Stay tuned for tomorrow's press briefing, when Doocy will ask why seatbelt laws have not completely eliminated traffic deaths. https://t.co/nx0FY8cyu1
— Gary Legum (@GaryLegum) January 10, 2022
The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing https://t.co/ctaz7lNavn
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
US hospitalizations have surpassed last winter's peak. As of Sunday, 142,388 COvid patients were hospitalized nationwide, according to the US Dept of Health & Human Services, surpassing the peak of 142,315 on Jan. 14 of last year https://t.co/wiIoFfIXJD
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 11, 2022
Here is the unedited version of Rochelle Walensky's comments, where it's clear that her comments about comorbidities were referring solely to a CDC study of vaccinated people, and not to all "Covid deaths," as ppl like Clay Travis have claimed. pic.twitter.com/Z7oJQv3gem
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 11, 2022
Walensky seems genuinely unaware that there's an information war going on, in which antivaxxers and Covid skeptics will misuse any poorly phrased or unclear or overstate comment to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines or the seriousness of Covid.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 10, 2022
Private health insurers must cover 8 at-home coronavirus testing kits per person per month. People who provide their insurance information will be able to get the tests w/ no out-of-pocket costs at certain pharmacies. Rule goes into effect Saturday https://t.co/oIlNxSUcDz
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 10, 2022
It's also what makes every indoor activity dangerous now. Inside air is like virus soup. I'm staying home. 2/2
— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 10, 2022
======
A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. Anyang and its 5.5 million residents join Xi’an and Yuzhou in lockdown. https://t.co/egPZs2kT27
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 11, 2022
Breakouts and lockdowns in Chinese cities make a risk-free Olympics look unlikely. With less than a month to go until the Winter Games, Chinese officials are racing to extinguish a spate of coronavirus infections, including cases of the #OmicronVariant. https://t.co/2Km8ODs7Pv
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 11, 2022
… But there were worrying signs that the Omicron variant had already spread beyond Tianjin. The central Chinese city of Anyang, in Henan Province, reported two local Omicron infections on Monday, traced to a student who had traveled from Tianjin on Dec. 28, spurring concerns that the Omicron variant may have already been circulating in Tianjin for nearly two weeks.
Millions of people in the Chinese cities of Xi’an and Yuzhou, in Henan Province, are also currently being confined to their homes following a recent surge in cases of the Delta variant.
The outbreaks have concerned officials in Beijing, who are stepping up measures to ensure that the virus does not penetrate the capital city’s already substantial fortifications ahead of the Games. On Monday, the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention called on residents who had traveled to areas with recent flare-ups to report themselves to the authorities. That would include anyone who has been in or passed through Tianjin since Dec. 9.
On Monday, Beijing officials also urged residents not to leave during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Jan. 31. For many of the city’s millions of migrant workers, it is the third year in a row in which the coronavirus has spoiled the weeklong holiday, which is typically their only chance to return home and see loved ones.
Indian health officials investigate laboratory after claims of faulty Covid tests for international passengers https://t.co/ZY2gxzk0gv
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 11, 2022
… At least 173 passengers from Rome, and 125 travellers from Milan tested positive on arrival in Amritsar.
Thirty of them were tested again at the airport – but only three people tested positive for Covid the second time.
Airport officials told BBC Punjabi they have stopped using the services of the lab, SpiceHealth, for now.
“If it’s a manufacturing fault, we have to follow certain guidelines. If it’s a human or procedural fault, then we will certainly take action,” airport director VK Seth said…
At least 13 passengers who arrived on the flight from Milan and tested positive escaped institutional quarantine.
Footage from that day showed ambulances lined up outside the airport to take the infected passengers to hospital as crowds gathered and chaos ensued. Many of the passengers appeared furious, alleging that their positive test results were inaccurate as they had tested negative before boarding the flight…
India has so far recorded more than 35 million Covid cases and around 484,000 deaths from the virus.
Japan to maintain strict border restrictions until end of February https://t.co/EhPaSicP03 pic.twitter.com/Z0kdWcN9Xl
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
How about a thread of good news for a change.
