Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let there be snark.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

The willow is too close to the house.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

I really should read my own blog.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Second rate reporter says what?

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 31 – Jan. 1

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday/Friday, Dec. 31 – Jan. 1

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This actually seems like a good idea, as long as a Democratic administration is in charge of it:


From the Wisconsin State Journal:

… The Grafton Police Department said the former Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property. The department said in a statement that he was in jail. Police did not identify the pharmacist, saying he has not yet been charged.

Advocate Aurora Health Care Chief Medical Group Officer Jeff Bahr told reporters during a teleconference Thursday afternoon that the pharmacist deliberately removed 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine from refrigeration overnight on Dec. 24 into Dec. 25, returned them, then left them out again on the night of Dec. 25 into Saturday. A pharmacy technician discovered the vials outside the refrigerator on Saturday morning. Workers used the vaccine to inoculate 57 people. Bahr said their doses were ineffective…

Bahr said during his teleconference that a pharmacy tech at the Grafton facility discovered 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine outside their refrigerator early on Saturday morning. The vials contained enough doses to inoculate about 570 people, he said.

The vials were returned to the refrigerator and the tech reported the discovery. The pharmacist who removed them initially said he or she took them out to access other items in the refrigerator and inadvertently failed to replace them, Bahr said.

He said officials in the health system suspended the pharmacist after growing more suspicious over the next few days. After multiple interviews, the pharmacist admitted Wednesday to deliberately removing the vials from the refrigerator overnight Dec. 24 to Dec. 25 before returning them and then removing them a second time, Bahr said.

That meant that the vaccine had been outside the refrigerator for longer than 12 hours and the doses administered to the 57 people on Saturday were rendered less effective or totally ineffective, Bahr said. Moderna officials have told Aurora that the spoiled vaccine shouldn’t pose any safety concerns, Bahr said.

The Grafton facility hadn’t received any Moderna vaccine before Dec. 24, which means the pharmacist wouldn’t have had an opportunity to tamper with any other vials, he added…

Reader Interactions

27Comments

  2. 2.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 12/31, China reported 9 new domestic confirmed and 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) and 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases. Both confirmed cases are in moderate condition. The previously asymptomatic case had tested positive on 12/23 during community screening and has been under isolation since, the other case has been under home quarantine since 12/24 (likely a traced F3 close contact). No information released for the new asymptomatic cases. There are currently 43 domestic confirmed cases (1 serious, 30 moderate and 2 mild) and 30 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. There are 13 communities, 2 residential compounds and a village at Medium Risk in the city.

    Shenyang in Liaoning Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (1 moderate and 1 mild). 1 of the new confirmed cases is a traced close contact, having been under quarantine since 12/23, the case had been staying at the same hospital that the index imported case visited on 12/21 & 12/22, the other has been under home quarantine since 12/25 and centralized quarantine since 12/29, the case had visited the same hospital as the index imported case on 12/21 & 12/22. There are currently 16 domestic confirmed and 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. The index imported case seeded a cluster of 11 cases (including 4 directly as close contacts) at a hospital she visited on 12/21 & 12/22 (including 2 medical staff), another cluster of 2 cases (both medical staff) at a clinic she visited on 12/18 & 12/19, another patient at a different hospital she visited, 2 family members and 2 members of a neighbor’s family. 4 residential compounds and 1 office building were deemed Medium Risk. There are 1 community, 1 office building and 8 residential compounds at Medium Risk.

    Beijing Municipality reported 5 new domestic confirmed cases (1 moderate and 4 mild), 4 at Shunyi District and 1 at Huarou District (though works at Shunyi District). 3 are traced close contacts of previously reported positive cases (have been under quarantine since 12/26, 12/27 & 12/28, other 2 were discovered during community mass screening at Shunyi on 12/30. The Shunyi centered outbreak has 21 confirmed (7 moderate and 14 mild) and 2 asymptomatic cases (1 imported) so far. Xicheng District has 1 asymptomatic case, and Chaoyang District has 1 imported confirmed case and 3 domestic asymptomatic case. There are 4 villages and 1 hotel are at Medium Risk in the city.

    At Heihe in Heilongjiang Province, 1 residential compound was deemed Medium Risk. There are 2 residential compound at Medium Risk in the city.

    At Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province, 1 confirmed patient recovered (at Suifenhe).

    Chengdu Municipal CDC has released the results from the epidemiological investigation into the recent cluster of domestic cases there: the source are 5 imported cases from Nepal that arrived on 11/9, and tested positive on 11/16 and 11/28. The quarantine hotel they stayed at did not follow protocol in disposing garbage from the guests under quarantine, and the index case from the outbreak is an unemployed person who rummages through waste bins for recyclable material. Of the 14 cases in the cluster, there are 3 couples, 5 are friends or neighbors of positive cases, 2 are poker partners of positive cases, and 1 had face to face contact with a positive case without mask. The genomic sequencing of viral samples from imported and domestic cases show very high degree of similarity, belonging to L genotype, European branch, B.2.3 sub-branch. Fomite transmission via waste is the suspected vector from the imported cases to the domestic index case.

