the wrist and be let go in the end.)

R362, you can buy the metal adhesive strips on Amazon for pretty cheap. I use them on my cloth masks and it works well with my glasses because I can pinch them as narrow as I need.

The site is giving me problems with doing a link, but just do a search on Amazon for "mask strips" or "mask nose strips" and you'll see a bunch of options.

DeSantis appeared on FOX over 100 times in a four month period and numerous times since then. He has not had a single one on one meeting with the top health official in Florida.

The Hill: The U.S. recorded more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday as numbers reach levels last seen in April.

The 1,017 coronavirus deaths reported on Tuesday equate to roughly 42 fatalities an hour.

Florida Is Averaging 50 Children PER DAY Hospitalized With COVID

Disgruntled Trump Actively Undermines Vaccination Push

I have questions

This "3rd booster" that is being offered to immunocompromised individuals... I'm assuming it's just the same shot as before, right?

I thought they were developing an actual booster that works fight against new variants, and that this shot is different than the last. Isn't that still the case?

If so, what makes anyone think the 3rd shot would work as a booster?

A booster shot boosts the number of antibodies in your body, which start to wane after 5/6 months.

Say you had 100% two weeks after your 2nd vaccination. 5 months later, you're at 50%. That's still good, but it could be better. Bam — booster shot to top you up, right back to 100%.

I wish we could test for antibodies. I will need to get a booster in October-ish but I would rather have one that has been tweaked for the later variants. I would hate to get a booster and then find out a new Delta vax is being issued in November.

Seems reasonable:

Thanks R381, but what about the purported booster shots that are to be developed, which are a tweak of the vaccine to better fight Delta, etc.?

I think that's not the same as just reupping the old shot for yourself.

I posted this on another thread. Sorry for cross-posting.

Four different things all being referred to as a booster:

1) third shot for people with compromised immune systems to get them to same level of protection as immune competent folks.

2) third shot after antibodies start waning to protect immune competent vaxxed against COVID cold infections that will spread to and kill the unvaxxed. (B and T cell memory protect against serious illness and death even after antibodies wane in the vaccinated probably) also concern about long COVID from the colds

3) delta and other variant specific shots. These are coming and hopefully will be here soon.

4) getting a different shot than the one or ones before to provide a potentially broader protection

Marry me, ElderLez.

so for example, if we got the pfizer, we should get the modena booster?

R387, if you are following ElderLez's option #4, then yes....you should, if you want to follow that strategy, which for now doesn't appear to be promoted much as a winning strategy.

I would add that # 4 is being practiced in some countries, but not technically allowed in the US at this time.

Interesting:

Former SARS patients who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 appear able to fend off all variants of SARS-CoV-2 in circulation, as well as ones that may soon emerge.

People infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 are more likely to spread the virus before developing symptoms than are people infected with earlier versions.

Ron DeSantis Pushes COVID Drug So His Donor Can Make Millions

Sens. Roger Wicker, Angus King, and John Hickenlooper, who are all vaccinated for the coronavirus, tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday after experiencing symptoms.

Wicker, King and Hickenlooper are the latest in a string of prominent politicians to announce positive coronavirus tests in recent weeks despite being fully vaccinated. Others include Republicans Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.

[quote] I wish we could test for antibodies. I will need to get a booster in October-ish but I would rather have one that has been tweaked for the later variants. I would hate to get a booster and then find out a new Delta vax is being issued in November.

I was considering this, as well, since I am in the immuno-compromised group and I am due to get a third shot next week and would like to wait and get the best protection possible and not x myself out of that. But look at it this way- If they were close to having a new version of the vax that was tweaked for Delta, we'd likely be hearing about it. And also- they don't quite yet know what's coming down the pike. (We have some idea with Lambda, et al, but things could turn on a dime with all the new infections happening amongst children, who have not been affected in this number before.) So if you're waiting for a new and improved vax to be ready to go, I think it likely won't be ready until after the third shot has waned somewhat.

Am I talking out of my ass? I don't want to steer anyone wrong. This is just my theory.

Will the Pandemic go on forever?

This doctor explains a ScienceMag article that discusses how the Pandemic could transition to an Endemic cold virus.

Toward that end, the highly infectious Delta variant could be a "blessing" (his word) to the vaccinated, because it could hasten the transition to endemic. (In this situation, however, the unvaccinated are in serious trouble.)

