All things CoronaVirus

[Typical Lax Dad]

Some may recall my talking about my son's return from China in February. Had been in Shanghai in January, then Thailand for 17 days (Thailand did have virus reports by then), flew back through Hong Kong, Chicago, Miami...masked the whole way, health screening in Thailand, HK...then no health screens in Chicago or Miami, Asians wearing masks on planes, Americans taking them off once in US.....he was alarmed by the lack of care, no masks in US...

Apparently our health officials greeting groups specifically from Wuhan during that period were told not to wear masks because of "bad optics"...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... vacuation/

I always talk MD about the stupidity or maybe the ignorance of some people. My wife goes in next week to get her second shot. You wanna know what the 64 thousand dollar question is with her fellow medical workers... well, why do we still have to wear masks now if we are protected? When she explains it to them in plain English, they still don't get it... Ron White said in his stand up comedy routine that you can't fix stupid. i use to think he was just being funny. I believe now he is more right than I ever imagined.

After reading a few of the posts above, you are right.....you can’t fix stupid....I have witnessed it here over the years.

I still don't get it. Wear your damn mask, it is not that hard of a concept to understand. It is not a republican or a democrat thing, it is a freaking common sense thing. So many people are still getting all huffy about the government telling them what to do. We could argue all day long about the foul ups our leaders have made. That does not change the rules of the road. I wear my mask everywhere I go when I have to go to the store I sanitize my hands before and after every trip into the store. i will be damned if it has not worked like a charm so far.

Keep it up, and distancing...nothing's perfect, but we each contribute to the whole being better, and to reducing risk in our own circles. Ain't rocket science.

Not for nuthin' but I get the feeling there's a significant overlap between those who toss trash out their windows and those who refuse to mask...

There were 2 events in my family last year that broke my heart. My family does not have the chance to get together all that often. Thanksgiving and Christmas eve at my sisters house have always been special to me. They did not happen this year, my sister just was not willing to take the risk. We all have to do our part, people that believe otherwise are being selfish and inconsiderate in our nations fight to get Covid under control. This virus is nothing we can't handle if we all just play by a very simple set of rules. It is not easy but it is not that hard either.

I caught Fox and Friends this morning...one of the hosts was in a TN diner. Every person interviewed and all those around them, including the host, weren't wearing masks. Of course they were eating...didn't seem like a lot of social distancing.

There is ZERO chance those folks will infect me...I wont go near that setting. Those some folks may infect others, that could ultimately impact me....now that ticked me off.

My wife and I have not gone out to dinner since last April. We love dining out, we gave it up, it was not worth the risk. We do take out one or 2 days a week. I am lucky enough that my Italian wife is allowing me to cook in her kitchen. Tonight I am grilling chicken legs served with sticky rice. It has been a tough adjustment, i don't understand why so many people keep doing stupid things that help spread the virus.

Going out to bars and restaurants is a luxury.

[seacoaster]

Pretty interesting thread on the variants:

https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1 ... 5426616321

[kramerica.inc]

Some may recall my talking about my son's return from China in February. Had been in Shanghai in January, then Thailand for 17 days (Thailand did have virus reports by then), flew back through Hong Kong, Chicago, Miami...masked the whole way, health screening in Thailand, HK...then no health screens in Chicago or Miami, Asians wearing masks on planes, Americans taking them off once in US.....he was alarmed by the lack of care, no masks in US...

Apparently our health officials greeting groups specifically from Wuhan during that period were told not to wear masks because of "bad optics"...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... vacuation/

I always talk MD about the stupidity or maybe the ignorance of some people. My wife goes in next week to get her second shot. You wanna know what the 64 thousand dollar question is with her fellow medical workers... well, why do we still have to wear masks now if we are protected? When she explains it to them in plain English, they still don't get it... Ron White said in his stand up comedy routine that you can't fix stupid. i use to think he was just being funny. I believe now he is more right than I ever imagined.

After reading a few of the posts above, you are right.....you can’t fix stupid....I have witnessed it here over the years.

