Atlas holding up the globe, New York City, 2021. pic.twitter.com/QXEh7hvAgv
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 26, 2021
The @POTUS promised a whole-of-government effort to ramp up vaccinations — and that means using every tool at our disposal. https://t.co/sb6Tr2pz1n
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) January 27, 2021
Jeff Zients confirms Biden has changed policy & no longer keeps a fed stockpile of COVID vaccines. They send to states ASAP.
Andy Slavitt answering my Q said, “We do not keep a stockpile…We keep a 2 to 3 day supply as a practice. That's it. The rest moves out to states.”
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) January 27, 2021
The US had +151,727 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to over 26.1 million. The 7-day moving average continued its steady decline to under 167,000 new cases per day. pic.twitter.com/nP87DaFagP
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 28, 2021
.@DrewAltman lays out a timeline in his latest column of how many vaccinations are needed–and by when–to reach herd immunity.
To vaccinate 70% of U.S. population by:
July 4 = 2.4M doses/day
Labor Day =1.9M doses/day
Jan. 1, 2022 =1.2M doses/dayhttps://t.co/DcQq1oFACx pic.twitter.com/9RT84Zijy4— KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) (@KFF) January 26, 2021
The Biden administration has a Covid data director who is opening up information that was not available to the public—or to public health authorities, or to scientists.
Here is his first post. This is huge. https://t.co/AIiLSGYgg4
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) January 27, 2021
White House coronavirus coordinator says Congress must pass President Biden's COVID-19 relief bill to keep up momentum on vaccinations. The administration says 500 million doses will be needed to vaccinate all Americans. https://t.co/R0NQu7t06h
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2021
IMPORTANT FLASHBACK
One Year Ago TODAY (Jan 27, 2020) Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) wrote an oped warning of the threat from Coronavirus and the danger of Trump's short-sighted, anti-science views. https://t.co/rNdXS7O9ph
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) January 28, 2021
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A global analysis suggests COVID19 is already a seasonal infectious disease, even though we're still in a pandemic. A new paper in Evolutionary Bioinformatics shows COVID cases & mortality are correlated w/ temperature and latitude across 221 countries https://t.co/GC3oc4JM69 pic.twitter.com/QBCw6CYo2s
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 28, 2021
Chinese New Year: Clamping down on going home for the holidays https://t.co/sL71XMI7AB
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 28, 2021
South Korea reviews AstraZeneca vaccine for elderly under rollout plan https://t.co/VtNXG2b4PL pic.twitter.com/AaF4T5cJcA
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2021
Japan to source most AstraZeneca vaccines locally amid global snags https://t.co/7hX2P2rLsw pic.twitter.com/QwXlBc3HAB
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2021
Rumours and fear dog Philippine plan for coronavirus vaccine drive https://t.co/Ze3T3LyqLf pic.twitter.com/7A71iUuvvT
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2021
Police in Thailand arrest 89 foreigners for violating coronavirus regulations at a party organized by a bar on a popular resort island. https://t.co/2ERyQKRTxe
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 28, 2021
Australian state borders to reopen with zero local virus cases https://t.co/62OEaHooqM pic.twitter.com/K3neqF4Cxm
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2021
Coronavirus: EU and AstraZeneca seek to resolve vaccine supply crisis https://t.co/AofpCPeH2X
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 28, 2021
Germany mulls cutting international air traffic 'to almost zero' as a way of slowing the spread of SARSCoV2 in the country https://t.co/kW0J9KkHJn via @medical_xpress pic.twitter.com/X0zT72QQZH
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 27, 2021
England's coronavirus lockdown will remain in place until at least March 8 as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out any imminent return to school for most students. Johnson also confirmed new restrictions for some travelers arriving in England. https://t.co/9cyyvFifiK
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 27, 2021
Cyprus will start loosening the country's coronavirus lockdown in February after a steady decrease in new infections. The EU country of 900,000 people has reported 190 deaths since the start of the pandemic. https://t.co/7oq7A0HIuk
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 27, 2021
Russia confirmed 19,138 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload to 3,793,810https://t.co/Q0NrZe6Dy8
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 28, 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has traditionally counted on the political support of his ultra-Orthodox allies. But the community has been flouting Netanyahu's anti-coronavirus measures, threatening his re-election hopes. By @joseffederman. https://t.co/wqQMZRZisx
— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) January 28, 2021
The #UAE records 3,966 cases of the novel #coronavirus, the highest single-day increase of #COVID19 infections in the country. The total number of confirmed cases is now 293,052.https://t.co/CHAF2rRePZ pic.twitter.com/lZQ7VG0BWO
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 28, 2021
Tanzania’s president for months insisted COVID-19 had been defeated in his country. Now he accuses people who have been vaccinated of bringing new infections. https://t.co/2VtRbCaSSy
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) January 27, 2021
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WARNING: If you've had 1 dose of #COVID19 #vaccine you likely are NOT protected against infection. Israel compared 200K citizens who were 1-dose vaxed to 200K not vaxed & diff in infection rates was only 30%.
