BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[visionary]

 

[China]

Don't get complacent and let your guard down:

 

Analysis: Covid-19 vaccinations are climbing. But familiar mistakes could lead to more misery

 

For more than a year, the US has battled a ruthless enemy: a novel virus that took no mercy on American communities, crippled hospital systems and took the lives of more than half a million people.

 

But after a long road of despair, there's good reason to be optimistic now: Covid-19 vaccines are being administered across the US at record speed -- nearly five times faster than the global average.

"We are so close -- so very close -- to getting back to the everyday activities we all miss so much," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a recent White House Covid-19 briefing. "But we're not quite there yet."

 

Tens of millions of Americans are not yet protected from the virus while the B.1.1.7 variant -- now the dominant strain in the US -- is fueling a rise in cases and hospitalizations, predominantly in younger groups, and threatening to create another surge. And while vaccine eligibility is expected to open to all adults in the next 10 days, some may have to wait months more for immunity.

In many ways, the current headlines feel like deja-vu. Again, the US is seeing the chilling signs of a fresh surge. Again, that feeling of "impending doom."

 

And again, it may be familiar mistakes that hinder the country's progress: lifting critical measures too early, disregarding experts' guidance and politicizing public health tools.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

You mean "There's a chance that it will get better, a few months from now.  So let's stop with the current control measures, right away." might lead to problems?  

 

[China]

3 hours ago, visionary said:

 

 

[China]

Bolsonaro Announces Plan to Tackle World’s Worst COVID Surge: Do Nothing

 

Brazil is the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Its case and death numbers are shattering records every week, and officials in the city of Sao Paulo are reportedly having to dig hundreds of graves every day to make room for the dead. So, what does its far-right President Jair Bolsonaro plan to do about it? Absolutely nothing. “We’re not going to accept these policies of ‘stay home, close everything, lock down,’” he reportedly said. “There’s not going to be a national lockdown... Our army isn’t going into the streets to force the Brazilian people into their homes.” On Tuesday, Brazil’s health ministry reported 4,195 COVID-19 deaths —by far a single-day record. Miguel Nicolelis, a Brazilian doctor at Duke University, said: “It’s a nuclear reactor that has set off a chain reaction and is out of control. It’s a biological Fukushima.”

 

Read more HERE

[Califan007 The Constipated]

4 hours ago, visionary said:

 

 

Jeebus. I can't fathom everyone just continuing to shrug this **** off...

[Larry]

12 minutes ago, Califan007 said:

 

Jeebus. I can't fathom everyone just continuing to shrug this **** off...

A big part of my problem with this is, I don't see a motive behind it. 

I mean, if 3,000 Americans a day were dying because of pollution, and the GOP were fighting on the side of pollution, then I could at least assume that they're just doing it because the polluters were paying them. 

But the virus doesn't make campaign donations. 

So what's the motive?  I'm reluctant to just assume that they take glee in dead Americans, for it's own sake. But what's an alternative explanation?  Did it start off as "hey, it's only hitting places that vote Dem, so dead people helps politically."?  And then transition to "we have to keep doing the same thing, or admit we were wrong"?

[Califan007 The Constipated]

7 minutes ago, Larry said:

A big part of my problem with this is, I don't see a motive behind it. 

I mean, if 3,000 Americans a day were dying because of pollution, and the GOP were fighting on the side of pollution, then I could at least assume that they're just doing it because the polluters were paying them. 

But the virus doesn't make campaign donations. 

So what's the motive?  I'm reluctant to just assume that they take glee in dead Americans, for it's own sake. But what's an alternative explanation?  Did it start off as "hey, it's only hitting places that vote Dem, so dead people helps politically."?  And then transition to "we have to keep doing the same thing, or admit we were wrong"?

 

One of the first conspiracy theories being floated by Trump supporters (and by Trump himself) was that COVID was a "hoax" created to hurt Trump's chances at re-election. Also, Trump's administration downplayed the seriousness of COVID to keep the stock market healthy, assuming that the economy was his ticket to winning again in November. So when the CDC is issuing statements and data that directly damages the administration's public stance, I could see them cheering on being able to get the CDC to revise their public statements to better reflect what Trump has been saying. Plus, I have no doubt that far too many in public office did indeed think it was no worse than the flu and that pure politics drove scientists to make the claims about COVID that they did.

[TradeTheBeal!]

Again, Trump did everything in his power to exacerbate the spread of COVID and the loss of life.  And he did this in the hopes that the country would be so debilitated by January that his coup attempt would have a better chance to work.

 

It almost worked.

[tshile]

7 hours ago, Larry said:

But what's an alternative explanation?

1- seizing power. It’s easiest done when the people are in crisis
2- increasing the white nationalist movement both in numbers and public relevance (I mean even though they’re bad they’re popular talk), widening the divide 

3- general destruction of the country (loans to Putin)

4- the virus hurts non-whites more than whites but health wise but also economically. So just general racism 

5- just generally wanting to increase the divide for no particular reason than it’s what you want. 
 

I was just randomly thinking and kinda gues I need to stop after the last one but I’m sure with time I could think of more. 
 

and those can all operate exclusively or along with others, and yeah there’s overlap on the ideas. 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by tshile

[CousinsCowgirl84]

11 hours ago, KAOSkins said:

I'd suggest to the mods that you have justly and rightly the earned the currently retired "contwarian" monicker.

 

I meant no disrespect. Knowing youre dying and having no one to comfort you sounds terrifying. I’d rather be dead I think. 
 

 

 

edit:  I just seen the typos 😬

Edited April 10, 2021 by CousinsCowgirl84

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

This week in COVID History!!.....

