The Coronavirus thread

[Tim Steelersfan]

In the spirit of Hypoflog's anecdotes....

I went to the grocery store today. On the way out, I encountered an elderly African American woman walking with a cane. One of those sweet people that reach out and talk to people, she simply looks and says "were you in there to get your vaccine?" (yes they are giving them inside the store). I replied no, that I was waiting for the Novavax version. She hadn't heard of it. She says though "I'm not getting any of them. I'll take my chances without them. There's a lot they aren't telling us and I'm concerned about them." I simply replied that many share her concern.

Elderly. African American. Needed a cane. Likely has comorbidities of some sort or another. And she says she's simply not gonna get it.

Speaking Floggyisms, no one wants to get the vaccine because she is clearly representative of the population's view on the world and that's how it is - FACT

 

[oneforthebus]

Unless the different variants popping up represent something new and different that the Covid from last year, and even the stronger UK variant which caused the spike early this year, which affected a younger age group. The **** happening in India with the new variant is alarming. This is a form of Covid which has mutated. It's like a friggin' horror sci-fi flick. That's why the masks are important through this all, to keep the spread low, with the various variants around. Let's pray the Indian strain doesn't make it too far, but it's already popped up in the UK. And we know it didn't take long for the UK variant to make it across the Atlantic back in Jan. Hopefully folks around the globe continue to get vaccinated, and continue wearing masks and taking precautions. Covid won't go away on its own just because we've all grown tired of it. It will take communities fighting it together, though collective effort and cooperation.

More info on Indian strain, if anyone feels like reading up on it:

Coronavirus: 'Double mutant' Covid variant found in India

This comes as India reported 47,262 cases and 275 deaths on Wednesday, its highest tally this year.

www.bbc.com

New strain of Covid, from India, found in UK with 77 cases detected

The strain has two mutations, meaning it could spread faster and get around immunity

www.walesonline.co.uk

Covid-19 Surge in India Risks Breeding Variants the Nation Can’t Track

As it battles a huge surge in coronavirus cases, India trails many other countries in the genomic sequencing necessary to track emerging variants, creating a blind spot for local and global health officials.

www.wsj.com

India played down new mutant Covid strains to avoid panic – but this may have backfired

Some amount of panic may have actually helped reinforce Covid-appropriate behaviour, say experts.

scroll.in

Despite all the fear mongering over the variants, reinfections remain rare. Variants seem to be spreading rapidly among young people who are back to school and playing sports and what not but have been at the low end of the priority list for vaccinations but thankfully a lot of places are starting to open up vaccines to all. In any case deaths continue to drop because the vast majority of young people are still at extremely low risk of dying from this.

Covid-19 reinfections are rare — but without better data, we don't how rare

Experts say the country and individual states don't have a strong system to determine how frequently people are getting reinfected.

www.statnews.com

 

[oneforthebus]

This whole positivity rate thing is driving me crazy.

Imagine what the positivity rate for strep throat is if we just encouraged all people, asymptomatic and otherwise, to get tested regularly.

Now imagine what it would be if 40 or 50 or 60% of people were on preventative antibiotics and the only people getting tested were the ones not taking the antibiotics and they all had red swollen throats and fevers.

Gee, do you think the percent positive might be higher? Do you think it might be markedly higher even? It's silly to look at that statistic any more as it's meaningless now.

 

[Steeltime]

Please, provide us with more anecdotes and liars lying bullshit about what you think without substantiation.

"Killer bees are on their way and will target anti-vaxxers!!"

/s Floggy the Dumb
Parroting the CNN Chinese Flu hysteria for more than a year

 

[oneforthebus]

In the spirit of Hypoflog's anecdotes....

I went to the grocery store today. On the way out, I encountered an elderly African American woman walking with a cane. One of those sweet people that reach out and talk to people, she simply looks and says "were you in there to get your vaccine?" (yes they are giving them inside the store). I replied no, that I was waiting for the Novavax version. She hadn't heard of it. She says though "I'm not getting any of them. I'll take my chances without them. There's a lot they aren't telling us and I'm concerned about them." I simply replied that many share her concern.

Elderly. African American. Needed a cane. Likely has comorbidities of some sort or another. And she says she's simply not gonna get it.

Speaking Floggyisms, no one wants to get the vaccine because she is clearly representative of the population's view on the world and that's how it is - FACT

Before the vaccines were a thing a few of the elderly people I worked with told me they would rather risk death than be so isolated from their families and activities for so long. Life is short and they didn't want to waste whatever time they had left. I wonder how many elderly people died of something else without seeing or hugging their family members for a year.

 

[Ironcitysteelers]

Prove to the hospital staff who worked 20 hour shift attending to Covid patients on gurneys in hallways that they weren’t overwhelmed.

