Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Friday 13th of August:

- World: 205,794,505 confirmed cases and 4,340,437 confirmed deaths.

- WHO: Disbands previous Origins investigation team and creates a new one, following lead a scientist of the group stating in a documentary released yesterday that patient zero might be a worker from a Wuhan lab who could have been infected while collecting samples from bats.

- US: OSHA recommends many fully vaccinated workers “in areas of substantial or high community transmission" to wear masks to protect unvaccinated colleagues.

- US: Study of smoke cause by wildfires suggests it was responsible for uplift in COVID cases and deaths: “In some counties the association was very strong indeed – on days with lots of wildfire smoke the Covid cases went up by a lot,”

- Canada: Announces it will require all public sector workers to be fully vaccinated.

- UK: Man who was previously reported in the Catharsis Corner having been arrested for pretending to inject a 92 year old at her home then charging her £140 jailed for 42 months.

- UK: Appeal goes out for people who have recently taken a COVID test to record a clip of their cough to help Machine Learning to identify people who may be infected.

- China: Closure of a terminal at a major port caused by detection of a COVID infection causes concern for world trade recovery.

- Thailand: Police up their response to protesters by using tear gas, as demonstrations continue.

- Denmark: Lifts the last of its compulsory face covering regulations, masks will be no longer required on public transport.

- Serbia: A hermit who lived alone in a cave for 20 years and has no intention to return to society gets vaccinated and calls on everyone to do the same. “It [the virus] does not pick. It will come here, to my cave, too”

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

Appeal goes out for people who have recently taken a COVID test to record a clip of their cough to help Machine Learning to identify people who may be infected.

This is pretty cool.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

I posted this in April of last year, only a couple months after the coof really started hitting hard.

Its an interesting look at the lab and its staff and what they were working on. Its stuff like this that gave me confidence in the "lab leak" theory. I know Mr. Bobface doesn't care for things that come from YouTubers, but its interesting nonetheless.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I posted this in April of last year, only a couple months after the coof really started hitting hard.

Its an interesting look at the lab and its staff and what they were working on. Its stuff like this that gave me confidence in the "lab leak" theory. I know Mr. Bobface doesn't care for things that come from YouTubers, but its interesting nonetheless.

It's not that I don't appreciate their take on things, its more I see it as Pub talk. You go down the pub with your mates and give your 2 cents on everything. Doesn't mean any of you actually know the facts of the matter.

I my experience of pub talk (and telesales, yes for years I worked in a call center) the more passionately you say something, the more personally you sound like you know and believe in what you are saying, the more likely you are to convince others your angle is the one which is the right one even of you are as clueless as the rest of them.

Having lived the above, I am now very much an innocent until proven guilty kinda guy. You have to be or all the smoke in the world will blow up your ass until it comes out of your ears and nose and fog youryour vision of the reality of the situation.

That said China is not helping itself not being cooperative with the Origins investigation. When someone avoids a question long enough they start to qualify under Admission By Omission. 20+ years of arguing with idiots on the internet (and watching politicians on TV) taught me that one - just because someone avoids the question it doesn't mean that in itself is not an answer.

The longer the Origins investigation is denied access to the resources the more and more it appears there is something to hide - admission by omission. I understand China doesn't want a whitewash fake-em-up but this is not how to avoid that. If they are innocent and the evidence does indeed show that, they need to release all that data to everyone, neutral, friendly and hostile at the same time it is released to the investigation team.

Total transparency is the way to slay any kind of false accusations being made because the argument moves from you and the accusers to the crowd analysing the info.

Many angles will appear from the sublime to the ridiculous but the Origin Teams reading of it will be the one everyone else will then analyse the data off and then say if they agree or not. As long as the evidence is clear any attempt at false accusation would be shot down in seconds.

 

[Radegast74]

Found this when watching a SC stream on twitch...so how the heck do you get somebody like this vaccinated, when they have (very real) issue of a virus wrapped up / conflated with so many other bat-shit crazy ideas?

