I’m in the shadow of the Washington monument looking out at 676,286 flags on the day this pandemic became the largest mass casualty event in American history. I didn’t realize families of those lost wrote personal messages on flags. It hurts to read. Here are some.THREAD pic.twitter.com/kEfgQHZnb0
— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) September 21, 2021
…
If you can get to DC to see this powerful installation, please do. The flags will be displayed until Oct 3. For those who can’t make it, I hope my photos give you a sense of its power. Think about those lost. Hold their memory close. Let prevent more Americans from dying.END pic.twitter.com/NxVT2w5EH2
— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) September 21, 2021
(If you want to add the name of a loved one lost to COVID, here’s the website.)
Booster logistics: States begin the complex task of providing Pfizer booster shots to designated eligible groups. Among the challenges: making sure recipients of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines know they're not yet eligible https://t.co/fPnYKyk4B9
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 26, 2021
Billions more in profit are at stake for some vaccine makers as the U.S. moves toward dispensing COVID-19 booster shots to shore up Americans' protection against the virus. How much manufacturers stand to gain depends on how big the rollout proves to be. https://t.co/Synff6yfYq
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 25, 2021
… How much the manufacturers stand to gain depends on how big the rollout proves to be…
Wall Street is taking notice. The average forecast among analysts for Moderna’s 2022 revenue has jumped 35% since President Joe Biden laid out his booster plan in mid-August.
Most of the vaccinations so far in the U.S. have come from Pfizer, which developed its shot with Germany’s BioNTech, and Moderna. They have inoculated about 99 million and 68 million people, respectively. Johnson & Johnson is third with about 14 million people.
No one knows yet how many people will get the extra shots. But Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen expects boosters alone to bring in about $26 billion in global sales next year for Pfizer and BioNTech and around $14 billion for Moderna if they are endorsed for nearly all Americans…
Drugmakers are also developing COVID-19 shots that target certain variants of the virus, and say people might need annual shots like the ones they receive for the flu. All of that could make the vaccines a major recurring source of revenue…
This bodes well for future vaccine development, noted Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan.
Vaccines normally are nowhere near as profitable as treatments, Gordon said. But the success of the COVID-19 shots could draw more drugmakers and venture capitalists into the field.
“The vaccine business is more attractive, which, for those of us who are going to need vaccines, is good,” Gordon said.
A patient in the ER just asked me for a booster shot.
Unfortunately she was very confused. Because her oxygen was low. Because she had severe Covid. Because she never had her first vaccine dose.
Our top priority must remain vaccinating those who haven’t yet gotten their shots.
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) September 25, 2021
======
Impossible to read this as anything other than an utter failure. pic.twitter.com/oscif0YMsB
— Kevin ? Glass (@KevinWGlass) September 24, 2021
Everyone in my feed is chattering about who gets boosters first in the US but I'm just thinking about who in the world gets first doses last. https://t.co/GXzeUMcrWt
— Amy Maxmen, PhD (@amymaxmen) September 24, 2021
Health workers in India’s Himachal Pradesh overcome the challenge of steep topography, walking for hours or days to reach remote villages and administer COVID-19 vaccine doses https://t.co/1agNJELPEw pic.twitter.com/a2jjukUOSC
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 24, 2021
Vietnam delays reopening resort island over low vaccination rate https://t.co/5fxhTLLFZP pic.twitter.com/YLwZgC3Zjk
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 24, 2021
Australia's Victoria state records second-highest daily rise in virus cases https://t.co/oFXUeahCo5 pic.twitter.com/l8T2hOjNJu
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 26, 2021
Hope collides with doubt, while covid deaths soar, in the E.U.’s least-vaccinated country https://t.co/EVnp1bdP1b
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 26, 2021
Britain's Conservative government is hoping a combination of relatively high vaccination rates and common-sense behavior will keep a lid on coronavirus infections this fall and winter and avoid the need for restrictive measures. By @JillLawless https://t.co/r3sGNhR0iV
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) September 26, 2021
Covid-19: Ireland ends mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers https://t.co/PXadxYJJ3f
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 25, 2021
A train carrying COVID-19 vaccines along with doctors and nurses to administer them is on a three-month journey to small towns and poorer parts of South Africa, which has the continent’s highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. https://t.co/CBYv8WowBk
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) September 25, 2021
======
A daily pill to treat Covid could be just months away. The short-term antiviral regimen in clinical trials is designed to begin right after diagnosis & could prevent symptom development. Antivirals are already essential for other infections, such as flu https://t.co/euNDw5ojTi pic.twitter.com/lwDIca6e6H
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 25, 2021
Tamiflu, but for Covid:
… “Oral antivirals have the potential to not only curtail the duration of one’s covid-19 syndrome, but also have the potential to limit transmission to people in your household if you are sick,” said Timothy Sheahan, a virologist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who has helped pioneer these therapies.
