Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Giving up is unforgivable.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

“Alexa, change the president.”

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

Bark louder, little dog.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

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

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Dec. 16-17

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Dec. 16-17

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The first at-home treatment for Covid has been given to patients in the UK as part of a major national study.

Molnupiravir will be tested on 10,000 people at risk of serious illness in research led by University of Oxford…

Molnupiravir, initially developed to treat influenza, works by inserting errors into the genetic code of coronavirus every time it copies itself, limiting its ability to multiply in the body.

The UK has agreed to purchase 480,000 courses of the drug which is designed to reduce the risk of more vulnerable patients needing hospital treatment after catching the virus…

In October, the drug companies behind molunpiravir – Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics – reported initial trial results in a press release suggesting the pill reduced the risk of hospital treatment in vulnerable patients with Covid by 50%.

But new data was recently provided to the US medicines regulator, the FDA, as part of the approval process in the United States.

It showed that in a later, second part of the trial, there was no significant difference in outcomes between the group given the drug and a similar group given a dummy pill or placebo. Combined with the results from the first part of the trial, it reduced the overall efficacy of the treatment from 50% to 30%.

Drug regulators in other countries have been more cautious as a result…

… In late October, Brazil’s health regulator, Anvisa, released a statement saying that five of its directors had received death threats over the possible approval of COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between five and 11 years old. The agency granted such approval for the Pfizer shot on Thursday.

Anvisa said it had reported the emailed threats to police and prosecutors.

In a live weekly broadcast on multiple social media platforms, Bolsonaro said he does not interfere in Anvisa’s internal affairs, but had asked for the officials’ names so that the public “could come to its own judgments.”

Bolsonaro has consistently cast doubt on the efficacy and safety of coronavirus vaccines and sharply criticized all forms of social distancing. His handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed over 618,000 lives in Brazil, is widely cited as a reason his popularity has plummeted this year…

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Reader Interactions

80Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    1) Prime candidates for booted camp.

    All of the U.S. military services have now begun disciplinary actions and discharges for troops who have refused to get the mandated coronavirus vaccine, officials said today, with as many as 20,000 unvaccinated forces at risk of being removed from service.

    The Marine Corps today said it has discharged 103 Marines so far for refusing the vaccine, and the Army said it has reprimanded more than 2,700 soldiers and will begin discharge proceedings in January. The Air Force said earlier this week that 27 airmen had been discharged for refusing the vaccine order. And the Navy laid out its new discipline procedure this week, and has already fired one sailor from his command job for refusing to be tested while he pursues an exemption.
    [snip]
    It’s not clear how many could end up being discharged. But according to the services, at least 30,000 service members are not yet vaccinated, but several thousand of those have gotten temporary or permanent medical or administrative exemptions approved. Of the remaining — which is likely 20,000 or more — thousands are working their way through the exemptions process or have flatly refused. That’s about 1.5% of the roughly 1.3 million active-duty troops. Source

    2) Unlike disciplining doctors, COVID does not move at a drugged snail’s pace.

    Pressure builds against doctors peddling false COVID-19 claims.

    3) Lights outs on the rise.

    Many stages on both Broadway and the West End have been forced to go dark once more as the live theater community grapples with backstage outbreaks of the coronavirus and its variants, temporarily closing everything from London’s revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne to mighty “Hamilton” in New York.

    “At the end of the day, we’ll follow the science, and the science will say, ‘You need to shut down this performance,’” Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin told the Associated Press today. “We anticipated that because they were telling us all along that if more people didn’t get their shots, that new variants would arrive and new variants would have cases. And guess what? It’s called omicron.”

    On Broadway, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” canceled its Wednesday matinee, “Tina” canceled two shows on Wednesday and “Hamilton” has called off shows through Friday night. “Ain’t Too Proud” scrapped its Tuesday performance and “Freestyle Love Supreme” canceled two performances. “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which just opened and has been dark since Sunday, intends to resume performances Tuesday. ​​
    [snip]
    UK shows including “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Life of Pi,” “Come from Away” and “Matilda the Musical” canceled one or more performances this week because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Others have gone further: The National Theatre has pulled the plug on “Hex” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” for the next two weeks “due to company illness.” Source

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY:

    There were 397 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported on 12/16/21. There were 127 new positive home test results reported.

