Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

No one could have predicted…

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

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

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

T R E 4 5 O N

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

“But what about the lurkers?”

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, March 5-6

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, March 5-6

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U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Saturday the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a quicker reduction in infectious virus in its phase 2a study among participants with early COVID-19…

The antiviral is being currently tested in a Phase 2/3 trial that is set to be completed in May.

Merck decided to focus on therapeutics after its two COVID-19 vaccines failed to generate desired immune responses, prompting it to abandon the program in January.

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“Free Beacon firearms-policy reporter. Christian. Gun-safety instructor”:

I can understand Mayor Duggan’s objections — he doesn’t want his voters to be stuck with ‘second best, but plenty good enough for Those People’ vaccines. Whether he’s chosen the best method of negotiation here is open to debate, though:

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  1. 1.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,680 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 311,777 cases. He also reports seven new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,166 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.40% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 21,159 active and contagious cases; 172 are in ICU, 84 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 2,548 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 289,452 patients recovered – 92.8% of the cumulative reported total.

    Four new clusters were reported today: Lagoon Selatan in Selangor, Jalan Firma Dua in Johor, Jalan Haji Malek in Melaka, and Bukit Tunggal in Sarawak.

    Bukit Tunggal is a community cluster. The rest are all workplace clusters.

    1,677 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 826 cases: 235 in older clusters, three in Lagoon Selatan cluster, 499 close-contact screenings, and 89 other screenings. Sarawak reports 221 cases: 44 in older clusters, 10 in Bukit Tunggal cluster, 122 close-contact screenings, and 45 other screenings.

    Johor reports 139 cases: 48 in older clusters, 27 in Jalan Firma Dua cluster, 38 close-contact screenings, and 26 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports 89 cases: 58 in existing clusters, 23 close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Penang reports 84 cases: 17 in existing clusters, 30 close-contact screenings, and 37 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 78 local cases: 16 in existing clusters, 36 close-contact screenings, and 26 other screenings. Sabah reports 74 cases: 10 in existing clusters, 53 close-contact screenings, and 11 other screenings. Perak reports 68 cases: 58 in existing clusters, one close-contact screening, and nine other screenings. Kelantan reports 35 cases: 14 in existing clusters, 17 close-contact screenings, and four other screenings. Terengganu reports 22 cases: five in existing clusters, and 17 close-contact screenings.

    Pahang reports 17 cases: 10 in existing clusters, three close-contact screenings, and four other screenings. Kedah reports 11 cases: four in existing clusters, three close-contact screenings, and four other screenings. Melaka reports 10 cases: one in an older cluster, one in Jalan Haji Malek cluster, and eight other screenings. Putrajaya reports two cases: one close-contact screening, and one other screening. And Labuan reports one case, found in other screening.

    Perlis reports no new cases today.

    Three new cases today are imported, all in Kuala Lumpur.

    The deaths reported today are a 59-year-old woman in Sarawak with hypertension and dyslipidaemia; an 84-year-old woman in Sabah with hypertension and gout; a 43-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, dyslipidaemia, and gout; a 46-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease; a 53-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, heart disease, and obesity; a 73-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidaemia, and stroke; and a 74-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes.

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    Analysis: With the pandemic far from over, Texas leaders blame immigrants for spreading the virus

    1. Look at your assclown governor.

    2. If you secede now, none of us American immigrants will visit your shithole country spreading the virus.

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY yesterday:

    New cases = 150. Reported deaths at 1159.
    Positivity at 1.6%
    181 cases in the hospital, 53 in the ICU
    40% hospital beds available, 35% ICU beds available.

    We’re going back up again. Sigh…

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    I have been poo-pooed  for my feelings about J and J. But, here we go, sending it to Black people.???

     

    Uh  huh

    Uh huh ??

  8. 8.

    NeenerNeener

    I called to reschedule my early May mammogram yesterday, since I made the appointment before I got the April appointment for my first jab. They said as long as I told them why my lymph nodes were swollen they would take that into account when they read the results.

  9. 9.

    raven

    They had a few extra appointments for shots this morning and my 63 year old bride was on the wait list and gets hit up today!!

