Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Come on, man.

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

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

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

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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

Let there be snark.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

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

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

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

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

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

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

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

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, Aug. 17-18

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, Aug. 17-18

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There is a lot of overstatement in this article, IMO, but I’m sure the headline will be widely circulated:

… Most analyses of breakthrough infections have included figures collected through the end of June. Based on the cumulative figures, the C.D.C. and public health experts had concluded that breakthrough infections were extremely rare, and that vaccinated people were highly unlikely to become severely ill.

The states’ data do affirm that vaccinated people are far less likely to become severely ill or to die from Covid-19. In California, for example, the 1,615 hospitalizations of people with breakthrough infections as of Aug. 8 represents just 0.007 percent of nearly 22 million fully immunized residents, and breakthrough deaths an even smaller percentage.

But in six of the states, breakthrough infections accounted for 18 percent to 28 percent of recorded cases in recent weeks. (In Virginia, the outlier, 6.4 percent of the cases were in vaccinated people.) These numbers are likely to be underestimates, because most fully immunized people who become infected may not be taking careful precautions, or may not feel ill enough to seek a test…

Breakthrough infections accounted for 12 percent to 24 percent of Covid-related hospitalizations in the states, The Times found. The number of deaths was small, so the proportion among vaccinated people is too variable to be useful, although it does appear to be higher than the C.D.C. estimate of 0.5 percent…

A vast majority of vaccinated people who are hospitalized for Covid-19 are likely to be older adults or those who have weakened immune systems for other reasons. C.D.C. data show that 74 percent of breakthrough cases are among adults 65 or older.

Most states do not compile the numbers by age, sex or the presence of other conditions. But in Oregon, which does, the median age for a breakthrough-associated death is 83 years…

Yes, those of us who are old, fat, riddled with co-morbidities [waves hand], or living with people who have those problems should probably step up our current precautions and/or get a booster shot when mandated. (I would not be eligible for one until January, under the current plans, which in pandemic terms is a loooong ways away.) But screaming that OMG THE VAXX HAS FAILED WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE is cosplay for the comfortable, at this point.

======

… The region escaped the worst when the pandemic erupted last year, but in recent weeks has seen the highest deaths globally, as soaring infections push fragile healthcare systems to the brink and expose sluggish vaccination rollouts.

“This COVID-19 surge driven by the Delta variant is claiming a tragic toll on families across Southeast Asia and it’s far from over,” Alexander Matheou, Asia Pacific Director, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.

It noted that most Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have been posting record COVID-19 infections or fatalities…

… Indonesia and Philippines, the most populous countries in Southeast Asia, have only fully vaccinated around 10-11% of their people, while Vietnam sits at below 2%.

“In the short-term, we need much greater efforts by richer countries to urgently share their millions of excess vaccine doses with countries in Southeast Asia, said Matheou, adding that vaccine companies and governments also needed to share technology and boost production.

“These coming weeks are critical for scaling up treatment, testing and vaccinations, in every corner of all countries in Southeast Asia,” he said, adding that there must be a target for vaccination rates of 70-80%.

======

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Reader Interactions

71Comments

  1. 1.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 8/17 China reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases (0 previously asymptomatic) & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Yunnan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 43 active domestic confirmed cases there. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 3 zones were re-designated as Low Risk. 2 villages at Ruili remain at Medium Risk. Ruili has finally lifted the stay at home order for residents outside of Medium & High Risk areas. They behave been largely staying at home since the beginning of Jul., when the initial cases of the outbreak were detected. 

    Jiangsu Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases. 33 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 698 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Nanjing did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 16 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 160 active domestic confirmed (33 mild, 142 moderate & 1 critical) cases in the city. The Lukou Sub-District remains at Medium Risk.
    • Yangzhou reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases (2 mild & 4 moderate), 3 already under home or centralized quarantine, 2 found via screening of residential compound under lock down & 1 from community screening. 15 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 526 active domestic confirmed (94 mild, 390 moderate, 26 serious & 16 critical) cases in the city, though more than half are actually being treated in Nanjing. 7 sub-districts, 1 township, 1 zone & 1 village remain at High Risk. 27 zones/sites are currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Huai’an there currently are 12 active confirmed cases in the city, all members of the group that had gone to Zhangjiajie.
    • At Suqian, the 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered.
    • At Wuxi, there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city, a person involved in processing incoming visitors/returnees from overseas & not connected to the Delta Variant outbreak from Nanjing.

