Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

“But what about the lurkers?”

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, Aug. 20-21

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, Aug. 20-21

by | 62 Comments

This post is in: ,



(Yeah, some of them are… perhaps less than candid, shall we say… but it removes one more excuse.)

Jab in the arm, or stab in the wallet…

======

… The three-dose ZyCoV-D vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 66% of those vaccinated, according to an interim study quoted by the vaccine maker Cadila Healthcare.

The firm plans to make up to 120 million doses of India’s second home-grown vaccine every year…

Cadila Healthcare said it had conducted the largest clinical trial for the vaccine in India so far, involving 28,000 volunteers in more than 50 centres.

This is also the first time, the firm claimed, a Covid-19 vaccine had been tested in young people in India – 1,000 people belonging to the 12-18 age group. The jab was found to be “safe and very well tolerated” in this age group.

The key third phase of clinical trials was conducted at the peak of the deadly second wave of the virus. The vaccine maker believes this reaffirmed the jab’s “efficacy against the mutant strains”, especially the highly infectious Delta variant…

ZyCoV-D uses plasmids or small rings of DNA, that contain genetic information, to deliver the jab between two layers of the skin.

The plasmids carry information to the cells to make the “spike protein”, which the virus uses to latch on and enter human cells.

Most Covid-19 vaccines work by giving the body instructions to make a fragment of the spike protein so it can trigger a person’s immune system to produce antibodies and teach itself to fight off the virus…

Scientists say DNA vaccines are relatively cheap, safe and stable.

They can also be stored at higher temperatures – 2 to 8C.

Cadila Healthcare claims that their vaccine had shown “good stability” at 25C for at least three months – this would help the vaccine to be transported and stored easily…

Malaysia swore in a new prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, on Saturday as the Southeast Asian nation battles its worst COVID-19 surge and public anger grows over mismanagement of the pandemic…

Friday’s 23,564 cases were a record for a third straight day, taking the tally beyond 1.5 million.

Public anger has grown as infections spread despite multiple extended lockdowns and ramped up vaccinations. Since last month, Malaysians in need have hoisted white flags at their homes to seek public help. read more

Although Malaysia escaped the worst of the pandemic last year, a regional election led to a steady spike in infections since the fourth quarter of 2020, with the Delta variant worsening the situation in recent months.

Flip-flops on lockdown measures, failure to act against politicians who violated rules and months of politicking have soured the public…

… The report does not question the overall safety or efficacy of the vaccine. But the inconsistencies come at a time of renewed scrutiny into Sputnik V clinical trials, as Russia seeks to secure emergency authorization from the WHO and EMA, and its export drive falters amid multiple reports of production delays and late deliveries.

Scientists who reviewed the document found a number of discrepancies between the information it contains and what has previously been disclosed by Sputnik V’s developers, including in a landmark Feb. 2 peer-reviewed report in leading medical journal The Lancet, which found the vaccine to have 91.6% efficacy.

Flaws in the newly-obtained report range from apparent typos and basic numerical errors — such as mislabelled statistics and table headings — to more serious concerns, including unexplained changes in the number of patients in the study.

“Some of this is probably accidental — things which aren’t very severe but are just poor reporting,” said André Gillibert, a biostatistician at university hospital CHU Rouen in France.

“But there are also irregularities and problems that are too severe to be explained away. I think there were problems with the trial that are being hidden,” he added…

… Public Health England said 2,295 people were likely to have been infectious with a further 3,404 people potentially acquiring infection at the July 11 match…

The match, with a crowd of around 67,000 inside the stadium, was England’s first final in an international soccer tournament since the country hosted and won the 1966 World Cup.

“Euro 2020 was a unique occasion and it is unlikely we would see a similar impact on COVID-19 cases from future events,” said Jenifer Smith, Public Health England’s deputy medical director, in a statement.

“However, the data does show how easily the virus can spread when there is close contact and this should be a warning to us all as we try and return to a cautious normality once again.”

Other trial events over a four-month period showed far fewer positive tests, and were either broadly in line with or lower than national averages…

======

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Everything is interconnected...

Reader Interactions

62Comments

  1. 1.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 8/20 China reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases (0 previously asymptomatic) & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 43 active domestic confirmed cases there. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 2 villages at Ruili remain at Medium Risk. 