He's describing a process that could take multiple reinfections of different variants that may cause illness but not hospitalization or death for the vast majority of the vaccinated. Eventually, it's treated as a cold virus.

He also compares and contrasts previous coronaviruses and why they didn't become pandemics.

Yes, from what I read before, this seems entirely plausible R395.

I’ll try to find the article. It also explained how the common cold once started out as a devastating killer virus.

I hope it hurries up and gets there!

Christian Pulisic has covid but has no symptoms, he's fully vaxxed.

Biden Threatens To Sue Republican Governors Over Mask Mandate Bans

South Dakota, home of the recent Sturgis motorcycle rally, now leads the nation in the increase in cases per 100,000 residents. Who could have foreseen this coming (besides everyone)?

Fox Host: Regeneron Treatment is "Basically" Vaccination

The scary thing about Sen. King (I-ME) is that he wore a mask while on the Senate floor, attended his committee meetings via Zoom, drove back to Maine vs flying during senate recesses and still got a break through infection.

And in theWaPo today (free to read):

“Monoclonal antibodies are free to patients and there have been almost no side effects. They are accessible on an outpatient basis, via a single infusion or four injections. Hospitals, urgent-care centers and even private doctors are authorized to dispense them.”

Article states this treatment is readily available!

Link for above story

OH NO: My Girlfriend Tested POSITIVE for COVID in Europe!

Tonight on Law & Order...

*

After a fake flu vaccine causes several deaths, the detectives try to find the person responsible for its sale. Annie Parisse joins the cast as ADA Alexandra Borgia. Mike Bass: Scott Decker...

The FDA addresses the idiots using horse paste to battle covid:

[quote] You are not a cow.

Has the FDA seen some of those deplorables who are shunning the vaccine in favor of quack remedies?

I dunno my doggie seems to think ivermectin is delicious. If it sit-down-crawl worthy, how bad could it be?

Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife have been hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19

(CNN)Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife are both hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19. "Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both," the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) said in a statement Saturday. "Anyone who has been around either of them for the last five or six days should follow the CDC guidelines." RPC is a Chicago-based international human and civil rights organization founded by Jackson, according to their website.

Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, 77, are currently at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the statement said.

In February, the civil rights leader underwent successful surgery after being hospitalized for abdominal discomfort. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder with no cure.

Updates will be provided when they become available, according to RPC.

That’s sad news.

Jesse Jackson was such a buttinsky there back in the day, inserting himself into crises around the world where he had no use being in.

How very "uppity" of him r413!

No, R414, that was just him having an enormous ego and lacking the intelligence and self-awareness to stay the fuck away,

Ron DeSantis Blows Up After His Regeneron Scheme Gets Busted

From the Trump rally thread...

I love it, r418.

Let freedumb ring!

[bold]Deadwood warms up for 'Kool Deadwood Nites'[/bold]

Deadwood is buckling up for Kool Deadwood Nites 2021, rolling into town Aug. 25 through Aug. 29.

Kool Deadwood Nites spans a total of five days, bringing car lovers together for an event full of classic cars, classic music and classic fun.

Additionally, there will be five nights of live, world-class entertainment — and four concert nights, which are completely free and open to the public. It’s a true sock hop — Deadwood style, along Main Street and at Outlaw Square.

more at link

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Vladivostok) attempts to give the "I'll get the vaccine when the FDA approves it" crowd another excuse to pass on the shot.

[quote] Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Vladivostok) attempts to give the "I'll get the vaccine when the FDA approves it" crowd another excuse to pass on the shot.

Of course. Now that the FDA is giving full approval to the vaccines, the "vaccine hesitant" will complain that the full approval was rushed and can't be trusted. They'll always find an excuse not to take the vaccine. Their resistance never had anything to do with the fact that it the vaccines were "experimental" or not fully approved by the FDA (after all, they seem to be just fine using ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and any number of other supposed cures for COVID that truly are experimental and not approved at all).

My biggest surprise is that David Packman is straight. Shocking.

And it's done. Now on to new excuses for the anti-vaxxers.

I guess socialism is now okay.

Fox News Forcing Employees To Disclose Vaccination Status

R425, why is it that taxpayers would have to pay for the unvaccinated people in the hospital? Don't most of them have insurance?

Anti-Vax Trumpist Radio Host Dead of COVID

I’m way ahead of you, sister/R428. I know.