As somebody recently joked, "It started as a virus, and then mutated into an IQ test"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1426052914255106049

View: https://twitter.com/JerriJamz/status/1426052914255106049?s=19

 

[Montoya]

so how the heck do you get somebody like this vaccinated

You dont.

Some people are too far gone, there is no changing minds no matter what you say.

Then when it turns out that they are the 1 in the 100 that end up in the ICU and dying, on their death bed they will finally admit defeat and regret.

"He texted me and told me to 'Get it!' He told me this virus is no joke and he said, 'I wish I had gotten it!'" - Dying words of Dick Farrel.

.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - reports from around the world from today, Saturday 14th of August:

- World: 206,548,818 confirmed cases and 4,350,717 confirmed deaths.

- World: Press reports suggest that the COVAX vaccine sharing system set up to ensure poorer countries had timely access to vaccines was taken advantage of by some richer countries which had independently bought priority access to vaccine supplies and had stocks earmarked to cater to their populations multiple times over. "In late June alone, the initiative known as Covax sent some 530,000 doses to Britain more than double the amount sent that month to the entire continent of Africa."

- US: Number of children in hospital with COVID hits record high at 1,902.

- US: Dallas County runs out of Paediatric ICU beds.

- US: Michigan passes 20,000 confirmed deaths.

- UK: Researchers at Swansea University indicate regularly opening car windows for 10 seconds can cut the build-up of Covid-19 particles by 97%. Going slowly 4 open windows can keep a car safer for COVID and motorway speeds only two are needed.

- Australia: New South Wales locks down with AU$5,000 fines for breaches.

- Australia: Leader of New South Wales says they are in "the worst situation Australia's been in".

- Iran: Orders a one week Lockdown and bans road travel.

- Russia: Sees record high new daily deaths.

 

[stockish]

As Professor Farnsworth said, "I don't want to live on this planet anymore" I do my best to just go to work, go home and repeat while avoiding the news because each time I read it my faith in humanity plummets worse than the stock market during the great depression.

Can TEST buy an island we can all live on?

 

[Aramsolari]

COVID Catharsis Corner - reports from around the world from today, Saturday 14th of August:
- World: Press reports suggest that the COVAX vaccine sharing system set up to ensure poorer countries had timely access to vaccines was taken advantage of by some richer countries which had independently bought priority access to vaccine supplies and had stocks earmarked to cater to their populations multiple times over. "In late June alone, the initiative known as Covax sent some 530,000 doses to Britain more than double the amount sent that month to the entire continent of Africa."

Yeah that's pretty scummy.

Bad UK! Bad! Down boy!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Yeah that's pretty scummy.

Bad UK! Bad! Down boy!

I have two theories, one is greed and the other is negligence... i'd have no proof for either though so won't go further into those

The UK was singled out but apparently not the only one but it was also far from common... but from where I'm sat there appears to be no sense of altroism in the current government at all.

 

[Aramsolari]

I have two theories, one is greed and the other is negligence... i'd have no proof for either though so won't go further into those

The UK was singled out but apparently not the only one but it was also far from common... but from where I'm sat there appears to be no sense of altroism in the current government at all.

Canada's no saint either. We've scrambled to nab vaccines by hook or by crook, just like everyone else. I think our COVAX contributions are way below what's expected of us.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

COVID Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today, Sunday 15th of August:

- World: 207,057,619 confirmed cases and 4,359,839 confirmed deaths.

- UK: Hospital staff report increasing number of people refusing to wear face masks.

- UK: Analysis indicates over 1 million jobs in peril as COVID support is phased out, with 1 in 16 businesses indicating they are looking at closure without support if their situations don't improve.

- UK: SAGE Scientist advisory board tells the government a variant which could bypass current vaccines is a “realistic possibility” and warn it could delay recovery by 1 year or more. Do you think they read our TEST thread?

