When all is said and done, more Americans will have died of Covid this month than died in the entire Vietnam War.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 27, 2022
The reason the Vietnam comparison came to mind is that during the Vietnam War, US deaths were reported daily, much the way Covid deaths are. So it's striking to realize that the number of deaths that were reported over 8+ years in Vietnam are happening in 31 days right now.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 27, 2022
USA?? #COVID19 today, per @CDCDirector
– 7-day average, new cases = 692,400/day, a 6% decrease over prior week
– 7-dy avg, hosp admissions = 19,800/day, an 8% decrease
– 7-dy avg daily deaths = 2,200, UP^ 21%.
– 64% of adults have had primary #Vaccines & 50% have been boosted. pic.twitter.com/yjAF7vajpi— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 26, 2022
CDC study finds shorter hospital stays during omicron wave, even as infections and death toll mount https://t.co/MnzyENZBye
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 26, 2022
======
We don’t have all of the the answers, but @WHO is working with 1000s upon 1000s of experts around the world to learn more every day.
We can reduce deaths significantly and also reduce the spread with tools we have now.
Listen below of potential futures of #COVID19 ⬇️ https://t.co/YmxomgLBUw
— Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) January 26, 2022
#Omicron's rapid global spread highlights the potential consequences of the global vaccine gap https://t.co/NFbWUEaFQ0
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 27, 2022
No exit from zero-COVID: China struggles to find policy off-ramp https://t.co/u4qyqUZwY3 pic.twitter.com/MeMeSMJwGG
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 27, 2022
Despite all the ‘helpful’ advice from outsiders, seems like China is in no hurry to quit its ‘Covid Zero’ approach…
… While some analysts have branded China’s approach as “unsustainable”, many local health experts – and some from overseas – say the country has no choice but to continue given its less developed health system.
Some even argue China’s economy could even emerge stronger than ever if it keeps Omicron at bay.
“For a large country with a population of 1.4 billion, it must be said that the cost effectiveness of our country’s prevention and control has been extremely high,” said Liang Wannian, head of the expert epidemic prevention group at China’s National Health Commission, at a Saturday briefing.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, called on China last week to “reassess” its approach, saying it had now become a “burden” on both the Chinese and global economies.
But China is concerned the cost of lowering its defences could prove even higher, especially with a healthcare system that has lagged its broader development…
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, warned the “insidious” Omicron could still lead to a rise in the absolute number of deaths even if it was proven to be less deadly, and China must remain patient.
“China’s medical capacity and standards are not as good as Britain or the United States, but the results of China’s coronavirus prevention and control are far, far superior,” he said in a weekend interview with the Beijing News…
MacIntyre of the Kirby Institute said it wasn’t a “binary choice” between opening up and remaining isolated, adding there was “no need to surrender to the virus, as Australia is doing at the moment.”
China could still emerge from the crisis in the strongest position, especially if COVID leads to widespread cognitive impairment, organ damage and other long-term conditions in other countries, she said.
“If China keeps the virus largely under control, their population will be fit and healthy into the future, while the United States and Europe will be groaning under an unprecedented burden of chronic disease.”
With Omicron threatening its zero Covid policy, Hong Kong is in a rare & risky position. Few of its elderly are vaccinated; virtually none have antibodies from prior infection. We could learn from that pool of SARS-2 naives, but the price could be steep. https://t.co/Y9MMoWXo20
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 26, 2022
so… the hamster cull… besides not being supported by evidence in general that people can get covid from their pets… also was not supported by specific evidence that a hamster caused an outbreak in hk https://t.co/bvEp4FZhZU
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 27, 2022
Japan's border crackdown leaves students in limbo and economy in a pinch https://t.co/ZfbgJ9mL0Y pic.twitter.com/3MrYBlQhWU
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 26, 2022
Folks, if at this stage you don't think that Japan has done something right during the pandemic, then you really must sincerely believe in the exceptionalism of the Japanese people.