    519 individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Finger Lakes Region (up 3 since previous day). 136 of these patients are in ICU (up 1 from previous day).

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 4,362 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,711,764 cases. It also reports 37 deaths as of midnight, for an adjusted cumulative total of 31,026 deaths – 1.14% of the cumulative reported total, 1.17% of resolved cases.

    Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.90.

    315 confirmed cases are in ICU, 143 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 5,098 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,625,245 patients recovered – 96.8% of the cumulative reported total.

    12 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 6,074 clusters. 257 clusters are currently active; 5,817 clusters are now inactive.

    4,334 new cases today are local infections. 28 new cases today are imported.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 172,511 doses of vaccine on 16th December: 4,414 first doses, 5,950 second doses, and 162,147 booster doses. As of midnight, the cumulative total is 55,563,359 doses administered: 25,946,269 first doses, 25,537,512 second doses, and 4,274,115 booster doses. 79.5% of the population have received their first dose, while 78.2% are now fully vaccinated.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    If COVID is surging in the Northeast corridor—“from Philadelphia to New York City”—I assume it is about to be surging here in the D.C. area as well. Ugh. No bueno.

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Baud:

    Yeah, true. Just thinking selfishly locally for a moment.

    Most people still seem to be pretty good about masking in my corner of NoVA, at least the (few) places I go.

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    @NotMax: Unparalleled opportunity to reduce the number of oppositional defiant-disordered cranks, IMO. Good riddance, even if it causes temporary disruptions.

  12. 12.

    Cameron

    @Baud: “Our story begins when Godzilla, fresh from destroying large parts of Japan, joins a fraternity at Faber University….”

  14. 14.

    Alex

    Where are the vaccines for kids under 5? Pfizer was supposed to have submitted that data this month, but so far nothing. Lately no one at FDA or CDC is even talking about the urgent need to get shots for these 20 million kids. The safety profile for the kids 5-11 has been excellent, but they still won’t allow off-label for younger kids. If they get the trial data now, are they planning to take a holiday break before they look at it?

  15. 15.

    Spanky

    Reposted from last night:

    Prince Frederick, MD- Calvert Health Medical Center in Prince Frederick, MD is at capacity.

    County Health Officials tweeted on December 15, 2021, that ten(10) of their medical ward and ICU beds were occupied by individuals with severe COVID infections. Of those ten beds, eight are individuals how were unvaccinated and the other two were vaccinated but had not received booster shots at this time, according to the tweet.

    FWiw, that means ALL ICU beds are occupied by covidiots.

    We’re pretty sure this is the first time we’ve seen this here during the pandemic. And masking is still spotty at best.

  16. 16.

    Kay

    @Alex:

    My daughter volunteered her daughter for a vaccine trial in NY and the participants got a letter that they expect 2 to 5 to be approved in January or February. They notified the participants because as soon as it’s approved they’ll “unmask” the trial and tell parents which kids got the real stuff.

  17. 17.

    New Deal democrat

    That one day old graph of London cases is already out of date. As of last night, Omicron cases literally off the graph at 15,000.

    @steeplejack: As of today, Omicron has hit DC. Cases have doubled just in the past 4 days.

    Really a shame. In the parts of the US, where Omicron hasn’t really hit yet, there isn’t much a winter wave, as the Midwest in particular continues to decrease, the South remains low (but now increasing), and the West low and cases flat.

    On whether or not Omicron is displacing Delta, the latest data from Trevor Bedford shows Delta down 1/2 to 2/3’s in South Africa since November 1, and the above-referenced data for London suggests a slight (about 10%) reduction in Delta since December 1.

    Everybody needs to rethink their plans for Christmas and New Year’s gatherings. Omicron is going to be raging everywhere by then.

  18. 18.

    Spanky

    From the article under CNN’s current screaming banner:

    “I think we’re really just about to experience a viral blizzard,” Osterholm told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday. “I think in the next three to eight weeks, we’re going to see millions of Americans are going to be infected with this virus, and that will be overlaid on top of Delta, and we’re not yet sure exactly how that’s going to work out.”

    Yay us.

  19. 19.

    lowtechcyclist

    This is less of a novel coronavirus and more of a three-volume fantasy trilogy by this point.

    Best response so far:

    I think we’re at the 6+ volume fantasy series where the original author died a while ago and it’s some other dude writing books which aren’t as good

  20. 20.

