Covid-19 miscellany

[TV and credit cards]

'Why is this company giving in to a government demand?'

Because they butter your bread. They’re the only one buttering your bread.
Oh, and stand over there.

 

[crazyfingers]

Okay, so we got a memo at work. As a government contractor, we're accountable for the government's mandate. Employees will be vaccinated by 8 Dec or provide a well-documented exception. If you're not fully vaccinated by 8 Dec 2021, you will get one month unpaid leave to get jabbed (and the post-jab period needed), or you'll be terminated.

Boss' boss held a meeting to 'answer' questions.
First question thrown out, 'Why is this company giving in to a government demand?'

We're General Dynamics Mission Systems. We make weapon systems. We tried to expand out of purely government contracts and failed. The government is our only customer. If we don't cooperate with the mandate, we lose the contracts and we don't get paid and everyone gets laid off. Seems pretty fucking obvious.

I really thought we were at least THAT smart...

Those who say that there is no such thing as a dumb question are wrong. WOW.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Minimum ages:

• Pfizer: 12
• Moderna: 18
• J&J: 18

Pfizer was recently approved for ages 12 - 18, and Moderna and J&J are still in testing for that age range. Pfizer and Moderna are currently being tested for ages 5 - 12.

Is that because of the types of vaccines available in the US (mRNA or viral vector)?

Over here, the minimum age is 3 for the Sinopharm vaccine (inactivated virus), and the vaccination campaign has already begun without any complications (well, except it took ages for the government to get the vaccines due to negligence, but that aside, now it's working alright).

 

[Keith&Co.]

'Why is this company giving in to a government demand?'

Because they butter your bread. They’re the only one buttering your bread.
Oh, and stand over there.

Yes, way over there.... the main topic of conversation sll day involved people who 'lost' their vax cards.
But the same memo that informed us of the mandate shared steps, contacts, and links to replace any lost cards. Quite convenient. I know the process isn't, but the answer is right there.

Unless...you didn't actually get jabbed... and are now whining that the company should accept the honor system like they did when the vax was first available. Because OTHER people might lose their jobs....

I wonder if the company took the mandate as a blessing? Now, if they end up firing people who lied about being vaccinated, it's the government's fault, not GD's.

And, really, considering how many of us need a security clearance to do our jobs, i am okay with losing people willing to lie to our employer.

 

[Rhea]

Yes, way over there.... the main topic of conversation sll day involved people who 'lost' their vax cards.
[…] Unless...you didn't actually get jabbed...
[…]And, really, considering how many of us need a security clearance to do our jobs, i am okay with losing people willing to lie to our employer.

Indeed.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

My nephew took the jab. When it cam down to losing his very decent job of 19 years or taking the jab he took the jab. Smart man.

 

[repoman]

They have opened up booster shots to everyone over 18 who got the J&J originally. My son got that one in March as it was the only one available locally at that time, and he got the Moderna booster today. He was very pleased.

Ruth

Do you think it will or should happen that a booster for a first JJ shot will be required?

 

[lpetrich]

Pfizer Asks F.D.A. to Authorize Its Covid-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 - The New York Times

The companies say they are submitting data supporting the change to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency has promised to move quickly on the request and has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Oct. 26 to consider it. An F.D.A. ruling is expected as early as Halloween.

A meeting of expert advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been scheduled for Nov. 2 and 3, according to people familiar with the planning. The C.D.C.’s recommendations are typically the federal government’s last word on vaccine policy.

...
Pfizer has proposed giving children one-third of the adult dosage.

Nothing yet on Moderna or J&J for under 18.

 

[ZiprHead]

[TWEET]<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Candace Owens says we should invade Australia. “Australia currently, make no mistake, is a tyrannical police state. It’s citizens are quite literally being imprisoned against their will. So when do we deploy?” <a href="https://t.co/t8zHNNVMSe">pic.twitter.com/t8zHNNVMSe</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1451295349293953028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/TWEET]..

