Covid-19 miscellany

[Swammerdami]

Sorry if this clip from Rachel Maddow has already been mentioned.

If you thought anti-vaccine idiocy had reached a limit ... Wow! Think again. Families are told to remove their sick relatives from ICUs so they can be treated at home with Ivermectin. Kids are being fed dirt to build up their immunity. If you have been vaccinated, you can undo the vaccination by bathing in borax.

Some of the stupidity comes from Job Creators. Dirt ("Magic dirt") is being sold on-line: 4.5 ounces for $110 plus shipping. Yes, ordinary dirt! (Except for the unusually high and dangerous levels of lead and arsenic.)

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Omicron FAQ:

What is Omicron?
Omicron is a variant of the Covid-19 virus that was first detected in South Africa.

Why are medical people pooping their pants?
The Variant contains many mutations including those that scientists worry can make it more contagious and lessen vaccine effectivensss. It also has the power ball.

Why did they skip two Greek letters for this designation?
Like you actually knew they did that.

Where did the virus originate?
CDC and NIH investigation on this is preliminary, but they believe it was by a large fat guy working on his bed in the basement of a pizzeria in DC.

What should I do?
Listen to the advice of wannabe MMA athletes and former MTV VJs.

 

[Jarhyn]

Sorry if this clip from Rachel Maddow has already been mentioned.

If you thought anti-vaccine idiocy had reached a limit ... Wow! Think again. Families are told to remove their sick relatives from ICUs so they can be treated at home with Ivermectin. Kids are being fed dirt to build up their immunity. If you have been vaccinated, you can undo the vaccination by bathing in borax.

Some of the stupidity comes from Job Creators. Dirt ("Magic dirt") is being sold on-line: 4.5 ounces for $110 plus shipping. Yes, ordinary dirt! (Except for the unusually high and dangerous levels of lead and arsenic.)

... It's like they are trying to re-engineer the bad old days of outlawed abortion and lead exposure as relates to the creation of unwanted hoodla.

Then, perhaps this is their only hope of producing children like themselves: dumb, violent, and poor.

Omicron FAQ:

What is Omicron?
Omicron is a variant of the Covid-19 virus that was first detected in South Africa.

Why are medical people pooping their pants?
The Variant contains many mutations including those that scientists worry can make it more contagious and lessen vaccine effectivensss. It also has the power ball.

Why did they skip two Greek letters for this designation?
Like you actually knew they did that.

Where did the virus originate?
CDC and NIH investigation on this is preliminary, but they believe it was by a large fat guy working on his bed in the basement of a pizzeria in DC.

What should I do?
Listen to the advice of wannabe MMA athletes and former MTV VJs.

I know it's sarcasm, but as a realistic description of the conclusions many idiots will make about this, it's rubbing on Poe's law. It's what /s is for.

 

[ZiprHead]

Forget horse paste. Anti-vaxxers are now literally eating dirt to stay healthy

What else might people do to prevent COVID-19—aside from taking a free, safe, effective, FDA-approved vaccine? Horse paste was all the rage for a while. Bleach injections never really took off, despite the ocher abomination’s imprimatur. Oh, I know,...

www.dailykos.com

 

[Elixir]

Nancy Mace:
“natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination.”
She sez she read ‘studies’ that said that.

I can’t find any such study.
WebMD sez “COVID Vax 5 Times More Protective Than Natural Immunity”.

So, yeah … she seems to be pandering, making shit up AND anti-vax.
Maybe she’s only pandering and making shit up, and doesn’t really give a fuck who lives or dies or gets vaxed or not, as long as they think she’s on their side.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Good news / bad news? It is being reported that Under 5s are seeing a marked increase in hospitalizations. The official indicated it might be because of a vaccination gap. If it is a vax gap, that is good, because it means the vax would be working to some extent.

Of course, deaths lag 1 to 4 weeks on daily cases, so best not to open up that fried chicken joint quite yet.

 

[thebeave]

Nancy Mace:
“natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination.”
She sez she read ‘studies’ that said that.

I can’t find any such study.
WebMD sez “COVID Vax 5 Times More Protective Than Natural Immunity”.

So, yeah … she seems to be pandering, making shit up AND anti-vax.
Maybe she’s only pandering and making shit up, and doesn’t really give a fuck who lives or dies or gets vaxed or not, as long as they think she’s on their side.

This is probably what Nancy Mace is referring to (from science.org)

Having SARS-CoV-2 once confers much greater immunity than a vaccine—but vaccination remains vital

The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a large Israeli study that some scientists wish came with a “Don’t try this at home” label. The newly released data show people who once had a SARS-CoV-2 infection were much less likely than never-infected, vaccinated people to get Delta, develop symptoms from it, or become hospitalized with serious COVID-19.

