“Clamor”
The White House continues to clamor for new Covid funding.
An example of the impact: the U.S. had preliminary talks with Shionogi about its promising antiviral pill. But it needs money to order any and not fall behind.
Via ?@rileyraygriffin? & me: https://t.co/BxrVTf98Bq
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) April 21, 2022
Look, the Bloomberg target market is overwhelmingly vaxxed, boosted, and sure they can swiftly obtain the best meds available through their private doctor. Is the fact that not everybody has these resources worth the risk of raising taxes, really?
The news below is… not optimal (even though, glass half full, June is not that far away!). I didn’t place much reliance on Politico as a source, but it looks like the Biden administration may actually be waiting to see how parents respond to news of a delay. Read the article for the reasoning:
The Biden administration may now wait until as late as June to authorize a coronavirus vaccine for the nation’s youngest childrenhttps://t.co/gANTHSDbEd
— POLITICO (@politico) April 21, 2022
We don't put enough blame for these deaths on the lies and ignorantly wishful thinking with which President Donald Trump met the pandemic and set attitudes. https://t.co/6nPpNjSdG0
— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) April 21, 2022
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Stiffening resolve after three weeks of strict lockdown, authorities warned Shanghai's 25 million frazzled residents on Friday that their purgatory would go on until the COVID-19 virus was eradicated neighbourhood by neighbourhood. https://t.co/iU5aPDmkIQ
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 22, 2022
Whole communities forced to move in Shanghai's war on Covid https://t.co/BcqyHsbcKa
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 21, 2022
The BBC has been told of fresh efforts to relocate entire communities in areas of Shanghai as Chinese authorities enforce extreme measures to try to stop a new wave of Covid.
An official notice from local Communist Party officials in an area in the north of the city details orders to transfer residents to quarantine facilities more than 100 miles (160km) away.
The plan is to move people from their homes in Pingwang to the neighbouring province of Zhejiang, where they will stay for at least a week. Young children, the elderly and those with disabilities could be excluded, according to the notice.
It said only those who tested negative could go – it’s not clear why people with negative tests are being moved. Officials are under great pressure to cut the risk of transmission and reduce cases to zero.
It comes just days after authorities moved people out of their homes and evacuated much of the population in another area of Shanghai.
At least 1,000 people were forced to leave the small town of Beicai and move to temporary accommodation so officials could disinfect the area on the outskirts of the Pudong area in the east of the city…
This is not the first time that authorities in China have moved the entire population of a town to try to stop the virus spreading.
Earlier this year around 9,000 residents of two compounds in nearby Hangzhou were moved out en masse to what was described as “centralised isolation sites” after an outbreak of the Omicron variant.
In January last year around 20,000 people living in more than a dozen towns in Hebei – a province near Beijing – were transferred in an effort to contain the virus…
Truck drivers interviewed by WSJ say few want to drive to Shanghai even with payments more than doubled. Truckers have been living in vehicles for days, cooking meals over temporary roadside mud stoves.@lizalinwsj @yoyominnie @wsj_douglasj @Kubota_Yokohttps://t.co/J4OrnSHVtn
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) April 21, 2022
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Paxlovid, again:
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday endorsed the use of Pfizer Inc's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment in high-risk patients after an analysis of trial data by the U.N. agency showed the therapy dramatically cut the risk of hospitalisation. https://t.co/tqEoGJuY5m
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 22, 2022
Longest Covid infection lasted more than 16 months, tests show https://t.co/uvqbVtEFvi
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 22, 2022
UK doctors believe they have documented the longest Covid infection on record – a patient they treated who had detectable levels of the virus for more than 16 months, or 505 days, in total.
The unnamed individual had other underlying medical conditions and died in hospital in 2021.
Persistent infections such as this are still rare, say the London medics.
Most people naturally clear the virus, but the patient in question had a severely weakened immune system.
Chronic infections like these need studying to improve our understanding of Covid and the risks it can pose, say experts.
The patient first caught Covid in early 2020. They had symptoms and the infection was confirmed with a PCR test.
They were in and out of hospital many times over the next 72 weeks, for both routine checks and care.