Or you could roll out some baseless conspiracy theories about how you can't trust the government. pic.twitter.com/DtMkJ6qmAC
— Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド (@GearoidReidy) January 27, 2022
South Korea’s top infectious disease expert is defending the move to expand the use of rapid testing despite accuracy concerns as the country broke its daily coronavirus record for the third straight day. https://t.co/83i5buuhU9
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2022
After spending two years in a strict lockdown while COVID-19 spread around the world, North Korea is showing signs that it’s easing its severe border controls to nurse a desperately broken economy. https://t.co/iMdQXUVL0c
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2022
While the West sees vaccination rates slowing & infections soaring with spreading omicron, Iran for once isn't seeing grim COVID-19 statistics dominate headlines. Pummeled by successive virus waves, it has found respite in mass vaccination. By @IsabelDeBre https://t.co/ztjNHYkucS
— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) January 27, 2022
UAE to lift entry, transit ban on passengers from 12 African countries https://t.co/MUOPV3kQlP pic.twitter.com/nJEXcPM6HP
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 27, 2022
Russia reported a record number of new coronavirus infections for the seventh day running, with more than 88,000 new Covid-19 cases confirmedhttps://t.co/4V4htwcSIC
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 27, 2022
Germany reports new daily record for COVID-19 infections https://t.co/AEvhYfXKoP pic.twitter.com/PKcDMg1yOg
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 27, 2022
The Danish government just announced a lifting of *all* restrictions by Feb 1
The combo of omicron & high vaccination rates has completely decoupled infections and severe disease ?
In Denmark, COVID-19 is no longer classified as a "threat to society"
(graph by @mikaelmilhoj) pic.twitter.com/ODN3jX7j7g
— Michael Bang Petersen (@M_B_Petersen) January 26, 2022
Senegal is aiming to package #COVID19 vaccines in plastic pouches rather than glass vials, a potential game-changer in making vaccines more accessible, @Telegraph reports. https://t.co/47XYgFUaGW
— Global Health NOW (@ghn_news) January 26, 2022
======
Here's what scientists know about BA.2, the 'stealth' version of #Omicron that's making its way around the globe https://t.co/BLfDjNWfPk
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 27, 2022
A Boston hospital is garnering attention for dropping a man who won't get vaccinated against #Covid from their transplant list. Hospitals & ethicists say allocating scarce organs involves prioritizing those most likely to survive & thrive. By @DrewQJoseph. https://t.co/LAnBPzg74c
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 26, 2022
While many groups are working towards a pan-sarbecovirus vaccine as a shot, this is a nasal spray that may achieve variant-proof mucosal immunity—that would block transmission. An exciting strategy that deserves very high priority https://t.co/KyYK7xFcRs
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 27, 2022
Will another devastating variant follow #Omicron? That's the 64 million dollar question. Virologists say it's still too early to tell https://t.co/hzGVazAlQe
— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) January 26, 2022
New on #LongCovid and the lungs
"COVID-19 causes a prolonged change to the airway immune landscape in those with persistent lung disease, with evidence of cell death and tissue repair linked to ongoing activation of cytotoxic T cells."https://t.co/BUBktpUo2e @ImmunityCP pic.twitter.com/FiAY7orP6o— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 26, 2022
======
The Navy says it has discharged 23 active-duty sailors for refusing the coronavirus vaccine. It's the first time the Navy has taken that disciplinary action over the mandatory shots. https://t.co/TVkFogZJkt
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2022
“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Spotify takes down Neil Young's music after the musician protested the platform's dissemination of misinformation about vaccines. https://t.co/whilx0hY1h— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 26, 2022
#NeilYoung almost died of polio as a kid. The vaccine didn’t exist when he was born. The illness affected his life for years. He doesn’t want others to similarly suffer due to misinformation. Media is missing that detail when discussing his protest of Spotify’s irresponsibility.
— Marc Luber (@JD_COT) January 26, 2022
do you think that picking on a rando bartender because your point was unclear makes you look better here? https://t.co/0Z6mvsnfJq
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 26, 2022
i appreciate these tweets but at this point it’s like “just showed up to the morgue and 95 percent of the bomb victims were wearing bombs and blew up the bombs that they were wearing” and it’s like buddy yeah, that’s how bombs work. i don’t know what to say. https://t.co/lQ09UYCg3F
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) January 26, 2022
two yrs ago this month my TL was filled w/ people telling me Joe Rogan was future of Dem Party
we dodged a bullet https://t.co/HX2f39dt0Y
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) January 25, 2022
On The Road – BigJimSlade – Hiking in the Italian Dolomites – 2021 – Day 3
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
843 new cases reported yesterday.