The 27x number comes from this. Whether she is properly interpreting this number in her video, I'm not really sure:

The new analysis relies on the database of Maccabi Healthcare Services, which enrolls about 2.5 million Israelis. The study, led by Tal Patalon and Sivan Gazit at KSM, the system’s research and innovation arm, found in two analyses that never-infected people who were vaccinated in January and February were, in June, July, and the first half of August, six to 13 times more likely to get infected than unvaccinated people who were previously infected with the coronavirus. In one analysis, comparing more than 32,000 people in the health system, the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 was 27 times higher among the vaccinated, and the risk of hospitalization eight times higher.

Your source of information, WebMD has a few issues with credibility, apparently. Gee, I wonder why they are saying vaccines are better? What could be the motive?

The truth about WebMD, a hypochondriac's nightmare and Big Pharma's dream

Science.org, on the other hand (from the link above):

Failed Fact Checks​

• None in the Last 5 years

 

[Keith&Co.]

Why did they skip two Greek letters for this designation?
Like you actually knew they did that.

Good point. I think most years, they could skip a letter in naming Hurricanes and most human beings wound not notice. Anyone who did notice would be termed a 'weather nerd,' and marginalized.
Skipping two letters in Greek? It's only an issue because someone decides to make it an issue. There's no actual requirement to use designations sequentially. They could use a Ouija board and ask Great Great Grandma Kallisto which letter to use next and it wouldn't matter a damn.

Maybe they should shift systems if the paranoid are doing to bitch about the skipping of connotation-risking letters.

"Today, WHO announced the detection of the Answer Unclear Try Again variant of COVID-19 among the populationj of ...."

 

[thebeave]

Nancy Mace:
“natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination.”
She sez she read ‘studies’ that said that.

I can’t find any such study.
WebMD sez “COVID Vax 5 Times More Protective Than Natural Immunity”.

So, yeah … she seems to be pandering, making shit up AND anti-vax.
Maybe she’s only pandering and making shit up, and doesn’t really give a fuck who lives or dies or gets vaxed or not, as long as they think she’s on their side.

I read about this elsewhere. A study was cited that said NI is 27 percent more effective and she changed it, intentionally or stupidly, to 27 times.

Did you read the post I wrote just a few minutes ago? Its says 27 times, not 27 percent. She did not change it, you apparently (or someone else) did.

 

[ZiprHead]

Nancy Mace:
“natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination.”
She sez she read ‘studies’ that said that.

I can’t find any such study.
WebMD sez “COVID Vax 5 Times More Protective Than Natural Immunity”.

So, yeah … she seems to be pandering, making shit up AND anti-vax.
Maybe she’s only pandering and making shit up, and doesn’t really give a fuck who lives or dies or gets vaxed or not, as long as they think she’s on their side.

I read about this elsewhere. A study was cited that said NI is 27 percent more effective and she changed it, intentionally or stupidly, to 27 times.

Did you read the post I wrote just a few minutes ago? Its says 27 times, not 27 percent. She did not change it, you apparently (or someone else) did.

Yes, I did, after I wrote mine. My source was wrong and that's why I deleted my post immediately after reading yours.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Nancy Mace:
“natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination.”
She sez she read ‘studies’ that said that.

I can’t find any such study.
WebMD sez “COVID Vax 5 Times More Protective Than Natural Immunity”.

So, yeah … she seems to be pandering, making shit up AND anti-vax.
Maybe she’s only pandering and making shit up, and doesn’t really give a fuck who lives or dies or gets vaxed or not, as long as they think she’s on their side.

This is probably what Nancy Mace is referring to (from science.org)

Having SARS-CoV-2 once confers much greater immunity than a vaccine—but vaccination remains vital

The natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a large Israeli study that some scientists wish came with a “Don’t try this at home” label. The newly released data show people who once had a SARS-CoV-2 infection were much less likely than never-infected, vaccinated people to get Delta, develop symptoms from it, or become hospitalized with serious COVID-19.

The 27x number comes from this. Whether she is properly interpreting this number in her video, I'm not really sure:

The new analysis relies on the database of Maccabi Healthcare Services, which enrolls about 2.5 million Israelis. The study, led by Tal Patalon and Sivan Gazit at KSM, the system’s research and innovation arm, found in two analyses that never-infected people who were vaccinated in January and February were, in June, July, and the first half of August, six to 13 times more likely to get infected than unvaccinated people who were previously infected with the coronavirus. In one analysis, comparing more than 32,000 people in the health system, the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 was 27 times higher among the vaccinated, and the risk of hospitalization eight times higher.