     

    Hunan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently are 105 active domestic confirmed (including 3 serious) & 16 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Changde there currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all had ridden on the super-spreading boat cruise.
    • At Xiangtan there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all having been on the super-spreading boat cruise at Changde on 7/24.
    • At Changsha there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, 2 had ridden on the super-spreading boat cruise at Changde on 7/24 & 3 from transmission chains related to 2 of the domestic confirmed cases reported by Beijing.
    • At Yiyang there currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 5 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city, all traced close contact of domestic confirmed cases reported by Beijing.
    • At Zhuzhou, 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 29 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, 7 had gone on the super spreading cruise & rest are their close contacts.
    • Zhangjiajie did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 2 areas & 1 community remain at High Risk. 7 sub-districts remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Xiangxi Prefecture there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, both close contacts of the party from Huai’an.

     

    Henan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 159 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Zhengzhou did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 131 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 sub-district remains at High Risk & 24 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Shangqiu did not reported any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 15 active domestic confirmed cases in the city (13 at Yucheng County), all in transmission chains connected to the nosocomial outbreak at Zhengzhou. 2 sites remain at High risk & 7 sites at Medium Risk.
    • At Zhumadian, there currently are 4 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, 2 connected to the nosocomial outbreak at Zhengzhou & 2 w/ the outbreak in Wuhan. 5 villages remain at High Risk, 3 areas remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Kaifeng there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases, all connected to the nosocomial outbreak at Zhengzhou. 7 villages remain at High Risk & 1 township remains at Medium Risk.
    • At Anyang there is 1 active domestic confirmed case, a person who had visited #6 Hospital in Zhengzhou on 7/28.
    • At Xuchang there is 1 active domestic confirmed case, who was discharged from the #6 Hospital in Zhengzhou on 7/22. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.

     

    Hubei Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 86 active domestic confirmed (38 mild, 47 moderate & 1 serious) & 67 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Huanggang there currently are 5 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases, 4 connected to the group from Huai’an in Jiangsu Province on company outing & 5 to the secondary outbreak at construction site in Wuhan. 1 township remains at Medium Risk.
    • At Jingzhou, there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, both connected to the group on company outing from Huai’an in Jiangsu Province. All areas of the city are now at Low Risk.
    • Jingmen did not report any new domestic confirmed cases. There are currently 42 active domestic confirmed & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 township remains at Medium Risk. 1 sub-district & 1 township remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Wuhan, 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 36 active domestic confirmed & 44 active domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 sub-district & 2 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Ezhou there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases, all connected to the construction site outbreak at Wuhan.
    • At Xianning there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case, connected to the construction site outbreak at Wuhan, already under centralized quarantine since 8/3.

     

    At Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case (at Hailar), who had stayed at the same floor in same hotel at the same time as the confirmed case reported by Yinchuan. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.

    At Haikou in Hainan Province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases, a person who had crossed paths w/ the party from Huai’an in Jiangsu Province on company outing at Jingzhou high speed rail station & a worker at the airport. 1 residential compound was re-designated as Low Risk. 1 industrial park remains at Medium Risk.

    At Ningbo in Zhejiang Province there is 1 domestic asymptomatic case, a dock worker at the port there.

    Alashankou border crossing in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.

    Imported Cases

    On 8/17, China reported 22 new imported confirmed cases (0 previously asymptomatic), 17 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 8 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar; 1 asymptomatic case,  a Chinese national returning from Laos
    • Shanghai Municipality – 5 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Sri Lanka, the Maldives (via Colombo), Jamaica (via the US) & Nigeria (via Frankfurt), & a Japanese national coming from Japan; 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 3 confirmed cases no information released, yet
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Cambodia & the Philippines; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan
    • Sanming in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Botswana; the case had arrived at Nanjing in Jiangsu Province on 7/19, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 8/3 the case returned to Sanming by high speed rail & re-entered 14 days of centralized quarantine, testing positive on 8/17
    • Beijing Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, both Turkmen nationals coming from Turkmenistan; 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from Bangladesh; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Bangladesh & Japan
    • Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Côte d’Ivoire & Kenya, off flights that landed at Guangzhou
    • Wuhan in Hubei Province – 1 confirmed & 2 asymptomatic cases
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Nigeria (via Frankfurt)
    • Jiangsu Province (location not specified) – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from the UK
    • Hefei in Anhui Province – 1 asymptomatic case; the case had arrived at ZZiamen in Fujian Province on 7/19, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 8/3 the case returned to Hefei by high speed rail & re-entered 7 days of centralized quarantine followed by 7 days of home quarantine, testing positive on 8/16

     

    Overall in China, 69 confirmed cases recovered (31 imported), 12 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (10 imported) & none were reclassified as confirmed cases, & 2,658 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,887 active confirmed cases in the country (753 imported), 62 in serious condition (11 imported), 500 active asymptomatic cases (400 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 43,156 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 8/17, 1,887.273M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 11.902M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 8/18, Hong Kong reported 3 new positive cases, all imported (from Turkey & the US).