  10. 10.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 3/5 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Imported Cases

    On 3/5 China reported 10 new imported confirmed cases, 23 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Tianjin Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, a Chinese & a Polish nationals returning from Poland, and. Lithuanian national coming from Lithuania (via Warsaw); 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from France and 1 from Poland
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 2 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Uzbekistan, off a flight diverted from Beijing
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Japan & Cambodia; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Bangladesh & the Maldives (via Colombo)
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Cambodia
    • Qingyuan in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning Niger (via Istanbul), off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning Saudi Arabia, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Shanghai Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Israel
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 confirmed (previously asymptomatic) & 4 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Algeria
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 5 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar (at land border crossing)
    • Chongqing Municipality – 2 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Nepal
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the US
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Egypt

     

    Overall in China, 15 confirmed cases recovered, 21 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 1 was reclassified as confirmed case, and 435 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 173 active confirmed cases in the country (163 imported), 1 in critical/serious condition (imported), 256 asymptomatic cases (254 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 4,451 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    On 3/6 Hong Kong reported 8 new cases, 4 imported & 4 domestic (2 of whom do not yet have source of infection identified).

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    What on earth is Mike Duggan thinking? Of course vaccines will vary in effectiveness by a few percentage points in the trials. But what’s important, as Dr Fauci noted, is that the approved ones will all work; you will be sufficiently protected no matter which one you get. So take whichever one you are offered. Holding out for the “best” vaccine doesn’t really help you.​

  12. 12.

    Cameron

    Making the trek to downtown Bradenton later this a.m. for first jab.  Never thought I’d be so enthusiastic for an injection.  Second one already scheduled for the end of the month.  Mask/distance/etc. stay the same until green light from Dr. Fauci.

  16. 16.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Greece: this week’s peak for new cases was 2697 on Wednesday, dropping off slightly but still at 2181 on Friday. Viral load is still reported as high, and of the new cases, 70% are mutations, mostly from the British B117 variant. Attica’s ICUs are at 87% capacity. Lockdown remains tight. Vaccinations are still only available for ages 60-64 for AstraZeneca, 75-and-up for Pfizer and Moderna, and healthcare workers.

  19. 19.

    raven

    @frosty: Yea it was a surprise but she worked at the health department for 25 years so at least she knew HOW to get on the list.

  20. 20.

    Geminid

    @Amir Khalid: At his Covid briefing ten days ago, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said “the best vaccine is the one you get.”

    Northam is a pediatric neurosurgeon by profession, and has done a good job this past year discussing public health issues in terms accessable to the average citizen.

  23. 23.

    Mousebumples

    My husband would rather get the j&j (when it’s his turn, so probably not for another month or two) since it’s only 1 shot.

    Also, additional data has been coming out, showing that the level of efficacy may continue to improve as time goes on. I’ll see if I can find that data, since I’m on my phone and post it in this thread.

  24. 24.

    Platonicspoof

    @Baud:

    I’ll provide a home to anything that the last 300,000 years of humanity would consider a miracle.

  25. 25.

    rikyrah

    My hesitation about J and J does go out the window in Texas and Mississippi, because it’s clear that their Governors are trying to kill people

  27. 27.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    I was listening to something on the BBB overnight in which someone pointed out that the vaccines’ efficacy percentages shouldn’t be compared because (1) J&J was developed and tested later than the others and so was dealing with more resistant/mutated strains and (2) Pfizer and Moderna haven’t been tested on those same resistant/mutated strains.

    FWIW.

  29. 29.

    frosty

    @Baud: I will too. Last time I was in a CVS I asked the pharmacist if they had any unused doses they would have to throw out. He said, very sternly, “We don’t work that way here.”

    OK then. Excuuuuuuse me!

  30. 30.

    Zzyzx

    One thing that is starting to drive me crazy is people saying that we’ve plateaued with cases. A week ago the Worldometers US 7 day average was 71,281. Today it’s 62,158. That’s a 15% reduction from the previous week. It just looks like a plateau because of a constraint.

    Ultimately, cases can never go below zero. So as our base count goes lower, the same percentage drop will be a smaller number making it look worse. OK, it is true that the percentage drop has increased from our peak (around 27%) but that’s largely due to that there just aren’t any more holidays; it’s easier to have a huge drop off when millions of people are doing something really dumb and then stop.

    So yes, the week over week drop off has slowed but that’s not the same thing as plateauing. If this rate continues, we’ll be in the upper 30, low 40k range by April.

  32. 32.

    Zzyzx

    @Zzyzx: 

    Or to put my main point more clearly, when the holiday peak ended, we were losing 40k cases/day after a week. We literally can’t keep doing that, because after 2 weeks we’d be at negative cases. The slowing drop of week over week numbers is largely due to our success.

  33. 33.

    Scout211

    I was happy to hear that with the new deliveries of J&J vaccine, my daughter’s Washington school district will have a district-wide vaccine clinic next weekend for teachers and staff.

