Covid-19 miscellany

[Loren Pechtel]

Today on, The Press Needs to Take A Couple Steps Back...

There was an incident at an Italian joint in NYC allegedly involving vax cards of three women from Texas. Well, it wasn't quite like that.

The details are still fuzzy, but it is possible that this incident was a pair of matching majors, or possibly even the Restaurant's staff fault, and there was less to see here than first reported.

How is that saying the staff was at fault?

The women were vaccinated. The men they were with weren't and thus weren't allowed in.

 

[crazyfingers]

The days of full covid coverage are over. Insurers are restoring deductibles and co-pays, leaving patients with big bills.
In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, U.S. health insurance companies declared they would cover 100 percent of the costs for covid treatment, waiving co-pays and expensive deductibles for hospital stays that frequently range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But this year, most insurers have reinstated co-pays and deductibles for covid patients, in many cases even before vaccines became widely available. The companies imposed the costs as industry profits remained strong or grew in 2020, with insurers paying out less to cover elective procedures that hospitals suspended during the crisis.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...9.G34w8kiWRY8BRn3Sd4VH5Gby9qww3i-rIw66BUcuzS0

OK. So restore the co-pays for people who have refused the vaccine. But not the small number of people who end up in the hospital but did get vaccinated. It should be another situation were vax-refusal has consequences.

 

[ZiprHead]

[TWEET]<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: A staff member at Mabel Rush elementary school in Newberg showed up to work in Blackface on Friday, allegedly saying she was dressed as Rosa Parks and protesting a vaccine mandate for teachers.<br><br>Statement from <a href="https://twitter.com/NewbergSchools?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NewbergSchools</a> on the latest racist incident: <a href="https://t.co/J1HHc2X9wl">pic.twitter.com/J1HHc2X9wl</a></p>— Ryan Clarke (@RyanTClarke) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanTClarke/status/1440005294914867200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/TWEET]..

 

[Keith&Co.]

Even telling her BF this does not nudge him into getting the vaccine.

I would definitely take this as a metric. Important to her is not important enough for him.

 

[WAB]

That you hang out with a more educated crowd is most likely. But you still don't seem to grasp my point.

If Most of what I hear is that they haven't gotten around to it, don't do flu shots, don't have the time, etc, and you say you hang around with a more educated crowd, then you are saying that it's the educated refuseniks who are selfish and lazy? Is that what you mean? Because, as I continue to point out, if a person (like my parents and many others) is a refusenik because they are ignorant, watch only Fox news, and/or are convinced that the Covid 19 virus is an elaborate hoax, or in any case extremely exaggerated (as a means of seeing how compliant and manageable the "sheeple" really are), then it is NOT out of selfishness or laziness, or apathy, or malice that they refuse the vaccine, and/or refuse the mask. Least of all malice. They are proud in believing that they have not been tricked into submission! They are NOT out to kill people wantonly!

So, it seems to me that obnoxious, spoiled college students, ie, the "more educated crowd" (assuming they know the virus is real and deadly and not a hoax or exaggerated for political reasons), are no doubt much more likely to cut you off and flip you the bird for honking, to refer to Jimmy's remark, than some average elderly republican and/or conspiracy theorist. And no doubt far more likely to be lazy, selfish, and even malignantly stupid.

I know of three people out of dozens who have not gotten the jab of whom I associate with on a regular basis. None of those three are college educated, if that makes a difference, and they are super good friends. So maybe I gave the wrong impression. They are the exceptions and their reasoning is as I've stated. But they are quite civil, almost apologetic, definitely not Karens or FOXheads. If I had to guess why, their decision is a political choice not a medically informed one.

OK, sorry to assume too much. I am in a manic phase now, hence more posting. Mix that with the tremendous bravery mania entails, and you get a tasmanian-devil type, volatile WAB who might pop into every thread and make comments, some of which will not be pretty.

I usually keep my thoughts to myself, realizing that certain mental difficulties often breed paranoia. Boy OH boy can I be paranoid. In my best states (even and level, not high or low, which is very rare) I can see and understand things with much more clarity and rationality.