Tokyo, a city of 14 million people, hasn't reported a Covid death in two weeks. Indeed, since the beginning of December, only 4 people have died. https://t.co/KW9T1SdeBk
— Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド (@GearoidReidy) January 11, 2022
All indications from Okinawa seem to suggest that omicron is indeed weaker, and not just (as I half-feared) owing to previous immunity https://t.co/Tk1NrnnvCt
— Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド (@GearoidReidy) January 11, 2022
Hong Kong had a year to vaccinate its elderly — but didn't. Now #omicron is spreading and scores of people are vulnerable https://t.co/yxXPWl1mf0
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 11, 2022
for anyone keeping score at home, singapore's omicron wave seems to have peaked after a sharp (relatively… from 150 cases/day to 850 cases/day) increase in late december. does not seem to have made an impact in terms of serious illness and death
population here highly vaxxed
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 11, 2022
how vaccinated is singapore? this vaccinated. coulda been the u.s. too, maybe, if it weren't for a whole lot of grifters pushing bad ideas pic.twitter.com/z2lMq1ELT4
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 11, 2022
Breaking: Boosters in Indonesia will be given for free, President Joko Widodo said. The elderly and other vulnerable groups are prioritized. Folks who received their shots six months prior are eligible for the third one.
— Stanley Widianto (@stanleywidianto) January 11, 2022
Australia's COVID-19 infections hovered near record levels as a surge of infections caused by the Omicron variant put a strain on hospitals already stretched by staff isolating after being exposed to the virus https://t.co/s6at2ZYVYe pic.twitter.com/1XLi8zo1ZL
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
Russia on Tuesday reported 17,525 new Covid-19 infections and a further 783 fatalities.
In Moscow, cases jumped 66% over the last 24 hours to 4,635 — the highest number in two months.https://t.co/Jcfj4PGucN
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 11, 2022
Portugal –
The whole picture is even better. pic.twitter.com/fWwH4Md25h
— Hell Maestro (@maestro_hell) January 10, 2022
Poland's total COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000 https://t.co/oIRrCpy9Tg pic.twitter.com/JNe59JaygR
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is calling for a debate in Europe on whether to treat COVID-19 as endemic and to move away from the detailed tracking that the pandemic has required until now to a flu-like monitoring system. https://t.co/GWxG1gK0AD
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 10, 2022
Italy has targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions, with proof of vaccination or recovery from a recent infection required to enter the public transportation system, coffee shops, hotels, gyms and other everyday activities. https://t.co/iEBV5mh7Qd
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 10, 2022
Uganda’s schools have reopened their gates, ending the longest school disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic anywhere in the world. More than 10 million learners were affected by the full or partial shutdowns, which lasted 83 weeks. https://t.co/s4kBDjWwQX
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2022
South African studies suggest Omicron has higher 'asymptomatic carriage' https://t.co/xo7tv5euXj pic.twitter.com/Lo1ccttv3I
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
… The studies – one of which was carried out when Omicron infections were surging in South Africa last month and another which resampled participants around the same time – found a far greater number of people tested positive for the coronavirus but were not showing symptoms compared to previous trials.
In the Ubuntu study evaluating the efficacy of Moderna’s (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine in people living with HIV, 31% of 230 participants undergoing screening tested positive, with all 56 samples available for sequencing analysis verified to be Omicron.
“This is in stark contrast to the positivity rate pre-Omicron, which ranged from less than 1% to 2.4%,” the researchers said in a statement.
In a subgroup of the Sisonke trial evaluating the efficacy of Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine, the mean asymptomatic carriage rate rose to 16% during the Omicron period from 2.6% during the Beta and Delta outbreaks.