    The Thin Black Duke

    There’s a specific genre of movies where the premise is “Mankind vs Deadly Virus” (Outbreak, The Satan Bug, Contagion, The Andromeda Strain, etc.), and the basic plot is usually Finding A Cure Before It’s Too Late. In all the movies I’ve seen in this genre throughout the years, I’ve never seen one where the cure for the disease is rejected by the population. If only Life imitated Art.

  21. 21.

    Spanky

    @Betty Cracker:

    Unparalleled opportunity to reduce the number of oppositional defiant-disordered cranks, IMO

    POTUS is doing his part. He’s still pushing everyone to get vaccinated, which will just harden the opposition. Major flaw in this plan, of course, is the strain on our medical system.

  22. 22.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 12/16 China reported 56 new domestic confirmed (none previously asymptomatic) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases. 12 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 493 active domestic confirmed cases in the region. 

    • Hulun Buir reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases (3 at Manzhouli & 1 at New Barag Right Banner), all are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. 12 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 491 active domestic confirmed cases (481 at Manzhouli & 10 at New Barag Right Banner) in the city. 7 sub-districts are currently at High Risk. 2 townships & 2 sub-districts are currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Tongliao there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.

    At Heilongjiang Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 32 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Harbin 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 31 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 15 residential compounds & 1 residential building have been re-designated to Low Risk. 1 residential building & 7 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
    • Qiqihar did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 village remains at Medium Risk.

    Shaanxi Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There are currently 12 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Xi’an reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine since early on 12/15. There currently are 10 active confirmed cases (6 mild & 4 moderate) in the city. 2 residential compounds & 1 shop have been elevated to Medium Risk. 4 residential building units, 1 residential building, 2 residential compounds & 1 shop are currently Medium Risk.
    • Yan’an reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact of a domestic positive case in Xi’an, who had traveled from Xi’an on 12/12 & has been under centralized quarantine since 12/15.
    • At Xianyang there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.

    At Shanghai Municipality there currently are 6 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. 1 Medium Risk residential compound has been re-designated to Low Risk. 1 residential compound is currently at Medium Risk. 

    At Jiangsu Province there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Nanjing) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases (2 at Wuxi & 1 at Xuzhou) remaining in the province.

    Zhejiang Province reported 44 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 360 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Ningbo reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild), both traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine since 12/12 & 12/15, respectively. There currently are 64 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, all found within a single sub-district. 2 residential compounds & an office building are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Hangzhou reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild), both traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine since 12/7. There currently are 24 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 1 residential building is currently at Medium Risk.
    • Shaoxing reported 40 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 272 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 4 communities & 1 supermarket are currently at High Risk. 2 sub-districts, 12 villages, 2 residential buildings & 5 corporate campuses are currently at Medium Risk.

    Suzhou in Anhui Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city. 1 village is currently at Medium Risk.

    At Chongzuo in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case remaining.

    Guangdong Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Dongguan reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine since 12/15. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 3 residential compounds & 5 residential buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Guangzhou reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a resident in the same building as the imported confirmed case reported on 12/13 (an Omicron case), has been under centralized quarantine since that date. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.

    Chengdu in Sichuan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a quarantine hotel worker, found via regular screening.

    At Dalian in Liaoning Province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 23 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province there currently are 5 active confirmed cases remaining.

    At Rizhao in Shandong Province there currently are 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Chongqing Municipality there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Henan Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 28 active domestic confirmed cases remaining (all at Zhengzhou).

    Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 49 active domestic confirmed & 24 active domestic asymptomatic cases at the prefecture.

    Imported Cases

    On 12/16, China reported 20 new imported confirmed cases (none previously asymptomatic), 21 imported asymptomatic cases, 3 imported suspect cases:

    • Guangxi “Autonomous” Region (location not specified) – 7 confirmed & 5 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 5 confirmed cases, 4 Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar & 1 from Laos; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Laos & Myanmar; all via land border crossing
    • Shanghai Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Ethiopia, Israel & Serbia (via Vienna); 3 suspect cases, no information released
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from Laos & a foreign national coming from Ethiopia; 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Ethiopia & Iraq, & a Chinese cargo flight crew returning from France
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Singapore
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, coming from Malaysia, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Beijing Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Austria
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Japan
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Germany & Belgium (off a flight diverted from Beijing)
    • Tianjin Municipality – 2 asymptomatic cases, a Chinese national returning from the Philippines, no information released yet for the other
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Cambodia

