Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Let there be snark.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, July 25-26

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, July 25-26

by | 39 Comments

This post is in: ,


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Covidiots, International!

In London:

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… The study involved 499 medical workers – 100 receiving mixed doses, 200 taking two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) shot and the remainder getting two AstraZeneca shots.

All showed neutralizing antibodies, which prevent the virus from entering cells and replicating, and the result of the mixed schedule of vaccines showed similar amounts of neutralizing antibodies found from the group that received two Pfizer shots…

The South Korean study also analysed neutralizing activity against major variants of concern, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

None of the groups demonstrated reduced neutralising activity against the Alpha variant, first identified in Britain, but the neutralization titre decreased by 2.5 to 6 fold against Beta, Gamma and Delta, first detected in South Africa, Brazil and India respectively.

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Reader Interactions

39Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY stats:

    NYS Department of Health numbers :

    New COVID cases:

    60 new cases, almost double what we had yesterday.
    We went from 15 cases on the 18th to 60 cases 6 days later.
    3.2% test positivity

    Vaccinations:

    61.4% with at least 1st dose
    58.2% with complete vaccination

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    Yes, but in two weeks, Sturgis will be in full swing.

    Superspreader Suicide II: Super Dumbfucks Boogamassdeath

  3. 3.

    Ian R

    Obviously, J&J would be superior for the dart/blowgun plan. Too hard to the same targets down for second Pfizer dart.

  4. 4.

    Cermet

    So the stupidity burns not just the stupid but the innocent as well yet …freedom. Scary that I share the same world as these imbeciles.  The real cause of all this is the elite 0.001% that was so desperate to get all the carbon out of the ground (i.e make the easy money off it) that they enable corporations to lobby and use media to create a vast class of imbecilic morons that will take us all down. I’d complain more but I know that I too am too greedy to give up my ways relative to AGW … stupid is as stupid does.

  5. 5.

    WereBear

    I vividly remember an Outer Limits episode starring Robert Culp. “The Architects of Fear” is about a scientist who volunteers for excruciating alterations so he can masquerade as an alien invader. The idea is to spark a movement to knit together all humans worldwide against a common foe.

    I’m thinking… it just wouldn’t work.

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    Been sending stuff to an anti-vaccine relative. She is a health nut. She threatened to block me, and I responded that that doesn’t sound like her position is all that strong, when all I am doing is sending information on people like her – anti vaxxers, who are now DEAD. Asked her if their deaths were inconvenient to her posturing. She hasn’t responded yet.

  7. 7.

    Robert Sneddon

    I find myself more and more impressed by the scientists who are studying this disease and its spread. Back in May or so this year the epidemiologists at Imperial College London who have been tracking and modelling this disease predicted a ‘third wave’ of infections July and August, estimating about 50,000 new cases a day here in the UK as the middle of three possibilities (low was 10,000 cases per diem, worst-case was 100,000 cases per diem) . This was at a time when the new case numbers were something like 2000 to 3000 a day and we had COVID-19 on the ropes with vaccinations rolling out post haste. I wondered if they had screwed up somewhere, had they made a mistake, were they being unnecessarily alarmist?
    It turns out in the end they were right and I was only hopeful but self-deluding. Science, bitchezzzz!​

  9. 9.

    JMG

    It’s 12 days until my son’s wedding in NYC. I can’t help thinking its plans will be dramatically altered, not for the better, by mandates from Gov. Cuomo this week or next. Here on the Cape, Provincetown started an indoor mask mandate and limits on business capacities last night.

  12. 12.

    Suzanne

    I have been going to the gym, unmasked. I wear the mask in stores, though. I am wondering if the gym needs to be cut back. I would be really sad about it. Fuck, they ruin everything.

  13. 13.

    Chris Johnson

    The thing about trying to exploit a global pandemic for geopolitical gain (HELLO, Russia’s extensive social media manipulation to produce what we’re seeing) is that it’s fucking stupid.

    They think they’re gonna have enough security guards and money left over that they can rule over a goddamn hellscape. Rich morons that think they’re gonna be Galt’s Gulch, but more violent.

    They are losing. Wear your mask, wash your hands, vote. Right now the intensity of the chaos is because they’re in a bad, bad position and their best weapons are obliterating their own most useful tools.

    We are not as bad off as the troll farms would suggest we are. And they are legion, but bullshit is still bullshit.

  14. 14.

    Chris Johnson

    @JMG: Oh, you mean your son’s wedding is not going to be a superspreader event and nobody will get COVID?

