Covid-19 miscellany

[Jimmy Higgins]

Worth noting is that we have no idea about how many were asymptomatically infected and are now immune.

Recent rather sharp drop in US and GB and less sharp in other countries suggests massive herd immunity.
Nothing really changed to explain this improvement. I suspect careless part of the population is either dead, in the hospital or got through asymptotically and now immune. So no more spreading.

The wave occurred around our election, and holidays. We are past that. So that is a potential source for the drop. But also at nearing 30 million confirmed cases, got to think, maybe we have quasi-herd immunity. The assholes have all been infected and the rest of us aren't, but are being precautious.

 

[barbos]

Worth noting is that we have no idea about how many were asymptomatically infected and are now immune.

Recent rather sharp drop in US and GB and less sharp in other countries suggests massive herd immunity.
Nothing really changed to explain this improvement. I suspect careless part of the population is either dead, in the hospital or got through asymptotically and now immune. So no more spreading.

The wave occurred around our election, and holidays. We are past that. So that is a potential source for the drop. But also at nearing 30 million confirmed cases, got to think, maybe we have quasi-herd immunity. The assholes have all been infected and the rest of us aren't, but are being precautious.

You just rephrased what I said. You are Rephraser!

 

[ideologyhunter]

He reiterated what you opined. What a rehasher of summations.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The wave occurred around our election, and holidays. We are past that. So that is a potential source for the drop. But also at nearing 30 million confirmed cases, got to think, maybe we have quasi-herd immunity. The assholes have all been infected and the rest of us aren't, but are being precautious.

You just rephrased what I said. You are Rephraser!

Actually, I reflected on it differently, as the US has two potential population samples:

1) potential herd immunity assholes who have infected the fuck out of each other

2) not herd immunity portion who have been limited exposure and wearing masks and stuff... and if they stopped, they'd start increasing the case load again.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Worth noting is that we have no idea about how many were asymptomatically infected and are now immune.

Recent rather sharp drop in US and GB and less sharp in other countries suggests massive herd immunity.
Nothing really changed to explain this improvement. I suspect careless part of the population is either dead, in the hospital or got through asymptotically and now immune. So no more spreading.

The wave occurred around our election, and holidays. We are past that. So that is a potential source for the drop. But also at nearing 30 million confirmed cases, got to think, maybe we have quasi-herd immunity. The assholes have all been infected and the rest of us aren't, but are being precautious.

I doubt the election was a big factor. The various holidays, though, were a total mess. People let down their guard with those they are close to.

(And Hollywood shares in this blame. I have yet to see a TV show that shows proper safety with coworkers. Yeah, they keep the risk low with heavy testing but they should be setting a good example and masking anyway.)

 

[ZiprHead]

Fauci Awarded $1 Million Israeli Prize For 'Speaking Truth To Power' Amid Pandemic

America's top infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci received a prestigious $1 million Israeli prize Monday, along with six other researchers who shared two additional $1 million prizes for their contributions to health and medicine.

The Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, said it honored Fauci for his career in public health and "speaking truth to power" during the politicized COVID-19 crisis.

Fauci "is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health," the awards committee said in a statement.

The award sets aside 10% of the prize money for academic scholarships in each winner's field. Fauci gets to determine the nature of the scholarships.

 

[Jarhyn]

Fauci Awarded $1 Million Israeli Prize For 'Speaking Truth To Power' Amid Pandemic

America's top infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci received a prestigious $1 million Israeli prize Monday, along with six other researchers who shared two additional $1 million prizes for their contributions to health and medicine.

The Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, said it honored Fauci for his career in public health and "speaking truth to power" during the politicized COVID-19 crisis.

Fauci "is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health," the awards committee said in a statement.

The award sets aside 10% of the prize money for academic scholarships in each winner's field. Fauci gets to determine the nature of the scholarships.

Is tRump going to start hating on Jews now? Isn't there some old story about a guy who supposedly betrayed jews after doing some shit for them?

I can't seem to recall. It was near the end and I was pretty exhausted at that point. It seemed pretty trippy though...

 

[ZiprHead]

BREAKING: DISGRACEFUL!”Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) brushed aside criticism after the state opted to give special access to Covid vaccines for residents of the “whitest and richest” areas of Manatee County in the Tampa Bay area, warning county officials that they had better not complain about the distribution plan since he’d be “totally fine” with pulling their supply of vaccines and giving them to another county.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/02/17/ron-desantis-threatens-to-pull-vaccines-from-florida-counties-that-criticize-distribution/?fbclid=IwAR3J-9eeCTGqiOMnfGTZpEMxkMYmQfp2zLLaUF2wQ7g8OjmlYEPR5cCR0AQ&sh=2fc1c12a7de4

 

[ZiprHead]

'I Want To Be A Leader': Rand Paul Says Senators Who Wear Masks Are 'Science Deniers'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) defended his refusal to weak a face mask on the Senate floor by calling other senators "science deniers."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) defended his refusal to weak a face mask on the Senate floor by calling other senators "science deniers."

