Too long to post it all here, but you should definitely go read the whole thread, courtesy Rikyrah:
1/
Grady LobbyI was sitting at the #NoJudgmentZone table and notice a Grady elder quickly moving toward me on a walker.
Her: "'Scuse me, baby. You know where this at?" *places paper onto desk*
I took the paper and scanned it. Someone jogged up beside her.
Niece: "Auntie!" pic.twitter.com/DUM5OVfxyS
— Kimberly D. Manning, MD (@gradydoctor) September 29, 2021
Do *not* mess with the Aunties.
21/
It had been kind of slow at the table that morning. But just when I started to doubt what we were doing, this happened.Sigh.
I know we're all tired. But I swear these conversations aren't in vain. And I like to believe our influence is contagious, too.
Yeah. ? pic.twitter.com/2ueVLDShPn
— Kimberly D. Manning, MD (@gradydoctor) September 29, 2021
Is Covid in Retreat? New cases in the U.S. have fallen by more than a third in the past month. There has also been >30% drop in cases globally. Only time will tell https://t.co/5ampmaCLHv
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 5, 2021
I’m afraid this may be whistling into the wind:
The summer spike in cases fueled by the Delta variant of the coronavirus is likely the last big COVID-19 wave in the United States, according to former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb https://t.co/L9Byon9w9M pic.twitter.com/PfH1XxZsG3
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2021
Johnson & Johnson will seek authorization for a booster shot. The pharmaceutical giant is expected to ask federal regulators to approve a booster of its Covid vax. The firm is the last of the 3 federally authorized vax providers to call for extra shots https://t.co/jNwRXx2Bms pic.twitter.com/Lkj4iRWiY5
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2021
Don't look now, but we're about to get below 70,000 hospitalizations & 100,000 new cases/day, for the 1st time in 2 months + lowest test positivity (5.6%) in 3 months
But a LONG way to get this?contained
Tens of millions more people need to get vaxxed to help us get & stay there pic.twitter.com/QLyUtgXVW8— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 5, 2021
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Japan's dip in COVID-19 cases baffles experts; winter 'nightmare' still a risk https://t.co/Koyc7e66tV pic.twitter.com/v4buprZpXp
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2021
Japan’s COVID-19 case numbers have plummeted to the lowest in nearly a year just as other parts of Asia are struggling with surging infections, leaving health experts perplexed and raising concern of a winter rebound.
New daily cases in Tokyo dropped to 87 on Monday, the lowest tally since Nov. 2 last year, and a precipitous decline from more than 5,000 a day in an August wave that hammered the capital’s medical infrastructure….
Kyoto University’s Hiroshi Nishiura is among those who believe the summer spike in cases and subsequent plunge were mainly due to trends in human activity.
Infectivity, as measured by the effective reproduction number, is correlated with holiday breaks, he said…
Recent record cases in South Korea and Singapore may be connected to some mid-year holidays, and a convergence of Asian and Western holidays at the end of the year could lead to a “nightmare”, he said.
But other experts say infection trends have less to do with travel and more to do with regular, seasonal trends.
Jason Tetro, a Canada-based infectious disease expert and author of “The Germ Code” said different age cohorts become “fuel” for the virus to perpetuate, depending on vaccination rates and prior infections, at different times.
“Without elimination of the virus, we will continue to see spikes until 85% of the population is immune to the dominant strain,” he said.
“This is the only way to get out of these vicious cycles.”…
Whatever the cause of the lull, experts say time is of the essence to head off another resurgence.
“We only have a window of one month,” Shibuya said. “So we should move fast to secure beds and ramp up vaccination.”