    I’m gonna say that is ‘FOR the better’. Keep your eye on the prize.

  15. 15.

    Ramalama

    I made my first trip to Montreal in more than a year. I live in a small village not far from there. I was pleasantly surprised by the majority of people on the streets and at the Jean Talon market, and elsewhere just strolling outside, wearing masks. They also pulled the masks down to eat or drink something, and then they pulled them back on. Quebec province is filled with rebels, but I guess everyone had had enough with people dying.

    Bonus points, tv and radio news here is still professional like how ‘Merica used to be long ago.

  17. 17.

    Spanky

    Freedom’s just another word for nihilistically sailing through life, knowing it can never happen to you, and screw everyone else.

  18. 18.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 14,516 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,027,954 cases. He also reports a record 204 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 8,201 deaths — 0.80% of the cumulative reported total, 0.95% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 165,840 active and contagious cases; 1,009 are in ICU, 524 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 9,372 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 853,913 patients recovered – 83.07% of the cumulative reported total.

    33 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 3,485 clusters. 1,005 clusters are currently active; 2,480 clusters are now inactive.

    14,513 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 6,507 local cases: 84 in clusters, 2,926 close-contact screenings, and 3,497 other screenings. Johor reports 1,449 cases: 600 in clusters, 602 close-contact screenings, and 247 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,425 cases: 329 in clusters, 521 close-contact screenings, and 575 other screenings. Kedah reports 1,159 local cases: 182 in clusters, 592 close-contact screenings, and 385 other screenings.

    Sabah reports 720 cases: 226 in clusters, 331 close-contact screenings, and 163 other screenings.

    Perak reports 590 cases: 106 in clusters, 157 close-contact screenings, and 327 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports 452 cases: 127 in clusters, 243 close-contact screenings, and 82 other screenings. Penang reports 402 cases: 51 in clusters, 176 close-contact screenings, and 175 other screenings.

    Pahang reports 386 cases: 94 in clusters, 233 close-contact screenings, and 59 other screenings. Melaka reports 373 cases: 116 in clusters, 169 close-contact screenings, and 88 other screenings. Sarawak reports 355 local cases: 31 in clusters, 282 close-contact screenings, and 42 other screenings. Kelantan reports 346 cases: 197 in clusters, 114 close-contact screenings, and 35 other screenings.

    Terengganu reports 245 cases: 32 in clusters, 93 close-contact screenings, and 120 other screenings.

    Putrajaya reports 94 cases: 72 close-contact screenings and 22 other screenings. Labuan reports eight cases: five close-contact screenings and three other screenings. Perlis reports two cases: one close-contact screening and one other screening.

    Three new cases today are imported: one in Selangor, one in Kedah, and one in Sarawak.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 399,135 doses of vaccine on 25th July: 281,481 first doses and 117,654 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 17,317,553 doses administered: 11,797,708 first doses and 5,519,845 second doses. 16.9% of the population are fully vaccinated.

  19. 19.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Large Covid-related protests hit France, Italy & Australia. More than 160,000 demonstrated in Paris, Marseille, Montpellier & more than a dozen other cities

    Can we please stop it with the US is somehow uniquely stupid on COVID. Do recall it was the fraking Italians who spread it around the goddamn world because they would rather fly to third world countries than self isolate for fourteen days.

  20. 20.

    Zzyzx

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Between that, the UK rally, and the fact that India has people with gofundme campaigns to try to help with their medical bills, today is a huge reminder that American problems are less unique than we think they are.

  22. 22.

    Fair Economist

    I’m feeling tentatively hopeful with the case drops in the UK. With extensive vaccination, maybe Delta will be manageable. Still concerned about long term effects of repeated infection, but we won’t know about that for years.

  23. 23.

    Wvng

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: It is somehow not encouraging that Americans are not uniquely stupid in the face of a pandemic, but it does make me feel slightly less bad about my country. Also, looking at the crowd pictures in those various countries, they seem to be filled with the same cohorts.

  24. 24.

    Wvng

    @JMG: We’re going to my niece’s wedding in Colorado in October, or at least that is the plan now. They require all invitees to be vaccinated (and have endured some shit from relatives for that decision) but we have to get to Colorado. Hours on a plane now are sounding less inviting than just a couple of weeks ago. And a news item that a family get together of all vaccinated people turned into a breakthrough superspreader event is also not encouraging.

  25. 25.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Wvng: ​

    They require all invitees to be vaccinated (and have endured some shit from relatives for that decision) but we have to get to Colorado.

