BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[China]

This Tennessee Republican Nearly Died From COVID. Now He’s Fighting Masks.

 

Tennessee state Rep. David Byrd was recorded apologizing to one of two former students who accused him of molesting them when he was a girls’ high school basketball coach in the 1980s.

 

“I can promise you one thing, I have been so sorry for that,” he says in a recording that surfaced along with the allegations in 2018. “I’ve lived with that and you don’t know how hard it has been for me.”

 

A third student charged that he had attempted to molest her. But Byrd never admitted nor explicitly denied what the three alleged, saying only, “I have done nothing wrong or inappropriate during my term as state representative.”

 

The then speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Beth Harwell, called on Byrd to resign. He refused and joined many of his fellow Republican representatives in wrongdoing of another kind when the pandemic hit.

 

Byrd was complicit in an effort to minimize the coronavirus threat as no worse than the flu. He opposed such basic mitigation measures as masking and social distancing. He was one of 55 Tennessee Republican representatives who signed a resolution in June of last year alleging that “[the] mainstream media has sensationalized the reporting on COVID-19 in the service of political agendas.”

 

In November, just as Tennessee was reporting a record high number of new COVID-19 cases, Byrd and other members of the House Republican caucus ignored public health recommendations against large gatherings and held a three-day retreat. The event was in the lodge at Pickwick Landing State Park in Byrd’s district. Byrd hosted a big dinner at a nearby restaurant on the first night and of course he was among the many who did not wear a mask.

 

The day before Thanksgiving, Byrd tested positive for COVID-19. He was flown by helicopter from his hometown of Waynesboro to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville and he issued a plaintive statement on Dec. 7.

 

“Please pray for God’s healing for my lungs, and that He will give me strength and endurance as I battle this virus.”

 

He spent 55 days on a ventilator in the ICU.

 

He was one of the lucky ones who survived after needing to be intubated. But he was initially unable to use his limbs. And he began to suffer liver failure.

 

On June 12, he received a liver transplant. He was still recovering on July 29, when he arrived in a wheelchair at the House chamber.

 

But Byrd made no mention of those who did die after being convinced by pandemic-denying elected officials such as himself that COVID is just like the flu. Byrd uttered not a syllable of apology for having contributed in however small a way to the deaths of hundreds of thousands by hampering our fight against the virus.

 

In failing to voice any concern for the effect his words and deeds as an elected official might have had on others, Byrd initially seemed just a typically monstrous minimizer who has suddenly decided that “COVID is real and it is very dangerous” after it nearly killed him.

 

But Byrd has now outdone himself and proven to be among the lowest of the low.

 

On Wednesday night, Byrd joined all 73 members of the House Republican caucus in petitioning Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session of the legislature to prohibit local mask mandates and keep businesses from barring the unvaccinated.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Ball Security]

33 minutes ago, China said:

This Tennessee Republican Nearly Died From COVID. Now He’s Fighting Masks.

 

Tennessee state Rep. David Byrd was recorded apologizing to one of two former students who accused him of molesting them when he was a girls’ high school basketball coach in the 1980s.

 

“I can promise you one thing, I have been so sorry for that,” he says in a recording that surfaced along with the allegations in 2018. “I’ve lived with that and you don’t know how hard it has been for me.”

 

A third student charged that he had attempted to molest her. But Byrd never admitted nor explicitly denied what the three alleged, saying only, “I have done nothing wrong or inappropriate during my term as state representative.”

 

The then speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Beth Harwell, called on Byrd to resign. He refused and joined many of his fellow Republican representatives in wrongdoing of another kind when the pandemic hit.

 

Byrd was complicit in an effort to minimize the coronavirus threat as no worse than the flu. He opposed such basic mitigation measures as masking and social distancing. He was one of 55 Tennessee Republican representatives who signed a resolution in June of last year alleging that “[the] mainstream media has sensationalized the reporting on COVID-19 in the service of political agendas.”

 

In November, just as Tennessee was reporting a record high number of new COVID-19 cases, Byrd and other members of the House Republican caucus ignored public health recommendations against large gatherings and held a three-day retreat. The event was in the lodge at Pickwick Landing State Park in Byrd’s district. Byrd hosted a big dinner at a nearby restaurant on the first night and of course he was among the many who did not wear a mask.

 

The day before Thanksgiving, Byrd tested positive for COVID-19. He was flown by helicopter from his hometown of Waynesboro to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville and he issued a plaintive statement on Dec. 7.

 

“Please pray for God’s healing for my lungs, and that He will give me strength and endurance as I battle this virus.”

 

He spent 55 days on a ventilator in the ICU.

 

He was one of the lucky ones who survived after needing to be intubated. But he was initially unable to use his limbs. And he began to suffer liver failure.

