More 80k new cases & ~2100 deaths daily. Yet, anti-vaxxers continue their flirtation … pic.twitter.com/tpZ97SYQRB
— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) November 13, 2021
Holidays Plan and COVID According to the Mad Biologist https://t.co/lDHMFkcsjy pic.twitter.com/0LTjUkbAJC
— MiketheMadBiologist (@mikethemadbiol) November 15, 2021
DoD vaccine mandate for troops survives legal challenge
A legal challenge to the military's vaccine mandate didn’t come close to meeting the high bar for winning a preliminary injunction, a Florida judge ruled.https://t.co/QH8BOi7itZ
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) November 15, 2021
The Biden administration’s push for vaccine mandates, under fire in courts around the nation, has survived a legal challenge headed by former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell over vaccines in the military.
Powell, who tried to flip the result of the 2020 presidential election with a series of failed lawsuits based on conspiracy theories, lost a request to temporarily block the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of disgruntled service members.
The suit didn’t come close to meeting the high bar for winning a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled Friday in Pensacola, Florida…
The Biden administration’s push for vaccine mandates, under fire in courts around the nation, has survived a legal challenge headed by former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell over vaccines in the military.
Powell, who tried to flip the result of the 2020 presidential election with a series of failed lawsuits based on conspiracy theories, lost a request to temporarily block the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of disgruntled service members.
The suit didn’t come close to meeting the high bar for winning a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled Friday in Pensacola, Florida.
======
New: MODERNA is nearing a US-brokered deal to pledge millions more Covid-19 doses for developing countries.
The tentative agreement has been months in the making and could bolster the flagging global vaccination effort.
w @ErinBanco @owermohle: https://t.co/LQpVt9e8mM
— Adam Cancryn (@adamcancryn) November 16, 2021
China reports 22 new coronavirus cases for Nov 15 vs 52 day ago https://t.co/62T6q5nV4M pic.twitter.com/NDZitC818y
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
Airline Cathay Pacific imposes tough new Covid rules on its aircrew https://t.co/mM07g4I6Ow
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 16, 2021
yeah, sg has had almost no (fewer than 10 afaik) cases imported via its vaccinated travel lanes. the government seems satisfied it's not a major source of risk https://t.co/TiWjHNNpG4
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) November 16, 2021
New Zealand reports 222 new coronavirus cases, the biggest one-day increase on record
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) November 16, 2021
Russia will resume air travel with Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mongolia from December 1 https://t.co/mPQjNiVl9j
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 16, 2021
Winter is coming and #COVID19 is rising. Uptick in the USA, but soaring in key parts of Europe. pic.twitter.com/iw4Yr1ylPc
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 16, 2021
Latvia has toughened rules for the unvaccinated: Employers are allowed to dismiss workers who've refused Covid shots; elected politicians can be barred from duties; the unvaccinated can't shop in malls w/ a size of 16,100 square feet —plus other rules https://t.co/yfKGdve1zG pic.twitter.com/d80MPWD4L6
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 15, 2021
Austria's surge in infections means 20% of intensive-care beds are currently occupied by covid patients. The country has one of western Europe’s lowest vaccination rates, just 72.1% among those over 12 are double jabbed
https://t.co/3KalymgliV— The Economist (@TheEconomist) November 15, 2021
Despite >63% of its people being fully #COVID19 #vaccinated Germany is seeing a startling rise in cases.
Nov1 – 9,658 cases
Nov10 – 39,676
Nov11 – 50,196
Nearly all hospitalized are unvaccinated.
Gov is calling for dramatic action.https://t.co/HaHjX7n9zm— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 15, 2021
Germany could make COVID test or vaccine mandatory for public transport https://t.co/IcSrLdEhwM pic.twitter.com/PXCZLOM1S3
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 15, 2021
Any doubt that public health messaging in ?? has gone completely mad? If you still have faith in it read this. Incredible
So sorry you experience this nonsense @HelenOLeslie https://t.co/thsOFLH3L9— Martin McKee (@martinmckee) November 15, 2021
Nigeria plans mass vaccination drive, considers booster shot https://t.co/8H7Xl8yLVA pic.twitter.com/gaRDHUmq8j
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
Over the dense forests and cocoa farms of central Ghana, drones operated by Zipline Inc. carry precious cargo to remote villages: Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid vaccine.