Australia won't welcome back international tourists until next year, with the return of skilled migrants and students given higher priority, the prime minister says. https://t.co/lCKGwpxDTC
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 5, 2021
New Zealand said that it will start using COVID-19 vaccine certificates as proof of inoculation at large events and other high-risk settings from next month, as the country battles the spread of the Delta variant https://t.co/C5OEdR5uQE pic.twitter.com/UTcud9smXB
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2021
BREAKING: Russia reported a new record of 895 daily deaths on Tuesday.https://t.co/rOKswLo6FZ
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 5, 2021
Russia has now reported all-time-high numbers of one-day Covid deaths for six out of the last eight days.https://t.co/FF2dTyI4VD
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 5, 2021
The Russian government said it is "seriously concerned" about rising infection rates, as just 36% of Russian adults are fully vaccinatedhttps://t.co/DGZCTVWVGz
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 4, 2021
The EU's drug regulator has approved booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older. The recommendations go to health authorities in all 27 EU nations, some of which have already have begun administering booster shots.https://t.co/HEPR009wQb
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 4, 2021
The media continues to report breathlessly on the small number of holdouts when the vast majority of people are getting vaccinated. As of 2019 the Swiss guard had 135 members. So we’re talking about like 98% compliance. It’s media malpractice to frame it this way. Mandates work. https://t.co/LQa7EsEqNt
— Jean-Michel Connard ? (@torriangray) October 4, 2021
siri, show me a graphical representation of vaccines doing what they are supposed to do https://t.co/ShLwxCbO6N
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) October 5, 2021
Brazil's tragic ivermectin frenzy is a warning to the US. Early in the pandemic Brazilians, led by Pres. Jair Bolsanaro, flocked to the de-wormer as a Covid treatment. But Brazil suffered horrific death rates in 2020 & early 2021 despite ivermectin. Image: Bolsanaro supporter https://t.co/ZjTnyoc8w6 pic.twitter.com/F94YmI1NTL
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 5, 2021
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AstraZeneca is seeking emergency U.S. approval for a new treatment to prevent COVID-19 https://t.co/2kD6DmDxGo pic.twitter.com/9VGukIuMda
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2021
Oral Covid drug slashes hospitalization & death risk, Merck says. Molnupiravir is effective against Gamma, Mu & Delta variants. Merck is seeking FDA authorization. But there's an elephant in the room: potential drug resistance if the antiviral is overused https://t.co/P14rFpoO71
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2021
Questions are already swirling about the projected price point for Merck's experimental #Covid drug. The contract with the USG puts its cost at $712 per treatment course; but production costs are only $20, @pharmalot reports. https://t.co/Dq8FFTGc5j
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 4, 2021
Hospitalizations & intubations surged among kids in Arkansas during the #DeltaVariant wave. Public health data suggest the variant may lead to more severe outcomes in children https://t.co/fyEoOVIH1P pic.twitter.com/4mSv43bqbm
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2021
SARSCoV2 infection can damage the kidneys. New studies reveal mechanisms the virus uses to harm the organs. The interaction w/ angiotensin-converting enzyme 2—ACE2—enables SARS2 to replicate in kidney cells disrupting the control of blood pressure https://t.co/RfNoLlAZdW pic.twitter.com/2uwmtlaufH
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2021
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Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department will address threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation's public schools. A number of threats have been tied to pandemic mask mandates. https://t.co/4ppLCJa5kn
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 5, 2021
In #Idaho "#COVID19 cases among children are rising significantly faster than they are in adults, having doubled since mid-August. Infections in children now account for around 20% of new cases."https://t.co/ZonWpEDSJY
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 4, 2021
Vax Update:
-84.7% of adult New Yorkers have at least one vaccine dose (CDC)
-71.8% of all New Yorkers have at least one vaccine dose (CDC)
-42,162 doses administered over last 24 hrs
-25,520,746 total doses administered pic.twitter.com/tQACQM66NL— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) October 4, 2021
Vaccine mandate protesters in NY knock over a mobile covid testing site this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/w3h2BZgJlR
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 4, 2021
An isolated Alaska Native village largely succeeded in keeping out COVID-19 by shutting out outsiders. But as Alaska sees one of the nation’s sharpest upticks in infections, there are new risks for those who are hours away from hospitals. https://t.co/T7WvQNT2pQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 5, 2021
An Ohio Covid patient treated w/ ivermectin after his wife sued the hospital has died. Anti-vxxer Jeffrey Smith died Sept. 25 his lawyer said Monday. In August, a judge ordered West Chester Hospital to give Smith the antiparasitic. The order was overturned https://t.co/axHCVKGUvI pic.twitter.com/BT49sdQJPP
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 5, 2021
Excuse me, he died WITH horse dewormer. https://t.co/DzFU9Bm2kf
— David Waldman-1, of Yorktown LLC™ (@KagroX) October 1, 2021
Companies, minor-league baseball teams lose 9th Circuit COVID-19 coverage appeals https://t.co/rn8hZghEeE pic.twitter.com/UTH6Vjcgzw
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 2, 2021
Safety and health for the elites. For the little people: Ventilators and lib-owning https://t.co/8yjQrq6czd
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 2, 2021
Baud
Yay, you’re ok!