Now, enough about me. What do YOU think about me? (Bette Midler I think )

No, seriously. I still have to ask: you say you wish the refuseniks were suffering or dying, or words to that effect, in a prior post. You say the three (uneducated) refuseniks you know are "super good friends". Do you really wish these super good friends were suffering or dying? I'd say that was a bit cold. Or do you mean not them but only those OTHER people who are refuseniks because they are lazy, apathetic, selfish, or have some political motive, but not the three uneducated friends you mentioned? I can faintly understand wishing death on very intelligent, well-informed people who refuse the vax, believing that it is real and deadly, but still refusing to jet jabbed. That seems punishable for sure!

But, if you also wish suffering and/or death on people who just happen to be dumb as rocks (unintelligent) or ignorant (literally ignorant, as in not knowing the truth, and/or being incapable of distinguishing falsehood from fact, and not keen to deception and chicanery - like little children) or gullible to conspiracy theories, then I would say that that is a sickness unto itself, and is as immoral a position as there could be, short of outright evil, like certain psychopaths like Jose Delgado (please ask me who he was if you are not aware, or look him up), shitler, Stalin, and all those wonderful guys.

 

[crazyfingers]

Even telling her BF this does not nudge him into getting the vaccine.

I would definitely take this as a metric. Important to her is not important enough for him.

I see it that way too. But I haven't made that point with her. There is only so much drama I can take.

 

[blastula]

Michigan TV meteorologist Karl Bohnak says he was fired after 33 years for refusing COVID-19 vaccine - Detroit Free Press

One guess on whether he's a global warming skeptic.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Even telling her BF this does not nudge him into getting the vaccine.

I would definitely take this as a metric. Important to her is not important enough for him.

I see it that way too. But I haven't made that point with her. There is only so much drama I can take.

Well, he may be thinking you could never put your foot down, or she might not. May not be 'real' to him until doors actually slam shut.
May not need that talk until things actually come to a head.

 

[crazyfingers]

I see it that way too. But I haven't made that point with her. There is only so much drama I can take.

Well, he may be thinking you could never put your foot down, or she might not. May not be 'real' to him until doors actually slam shut.
May not need that talk until things actually come to a head.

Perhaps but my daughter knows it's highly likely. Pre-vaccine my daughter stayed there for thanksgiving and 2 weeks of Xmas break from the college dorms before coming home. She stayed there again when school was out for summer until she was fully vaccinated. We have a history of having her stay there during the pandemic. I stayed for a week pre-vaccine when I was exposed to my mom who tested positive at her assisted living. We have used the house as a quarantine/isolation site many times. She knows. But he may not believe it.

If it wasn't for the pandemic we would have drained the plumbing and shut off the utilities a year and a half ago. But we keep everything on. We even keep internet on. All because we don't know if someone will need to use it again at any moment. It has proved handy and I wish I knew when we may not need it any more. We do want to sell it some day.

 

[blastula]

Laura Loomer, Who Once Said ‘Bad Fajitas’ Were Worse Than COVID, Says She’s Tested Positive

LauraLoomer on GETTR


Laura Loomer is a right-winger who strongly hates Muslims. She ran for Congress last year.

If she doesn't trust the vaccine then she shouldn't trust the Regeneron therapy either. She should have stuck to her guns and just used the OrthoMune as it is surely more effective than the experimental antibody treatment.

For some reason, maybe because Trump got it, there are a lot of antivaxxers who are okay with the monoclonals; that idiot gomer Joe Rogan also took it. This is another way the antivaxxers are fucking up things for everyone else, because there is now a shortage of the monoclonals, which were already much more scarce and expensive (to our government) than the vaccines.

They Shunned Covid Vaccines but Embraced Antibody Treatment - The New York Times

Vaccine-resistant Americans are turning to the treatment with a zeal that has, at times, mystified their doctors, chasing down lengthy infusions after rejecting vaccines that cost one-hundredth as much. Orders have exploded so quickly this summer — to 168,000 doses per week in late August, up from 27,000 in July — that the Biden administration warned states this week of a dwindling national supply.

The federal government, which was already covering the cost of the treatment — currently about $2,100 per dose — has now taken over its distribution as well. For the coming weeks, the government has told states to expect scaled-back shipments because of the looming shortages.

With seven Southern states accounting for 70 percent of orders, the new process has unsettled some of their governors, who have made the antibody treatment central to their strategy for enduring a catastrophic wave of the Delta variant.

More supplies are on the way. The federal government bought 1.8 million more doses this week, expected to arrive in the fall and winter. But for now, some hospitals are uncertain of supplies, state health officials said, even as patients keep searching for doses.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Interestingly he thinks they are wrong which means they are killing people but he refuses to admit it explicitly that they are killing people.