Pakman mentions at the end, r429, how bad Alabama and Mississippi are doing, using the word dystopian. Well, lucky for them they aren't blue states with Trump as president.

How are things going in your nether regions, American DL'ers?

Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and all those great states down south.

It's horrific in the south, but it's also not great in many other places:

Ha Dutchie r431, "nether regions" here connotes your privates. And true to its name, it is dirty (as in the Dirty South).

Religious Leaders And Politicians Coaching Parents On How To Avoid Mask Mandates

'God is separating the sheep from the goats': Trump supporter on why she remains unvaccinated

That's interesting R432. The MLM Ponzi Scheme known as Arbonne is right now wrapping up their week long leadership conference in Maui. I am sure they are spreading more than cosmetics around by now.

R433 I'm glad someone picked up on my pun… ;-)

If the states won't do it - the counties will.

For some context, Oakland County is (I believe) the wealthiest county in Michigan. It used to be very Rich Republican, but has flipped to blue in recent years. Needless to say there are lots of protests going on today from the anti-mask-mandate groups.

i had a very odd experience getting my booster this moring. i watched her fill the syringe in front of me. She put it up to my arm and BOOM, she was done. it felt like there wasn’t even enough time for her to press the plunger. When i took the bandaid off, there was a small rust colored stain (barely) but i swear she just pricked me and didn’t give me the vax.

Bad news for people who love bad news:

"Researchers found that the level of antibodies that block the coronavirus jumped more than three times higher than the level after the second dose. The side effects of a third injection were about the same as after the initial two doses, the companies said."

Get a third dose of the mRNA and you’ll have 3x the amount of protection that you had after your 2nd dose. That likely means fewer breakthrough infections, lesser symptoms or none at all if you do get an infection, and of course the same (or better) protection against severe disease and death.

You Covid doom trolls and forever-maskers might have to prepare yourselves for this.

The Pentagon has just ordered all active and reserve military personnel to get vaccinated or GET LOST.

Per WaPo, just posted.

More freedumb!

Glad to see this:

Yes R444, that’s great news, too.

Well, it's good and bad news, isn't it? We all thought the vaccine might stay strong for at least 8 months, but I guess not.

I notice a lot of people in my circles thought the vaccine would make you immune to the virus and if you did get infected, there was no way you could transmit it to others. Their disappointment could quickly turn into resentment, and I fear some of them may be giving in to anti-vaxxers and disinformation campaigns.

Anti-Vax Lawyer For Multiple Capitol Riot Suspects On Ventilator With COVID

His closing argument should be a doozy.

Child COVID Cases Skyrocket As Schools Reopen Without Masks

Ron DeSantis Approval COLLAPSES Over COVID Hellscape

Anti-Vaccine Rally Is an Absolute Horror Show

Anti-Maskers Tantrum, HUMILIATE Themselves

COVID Shuts Down 5 Schools In Alabama Town Where Trump Just Held A Rally

Pro-Life

Why Are Police Unions Pushing Back Against Vaccine Mandates?

Fears are rising that a new strain of the Delta variant of Covid-19 has emerged among festival goers after an event attended by 53,000 revellers in Cornwall led to sharp spike in cases among younger people.

Cornwall Council has already linked almost 5,000 Covid infections to Boardmasters, with local health officials saying they “won’t know the complete picture for another few days.”

A senior official working on pandemic response in the south-west of England said many of the infections among young people in the region had been identified as coming directly from the festival in Newquay, which now has the highest rate of infection in England at more than 2,000 per 100,000 people.

While it is being referred to among hospital staff in Devon and Cornwall as the “festival variant”, it is believed to be a new strain of Delta rather than an entirely new variant. Delta already has around a dozen different strains.

In other news, dumb motherfuckers in the UK spread their own new Delta strain.

R460, see R459.

Oy vey, R460. Another goddamn new strain? Is it deadlier?

If you are going to a festival, a club, a stadium or any place with a BIG gathering these days, you are absolutely out of your mind. Vaccinated or not.

R463: Screw that! I am getting my 3rd booster shot. wearing a ninja mask and going to AnimeNYC conventiin and Los Angeles in November. These Covid strains will be around for years! As long as I get my shots and wear a mask, I am getting back to doing things I enjoy. Otherwise, things will be on hold indefinitely.

Can we have your stuff, R464?

R465: I won't die (see 3x vaccinated and mask)

Define big Dutchie.

