Covid-19

[Mark H.]

There is also other side of the coin to consider - those students who at a higher risk because of remote learning. Those who won't have breakfast or lunch, those with parents who can't or won't supervise them, and those who are disadvantaged because they can't access technology.  

[HardCoreBlue]

18 hours ago, Mark H. said:

It's inevitable at this point. Anyone who's not vaccinated is basically a sitting duck.  No amount of testing, isolating or lockdowns will make much of a difference.  Omicron is going to find everyone. 

You're being very kind with this description.

I feel bad for people who have lost their health, their sanity, their family cohesion and/or their livelihoods due to these sitting ducks.

Anywhoo I continue to appreciate most people here on Morning Big Blue who always articulate very succinctly and consistently a high level of social responsibility even if it means sacrificing some individual freedoms to get us out of this.

To completely change the subject, seeing that Dying Liver ad once again with that gross pic of a man with a flesh wound makes me want to carry out my pledge to limit my social media time to only sports and google earth. 🙂

 

[Tracker]

"Sick madness": The public reacts to the CDC's decision to cut COVID-19 self-isolation time in half

The CEO of Delta may have influenced the CDC's decision to cut its recommended self-isolation period in half.  Prior to this week, those who tested positive for COVID-19 were urged by government officials to isolate themselves for 10 days.

That changed on Monday, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cut the quarantining recommendation in half, instead urging infected Americans to avoid interpersonal contact for five days.

The reasoning behind these modifications are rooted in economics perhaps more than science. Dr. Anthony Fauci — director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of President Biden's chief science advisers — recently told CNN's Jim Acosta that "we want to get people back to the jobs, particularly the essential jobs, to keep society running smoothly."

Meanwhile, immunologist and rapid tests expert Dr. Michael Mina, reacting to the CDC's new policies, told The New York Times that studies show wide variations in how long people will remain contagious after developing COVID-19. Some even wonder whether pressure from airline CEOs, who worry that long self-isolation periods hurt their bottom line, could have motivated the CDC.

This school of thought connects the decision to a recent letter by Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian to the CDC. According to Reuters, Bastian argued that "with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for those who are fully vaccinated may significantly impact our workforce and operations."

The commentariat was livid at the implication that an airlines CEO was pushing to put lives at risk for the sake of profit. Steve DaSilva of Jalopnik observed that "Bastian seems to acknowledge the possibility that this could lead to higher transmission rates, noting that Delta could 'partner with CDC' to collect data from its planes. Because, after all, that's the way you want to collect data on a highly contagious disease: By throwing still-infected people into an enclosed tube with others and just seeing what happens." 

Similarly, Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants–CWA, said in a statement on Monday that "the CDC gave a medical explanation about why the agency has decided to reduce the quarantine requirements from 10 to five days, but the fact that it aligns with the number of days pushed by corporate America is less than reassuring."

The CDC did not simply impose a blanket reduction in self-quarantining time for infected individuals. The agency added that the rule only applies to people who do not exhibit symptoms and are willing to wear a mask around others for at least five days after leaving isolation. The agency also revised its self-quarantining guidelines for people who have merely been exposed to the virus; partially vaccinated individuals are now asked to either isolate for five days and then wear a mask around others for another five days, or to wear a mask for all 10 days (if self-quarantining is not feasible).

Even without directly mentioning the letter from the Delta CEO, many observers still felt the CDC's new policies are misguided.

"It's been glaringly obvious many of the CDC's recommendations are tied to [political] and economic concerns, leaving the public confused/second guessing advice about masks, protocols, vaccines while the anti-science sect sticks to singular (and horribly incorrect) messaging," tweeted author Gregory Han. Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, stated in a Twitter thread that the CDC's decision is a "crazy move" and "sick madness," concluding that "it will go down in the annals of the pandemic as a terrible horrible no good very bad politically/business-influenced decision that will endanger millions and squander public health trust!"  Comedian Judah Friedlander quipped, "Congrats to the Airline CEOs on being appointed head of @CDCgov," while Scripps Research Executive Vice President Eric Topol tweeted, "The data that supports the new @CDCgov 5 day isolation period without a negative test" followed by an image showing a blank box.

[Mark H.]

37 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

You're being very kind with this description.

I feel bad for people who have lost their health, their sanity, their family cohesion and/or their livelihoods due to these sitting ducks. 

🙂

 

Fair comment - as are those closest to them.

[WildPath]

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

There is also other side of the coin to consider - those students who at a higher risk because of remote learning. Those who won't have breakfast or lunch, those with parents who can't or won't supervise them, and those who are disadvantaged because they can't access technology.  

