Covid-19 miscellany

[southernhybrid]

Not all of this is political. I have a close Black friend who has a middle aged son who refused to be vaccinated. He has never given his mom a reason. She has begged him to take the vaccine. We talked about it the other day and the only thing I could. think of is that he might have a severe phobia regarding receiving injections. I know that sounds nuts, but people sometimes have all kinds of crazy phobias that the rest of us don't understand. He isn't the only Black Democrat who I've heard of who refused the vaccine. One of my neighbors is a Black police detective. He just got vaccinated a couple of months ago. We think the reason he finally gave in was because his mother in law had just died and we suspect she died of COVID. Of course we could be wrong, but it seemed suspicious that he decided to get the vaccine, almost immediately after the death of his mother in law, who was probably only in her 50s. I've known another person who did the same thing. Some people just don't trust vaccines for some ignorant reason and some people have phobias of injections. It may be based on misinformation or some other stupid thing, but it's not only about politics. Regardless of the reason, it's sad and potentially dangerous.

I also recently found out that only 38% of the people in my county have been vaccinated, despite the fact that it's extremely easy to find a location that is giving the vaccine in my small city.

 

[lpetrich]

FDA authorizes Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for kids 5-11 - CNN

Shots can't be administered yet -- the question now goes to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meet November 2 to discuss whether to recommend use of the vaccine among US children. Then the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, makes the final decision on use of the vaccine.

The White House says it has a plan already in place for distributing vaccines to children. Vaccines could be administered as soon as the CDC signs off.

FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Children 5 through 11 Years of Age | FDA

ETA: no mention of Moderna or Johnson & Johnson

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I am not obsessed. I am concerned what he's doing to our family. The difference TS is that my daughter is starting to think that we are being unreasonable for not inviting an unvaccinated person into our home. She seems to think that we should risk my wife's health which we are not willing to do.

You are obsessed, you bang on about this lad almost everyday. He's not getting vaccinated, why don't you just accept that and get on with your life. But again, in what possible way is an unvaccinated person a greater threat to your wife's health than a vaccinated person? Do you not understand that vaccinated people can contract and therefore transmit the virus?

It's the daughter that isn't accepting the condition of stay away until he's vaxxed.

And a few messages upthread there's a statistic--the unvaccinated are 6x as likely to get Covid. There's also the fact that the vaccinated generally get lighter cases and thus are less contagious.

 

[lpetrich]

Supreme Court declines to block Maine health care employee vaccine mandate - CNNPolitics
and
Supreme Court Won’t Block Maine’s Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers - The New York Times

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to block Maine’s requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus notwithstanding their religious objections.

As is the court’s custom in rulings on emergency applications, its brief order gave no reasons.

But the three most conservative members of the court — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch — issued a lengthy dissent, saying the majority had gone badly astray.

“Where many other states have adopted religious exemptions, Maine has charted a different course,” Justice Gorsuch wrote for the dissenting justices. “There, health care workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the last 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered. All for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs. Their plight is worthy of our attention.”

In Maine, healthcare workers have been required to be vaccinated against various contagious diseases since 1989, and religious and philosophical reasons were rejected by state law in 2019. There was a referendum on it, with 73% approving. But one can be exempted if there is some good medical reason to do so.

21A90 Does v. Mills (10/29/2021) - 21a90_6j37.pdf

Good that only 3 out of the court's 6 right-wingers opposed that decision.

 

[barbos]

Booster shot I got produced suspicious reaction. First, I expected no reaction to begin with. But nurse said reactions are usual to booster shots too. Anyway, I got the usual reaction plus minor coughing which is not supposed to happen. It's been almost 48 hours, coughing is not getting worse

 

[bilby]

We have basically been COVID free here in Queensland, with the state border strictly controlled, hard lockdowns whenever community transmission is detected, and mask mandates, giving us just seven fatalities for the entire pandemic to date.

However the government now plans to remove most of these safeguards when we reach 80% of over 16 year olds double vaccinated statewide, a target they expect to reach in mid-December.

Given that one in five adults, and most children, will be unvaccinated, I am very concerned that our hospitals might struggle to cope, and that our hitherto excellent record will be a distant memory.

The state government's position is that once everybody who wants the vaccine has had an opportunity to get it, they shouldn't continue to restrict movement across the state border, which would be a fairly reasonable position if the only people at risk were those unvaccinated people; But the rest of us are placed at risk if the Emergency Department can't treat our urgent needs due to being filled up with anti-vaxxers learning their error the hard way.

And then there's the non-zero risk to vaccinated people of contracting the virus from this pool of plague rats; If I get a mild case (as a result of being vaccinated but exposed to an anti-vaxxer) and have to take a week off work, who's going to compensate me for my lost income? I am a casual employee, and don't get paid sick days.