National Religious Broadcasters Spokesperson Fired After Pro-Vaccine Remarks

R467 Lez: Hundreds of people with zero distance (e.g. shoulder to shoulder at a festival) or in confined spaces (e.g. a sweaty nightclub with poor ventilation).

Can I just say how SICK I am of hearing about "the poor children" because they have to be schooled remotely? Clearly not an issue in the south of the US, but very much a topic on this side of the pond.

If any cohort will easily adapt and bounce back, it's kids. I am not worried about them AT ALL.

Nothing to see here, folks, move on.

An effective way to make a point...

Anti-Vax Activist Wants Followers To 'Get Your Guns' To Fight Mask Mandates

Our condo arranged free COVID test for all residents today. A large group of us lined up with masks to get tested. We were all congenial laughing and joking waiting our turn for a nasal swab.When one of our short white ( actually old leather orange) neighbors shows up maskless of course and says." Is this the line for the STD test? Ya know you'll all gonna be dead in 2 years." My 80 yo neighbor Carla yells out " Get in line Mort ya got syphilis of the brain!" Mort goes berzerk and starts literally hopping up and down screaming 'Fuck You" and shooting us the bird. We all cracked up.

New thinking on Herd Immunity-

[quote] The concept of herd immunity is unachievable because we know the infection will spread in unvaccinated populations and the latest data is suggesting that two doses is probably only 50 percent protective (at preventing the spread of infection).

[quote] Over time, everyone will eventually be infected with the virus.

“We now have over one hundred and two thousand hospitalized Americans, and we have no idea what proportion are vaccinated or not vaccinated.”

Texas district closes schools after covid kills two teachers in one week

R475, who is this guy to say "latest data shows only 50% efficacy from the vaccines"? I thought it was supposed to be in the 80-95% range, from what I've read.

Several studies have found effectiveness falling far short of that range after 5-6 months, R478. Note that this refers to waning immunity against infection, not severe illness and hospitalization, where the vaccines seem to be holding up pretty well.

[quote]who is this guy to say "latest data shows only 50% efficacy from the vaccines"? I thought it was supposed to be in the 80-95% range, from what I've read.

Clearly someone who wasn't paying attention in math class during the percents unit.

R479 Dr Scholls.

Florida Government BUSTED Changing COVID Deaths To Make State Seem Less Disastrous

R482: I knew it! FL new death stats on WorldoMeters is far too low.

R482

I have the right...

Booster Shot in September? Not so fast, say top federal health officials.

[quote] Top federal health officials have told the White House to scale back a plan to offer coronavirus booster shots to the general public later this month, saying that regulators need more time to collect and review all the necessary data, according to people familiar with the discussion.

[quote] Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, who heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned the White House on Thursday that their agencies may be able to determine in the coming weeks whether to recommend boosters only for recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — and possibly just some of them to start.

[quote] The two health leaders made their argument in a meeting with Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator. Several people who heard about the session said it was unclear how Mr. Zients responded. But he has insisted for months that the White House will always follow the advice of government scientists, wherever it leads.

Florida Imposes $5,000 Fine For Asking To See Proof Of COVID Vaccination

That’s ridiculous, @ R487. There is nothing to indicate any harm can come from getting a booster shot “in September” (what does the month of the year have to do with anything?) For some people, it’s already been 8-9 months since their second shot, or their single dose of J&J.

Trials have already shown that a third dose boosts immunity 3x over what the 2nd shot provided. What are they waiting for, data showing that a 3rd shot will kill people?

“No, no, not so fast—we don’t know anything about a third dose yet. Better just to keep masking UP* and hope for the best. That’s the safest course of action.”

[quote]Florida Imposes $5,000 Fine For Asking To See Proof Of COVID Vaccination

Because you certainly wouldn't want to motivate vaccination in a state where covid hospitalizations are driving a water crisis.

Can someone please explain to me, without fuming and pointing out all the evil, why Florida wants to pretend COVID does not exist?

I just don’t get the strategy here.

Because its governor is going to run for President on the dumb fuck ticket and figures the only support he's going to get is from the "My Freedumb" contingent, so he's playing to them.

The Republicans like DeSantis want COVID cases to rise and people to die because then the economy will start to tank again and they can say it's all Biden's fault. (Today's jobs numbers and Biden's declining approval ratings are a sign that this strategy might actually work.) The GOP wants as much death and disaster as possible while Biden is president so they can claim it's all the Democrats' fault (even though it's really the GOP's fault). Sadly, a lot of people are stupid enough to believe them.