Paul made the remarks during an appearance on Full Court Press with host Greta Van Susteren.

"You're a doctor," Van Susteren noted. "Why won't you wear a mask on the floor?"

As the host asked her question, Paul began to laugh out loud.

"I know you've tested positive for COVID before," she continued. "But you can still get reinfected and you can also be a carrier."

Paul argued that there is "probably no safer place on the planet" than the Senate floor because all of the senators have been vaccinated.

"Could you imagine somewhere on some planet that I could get it again? Yeah," he admitted. "But 25 million people have had it and there's not more than a handful that they're saying may have had it again."

"I think we should put this into perspective and not be crazy," the senator added, noting that one of his staff "just survived nine days on a ventilator."

Do we have an idiot emoji?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

...noting that one of his staff "just survived nine days on a ventilator."

I wonder who got him sick.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

'I Want To Be A Leader': Rand Paul Says Senators Who Wear Masks Are 'Science Deniers'

What's he trying to do, kill liberals by exploding their heads?

 

[DrZoidberg]

On TWIV they said that after we have gotten the vaccine getting Covid-19 later will likely boost the immune response leading to a mild disease.

They said that this is how influensa vaccinations work. And why its always good to take all influensa vaccines.

 

[lpetrich]

Breaking911 on Twitter: "JUST IN: Vatican employees who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine will be fired" / Twitter
and
Breaking911 on Twitter: "Pope Francis’ COVID-19 commission says that individuals have a moral responsibility to get vaccinated “given that refusing a vaccine can constitute a risk for others’” -AP" / Twitter

Then Rep. Madison Cawthorn, NC-11
Rep. Madison Cawthorn on Twitter: "This doesn’t sound legal...

One shouldn’t be forced against their will to be vaccinated.

The vaccination is there for those who want it, and are in need of it due to medical vulnerabilities." / Twitter

Then Rep. Mondaire Jones, NY-17
Mondaire Jones on Twitter: "It’s legal, Madison. It’s legal." / Twitter

 

[Keith&Co.]

Then Rep. Madison Cawthorn, NC-11
Rep. Madison Cawthorn on Twitter: "This doesn’t sound legal...

One shouldn’t be forced against their will to be vaccinated.

The vaccination is there for those who want it, and are in need of it due to medical vulnerabilities." / Twitter

Maddie's not on any international committees, please? Not knowing that the Vatican us not subject to US laws, or that it's not in th e US is right up there with Glock Spice's confusion about amendments.

And.... not on any educational boards, i hope? Cause nothing in the story said "vaccinated against their will," either.

 

[lpetrich]

Madison Cawthorn is in the Education & Labor Committee and in the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives - Madison Cawthorn

To see what kinds of legislation he likes, go to Madison Cawthorn | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Anti-abortion:
To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children, and for other purposes.
To protect the dignity of fetal remains, and for other purposes.
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.
To ensure that a woman seeking a chemical abortion is informed that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of the abortion if the woman changes her mind, and for other purposes.
Abortion Is Not Health Care Act of 2021

Gun nuttery:
To remove Federal funding from enforcing gun control.

Love of fossil fuels:
To prohibit a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing.
To authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline.
No Taxpayer Funding for Paris Climate Agreement Act

Who cares about the China virus?
To limit the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for certain individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for other purposes.
To encourage local educational agencies to resume in-person instruction at elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.
To prohibit the use of Federal funds to propose, establish, implement, or enforce any requirement that an individual wear a mask or other face covering, or be vaccinated, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and for other purposes.

???
To prohibit the use of Federal funds to maintain or collect information that can be used to identify any individual to whom a COVID-19 vaccine is administered, and for other purposes.

Let them die!
To limit the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for certain individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for other purposes

Keep those China-virus carriers out!
PAUSE Act of 2021

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Fauci Awarded $1 Million Israeli Prize For 'Speaking Truth To Power' Amid Pandemic

America's top infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci received a prestigious $1 million Israeli prize Monday, along with six other researchers who shared two additional $1 million prizes for their contributions to health and medicine.

The Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, said it honored Fauci for his career in public health and "speaking truth to power" during the politicized COVID-19 crisis.

Fauci "is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health," the awards committee said in a statement.

The award sets aside 10% of the prize money for academic scholarships in each winner's field. Fauci gets to determine the nature of the scholarships.

IMO he should get the Presidential medal of freedom.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump made NY Gov Andrew Cuomo seem good last year, but his response to COVID-19 had big flaws.

Cuomo Lashes Out at Critics As Outcry Over Nursing Homes Grows - The New York Times - "The New York governor’s remarks came as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined lawmakers backing an investigation into the state’s handling of nursing homes in the pandemic."

