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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, June 17-18

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, June 17-18

by Anne Laurie|  June 18, 20216:28 am| 19 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

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Giant Buddhist statue in Japan given Covid makeover ?https://t.co/VYruPRMaLZ pic.twitter.com/0WGxRzjXQJ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 17, 2021


Biggest US vaccination day in ~ 4weeks ??
2 million with >800,000 newbies
We needed this.#BlockDelta pic.twitter.com/xx4TDJzgWw

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 17, 2021

A push is underway on Capitol Hill for an investigation of the coronavirus outbreak by a national commission like the one that looked into 9/11. The proposal comes amid questions over the origin of the virus that has killed more than 600,000 Americans. https://t.co/IQYh7AeG8P

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2021

The U.S. will invest $3.2 billion to develop antiviral pills for Covid-19, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday. Such a treatment could prevent hospitalization and potentially save lives as the virus becomes a perennial threat. https://t.co/KPEYZaEERm

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 17, 2021

The pills are in development and could begin arriving by year's end, pending the completion of clinical trials. The White House is scheduled to hold a briefing on its COVID-19 plans with Dr. Anthony Fauci. https://t.co/lpi1ddxhiD

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2021

======

COVID-19 has killed more than 4 million people globally, a grim milestone in a health crisis still ravaging countries like Brazil and India https://t.co/pvTNgPwRuo pic.twitter.com/7OEcM84nmA

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

Are Asia's Covid "winners" entering shaky new territory? https://t.co/X1MyCdb6Sw

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 18, 2021

India reports 62,480 new COVID-19 cases https://t.co/Q4KSp2na3v pic.twitter.com/288WbM1ovc

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

EXPLAINER: India reverses a complex system of buying vaccines that worsened inequities in accessing vaccines. https://t.co/hTwK0umqmD

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 18, 2021

Gurkha soldiers recruited into British Army from Nepal are now fighting for Covid carehttps://t.co/Ei5AH3raEB pic.twitter.com/nsRqDk6Ojp

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 18, 2021

Japan Inc joins COVID-19 vaccination push as Olympics loom https://t.co/T7fpbOkdMe pic.twitter.com/TCHFMDyCWo

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

Alarming Covid surge cools Russia’s football fever https://t.co/0B3QhBztQG

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 18, 2021

#BREAKING Moscow reported its highest-ever number of new coronavirus infections Friday, as the city’s health authorities warned “new, aggressive mutations” of the virus were spreading at an alarming pace https://t.co/1SinXNt8x5

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 18, 2021

Moscow has introduced new coronavirus restrictions in an attempt to stop a surge in infections that officials say is driven by new variants and sluggish vaccination rates, according to a decree signed by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin Friday. https://t.co/xh4UXWcoSk

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 18, 2021

New: "Doctors are panicking … but people don’t want to get vaccinated"

Yesterday, Russia announced the world's first compulsory mass vaccination plan as cases surge and conspiracy theories multiply. But will it be enough? w/ @PjotrSauer @JakeCordell https://t.co/pOMZng3cxu

— Felix Light (@felix_light) June 17, 2021

Unless Russia relaxes its rules around foreign citizens receiving free vaccines, entrepreneurs doubt Moscow's mandatory inoculation campaign will be a successhttps://t.co/dUhdDXwEkY

— Jake Cordell (@JakeCordell) June 17, 2021

Israel says it will transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year. https://t.co/AgUythj5nV

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 18, 2021

The U.K. has recorded more than 10,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time in nearly four months. Government scientists think the uptick is from the delta variant, which they say is more transmissible than the previous dominant strain. https://t.co/8lJ1bnkIfc

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2021

The health service in England will open up COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone aged over 18, a big step towards the government’s target of giving every adult who wants a vaccine a first shot in the next month https://t.co/o8sZJVArcY

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

Delta variant of coronavirus seen dominant in Germany by autumn https://t.co/jW1GcQuhRi pic.twitter.com/ZOgcqcmPqX

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

Australia’s New South Wales reverted to making the wearing of masks mandatory on public transport in Sydney, as a cluster of the highly-infectious COVID-19 Delta variant expanded to a fourth person https://t.co/8zYRlYR61V

