COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Crazedwraith
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Crazedwraith »

Derbyshire police being overzealous dickheads again

Fining a pair who had driven five miles (gasp!) to take their exercise. And because they'd bought drinks 'they were having a picnic' which is also apparently verboten.

To be clear, going for a walk with one other person to exercise is not against the rule. They just decided they weren't 'local' enough. But really two people out for a walk is in no way a dangerous of doing much spreading compared to you know, massive parties and raves and so on that are going on.

We're basically at the whim of individual officer's personal judgements.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Broomstick »

Yesterday in the US 4,000 people died of covid.

We're still riding the upward curve from Christmas and have yet to see the spike from New Year's parties.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by PainRack »

I lazy to open a new thread and this fits enough.

https://khn.org/news/article/trump-administration-approves-first-medicaid-block-grant-in-tennessee/





Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee

By Phil GalewitzJANUARY 8, 2021




With just a dozen days left in power, the Trump administration on Friday approved a radically different Medicaid financing system in Tennessee that for the first time would give the state broader authority in running the health insurance program for the poor in exchange for capping its annual federal funding.



The approval is a 10-year “experiment.” Instead of the open-ended federal funding that rises with higher enrollment and health costs, Tennessee will instead get an annual block grant. The approach has been pushed for decades by conservatives who say states too often chafe under strict federal guidelines about enrollment and coverage and can find ways to provide care more efficiently.



But under the agreement, Tennessee’s annual funding cap will increase if enrollment grows. What’s different is that unlike other states, federal Medicaid funding in Tennessee won’t automatically keep up with rising per -person Medicaid expenses.



The approval, however, faces an uncertain future because the incoming Biden administration is likely to oppose such a move. But to unravel it, officials would need to set up a review that includes a public hearing.



Meanwhile, the changes in Tennessee will take months to implement because they need final legislative approval, and state officials must negotiate quality of care targets with the administration.



TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, said the block grant system would give it unprecedented flexibility to decide who is covered and what services it will pay for.



Under the agreement, TennCare will have a specified spending cap based on historical spending, inflation and predicted future enrollment changes. If the state can operate the program at a lower cost than the cap and maintain or improve quality, the state then shares in the savings.



Trump administration officials said the approach adds incentive for the state to save money, unlike the current system, in which increased state spending is matched with more federal dollars. If Medicaid enrollment grows, the state can secure additional federal funding. If enrollment drops, it will get less money.





Opponents, including most advocates for low-income Americans, say the approach will threaten care for the 1.4 million people in TennCare, who include children, pregnant women and the disabled. Federal funding covers two-thirds of the cost of the program.



Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said the block grant approval is a step backward for the state’s Medicaid program.



“No other state has sought a block grant, and for good reason. It gives state officials a blank check and creates financial incentives to cut health care to vulnerable families,” she said.



The agreement is different from traditional block grants championed by conservatives since it allows Tennessee to get more federal funding to keep up with enrollment growth. In addition, while the state is given flexibility to increase benefits, it can’t cut them on its own.



Democrats have fought back block grant Medicaid proposals since the Reagan administration and most recently in 2018 as part of Republicans’ failed effort to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act. Even some key Republicans opposed the idea because it would cut billions in funding to states, making it harder to help the poor.



Implementing block grants via an executive branch action rather than getting Congress to amend Medicaid law is also likely to be met with court challenges.



“This is an illegal move that could threaten access to health care for vulnerable people in the middle of a pandemic,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, posted on his Twitter account. “I’m hopeful the Biden Administration will move quickly to rollback this harmful policy as soon as possible.”



The block grant approval comes as Medicaid enrollment is at its highest-ever level.



More than 76 million Americans are covered by the state-federal health program, a million more than when the Trump administration took charge in 2017. Enrollment has jumped by more than 5 million in the past year as the economy slumped with the pandemic.



Medicaid, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” initiative of the 1960s, is an entitlement program in which the government pays each state a certain percentage of the cost of care for anyone eligible for the health coverage. As a result, the more money states spend on Medicaid, the more they get from Washington.



Under the approved demonstration, CMS will work with Tennessee to set spending targets that will increase at a fixed amount each year.



The plan includes a “safety valve” to increase federal funding due to unexpected increases in enrollment.



“The safety valve will maintain Tennessee’s commitment to enroll all eligible Tennesseans with no reduction in today’s benefits for beneficiaries,” CMS said in a statement.