 

[crazyfingers]

We have basically been COVID free here in Queensland, with the state border strictly controlled, hard lockdowns whenever community transmission is detected, and mask mandates, giving us just seven fatalities for the entire pandemic to date.

However the government now plans to remove most of these safeguards when we reach 80% of over 16 year olds double vaccinated statewide, a target they expect to reach in mid-December.

Given that one in five adults, and most children, will be unvaccinated, I am very concerned that our hospitals might struggle to cope, and that our hitherto excellent record will be a distant memory.

The state government's position is that once everybody who wants the vaccine has had an opportunity to get it, they shouldn't continue to restrict movement across the state border, which would be a fairly reasonable position if the only people at risk were those unvaccinated people; But the rest of us are placed at risk if the Emergency Department can't treat our urgent needs due to being filled up with anti-vaxxers learning their error the hard way.

And then there's the non-zero risk to vaccinated people of contracting the virus from this pool of plague rats; If I get a mild case (as a result of being vaccinated but exposed to an anti-vaxxer) and have to take a week off work, who's going to compensate me for my lost income? I am a casual employee, and don't get paid sick days.

It will never be 100% vaxed but from what I've read, 80% is doubtful to provide herd immunity with delta. Are there government vax mandates in place or on the way?

 

[bilby]

We have basically been COVID free here in Queensland, with the state border strictly controlled, hard lockdowns whenever community transmission is detected, and mask mandates, giving us just seven fatalities for the entire pandemic to date.

However the government now plans to remove most of these safeguards when we reach 80% of over 16 year olds double vaccinated statewide, a target they expect to reach in mid-December.

Given that one in five adults, and most children, will be unvaccinated, I am very concerned that our hospitals might struggle to cope, and that our hitherto excellent record will be a distant memory.

The state government's position is that once everybody who wants the vaccine has had an opportunity to get it, they shouldn't continue to restrict movement across the state border, which would be a fairly reasonable position if the only people at risk were those unvaccinated people; But the rest of us are placed at risk if the Emergency Department can't treat our urgent needs due to being filled up with anti-vaxxers learning their error the hard way.

And then there's the non-zero risk to vaccinated people of contracting the virus from this pool of plague rats; If I get a mild case (as a result of being vaccinated but exposed to an anti-vaxxer) and have to take a week off work, who's going to compensate me for my lost income? I am a casual employee, and don't get paid sick days.

It will never be 100% vaxed but from what I've read, 80% is doubtful to provide herd immunity with delta. Are there government vax mandates in place or on the way?

Yeah, 80% of the whole population wouldn't be adequate against delta, so 80% of over 16 years old is way short of sufficient.

There's no government mandate; The vaccine is available free of charge to anyone who walks up, at a vast number of places, including hospitals, GP's offices, clinics, and even at theme parks, hardware stores, major shopping malls, surf lifesaving clubs, schools, and a vast range of pop-up locations.

Border restrictions, and a range of other measures, will still apply to the unvaccinated so that might push a few hesitant people to get the jab. It's going to be difficult to enforce though.

Some employers are requiring vaccines already (all hospital and nursing home staff, for example), and I expect that to be extended to other public facing jobs, particularly government roles. For obvious reasons, bus drivers are a significant vector risk, so it wouldn't surprise me if we were required to get the jab in the near future; But so far not. I have been fully vaccinated since August, but many of my colleagues are not.

And private organisations such as pubs, clubs, theatres, sports venues and so on can also restrict access to people who can show a vaccination certificate. They're not particularly secure though, in their current form, so again enforcement will be difficult.

We really should be able to get to herd immunity, but it will require vaccines for children to make that happen, and that's assuming that a more transmissible variant doesn't arise at any point.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Booster shot I got produced suspicious reaction. First, I expected no reaction to begin with. But nurse said reactions are usual to booster shots too. Anyway, I got the usual reaction plus minor coughing which is not supposed to happen. It's been almost 48 hours, coughing is not getting worse

Yeah, that's unexpected. At least local studies over here do not show coughing as a reaction to the Sputnik vaccine (though those are not booster shots).

I hope you get better soon.

 

[barbos]

When I got booster shot, there was no reaction for the first 24 hours, then something in the throat, then temperature.
I hope coughing is due to ordinary common cold I caught - I ignored sitting home after the shot and it was pretty windy.
Body temperature is 37.7

 

[Angra Mainyu]

When I got booster shot, there was no reaction for the first 24 hours, then something in the throat, then temperature.
I hope coughing is due to ordinary common cold I caught - I ignored sitting home after the shot and it was pretty windy.
Body temperature is 37.7

I may well be that; I hope so. But have you asked a doctor about it? (just in case). When I got symptoms after the AZ vaccine , they told me they thought it was the vaccine and didn't need a test: I had to wait 72 hours, and if the fever and headaches were over, that was it, and they were over by then (though I was tired for longer). But I had no cough or anything else.