I think this is a valid argument. I have had students that lack technology or a supportive household that make remote learning a poor experience for them and I feel there is little I can do. On the other hand, I know of places that kids/families have basically given up on school because of the Covid risk. This is especially prevalent on reserves. I know of one school in particular that gets roughly 15% of the kids they would normally have because they are concerned about Covid in their community. This is before Omicron too. Many schools are going with community members without post-secondary education teaching just to have a body in the classroom. Many reserves on schools close completely whenever there is a single case in the community. Prevalent health issues and lack of proper healthcare when there is an outbreak on a reserve has been devastating multiple times during the pandemic.

I'm not sure where to find the data, but I remember there being a pretty strong correlation between remote learning and decrease in cases/severe outcomes when accounting for the lag between exposure/infection/severe outcome. I cannot believe the line "Covid isn't spreading in schools" as Roussin & Co. have said multiple times. There is no part of me that can believe students are only getting Covid outside of school and somehow are immune from spreading it as soon as they walk inside the door.

The big thing is, remote learning is inconvenient and harms the economy when parents need to stay at home. Unfortunately, I think this is changing the message given to the public. Cases are being under-reported and the government has even changed the definition of an outbreak to make things look better than they are. I personally know of teachers that have had to argue with health officials regarding close contacts and have been overruled.

There was a teacher(triple vaxxed) in WSD that caught Covid at school and died on Christmas day. Not many days after the principal sent the message out to families about the teacher passing, the principal also passed away. I do not know if the principal's death was related to Covid, but it is clear that school staff are at risk as well. I'm not sure what the staffing plan will be when teachers are exposed other than reducing the amount of time they need to isolate.

[Mark H.]

Oh, I think Covid is definitely being spread in schools.  I just think the problem has gone far beyond where closing schools would make a difference.  I'm sorry to hear about deaths, there have been deaths in my community too.  

I'm not sure how things are in Winnipeg, but out here it's a real mess. Experienced teachers are opting for early retirement, most retired teachers are no longer willing to sub, and inexperienced teachers are in an impossible position. Remote learning this month is going to create even more checked out kids.

There is a serious teacher shortage, right across the country.  I know of several rural school who have lost teachers that they cannot replace. 

 

[WildPath]

6 hours ago, Mark H. said:

There is a serious teacher shortage, right across the country.  I know of several rural school who have lost teachers that they cannot replace.

Definitely. I left classroom teaching at the outbreak of the pandemic because of a health condition. Winnipeg is having it rough with teacher shortages, but I'd imagine rural is even worse and northern MB is worse still. I'm not connected to the teacher who passed away on Christmas, but it was reported that she was triple vaccinated and otherwise healthy and only had symptoms around December 20th.

I think closing school would have an effect, but it wouldn't stop the spread. Not by a long shot. Judging by ages of cases, I believe schools have been the biggest spreader over the past few months. Many kids being asymptomatic, but spreading also shows lower numbers at younger ages, but higher at older ages. I think Omicron and weaker vaccine effectiveness against Omicron will balance the numbers out more, but I'd imagine kids are still big spreaders. Unfortunately Omicron is also affecting them with an increase of hospitalization in kids over 50% in December alone (US numbers).

I think its disgusting that more isn't done to close bars/nightclubs/etc. when our testing capacity is maxed out and we don't know how many cases there are. Our hospitals are at the max to the point where non-Covid patients are dying unnecessarily. I also think its time to consider bumping down unvaccinated Covid cases in terms of ICU/hospital priority.

Edited January 2, 2022 by WildPath

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, Mark H. said:

There is a serious teacher shortage, right across the country.  I know of several rural school who have lost teachers that they cannot replace. 

This is partially correct....  their is a serious issue filling rural teaching jobs (and many other types of jobs in rural communities) because modern day society people do not want to live in the middle of nowhere and would rather be close to the big city.  Good luck finding anyone wanting to teach (or nurse or many other jobs) out on reserves due to serious safety concerns.    

In Winnipeg they have plethora of young teaching candidates to fill out positions, almost an over saturation making it difficult for young folks to find good full time teaching jobs out of school.   The issue is that some school divisions are cutting so much as well as political issues and really making the job less desireable to a point that the older teachers simply do not want to come back.    It is not because of a lack of candidates... the issue is cut backs and terrible management at least in Winnipeg.  Lots of young teachers are moving out East because they don't want to sub for 3-5 years before getting full time employment here.   

 

 

 

[Mark H.]

@Brandon true. But more teachers are opting for early retirement, and the new candidates cannot always fill those shoes.  Just because there are candidates, that doesn't mean they're all ready to do the job.  This was much less prevalent before 2020. 

[WildPath]

2 hours ago, Mark H. said:

@Brandon true. But more teachers are opting for early retirement, and the new candidates cannot always fill those shoes.  Just because there are candidates, that doesn't mean they're all ready to do the job.  This was much less prevalent before 2020. 