WaPo: U.S. covid death toll hits 1,500 a day amid delta scourge

‘A perfect storm of viral changes and behavioral changes’ is driving pandemic’s fourth wave

Nationally, covid-19 deaths have climbed steadily in recent weeks, hitting a seven-day average of about 1,500 a day Thursday, after falling to the low 200s in early July — the latest handiwork of a contagious variant that has exploited the return to everyday activities by tens of millions of Americans, many of them unvaccinated.

As of Thursday, the country has logged more than 640,000 deaths — and many experts believe we are not yet at the peak.

USA! USA! USA!

Trump-Voting Population Directly Predicts COVID Rate

Propane Jane is a doctor in the Houston area. This is the start of a good Twitter thread.

[quote]Delta’s ripping through red states (especially in the rural Deep South) because refusing masks/vaccines/lockdowns has become a proxy for White Republican identity. They’re peer pressuring themselves into catching/spreading Covid, overdosing on Ivermectin and dying of Whiteness.

Anti-Mask Anti-Vaxxers WILL NOT STOP Humiliating Themselves

Get vaccinated, wear your mask, and avoid crowds whenever possible, and let those who won't face the consequences of their decisions.

OH MY FUCKING GOD, GET THE FUCKING VACCINE ALREADY, YOU FUCKING FUCKS

'Completely incorrect': Dr. Fauci pushes back on DeSantis' vaccine claim

Florida Funeral Homes Are Overwhelmed With COVID Victims

Thoughts and prayers!

[bold]Idaho hospitals begin rationing health care amid COVID surge[/bold]

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho public health leaders announced Tuesday that they activated “crisis standards of care” allowing health care rationing for the state’s northern hospitals because there are more coronavirus patients than the institutions can handle.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare quietly enacted the move Monday and publicly announced it in a statement Tuesday morning — warning residents that they may not get the care they would normally expect if they need to be hospitalized.

The move came as the state’s confirmed coronavirus cases skyrocketed in recent weeks. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S.

The state health agency cited “a severe shortage of staffing and available beds in the northern area of the state caused by a massive increase in patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization.”

more at link

Those poor hospital workers in Idaho.

I don’t understand how the purveyors of medical misinformation and disinformation aren’t charged with manslaughter.

Agreed, ElderLez. This isn't a game.

Alex Jones Has Total Ivermectin MELTDOWN

To be fair, Alex Jones could stand to melt a little.

Hospitals Forced To Ration Care As COVID Cases Continue To Spike

[bold]False meme: Nobel laureate did not say ivermectin ‘cures’ covid-19[/bold]

“My name is William Campbell, in 2015 I won the Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of Ivermectin. It cures many diseases including covid-19. The fake news and big pharma want you to live in fear. Fauci won’t promote Ivermectin because he is the little parasite it destroys.”

— quote attributed to Drew University professor William Campbell circulating on social media such as Twitter

This quote, accompanied by an image of the Nobel laureate, is circulating widely on social media. Juanita Broaddrick, a prominent conservative with 500,000 followers, posted it at 11 a.m. Wednesday and within three hours accumulated more than 12,000 retweets and likes. Other Twitter users have also spread the meme widely.

But Barb Bresnahan, chief of staff and dean of administration at Drew University, where Campbell teaches, told The Fact Checker the quote is false and the meme has been reported to Twitter.

more at link

"...you lying sack of turds."

CNBC: Microsoft said Thursday it will indefinitely delay the reopening of its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and its other U.S. offices as the coronavirus continues to proliferate in the country. The software and hardware maker did not provide a new date to replace the Oct. 4 target it had announced in early August.

Weaponized Coughing Woman Has Been Fired

Conservatives Freak Out About Biden's New Vaccine Mandates

Conservatives = Fascists

[bold]They risked their lives on the covid front line. Now France has made 12,000 of them citizens.[/bold]

Fouad Kerbage checked online nearly every day to see if he was now a French citizen. When he spotted his name in a list of people whose applications got the green light this summer, it capped a long journey for the 33-year-old oncologist.

“I had worked during the crisis when there was a need for doctors, when there was a lot of fear of covid,” said the Lebanese-born doctor. “We didn’t know much about the virus. There was no vaccine. It was a difficult time, but it was our duty to keep doing our jobs.”