Tennessee has committed to maintaining coverage for eligible beneficiaries and existing services.



In exchange for taking on this financing approach, the state will receive a range of operating flexibilities from the federal government, as well as up to 55% of the savings generated on an annual basis when spending falls below the aggregate spending cap and the state meets certain quality targets, yet to be determined.



The state can spend that money on various health programs for residents, including areas that Medicaid funding typically doesn’t cover, such as improving transportation and education and employment services for enrollees.



The 10-year waiver is unusual, but the Trump administration has approved such long-term experiments in recent years to give states more flexibility.



Tennessee is one of 12 states that have not approved expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving tens of thousands of working adults without health insurance.



“The block grant is just another example of putting politics ahead of health care during this pandemic,” said Johnson of the Tennessee Justice Center. “Now is absolutely not the time to waste our energy and resources limiting who can access health care.”



State officials applauded the approval.



“It’s a legacy accomplishment,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican. “This new flexibility means we can work toward improving maternal health coverage and clearing the waiting list for developmentally disabled.”



“This means we will be able to make additional investments in TennCare without reduction in services and provider cuts
Article written by Phil Galewitz , posted in full and credited to KHN as per their copyright policy.



TLDR:12 days left till kicked out of office. Approves Medicaid block grant "experiment" that equates to cutting Medicaid spending.



This is essentially Ryancare with caveat of tie grant to enrollment numbers. The experts are right.



Ryan is wrong. The US government is not a magical communist power able to predict the demands of US healthcare spending. By capping it as grant, even with the caveat that grant is correlated with enrollment , you especially cutting healthcare whenever you don't get healthcare inflation or spending trends right.





Hey. Remember my post about how Medicaid spending exploded last year in 2020 because of Covid? Remember how Velma 10-17% cuts to Medicare is now enforced because Congress isn't flexible enough to go we need to spend more money during a pandemic that is the no 1 daily killer in the United States?





Yup. Jun 8. 12 more days. And Trump is STILL TRYING TO KILL YOU.



Oh. Did I mention that in theory, the Executive branch DOESNT have the power to do this, hence why this is called an "experiment"? Velma has the power under the ACA, which Trump says is unconstitutional to run such experiments in payment services to improve healthcare outcomes.





So. Yes. Again. This healthcare reform Trump does is done THROUGH Obamacare.



Price transparency. Obamacare.



Drug price control. Obamacare.



For a law which Trump say is unconstitutional and should be removed in entity, he's sure using a LOT of it.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/heal ... -covid.htm


would try to express the gravity of the situation, and the response of the president was always leaning toward, “Well, it’s not that bad, right?” And I would say, “Yes, it is that bad.” It was almost a reflex response, trying to coax you to minimize it. Not saying, “I want you to minimize it,” but, “Oh, really, was it that bad?”



And the other thing that made me really concerned was, it was clear that he was getting input from people who were calling him up, I don’t know who, people he knew from business, saying, “Hey, I heard about this drug, isn’t it great?” or, “Boy, this convalescent plasma is really phenomenal.” And I would try to, you know, calmly explain that you find out if something works by doing an appropriate clinical trial; you get the information, you give it a peer review. And he’d say, “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this stuff really works.”



He would take just as seriously their opinion — based on no data, just anecdote — that something might really be important. It wasn’t just hydroxychloroquine, it was a variety of alternative-medicine-type approaches. It was always, “A guy called me up, a friend of mine from blah, blah, blah.” That’s when my anxiety started to escalate.


Apparently, detergent was only one of the offbrand craziness involved and My pillow Guy was important anti Covid strategist too.



Fauci also insuinated that yes, he was being censored and prevented from talking to the press.



Also. Right wing Nurgle cultists incited by him not being censored and bowing to God Emperor Trump threatening his KIDS!



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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Zaune »

I don't know why I'm surprised that the time he suggested people could treat the virus by mainlining Dettol was only marginally worse than the stuff that happened away from a live mic.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Juubi Karakuchi »

Some curious developments in Europe.
EU threatens to block Covid vaccine exports amid AstraZeneca shortfall
Bloc may receive only half of purchased 100m doses in first quarter of the year
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... -shortfall

Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Mon 25 Jan 2021 18.10 GMT Last modified on Tue 26 Jan 2021 04.36 GMT

The EU has threatened to block exports of coronavirus vaccines to countries outside the bloc such as Britain, after AstraZeneca was accused of failing to give a satisfactory explanation for a huge shortfall of promised doses to member states.