“The Sisonke study included 577 subjects previously vaccinated, … with results suggesting a high carriage rate even in those known to be vaccinated,” the researchers said…
From ambulance delays to transit disruptions, COVID-19 absences hit Canada's public services https://t.co/0KllqzMI6P pic.twitter.com/xxYtbLovWg
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
======
Misinformation about Covid-19 tests — including PCR and at-home tests — has spiked across social media in recent weeks. The burst of misinformation threatens to further stymie public efforts to keep the health crisis under control. https://t.co/3gKByPKSzU pic.twitter.com/cF9XYJWbTl
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 10, 2022
I’m Pfizer x3, but if this hold up, I might insist on Moderna for my next booster…
Also, as previously noted, the improved Omicron protection with Moderna booster https://t.co/vRjnlKrFgC
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 10, 2022
======
A pernicious Covid testing scam. Fake tests that are always negative. The scammers also collect your personal information. Outfit operates out of Florida, of course ↓ https://t.co/4pPzJRzA3c
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 11, 2022
Just to be clear.
If all adults had vaccinated in the Spring, the pandemic would be over — and we would be concentrating care on a very limited number of breakthroughs & children. https://t.co/PuLw0BdCaq
— Nathan Newman ? (@nathansnewman) January 11, 2022
Starting to think all of these guys are having a secret competition to see who can get the rubes to do the craziest things. https://t.co/aNUytfNoF6
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 10, 2022
On The Road – Christopher Mathews – Ice Lands
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
Monroe County website:
1174 new cases, 20.6% test positivity
Deaths now at 1614
Full vaccination still at 69.4%
Hospitalizations as of 1/8/22:
156 cases hospitalized, 69% were unvaccinated
27 of those cases are in the ICU, 85% are unvaccinated
19 of the cases in the ICU are intubated, 85% are unvaccinated
The NYSDOH website: 1128 new cases on 1/10/22
My sister told me my other nephew now has COVID. It was only a matter of time since he works with a bunch of MAGAts who refuse to be vaccinated. When he did a nose swab it came back negative, but the throat swab came back positive, so I’m guess he’s got Omicron.
NotMax
Following up on the above (emphasis added).
NotMax
Help me out here; might there possibly have been some sort of, I dunno, large public gathering recently?
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: WTF??
NotMax
Locally,
OzarkHillbilly
@Gin & Tonic: Everybody hates old people and just wants us to go ahead and die.
Or something like that.
YY_Sima Qian
On 1/10 China reported 110 new domestic confirmed (none previously asymptomatic) & 11 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Shaanxi Province reported 13 new domestic confirmed cases. 70 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 1,618 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
At Yuncheng in Shanxi Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case, a person arrived from Xi’an in Shaanxi.
Guangdong Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. Shenzhen municipal authorities has declared that the genetic sequence (which is Delta Variant) of the cluster there does not match that of ongoing outbreaks elsewhere in Mainland China or Hong Kong, nor that of recent imported cases into Shenzhen. They suspect the cluster is seeded by overseas parcels, as the index patient works in international logistics & had recently worked w/ packages from overseas. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed cases (18 at Dongguan & 4 at Shenzhen) in the province. 1 residential compound & 1 residential building at Shenzhen are currently at Medium Risk.
At Guangxi “Autonomous” Region there currently are 17 active domestic confirmed (all at Dongxing in Fangchenggang) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Chongzuo) cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 10 new domestic confirmed & 11 new domestic asymptomatic cases. Another 14 domestic cases are preliminarily positive. There currently are 34 active domestic confirmed & 13 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all presumed Omicron) in the city, all presumed Omicron, all at Jinnan District. 1 residential building is currently at High Risk. 6 residential buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
At Shanghai Municipality there currently are 16 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
At Jiangsu Province there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Nanjing) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all at Wuxi) in the province.
At Zhejiang Province 30 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 215 active domestic confirmed cases (spread across Shaoxing, Ningbo, Hangzhou & Jinhua) in the province. A factory & a village at Jinhua are currently at Medium Risk. A factory & a village at Beilun District in Ningbo remain at Medium Risk.
At Xiamen in Fujian Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining, a quarantine hotel worker.