174 COVID cases in the hospital, 67% unvaccinated.
28 cases in the ICU, 78.5% unvaccinated
16 cases in the ICU are intubated, 75% unvaccinated
I hear that Colbert addressed the Stockton claim about athletes dropping dead from being vaccinated last night. When I finish work I’ll have to find last night’s show somewhere.
debbie
Glad I never saw or read that shyt about Joe Rogan being the Democratic Party’s future. No telling what I might have done. ?
germy
Meghan McCain and her husband tested positive.
Baud
People who died in Vietnam didn’t have a choice.
Baud
@debbie:
First I’m hearing of it.
germy
OzarkHillbilly
Eric Boehlert lives in a really shitty time line.
YY_Sima Qian
On 1/26 China reported 25 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) & 17 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
At Xi’an in Shaanxi Province 43 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 133 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Guangdong Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 59 active domestic confirmed & 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
At Guangxi “Autonomous” Region 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 4 active domestic confirmed (3 at Dongxing in Fangchenggang & 1 at Ningming County in Chongzuo) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Chongzuo) cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (moderate), at Hebei District. The case had traveled to the epicenter Jinnan District in early Jan., was placed under centralized quarantine for 14 days & tested negative 3 times. After release from quarantine on 1/15, the case was tested twice more during mass screenings, both negative. The case then developed respiratory symptoms on 1/26, visited a fever clinic, & testing positive there. 56 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 3 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 174 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all presumed Omicron). 10 residential compounds remain at High Risk. 3 Medium Rusk villages & a Medium Risk residential compound were re-designated to Low Risk. 12 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
Beijing Municipality reported 5 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic, 3 mild & 2 moderate), all at Fengtai District, all of the 4 new domestic positive cases are from persons under centralized or home quarantine, all related to the Delta outbreak at cold storage warehouses in Fengtai District. There currently are 54 active domestic confirmed cases & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 residential compound is currently at High Risk. 1 residential compound & 1 village were elevated to Medium Risk. 5 residential compounds, 1 village & 1 warehouse are currently at Medium Risk.
Liaoning Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Shenyang) & 4 active domestic asymptomatic (3 at Dalian & 1 at Shenyang) cases in the province.
Shandong Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently at 2 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
At Shanxi Province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the province (1 each at Datong & Yuncheng).
Hebei Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases, all at Langfang, a person who returned from Fengtai District in Beijing & 3 family members. The index case is a close contact of domestic positive cases at Beijing, returned from Beijing on 1/21, had tested negative on 1/22 & 1/23, was placed under centralized quarantine on 1/24 & had tested negative again on the same day, but testing positive on 1/25. The family members were faced under centralized quarantine early on 1/26, when the index case tested positive, in turn testing There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed cases (5 at Xiong’an, 4 at Langfang & 1 at Baoding) in the Province, all part of the transmission from the cold storage warehouses outbreak in Beijing. 1 village at Xiong’an has been elevated to Medium Risk.
Yili Prefecture in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 each at Horgos & 4th Division of Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps) & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases (3 at Horgos & 2 at 4th Div. of XPCC). All cases reported by Horgos are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, no information released for the cases reported by the XPCC. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed (9 at Horgos & 1 at 4th Div. of XPCC) & 29 active domestic asymptomatic (27 at Horgos & 2 at 4th Div. of XPCC) cases at the border crossing. 4 residential compounds & 1 residential building were elevated to Medium Risk.
Heilongjiang Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 11 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed & 19 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Shanghai Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 1/24. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 17 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. A Medium Risk shop has been re-designated Low Risk. 1 village remains at Medium Risk.
At Wuxi in Jiangsu Province there currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.
Zhejiang Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases (all mild, all presumed Omicron), all at Hangzhou. The 1st case was found at a fever clinic, the rest are traced close contacts. 6 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. 1 business at Hangzhou has been elevated to Medium Risk. The Medium Risk factory & Medium Risk village at Jinhua were re-designated to Low Risk.