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

The African population of 1.3 billion has received <0.6% of the world's #COVID19 #vaccine doses. The African Union has a $2B fund for purchase of vax, but nobody will sell to them because Europe & US & Canada have contracted for the entire global supply.
MORE pic.twitter.com/yrk814oYYF

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) June 17, 2021

3/…#COVID19 recovery, but promised Africa only $27/person. One top African officials said today to us, "Rich countries are hording vaccines & hording cheap cash. This is not global order, it is hording."
No justice.
No equity.
No survival? pic.twitter.com/rdZc1Ucmku

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) June 17, 2021

The ongoing, sustained tragedy in South America, with multiple countries among highest in covid fatalities, popluation-adjusted pic.twitter.com/7BVDEm8ctR

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 17, 2021

Brazil registers 74,042 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, 2,311 deaths https://t.co/qEnx5s5OdS pic.twitter.com/EB9jbKL2xP

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

US donating 1.35 million doses of J&J vaccines to Mexico
Per US State Dept

— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) June 18, 2021

U.S. says delivered one million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Canada on Thursday https://t.co/sMlkVWxsLh pic.twitter.com/5vXFBYB4vV

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 18, 2021

======

Novavax could become the "universal booster" in the worldwide vaccination cvampaign to keep Covid at bay https://t.co/sN0zBsP0gF pic.twitter.com/bufLnIQ42i

— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) June 16, 2021

Opinion: Why we need to vaccinate young children, too https://t.co/muDLChGLy8

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 16, 2021

Many post-Covid patients are experiencing new medical problems, according to a study. An analysis of health insurance records of ~2M coronavirus patients found new issues in nearly 1/4 — including those whose infection was mild or asymptomatic https://t.co/FFhf8Iy7of

— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) June 16, 2021

Black fungus: In Oman, #Covid patients are being stricken with a potentially fatal fungal infection—mucormycosis—the 1st cases in the Arabian Peninsula. Black fungus was 1st detected as a comorbidity in India, plaguing susceptible Covid patients https://t.co/lxe1NLKKeI

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) June 17, 2021

======

“The Black church is going to have to be that link between faith and science.” Members of Black communities across the U.S. have disproportionately fallen sick or died from the virus. Some church leaders are using their influence to fight back. https://t.co/TxRiNm7oKE

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2021

Prepare the vaccine crop-dusters. https://t.co/GmbNBUhtHX

— Mig Greengard (@chessninja) June 17, 2021

I know 600,000 families who’d disagree pic.twitter.com/Sk65kbDJsQ

— Emily Brandwin (@CIAspygirl) June 17, 2021

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Reader Interactions

19Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    June 18, 2021 at 6:36 am

    Don’t have a specifically targeted link but the Department of Health of Hawaii and has included data multiple times in their releases that the vaccination rate among those 65 and up is over 90%.

  2. 2.

    YY_Sima Qian

    June 18, 2021 at 6:45 am

    On 6/17 China reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Guangdong Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case.

    • Guangzhou did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 sub-district was re-designated from High Risk to Low Risk & 2 sub-districts were re-designated from Medium Risk to Low Risk.  1 sub-district remains at High Risk, 3 sub-districts & 6 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
    • Zhanjiang did not report any new domestic positive case. 1 residential compound remains Medium Risk.
    • Foshan report 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact who had gone through 14 days of centralized quarantine, but was identified during testing while under home quarantine. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.
    • Shenzhen did not reported any new domestic confirmed cases.

    Zhejiang Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 3 domestic asymptomatic cases at Wenzhou.

    Liaoning Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There are 2 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases at Yingkou.

    In Yunnan Province, there currently is 1 domestic confirmed case remaining at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture.