    Overall in China, 26 confirmed cases recovered (8 imported), 11 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (9 imported) & none were reclassified as confirmed cases, & 4,634 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,556 active confirmed cases in the country (524 imported), 10 in serious condition (5 imported), 471 active asymptomatic cases (426 imported), 4 suspect cases (all imported). 51,438 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 12/16, 2,650.561M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 10.502M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 12/17, Hong Kong reported 2 new positive cases, both imported Omicron cases (cargo flight crew members). Cargo flight crews are exempt from centralized quarantine requirements in Hong Kong, at least 1 of the cases had went home in Yau Ma Tai after arrival. The authorities are concerned that Omicron might have entered the community.

  23. 23.

    Betty

    @Raven: I thought I read somewhere that it was a general discharge, but don’t take my word for it. Kind of saying, “Okay, we don’t need you here.”

  24. 24.

    New Deal democrat

    Ok, there *is* some actual good news (as well as bad news) out of South Africa, via Prof Tom Moutrie:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/tomtom_m

    Bad news: Deaths have finally begun to rise at an exponential rate (sigh). Still quite possible they won’t rise as much as cases.

    Good news: cases in Gauteng (the first province hit) and all of the northern provinces of SA have peaked and are down over 10%. A few days ago I speculated that Omicron might be like super-Delta, burning through the dry tinder even faster. If this holds up, and SA is the template for other countries, this could be true, with only a 30 to 45 day interval from start to peak. In the US, that would translate to a (ghastly) peak sometime in January.

  26. 26.

    Cameron

    I don’t think we’re likely to get a real picture of this wave when it hits Florida.  Between cover-up (data suppression, government intimidation) and distraction (“Hey! Look!  Over there – CRT! Mask Mandates!  Abortions! Let’s go, Brandon!”), we’ll all be on ventilators or in caskets before there’s even an acknowledgement  that mistakes were made and the responsible party (NOT the governor) has been properly disciplined.

  27. 27.

    p.a.

    @Raven: Is there a standard discharge for refusing an order, or is it case-by-case?

    Also, those refusing to desegregate under Truman’s order, what happened to them?  Were they all retirements?

  29. 29.

    John S.

    @Cameron:

    Especially when we have idiots in Florida who wear panties as a “mask” to make a “statement“.

    A man was forced off a flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after causing a dispute over, what he called, his face mask.

    It wasn’t a mask, however. It was a pair of red underwear. He said he wanted to send a message, and he did.

    “You’re not in mask compliance,” the flight attendant responded.

    Red underwear was hanging from Jenne’s face as he was walked off a plane, Wednesday.

    The Cape Coral man said he was challenging the mask mandate.

    “Illustrating that absurdity by wearing women’s underwear on my face sounds perfect,” he said.

    https://wsvn.com/news/local/man-kicked-off-united-airlines-flight-at-fll-for-wearing-womens-underwear-as-mask/amp/

    Just another MAGA moron proud and satisfied after smearing himself in shit.

  30. 30.

    mrmoshpotato

    @New Deal democrat:

    Everybody needs to rethink their plans for Christmas and New Year’s gatherings. Omicron is going to be raging everywhere by then. 

    Hooray!  Well, it was nice being with family for Thanksgiving.

  31. 31.

    raven

    NYT

     

    Also tucked into the legislation with little fanfare was a provision prohibiting service members from being dishonorably discharged for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine. The measure was supported by Republicans in the House and the Senate, in order to allow those who declined the vaccine to continue receiving certain benefits after leaving the military.
    “As a former Army doctor, I support the vaccine, but I also support those who are defending our freedoms and have carefully weighed their decision on whether to receive the Covid vaccine,” said Senator Roger Marshall, Republican of Kansas and a sponsor of the amendment. “Simply put, a dishonorable discharge treats our heroes as felons. But our American heroes deserve better.”

  32. 32.

    raven

    @New Deal democrat: Yea, you tell my wife that. Her sister’s family is fully vaxxed. Brother’s, we don’t know. If they aren’t and they want to risk getting it from us that’s their problem I guess.

  33. 33.

    New Deal democrat

    @Spanky: From Dr. Andy Slavitt:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/Porter_Anderson/status/1471683867304206337
    “We’re in store for a quick, fast-spreading, and hopefully soon-to-be-over wave that’s going to overwhelm hospitals. All of us who take advantage of the science will be in good shape. For the country as a whole, this is going to be a rough January.”