 

 

 

[China]

‘You Can’t Trust Anyone’: Russia’s Hidden Covid Toll Is an Open Secret

 

She burst into the hospital morgue and the bodies were everywhere, about a dozen of them in black bags on stretchers. She headed straight for the autopsy room, pleading with the guard in a black jacket: “Can I speak to the doctor who opened up my father?”

 

Olga Kagarlitskaya’s father had been hospitalized weeks earlier in a coronavirus ward. Now he was gone, cause of death: “viral pneumonia, unspecified.” Ms. Kagarlitskaya, recording the scene on her smartphone, wanted to know the truth. But the guard, hands in pockets, sent her away.

 

There were thousands of similar cases across Russia last year, the government’s own statistics show. At least 300,000 more people died last year during the coronavirus pandemic than were reported in Russia’s most widely cited official statistics.

 

Not all of those deaths were necessarily from the virus. But they belie President Vladimir V. Putin’s contention that the country has managed the virus better than most. In reality, a New York Times analysis of mortality data shows deaths in Russia during the pandemic last year were 28 percent higher than normal — an increase in mortality greater than in the United States and most countries in Europe.

 

The official Russian coronavirus death toll of 102,649 as of Saturday — reported on state television and to the World Health Organization — is far lower, when adjusted for the population, than that of United States and most of Western Europe.

 

However, a far different story is told by the official statistics agency Rosstat, which tallies deaths from all causes. Russia saw a jump of 360,000 deaths above normal from last April through December, according to a Times analysis of historical data. Rosstat figures for January and February of this year show that the number is now well above 400,000.

 

In the United States, with more than twice the population of Russia, such “excess deaths” since the start of the pandemic have numbered about 574,000. By that measure, which many demographers see as the most accurate way to assess the virus’s overall toll, the pandemic killed about one in every 400 people in Russia, compared with one in every 600 in the United States.

 

“It’s hard to find a worse developed country” in terms of Covid mortality, said Aleksei Raksha, an independent demographer in Moscow. “The government is doing all it can to avoid highlighting these facts.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

One more reason to get vaccinated: Erectile dysfunction risk is 6 times higher for men with COVID-19

 

If the prospect of getting free donuts for the rest of the year wasn’t incentive enough to get vaccinated, here’s another: COVID-19 increases the risk of erectile dysfunction by nearly six times, according to a new study.

 

Data was conducted from a Sex@COVID online survey in Italy from April 7 to May 4, 2020. In it were 6,821 participants 18 or older (4177 women, 2,644 men), and results from it show that erectile dysfunction was significantly higher among men who self-reported a history of COVID-19 compared to those who were negative. After adjusting for variables that have a bearing on the development of erectile dysfunction (age, BMI, psychological status), the study found that the odds ratio for developing ED after having had COVID-19 was 5.66%.

 

The authors of the study note that if a person experiences a sudden worsening of ED, they might consider quarantining as a precaution or be tested for the virus. And if a patient has ED, they should “consider their erectile impairment as a sign of possible underlying conditions that could increase the likelihood of suffering from COVID‐19.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Jayson Tatum uses an inhaler before games after his battle with COVID-19

 

Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been dealing with the effects of COVID-19 for months, and over the last 10 games, he has started to look more like himself.

 

On Tuesday, after the Celtics defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, Tatum said he was “very close” to 100 percent, and he offered up some new information about his recovery.

 

“I take an inhaler before the game since I’ve tested positive,” Tatum said. “This has kind of helped with that and opened up my lungs and, you know, I never took an inhaler before. So that’s something different. I for sure feel better now than I did a month ago.”

 

Tatum said Celtics trainers have not indicated when he can stop using the inhaler. For many people who experience the effects of COVID long after their initial positive test, the recovery process remains something of a mystery.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

And the inhaler isn't considered a PED?  

[China]

Covid: 'Israel may be reaching herd immunity'

 

This happens when enough of a population has protection against an infection that it stops being able to spread - and even people who don't themselves have immunity are indirectly protected.

 

For Covid the estimated threshold for herd immunity is at least 65%-70%.

 

But scientists in the UK are more cautious.

 

Dr Sarah Pitt, a virologist at the University of Brighton, urged "extreme caution" in concluding that herd immunity had been reached - something she believes will be difficult even at high vaccination rates.

 

She said it was still too early to tell: "We need to see whether the cases in Israel continue to fall and stay at low levels."

 

Reaching this level of population immunity is important to protect people who can't be vaccinated or whose immune system is too weak to produce a good, protective response.

 

In Israel, more than half (5.3 million) its residents have been vaccinated and an additional 830,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the past, which should give them some natural immunity.

 

That works out as roughly 68% of the population who are likely to have antibodies in their blood which can fight off the virus.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

[China]

India records over 200,000 new COVID cases for the first time

 

India has reported a record 200,739 COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry, as Delhi government announces weekend lockdowns in the capital and hospitals treating patients report severe shortages of beds and oxygen supplies.

 

Deaths stood at 1,038, taking the total to 173,123, the data showed on Thursday. The country’s total caseload reached 14.1 million, just behind the United States that leads the global tally with 31.4 million cases.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

[China]

Worldwide COVID-19 death toll tops a staggering 3 million

 

The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France.

 

The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Less likely to die from anything, really.

[Die Hard]

3 minutes ago, TryTheBeal! said:

Less likely to die from anything, really.

 
And yet, even in Ontario, with our lockdowns and stay at home orders.... how many ppl do you think are taking advantage of the opportunity to start an exercise routine?!

 

Consciously, everyone knows of the incredible health benefits exercise (among other lifestyle choices too) has for literally everything.

Good information isn’t enough to make people integrate it into their decisions/behaviour (inspiration). It’s typically desperation.