You need that 2nd dose, folks. Wear your ???https://t.co/Rwh4NpVrJ9— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 27, 2021
What to expect from getting a covid vaccine—especially after the second dose. Based on 2 million people monitored by CDC. From today’s ACIP meeting. pic.twitter.com/FNKTRPUcmr
— Carl Zimmer (@carlzimmer) January 27, 2021
Medical-grade masks are being recommended over cloth facial coverings in many parts of Europe. Why? With more contagious variants in circulation, stronger protective measures make sense https://t.co/WWPQM1OPXH pic.twitter.com/mvVSO9Cq7w
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 28, 2021
WHO's Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization has cautiously backed delaying 2nd injections of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine for up to 6 weeks. The panel said the same last week about the Pfizer-BioNTech shots. WHO experts emphasized delays should involve special circumstances pic.twitter.com/akzuihzkm9
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 27, 2021
Johnson&Johnson Covid vaccine results are expected next week, according to CFO Joseph Wolk. He said the phase 3 study of 45k people in 80 countries potentially included cases of new strains identified in South Africa & Brazil. J&J's vax is a single shot https://t.co/Jr790R2Omg pic.twitter.com/6pIDLX5wRj
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 27, 2021
Chinese cities rolling out anal swab tests to screen for COVID infections. Research shows coronavirus traces in fecal samples remain detectable for a longer time and provide more accurate results than throat swabbing https://t.co/9NpQ5OcgQA via @AJEnglish
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 28, 2021
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Severe COVID-19 infections are beginning to abate in many parts of the U.S. even as the death toll mounts, signaling an end to the pandemic's post-holiday surge https://t.co/lbsQ7Js6wm pic.twitter.com/HYK9XcV1KX
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2021
Two things happening with COVID data
1. Infections falling across U.S., down about 33% from two wks ago
2. Deaths are climbing — because they lag infections. Will likely peak in 7-8 days
Nonetheless, things are improving and race now is between vaccinations and variants https://t.co/nc393UDMjg
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) January 27, 2021
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY yesterday:
366 new cases. 662 hospitalized, 136 in the ICU.
We’re at 902 deaths now. 33% of hospital beds available, 23% of ICU beds available. 4.6% positivity.
The national organization for my chronic immune system problem has decided the vaccine is ok for us to take. Now New York just has to get vaccines again. And I have to start answering the phone when it rings instead of assuming it’s a robocall, because that’s how they’re notifying people that it’s their turn to get a Fauci Ouchie.
Dan B
Just a reminder that may be even more important today. A number of doctors are recommending oximeters, small inexpensive devices ($20 – $30) that fit on the end of your finger. They measure your blood’s oxygen saturation. They can show Covid pneumonia up to 8 days before you feel any symptoms. They detect problems when there are effective treatments and positive outcomes.
They’re most important if you have been infected but may be valuable if you believe you’ve been exposed.
Phylllis
@Dan B: If you have a medical spending account, they are eligible items. And if you have a medical spending account, I highly recommend the FSA store. Set up an account, enter your MSA card info, and bob’s your uncle.
Mary G
The OC continues to improve as far as hospitalizations and cases, but a pretty big 66 deaths. Positive tests 12.7%. Getting my first shot tomorrow.
Mousebumples
I’m so thankful we now have science based federal leadership. I love that new set of data on a state by state level! ?
raven
And here in Northeast Georgia the Elberton Health Center get their supply suspended for six months for vaccinating teachers.
YY_Sima Qian
On 1/27 China reported 41 new domestic confirmed, 19 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 1 domestic suspect case.
Beijing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. There are currently 2 villages (both at Shunyi District) at Medium Risk. 1 community (at Daxing District) is at High Risk.
