Covid-19 miscellany

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sen. Ron Johnson Draws Ridicule After Mind-Numbing Take On God And Vaccines

"So much for God creating us with brains," a Jesuit priest wrote in response.

news.yahoo.com

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) drew some stunned reactions with his latest bafflingly flawed anti-vaccine take.

During a familiar rant Monday on a conservative radio show about the merits of relying on the body’s “natural immunity” to COVID-19 after being infected with the virus, the senator asked, “Why do we assume that the body’s natural immune system isn’t the marvel that it is?”

“Why do we think that we can create something better than God in terms of combating disease?” he added.

This guy doesn't even believe this shit. He was originally elected as a "moderate" midwestern conservative. And now people like him are pushing a crusade against vaccination?!

What could be worse than 1 million people dying of Covid? Lots of more people needlessly suffering because the right-wing lost their minds.

 

[barbos]

US over 700k today.

France is 1700K (adjusted for US/France population)

France is also much more compact population wise, so the comparison isn't completely apples to oranges.

Japan is even more compact than France. So it's orange to other types of oranges comparison. France just gave up it seems.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Meanwhile, I keep waiting for my booster as cases soar. We had over 95000 new positives yesterday, but over 55% of tests come back positive, so the real number is probably a lot higher; over 700% increase in 14 days, but also a large increase in rate of positives, so it's probably a lot more than that (deaths increased by almost 65%, so lethality keeps falling sharply). Now testing facilities are overwhelmed, so they will no longer test close contacts - they'll just count them as positive.

It looks like the 4 months announcement was a mistake of sorts, because the local government hasn't repeated it, the national government insists it's 5 months after the second, and that's that. In short, I guess I'll end up getting covid before I get my booster (and long after the second shot), since the virus is spreading absurdly fast and the government chooses for some reason to sit on millions of doses. It's annoying.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

People are going nuts or I guess were nuts already:

After Apollo walked into the clinic without a mask before 10 a.m., workers asked him to put a mask on, according to police. When Apollo refused, he was asked to leave.

“He said, ‘I don’t need a mask, I don’t have the virus, and you are the ones making people sick,’ ” Jahanbani, 37, told the Register. “And just every type of profanity you can imagine.”

Apollo allegedly shouted and clenched his fists as he denounced workers as “murderers” and falsely accused them of facilitating a hoax inside the mobile clinic. Then, Apollo lunged at Jahanbani and a medical assistant, punching the pair multiple times, the workers told the Register.

At one point, Apollo pinned down the medical assistant, who declined to be publicly identified in local media, and landed “a few pretty strong punches” to the official’s head, chest and back, Jahanbani told the Times.

“It was one of my biggest fears coming true,” Jahanbani said.

It took five people to pry Apollo away from the assistant and pin him down until police arrived.​

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Meanwhile, I keep waiting for my booster as cases soar. We had over 95000 new positives yesterday, but over 55% of tests come back positive, so the real number is probably a lot higher; over 700% increase in 14 days, but also a large increase in rate of positives, so it's probably a lot more than that (deaths increased by almost 65%, so lethality keeps falling sharply). Now testing facilities are overwhelmed, so they will no longer test close contacts - they'll just count them as positive.

It looks like the 4 months announcement was a mistake of sorts, because the local government hasn't repeated it, the national government insists it's 5 months after the second, and that's that. In short, I guess I'll end up getting covid before I get my booster (and long after the second shot), since the virus is spreading absurdly fast and the government chooses for some reason to sit on millions of doses. It's annoying.

The vaccine helps reduce the chances of transmission, but not by a lot. The booster at this point is to keep hospitalizations and deaths down.

 

[thebeave]

Indeed. The phrase, "I told you so," has to be one of the most useless things a person can say, especially to someone grieving the loss of a loved one.

Yep, and yet we get people here giving a thumbs up like on these death notices.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I don't think it is necessarily useless, provided (1) it's framed the right way and (2) the "loved one" needs to become properly informed or is still advocating a no-vax position. For example, there are no-vax influencers out there--sometimes couples and if one dies, the other might just keep on advocating an illogical thing. Making some noise back while pointing out evidence significant to them isn't necessarily bad and could be good for society.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Massachusetts sets a minimum number of school days for "in person" learning. If you use up your snow days, the school year gets extended, or holidays get bumped.
Today, three schools in town are closed due to not having enough teachers to safely operate. Mass won't allow remote learning to count towards fulfilling the school days minimum. So, Snovid closings are going to end up being June school days.