    Imported Cases

    On 6/17, China reported 22 new imported confirmed cases, 25 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from South Africa & 1 each from the DRC & Indonesia; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from South Africa
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Japan; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Australia
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 each coming from Ghana & Cambodia; 2 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Cambodia; all cases off flights that landed at Guangzhou
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Mainland Chinese & 2 Taiwanese residents coming from Taiwan; 2 asymptomatic cases, a Chinese national returning from the UK (via Amsterdam Schiphol) & a Taiwanese resident coming from Taiwan
    • Zhangzhou in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Taiwanese resident coming from Taiwan
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the US
    • Shanghai Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Russia, Guinea (via Paris CdG) & the DRC (via Addis Ababa); 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 3 confirmed cases (all previously asymptomatic); 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 from Indonesia & 1 from Egypt
    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar via land border crossing
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from France
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 6 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Cambodia
    • Xi’an in Shanxi Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Pakistan & Uzbekistan, off flights diverted from Beijing
    • Shenyang in Liaoning Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Bijie in Guizhou Province – 1 asymptomatic case, the case landed at Guangzhou on 5/31, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 6/15 the case took high speed rail to Guiyang & was transferred to Bijie & re-entered centralized quarantine, testing positive on 6/17
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released 

    Overall in China, 13 confirmed cases recovered, 11 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 5 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 1,114 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 501 active confirmed cases in the country (353 imported), 18 in serious condition (5 imported), 436 asymptomatic cases (415 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 15,451 traced contacts are currently  under quarantine.

    As of 6/17, 966.652M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 21.502M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 6/18, Hong Kong did not report any new positive cases.

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    June 18, 2021 at 6:58 am

    Monroe County, NY stats:

    Vaccinations in Monroe County:

    59% with at least 1 jab
    54.4% totally vaccinated

    New COVID cases:

    24 new cases – 6 are children under 19. The age range for cases is pretty spread out. This isn’t good if we’re heading back up again.

    .7% test positivity

    Deaths at 1320.

  4. 4.

    Cameron

    June 18, 2021 at 7:06 am

    I think it’s going to get real ugly real fast in Florida.  The governor is desperate to show to the nation’s wingnuts that he’s the new, improved Trump.  One of the results of that is that Florida apparently has more of the COVID variants running around than anywhere else in the US.  DeSantis is almost certainly going to do something very, very stupid for the 4th of July.

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    June 18, 2021 at 7:37 am

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Heath Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 6,440 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 685,204 cases. He also reports 74 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 4,276 deaths — 0.62% of the cumulative reported total, 0.69% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 65,602 active and contagious cases; 894 are in ICU, 451 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 6,861 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 615,326 patients recovered – 89.80% of the cumulative reported total.

    23 new clusters were reported today. Of the cumulative total of 2,580 clusters, 810 are still active while 1,770 are now inactive.

    6,435 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 2,095 cases: 134 in clusters, 1,198 close-contact screenings, and 763 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 870 cases: 189 in clusters, 377 close-contact screenings, and 304 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 811 local cases: 341 in clusters, 289 close-contact screenings, and 181 other screenings.

    Johor reports 592 cases: 329 in clusters, 148 close-contact screenings, and 115 other screenings.

    Sarawak reports 536 cases: 40 in clusters, 421 close-contact screenings, and 75 other screenings.

    Perak reports 357 cases: 276 in clusters, 70 close-contact screenings, and 11 other screenings.

    Melaka reports 223 cases: 114 in clusters, 76 close-contact screenings, and 33 other screenings. Kelantan reports 200 cases: 22 in clusters, 148 close-contact screenings, and 30 other screenings.

    Sabah reports 199 cases: 61 in clusters, 91 close-contact screenings, and 47 other screenings. Kedah reports 159 cases: 53 in clusters, 74 close-contact screenings, and 32 other screenings. Labuan reports 152 cases: 17 in clusters, 78 close-contact screenings, and 57 other screenings. Penang reports 122 cases: 71 in clusters, 26 close-contact screenings, and 25 other screenings.

    Pahang reports 79 cases: 26 in clusters, 48 close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Terengganu reports 32 cases: two in clusters, 20 close-contact screenings, and 10 other screenings. Putrajaya reports six cases: one close-contact screening and five other screenings. Perlis reports two cases, both close-contact screenings.

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

  6. 6.

