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Covid-19 miscellany

Angry Floof said:
blastula said:
Angry Floof said:
California Is 1st State To Hit 2 Million Cases, And Hospitals Are Out Of ICU Beds (NPR)
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News articles that compare states or countries by giving the absolute number of cases only are misleading and they do this all the time. MSNBC is notorious at it. By per capita cases, California ranks in the bottom half of the nation.

ICU bed numbers is a useful marker though.
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It's not comparing states. It's more like marking a horrifying milestone that any state would reach 2 million.
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You don't see the difference between having 2 million cases in a big state and in a small state?
California has almost 40 million residents. Mississippi more like 2 million residents. Wyoming way less than 1 million.
2 million cases in California is nothing like 2 million cases in Wyoming.
Tom
 
Ohio State study: 30% of student athletes have heart damage linked to COVID-19

In a study published in September, researchers from Ohio State University found that out of more than two dozen athletes from the university who tested positive for COVID-19, 30% had cellular heart damage and 15% showed signs of heart inflammation caused by a condition known as myocarditis.

After mapping the hearts of 26 Ohio State University athletes using a process known as cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), researchers found that not only 15% of students exhibited the rare heart condition but 30% showed cellular damage.

"Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging has the potential to identify a high-risk cohort for adverse outcomes and may, importantly, risk-stratify athletes for safe participation," study authors wrote. "Recent studies have raised concerns of myocardial inflammation after recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), even in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients."

According to researchers, "myocarditis is a significant cause of sudden cardiac death in competitive athletes."
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California funeral homes run out of space as COVID-19 rages - "As communities across the country feel the pain of a surge in coronavirus cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for the bodies piling up."

Contagious Coronavirus Variant Has Spread To Dozens Of Countries : Coronavirus Updates : NPR - "U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 350,000"
The coronavirus variant was first spotted last month in the U.K. and has now spread to dozens of countries, likely passed on by infected people who traveled around the world and unknowingly brought the microscopic invaders with them.

The variant is now in dozens of countries, including the United States, where it has infected people in Colorado, California and Florida.
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'reconciled' to tougher Covid-19 restrictions as cases soar - CNN

US coronavirus: Hospitals have had more than 100,000 coronavirus patients every day for 32 days - CNN
 
Larry King is in hospital with covid.

The entire on air crew of The Stephanie Miller show has tested positive. They had been doing the show by remote for several weeks when the producer tested positive.
 
Angra Mainyu said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
So umm... FDA considering lowering dosage of Moderna's vaccine so more people can get it. Is the Trump Admin trying to destroy confidence in the vaccine?!

Even if this is sound science, the optics look awful!
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More likely, they're trying to save more lives, as the UK is trying by giving the first and second dose further apart.
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Save lives? In America? Half the country gave up on that months ago!

Also, that'd involve getting as many people vaccinated and trying to get people to stop pretending that there isn't a pandemic.

But who in the US is going to want "half a dose" of vaccine? It also sends a clear message... we don't have nearly as much coming in as we thought. And the US has already distributed a decent amount of vaccinations that aren't finding its way into people's bodies! The Trump Administration has effectively fucked up nearly every possible part of the response to the pandemic.

Ultimately, it might be fine, based on what the study showed, but the time to set the dose was earlier, not later.
 
Federal Judge Scorches Gov. Kristi Noem Over COVID Response
I had to look for the original, but I found it:
South Dakota has done 'little, if anything' to curtail COVID-19, judge says - "Federal judge: South Dakota can't use COVID-19 as an excuse for not having speedy trials" at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader
A federal judge says a state court can't use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to delay a Codington County trial and in the same breath criticized South Dakota's response to the pandemic, saying it has done "little, if anything," to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann ordered that unless the Codington County state court resolves Matthew Kurtenbach's May 2019 case by January 15, 2021, Kurtenbach will win a federal petition he filed claiming wrongful imprisonment and a violation of his right to a speedy trial.

