[COVID NEWS] The Clearest Sign the Pandemic Could Get Worse

By artappraiser on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:16pm |

Covid hospitalizations are up 45% in Michigan from their Feb 25 low. Here's the whole story at @TheAtlantic https://t.co/WP1mZACEXT
— Erin Kissane (@kissane) March 19, 2021

Previous COVID NEWS thread HERE, covering 3/11 thru earlier today, 3/18 (including important last piece on Long- Term Covid effects becoming a major long-term problem)

URL:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/michigan-covid-19-coronavirus-outbreak/618332/

12155 reads

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The situation in Michigan looks really alarming right now, so we pulled together an analysis using federal data. https://t.co/wTwx03nkeq
— Erin Kissane (@kissane) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:18pm

“While vaccines are intuitively very valuable, the numbers are mind-boggling. The value of three billion courses of annual vaccine capacity—enough to vaccinate rich countries by the end of 2021 and the world by the end of 2022—is $17.4 trillion” https://t.co/h2IyfE7Saf
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 10:28pm

an exclusive that's worth noting the headline even if behind paywall, clearly a lot of us may be dealing with this problem soon:

Exclusive: The manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines is disrupting supplies of other critical medicines in the US. Pfizer has told US hospitals to expect interruptions to supplies of four of its products — an antibiotic, a steroid and two types of testosterone https://t.co/suvsduv9GZ pic.twitter.com/PvQdZEz5LL
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 3:16pm

I told @jbarro that sometime in June, we'll have so much vaccine that you can walk in and get a shot at CVS

Or get a shot at your doctor's office when there for something else

And that ubiquitous availability will help lower the barrier for many to get the shot

Which is good https://t.co/Ul3Lu9s9IB
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 3:23pm

Florida has introduced a mandatory $500 fine for anyone caught trying to figure out state’s actual death toll numbers. https://t.co/xdJFfCAqz8 pic.twitter.com/ZvryKHBwOz
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 6:41pm

B117 variant is now *dominant* in the US. I’m 99% certain that another surge is on the way in April or May. Why? The more contagious #B117 is surging—now crossed the 50% threshold of all cases, in addition to pockets of others variants. #COVID19 https://t.co/02Q7lcSn1E pic.twitter.com/gAwi2OGTTy
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 20, 2021

the WaPo op-ed he cites is by Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health

he concurs with added info. in his thread

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 8:39pm

wow, just wow, kind of amazing numbers (they be fighting "covid" on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the streets and fields...keeping calm and carrying on)

I think we've discovered the holy grail of public health messaging - get the French and Germans to do the opposite. https://t.co/RHqKmVpiVF
— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) March 20, 2021

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/20/2021 - 5:51pm

A chorus that the vaccines are a miracle, lucky stars

The huge success of the initial vaccines, both the speed in developing them and their very high efficacy, has to be in like the 95th percentile of reasonable expectations, right? For as much as has gone wrong on COVID without those great vaccines it could be very much worse.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 20, 2021

Yuphttps://t.co/FI7lPJG3iq
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 20, 2021

Yup. Flu shot level efficacy was a reasonable assumption. And maybe a month could have been shaved off development but clearly it went about as quickly as is humanly possible.
— Ed MD (@notdred) March 20, 2021

Absolutely what Nate said

None of us expected vaccines this good

In an August conversation with Tony Fauci -- we both said we'd be thrilled with a 60-70% effective vaccine

Their arrival by December, our ability to make so many so quickly is the unexpected pandemic life saver https://t.co/Zi5l2HHeRu
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) March 21, 2021

Yes. https://t.co/l6nHO65t5e
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 21, 2021

by artappraiser on Sun, 03/21/2021 - 1:11am

WHO says report on COVID-19 origins may be released next week https://t.co/5gkB1DHWST pic.twitter.com/4NDT45gap0
— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/22/2021 - 3:13am

IF FAUCI WANTED TO SKEWER RAND PAUL

By NCD on Thu, 03/18/2021 - 9:24pm |

Rand Paul to Fauci:

“You’re telling everybody to wear a mask, whether they’ve had an infection or a vaccine,” Paul said. “What I’m saying is: They have immunity, and everybody agrees they have immunity. What studies do you have that people that have had the vaccine or have had the infection are spreading the infection? If we’re not spreading the infection, isn’t it just theater? … You’ve had the vaccine, and you’re wearing two masks. Is that just theater?”

