The coronavirus

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

well, my teammate tested positive last night and is quarantined for 14 days. i may have to cover her accounts the next 2 weeks. she is making an end of year push to hit her quota, so this is really bad timing for her. fortunately for me i have not been around her for about 3 weeks, so i am safe for now. knocks wood...

my manager, who is a covid downplayer/denier/bigtime trumper that thought this was going away on nov 4, called this morning and said that his son and daughter in law are both positive. they picked it up from the gym last week.

this shit is getting too close to me.

Oh man, stay well!

PJPOWER said:

Just had a neighbor die and an uncle most likely about to from this shit.  Mask up fuckers!

I'm sorry to hear that.  Very sad.  Stay well!

PJPOWER

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

well, my teammate tested positive last night and is quarantined for 14 days. i may have to cover her accounts the next 2 weeks. she is making an end of year push to hit her quota, so this is really bad timing for her. fortunately for me i have not been around her for about 3 weeks, so i am safe for now. knocks wood...

my manager, who is a covid downplayer/denier/bigtime trumper that thought this was going away on nov 4, called this morning and said that his son and daughter in law are both positive. they picked it up from the gym last week.

this shit is getting too close to me.

Oh man, stay well!

PJPOWER said:

Just had a neighbor die and an uncle most likely about to from this shit.  Mask up fuckers!

I'm sorry to hear that.  Very sad.  Stay well!

Thanks Brian

mcgruff10

That is terrible pjpower.  Sorry for your loss bud. 

mfc2006

Sorry to hear those updates, gimme and PJPOWER. Stay safe, everyone.

23scidoo

 “psychological shock”..“shopping does not really involve any risk”..

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/belgiums-shops-were-shut-as-a-coronavirus-shock-tactic-2x9wklf7v

23scidoo

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55145696

lastexitlondon

Vaccine approved  here starting  in next few days to give it to health workers and care homes.  

Pap

How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease

PJPOWER

mcgruff10 said:

That is terrible pjpower.  Sorry for your loss bud. 

mfc2006 said:

Sorry to hear those updates, gimme and PJPOWER. Stay safe, everyone.

Thanks to both of you...
Yes, everyone, stay safe!

lastexitlondon

Sorry for your  loss.  As i type  a hearse is driving by couple cars all masks on. 
Its a sad age to live in.

cincybearcat

I found this article interesting and something that has been discussed here:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/what-matters-december-1/index.html

Halifax2TheMax

Who goes first?

A panel of scientific advisers yesterday released its initial guidelines for who should receive the first coronavirus vaccines — recommendations that will influence states’ policies across the country.

The obvious question on many people’s minds is: When can I expect to be vaccinated? While there is still a lot of uncertainty, it’s possible to lay out a rough expected timeline. I’ve done so below, with help from public health experts and colleagues who are covering the virus.

December: Health care workers and nursing home residents will likely be the first people to receive the vaccine, as the panel recommended.

Up to 40 million doses could be available to Americans before the end of this year, from a combination of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines. That would be enough to vaccinate the three million people who live in long-term-care facilities, as well as most of the country’s 21 million health care workers.

January: Keep in mind that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose a few weeks later to be effective. So an initial batch of 40 million doses would be enough to vaccinate only 20 million people.

By early next year, Pfizer and Moderna are likely to be able to ship about 70 million doses per month, Moncef Slaoui, a top federal vaccine official, told The Washington Post yesterday. People will likely receive the shots at doctor’s offices, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as at specially created clinics in some places, my colleague Katie Thomas says.

February and March: The next priority groups are likely to be people over the age of 65 (and especially those over 75); people with medical conditions that put them at risk of death if infected; and essential workers, like those in education, food, transportation and law enforcement.

One exception to this second wave of vaccine recipients may be people who have already had the virus, making them immune from it for at least some period of time.

If other companies in addition to Pfizer and Moderna receive approval for their vaccines, the total number shipped each month could reach 150 million by March, Slaoui said.

April, May and June: The most likely scenario is that even people who don’t qualify as a priority — like healthy, nonessential workers younger than 65 — will begin receiving the vaccine by the spring. The vast majority of Americans could be vaccinated by early summer.

Once that happens, life will still not immediately return to normal, partly because the vaccines are not 100 percent effective. “There will still be risks to people,” as Caitlin Rivers, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, told me.