And in that same adjudication, filed federally in the Northern Division of the District of South Dakota and which can be read in full at the bottom of this story, Kornmann harshly criticized the state and Gov. Kristi Noem's response to the pandemic and said some state courts could have done more to keep cases moving while protecting parties.

“South Dakota has done little, if anything, to curtail the spread of the virus," Kornmann wrote in the Dec. 28 decision.

He later said:

"South Dakota cannot 'take advantage' of its own failures to follow scientific facts and safeguards in entering blanket denials of the rights of speedy trials."
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He criticized the state courts for inadequate procedures:
The state courts, instead of imposing their own mask mandates and utilizing other methods of preventing the spread of the disease, have decided instead to delay the trials of criminal cases, including those where the defendant is in custody."

Kornmann mentioned that federal courtrooms have held jury trials with CDC guidelines, including mask-wearing, social distancing, plexiglass installation and rearrangement of courtrooms.

He notes that, at age 83, he has safely conducted three criminal jury trials and one civil during the pandemic.

"I find that the COVID-19 pandemic does not justify the extent of the delay" of Kurtenbach's cases, Kornmann wrote.
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He also criticized SD Gov Kristi Noem:
"The Governor has steadfastly refused to impose a statewide mask mandate. She has often questioned publicly the scientific fact that mask wearing prevents the virus from spreading. she appeared at a dedication ceremony for a large 3M Company in Aberdeen manufacturing plant expansion — to allow 3M to produce even more N95 respirators needed by front-line healthcare workers — as the only public official not wearing a mask. Her example significantly encourages south Dakotans to not wear masks. South Dakota is now a very dangerous place in which to live due to the spread of COVID-19. Even a casual observer must note the failure of most residents of South Dakota to wear masks and maintain social distancing."

He went on to cite a separate case, Carson v. Simon, in saying: "There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution.”
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The article includes the full text of the judge's decision as an inlined documentcloud frame.
 
Pharmacist accused of destroying coronavirus vaccine doses is admitted conspiracy theorist, police say

A Wisconsin pharmacist convinced the world was “crashing down” told police he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would mutate people’s DNA, according to court documents released Monday.

Police in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, arrested Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist Steven Brandenburg last week following an investigation into the 57 spoiled vials of the Moderna vaccine, which officials say contained enough doses to inoculate more than 500 people. Charges are pending.

“He’d formed this belief they were unsafe,” Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol said during a virtual hearing. He added that Brandenburg was upset because he was in the midst of divorcing his wife, and an Aurora employee said Brandenburg had taken a gun to work twice.
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Jimmy Higgins said:
So umm... FDA considering lowering dosage of Moderna's vaccine so more people can get it. Is the Trump Admin trying to destroy confidence in the vaccine?!

Even if this is sound science, the optics look awful!
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So it looks like Operation Warp Speed is making shit up. I apparently "misspoke", as it was Operation Warp Speed that said the FDA was considering it because the FDA itself says 'Um... no!'
article said:
Anyone who receives the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine must get two full doses, two top US Food and Drug Administration officials said Monday.

They also dismissed other ideas for stretching the vaccine supply and said people who are speculating about the possibility of making do with just one dose or cutting doses in half are misinterpreting the data.
"We have been following the discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the length of time between doses, changing the dose (half-dose), or mixing and matching vaccines in order to immunize more people against COVID-19," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Peter Marks, who heads FDA's vaccine division, said in a statement.
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My post, however, was in line with the FDA's think.
article said:
"These are all reasonable questions to consider and evaluate in clinical trials. However, at this time, suggesting changes to the FDA-authorized dosing or schedules of these vaccines is premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence. Without appropriate data supporting such changes in vaccine administration, we run a significant risk of placing public health at risk, undermining the historic vaccination efforts to protect the population from COVID-19," they added.
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As in, the time to have talked dosage has passed and any talk now is very dangerous without a boatload of data.