Antivirals are already essential treatments for other viral infections, including hepatitis C and HIV. One of the best known is Tamiflu, the widely prescribed pill that can shorten the duration of influenza and reduce the risk of hospitalization if given quickly.
The medications, developed to treat and prevent viral infections in people and animals, work differently depending on the type. But they can be engineered to boost the immune system to fight infection, block receptors so viruses can’t enter healthy cells, or lower the amount of active virus in the body.
At least three promising antivirals for covid are being tested in clinical trials, with results expected as soon as late fall or winter, said Carl Dieffenbach, director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is overseeing antiviral development….
Like the monoclonal antibodies, antiviral pills would be no substitute for vaccination, said Griffin. They would be another tool to fight covid. “It’s nice to have another option,” he said.
One challenge in developing antiviral drugs quickly has been recruiting enough participants for the clinical trials, each of which needs to enroll many hundreds of people, said Dr. Elizabeth Duke, a Fred Hutch research associate overseeing its molnupiravir trial.
Participants must be unvaccinated and enrolled in the trial within five days of a positive covid test. Any given day, interns make 100 calls to newly covid-positive people in the Seattle area — and most say no.
“Just generally speaking, there’s a lot of mistrust about the scientific process,” Duke said. “And some of the people are saying kind of nasty things to the interns.”…
Which doesn’t mean these same *still* unvaccinated people won’t demand a free lifetime supply of TamiCovid, the minute it should come on the market…
Another MS drug class causes concern for Covid vaccination. Vaccine effectiveness may be reduced in MS patients on S1P modulators. Earlier, reduced antibody responses were found for those treated w/ anti-CD20 therapies. No problems w/ Mavenclad or Aubagio https://t.co/kk0En9Dcxx pic.twitter.com/uxhs99hZyv
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 25, 2021
Very good Q&A on #Covid boosters with @celinegounder.
We got blinded by the ~95% VE the mRNA vaccines showed against all infection in the first couple of months. We're not going to hold that & chasing it with boosters isn't viable.
h/t @rkhamsi https://t.co/UPFgMt9Cjm— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) September 25, 2021
Is a cloth mask good enough to face #DeltaVariant? Some European airlines have banned cloth masks during air travel—favoring surgical masks. Infectious diseases expert, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong of UC San Francisco, also recommends them https://t.co/tGDHPv8wsJ pic.twitter.com/BfbYIM0Lta
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 26, 2021
Vaccine pioneers win 2021 #LaskerAward
The American "Nobel" prize given to scientists whose research is the basis of mRNA vaccines now used in #COVID19 vaccines by Pfizer & Moderna.https://t.co/inMoHfEGoK #Lasker2021
— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) September 25, 2021
Familiar tactics to anyone who’s dealt with ailing, aging pets:
National Zoo’s covid-infected lions and tigers won’t eat their meat, so zookeepers are trying goat cheese and chicken broth https://t.co/flNwZfWqgj
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 25, 2021
======
There are still plenty of eligible Americans who haven’t been able to get vaccinated, even if those people aren’t the white suburbanites getting so much media attention:
The unvaccinated but willing account for approximately 10% of the U.S. population, according to a report last month.