I still don't get it. Wear your damn mask, it is not that hard of a concept to understand. It is not a republican or a democrat thing, it is a freaking common sense thing. So many people are still getting all huffy about the government telling them what to do. We could argue all day long about the foul ups our leaders have made. That does not change the rules of the road. I wear my mask everywhere I go when I have to go to the store I sanitize my hands before and after every trip into the store. i will be damned if it has not worked like a charm so far.

Keep it up, and distancing...nothing's perfect, but we each contribute to the whole being better, and to reducing risk in our own circles. Ain't rocket science.

Not for nuthin' but I get the feeling there's a significant overlap between those who toss trash out their windows and those who refuse to mask...

There were 2 events in my family last year that broke my heart. My family does not have the chance to get together all that often. Thanksgiving and Christmas eve at my sisters house have always been special to me. They did not happen this year, my sister just was not willing to take the risk. We all have to do our part, people that believe otherwise are being selfish and inconsiderate in our nations fight to get Covid under control. This virus is nothing we can't handle if we all just play by a very simple set of rules. It is not easy but it is not that hard either.

I caught Fox and Friends this morning...one of the hosts was in a TN diner. Every person interviewed and all those around them, including the host, weren't wearing masks. Of course they were eating...didn't seem like a lot of social distancing.

There is ZERO chance those folks will infect me...I wont go near that setting. Those some folks may infect others, that could ultimately impact me....now that ticked me off.

My wife and I have not gone out to dinner since last April. We love dining out, we gave it up, it was not worth the risk. We do take out one or 2 days a week. I am lucky enough that my Italian wife is allowing me to cook in her kitchen. Tonight I am grilling chicken legs served with sticky rice. It has been a tough adjustment, i don't understand why so many people keep doing stupid things that help spread the virus.

Going out to bars and restaurants is a luxury.

Saw a nurse friend posting pics of her first vaccine shot this week, encouraging others to get it.
She's also been posting pictures of her family out at dinners in restaurants for the past month.
Not sure where her disconnect is.

[wgdsr]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/eu-publ ... ts-up.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/eu-sugg ... om-uk.html

things are heating up in europe for azn!!! (eu did authorize it today).

seems the eu folks are way mad that uk beat them to the punch and now outside uk production is at a bit of a standstill. as well as pfizer delays.

-- azn is a uk company
-- oxford developed the vaxx
-- uk signed on in like april/may to back them
-- the trials were mostly uk and no eu
-- eu waited another 3+ months just to order stuff

and now the eu wants to muscle them. vaxx nationalism is now in high gear! i'll bet uk likes brexit now!

wonder if their contract with us is for u.s. production (frederick, md)? if not, good luck getting in the middle of that ish-show even if the results are great and we push thru fda.

let's goooo!!!

[foreverlax]

Some may recall my talking about my son's return from China in February. Had been in Shanghai in January, then Thailand for 17 days (Thailand did have virus reports by then), flew back through Hong Kong, Chicago, Miami...masked the whole way, health screening in Thailand, HK...then no health screens in Chicago or Miami, Asians wearing masks on planes, Americans taking them off once in US.....he was alarmed by the lack of care, no masks in US...

Apparently our health officials greeting groups specifically from Wuhan during that period were told not to wear masks because of "bad optics"...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... vacuation/

I always talk MD about the stupidity or maybe the ignorance of some people. My wife goes in next week to get her second shot. You wanna know what the 64 thousand dollar question is with her fellow medical workers... well, why do we still have to wear masks now if we are protected? When she explains it to them in plain English, they still don't get it... Ron White said in his stand up comedy routine that you can't fix stupid. i use to think he was just being funny. I believe now he is more right than I ever imagined.

After reading a few of the posts above, you are right.....you can’t fix stupid....I have witnessed it here over the years.

I still don't get it. Wear your damn mask, it is not that hard of a concept to understand. It is not a republican or a democrat thing, it is a freaking common sense thing. So many people are still getting all huffy about the government telling them what to do. We could argue all day long about the foul ups our leaders have made. That does not change the rules of the road. I wear my mask everywhere I go when I have to go to the store I sanitize my hands before and after every trip into the store. i will be damned if it has not worked like a charm so far.