  2. 2.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY:
    111 new cases on 8/16, 4.2% test positivity
    1357 deaths since this started in 2020
    NYS Dept of Health says 145 new cases.

    I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning. I hope the hygienists are still masking.

  4. 4.

    Mousebumples

    My daughter turns 2 on Sunday. Any suggestions for good masks for kiddos would be appreciated. Also suggestions on how to get her to wear the mask without pulling it off would be good.

    Hypothetically hoping to go to Arizona for Grandma’s birthday in November, but with the way cases are spiking, i might veto 4+ hours on a plane with a (probably) still unvaccinated child.

    Thanks all!

  5. 5.

    John S.

    This incessant whining about “Leave the unvaccinated and unmasked aloooone!” is beyond pathetic at this point. They deserve to be shunned, shamed and ostracized.

    No mask, no shirt, no shoes — no service. And to be fair, people without shirts or shoes weren’t the cause of fueling a deadly pandemic.

  6. 6.

    debbie

    @raven:

    What I’ve heard is that they’re still analyzing data and are suggesting if a booster is needed, it should be at 8 months.

  7. 7.

    New Deal democrat

    The CDC Ensemble projection:
    “unless universal masking & seriously accelerated vaccinations occur, between 3,300 to 12,600 Americans will die from #COVID19 over the next 19 days.”

    The already existing truth: We’ve already all but blown through that projection. There have been 11,100 deaths in the past 19 days.

    In the past 7 days, there have been an average of 736 deaths/day. Even if there is no increase, that rate would mean about 14,000 deaths in the next 19 days.

    But since cases and hospitalization have continued to increase, the number of deaths is going to increase as well.

    Take the CDC’s spaghetti models and throw them in the trash.

    Ok, because I hate bringing only bad news: another day, more evidence the Delta wave is at or past peak in the earliest hit States. Whether it’s having burned through the dry tinder or more cautious behavior, or what combination of both, your guess is as good as mine.

  9. 9.

    Erin

    I honestly think the only reason they are saying eight months instead of six months is for logistical reasons, so that they don’t get a rush of all the people who were vaxxed in January through March all trying to get their booster shots in September.

  10. 10.

    mrmoshpotato

    A lot of people’s positions on COVID mitigation, post-vaccine, seem to be more about punishing the unvaccinated for their bad choices rather than maximizing welfare.

    Oh you Trump-humping, welfare queens…

  11. 11.

    debbie

    @Erin:

    Isn’t it also about whether a third shot of the original vaccine or a reformulated version would be better?

  12. 12.

    Suzanne

    A lot of people’s positions on COVID mitigation, post-vaccine, seem to be more about punishing the unvaccinated

    Well, yeah, you dumb fuck, that’s how incentives work.

    I would be fine with house arrest for them at this point.

  14. 14.

    mrmoshpotato

    @John S.:

    This incessant whining about “Leave the unvaccinated and unmasked aloooone!” is beyond pathetic at this point. They deserve to be shunned, shamed and ostracized.

    Stop mask shaming the selfish, shithead, plague rat assholes who are prolonging mass death.

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    Annnnnd we’re back to masks. Chicago issues mask mandate for all indoor establishments . This indoor mask mandate for all individuals 2 years and older, regardless of vaccination status, begins Friday, Aug. 20.

    What a wonderful birthday present!

    ???

  18. 18.

    Suzanne

    @Mousebumples:

    My daughter turns 2 on Sunday. Any suggestions for good masks for kiddos would be appreciated. Also suggestions on how to get her to wear the mask without pulling it off would be good. 

    Spawn the Youngest turned two in June. We tried fabric masks for her, but they were soaked with drool within minutes. (Ew.) We have had much better luck with the paper disposable masks for her that don’t get as wet. And they have earloops that adjust, which is key. We found cute ones with panda bears on them that she will tolerate. But it’s a struggle. She was good about wearing it when she saw everyone wearing them, but now that more and more people are unmasked, she wants to take it off, too.

    So, once again, we are limiting her activities.