Henan Province reported 87 new domestic confirmed cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 386 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
At Yunnan Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed (7 at Dehong Prefecture & 5 at Kunming) & 6 active domestic asymptomatic (4 at Dehong Prefecture & 2 at Sipsongpanna Prefecture) cases in the province.
At Tongren in Guizhou Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who returned from Jinghong, Sipsongpanna Prefecture in Yunnan.
Imported Cases
On 1/9, China reported 82 new imported confirmed cases (8 previously asymptomatic), 39 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Overall in China, 138 confirmed cases recovered (36 imported), 20 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (18 imported) & 8 were reclassified as confirmed cases (all imported), & 1,370 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 3,458 active confirmed cases in the country (1,130 imported), 21 in serious condition (3 imported), 721 active asymptomatic cases (681 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 45,090 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 1/10, 2,905.638M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 6.608M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 1/11, Hong Kong reported 21 new positive cases (20 suspected to be w/ Omicron Variant), 13 imported & 8 domestic (all traced close contacts). All schools in the city have shifted to remote learning.
On 1/11, Taiwan reported 70 new positive cases, 58 imported & 12 domestic (including 5 from a cluster at an electronics factory, seeded by a relative of a Taoyuan Airport worker that tested positive).
NotMax
Those mustering out, please report for debriefing.
YY_Sima Qian
As of noon on 1/11, there is a total of 97 positive cases in Tianjin Municipality (49 confirmed, 15 asymptomatic, 33 yet to be diagnosed; 90 at Jinnan District), w/ half reported this morning that will be included in tomorrow’s data dump. The city is expected to complete the 1st round of mass screening today. Source of the outbreak is yet to be determined, but the index patient (as in 1st discovered) initially developed symptoms on 12/29, & the number of cases that developed symptoms rapidly increased from 1/6 on. The outbreak contains 6 family clusters to date. Other than the 2 index cases reported on 1/8, 3 cases were found from mass screening, & the remaining 92 cases were all traced close contacts or residents in hot zones (under lock down or movement restrictions). Of the 1st 80 cases, 76 cases were fully vaccinated (including 20 boosted), 3 were partially vaccinated, & 1 child was unvaccinated.
As of noon on 1/11, Anyang in Henan Province reported another 58 positive cases (all mild, all at Tangyin County), to be included in tomorrow’s data dump, 84 cases total (all mild). Apparently there is a major outbreak at a boarding school.
As of noon on 1/11, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province reported 8 new positive cases. 4 are traced close contacts of previously reported cases & should have been already under centralized quarantine, while another family cluster of 4 were discovered when 1 member (a salesperson at a Walmart) tested positive during regular screening. A batch of 10 mixed samples from Shenzhen Airport personnels also tested positive, the 10 persons in the batch are being re-tested. One of my team members in Shenzhen received a notification last night indicating that he was at the same place at the same time as a positive case. As such he is required to be tested twice, 48 hrs apart, but no movement restrictions otherwise. All members of our office are working from home. Another of my team members live in Guangzhou, but normally travels to Shenzhen during weekdays. He is staying at Guangzhou working from home for the time being, too.
1 of my wife’s university students had returned from Zhengzhou in Henan Province to Wuhan a couple of weeks ago, on 12/28. At the time, all areas of Zhengzhou were at Low Risk, following the previous outbreak there in Oct. – Nov. When the new outbreak at Zhengzhou was discovered at the beginning of Jan., she was placed under centralized quarantine in Wuhan. While nearing the end of her centralized quarantine, contact tracers determined that she had taken the same high speed rail (different carriage) as the Omicron case that traveled from Tianjin to Anyang in Henan on 12/28 (seeding the Omicron outbreak there). As such, she was deemed an F1 close contact, & all of her dorm roommates were deemed F2 close contact & were sent to centralized quarantine, as well (but only for a couple of days, until 14 days has passed since their last contact w/ her). 2 dorm buildings were locked down this morning & all students tested. By noon all results were negative & the lock down was lifted.
OzarkHillbilly
At least Tony the dog is getting some nice tips.
NotMax
FYI.