ICYMI, my latest on overcoming the 'Last Mile' of vaccine distribution: https://t.co/K0UqtNKXpt via @business
— Riley Ray Griffin (@rileyraygriffin) November 15, 2021
Manaus #Brazil has had 2 big #COVID19 shut-downs. And it turns out they started with the rich: "had higher proportions of affluent & higher-educated"
Risk factors:
– having a case in the household
– not wearing mask
– relaxation of physical distancinghttps://t.co/CkVChIrzuY— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 15, 2021
Brazil joins 55 countries surpassing US vaccination rate pic.twitter.com/mrHYMLXj1a
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) November 15, 2021
======
The #Covid anti-virals Merck & Pfizer are developing could be game-changers. But many questions remain about how well they'll work, who will benefit most & how they'll be used. A veritable slew of @statnews reporters explored them. https://t.co/YDmNS7cpwM
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) November 15, 2021
AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine supply hits two billion doses https://t.co/rqayyiSAX7 pic.twitter.com/DrtBqOtEnP
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
Here's the @FT graph of the study (Table below) from England today showing marked efficacy of the 3rd shots for 2 different vaccines vs vaccinated with 2 shots and vs unvaccinated
via @jburnmurdoch https://t.co/UtWHYNVswb pic.twitter.com/PNJKVvZgVJ— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) November 15, 2021
50% of people who survive Covid face lingering symptoms. Study in JAMA Network Open. A variety of physical & neuro/psychological health issues persist for 6+ months, long after initial recovery. Often called “long covid,” effects vary person to person https://t.co/d2NLPWPCrn pic.twitter.com/hOw3NaNA3m
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 16, 2021
Tests should work: Health & Human Services Dept withdraws Trump-era policy that *limited* regulatory review of certain Covid tests. In 2020 FDA was no longer required to review lab-developed tests, known as LDTs. Now, Covid tests must perform as advertised https://t.co/914qs1kt2q
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 16, 2021
Long-term study of children w/ Covid has begun & has enrolled its 1st participant at the Nat'l Institutes of Health in Maryland. Study to track Covid's effects over a 3-yr period. Among the 6M US pediatric cases, many kids have had acute/long-term effects https://t.co/ylUfMEByRP
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 16, 2021
======
This sums up the US approach to vaccinations pic.twitter.com/N8TXH4H2Sm
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) November 15, 2021
Texas doctor suspended for spreading COVID-19 misinformation and refusing to treat vaccinated patients, hospital says https://t.co/mvhz1ieu6n
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 15, 2021
Perspective: “Cops who don’t get vaccinated betray our oath to protect” https://t.co/EKe7TkNEn4
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 13, 2021
Dozens of New York City sanitation workers were suspended because of fake vaccine cards. City officials are investigating how extensive the fraud might be. A vaccination mandate took effect Nov. 1 & roughly 9k unvaxxed workers were placed on unpaid leave https://t.co/tOrSbsrEBl
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 15, 2021
I did a story last week about how Michigan quietly flowed money to the Small Business Association to try to convince conservatives to get vaccinated. https://t.co/0jzBuWygpR
Today, I received some additional information. Here's one of the mailers. pic.twitter.com/JYepADaL4w
— Craig Mauger (@CraigDMauger) November 15, 2021
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
The Monroe County website says 347 new cases yesterday; NYSDOH says 343 new cases.
Deaths are now at 1459, up 4 from last week.
289 individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19; 82 of these patients are in ICU.
Statement from Monroe County: According to the latest data, the rate of hospitalization for unvaccinated individuals is nearly ten times that of vaccinated people. We cannot stress that enough. You are ten times more likely to be hospitalized if you have not been fully vaccinated.
Robert Sneddon
The United Kingdom has a high rate of adult vaccination (80% for 12+), higher than most countries yet for the past couple of months it has been reporting a significant number of new cases each day, more than many nations with lower vaccination rates. The death rate and hospitalisations numbers are noticeably lower than might be expected from that new case rate though.