Henan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case. 27 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 805 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
At Yunnan Province there currently are 10 active domestic confirmed (1 at Dehong Prefecture, 5 at Kunming & 4 at Sipsongpanna Prefecture) & 6 active domestic asymptomatic (all at Sipsongpanna Prefecture) cases remaining. 1 zone at Mengla County in Sipsongpanna Prefecture remains at Medium Risk.
Imported Cases
On 1/26, China reported 38 new imported confirmed cases (6 previously asymptomatic), 38 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Overall in China, 188 confirmed cases recovered (55 imported), 41 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (36 imported) & 8 were reclassified as confirmed cases (6 imported), & 3,785 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 2,361 active confirmed cases in the country (1,031 imported), 7 in serious condition (1 imported), 784 active asymptomatic cases (680 imported), 3 suspect cases (all imported). 39,566 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 1/26, 2,984.505M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 5.409M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 1/27, Hong Kong reported 164 new positive cases, 48 imported & 116 domestic (104 are connected to previously reported positive cases & 12 do not have sources of infection identified, yet). This is the highest daily case count the city has seen since the start of the pandemic.
On 1/27, Taiwan reported 64 new positive cases, 43 imported & 21 domestic (8 from the port outbreak at Kaohsiung, 13 from outbreaks at Taoyuan).
New Deal democrat
Cases in the US are down 25% from peak, down in all Census regions, and down almost 2/3’s in the Northeast. Deaths are still rising at 2300, with likely several more weeks to go before peaking.
There are only 8 States with weekly increases over 10%, almost all rural: AK, AL, ID, KY, MN, MT, WA, and WV. Also, the “fat tail” that looked like it was developing in a few of the earliest hit States, e.g., NJ and NY, has for now disappeared. If this continues in 3 weeks they will be back to their pre-Omicron baseline.
In terms of what happens next, now both the U.K. and South Africa are no longer declining in the past week. The former is only down 50% from peak, the latter about 85%. Ireland appears to be flattening at about 80% off peak, but close to its pre-Omicron level. Canada is still declining at 75% off peak.
That those countries furthest along on their trajectories are bottoming well above zero is not a good sign for the idea that there will be virtually nobody left to infect once Omicron passes.
germy
Why not?
Scout211
@germy:
Shorter Meghan McCain: I got COVID because Biden is a “moron.”
I saw this opinion piece yesterday and ? Here’s a sample:
germy
@Scout211:
Baud
@germy:
Cültland über alles.
Kay
Joe Rogan sells “supplements”. The FDA has an entire section devoted to adulterated, fraudulent and dangerous supplements. You could do an entire scary podcast series just on supplements, with TONS of examples.
rikyrah
I don’t understand why the elderly in Hong Kong aren’t vaccinated ???
germy
@Kay:
Back in the 1970s I used to hear the crank Gary Null on WBAI.
Kay
@germy:
They all sell them. It’s not just that they’re snake oil- they’re loosely regulated. Gulp those babies down without a second thought.
I just want some consistency.
Matt McIrvin
@Scout211: How is Biden supposed to keep people who won’t get vaccinated from dying of COVID, when Republican pundits are spreading FUD about vaccines and Republican governments won’t even allow vaccine mandates to happen? What is the mechanism he’s supposed to be using to do this?
All the answers I’ve heard involve some kind of crank-medicine magic: hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin or somehow paradoxically benefiting from lifting all restrictions and letting it rip.
The mechanism to keep people from dying of COVID is vaccination. I suppose Meghan McCain could imagine some kind of Biden Green Lantern magic that persuades Republicans to get vaccinated, but the only thing I could think of that might work would be for him to become a Republican, and given the reception Trump gets when he tells people to get vaccinated, I’m not sure even that would work
The only other way to do it is to do a China-level hard lockdown, and that’s the one thing less popular than vaccination. The only way you could imagine Biden is doing it all wrong is to believe we live in Bizarro World and every COVID control measure actually makes COVID worse.
Robert Sneddon
@rikyrah: “Traditional” medicines are a big thing in China and Hong Kong. By “traditional” I mean ineffective and sometimes actively harmful. Older Chinese people are still of the mindset that the local witch doctor’s eye-of-newt concoctions are better than modern science because that’s all that was available to them when they were growing up.