    Jiangsu Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case. 23 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 635 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Nanjing did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 5 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 144 active domestic confirmed (27 mild & 117 moderate) cases in the city.
    • Yangzhou reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (moderate), already under quarantine. 18 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 479 active domestic confirmed (88 mild, 381 moderate, 8 serious & 2 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. 24 zones/sites are currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Huai’an, there currently are 9 active confirmed cases in the city.
    • At Wuxi, there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city.

    Hunan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases was released from isolation. There are currently are 101 active domestic confirmed (including 3 serious) & 13 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Changde there currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
    • At Xiangtan there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
    • At Changsha 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.
    • At Yiyang there currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 5 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city.
    • At Zhuzhou 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 27 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
    • Zhangjiajie did not reported any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 65 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 2 High Risk zones have been re-designated as Low Risk. 6 sub-districts remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Xiangxi Prefecture there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.

    Henan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 3 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 141 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Zhengzhou did not report any new domestic positive cases. 3 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 114 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 sub-district remains at High Risk & 14 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. 2 sites remain at High risk & 7 sites at Medium Risk.
    • At Zhumadian, there currently are 4 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 5 villages remain at High Risk, 3 areas remain at Medium Risk.
    • At Kaifeng there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases. 7 villages remain at High Risk & 1 township remains at Medium Risk.
    • At Xuchang there is 1 active domestic confirmed case. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.

    Hubei Province reported 1 new domestic positive case. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 86 active domestic confirmed (37 mild, 48 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. 1 township remains at Medium Risk.
    • At Jingzhou, there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.
    • Jingmen reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, already under centralized quarantine since 8/6. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. 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 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.
    • At Xianning there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case.

    On 8/20 Shanghai Municipality reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild), both are freight handlers at the Pudong International Airport, both found via tri-daily screening. On 8/21, the city reported 3 more domestic confirmed cases (all mild), all close contacts of the 2 cases reported on 8/20, & all are cargo handlers at the airport. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, 2 airport workers & a medical staff at a hospital. The source of infection for the medical staff (reported on 8/18) has been found, phylogenetic analysis indicates the source being an imported case who had visited the fever clinic at the hospital where the nurse works at. 2 residential compounds have been elevated to Medium Risk l. 3 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk.

    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 8/20, China reported 16 new imported confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic), 20 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar & 1 each from Bangladesh & Egypt; 8 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese nationals” each returning from Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Canada
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Russia; the case had arrived at Shanghai on 7/30, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 8/13 the case flew back to Shenzhen entered 7 days of home quarantine & continued to test negative, the case tested positive on 8/20 during follow up check
    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 3 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar; 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar & 1 from Laos; all via land border crossings
    • Beijing Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Italy & the UK (via Copenhagen); 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Shanghai Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Spain & Japan
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 2 confirmed cases (both previously asymptomatic), both coming from Cameroon
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), an Indonesian crew member off a cargo ship w/ last port of call in Indonesia: 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Senegal (via Paris CdG) & Hungary (via Warsaw)
    • Hohhot in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region – 1 confirmed case, off a flight diverted from Beijing, no further information released
    • Quanzhou in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the Philippines, off a flight that landed at Xiamen
    • Jiangsu Province (location not specified) – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Changsha in Jiangsu Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Puyang in Henan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Egypt; the case had arrived at Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province on 7/28, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 8/11 the case returned to Puyang by train & re-entered 14 days of home quarantine, testing positive on 8/20
    • Yanbian in Jilin Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan; the case had arrived at Dalian in Liaoning Province on 7/23, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 8/6 the case was transferred to Yanbian & re-entered 14 days of home quarantine, testing positive on 8/20

    Overall in China, 51 confirmed cases recovered (21 imported), 26 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (21 imported) & 3 were reclassified as confirmed cases (all imported), & 3,275 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,786 active confirmed cases in the country (739 imported), 33 in serious condition (11 imported), 508 active asymptomatic cases (414 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 38,133 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 8/20, 1,924.39M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 11.971M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 8/21, Hong Kong reported 3 new positive cases, all imported (from Venezuela, Nigeria & Kazakhstan, 1 was doubled vaccinated w/ SinoPharm).

  2. 2.