The pharmaceutical company’s new distribution plans were said to be “unacceptable” after it “surprisingly” informed the European commission on Friday that there would be significant shortfalls on the original schedule.

The EU has been due to receive 100m doses in the first quarter of this year. But it is feared that the bloc will only receive half of that despite making large advance purchases ahead of authorisation of the vaccine by the European medicines agency.

In a heated call with AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, on Monday, the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the company must live up to its contractual obligations. The EMA is expected to authorise the vaccine by the end of this week.

Von der Leyen’s spokesperson said: “She made it clear that she expects AstraZeneca to deliver on the contractual arrangements foreseen in the advance purchasing agreement.

“She reminded Mr Soriot that the EU has invested significant amounts in the company up front precisely to ensure that production is ramped up even before the conditional market authorisation is delivered by the European Medicines Agency.

“Of course, production issues can appear with the complex vaccine, but we expect the company to find solutions and to exploit all possible flexibilities to deliver swiftly.”

The EU’s health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, made a televised statement to express her frustration at the company’s behaviour, warning that the answers so far provided had not been satisfactory.

Late on Monday evening following discussions with executives representing the pharmaceutical company, Kyriakides tweeted: “Discussions with AstraZeneca today resulted in dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity and insufficient explanations.

“EU member states are united: vaccine developers have societal and contractual responsibilities they need to uphold.

“With our member states, we have requested from [Astrazeneca] a detailed planning of vaccine deliveries and when distribution will take place to member states. Another meeting will be convened on Wednesday to discuss the matter further.”

The development has raised pressure on the commission just as it is being criticised for the slow rollout of vaccination programmes in EU member states in comparison with the UK and the US.

The UK has administered more than 10 doses per 100 residents but according to data gathered by Airfinity, a London-based life sciences analytics company, the EU has administered just under two doses per 100 residents.

Kyriakides said Brussels would now insist on being notified of any exports of vaccines from EU sites, including that produced by Pfizer on which the UK is reliant on European laboratories for supplies, raising the spectre of export bans.

She said: “You know that AstraZeneca vaccine is currently in the final stages of approval with the European Medicines Agency. If all requirements are met, the European Medicines Agency could recommend market authorisation by the end of this week.

“But there is a problem in the supply side. Last Friday, the company AstraZeneca surprisingly informed the commission and the European Union member states that it intends to supply considerably fewer doses in the coming weeks than agreed and announced.

“This new schedule is not acceptable to the European Union. That is why I wrote a letter to the company at the weekend in which I asked important and serious questions. The European Union has pre-financed the development of the vaccine and its production, and wants to see the return.”

Kyriakides said the EU wanted to “know exactly which doses have been produced where by AstraZeneca so far. And if, or to whom, they have been delivered”.

“These questions were also discussed today in the joint steering board of the commission and the 27 member states with AstraZeneca,” she said. “The answers of the company have not been satisfactory so far. That’s why a second meeting is scheduled for tonight. The European Union wants the order and pre-financed doses to be delivered as soon as possible. And we want our contract to be fully fulfilled”.

The EU has spent €2.7bn (£2.3bn) on the rapid development and production of coronavirus vaccines. Kyriakides said the commission had proposed that the member states agreed on “an export transparency mechanism be put in place, as soon as possible”.

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, gave Berlin’s backing to the commission proposal. “We, as the EU, must be able to know whether and what vaccines are being exported from the EU,” he said. “Only that way can we understand whether our EU contracts with the producers are being served fairly. An obligation to get approval for vaccine exports on the EU level makes sense.”

Astrazeneca said in a statement that the company’s chief executive in his conversation with Von der Leyen had “stressed the importance of working in partnership and how AstraZeneca is doing everything it can to bring its vaccine to millions of Europeans as soon as possible.”
Unless I'm mistaken, this is either a straight-up breach of contract, or lack of transparency; aka, AZ had a problem, but was not honest about it. Also factor in AZ's curious delay in re-applying for an EU license until 12th January.