But those risks will be small compared with today’s risks. Treatments continue to improve, reducing the death rate for people who get the virus. And widespread vaccination will sharply reduce the spread, helping protect even people for whom a vaccine is ineffective. Rivers predicted that social gatherings will again be common and largely safe by the summer.

All things considered, the spring isn’t that far away, which is yet another reason for people to make extra efforts to avoid unnecessary risks — like eating inside restaurants and gathering indoors with friends — for the next few months.

What questions do you still have about the vaccines? Tell us here, and we’ll answer some of them in an upcoming newsletter.

From the NYT email blast

cincybearcat

I don't get a vote, but I would follow a different path than this proposal.

F Me In The Brain

Halifax2TheMax said:

Who goes first?

A panel of scientific advisers yesterday released its initial guidelines for who should receive the first coronavirus vaccines — recommendations that will influence states’ policies across the country.

The obvious question on many people’s minds is: When can I expect to be vaccinated? While there is still a lot of uncertainty, it’s possible to lay out a rough expected timeline. I’ve done so below, with help from public health experts and colleagues who are covering the virus.

December: Health care workers and nursing home residents will likely be the first people to receive the vaccine, as the panel recommended.

Up to 40 million doses could be available to Americans before the end of this year, from a combination of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines. That would be enough to vaccinate the three million people who live in long-term-care facilities, as well as most of the country’s 21 million health care workers.

January: Keep in mind that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose a few weeks later to be effective. So an initial batch of 40 million doses would be enough to vaccinate only 20 million people.

By early next year, Pfizer and Moderna are likely to be able to ship about 70 million doses per month, Moncef Slaoui, a top federal vaccine official, told The Washington Post yesterday. People will likely receive the shots at doctor’s offices, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as at specially created clinics in some places, my colleague Katie Thomas says.

February and March: The next priority groups are likely to be people over the age of 65 (and especially those over 75); people with medical conditions that put them at risk of death if infected; and essential workers, like those in education, food, transportation and law enforcement.

One exception to this second wave of vaccine recipients may be people who have already had the virus, making them immune from it for at least some period of time.

If other companies in addition to Pfizer and Moderna receive approval for their vaccines, the total number shipped each month could reach 150 million by March, Slaoui said.

April, May and June: The most likely scenario is that even people who don’t qualify as a priority — like healthy, nonessential workers younger than 65 — will begin receiving the vaccine by the spring. The vast majority of Americans could be vaccinated by early summer.

Once that happens, life will still not immediately return to normal, partly because the vaccines are not 100 percent effective. “There will still be risks to people,” as Caitlin Rivers, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, told me.

But those risks will be small compared with today’s risks. Treatments continue to improve, reducing the death rate for people who get the virus. And widespread vaccination will sharply reduce the spread, helping protect even people for whom a vaccine is ineffective. Rivers predicted that social gatherings will again be common and largely safe by the summer.

All things considered, the spring isn’t that far away, which is yet another reason for people to make extra efforts to avoid unnecessary risks — like eating inside restaurants and gathering indoors with friends — for the next few months.

What questions do you still have about the vaccines? Tell us here, and we’ll answer some of them in an upcoming newsletter.

From the NYT email blast

To heck with this -- makes far too much sense -- I MUST travel for both Christmas and NYE, and I MUST interact with lots of people in the meantime.  This whole thing is a fucking sham anyway.  We know it was in place just to get rid of God's Chosen One, Donald J. Trump. 

I have not seen some family members in almost a year -- we couldn't possibly wait any longer.  Where is our freedom?

Oh yeah - also, it is too cold to go to church services outside.  I MUST go and participate -- don't you understand that religion comes before everything else?  The good book tells us!

How many extra people have to die because of bullshit like the list of nonsense above?

dignin

cincybearcat said:

I don't get a vote, but I would follow a different path than this proposal.

Curious what path you would go?

The recommendations seem pretty common sense to me.

cincybearcat

dignin said:

cincybearcat said:

I don't get a vote, but I would follow a different path than this proposal.

Curious what path you would go?

The recommendations seem pretty common sense to me.

It's what I expected and it's certainly not a bad path.

I would protect health care workers (especially nursing homes) 1st just as they are.  I would not just protect people based on age and pre-existing conditions though.  Some of those people have a great ability to stay isolated.  I would be protecting those that have to go out and about 1st.  

