Covid-19 Pandemic

[DB]

The idea that the world will not return to ante-pandemic normality is probably their way of priming us for a number of inter-related issues.

Firstly, there's the level of immunity needed to reduce or eliminate the pandemic worldwide - this is unknown but is based on the R0 value that's often used and abused in news reports.

Second is the rate at which vaccinations are being administered and how long it takes to reach the level of immunity mentioned above.

Third is the duration of effectiveness of the vaccine - how long your immune system continues to recognise the virus as a threat and retains the "template" for antibodies to react.

If the US reaches the target level of immunity, it can eliminate the virus locally. IF however the conferred immunity has a sunset date, then the US cannot return to a normal freedom of travel regime if the rest of the world has not also eliminated the virus.

The measures that the US may have to adopt to reduce the likelihood of the virus arriving in country, or of subsequently controlling the inevitable outbreaks, are probably what they means be not returning to normal.

And then there's preparedness for the next big virus, straight out of Wuhan, uh, Fort Dettrick.

[lucklucky]

Israel stops masks mandate outdoors.

[JWB]

4 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

https://c19early.com/

Single-point aggregation of COVID-19 treatment studies.

 

Is there an organization or study group that published this?

[DB]

This and other meta-analyses are being published anonymously for some reason.

it's interesting because academic papers should be judged on their content, not on the author names, but anonymity is apparently considered a disqualifier for making use of the analysis.

 

[bojan]

Because people don't want analysis, they want biases confirmation. Was always that way, even in the fields where it should never be.

[Nobu]

11 hours ago, lucklucky said:

Israel stops masks mandate outdoors.

This appears to correlate with Israel and Israelis being the most vaccinated nation and people in the world.

[Ivanhoe]

5 hours ago, bojan said:

Because people don't want analysis, they want biases confirmation. Was always that way, even in the fields where it should never be.

Which by itself is sad but not tragic (human nature being, after all, human nature).

It is the cancel culture value system which has academics and clinicians fearing loss of job/career for considering a theory or treatment that does not align with the narratives from the Powers That Be.

The enthusiasm with which government and academia have embraced Lysenkoism is proof of:

- our craptastic public education system,

- the lack of intellect and integrity in our institutions.

 

[DB]

There's another Dr Campbell update today (not a surprise, he does at least one video per day). I find this one particularly interesting.

He presents data from a not-yet-peer-reviewed paper and also from the European Medicines Agency which provide a summary of the relative rates of Cerebral Vein Thrombosis and Portal Vein Thrombosis between the following:

• COVID-19 cases
• within 2 weeks of taking an mRNA vaccine
• AZ vaccine
• General population (for CVT)

If you can't take the time to watch the whole thing, the conclusions are at about 21 minutes in. I think it's clear that he wants us to infer that other motives than the safety of the AZ vaccine are in play, but you should make your own judgement.

[Markus Becker]

Speaking of the AZ vaccine. Her Alternativelessness has been given her first shot of it. 

I guess now it is considered 100% safe. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Markus Becker

[Ivanhoe]

That's one way to accomplish regime change.

 

[Stargrunt6]

Please forgive if already posted. My gf put me onto this:

 

https://news.yahoo.com/israel-may-already-achieved-covid-111221763.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIE93XBkMVpsH7Z7GyPBA8pZgq4isPa9JuwaL8F5snXYbfNAqRmi3EmgYASlUTNI8te0Nysu6Ftse09adLA5mxHTyTJEqMiDzlEwEIloQxD4o6KMnvGRuwpgkj1XbxugvbTs5ZmrqaWlr_qPYJESOMdHYFBWG5FGmgvTj-IrR_bk

[Ssnake]

The non-tracking equivalent link is

https://news.yahoo.com/israel-may-already-achieved-covid-111221763.html

I think the premise of the whole article is wrong, that a 70% inoculation is sufficient to achieve herd immunity. That number was presented with the first Covid variant. This has been entirely replaced by now by the more aggressive strains. Due to their higher transmission rates they require a higher inoculation rate - something like 85%. That is actually a lot more difficult to achieve because antivaxxers, laziness, general stupidity of people in key positions, and medical reasons for some.

