Covid-19 miscellany

[DrZoidberg]

It's an infectious disease. It doesn't matter what one person does. It's pointless for one or a few to do what is sensible. It needs concerted action. It's ridiculous to let this be up to people's personal judgement. That's the tragedy of the commons. It only needs a few people to ignore isolating for it to be pointless for everybody, even though it's in everybody's best interest.

I don't believe it is in everybody's best interest to selectively and arbitrarily shut down places of businesses (and a whole host of other meaningless actions) and consign people to unemployment, despair and crushing poverty. The lockdowns, such as they are (or were), have not achieved stated objectives and have created problems elsewhere.

There is a direct correlation between not locking down and explosive spread. You only need to look at Brazil to learn what happens when there's no lockdown.

 

[lpetrich]

Titled links:
Fact check: Bell's palsy likely unrelated to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Fact check: Clarifying claims around Pfizer vaccine deaths and side effects | Reuters

Leaked report shows Pfizer's vaccine is sharply cutting covid-19 infections in Israel | MIT Technology Review - "Country-wide data from Israel, which leads the world in vaccinating its population, reveals that the vaccine sharply cuts infections."

So far Israel has fully vaccinated 32% of its population, all with the Pfizer vaccine, and now has the world’s highest per capita rate of vaccination against covid-19.

The draft report confirms that the vaccine is able to cut covid-19 illness and deaths by more than 93% and also provides the first large-scale evidence that the vaccine may prevent most infections, including those that don’t cause symptoms.

That could allow Israel to become the first country to achieve so-called herd immunity, or levels of population resistance high enough to check the virus’s spread without lockdowns.

So long as the country continues to vaccinate people quickly and no variant emerges for which the vaccine has lower efficacy, “Israel may approach the SARS-CoV-2d herd immunity threshold by March,” the study claims.

Israel began its a campaign to immunize all 6.4 million citizens over the age of 16 in December and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that if enough Israelis receive the shots, the country will be able to return to normal. “It’ll not only be the last lockdown, but we’ll be done with covid,’’ he said in a television news interview on February 15. “We’ll be the first to emerge from the coronavirus.”

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is a messenger-RNA vaccine, and the Moderna vaccine is one also. Cells take up the mRNA and make the protein that it encodes -- in this case, the virus's spike protein.

More:
Why It’s a Big Deal If the First Covid Vaccine Is ‘Genetic’ | WIRED datelined 2020 Nov 10
This vaccine was done in less than a year, a speed record. Being a mRNA vaccine makes it the first of its kind.

The Sleeping Giants of Vaccine Production Awaken
Messenger-RNA vaccines could be useful against a variety of viruses that currently have no vaccine. The fast development of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is something that suggests similar fast development of similar vaccines for other viruses.

 

[Shadowy Man]

I think maybe it is saying that the vaccine causes facial tics.

Bell’s Palsy.

You mean that the Pfizer vaccine causes Bell's Palsy? If so, what is your evidence? If not, what do you mean?

I looked into it. Purely for example:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...unrelated-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine/6532985002/
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pfizer-health-concerns-idUSKBN28K2R6

This is not a serious concern.

Didn't you realize that correlation actually is causation when it agrees with your predetermined ideology?

But anyway, I'm surprised that the right wingers here would worry about the vaccine causing Bell's palsyat all if they're not worried about people dying from Covid19. What I can ascertain from the links you provide is:

"Translating that to the trial's four cases out of 38,000 trial participants, it computes to 11 cases per 100,000 people. "

So, a Bell's palsy rate of 0.011%. In other words, to quote a frequent poster here: The VAST, VAST majority of people taking the vaccine don't get Bell's palsy, so it doesn't matter at all even if there were a direct causation between the vaccine and the condition, which there likely isn't.

 

[lpetrich]

Black Protestants aren't least likely to get a vaccine; white evangelicals are - "A new survey by Pew Research shows that 64% of Black Protestants 'definitely or probably' plan to get vaccinated, compared to 54% of white evangelicals."

Will definitely or probably get a vaccine for COVID-19, or have already gotten at least one dose:

[TABLE="class: grid"]
[TR]
[TD]Religious affiliation[/TD]
[TD]Pct[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Protestant[/TD]
[TD]62[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- White evangelical[/TD]
[TD]54[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- White non-evangelical[/TD]
[TD]72[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- Black Protestant[/TD]
[TD]64[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Catholic[/TD]
[TD]77[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- White[/TD]
[TD]78[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- Hispanic[/TD]
[TD]77[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Unaffiliated[/TD]
[TD]71[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- Atheist[/TD]
[TD]90[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- Agnostic[/TD]
[TD]80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]- Nothing in particular[/TD]
[TD]64[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

A lot of people worried that many black people might not get vaccinated, out of distrust of officialdom and out of some belief that they would essentially be experimented on in the vaccines' rollouts. "Let the honkies try it out on themselves", many of them might have thought. But the number of those willing to get vaccinated has climbed from a little more than 40% last November, so they might be getting satisfied that the honkies tested the vaccines on themselves.