    Robert Sneddon

    June 18, 2021 at 7:52 am

    Scotland — Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister has confirmed that a further 950 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and no new deaths. The test positivity rate is 3.5% of tests carried out yesterday. There are 128 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, 12 fewer than yesterday. Twelve people are in intensive care, unchanged from the previous figure. Yesterday’s new case numbers were well over 1100, this may have been a reporting problem and data catchup or just a statistical anomaly. The number of Delta variant cases has soared over the past week, not unexpectedly and Public Health England is reporting that the Delta variant makes up 97% of new cases tested.

    The boffins at Covid HQ are predicting the numbers of cases will continue to increase and peak at the end of July before falling away again, according to their modelling which has been tweaked to factor in the increased infectiousness of the Delta variant. This presupposes no sudden outbreak of an even more virulent new variant, of course.

    About 40,000 vaccinations were administered in Scotland yesterday, split roughly 50:50 for first and second doses. We’re now comfortably over 80% first-doses administered to all 18+ adults and with over 97% of all 60+ adults being fully vaccinated.

    The lower bound for vaccinations being carried out at the moment in Scotland is now set at 30-year-olds. This is in contrast to England which has now opened up vaccinations to everyone 18+. Saying that 33% of 18-29 year olds in Scotland have already been vaccinated due to special circumstances such as chronic illness, acting as carers to older people, healthcare workers etc. and Public Health Scotland is starting to send out vaccination appointments for the general 18-29 age group. The intention is to offer a first vaccination to every adult in Scotland by the middle of next month, roughly in line with the rest of the UK.

    More and more evidence is accumulating that even if the current vaccines aren’t as effective against the Delta variant, vaccination does reduce the seriousness of any infection that takes hold resulting in fewer hospitalisations and deaths. Booster shots, new versions of the current vaccines and possible antiviral drugs may be needed to finally knock this disease on the head.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 18, 2021 at 8:17 am

    @Cameron:

    DeSantis is almost certainly going to do something very, very stupid for the 4th of July. 

    Fixed.

  8. 8.

    Ken

    June 18, 2021 at 9:07 am

    @Cameron: DeSantis is almost certainly going to do something very, very stupid for the 4th of July.

    Why is this day not like every other day?

    It does suggest a contest. What is the stupidest thing that might be done in a pandemic?  No points for things that have really been done, like having spring break or a giant motorcycle rally.  I’ll toss in “kissing booths” just to get started.

  9. 9.

    Sloane Ranger

    June 18, 2021 at 9:28 am

    Thursday in the entire UK. As AL and Robert Sneddon note, we broke the 5 figure barrier yesterday with 11,007 new cases being reported. This is an increase of 33.7% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 9371 (up 1729)

    Northern Ireland – 179 (up 36)

    Scotland – 1317 (up 188, but see more recent update from Robert Sneddon)

    Wales – 140 (down 1).

    Deaths – There were 19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase in the rolling 7-day average of 41.8%. 15 of the deaths were in England and 4 in Scotland.

    Testing – On Wednesday, 16 June, 1,101,741 tests were conducted. This is an increase of 2.1% in the rolling 7-day average. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on this date was 579,128.

    Hospitalisations – There were 1227 people in hospital on Tuesday 15 June and 208 on ventilators on Wednesday, 16th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions as of 13 June had risen by 43%.

    Vaccinations – As of 16 June, 42,216,654 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 30,675,207 had had both. In percentage terms this means that 80.1% of all adults in the UK have had 1 shot and 58.2% were fully vaccinated.

    General – As noted, England is opening up vaccinations to the 18+ age group, who appear to be driving the current surge. Evidence currently available suggests that, while none of the vaccines are as effective against the Delta variant as they were against the previous ones, they are all still pretty effective in reducing instances of serious illness and death among the fully vaccinated.

  10. 10.

    MontyTheClipArtMongoose

    June 18, 2021 at 10:03 am

    @Cameron: if one man can confront a multitude of rona variants & come out the other side, it’s florida man, in his battle regalia of muscle shirt, cutoff jeans, & one left flipflop on his right foot, his body turbocharged with spice.

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    June 18, 2021 at 10:20 am

    So “capitol hill” cares about the origin of the coronavirus but does not care about the origins of the attack on our capitol, which is even in their fucking name.

  12. 12.

    Cameron

    June 18, 2021 at 10:34 am

    @MontyTheClipArtMongoose: If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs, you need more meth.