    Cermet

    That the local Nazi’s … I mean police – won’t arrest these animals threatening or disturbing by protesting vaccine distribution places is criminal; no surprise about the thugs … I mean police not doing their job. Look what they’ve done against BLM protesters (most cops are good but even these seem to be failing by being cowards and hiding behind the blue wall of silence.)
    That the Sputnik V is safe is not the issue – I am certain it is significantly less effective than mRNA’s but that doesn’t mean it is very useful. That said, zero doubt the coward piece of sh%t putin got a western mRNA and that is why his vaccination was not shown.
    The very last thing the world needs is a DNA based vaccine – this does, unlike mRNA vaccines, enter into the cellular nucleus and that will send a lot of people over the rabbit hole into even more anti-vax rhetoric. There are plenty of good vaccines that store at 8 C and that isn’t the issue; fear of actually having a vaccine that involves DNA doesn’t have a good look and will make mRNA vaccines look bad, too; better that they develop more standard vaccination methods that can be stored at higher temps – there are plenty of methods.

  3. 3.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Cermet:  The Indian DNA vaccine is another COVID-19 vaccine that can be produced today in existing vaccine production lines. It had significant effectiveness in trials (over 50% is the baseline for acceptance for pretty much any vaccine for any disease), it appears to be safe to administer. I expect the only buyers of this vaccine for some time to come will be the Indian government.
    First-world nations will never authorise use of this vaccine even under emergency rules in the same way we haven’t authorised Sinovac or Sputnik V for use in our vaccination programs because we’re awash with more authorised vaccines than we know what to do with. Other less-entitled countries will take what vaccines they can get even if they’re reportedly less effective than Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca etc. rather than waiting a year or two for the “good stuff” to filter down to them.​

  4. 4.

    New Deal democrat

    Good news and bad news.

    First, the bad news. With Florida’s weekly report yesterday, average deaths per day in the US in the past week were 975/day. We will almost certainly pass 1000 in the next few days. My most pessimistic estimates have us very close to 3000 deaths per day within the next 4 weeks, close to the US record of 3500 last winter.

    Now, the good news. Lots of accumulating evidence that the Delta wave is approaching its peak. As of yesterday, there were 14 States, including all but 1 of the earliest hit States, either plateauing or in outright decline week over week. Add Florida to that, which reported a slight *decrease* in cases this past week. I have hypothesized that Delta will peak about Labor Day. It may possibly be before then (how much is behavioral change, and how much is burning through the dry tinder is impossible to know).

    Also, since yesterday’s thread petered out quickly, let me repeat a note. A Red Cross spokesman said that over 90% of all their blood donations now show COVID antibodies, although only 60%-70% of their donors are vaccinated, meaning 2/3 to 3/4 of their *unvaccinated* donors have antibodies. This suggests we may be a lot closer to herd immunity than we think.

  5. 5.

    debbie

    I see Dan Patrick’s at it again.

    “Lt. Gov. Patrick now blames the current surge in COVID on African Americans,” said state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston. “Using minorities as a scapegoat is nothing new for Republicans. This is uninformed, racist rhetoric, and it will not be tolerated.”

    In a statement posted to his campaign Facebook page Friday afternoon, Patrick doubled down on his comments, saying that “Democrat social media trolls were up late misstating the facts and fanning the flames of their lies.”

    “Federal and state data clearly indicate that Black vaccination rates are significantly lower than White or Hispanic rates,” he wrote. “Democrats continue to play politics with peoples’ lives, pandering to rather than serving certain constituencies. Republican leadership will continue to encourage vaccination without mandates in all populations.”

  6. 6.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY:

    170 new cases.

    I was supposed to have my booster shot today, but I got no sleep last night after a drunk driver wiped out on my lawn at 1:30 am. I rescheduled the jab for next weekend.

    The drunk driver went to the hospital; his truck was totaled and I’ll be spending the weekend picking pieces of it out of my lawn.

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 22,262 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,535,286 cases. He also reports 223 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 13,936 deaths — 0.91% of the cumulative reported total, 1.09% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 260,880 active and contagious cases; 1,035 are in ICU, 513 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 16,576 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 1,260,470 patients recovered – 82.10% of the cumulative reported total.

    32 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 4,418 clusters. 1,435 clusters are currently active; 2,983 clusters are now inactive.