On Friday, another prominent Democrat, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of Queens, joined a chorus of lawmakers backing investigations into the state’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic, noting that “thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives.”

“Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement, issued during Mr. Cuomo’s news conference.

The count of deaths is at the heart of the issues confronting the Cuomo administration. For months, the state now concedes, the official death tally of residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities was greatly underreported. The state counted the total losses, but they were attributed to the hospitals where the patients died, not the facilities where they had lived, effectively hiding the toll the pandemic took on those facilities.

But in the wake of a scathing report three weeks ago from the state attorney general, Letitia James, suggesting a major undercount of deaths of nursing home and long-term care residents, the state has now updated those numbers, to more than 15,000 from about 8,500 in late January.

AC said “I take responsibility for all of it, period.” “We created a void by not producing enough public information fast enough,” adding, “and conspiracy theories, and politics and rumors fill the void.” Though he said that Republicans and others were creating a “toxic political environment.”

There is also a squabble between AC and State Assemblymember Ron Kim. AC had berated RK about this issue, RK called AC an abuser, and AC called RK a liar who is corrupt.

 

[lpetrich]

Zephyr Teachout on Twitter: "I know, for many people, ...." / Twitter

I know, for many people, learning that Andrew Cuomo was deliberately lying about nursing home death numbers while he was comforting them with power points is just too much cognitive dissonance, and they want to resolve it by making the problem go away, fingers in the ears. But its not a one time thing and not the past.

Right now, its a central choice facing NY: do we stand with lawmakers who want to open up government, to legislate *with* the public, or do we give carte blanche keys back to the driver who crashed the car. Think of the human cost of shutting down the Moreland Commission, the Buffalo Billions money lost to cronies, of the extreme micromanaging of who gets vaccines, ... and think of the thousands of families whose loved ones were treated as numbers to be shuffled away. It must stop. IMHO we should focus on (1) a thorough independent investigation, and (2) immediately and publicly supporting lawmakers who want to rebalance power in Albany. Stop with the emergency powers. Stop with three people in a room.

That rebalance of power can transform the state. Follow @SenatorBiaggi @yuhline @rontkim @NYSenatorRivera @JamesSkoufis @JuliaCarmel__ @samraforsenate @mannionfor50 @SRachelMay @JabariBrisport @SenGianaris and your state Senators and Assemblymembers. This is their great challenge and great moment.

Final note. Read @chris_churchill:

And, of course, huge credit to Tish James for investigating the discrepancies and the treatment.

noting
Churchill: For Albany's biggest bully, the hits keep coming - "Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in hot water even before he launched a needless attack on a lawmaker from Queens."
and
New York underreported COVID-19 nursing home deaths by as much as 50%, AG says

 

[lpetrich]

U.S. reaches 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus - "The number of dead rivals the populations of Atlanta or Sacramento, California." - that's for the cities proper, not including their suburbs. Their metro-area populations are 6 million and 2.5 million, respectively.

Notes 28,222,180 confirmed cases, 501,091 deaths

The video has a table:

Date	Deaths
2020 May	100,000
2020 Sep	200,000
2020 Dec	300,000
2021 Jan	400,000
2021 Feb	500,000

United States Coronavirus: 28,769,345 Cases and 511,320 Deaths - Worldometer

Counting suburbs, one has to go way down in  List of metropolitan statistical areas to #109: the Lexington CA metro area, at 517,056, and #110, the Pensacola FL metro area, at 502,629 (2019 estimates).

 

[lpetrich]

Trump's case of coronavirus was far worse than he admitted, report says | Donald Trump | The Guardian
noting
Trump Was Sicker Than Acknowledged With Covid-19 - The New York Times - "When he was hospitalized with the coronavirus in October, his blood oxygen levels had plunged and officials feared he was on the verge of being placed on a ventilator."

His prognosis became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator, two of the people familiar with his condition said.

The people familiar with Mr. Trump’s health said he was found to have lung infiltrates, which occur when the lungs are inflamed and contain substances such as fluid or bacteria. Their presence, especially when a patient is exhibiting other symptoms, can be a sign of an acute case of the disease. They can be easily spotted on an X-ray or scan, when parts of the lungs appear opaque, or white.

Mr. Trump’s blood oxygen level alone was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s, according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.

So Trump narrowly escaped put on a ventilator.

Mr. Trump appeared to still be struggling with the disease when he returned to the White House, where he stationed himself on a balcony in a choreographed scene, tearing his mask off and saluting his helicopter. Doctors at the time noted how Mr. Trump used his neck muscles to help him breathe in those moments, a classic sign that someone’s lungs are not taking in enough oxygen.

So Trump's claimed symptom mildness was a Potemkin village.

 United States military casualties of war

So coronavirus deaths passed WWI US military deaths (116,516) in May 2020, WWII ones (405,399) last month, and will pass Civil War ones (655,000) in a month or two.