Covid-19 miscellany

[Bomb#20]

I find irony, and I'm not placing this on Bomb#20 but others, that some want to blame China for this getting out. How dare they?! They let it out of a lab! They weren't safe enough!

Well, they did, and they weren't. Of course America was right there with them. Not sure to what extent it makes sense to blame "China" and "America", though, as opposed to blaming Shi and Daszak.

The same people that likely were protesting mask wearing and closures.

Yeah, any time somebody uses the phrase "The same people" rather than "The same person", it's a red-flag that he's being a good little tribalist and treating his outgroup as the interchangeable parts they are.

Had this gotten out of a lab, it was likely accidental,

It was certainly accidental. If the researchers involved had had any expectation that what they were making* would ever infect humans, there are any number of elementary steps they could have taken to make it hard for subsequent investigators to trace the virus back to the WIV. They did not take these steps.

(* Assuming they made it. But if it evolved naturally the same conclusion follows -- if Covid came into existence in the bat cave, by far the most likely initial human vector was one of the researchers the WIV kept sending in there.)

where as in America, virus spread was flat out apathetic intentional negligence.

I'm not following how trying to do something to a level-2 virus that, if you succeed, will turn it into a level-3 virus, and doing it in a level-2 lab instead of in a level-3 lab, fails to qualify as "flat out apathetic intentional negligence".

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Furin cleavage sites naturally occur in coronaviruses

Highlights

• Phylogenetic tree of spike proteins reveals major groups of coronaviruses.
• Furin cleavage sites at spike S1/S2 are common in coronaviruses.
• Furin cleavage sites at spike S1/S2 naturally occurred independently for multiple times in coronaviruses.

Abstract
The spike protein is a focused target of COVID-19, a pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. A 12-nt insertion at S1/S2 in the spike coding sequence yields a furin cleavage site, which raised controversy views on origin of the virus. Here we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of coronavirus spike proteins and mapped furin recognition motif on the tree. Furin cleavage sites occurred independently for multiple times in the evolution of the coronavirus family, supporting the natural occurring hypothesis of SARS-CoV-2.

Graphical abstract

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

David Hogg has said that even though he isn't required to wear the mask anymore, he will continue to do so because he doesn't want to be mistaken for a Trump supporter.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

So, went back to some threads started before this one. Found some that were interesting.

Why "Chinese Virus" is racist

The Fauci emails go into pretty good detail about how the Wuhan lab is the source and Fauci was aware. Saying that a year ago was evidence that the speak was a racist Trump supporter. Does that mean Fauci, since he knew this stuff a year ago, was a racist Trump supporter?

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Oh this is a good one. Now IF the virus was mixed up in a lab and accidentally released, that makes it a weapon of mass destruction.

That means that IF the virus was mixed up in a lab, China just attacked the whole rest of the world. So when Biden's handlers say that Biden wants to look into that ...

China State Media Says Country Must Prepare for Nuclear War With U.S. After Biden Asks for COVID Probe

This is particularly interesting after the Fauci emails...

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Even more oldies but goodies.

One Million Deaths From Covid-19 Possible In America

CDC says about 345k, and many think those numbers are co-morbidity related.

Could this be why His Flatulence thinks the virus came from the lab?

Anyone who thinks it came from the lab was a conspiracy theorist. Ergo, Fauci is a conspiracy theorist conspiring against himself.

 

[crazyfingers]

David Hogg has said that even though he isn't required to wear the mask anymore, he will continue to do so because he doesn't want to be mistaken for a Trump supporter.

I understand his thinking.

 

[JohnG]

I’m assuming that most here are aware that the international team of virologists that went to Wuhan and inspected the labs, the markets, and have done so for previous outbreaks laugh at the notion of a lab accident?

It is still considered very unlikely.

 

[TSwizzle]

What every countries politicians should have done is give the keys to epidemiologists, done what they were told, and otherwise stay the fuck away from voicing opinions on the matter. If your problem is scientific, let the scientists handle it.

Unfortunately, most of the prominent “scientists” have been spectacularly wrong on this.

 

[Bomb#20]

I’m assuming that most here are aware that the international team of virologists that went to Wuhan and inspected the labs, the markets, and have done so for previous outbreaks laugh at the notion of a lab accident?

It is still considered very unlikely.

Do they laugh at it because it is still considered very unlikely? Or is it still considered very unlikely because they laugh at it?

 

[DrZoidberg]

Yes, you did, repeatedly.

Among the middle class wearing a mask is virtue signaling. It's a cheap way to show that you care.

I still didn't. That statement isn't about medical professionals in particular. It's about mask wearing for the general population. This should be obvious to anyone. I also defend using masks in some cases. What I'm saying is that the middle-class use masks much more than what is warranted. They use it primarily as a class marker and for virtue signaling. At this point the medical reasons for wearing masks IMHO are secondary to the political statement it is.

For health professionals or those working in close proximity with strangers, of course, masks are necessary. That's been my opinion all along and I think you are silly for not understanding that.