    22,222 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 7,009 local cases: 179 in clusters, 3,886 close-contact screenings, and 2,944 other screenings.
    Sabah reports 2,651 cases: 107 in clusters, 1,612 close-contact screenings, and 932 other screenings.

    Sarawak reports 1,964 cases: 380 in clusters, 1,158 close-contact screenings, and 426 other screenings. Kedah reports 1,880 cases: 182 in clusters, 1,119 close-contact screenings, and 579 other screenings. Johor reports 1,557 local cases: 430 in clusters, 689 close-contact screenings, and 438 other screenings.

    Penang reports 1,459 cases: 52 in clusters, 520 close-contact screenings, and 887 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,220 cases: 46 in clusters, 575 close-contact screenings, and 599 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,039 cases: 84 in clusters, 696 close-contact screenings, and 259 other screenings.

    Perak reports 946 cases: 55 in clusters, 504 close-contact screenings, and 387 other screenings.

    Melaka reports 882 cases: 258 in clusters, 266 close-contact screenings, and 358 other screenings.

    Pahang reports 664 cases: 143 in clusters, 408 close-contact screenings, and 113 other screenings.

    Terengganu reports 458 local cases: 41 in clusters, 356 close-contact screenings, and 61 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 405 cases: 20 in clusters, 189 close-contact screenings, and 196 other screenings.

    Putrajaya reports 41 cases: 25 close-contact screenings and 16 other screenings. Perlis reports 38 cases: five in clusters, 25 close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Labuan reports nine cases: two close-contact screenings and seven other screenings.

    40 new cases today are imported: 37 in Terengganu, two in Selangor, and one in Johor.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 483,855 doses of vaccine on 20th August: 155,030 first doses and 328,825 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 30,370,403 doses administered: 17,961,600 first doses and 12,408,803 second doses. 55.0% of the population have received their first dose, while 38.0% are now fully vaccinated.

  9. 9.

    Spanky

    There’s gotta be a way to make a buck outta this. I think I’ll open a leech emporium in Tupelo.

  10. 10.

    Peale

    @Spanky: yeah. The more ridiculous the useless measure, the more you can charge. “Don’t get the expensive vaccine that takes 2 seconds. That’s outrageous. Let me send your immunity into overdrive at my clinic where I tie you to a chair and poke you with a cattle prod for six hours. None of my patients ever die of COVID.”

  11. 11.

    JMS

    @Wag: We are very close to 73% of 18+ having at least one dose. Surely some of those people can break out of their circle in the Venn diagram.

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    Briefly saw a report (no link) that there’s been a spike of covidiots treated for poisoning resulting from ingesting ivermectin.

  13. 13.

    Amir Khalid

    @Cermet:

    The very last thing the world needs is a DNA based vaccine – this does, unlike mRNA vaccines, enter into the cellular nucleus and that will send a lot of people over the rabbit hole into even more anti-vax rhetoric.

    The anti-vaxxers are going to do their anti-vaxx thing no matter how any vaccine works, so it doesn’t matter what they say about this one. Besides, this vaccine will be used mostly or entirely in the Third World, as Robert Sneddon points out, and anti-vaxxers are a First World phenomenon.

  14. 14.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: As noted in this above tweet:

    A lot of Mississippians are trying to treat COVID with cow deworming meds.

    MSDH: “At least 70% of the recent calls (to poison control) have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers.” https://t.co/E54a5AdwNv

    — Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 20, 2021

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    The Lt Governor of Texas goes on Fox News to double down on his despicable racial scapegoating.

    Patrick was asked on Fox News to respond to criticisms over his state’s handling of the pandemic.

     

    “The Covid is spreading,” Patrick said, “particularly, most of the numbers are with the unvaccinated and the Democrats like to blame Republicans on that. Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated.”

    Patrick knows that Fox News will not challenge him. But CNN does a little fact checking.

    Facts First: Just on raw numbers, Black people, at about 13% of the total population, are not the “biggest group” of unvaccinated people either in Texas or across the US. An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that White adults account for the largest share of unvaccinated adults. Even if we dive into the rates, the implication from Patrick that Black people are especially to blame for spreading the virus is not accurate.

    Any way you look at the numbers, this fool is a lying sack of shit.

    According to data analyzed by KFF, Black people made up over 50% of positive Covid cases in only two of the 35 analyzed places as of August 16: the District of Columbia and Mississippi. Specifically, in Patrick’s state of Texas, Black people represent 15% of cases, Hispanics 52% and White people 32%.