Keep it up, and distancing...nothing's perfect, but we each contribute to the whole being better, and to reducing risk in our own circles. Ain't rocket science.

Not for nuthin' but I get the feeling there's a significant overlap between those who toss trash out their windows and those who refuse to mask...

There were 2 events in my family last year that broke my heart. My family does not have the chance to get together all that often. Thanksgiving and Christmas eve at my sisters house have always been special to me. They did not happen this year, my sister just was not willing to take the risk. We all have to do our part, people that believe otherwise are being selfish and inconsiderate in our nations fight to get Covid under control. This virus is nothing we can't handle if we all just play by a very simple set of rules. It is not easy but it is not that hard either.

I caught Fox and Friends this morning...one of the hosts was in a TN diner. Every person interviewed and all those around them, including the host, weren't wearing masks. Of course they were eating...didn't seem like a lot of social distancing.

There is ZERO chance those folks will infect me...I wont go near that setting. Those some folks may infect others, that could ultimately impact me....now that ticked me off.

My wife and I have not gone out to dinner since last April. We love dining out, we gave it up, it was not worth the risk. We do take out one or 2 days a week. I am lucky enough that my Italian wife is allowing me to cook in her kitchen. Tonight I am grilling chicken legs served with sticky rice. It has been a tough adjustment, i don't understand why so many people keep doing stupid things that help spread the virus.

Nor do I....seems like it can only be two choices.

1. Refusal to listen to actual facts.

2. Refusal to understand the actual facts.

[njbill]

Agree with what seems to be the general consensus that the J&J news is good.

So why then is its stock down almost 5% while that of Pfizer and Moderna is up? Is it as simple as that since the J&J numbers are not as good, people won’t want it and will push to be vaccinated with the other two?

The fact that J&J is 100% effective worldwide against hospitalization and death and 85% effective worldwide against severe disease (both per Fauci) seems to be pretty darn strong news to me.

Also nice to see that they cleared up the technological issues for the Covid briefing. Much, much better than Wednesday.

[wgdsr]

Agree with what seems to be the general consensus that the J&J news is good.

So why then is its stock down almost 5% while that of Pfizer and Moderna is up? Is it as simple as that since the J&J numbers are not as good, people won’t want it and will push to be vaccinated with the other two?

The fact that J&J is 100% effective worldwide against hospitalization and death and 85% effective worldwide against severe disease (both per Fauci) seems to be pretty darn strong news to me.

Also nice to see that they cleared up the technological issues for the Covid briefing. Much, much better than Wednesday.

helping to bring the market down, too. the answer is yes to most of your questions.

not sure this is ever a money maker for jnj. maybe long term, but they're not selling it now for profit like pfizer and moderna.

we'll see how the numbers play out for people on taking. suffice they can sell it somewhere if not the u.s. (look at eu!! they're looking to slice each other for azn).

the "results" will be distorted for these vaxxes. small window of measured time, small sample size, serious disease avoidance should be the headline but it's not (they are not forcefields and they are not even testing for covid. just measuring symptoms. think there are more colds and flus in the winter?). longer term protection means not just as much but more.

oh well.

jnj is now trialing a dual shot. my guess is like the others, it will increase effectiveness. so a jnj person might be up for a second shot several months later on those results. variants are a curveball.

[njbill]

I would say variants are a knuckleball.

[old salt]

Agree with what seems to be the general consensus that the J&J news is good.

So why then is its stock down almost 5% while that of Pfizer and Moderna is up? Is it as simple as that since the J&J numbers are not as good, people won’t want it and will push to be vaccinated with the other two?

The fact that J&J is 100% effective worldwide against hospitalization and death and 85% effective worldwide against severe disease (both per Fauci) seems to be pretty darn strong news to me.

Also nice to see that they cleared up the technological issues for the Covid briefing. Much, much better than Wednesday.