 

[lpetrich]

"... white evangelicals are the least likely to say they should consider the health effects on their community when making a decision to be vaccinated."

Only 54%, out of 58% of Protestants in general, 70% of black Protestants, 65% of Catholics, and 68% of unaffiliated Americans.

John Fea, a U.S. historian at Messiah University who studies evangelicals, said he wasn’t surprised that white evangelicals seemed least likely to want to take advantage of the vaccine.

“There’s a long history of anti-science within American evangelicalism,” Fea said. “It goes back to the Scopes trial and evolution in the 1920s,” in which evangelicals debated Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Fea said the distrust of science is related to their belief that God will protect them. “Getting a vaccine is a lack of faith,” as some evangelicals see it, Fea said.

...
Cary Funk, director of Science and Society Research at Pew, said white evangelicals generally express lower levels of trust in the vaccine research-and-development process and are also less likely to report getting a seasonal flu vaccine every year.

Willingness to get vaccinated differs by party: 83% of Democrats vs. 56% of Republicans.

 

[lpetrich]

Unaffiliated people differed a lot: 90% for atheists, 80% for agnostics, and 64 for NiP's.

The survey also showed that atheists and agnostics scored highest of all the religious groups in their willingness to get vaccinated. But a subgroup of the religiously unaffiliated, popularly known as “nones,” scored much like other Protestants. Among the nones, 64% said they would “definitely or probably” get a vaccine — an identical number to Black Protestants.

Nones are generally disconnected from not only religion but civic life generally, as opposed to atheists and agnostics who have well-formed ideological commitments.

I find that awfully flattering, and it may be a result of which people tend to become atheists.

 

[untermensche]

Only one reason COVID is in a political section.

A sick killer with widespread influence deliberately lied about the pandemic for months.

Otherwise it is only in the science section where people understand knowledge about novel viruses evolves.

We have a system where millions live near economic ruin and running out of money on a regular basis.

The system is inhumane and is unable to deal with viral pandemics.

And some still cheer for the system and care less about stopping the spread of a deadly virus.

 

[ZiprHead]

‘You must abide by the law’: Judge orders owner jailed until Holland restaurant closes

https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-county/holland-restaurant-owner-arrested-after-flouting-state-dining-restrictions/

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — An Ingham County judge laid down the law Friday, telling a Holland restaurant owner who ignored the state dine-in ban and a license suspension in no uncertain terms that she won’t get out of jail until she starts following the rules — this after holding some of her legal help in contempt of court.

“This is the wrong way to get publicity, it’s the wrong way to be a good citizen, it’s the wrong way to assist the public in a pandemic. We do not violate the law,” Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Marlena Pavlos-Hackney. “I have no reason to believe that you are in compliance in any way, shape or form. And until that’s proven at a hearing, you will be behind bars.”

Pavlos-Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria, was stopped by police at Lakewood Boulevard and 160th Street in Park Township around 5:45 a.m. Friday. Michigan State Police arrested her without incident, the state attorney general’s office said.

She was wanted on an outstanding warrant for contempt of court after not responding to a state civil case.

Aquilina then called on Pavlos-Hackney’s attorney. The man she got was Rick Martin of the Texas-based Constitutional Law Group, who is not a licensed attorney and does not have a law degree. He tried to file to represent Pavlos-Hackney and said he was trying to help with translation, but Aquilina wasn’t having it.

“I was not aware that I would be here other than acting as assistance, not as her lawyer, but as assistance of counsel in this matter because she does have understanding problems of the English language, ” Martin said.

“Sir, apparently you have problems with the English language,” Aquilina shot back.

She said the paperwork he had filed clearly said he was appearing as Pavlos-Hackney’s assistance of counsel.

“There is no other definition. It is plain English,” Aquilina said.

She had him arrested for contempt, too. He now faces 93 days in jail.

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/KwJg7Q3NqGE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[lpetrich]

Trump's Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to Covid outbreak - CNNPolitics

Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has closed its dining room and suspended beach club services to guests due to a Covid-19 outbreak among "some" staff, according to an email sent to members Friday afternoon and shared with CNN.
The email says the closure is out of "an abundance of caution."

Banquet and event services remain open, the email says ...

Hmmm...

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Trump's Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to Covid outbreak - CNNPolitics

Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has closed its dining room and suspended beach club services to guests due to a Covid-19 outbreak among "some" staff, according to an email sent to members Friday afternoon and shared with CNN.
The email says the closure is out of "an abundance of caution."

Banquet and event services remain open, the email says ...

Hmmm...