    The crazy thing is that these lies do nothing to help the situation in Texas. It’s as though Republicans simply do not care whether the virus continues to sweep through the country. They don’t care about facts. They don’t care what simple steps would actually solve the goddam problem.

    They are happy to retreat to a vile alternate reality where only white lives matter.

    They are addicted to malice and hatred.

    Fuck ’em.

  21. 21.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Amir Khalid: anti-vaxxers are a First World phenomenon.

    There are influential individuals and organisations against vaccination programs for COVID-19 everywhere, not just the “First World”. Many of them promote alternatives (drinking cow urine in India, for example), some of them claim the vaccine is a rich-people weapon against their local population causing death or sterility or whatever.

    What we in the West mostly see on news reports is on-the-street protests from Western nations because that’s where the reporters and cameras are.

  22. 22.

    Spanky

    @Brachiator:

    They are happy to retreat to a vile alternate reality where only white lives matter.

    They are addicted to malice and hatred.

    Seems like a pretty accurate summation to me.

  23. 23.

    NorthLeft12

    Speaking for a lot of Canadians (I believe), I am perfectly okay with the US not allowing Canadians to cross the border.
    I am far more worried about Canadians coming back from the US than I am about fully vaccinated and recently tested Americans coming into Canada.

    As I understand it, the expected flood of visitors has not really occurred because of the requirements, specifically the testing, to cross.

    BTW, Canada is at 83% of all eligible with one dose, and 74% fully vaccinated. Expecting these numbers to bounce a bit as more mandates are coming into effect, and fear of the delta variant increases.

  24. 24.

    Robert Sneddon

    @rikyrah: Prove that any particular vaccine is safe first for young children. They are not miniature adults, they work differently even from teenagers in many ways, including their immune systems.

    Screwing up by vaccinating young children and perhaps filling emergency beds with kids made ill BY the vaccines and you can wave goodbye to further vaccination of the adult population beyond what’s been achieved already.

    Trials are being carried out right now, some special case vaccinations of children and even babies is being done here and there but until those trials are finished and the data tortured until it confesses there will be no general vaccination of young people under the age of 12.

  25. 25.

    Nicole

    @Brachiator:

    They are happy to retreat to a vile alternate reality where only white lives matter.

    True.  And it’s infuriating that the media is blithely ignoring that the anti-vax behavior (the yanking masks off faces and harassing medical personnel and school board officials) is all White terrorism.  Black Americans who are choosing not to get vaccinated are not out terrorizing other people for wearing masks and for getting vaccinated; Whites are.  This is about more than vaccination; it’s a bunch of people disappointed they missed the KKK at its height getting their bigotry on.  Ugh.

    The antibody article made me feel slightly reassured.  I tested positive for them right before my vaccination and had a very strong reaction to the first shot (less of one to the 2nd, but I guess that was, in a way, a booster).  As I have a kid still too young to be vaccinated, I am very anxious about bringing a breakthrough infection home.

  27. 27.

    Percysowner

    @New Deal democrat: So, this wave of COVID will peak just in time for Labor Day/End of Summer parties across the country. We better hope the virus hasn’t mutated again by then.

  28. 28.

    TheQuietOne

    Pandemic?? Please. I heard the CEO of the KC Chiefs say on national TV that he’s anxious to see 70,000 butts in Arrowhead this season. Nothing to see here, moving on!!Good grief!!

  29. 29.

    Princess

    @NorthLeft12: The people who are going to be really angry that the US border isn’t open to Canadians are the people living in all those cross border towns that depend on Canadian dollars.

  30. 30.

    patrick Il

    The old definition of mixed emotions was having your mother- in -law drive your new Cadillac off of a cliff . The new definition may be having a walkthru of your house with unvaccinated buyers after they – allend a wedding but are talking about offering full price cash. Which is what I am doing later today – – double masked .

  32. 32.

    sab

    @Robert Sneddon: Thanks for the information. I share rikyrah’s impatience as the grandmother of a seven year old who needs to be in school. I want her vaccinated because I want her safe. Also too I don’t want shortcuts. It is helpful to understand the reasons for the delay.

  33. 33.

    WereBear

    I understand irrigation, but pressure washing and car washing?