One strategy could be to use Pfizer & Moderna for high risk & over 50 years old.

Use J & J , Astra Zeneca & others for everyone else at lower risk.

[old salt]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/eu-publ ... ts-up.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/eu-sugg ... om-uk.html

things are heating up in europe for azn!!! (eu did authorize it today).

seems the eu folks are way mad that uk beat them to the punch and now outside uk production is at a bit of a standstill. as well as pfizer delays.

-- azn is a uk company
-- oxford developed the vaxx
-- uk signed on in like april/may to back them
-- the trials were mostly uk and no eu
-- eu waited another 3+ months just to order stuff

and now the eu wants to muscle them. vaxx nationalism is now in high gear! i'll bet uk likes brexit now!

wonder if their contract with us is for u.s. production (frederick, md)? if not, good luck getting in the middle of that ish-show even if the results are great and we push thru fda.

let's goooo!!!

The Brits are once again an island fortress, threatened by a hostile continental Europe. That didn't take long.

[njbill]

Maybe down the road. I don’t agree with the approach that is generally being used to divide up the “healthy” population into +65s and 16-64s.

I think that has been a major reason why things are so screwed up in New Jersey right now. They should have first opened it up to, say, 80s, then 75s, then 70s, then 65s.

Similarly, when they go below the 65s, they should open it up, say, to 60s, then 55s, then 50s. Maybe after the 16 to 50s.

[old salt]

It doesn't have to be hard & fast or over complicated. You jockey the brackets to vaccinate as many people as possible.

We've been told our slow start in MD is because so many of the health care workers, first responders & restricted living residents refuse to be vaccinated, so they're opening it up to everyone over 65. But they're still not giving out appts yet, at least not in areas that aren't considered "underserved".

[MDlaxfan76]

Maybe down the road. I don’t agree with the approach that is generally being used to divide up the “healthy” population into +65s and 16-64s.

I think that has been a major reason why things are so screwed up in New Jersey right now. They should have first opened it up to, say, 80s, then 75s, then 70s, then 65s.

Similarly, when they go below the 65s, they should open it up, say, to 60s, then 55s, then 50s. Maybe after the 16 to 50s.

Agreed, better yet, create a master sign-up list with age, any special risks, zip, and contact info...then call/text/email based upon availability and prioritization.

Enlist advocacy groups, non-profits, to canvas and help enroll lower digital access folks.

[SCLaxAttack]

Maybe down the road. I don’t agree with the approach that is generally being used to divide up the “healthy” population into +65s and 16-64s.

I think that has been a major reason why things are so screwed up in New Jersey right now. They should have first opened it up to, say, 80s, then 75s, then 70s, then 65s.

Similarly, when they go below the 65s, they should open it up, say, to 60s, then 55s, then 50s. Maybe after the 16 to 50s.

I'm all for this. For the life of me I can't understand why, at 64 1/2, my Covid risk is the same as a 16 year old's and not a 65 year old's.

[njbill]

It doesn't have to be hard & fast or over complicated. You jockey the brackets to vaccinate as many people as possible.

We've been told our slow start in MD is because so many of the health care workers, first responders & restricted living residents refuse to be vaccinated, so they're opening it up to everyone over 65. But they're still not giving out appts yet, at least not in areas that aren't considered "underserved".

I have read similar reports about the unwillingness of some segments of the healthcare worker community to get vaccinated, but haven’t heard that from any of the doctors and staff I have spoken to in my area.

The problem with opening eligibility up to too large of a group too soon is that the appointment system turns into chaos, which is what has happened in New Jersey.

I have previously written that I was lucky to get an appointment for February 15. I made the appointment on January 16, which was one day after the mega site in my area opened.

My cousin, who lives an hour away, has been trying for a couple of weeks to get an appointment. Then just today, through sheer luck, likely due to a cancellation, he got an appointment on February 3 at the site near me.

This site is guaranteeing second shots. You get an appointment at the time of your first shot.