 

On June 12, he received a liver transplant. He was still recovering on July 29, when he arrived in a wheelchair at the House chamber.

 

But Byrd made no mention of those who did die after being convinced by pandemic-denying elected officials such as himself that COVID is just like the flu. Byrd uttered not a syllable of apology for having contributed in however small a way to the deaths of hundreds of thousands by hampering our fight against the virus.

 

In failing to voice any concern for the effect his words and deeds as an elected official might have had on others, Byrd initially seemed just a typically monstrous minimizer who has suddenly decided that “COVID is real and it is very dangerous” after it nearly killed him.

 

But Byrd has now outdone himself and proven to be among the lowest of the low.

 

On Wednesday night, Byrd joined all 73 members of the House Republican caucus in petitioning Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session of the legislature to prohibit local mask mandates and keep businesses from barring the unvaccinated.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Another anti-business Republican.

[LD0506]

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

Back when conservatives were more than fine with wearing masks...

 

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Florida checking in with a ROBUST 32% positivity rate!

 

 

[China]

 

Click for the full thread

[China]

New Covid variants ‘would set us back a year’, experts warn UK government

 

Ministers are being pressed to reveal what contingency plans are in place to deal with a future Covid variant that evades current vaccines, amid warnings from scientific advisers that such an outcome could set the battle against the pandemic back a year or more.

 

Recent papers produced by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have suggested that the arrival of a variant that evades vaccines is a “realistic possibility”. Sage backed continued work on new vaccines that reduce infection and transmission more than current jabs, the creation of more vaccine-production facilities in the UK and lab-based studies to predict evolution of variants.

 

With the arrival of a new variant seen as one of the main dangers that could intensify the crisis once again, prominent scientific figures stressed the risks. Prof Graham Medley, a member of Sage and a leader of the government’s Covid modelling group, said it was “clearly something that the planners and scientists should take very seriously as it would put us back a long way”.

 

“It is not that different to the planning that needs to be done between pandemics – a new variant that was able to overcome immunity significantly would be essentially a new virus,” he said. “The advantage would be that we know we can generate vaccines against this virus – and relatively quickly. The disadvantage is that we would be back to the same situation we were in a year ago, depending on how much impact current immunity had against a new variant.

 

Click on the link  for the full article

[China]

Australia Clamps Down On 'Most Concerning Day Of The Pandemic'

 

Australia's biggest city announced tighter Covid restrictions including heavier fines and tighter policing on Saturday as authorities battled to contain a Delta outbreak and said they were seeing the "most concerning day of the pandemic" so far.

 

After months of pursuing a "Covid zero" strategy, Australia has been struggling to bring a resurgence of coronavirus cases under control, with more than 10 million people under lockdown in its two largest cities and the capital Canberra.

 

Residents of Sydney, going into an eighth week under stay-at-home orders, will now face heftier fines for flouting rules or lying to contact tracers, with current restrictions proving insufficient to stop the spread.

 

Lockdown restrictions were also extended across the entire state of New South Wales for the first time this year, coming into force on Saturday afternoon for at least seven days.

 

Police would boost patrols and checkpoints while hundreds more defence force personnel will help enforce stay-at-home orders as the outbreak in the most populous state of New South Wales hit another daily record of 466 community cases.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Sticksboi05]

 

[China]

 

[JCB]

Durham is generally very smart about stuff but I had words with some folks in the supermarket today. Some mope and his girl, spotted them walking in unmasked and they were just strolling through produce when I got there. I walked right up and said “Y’all know there’s a mask mandate again, right?” Mope says, mopily, “Yeah.” Me: “Well put ‘em the **** on.”

 

And then a couple minutes later a young woman in SCRUBS. I asked her where her mask was and she ****ing giggled. I hate people.

[goskins10]

I see the TX Supreme Court ruled against the mask mandates. But I did not see their reasoning. Has anyone seen their decision in detail? 

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-high-court-blocks-mask-030900718.html

 

The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday blocked mask mandates imposed by two of the state’s most populous counties, which defied Gov. Greg Abbott's order banning the requirements.  The orders in Dallas and Bexar counties were issued after a lower court ruled last week in favor of local officials and as Covid-19 cases surge in areas like Dallas.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

9 hours ago, JCB said:

Durham is generally very smart about stuff but I had words with some folks in the supermarket today. Some mope and his girl, spotted them walking in unmasked and they were just strolling through produce when I got there. I walked right up and said “Y’all know there’s a mask mandate again, right?” Mope says, mopily, “Yeah.” Me: “Well put ‘em the **** on.”

 

And then a couple minutes later a young woman in SCRUBS. I asked her where her mask was and she ****ing giggled. I hate people.

The mask mandate isn't really much of a mandate when there is no enforcement.  Wal Marts have signs that say masks are required, but there is nobody to enforce it.  People are largely ignoring it at this point. 

