Coronavirus

[O Really]

In San Diego County:
78.8% of residents 12+ have gotten at least one shot.
67.6% are fully vaccinated.

Those who are not vaccinated account for:
99.8% of deaths
99.88% of hospitalizations
99.1% of cases.

Real life translation - if you're vaccinated, go enjoy your life; if you're not, you're an idiot at increasing severe risk and probably should conside SIYFH.

[Vrede too]

Olympics bans spectators after Tokyo declares COVID-19 emergency

This will be weird. Seems that it was a mistake to go ahead with them in 2021. I'll probably watch some, but with less enjoyment. I'll toke a little in honor of Sha'Carri Richardson.

[O Really]

Olympics bans spectators after Tokyo declares COVID-19 emergency

This will be weird. Seems that it was a mistake to go ahead with them in 2021. I'll probably watch some, but with less enjoyment. I'll toke a little in honor of Sha'Carri Richardson.

I'll be rooting for "Anybody But USA" in track and field. They may not have had control over the 30-day suspension, but not selecting ShaCarri for the relay team is despicable - as is the treatment of other females vying for the team. Your Duke has a couple on the Canadian team. I'll root for them.

Or Norwegians.

[billy.pilgrim]

Olympics bans spectators after Tokyo declares COVID-19 emergency

This will be weird. Seems that it was a mistake to go ahead with them in 2021. I'll probably watch some, but with less enjoyment. I'll toke a little in honor of Sha'Carri Richardson.

Considering all the US states and foreign countries where pot is legal and that it offers zero physical performance enhancing effects, why would pot be considered among banned substances to an organization concerned with performance enhancing drugs?

[neoplacebo]

Olympics bans spectators after Tokyo declares COVID-19 emergency

This will be weird. Seems that it was a mistake to go ahead with them in 2021. I'll probably watch some, but with less enjoyment. I'll toke a little in honor of Sha'Carri Richardson.

Considering all the US states and foreign countries where pot is legal and that it offers zero physical performance enhancing effects, why would pot be considered among banned substances to an organization concerned with performance enhancing drugs?

People have always been, and always will be, afraid of things they don't understand whether it's pot, vaccinations, Critical Race Theory, equations with more than two variables, representative democracy, or facts that contradict their beliefs or expectations.

[Vrede too]

Considering all the US states and foreign countries where pot is legal and that it offers zero physical performance enhancing effects, why would pot be considered among banned substances to an organization concerned with performance enhancing drugs?

The rule makers must be drunks.

The Pfizer vaccine might not be as effective against the delta variant as we originally thought

Results from a Pfizer vaccine study in Israel are showing that the mRNA vaccine may not be as effective against the delta variant as it is against other variants of COVID-19.

As Reuters reported, the latest study results showed that the Pfizer vaccine hasn’t been as effective as previously believed against stopping the delta variant from infecting vaccinated people and causing them to have symptoms. But it is still highly effective in stopping people from getting seriously ill.

The report noted, “Vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 6,” according to Israeli health officials. However, the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from COVID-19, showing some level of effectiveness against the more severe aspects of the delta variant....

Hmmm. Not good if you're one of the 7%.

[Vrede too]

Update: Pfizer thinks we need a 3rd booster to protect us from the Delta variant, has asked the FDA for approval.

[Vrede too]

Update: Pfizer thinks we need a 3rd booster to protect us from the Delta variant, has asked the FDA for approval.

CDC says not yet.

Because of the new surge NYC is going to require healthcare workers to either be vaccinated or be tested weekly. Wait, that's not already happening?

The Olympics is already turning into a clusterfuck. I may not get much enjoyment out of watching.

[O Really]

Methinks that corporate greed may be joining politics in mucking up what in a rational society should be a clean public health issue. I read an article that noted that Pfizer et. al. worst nightmare would have been that their vaccine didn't work - second worst nightmare is that it works too well. Not to ignore the huge medical achievement the vaccine is, but they're making a killing from it. Imagine having something for sale that is highly valued -necessary - throughout the world, and the damgummint is paying for all of it. Golden gooses are real. But suppose one round of doses does it. Market sinks like a rock in a couple of years. On the other hand, if we need annual or regular boosters...

[Vrede too]

Methinks that corporate greed may be joining politics in mucking up what in a rational society should be a clean public health issue. I read an article that noted that Pfizer et. al. worst nightmare would have been that their vaccine didn't work - second worst nightmare is that it works too well. Not to ignore the huge medical achievement the vaccine is, but they're making a killing from it. Imagine having something for sale that is highly valued -necessary - throughout the world, and the damgummint is paying for all of it. Golden gooses are real. But suppose one round of doses does it. Market sinks like a rock in a couple of years. On the other hand, if we need annual or regular boosters...

