Covid-19 miscellany

[untermensche]

The assholes have officially won.

No "The Truth" won because snopes can't be trusted and NaturalNews.com and Breitbart are 100% trustworthy.

 

[ZiprHead]

https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-2eba81ebe3bd54b3bcde890b8cf11c70

Since Hawaii announced a mandate earlier this month that state and county workers would have to show proof of vaccination or face weekly tests, 50 to 100 unmasked vaccine opponents have gathered almost nightly outside the downtown Honolulu condominium building where Lt. Gov. Josh Green lives with his wife and two children, ages 14 and 10.

Some yell into bullhorns and shine strobe lights into apartment units, Green said. Flyers with his photo and the words “Jew” and “fraud” have been plastered around the neighborhood. Green, who is Jewish, has been tearing them down and turning them over to the state attorney general’s office.

He understands the right to protest, but not why demonstrators subject bystanders to such rage.

“They should protest me at my place of work, where I’m the lieutenant governor,” Green said. “But it’s different than flashing a strobe light into a 90-year-old woman’s apartment or a strobe light into a family’s apartment, where they have two kids under age 4.”

Ironically, Green wasn’t home during a recent intense weekend of protests. He was on the Big Island working on his other job as an emergency room doctor and treating mostly COVID-19 patients during a record surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.

 

[repoman]

Jesus, even I wouldn't do that.

 

[bilby]

Pfizer granted full approval from FDA.

This applies to administration to 16 years old and older.

People who want to avoid the vaccine will need to adjust their excuses at this point, likely to a generic "I just don't trust big Pharma".

Great news! While I think it's silly, I won't condemn a person who is afraid to get a vaccine (and of course many can't get it for medical reasons) as long as you don't intentionally spread your germs to others. Wear a mask, be aware that you are taking a risk, and don't put others at risk. I don't think that this is a difficult sacrifice to ask.

The proportion of people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons is minuscule. It's not zero, but it's surely misleading to suggest that it's "many".

By far the majority of people claiming "medical reasons" are either mistaken or lying, which is pretty horrific for the tiny number of people who genuinely have a medical condition that precludes vaccination, but who are presumed to be idiots or liars due to the actions of such people.

A similar scenario is playing out here with regards to mask wearing, which is mandatory in Queensland. Our excellent Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeanette Young, has repeatedly said that anyone who has a health condition sufficiently serious that it prevents them from wearing a mask should absolutely stay at home for their own protection, as such people would be most at risk of death if they contract the virus. The same is likely also true of that tiny number of people who cannot be vaccinated.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So Florida will have about 2/3's the number of cases today that Australia has had during the entire pandemic.

 

[lpetrich]

Seems like whoever thought of this would make a great lawyer. Paris, Texas school district alters dress code to require masks | Fort Worth Star-Telegram


The Pfizer vaccine's approval is welcome news. The Moderna vaccine's approval should come in a few weeks.

Kids Under 12 Could Be Eligible For A Vaccine Against COVID This Fall : Shots - Health News : NPR

Pfizer and Moderna are both running large pediatric trials to study the effectiveness and safety of using their COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for children under 12.

...
In the clinical trial for the Pfizer vaccine, the data collected shows that one-third of the adult dose is the optimal range for children younger than 12 and older than 5, says Dr. Flor Muñoz at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, who is running the Pfizer study.

" 'Optimal' meaning the dose that will give you a similar immune response that will be protective, as we have seen with adolescents, with the minimum amount of side effects," she says.

Muñoz and her team have enrolled children as young as 6 months and up through age 11. Her team is now in the next phase of the study, where they randomly assign children either to receive a vaccine or a placebo. Comparing a vaccinated group with a placebo group allows researchers to be confident that any benefit or risk during the study is truly related to the vaccine.

The Pfizer study won't test to see whether the vaccine actually prevents children from getting sick. Instead, it will look at their blood to see if they are making the kinds of antibodies that have been shown to prevent disease.

It's not just Pfizer.

Moderna is conducting a similar pediatric study of its COVID-19 vaccine. Children enrolling in the Moderna trial now have a 3 to 1 chance of getting the vaccine, because only 25% of the participants are in the placebo arm of the trial.

"We are testing different doses in the different age groups because younger children may not need the same dose as adults," says Dr. Jacqueline Miller, senior vice president at Moderna.

When will it be available?

At the moment, it looks like the Pfizer vaccine will be the first shot available to children under 12. The vaccine-maker expects to have enough data by the end of September to support an emergency use authorization for its vaccine in children who are ages 5 to 11.

...
Right now the other mRNA COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. — Moderna's — can be given to individuals who are 18 and older. Moderna says it expects to have enough data by the end of the year to seek authorization for a shot that can be given to children who are between the ages of 6 and 11.