 

I really don't want to wear one anymore either, but I do just so people don't think I voted for Trump.

[goskins10]

10 hours ago, JCB said:

Durham is generally very smart about stuff but I had words with some folks in the supermarket today. Some mope and his girl, spotted them walking in unmasked and they were just strolling through produce when I got there. I walked right up and said “Y’all know there’s a mask mandate again, right?” Mope says, mopily, “Yeah.” Me: “Well put ‘em the **** on.”

 

And then a couple minutes later a young woman in SCRUBS. I asked her where her mask was and she ****ing giggled. I hate people.

 

I lived in Durham just before moving here and in general I agree that they usually are on top of stuff like this. I am now in Peachtree City GA and while they did pretty good the first time around, many are ignoring the masks. 

 

I have not had any confrontations yet - some dirty looks but honestly not sure if that's becasue they think I am not vaccinated or becasue I am wearing a mask, and yes before someone else says it, may just be me in general 🙂  

 

But just like @BatteredFanSyndrome said, the stores here have signs but no one is enforcing, including their own personnel. I think I almost hate seeing someone wear a mask but not cover their nose or not even their face at all than having no mask. At least with no mask they are being honest. 

[China]

Washington Times article by Robert Malone and Peter Navarro relies on inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims about virus evolution, vaccine immunity, and COVID-19 vaccine safety

 

This Washington Times opinion piece, published on 5 August 2021, made multiple claims about the evolution of virus variants, immune escape, as well as COVID-19 vaccine safety. Authored by Robert Malone, a scientist who formerly worked at the Salk Institute in the field of molecular biology, and Peter Navarro, an economist who served as the Director of the White House National Trade Council during the Trump administration, the opinion piece received more than 12,000 engagements on Facebook, including more than 4,800 shares, according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool. The article also received some user engagements on Twitter and Reddit.

 

Malone and Navarro claimed that universal vaccination was based on four “flawed assumptions”, namely that: 1) universal vaccination can eradicate the virus, 2) the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, 3) the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and 4) vaccine-mediated immunity is durable.

 

The key argument made by Malone and Navarro as to the imprudence of a universal vaccination strategy—in fact pursued by many other countries besides the U.S., despite the article’s headline—is that this would create an evolutionary “arms race”, leading to the accelerated generation of vaccine-resistant variants.

 

Experts who reviewed the opinion piece found it to be inaccurate and misleading. They explained that Malone and Navarro’s assertions of “flawed assumptions” about universal vaccination were themselves wrong. [See scientists’ full comments.]

 

Click on the link for more

[Larry]

3 hours ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I really don't want to wear one anymore either, but I do just so people don't think I voted for Trump.

 

1)  Completely agree with you.  Been vaccinated since January.  But I think that part of my job as a nurse is to encourage people to do healthy things.  

 

2)  And a lot of people aren't wearing masks, because they want to show that they did vote for Trump.  

[TradeTheBeal!]

Welp.

 

 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

A few spicy nsfw words but a good video...

 

 

[China]

Texas requests five mortuary trailers in anticipation of Covid deaths

 

With Covid-19 surging across the state, Texas has requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of an influx of dead bodies, state officials told NBC News.

 

The mortuary trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be stationed in San Antonio and sent around the state at the request of local officials.

 

Department of State Health Services spokesperson Doug Loveday said the trailers were requested Aug. 4 after officials reviewed data about increasing deaths as a third wave of the coronavirus struck the state.

 

"We are anticipating a need within the state of Texas for these trailers as Covid cases and hospitalizations continue to increase," Loveday said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Good info.

 

 

[Barry.Randolphe]

 

Shocked.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Barry.Randolphe

[China]

COVID Skeptics Are Refusing Life-Saving Blood Transfusions from Vaccinated Donors

 

The nation’s roiling tensions over vaccination against COVID-19 have spilled into an unexpected arena: lifesaving blood transfusions.

 

With nearly 60% of the eligible U.S. population fully vaccinated, most of the nation’s blood supply is now coming from donors who have been inoculated, experts said. That’s led some patients who are skeptical of the shots to demand transfusions only from the unvaccinated, an option blood centers insist is neither medically sound nor operationally feasible.

 

“We are definitely aware of patients who have refused blood products from vaccinated donors,” said Dr. Julie Katz Karp, who directs the blood bank and transfusion medicine program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia.

 

Emily Osment, an American Red Cross spokesperson, said her organization has fielded questions from clients worried that vaccinated blood would be “tainted,” capable of transmitting components from the covid vaccines. Red Cross officials said they’ve had to reassure clients that a covid vaccine, which is injected into muscle or the layer of skin below, doesn’t circulate in the blood.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Can I demand a tag on my blood not to be given to the unvaccinated?  

[China]