COVID-19

[miles]

i rarely think the media does a good job reporting. i think generally they give wild stories or fear mongering stories for the "clicks". i get it, they need to get paid.

 

however, i think this might be the best reporting i have read on covid in a long time. they are laying out facts and not some political rant that says my side is right and yours is wrong. not you need to do this or the world will end.... 

 

i actually find it refreshing to see a story on information that looks well researched and not a bunch of rando's giving their opinions in a bunch of twitter feeds pretending to be facts. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/delta-variant-breakthrough-infections-americans-073003124.html

 

 

not related to this, i heard on the radio yesterday there was a poll done in nj between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. 

 

of the unvaccinated, there was like 50% thought it was media hoopla/propaganda, and only 20% or so thought it was because there was too many people unvaccinated. 

of the vaccinated, there was 75+% thought it was because of the unvaccinated

i dont remember the exact numbers, but it was close to these

Edited August 6, 2021 by Mike Honcho

[nucci]

I was at my Drs yesterday for a checkup. I overheard him in next room talking to a patient.....Got kinda loud and some laughing but at the end I heard him yell.....Yes, get the ***** vaccine!. Drs and nurses are so frustrated with people

[That Aud Smell]

On 7/30/2021 at 2:03 PM, PASabreFan said:

My brother in Florida, who's been anti-mask and anti-vax, has Covid. He's feeling tired and lightheaded, and he says his blood pressure is "going crazy." Runny nose. No fever though, apparently. His son says the symptoms are just like a cold, and although he wouldn't want to get Covid, there are worse diseases out there, "like influenza." He won't get vaccinated or wear a mask, either. He hasn't gotten it so far, and he thinks his immune system is powerful. He knows someone who got Covid after being vaccinated, so what's the point, and his wife knows someone who had heart surgery recently and developed blood clots after being vaccinated. "All the side effects" is the official reason he gives for not getting jabbed. He's an occupational therapist in a hospital, and his wife works there, too.

Anecdotes like this are discouraging.

Research, valid data, and expert interpretations of the same are what (should) drive policy, and people should comply with that policy absent a compelling reason not to.

I think I posted this months ago: An uncomfortable (and, I think, un-discussed) truth about mass vaccination campaigns is that they will - in very rare instances - create unwanted side effects, ranging from mild reactions to, in still even more rare instances, serious injuries or death. As a society, it's up to us to take on and spread that risk acrost 100s of millions  of people. The alternative paths are far worse for us, as a society -- e.g., periodic collapses of regional hospital systems (terrible, but not catastrophic) or the development of some doomsday variant (probably quite unlikely, but it becomes more and more likely as transmission goes on). As to the latter, I don't get the sense that COVID-19 is just going to become endemic and fairly manageable like influenza. It seems as though, if it continues to circulate, its viral tumblers are going to hit a jackpot combination of lethality.

[nucci]

33 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Anecdotes like this are discouraging.

Research, valid data, and expert interpretations of the same are what (should) drive policy, and people should comply with that policy absent a compelling reason not to.

I think I posted this months ago: An uncomfortable (and, I think, un-discussed) truth about mass vaccination campaigns is that they will - in very rare instances - create unwanted side effects, ranging from mild reactions to, in still even more rare instances, serious injuries or death. As a society, it's up to us to take on and spread that risk acrost 100s of millions  of people. The alternative paths are far worse for us, as a society -- e.g., periodic collapses of regional hospital systems (terrible, but not catastrophic) or the development of some doomsday variant (probably quite unlikely, but it becomes more and more likely as transmission goes on). As to the latter, I don't get the sense that COVID-19 is just going to become endemic and fairly manageable like influenza. It seems as though, if it continues to circulate, its viral tumblers are going to hit a jackpot combination of lethality.

we'll never hit herd immunity which means more and dangerous variants

Edited August 6, 2021 by nucci

[SwampD]

13 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Anecdotes like this are discouraging.

Research, valid data, and expert interpretations of the same are what (should) drive policy, and people should comply with that policy absent a compelling reason not to.

I think I posted this months ago: An uncomfortable (and, I think, un-discussed) truth about mass vaccination campaigns is that they will - in very rare instances - create unwanted side effects, ranging from mild reactions to, in still even more rare instances, serious injuries or death. As a society, it's up to us to take on and spread that risk acrost 100s of millions  of people. The alternative paths are far worse for us, as a society -- e.g., periodic collapses of regional hospital systems (terrible, but not catastrophic) or the development of some doomsday variant (probably quite unlikely, but it becomes more and more likely as transmission goes on). As to the latter, I don't get the sense that COVID-19 is just going to become endemic and fairly manageable like influenza. It seems as though, if it continues to circulate, its viral tumblers are going to hit a jackpot combination of lethality.