The boosters being delivered right now may help prevent many cases going forward but at the moment the program is limited to people who are aged 50-plus and not the general population. This may change in the near future if the JCVI takes account of the reported increased efficacy of the booster shots.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 5,413 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,556,865 cases. It also reports 53 deaths as of midnight, for an adjusted cumulative total of 29,729 deaths – 1.16% of the cumulative reported total, 1.19% of resolved cases.
Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 1.05.
458 confirmed cases are in ICU, 184 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 6,013 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,461,780 patients recovered – 96.3% of the cumulative reported total.
Seven new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 5,850 clusters. 252 clusters are currently active; 5,598 clusters are now inactive.
5,130 new cases today are local infections. 13 new cases today are imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 102,057 doses of vaccine on 15th November: 5,488 first doses, 26,295 second doses, and 70,274 booster doses. As of midnight, the cumulative total is 51,322,636 doses administered: 25,615,627 first doses, 24,849,925 second doses, and 1,042,234 booster doses. 78.4% of the population have received their first dose, while 76.1% are now fully vaccinated.
Cermet
Pfizer has also agreed to allow its extremely effective treatment to be manufactured as a generic (no licensing royalties for poor countries – about 95) so that should help a good bit – it is a far safer treatment than Merck’s, more effective and should be a game changer for people getting ill. Will be over-the-counter so really easy to treat w/o cost of a MD.
NotMax
With the latest addition of Ireland, 63 the new number countries reporting case totals exceeding 500k.
Cermet
@Robert Sneddon: I saw that the effectiveness of the UK vaccine drops off a good bit more than the Pfizer (which in turn, is less effective than Moderna’s over time.) Could this be the main issue?
New Deal democrat
Nationwide 83.5k new cases, the highest in 4 weeks. Deaths still flat at a little over 1150. Regionally the South is now slightly higher w/w, joining the Northeast and Midwest, which continue higher. Meanwhile the West is slightly lower.
Outside of the West, where many States including CA are lower, only ME, ND, WV, and – slightly – AL, MS, and LA are lower. Recent big outbreaks seem to be enough to drive a respite in those States, and States not increasing.
Vaccinations have still not been updated at 91-Divoc.
My sense continues to be that, while US vaccinations of adults have hit a wall, between increased vaccinations of children and widespread resistance in those areas hard hit by Delta, the Winter wave underway will be somewhat muted and not as bad as either last winter or the summer Delta wave. I keep looking to see if RI or either of the Dakotas have managed to get somewhere close to ‘herd immunity.’
BTW, changing topic a little, I think the resurgence of COVID since the end of June is one of the two biggest factors driving the dive in Biden’s, and Democrats’, popularity.
debbie
A bunch of Ohio school districts have or are about to drop mask requirements. Too soon, you idiots!
Talking out of both sides of your mouth again, Gov?
Cermet
@New Deal democrat: So the thug party was right in their decision to kill a few hundred thousand people for political gain – Stalin would’ve been so proud of their action; certainly putin is. And this our media ignores – certainly I understand why these monsters do what they do but the media is another matter – not all are beholding to mega corps, so either herd mentality or maybe just burn out. Sick either way.
YY_Sima Qian
On 11/15 China reported 11 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic, 4 mild & 3 moderate), of the 4 new domestic positive cases 3 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine & 1 is from mass screening. There currently are 267 active domestic confirmed & 41 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 2 communities are currently at High Risk. 2 residential compounds, 4 residential buildings & 7 villages have been elevated to Medium Risk. 12 residential compounds, 17 residential buildings & 16 villages are currently at Medium Risk.
At Ejina Banner in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region 6 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed cases remaining.
At Xi’an in Shaanxi Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases remaining.
At Yinchuan in Ningxia “Autonomous” Region 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed cases remaining. 2 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
At Gansu Province 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 84 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province.
Hebei Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 12 domestic confirmed cases recovered.There currently are 106 active confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
At Hunan Province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case (at Changsha) remaining in the province.
At Zunyi in Guizhou Province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases (1 moderate & 1 serious) remaining in the city. 2 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
At Jilin City in Jilin Province there currently are 1 active domestic & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.
Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 11/10. 2 communities & 1 residential compound are currently at Medium Risk.
At Rizhao in Shandong Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed & 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 residential compound is currently at Medium Risk.
Sichuan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 27 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Chongqing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. 2 residential compounds & 1 office building are currently at Medium Risk.
At Changzhou in Jiangsu Province there currently are 3 active domestic confirmed cases remaining. 3 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk.
At Xining in Qinghai Province there currently is 11 active domestic confirmed case remaining.
Heilongjiang Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases. 16 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 225 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Shangrao in Jiangxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 8 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed & 39 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 township & 2 residential compounds are currently Medium Risk.
At Zhejiang Province there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Jiaxing) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Hangzhou) cases remaining.
Henan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 73 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases (all at Ruili, from screening of persons under centralized quarantine). 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 28 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases at the prefecture. 1 village at Yingjiang County was elevated to Medium Risk. 2 zones & 2 villages at Ruili, plus a village at Yingjiang County are currently at Medium Risk.
Imported Cases
On 11/15, China reported 11 new imported confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 11 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in China, 74 confirmed cases recovered (23 imported), 19 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (17 imported) & 5 were reclassified as confirmed cases (2 imported), & 2,915 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,395 active confirmed cases in the country (370 imported), 20 in serious condition (3 imported), 510 active asymptomatic cases (359 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 44,312 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 11/15, 2,396.045M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 6.477M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 11/16, Hong Kong reported 1 new positive case, imported.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: My guess, just based on Europe and the current situation in northern New England:
Case rates will be as high as last winter, or higher, because almost everything is going to stay open, and the combined effect of that and Delta will cancel out the effect of vaccination.
Death rates, much, much less bad in areas with relatively high levels of vaccination (because in these areas, it’s mostly young people who are still unvaccinated). In Massachusetts, death rates during the Delta wave of summer 2021 were lower than death rates during the relative respite of summer 2020. I expect that decoupling to continue.
Hospitalization rates, who knows, those are all over the place depending on criteria for hospitalization.
Elizabelle
Good morning from a quick visit to the Czech Republic. Restaurants and cafés are stringently checking vaccination status. Have to pull out my passport and Covid card constantly, and I appreciate them so much for doing that. Hearing from a friend that Germany is concerned that Czechia’s Covid numbers are rising, and might restrict travel in the next few days. Who knows? Anyway, I am proud of Europe for taking this terrible pandemic seriously. And I realize that while it is not the majority, we have too many selfish anti-VAX plague rats in our country. Too many are the world’s perpetual snarling adolescents. “You can’t make me.” No disrespect to actual children and teens. They eventually grow up, and many are delightful, generous, and empathic.
debbie
@Elizabelle:
Wow, what a different atmosphere! Enjoy your travels!
NorthLeft12
Re-the Michigan mailer. They probably had to search for awhile to find a suitable quote from TFG to encourage people to get vaccinated.
I would half expect that the flip side of that mailer has some kind of stupefying rant about the 2020 election being stolen.
Dog, that guy disgusts me.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat:
I’ve thought for months that it’s the main thing, though most people will not tell you that it is. Biden was (reasonably) betting on mass vaccination giving us a full reopening, and it seemed like we were on the way around May and June. If the Delta variant had not shown up we’d be in full “Morning in America” mode right now. We were getting to a level of vaccination that could have kept the previous variants of COVID down without stronger measures.
What that also means is that, just as with the War on Terror, Republicans have a strong political incentive to promote the disease any way they can.
John S.
@Elizabelle:
My daughter is friends with the daughter of anti-vax plague rats. Her parents refuse to let her get vaccinated, whereas my daughter got her first shot the week after it was approved for kids under 12.
Her friend’s parents are hardcore supporters of TFG (no surprise there). They moved to Florida last year from Wisconsin, and proudly tell folks they did it because in Wisconsin voting is rigged but here in Florida their votes actually matter.
The mind reels.
Kay
My husband got the booster so now he’s bugging me to go. He told me not to worry about qualifying- no one asked him any questions at all :)
I’m bad about health care. I hate the whole process. They really couldn’t make the covid shot easier here- it’s in every drugstore and it’s TrumpyTown so no wait and I’m not at all afraid of needles but still I’m “ok, I’ll GO”.