He'll probably be fine; he already got it, which probably gives him a significant degree of protection, so if he gets it, it will probably not be that bad.

 

[crazyfingers]

Trump's Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to Covid outbreak - CNNPolitics

Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has closed its dining room and suspended beach club services to guests due to a Covid-19 outbreak among "some" staff, according to an email sent to members Friday afternoon and shared with CNN.
The email says the closure is out of "an abundance of caution."

Banquet and event services remain open, the email says ...

Hmmm...

He'll probably be fine; he already got it, which probably gives him a significant degree of protection, so if he gets it, it will probably not be that bad.

Burger King for Trump. Hopefully the nearer McDonald's is miles away.

 

[ZiprHead]

US woman gives birth to first known baby with Covid antibodies, doctors say
The mother, a frontline healthcare worker, received her first Moderna dose in January, at 36 weeks pregnant

 

[TomC]

He'll probably be fine; he already got it, which probably gives him a significant degree of protection, so if he gets it, it will probably not be that bad.

Burger King for Trump. Hopefully the nearer McDonald's is miles away.

Considering Trump's penchant for sticking the taxpayers with huge bills for his security(like charging them $1500 per month for using a bathroom), it might be cheaper to just build him his own McDonald's on Mar-a-Lago property.
Tom

 

[Keith&Co.]

He'll probably be fine; he already got it, which probably gives him a significant degree of protection, so if he gets it, it will probably not be that bad.

Burger King for Trump. Hopefully the nearer McDonald's is miles away.

Considering Trump's penchant for sticking the taxpayers with huge bills for his security(like charging them $1500 per month for using a bathroom), it might be cheaper to just build him his own McDonald's on Mar-a-Lago property.
Tom

No, that'd be far more costly.
There's a whole rigamarole they go thru if the First Family wants food from unvetted staff sources. Cantuse the same place twice in a row, use different people for the pick-up, different routes to/from, so that no minimum wage fry cook gets a hint he's suddenly got access to someone under SS protection. The Pres and former pres benefit from a sort of shell game, hiding the Pres' order among the millions served.


A Trump-specific McD's would have to have the entire staff vetted, including all delivery personnel and their deliveries. Constant surveillance of the franchise, regular background checks, reviews of staff medical starus, financial vulnerabilities, all the shit White House personnel go thru
All it takes is one guy cleaning the grill who owes money to hus bookie for antifa to have a window to slip an Illidium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator into his Big Mac and then where would we be?

 

[TomC]

All it takes is one guy cleaning the grill who owes money to hus bookie for antifa to have a window to slip an Illidium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator into his Big Mac and then where would we be?

A world without ex-President Trump.

Oh, darn. I'm giving away my plans...


Tom

 

[lpetrich]

blastula mentioned this in an earlier post: Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from COVID complications - he died of complications from COVID-19 on 2020 Dec 29.

Letlow wins Louisiana special House election to replace late husband | TheHill

Louisiana Republican Julia Letlow won the special election in the state’s 5th Congressional District in the race to replace her late husband, former Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R), who died from COVID-19 complications in December.

According to election results recorded by The New York Times, Letlow won a resounding 64.5 percent of the vote.

Both NBC and CNN projected Letlow's win Saturday night after 10 p.m., EDT.

Noting Louisiana Primary Election Results 2021 - The New York Times

A  Widow's succession - nearly a century ago, it was a major way for women to get elected.

 

[ZiprHead]

Texas Roadhouse CEO 'took his own life' amid 'unbearable' COVID-19-related symptoms, family says

Kent Taylor, the co-founder and CEO of Texas Roadhouse Inc., has died from suicide, his family said, after suffering “unbearable” COVID-19-related symptoms.

Taylor’s family and the restaurant chain said in a statement to The Hill on Sunday that the business executive “took his own life this week” after “a battle with post-Covid related symptoms, including severe tinnitus.”

“Kent battled and fought hard like the former track champion that he was, but the suffering that greatly intensified in recent days became unbearable,” the statement read.

“But in true Kent fashion, he always found a silver lining to help others. Most recently, he committed to fund a clinical study to help members of the military who also suffer with tinnitus,” the statement continued, referring to ringing or buzzing noises in one or both ears.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump's Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to Covid outbreak - CNNPolitics

Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has closed its dining room and suspended beach club services to guests due to a Covid-19 outbreak among "some" staff, according to an email sent to members Friday afternoon and shared with CNN.
The email says the closure is out of "an abundance of caution."

Banquet and event services remain open, the email says ...

Hmmm...

What is the status of the best chocolate cake that is great to eat while bombing Syria?

 

[marc]

Thinks more people are going to be encouraged to get vaccines now. Krispy Kreme is offering one free donut a day for the rest of the year when you show your vaccination card.

Sadly there is not one in my area