    There are no changes in other Chinese cities with recent/current outbreaks.

    On 12/31, China reported 10 new imported confirmed cases, 16 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    * Shanghai Municipality – 5 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the U.K., and 1 each from Singapore and the Congo (Kinshasa) (via Addis Ababa), and a Venezuelan coming from Brazil (via Germany); 1 suspect case, no information released
    * Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Russia; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the US
    * Jiangmen in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Niger (via Istanbul); 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Turkey
    * Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from the US
    * Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Uzbekistan and Libya
    * Qingyuan in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Argentina (via Istanbul, Lansing at Guangzhou)
    * Kunming in Yunnan Province – 1 confirmed and 1 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar
    * Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US
    * Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan
    * Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Belgium, off a flight diverted from Beijing
    * Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, 3 coming from Nigeria and 1 from Tanzania
    * Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    * Changsha in Hunan Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released

    Overall in China, 3 cases deteriorated to severe condition, 17 confirmed cases recovered, 6 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 1 was reclassified as confirmed cases, and 1,009 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 370 active confirmed cases in the country (267 imported), 9 are in serious condition (3 imported), 279 asymptomatic cases (227 imported). 13,584 traced contacts are currently under quarantine.

    On 1/1, Hong Kong reported 68 new cases, 6 imported and 62 domestic (18 of whom do not have source of infection identified). Another 40+ cases are preliminarily positive, awaiting retesting.

    Happy New Year everyone!

  4. 4.

    Amir Khalid

    The first phase of Covid-19 vaccinations in Malaysia will start next month, per the Ministry of Health’s Twitter feed. The Ministry pledges the vaccinations will be free to all Malaysians. Meanwhile, Senior Defence Minister has declared that recovery movement control orders throughout the country are extended to 31st March. (Except in Selangor, KL and Sabah, which remain under the stricter conditional movement control orders until at least 14th January, and any districts or sub-districts currently under enhanced movement control orders because of an outbreak.)

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Latest released stats (time stamped 1 p.m. on the 31st).

    On the last day of 2020, Hawaii reported three additional COVID-19 fatalities and 188 new infections amid concerns that holiday gatherings could trigger another spike in cases.

    The three new fatalities, all on Oahu, push the death toll from the virus in Hawaii to 288.

    Of the 188 new cases:

    135 were on Oahu
    27 were on Maui
    14 were on Hawaii Island
    and 12 were residents diagnosed out-of-state
    .
    Statewide, There have been 1,619 cases in the last 14 days.

    Since the pandemic began, Hawaii has reported 21,397 cases of COVID-19.

  6. 6.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 2,068 new cases today, for a cumulative reported total of 115,078 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports three new deaths today, for a total of 474 deaths — 0.41% of the cumulative reported total, 0.52% of resolved cases.

    23,433 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 126 are in ICU, 54 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 2,230 patients recovered and were discharged, more than the new cases reported today, for a total of 91,171 patients recovered — 79.2% of the cumulative reported total.

    Three new clusters were reported today: Rawa Akasia in Penang, Jalan Perindustrian in Johor, and Rantau Semarak in Pahang.

    2,066 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 776 cases: 114 in existing clusters, 311 close-contact screenings, and 351 other screenings. KL has 456 local cases: 304 in existing clusters, 94 close-contact screenings, and 58 other screenings. Sabah has 254 cases: nine in existing clusters, 166 close-contact screenings, and 79 other screenings. Penang has 226 cases: 75 in older clusters, 110 in Rawa Akasia cluster, 15 close-contact screenings, and 26 other screenings. Johor has 112 cases: 53 in older clusters, six in Jalan Perindustrian cluster, 36 close-contact screenings, and 17 other screenings.

    Kelantan has 53 cases: 23 in existing clusters, 14 close-contact screenings, and 16 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan has 51 cases: 16 in existing clusters, 21 close-contact screenings, and 14 other screenings. Perak has 51 cases: eight in existing clusters, 32 close-contact screenings, and 11 other screenings. Melaka has 23 cases: three in existing clusters, 11 close-contact screenings, and nine other screenings. Kedah has 20 cases: eight in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and five other screenings.

    Pahang has 16 cases: four in older clusters, seven in Rantau Semarak cluster, three close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Terengganu has 14 cases: six close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Sarawak has eight cases: five close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Putrajaya has four cases, all found in other screenings. And Labuan has two local cases: one in an existing cluster, and two other screenings.

    Only Perlis reported no new local cases today.

    Two new cases are imported. One was reported in KL, and one in Labuan.

    The three deaths today are a 69-year-old man in Negeri Sembilan with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and dyslipidaemia; a 94-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, dementia, and bronchiectasis; and a 58-year-old woman in KL with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and kidney disease.

  8. 8.