    Thanks, fuckers.

  19. 19.

    Ramalama

    Masking while indoors at grocery stores and other venues has been a thing for a long while now in Quebec. I walk the dog down the street and notice women getting their haircut while wearing masks. The barber shop round the corner requires masking. The shoe store always has a sale going on, but it too requires you to wear a mask. All of the shops have a max number of people that can be in the shop at one time. It’s become a thing. Even the douchiest (which, to be fair, means shower-iest in French and doesn’t have the same punch when yelling it here) bro wears his mask at the corner convenience.

    There’s a gym that’s newly opened. There’s a sign about wearing masks there, too. Have not yet breathed on the window pane to see how that’s working for people sweating on purpose around strangers while indoors.

    I don’t get the resistance to masks while shopping, other than the USA has Fox news and Canada doesn’t. I wonder if it’s that simple.

  23. 23.

    Dog Mom

    My sister is a friend of the guy who was shot six times and now waiting for surgery.  She sent me the article last night – I would like to say I was surprised by the situation – but it’s Texas . . . . He’s got a Go Fund me . . .

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    @Mousebumples:

    I just emailed my neighbor who sews really nice masks to see if she makes them in wee size.  She made masks for the elementary school students and teachers last year and has made thousands since this started.

  26. 26.

    New Deal democrat

    @Barbara:

    If the US follows the trajectory of India and the U.K. (and the Netherlands), cases should peak at about Labor Day and decline steeply from then. Deaths will lag by about 2-4 weeks.

    Again, whether the reason why is dry tinder, behavior change, or both is at this point totally a guess.

  27. 27.

    satby

    @Ramalama: I don’t get the resistance to masks while shopping, other than the USA has Fox news and Canada doesn’t. I wonder if it’s that simple.

    Yes, I think a lot of it is that simple. Propaganda works, especially endlessly repeated, focus group tested, fine-tuned to invoke emotional response propaganda. And it seeps from Fox into mainstream news, so the entire well is poisoned.

  28. 28.

    raven

    DR. VIN GUPTA, MSNBC MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good evening, Ali. This — the pharmaceutical companies need to stop leading on messaging on this topic. First, Pfizer did it, now Moderna`s following it`s — it`s like a — it`s a habit that they can`t quit. They need to stop doing this because the message I hear from unvaccinated young people is docked right now need three doses of a vaccine to be protected. It`s confusing people and they need to stop it. What`s clear and what I suspect FDA is going to release in the coming weeks. I`m glad they`re doing it, Ali, is that if you`re immunocompromised, if you have cancer chemotherapy, it`s a long list here 4% of America has that condition, you will get a third side of — you`ll be eligible for a booster shot before the end of the year, over 65 likely you will be in that group as well. For the rest of us, there is no indication you need a booster shot. So let me repeat that. For the rest of us that are otherwise healthy, less than 65 years of age, you receive two shots of the vaccine, you do not necessarily — you`re likely not going to get a booster shot in this calendar year. Frankly, you may not even need one in 2022. That`s what the data is telling us today. So they need to stop leading with this messaging and defer to public health experts.

  30. 30.

    Robert Sneddon

    @debbie: ​
     

    Isn’t it also about whether a third shot of the original vaccine or a reformulated version would be better?

    It’s very unlikely a booster vaccination will do any harm, especially six months or more after the original dose(s). However how much good it does must be balanced against the very slight but real risk of a bad reaction to the booster shot and, right now, the science on booster shots isn’t there to say it’s a really good idea. Medicine works on the principle, “First, do no harm.” and simply saying “Boosters for all!” is not the way forward until it is clear they will not cause more problems than they solve.

    Trials are going on in various places to see what works and what doesn’t work with booster shots — half a dose compared to a full dose or cross-vaccination with a different formulation to the original dose, for example. The British booster trials are doing double-blind protocols which complicates the data crunching but the researchers are expecting to be able to announce preliminary results in about a month’s time. There’s a major vaccination campaign planned for influenza this autumn in the UK and it’s likely any booster program would be rolled out with that project if the go-ahead is given.

  33. 33.

    lowtechcyclist

    As federal policymakers search for ways to boost America’s vaccination rates, a lack of paid sick leave is playing a role in deterring low-wage workers from taking time off to get vaccinated, according to surveys and policy experts.

    It’s been bugging me for years that Dem politicians never try to pass a law making paid vacation and sick leave a mandatory part of every worker’s compensation. (Yes, it’s something I call my Congresscritters about.) But at the very least, there needs to be paid sick leave right now in case people have a bad reaction to getting a shot.