Geminid
@debbie: Talking out of both sides of one’s mouth is now a required skill for Republican politicians. And DeWine is looking over his shoulder at his challenger in next year’s Republican primary.
JMG
In France, which has a very high vaccination rate, my experience over the last two weeks in two different cities, Paris and Bordeaux, was that checking of health passes (proof of vaccination) was widespread but not universal in restaurants, that mask wearing was required indoors in all shops, public venues, etc. and compliance was close to universal, and was absolutely required and universal on public transport ranging from Air France and the TGV down to local buses. Two days before the end of our stay, we had the mandatory covid tests (not the instant kind, the 24-hours until results one) and they came back negative. So measures seem effective. Of course, an American tourist or business traveler isn’t moving around the poorer and/or immigrant neighborhoods where there’s more virus about.
NotMax
FYI.
Also FYI.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Cermet: Remember these are the same idiots who were fighting the lockdowns and mask mandates while Trump was in office. This isn’t a political strategy, these are bunch of dimwits who believe in Woo. They’ve been indoctrinated that science is evil because it teaches things like evolution.
New Deal democrat
@Matt McIrvin: It’s interesting to compare ME, NH, and VT, which are having their worst outbreaks *ever*, with ND and SD, which had horrible outbreaks 12 months ago and have had relatively muted outbreaks this fall. The former are much more vaccinated, but the latter have much higher prior infection rates.
Which suggests (1) previous infection really *does* confer at least some, probably highly variable, resistance, and (2) Delta is like the Terminator. If you are susceptible, it *will* find you, no matter where you live, and it *will* infect you.
mrmoshpotato
Seriously? Brazil is beating our vaccination rate? Good job, Dump humpers!
Mathguy
@NotMax: In the not-so-distant past, something like this would have resulted in her resignation. The GOP politicians have realized that they can get away with anything with few or no repercussions.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: True, which means that Massachusetts is probably not going to get it quite as badly as VT/NH/ME did, because we’ve gotten hit hard repeatedly already, in addition to our high vaccination levels. But I already see cases rising in my neighborhood.
Matt McIrvin
@mrmoshpotato: Bolsonaro was a flat-out antivaxxer and the people basically didn’t buy it at all.
Robert Sneddon
@Cermet: Personally, I think that the current mostly-open society in the UK (no capacity limits in bars, sportsgrounds, music events etc. with spotty enforcement of testing and/or proof of vaccination for entry) is spreading the easily-transmitted Delta variant around the community and especially that part aged 18 through 40 which is less vaccinated than the rest of the adult population (close to 100% aged 50 and over).
The UK COVID-19 test rate is double that of the US so it’s likely mild positive cases are being detected and reported whereas those mild cases might not reach data collectors in the US — home-administered lateral flow tests are free here, handed out like Halloween candy at pharmacies which does help improve the test rate. PCR-RT tests as a confirmatory followup to a positive lateral-flow test are also free, the only tests that need to be paid for are the ones required for international travel and on return to the UK.
Saying all that, most of the hospitalisations and reported deaths in the UK are of older people, most of whom are vaccinated. Speculating here, but this may be older people who are dying WITH a COVID-19 infection rather than their infection being the major cause of their sickness and subsequent death. How they got that infection is another matter and that may be due to the large pool of mildly-ill cases in the community.
mrmoshpotato
@Matt McIrvin: I know. That’s why I commented. Even with him being a dumbass, many Brazilians just went “Suck an ass’s ass. I’m getting vaccinated.”
Soprano2
Yep, that and inflation including the higher price of gas. People thought Biden could “fix” Covid, and he certainly did try to get everyone vaccinated, but he couldn’t control the rise of Delta and the stupidity of MAGA’s who won’t get vaccinated.
Scout211
In California, the state Public Health Department said that the state MyTurn sign-up eligibility will be updated by Wednesday. So any 18-64 year-old will be eligible to sign-up for a booster shot if you are 6 months past your second mRNA shot. They were less emphatic about the federal pharmacies. They have instructed the pharmacies not to turn people away if they are asking for the boosters but not yet eligible under federal guidelines. So that implies that if you use a federal pharmacy for your booster shot in California, you will likely have to walk-in for the booster shot or fudge on the online sign-up for the questions about your job or your health.