    As cases rise, when could they peak? He says: “I talked to a dozen scientists or so in the last couple of days and the consensus seems to be forming around the third week in January.”

  34. 34.

    daveNYC

    The POTUS quote:

    “I want to send a direct message to the American people: Due to the steps we’ve taken, #Omicron has not yet spread as fast…as in Europe. But it’s here now & it’s going to increase. For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness & death — “

    This is true, but frankly omicron appears to be ludicrously transmissible, to the point where what restrictions that are in place will have bought the USA a few days, but unless additional restrictions are put in place the new cases graph will go vertical very quickly.  Get a booster and watch your ass because this next wave is going to be a doozie.

    And I wouldn’t go so far as to call the two people who hadn’t gotten their booster covidiots.  I know two people who tested positive Wednesday who were vaxxed, but registration for boosters in their age group only opened up today.

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack

    @New Deal democrat:

    My brother and his partner have a trip scheduled to London starting December 26. I haven’t talked to him in the last few days, but I wonder where they are with that now. Me, I wouldn’t go.

  39. 39.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Alex: Lately no one at FDA or CDC is even talking about the urgent need to get shots for these 20 million kids. The safety profile for the kids 5-11 has been excellent, but they still won’t allow off-label for younger kids. If they get the trial data now, are they planning to take a holiday break before they look at it?

    I have good news for you! One week ago, there was a webinar featuring a very high-level FDA doctor, which included information on the progress of a vaccine for the under-5 cohort.

    https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/covid-19-vaccines-what-fda-sees-latest-data-boosters-kids

  42. 42.

    H.E.Wolf

    @John S.: ​ There’s a fascinating – from a sociological point of view – undercurrent of misogyny in anti-vax activism. Men wearing women’s underwear on their faces as a “mask protest” has been happening here and there.

    It’s apparently supposed to signal that getting vaccinated against COVID is Bad and Weak… and, of course, to signal that something is Bad and Weak, one uses an item associated with women.

    Relatedly: a thought-provoking discussion of caste as a factor in some of the anti-vaccine, anti-mitigation sentiment.

    https://twitter.com/_EthanGrey/status/1469800839573299204​

  43. 43.

    Soprano2

    @raven: I hate the degradation of the word “hero” that our society haas caused. Being in the military does not make a person a “hero” automatically. It’s insulting to those who are true heroes in the best sense of the word.

  44. 44.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Kalakal: Thank you. When I think about it, this is actually the premise of countless horror movies: nobody believes in the Monster until it’s too late. Even when the idiots hear it eating people in the basement, they still go down the stairs to look.

  46. 46.

    Soprano2

    @New Deal democrat: My husband and I are triple vaxxed and have had Covid (this week last year, in fact). I’ve done everything I can reasonably do to keep from getting it, since I’m not willing to stay in my house away from people all the time. I won’t be cancelling any plans. I understand why you are saying that, but I think it’s too late – most people won’t change their plans at this late date. I hate to say it, but at this point it seems that TFG supporters (and the crazy liberal anti-vaxxers) who haven’t gotten the vaccine have made the choice to play Russian Roulette, and I for one won’t drastically change my life because of a choice they have made. It sucks for those with children who can’t get vaxxed yet (soon, hopefully in January or February), and for those with weak immune systems. I have a cartoon to put on my door that’s a health care worker in front of Santa; he says “I cannot make people care about other people, sorry”. That seems to be the TFG part of our society in a nutshell – they don’t care about others enough to get vaxxed.

    My friend who was looking for Ivermectin said it was “for a friend”. I told her to beg her friend to take the monoclonal antibodies, since they’re an actual effective treatment for Covid, and all Ivermectin is for them is a waste of money. She’s extremely tight with her money – maybe that will sway her.

  47. 47.

    Soprano2

    @raven: My husband agrees with me, he’s disgusted by the widespread use of the word “hero” in our society now. He fought with real heroes, he says, he knows the difference.

  49. 49.

    John S.

    @H.E.Wolf:

    That’s actually a very interesting perspective. In the lizard brain of your typical “Florida man”, misogynistic tendencies are hardwired.