Fauci could have said:

"You are the expert on theater, Senator, I am a scientist. Theater won't save the lives of Americans, facts and science will."

Rand Paul to Fauci:

“You’ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show. You can’t get it again,” Paul said. “There’s virtually 0% chance you’re going to get it and you’re telling people that have had the vaccine who have immunity — you’re defying everything we know about immunity by telling people to wear masks who have been vaccinated.”

Fauci responds:

"I've been in immunology for 42 years, what I know about immunity and what you know cannot be described as what "we" know."

Rand Paul displays his expertise, 2014 on Ebola, and Obama sending US Navy construction crews to help in Africa, Paul compares the US Navy to Carnival Cruise Lines:

Paul said last week that he feared troops in West Africa could spread the disease into the U.S., where one patient has already been diagnosed with Ebola.

“If you’ve ever been on a Carnival cruise line and seen a virus spread on a Carnival cruise line, imagine what it’d be like on our military ships,” Paul told conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, dismissed Paul’s concern during an interview with “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“I'm sorry, but that's really not a concern,” Fauci said.

(moved to make room for Proud Boys to left)

by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 03/22/2021 - 7:28am

BREAKING—“A new pandemic”—Germany announces strict Easter lockdown. "What we have is essentially a new pandemic," Merkel said. The new variant #B117 is "significantly more deadly, significantly more infectious."

I’ve warned a new #COVID19 wave coming. https://t.co/4Vqx2tvK5V pic.twitter.com/PesfWvYZYz
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 23, 2021

2) “German federal and state leaders have agreed on a radical shutdown over the Easter holidays.
Germany is extending the current lockdown through to April 18, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Tuesday.
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 23, 2021

3) “The country will enter an even stricter lockdown from April 1 to April 5, over the Easter holiday period when shops, including grocery stores, will largely have to close.
Talks between leaders of 16 federal states and Merkel lasted until the early hours of the morning”
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 23, 2021

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/22/2021 - 11:35pm

National U.S. publications and TV networks cover Covid news much more negatively than foreign media, scientific journals or regional media within the U.S.

Is it the Pfizer vaccine results that's the inflection point here—when COVID media coverage begins to become less negative—or is it the presidential election on 11/3? Hard to tell but if anything, the election would seem to line up slightly better with this data. https://t.co/nakOHeDJ8G
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 24, 2021

Great question. Two points:

1) The researchers say that the negativity spans outlets with conservative audiences and liberal ones. So it doesn't seem to be a simple Trump story.

2) The vaccine news arguably started to become clear in Oct., before the Nov. 9 announcement. https://t.co/TE2e03Ib7F
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) March 24, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/25/2021 - 12:47am

a little brown pill:

COVID PILL: Drugmakers are looking to add to the arsenal of potential Covid-19 therapies — and Merck’s molnupiravir is among the furthest along. Its developers hope the pills can be prescribed widely to anyone who gets sick. @rileyraygriffin has more https://t.co/7p6aYPTUcs pic.twitter.com/A3oAX0s10q
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 25, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/26/2021 - 4:20pm

PAY ATTENTION—There is one crisis we all needs to pay attention to—and that is the unprecedented Brazil surge of the #P1 variant, overloaded hospitals, & sharp mortality spike. If more contagious #P1 out of control worldwide, we are all endangered. #SOSBrazil #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/GYSRobnUFk
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 21, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/26/2021 - 11:03pm

The Navajo Nation has crushed the curve with an impressive vaccination campaign: 57% received at least 1 dose (compared to 26% of the US population), maintained a mask mandate and continues to provide free masks and hand sanitizer and to discourage travel. Result: No cases. 19/ pic.twitter.com/n2QT4kU7uz
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) March 27, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/26/2021 - 11:41pm

country list:

Coronavirus vaccine doses given per 100 people

Israel: 114
UAE: 78
Chile: 49
UK: 46
US: 40
Turkey: 16
Norway: 15
Spain: 14
Italy: 14
Germany: 14
France: 13.8
Canada: 12.1
Saudi: 10.9
Brazil: 7.7
Russia: 7.2
China: 6.3
Mexico: 4.8
India: 4
Indonesia: 3.5