- Australia: Secures 1 million Pfizer vaccines from Poland, with half of that earmarked for the hotspot that is Sydney. The Polish Ambassador said: “In these tough times for our Australian friends, Poland has decided to share with Australia 1m doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with immediate delivery”.

- France: Controversial health pass system extended to 120 department stores and shopping malls.

- Iran: Sees record high new daily deaths.

- Latvia: A concert on Juglas Lake allows vaccinated attendees on the shore, but also allows vaccinated and unvaccinated to spectate from boats on the water.

- Thailand: Once again sees protests calling for government officials to resign.

 

[Bambooza]

I have two theories, one is greed and the other is negligence... i'd have no proof for either though so won't go further into those

The UK was singled out but apparently not the only one but it was also far from common... but from where I'm sat there appears to be no sense of altroism in the current government at all.

Canada's no saint either. We've scrambled to nab vaccines by hook or by crook, just like everyone else. I think our COVAX contributions are way below what's expected of us.

There is a lot of psychology to unpack in this, but for me it simply asks the question. Why are we so worried about the anti vaxxer when there are still so many who want the vaccine and still can't get it due to limited supply?

If we had an overabundance of vaccines then maybe we could have a discussion on the subject not that I am a fan of forcing anyone to do anything with their bodies against their will. But I find it strange we are so obsessed with the few who do not want a vaccine when there are so many who do and are still waiting for their turn. We really should just be ignoring those who opt out by their own accord and instead be focusing our efforts on making sure all who do can.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

There is a lot of psychology to unpack in this, but for me it simply asks the question. Why are we so worried about the anti vaxxer when there are still so many who want the vaccine and still can't get it due to limited supply?

If we had an overabundance of vaccines then maybe we could have a discussion on the subject not that I am a fan of forcing anyone to do anything with their bodies against their will. But I find it strange we are so obsessed with the few who do not want a vaccine when there are so many who do and are still waiting for their turn. We really should just be ignoring those who opt out by their own accord and instead be focusing our efforts on making sure all who do can.

It's a good point and in a pure and true world that would be the only thing one need to take into account, but I think a lot of the issue around that is malicious acts by state actors attempting to use missinfornation to convince the population of a country to follow an agenda that then acts as a weapon against itsef without direct hostile action.

At least one country has been discoved attempting social media and paid influencer campains to disrupt vacine take-up.

Once an antivax movement begins how easily will it be to quell? Some vaccination centres have been the sites of protest. Some the site of vandalism. Some and their vaccine stocks have been totally deatroyed by arson.

 

[Bambooza]

It's a good point and in a pure and true world that would be the only thing one need to take into account, but I think a lot of the issue around that is malicious acts by state actors attempting to use missinfornation to convince the population of a country to follow an agenda that then acts as a weapon against itsef without direct hostile action.

At least one country has been discoved attempting social media and paid influencer campains to disrupt vacine take-up.

Once an antivax movement begins how easily will it be to quell? Some vaccination centres have been the sites of protest. Some the site of vandalism. Some and their vaccine stocks have been totally deatroyed by arson.

Are the antivaxers being destructive because they don't want anyone to be vaccinated or because they are upset and afraid they will be forced to be vaccinated? We are already seeing a lot of cases where people are no longer given the choice where their very employment status and movement is now controlled by their vaccine status. Once you start removing choice from people they will often react in negative destructive ways. This is why I advocate for just ignoring them. They didn't destroy flu vaccines or vaccines that are offered to children. It was only when it's being forced that we are starting to see so much uprising against it.

 

[Montoya]

We really should just be ignoring those who opt out by their own accord and instead be focusing our efforts on making sure all who do can.

I think we need to establish the difference between vaccine availability and vaccine hesitation/denial.

In most places in the states if you want a vaccine, you can go and get one. Here is a list of places in Arkansas right now!

Arkansas Department of Health

default

www.healthy.arkansas.gov

Everybody that WANTS the vaccine can go and get it.

The problem in places like Arkansas is the people do not want it, and here is the result:

So why should we care?