The other one was Viktor Orban being Viktor Orban.
Hungary breaks ranks with EU to license Russian vaccine
Order of Sputnik V comes after Viktor Orbán criticises slow speed of EU vaccine distribution
Shaun Walker in Budapest
Thu 21 Jan 2021 17.39 GMT Last modified on Thu 21 Jan 2021 18.01 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... -sputnik-v
Strangely this has gotten little media attention, at least in the UK; probably because it disproves a major anti-EU nostrum. Also, I can't help but feel that Orban is taking one hell of a risk. If this goes wrong, he could be in serious trouble.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/si ... s-14094220
SINGAPORE: The Government is “actively monitoring” misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and it “will not hesitate to use the full force of the law” when needed, said Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran on Tuesday (Feb 2).



Over the past year, the Government has responded to more than 60 instances of speculation, rumours, scams and outright falsehoods about the novel coronavirus through a range of actions.


Damn it Talkingcock. Why you shut down? I want to post your Lee Hsien Long as Darth Vader inspecting for SARS pic again!!!





In lieu of that.

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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Looking at the current graphs, it is funny to see that Jan. 6th is actually a turning point. A week later the rise of all graphs slows and then it starts dropping.

Could it be the shock of the riot and subsequent events that stopped a lot of people gathering for protests is the reason for this?
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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It's almost like if people stay away from each other it cuts it down or something...but according to them Quarantine doesn't work
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Also, no occasion for large family gatherings in January. I will be pleasantly surprised if there is no spike following Superbowl Sunday.

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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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New infections should lag a week or two behind events. Jan 6 would be when the whole Christmas/New Year's infections start to decrease.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Raw Shark wrote: 2021-02-05 09:42am Also, no occasion for large family gatherings in January. I will be pleasantly surprised if there is no spike following Superbowl Sunday.
I’m pretty worried about the lunar new year next week. Not least because it causing a superspreader event would be a perfect excuse for the assholes to bring back the anti-Asian “Kung flu” bullshit that has seemed to mercifully die down in recent months.
I had a Bill Maher quote here. But fuck him for his white privelegy "joke".

All the rest? Too long.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101 ... 21250266v1



During the COVID-19 pandemic, working age adults experienced a 22% increase in mortality compared to historical periods. Relative excess mortality was highest in food/agriculture workers (39% increase), transportation/logistics workers (28% increase), facilities (27%) and manufacturing workers (23% increase). Latino Californians experienced a 36% increase in mortality, with a 59% increase among Latino food/agriculture workers.
Not peer reviewed yet but that's kinda....fucked up.



Essentially, we learnt the people who die most are the people who work your farms, pack your meat and deliver your goods. Due to sociology, most of these are Black, Asian,hispanic and other ethnic minorities.



So. 22% excess mortality translates to a significant chunk of ethnic minorities such as blacks dying in their prime or up to young old people. That's a chunk of experience and etc gone from minority populations...



Kinda ... Fucked up ... It's only California but this should be replicable for texas at least
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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I wouldn't be surprised if similar stats came out of Arizona.

I don't know if it is straight up ethnic minorities or if it's because ethnic minorities make up more of the people who may be poorer, working those jobs and/or have more contact with more people either through work or because they are living with more people in their households. Hispanics and Native Americans have proportionately taking a large hit here in Arizona.

Arizona Board of Health: Demographic map
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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PainRack wrote: 2021-02-06 07:41am

So. 22% excess mortality translates to a significant chunk of ethnic minorities such as blacks dying in their prime or up to young old people. That's a chunk of experience and etc gone from minority populations...

Yes and No, it's an increase in base mortality, the number or people dying in their prime is low as a base so a large proportional increase can mean a low absolute increase. Obviously the base rate will increase when you got to the 50s and the like but this isn't probably a significant chunk.

It's still obviously not great.

More frequent interactions with others may explain the higher infection rate.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Bedlam wrote: 2021-02-06 01:04pm
PainRack wrote: 2021-02-06 07:41am

So. 22% excess mortality translates to a significant chunk of ethnic minorities such as blacks dying in their prime or up to young old people. That's a chunk of experience and etc gone from minority populations...

Yes and No, it's an increase in base mortality, the number or people dying in their prime is low as a base so a large proportional increase can mean a low absolute increase. Obviously the base rate will increase when you got to the 50s and the like but this isn't probably a significant chunk.

It's still obviously not great.