  13. 13.

    Cameron

    June 18, 2021 at 10:38 am

    @Ken: The 4th is America’s holy day.  Stupidity has no bounds, so I have no idea what he’ll do.  But it won’t include masks or social distancing.  Who among us Olds living in Florida would not willingly sacrifice ourselves so that DeCovid can run for President in ’24? (Actually I’m kind of a spoilsport, since I’ve been vaccinated.)

  14. 14.

    MontyTheClipArtMongoose

    June 18, 2021 at 10:45 am

    @Cameron: this comment has inspired florida man to add beheadings to his toolbox.

  15. 15.

    Cameron

    June 18, 2021 at 11:09 am

    ….and just something to go with the beer and BBQ down this way:

    https://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2021-06-18/fast-spreading-covid-19-delta-variant-reported-in-florida

  16. 16.

    Cermet

    June 18, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    Thanks again for these posts – this one was rather extensive and very informative/good.

    The Delta variant might make Florida and much of the South surge in cases and deaths by late next month.

    He’s to hoping they get the vaccine certified for 6 – 12 year old’s by start of the new school year. This covid might do far more damage to the body then the Med community really knows in children – is it intentional ignorance (like don’t open that door, its scary in there) or are studies just too difficult?

  17. 17.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    June 18, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    @Robert Sneddon: ​

    More and more evidence is accumulating that even if the current vaccines aren’t as effective against the Delta variant, vaccination does reduce the seriousness of any infection that takes hold resulting in fewer hospitalisations and deaths.

    The numbers I’m seeing suggest that the mRNA vaccines are still pretty damn effective against the Delta variant after the second shot – something like an 86%-90% efficacy rate (which translates to being 13 to 19 times more effective than not being vaccinated). The data I’ve seen is for pretty small groups, so the reliability may not be great, but I’m seeing the same ratios across different data samples – so it’s surprisingly consistent. And that’s a good sign.

    But the efficacy rates after only one shot are weak: more in the 33%-50% range (which is still 2-3 times more effective than not being vaccinated at all).

    ——————–

    Here’s a quick rundown on how efficacy rates are calculated (for those who don’t already know) to help explain those numbers.

    To simplify things, assume equal sized test groups – one vaccinated, one not vaccinated – and that we’re measuring efficacy against death.

    100 people die. 75 were in the unvaccinated group, 25 in the vaccinated group.

    Efficacy is measured by the percentage difference between the two groups, so 75% dead in the unvaccinated group MINUS 25% dead in the vaccinated group EQUALS a 50% efficacy rate. That translates to the vaccine being 3 times more effective at preventing death than not being vaccinated (75 to 25 = 3 to 1).

    A 90% efficacy rate means the unvaccinated versus vaccinated groups were 95/5, i.e., being vaccinated is 19 times more protective against death than not being vaccinated.

    A 96% efficacy (like Pfizer against original Covid-19) means an unvaccinated to vaccinated death rate of 98/2, i.e., being vaccinated means you are 1/49th as likely to get sick & die, as someone who isn’t vaccinated.

    It’s not intuitive, which is why I’m taking the time to explain it. Intuitively, when you hear 50% efficacy you think 2 to 1, not 3 to 1; when you hear 90% efficacy, you think 9 to 1, not 19 to 1. Hopefully, this explainer helps you understand (if you didn’t already) why the latter answer is correct in each of those cases instead of the more “intuitive” first assumption – and why a 50% efficacy rate, while not great, is a significantly better ratio (3 to 1) than most mathematically disinclined people would first assume. And why an 80%-90% efficacy rate is really pretty damn good, again better than you’d first think.

  18. 18.

    Cermet

    June 18, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    @Lacuna Synecdoche: Your numbers for avoiding death appear far too high; those numbers are more in line for what I’ve seen for people vaccinated avoiding getting serious illness (but not hospitalized.) Two dose of the mRNA is more like 99.999% effective at preventing death from what the CDC claims.

  19. 19.

    Chris T.

    June 18, 2021 at 8:42 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: DeSantis is evil, not stupid. (I’m not saying he’s smart, mind you, just that he’s not as dumb as he pretends to be for the rubes.)

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