Hebei Province:
Hebei Provincial Health Commission reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases. 57 domestic confirmed case recovered & 8 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently 661 domestic confirmed cases (11 critical, 25 serious, 506 moderate and 119 mild) & 67 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province:
Baishui County in Weinan, Shaanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, the suspect case I mentioned in yesterday’s post, a traced close contact of a confirmed case (reported on 1/14) that had travel back from Jinzhong in Shanxi Province (that small cluster was in turn seeded by persons who had traveled from Shijiazhuang at the beginning of Jan.). The case has been under centralized quarantine since 1/13.
Heilongjiang Province:
Heilongjiang Province reported 28 new domestic confirmed (5 previously asymptomatic) & 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 18 confirmed cases recovered & 6 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently 496 domestic confirmed (1 critical, 26 serious, 319 moderate and 150 mild) & 526 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.:
Jilin Province
Jilin Province reported 9 new domestic confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic) & 11 domestic asymptomatic cases. 7 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 294 confirmed (18 critical, 25 serious, 168 moderate and 81 mild) & 92 asymptomatic cases there.:
Shanghai Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. Currently there are 16 confirmed cases in the city. 2 residential compounds, 1 residential area and 1 hotel are currently at Medium Risk.
Imported Cases:
On 1/27, China reported 13 new imported confirmed cases, 9 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 96 confirmed cases recovered, 20 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 11 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 1,735 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,820 active confirmed cases in the country (294 imported), 105 are in critical/serious condition (3 imported), 988 asymptomatic cases (288 imported), 1 suspect case (domestic). 39,429 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
On 1/28, Hong Kong reported 39 new cases, 1 imported and 38 domestic (20 of whom do not have sources of infection identified).
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: No good deed shall go unpunished.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Elberton is an interesting place. It calls itself “The Granite Capitol of the World” and has this weird monument that no one seems to know from whence it came.
“The Georgia Guidestones are a local mystery and display a 10-part message in 12 languages to mankind.”
raven
The Georgia Guidestones may be the most enigmatic monument in the US: huge slabs of granite, inscribed with directions for rebuilding civilization after the apocalypse. Only one man knows who created them—and he’s not talking. Photo: Dan Winters The strangest monument in America looms over a barren knoll in northeastern Georgia. Five massive slabs of polished
NotMax
Snippets from the governor’s State of the State address.
raven
Many people must drive miles to get a Covid-19 vaccine, but some travelers in southwestern Oregon had the vaccine come to them Tuesday under treacherous weather conditions.
Josephine County Public Health said their workers were returning from a mass vaccination clinic at Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction when about 20 members of the group became stranded in a snowstorm at Hayes Hill.
There were still six leftover doses of the vaccine in their possession.
To keep those doses from going unused before they expired, the health department said their workers went from car to car to offer people the opportunity to get a shot.
Matt McIrvin
I read that story as good news. Before now we didn’t know if there was any protective effect against infection (as opposed to illness) from the Pfizer vaccine. A 30% reduction from just one shot means there should be a significant effect on transmission rates, likely considerably more if people get both doses though they haven’t tested that yet.
Matt McIrvin
@Dan B: I bought one of those pulse oximeters months ago under the theory that if I caught COVID, I’d use it to determine whether to go into the hospital. Now I’m thinking I should just be checking it every day. (I actually got tested with one Tuesday as part of a doctor’s appointment, so it was on my mind.)
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I’ve read about them. I think it was you who turned me on to their existence. They are on my “Go to” list.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 4,094 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 198,208 cases. He also reports 10 new deaths today, for a total of 717 deaths — 0.36% of the cumulative reported total, 0.46% of resolved cases.
There are currently 43,192 active and contagious cases; 303 are in ICU, 118 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 3,281 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 154,299 patients recovered – 77.9% of the cumulative reported total.
Nine new clusters were reported today: Jalan Faizal, Jalan Satria and Jalan Dewani Satu in Johor; Industri Peramu Jaya and Kampung Kemansur in Pahang; Taman Mahkota Impian in Labuan; Jalan Pakat in Selangor; Indah Riang in Sarawak; and Jalan Kejora in Melaka.
Jalan Pakat, Indah Riang, and Kampung Kemansur are community clusters. Jalan Kejora is a high-risk group cluster. The rest are all workplace clusters.