Moderna recently expanded the size of its trial and is now enrolling 12,000 children in an effort to increase the likelihood of detecting any rare, but serious adverse events. The Pfizer study currently plans to enroll up to 4,500 children, a company spokesperson told NPR.

"The safety profile so far is really comparable to the adults and, so far, no safety concerns," says Miller, referring to the Moderna vaccine. Data for children under 6 could be submitted to the FDA by "early next year," she says, "but that could be done more rapidly, depending on the rate of enrollment."

 

[bilby]

So Florida will have about 2/3's the number of cases today that Australia has had during the entire pandemic.

Indeed.

We have significant differences from state to state here too. NSW is currently seeing over 800 new cases a day, while VIC is seeing around 40, as they struggle to contain an outbreak due to an infected person who traveled from NSW, and QLD has had four (all detected while in quarantine, and none having been in the community while infectious) in the last week, so about 0.5 new cases per day. The QLD/NSW border is now very strictly controlled, with only essential workers permitted to enter QLD (and they must show proof of vaccination to do so). The QLD premier, Annastacia Alphabet, has requested Australian Army assistance in securing the border, and soldiers are to be deployed there tomorrow in support of the existing police presence from both states.

I bet you can't guess which of these states is the one with the conservative (Liberal Party) government, and which two have Labor governments.

 

[ZiprHead]

Yet another trumper radio guy (programmer) has darwined himself.

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1426798509857001473[/TWEET]

Some say you can't fix stupid but sometimes it fixes itself.

 

[Angry Floof]

I was gonna post this in the political funny images thread, but it's not remotely funny.

 

[Elixir]

So Florida will have about 2/3's the number of cases today that Australia has had during the entire pandemic.

It's ROFL-orida.
If Goobiner DethSentins decides to report anything, we might get a photoshopped glimpse of the actual stats.
Right now it looks "like a miracle". It just went away, by power of prayer and law enforcement.

 

[bilby]

At Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, where the QLD/NSW border meets the coast inside the City of the Gold Coast, hundreds of police are employed inspecting thousands of people a day who are crossing the border for essential purposes.

But it's a very long border, and as you head West, population density drops sharply.

The minor roads that cross the border in the far West are not policed, as the traffic even before Covid restrictions was only a few vehicles per day.

This is the Queensland government 'border control' for the Hebel-Goodooga road, just North of the small aboriginal settlement of Goodooga NSW, which today reported the closest Covid cases to the border:

 

[crazyfingers]

I'm curious, when the border opens to Canada and I get back into Ontario, but need a negative Covid-19 test first (despite being vaccianted), will the unvaccinated being paying for that test? Is this also a good time to note I can't go to Canada because of travel restrictions caused by the unvaccinated leading to a huge bloom of cases in the US? Or not being able to get my too young to be vaccinated daughter to a proper waterpark (that isn't restricted) because of the freedom seeking unvaccinated?

I can't wait to embark in all of this freedom that has been usurped by others from me.

What citizenship are you? My sister in law is dual and because she is a Canadian citizen can go in at will - with a negative test.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Unrelated? Sure he wasn't shot by a QOP nutcase for being vaccinated?

If this is the case I'm thinking of, the gunshot had nothing to do with an infection.
The hospital was so crammed full of C19 cases, they just didn't have the capacity to care for another patient.
Tom

I was joking, but I wasn't taking about an infection. Rather, that some QOP nutcase had shot him because he was vaccinated, not because he was sick.

 

[ZiprHead]

I was gonna post this in the political funny images thread, but it's not remotely funny.

View attachment 34963

Wow! Sweet burn!

 

[Elixir]

"some QOP nutcase ... shot him because he was vaccinated, not because he was sick"

OMG ... that's my new conspiracy theory. It makes so much sense.

Once Q puts Trump back on his rightful throne, his men will seize all the vaccination records.
Vaccinated people will no longer be allowed to vote because it is proven that vaccines cause delusions and antipathy toward freedoms.
If the vaxed undead get out of line, they will be rounded up by the military and disposed of. Their property will revert to The State (Donald, who can pass it out with his usual unequaled sense of fairness).
Just getting rid of half of the vaxed zombies will be enough to make every True Citizen much wealthier, and finish The Wall within a few weeks.

 

[DBT]

Now we have the Lambda Variant, which is classified to be 'of interest' -


''The variant has spread to 29 countries including Australia, which recorded the Lambda variant on 3 April 2021, isolated from a 28-year-old male in Sydney.

Many of the affected locations are in South America, predominantly Peru, although the first sample collection appears to be from Argentina on 8 November 2020.

“The Lambda variant has an eclectic set of mutations, many of which appear to be immune evasions — that is, allowing the virus to evade a person’s immune response. Six of the key mutations in the virus’ spike protein appear as three ‘pairs’ of substitution mutations in close proximity.