With his new passport, “a new page has opened” — in the words of Kerbage, who has lived in France since he studied there as a resident in 2017.

Like him, around 12,000 people have just become French, under a special fast-track program for workers standing on the front line of the battle against covid-19.

They include doctors, nurses, cleaning staff, cashiers and garbage collectors, France’s citizenship minister, Marlène Schiappa, said Thursday.

“These front-line workers responded to the call of the nation. It is normal for the nation to take a step toward them,” she added. “The country pulled through, thanks to them.”

more at link

So well-deserved, R516.

[bold]Tea Party Patriots Are Funding ‘Demon Sperm’ Anti-vax Doctors Group[/bold]

It’s shocking that anyone would take America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLD) seriously. It's a group that includes Dr. Stella “Demon Sperm” Immanuel. But the right-wing megadonors behind the Tea Party Patriots has helped funnel some serious money their way.

The Center for Media and Democracy obtained documents showing that the Tea Party Patriots Foundation was the fiscal sponsor of the group behind AFLD, meaning that it was able to accept tax-deductible contributions on AFLD’s behalf while the group had not yet received IRS approval to accept tax-deductible donations itself. The group behind AFLD more than doubled its forecast budget from $400,000 in 2020 to $900,000, in 2021.

Yet the Tea Party Patriots are a political group that has nothing to do with medicine or public health. CMD describes them as “an extremist group founded in 2009 that helped organize the rally and march to the Capitol just before the violent insurrection.” Its donors include shipping-supply magnate Richard Uihlein, Gore-Tex heir David Gore (the biggest donors in 2020 and 2021, respectively) as well as the Freedom Works Foundation.

more at link

[quote]My friend Laura hit the nail on the goddamn head today: “I’m sorry if I check out from all the remembering 9/11. I can’t handle the performative grief and fake unity from people who won’t get a vaccine to stop thousands of Americans from dying.”

“Doesn’t the government understand that when they cut education, mental health, housing, & social supports, it all ends up in the ER?”

Soup Nazi: "No booster for you, or you, or you."

Will the White House follow a new study on whether booster shots are necessary now?

[quote] None of the data on coronavirus vaccines so far provides credible evidence in support of boosters for the general population, according to a review published on Monday by an international group of scientists, including some at the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

[quote] The 18 authors include Dr. Philip Krause and Dr. Marion Gruber, F.D.A. scientists who announced last month that they will be leaving the agency, at least in part because they disagreed with the Biden administration’s push for boosters before federal scientists could review the evidence and make recommendations.

[quote] In the new review, published in The Lancet, experts said that whatever advantage boosters provide would not outweigh the benefit of using those doses to protect the billions of people who remain unvaccinated worldwide. Boosters may be useful in some people with weak immune systems, they said, but are not yet needed for the general population.

[quote]In the new review, published in The Lancet, experts said that whatever advantage boosters provide would not outweigh the benefit of using those doses to protect the billions of people who remain unvaccinated worldwide.

That seems like a value judgment, not a scientific one.

Good news, America isn't the absolute dumbest country in the world. Russia is actually worse (but the U.S. is #2!).

Florida Republicans Still Hiding COVID Death Data

Hey, sometimes even Florida can get something right!

I bet that dog is getting death threats.

Child COVID Deaths In Florida Double As Child Cases Rise Across The Country

Trump-Loving Lawyer Cries Foul After Conspiracy Theorist Dies Of COVID

By the numbers.

She talks way too aggressively.

As of Tuesday night, 663,913 people have died of COVID in the U.S. – that's 1 in 500 U.S. residents.

NIH press briefing later today.

Sorry Republicans, But Biden's Vaccine Mandates Are Very Popular

The Fox Virus

And the PASC OTA goes to NYU. (Also the number 1 spot in the NIH rankings as a result)

If anyone is suffering from long COVID consider providing input on priorities.

Idaho has expanded health care rationing statewide amid a surge in coronavirus patients. Scarce resources like ICU beds will go to patients most likely to survive. Other patients will receive less effective methods or, in dire cases, pain relief.

Alaska’s largest hospital is now implementing crisis standards and rationing medical care amid a crush of COVID-19 patients and staff shortages that have forced providers to prioritize patients most likely to recover.

