Tonight marks the second anniversary of Sean Hannity flashing this graphic while explaining that President Trump had the coronavirus situation well in hand and that Democrats and the media were exaggerating the danger for political gain. pic.twitter.com/IMFlcU6ATI
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) February 27, 2022
The Hard Lessons We Learned — and Didn’t — From Two Years of Pandemic. And this may not even be the Big One. We must prepare for doomsday, act faster and respect evolution – Joel Achenbach, WaPo https://t.co/PUXddCN0r2
— erwyzz (@erwyzz) February 25, 2022
In a less fraught time, I’d give this article its own post. Take my word: Click over & the whole thing:
… We didn’t imagine the myriad ways, beyond its pathogenicity, that the virus could be disruptive: the economic shutdowns, school closures, lost livelihoods, lonely hospital deaths, drive-by funerals, anxiety, depression — all of it cascading upon us in ways that drove us apart politically and culturally. And this happened because of a virus, SARS-CoV-2, that was not terribly lethal compared with what might be lurking out there in an animal reservoir, waiting to jump into humans. That’s why some people have said we’ve been going through a “starter pandemic.” In that coldblooded formulation, this was just practice for the Big One…
Lesson 1: Past performance does not predict future results
“Maybe it won’t be so bad” was a rational thought early on. Previous experiences suggested this new virus might be containable. Another coronavirus, causing the disease SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), emerged in China in 2002 and reached several other countries, including Canada, killing nearly 1 in 10 people known to be infected. But SARS was not very transmissible and was snuffed out in 2003. The official global death toll: 774…Or covid might have been like the 2009 influenza strain (“swine flu”) that briefly threw everyone into crisis mode when it threatened to generate a devastating pandemic. In fact, the virus did spread globally, but turned out to be fairly punchless. Non-disasters, particularly after lots of hype, have a lingering effect…
Lesson 2: Evolution is real, nature is inventive, and we live at the indulgence of things we cannot see
… SARS-CoV-2 is now among the most studied viruses. Global databases have tracked its evolution. Never before has the scientific community seen so vividly the way natural selection lures new, behaviorally distinct strains from a vast viral pool…SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t mutate very fast, but when a virus begins spreading among millions of people, with each person functioning as a separate experiment in viral replication, the virus has abundant opportunity to improve itself and become more “fit.” Which this one did…
Lesson 5: Pandemics are political events
… The smart way for leaders to respond to a pandemic is to calculate the scope of the threat; communicate the dangers clearly to the general public; roll out tests to provide timely surveillance of the pathogen; track viral mutations through extensive genomic sequencing; share public health data seamlessly among local, state and federal agencies; find common strategies to contain the virus and mitigate the disease; and, finally, develop vaccines.Well … we did develop vaccines…
Lesson 7: Pandemics end psychologically before they do biologically
A pandemic is caused by a pathogen but is experienced as a social, cultural, political and psychological event. As such it can intensify or wane somewhat independently of what the virus is doing…Lesson 10: We are all in this together…
Q: When will we need a 4th COVID vaccination?
Dr. Fauci: It has to be put into the context of whom you are talking about.. that could be based on age or underlying conditions. I don't think you'll be hearing recs that are across the board for everyone pic.twitter.com/rOBq7afVTG— Cleavon MD ? ? ? (@Cleavon_MD) February 27, 2022
Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests made available by the Biden administration have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and Americans test less.
The White House sees the program as a step toward a plan that can handle surges in demand. https://t.co/a1CY7o0jeh
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2022
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Vaccinating 70% of the population in every country in the world against COVID-19 by mid-2022 has been the World Health Organization's (WHO) rallying cry to end the pandemic. https://t.co/CDFZYLTkh5
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) February 28, 2022
Vaccinating 70% of the population in every country in the world against COVID-19 by mid-2022 has been the World Health Organization’s (WHO) rallying cry to end the pandemic.
But recently, public health experts say that while boosting immunity globally remains essential, the figure is neither achievable nor meaningful.