This was my understanding, at least in the sense of generalities, natural immunity would be better than a vaccine. Kind of. As in, if you get Covid-19, you are less likely of getting Covid again... unless it mutates too much, and then that immunity ain't helping. There is also the issue of 'getting Covid-19 to protect yourself from Covid-19' is fucking stupid. How many idiots running out to get the flu so they don't get sick in the future from the flu?

And then there are the studies indicating that people who had Covid and got the vaccine are very well protected.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

South African scientists say early data (not yet peer reviewed, nor has it made it to Joe Rogan's desk) indicates previously Covid-19 infected people are 3 times more likely to get reinfected via Omicron. This is troubling and not troubling at the same time, because reinfection wasn't exactly a high rate to begin with, but waning immunity would definitely be an issue especially in the US where at least 50 million, and likely many more, have had Covid-19.

With only 6% of South Africa vaccinated, might be hard to get an idea of vaccine effectiveness.

 

[TSwizzle]

*sigh* Here we go, the authoritarians will not relinquish their new found powers easily.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Rules Advisory Committee met on Thursday to begin the process of drafting a permanent set of rules for the state’s indoor mask requirement. OHA lifted Oregon’s outdoor mask mandate last week, but separate mask rules for indoor spaces, schools, and healthcare settings all remain in place. The current indoor mask mandate is a temporary rule and is set to expire in February, so Oregon health leaders want to be able to switch to a permanent rule before then.

News

This is not about science. This about petty, ignorant bureaucrats trying to lord it over the citizens.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

*sigh* Here we go, the authoritarians will not relinquish their new found powers easily.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Rules Advisory Committee met on Thursday to begin the process of drafting a permanent set of rules for the state’s indoor mask requirement. OHA lifted Oregon’s outdoor mask mandate last week, but separate mask rules for indoor spaces, schools, and healthcare settings all remain in place. The current indoor mask mandate is a temporary rule and is set to expire in February, so Oregon health leaders want to be able to switch to a permanent rule before then.

News

This is not about science. This about petty, ignorant bureaucrats trying to lord it over the citizens.

Yes, your posts on Covid-19 have long ignored the science and are solely hyper-partisan nonsense.

Meanwhile, we see the GOP doesn't want people to know masking does improve the situation.

During that time frame, there were 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents, on average, in the areas that required masks, compared with 21.7 cases per 100,000 residents in unmasked communities, according to The Missouri Independent’s analysis of the data. Regions without mask requirements recorded 1 death per 100,000 residents every 3.5 days, compared with 1 death per 100,000 residents every five days where masks were required, the Independent said.

 

[TSwizzle]

During that time frame, there were 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents, on average, in the areas that required masks, compared with 21.7 cases per 100,000 residents in unmasked communities, according to The Missouri Independent’s analysis of the data. Regions without mask requirements recorded 1 death per 100,000 residents every 3.5 days, compared with 1 death per 100,000 residents every five days where masks were required, the Independent said.

One study done by who knows, shows a slight difference of barely six cases in 100,000 people, this is the "science" that makes masks permanent?
be off with you.

 

[TomC]

*sigh* Here we go, the authoritarians will not relinquish their new found powers easily.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Rules Advisory Committee met on Thursday to begin the process of drafting a permanent set of rules for the state’s indoor mask requirement. OHA lifted Oregon’s outdoor mask mandate last week, but separate mask rules for indoor spaces, schools, and healthcare settings all remain in place. The current indoor mask mandate is a temporary rule and is set to expire in February, so Oregon health leaders want to be able to switch to a permanent rule before then.

News

This is not about science. This about petty, ignorant bureaucrats trying to lord it over the citizens.

I'm repeating myself but,

If everyone had started getting vaccinated back in March C19 would have been receding in our collective rear view mirrors by June. Our society and economy would be rapidly getting back on stride and picking up speed. By now, we'd all be looking at that as old news.

The reason we are not is plain. Too many people think that they or their news sources know more about epidemiological subjects than Fauci or the CDC know. People like that are handing power to the petty ignorant bureaucrats by keeping the pandemic going and helping create variants that will continue to make things worse.

I'm pretty sure I was infected. And I know I got my vaccinations months ago. I've done my best to keep the government out of it. Not everybody has, which is why those idiots are getting the power they're getting.

Because of plague rats. That's why. And it makes me angry.
Tom

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

During that time frame, there were 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents, on average, in the areas that required masks, compared with 21.7 cases per 100,000 residents in unmasked communities, according to The Missouri Independent’s analysis of the data. Regions without mask requirements recorded 1 death per 100,000 residents every 3.5 days, compared with 1 death per 100,000 residents every five days where masks were required, the Independent said.