Immunizing this group could be critical to attaining herd immunity and protecting those disproportionately affected by the pandemic. https://t.co/19Qw8RybZt
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 25, 2021
Nearly 100 free and charitable clinics across the country, which services uninsured or underinsured people, have forged bridges with underserved communities in an initiative dubbed “Project Finish Line,” aiming to vaccinate 1 million hard-to-reach people. https://t.co/19Qw8RybZt
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 25, 2021
Yesterday we received a message from the hospital COO that the Indiana National Guard Crisis Response Team was deploying to my hospital. The message itself was written from a place of relief, of finally getting help.
— Dr. Hedrick (@DrHedrick) September 25, 2021
We can't and won't stop trying to save lives. But right now it's like being at a hospital at the bottom of a cliff that people keep driving over after ignoring reading the signs to stop.
— Dr. Hedrick (@DrHedrick) September 25, 2021
'A serious issue:' New Mexico health officials suspect 2 people are dead from ivermectin poisoning. Acting state Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said the unnamed people died after taking the anti-parasitic, one of whom was already dealing w/ severe Covid https://t.co/WrTYSKxjWF
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 25, 2021
A U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked a New York City mandate requiring all school teachers and staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19 just days before it was to take effect https://t.co/SPjPZSfRnk pic.twitter.com/3RFjJHVafc
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 26, 2021
NY considers using National Guard & medical personnel from other states to replace anti-vaxxer healthcare workers who refuse state order to get vaccinated https://t.co/3hqFIHvj8a
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) September 26, 2021
Staten Island is the Trumpiest of all the boroughs by a long shot and even there 70% of adults are fully vaccinated. This isn't a movement, you're just spoiling the Saturday night of all the people who actually gave a fuck about your health. https://t.co/S0yqmtl6n3
— zeddy (@Zeddary) September 26, 2021
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
Monroe County web site: taking the weekend off
NYSDOH says 251 new cases.
I ventured out to have my blood work done yesterday; they had a limit of 8 people in the waiting room and everybody beyond that had to wait in their cars for a call to come in. Thankfully everybody was masked. Here’s hoping I wasn’t exposed.
raven
This cowboy got his third yesterday!
satby
The cold civil war in this country has heated up thanks to the pandemic. Every freaking day working with the public includes hostile encounters of various degrees now, even in the doctor’s office. My low level experiences with it are enraging and exhausting; I can’t even imagine how hospital staff are hanging on. The ramifications of this, between the deaths and the abuse, will be medical staffing shortages lasting decades.
lowtechcyclist
If one of those anti-vax protests were happening near me, I’d make a sign saying, “WE are losing our freedoms, because YOU won’t get your damned shots.”
ETA: And as an old Jesus freak myself, I’m mad as hell at the anti-vax evangelicals who seem to have forgotten about loving your neighbor as yourself. “Who was neighbor to this man?” Jesus asked at the end of the parable of the good Samaritan. Which evangelicals are going to get vaxxed to be neighbor to the overworked and abused hospital workers? The kids under 12 who can’t get vaccinated yet? The adults who for genuine medical reasons can’t get vaxxed?
All too few, it seems. The rest, their alleged faith is a sham. Fuck ’em.
JPL
@raven: How are you doing?
pajaro
Got my booster yesterday as well (along with a flu shot). My arm hurts and I have a headache, otherwise fine.
YY_Sima Qian
On 9/25 China reported 9 new domestic confirmed cases & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Fujian Province reporter 5 new domestic confirmed cases. 17 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 429 active domestic confirmed cases & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases.
Heilongjiang Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 38 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province, all at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture.
At Hunan Province there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases remaining, all at Zhangjiajie
At Henan Province there currently are 8 active domestic confirmed cases remaining, all at Shangqiu.
At Shanghai Municipality there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining.
Imported Cases
On 9/25, China reported 20 new imported confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 12 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 36 confirmed cases recovered (19 imported), 10 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (all imported) & 2 were reclassified as confirmed cases (both imported), & 583 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,013 active confirmed cases in the country (524 imported), 12 in serious condition (4 imported), 350 active asymptomatic cases (340 imported), 4 suspect cases (all imported). 19,775 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 9/25, 2,197.689M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 3.222M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 9/26, Hong Kong reported 8 new positive cases, all imported (7 had been fully vaccinated).