 

[DrZoidberg]

What every countries politicians should have done is give the keys to epidemiologists, done what they were told, and otherwise stay the fuck away from voicing opinions on the matter. If your problem is scientific, let the scientists handle it.

Unfortunately, most of the prominent “scientists” have been spectacularly wrong on this.

Meh. Their guesses are still better than lay peoples. A year ago we were still largely guessing. In an environment of uncertainty education goes a long way.

Your beliefs you've expressed on this forum have all along have been dismissive of science. If you're not basing your beliefs on science you are basing them on gut feelings. Not exactly the basis for a well functioning civilization.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I’m assuming that most here are aware that the international team of virologists that went to Wuhan and inspected the labs, the markets, and have done so for previous outbreaks laugh at the notion of a lab accident?

It is still considered very unlikely.

Can you support this claim with something dated within the last six months? The article Bomb#20 provided strongly conflicts with your statement.

 

[Patooka]

I’m assuming that most here are aware that the international team of virologists that went to Wuhan and inspected the labs, the markets, and have done so for previous outbreaks laugh at the notion of a lab accident?

It is still considered very unlikely.

Can you support this claim with something dated within the last six months? The article Bomb#20 provided strongly conflicts with your statement.

Basically, the evidence listed in the article Bomb#20 provided has been in the public domain for at least six months and despite that, the scientific consensus is still that the virus is zoonotic in origin.

Here is another article listing the similarities behind the "evidence" of Iraq's WMD program and the current push for the theory Covid came from a lab.

Meh. Their guesses are still better than lay peoples. A year ago we were still largely guessing. In an environment of uncertainty education goes a long way.

Your beliefs you've expressed on this forum have all along have been dismissive of science. If you're not basing your beliefs on science you are basing them on gut feelings. Not exactly the basis for a well functioning civilization.

That's not fair. I'm sure TSwizzle has complete faith in the restorative properties of leaches.

 

[TSwizzle]

Your beliefs you've expressed on this forum have all along have been dismissive of science.

Not really. I do not think the "experts" and "scientists" are gods and shouldn't be questioned. I would say I pay more attention to the "science" than most on here.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I would say I pay more attention to the "science" than most on here.

You should pay more attention to the science than the "science."

 

[TomC]

I do not think the "experts" and "scientists" are gods and shouldn't be questioned.

Educated people all agree on this. It's the whole point to The Scientific Method!

Everything is questioned. Everything must be published to be taken seriously. If more data comes in, the scientific consensus can change, sometimes radically.


Sometimes the mountain of data available makes molehills out of competing ideas. Some theories, like Evolution and Gravity, just aren't questioned much anymore. But just find one fossil of a human and a T-rex together in the same rock and all sorts of questions would flood the scientific community.

The scientific method is completely different from the religious method. In the religious method, God tells some prophet what is true, then questioning the prophet's claims becomes questioning God. Which, of course, is forbidden.

I'm pretty sure your unfamiliarity with science is where you got the bizarre notion that scientists cannot be questioned. By confusing the religious method with the scientific method.
Tom

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

David Hogg has said that even though he isn't required to wear the mask anymore, he will continue to do so because he doesn't want to be mistaken for a Trump supporter.

I understand his thinking.

I wouldn't call it "thinking" on his part.

 

[crazyfingers]

David Hogg has said that even though he isn't required to wear the mask anymore, he will continue to do so because he doesn't want to be mistaken for a Trump supporter.

I understand his thinking.

I wouldn't call it "thinking" on his part.

What have you got against activists against mass murder?

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Free access to mental healthcare is critical, but therapy isn’t a solution for worker exploitation and subhuman conditions.

You need to get paid. Guaranteed living wages, healthcare, material stability and safety - these are key conditions for mental & general public health. " / Twitter

Ken Klippenstein on Twitter: "After the stimulus checks, reports of food shortages fell 42% and "frequent anxiety and depression" fell by over 20%, new analysis of Census Bureau data finds: (link)" / Twitter
noting
Stimulus Checks Substantially Reduced Hardship, Study Shows - The New York Times - "Researchers found that sharp declines in food shortages, financial instability and anxiety coincided with the two most recent rounds of payments."

Noting
PovertySolutions-Hardship-After-COVID-19-Relief-Bill-PolicyBrief-r1.pdf

• Material hardship in U.S. households fell sharply following the passage of the COVID-19 relief bill in late December 2020, and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021.
• From December 2020 to April 2021, food insufficiency fell by over 40%, financial instability fell by 45%, and reported adverse mental health symptoms fell by 20%.
• Declines in material hardship were greatest, in percentage point terms, among low-income households but also evident higher up the income distribution.
• Data from the past year suggest material hardship among U.S. households fell following implementation of robust federal income transfers, and rose in the absence of government action.
• We believe the success of the federal government’s relief measures may be due to the speed, breadth, and flexibility of its broad-based approach, primarily relying on cash transfers.