One study done by who knows, shows a slight difference of barely six cases in 100,000 people, this is the "science" that makes masks permanent?
be off with you.

You keep posting the same thing over and over again. We get it. You don't understand science.

 

[Ruth Harris]

During that time frame, there were 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents, on average, in the areas that required masks, compared with 21.7 cases per 100,000 residents in unmasked communities, according to The Missouri Independent’s analysis of the data. Regions without mask requirements recorded 1 death per 100,000 residents every 3.5 days, compared with 1 death per 100,000 residents every five days where masks were required, the Independent said.

One study done by who knows, shows a slight difference of barely six cases in 100,000 people, this is the "science" that makes masks permanent?
be off with you.

Okay, let's extrapolate this a little. As a Missouri resident this interested me.

The study covered 5 months, so about 150 days. This means that unmasked areas had an additional 900 cases per 100,000. And death rate comparisons - masked areas had about 30 deaths per 100,000 over that period. Unmasked areas had about 49 deaths per 100,000 for that period. So an additional 19 people per 100,000 died in unmasked areas. And just for clarity, those unmasked areas are low population compared to the mask mandate comparison areas of KC & St. Louis. We are talking about places like where I live, where the total county population is about 24,000 people. So the low population density provides a small advantage to those places - and they still had a higher death rate.

And the study was done by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - who have always opposed mask mandates. Kind of knocks out the possibility that the study was skewed towards masking.

Ruth

 

[lpetrich]

I looked again at Rep. Nancy Mace's Fox and CNN appearances, and she not only wore the same shirt, she had her microphone clip at the same place on her shirt both times. So she said opposite things only a few hours apart.

Germany locks down unvaccinated people, as leaders plan to make shots compulsory - CNN

Germany on Thursday announced a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated, as its leaders backed plans for mandatory vaccinations in the coming months.
Unvaccinated people will be banned from accessing all but the most essential businesses, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, to curb the spread of coronavirus, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor, Olaf Scholz, announced Thursday, following crisis talks with regional leaders. Those who have recently recovered from Covid-19 are not covered by the ban.
The pair also backed proposals for mandatory vaccinations, which if voted through the parliament could take effect from February at the earliest.

Under the tightened restrictions, unvaccinated people can only meet two people from another household. Bars and nightclubs must shut down in areas with an incidence rate above 350 cases per 100,000 people over one week. And the country would limit the number of people at large events like soccer matches.

Why are they doing that?

Many hospitals are struggling to cope with the increasing number of intensive care patients. There could be around 6,000 Covid-19 patients in intensive care by Christmas -- regardless of any measures implemented by Germany's leaders -- the country's Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency (Divi) warned Wednesday.

Already, more than 102,000 people in Germany have died as a result of coronavirus, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national disease and control center.

 Robert Koch

As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the bacterium itself was discovered by Filippo Pacini in 1854), and anthrax, he is regarded as one of the main founders of modern bacteriology. As such he is popularly nicknamed the father of microbiology (with Louis Pasteur[3]), and as the father of medical bacteriology.[4][5] His discovery of the anthrax bacterium (Bacillus anthracis) in 1876 is considered as the birth of modern bacteriology.[6] His discoveries directly provided proofs for the germ theory of diseases, and the scientific basis of public health.[7]

 Koch's postulates

• The microorganism must be found in abundance in all organisms suffering from the disease, but should not be found in healthy organisms.
• The microorganism must be isolated from a diseased organism and grown in pure culture.
• The cultured microorganism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy organism.
• The microorganism must be reisolated from the inoculated, diseased experimental host and identified as being identical to the original specific causative agent.

However, there are exceptions to these postulates. RK himself discovered asymptomatic transmission of cholera and typhoid fever. Some microbes can't be grown away from other organisms, notably viruses. RK himself showed about tuberculosis and cholera that being exposed to some microbe doesn't necessarily lead to getting a disease from that microbe.

 

[lpetrich]

Judge expresses skepticism of 3 House Republicans' challenge of mask fines - CNNPolitics

The case was brought by Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Their lawyer, Christopher Wiest, argued Thursday that the mechanism the House is using to impose the mandate -- with fines that are docked from offenders' paychecks -- violates the Constitution.

As of last month, Greene had been fined $48,000 for not wearing a mask in the areas of the Capitol it's required.

She and the other challengers claim the policy violates the 27th Amendment because it changes members' compensation without an intervening election, as well as the First Amendment's free speech protections.