I get how it might look heartless to say that granny should wait a few more months to see family...but there are people that really do need to work...teachers, employees at specific manufacturing jobs (more than just food), kids that go to school....etc.  I know they are at less risk of a severe outcome, but they are the ones that can cause the spread.  Granny at home or in the nursing home isn't causing the spread...and can be protected in a different manner.

Heck - my mom has a condition that puts her at great risk.  So does my brother. I think my brother who is in his 40's and has to go to dialysis 3 days a week should get it before my mom does who is retired and while mentally taxing, can stay at home.  And I think people that work and kids that go to school should get it.  

This path doesn't surprise me, and it's reasonable.  But clearly they focused almost solely on the potential outcome if someone gets it and less on who is more likely to get it and spread it (other than healthcare workers).

dignin

cincybearcat said:

dignin said:

cincybearcat said:

I don't get a vote, but I would follow a different path than this proposal.

Curious what path you would go?

The recommendations seem pretty common sense to me.

It's what I expected and it's certainly not a bad path.

I would protect health care workers (especially nursing homes) 1st just as they are.  I would not just protect people based on age and pre-existing conditions though.  Some of those people have a great ability to stay isolated.  I would be protecting those that have to go out and about 1st.  

I get how it might look heartless to say that granny should wait a few more months to see family...but there are people that really do need to work...teachers, employees at specific manufacturing jobs (more than just food), kids that go to school....etc.  I know they are at less risk of a severe outcome, but they are the ones that can cause the spread.  Granny at home or in the nursing home isn't causing the spread...and can be protected in a different manner.

Heck - my mom has a condition that puts her at great risk.  So does my brother. I think my brother who is in his 40's and has to go to dialysis 3 days a week should get it before my mom does who is retired and while mentally taxing, can stay at home.  And I think people that work and kids that go to school should get it.  

This path doesn't surprise me, and it's reasonable.  But clearly they focused almost solely on the potential outcome if someone gets it and less on who is more likely to get it and spread it (other than healthcare workers).

Interesting, and I get it. I think you have to look at it logistically too. They only have so many doses and infrastructure in place to give out vaccines. So as they ramp up I don't think they could give the vaccine to the much larger populations you suggest that early. Gonna have to iron out all the distribution kinks on the earlier smaller groups of people.

cincybearcat

dignin said:

cincybearcat said:

dignin said:

cincybearcat said:

I don't get a vote, but I would follow a different path than this proposal.

Curious what path you would go?

The recommendations seem pretty common sense to me.

It's what I expected and it's certainly not a bad path.

I would protect health care workers (especially nursing homes) 1st just as they are.  I would not just protect people based on age and pre-existing conditions though.  Some of those people have a great ability to stay isolated.  I would be protecting those that have to go out and about 1st.  

I get how it might look heartless to say that granny should wait a few more months to see family...but there are people that really do need to work...teachers, employees at specific manufacturing jobs (more than just food), kids that go to school....etc.  I know they are at less risk of a severe outcome, but they are the ones that can cause the spread.  Granny at home or in the nursing home isn't causing the spread...and can be protected in a different manner.

Heck - my mom has a condition that puts her at great risk.  So does my brother. I think my brother who is in his 40's and has to go to dialysis 3 days a week should get it before my mom does who is retired and while mentally taxing, can stay at home.  And I think people that work and kids that go to school should get it.  

This path doesn't surprise me, and it's reasonable.  But clearly they focused almost solely on the potential outcome if someone gets it and less on who is more likely to get it and spread it (other than healthcare workers).

Interesting, and I get it. I think you have to look at it logistically too. They only have so many doses and infrastructure in place to give out vaccines. So as they ramp up I don't think they could give the vaccine to the much larger populations you suggest that early. Gonna have to iron out all the distribution kinks on the earlier smaller groups of people.

That is true, distribution could be something to fine tune as you say.  Could be a very valid reason for the plan.  I would like to see the risk assessment they used to determine their path forward as it always should include severity but also probability and other factors as well.  

PJNB

So you need two shots with mModerna needing a two week gap between the shots and Pfizer needing a 1 week gap wait. On top of that it takes 28 days for both for it to become effective so there is essentially over a month to a month and a half wait after your first shot so become immune. 

PJNB

This is from Colorado but is close to a lot of what the other states will be using. 

Phase 3 is expected to start in April. 

Also Cuomo just said that 170K shots will be delivered by Dec 15th for New York.