More frequent interactions with others may explain the higher infection rate.
This a bit complex but essentially, blacks in particular already have a higher mortality rate compared to whites for adults. In comparison with whites, this rise is more devastating.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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A good friend just lost her dad to Covid today, on her birthday. :(

I am double-masking, because of the travel. I can't isolate like I'd prefer, because I have to go to the post office, I have to go to the grocery store. I just don't have a choice. All I can do is double-up on my precautions.
If I didn't do the errands, my mom would have to. Of the two of us, I'd rather risk my own life.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

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Covid-19: The 'edge' cases and when transmission gets weird
EXPLAINER: Much of the rest of the world is, or has been, overwhelmed with community transmission of Covid-19. We don’t have that here, so we’re seeing some weird “edge” cases of the virus. Keith Lynch explains.

What are edge cases?
Covid-19 is typically spread from person to person, via droplets (typically from a sneeze or cough).

The virus can also be passed on via aerosols or microdroplets, again released by a sick person. This is seen as a different method, as particles hang in the air for much longer.

An infected person may also touch an object or surface and deposit viral particles, which go on to make someone else sick. This was a huge concern at the start of the pandemic but is now thought be rare.

New Zealand’s Covid-19 regime has made person-to-person transmission unlikely. People arrive in the country and are isolated in MIQ facilities, border workers are regularly tested, there are safeguards in place.

Yet, the virus is still leaking out.

The other forms of transmission appear to be causing the “edge” cases we’re seeing, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been keen to point out.

These forms of transmission are, of course, likely still happening around the world. But in countries where regular or airborne transmission is so prevalent they don’t have time to look, and have so many cases it really doesn’t matter.

“What we are seeing [here in New Zealand] is the virus spreading through human error, or through holes in our system, or through these very rare events,’’ says Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles​.

Covid-19 finds a way
Firstly the R (or Reproduction) number is the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to.

The flu has an R value of about 1.3. If there were no restrictions in place, Covid-19’s R number is about 2.5. Worryingly, the more infectious UK variant has an R value of about 3.75 (again, assuming there are no restrictions in place).

This virus gets around. There have been more than 110 million confirmed cases since the virus emerged late last year. There are a lot of infected people out there. A lot of infected people arrive in New Zealand.

Just because a form of transmission is very rare doesn't mean it won’t happen, Professor Mick Roberts​, Professor in Mathematical Biology at Massey University says.

Give me some edge case examples
We’ve had a man who may have caught Covid-19 from being in a lift. We’ve had a case where a rubbish bin may have helped transmit the disease. We still don’t know what caused the mystery Auckland August cluster that infected more than 170 people. We don’t know how a soldier at a quarantine hotel caught Covid-19. We don’t know how it was passed on to a student in the central city.

This week Auckland went into lockdown after three family members contracted Covid-19. The mother worked at a business that supports airlines. She worked in the laundry department, but she is also involved in packing and preparing meals. We don’t know the origin of the outbreak.

It’s even been reported poop clouds could spread the virus, and research out of China found you may be able to catch it from the neighbour’s toilet.

Last year’s Auckland August cluster remains a total mystery. The Government has seemingly ruled out the possiblity of the virus arriving via frozen goods or food.

Wiles says the virus has been found on frozen goods around the world, but questions remain: Is it viable? Could the virus still be infectious? Or is just debris (the equivalent of a Covid-19 corpse).

In China, for example, authorities are worried about the virus spreading via frozen food packaging and have put restrictions in place.

Geoff Willmott​, Associate Professor of Physics and Chemistry, University of Auckland, says recent studies have shown the virus can typically survive on surfaces for two to four days, and up to three to four weeks in some extreme experiments.

Some of our unusual cases may well remain unsolved, Roberts says, and while we may suspect an exotic type of transmission some of our cases may have a much more simple explanation.

“There could well be face to face transmission someone has forgotten about.’’

We have time to look
New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and China (countries with no, or minimal, community transmission) have the chance to learn more learn about the unusual ways the virus spreads, says Wiles​.

Every community case is examined in great detail here. Simply put, we have the time to look for the weird stuff.

'’There's room for us to look as we have so few other cases. When I talk to colleagues in the UK, they're amazed by how much investigation we can do,'’ says Roberts.

We’ve also added tools to our arsenal over time. We have genome testing that allow us to trace the source of an outbreak to cases both here and overseas. Our contract tracing isn’t overwhelmed and can forensically examine the spread of a case.