    My DIL, a teacher, has had her first shot (California).

    My older grandkids (California) have already had their first dose. We are now vaccinating food service workers here in California. My grandkids  have worked through the entire pandemic for a fast food restaurant.

    Mr. Scout and I have our second Moderna shot on Monday (California).

    Progress. Thank you Mr. President and your very competent team.

  34. 34.

    Jinchi

    @Zzyzx: So as our base count goes lower, the same percentage drop will be a smaller number making it look worse.

    But we aren’t seeing the same percentage drop. The case rate has pretty clearly flattened over the last 3 weeks and at a rate (between 50-65,000 per day) that is significantly higher than the first peak in April, when we were resigning ourselves to a long-haul quarantine. And nearly as high at the second peak last summer.

    If I’d told you in September that we’d be at this level today you’d have justifiably considered it a massive failure. Today’s rate only looks good compared to the massive spike in January and there is no guarantee that we won’t see another surge given the number of people who are ready to go out and party. Celebrate after you and your neighbors get vaccinated. This isn’t over yet.

  35. 35.

    Cameron

    @Zzyzx: The fact that we’re looking at the light at the end of the tunnel is nice, but it’s more important to remember we’re still in the tunnel.

  36. 36.

    Zzyzx

    @Jinchi: but that’s my point. It clearly hasn’t flattened over the last three weeks. On February 12, our one week Worldometer 7 day average was 101,493 cases. Yesterday it was 62,158. Those are not at all the same thing.

    I go by the numbers. I was worried this week over if last week’s plateau was a snow/ice storm illusion (causing a much larger drop the week before that couldn’t be matched when things got back to normal) or a bad sign. And then we shed close to 10k cases a day over the last week.

    At some point we will level off but we haven’t gotten there yet.

  38. 38.

    Gvg

    @Zzyzx: No. we could keep losing numbers week after week until we had zero. We have plateaued and some places are rising again. Lifting restrictions is going to cause more deaths. Again.
    Trying to make more people see this is also fighting for lives to be saved by behavior. Pointing out trends before things get even worse in necessary.

  40. 40.

    Zzyzx

    @Gvg: how is a 15% reduction in cases plateauing?

    There’s a difference between “we’re moving in the right direction but we still have to be smart for a while because we’re not there yet,” and “we’ve stalled out and numbers aren’t getting lower.”

    I believe in being honest especially when the numbers are right there for everyone to see.

  41. 41.

    Zzyzx

    @Cameron: I guess my fear is a boy that cried wolf thing. If Fauci is saying things that are easily disproven, it’ll give the Q morons more of an excuse to claim that the concerns are overstated.

  42. 42.

    Cameron

    @Zzyzx: If we can make it through Easter/Spring Break without a spike, I will definitely make an attitude adjustment.  But, yes, we are on the right track.

  43. 43.

    Zzyzx

    @Cameron: I think there might be a small one but at least Easter isn’t nearly the big deal that Thanksgiving/Christmas is.

    While looking up hospitalization numbers, I did discover that the CDC has slightly different numbers than Worldometers and they show the temporary plateau happening this week instead of last for some reason so now I see Fauci’s concern a bit better. Maybe they have more of a delay?

  45. 45.

    Philbert

    Got my Pfizer #2 on Thursday, only a little lightheaded yesterday but that might have been elation!

  46. 46.

    The Moar You Know

    I can understand Mayor Duggan’s objections — he doesn’t want his voters to be stuck with ‘second best, but plenty good enough for Those People’ vaccines.

    I can’t and fuck him.  I’d take the J&J RIGHT NOW, as it looks like at best my age band in CA isn’t going to open up until at least the end of the month.  That’s a goddamn outrage.

    It is NOT a “second best” vaccine.  Everyone who got it trials – not one person died.  Not one person went into ICU.  If this was the only thing on offer people would be fighting over it.

  47. 47.

    Jinchi

    @Zzyzx: how is a 15% reduction in cases plateauing?

    Where are you getting this number from? Caseloads were declining steadily from the peak at the start of January. It stopped declining a couple of weeks ago. We shouldn’t have to wait until caseloads rise again before we point out the obvious.

  48. 48.

    Zzyzx

    @Jinchi: I’ve been using worldometers consistently for the last year. They seem to be a trusted source.

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

    Look at the seven day average and see how it has changed over the last week. Now the week before did scare me and I was open about that too.

    7 day average is important because the numbers are always lowest Sunday through Tuesday and then rise throughout the work week due to testing/reporting differences around the weekend.

  49. 49.