(Our World in Data)
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) March 27, 2021

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/26/2021 - 11:43pm

Here we go >

WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials are anticipating the supply of coronavirus vaccine to outstrip U.S. demand by mid-May if not sooner, and are grappling with what to do with looming surpluses when vaccine scarcity turns to glut. https://t.co/DBbtoxz5KH
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) March 27, 2021

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/27/2021 - 1:13pm

Dear descendants of Deborah Birx reading this in a digital archive: Understand that she was so afraid of mean tweets from Trump or unflattering @FoxNews coverage that she became the public face of policies that murdered hundreds of thousands of Americans. Don't be like her! https://t.co/b9R6ZUML1I
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) March 27, 2021

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/27/2021 - 2:03pm

would be a very big deal; less so if you consider this a "world war" situation:

BREAKING: White House reviews whether to lift intellectual property shield on Covid-19 vaccines - sources (via @kaylatausche) https://t.co/fVonU51jAf
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) March 26, 2021

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/27/2021 - 2:10pm

BREAKING—Mexico's government is acknowledging in a quietly released report that the country's true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands above 321,000. That is almost 60% more than Mexico’s official test-confirmed number #COVID19 cases.https://t.co/mTF2MllhRN pic.twitter.com/wqxTrIvX9c
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 28, 2021

by artappraiser on Sun, 03/28/2021 - 3:20am

missed this, interesting-Krugman's March 18 column on Europe's vaccine problem, thinks it highlights the flaws of their system:

Paul Krugman(!) makes the argument that this vaccine crisis in Europe is European by its very nature.

The strong bureaucratic interplay, the aversion to any companies making too much profit, the anti-science attitudes the permeate the populace.https://t.co/qjIBjuPuuz
— shishir (@life_of_shishir) March 19, 2021

by artappraiser on Sun, 03/28/2021 - 3:35am

"The UK will be sitting on enough surplus vaccine doses to vaccinate the world's frontline health workers twice over."
Covid: Boris Johnson urged to share vaccines with poorer nations https://t.co/yjcUG80Z1P
— Mark Baxter #3.5% (@badgerspark) March 28, 2021

by artappraiser on Sun, 03/28/2021 - 3:36am

Important News:

President Biden plans to announce that by April 19, 90% of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for COVID vaccinations and 90% will have a vaccination site within 5 miles of where they live.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 29, 2021

The President will also announce that his administration is increasing the number of pharmacies in the federal pharmacy vaccination program from 17,000 to nearly 40,000 across the country and will set up a dozen more mass vaccination sites by April 19.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 29, 2021

Incredible. Thank God for this administration!
— Victoria Stilwell (@VictoriaS) March 29, 2021

Biden announcing live on CNN TV right now, so it should be online as well

Vice President Harris and I just wrapped up a COVID-19 briefing. Tune in as I give an update on our response to the virus and the state of vaccinations. https://t.co/eAex72VFDH
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 29, 2021

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/29/2021 - 2:31pm

Pres Biden is urging ppl be more vigilant w/ COVID.

He says: "Reckless" behavior seen on TV needs to stop. People are letting up on pre-cautions and that is a "very bad thing." The failure to take this virus seriously is precisely what got us in this mess in the first place.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 29, 2021

her last line should be in quotes, too, I heard him say that.

He praised the country profusely but also people have to fight to the finish, don't let up now, i.e., we're so close

Pres Biden is urging ppl be more vigilant w/ COVID.

He says: "Reckless" behavior seen on TV needs to stop. People are letting up on pre-cautions and that is a "very bad thing." The failure to take this virus seriously is precisely what got us in this mess in the first place.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 29, 2021

Last thing as he was out the door was a reporter asked something along the lines of "do you think some states should back down on reopening?" He answered succinctly: YES.

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/29/2021 - 2:37pm

Michael Bennett, Small-Town Doctor Who Pushed for Masks, Dies at 52

His death leaves only one family physician in Greenfield, Mo. He died of complications of Covid-19.