Well, you should probably ask O-Lefty how he feels about the nursing home employee that got his grandmother sick and she died because of Covid, alone and unable to see family on her deathbed. He probably has some feelings about people opting out by the own accord and somebody else paying the ultimate price for their ignorance, selfishness and stupidity.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

It was only when it's being forced that we are starting to see so much uprising against it.

Not sure if that's the case where you are but, vaccine centres where I am have been targeted by protestors for months, even before lockdown was lifted let alone when some requirements in some limited job roles were suggested.

Yes that's right, in some cases they were protesting vaccination, the thing to get them out of Lockdown, while protesting Lockdown - and some were protesting Lockdown after lockdown had ended.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJbSvidohg

 

[Bambooza]

So why should we care?

Well, you should probably ask O-Lefty how he feels about the nursing home employee that got his grandmother sick and she died because of Covid, alone and unable to see family on her deathbed. He probably has some feelings about people opting out by the own accord and somebody else paying the ultimate price for their ignorance, selfishness and stupidity.

I do not know the facts around O-Lefty's grandmother's death beyond what you have shared here nor should we use anecdotal evidence to paint all situations with.

So far it seems the vaccine doesn't eliminate your chances of getting sick or spreading the virus around, its biggest benefit is those who are vaccinated get less sick when they do contract the virus. So while it reduces the infection phase and thus the time period when they are spreading the virus around the biggest advantage to getting the virus is the reduction in your chances of having long-term negative effects from getting sick and dying.

This variant of the virus is not going anywhere. It's reached critical mass and has spread to natural reservoirs where it will continue to come back year after year and is fully expected to become part of the seasonal flu. Unless there is a breakthrough in mRNA in the creation of a sterilizing immunity vaccine, we are already seeing the recommendation for a booster shot, and it's expected that it will become part of the yearly flu shot.

Corona family will continue to evolve in its animal reservoirs and will continue to jump back to humans with new noval strains as well as the common strains that infect people yearly (229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1).

People in Arkansa as well as other places will one way or another develop an immunity to the virus. I personally believe the vaccine is a much easier and simpler process but some people need to travel the harder road. And while it's painful to watch them suffer and possibly die we should respect their choice.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

nor should we use anecdotal evidence to paint all situations with

Are the antivaxers being destructive because they don't want anyone to be vaccinated or because they are upset and afraid they will be forced to be vaccinated? We are already seeing a lot of cases where people are no longer given the choice where their very employment status and movement is now controlled by their vaccine status. Once you start removing choice from people they will often react in negative destructive ways. This is why I advocate for just ignoring them. They didn't destroy flu vaccines or vaccines that are offered to children. It was only when it's being forced that we are starting to see so much uprising against it.

...?

 

[Bambooza]

Not sure if that's the case where you are but, vaccine centres where I am have been targeted by protestors for months, even before lockdown was lifted let alone when some requirements in some limited job roles were suggested.

Yes that's right, in some cases they were protesting vaccination, the thing to get them out of Lockdown, while protesting Lockdown - and some were protesting Lockdown after lockdown had ended.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJbSvidohg

True but you have to remember that this vaccine has been controversial with fear about its being rushed, about possible side effects push back from the party currently not in power etc. This is why I was trying to compare it to the nonreaction to vaccines like the flu shot which people took or didn't take but wasn't an issue worth burning down buildings or protesting against. I am saying that it's no longer about the vaccine it's all driven by fears and power struggles on both sides. That if we had simply made it a trivial non-event then it would not see so much worldwide protesting against it nor so much pushback on it. For the most part now it's just a power struggle which is why I continue to advocate that we should make it available and ignore it. If the most were indifferent to each other's vaccine uptake then it would be far more beneficial to everyone. But no we can't do that we have to be in each other's business and forcing our views on each other and it just continues to escalate the problems to the point where we are starting to see physical violence. Its only going to get worse as long as no one is willing to stand down.