The West can’t point and laugh as long as the “detox” vitamins and supplements merchants are in business though.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
You’re applying rational thinking to an argument that’s intended to provoke a lizard brain response.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Scout211: Megan McCain is poster child for white privilege; she gets paid to just complain about the service.
Geminid
@Baud: “Rogan and the future of the Party” came up during the run up to the 2020 primaries, Bernie Sanders appeared on Joe Rogan’s show, and Rogan said some nice things about him. Sanders and his admirers were ecstatic, and said this would reinforce his appeal to Rogan’s fan base and it’s larger demographic.
Rogan later allowed that he would still vote for Trump, and critics noted that while Sanders generally disdains “identity politics,” he sings a different tune when it comes to white men.
Kay
@germy:
Here’s Joe Rogan’s supplement list. There are 28.
Two of them are intravenous, so these people are buying rigs to shoot this stuff into their veins.
Baud
@Geminid:
Thanks. I vaguely recall that but I thought it was more of a “only Bernie can reach white working class” thing rather than something the Dems could do.
Matt McIrvin
@Geminid: Right now, in the court of public opinion, Rogan’s winning and Biden is losing, so I honestly can’t say those people were wrong. But embracing this lunacy would involve giving up everything we stand for, so there’s no point.
mrmoshpotato
Wow, that’s fucked up.
mrmoshpotato
@germy:
What was the orange shitstain’s prescription – drink disinfectant, bathe in bleach, and shove a lightbulb up your ass?
different-church-lady
Kill Your
TelevisionStreaming Servicemrmoshpotato
@Kay:
WTF?!
WereBear
@debbie: It was another round of “we have to appeal to white male youths.”
Perhaps so, but not the Bros. No one needs them, and that’s their problem.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Matt McIrvin:
Just what are you basing this on?
Brachiator
@Robert Sneddon:
Wow. I see stories noting that even though over 80 percent of mainland Chinese people have been vaccinated, among the elderly rates are worse.
I wonder whether there are issues other than belief in traditional medicine involved here.
In the US, especially in California, for example, use of worthless Chinese and other “traditional” remedies have long been part of the supplements business.
It’s a subset of the insistence that healthy living and natural medicines are a real alternative to Big Pharma.
Geminid
@Baud: There was the idea that the Democrats could nominate Sanders and win back the white working class that way.
Democrats have been losing more and more white working class voters for decades, and reversing that trend has become somewhat of an obsession since the 2016 campaign. I want to maintain our share of this group, but I’m not sure we can win back very many. I am all for policies benefiting working class voters, and reaching out to them, but I keep in mind that todays working class is not predominately white or male like it was forty years ago.
As for Joe Rogan’s audience, I would characterize it as the young white male dumbass demographic, and I bet a lot of them do not vote anyway.
Kent
@Matt McIrvin: bullshit. Rogan represents a small minority of Americans. They are a noisy minority but they are a minority.
Kent
@Geminid: Some stupid people thought that Sanders cracked the code to appeal to the white working class because he beat Clinton in places like WV and WI. But that was more misogyny and Clinton derangement symptom than anything else. But when offered the real thing with Trump they are going to go for that all the time. And the ease at which Biden whipped Sanders in all those places showed that Sanders 2016 success was mostly about his opponent not because he cracked some magic code
Baud
@Geminid:
@Kent:
I would have loved it if he or other progressives had cracked the code to getting more white working class support. But there is no evidence that they have, either in the presidential primary or in any other primary or election. At some point, you need to show proof of concept.
New Deal democrat
@Baud:
This is a first order question, and it is fraught with peril.
Polling consistently shows a large majority of the American people have “economic populist” opinions. The problem is that the same polling consistently shows that Americans are split roughly right down the middle on social issues, which I think are more properly cast as “moral issues.”
And people are not willing to compromise on what they view as immoral. Before you tar right wingers only, the example I always use is that of an older man legally married to a 16 year old in a State that permits it (yes, there are such States) moving into your neighborhood, and insisting your State give his marriage license full faith and credit. You cool with that?
Anyway, voters tend to use moral issues as a first filter. If candidates fail that filter, voters typically don’t really care about their economic positions. And by the way, this is true more or less universally in all representative democracies, not just the US.