On 9/25, Macau reported 2 new positive cases, both domestic (Nepalese security guards), connected imported cases. The city has commenced mass screening of all residents.
Baud
@satby:
I hope you’re doing ok.
@lowtechcyclist:
We don’t see enough moral condemnation of this sort.
OzarkHillbilly
@lowtechcyclist: My sign would say, “Fuck Off and Die”
raven
@JPL: A little puny and the shot site hurts, nothing earth shaking.
mrmoshpotato
“Common-sense behavior” What kinda BS phrase is that?
How about throwing Flobalob, Farage, and the whole damn party into the Sun?
Cermet
First off, I don’t give a flying “f” that big pharm will make big money on boosters; compare to the costs of ICU care it is not significant. Also, just the pain and suffering reduction is well worth the cost even if we are just talking a few tens of thousand case reductions (break-throughs.)
Can’t help but think that those getting the Lasker award also richly desire the Nobel soon after.
As for worrying about people with other vaccination types getting a Pfizer dose, again, who gives a “f”? People are taking deadly drugs against covid and we should worry about an utterly safe vaccine being given as a booster to people because it differs in extremely minor aspects to their original vaccination? Get real.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@satby:
Not to mention the potential loss of nursing as one of the most trusted professions in the US. That’s taken years and decades to build, all wiped out by insane disinformation and misinformatio
Hope you’re doing alright btw
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
I always assumed that’s what was on your doormat.
mrmoshpotato
@satby:
Yup. Already stressful as the jobs are, no one’s gonna want to have to deal with anti-vax assholes on top of it. *sigh
NotMax
@OzarkHillbilly
Would consider blasting them with some Atomic Rooster.
If I had a boombox.
Start to scream, shout for help
There is no one by your side
To forget what is done
Seems so hard to carry on
Luck is false, that it’s near
Bring yourself to understand
It’s your fate or what’s cast
Point a finger at yourself
.
NotMax
@Baud
Now, now. OH is far from an arrant churl. Said doormat would include the word “Please.”
:)
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 13,104 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,198,235 cases. It also reports 228 new deaths as of midnight, for a cumulative total of 25,159 deaths – 1.14% of the cumulative reported total, 1.25% of resolved cases.
Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.91.
850 confirmed cases are in ICU, 365 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 20,971 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 1,989,512 patients recovered – 90.5% of the cumulative reported total.
12 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 5,413 clusters. 1,185 clusters are currently active; 4,228 clusters are now inactive.
13,096 new cases today are local infections. Sarawak reports 2,941 local cases: 105 in clusters, 1,062 close-contact screenings, and 1,774 other screenings. Selangor reports 1,554 local cases: 149 in clusters, 862 close-contact screenings, and 543 other screenings.
Johor reports 1,455 cases: 200 in clusters, 678 close-contact screenings, and 577 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,206 cases: 28 in clusters, 845 close-contact screenings, and 333 other screenings. Sabah reports 1,078 cases: 36 in clusters, 611 close-contact screenings, and 431 other screenings.
Perak reports 994 cases: 124 in clusters, 445 close-contact screenings, and 425 other screenings. Penang reports 955 cases: 27 in clusters, 410 close-contact screenings, and 518 other screenings.
Kedah reports 721 cases: four in clusters, 490 close-contact screenings, and 227 other screenings.
Terengganu reports 685 cases: one in a cluster, 549 close-contact screenings, and 135 other screenings. Pahang reports 604 cases: 117 in clusters, 386 close-contact screenings, and 101 other screenings.
Melaka reports 362 cases: 29 in clusters, 135 close-contact screenings, and 198 other screenings.
Kuala Lumpur reports 270 cases: two in clusters, 131 close-contact screenings, and 137 other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan reports 163 local cases: 93 close-contact screenings and 70 other screenings.
Perlis reports 80 cases: 48 close-contact screenings and 32 other screenings. Putrajaya reports 24 cases: 13 close-contact screenings and 11 other screenings. Labuan reports four cases: three in clusters and one other screening.