**** off. (Speaking from first hand knowledge) Just because my staff worked extended shifts, which is not outside the norm for healthcare, does not mean the “system was overwhelmed”.

1. HC has been ****** for years with staffing as a direct result of reimbursement
2. Staff were paid hazard pay during this, this “wanted” to triple dip on time.
3. Beds were NOT overflowing as feared (sure one or two locations fine I’ll ageee).

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

Before the vaccines were a thing a few of the elderly people I worked with told me they would rather risk death than be so isolated from their families and activities for so long. Life is short and they didn't want to waste whatever time they had left. I wonder how many elderly people died of something else without seeing or hugging their family members for a year.

I'd like to see a study on that. I read some horrifying stories. I know one family and their parents/the grandparents didn't leave their home for 11 months. NOT ONCE. They had everything delivered. Only made it to the back yard.

These are grandparents I would see at every single basketball and football game their kids played, etc. Super involved in their grandkids lives. Saw their daughter at an event last fall and she broke into tears talking about how being separated from their grandkids and kids was literally killing them. She said they've lost years of their lives being sequestered.

Many died of ailments and broken hearts. We will never sadly know the tally likely.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

I'm sorry, but this is INSANE. Lockdowns and masks don't work? Answer: MORE LOCKDOWNS AND MORE MASKS

Now forcing them onto 2 year olds.....SMDH

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Expands Mask Mandate to 2-Year-Olds

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) doubled down on her restrictive coronavirus strategy by requiring young children to wear masks. | Politics

www.breitbart.com

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

The cure is worse than the virus, episode #1,473

CDC: US drug overdose deaths surged during COVID-19 pandemic, most since opioid epidemic began

The largest increases happened in April and May 2020, when government-mandated lockdowns were the strictest

www.theblaze.com

 

[oneforthebus]

I'd like to see a study on that. I read some horrifying stories. I know one family and their parents/the grandparents didn't leave their home for 11 months. NOT ONCE. They had everything delivered. Only made it to the back yard.

These are grandparents I would see at every single basketball and football game their kids played, etc. Super involved in their grandkids lives. Saw their daughter at an event last fall and she broke into tears talking about how being separated from their grandkids and kids was literally killing them. She said they've lost years of their lives being sequestered.

Many died of ailments and broken hearts. We will never sadly know the tally likely.

Yep. The reality is very elderly people die. They die of something. If they don't get covid they get the flu or a cold or MRSA or a broken hip or whatever and they die.

Especially very elderly people in nursing homes. They are there because they are already weak and frail and incapable of caring for themselves. Healthy elderly people are not in nursing homes generally. The median length of stay in a nursing home for elderly people is 5 months. Now a small percentage of that is because they get better and get released. But for the vast majority the nursing home is a short stop on the way to what is inevitable for all of us.

So what did we do? Rob people of those last precious few weeks or months with their loved ones in the interest of prolonging their lives by maybe a few weeks or a few months.

I hope someone is studying this. Quality of life matters as much as quantity. Especially when we are in advanced age and declining health.

 

[hamster]

The years long isolation that my 93 year old mother spent in her assisted living destroyed whatever cognitive function she had. My sister retired and we pulled my Mom out to live with her. She will now spend the rest of her days surrounded by familiy..........even though she does not recognize us. There are some quality of life things worse than death.

My son had 2 hockey games today at RMU. Next weekend we are headed to Philly for a tournament. **** the rest that stay locked up.

 

[Tibs]

Virus cases and hospitalizations rise sharply in Pennsylvania, as dozens of other states see high caseloads.​

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Pennsylvania, as state officials warn of the impact of trends seen across the country: increased travel, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants.

Pennsylvania is reporting an average of 4,922 cases a day, up from roughly 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have also climbed by about 16 percent in the past two weeks, and the state now has one of the highest per capita daily case counts in the United States. Deaths, which tend to lag behind infections by weeks, have started to increase again after plunging from the state’s high of an average of 222 in mid-January, now averaging about 37 a day.

State and national health officials are also worried about the spread of more contagious virus variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain. That variant is estimated to be about 60 percent more contagious and 67 percent more deadly than the original version.

B.1.1.7 is now the most common source of new coronavirus infections in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28 percent of Pennsylvania’s cases involve that variant, and it is spreading in a vast majority of two dozen other states with high caseloads. In Michigan, more than 57 percent of cases involve B.1.1.7; in Tennessee, the figure is over 60 percent.

 

[Tibs]

Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters​

Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters

A Times analysis found that willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were both lower, on average, in counties that voted red in the 2020 presidential election.

www.nytimes.com

About 31 percent of adults in the United States have now been fully vaccinated. Scientists have estimated that 70 to 90 percent of the total population must acquire resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity. But in hundreds of counties around the country, vaccination rates are low, with some even languishing in the teens.