He's a rebel without a clue.

Just because you can't find a clue doesn't mean I don't have one.

Of course you'd have a hard time finding a clue if we dropped you in clue field during clue mating season doused in clue pheromone.

 

[Shadowy Man]

For some reason, maybe because Trump got it, there are a lot of antivaxxers who are okay with the monoclonals; that idiot gomer Joe Rogan also took it.

Trump also got the vaccine.

 

[lpetrich]

Pfizer Says Its COVID Vaccine Works In Kids Ages 5 To 11 : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

The first results from the highly anticipated trial studying the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 showed promising results.

The pharmaceutical companies said early results of their trial indicate the vaccine is safe for children and establishes a strong antibody response against the virus.

This vaccine's dose is 1/3 of the adult dose, but it produces an immune response comparable to what young adults get with the adult dose. It is administered in two doses, 21 days apart, much like the adult version.

Despite the strong results, it will be some time before the general public can see an official rollout of vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. Once analysis of the trial is completed, Pfizer and BioNTech will submit the results "in the near term" to the Food and Drug Administration for review and possible emergency use authorization.

And even if the FDA grants that authorization, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently told NPR that parents and caregivers will likely have to wait until the end of 2021 before a COVID-19 vaccine is fully approved for young children ages 5 to 11.

Trial results for children under 5 years of age could come later this year, the pharmaceutical companies said.

The vaccine will likely be first approved for emergency use, and it may take 3 to 6 weeks for that.

 

[lpetrich]

 COVID-19 vaccine -  List of COVID-19 vaccine authorizations -  List of epidemics

COVID-19 Vaccines | FDA - lists the Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J (Janssen) ones

F.D.A. Decision on Covid Booster Shots Is Expected In Days - The New York Times - "On Friday, a panel of experts endorsed offering Pfizer booster shots for ages 65 and older, and people 16 and over who are at high risk of getting severe Covid-19 or who work in settings that make them more likely to get infected."

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Politicians in Germany have expressed concern over the radicalisation of those who disagree with Covid restrictions, after a 49-year-old German citizen was arrested on suspicion of shooting dead a petrol station worker who refused to serve him while he was not wearing a mask.

Authorities in the western town of Trier said the suspect told officers he acted “out of anger” after the 20-year-old cashier at a petrol station in the town of Idar-Oberstein, in Rhineland-Palatinate, asked him to put on a mask.

“He further stated during interrogation that he rejected the measures against coronavirus,” police said.

According to the state prosecutor, the man said he had felt “pushed into a corner” and had held the victim “responsible for the situation as a whole because he had enforced the rules”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-worker-killed-in-germany-after-face-mask-row

When these dumb, anti-mask sheeple fall for the propaganda that they are in the middle of a Holocaust designed to enslave them, it is no wonder they will get so angry they will start shooting people.

 

[lpetrich]

The Herman Cain Award -- Awarded… posthumously.

Description: "Nominees have made public declaration of their anti-mask, anti-vax, or Covid-hoax views, followed by admission to hospital for Covid. The Award is granted upon the nominee's release from their Earthly shackles."


Another anti-vaccine radio host dies from COVID

Bob Enyart, a Denver radio host and pastor, died two weeks after he and his wife were hospitalized with what his church called "severe" cases. He was 62.

...
Enyart, a provocateur who gleefully mocked the deaths of AIDS victims, had encouraged his listeners not to get any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines because he claimed they had been tested on "cells of aborted babies."

Conservative Radio Hosts, Anti-Maskers Have Died From COVID-19

• At least seven radio hosts and high-profile anti-mask and anti-vaccine advocates have died from COVID-19 in recent weeks.
• The men are radio hosts Dick Farrel, Phil Valentine, Bob Enyart, and Marc Bernier, as well as former CIA officer Robert David Steele, anti-masker Caleb Wallace, and conservative leader Pressley Stutts.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Interestingly he thinks they are wrong which means they are killing people but he refuses to admit it explicitly that they are killing people.

He's a rebel without a clue.

Just because you can't find a clue doesn't mean I don't have one.

Of course you'd have a hard time finding a clue if we dropped you in clue field during clue mating season doused in clue pheromone.

Don't quit your day job.

 

[lpetrich]

The GOP is Herman Cain awarding its own base and States. : HermanCainAward

Most private insurers are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment. Meaning those infected now will be far more cost burdened, than even before.