    Sloane Ranger

    Yesterday in the UK we had 5947 people testing positive. This is a decrease of about 600 from the day before and a reduction of 34.8% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 5053 (down @600)

    Northern Ireland – 166 (up 3)

    Scotland – 498 (down 2)

    Wales – 230 (down 37).

    Deaths – There were 236 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 32.9% in the rolling 7-day average. New deaths by nation, England – 211, Northern Ireland – 2, Scotland – 11 and Wales – 12. During the week ending Friday, 19th February, 4447 deaths had COVID mentioned as a cause of death on the Death Certificate.

    Testing – On Thursday, 4 March 992,812 tests were conducted out of a capacity of 754,126. This is an increase in the rolling 7-day average of 12.2%. Given this is the 2nd day in a row that the number of tests conducted has exceeded the capacity I have looked into this a bit more and the capacity refers to the estimated testing capacity reported by the Labs.

    Hospitalisations – As of Wednesday, 3rd March, 11,492 people were in hospital with COVID and 1590 were on ventilators on Thursday, 4th March. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is down by 28.8%.

    Vaccinations – As of 4 March, a total of 21,358,815 people had received their 1st dose of a vaccine and 1,034,068 had received both doses.

  51. 51.

    Zzyzx

    @Jinchi:

     

    or to save you the click:

    Worldometers –

    3/5 – 62,158
    2/26 – 71,281
    2/19 – 72,760
    2/12 – 101, 493

    So the story there is that there was a decline made more dramatic by less testing during the storm, a one week catch up as testing increased again, and then a continued drop.

     

    I tried to do the same thing with the CDC data which is slightly different but their UI bites and it’s difficult to keep the mouse in the right spot to give me the 7 day averages.

  52. 52.

    Freemark

    @rikyrah: ​
      Understand the feeling even though it isn’t based on reality. I looked at the numbers from the tests. The J&J is more effective than the Mod/Phi in the early weeks and is probably just as effective 6 weeks out after Mod/Phi second dose. The J&J was tested under harsher conditions which would easily explain the small differences in phase 3 testing numbers. It also prevents

    From StatNews:

    Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines were tested before the emergence of troubling new variants in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil. It’s not entirely clear how well they will work against these mutated viruses.
    The J&J vaccine was still being tested when the variants were making the rounds

    By the way. Most teachers in PA are getting the J&J vaccine.

  53. 53.

    debbie

    @Freemark:

    I also believe I’ve read that boosters are being worked on for all of the vaccines to add immunity against the more recent variants.

  54. 54.

    J R in WV

    “Free Beacon firearms-policy reporter. Christian. Gun-safety instructor”:

    What does this mean, or refer to? It seems completely unrelated to Covid or health care, like a strange entry on a dating site!

  55. 55.

    Barbara

    @Freemark: Anybody who doesn’t want the J&J vaccine can give it to me. The mayor probably has zero background in evaluating the data, but even people who do recognize the limitations of the trial data in comparing alternative vaccines. They are also seriously underestimating the advantages of a single shot in quickly ramping up the rate of inoculations. He’s being an idiot.

  56. 56.

    JaneE

    I am scheduled and will get what I get, probably Moderna based on what they were getting before.  J&J still keeps people out of hospitals and keeps them from dying, and it is a hell of a lot easer to distribute J&J and vaccinate people once instead of twice.  If you think it is second rate, then consider it a stop-gap to keep you alive until the others become plentiful and easy to get.

    If the people refuse any vaccine, then a year from now they will be primarily the people still getting and dying of Covid-19.  So be it.

  57. 57.

    TomatoQueen

    Virginia is communicating through local health departments as well as the state, which has taken over the registry (except for Fairfax County). The newest feature of the state vacc website is a set of welcome improvements: you can get a unique reference number, you can fine-tune your data, and you can explain and moan in an editable text box. Today all of it has worked nicely, for self and for my young man, and generated email confirmations for both of us. Now we can check the list every day and see nothing nothing a whole lotta nothing and still feel known and appreciated. Thanks, Gov Ralph.

  58. 58.

    Anne Laurie

    @J R in WV: What does this mean, or refer to?

    I“Free Beacon firearms-policy reporter. Christian. Gun-safety instructor” is how the tweeter in question describes himself.  It means I found it interesting that even someone professionally invested in right-wing politics has come to find ‘just a hoax’ an implausible explanation for the pandemic.

    I was wondering if the severity is *finally* becoming apparent, or if now that there’s a possible end-point (herd immunity through vaccination), even the Doubters can urge their fellows to stop quibbling & get real!

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