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
148 new cases yesterday, 3.8% test positivity
Deaths at 1410, up 4 from the previous week.
Total cases last week: 1430. Age 10 – 19 had the most cases, followed by people in their 30s, kids 0 – 9 and people in their 20s.
66.9% are fully vaccinated. We don’t seem to be keeping up with the rest of NYS.
debbie
Libs are onto Fox. It’s the RWNJs they’re really owning.
Ken
I’m kind of curious about what’s up with the Russian case numbers. There seems general agreement that they’ve not been inaccurate (they break a number of basic statistical tests); so, taking that as given, why the recent increases? Has a policy changed somewhere?
And people thought Kremlinology was dead.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 8,817 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,294,457 cases. It also reports 76 new deaths as of midnight, for a cumulative total of 26,759 deaths – 1.17% of the cumulative reported total, 1.24% of resolved cases.
Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.87.
815 confirmed cases are in ICU, 332 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 15,615 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,131,636 patients recovered – 92.9% of the cumulative reported total.
14 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 5,536 clusters. 956 clusters are currently active; 4,580 clusters are now inactive.
8,803 new cases today are local infections. Sarawak reports 1,361 cases: 17 in clusters, 335 close-contact screenings, and 1,009 other screenings. Selangor reports 1,343 local cases: 102 in clusters, 744 close-contact screenings, and 497 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,063 cases: 73 in clusters, 599 close-contact screenings, and 391 other screenings.
Johor reports 886 cases: 136 in clusters, 422 close-contact screenings, and 328 other screenings. Sabah reports 801 local cases: one in a cluster, 437 close-contact screenings, and 363 other screenings.
Pahang reports 696 cases: 137 in clusters, 337 close-contact screenings, and 222 other screenings.
Penang reports 595 cases: 17 in clusters, 223 close-contact screenings, and 355 other screenings. Kedah reports 576 cases: 15 in clusters, 345 close-contact screenings, and 216 other screenings.
Perak reports 472 local cases: 58 in clusters, 188 close-contact screenings, and 226 other screenings.
Terengganu reports 356 cases: 253 close-contact screenings and 103 other screenings.
Melaka reports 245 local cases: six in clusters, 86 close-contact screenings, and 153 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 217 cases: 97 close-contact screenings and 120 other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan reports 119 local cases: 48 in clusters, 49 close-contact screenings, and 22 other screenings.
Perlis reports 47 cases: eight in clusters, 16 close-contact screenings, and 23 other screenings. Putrajaya reports 23 cases: 17 close-contact screenings and six other screenings. Labuan reports three cases: one in a cluster and two other screenings.
14 new cases today are imported: five in Selangor, four in Sabah, three in Negeri Sembilan, one in Perak, and one in Melaka.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 221,812 doses of vaccine on 4th October: 126,433 first doses and 95,379 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 44,573,891 doses administered: 23,961,163 first doses and 20,717,373 second doses. 73.3% of the population have received their first dose, while 63.4% are now fully vaccinated.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Loved the Auntie thread. I retweeted.
I assume the drop in cases is associated with increased vaccinations, particularly after mandates?
Ohio Mom
The Auntie thread reads like the script of a very short play. Someone should mount it for one of those ten-minute play festivals.
rikyrah
@Ken:
Never trusted the Russia numbers
rikyrah
AL,
Thanks for all you do with this thread
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Plus, a lot of the unvaxxed already done caught the Delta.
rikyrah
Go New Zealand ??
lowtechcyclist
I haven’t been following it closely, but what I gather is that (a) a lot more Russians have been dying of Covid for a long time than the government has admitted to, including now, but (b) things are bad enough that they’ve felt the need to signal to the people that things are getting worse and they need to be careful. So each day they nudge the official death count up slightly.
