Lotta people out there dedicated to calling you crazy for wanting society to take organized steps to reduce the risks of COVID for everyone. Pandemics are proof that rugged individualism isn’t enough, and that scares them.
Cheers to all of you who still care about other people.
— Josh Rosenau (@JoshRosenau) January 30, 2022
America’s split-screen pandemic: Many families resume their lives even as hospitals are overwhelmed https://t.co/pIphTUo69Y
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 28, 2022
Both sides… except when you read the whole story, one side is a bunch of overstressed hospital staff and desperate relatives, and the other is blithely inconsiderate ‘did my own research’ citizens who don’t want to be inconvenienced in the slightest way, until / unless it’s their loved one in the ICU…
HOUSTON — The El Campo Impact 13-and-under girls volleyball team was down by one point in their opening tournament of the year. It was Kamryn Thompson’s turn to serve, and it was a winner. Cheers and screams rose from the packed crowd of hundreds of maskless coaches, parents and siblings in a mid-January gathering that felt as if the coronavirus had never hit.
About 15 miles away, Gabriela Hernandez was trapped behind a glass partition in a pediatric intensive care unit jammed with severely ill children battling covid-19. Her daughter, Kimberly, who is immunocompromised, had tested positive for the virus, and now her body was going haywire. Hernandez and the hospital’s medical teams were frustrated about the choices that have helped propel the virus’ spread and put vulnerable people like Kimberly at risk…
“I know people who have died because of this and people don’t believe it,” Hernandez said. “You have to believe it. You have to know that this is happening.”
The point at which a pandemic ends is not a discrete event marked by a celebration in the streets, like at the conclusion of a war. It’s more of a gradual process in which humans who have developed some immunity learn to live alongside a virus that has become less lethal. Some argue that time has come, citing evidence that the omicron variant is causing less severe disease than the delta variant in many people. Other people point to overwhelmed hospitals and a climbing death toll to implore people to continue taking precautions to get through this surge and then reassess.
Those dueling perspectives are playing out as the United States set a record for new coronavirus infections this month, surpassing 800,000 a day for the first time, according to The Post’s seven-day tracking average. The number has fallen to just below 550,000 as of Friday. Hospitalizations have plateaued, but deaths are rising — surpassing more than 2,300 a day on average. The last time the numbers were so high was in February 2021 when the country was emerging from the worst of last winter’s wave…
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Friday found that big majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans said they feel “tired” and “frustrated” about the state of the pandemic. People were more worried about omicron’s impact on the economy and local hospitals than its impact on their personal lives, the poll found.
Fear is giving away to inevitability, among those who feel protected from the virus’ worst effects because they are vaccinated as well as those who believe covid’s risks are exaggerated. Empathy toward the vulnerable is giving way to worries about jobs and the strain on family and friends…
Nicole Leathers, an intensive care nurse, said that during the pandemic’s early days, they had a lot of staff and few pediatric patients. Now they are inundated with sick children and are short-staffed as a result of burnout and colleagues leaving the industry or out sick with covid. She said it has been jolting to see so many young children, especially those younger than 5 who are not yet eligible for vaccines, coming in to the hospital lately…
Chris Crouch, 38, has been on both sides of the pandemic’s split reality. Until his pregnant wife found herself in intensive care battling covid, he had been adamantly anti-vaccine and only wore a mask when required. Now, after nearly losing her, he is angry about people who not only refuse to wear masks themselves but also mock others for doing so.
“We don’t know their reason on why they’re socially distancing or why they’re wearing a mask. So don’t judge them,” he said. “Just accept it and just respect it, because you don’t know what they’ve gone through or what their family members are going through.”…
#Omicron will likely recede more slowly in the U.S. than in other countries, according to at least one expert, who underscores that the continued high coronavirus positivity rate is also concerning https://t.co/1qmiIBNYCX
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 30, 2022
For the data enthusiasts:
2019-2020 data: https://t.co/4bX9ouuxTF
2020-2021 estimate: https://t.co/JDRVdEGkCp
2021-2022 estimate (to date): https://t.co/2wtGOh1dh0
CDC Covid Data (~30k deaths) https://t.co/M0pYPySXq6— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) January 31, 2022
T-Mobile to terminate corporate employees who aren't vaccinated by April -memo https://t.co/b55x8JKyFV pic.twitter.com/PUKJx0JyMi
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 30, 2022
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Beijing reports its highest number of Covid cases in 18 months, five days ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 30, 2022
China punishes cold-chain managers for 'obstructing' COVID prevention https://t.co/tF5hk8vHsA pic.twitter.com/KlfMSlzMKJ
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
… The Beijing branch of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) accused several people involved in the cold storage business of management and supervisory failures when it came to controlling COVID-19.