 

[TSwizzle]

"When my freedom threatens that of others, I become irresponsible," he said. "An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen."

Macron appear to have a bit of a Napoleon complex. Brexit looks to have been a good move for the UK.

It is time to piss off the unvaccinated and they are being irresponsible.

Unvaccinated people are no more of a threat to your safety (or freedom) than vaccinated.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

"When my freedom threatens that of others, I become irresponsible," he said. "An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen."

Macron appear to have a bit of a Napoleon complex. Brexit looks to have been a good move for the UK.

It is time to piss off the unvaccinated and they are being irresponsible.

Unvaccinated people are no more of a threat to your safety (or freedom) than vaccinated.

As long as you don't work in the personal health care industry, nursing homes, or schools and exclude variants caused because of unvax'd spread of the disease.

Alpha didn't seem to be a breakthrough issue.

 

[TSwizzle]

As long as you don't work in the personal health care industry, nursing homes, or schools and exclude variants caused because of unvax'd spread of the disease.

The vaccinated are getting the disease and also spreading it. And some vaccinated do end up in hospital. The response to ban unvaccinated from social life is disproportionate to the actual circumstances.

 

[Toni]

As long as you don't work in the personal health care industry, nursing homes, or schools and exclude variants caused because of unvax'd spread of the disease.

The vaccinated are getting the disease and also spreading it. And some vaccinated do end up in hospital. The response to ban unvaccinated from social life is disproportionate to the actual circumstances.

No vaccine is 100% effective. That doesn't mean that vaccination isn't an exceptionally good tool to end a pandemic. Banning unvaccinated from public places is reasonable, however inconvenient and unpleasant (for all of us ) it might be.

 

[TSwizzle]

No vaccine is 100% effective. That doesn't mean that vaccination isn't an exceptionally good tool to end a pandemic.

LOL. The vaccine is not showing to be an "exceptionally good tool" to end this particular pandemic from what I see.

Banning unvaccinated from public places is reasonable, however inconvenient and unpleasant (for all of us ) it might be.

No it is not reasonable. It just appeals to the control freaks and authoritarians. Banning unvaccinated from anywhere does nothing to "stop the spread".

 

[Toni]

No vaccine is 100% effective. That doesn't mean that vaccination isn't an exceptionally good tool to end a pandemic.

LOL. The vaccine is not showing to be an "exceptionally good tool" to end this particular pandemic from what I see.

Banning unvaccinated from public places is reasonable, however inconvenient and unpleasant (for all of us ) it might be.

No it is not reasonable. It just appeals to the control freaks and authoritarians. Banning unvaccinated from anywhere does nothing to "stop the spread".

It certainly does slow down the spread. As you mentioned, it is possible for fully vaccinated and boosted people to catch and spread COVID. However, it is at a much lower rate. And if you isolate those who are unvaccinated from those who are vaccinated/boosted AND not infected, then the vaccinated will neither become ill nor spread the disease.

Do I think that these measures are draconian? A bit. OTOH, I have multiple friends and family members with some serious medical conditions who are at risk any time they venture in public during this pandemic. Upthread, I mentioned a young couple with COVID, him on a ventilator? He's no longer on a ventilator--he's in his grave. Stupidly, his parents were at the funeral without masks, as were more than half of the attendees. I am appalled that this was allowed. He had the distinction of being the youngest person in our county to die from COVID 19. So far.

 

[TSwizzle]

It certainly does slow down the spread.

How can you say that when every news outlet has told us that record number of cases and infections are being recorded.

As you mentioned, it is possible for fully vaccinated and boosted people to catch and spread COVID.

Possible?!! No, it's a fact. It happens all the time.

However, it is at a much lower rate. And if you isolate those who are unvaccinated from those who are vaccinated/boosted AND not infected, then the vaccinated will neither become ill nor spread the disease.

Male bovine excrement.

Do I think that these measures are draconian? A bit. OTOH, I have multiple friends and family members with some serious medical conditions who are at risk any time they venture in public during this pandemic. Upthread, I mentioned a young couple with COVID, him on a ventilator? He's no longer on a ventilator--he's in his grave. Stupidly, his parents were at the funeral without masks, as were more than half of the attendees. I am appalled that this was allowed. He had the distinction of being the youngest person in our county to die from COVID 19. So far.

Again with the masks, tedious.

 

[scombrid]

Sen. Ron Johnson Draws Ridicule After Mind-Numbing Take On God And Vaccines

"So much for God creating us with brains," a Jesuit priest wrote in response.

news.yahoo.com

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) drew some stunned reactions with his latest bafflingly flawed anti-vaccine take.