On each occasion – about 50 in all – they tested positive, meaning they still had Covid.
The doctors, from King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, say detailed lab analysis revealed it was the same, persistent infection, rather than repeated bouts…
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The U.S. is wrestling with finding the right balance of pandemic health measures — especially when it comes to mask mandates — after two exhausting years of coronavirus restrictions.https://t.co/wovdL9N16A
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 21, 2022
Now is not the time to throw caution to the windhttps://t.co/eMBOwRdBfo Wise words from @luckytran and @oni_blackstock @PostOpinions The CDC up to the individual narrative "goes against the foundation of public health" pic.twitter.com/HxawJz19BC
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 21, 2022
On The Road – Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) – Turneffe Flats Resort, Turneffe Atoll, Belize
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
721 new cases. This is PCR and home tests. Not good.
I’m hoping for a steep drop-off soon because I’ve got some remodeling scheduled for my house for May.
YY_Sima Qian
On 4/21 Mainland China reported 2,133 new domestic confirmed (202 previously asymptomatic), 16,383 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 domestic suspect cases, & 11 new deaths.
Guangdong Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 12 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 262 active domestic confirmed & 134 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 6 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Fangchenggang) cases, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 129 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed (4 at Baise & 1 each at Qinzhou & Yulin) & 354 active domestic asymptomatic cases (298 at Fangchenggang, 29 at Baise, 9 at Chongzuo, 17 at Qinzhou, & 1 at Nanning) in the province.
Hunan Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases (1 mild & 2 moderate), all at Shaoyang, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 15 active domestic confirmed cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 2 sub-districts are now at Medium Risk.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 7 active domestic confirmed (3 at Chifeng, 2 at Hinggan League, & 1 each at Bayan Nur & Hulun Buir) & 10 active domestic asymptomatic (8 at Hinggan League & 1 each at Hohhot & Wuhai) cases in the province. 1 residential compound at Chifeng is currently at Medium Risk.
At Tianjin Municipality there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.
Shandong Province reported 23 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 12 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 64 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 75 active domestic confirmed cases & 577 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the administrative divisions in the province provide data on recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Shanxi Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild, all at Taiyuan) & 16 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Taiyuan) cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed (51 at Taiyuan, 12 at Shuozhou, 2 at Jinzhong, & 1 each at Xinzhou & Yangquan) & 247 active domestic asymptomatic (242 at Taiyuan, 3 at Shuozhou, & 1 each at Jinzhong & Yangquan) cases remaining. 1 site at Taiyuan is currently at Medium Risk.
Hebei Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 77 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed & 39 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed & 867 active asymptomatic case in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Liaoning Province reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 54 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 16 active domestic confirmed & 261 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Heilongjiang Province reported 34 new domestic confirmed & 56 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 304 active domestic confirmed & 224 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 63 new domestic confirmed (32 previously asymptomatic, 59 mild & 3 moderate & 1 serious) & 244 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 873 domestic confirmed & 1,141 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. As the province does not consistently break down recoveries by confirmed & asymptomatic cases or by jurisdictions, I can no longer track the count of active case counts in the different jurisdictions.
Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (mild), a person coming from Shanghai on 4/19 & under centralized quarantine since arrival. As the city does not break down recoveries by imported vs. domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there. 1 site is currently at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 1,931 new domestic confirmed (143 previously asymptomatic) & 15,698 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 17,236 of the new domestic positive cases were already under quarantine, & 250 via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure (effectively meaning from the community). There were 11 deaths (avg. 84.2 y.o. & oldest at 94 y.o., all w/ a range of underlying conditions, 1 vaccinated). 1,732 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 26,256 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 24,161 active domestic confirmed (160 serious & 24 critical) & 205,835 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 13 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shaanxi Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic, all mild), all at Xi’an, both new positive cases are traced close contacts under closed quarantine. 2 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 27 active domestic confirmed & 13 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 2 sites at Xi’an are currently at Medium Risk.
