Overheard at the grocery store:
“Excuse me, everyone is required to wear a mask”
“How does it feel to live in communist America?”
“Feels pretty good! I mean, we’re standing in a fully stocked grocery store”
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 12, 2021
58.5%: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
70.3%: The share of all Americans 18-years and older who are fully vaccinated. @NBCNews
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 11, 2021
Likely never get vaccine via Monmouth polls:
March: 24%
June: 21%
July: 17%
Sept: 15%
Now: 13%— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) November 11, 2021
Some of that drop may be the never-vaxxers taking themselves out of the response pool…
After weeks of declines, U.S. Covid cases have stalled at a high level, ranging between 70k and 75k new cases a day for nearly three weeks: 'The ERs are packed' https://t.co/yOilrDPjbs
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 11, 2021
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Northeastern Chinese port city battles growing COVID-19 cluster https://t.co/JzdEFL5aak pic.twitter.com/W5QgtHSVr5
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 12, 2021
A growing COVID-19 cluster in China’s Dalian has spurred the northeastern port city to limit outbound travel, cut offline school classes and close a few cultural venues after being told by national authorities to contain the outbreak more quickly.
Dalian reported 52 locally transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms on Thursday, a daily count higher than any other Chinese city affected in an ongoing nationwide outbreak since mid-October, and more than doubling from 21 cases a day earlier, official data showed on Friday.
A total of 1,149 local cases were found in China between Oct. 17 and Nov 11. While the number is tiny compared with many outbreaks outside the country, local authorities have exerted resources to put out the flare-up with Beijing not expected to change its zero-tolerance policy any time soon…
The number of people travelling out of Dalian has dropped by 96.5% to 918 per day on average, a local transportation official said late on Thursday, after the city of 7.5 million people imposed curbs on public transport and warned residents against leaving Dalian for unnecessary reasons…
Dalian, a leading port for seafood shipments as well as fruit and some meats, has also ordered all businesses handling imported chilled and frozen foods to suspend operations, according to the state-backed newspaper Global Times.
As of Nov. 11, mainland China had reported 98,099 confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 patients, including both local cases and those arriving from abroad. The total death number remained at 4,636.
Japan’s preparations for the next coronavirus surge include adding thousands more hospital beds to avoid a situation like last summer when COVID-19 patients were forced to stay home, even when they needed supplemental oxygen. https://t.co/lv0tLmcwO4
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 12, 2021
A database of Russians who purchased fake coronavirus vaccine certificates has leaked online, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday, with experts warning that the buyers are now at risk of both blackmail and jail timehttps://t.co/bZ32uKBcoD
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 12, 2021
Europe had over half of the world's Covid deaths early this month, according to the World Health Organization. Continent-wide deaths rose 10% during the 1st week of November & made up >half the 48k coronavirus deaths reported globally in that time https://t.co/VVAtCS9OvO
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 12, 2021
Nearly two years into a global health crisis, infections are again sweeping across parts of Western Europe. That's in a region with relatively high vaccination rates and good health care systems but where lockdown measures are largely a thing of the past. https://t.co/Ovvd1k5bR8
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 12, 2021
Eastern Europe is the epicenter of the pandemic right now. Many parts of Europe now also surging past US, Germany at its highest point of cases ever pic.twitter.com/EsCduDwSiG
— Mark Witzke (@mkwitzke) November 11, 2021
Germany debates imposing tighter pandemic rules as infections surge. Health officials are scrambling to craft new Covid rules. A top virologist has warned that the country's Covid death toll could double unless measures are taken now https://t.co/DRtGqk283P
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 11, 2021
Unvaccinated should reflect on their duty to society, Merkel says https://t.co/fEJUKZesBg pic.twitter.com/CDzQWr1fvi
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 12, 2021
Austria may order a lockdown for *unvaccinated people,* its chancellor says. The country's case rate has more than doubled since October https://t.co/AEucIbl6QU
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 12, 2021
Dutch face three-week, partial lockdown as COVID-19 cases soar https://t.co/yt3ctGqPR1 pic.twitter.com/zdOashP6w8
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 12, 2021
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Some people prone to acute immune system reactions or other health issues have been reluctant to get #COVID19 vaccines, fearing rare but potentially serious side effects. They may soon have a new option: vaccines made from purified proteins. https://t.co/J5KG85oYNs
— Global Health NOW (@ghn_news) November 11, 2021
Too much technical detail to excerpt here, so read the whole thing:
… Unlike the relatively new technologies that the mRNA and viral-vector COVID-19 shots are based on, protein vaccines have been used for decades to protect people from hepatitis, shingles and other viral infections. To elicit a protective immune response, these shots deliver proteins, along with immunity-stimulating adjuvants, directly to a person’s cells, rather than a fragment of genetic code that the cells must read to synthesize the proteins themselves.