I would assume that the Russian people don’t trust Putin’s government much more than they trusted the Soviet government, and I’d bet the low vaccination rate is mostly on account of that.
eclare
@Ohio Mom: What a great idea!
germy
More news from upstate NY:
https://wnyt.com/albany-new-york-news/vaccine-mandate-leaves-status-of-rensselaer-county-autopsies-unclear/6260002/?cat=10114
YY_Sima Qian
On 10/4 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed cases & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Fujian Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 18 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 242 active domestic confirmed cases.
Heilongjiang Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 81 active domestic confirmed & 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Horgos border crossing in Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases there, both found during tai-daily regular screening of all residents at the border crossing area.
At Yunnan Province there currently are 9 active domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province, all at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture.
At Henan Province there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases remaining, all at Shangqiu.
Imported Cases
On 10/4, China reported 26 new imported confirmed cases, 15 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in China, 27 confirmed cases recovered (9 imported), 10 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (all imported) & none were reclassified as confirmed cases (all imported), & 1,710 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 856 active confirmed cases in the country (522 imported), 3 in serious condition (2 imported), 348 active asymptomatic cases (335 imported), 1 suspect cases. 27,526 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 10/4, 2,214.564M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 873K doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 10/5, Hong Kong reported 7 new positive cases, all imported (coming from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Kenya & Egypt).
lowtechcyclist
@rikyrah: Thanks for the Auntie thread! Definitely brightened up my morning.
SiubhanDuinne
The “Auntie” thread is priceless.
MomSense
I could not love Auntie more. Kudos to Dr. Manning.
New Deal democrat
New cases down 35% from the Sep 1 peak, and deaths down 12% from Sep 22 peak.
Cases down 55% in the South, and now many of the worst hit States in the South have fewer new cases than even New England. Cases steady in the Midwest and Northeast, and continue to rise in almost all States along the Northern border.
Scott Gottlieb believes Delta was the last wave because he thinks (as he says) 50% of all Americans have been infected and have some resistance. Other estimates are more like 25%, which makes a huge difference. Again, the failure to do effective seroprevalence studies has caused a huge blind spot in effective policy.
If we assume that (1) prior infection on average gives the same degree of resistance as one shot of vaccine, and (2) the “real” number of infections is 2.2x the number of confirmed cases, we get 56% fully vaccinated, plus another 2% single dose plus prior infection, plus 6% single does, plus 11% unvaccinated but previously infected, for a total of 75% with at least some resistance. For that reason I do not agree with Gottlieb, and believe there will be another winter wave as indoor gatherings increase.
Widespread vaccine mandates by employers and schools, plus for regulated interstate transportation would help enormously.
Starfish
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Dr. Manning is so funny.
Starfish
@Ohio Mom: A lot of Dr. Manning’s stories are like that. She used to put them on her blog, but now she puts them down on Twitter.
Uncle Cosmo
“Everybody be saying the same thing like a broken record. For me, I just hadn’t gotten around to it. And I’m scared of shots…” *whispers* “But I’m more scared a my auntie.”
AA elder ladies FTW yet again! Saved our collective butts in 2020, now saving butts one but-but-but-but-butt at a time… :^D
The Moar You Know
Friendly reminder that Dr. Scott Gottlieb was Trump’s handpicked guy to lead the FDA. I don’t know why we give him and his constantly wrong pronouncements any coverage here.
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 2,056 new COVID-19 cases reported today. The test positivity rate is 10.3%. There were 21 new deaths reported overnight. ICU bed occupancy numbers are 65, down two from yesterday while hospitalisations are 998, down 3.
There were about 8,400 vaccinations carried out in Scotland yesterday (Sunday) with about 70% of these being first vaccinations. 91.5% of 16+ adults are now vaccinated with their first dose and 84.6% are fully vaccinated. 72.2% of 16 and 17-year-olds have now received their first vaccination, up 0.1% from yesterday. 26.0% of 12-15 year olds have now received their first vaccination, up 2.0% from yesterday.