New Deal democrat
While the nationwide news in the US continues to be awful, there are increasing signs that the Omicron wave has peaked in most of the jurisdictions hardest hit early, including NY, NJ, PR, DC, OH, and IL. Among the States hit early, only HI continues to increase. Similarly, in Canada the hardest hit province, Quebec, has peaked. So the sliver of good news is that the national peak is perhaps only a week or so away.
Internationally the U.K. and Portugal have peaked as well, while Denmark and Israel still show increases.
Hospitalizations made another record in the US, ICU admissions increased, and deaths increased slightly again.
Baud
@NotMax:
Heh.
YY_Sima Qian
@NotMax: That is gross!
Scout211
@NotMax:
That statement is very unclear but I am making the assumption that Medicare Part D plans will cover the cost of the in-home COVID tests like they do for all medications and many vaccinations that Medicare doesn’t cover. Part D plans are private health insurance plans, not federal insurance plans. Hopefully, this will be clarified in the next day or so by all of our Part D plans.
debbie
Nevermind.
Elizabelle
@NotMax: Debriefing. You have outdone yourself, sir.
rikyrah
Well, I got Peanut an appointment for her booster ?.
It’s on Thursday ??
rikyrah
@NeenerNeener:
????????
rikyrah
Amir,
Thinking about you ??????
NeenerNeener
@rikyrah: Thanks.
satby
Sending good thoughts to Amir as well.
Betty
@NotMax: The broken system remains a broken system. Insurance companies will include the cost of tests and administrative costs in future premiums. Why not just give out the tests directly?
Elizabelle
@satby: Me three for Amir.
And hope you are feeling much better. Had not realized you had come down with the ‘rona.
Another Scott
Nature news summary –
Nature, Published online: 07 January 2022; doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00004-x
Laboratory studies hint that a longer interval between vaccination and infection is better than a shorter one
Looks interesting. (The devil’s always in the details.)
Cheers,
Scott.
satby
@Elizabelle: Well, the rapid test was negative, but they did nasal rather than throat swabs; and known exposure, symptoms and timing suggest the negative was a false one. Better now, not 100% but almost, so thanks.
Soprano2
Good grief, I just looked at our Covid dashboard for the whole period they’ve been collecting information. Right now, the 7-day average of cases is 342, which is the highest of the pandemic. The 7-day case rate per 100,000 is 895, which again is the highest of the pandemic. The hospital census is 193, which is a lot lower than the highest point of 271 that happened last summer; however, that lags a couple of weeks, so we’ll see what it is in two weeks. (I look at the hospital census low point of 16, which happened in May 2021, and it makes me want to cry, we were so close.) So far, it doesn’t appear that vaccinations are peaking any, which happened last summer when delta was bad. Overall not great, especially with how many unvaccinated people we have here. We have 51.95% fully vaxxed (two shots) in my county, and we’re the highest one in the area.
Thor Heyerdahl
Quebec’s public health director resigns as hospitals overwhelmed by Omicron
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/horacio-arruda-resigns-quebec-public-health-1.6310436
Steeplejack (phone)
@rikyrah:
Good!
Sloane Ranger
Really missing Amir’s updates. I hope he’s OK. Does anyone have the means to check in with him?
Monday there were 142,224 new cases here in the UK. This is a slight increase from Sunday, but this can possibly be accounted for by “catch up” after weekend office closures, which always depresses Saturday and Sundays figures. The rolling 7-day average is now showing a 1% increase. This is significantly down on what it was a week ago, but kids have returned to school after the Christmas break and some experts are predicting a new surge as a result. New cases by nation,
England – 115,998 (down 5230)
Northern Ireland – 2706 (down 1054)
Scotland – 11,827 (up 4266)
Wales – 11,683 (up 2770, but the figure will include cases not reported over the weekend).
Deaths – There were 77 deaths within 28 days of a positive test reported yesterday. The rolling 7-day average is up by 49.8%. 55 deaths were in England, 6 in Northern Ireland, 16 in Wales (will include some from the weekend) and none in Scotland.