[DKTanker]

3 hours ago, Ssnake said:

The non-tracking equivalent link is

https://news.yahoo.com/israel-may-already-achieved-covid-111221763.html

I think the premise of the whole article is wrong, that a 70% inoculation is sufficient to achieve herd immunity. That number was presented with the first Covid variant. This has been entirely replaced by now by the more aggressive strains. Due to their higher transmission rates they require a higher inoculation rate - something like 85%. That is actually a lot more difficult to achieve because antivaxxers, laziness, general stupidity of people in key positions, and medical reasons for some.

Not to be discounted is the messages from on high, that though vaccinated life will never return to "normal."  So what's the point?

The counter argument is thus:  Example, here in Texas there are a surplus of vaccinations available, those that are vulnerable but choose not to be vaccinated, they are part of the Darwin experiment, the rest of us should not feel compelled to protect them from their own devices.

Edited April 20, 2021 by DKTanker

[JWB]

Nor free:

Exasperated Canadians watch Americans getting vaccinated faster.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/20/coronavirus-canada-vaccine-united-states/

[Harold Jones]

Here's a more in depth look at Canada and vaccines.  https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/04/canada-vaccine-rollout-problems/618516/  

[bojan]

Some local info, more than 100.000 unvaccinated and ~28.000 vaccinated into statistics.

- 4 times less chance of getting sick after one doze, 8 times less chance after two doses of vaccine (average for all vaccines - Sinopharm, AZ, Sputnik, Pfizer)

- In case of contacting disease, you have 3 times smaller chance of catching pneumonia after single dose, 15 times after two doses (average for all)

- Among people who got sick, smallest % is after Pfizer, and Sputnik. No heavy pneumonia case (both sides of lungs affected) was noted after two doses of Pfizer and Sputnik (there is still no people with both dozes of AZ so data for that one is missing).

 

[Nobu]

Curious to know what the sentiment in the Serbian street is toward Sputnik and Sinopharm. My wife and I have extended family members not in the USA who would rather be jabbed with cyanide than Sinopharm, including one who is actively hoping for the Sinopharm vaccine to cause more harm than good (wife's reaction to this: "Beyond pathetic").

[Ivanhoe]

https://reason.com/2021/04/21/the-covid-19-disaster-that-did-not-happen-in-texas/
 

Quote

 

When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, lifted his statewide face mask mandate and his limits on business occupancy in early March, Democrats warned that he was inviting a public health disaster. Yet a month and a half later, newly identified coronavirus cases in Texas have fallen by more than 50 percent, and daily deaths have dropped even more.

Meanwhile, states with stricter COVID-19 regulations have seen spikes in daily new cases. This is not the pattern you would expect to see if government-imposed restrictions played a crucial role in curtailing the pandemic, as advocates of those policies assume.

 

 

[bojan]

2 hours ago, Nobu said:

Curious to know what the sentiment in the Serbian street is toward Sputnik and Sinopharm. My wife and I have extended family members not in the USA who would rather be jabbed with cyanide than Sinopharm, including one who is actively hoping for the Sinopharm vaccine to cause more harm than good (wife's reaction to this: "Beyond pathetic").

Sinopharm - highly divided. Some are "reather die than that useless crap", some are "It is classic vaccine, it is best vaccine".

Sputnik - generally positive, other than the fringe "EU and NATO have no alternative, everything Russian is a crap" idiots.

AZ started very positive (non-profit unlike Pfizer, good experience with UK medical companies due the pre-90s cooperation) etc, but turned pretty bad after German and other European fuckups with it.

Overall, I think I have noted it, I checked "anything other than Chinese", but if it was only one available I would have taken it. Would not have been happy about it, but my belief (since we lack hard data for it) is that it is still better than nothing.