Hubei Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 10 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 4 active domestic confirmed (4 mild & 1 moderate, 2 at Wuhan & 1 each at Huanggang & Yichang) & 284 active domestic asymptomatic (16 at Suizhou, 114 at Wuhan, 87 at Ezhou, 4 each at Huangshi & Yichang, 6 at Enshi Prefecture, 49 at Huanggang, 2 each at Jingmen & Shiyan, & 1 at Xiaogan) cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed & 124 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 7 domestic confirmed & 52 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The currently are 89 active domestic confirmed & 998 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in each administrative division, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Anhui Province reported 28 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed & 55 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 9 active confirmed & 580 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Zhejiang Province reported 15 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 45 new domestic asymptomatic case. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported versus domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
At Gansu Province 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province no longer breaks down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in the administrative divisions.
Fujian Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (previously asymptomatic) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 16 domestic confirmed case recovered & 23 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 66 active domestic confirmed & 231 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 10 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the region (4 each at Shuanghe, 3 at Wusu, 1 at Ürumqi, & 2 at Bayingol Prefecture).
At Guizhou Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Guiyang) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture) cases.
Jiangxi Province reported 33 new domestic confirmed (24 previously asymptomatic, all mild) & 33 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed & 5 asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 88 active domestic confirmed & 166 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Lingshui County in Hainan Province reported 3 confirmed cases (1 mild & 2 moderate), a family under home quarantine since 4/6.
Henan Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild, 2 at Anyang & 1 at Zhengzhou) & 14 new domestic asymptomatic (5 at Zhengzhou, 6 at Anyang, 2 at Zhoukou, & 1 at Luohe) cases. 1 of the cases at Zhengzhou is a construction worker returning from building temporary hospitals in Shanghai & under centralized quarantine, & 5 via community screening. Then cases at Luohe & Hebi are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The case at Shangqiu returned from elsewhere & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 3 domestic confirmed & 13 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed & 227 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 1 site at Luohe & 2 at Shangqiu are currently at Medium Risk.
Sichuan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, at Bazhong) case.
At Chongqing Municipality there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Qinghai Province reported 10 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Xining. 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 38 active domestic confirmed & 34 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Yunnan Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 each at Shilin County in Kunming & Hekou County in Honghe Prefecture) & 9 new domestic asymptomatic cases (5 at Maguan County in Wenshan Prefecture & 4 at Jinping County in Honghe Prefecture). 8 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 20 active domestic confirmed & 230 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 4/21, Mainland China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic, 1 in Guangdong), 82 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 2,730 confirmed cases recovered (29 imported), 28,015 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (98 imported) & 205 were reclassified as confirmed cases (3 imported), & 33,923 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 30,813 active confirmed cases in the country (218 imported), 251 in serious/critical condition (all domestic), 249,507 active asymptomatic cases (726 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 431,118 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 4/21, 3,325.049M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 2.561M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 4/22, Hong Kong reported 574 new positive cases, 11 imported & 563 domestic (279 via RT-PCR & 284 from rapid antigen tests), 14 deaths (3 fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted) + 1 backlogged deaths.
On 4/22, Taiwan reported 3,766 new positive cases, 93 imported & 3,766 domestic (2,077 asymptomatic). Symptom onset for the domestic cases date from 3/20 to 4/18.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 5,899 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,415,101 cases. It also reported five deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,470 deaths – 0.80% of the cumulative reported total, 0.82% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.81.
56 confirmed cases and 36 suspected cases are in ICU; of these patients, 34 confirmed cases and 27 suspected cases are on ventilators. Meanwhile, 8,434 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,291,447 patients recovered – 97.2% of the cumulative reported total.
One new cluster was reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 7,000 clusters. 101 clusters are currently active; 6,899 clusters are now inactive.
5,883 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 16 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 59,460 doses of vaccine on 21st April: 13,412 first doses, 39,883 second doses, and 6,165 booster doses. The cumulative total is 69,872,350 doses administered: 27,669,462 first doses, 26,417,480 second doses, and 15,998,406 booster doses. 84.7% of the population have received their first dose, 80.9% their second dose, and 49.0% their booster dose.
bluegirlfromwyo
Kay was right. They wouldn’t stop with the Covid vaccine. This won’t end well.