    Granted, I am familiar with the strange practices of people who retire and don’t know what to do with themselves… a state I have never understood.

  34. 34.

    dmsilev

    Dr. Dobbs urged Mississippians to talk to their doctors.

    “You know, please work with your doctor. This is medical treatment. You wouldn’t get your chemotherapy at a feed store,” the state health officer said. “I mean, you wouldn’t want to treat your pneumonia with your animal’s medication.

    I give it six weeks, tops, before some idiots prove him wrong.

  38. 38.

    Sloane Ranger

    Friday, 20 August the UK had 37,314 new cases. This is an increase of 9.6% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 29,576 (down 186)

    Northern Ireland – 2397 (up 434)

    Scotland – 3613 (up 246)

    Wales – 1728 (up 248).

    Deaths – There were 114 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 10.4% in the rolling 7-day average. 92 deaths were in England, 9 in Northern Ireland, 9 in Scotland and 4 in Wales.

    Testing – 822,777 tests were conducted on Thursday, 19 August. This is a decrease in the rolling 7-day average of 1.1%. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on this date was 723,098.

    Hospitalisations – As of Thursday, 19 August there were 6441 people in hospital and 928 people on ventilators. As of 16 August, the rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 8.1%.

    Vaccinations – As of Thursday, 19 August, 47,516,505 people had received 1 jab of a vaccine and 41,332,128 had received both. This means that 87.4% of all UK residents aged 16+ had had 1 shot by that date and 76% were fully vaccinated.

    Personal – Got my PCR test through the post this morning, did it straight away and put it in the Priority Post box just across the road at about 1.30. Collection is due for @15.00.

  39. 39.

    sab

    @rikyrah: Whenever I go out I put on my annoying mask (the 3 layer one with the coffee filter insert) I remind myself that I am doing this not to protect me, but to protect other peoples children.

    I would buy n95 masks if I could find ones that fit, but I can’t.

  40. 40.

    NeenerNeener

    @rikyrah:  Thanks. I have a large front lawn and was sound asleep when the drunk went off the road 2 houses down.  He plowed the frontage of both those houses before he got to mine. It looks like he sideswiped a really big tree on my lawn that hangs over the road. That’s probably what destroyed the drivers side of the truck.

    This isn’t the first drunk to end up on my lawn, actually the 6th since I had this house built. If I’d known then what I know now I would have picked a different lot.

    I’ve rescheduled my booster shot for next week.

  41. 41.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 3,464 new cases of COVID-19 reported with three new reported deaths of someone who had tested positive. Test positivity rate is 10.9%. Hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy numbers remain stable(ish).

    About 19,000 vaccinations were administered in Scotland yesterday (Friday) with about 20% of those vaccinations being first doses. 79.6% of the 18+ adult population are now fully vaccinated with another 11.2% having received their initial dose of vaccine.

    16 and 17 year olds are now at 36.4% first dose and 8.2% second dose. If vaccination of this group continues at this initial rate then it’s possible nearly all young people in this age group in Scotland will be vaccinated first-dose by the middle of September.

  42. 42.

    r€nato

    crazy shit I have heard recently from anti-vaxx friends:

    “It’s all a big hoax”

    “It is just the flu”

    “There’s a cure but ‘they’ are holding it back”

    so if it is a hoax… what is the point of the ‘cure’?

    “The reason governments are pushing everyone to get vaccinated right now is that these governments agreed to purchase a shit-ton of doses and they all expire at the end of September. They get compensated by WHO for vaccine doses administered but are on the hook for paying for vaccine doses not administered. The cost of paying for these doses would ruin these countries so they have to force everyone to get vaccinated.”

    [you should be able to do the math in your head… even if this nonsense is true, the cost is not even remotely close to ruining any country’s finances]

    the contempt I have for these ‘friends’ is off the charts. We heard this shit from the idiot wife, whose husband voraciously devours Alex Jones/libertarian/Russian disinformation. She hears it from him and simply regurgitates it in a rather incoherent manner.