    Amir Khalid

    @p.a.:

    I wonder how many others are like that pharmacist. I don’t remember seeing any other reports of healthcare workers committing sabotage.

  9. 9.

    p.a.

    @Amir Khalid: Not yet.  ??we don’t see more.  He’s been charged w several felony offenses, so he’s in deep doo-doo.  That’s a good disincentive.  I’d not mind a terrorism charge.

  12. 12.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY yesterday: a new record here: 787 new confirmed cases with 9% positivity now.
    The highest numbers since it got cold around here seem to be of females in their 20s and 30s.

  13. 13.

    Geo Wilcox

    @NeenerNeener: In our tiny town those are the only people I have seen NOT wearing masks. You’d think the story of the healthy 18 year old female dying after 3 days in the hospital would wake them the fuck up, but Nooooooo. Stupid fing bitches.

  14. 14.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Our 7 day positivity rate is heading back up again, 18.5% today. We do Misery right.

  15. 15.

    satby

    I was so tired I fell asleep at 8:45 last night. And forgot the super secret vaccine sign up link that the health department is giving out to second tier health care workers back at the office. But I’m getting it and signing up today. One doctor already got the vaccine, the other two and a lot of the staff should get it next week. First shots, anyway. The doctor said she felt fine, just a slightly sore arm, but she’s a spry young thing in her fifties ?

  16. 16.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Today, the China National Health Commissions gave an update on the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in China. From the start of EUA until end f Nov., 1.5M doses were injected to 750K individuals in high risk groups, including 60+K individuals heading overseas. To date, there has been no report of anyone with suffering from serious symptoms. (No information on whether the “serious” here is the same as the “severe” symptoms for COVID-19 patients under Chinese classification. Also no word on mild or say asymptomatic cases. There is no break down in quantity issued across the 4 vaccine candidates approved under EUA.) Since Dec. 15, China expanded the EUA vaccination campaign to people in more high risk occupations, with > 3M doses injected into > 1.5M individuals. The common side effects have been localized pain or swelling at the injection site, which is common with inactivated virus vaccines. < 0.1% of individuals vaccinated suffered from light fevers, and ~ 2 / million suffered from allergic reaction. With a vaccine approved for mass use, China will start vaccinate the elderly and those with co-morbidities, then the general population.

    Highest priorities will go to medical personnel, cold chain logistics workers, quarantine facilities staff, customs and border control, police and fire departments, people going overseas for work or study, and other occupations with high risk of exposure. Due to the very low prevalence of COVID-19 in China, elderly and those with co-morbidities will actually go behind those on high risk occupations. The initial mass roll out will be for aged 18 – 57 working the aforementioned high risk occupations. General population will follow in Feb. (likely after Chinese New Year), prioritizing the elderly and those with co-morbidities.

  17. 17.

    Mousebumples

    I was so proud of my profession (pharmacist) after “we” found extra doses in the Pfizer vials. And now? *grumbles* Explains why security may not have been watching like a hawk when the person involved removed the doses from the fridge. *sigh*

    May the investigation be thorough and the punishment be appropriate. I suspect it’s probably a white male pharmacist – though I don’t know that through unofficial channels or anything. I grew up nearby (and have worked nearby)… I’m now wondering if i know this pharmacist….

  20. 20.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    President Dumbass McDumface

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=HomepageHomepage

    “You’re killing me! This whole thing is! We’ve got all the damn cases,” Mr. Trump yelled at Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, during a gathering of top aides in the Oval Office on Aug. 19. “I want to do what Mexico does. They don’t give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you’re vomiting.”

    The bleach drinking, woo bothering, daughter fucking, druggie simpleton. He’s like if some laboratory distilled all that was the worst about the 70s and made into a human in some kind of horrible experiment. How long is it before he is on national TV ranting about Lizard People?

  21. 21.

    Ian

    @p.a.:

    I’d not mind a terrorism charge.

    I would sure like to see a lot more evidence before we assume this.  There are plenty of other crimes we can charge this person with.

  22. 22.

    StringOnAStick

    Thanks for the reminder of when we first started getting a hint something bad was spreading in Wuhan; it was because I had read about it here that I started bringing it up at staff meetings though twice I was told I was overreacting.

    I quit my job (dental hygienist) in March  because of Covid, and in Christmas night I got a text from my old boss wishing me well with retirement and our move to another state, plus “you were so right about this virus”; I was only “right” and informed about Covid-19 because of BJ and these daily posts.  This daily review is required first thing reading for me, and I want to again say how thankful I am for your efforts! All my sincere thanks, Anne Laurie!

  24. 24.

    Haroldo

    @StringOnAStick:

    You’re quite right – Anne Laurie’s Covid-19 data aggregation is the first place I come to for Covid information (and has been the first place for these too many months).

    Thank you, Anne.

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    Thanks again for these daily updates.  They’ve really been invaluable.

    And thank you to everyone who’s kept us updated on their home states or countries.

    Hopefully 2021 will be much better for us all.

Comments are closed.