Idk, 7,800,000,000 people is a lot of doses given the two needed now and even allowing for the competing versions. Plus, it's been thought all along that an annual booster might be necessary. The question now is whether a third dose is needed to make the first round sufficiently effective.

Sure, Pfizer will lean towards what's most profitable, but they may also just be covering their asses over breakthrough infections. I'm not quite as cynical as you . . . yet.

[O Really]

I'm not quite as cynical as you . . . yet.

[neoplacebo]

I'm not quite as cynical as you . . . yet.

I got this covered. I'm cynical enough for both of you with extra in reserve. I just don't think the money they've got so far off this will make any of them slink away and smile, but you never know.

[Vrede too]

I got this covered. I'm cynical enough for both of you with extra in reserve. I just don't think the money they've got so far off this will make any of them slink away and smile, but you never know.

Here's some cynicism we can all agree on:

_______, _______ and _______ now account for 40% of new coronavirus cases in U.S.

I guessed 2 of the 3 states correctly then opened the article before guessing the third. Opps. Idk if I would have gotten it correct or not. You try.

Spoiler:

Florida, Missouri and Texas

[neoplacebo]

I got this covered. I'm cynical enough for both of you with extra in reserve. I just don't think the money they've got so far off this will make any of them slink away and smile, but you never know.

Here's some cynicism we can all agree on:

_______, _______ and _______ now account for 40% of new coronavirus cases in U.S.

I guessed 2 of the 3 states correctly then opened the article before guessing the third. Opps. Idk if I would have gotten it correct or not. You try.

Spoiler:

Florida, Missouri and Texas

I picked Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri. But I console myself in the knowledge that there's lots more wingnuts hiding in the wingnut wings.

[Vrede too]

When Parents Said No to Their Kids Being Vaccinated, This Teenager Created VaxTeen. It's Now More Crucial Than Ever

Like many 18-year-olds, Kelly Danielpour is preparing to start college in the fall, planning out her classes, buying dorm necessities and wondering what her roommate will be like. Unlike many 18-year-olds, she’s also spending her spare time helping teens across the country navigate vaccine-hesitant parents and get their COVID-19 vaccines....

Forty states currently require parental consent for children under 18 to be vaccinated, and Nebraska requires it until age 19. Some states allow a minor to “self-consent” at a certain age—14 in Alabama and 16 in South Carolina, for example. And other states, without specifying an age, give healthcare providers the ability to decide if a minor is mature enough to consent to vaccination on their own.

I would not have picked Alabama and South Carolina as being so progressive. I was going to post, 'Nobody tell their legislatures,' but:

In some parts of the country, legal challenges have been issued that would reduce teen access to vaccines. A bill under consideration in South Carolina would prohibit minors from getting the COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits filed this month are challenging a law passed in Washington, D.C., last year that allows children 11 and older to get vaccines without their parents’ consent.

Figures. Anti-vax parents and legislators should be charged with child abuse.

Will the sleazy back alley drug pusher be replaced by a nerd in a lab coat saying, "Hey kid, wanna vaccine? It won't hurt you, I promise. All the cool kids are doing it."

[billy.pilgrim]

When Parents Said No to Their Kids Being Vaccinated, This Teenager Created VaxTeen. It's Now More Crucial Than Ever

Like many 18-year-olds, Kelly Danielpour is preparing to start college in the fall, planning out her classes, buying dorm necessities and wondering what her roommate will be like. Unlike many 18-year-olds, she’s also spending her spare time helping teens across the country navigate vaccine-hesitant parents and get their COVID-19 vaccines....

Forty states currently require parental consent for children under 18 to be vaccinated, and Nebraska requires it until age 19. Some states allow a minor to “self-consent” at a certain age—14 in Alabama and 16 in South Carolina, for example. And other states, without specifying an age, give healthcare providers the ability to decide if a minor is mature enough to consent to vaccination on their own.

I would not have picked Alabama and South Carolina as being so progressive. I was going to post, 'Nobody tell their legislatures,' but:

In some parts of the country, legal challenges have been issued that would reduce teen access to vaccines. A bill under consideration in South Carolina would prohibit minors from getting the COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits filed this month are challenging a law passed in Washington, D.C., last year that allows children 11 and older to get vaccines without their parents’ consent.

Figures. Anti-vax parents and legislators should be charged with child abuse.

Will the sleazy back alley drug pusher be replaced by a nerd in a lab coat saying, "Hey kid, wanna vaccine? It won't hurt you, I promise. All the cool kids are doing it."