“Outside the spike, one of the changes (the 106-108 deletion in ‘nsp6’) is common to the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants of concern. Interestingly, the L452Q substitution is a moderately radical change, and we encounter something similar (the L452R substitution) in both the Delta variant of concern and the Epsilon variant of interest.''

 

[DrZoidberg]

Dr. Z

View attachment 34953

Step 1) Establish there is a danger
Step 2) Keep looking until you find one
Step 3) Until then, stop bothering other people with your hysterics.

The focus now should be to help the developing world get access to vaccinations.

Or to develop the theme of your meme. If you're in the developing world, keep carrying the donkey. If you're in the west, you can stop carrying it.

 

[DrZoidberg]

The CDC is now recommending that even the vaccinated should start wearing masks again indoors. The delta strain is that pernicious.

Frankly, I'm seeing more and more of the vaccinated are getting pissed off at the unvaccinated. For good reason, I'd say.

What's the reason? I don't get it? The vaccinated will be fine even if they get sick.

Because ALL PEOPLE can spread it to everyone else. Unvaccinated have a higher probability of getting and passing it, but in areas of low vaccination rates, many people spreading it will be vaccinated. In areas of high vaccination rates, it will be spread less and the severity will be less when it is spread. Besides all this, the uncomfortable truth is that people who are vaccinated are going to be more likely to listen to CDC recommendations to mask up while people who are not vaccinated will be more likely to disregard rules, recommendations, and take advantage of not masking up when public places say it is optional. The fakers cannot take advantage of rules if everyone has to mask up indoors.

So what? So what if they spread it to everyone else? Everyone else is either vaccinated or an anti-vaxxer. People who are immunocompromised have to take precautions with or without a Covid pandemic.

People from the west who travel to the developing world need to get tested before they go.

Masks solve a non-problem. I still think it's a good idea to wear a mask on public transportation. But we do not need any regulation for it anymore IMHO.

 

[DrZoidberg]

The CDC is now recommending that even the vaccinated should start wearing masks again indoors. The delta strain is that pernicious.

Frankly, I'm seeing more and more of the vaccinated are getting pissed off at the unvaccinated. For good reason, I'd say.

What's the reason? I don't get it? The vaccinated will be fine even if they get sick.

The more the unvaccinated spread it, the more is copies itself, the more chance a mutation comes along that renders the vaccine null. Plus there are people that cannot get vaccinated and they are vulnerable. They shouldn't have to shut down their life because some petulant able bodied child refuses to get vaccinated or take basic safety measures because you "cain't tell them wut to do". I have a friend on immunosuppressant therapy. These people are trying to kill him.

On top of that, if you live in a place where 60% of the population is voluntarily unvaccinated and there is a significant outbreak then there are substantial economic disruptions. A local Walmart recently closed. That didn't affect me. However, Half the vet techs at our hospital are out sick right now and one of their diabetic parents is probably going to die. Vet tech shortage hits the bottom line. Can't run as many rooms if you are short on techs. If they don't care about their health then neither do I but I care about my money.

If people are voluntarily unvaccinated and die from Covid there is no innocent victims. It's good if there's an outbreak in one of these areas so a bunch of anti-vaxxers die. Then the idiot anti-vaxxers might realize they're wrong. We may that way save lives in the long run due to people stop being anti-vaxxers. Not only from this disease, but future diseases.

You can't protect a significant proportion of the population from themselves.

Besides, as a new virus mutates it's likely to become less dangerous over time. That's the typical development for viruses. We have no reason to think Covid will be special.

 

[DrZoidberg]

The CDC is now recommending that even the vaccinated should start wearing masks again indoors. The delta strain is that pernicious.

Frankly, I'm seeing more and more of the vaccinated are getting pissed off at the unvaccinated. For good reason, I'd say.

What's the reason? I don't get it? The vaccinated will be fine even if they get sick.

Vaccinated would need to wear a mask because assholes are making all the wrong choices (especially in the US where the vaccine has been available for months), so it is the dumbasses ruined it for everyone else school days thing. Vaccinated people around vaccinated people (to this point) seem to be harmless. Sadly, America decided to forego the easy path.

To inhibit virus transmission you need to either vaccinate people or separate people via differing mechanisms, in this case, masks and short distances. And the unvaccinated aren't doing the mask thing... ie... the whole consequence of not being vaccinated.

I think the most preposterous part of this were the Q-Anon cultists who want to protect the children... yet could give a fuck about protecting the children from this disease, because unlike the pizzeria and the basis of Q-Anon, Covid-19 is a lie.

ETA: GDP was well shy of expected, in large part due to the assholes not getting vaccinated. So, not only are they fucking things up in general, their decisions are having a substantial effect on the American economy!

Wrong according to you. The west is a free part of the world. For good and for ill.