    What I’ve been suggesting for some time now is that for each 40 hours an employee works, they earn a minimum of 2 hours of paid vacation and an hour of paid sick leave. This would ensure that part-time and seasonal workers would share in these benefits, and it would amount to 13 days of vacation and 6.5 days of sick leave per year for full-time employees.

  34. 34.

    Cermet

    @Erin: There is no medical reason to reformulate the vaccine for Delta – the current vaccine works great; relative to a third shot, I am not happy about the noise – it is confusing people. Yes, immune compromised should and it was beyond obvious they should have even at the beginning. But the rest of us, we all have memory T-cells and these are very likely gonna protect us for a long time and the CDC knows this. All vaccines suffer break throughs and delta is better but when only 0.007 0 (CA data) of your vaccinated population get sick enough to be admitted to a hospital, get real – this virus just isn’t dangerous at all for two dosed vaccinated people. The media is, again, creating a fire storm out of  – so far – bull shit.   My three cents worth.

  36. 36.

    mrmoshpotato

    @rikyrah:

    How many people did that muthaphucka infect at that Super spreader event he did?? 

    So fun that I think you’re talking about Abbott, but I’m not sure. /S

  39. 39.

    Skepticat

    I’m at a national championship regatta in Massachusetts, and everyone is vaccinated. I’m wearing a mask nearly all the time, even when outdoors if I’m among people, but at last night’s class association annual meeting, there were only a handful of people wearing masks. A few of us discussed the fact that none of the Louisiana contingent came, and much as we like all of them, we agreed it’s kind of a relief. I noticed in the Portland paper today that the state is asking for and encouraging full mask use inside, and I wouldn’t be surprised (or upset) to see it mandated soon.

  40. 40.

    Patrianakos

    @raven: Maybe I’m too cynical here, but I’ve been getting a vibe that the companies want to sell more shots to folks willing to pay list price (USA government) than to folks unwilling or unable to pay (the Third World), and let someone else worry about the epidemiology.

  41. 41.

    debbie

    @Cermet:

    Thanks for this clarification. You’re right about the media, but it’s not just them. Krogers has started making appointments.

  42. 42.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports a record 22,242 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,466,512 cases. He also reports 225 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 13,302 deaths — 0.91% of the cumulative reported total, 1.10% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 254,484 active and contagious cases; 1,060 are in ICU, 540 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 19,680 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 1,198,726 patients recovered – 81.74% of the cumulative reported total.
    49 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 4,306 clusters. 1,386 clusters are currently active; 2,920 clusters are now inactive.

    22,238 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 6,854 local cases: 309 in clusters, 3,439 close-contact screenings, and 3,106 other screenings.

    Sabah reports 2,413 cases: 233 in clusters, 1,410 close-contact screenings, and 770 other screenings.

    Penang reports 1,867 cases: 434 in clusters, 544 close-contact screenings, and 889 other screenings. Kedah reports 1,852 cases: 45 in clusters, 1,018 close-contact screenings, and 789 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,587 cases: 65 in clusters, 711 close-contact screenings, and 811 other screenings.

    Johor reports 1,477 cases: 396 in clusters, 650 close-contact screenings, and 431 other screenings. Sarawak reports 1,403 cases: 113 in clusters, 884 close-contact screenings, and 406 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,351 cases: 134 in clusters, 900 close-contact screenings, and 317 other screenings. Perak reports 1,036 cases: 78 in clusters, 449 close-contact screenings, and 509 other screenings.

    Pahang reports 675 cases: 140 in clusters, 436 close-contact screenings, and 99 other screenings.

    Melaka reports 579 cases: 86 in clusters, 276 close-contact screenings, and 217 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 577 cases: 22 in clusters, 232 close-contact screenings, and 323 other screenings.

    Terengganu reports 487 cases: 58 in clusters, 364 close-contact screenings, and 65 other screenings.

    Perlis reports 50 cases: seven in clusters, 27 close-contact screenings, and 16 other screenings. Putrajaya reports 25 cases: 12 close-contact screenings and 13 other screenings. Labuan reports five cases: two close-contact screenings and three other screenings.

    Four new cases today are imported, all in Selangor.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 525,111 doses of vaccine on 17th August: 184,972 first doses and 340,139 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 28,837,742 doses administered: 17,437,286 first doses and 11,400,456 second doses. 53.4% of the population have received their first dose, while 34.9% are now fully vaccinated.

  43. 43.