It accused one manager in an industrial park in southwest Beijing of “poor leadership and non-standard management that led to the spread of the epidemic”…
After linking a number of local cases to the cold-chain industry, Beijing also promised earlier this month to tighten its screening procedures…
China has been an outlier in asserting that COVID-19 can be transmitted via cold-chain imports such as frozen meat and fish, even though the World Health Organization has played down the risk.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last year that the relative risk of coronavirus infections through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects is considered low…
China reports 37 new COVID-19 cases among Olympics personnel on Jan 30 https://t.co/FynUe2scWo pic.twitter.com/7kdda6l1yp
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
COVID-19 cases mount among Olympic athletes, personnel arriving in Beijing https://t.co/DPqdC9i9CY pic.twitter.com/jONEySNlku
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
New Zealand PM Ardern's COVID test returns negative result https://t.co/viXAJN5OA2 pic.twitter.com/Q66NiWXxYg
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
Russia reported more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day with 121,228 new Covid-19 infections Sunday https://t.co/X0XVaElwIe
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 30, 2022
Thousands of Czechs protest against COVID curbs https://t.co/e3BE8GMc8Y pic.twitter.com/nU2i5Me5u2
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 30, 2022
UK could change mandatory COVID vaccination for health staff – minister https://t.co/4qmdBUL6Y7 pic.twitter.com/sXEG7XPNPx
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
Freedom Convoy truckers cause chaos in Ottawa after second day of protests https://t.co/5CoR4BUfq8
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 31, 2022
Another clot in the US/Canada trade system:
Anti-vax truckers blocking other truckers (which is most truckers) from doing their jobs, preventing shipments crossing the border and impeding emergency vehicles.
Alberta premier says massive blockade preventing access to U.S. border 'must end' https://t.co/Vo5q4v8cS2
— Grant LaFleche (@GrantRants) January 31, 2022
… Truckers and motorists travelling to and from the United States from southern Alberta have been caught up in gridlock as an extremely large blockade of vehicles tied to an ongoing nationwide protest over COVID-19 public health measures continues to jam border traffic.
Vehicles have been blockading the highway from south of Lethbridge, Alta., to the Canada-U.S. border crossing in the village of Coutts since Saturday afternoon.
That means that traffic to and from the border crossing has largely come to a standstill…
It’s been frustrating for professional long-haul trucker David May, who’s been driving for 15 years and is fully vaccinated.
May picked up a load of meat in Brooks, Alta., to deliver to Portland, Ore., before running up against the blockade on Saturday. He’s been stuck in Milk River, Alta., since then.
“The protest makes no sense at all,” he said. “Came back here and parked with a lot of other truckers who are all vaccinated and ready to head south and do our jobs. It’s really frustrating.”…
The RCMP previously had concerns about emergency access to the village of Coutts, but earlier Sunday, an ambulance arrived to ensure it was able to access the area. The vehicle is able to get into the community on a dirt road.
“They are able to get into town, but it’s certainly not ideal,” RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters said.
What is of concern to the RCMP at this time is the fact that Coutts has a volunteer fire department, which is also supposed to service the community of Sweet Grass, Mont., on the U.S. side. With the highway blocked, firefighters are unable to respond to an emergency or fire were one to occur…
Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, established in 2020, allows the province to enact punishments for trespassing, interfering with operations and construction or causing damage to essential infrastructure, which includes highways.
Individuals found guilty under the legislation can be fined up to $10,000 for a first offence and up to $25,000 for subsequent offences, and sentenced to six months in jail, or both.
