Covid-19

[Tracker]

FYI: The WHO today reported that the actual death toll from COVID is close to 15 million, not counting those others who died from other causes due to no capacity in their healthcare system because of COVID patients filling up the system.

[bustamente]

12 minutes ago, Tracker said:

FYI: The WHO today reported that the actual death toll from COVID is close to 15 million, not counting those others who died from other causes due to no capacity in their healthcare system because of COVID patients filling up the system.

In all probability the un official numbers are even higher than that

[Bigblue204]

28 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

Also, Joe Rogan is a meathead and we still don't have any proof that he actually had COVID.

Do we need proof?

[Tracker]

21 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Do we need proof?

He has made a very profitable career out of it by bilking the rubes.

[Mark H.]

1 hour ago, Wideleft said:

Anyone who has been paying the least bit of attention knows this.  The reality is that people were taking actual horse de-wormer to prevent/treat COVID-19.  

Anything that followed this post in this thread just convolutes the history of this conspiracy theory.  People making excuses for Rogan and blaming media just seem reluctant to stick to the facts at hand.  I really don't understand why that is so hard.

Also, Joe Rogan is a meathead and we still don't have any proof that he actually had COVID.

Absolutely.  People would pretend to be horse owners in order to get their hands on it

It's also relatively simple to acquire Ivermectin for 'human consumption.'  You can order it online without a prescription, if you know where to go

And people certainly did that. 

[Mark H.]

My beef with the media and by extension public health, is the way things were reported

There was a new Covid study reported in the media literally EVERY DAY

Too Much Information - has been a huge problem during the pandemic

People started the ignore the Science, because quite frankly, one study or one article often contradicted another one

That happened because Science is fluid, which is exactly why not all of it should end up in the media

[Noeller]

People started to ignore the science because it disagreed with their opinion. Yes there was lots of info, but the science is constantly changing and public health was/is trying to keep on top of all the latest. I'm not the smartest guy out there, but I appreciate having the latest info always. I trust our public health officers and completely understand the difficult job they've had. 

[Mark H.]

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

People started to ignore the science because it disagreed with their opinion. Yes there was lots of info, but the science is constantly changing and public health was/is trying to keep on top of all the latest. I'm not the smartest guy out there, but I appreciate having the latest info always. I trust our public health officers and completely understand the difficult job they've had. 

The flip-flopping on masks led to people only wearing them because they would get a fine otherwise.  Just look at how many are no longer wearing them.

When I got my second jab, people were lined all the way to the parking lot to get Pfizer, while in the Moderna line there was myself and maybe three other people. 

These things are not just the result of personal opinion.  The media and the messaging had an impact. 

[Bigblue204]

19 minutes ago, Noeller said:

People started to ignore the science because it disagreed with their opinion. Yes there was lots of info, but the science is constantly changing and public health was/is trying to keep on top of all the latest. I'm not the smartest guy out there, but I appreciate having the latest info always. I trust our public health officers and completely understand the difficult job they've had. 

I had at least one buddy who is more conspiracy minded then the rest, and he constantly used the changing science as proof of a conspiracy/public health not knowing what is going on. It's actually pretty common now for people to not understand what the scientific process means/is. 

[Noeller]

Society is full of morons? Tell me more.... 

[Tracker]

Why This 'Very, Very Contagious' Coronavirus Subvariant Is Causing Cases To Rise Again

The omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 is poised to be the next dominant strain in the U.S. Mutations appear to have helped it replicate better and resist prior immunity.
After a weeks-long plateau, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are once again rising in the U.S. as a new, highly transmissible omicron subvariant rapidly makes its way toward becoming the next dominant virus strain.

The current seven-day rolling average of cases is back to where it was in February, with an average of 64,000 cases tallied Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s roughly three times what it was toward the end of March.

The seven-day average for hospitalizations is also up by 20%, with the CDC reporting an average of 2,215 admissions over the last seven days ― up from the prior week’s average of 1,845.  Deaths from COVID-19 have stayed near record lows.

This drop in fatalities is likely thanks in part to current dominant variants appearing to be less deadly and vaccination rates being high in the U.S., Dr. Robert Garry, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University, told HuffPost. As of this week, roughly 66% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

“The preexisting immunity lets your body handle the infection better, but these variants are so infectious they may not keep you from getting infected,” he said.

While the dominant omicron subvariant BA.2, which currently makes up nearly 62% of cases, appears to spread more easily than its predecessor, experts say another subvariant, BA.2.12.1, appears to be even more transmissible. BA.2.12.1 is spreading about 24% faster than BA.2 and, based on current rates, could become the dominant variant within the next few weeks, data shows.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-cases-rising-omicron-variant-highly-transmissible_n_62728ffee4b0d7ea4cc73f1d

[iHeart]

why does this variant look like something I would normally see when I have to update Google Chrome

[WildPath]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

Why This 'Very, Very Contagious' Coronavirus Subvariant Is Causing Cases To Rise Again

The omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 is poised to be the next dominant strain in the U.S. Mutations appear to have helped it replicate better and resist prior immunity.
After a weeks-long plateau, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are once again rising in the U.S. as a new, highly transmissible omicron subvariant rapidly makes its way toward becoming the next dominant virus strain.

The current seven-day rolling average of cases is back to where it was in February, with an average of 64,000 cases tallied Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s roughly three times what it was toward the end of March.

The seven-day average for hospitalizations is also up by 20%, with the CDC reporting an average of 2,215 admissions over the last seven days ― up from the prior week’s average of 1,845.  Deaths from COVID-19 have stayed near record lows.