Testing – 1,657,729 tests took place on Sunday, 9 January. This is an increase of 24%. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on that date was 825,805.
Hospitalisations – As of Friday, 7 January, there were 18,665 people in hospital and 844 on ventilators. Hospital admissions were up by 43.3% as of 4 January.
Vaccinations – As of Sunday, 9th, 51,974,605 people had had 1 shot of a vaccine, 47,718,730 had had 2 and 35,664,164 had had a 3rd shot/booster. This means that 90.4% of all UK residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot of a vaccine, 83% had had 2 and 62% had had a 3rd shot/booster.
General – Haven’t seen it reported here, could have missed it, but it appears that No 10 Downing Street invited 100 people to a party in the garden there during the first lockdown, when people were only legally allowed to mix with 1 person outside their own household. Invitees were asked to bring their own booze. Apparently only 30 or so actually showed up, which either indicates the other 70 had some sense of social responsibility, or, more likely, were aware of how bad it would make them look if it came out. Eye witnesses have come forward to say that our beloved Prime Minister and his SO attended. This event took place only hours after a government spokesperson was reminding us not to mix with other households. This is the 4th or 5th party, Boris seems to have attended during a lockdown period. It seems that Boris was partying like it was 1999, while COVID burned across the UK. And he still had people defending him publicly. I have no words!
Ben Cisco
@Elizabelle:
What you did here has been seen. Well done!
Tazj
@Betty: They are distributing free tests in my county this week. However, it seems as if getting them would be hard to do in some places if you don’t have a car or time off from work. In my town, they are having a drive through where they are handing out tests from 3-7pm.
I don’t know why they didn’t mail them out like they have in other countries.
Jerzy Russian
Regarding the urine therapy, if you drink it from the toilet you can also get a healthy dose of bleach, thereby delivering a 1-2 punch to the virus.
NorthLeft12
From Ontario, Canada; my wife and I used to pore over the daily case numbers for our area and province, but with the restricted availability of PCR testing those numbers are nearly meaningless as they may cover less than 10% of the population.
Outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths are significant and are all screaming upwards. The good news is the higher numbers of vaccinations that are being done every day, about 1.5% of the population every day.
The bad news is the plan to return to in person schooling on January 17, which (IMO) will add a lot of fuel to the pandemic wave which will be peaking around then. I would like to see them wait another week….but then again, I am a retiree without kids in the school system so I am biased. Note:My middle grandson is absolutely thriving with remote learning, but the older one (non-verbal) has basically been cut out of his class. Ontario schools are supposed to provide in school learning for special needs students, they did last go round, but my grandson’s school is not doing it yet.
My daughter thinks they have a bit of a staffing issue due to COVID, but she is pressing them to be clear about it.
laura
Chiming in to join the We Miss You Amir Chorus. Get well soon Amir Khalid and return to the fold.
Spouse and I have been in quarantine since Friday when spouse’s pal tested positive. We’ve been masked and I turned up our air filters to def con 5. It appears we dodged the omicron bullet, but it would’ve been nice to be able to find a test anywhere but nope- that can’t be got for love nor money.
Bill Arnold
I quick-scanned the literature yesterday using scholar.google.com and a few different keyword searches (and a 2020+ time window).
“tons and tons of research”, LOL, no; a few cautionary publications getting shrill about the nonsense-pedaling, mainly.
If that company really has been selling fake negative covid-19 test results, the principals should be
fed into a wood chipperjailed for decades.StringOnAStick
@laura: Thank you for the link to the Airqueen masks yesterday; I ordered some.
WaterGirl
I sent an email to Amir at the email address he uses for Balloon Juice. I will let everyone know if I hear back from him.
Madeleine
@WaterGirl: Thanks, WaterGirl. I miss Amir, too.
eachother
Thanks AL.
Your article is outstanding.
The word ‘plateau’ is popping up. What’s really popping up is the reasonable likelihood millions of cases per day could incubate a meaner version of this ‘milder’ variant. The chances are spreading.