But it is the Wild Wild West. My friend who alerted me to this site a few weeks ago and who registered four hours before I did, didn’t get an appointment until March 25.

[njbill]

Agreed, better yet, create a master sign-up list with age, any special risks, zip, and contact info...then call/text/email based upon availability and prioritization.

They have done that in New Jersey. Other than those who signed up right at the beginning, including me, I haven’t heard of anybody getting a callback.

The way people get appointments in New Jersey, from what I have been told, is that they spend hours and hours on the computer scrolling through scores and scores of sites to try to be lucky to catch an opening, which presumably occurs when somebody else cancels.

[Kismet]

Reports today indicate that the Pentagon and FEMA are negotiating the final terms of an agreement that could see the military provide around 450,000 Covid-19 vaccinations per day. Some 10,000 troops would be deployed at 100 vaccination centers across the U.S.

Combined with the J+J news, things could be moving in the right direction.

[wgdsr]

Maybe down the road. I don’t agree with the approach that is generally being used to divide up the “healthy” population into +65s and 16-64s.

I think that has been a major reason why things are so screwed up in New Jersey right now. They should have first opened it up to, say, 80s, then 75s, then 70s, then 65s.

Similarly, when they go below the 65s, they should open it up, say, to 60s, then 55s, then 50s. Maybe after the 16 to 50s.

the biggest eff up on vaccines imo has been the initial recommendations for healthcare workers. then they told states to open it up as that was a disaster, but the die was cast. what should've been emphasized, which hasn't been since this whole thing started a year ago, was the most vulnerable.

we could've had a delivery for almost every person above 65 at the states right now, and wouldn't need to bifurcate above 65. and every one of them done by end feb. the only group i would except maybe is school and staff to get kids back in school by march. i believe they're under 10 million people. phase them in after the 1st couple weeks and nursing homes were done, elderly started.

now, states have parallel cohorts everywhere. don't remember if i posted this before, i think i did:
https://www.flgov.com/2021/01/20/florid ... -approach/

the numbers aren't much different now. florida way in the lead. west virginia gov says everyone over 65 will have been vaccinated (maybe 1st shot?) by feb 14. most all other states giving shots to "essential workers" of all flavors.

[MDlaxfan76]

Agreed, better yet, create a master sign-up list with age, any special risks, zip, and contact info...then call/text/email based upon availability and prioritization.

They have done that in New Jersey. Other than those who signed up right at the beginning, including me, I haven’t heard of anybody getting a callback.

The way people get appointments in New Jersey, from what I have been told, is that they spend hours and hours on the computer scrolling through scores and scores of sites to try to be lucky to catch an opening, which presumably occurs when somebody else cancels.

Which is absolutely nuts.

[Bart]

Maybe down the road. I don’t agree with the approach that is generally being used to divide up the “healthy” population into +65s and 16-64s.

I think that has been a major reason why things are so screwed up in New Jersey right now. They should have first opened it up to, say, 80s, then 75s, then 70s, then 65s.

Similarly, when they go below the 65s, they should open it up, say, to 60s, then 55s, then 50s. Maybe after the 16 to 50s.

the biggest eff up on vaccines imo has been the initial recommendations for healthcare workers. then they told states to open it up as that was a disaster, but the die was cast. what should've been emphasized, which hasn't been since this whole thing started a year ago, was the most vulnerable.

we could've had a delivery for almost every person above 65 at the states right now, and wouldn't need to bifurcate above 65. and every one of them done by end feb. the only group i would except maybe is school and staff to get kids back in school by march. i believe they're under 10 million people. phase them in after the 1st couple weeks and nursing homes were done, elderly started.

now, states have parallel cohorts everywhere. don't remember if i posted this before, i think i did:
https://www.flgov.com/2021/01/20/florid ... -approach/

the numbers aren't much different now. florida way in the lead. west virginia gov says everyone over 65 will have been vaccinated (maybe 1st shot?) by feb 14. most all other states giving shots to "essential workers" of all flavors.

Are you suggesting that health care workers should not have been near the front?