  51. 51.

    raven

    @Soprano2: I’ve always known that. Ninety percent of us in Vietnam were in the rear withe the gear and it was the same in Korea and WW2. In “With the Old Breed at Pelilu and Okinawa” E.B. Sledge says “people 50 yards behind us don’t really know what it was like.”

  53. 53.

    Soprano2

    @The Thin Black Duke: As we’ve seen with Covid the past two years, this premise isn’t that far out, although you’re right that in the movies people don’t reject the cure. I love the commercial with the stupid teenagers hiding behind the chainsaws instead of getting in the running car!

  54. 54.

    Soprano2

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Insecure men who are terrified someone will think they’re “weak” or a “sissy” drives a lot of conservative ideology. One of the things that first attracted me to my husband was that he didn’t act like he had anything to prove to anyone – he was secure in who he was. It’s one reason they love TFG, even though he’s more like a woman than many women (I don’t spend an hour on my hair and makeup!) – they love how he says any insulting thing he wants and never apologizes for it, they perceive that as strong.

  55. 55.

    Soprano2

    @raven: My husband has made that point to me, that in Vietnam many of the troops never actually saw combat. He said it took 9 people to support every 1 person in the actual combat zone. He had a black soldier under his command who he recommended for a Silver Star – a true hero – but hubby says he only got a Bronze Star, probably because of racism. I’ve learned a lot from him – he spent half of his time there training South Vietnamese troops in tactics and marksmanship.

  57. 57.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Soprano2:

    My friend who was looking for Ivermectin said it was “for a friend”. I told her to beg her friend to take the monoclonal antibodies, since they’re an actual effective treatment for Covid, and all Ivermectin is for them is a waste of money. She’s extremely tight with her money – maybe that will sway her.

    Sotrovimab is the only mAB treatment that is still effective against the Omicron Variant.
    As the omicron variant threatens to wipe out monoclonal antibodies, the U.S. is saving up one that will still work

  59. 59.

    New Deal democrat

    @Soprano2:

    I love the commercial with the stupid teenagers hiding behind the chainsaws instead of getting in the running car!

    i love it too! Especially the end, where the super villain shakes his head in disgust!

  62. 62.

    New Deal democrat

    @raven: According to several sources I read, No! The rapid testing is unreliable at detecting Omicron. I believe the U.K. is now recommending daily tests for 7 days to be sure.

  63. 63.

    raven

    @Soprano2: Like I said, it wasn’t just Vietnam. The difference was that, if you were in-country, you could fall prey to a mortar or rocket. In WW2 in the Pacific the logistical chain ran from the states through hundreds of island outposts. My FIL was on Saipan well after the invasion and he supervised the building of facilities.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    @The Thin Black Duke: In I Am Legend, the infected reject Neville’s research on a cure because (rot13 spoiler) gur vasrpgrq guvax ur’f n zbafgre sbe gur irel tbbq ernfba gung ur’f xvyyvat gurz, va gur zvfgnxra oryvrs gung gurl ner zvaqyrff inzcverf.

    That aspect wasn’t used at all in the 1964 Last Man on Earth and 1971 Omega Man adaptations. It was filmed for the 2007 I Am Legend but removed because test audiences suck.

  65. 65.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    since I’m not willing to stay in my house away from people all the time. I won’t be cancelling any plans.

    I’m there too. We’ll have two sons and their gfs for Christmas and then travel to visit the grandbaby in NY immediately after. Everyone is vaxxed and boosted. Baby had no effects from the vaccine (or placebo!) that she got- not even a fever.

  67. 67.

    Tony Jay

    @Steeplejack:

    We’re supposed to be travelling down to London by train on the 3rd of January and staying in a hotel for a few days so we can take Jay Junior to a couple of shows and visit a few of the sights we’ve missed before.

    Suffice to say I’m not at all confident any of that is going to happen.

  68. 68.

    Cermet

    Surprised that Delta, while taking off in each section of the country, is timed perfectly with Omicron so it is just getting its start for rapid growth. You’d think this was planned by someone that hates republican and any antivaxxer – of course, doesn’t work for the 3rd world.

  70. 70.

    Sloane Ranger

    Thursday in the UK we had 88,376 new cases. The rolling 7-day average is up by 31.4%. New cases by nation,

    England – 77,299 (up 8431 from Wednesday)

    Northern Ireland – 2237 (up 81 from Wednesday)

    Scotland – 5951 (up 796 from Wednesday)

    Wales – 2889 (up 458 from Wednesday).