    It is absolutely pointless to try to discuss it with her, we have had this experience with her before and do not care to repeat it. When gently challenged on logical inconsistencies she simply repeats what she already said, but with added hysteria. It is exactly like trying to reason with a cult member. I am 55 years old and I learned long ago to simply humor abject idiots rather than try to reason with them

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2Ft%2Fguru&psig=AOvVaw21MxtN4gmiZbUHLah9gWm1&ust=1629639926151000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOjeyvqfwvICFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

  43. 43.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Brachiator: As has been pointed out countless times, with Republicans, Libertarians and a fair amount of Independents, it really is White Supremacy all the way down.  They will occasionally get distracted by shiny objects like tax cuts or Global Warming denial, but the real thing that gets them off and the thing that they will always return to when in doubt is blaming those people (Black, Undocumented, Refugees etc.). We’ve seen it for the past four(ty) years including right now.

  45. 45.

    dr. bloor

    Skeptical of coronavirus shots, some patients demand blood transfusions only from the unvaccinated — 9:53 a.m.

    Washington Post

    The nation’s roiling tensions over vaccination against covid-19 have spilled into an unexpected arena: lifesaving blood transfusions.

    With nearly 60% of the eligible U.S. population fully vaccinated, most of the nation’s blood supply is now coming from donors who have been inoculated, experts said. That has led some patients who are skeptical of the shots to demand transfusions from only the unvaccinated, an option blood centers insist is neither medically sound nor operationally feasible.

    “We are definitely aware of patients who have refused blood products from vaccinated donors,” said Julie Katz Karp, who directs the blood bank and transfusion medicine program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia.

    We owe a debt of gratitude to the Internet Scientists out there determined find out how just how fast natural selection can be made to proceed.

  46. 46.

    Soprano2

    I see my city is making the national news for idiocy again. *facepalm* I cannot believe they didn’t arrest those idiots. The people in the pharmacy should have called security and had them thrown out. As long as they cow people like that, they’ll continue to think it’s OK to threaten and intimidate people.

    I heard that talking point about African-Americans and Covid from our resident former police officer at work yesterday. I said “But what percentage of the total population are they?” He was unfazed, and continued to repeat that it’s not Trump supporters like him who are spreading Covid (he’s vaccinated), but those AA’s who won’t get the shot. Then he turned to ranting about “those people” coming over the border, because according to him 25% of them have Covid and now we’re just letting them in and they’re going everywhere, we aren’t quarantining them or vaccinating them or anything, we’re just letting them spread Covid everywhere. He got mad and said he was going to quit talking to me when I pointed out that last year, when TGF was president and we had basically no immigrants coming in, we still had really bad Covid, so how did that happen? (Got no answer for that except that Covid is worse now, which is not actually true because people aren’t dying like they were before.) Also, he told me that 90% of the people who are homeless want to live that way so they can’t be helped, and if they cause any trouble at all we should put them in jail. Further he said “everything” is messed up right now, and “everything” is terrible right now. It’s interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of one of them to see how they’re thinking about things now.

  48. 48.

    mrmoshpotato

    @dr. bloor:

    That has led some patients who are skeptical of the shots to demand transfusions from only the unvaccinated, an option blood centers insist is neither medically sound nor operationally feasible.

    Holy slapdicks, Batman!  These people are morons!

  49. 49.

    Robert Sneddon

    @rikyrah: ​
      The primary tenet of medicine is “First, do no harm.” It’s not always honoured, for example chemotherapy poisons people deliberately but it is done in the expectation that the harm caused now will provide benefits like not dying quickly from aggressive cancers.

    Unless and until there’s good scientific evidence, tested and checked and nitpicked then children should not receive the current range of vaccines unless there is a good medical reason on a case by case basis. It’s complicated by the fact that children of a certain age are presumed to be unable to give informed consent to treatment such as vaccinations after balancing the perceived risks, and always remember any medical procedure carries risks.

  50. 50.

    arielibra

    We were planning to get together with friends for a vacation this week but…one of them has been exposed to COVID. (Imagine very fierce frowny-face here that I don’t have the editing skills to insert.) Better safe than sorry, and no hard feelings among us at all, but just when I was thinking that post-vax life was better than last year because we could actually do some stuff…

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    @Soprano2:

    Further he said “everything” is messed up right now, and “everything” is terrible right now. It’s interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of one of them to see how they’re thinking about things now.

    This false, diffuse idea that “everything” is terrible has fueled the California recall effort. Very sad, and dangerous.

