Covid-19 miscellany

[Angra Mainyu]

We have seen that Covid precautions are very effective against the flu.

Yes, but that is not related to my question. Compare the following:

1. The risk posed by the flu in, say, 2015, to the general population.

2. The risk posed by COVID today, to the part of the general population that is fully vaccinated or has fully recovered from COVID.

Which risk is greater? Is it by a large margin?

If you think 2, and yes by a large margin, I would ask for evidence, and then to add masks to the equation in the COVID case.

It's not just other infections, the people too weak to fight off flu are generally close to death.

You're not providing evidence of your claims. Flu viruses cause viral pneumonia.

It's been in the news repeatedly.

You criticize the study I present because it's not been peer-reviewed yet, but your evidence has been in the news repeatedly. Well, I also saw otherwise in the news repeatedly.

Those who have been infected with Delta are basically immune for now. There will be another variant in time, though.

And the same goes for vaccines. But you've not made your case.

Fatalities are falling because so many of the vulnerable have either survived or died.

In part, yes, but that does not explain the studies, which compare the vaccinated with the unvaccinated.

Generally we don't have the skill to rebut medrxiv stuff. See what the experts say about it.

Yes, I do see what the experts say about it. But you go with "on the news"? Do you have good evidence?

Horse, water.

It's like talking to...people on the internet who defend their beliefs against their opponents, no matter what.

Exactly--before Delta.

Before Delta, but after Alpha, Gamma and Lambda, and it still worked against those. So, it does work against variants - at least, against those that were around when the study was carried out. Do you think it would not work against Delta? Well, now Delta is here, and fatalities continue to fall, and as far as one can tell, it continues to work. Sure, you could say they fall for another reason, and it does not work anymore. But do you have evidence of that?

Ok, I could have mixed them up. I'm talking about the killed-virus Chinese vaccine.

Which one of them?
Both Sinovac's and Sinopharm's vaccine are killed-virus Chinese vaccines. Both are less effective than other vaccines. But Sinopharm's seems good enough.

 

[southernhybrid]

https://wapo.st/311Ii8u

The link is a gifted article from WaPo. It discusses the new variant that was discovered in South Africa.

As alarm over a new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant spread through the world, France, Britain, Japan and Israel began to ban or order quarantines for air passengers arriving from the southern African region.

Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser to the U.K. Health and Security Agency, warned that the new variant found in southern Africa is the “most worrying we’ve seen.”
The European Union is expected to also propose a ban on air travel arriving from the southern Africa. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the proposal on Twitter Friday morning and said she is coordinating with the bloc’s 27 member states.
Britain acted quickly to shut down direct flights, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that these travel bans may be premature.

The number of mutations of the new variant and their location have scientists on high alert, fearful that the changes could make the new strain more resistant to vaccines, more transmissible or cause more serious illness in more people.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Israel is taking the new variant very seriously.

" 'The new variant is more contagious, at a much quicker pace than the Delta strain,' Bennett said, adding that authorities are following data from South Africa to learn more about it, including whether it is resistant to existing vaccines."

To review-- once it was discovered in South Africa, people were looking at its properties and theorizing over whether it is more resistant to vaccines which was worrisome. NOW, it's shown to have moved on to a few other countries, such as Israel. They are implementing restrictions which you can read about in the link. This is because there is empirical evidence that the new variant is "more contagious" and "at a much quicker pace" than Delta.

With these findings being so new, perhaps there is some probability, the claims are exaggerated or due to something else--such as declining effectiveness of vaccinations--but you would expect all that analysis to have been done properly to understand teasing out multiple variables in a comparison of the new variant vs delta.

 

[TomC]

And as the linked story point out, if you are considering going shopping, would you shop at a store that requires that employee vaccination or one that does not? I think that the answer is obvious.

Ironically, while I hate Wal-Mart they've been serious about protocols for a long time. They set up check points at the entrances to the store summer before last and required masks and hand sanitizer to shop. Employees were required to be vaccinated almost as soon as vaccination was available.

It's made me more likely to shop there.
Tom

 

[Thomas II]

https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-19-variant-detected-south-africa-2021-11-26/

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The most common trait I find with anti-vaxxers is that they act butthurt, they've been cheated out of their just rewards - somehow - by the rest of the world. I really don't get the attitude but I've anecdotally been keeping track.

The second most common behavior is scientific illiteracy. It could very well be that the scientific illiteracy drives the more common butthurt trait, they don't understand science or scientific language and so react with confusion and anger.

 

[Ford]

Marcus Lamb, who along with his wife runs the super-Jesus grifter Daystar Network, is reportedly in the ICU with COVID.