4,086 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 1,574 local cases: 252 in older clusters, 12 in Jalan Pakat cluster, 988 close-contact screenings, and 312 other screenings. Johor has 717 cases: 71 in older clusters, 12 in Jalan Faizal, Jalan Satria and Jalan Dewani Satu clusters, 348 close-contact screenings, and 199 other screenings. KL has 674 local cases: 57 in existing clusters, 256 close-contact screenings, and 361 other screenings. Sabah has 282 cases: seven in existing clusters, 185 close-contact screenings, and 90 other screenings.
Sarawak has 170 local cases: 80 in older clusters, four in Indah Riang cluster, and 86 other screenings. Penang has 99 cases: 31 in existing clusters, 138 close-contact screenings, and 30 other screenings. Perak has 93 cases: 15 in existing clusters, 52 close-contact screenings, and 26 other screenings. Kedah has 92 cases: 19 in existing clusters, 41 close-contact screenings, and 32 other screenings. Terenganu has 80 cases: 12 in existing clusters, 48 close-contact screenings, and 20 other screenings. Melaka has 73 cases: 13 in older clusters, three in Jalan Kejora cluster, 29 close-contact screenings, and 28 other screenings. Pahang has 72 cases: 20 in older clusters, 13 in Industri Peramu Jayaand Kampung Kemansur clusters, 22 close-contact screenings, and 17 other screenings.
Labuan has 55 cases: 32 in older clusters, seven in Taman Mahkota Impian cluster, eight close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Negeri Sembilan has 48 cases: 16 in existing clusters, 19 close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings. Kelantan has 37 cases: three in existing clusters, 21 close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings. Putrajaya has 10 cases: eight close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. And Perlis has nime cases, all found in other screening.
Eight new cases are imported. Four were reported in KL, three in Selangor, and one in Sarawak.
The 10 deaths reported today are a 67-year-old man in Selamgor with hypertension. Heart disease, nd chronic kidney disease; a 78-year-old woman in Kedah with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and chronic lung disease; a 69-year-old man im Selangor with hypertension and chronic kidney disease; a 79-year-old woman in Sarawak with hypertension and dementia; a 67-year-old man in Sabah with gout; a 63-year-old man in Sabah with diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease; 62-year-old man in Sabah, DOA with diabetes, hypertension, and stroke; an 89-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes and hypertension; a 22-year-old man in KL with no co-morbidities listed; and a 32-year-old man in Selangor, DOA with no co-morbidities listed.
Amir Khalid
I asked the other day about N95 masks. They are being recommended in the EU, but I just saw a CNN story on YouTube that noted CDC isn’t currently recommending them for Americans. Given that and the price difference over 3-ply disposables, I think I’ll stick to the latter until the Health Ministry here recommends otherwise.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Dan B:
One word of caution about pulse oximeters: they’re not always 100% accurate in Af Americans
ThresherK
First photo: I’m looking for Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin on shore leave, but that’s just me.
Ken
The Atlas statue reminds me: A hospital near my parents has, for some reason, a life-size statue of a bison on their grounds. Last summer it was wearing a giant mask.
Sloane Ranger
Yesterday in the UK we had 25,308 new cases. This is an increase of about 5300 from the day before but a decrease of 28.9% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,
England – 22,914 (up @5000)
Northern Ireland – 527 (down 23)
Scotland – 1330 (up @300)
Wales – 537 (down 33).
Deaths – There were 1725 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 0.9% in the rolling 7-day average. Deaths by nation, England – 1568, Northern Ireland – 16, Scotland – 92 and Wales – 49.
Testing – 596,845 tests were conducted on Tuesday, 26 January out of a capacity of 810,972. This is an increase of 0.2% in the rolling 7-day average.
Hospitalisations – 37,605 people were in hospital as of Monday, 25 January and 3961 were on ventilators as of Tuesday, 26 January. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is down 9.4%.
Vaccinations – As of 26 January, a total of 7,164,387 people had received their 1st dose of a vaccine and 474,156 had received their 2nd dose.
End of update.
Skepticat
The Bahamas just had a big surge—21 cases. Here in Abaco, we’ve had four cases this month. The last COVID death in the country was December 31. Strictures remain fairly tight nevertheless, for which I’m grateful.
Robert Sneddon
@Matt McIrvin: The UK’s decision to delay second-shot vaccination for most people is based on the admittedly scant evidence that the first shot confers some immunity and anyone who catches COVID-19 after a single injection doesn’t suffer serious symptoms and require hospitalisation. The delayed-shot regime isn’t in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, it’s to prevent the health services from collapsing under the peak load of severe cases.