    If other relatives are giving them shit about vaccination then you can assume some of them will lie about being vaccinated just to get to the wedding and (probably) stick it to the libs. You might want to consider that when you decide if you want to attend the wedding yourself.

  26. 26.

    Soprano2

    I don’t have much of an update on my mom. A phlebotomist came and tried to draw blood from her; he got one of two vials he said he needed. It’s awful watching them try to draw blood from my mother; the veins of an 87-year-old are so fragile it’s really a hard thing for them to do. The doctor still wasn’t sure what the problem was; either something with her heart, or an infection of some kind. I hope they know more today. I have to call to find out whether she got admitted to the hospital yet. It’s insane here right now; the hospital is like a huge traffic jam, where cars are moving forward very, very slowly. I wish the other “red” states would watch this as a warning and press vaccination more. I heard someone from a Tampa hospital interviewed on NPR this morning; she seemed to think they could handle it pretty easily. Just wait……

    Speaking of Sturgis – in spite of how bad Covid is here right now, they aren’t going to cancel the Ozark Empire Fair. *sigh*…

    As for having sympathy for these unvaccinated assholes, when was the last time anyone had sympathy for drunk drivers?

  27. 27.

    Zzyzx

    So Wednesday is the start of Phish tour. Making it worse, the first shows are in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

    A few months ago, it looked like they could pull this all off without it being much of an issue but Delta came at the worst possible time; this surge is way too late to cancel things. Here’s hoping everyone I know is smart enough to vaccinate.

  28. 28.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 7/25 China reported 40 new domestic confirmed & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 5 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 69 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 1 village at Ruili & 1 village at Longchuan County remain at Medium Risk.

    Jiangsu Province

    • Nanjing reported 38 new domestic confirmed (8 previously asymptomatic, 27 moderate & 11 moderate) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. All new positive cases are workers at the airport or their traced close contacts. There currently are 75 domestic confirmed (41 mild, 32 moderate & 2 serious) & 13 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. Of the 88 infected persons, 77 are at Jiangning District, 6 at Lishui District & 1 each at Xuanwu, Qinghuai, Jianye, Qixia & Gaochun Districts. The outbreak has spread from workers at the airport to surrounding communities, then into rest of Jiangning District, including an college dormitory. 3 areas were elevated to High Risk. 1 village & 3 areas are all currently at High Risk, all in the Lvkou sub-District, where the airport is. There are currently 1 area, 9 residential compounds, 3 residential buildings & 12 villages at Medium Risk.
    • Suqian reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (previously asymptomatic, moderate).

    Anhui Province

    • He County in did not report any new domestic positive cases, there is 1 domestic asymptomatic case there.
    • Wuhu reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a person who had returned from Nanjing. The city has started mass screening of all 1.8M residents.

    Shenyang in Liaoning Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed ( previously asymptomatic) case. There are 2 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases there, all traced to the outbreak in Nanjing. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.

    Guangdong Province

    • Zhongshan in did not report any new domestic positive cases, a person had returned from Nanjing.
    • Zhuhai reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a person who had flown back from Nanjing.

    Sichuan Province

    • Mianyang in did not report any new domestic positive cases. There is currently 1 domestic confirmed case there. 1 factory remains at Medium Risk.
    • Luzhou reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. The case returned from Shanghai on 7/24, did not have travel history in Nanjing. However, genomic analysis indicate that the case is infected with Delta Variant, almost identical in sequence to cases at Nanjing. Strangely, Shanghai authorities has yet to publish the case’s travel history in the city, but the case was taken to the hospital & tested as soon as he landed at Luzhou, jndicAting that he was traced as a F1 or F2 close contact.

    Nanjing has essentially gone under soft lock down. My cousins working in the medical system has shared that each major hospital in the city has been order to send 2 medical team to the Tangshan designated COVID-19 hospital, suggesting that the authorities expect case counts to increase substantially in the coming days & weeks.