 

[Ruth Harris]

They have opened up booster shots to everyone over 18 who got the J&J originally. My son got that one in March as it was the only one available locally at that time, and he got the Moderna booster today. He was very pleased.

Ruth

Do you think it will or should happen that a booster for a first JJ shot will be required?

Will happen? Very likely, from what I read. Should happen? Absolutely. Even scientists are saying that the J&J should have been a two shot vaccine to begin with, like the others. Even with two doses, though, the protection is less than the mRNA shots, so I suspect the J&J vaccine will probably fade out of existence due to lack of use.

Ruth

 

[Keith&Co.]

Candace Owens says we should invade Australia. “Australia currently, make no mistake, is a tyrannical police state. It’s citizens are quite literally being imprisoned against their will. So when do we deploy?”

Invade? To....? I mean, as a goal...?

Invading will cost lives. Any military action costs lives, even training. And that's if there's no resistance, and we don't shoot a puppy, our soldiers and sailors and Marines are experts at finding stupid ways to die, often in ways we JUST COVERED in a safety stand-down.

So, we'll expend some positive number pf American lives to take over a country and 'free' them to move about freely, licking those plague rats, until their "unnecessary deaths from an identified disease" begins to approach a significant fraction of our own?
So, we ARE a Death Cult?

My country takes my breath,
Sweet land of megadeath,
Of thee I sing;

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Minimum ages:

• Pfizer: 12
• Moderna: 18
• J&J: 18

Pfizer was recently approved for ages 12 - 18, and Moderna and J&J are still in testing for that age range. Pfizer and Moderna are currently being tested for ages 5 - 12.

Is that because of the types of vaccines available in the US (mRNA or viral vector)?

Over here, the minimum age is 3 for the Sinopharm vaccine (inactivated virus), and the vaccination campaign has already begun without any complications (well, except it took ages for the government to get the vaccines due to negligence, but that aside, now it's working alright).

It's a matter of our fairly strict drug regulation. You can't approve a drug for a population it wasn't tested on. Tests involving kids are always harder and more expensive and Covid harm skews strongly older, they didn't include kids in the original test population. After success Pfizer started doing tests on kids, the 12-15 band has already been approved and they're working on 5-11. Presumably there will be another round of testing for the under 5s.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

Minimum ages:

• Pfizer: 12
• Moderna: 18
• J&J: 18

Pfizer was recently approved for ages 12 - 18, and Moderna and J&J are still in testing for that age range. Pfizer and Moderna are currently being tested for ages 5 - 12.

Is that because of the types of vaccines available in the US (mRNA or viral vector)?

Over here, the minimum age is 3 for the Sinopharm vaccine (inactivated virus), and the vaccination campaign has already begun without any complications (well, except it took ages for the government to get the vaccines due to negligence, but that aside, now it's working alright).

It's a matter of our fairly strict drug regulation. You can't approve a drug for a population it wasn't tested on. Tests involving kids are always harder and more expensive and Covid harm skews strongly older, they didn't include kids in the original test population. After success Pfizer started doing tests on kids, the 12-15 band has already been approved and they're working on 5-11. Presumably there will be another round of testing for the under 5s.

I see. Then I'd say that lack of flexibility does not seem to be a good idea. I mean, the fact is that children aren't getting the vaccines, and then they're getting infected, and then they're passing the virus to the adults in their families, and some (many) of them are dying or suffering serious long-term consequences, which is very bad for them of course, but also of course much worse for the kids than the expected negative consequences from the minimum risks of a vaccine - assuming the risks aren't much greater than with a "dead-virus" vaccine (granted, Sinopharm's vaccine was tested also on children in China, but a lack of speedy tests is also a problem. )

Meanwhile, over here, in spite of a seriously incompetent government, a much weaker health care system than America's, mediocre laws and worse enforcement, kids older than 3 are getting vaccinated, which predictably will have better overall results for them and for the rest of the population than the US approach. I think the US should upgrade its approach on this one.