It has always been ambitious: Currently, just 12% of people in low-income nations have had one shot, according to Our World In Data. Earlier targets set by WHO – to reach 10% by September 2021, for example – were also missed…
At a virtual briefing last week with WHO Africa, Aurelia Nguyen, managing director of COVAX within Gavi, said it was important to instead “meet the targets that countries have set for themselves, whether it’s in line with the 70% WHO target or a lower or a higher target.”
Reservations about the 70% target are a further sign that ending the pandemic globally may be a trickier, and longer, challenge than many had hoped.
Documents from a high-level internal UN meeting held earlier this month, reviewed by Reuters, showed eight countries that were extremely unlikely to reach the target by June 2022, and had been identified for “immediate focus”: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Sudan.
A further 26, including Yemen, Uganda and Haiti, are also in need of “concerted support”, the document said…
Edward Kelley, former director of health services at WHO and now global health officer at ApiJect, said the 70% had been based on what science said was needed to manage transmission, which had been blown out of the water by Omicron.
“Of course we need to continue to raise immunity levels everywhere”, he said. “But the target is being kept at the moment because the international community does not have anything else to cling to.”
Hong Kong is set to report a record daily high of 34,466 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, Chinese state television CCTV reported, as the spread of Omicron overwhelms the city and its already stretched healthcare facilities. https://t.co/DJCKH0uyZn
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) February 28, 2022
Hong Kong domestic helpers abandoned as COVID takes a toll https://t.co/BdZs1nxJ4t pic.twitter.com/0L38vnCGi2
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 28, 2022
Hong Kong facilities for storing dead bodies stretched as COVID deaths climb https://t.co/pRIR0qHLtF pic.twitter.com/1348SPJ2eR
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 28, 2022
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India Records 10,273 Covid Cases In A Day https://t.co/JmgMBHD7qb pic.twitter.com/e0NGayOdYZ
— NDTV News feed (@ndtvfeed) February 28, 2022
South Korea will temporarily lift a requirement for vaccine passes or negative COVID-19 tests at a number of businesses to ease the strain on testing centres, authorities said on Monday, as the country faces a wave of Omicron infections. https://t.co/cQEyli4OXK
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) February 28, 2022
If you guys have not been updated, New Zealand, which had been able to stamp out Covid-19 for two years, is now reporting 14,657 daily Covid-19 cases today. Total active cases now stands at 82,433.
— TZ (@ZalanZalfrecko) February 28, 2022
Of this number, only 344 are being hospitalised, with 5 in ICU.
NZ data currently shows that unvaccinated people are four times over-represented among those hospitalised.
Never bored to say this: Vaccine works.
— TZ (@ZalanZalfrecko) February 28, 2022
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What to know about multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children—MIS-C—a rare inflammatory condition in children. MIS-C is a rare post-Covid condition that cause inflammation of major organs. New research suggests vaccination may prevent it https://t.co/ydrFWxEUv8 pic.twitter.com/6OLmEN95oe
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 27, 2022
Many emerging infectious diseases reported in mink have high zoonotic potential. It seems that farmed mink are susceptible to the infections transmitted by a variety of different animals, including birds, pigs & humans https://t.co/1ZO3LU1Ht9 pic.twitter.com/XK4azLwWe0
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 27, 2022
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The pace of Covid-19 booster shots is slowing as the Omicron surge fades, fueling concerns that Americans could be more vulnerable if a new variant emerges https://t.co/5WmLIMV2ug
— WSJ Health (@WSJhealth) February 26, 2022
New York will end statewide school mask mandate on March 2 -governor https://t.co/g0ITNNLiOr pic.twitter.com/md6QNETt8J
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 28, 2022
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday that a dramatic drop in coronavirus infections could lead to the lifting of vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theaters as soon as March 7. https://t.co/M2hWVW1zJN
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2022
People are asking me why I endorsed the use of "We're Not Gonna Take It" for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers. Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience.
— Dee Snider?? (@deesnider) February 27, 2022
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, Feb. 27-28Post + Comments (32)