    Imported Cases

    On 7/25, China reported 36 new imported confirmed cases, 20 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 18 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar via land border crossing; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Laos, via land border crossing
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 3 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from the UK (via Amsterdam Schiphol), the Philippines & the DRC (via Nairobi); 5 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Egypt, Chad (via Cairo), Qatar (via Muscat), the Philippines & Malaysia 
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province  – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Kenya & Zambia (via Nairobi)
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Iraq & the Ukraine (via Amsterdam Schiphol), off flights that landed at Guangzhou; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the Ukraine (via Amsterdam Schiphol), off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Qingyuan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from the Philippines, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 5 confirmed cases, 3 Taiwanese residents returning from Taiwan, a Chinese national returning from the Netherlands, and an Indian crew member off a cargo ship with last port of call in India
    • Hohhot in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region – 2 confirmed cases, both off a flight diverted from Beijing, no further information released
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 2 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Beijing Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Taiwanese resident coming from Taiwan; 6 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Pakistan
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 asymptomatic case, an Indian crew member off a cargo ship w/ last port of call in India
    • Qingdao in Shandong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Filipino crew member off a cargo ship w/ last port of call In South Korea
    • Sichuan Province (location not specified) – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the UAE; the case had arrived at Guangzhou in Guangdong Province on 7/3, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & had tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 7/17 the case returned to Sichuan & re-entered centralized quarantine, testing positive on 7/25

    Overall in China, 27 confirmed cases recovered, 12 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 13 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 688 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 741 active confirmed cases in the country (592 imported), 17 in serious condition (15 imported), 436 asymptomatic cases (411 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 9,990 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 7/25, 1,550.268M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 11.561M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 7/26, Hong Kong did not report any new positive cases.

  29. 29.

    Soprano2

    @Wvng: And a news item that a family get together of all vaccinated people turned into a breakthrough superspreader event is also not encouraging.

    Have you got a link for that? My Google search only turned up the story about a birthday party in Australia where the only people who didn’t get sick were the 6 who were vaccinated. I am vaccinated, and I wouldn’t worry about doing something like that at all. Wear masks on the plane and at the airport. At this point the only way to make sure you are never exposed to anyone with Covid is to stay in your house all the time.

  30. 30.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported, zero deaths (noting that Register Offices are now generally closed at the weekend). 8.0% test positivity rate. 65 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19, up a few more from the weekend.

    There’s been a problem getting test results over the past few days from one of the major sample testing centres in Tayside, how this has been affecting the totals published recently is unclear.

    About 14,000 vaccinations were carried out on Sunday, way down on previous Sunday numbers. Nearly all of the vaccinations carried out were second-dose. This brings the number of adults in Scotland fully vaccinated to 69.4% and those with at least a first dose to 89.5%. Scotland has more people first-dosed and fewer people second-dosed compared to the rest of the UK but it’s only a percentage point or so each way.

    The areas with the lowest vaccination rates in Scotland remain the cities and urban areas where paradoxically the larger vaccination centres are located and access to vaccination is theoretically easier (distance, public transport etc.). The hesitant uptake of vaccines in the younger population seems to be the key feature since cities are magnets for young people, students and the like.

  31. 31.

    Sloane Ranger

    Sunday in the UK we had 29,173 new cases. This is a DECREASE of 15.4% in the rolling 7-day average, but this is the weekend so there may be reporting delays. New cases by nation,

    England – 25,434 (down 3534)

    Northern Ireland – 1264 (down 256)

    Scotland – 1237 (down 70)

    Wales – 1238 (includes Saturday’s figures).

    Deaths – There were 28 deaths within 28 days of a positive test reported yesterday. This is an increase of 59% in the rolling 7-day average. 26 were in England and 2 in Northern Ireland.

    Testing – Not updated at weekends.

    Hospitalisations – Not updated at weekends.

    Vaccinations – As of 24 July, 46,563,452 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 37,160,659 had had both. This means that 88% of all adults had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 70.3% had had both.

  32. 32.

    Bill Arnold

    Won’t see much conjecturing about it because it’s too depressing:
    The viral loads are very high in people infected with the Delta variant, and population infection rates are and/or will be very high. This substantially boosts the probability (essentially to certainty) that we’ll see one or more Dellta variants that escape most or all of the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Probably via mutation rather than some form of recombination because Delta is so dominant.
    The RW authoritarian Modi government in India is in part responsible (high probability, that is) for the Delta variant, for those right wingers around the world who need somebody to demonize, they can now focus on the BJP.
    Also, stock up on high quality respirators like N95s. They are no longer so pricey, and are a lot cheaper than getting sick with COVID-19 (or COVID-21, or COVID-23 (Michaal Bay movie project[1]))

    [1] https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/10/songbird-director-adam-mason-interview-covid-23-monster-pandemic

  33. 33.

    Heidi Mom

    @WereBear: Well, according to Game of Thrones, given a truly horrifying enemy and sufficiently charismatic leadership, people will band together in order to defeat that enemy, but after having done so will immediately revert to their old squabbling ways.