    Kay

    Governor Mike DeWine
    @GovMikeDeWine
    ·16h
    I’m speaking directly to every parent, school official, and school board member in Ohio: The best way to make sure a child can stay in school is for that child to be vaccinated. If a child can’t be vaccinated, the best way to ensure a good year is for that child to wear a mask.

    Primarily state but also federal level Democrats should just repeat that over and over. Not “masks” but stay in school. The vast, vast majority of parents want them back in school. Put stay in school in front of masks and vaccines. Want them in school? Mask. Want them in school? Vaccinated.
    It’ll also harm Republicans politically, so that’s another incentive right there :)

  44. 44.

    satby

    @raven: @Robert Sneddon: @Cermet: Yeah, I know people IRL who are already getting boosters they probably don’t need just because some vaccine centers (aka drug stores) are so happy that anyone would come in for a vaccine at all. IMO, which is only mine, it’s wasteful and selfish while all over the rest of the world I have friends waiting for a first shot in other countries. And still, I guess it’s better than wasting doses by throwing them away, but unused doses should be diverted to donations before they’re in danger of expiring. It’s IGMFY on steroids, driven by the pharmacetical companies news releases, not science.

  45. 45.

    Cermet

    @raven: I believe and I do hope anyone here with information would post, that the CDC will allow immune compromised (any age.) I would think that would automatically include people 75 and older to get a third dose – but I’m guessing.

  46. 46.

    Ruckus

    @satby:

    It’s not just that it’s repeating the BS.

    It’s that they have been BSing for what 25-30 yrs. They have been creating a class of people who will buy any BS they say, because they have been creating this programing for all that time. They repeat their “anger” over and over and over, to create the idea that their shitty concept of monetary gain is normal, that it is true, that everyone should be angry, because of what people who actually want to help others, actually want them to prosper, stand in the way of those who make money by lying, by hate, by bullshit. Because they know no other way than lying, hating, bullshitting. That is faux news. And the other hard right wing “news”/bullshit broadcasters.

  48. 48.

    Scout211

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-sanctions-school-districts-mandating-students-wear-masks-n1277031

    Are you kidding me, Florida?

    The Florida Board of Education voted Tuesday to sanction two public school districts for defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order banning mask mandates in schools.
    The actual penalties by the board, which comprises DeSantis appointees, are yet to be determined, but the votes marked the first punishments for districts that chose to mandate masks amid a surge in Covid cases from the delta variant of the coronavirus as the school year gets underway.
    The DeSantis administration contends that the Alachua and Broward county public school districts do not allow parents to freely opt their children out of the mask mandate, instead requiring doctor’s notes for students to bypass masking.
    School officials defended the mandates at a more-than-two-hour hearing, saying they were the best way to limit the spread of Covid in their districts short of vaccination. Children younger than 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated.
     

     

  49. 49.

    rikyrah

    When I think about the children that will die because of Abbott and his antics with regards to the schools, all the while HE gets tested everyday, got a phucking booster shot before the FDA approved it, and is getting the best therapy…it engrages me??

  50. 50.

    MomSense

    @rikyrah:

    That motherfucker had three vaccines, got tested daily and even though he is supposedly asymptomatic is receiving regeneron treatments.  That asshole has simultaneously sabotaged the health of the people of his state to preserve his political power.  Fuck him.  He should be prosecuted for all the blood on his hands.

  51. 51.

    satby

    @Cermet: No need to guess, it’s right on the CDC website:

    Who Needs an Additional COVID-19 Vaccine?
    Currently, CDC is recommending that moderately to severely immunocompromised people receive an additional dose. This includes people who have:

    • Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
    • Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
    • Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
    • Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
    • Advanced or untreated HIV infection
    • Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response

    People should talk to their healthcare provider about their medical condition, and whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them.

  52. 52.

    Princess

    Nothing is going to change for me or anyone in my neighbourhood in Chicago. People never stopped masking indoors where I live. Last time I was at the local TJ’s I saw one person unmasked.

  53. 53.

    satby

    @satby: And this is the deciding statement for me:

    The clinical considerations for use of an additional dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine apply only to people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.

  54. 54.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @Mousebumples: My sister made masks for her grandchildren’s dolls* & stuffed toys, and her co-mother-in-law did the same for her grandkids. She said it seemed to help normalize the idea. Of course, Barbie’s had to coordinate with her wardrobe and GI Joe’s had to be in camo…

    *”Action figure” is a marketing term. GI Joe is a doll.

  55. 55.

    Cermet

    @satby: Thanks for posting that list.