By Richard Sandomir @ NYTimes.com, March 26, 2021

Caption: Dr. Michael Bennett hunted, fished and owned a farm, which helped him connect with his rural patients.Credit...via Bennett family

This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

For the past 15 years, there were only two family physicians in Greenfield, Mo., a town with 1,371 residents about 40 miles northwest of Springfield. One of them was Dr. Michael Bennett, who opened his practice, the Greenfield Medical Center, in 2005.

He was a vigorous proponent of wearing masks and of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, though he faced resistance to his calls from some townspeople, and he offered free Covid-19 testing to his patients with funding help from the federal C.A.R.E.S. Act.

Dr. Bennet took precautions in treating infected patients but nevertheless tested positive for the coronavirus in late December. He was soon hospitalized in St. Louis and spent 50 days connected to a ventilator and an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a machine that acts as an artificial lung. He died of Covid-19 on March 6, his former wife, Teresa Bennett, said. He was 52.

Since the start of the pandemic, Dade County, Mo., where Greenfield is situated, has recorded 715 positive tests and 31 deaths, most of the fatalities nursing home residents, according to Pamela Cramer, the administrator of the county health department. “It’s really hit us, but not as hard as other areas,” she said on Wednesday [....]

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/29/2021 - 9:35pm

In 24 odds are high there will be a strong faction of GOP prez candidates competing to be most hostile to lockdowns & other public health measures. R’s will face great pressure to argue that blue state governors & Biden overreacted. If virus is tamed, that will be a tough case https://t.co/gfF2064Pnq
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 12:52am

NY state just lowered the age to all adults 30+

Good morning New York! New Yorkers age 30+ are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines.

Schedule your vaccine appointment today: https://t.co/spby6t5ifO #VaccinateNY pic.twitter.com/okkmnWsJ8i
— State of New York (@NYGov) March 30, 2021

NYC still always having trouble having enough supply for the demand when they lower the age;

Less than an hour after I became eligible, I found an appointment to get the #vaccine (Pfizer) this Friday! Second dose three weeks later. I’m sooo excited! #VaccinateNY #COVID19Vaccine pic.twitter.com/KB4jK4kFgl
— Don (not the twice impeached one) (@reallyDonB) March 30, 2021

20-somethings in New York right now #VaccinateNY pic.twitter.com/Myr701ix7Z
— Erica Atkins (@ericalynn25) March 29, 2021

Let the Hunger Games begin (for the 30+ in NY) #VaccinateNY pic.twitter.com/l6Ibubmde3
— Alyssa Conroy (@alyssaconroy) March 30, 2021

but they are nonetheless going to 16+ only a week from now!

ATTN NEW YORK: Adults age 30+ are eligible to schedule and receive the vaccine starting tomorrow.

New Yorkers 16+ are eligible for the vaccine starting April 6th.

More here: https://t.co/Zx4Y9SmW9I #VaccinateNY
— Kathy Hochul (@LtGovHochulNY) March 29, 2021

Keep the goal simple and the military can do:

100,000 doses administered at the York College mass vaxx site!

Congratulations & thank you to our Navy & Coast Guard personnel and medical staff for their dedication. #VaccinateNY pic.twitter.com/8aztDgnMGs
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 3:04pm

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia says a vaccine passport, which the Biden administration says is not the government’s place to create, is ‘Biden’s Mark of the Beast’ and any company the requires a vaccine passport is engaging in ‘corporate communism’ (Twitter trending link)

As someone who grew up with lots of Evangelical eschatology: this is incorrect. Your social security number is obviously the mark of the beast. https://t.co/1PON5jP6Su
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) March 30, 2021

Well, doh, Qanon eschatology differs from conservative evangelical!

And hello, a reminder that there's been vaccine passports for a very long time for those who like to really get around the world, way before Covid; they're yellow:

Are people against vaccine passports for international travel or is it just about domestic stuff?

Because I’ve had to carry proof of a yellow fever vaccination for years in order to travel through most of Africa so this is nothing new.

It looks like this... pic.twitter.com/Tsgiq0ecTu
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 3:18pm

South African citizens sound off about incompetent government thread:

Watch them blame us when they've failed to vaccinate population.