Barbara
@Uncle Cosmo: And the priceless rejoinder, “I heard that!” I don’t think it’s just AA aunties because I could totally imagine several elderly women in my mother’s family having the same kind of dialog.
Sloane Ranger
Monday in the UK we had 35,077 new cases. This is a decrease of 0.9% in the rolling 7-day average but, offices may still be catching up after the weekend closures so tomorrow will be a better indication. New cases by nation,
England – 28,251 (up 3075)
Northern Ireland – 1080 (up 188)
Scotland – 1760 (down 280, but see Robert Sneddon above)
Wales – 3986 (up1355).
Deaths – There were 33 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test yesterday but English figures are incomplete. Any additional deaths will be reported today. The rolling 7-day average is down 18.6%. 13 deaths were in England, 3 in Northern Ireland, 17 in Wales and none in Scotland.
Testing – 1.022,070 tests took place on Sunday, 3 October. The 7-day rolling average was down by 9.8%. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on that date was 830,605.
Hospitalisations – As of Friday, 1 October there were 6556 people in hospital and 805 people on ventilators. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was down by 10.2% as of 28 September.
Vaccinations – As of Sunday, 3 October, 48,956,859 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 44,948,903 were fully vaccinated. Still no update on percentages of people vaccinated. They are still trying to work out how to include 12-15 year olds, but 24,123 people had their 1st jab and 21,532 had their 2nd on 3 October.
Miss Bianca
@Ohio Mom: Damn straight! Loved that thread. We need more Aunties in this world!
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
I have an off-the-wall question but here goes: Daughter-crone was vaccinated back in the Spring, in the first week of August she got a very mild case of COVID-19 and also found out she is pregnant. This past Friday and Saturday, she went to visit her sister-in-law, who lives about an hour from her. one of the kids at the house tested positive for COVID on Monday. Daughter woke up today with running nose, sneezing, headache…ummm can you get COVID a second time if you are vaccinated….she is getting tested today. I really hope it’s just allergies..
Mousebumples
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: hypothetically, yes, I figure. Not sure that there’s any limit on number of potential cases you can get. Pregnancy rhinitis could also be a culprit however.
As a pregnant woman, she’d be eligible for a Pfizer booster. (after 6 months) If she got Moderna or j&j, i believe ACIP is meeting to discuss those boosters later this month.
dnfree
Yesterday we bought apples at an orchard near Rockford, Illinois. There was a man there wearing the exact same outfit with all the civil rights leaders’ booking photos. He even had a matching hat. We were impressed.
LongHairedWeirdo
If anyone thinks that the US Republican Party can be of any decency or value, keep in mind that Covid-19 could infect, and kill, *anyone* (though the odds were of death were low overall, and lower for the young and healthy), and we knew this from before Covid-19 had its name. Anyone with any competent epidemiologist’s reporting would also know that mutation is a danger, and that mutation that makes a virus spread – reproduce – more rapidly was a very strong possibility (it’s a huge evolutionary advantage), and that it certainly could become more deadly.
In short, we have to consider two possibilities:
Always remember: Trump, Desantis, Abbott (or is he Costello? – screw that, both Abbott and Costello were professionals, and competent at *something*), et. al. are not the real problem. If you consider them the moral equivalent of serial killers, the rest of the Republican Party are the Jim Crow era cops, who note that the victims were people considered to be acceptable victims, and refuse to investigate, much less make accusations of wrongdoing. Jim Crow didn’t survive because everyone felt actual malice toward Black people – it survived because too many people just couldn’t get all het up over the injustices suffered by Black people, up to and including brutal public murder. Certainly not enough to risk those same injustices themselves, by standing up for what’s right.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Mousebumples: Thank you, hoping she will get a booster if she is eligible soon, I am also hoping to get her to get a flu shot and somewhere in her last trimester a whooping cough booster. She is smart but too many women her age(27) listen to the “toxins, mercury, blah blah blah” idiots. Getting flu as a pregnant person can be dangerous…
The Auntie thread was awesome, it made me miss my grandma and my aunts ( my mom had 4 sisters ), all of them short, snarky terrors.