“Every outbreak we have, we have an opportunity to assess our tools and add to them. Now we’re looking at saliva testing and sewerage testing, and going forward these are two new things that will be added to the toolbox,’’ Wiles says.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by FireNexus »

I didn’t see a thread specifically about the stimulus, but there are some eye-raising provisions. It eliminates the major political roadblock to mass student loan forgiveness by executive fiat (the forgiven is no longer taxable income). It pays of the farms loans of people of color outright (including maybe paying off the loans of my partner’s parents and brothers, significantly raising the likelihood of us getting a free house from her parents). The child tax benefit is HUGE.

I would like a $15/min wage, and the “$2000 checks” thing from the people whose policy was put into the Bill still gets on my nerves... But this is a really good fucking law.
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All the rest? Too long.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by PainRack »

When Biden took office, the vaccine rollout program has vaccinated 20 million people in 2 months and was a shambles, without supplies, staff, funding and direction.

Biden rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Less than 60 days later, 100 million shots has been delivered and the US is now on an average of 2.4 million doses given daily, highest in the known world.


A HUGE massive difference between incompetence and just sheer work.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by EnterpriseSovereign »

For a while there was a concern that the AstraZeneca vaccine had an extremely small chance of causing blood clots as a side effect, which caused a pause of a few days rolling out to the rest of Europe while this was examined, though that's looking like a knee-jerk reaction since there's no evidence backing these claims.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Ralin »

EnterpriseSovereign wrote: 2021-03-18 02:36pm For a while there was a concern that the AstraZeneca vaccine had an extremely small chance of causing blood clots as a side effect, which caused a pause of a few days rolling out to the rest of Europe while this was examined, though that's looking like a knee-jerk reaction since there's no evidence backing these claims.
I saw a few tweets to the effect that it has about the same chance of causing blood clots as the birth control pill.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by Broomstick »

Ralin wrote: 2021-03-18 08:53pm I saw a few tweets to the effect that it has about the same chance of causing blood clots as the birth control pill.
Which is a thing, to the point that there are women who are told to NOT take it because of that risk. Since the risk factors were worked out the incidence of those events has become very, very small, which is a good thing.

Latest I've heard about the AZ jab, from Ireland's National Public Health Emergency Team, is that AZ's vaccine does not make blood clots more likely, but if a blood clot does occur it will be more severe.

The European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee has determined that the rate of blood clots post-AZ vaccine are no greater than in non-vaccinated people, but when they do occur they be of a rare sort.

It still remains that Covid-19 itself is associated with an increased risk of blood clots, so that getting actual covid is still more of a risk for getting blood clots than getting vaccinated.

That said, there probably are people who shouldn't get the AZ vaccine based on their medical history, just as there are people who shouldn't get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines (people with PEG allergies, for example). The truth is that every vaccine has adverse events and given that we're trying to vaccinate the entire world in a year, more or less, even rare events are going to show up multiple times because that's how statistics work.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by aerius »

Norwegian doctors on the blood clots
https://sciencenorway.no/covid19/norweg ... ne/1830510
Norwegian experts say deadly blood clots were caused by the AstraZeneca covid vaccine
“Our theory that this is a powerful immune response most likely triggered by the vaccine, has been confirmed”, says professor and chief physician Pål Andre Holme. Three Norwegian health workers under the age of 50 have been hospitalized. One is dead.

Ida Irene Bergstrøm Journalist
thursday 18. mars 2021 - 12:03

“The reason for the condition of our patients has been found”, chief physician and professor Pål Andre Holme announced to Norwegian national newspaper VG today.

Holme led the work to find out why three health workers under the age of 50 were hospitalized with serious blood clots and low levels of blood platelets after having taken the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. One of the health workers died on Monday.

The experts have worked on a theory that it was in fact the vaccine which triggered and unexpected and powerful immune response - a theory they now believe they have confirmed.

“Our theory that this is a powerful immune response which most likely was caused by the vaccine has been found. In collaboration with experts in the field from the University Hospital of North Norway HF, we have found specific antibodies against blood platelets that can cause these reactions, and which we know from other fields of medicine, but then with medical drugs as the cause of the reaction”, the chief physician explains to VG.

"Nothing but the vaccine can explain why"

When asked to clarify why he says “most likely” in the quote, Holme confidently responds that the reason for these rare cases of blood clots has been found.

“We have the reason. Nothing but the vaccine can explain why these individuals had this immune response”, he states.

VG also asks how Holme can know that the immune response is not caused by something other than the vaccine.