 

[bilby]

[TWEET]<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Candace Owens says we should invade Australia. “Australia currently, make no mistake, is a tyrannical police state. It’s citizens are quite literally being imprisoned against their will. So when do we deploy?” <a href="https://t.co/t8zHNNVMSe">pic.twitter.com/t8zHNNVMSe</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1451295349293953028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>[/TWEET]..

Reality has completely ceased to exist for these fools, hasn't it?

They don't even care whether their nonsensical ideas have any basis whatsoever. It's truly beyond belief that they aren't in secure psychiatric accommodation for their own protection.

 

[crazyfingers]

It seems that political crazy, even when dangerous, will never result in psychiatric evaluation. It would appear political even when it's crazy and dangerous.

 

[thebeave]

My nephew took the jab. When it cam down to losing his very decent job of 19 years or taking the jab he took the jab. Smart man.

Kinda reminds me of when I was a little kid and my older brother would pin me down on the floor, and dangle a long, hanging lougie over my face. I would squirm and yell. I had to say "uncle" to make it end, then he would quickly slurp it up. Smart kid, I was.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Okay, so we got a memo at work. As a government contractor, we're accountable for the government's mandate. Employees will be vaccinated by 8 Dec ...or terminated.
Boss' boss held a meeting to 'answer' questions.
First question thrown out, 'Why is this company giving in to a government demand?'

Boss' boss came to our morning meeting with answers to questions from the last meeting. He's trying REALLY hard not to name names. There's answers for who gets terminated, in what way, and when, with generic "and we will reorganize as necessary in reaction to those losses."
Of course, everyone at the meeting knows who was most het up about the mandate and we immediately went to specifics. "What DOES John Doe do for us, and how screwed are we going to be when he leaves?"
"Didn't we hire an alternate for Jane Doe last year or will someone have to spin up on her Librarian duties in the next two months?"
Watching boss try to hem and haw without committing or commenting or naming was probably the most amusing thing i'll see this week.
At least until they try to make me the Librarian...

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

With all these new variants coming out, a clearer picture is emerging that dangerous mutarions in spike protein naturally occur.

 

[Jarhyn]

With all these new variants coming out, a clearer picture is emerging that dangerous mutarions in spike protein naturally occur.

As I understand, it is one of the more desirable traits to have of viruses that your evolution as hosts to such relies on effective annihilation of anything that dares try to eat you, especially as that which eats the things which infect them.

It makes sense continued pressure in that direction will always be followed. Take the message: don't eat bats.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It's a matter of our fairly strict drug regulation. You can't approve a drug for a population it wasn't tested on. Tests involving kids are always harder and more expensive and Covid harm skews strongly older, they didn't include kids in the original test population. After success Pfizer started doing tests on kids, the 12-15 band has already been approved and they're working on 5-11. Presumably there will be another round of testing for the under 5s.

I see. Then I'd say that lack of flexibility does not seem to be a good idea. I mean, the fact is that children aren't getting the vaccines, and then they're getting infected, and then they're passing the virus to the adults in their families, and some (many) of them are dying or suffering serious long-term consequences, which is very bad for them of course, but also of course much worse for the kids than the expected negative consequences from the minimum risks of a vaccine - assuming the risks aren't much greater than with a "dead-virus" vaccine (granted, Sinopharm's vaccine was tested also on children in China, but a lack of speedy tests is also a problem. )

Meanwhile, over here, in spite of a seriously incompetent government, a much weaker health care system than America's, mediocre laws and worse enforcement, kids older than 3 are getting vaccinated, which predictably will have better overall results for them and for the rest of the population than the US approach. I think the US should upgrade its approach on this one.

I do agree it's a bit inflexible at times, but the world has had a horrible lesson in not testing on all target populations: Thalidomide. Safe for people, devastating for bodies being developed. (To this day it sees cautious use for it's ability to prevent blood vessels from developing. The bend-over-backwards caution in using it is to ensure no conceptions while using it, not due to danger to the user.)