The hospital released a statement advising residents to "avoid potentially dangerous activities and situations that may increase your risk for needing emergency services or hospital care. Unfortunately, if you are seriously injured, it is possible that there will not be a bed available at our trauma center to save your life."

Klutzes, be aware!

Winter is going to be a mess

What happened to all the "we don't have to worry about it in the hot months"?

Delta happened.

Is the Delta variant doing okay lately? I hardly hear anything about case rates or breakthrough infections. Shouldn’t everyone have caught it by now, if they’re not vaccinated? What’s the rate in NYC these days?

In NYC the infection rate is down slightly to little over 2%. and my employer has about a quarter fewer COVID inpatients compared to last week,. The previous week the number was flat so there was a very short plateau. Hopefully we are past the worst of it in the Tristate.

I spent about 6 hours in the ER last weekend with a non-covid-related blood pressure issue. I'd say the staff was very busy, but I did get into a room right away. While some hospitals in my area have been reporting being full, this one wasn't. (glad to say)

Anybody going to start a Megathread 10? While there are a gazillion Covid threads, I do like this megathread.

Sylvia, are you still on these threads? Do you want to start the next one?

Man...

Don’t be put off by the awful clickbait title.

[quote]Don’t be put off by the awful clickbait title.

Actually, I was put off by the fact that there were nine (9) pages of that shit.

OK here's a tweet. It's short, but in Portuguese. I am not sure, but I think that's between 140 and 280 doses.

Ron DeSantis Blocks Florida Surgeon General From Testifying About Face Masks

Donald Trump Jr. Says Biden Is Killing People By Protecting Them From Pandemic Donald Trump Jr Says

[bold]In Idaho, a doctor-turned-conspiracy theorist is in power as the state reels from Covid[/bold]

In Idaho, a doctor-turned-conspiracy theorist has been appointed to a powerful regional health board, demonstrating the depth of the state’s disinformation crisis.

Dr. Ryan Cole has referred to Covid-19 vaccines as “needle rape” and the “clot shot,” he has promoted unproven remedies like the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin and he has falsely claimed there’s statistically no efficacy in masks, On Wednesday, Cole reportedly said the "intrusion" of politics into physician-patient relationships "must end." Interfering with that relationship "may actually constitute crimes against humanity," he claimed.

Now, he will serve on an influential health board for the foreseeable future, at a time when Idaho’s health system is crumbling due to Covid. His appointment to Idaho’s Central District Health Board was ratified by seven out of 12 county commissioners in Idaho, who successfully placed him in a seat he will be allowed to hold until September 2026.

more at link

Breakthrough case

[bold]Covid-stricken Alabama had more deaths than births last year, a first in its recorded history.[/bold]

For the first time in Alabama’s known history, the state had more deaths than births in 2020 — a grim milestone that underscores the pandemic’s calamitous toll.

“Our state literally shrunk in 2020,” Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s state health officer, said at a news conference on Friday. There were 64,714 total deaths in the state last year, compared to 57,641 births, Dr. Harris said.

Such a gap had never been recorded, not even during World War I, World War II and the flu pandemic of 1918, Dr. Harris said. Going back to the earliest available records, in 1900, “We’ve never had a time when deaths exceeded births,” he said.

Nationally, the birthrate declined for the sixth straight year in 2020, and some experts say the pandemic may be accelerating that trend. A study from the University of New Hampshire found that half of the 50 U.S. states had more deaths than births in 2020, compared with only five states with more deaths than births in 2019.

more at link

Wilmore Funeral Home's webpage

Jake Tapper Calls Out Mississippi Governor To His Face For Being A Total Failure

Covid-19 is officially the most deadly outbreak in recent American history, surpassing the estimated U.S. fatalities from the 1918 influenza pandemic. Reported U.S. deaths due to Covid crossed 675,000 on Monday, and are rising at an average of more than 1,900 fatalities per day.

The 1918 flu – which came in three waves, occurring in the spring of 1918, the fall of 1918; and the winter and spring of 1919 – killed an estimated 675,000 Americans. It was considered America’s most lethal pandemic in recent history up until now.

R563

Wish Jake pounced on him like he did to our SOS.

Psaki

Covid chasers in Canada:

Florida's New Surgeon General Appeared At Event With ‘Demon Semen’ Doctor And Future Capitol Rioter

Great news, the race and ethnicity gaps in vaccination status are now mostly gone.