  34. 34.

    Scout211

    Interesting study from UC Davis in our local news today:

    https://www.kcra.com/article/uc-davis-study-people-becoming-desensitized-covid-19/37124905

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    As cases of COVID-19 increase in California, a new study out of UC Davis says many people have become desensitized to the virus and aren’t as concerned about following public health guidelines.

    The paper, “Desensitization to Fear-Inducting COVID-19 Health News on Twitter: Observational Study,” was recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Infodemiology.

    People in Sacramento told KCRA 3 they agree with the research.

    “I think that’s absolutely true,” Emily Brockley said. “I just try to do the best that I can and I try not to expect that from other people.”

    “The general public are just kind of tired of it and we want to move on with our lives,” Bill Lidster said. “But I hope there’s not some super variant that comes and gets everyone sick and the vaccine doesn’t cover it.”

    Researchers in UC Davis’ Department of Communication looked at 1,465 news articles and corresponding posts by users from Twitter through 2020 that talked about the coronavirus.

    Here’s what they found, according to the published study:

    “As the casualty count climbed, news articles seemingly lost their ability to elicit anxiety among readers. Desensitization offers an explanation for why the increased threat is not eliciting widespread behavioral compliance with guidance from public health officials.”

    In short, as time has passed, people have started to care less about the impacts of the virus.

    That’s a concern for Dr. Dean Blumberg, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases for UC Davis Health.

    “It’s counter-intuitive, first of all,” he said. “And second of all it’s sad to think that increasing death rates are going to result in people being less anxious about it, when the exact opposite is what we normally would expect.”

  35. 35.

    J R in WV

    I think the only way to even attempt to break the Delta Covid19 phase of the plague is to require universal mask wearing everywhere at all times. A Federal law with no exceptions, reasonable masks delivered to everyone, available at drug stores, gas stations, everywhere sales take place.

    Don’t care if you’re vaccinated, wear a mask so you don’t get a new different variant from an unvaccinated dope. The unvaccinated dopes are where new variants come from, after all.

    Wife mostly stays home, either of us wears our masks when we’re out of the house into town. WV was pretty good when Gov Big Jim Justice first made masks a requirement state wide. In our rural county we started out with 99% masked up, but in the rural counties that started to fade pretty quickly compared to in town, Charleston, the state capital.

    It was close to 100% mask wearing after the first few days, and that lasted for months, but once “vaccinated” people were allowed to not wear masks, instantly all the anti-vaxxers quit wearing masks, shortly after that most of the vaccinated folks resumed wearing masks. We took about a month off, the month of May, and resumed masking shortly after our one sit-down dinner out on our 50th wedding anniversary. I wear a mask at the outdoors farmer’s market!

    I’m a little scared, the being a hermit appeals a little too much to me at this point. . .

  36. 36.

    Brachiator

    @Robert Sneddon:

    I find myself more and more impressed by the scientists who are studying this disease and its spread. Back in May or so this year the epidemiologists at Imperial College London who have been tracking and modelling this disease predicted a ‘third wave’ of infections July and August, estimating about 50,000 new cases a day here in the UK as the middle of three possibilities

    Ironically, Boris Johnson has been misusing this expertise by claiming that he is following the science even as he proposes policies that pointedly ignore the science.

  38. 38.

    StringOnAStick

    Back in 2004 when I went back to college in order to change careers, pre-nursing was the hot track at the local community college.  Stayed hot for years because of demand.  I wonder how many people who would have gone that route are looking around at Covid and how the medical world has been hammered, and thinking “nope”. There will be long term implications.

  39. 39.

    Soprano2

    @Freemark: I wouldn’t call that a ‘superspreader’ event; made me think a huge number of people got sick from it, when it was just this man’s family (as far as he knows, of course the person they got it from could have made a bunch of other people sick that he doesn’t know about). There was one immunocompromised person and two people who were older and so more vulnerable. It doesn’t sound like anyone died or was hospitalized. So, my question would be – if they had all gotten a cold or mild case of the flu, would he have felt guilty? With vaccinated people IMHO we need to stop thinking about it as  “never get Covid”; instead, it’s “might get a mild or asymptomatic case of Covid” instead of being hospitalized or dying. Covid is not going away no matter what we do; I suspect most fully vaccinated people don’t want to spend the next year in their houses not seeing family or friends on the off chance that they might get a mild case of Covid.

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