Although protein vaccines are not yet in widespread use for COVID-19, late-stage clinical-trial data so far look promising, demonstrating strong protection with fewer side effects than other COVID-19 shots typically cause…
… After months of quality-control setbacks and manufacturing delays, executives at biotechnology firm Novavax in Gaithersburg, Maryland, say they are poised to submit the company’s long-awaited application for their protein-based vaccine to US drug regulators before the end of the year. (On 1 November, Indonesia granted the company’s vaccine its first emergency authorization, and regulatory filings have already been made with government agencies in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and elsewhere.) Meanwhile, two vaccine makers in Asia — Clover Biopharmaceuticals, based in Chengdu, China, and Biological E in Hyderabad, India — are similarly on track to file with various national authorities in the coming weeks and months…
Covid antiviral capsules: scientists still have questions about the Merck & Pfizer drugs, which have different mechanisms of action.
Molnupiravir and Paxlovid could change the course of the pandemic — if clinical trial results hold up in the real world https://t.co/WtiRnBNOQY— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 12, 2021
A new molecular study reveals how mutations in delta and kappa variants of the pandemic coronavirus help the variants avoid recognition by antibodies https://t.co/RSdtvZCQ4C pic.twitter.com/HiOrtwn2zg
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 12, 2021
Americans react to seeing UK rapid Covid testing https://t.co/Kxj3Cf3kvy
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 11, 2021
Covid vaccination not recommended for pets, according to a veterinarian. Only a small number of pets have been infected w/SARSCoV2, usually from humans. Most dogs & cats are exposed as infants to other coronaviruses & may have cross-protective immunity https://t.co/8uTJ1F2rRl
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) November 11, 2021
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Puerto Rico has an underfunded health care system, high levels of poverty and its infrastructure remains devastated by a major 2017 hurricane — so how is the US territory leading the rest of the country in #COVID19 vaccinations?
✍️ @Ge1604 & Laura Perezhttps://t.co/lbDDBfz672— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 11, 2021
… Experts credit the surprising success to two major factors: a sense of solidarity forged from past brushes with disasters, and a public health response untainted by political polarization seen on the mainland.
No fewer than 74 percent of the island’s 3.2 million people are now fully vaccinated — well above the US total of 58 percent — but also ahead of wealthy and liberal northeastern states such as Massachusetts and Vermont…
Experts credit the surprising success to two major factors: a sense of solidarity forged from past brushes with disasters, and a public health response untainted by political polarization seen on the mainland.
No fewer than 74 percent of the island’s 3.2 million people are now fully vaccinated — well above the US total of 58 percent — but also ahead of wealthy and liberal northeastern states such as Massachusetts and Vermont…
“I couldn’t sleep, I kept thinking the pandemic would be handled as badly as the responses to Hurricane Irma and Maria,” Monica Feliu Mojer, spokesperson for the nonprofit Ciencia Puerto Rico organization that advocates for science in Puerto Rico, told AFP.
Instead, though, the memory of these disasters has made “people do their part,” creating a critical wave of unity to respond to the challenge.
The Puerto Rican government began vaccinating in December 2020, like the rest of the United States.
And in just a few weeks, professional groups, hospitals, universities, private corporations and non-profit organizations joined the effort, collaborations key to the later Covid vaccination campaign…
On the island, “the main parties are not organized around conservative or progressive ideologies, but status preferences” over the future of the island’s political relationship with the United States, she explains.
That unity allowed the government to take tougher preventative measures over the summer, at the height of the global wave driven by the Delta variant.
The government reimposed restrictions like masking and ordered vaccination or weekly negative PCR test for public employees, as well as for workers and customers of certain businesses like restaurants and gyms. Public response was largely favorable…
The delta variant is driving up COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Mountain West and fueling outbreaks in the North. It's a worrisome sign of what could be ahead this winter in the U.S. Trends are improving in Florida, Texas and other Southern states. https://t.co/N2Rr9aDWin
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 11, 2021
Two major Albuquerque hospital systems have announced they are activating crisis standards of care, my colleague @rboetel reports. Move comes amid surge of COVID-19 patients and nursing shortage that has worsened during pandemic: https://t.co/5qXtV3yB6s via @ABQJournal #nmpol
— Dan Boyd (@DanBoydNM) November 11, 2021
No shit?https://t.co/Dmwyb5ploh
— Jeff Timmer (@jefftimmer) November 11, 2021
Brilliant suggestion from wise commentor Ruckus, in an earlier post:
… If ONE percent of the world dies of Covid, that’s 78 MILLION people. We have fucking billionaires building rockets for a day trip into fucking space and people dying because we are too fucking greedy and too fucking stupid to take amazing vaccines that you don’t even have to pay for. We should come out with a new one, made by a new company, Conservative Deluxe, The New All Purpose Vaccine that protects you from Democrats. $50/shot. Assholes would be lining up, maskless to take that. End the pandemic and make a profit, hot damn!
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Nov. 11-12Post + Comments (83)