 

[barbos]

I am gonna wait 72 hours. coughing feeling seems to be slowly dissolving and in in general it feels exactly like common cold (except high temperature)
To get to doctor I would have to go to the Covid ward. General hospital where I got the shot is pretty much deserted.

 

[ZiprHead]

Supreme Court declines to block vaccine mandate for health workers in Maine The court ruled against health care workers who opposed the mandate on religious grounds.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

When I got booster shot, there was no reaction for the first 24 hours, then something in the throat, then temperature.
I hope coughing is due to ordinary common cold I caught - I ignored sitting home after the shot and it was pretty windy.
Body temperature is 37.7

Sounds familiar. Moderna gave me the same reaction with the second shot. Booster in five days.

 

[thebeave]

Not all of this is political. I have a close Black friend who has a middle aged son who refused to be vaccinated. He has never given his mom a reason. She has begged him to take the vaccine. We talked about it the other day and the only thing I could. think of is that he might have a severe phobia regarding receiving injections. I know that sounds nuts, but people sometimes have all kinds of crazy phobias that the rest of us don't understand. He isn't the only Black Democrat who I've heard of who refused the vaccine. One of my neighbors is a Black police detective. He just got vaccinated a couple of months ago. We think the reason he finally gave in was because his mother in law had just died and we suspect she died of COVID. Of course we could be wrong, but it seemed suspicious that he decided to get the vaccine, almost immediately after the death of his mother in law, who was probably only in her 50s. I've known another person who did the same thing. Some people just don't trust vaccines for some ignorant reason and some people have phobias of injections. It may be based on misinformation or some other stupid thing, but it's not only about politics. Regardless of the reason, it's sad and potentially dangerous.

I also recently found out that only 38% of the people in my county have been vaccinated, despite the fact that it's extremely easy to find a location that is giving the vaccine in my small city.

Yep. I came across this article a while back, yet heard nothing about it on this forum. I guess the victims' identity didn't fit the narrative of covid unvaccination being the domain of "Trumpsucking OrangeMan Loving White MAGA Hat Wearing Plague Rats.

13 School District Employees Dead of Covid-19 in Less that a Month

According to the president of United Teachers of Dade, Karla Hernandez-Mats, all of those who died were African American and unvaccinated.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Supreme Court declines to block vaccine mandate for health workers in Maine The court ruled against health care workers who opposed the mandate on religious grounds.

Wait'll all these hypocrites here and elsewhere claiming a BS religious exemption stop getting a paycheck. They'll get religion.

 

[TSwizzle]

When does this shit end?

As Bill Maher has rightly observed, some people just don't want this "wonderful pandemic" to end;

Real Time" host Bill Maher railed against ongoing COVID restrictions, declaring the pandemic "over."Maher kicked off the show's panel discussion Friday night by expressing relief that Dr. Anthony Fauci has given the green light on Halloween since it's been Maher's "position since the beginning of this.""Just resume living," Maher told his audience. "I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? It's over. There's always going to be a variant. You shouldn't have to wear masks. I should be to … I haven't had a meeting with my staff since March of 2020. Why?" "Also, vaccine, mask, pick one! You've got to pick. You can't make me mask if I've had the vaccine," Maher added.

News

Indeed, there is no need for masks, it's an amulet.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

I am gonna wait 72 hours. coughing feeling seems to be slowly dissolving and in in general it feels exactly like common cold (except high temperature)
To get to doctor I would have to go to the Covid ward. General hospital where I got the shot is pretty much deserted.

I see; I was thinking about an online consult. I hope you get better soon.

 

[jab]

I am gonna wait 72 hours. coughing feeling seems to be slowly dissolving and in in general it feels exactly like common cold (except high temperature)
To get to doctor I would have to go to the Covid ward. General hospital where I got the shot is pretty much deserted.

The temperature is worrying. Hope you just have a little bacterial infection--or that if it's side effects, it goes away quickly.

 

[crazyfingers]

I am gonna wait 72 hours. coughing feeling seems to be slowly dissolving and in in general it feels exactly like common cold (except high temperature)
To get to doctor I would have to go to the Covid ward. General hospital where I got the shot is pretty much deserted.

The temperature is worrying. Hope you just have a little bacterial infection--or that if it's side effects, it goes away quickly.

A bit over a week ago my son was sent home from school with a fever of 99.6, sniffles and a lot of fatigue. He got tested and negative. Two days later he was fine. We have no idea what it was but colds/flu don't go away that fast.