.
Agree and disagree.

No way is it right in any situation for an 11 year old to go behind their parents backs

Not just parents, but every anti-vaxxers should be quarantined in camps well removed from the general population

[Vrede too]

Agree and disagree.

No way is it right in any situation for an 11 year old to go behind their parents backs

I hear you, but no way is it right in any situation for an 11 year old to be forced to go behind their COVIDidiot parents' backs in order to protect themselves and their communities. I would be okay with the parents being informed as long as the kids still got vaccines.

Not just parents, but every anti-vaxxers should be quarantined in camps well removed from the general population

What about their kids?

Here's some cynicism we can all agree on:

_______, _______ and _______ now account for 40% of new coronavirus cases in U.S.

I guessed 2 of the 3 states correctly then opened the article before guessing the third. Opps. Idk if I would have gotten it correct or not. You try.

Spoiler:

Florida, Missouri and Texas

I picked Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri. But I console myself in the knowledge that there's lots more wingnuts hiding in the wingnut wings.

This article and map paint a somewhat different picture since they describe per capita changes rather than absolute numbers:

COVID cases are surging, and it's not because of "breakthrough" infections



In both cases:

The big picture: Some “breakthrough” infections are happening to vaccinated people, but this rising tide of cases and hospitalizations is mainly a threat to those who aren’t vaccinated. And in some parts of the country, most people aren’t vaccinated — so the virus can still do serious damage.

GOP Governor Says It's Time To 'Blame The Unvaccinated' For Pandemic Surge

A Republican governor in one of the states hit hardest by the delta variant of the coronavirus called out those who’ve refused the vaccine on Thursday.

“It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks,” said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, per CBS 42 in Birmingham. “It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”

Ivey, who was vaccinated in December, also seemed to throw some shade at Fox News and other right-wing media outlets.

“Media, I want you to start reporting the facts,” she said. “The new cases of COVID are because of unvaccinated folks. Almost 100 percent of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks.”

Although she didn’t name names, Fox News hosts, such as Tucker Carlson, have attempted to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines. Carlson said the notion that the U.S. was now in a pandemic of the unvaccinated was “simply untrue” and “a lie.”

O Really, per your wishes I have heard/seen more than one media source use the 'pandemic of the unvaccinated' phrase, and Fucker lying about it will only make it happen more often. I've heard and seen this reported multiple times, too:

One Alabama ER doc recently shared the haunting tales of dying coronavirus patients who begged for the vaccine that they had previously refused.

“I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late,” Dr. Brytney Cobia wrote on Facebook.

Actually Kay, the "time" came and went months and hundreds of thousands of lives ago.

Alabama has seen a 311% jump in cases over the past two weeks, according to The New York Times, and a 92% increase in hospitalizations. The state’s rate of 23 new cases per 100,000 people was tied for the ninth highest in the nation. Alabama is also tied for the lowest vaccination rate in the U.S.

Ivey has not exactly helped her case. Last week, she rejected a plan by President Joe Biden in which community-based volunteers would go door to door to encourage COVID-19 vaccination and offer help to those who need it.

She also signed a bill banning “vaccine passports” in her state. That same law also banned businesses from requiring vaccination or even asking about vaccination status and banned schools, including colleges, from requiring the vaccine despite the fact that Alabama schools currently require multiple shots, with certain exemptions allowed.

Earlier this week, Ivey rejected a call for wearing masks in schools that was made by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Still, it's good seeing you take this baby step. It may help a little bit when history blames you for genocide.

[billy.pilgrim]

Not just parents, but every anti-vaxxers should be quarantined in camps well removed from the general population

"What about their kids?" Vrede

Foster care would be my first choice, but there would be backlash, so maybe temp foster care and then let them choose
Tough one

I picked Florida, Missouri and Alabama

[O Really]

Real media is going to have to get on the right train. The NFL letter to teams should not be reported as "surprising," or in any way unusual. It should be reported as a reasonable, obvious approach that any rational business would do. Why on earth would anybody consider it reasonable for the NFL (NBA, MLB) to jump through a lot of complex and expensive rescheduling disruption just because some random player wouldn't get vaxxed? Your job, Mr. Team Owner/Coach is to show up on Sunday with a team prepared to play. If you don't/can't do that, you forfeit. Suppose a team had 10 players get injured in a bar fight - is the NFL going to say "OK, guys, we'll just reschedule your game for a time when they're recovered." Not.

[billy.pilgrim]

npr- 17% of our Olympic athletes did not check the box indicating they have been vaccinated

No numbers available on coaches, staff etc.