Ghana did 600 000 in 2 weeks. Your government is gonna tell you about a third wave and alcohol being a problem when they've failed at doing their jobs. I hate it here. I fucking hate it here.
— Steel Magnolia (@Jaxx_Amahle) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 3:27pm

Dr. Scott Gottlieb retweeted, is simpatico with Gov. Whitmer's criticism of Biden vaccine distribution:

Whitmer appealed to the White House to shift from a strict population-based formula for vaccine allocation and instead surge doses to hot spots, an idea backed by @ScottGottliebMD, among others.

White House said states should work with what they've got. https://t.co/7kaGd4Jin7
— Isaac Stanley-Becker (@isaacstanbecker) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 6:44pm

This approach makes sense, especially if all states were approaching the problem with their populations taking it equally seriously.

On the other hand, the hot spots are directly a function of the density of morons per square foot.

*moat considers lighting up a Camel after decades of not smoking to increase eligibility.*

by moat on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 7:57pm

wow moat I didn't even know they made Camels anymore, I had to look it up. A vaccination is worth $12 a pack to you? every real longtime smoker I know goes and buys no-tax Senecas on the "Indian reservation" out on Long Island.

I sense spin and lack of desire to do the real hard work. You can't be under 30, you've been on Dagblog longer than that, and as per my comment upthread, you now quality. Get your ass moving on those signup websites, keep refreshing, it's like playing the slots, you have to keep at it to win.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 11:34pm

Busted. I am 64.
My wife and I worked two computers simultaneously refreshing different sites and we will now get our bleach injections on our wedding anniversary.

I will hold off on smoking until they start assigning draft numbers again.

by moat on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 7:24am

Will you still bleed me, infuse & re-breed me,

when I'm 64?

Operators standing by.

by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 8:52am

I tried calling but it is another bait and switch outfit.

I asked for compression socks but they are only selling Canadian Viagra.

by moat on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 12:15pm

Viagra Falls is kinda a contradiction.

by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 1:43pm

JUST DO IT!

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky: “Our data from the CDC today suggest that vaccinated people do not carry the virus.” pic.twitter.com/9W1SHecSEm
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 8:02pm

anecdotal supporting the idea that most people ("the silent majority") still have the common sense to be ascared, even baseball fans in Texas:

The assumption the only thing holding back "normal" behaviors is governmental restrictions is wrong. It's far more complex, which is why many will continue to distance, wear masks and seek out less crowded venues well after restrictions are lifted. https://t.co/rXvIHKzan3
— Scott Stulen (@middlewest) March 31, 2021

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 11:46pm

a major reason a lot of p.o.c are not getting vaccinated turns out to be the same reason low-income whites aren't: because they are low education people, don't pay that much attention, not information consumers, they are people who don't even have any awareness that they qualify to be vaccinated. (Like this: is medical shit and they don't do that either, don't go to doctors; why bother, it's going to end up costing you something and it probably won't help; where would I even start if I was going to; if I had a relative that would know, I would ask him/her, but I don't; etc. Latinos worse on that front than blacks!):

Vaccine hesitancy is one big problem.

Vaccine eligibility confusion is another problem.

More than a third of several groups say they have no idea if they're eligible for a shot right now:

Latinos: 45%
Less than $40k: 37%
Black Americans: 36%
No college: 35% https://t.co/EAC2wKO5ON
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 8:35pm

make something, anything, have complicated rules of any kind, there's lots of people that just won't do it then! they'll just not even bother if someone tries to help; if it's complicated, fuggedaboutit:

I guess it's a moot point as states expand eligibility to everyone, but about 30% of people *don't know whether they're eligible for the vaccine*, with the rates higher for more disadvantaged groups. There's downside to complicated eligibility rules.https://t.co/1OvzGZU0Wk pic.twitter.com/KkjpwC7jHv
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 30, 2021

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 8:44pm

Twitter is full of loathing for Deborah Birx. The prevailing view is that she lacked Fauci's courage, failed to tell the truth about COVID, collaborated in Trump's lies, and should have quit.

The prevailing view is wrong. Dead wrong. https://t.co/dLZfoxNUrd
— Will Saletan (@saletan) April 1, 2021

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/31/2021 - 9:11pm

[COVID NEWS] The Clearest Sign the Pandemic Could Get Worse

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