I'm convinced Ron DeSantis is a serial killer by proxy, the more people die, the more furiously he probably rubs his tiny pud.

Interesting -- a genetic link to protection from severe COVID.

Fox News Insider Admits Attacking Vaccine Mandates Is Great For Ratings

DeSantis Parties With Donors In New York As Florida Crumbles

Republican Governor Using COVID Funds To Build More Prisons

What's happening now in Florida? Let's look at the Worldometers graphs.

Cases sharply down, deaths sharply down (finally). If Delta is almost over in Florida, what's next?

Let’s hope at least four months of declining cases followed by approval of new, less expensive and even more effective vaccines leading to some approximation of global herd immunity.

Compare Florida with Delta cases and deaths in California, (from about July to September).

The surprising thing to me was how high the deaths were during Delta for Florida. Florida had a decent vaccination rate and still had high number of deaths. Florida was about #17 in the list of states ranked by % of people vaccinated with 65.1% of people vaccinated. California was about #12 with 66.4 % of the people vaccinated, according to Bloomberg.com vaccination tracker.

The median age of Florida resident is five years older than the median age of a California resident. I’d assume that explains some of the difference in the mortality rate.

Meant to link

DeSantis is a corrupt sociopath.

A new targeted treatment for Covid-19

Merck’s experimental pill to treat covid-19 cuts risk of hospitalization and death in half, the pharmaceutical company reports

[quote] Merck announced Friday that an experimental pill it developed to treat covid-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly half in a clinical trial.

[quote] An independent board of experts monitoring the trial recommended the study be stopped early because of the positive results, a significant and telling step in a pharmaceutical study.

[quote] Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said in a news release they would apply for emergency use authorization for the drug, molnupiravir, in the United States as soon as possible. It would be the first antiviral pill for covid-19.

Probably Invectoloroquine r581.

MAGA World is already rife with speculation that the Merck pill is just repackaged Ivermectin -- maybe so they can justify taking it?

Well, if it kills their worms, they'll know for sure, r583.

Dr. Gupta asks nurse if anything would convince her to get vaccine. Hear her reply

Age may still be more important than vaccination status in determining how an individual will fare with Covid-19

[quote] A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of Los Angeles found a 29-fold reduction in hospitalization from vaccines early this summer, for instance, and another quasi-national study suggested an average 11-fold reduction in mortality risk overall.

[quote] But in small type, King County included some other data that paint what seems at first blush like a very different picture: Fully 25 percent of deaths were among vaccinated people, the county reported. How can this be? If the vaccines are so effective that they reduce mortality 42 times over, how could the vaccinated account for such a large proportion of the deaths?

[quote] The answer is actually quite simple: the overwhelming age skew of the disease, which — in the time of vaccines, breakthrough cases, and Delta — we are still, as a public, hugely underestimating and which is governing the post-vaccine pandemic landscape as clearly as it did the pre-vaccine landscape.

[quote] To put it more bluntly: in assessing an individual’s risk of dying from COVID, age appears still as important — and maybe even more important — than vaccination status. And while encouraging further vaccination remains by far the best tool we have in fighting the pandemic to an endgame détente, we should also be clear along the way about the continuing risks to the vaccinated elderly and what might be done to protect them....

[quote] According to the CDC, 70 percent of breakthrough cases resulting in hospitalizations and 87 percent of those resulting in death were in patients over 65. The median age of breakthrough deaths in England was 84; in King County, it was 79....

[quote] According to an analysis of British data by the Financial Times, a vaccinated 80-year-old has about the same mortality risk as an unvaccinated 50-year-old, and an unvaccinated 30-year-old has a lower risk than a vaccinated 45-year-old.

[quote] It’s a sign of just how large the age skew is to begin with that getting vaccinated doesn’t deliver you into an entirely new category of pandemic safety — safer and more protected than anyone who hasn’t gotten vaccinated — but simply pushes you down the slope of mortality risk by the equivalent of a few decades.

So much more at link.

Republicans Are Perfectly Fine With Letting Their Voters Die From COVID

Drinking More? Having Less Sex? Throwing Tantrums In Public? Blame The Pandemic!

To those who have gotten a booster, are side effects like after the second shot? I ended up taking a sick day the day after the second Pfizer shot because I felt like crap. Wondering if I'll have to do same when I'm eligible for booster

Thread 10

Thank you, ElderLez.