So we see the Trump Admin continuing to fail in its response to the pandemic, even as we have two vaccines that slowly makes it way into the arms of America.
 
Infected after 5 minutes, from 20 feet away: South Korea study shows coronavirus’s spread indoors

The study — adding to a growing body of evidence on airborne transmission of the virus — highlighted how South Korea’s meticulous and often invasive contact tracing regime has enabled researchers to closely track how the virus moves through populations.

“In this outbreak, the distances between infector and infected persons were … farther than the generally accepted 2 meter [6.6 foot] droplet transmission range,” the study’s authors wrote. “The guidelines on quarantine and epidemiological investigation must be updated to reflect these factors for control and prevention of COVID-19.”

KJ Seung, an infectious disease expert and chief of strategy and policy for the nonprofit Partners in Health’s Massachusetts COVID response, said the study was a reminder of the risk of indoor transmission as many nations hunker down for the winter. The official definition of a “close contact” — 15 minutes, within 6 feet — isn’t foolproof.
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[TWEET]<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here in Italy people started to share this figure claiming that this is the diagram of the 5G chip that has been inserted in the covid vaccine.<br><br>In reality it is the electric circuit of a guitar pedal and I believe that putting it in the covid vaccine has been an excellent idea?????? <a href="https://t.co/qXKnv7VVly">pic.twitter.com/qXKnv7VVly</a></p>— Mario Fusco ???????????? (@mariofusco) <a href="https://twitter.com/mariofusco/status/1343547724013187072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/TWEET]

Conspiracy theorists' image of 5G Covid implant chip turns out to be guitar pedal schematic

Idiots...
 
ZiprHead said:
[TWEET]<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here in Italy people started to share this figure claiming that this is the diagram of the 5G chip that has been inserted in the covid vaccine.<br><br>In reality it is the electric circuit of a guitar pedal and I believe that putting it in the covid vaccine has been an excellent idea������ <a href="https://t.co/qXKnv7VVly">pic.twitter.com/qXKnv7VVly</a></p>— Mario Fusco ������������ (@mariofusco) <a href="https://twitter.com/mariofusco/status/1343547724013187072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/TWEET]

Conspiracy theorists' image of 5G Covid implant chip turns out to be guitar pedal schematic

Idiots...
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Like, there isn't even an antenna on the damn thing. And anything with a gain circuit like that would burn ANY battery down in short order.
 
Marie Newman on Twitter: "This virus does not see or care about nationality, borders, or religion — its devastating impact is everywhere. The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis & Palestinians have access to vaccines. (article link)" / Twitter
noting
Palestinians excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout as jabs go to settlers | Israel | The Guardian


The Recount on Twitter: "Gov. Ricketts (R-NE) says undocumented workers at meatpacking plants will not be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine.

That’s at least 14% of Nebraska’s meatpacking workers, according to @MigrationPolicy. (video link)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Imagine being so racist that you go out of your way to ensure that the people who prepare *your* food are unvaccinated." / Twitter
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Angra Mainyu said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
So umm... FDA considering lowering dosage of Moderna's vaccine so more people can get it. Is the Trump Admin trying to destroy confidence in the vaccine?!

Even if this is sound science, the optics look awful!
Click to expand...

More likely, they're trying to save more lives, as the UK is trying by giving the first and second dose further apart.
Click to expand...
Save lives? In America? Half the country gave up on that months ago!

Also, that'd involve getting as many people vaccinated and trying to get people to stop pretending that there isn't a pandemic.

But who in the US is going to want "half a dose" of vaccine? It also sends a clear message... we don't have nearly as much coming in as we thought. And the US has already distributed a decent amount of vaccinations that aren't finding its way into people's bodies! The Trump Administration has effectively fucked up nearly every possible part of the response to the pandemic.

Ultimately, it might be fine, based on what the study showed, but the time to set the dose was earlier, not later.
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They're not caricature villains. The people making the decisions are very probably trying to save lives with the reduced dose (US) or shots given further apart (UK).
 
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