Eight new cases today are imported: four in Selangor, two in Sarawak, and two in Negeri Sembilan.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 259,141 doses of vaccine on 25th September: 114,618 first doses and 144,523 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 42,106,397 doses administered: 22,715,503 first doses and 19,481,412 second doses. 69.6% of the population have received their first dose, while 59.7% are now fully vaccinated.
p.a.
@ScooterCasterNY
Dozens of Anti-mandate activists have entered a vaccinated only food court in Staten Island chanting “USA USA”
Fucking cops: arrest these assholes. Treat them like you treat BLM & antifa. It will be a good teaching moment for them. File this comment under: sarcasm, or who am I kidding??
Booger
Dear Lions and Tigers @ National Zoo: “If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding!!”
OzarkHillbilly
@NotMax: I’m not that polite.
Geminid
Andy Kim (NJ-3) is another valuable member of the House Democratic Class of 2018. His formerly Republican district runs from the eastern Philadelphia suburbs to the Jersey shore.
satby
@Baud: @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Thanks, tired to my bones, but it’s mostly mentally (hah!). And my own “civility mask” slides further down my game face every day. Friday night I had three in a row that whined about (having to wear) their masks on the premises of the doctors’ office and my responses went from a planted stare until the person just sighed and put it up correctly again to asking if I should just reschedule their appointment until Oct. of 2022 when presumably the pandemic might be abated since they weren’t going to be seen unless they wore the mask we supplied correctly. Yesterday, I reamed out the doofus vender at the market until he put his mask on by calling out his failure as a “Christian” (he’s the ostentatious kind) to care for his fellows as Christ commanded* by wearing a mask. He put it on.
*I’m an atheist, but know the Bible.
@mrmoshpotato: My field of fucks has been barren for quite a while, and I’m discharge-proof, but I would have probably already been bounced from a hospital job for telling some asshole antivax family member off.
Chief Oshkosh
Maybe anti-vax rioters, like the ones at that LI restaurant, should be spritzed with super-soakers filled with bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and HCQ, maybe even after they’ve been corralled.
rikyrah
Guess who got their booster shot yesterday?
????????
rikyrah
@raven:
Yeah??????
Chief Oshkosh
@rikyrah: It ain’t bragging’ if ya done it! :)
Congrats!
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 2,556 new cases reported today. The test positivity rate is 8.9%. There were two new deaths reported overnight (noting that Register Offices are now generally closed at weekends). ICU bed occupancy numbers are 78, one less than yesterday while hospitalisations are 1,004, down one.
There were over 7,000 vaccinations carried out in Scotland yesterday (Friday) with over 60% of these being first vaccinations. 91.3% of 16+ adults are now vaccinated with their first dose and 84.1% are fully vaccinated. 70.6% of 16 and 17-year-olds have now received their first vaccination, up 0.2% from yesterday.
Sloane Ranger
Saturday the UK as a whole had 31,348 new cases. This is an increase of 13.8% in the rolling 7-day average. This is despite Wales not reporting on a Saturday and the figures from Northern Ireland not being published. New cases by nation,
England – 28,987 (down 112)
Northern Ireland – Did not publish.
Scotland – 3261 (down 406)
Wales – Does not report on Saturday’s).
Deaths – Yesterday, there were 122 deaths within 28 days of positive test reported but this does not include Northern Ireland or Wales and information from the other two home nations will be incomplete due to office closures. This is a decrease of 5.3% in the rolling 7-day average. 104 deaths were in England and 18 in Scotland.
Testing – Not updated on Saturdays.
Hospitalisations – Not updated at weekends.
Vaccinations – As of Friday, 24 September, 48,699,874 people had had 1 shot of a vaccine and 44,692,956 had had both. This means that, as of that date, 89.6% of all UK residents aged 16+ had had 1 shot and 82.2% were fully vaccinated.
Personal – A number of us from my u3a Group had Sunday Lunch together just now. There were 20 of us in the Group. We went to a restaurant that mandated wearing masks, except when seated at your table. We were seated in the conservatory, which had the doors and windows open, and ate early so the restaurant was fairly empty. It was a carvery and we had to go up in groups of four. Most people were OK with “rules” but we did have one person who complained about being “ordered” to wear a mask, while claiming they would have been OK if it had been phrased as a request. I told her, their house, their rules.