In his statement, Kenney said the current blockade violates the Alberta Traffic Safety Act, and he cited the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act as being among the tools available to police and prosecutors.
“I urge those involved in this truck convoy protest to do so as safely as possible, and not to create road hazards which could lead to accidents or unsafe conditions for other drivers,” he said.
“If participants in this convoy cross the line and break the law, I expect police to take appropriate action.”…
From what I’ve read, Kenney’s party pushed through the ‘Critical Infrastructure Defence Act’ to punish the feelthy heeppies protesting the Keystone pipeline project. (His own colleagues are now Standing With Canada’s Brave Freedumb Fighters, of course.)
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The physics of the N95 face mask. You’ve seen them a million times. You might be wearing one right now. But do you know how they work to block a potentially virus-carrying respiratory blob? https://t.co/A0Qi4NwxLU pic.twitter.com/RcBgpAApPM
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 31, 2022
Scientists are racing to pinpoint the cause of long COVID and find new treatments before a potential explosion of cases. https://t.co/HQl4ipj7az
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 31, 2022
A study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that adult COVID-19 patients with disabilities had 36 per cent longer hospital stays and a 77 per cent increased risk of readmission within 30 days. @MelissaCoutoZ https://t.co/C1cu1mo7e3
— Ashis Basu (@BasuAshis) January 31, 2022
#LongCovid & the brain: UC San Francisco report preliminary evidence suggesting a cerebrospinal fluid abnormality after mild Covid. The change may help explain the "brain fog" reported by many patients in the weeks & months after SARSCoV2 infection https://t.co/v974KMfbVk pic.twitter.com/NU7YzpH3yy
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 30, 2022
Can the Novavax vaccine help us win the Covid war? For some reason a growing number of people think the vaccine's more traditional technology may sway the vaccine hesitant to get inoculated https://t.co/z3dTBCInNE
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 30, 2022
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New York City is offering free home delivery of antiviral pills, though supply is limited. The mayor says oral antiviral pills will be made available for same-day at-home delivery starting for eligible New Yorkers who receive a prescription https://t.co/LToai5NI5T
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 31, 2022
Thank you for this link, Momsense! — from the ‘Director, Maine CDC (@MEPublicHealth)’:
1/Welp, I spent last night continuing my research into the #blizzard2022 #hoax.
Thankfully, @Twitter and Facebook have helpful algorithms that pointed me in the direction of *real* experts who helped me round out my thinking.
— Nirav D. Shah (@nirav_mainecdc) January 29, 2022
2/I studied poignant, analytical memes from leading thinkers in finance, technology, and art sales.
To my surprise, their insights actually CONFIRMED all of my pre-conceived notions about this storm.
Thanks for the research help @twitter!…
4/First of all, @CDCgov says blizzards are no big deal so long as you’re financially stable, don’t have to leave your house for work, have food, can afford heating and internet, and don’t have to worry about power outages.
Those apply to me. So why should I care about others?…
9/I also find it deeply suspicious that their “models” change all the time. I thought this was “science”, which does not change (see, e.g., gravity).
Who pressured them to change the models? My hunch: follow the $$$ and we’ll find out…
11/Now I’m watching @weatherchannel and they’re telling people to wear gloves if they go outside.
Do we know what the long-term side effects of gloves are? How do we know that gloves won’t cause skin infections? Or vitamin D deficiency?
We need randomized trials. #facts
12/And gloves DON’T WORK!
The “experts” say that good gloves help prevent frostbite. That’s nonsense.
I know a guy who got frostbite even though he was WEARING GLOVES. #CHECKMATE
13/Plus, I did the research and frostbite only happens about 1% of the time.
And my buddy who got it was FINE after his ER visit and skin graft…
16/Here’s how I see it: I don’t need gloves.
Treatments for frostbite are SO GOOD now. I’ll be fine.
I am warm blooded and have a skin system that is perfectly capable of keeping me warm, thank you very much. #Factsnotfear
17/I went out for a drive this morning and the entire town is on lockdown!
This is a completely ridiculous overreaction to something that is seasonal, and will literally melt away. It will assuredly be gone by Easter. #blizzard2022
Click over to read the whole thread, which is hilarious.
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, Jan. 30-31Post + Comments (71)