In my experience, as a teacher in Winnipeg, both have been true - we've had a teacher surplus within the city where it is really difficult to find a job unless you have a connection. This has meant many teachers spend years subbing which pays really poorly in Manitoba. I am one of the few fortunate ones that hasn't had to do subbing and Winnipeg colleagues are frequently surprised with this.

Because of the pandemic and many teachers leaving the profession and subs not bothering to take jobs, there has been a severe teacher shortage, even in Winnipeg, at times during the past two years. Specialists frequently cover classes when teachers are sick and admin has even had to sub for teachers. This isn't just inner-city or less desirable jobs within Winnipeg, but even amongst the most desirable schools to work at in the city. I have even been cold-called by a principal desperate to have a teacher take over a term position despite not applying for it. I believe it was kindergarten which I had no experience in. I had no connection to the school/principal. This would have been unheard of before the pandemic.

There are likely still some qualified teachers without jobs before, but as Mark says, they may not be up for handling the job. While I was working in the physical school system, there are some subs that are so bad, the neighbouring teachers basically have to watch two classes that day. All schools I've been in have preferred sub lists to try to eliminate the chaos of a sub that isn't up to the task.

Edited January 2, 2022 by WildPath

[Tracker]

Pandemic deaths among pregnant Americans are now 'surging'
   
You can chalk up more deaths for the "pro-life" crowd: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that COVID-19 is now claiming the lives of more pregnant Americans and resulting in more stillbirths. Poynter reports that deaths in pregnancy "rose sharply" in the last two months, and that 40% of such pandemic deaths have happened since August, when delta began surging in the United States.

Pregnant people have an increased risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms due to poorer immune responses and other factors, and the CDC is urging those who are pregnant or are planning pregnancy to get vaccinated immediately.

That 40% of such deaths have happened just since August is telling, because by August vaccines against COVID-19 were already widely available and the United States was well on its way to getting the population fully vaccinated. But it also marked a new surge of COVID-19 cases based, once again, in Republican-voting states and counties where pandemic safety measures like masking, social distancing, and vaccinations have been mocked or intentionally blocked by state and local Republican leaders. Those Republicans followed Donald Trump in claiming that the pandemic would not be serious, that it would lead to few deaths, and that his administration's inaction was therefore not just forgivable but noble. The party has since made resistance to pandemic safety measures a core "culture war"-style issue.

Notably, pro-Trump and anti-vaccine protesters have taken to mocking abortion rights protesters with anti-vaccine signs reading "my body, my choice" or variations.

 

[iHeart]

5k Cases and 6 deaths, maybe I'll extend my break until cases go down and by that I mean posting updates here

Edited January 3, 2022 by iHeart

[rebusrankin]

Manitoba Government's response

[JCon]

 

 

[bustamente]

I might be wrong but there are no options to send any of our icu patients anywhere this time around and our space seems to be exhausted, I hate to say it but is some sort of lockdown around the corner and will it be enforced everywhere but the Southern region.

 

[Mark H.]

2 weeks of remote learning after break in Ontario.

3, 2, 1 until it gets announced here

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, bustamente said:

I might be wrong but there are no options to send any of our icu patients anywhere this time around and our space seems to be exhausted, I hate to say it but is some sort of lockdown around the corner and will it be enforced everywhere but the Southern region.

 

I have worked for nearly 40 years in healthcare and I am now starting to get scared.

[rebusrankin]

3 hours ago, Mark H. said:

2 weeks of remote learning after break in Ontario.

3, 2, 1 until it gets announced here

I call a Wednesday or Thursday press conference.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

17 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I call a Wednesday or Thursday press conference.

Should have just shut this ship down after xmas for 2 weeks. It's -30 and people out of money anyway

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by FrostyWinnipeg

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Should have just shut this ship down after xmas for 2 weeks. It's -30 and people out of money anyway

 

The crest of the pandemic is still forecasted to hit the third week of January but its a helluva lot higher than predicted. I have no doubt that hospitals have triage priorities in place already so as to offer ICU beds only to certain patients if/when the crunch hits.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Orange County, California, Deputy DA Kelly Ernby, who spoke at a rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates last month, has died of COVID-19. She was 46.

[Tracker]

9 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Orange County, California, Deputy DA Kelly Ernby, who spoke at a rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates last month, has died of COVID-19. She was 46.

Of all the things that you could die from, stupidity shouldn't be even on the list.

[Sard]

20 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Of all the things that you could die from, stupidity shouldn't be even on the list.

If that was the case, the Darwin awards wouldn't exist.

[Bigblue204]

16 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

I call a Wednesday or Thursday press conference.

nah they'll leave that **** for Friday at 4pm

[Sard]

2 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

nah they'll leave that **** for Friday at 4pm

Or today at 2pm.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-covid19-return-to-school-update-1.6303606