Zzyzx
Day 7 of my breakthrough and while I really do see the end in site, last night I had a coughing fit so intense, I almost wrenched my back and I still can’t get this fever to drop. It’s just that I’m starting to get longer breaks between the coughs.
Platonicspoof
@Zzyzx:
Hope you have plenty of support people now, and that you avoid any long COVID injury!
Fair Economist
@Zzyzx: The coughing was tough for me too. Hope it let’s up soon.
J R in WV
@raven:
Congratulations! We got our third Moderna shot earlier because next door county’s Health Dept wisely decided to inject their nearing-expiration vaccines in arms instead of the medical waste incinerator, late last August.
They caught some static because of the hesitant-to-react-to-the-plague CDC/FDA, but really, who actually believes vaccine should be thrown away in a crisis???!!
I didn’t have a repeat of my 2nd shot muscle cramp reaction, for which I’m very glad. But didn’t hesitate for a second when neighbor and field Health Inspector for that health dept dropped an email to her elderly and health impacted friends about the all day every day vaccine drive at work.
After check-in when they looked us up in the state database, where we showed up no problem, we were called into a hallway where volunteer EMTs asked us which vaccine we needed, were back in seconds with a loaded syringe. Waited in another room to me sure we weren’t going to fall over, no one ever does, hit the road home.
Glad to hear you got yours, wish everyone was lined up for at least their first shot.
So angry with people too stupid to care about their own health and too selfish to give a shit about everyone else!
Still staying up the hollow, as I see a favorite young musician will be performing with the local symphony next week… Don’t think the symphony is requiring vaccinations, will ask, if they do will buy tix. Won’t be going to those party events for a while otherwise!
J R in WV
@Zzyzx:
Back when I read about a whooping cough outbreak in CA among unvaccinated stooges, and at least one patient broke his ribs from coughing so hard. The NEXT DAY I was at the health dept looking for a refresh vaccination, as it had been years since my last DPT shot.
Hope you get over the cough asap!! Hang in there Zzyzx…
JaneE
I don’t know about all antivirals, but the one I was given for my shingles was not fun. I have had bad colds that made me less uncomfortable. Still better than even a mild case of Covid, from what I have been told. Whatever happened to “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”?
Freemark
Get tired of people bitching about getting booster shots before the rest of the world gets first doses. It’s like being told to eat your vegetables because people in Aftica are starving. Us getting boosters has little to fuckall to do with people getting vaccinated elsewhere.
debbie
@Freemark:
Better to let doses go unused, is it? Because that’s what is happening.
brantl
Yes. but still, it would be at the end, as an afterthought. I’m sure his parents raised him correctly.
greenergood
‘Not to mention the potential loss of nursing as one of the most trusted professions in the US. That’s taken years and decades to build, all wiped out by insane disinformation and misinformation’
This is where I get pins and needles about Russian interference. I usually don’t go down the scarey Russian CT rabbit hole, but when I read something like this, it makes me think that previous uncertainties about Russian interference in US/UK politics (i.e., which are political, so to speak) have crossed over to a much more frightening dimension of questioning faith in medical sureties, the dismissal of nurses’ and doctors’ and other medical personnel’s work, and their subsequent exhaustion and abandoning the medical ship for an easier, less fraught life. And then what? A ‘First World’ country with a ‘Third World’ health system (yes, was starting to happen even before Covid), but no more research, etc. The sowing of mistrust is just so insidious and so pervasive, and we don’t seem to be able to find a counter-action to it.
Cacti
I wish someone in DC had the stones to just come out and say that religious exemptions to vaccines are a giant crock of shit, with no place in the modern world.
smith
@Cacti: Well, there is that pesky First Amendment and an Inferior Court that has already shown great willingness to let it overrule public health concerns. On the other hand, I’ve heard that the federal government plans to make it very very difficult to get a religious exemption from the vaccine mandate soon to go into effect for federal employees and contractors.