The disparity in vaccination rates has so far mainly broken down along political lines. The New York Times examined survey and vaccine administration data for nearly every U.S. county and found that both willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect former President Donald J. Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with a glut.

For months, health officials across the United States have been racing to inoculate people as variants of the coronavirus have continued to gain a foothold, carrying mutations that can make infections more contagious and, in some cases, deadlier. Vaccinations have sped up and, in many places, people are still unable to book appointments because of high demand. In Michigan, where cases have spiraled out of control, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, recently urged President Biden to send additional doses.

But in more rural — and more Republican — areas, health officials said that supply is far exceeding demand.

And in interviews with more than two dozen state and county health officials — including some who said they were feeling weary after a year of hearing lifelong friends, family and neighbors tell them that the virus was a hoax or not particularly serious — most attributed low vaccination rates at least partly to hesitant conservative populations.

“I just never in a million years ever expected my field of work to become less medical and more political,” said Hailey Bloom, a registered Republican and the public information officer for the health department that covers Natrona County, Wyo., which Mr. Trump won by a wide margin last year.

Ms. Bloom, like many other county officials, said she feared that reaching herd immunity might not be possible in her community. “It’s terrifying to think that this may never end,” she said. “So much hinges on these vaccinations.”

 

[Tibs]

Dr. Fauci is right, Republicans' paradoxical stance on COVID make no sense at all.

 

[Troglodyte]

I've disagreed with Tim on his vaccine stance as you know. I hope everyone gets vaccinated for the sake of their own health and for the sake of herd immunity. It's the only way out of this and as I am acquainted with people involved in the development of these vaccines I trust the data from the clinical trials.

As for you, I doubt we'll ever get to a place in this country where risk is low enough that people like you will be ok with other people living their lives normally. You constantly seize on every piece of negative news and downplay anything positive.

Simple probability and statistics tells us that if 30 some percent are vaccinated and at least 20 or 30% have natural immunity, the percent of the overall population who are currently getting infected cannot possibly be as high as it was early on in this crisis. It's just not mathematically possible.

I don’t seize on negative news and downplay positive news. I seize on people denying that Covid was, and still is, a major problem. Encouraging people to get vaccinated is not downplaying positive news.

Nobody knows if current infections are as high as they were early in the crisis because early testing was so limited. Nobody knows how many have natural immunity or how many vaccinated people had natural immunity. We do know that new cases are around 70,000/day and the 14 day average is +5%. Covid isn’t in the rear view mirror.

 

[Tibs]

I don’t seize on negative news and downplay positive news. I seize on people denying that Covid was, and still is, a major problem. Encouraging people to get vaccinated is not downplaying positive news.

This is important, glad you pointed it out, Trog. Covid is a highly contagious virus that's impacted the entire planet for the better part of a year and a half. You can't bend a virus - or science - to your will. We can't just wish this thing to go away on its own, cause we're bored of it, sick and tired of the restrictions and want to get our lives back.

If you truly want to get on with your lives, want things to get back to normal, encourage those around you to vaccinate, and yes, continue wearing masks in the meantime. Let's get herd immunity to where it needs to be, reaching the required % of vaccinations coupled with those with antibodies. That is the only way this will end, regardless what your 'feelings' & 'thoughts' are to the contrary.

Bullshitting and blowing smoke up people's *** will not help get you there. In fact, it has the opposite effect, it will only prolong the pandemic.

That's why so many posts on this board are discouraging, particularly viewed in light of the low vaccination rates in pro-Trump areas around the country.

 

[Troglodyte]

In the spirit of Hypoflog's anecdotes....

I went to the grocery store today. On the way out, I encountered an elderly African American woman walking with a cane. One of those sweet people that reach out and talk to people, she simply looks and says "were you in there to get your vaccine?" (yes they are giving them inside the store). I replied no, that I was waiting for the Novavax version. She hadn't heard of it. She says though "I'm not getting any of them. I'll take my chances without them. There's a lot they aren't telling us and I'm concerned about them." I simply replied that many share her concern.

Elderly. African American. Needed a cane. Likely has comorbidities of some sort or another. And she says she's simply not gonna get it.

Speaking Floggyisms, no one wants to get the vaccine because she is clearly representative of the population's view on the world and that's how it is - FACT

Thanks to African Americans Franco Harris and Mel Blount for doing an appearance yesterday encouraging people to get vaccinated.

I’m sure this post will piss you off somehow, can’t wait to find out how...

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

Thanks to African Americans Franco Harris and Mel Blount for doing an appearance yesterday encouraging people to get vaccinated.