    Deaths – There were 146 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. The rolling 7-day average is down by 6%. 122 deaths were in England, 6 in Northern Ireland, 18 in Scotland and none in Wales.

    Testing – 1,635,922 tests took place on Wednesday, 15th. The rolling 7-day average is up by 18.5%. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on that date, was 815,142.

    Hospitalisations – On Wednesday, 15th, there were 7579 people in hospital and 886 on ventilators. The 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 8.6% as of 12th December.

    Vaccinations – As of Wednesday, 15th, 51,360,987 people had had 1 shot of a vaccine, 46,881,291 had had 2 and 25,477,345 had had a 3rd shot/booster. In percentage terms, 89.3% of all UK residents aged 12+ have had 1 shot of a vaccine, 81.5% have had 2 shots and 44.3% have had a 3rd shot/booster.

  74. 74.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — the First Minister has announced that about 50% of all new COVID-19 cases in Scotland are now the Omicron variant. The total number of cases hasn’t gone up much but there has been a big increase in the testing rate and the information from Government PCR-RT labs is somewhat delayed.

    Hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy and deaths from/with COVID-19 remain a bit lower than the peak in September. A total of four people in hospital with COVID-19  have confirmed cases of Omicron variant infection, up from two yesterday. No deaths in Scotland have been specifically attributed to the new variant yet.

    The number of booster vaccinations administered continues to increase daily, now up to about 63,000 yesterday with about 53% of all 18+ adults having received it now. More mass vaccination centres are being set up in various town and city centres and plans to close some existing vaccination centres pre-Omicron have been put on hold. The site I got my booster at in early November was supposed to be holding a Xmas rave party in a few days time. This is not going to happen now.

    Despite all that’s going on the number of new (first and second) vaccinations has almost ground to a halt even in the 12-18 age range. There was an early surge of vaccine takeup when schoolkids became eligible but that’s tailed off now as, I suspect, vaccination-averse parents are avoiding getting their kids vaccinated while pro-vaccine parents got their kids jabbed at the earliest opportunity.

  76. 76.

    Robert Sneddon

    Coronavirus data for the UK as a whole, published at 16:00 GMT — a new record number of daily cases, over 93,000 positive results reported. Cases are up 38% week on week.

    The number of hospital cases is on the rise, the number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19 remains about the same, perhaps down a little. It looks like we’re going to hit the predicted 100,000 new cases a day by Sunday, after that who knows how high it will go.

    In other news, a few days ago someone was reported to have died while infected with the Omicron variant, the first such case known in the UK. Someone claiming to be his stepson phoned into a radio show call-in and said his stepfather was the person who had died. He was unvaccinated and firmly against ever getting vaccinated, the caller said. This is unconfirmed, of course.

    Another reported epidemiological model from the Imperial College London team says the risk of reinfection with Omicron is more than five times more likely than with the Delta variant, but this is very preliminary.

  77. 77.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Spanky: I got a text from CVS on 10/26 telling me I was eligible for a booster since it had been >180 days since my second Moderna shot.

    When I got my booster at CVS in Dunkirk on 11/8, there might’ve been one person ahead of me in line.  Same general idea for my under-60 wife when she got her booster a week or so later.  This time last month, people could pretty much walk right in and get their shot.

  79. 79.

    Bill Arnold

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    If COVID is surging in the Northeast corridor—“from Philadelphia to New York City”—I assume it is about to be surging here in the D.C. area as well. Ugh. No bueno.

    It’s a mixed surge. I’m in the mid Hudson valley in NYS a couple of counties North of NYC, and the NYS new case tracking graph is showing a rise in new cases/day (for a four-county sum – Orange, Ulster, Putnam, Dutchess) but not a sharp spike the last couple of weeks. The state overall looks nasty, but it’s a biggish state (by east coast standards). Also, we had a indoor public spaces mask requirement start in NY State on Monday Dec 13 (2021), and people are mostly disciplined, and I’ve only had to sharply tell a few people (as a fellow customer) that masks were required. I’ll be watching the NYState stats vs those without a mask requirement carefully for the next few weeks.
    https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/positive-tests-over-time-region-and-county
    Also, anyone not using an N95 or equivalent (or better), please switch, and encourage everyone that you are physically close to while indoors (or personally care about) to do the same.

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