Uncle Cosmo
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Pulse oximeters use light transmission through the skin to assess oxygen levels. One conjectures that the higher melanin content in AA skin affects the readings. I wonder if just turning the finger sensor around so that it reads through the pad of the finger (where melanin levels are typically much lower) would yield more accurate readings. (Disclaimer: I’ve never actually used one of these so what do I know. To quote Beau of the Fifth Column, It’s just a thought, have a good day.)
bluefoot
I’ve been reading the Biden-Harris COVID response plan, and one of the things that stuck out for me was there’s actually a section about privacy. It states explicitly that people’s information used for testing and vaccine administration will NOT be shared, not even within government. It calls out ICE and law enforcement services not getting access to the info. So people don’t have to worry about ICE hanging around vaccine centers or test sites. Someone in Biden’s administration was thinking this through. I hope this helps with vaccine uptake, and I hope it signals a greater commitment to data privacy in general by the federal government.
frosty
@raven: I see in the tweets that Germany and France are recommending N95 equivalents, one official in France is against it, CDC says fabric is OK for under 60s… I recall you had some frustration about this. I do too.
I see the guidance to get an FDA-approved KN95. Have any of you looked at their website? It’s a huge list of manufacturers. Naturally, mfrs names aren’t listed on the box in the store. It’s useless.
If I’m wrong, enlighten me and tell me what to buy plz!
frosty
@Dan B: What oximeter should we get? Reviews a few months ago weren’t helpful. My doc couldn’t help and I gave up.
The Pale Scot
@Amir Khalid:
MisterMix I think had an article last week where he or someone else pointed toward Bonafide Masks.com. I bought some Kn95s and N95s. They appear legit. The manufacturer is on the Feds list of approved makers.
The n95 are a little over 5 bucks, the k95 around one.
I’m self isolating with my elderly father, who spends a lot of time researching why the VA isn’t vaccinating him. And then the AC guy come to the door to do maintenance and asks “do you want me to wear a mask? No, dad says. 12 months of self isolation down the drain.” SMH
J R in WV
Was reading the twitter post about post-vaccination symptoms. Evidently the software used to accumulate the data relies upon texting people to get them to enter their symptoms. This means people without cell service are not part of the group responding. Old people, rural people, people who live in a cove or are otherwise blocked from cell service, or just don’t have cell service, too expensive, hermit, etc.
No one thinks anymore about people who don’t have cell service. Wife and I both have cell phones, but no cell service at our home. My cell phone lives in the front of the car, I never bring it into the house. It isn’t turned on until I need to use it. I never check for messages, why would I?
In Arizona we are too far from the cell towers to have reliable service. It works, sometimes, but have to wander around the bench waving my phone in the air looking for 3 bars. Line of sight is good, but distance is miles to the nearest cell. I still turn the phone off when I’m not actually trying to use it…
When I tell people I don’t have any cell service at home, I can tell that people not from here usually don’t really believe me. People who live in town, or in flat places.
Jay
@Dan B:
been rocking a pulse oximeter since February, am, pm.
Jay
BTW, the pulse oxy, is why I called for an ambulance from quarantine , and got fast tracked to the ICU. I would probably be dead with out it.
Jay
@J R in WV:
at the place, we set up a Yagi antenna and a cell repeater. Got us 3 bars in a place with no cell service.
Another Scott
@frosty: I recently bought a box of 20 ea 3M 8210 N95 masks on eBay for $50. 2025 expiration date. Sealed, appears genuine.
Lowe’s has something similar on their web page for $20, but cannot be bought online (I haven’t checked our local store inventory, but I suspect they’re out of stock).
Hope this helps a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
@frosty:
I used Amazon, clicking on the Balloon Juice link. Then I looked up oximeters, and checked out the reviews posted by purchasers o Amazon.
Have had one since wife suffered lung damage from necrotic pneumonia, had third lobe of her left lung damaged by necrosis, surgeon cleaned it up, used antiseptic, had never seen it before but whatever he did worked.
They are not expensive, one could buy a couple and compare results of the two if you were worried.
hotshoe
Thanks, Anne Laurie!
Showed my mom all this — today seems like there’s enough good news about US govt action that it was okay to share this with her without raising the distress level.
Our previous vaccination appointments were cancelled without explanation (I figure because of supply problems originating with Trump’s lies about the “stockpile”), and now scheduled for tomorrow. Wish us luck!
frosty
@Another Scott: That helps, yes. The 8210 was on the FDA page. I’ll check Lowe’s out.