I’m sure this post will piss you off somehow, can’t wait to find out how...

We are all just waiting for today's Hyopflog litany of lies and anecdotes. US Hospitals are overwhelmed...!!

Someone posts the AHA weekly-updated tracker on occupancy, granular down to the beds being COVID or non-COVID....and a cricket storm ensues.

I'm just waiting to see what "Facts" you throw around today.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

This is important, glad you pointed it out, Trog. Covid is a highly contagious virus that's impacted the entire planet for the better part of a year and a half. You can't bend a virus - or science - to your will. We can't just wish this thing to go away on its own, cause we're bored of it, sick and tired of the restrictions and want to get our lives back.

If you truly want to get on with your lives, want things to get back to normal, encourage those around you to vaccinate, and yes, continue wearing masks in the meantime. Let's get herd immunity to where it needs to be, reaching the required % of vaccinations coupled with those with antibodies. That is the only way this will end, regardless what your 'feelings' & 'thoughts' are to the contrary.

Bullshitting and blowing smoke up people's *** will not help get you there. In fact, it has the opposite effect, it will only prolong the pandemic.

That's why so many posts on this board are discouraging, particularly viewed in light of the low vaccination rates in pro-Trump areas around the country.

So in the face of the "science" (please stop throwing that word around as it no longer means something of substance), you still advocate masking and further lockdowns? Given 13 months of no evidence that supports they work? Given the past 6 months worth of evidence showing those areas that are open are faring better or equal to those locked down?

PA is showing cases rise. Thanks for sharing that. You know there are a few studies out now saying masking may actually INCREASE the spread of COVID? How are FL, Texas, MS, ND, SD doing comparatively?

Bending science is ALL the AltLeft and it's ardent minions like yourselves have been doing.

 

[SteelChip]

In the spirit of Hypoflog's anecdotes....

I went to the grocery store today. On the way out, I encountered an elderly African American woman walking with a cane. One of those sweet people that reach out and talk to people, she simply looks and says "were you in there to get your vaccine?" (yes they are giving them inside the store). I replied no, that I was waiting for the Novavax version. She hadn't heard of it. She says though "I'm not getting any of them. I'll take my chances without them. There's a lot they aren't telling us and I'm concerned about them." I simply replied that many share her concern.

Elderly. African American. Needed a cane. Likely has comorbidities of some sort or another. And she says she's simply not gonna get it.

Speaking Floggyisms, no one wants to get the vaccine because she is clearly representative of the population's view on the world and that's how it is - FACT

I'm curious Tim....how did you know she was from Africa ?

I think that term is prejudicial and assumes there are bloodlines where in most cases non exist.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

I'm curious Tim....how did you know she was from Africa ?

Chip, I use my Politically Correct Calculator everywhere I go. I know when to say "black" and African American. When you punch into the Calculator all of the environmental and situational coordinates, it guides you on the PC answer.

 

[SteelChip]

Chip, I use my Politically Correct Calculator everywhere I go. I know when to say "black" and African American. When you punch into the Calculator all of the environmental and situational coordinates, it guides you on the PC answer.

You'll have to double check them co-ordinates before you address them people in person. Some might take offense to sayin' they's from Africa.

 

[Troglodyte]

So in the face of the "science" (please stop throwing that word around as it no longer means something of substance), you still advocate masking and further lockdowns? Given 13 months of no evidence that supports they work? Given the past 6 months worth of evidence showing those areas that are open are faring better or equal to those locked down?

PA is showing cases rise. Thanks for sharing that. You know there are a few studies out now saying masking may actually INCREASE the spread of COVID? How are FL, Texas, MS, ND, SD doing comparatively?

Bending science is ALL the AltLeft and it's ardent minions like yourselves have been doing.

I can only imagine how maddening the world must be to contrarians like you and Steeltime. It really does show. You’ve created your own dystopian existence.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

I can only imagine how maddening the world must be to a contrarians like you and Steeltime. It really does show. You’ve created your own dystopian existence.

LOL says the Liberal troll who lives in the land of fantasy...."Well if NBC says it's so, then it's so!"

I gave you a hospital bed tracker from the AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION that shows your claims to be utter, complete, total bullshit.

Then you say I live in a dystopian world. When you show up, throw around conjecture, claim it to be fact, and can never back your claims up except to say "I saw it on the news....."

You seriously can't make this **** up.

 

[Tibs]

Timothy, thanks for all the hard work & time you invest on this board to ensure Covid keeps spreading, that the pandemic gets drawn out forever and to make sure our lives are miserable for as long as possible.

If you don't mind telling us, how much is COVID paying you, to keep spewing this much bullshit on its behalf?