The Eviction Moratorium was ended by the Reactionary SCOTUS, with only some states and cities passing their own ones, leaving mainly GOP areas vulnerable to mass eviction waves. This is despite research clearly showing that evictions cause more COVID cases, which is why the CDC could issue it.

Meanwhile, the Federal Unemployment Insurance Enhancement has also lapsed, leaving people at the mercy of their state UI, which has been gutted in many Red States. . Ending UI benefits has not shown increases in hiring. But its end will harm people.

Meanwhile, Cases are hitting Unvaccinated Red Areas, far harder than vaccinated blue areas.

A simple actuarial analysis. | ACA Signups

As I've been arguing for well over a year now, the COVID-19 pandemic was utterly politicized by the Trump Administration right from the start...and the vaccination effort has similarly been completely politicized by the Republican Party since the moment President Biden took office as well.

Do they plan to blame President Biden for failing to control this disease? While calling it a non-issue and while calling measures to deal with it intolerable impositions.

Alan Dershowitz’s Briefs on Twitter: "@charles_gaba @_cingraham What I really want to know is when the number of deaths in the Trump counties reach a point where they could turn the county blue through sheer attrition. " / Twitter

Markus Deserno on Twitter: "@HKursed @charles_gaba @_cingraham My suspicion is that quite a number of Republican strategists are realizing this danger, and this is why in recent weeks Republicans have been a little bit more forthcoming on the vaccine." / Twitter

z but you can call me Dr. on Twitter: "@HKursed @charles_gaba @_cingraham I wondered that for the middle 2 bars - would death rates secure future Dem wins in 40-50% counties & give Dems a greater chance in the 50-60% ones. It’s a grotesque situation in every way." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Author Charles Gabs then found the death rates by county and compared those rates to the fractions who voted for Donald Trump.

Before 2020-11-04: (10%-step bins, per 100K population) 90.9, 109.1, 98.4, 71.7, 70.1, 56.3, 52.5, 53.8, 48.3, 48.0

"As you can see, the death rate in the bluest areas of the country was as much as 2.3x higher than in the redder counties nationally. Most of this is due to the massive, ugly first wave in New York, New Jersey and other Democratic-leaning states back in March/April 2020."

The author then split the post-election time in two, using June 30 as a dividing line because (1) the Delta variant emerged around then and (2) FL and NE stopped publishing per-county data.

From 2020-11-04 to 2021-06-30: 75.9 78.1 101.8 94.9 102.9 108.7 132.2 151.0 169.4 202.2

"As you can see, from Election Day through the end of June, the situation completely reversed itself: The COVID-19 death rates in the reddest counties began to run higher than in the bluest counties...as much as 2.66x as high, in fact."

and "That leaves perhaps 229,000 potential U.S. voters who died between 11/04/20 - 6/30/21." He estimates 87K D, 124K R, and 18K independent/swing voters. Meaning that 37,000 more Republican than Democratic voters died nationally.

From 2021-07-01 to 2021-09-07: 3.7 5.4 6.1 7.9 11.5 12.6 17.0 22.2 25.9 27.7

That's 3.3K D, 17.1K R, and 1.3K I voters -- 13,800 more R's dying than D's over the last two months.

As for Nebraska and Florida: Again, I'm reluctant to include this in the table above, but if you put a gun to my head I'd say the "net GOP voter deaths" since 6/30 would be around 4,000 higher if both of these states were included; call it perhaps ~18K more GOP than Dem voters having died of COVID since the end of June.

If so, that'd be a total of perhaps 55,000 more so far this cycle (~146K GOP, ~91K Dem, ~20K Swing/Indy).

What will happen between now and November 2022? The author assumes 150,000 more deaths, divided up 80% R, 15% D, 5% I.

The grand total would then stand at somewhere around ~105,000 Democratic voters, ~220,000 Republican voters and ~26,000 swing voters having died nationally between 11/04/20 - 11/08/22...or a net loss of perhaps 115,000 more Republicans than Democrats overall.

Now, you would think that this would cause Republican leadership to be deeply concerned...but they clearly aren't.

 

[marc]

Do they plan to blame President Biden for failing to control this disease? While calling it a non-issue and while calling measures to deal with it intolerable impositions.

I keep imagining this as like the president fighting a forest fire, and the right wingers blaming him for not putting it out while they spread kindling in every available space.