Matt McIrvin
@mrmoshpotato: It’s absolutely amazing–the contrast with the reaction to Trump, who wasn’t even an antivaxxer but just gave antivax-adjacent signals, is stark.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Greece: the usual Sunday-dip-Monday-spike, with new cases back up to 6,950, 72 dead in the 24 hours leading up to the 6pm Monday report. 551 intubated patients in ICUs, with 91 (16.52%) of those being fully vaccinated. (source)
They’re opening up boosters to the entire population, and apparently sometime in the coming days they’re going to open up the system to allow people vaccinated abroad to register their vaccinations in the Greek system, allowing them to get vaccination certificates and schedule booster shots. (source)
My office is now doing weekly PCR tests for the entire staff.
I’m scheduled for my J&J shot tomorrow, the de facto booster for my Pfizer shots from back in the spring. I suppose I could have waited and gotten my CDC info registered with the Greek system, but with the spike as bad as it is, bureaucratic delays can be costly.
Cermet
@Robert Sneddon: I really hope the Pfizer treatment is quickly brought into production! Again, this treatment could be a game changer for saving older vaccinated people who get seriously ill.
Soprano2
That tweet about “50% of people who get Covid can have long Covid” is based on the same study where 79% of people studied were hospitalized. *sigh* People should listen to the story I heard about long Covid on Morning Edition yesterday. I’m getting pretty irritated at how they seem to be fearmongering about long Covid. Turns out it’s entirely possible that anyone who recovers from any serious illness has lingering symptoms, and that it’s not just about Covid.
Rusty
@New Deal democrat: NH residents, fully vaccinated, masking in stores, my job requires masks and social distancing, spouse works from home, and we both got COVID last month. No known contacts, just “community spread”. Thankfully mild symptoms but basically people here have stopped wearing masks in most stores and the restaurants and such are filled. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. NH also has the lowest vaccination rate in New England and I suspect that will translate into low vaccine uptake for 5-11’s too. In a month I suspect we will see a big push to overturn the mask requirements for our middle and elementary schools with the argument that if you want your kid vaccinated do it, but don’t make my kid wear a mask.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Elizabelle:
Wife and middle daughter are on their way to Prague right now!
Robert Sneddon
@Cermet: I am not hopeful about the various recently-announced treatments for people who have already contracted COVID-19, starting with the existing monoclonal antibody treatments as well as the forthcoming antiviral drugs. They only have a reported efficacy of 50% which is piss-poor, basically a 1 in 2 chance of doing some good for someone who is already in hospital and receiving life-supporting treatments.
The public attention given to the antiviral drugs announcements is distracting folks from the much more important issue of preventing the spread of this disease to begin with. The idea that “it doesn’t matter if I catch it now, I can just pop a pill and no biggie.” is going to be more common going forward even if it is provably a 1-in-2 gamble. Better to not catch the disease in the first place at all by taking precautions but people are tired of doing just that.
I understand there is work being done on better vaccines targetted more closely at the widespread Delta variant but they’re not getting much press coverage and they don’t seem to be close to approval and deployment compared to the antivirals. I always saw the first generation of vaccines as being a stopgap to try to limit the spread of this disease while better Mk 2 versions were developed. We got lucky since the first vaccines were very effective, a lot more effective than we really deserved but the Delta variant is with us now.
Cermet
@Robert Sneddon: Pfizer is much higher (89%) than 50% and even if only that, saying half of all people that would have been in hospital on oxygen/ventilator/died is a significant breakthrough. Aside: the Pfizer will be over-the-counter so it will enable sick people (who tested pos. for covid) to prevent serious progression avoiding hospitalization at all.
But yes, it is no substitute for a vaccine by any measure.
Brachiator
The various ways other nations are dealing with the unvaccinated is getting interesting. From BBC News.
Some of these measures are harsh. They may not be effective. But the world is not getting back to normal anytime soon.
Ksmiami
@Kay: seriously get the booster as we have an oversupply because the anti vaxxers are insane.