“There is nothing in the patient history of these individuals that can give such a powerful immune response. I am confident that the antibodies that we have found are the cause, and I see no other explanation than it being the vaccine which triggers it”, he responds.

The three affected health workers all came into the hospital with a very rare condition:

They had acute pain
They had blood clots in unusual places, such as their stomachs and brains
In addition, they had bleedings and low levels of platelets

EMA expected to conclude later today

The Norwegian Medicines Agency does not wish to comment on the conclusions from Oslo University Hospital.

"We have to look at the results first, I don't want to comment on this now", says Medical Director Steinar Madsen to NTB, The Norwegian News Agency.

The Safety Committee of the European Medicines Agency are expected to conclude on the matter later today, and Madsen says he awaits their results.

AstraZeneca also declines to comment the conclusion of the Norwegian experts.

"We await the decisions of the EMA later today before we will comment on this", Media Relations Director Christina Malmberg Hägerstrand says to NTB.
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Re: COVID-19 ongoing thread part 2

Post by PainRack »

It's time for the monthly Western media blame China for covering up Covid!!!



https://youtu.be/ma05Nsd4YTU




I'm going to summarize their points by essentially rebutting it.



1. 17th Jan admission, sample taken 24, result available 30th Jan. This RESULT DATE ON 30th is ALWAYS omitted for some fucking reason, allowing viewers to go China didn't inform the world for weeks.



2. China informed the media and then WHO got their news from media.... On the first day. We know from the WHO complaints itself that they felt they were receiving information too slowly, because the local media was informed first and then they got notified... Daily.....

Is this a fuckup? Arguably yes. But it's not a coverup since daily briefings.



3. Which segues into the Wuhan residents didn't know. Errr. Wet market closed on Jan 1,public notification which WHO found out, big news and then daily briefings by Jan 11 onwards.....





4. I'm sick and tired of having to repeat that Wuhan determined Covid to be severely pathogenic and slapped a BSL4 status on it, thus requiring all other labs without BSL4 status to destroy it, a routine safety practice we do for stuff like Ebola.

Its also misleading to go please CC us before you publish so we know everything, especially with Selma of CMS Trump going we send in the National Guard to seize the reporting data of Covid damn it but hey it's the BBC.. well, technically, it's Caixin but shrugs. Do your fucking homework beebs.



5. Lastly. Zhang.



Now. There IS a potential beef here. The argument has been made that the Chinese wanted their state lab to publish the full sequence first.



But BBC here claims China prevented Zhang from publishing until brave Holmes, a western man convinced him to.



Errr. Let's look at Zhang own words instead of an AP reporter.



https://time.com/5882918/zhang-yongzhen ... us-genome/




Maybe they couldn’t understand how we obtained the genome sequence so fast,” says Zhang. “Maybe they didn’t fully believe our genome. So, I think it’s normal for the authorities to check our lab, our protocols.”





And, in fact, Zhang insists he first uploaded the genome to the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on Jan. 5—an assertion corroborated by the submission date listed on the U.S government institution’s Genbank. “When we posted the genome on Jan. 5, the United States certainly knew about this virus,” he says. But it can take days or even weeks for the NCBI to look at a submission, and given the gravity of the situation and buoyed by the urging of colleagues, Zhang chose to expedite its release to the public, by publishing it online. (Approached by TIME, Holmes deferred to Zhang’s version of events.) It’s a decision that facilitated the swift development of testing kits, as well as the early discussion of antivirals and possible vaccines.


Oh. Times, who here is going China is slow by 2 weeks and quoting Zhang outright rebuts BBC.



Now. It's true Zhang isn't cited in the official timeline.



http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-0 ... 951662.htm



But neither was the State sequencing either.



But is he not acclaimed in China?



Google. Tell me your first result.



http://www.sklid.cn/index.php?s=/Home/I ... fo/id/181/



That his article, detailing his discovery with Edward Holmes, on...State Key Laboratory blah blah blah.





Hmm.. but that just an official scientific body.



Google.



https://finance.sina.cn/2020-03-29/deta ... l?from=wap



Here's Sina news talking about how he was the first discoverer of Covid genetics. But that's not state news.i mean, Sina is a corporation.



Google.please add China daily into the search.



https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202002/2 ... a2f8f.html



So, reporting in Feb Zhang as the discoverer of Covid 19.





Geez.



How fun. BBC. Can you PLEASE stop making fake news AND trying to help Trump and QAnon? Thank you.
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