So, a candidate could indeed pick up lots of white economically populist voters, so long as they were willing to take less liberal positions on social, or moral, issues. If for example democrats could consistently win by embracing some racist voters, how far would you be willing to go?
NotMax
FYI #1.
FYI #2.
Baud
@New Deal democrat:
I’m not willing to go very far. My objection is to people who say we can get those voters without compromising our moral code, by being more “left” on economic issues in some way. I don’t believe them, and until they prove me otherwise, I respect that most Democrats don’t believe them.
Raoul Paste
I gotta say that I’m taken aback by Meghan McCain’s remarks. She could call out the Republican disinformation that is killing people, but instead insults a good man who is trying to help. Karma, where are you?
Soprano2
@Brachiator: Well, I got my allergies under control using acupuncture. I don’t know if it’s the placebo effect or not, and I don’t care – I was able to quit taking all the stuff that makes me sleepy (that’s the only thing that would fix it once I started sniffling and sneezing). I tried the non-drowsy meds, they didn’t help. A side benefit, and the way I know acupuncture does something, is that after my first treatment I quit having cold feet in the winter (unless they should be cold). I didn’t even tell her about that! It’s persisted, too – I never have that “my feet are always cold” thing that a lot of women have, and I used to have it every winter.
Soprano2
@New Deal democrat: Our 7-day cases per 100,000 graph is starting to take the sharp downward turn that’s characteristic of omicron. I hope to see that continue the rest of this week. I keep thinking about what the death toll would be like if we didn’t have vaccines yet, and it makes me shudder with horror.
Matt McIrvin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Low polls for Biden, high listenership for Rogan.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
C’mon. You’re smarter than to compare apples and oranges like that.
Cermet
@Soprano2: Antidotal stories are exactly why those quack (Yes, some actually have turned out useful – but most, no) remedies get people’s money (many billions $$$, no less); yes, the placebo effect is real and can and does ‘cure’ some ills. But don’t confuse reality – like a covid vaccine with BS treatments. If the fake treatments help, good, But don’t discount the many millions helped daily by the drugs and treatments that generally have scientific proof for their action.
YY_Sima Qian
@Brachiator: China started vaccination from 18 – 60 yrs. old, gradually extending lower & higher. Therefore, the more elderly populations were the last to start vaccination, the reason being the 1st Phase III trials were all done on 18 – 60 yrs. olds. Both the authorities & many among the population have been very cautious with vaccine roll out. I guess some people (especially among the elderly) are more concerned about side effects from vaccination than the dangers of infection, even though the inactivated whole virion vaccines have milder side effects than the viral vector & mRNA ones.
There is no overt vaccine mandate at all in China, though these is a propaganda campaign to encourage vaccination, if you work in the public sector the pressure to get vaccinated can be quite intense. The few localities that tried to institute a vaccine requirement to visit some public spaces (or for children to enter schools) were quickly shot down due to popular backlash. There isn’t much anti-vaxx sentiment in China, & certainly the authorities would never let such sentiments reach critical mass, but even now some people just aren’t that concerned about being infected. Probably 75% of the country still has not experienced any significant outbreaks (as in total case count in the high double digits) since the end of the 1st wave in Spring 2020.
Finally, the rural areas in China strongly skew toward the elderly, as many of the working aged people are off working in the cities, or have migrated to the cities w/ their families entirely. These rural areas are always going to lag behind in vaccination.
Kent
But Democrats will NEVER go as far as Trump. And most of these people will never go for the saccharine version when they can mainline the real deal from Trump or one of his clones. I know. These are my people. And the notion that someone like Sanders could appeal to them because he isn’t anti-gun and talks more about class than race is a farce.
Yes, old white West Virginia voters used to vote Dem in the 1970s but that was a different world with different parties and also a world in which California was reliably Republican. Those days and those politics are never returning.
Trying to out-MAGA the modern GOP is a fool’s errand.
Miss Bianca
@Cermet: I’m not going to say that acupuncture is a “BS treatment”, personally. As someone who has had it done and seen some benefit from it. I also go to the doctor and get shots and medicine developed by Big!Pharma! too.
Kent
Didn’t Karma just give her a case of Covid?