People that are categorically rejecting it under any circumstances are IMO not thinking rationally.

 

[DKTanker]

2 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

https://reason.com/2021/04/21/the-covid-19-disaster-that-did-not-happen-in-texas/
 

 

In spite of a large influx of diseased personnel crossing the southern border.  

Edited April 21, 2021 by DKTanker

[Ivanhoe]

7 minutes ago, DKTanker said:

In spite of a large  influx of diseased personnel crossing the southern border.  

That could be due to illegals not seeking health care in their early innings. AIUI, the majority of folks crossing at Brownsville are headed to Houston. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an uptick there.

[MiloMorai]

10 hours ago, Harold Jones said:

Here's a more in depth look at Canada and vaccines.  https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/04/canada-vaccine-rollout-problems/618516/  

Yup it is a bit of a mess, be sure. Latest word is that all Canadians who want t the vaccine will have it by the end of June. Time will tell.

[BansheeOne]

20 hours ago, bojan said:

AZ started very positive (non-profit unlike Pfizer, good experience with UK medical companies due the pre-90s cooperation) etc, but turned pretty bad after German and other European fuckups with it.

After the initial scare it's now being pointed out that there have been 58 cases of the brain vein bane and twelve deaths in 4.2 million applications of AZ, so ca. 1:70,000 and 350,000 respectively. You can still get the stuff even if you're under 60 if you opt for it, and five German states have now lifted the age priorization for it; so I expect the remaining stocks will find their users too. 

The EU seems to have abandoned AZ after the various unpleasantries though and fully embraced BioNTech. Apparently that doesn't mean however that they will just let the divergences over contract fulfillment slide. 

Quote

EU prepares legal action against AstraZeneca: reports

By Alistair Walsh | 4h ago

The European Union is weighing legal action against AstraZeneca for missing vaccine delivery promises. Germany and France have reportedly asked for more time to consider the move.

Vaccine maker AstraZeneca could face legal trouble for supplying too few vaccine doses to the EU, multiple outlets reported on Thursday.

The EU wants to force the pharmaceutical giant to deliver the jabs it had promised, Reuters, DPA and Politico reported, citing diplomats and European Union officials.

"EU states have to decide if they participate. It is about fulfillment of deliveries by the end of the second quarter," Reuters quoted an unnamed EU official as saying.

It is contracted to deliver 180 million doses in the second quarter.

Germany and France have reportedly requested additional time to consider the court action, though most EU states reportedly support the move.

"What matters is that we ensure the delivery of a sufficient number of doses in line with the company's earlier commitments," European Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keeresmaecker said on Thursday. "Together with the member states, we are looking at all options to make this happen," De Keeresmaecker said, without commenting on the reports of legal action.

What is the EU-AstraZeneca row about?

AstraZeneca slashed its deliveries to the bloc by two-thirds as it faced manufacturing issues and delivery obligations to other buyers.

The EU has repeatedly clashed with the British-Swedish firm in recent months, and has been trying to compensate the shortfall by ordering more from other manufacturers. Recently, the bloc decided not to exercise its options for another 300 million doses from AstraZeneca, amid evidence of very rare blood clot side effects.

Brussels is increasingly aligning itself with the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, which has exceeded delivery targets and enjoys the confidence of vaccine recipients.

EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said last week that BioNTech-Pfizer "has proven to be a reliable partner. It has delivered on its commitments, and it is responsive to our needs. This is to the immediate benefit of EU citizens."

https://m.dw.com/en/eu-prepares-legal-action-against-astrazeneca-reports/a-57283383

[bojan]

1 hour ago, BansheeOne said:

...

Too late, none reads denials, AZ is now "poisoned" forever.

[MiloMorai]

Got my 1st Pfizer microchip early this AM. So far no after effects. Wondering about the jab. Some jabs are done without pinching the skin and others are. Is one way better than the other?