This drop in fatalities is likely thanks in part to current dominant variants appearing to be less deadly and vaccination rates being high in the U.S., Dr. Robert Garry, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University, told HuffPost. As of this week, roughly 66% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

“The preexisting immunity lets your body handle the infection better, but these variants are so infectious they may not keep you from getting infected,” he said.

While the dominant omicron subvariant BA.2, which currently makes up nearly 62% of cases, appears to spread more easily than its predecessor, experts say another subvariant, BA.2.12.1, appears to be even more transmissible. BA.2.12.1 is spreading about 24% faster than BA.2 and, based on current rates, could become the dominant variant within the next few weeks, data shows.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-cases-rising-omicron-variant-highly-transmissible_n_62728ffee4b0d7ea4cc73f1d

I'm curious to know if these subvariants all developing along the Omicron line will be well covered if/when an Omicron-specific vaccine is released. I would imagine that could be a game changer if it does.

[SpeedFlex27]

Thanks to the "Freedumb Trucker Convoy" which scared the **** out of politicians everywhere, I thinbk that we cam assume that there'll be very little restrictions in the future. No required masking, either. I've stopped wearing a mask because here in Calgary, 99.9% of people don't mask up or social distance anymore. If I wear a mask it won't protect me or anyone around me, so why bother? It's like 2018 all over again. 

Last Saturday, we went to a play at the Arts Commons Theatre downtown. After the play, we took an elevator down to the street level. My wife & I got on by ourselves on the top floor. We stopped on the second floor where about 7 or 8 people got on & we were literally inches away from one another crowded in like sardines. I hadn't been in a situation like that since the start of the pandemic so I felt very uncomfortable & to be frank, I was bloody pissed off. Common sense & courtesy would have dictated that some should have waited for another elevator but nope., they all had to squeeze in

Luckily, we both got off on the main floor as the rest of them carried on to the underground parking lot. I said to my wife, "Well, that was uncomfortable. This could be a mini super spreader." The people who got on were joking & laughing as they didn't seem to care very much. Crazy world. I don't need to get sick because a bunch of total idiots don't care. Six days no symptoms so far so hopefully we got off lucky. 

[Tracker]

13 minutes ago, WildPath said:

I'm curious to know if these subvariants all developing along the Omicron line will be well covered if/when an Omicron-specific vaccine is released. I would imagine that could be a game changer if it does.

A month ago, there were reports that a broad-spectrum vaccine might be ready as soon as this fall.

[Bigblue204]

15 hours ago, Tracker said:

He has made a very profitable career out of it by bilking the rubes.

Fairly sure he was doin ok pre pandemic

[WildPath]

39 minutes ago, Tracker said:

A month ago, there were reports that a broad-spectrum vaccine might be ready as soon as this fall.

I'm more specifically wondering whether any improved vaccine will be able to be thwarted as easily by the virus mutating. I remember reading that some virologists believe the virus won't continue to mutate at the pace we've seen and it will eventually reach a point of relative stability. If we're getting towards that with sub-variants rather than completely new variants, I wonder if that will make a new vaccine quite a bit more significant than what we currently have for both preventing hospitalization/deaths AND transmission. That would be pretty great.

[JCon]

49 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Fairly sure he was doin ok pre pandemic

Bilking rubes. The pandemic has just expanded his sphere of influence. 

[Wideleft]

1 hour ago, WildPath said:

I'm more specifically wondering whether any improved vaccine will be able to be thwarted as easily by the virus mutating. I remember reading that some virologists believe the virus won't continue to mutate at the pace we've seen and it will eventually reach a point of relative stability. If we're getting towards that with sub-variants rather than completely new variants, I wonder if that will make a new vaccine quite a bit more significant than what we currently have for both preventing hospitalization/deaths AND transmission. That would be pretty great.

The power and potential of CRISPR is amazing (and horrifying in the wrong hands).  MRNA vaccines are going to be game changer for so many types of illness.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

16 hours ago, Tracker said:

Why This 'Very, Very Contagious' Coronavirus Subvariant Is Causing Cases To Rise Again

Cuz... it's "Very, Very Contagious"?

Huff post headline writers getting lazy AF.

 

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Oh look...a weekly Covid report

https://globalnews.ca/news/8812379/manitoba-reports-185-new-covid-19-hospitalizations-14-more-deaths/

[bustamente]

Was at Lowe's this morning and I have to say the wife and I were in the minority mask wise, maybe that's a sign that people are trying to look and get back to normal or maybe people are just plain tired of putting them on.

[HardCoreBlue]

26 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Was at Lowe's this morning and I have to say the wife and I were in the minority mask wise, maybe that's a sign that people are trying to look and get back to normal or maybe people are just plain tired of putting them on.

Great observation. This is exactly true imo.

[HardCoreBlue]

On 2022-05-05 at 4:13 PM, Tracker said:

He has made a very profitable career out of it by bilking the rubes.

And I got to say the blue checkers on the sane side are also making dolla dolla. It’s all a game while us average folk wonder what the hell is going on here.

[Tracker]

14 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

And I got to say the blue checkers on the sane side are also making dolla dolla. It’s all a game while us average folk wonder what the hell is going on here.

Different dynamics, though. The center-left people for the most part are donating to keep their societies from devolving into a Mad Max scenario, whereas the right-wingers are donating out of fear, rage and a desire to regain an imagined utopia that never existed and see no problem in using any means, including violence and intimidation to that end.  They are not open to compromise and are bolstered by their fragile belief that they are the anointed of God.