New Deal democrat
Cases in the US continue to increase, how at 43,100, up 20% from 36,000 one week ago. All four Census regions are rising. Notably, cases are rising in WA, Or, HI, PR, MD, TX, IL, MI, MN, WI, OH, PA, FL, and CT.
On the bright, or at least “less bad” side, cases are only up 5% from one week ago in MA, 14% (vs. 40% for the previous week) in NY, and 4% in NJ, where they probably peaked 5 days ago. Cases have peaked and are down in RI. This gives us a template for the BA.2.12.1 wave lasting 5-6 weeks in each State, with a 2.5-3x increase in cases.
If the template from the Northeast works for the US as a whole, that means cases will continue to rise for another 3-4 weeks, to about 75,000-90,000 before peaking.
Meanwhile, new hospital admissions have continued to rise to 11,476. If our template extends to hospitalizations, that gives us a peak of about 25,000-30,000.
Deaths are still declining, now at 378. We don’t know what their bottom could be, but it is certainly possible that they could rise to 1000 per day over the next 8 weeks in this wave.
Sloane Ranger
Yesterday in the UK we had 19,482 new cases. The rolling 7-day average is down 32.3%. New cases by nation,
England – 18,475
Northern Ireland – 752
Scotland – Did not report due to technical issue.
Wales – 255.
Deaths – There were 646 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. The rolling 7-day average is down 17.5% 624 deaths were in England, 9 in Northern Ireland, 13 in Wales, and Scotland did not report for technical reasons.
Testing – 345,927 tests took place on 20 April. The rolling 7-day average is down by 23%.
Hospitalisations – There were 17,368 people in hospital and 349 on ventilators on 20 April. The 7-day average for hospital admissions was down by 14.3% as of 15 April.
Vaccinations – As of 20 April, 92.3% of all UK residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot; 86.3% had had 2, and 68% had had 3rd shot/booster.
Betty
Just to respond to the question about taxes. The US doesn’t need Covid funding as a reason to raise taxes on the rich. There are plenty of other good reasons.
Suzanne
If the Biden Administration is wondering how I feel about the delay for the little kids…. enraged is about the best way to describe.
I voted for them because I thought they were smarter than this.
Soprano2
I read the article about the under-5 vaccine, and it is complicated. They’re concerned that if they authorize the 2 shot Moderna for kids under 5, and then in another month it comes out that the 3 shot Pfizer is much more protective, parents will also be angry. It sounds like a no-win situation for them. The FDA can’t authorize a vaccine just because parents want one – that’s the kind of thing TFG’s FDA might have done, and I’m sure we don’t want a vaccine protocol that isn’t effective!
Stephen Colbert got Covid – quite honestly I’m surprised it took that long. I assume people on those shows are tested every day.
lowtechcyclist
Fixed that for them.
Suzanne
@Soprano2: Pfizer and Moderna weren’t approved at the same time for adults.
Kids have sacrificed the most during this pandemic and now everyone is throwing masks away and acting like this is over. Their communities aren’t safe for them. Delay at this point because they’re scared of a messaging strategy is ludicrous.
Nelle
@Suzanne: Agree. Those kids are in petri dishes.
eachother
Fewer than one in ten wearing a mask anywhere on shopping outing yesterday. Maybe one in thirty. Bottom line, it was few. As the variants have evolved, so have I. No angry responses to maskless surroundings. Taking care to be careful myself.
VOR
@eachother: I’m still going to wear a mask while shopping. The last two elections have taught me that I cannot trust the judgement or honor of my fellow citizens.
Anecdote: My son attends a liberal arts college which had a vaccine mandate. They also had a mask mandate, even banning cloth masks and demanding higher quality like N95, KN95, or KF94 masks. But a month ago they dropped the mask mandate. This week they brought it back.
ColoradoGuy
Over 70 here. I guess we’re just being thrown overboard as excess baggage, along with the immunocompromised.
Speaking for myself, it’s going to be high-quality masks and the latest shots, and no flights on Trans Covid Airlines for the foreseeable future.