Fair Economist
@Soprano2: There is indeed a significant possibility that a number of chronic diseases like CFS are consequences of acute viral diseases, but long COVID just blows them away in terms of frequency. The UK already has a population-wide incidence of 2% for long COVID; CFS in the US is estimated at 0.25%-0.75% and that’s after the disease has been around a short time.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Matt McIrvin: @New Deal democrat: The COVID resurgence is one reason Biden’s popularity has slipped. However, the combination of gas and grocery prices increasing is hitting the normies pretty hard. That is where I’ve heard more grumpling.
YY_Sima Qian
I just arrived at Shenzhen in Guangdong Province for a business trip this afternoon. As soon as we deplaned we were told that all passengers on the flight are to be swabbed and will be batch tested (likely 10:1 ratio). Everyone was surprised because there has not been any COVID-19 cases in Wuhan from the current outbreak.
Me to airport staff: There are no cases in Wuhan!
Airport staff: All passengers off every flight from any provinces w/ positive cases will be swabbed and batch tested.
Me: But there are no active cases in Hubei!
Staff: There were a couple of cases at Tianmen in Hubei.
Me: But those 2 cases had already recovered last week!
(Tianmen is a couple of hours drive away from Wuhan, 30+ mins. by high speed rail.)
The staff shrugged & said they follow orders from the above.
Come to think of it, my flight from Wuhan to Shenzhen actually originated from Jinzhou in Liaoning Province, w/ a short layover at Wuhan, & some of the passengers came from Jinzhou. Perhaps that was a bigger reason the flight was flagged. Jinzhou is ~ 2 hrs away from Dalian, where is sizable ongoing outbreak, by high speed rail. I think I need to check my flights more carefully in the future. Since the current outbreak has spread cases in 21 provinces & municipalities, that implies Shenzhen has to screen passengers off the majority of flights that land at the airport.
In any case, passenger traffic at the Shenzhen airport is noticeably down, probably due to the ongoing outbreak in northern China. Despite bits of confusion & congestion, getting swabbed (including WeChat registration to produce a QR code ID) only added 15 mins. to the process. Since I have not received any calls so far this evening, that means no one from the flight tested positive. If anyone had, all passengers & crew would have been sent to centralized quarantine & tested individually.
YY_Sima Qian
@Robert Sneddon:
Excess deaths data will ultimately tell the tale. If the elderly are dying w/ COVID-19, then there should be significant excess deaths. Overall hospitalization could also be a current indicator.
J R in WV
@NotMax:
Cheaters ALWAYS cheat! And republicans are almost all cheaters~!!~
Thanks for sharing this report, NotMax. What a shocker~!
Robert Sneddon
@YY_Sima Qian: From memory, right now the UK death rate is pretty much the same as the 2015-2019 death rate (pre-COVID19), there’s no noticeable increase or excess at this point in time. Saying that a lot of older British people died over the past two years of the disease running hard through care homes and vulnerable populations so in theory the current death rate should be below the five-year average.
Comparing excess-deaths levels between the pre-COVID period and current epidemic conditions is becoming less useful as the epidemic continues since the death toll, especially among the vulnerable elderly distorts the basic data. Fewer older people are dying now because a lot of older people died during the first year or so of the epidemic, basically and they aren’t dying now due to age, infirmity etc. as they might have done.
JustRuss
@Kay: I get it. But think how you’ll feel if you put it off and come down with covid before you get the booster. Just get it done.
YY_Sima Qian
@Robert Sneddon: Good point.
ProfDamatu
@JustRuss: Yeah. I’m a little nervous at having put off my booster until next week, but I just ran a marathon (first one!), so I wanted to wait until I’m sure my immune system is back to normal before getting the jab – I want to make sure I get the full response. But I’ve been super careful with masking and other exposure.
Ruckus
@Cermet:
I go with every little bit helps.
Sure it would be best if everyone who could would get vaccinated and quite possibly avoid Covid in the first place, but every little bit that stops the spread is better than what we had a year ago. And yes the US is one of the stupider spots in the world, as we’ve had vaccines the longest but of course we have some of the stupidest people in the world, but there is only so much can be accomplished with stupid this rampant.