During a familiar rant Monday on a conservative radio show about the merits of relying on the body’s “natural immunity” to COVID-19 after being infected with the virus, the senator asked, “Why do we assume that the body’s natural immune system isn’t the marvel that it is?”

“Why do we think that we can create something better than God in terms of combating disease?” he added.

This guy doesn't even believe this shit. He was originally elected as a "moderate" midwestern conservative. And now people like him are pushing a crusade against vaccination?!

What could be worse than 1 million people dying of Covid? Lots of more people needlessly suffering because the right-wing lost their minds.

None of the leadership believes it. Maj Greene does but most of them don't. It is a calculated cynical move to recruit and retain the fringe. GOP leadership has decided that it doesn't matter how crazy it gets that the Republicans will still vote Republican. What they have done is recruit the "you caint tell me wut to do" blue collar folks. Trump pushing the birther crap starting in 2012 was the most overt sign of the beginning of this play. Now they have folks like RFK Jr. at their rallies. This lady's facebook page is emblematic of the type of person they have recruited.

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She was a run of the mill anti-GMO, anti-vax, lib leaner. She has been convinced that Democrat = Deep State and Republican are for freedom and truth. I see them in Florida blaming Democrats for our water quality problems even though Republicans have had super-majority control of our government for decades and have slashed the hell out of the Department of Environmental Protection which is in charge of TMDLs, NPDES enforcement, etc... That's how I know of her. She is a fixture at Wildlife Commission meetings ranting about the state using glyphosate for weed control. You think the people like her that are now steadfast Trump-GOP ever voted for a Bush or Reagan?

 

[blastula]

Indeed. The phrase, "I told you so," has to be one of the most useless things a person can say, especially to someone grieving the loss of a loved one.

Yep, and yet we get people here giving a thumbs up like on these death notices.

California Deputy DA Who Fought Vaccine Mandate Dies Abruptly After Falling Ill With COVID at Age 46

via Facebook A deputy district attorney and up-and-coming Republican political star in California’s Orange County has died abruptly after telling friends she contracted COVID-19.Kelly Ernby, a presumed candidate for the state Assembly in 2022, was only 46 years old. According to the Los Angeles...

www.yahoo.com

Ernby’s husband, Mattias Ernby, appeared to confirm his wife had not been vaccinated in response to a Facebook user who claimed she had died of blood clots after getting vaccinated.

“She was NOT vaccinated. That was the problem,” Mattias Ernby wrote.

Even the husband gets it.

California deputy district attorney who spoke out against vaccine mandates dies of COVID complications at age 46

Just weeks before her death, Ernby spoke at an anti-vaccine rally, reportedly saying, "there's nothing that matters more than our freedoms right now."

www.cbsnews.com

Ernby has repeatedly advocated against COVID vaccine mandates, writing on her personal Facebook in August that the "vaccine is not the cure to Covid, and mandates won't work."

He lost his wife to the right wing death cult.

I feel bad for antivaxxers' families but not for them, especially the ones who promote the lies like she did.

Another reminder about the vaccines' effectiveness, from California's data.

Respiratory Virus Dashboard

covid19.ca.gov

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[blastula]

No vaccine is 100% effective. That doesn't mean that vaccination isn't an exceptionally good tool to end a pandemic.

LOL. The vaccine is not showing to be an "exceptionally good tool" to end this particular pandemic from what I see.

Banning unvaccinated from public places is reasonable, however inconvenient and unpleasant (for all of us ) it might be.

No it is not reasonable. It just appeals to the control freaks and authoritarians. Banning unvaccinated from anywhere does nothing to "stop the spread".

Why do you hate science so much?

Respiratory Virus Dashboard

covid19.ca.gov

 

[TSwizzle]

Why do you hate science so much?

I don't hate science. Statistics like these are not 'science" per se. there are a number of reasons why vaccinated cases may be under reported, such as vaccinated people not taking the covid tests as frequently as the unvaccinated who are more likely to show symptoms and take a test.

 

[blastula]

Why do you hate science so much?

I don't hate science. Statistics like these are not 'science" per se. there are a number of reasons why vaccinated cases may be under reported, such as vaccinated people not taking the covid tests as frequently as the unvaccinated who are more likely to show symptoms and take a test.

It does show you have no basis to say,

Banning unvaccinated from anywhere does nothing to "stop the spread".