Kent
@Matt McIrvin: Joe Rogan averages 11 million viewers compared to 3.5 million for Tucker Carlson who is Fox New’s highest rated show. Let that sink in for a moment.
I love Neil Young but he isn’t going to win this war.
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 8,275 new cases of COVID-19 reported with 20 new reported deaths of people who have tested positive.
1,319 people were in hospital with 30 people in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19. These numbers are trending down slowly from the recent peaks.
Vaccinations in Scotland continue at a slow trickle, still no news about any program for fourth shots as boosters. Most first shots are going into the arms of 12-17 year olds, it appears.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Kent: You’re probably right, but I’ve been a paying Spotify customer for nearly 10 years and I’m planning to cancel today or tomorrow. Gonna have to buy a bunch of CDs!
laura
Amir Khalid is missed so very much. I hope he is healing and will return soon.
Raoul Paste
@Kent: yes karma may have given her a case of Covid, but she won’t learn anything from it.
You just gotta wonder, if she were visited by three spirits (similar to Scrooge’s experience), would she just tell them to bugger off
Matt McIrvin
@Kent: I’m sure Neil Young knows he isn’t going to win that fight. He’d just rather not be on Spotify if Joe Rogan is there.
JustRuss
Not alone, no. But somebody’s got to fire the first shot, maybe other artists with no fux to give will follow his lead.
smith
The Dems made a very conscious decision back in the 60s with civil rights legislation to draw that line, knowing full well the electoral consequences, and of course the Repubs countered with the Southern Strategy. Every few years some whinging Dem consultant broaches the possibility of throwing Blacks, or women, or LGBTQ+ people under the bus just a little bit to try to appeal that holy grail of of the electorate, the white working class man, whose vote is somehow so much more desirable than that of say, a Black woman. But the line was set long ago, and has only sharpened and deepened since, and really cannot now be crossed. To do so would just put Dems into an empty no-man’s land where there’s no one who likes you. We have to accept the side we’ve chosen and keep looking for ways to win on this side.
Bill Arnold
@Kay:
Interesting list. The IV stuff is just nuts. The dosages for many of the others are on the high end of reasonable (at least not toxic). The nootropics are combos so the list is actually longer. Many of the items on the list have a mix of non-crap science supporting them, usually small/mid-sized studies. (Vitamin D is solid, with large studies, though, at that dosage (5000 IU per day), particularly in winter/short days. Generally official recommendations are max 4000 IU per day.)
A bit surprised, TBH.
planetjanet
@germy: My jaw is on the floor. Powerful.
Fair Economist
@Brachiator: I had a Chinese boyfriend once, many years ago, who insisted I take a Chinese herbal concoction for a flu-ish upper respiratory infection.
It was the nastiest-tasting thing I’d ever had. (I have had one thing that tasted worse since – Metformin).
I think it “works”, in the sense that people pretend to be well to not have to drink the noxious stuff.
StringOnAStick
@JustRuss: I saw a tweet from a small artist I did not recognize asking Spotify to take his stuff off too. Maybe there might be a groundswell building. It’s not like there aren’t other streaming services, plus they are part of the system that has been leaving less and less $ on the table for the artists who produce their content. Also, I wonder how many young people who had never heard of Neil Young are now checking out his work because of this?
StringOnAStick
@Bill Arnold: The list is pretty typical of the sports-obsessed/performance obsessed demographic, which is mostly white males in the 20’s to 40’s area. Supplementing with testosterone at that age though is a real risk for increasing the risk of prostate and testicular cancer. Oh well.
J R in WV
@Soprano2:
I have a good friend who benefited from acupuncture, His needle guy was an MD also too. He is a retired engineer married to a former professor of epidemiology
soapdish
Just cancelled my Spotify membership.
Fuck Joe Rogan.
Kent
My wife who is a doctor points out that everyone gets better from colds and flu anyway (well, most everyone) so everything you take from chicken soup to hot tea to orange juice is going to appear to work. When almost always you are just getting better anyway.
Starboard Tack
@Miss Bianca: I’ll say acupuncture is BS. No good studies show it’s effective and the theory behind it is laughable. It’s worse than HCL for Covid because HCL is actually good for something.