  52. 52.

    dopey-o

    @Soprano2: Further he said “everything” is messed up right now, and “everything” is terrible right now. It’s interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of one of them to see how they’re thinking about things now.

    did he mention who had been running the country for the last 4 years? I thought so.

    I am quite aware of the deplorable situation in your corner of Missouri. My Mississippi nephew says it’s the most backassward part of the South.

  53. 53.

    Bill Arnold

    About the “EURO 2020 final” pieces, how did the assertion that they were a superspreader event emerge? Not seeing any solid evidence in the gov.uk press release; haven’t found the raw data (yet).
    Government data shows mass events can take place safely but fans urged to remain cautious in crowds and get vaccinated (20 August 2021)
    I mean, it probably was, but how much of the additional spread (shown with statistics) was sharing of unfiltered exhalations indoors, in rest rooms, pubs, restaurants, vehicles, and other shared indoor spaces?
    Are there any estimates that attempt to quantify the relative contributions? e.g. that model, even very crudely, airflow dynamics (and humidity and …)
    Very frustrating seeing e.g. The Times piece “Euro 2020 final was Covid superspreader event”, with no supporting links but strongly (and perhaps deliberately) implying that crowded outdoor gatherings are deadly even for those who stay outdoors. (Including protests, one wonders, cynically?) (I’m tempted to ping the author of the The Times piece on twitter – Kaya Burgess@kayaburgess – low traffic twitter account. )
    Whatever one thinks of The Guardian, at least their pieces often/usually are full of supporting links.

  54. 54.

    smith

    @Bill Arnold: Interesting to contrast it with Lollapalooza, which had a much larger crowd and a much smaller number of infections. Both events required either proof of vaccination or a recent negative test. Could after the event sessions indoors, in pubs, etc, account for the difference?

  55. 55.

    TheQuietOne

    @FlyingToaster: I worked there for years on game day. During campaign season they put up McCain’s ugly mug for a patriotic spot on the big screen, never saw one with Obama. I never cared for management since.

  56. 56.

    Bill Arnold

    @smith:

    Both events required either proof of vaccination or a recent negative test. Could after the event sessions indoors, in pubs, etc, account for the difference?

    Yes, and before-the-event sessions, and travel to and from the events.
    In a sense it can be argued that it doesn’t matter much, that humans will be social and mix indoors, but behavior is not immutable; the lack of influenza for 2 winters southern hemisphere and 1 winter northern hemisphere shows that behaviors affecting virus spread can and have changed.

    https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/2021/08/05/influenza-activity-remains-lower-levels

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    @NeenerNeener:

    This isn’t the first drunk to end up on my lawn, actually the 6th since I had this house built. If I’d known then what I know now I would have picked a different lot.

    We had a long steep downhill straight-away next to our property when I was growing up. at the bottom there was a sharp curve and a really big oak tree. After a dry spell, the first light rain made the smooth pavement really slick.

    We got used to hearing a kind of swooshy sliding sound of locked up tires followed by a huge crashing sound, and then a few minutes later a quiet knock at the door. We would let them in to use the phone. No ambulance usually needed if someone could walk the 50 or 60 yards up to the house.

    The anti-lock brakes would probably do away with the swooshy sliding sound, but the ending crash would be about the same.

    Perhaps you should talk to a landscaping contractor about getting some really big boulders for your front yard, to keep potential high velocity objects from impacting your house? I’m thinking 4 or 5 foot rocks, handled by a big excavator… with plantings around them to soften the look.

    Sorry for the mess, glad no innocent bystanders were hurt!

  58. 58.

    J R in WV

    @Soprano2:

    It’s interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of one of them to see how they’re thinking about things now.

    Except that it appears there’s absolutely no thinking going on in those little dim minds. Dimmer than a firefly blinking way off in the woods…

  59. 59.

    StringOnAStick

    @Soprano2: We got the “homelessness is a choice” rant directed at us last weekend by two now former friends (other things were said too), but he doesn’t want them in jail, he wants them starved of all assistance, at which point “the problem solves itself”.  Either they “quit being homeless or they die”, and he was fine with either outcome.  A truly disgusting poverty of spirit.

  62. 62.

    Chris T.

    In re the ivermectin idiots and the like, new slogan:

    Clean the gene pool—with chlorine! Tell the hydroxychloroquine nutcases that the active covid-killing part of that drug is the chlorine, and they can get that at any swimming pool supply company…

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