I read that one of the side effects of the vaccine is that you start to type like Rob Ray.

[SDS]

A guy on TBD went on vacation with his extended family and his wife and son are now feeling ill. It turns out the family who went with them are sick because their daycare provider lied and said she was vaccinated and then gave it to the kids in the daycare.

[LGR4GM]

9 minutes ago, SDS said:

A guy on TBD went on vacation with his extended family and his wife and son are now feeling ill. It turns out the family who went with them are sick because their daycare provider lied and said she was vaccinated and then gave it to the kids in the daycare.

I'd sue the ***** out of someone for that. 

[That Aud Smell]

24 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I read that one of the side effects of the vaccine is that you start to type like Rob Ray.

thanks for catching that - twas an intentional homage!

[Stoner]

37 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

thanks for catching that - twas an intentional homage!

See, I thought he wanted us to envision Rob sitting and forming all of those thoughts and words and typing them up so goodly.

[Doohicksie]

I just found out my brother-in-law in Albany has Covid.  It's kind of concerning because he had a tumor removed form his head a couple years ago and ended up in a coma due to meningitis.  So he is probably considered high risk due to that history.  Yes he's vaxed.

[darksabre]

9 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I just found out my brother-in-law in Albany has Covid.  It's kind of concerning because he had a tumor removed form his head a couple years ago and ended up in a coma due to meningitis.  So he is probably considered high risk due to that history.  Yes he's vaxed.

I'm assuming he got tested because he's symptomatic? 

[Doohicksie]

Yes, he's pretty sick.  Not hospital sick yet, but sick.

[JohnC]

On 8/5/2021 at 11:47 PM, calti said:

There is plenty of data re the multiple studies over the past 20 yrs .They have all been disastrous(esp to the the test critters). No wonder they skipped the animal testing and went straight to the people this time. So far the human testing doesnt look good. Just one of the reporting agencies  (there are maybe ten of them) called vaers(vaccine adverse event reporting system) shows over 10k vaccine deaths in 2021 even with claims that many death reports are 'disappearing'. vaers.hhs.gov -easy website to verify the death numbers as well as different categories of other adverse effects.

I am stunned and perplexed at the fact that so many volunteered to take an experimental drug. And i wonder how the MDs advising their patients to take this can look at themselves in the mirror. 

Where do you get your data from? A Qanon website? When I hear people speak crazily about the vaccines I get so frustrated and angry. The vaccines have been a blessing that has given us a degree of freedom that we lost at the height of the pandemic. Now it seems that we are going back to that hellish period because of this lunatic cultish fringe with the mindset that is anti-science and and rationality. 

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/09/dick-farrel-dies-covid19/

[darksabre]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Yes, he's pretty sick.  Not hospital sick yet, but sick.

Ah man, that sucks 

[Eleven]

I think we may need to restrict the state borders again soon, as much as I hate the idea and question the legality of it.

 

@Doohickiesorry to learn of what your family is going through.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Eleven

[JohnC]

19 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Yes, he's pretty sick.  Not hospital sick yet, but sick.

I wish you and your family the best. I just don' understand how people can minimize this health crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people and has affected millions more. They are living in their own delusional world and are sabotaging the efforts to deal with this pernicious virus. It's frustrating and maddening. 

[SwampD]

I'm finding that any statistic someone tries to throw at me to justify not getting vaccinated, ends up being some cherry picked bull-***** that just makes them sound like they struggled with high school math.

I've gotten to the point where I honestly don't care if someone chooses to not get vaccinated, just don't give me numbers to validate your decision. If they just say, "I really don't want to get vaxxed, so I'm not going to," I'm fine. I can at least respect that.

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

I'm finding that any statistic someone tries to throw at me to justify not getting vaccinated, ends up being some cherry picked bull-***** that just makes them sound like they struggled with high school math.

I've gotten to the point where I honestly don't care if someone chooses to not get vaccinated, just don't give me numbers to validate your decision. If they just say, "I really don't want to get vaxxed, so I'm not going to," I'm fine. I can at least respect that.

I could respect it except I keep seeing Florida license plates.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

I'm finding that any statistic someone tries to throw at me to justify not getting vaccinated, ends up being some cherry picked bull-***** that just makes them sound like they struggled with high school math.

I've gotten to the point where I honestly don't care if someone chooses to not get vaccinated, just don't give me numbers to validate your decision. If they just say, "I really don't want to get vaxxed, so I'm not going to," I'm fine. I can at least respect that.