    Also, anyone over the age 12 (for Pfizer) or 18 (the other two) can get a third vaccination if their doctor decides it is medically necessary and is willing to administer the shot themselves – its called off label use and only an MD has that authority. So, people that have very good reasons and a doctor that trust’s both them and their own knowledge can do this. Should they? Well, that is between the patient and a doctor

    I’d not do it unless I was certain I was immune compromised and my doctor agreed.

  56. 56.

    gvg

    @mrmoshpotato: ​
     There are not that many legitimately can’t get vaccinated. It turns out that the medically vulnerable need to get vaccinated MORE. Those are the ones who are now getting third shots. I actually am not certain anyone can’t get vaccinated. I think it is not recommended if you already have COVID or were recently exposed for sure. I can speculate that if you are already in the hospital for life threatening reasons and getting lots of other medicines, they might not want to give you one more stress right then, but locally it has turned out people are catching it in the hospitals when they go in for something else.

  57. 57.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Cermet:
    this virus just isn’t dangerous at all for two dosed vaccinated people.

    I think that’s an exaggeration–chronic long-COVID from breakthrough infections is a real thing, occurs in cases that don’t send people to the hospital, and it’s still unclear just how common it is. You don’t want that.

    That said, in a world where most people on the planet still can’t get a shot at all, I do think that it’s questionable whether giving the third shot to everyone who’s already been vaccinated is the best use of resources.

  58. 58.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    The Tennessee state health department website reports over 3000 new cases reported yesterday. 8% of the ICU beds statewide are unoccupied and 11% of floor beds statewide are unoccupied. Still only about 40% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and the percentage with one shot is still under 50%, although it’s crept up a bit.
    Nashville and Memphis are moving into fight mode with the governor and legislature over mask mandates in the schools.

  59. 59.

    Zzyzx

    That Helen Branswell post made me feel better. I have been going back and forth about this outdoor run of concerts I’m about to attend (vax/neg test required), and I’ve been stressing a bit. Seeing that more than half of the infectious disease experts would attend such an event definitely makes me feel better.

    I do better personally when the situation is obvious. Last year what needed to be done was to stay home so I did that. Early this year it was get vaccinated and you’re good and I worked with that. This whole “Well, you’re probably safe if you’re vaccinated but you should worry about others but most of them are jerks but there’s also the kids and the immunocompromised but…” back and forth drives me crazy. Fortunately, I’m in a situation where I can self quarantine afterward.

  60. 60.

    Scout211

    @satby:

    I read an article on nbc.com with a medical expert urging patients to discuss the booster shot with their doctors first.  The expert suggested that some doctors may want to adjust the immunosuppressant medications that some patients are on, in order to allow the vaccine to be more effective.

    Dealing with this pandemic is a huge learning curve for all of us, including the medical community.

  61. 61.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Cermet: Do remember the Brit’s do not use an mRNA vaccine

    I won’t remember that, because it’s not true. British health services have been administering Pfizer and latterly Moderna mRNA-based vaccines for over eight months now. The first-ever non-trials vaccination in the UK was in December 2020, a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, after it was recommended for general use by the JCVI and the government signed off on it. The AstraZeneca vaccine was next and the Moderna vaccine was approved a bit later IIRC although supplies and deliveries were limited due to demand.

     

    I think most vaccinations (including my own) in the UK were of the AstraZeneca adenovirus-based vaccine but that’s only because the makers were able to supply large quantities early on in the vaccination campaign, but mRNA vaccines have been a significant part of the push towards getting people protected from this disease here in the UK. The J&J single-dose vaccine has also been approved but I don’t believe it’s being used at the moment. The UK has ordered 20 million doses of the J&J vaccine but they may not have been delivered or deployed yet.

  62. 62.

    Matt McIrvin

    @debbie: Moderna and, I’m sure, Pfizer are currently testing vaccines tailored to Delta, but absent those results, it’s not clear that such vaccines would do any better than the current ones–Delta’s ability to infect some fully vaccinated people might just be a characteristic of its ability to reproduce much faster, rather than any specific mismatch with the vaccine. It’s more clear that there’s a mismatch with some of the other variants, but they haven’t been the dominant strains lately–Delta beats them just through brute force.

    The boosters that they’d be able to give out in the immediate term are the same vaccines we’ve been getting all along.

    One interesting thing I hear occasionally is that the real benefit of a third shot might be the greater time interval from the other shots: with most multiple-shot vaccines (like the shingles vaccine), they leave more time between the shots than they did with the COVID vaccines, and a consideration in making it as short as it was was just that we were in a fast-moving pandemic situation and needed to get as many people fully vaxxed as possible.