It should go without saying that he's using his network to spread misinformation about vaccines and promote quack "cures." Thoughts and prayers, folks. Thoughts and prayers.

Twitter

 

[TSwizzle]

The most common trait I find with anti-vaxxers is that they act butthurt, they've been cheated out of their just rewards - somehow - by the rest of the world. I really don't get the attitude but I've anecdotally been keeping track.

The lockdown zealots and mask nazis get severely butt hurt when the plebs refuse to comply. The mere thought of someone not wearing a mask triggers them.

 

[lpetrich]

It's interesting that strains of COVID-19 have been emerging that are more and more contagious. Seems like this virus was not originally adapted to live in our species, and that it's getting more and more adapted to doing so.

 

[crazyfingers]

The lockdown zealots and mask nazis get severely butt hurt when the plebs refuse to comply. The mere thought of someone not wearing a mask triggers them.

Triggered in the way that a sane person would upon seeing a drunk driver swerving down the street. People who purposely put others in danger should trigger a sane person.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-19-variant-detected-south-africa-2021-11-26/

WHO is pressing the panic button and bumps the variant ahead of the line and now this is a "Variant of Concern". Went from click bait to umm... this could suck pretty quick. But it is still VERY early on.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It's interesting that strains of COVID-19 have been emerging that are more and more contagious. Seems like this virus was not originally adapted to live in our species, and that it's getting more and more adapted to doing so.

Yup. That's what diseases do--evolve for contagiousness. Lethality isn't a value.

More on Omicron: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/new-concerning-variant-b11529

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The most common trait I find with anti-vaxxers is that they act butthurt, they've been cheated out of their just rewards - somehow - by the rest of the world. I really don't get the attitude but I've anecdotally been keeping track.

The lockdown zealots and mask nazis get severely butt hurt when the plebs refuse to comply. The mere thought of someone not wearing a mask triggers them.

I personally have not witnessed the same reaction that for antivaxxers is typically filled with emotion. We had dinner yesterday with family. One participant said she would not attend if everyone had not been vaccinated. That was it, no gratuitous emotion, just common sense and drawing her line. Not surprisingly one of the would-be attendees was in the hospital with covid, not vaccinated, likely to be put on a ventilator.

So in my experience anyway your claim is highly dubious.

 

[blastula]

find it interesting that in fact many of us now do see and realize that wearing masks when potentially sick is just a no-brainer, and when in close contact.

I admit I used to roll my eyes at the (mostly Asian) mask wearers pre-covid, but now realize they were actually doing a good deed for others, they were right all along.

 

[Thomas II]

https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-19-variant-detected-south-africa-2021-11-26/

WHO is pressing the panic button and bumps the variant ahead of the line and now this is a "Variant of Concern". Went from click bait to umm... this could suck pretty quick. But it is still VERY early on.

I've been wearing masks from the start, and I'm fully vaccinated. This is serious. It's sad to see how people don't see it that way...

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

find it interesting that in fact many of us now do see and realize that wearing masks when potentially sick is just a no-brainer, and when in close contact.

I admit I used to roll my eyes at the (mostly Asian) mask wearers pre-covid, but now realize they were actually doing a good deed for others, they were right all along.

Yes! I felt the same way and then realized later what an ass I was. I never called anyone out just thought they were over reacting. Stupid me.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

One of my siblings in her late 60's got covid, was very sick, went to the doc. She received monoclonal antibody treatment and is fine today. I'll have to ask her how she knew that monoclonal antibodies were okay but that vaccine was bad.

 

[TSwizzle]

The most common trait I find with anti-vaxxers is that they act butthurt, they've been cheated out of their just rewards - somehow - by the rest of the world. I really don't get the attitude but I've anecdotally been keeping track.

The lockdown zealots and mask nazis get severely butt hurt when the plebs refuse to comply. The mere thought of someone not wearing a mask triggers them.

I personally have not witnessed the same reaction that for antivaxxers is typically filled with emotion. We had dinner yesterday with family. One participant said she would not attend if everyone had not been vaccinated. That was it, no gratuitous emotion, just common sense and drawing her line. Not surprisingly one of the would-be attendees was in the hospital with covid, not vaccinated, likely to be put on a ventilator.

So in my experience anyway your claim is highly dubious.

Outside of social media, what is called the real world, most people don’t obsess about it. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, vaccinated not vaccinated, it doesn’t come up.

 

[crazyfingers]

Outside of social media, what is called the real world, most people don’t obsess about it. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, vaccinated not vaccinated, it doesn’t come up.

So we can expect that you won't be posting any more news stories expressing your never dying fury over CA Gov Newsom?