I understand your sentiment and I feel it to. But the problem is that there are too many people who have not gotten the vaccine who not only are making themselves vulnerable to infection but because the pool of unvaccinated is still so large it is resulting in not only more infections variants but variants that are also capable of infecting the vaccinated. While the vaccinated are not getting seriously sick they become carriers of the of Covid and infect others. My biggest worry is that these new pernicious variants will become resistant to the current vaccines and will require new vaccines to provide protection. So the cycle repeats itself. It is the sabotaging of the community that has acted appropriately. Freaking insane! 

[dudacek]

We're up over 80% 1 dose and 71% fully vaccinated, yet the numbers are jumping back to levels from the spring.

The vast majority of the new wave swamping the hospitals are not vaccinated.

Edited August 12, 2021 by dudacek

[JohnC]

The vaccinated are upset with the unvaccinated. And they should be. The entities that also should be very upset with the unvaccinated are the insurance companies. Having to pay out a lot of money to cover the medical costs of those unvaccinated who get sick and require comprehensive medical treatment must make them angry. So what should happen next. When the rates are determined for the next billing year it goes up for everyone in order to cover the costs of treatments that could have been avoided. 

What is the solution? There should be clauses in the insurance policy that if one foregoes being vaccinated for a designated category of illnesses the rates should be higher for this anti-vaccine population or the coverage will not be provided for those who contract the virus after willfully decide to go unvaccinated. There should be consequences for reckless behavior. 

[Doohicksie]

14 hours ago, Eleven said:

I could respect it except I keep seeing Florida license plates.

[Doohicksie]

22 minutes ago, dudacek said:

We're up over 80% 1 does and 71% fully vaccinated, yet the numbers are jumping back to levels from the spring.

The vast majority of the new wave swamping the hospitals are not vaccinated.

I saw an interview last night with Gabriel Iglesias (the comedian also known as "Fluffy").  He is fully vaxed but he caught Covid.  If you don't know the guy, the call him Fluffy because he's morbidly obese.  He also has hypertension and is a diabetic.  With all those risk factors he said he had chills/fever for about a day and then felt fine.  Yes, cases are up but the vaccine works. 

Unfortunately cases are up among the unvaxed and hospitals are being needlessly swamped.

I read an op-ed where the writer proposed that insurance companies (including the federal government- Medicaid/Medicare) inform people that in 6 weeks, they will no longer cover expenses from Covid if people have not been vaxed.  You want your individual freedom, fine, but the rest of us should not have to pay for your foolishness.

[Stoner]

6 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I saw an interview last night with Gabriel Iglesias (the comedian also known as "Fluffy").  He is fully vaxed but he caught Covid.  If you don't know the guy, the call him Fluffy because he's morbidly obese.  He also has hypertension and is a diabetic.  With all those risk factors he said he had chills/fever for about a day and then felt fine.  Yes, cases are up but the vaccine works. 

Unfortunately cases are up among the unvaxed and hospitals are being needlessly swamped.

I read an op-ed where the writer proposed that insurance companies (including the federal government- Medicaid/Medicare) inform people that in 6 weeks, they will no longer cover expenses from Covid if people have not been vaxed.  You want your individual freedom, fine, but the rest of us should not have to pay for your foolishness.

If I have it right, cases are also up among the unvaxed because the vaccines have become less effective at preventing infection, and vaccinated people are helping to spread it.

[Doohicksie]

A couple of local notes:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has banned schools districts from mandating masks.  Several major school districts in the state have basically said FU and put mask mandates in place for the fall semester (which begins next week here in Fort Worth).  Ft Worth is one of the districts that is defying the governor.  The governor does have power to impose restrictions in the event of a public health crisis, but I think the courts will rule that a public health crisis does *not* give him the power to unilaterally ban restrictions.

Jason Isbell (a singer, if you don't know) has playing in Fort Worth tomorrow.  Yesterday he switched venues from Panther Island Pavilion, an outdoor venue, when they said they would not enforce any Covid protocals.  He moved the concert to Billy Bob's Texas and at his request the venue will require anyone that enters to show either a vaccine card or a negative Covid test result for a test in the last 72 hours.

I figured a long time ago this would be one way to get people to relent and get vaxed:  Just make life as an unvaxed person a pain in the butt.  Every time you want to do something in a public space, show a vax card or a negative test, and if it's the test you have to mask up.  Yes some people will stubbornly resist the vax, but eventually a lot will decide it's not worth the hassle.

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

If I have it right, cases are also up among the unvaxed because the vaccines have become less effective at preventing infection, and vaccinated people are helping to spread it.

You do have it right.  The vaxed are getting sick and spreading it, but as in the case with Fluffy, they are not contagious for as long of a period as they would be if they weren't vaxed.