    That makes me wonder if the best bang for the buck, so to speak, would be to reach out to the 10% or so of the population who got the first shot but never got around to getting the second one. They’re obviously not antivaxxers, for one thing. They may be unsure about what to do. Tell them that it’s not too late to come get the second shot, and in fact they might end up with BETTER protection that way!

  63. 63.

    Matt McIrvin

    I also suspect all the fights over mask mandates in the schools are taking place in a fantasy world: come September, there will be a massive wave of COVID cases in K-12 and we’re going to be talking about shutting the schools down hard and going back to remote education, and nobody anywhere seems to be planning seriously for that.

  64. 64.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Zzyzx: The situation that gives me the most anxiety is always when the people around me are being less cautious than I think is warranted, and I have to be the bad guy who acts weird and paranoid and tries to shut down everyone’s fun. When everyone’s taking it seriously, I do better.

  65. 65.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 2,538 new cases of COVID-19 reported with ten new reported deaths of someone who had tested positive. Test positivity rate is 7.5%. Hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy numbers are remaining steady. Case numbers are trending up sharply since the nation-wide restrictions on capacity for hospitality venues, sports events etc. were relaxed a couple of weeks ago. The key controlling factor, the impact on hospitals and the medical services is still low enough that it’s unlikely there will be any move to reimpose restrictions again at least in the near future.

    Just over 20,000 vaccinations were administered in Scotland yesterday (Tuesday) with about 20% of those vaccinations being first doses. 78.5% of the adult population are now fully vaccinated with another 11.8% having received their initial dose of vaccine. Scotland is still on track for 80% first-dose for all adults by the end of the month. There’s still no breakdown of the uptake in vaccines in 16 and 17-year-olds.

    After studying the data the UK’s MHRA has now concluded that vaccinating all children between the age of 12 and 17 is safe. At the moment only children in this age group considered at risk are being accepted for vaccination. The next step will be for the JCVI to consider these findings and make recommendations to the relevant government agencies who will make the final decision for any vaccination rollout to children in this age bracket in the UK. There are more than three million children in this age bracket in the UK.

  67. 67.

    Sloane Ranger

    So, Tuesday in the UK we had 26,852 new cases. This is an increase of 5.6% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 22,712 (down 541)

    Northern Ireland – 1564 (up 258)

    Scotland – 1815 (up 248)

    Wales – 761 (down 1633).

    Deaths – There were 170 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 4.2% in the rolling 7-day average. 154 were in England, 7 in Northern Ireland, 9 in Scotland and none in Wales.

    Testing – On Monday, 16 August, 699,466 tests took place. The rolling 7-day average shows no change from the previous week. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on this date was 722,949.

    Hospitalisations – As of Monday, 16 August, 6303 people were in hospital and 918 were on ventilators. As of 13 August the rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 3.9%.

    Vaccinations – As of Monday, 16 August, 47,369,418 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 40,841,971 were fully vaccinated. This means that, as of that date, 89.6% of adults in the UK had had 1 shot and 77.2% had had both. In good news the government dashboard will include data for 16 and 17 year olds from tomorrow.

  70. 70.

    Bill Arnold

    @Matt McIrvin:

    come September, there will be a massive wave of COVID cases in K-12 and we’re going to be talking about shutting the schools down hard and going back to remote education, and nobody anywhere seems to be planning seriously for that.

    The cases where the majority of the school is quickly infected will be those schools that don’t have universal masks indoors. Much of the press will ignore this, though, focusing on the closures (rather than the percentages/numbers) and maybe on “Biden’s failure” or other toxic, manipulative narratives. (The actual correctly-assigned blame almost entirely lies on the Republicans.)
    We’ll need to keep them honest. (e.g. stake out some reporters on twitter with low replies counts and interact with them, or email them, or similar.)
    I am assuming that the relevant FDA people are working 50-60 hour weeks expedite approval of at least one vaccine for younger children. The Delta wave will make the efficacy readout from the trials happen sooner, sadly but yeah. (The safety readout just needs time and trial size.) (Note: I am not familiar with the (actual) approval process and any solid links would be appreciated.)
    Once that EUA approval is in place, re-opening of schools will involve vaccine requirements, and for sensible schools, mask requirements when indoors, and ventilation improvements for districts that can afford them.
    Full approval (for ages 12+? I hope) will also be a game changer.

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