The Coronavirus

[David Horn]

(05-16-2021, 09:49 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:

(05-16-2021, 07:55 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(05-16-2021, 03:14 AM)nguyenivy Wrote: Has anyone noticed the mask mandates going away for the fully vaccinated in the US everywhere except public transport?

I was at the Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art yesterday (excellent museum! If you are ever within a reasonable distance of it it is a great place to visit!), and my mask slipped below my nose a couple times. Staff told me to put my mask over my nose. I complied. I would guess that art museums, if this one is indicative, might be another such place. 

I would guess that just now the state mandates have not yet caught up with the CDC guidance.  Give them a few days.  I think there are a few more exceptions like jails and long term health facilities, but public transport is the one that more will encounter.

Zeynep Tufekci opined on this.  It's her opinion that social forces are pushing the agenda now, and some forbearance is still in order.  But CDC swung from extreme caution to excessive optimism, and mostly just confused the public.  I believe we're in the final throes of this mess, but we still have a way to go.  Antivaxxers aren't helping, and the most aggressive variant to date: B.1.617, is making an appearance almost everywhere.

[Eric the Green]

I think the CDC guidance is too confusing and has too many exceptions and wherefores. Someone would have to show their certificate to prove they are vaccinated, and it's a lot of trouble for every store, workplace or public place to ask for it. This guidance just gives some cover to those who think masks infringe on their freedom. I think there should be a national mandate, either everyone wear a mask, or not, based on the best evidence available and best judgement of the need.

Antivaxxers sure aren't helping, that's for damn sure. Lots of folks just have the general idea too that the "authorities" or "the mainstream" can't be trusted. So rather than protect themselves and others against a disease that has killed almost 600,000 Americans and almost 3,300,000 people in the world, they think that the danger of side effects about which they know nothing is worse.

[David Horn]

(05-16-2021, 02:54 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I think the CDC guidance is too confusing and has too many exceptions and wherefores. Someone would have to show their certificate to prove they are vaccinated, and it's a lot of trouble for every store, workplace or public place to ask for it. This guidance just gives some cover to those who think masks infringe on their freedom. I think there should be a national mandate, either everyone wear a mask, or not, based on the best evidence available and best judgement of the need.

Antivaxxers sure aren't helping, that's for damn sure. Lots of folks just have the general idea too that the "authorities" or "the mainstream" can't be trusted. So rather than protect themselves and others against a disease that has killed almost 600,000 Americans and almost 3,300,000 people in the world, they think that the danger of side effects about which they know nothing is worse.

Very few people can do a decent job of risk analysis, but this one is exceedingly simple.  So it's not a matter of objectively looking at the evidence, it's my tribe and only my tribe!  If your tribe says "masks bad, vaccines bad", then the truly tribal never give it another thought.

[pbrower2a]

(05-16-2021, 02:54 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I think the CDC guidance is too confusing and has too many exceptions and wherefores. Someone would have to show their certificate to prove they are vaccinated, and it's a lot of trouble for every store, workplace or public place to ask for it. This guidance just gives some cover to those who think masks infringe on their freedom. I think there should be a national mandate, either everyone wear a mask, or not, based on the best evidence available and best judgement of the need.

Antivaxxers sure aren't helping, that's for damn sure. Lots of folks just have the general idea too that the "authorities" or "the mainstream" can't be trusted. So rather than protect themselves and others against a disease that has killed almost 600,000 Americans and almost 3,300,000 people in the world, they think that the danger of side effects about which they know nothing is worse.

These anti-vaxxers and those reactionary science-deniers will be the last wave of victims of direct death and possibly slow death from organ damage of COVID-19, and they will leave behind grieving spouses and offspring.

[pbrower2a]

Rate of complete vaccination:




CT: 48.2%
DE: 39.2%
DC: 39.7%
FL: 35.4%
HI: 43.1%
IN: 32.4%
LA: 29.5%
MD: 42.3%
MA: 46.7%
MS: 25.8%
NH: 55.7%
NJ: 44.2%
PR: 31.5%
RI: 46.4%
VT: 47.4%
WV: 32.8%

We ain't there yet. Shame on you... Mississippi GOD DAMN!

[pbrower2a]

We just crossed 600,000 deaths from COVID-19.

[pbrower2a]

The more contagious B117 variant has arrived in America. This more virulent strain is ravaging India. If you watch the recent deaths in Wikipedia, you will find that a huge proportion of the deaths are now members of the Indian political, academic, creative, commercial, and professional elites. It is as if an enemy agent is killing the Best and Brightest in India at the very ages in which their early-elder contributions are of great value. Were I the leader of a military enemy of India, this would be worth more than some air raids such as those upon Germany and Japan in WWII. It is that bad, at the least.

The good news for Americans already inoculated is that they are safe from this variant. The good news for Americans not already inoculated is that they can still get inoculated. The bad news for Americans who have decided that they aren't getting inoculated is that they risk being the next wave of mass death and medical calamity and will take people who believe much the same as they do into much the same.

Conclusion and comment based on this news report.

https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-varia...05529.html

[Eric the Green]

#.....Country........Total Cases........New Cases......Total Deaths.....New Deaths
........World..........164,888,327......+616,741........3,418,235.........+13,965
1......USA...............33,774,945.......+27,506...........601,330..............+733
2......India..............25,495,144.....+267,174...........283,276...........+4,525
3......Brazil.............15,735,485.......+74,379...........439,379...........+2,517
4......France.............5,898,347.......+17,210...........108,040..............+198
5......Turkey.............5,139,485.......+11,937.............45,186.............+203
6......Russia..............4,957,756........+8,183...........116,575..............+364
7......UK...................4,449,831........+2,412...........127,691..................+7
8......Italy.................4,167,019........+4,446...........124,497..............+201
9......Spain...............3,619,848.........+3,988............79,502................+70
10....Germany..........3,615,896.........+7,604............87,148..............+278
11....Argentina.........3,371,508.......+35,543............71,771..............+744
12....Colombia..........3,144,547.......+13,137...........82,291...............+482
13....Poland..............2,856,917........+1,727...........71,921...............+246
14....Iran..................2,779,415......+13,930...........77,532...............+310
15....Mexico..............2,382,745...........+822.........220,489.................+56

USA:

#......State................. Total Cases......New Cases.....Total Deaths...New Deaths
........USA....................33,774,945......+27,506.........601,330.........+733
1......California..............3,771,382........+1,232...........62,725...........+25
2......Texas...................2,939,885........+2,679...........51,243...........+42
3......Florida..................2,296,785........+2,805...........36,236...........+97
4......New York..............2,138,099........+1,159...........53,313...........+43
5......Illinois..................1,368,709........+1,495...........24,830............+29
6......Pennsylvania.........1,193,608........+1,629...........26,985...........+36
7......Georgia................1,116,775...........+767...........20,532........... +26
8......Ohio.....................1,092,616..........+993............19,628...........+25
9......New Jersey...........1,011,752..........+646............25,998...........+23
10....North Carolina.........992,578...........+622............12,911...........+20
11....Michigan.................980,450........+1,535............19,899...........+87
12....Arizona...................874,065...........+619............17,480...........+14
13....Tennessee..............858,804...........+449............12,339...........+12
14....Indiana..................736,480............+481............13,507...........+21
15....Massachusetts........702,776............+438............17,779............+7

May 18 2021 https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[pbrower2a]

Andy Slavitt
@aslavitt46
VACCINATION UPDATE: Congratulations to Pennsylvania, the 10th state to meet the goal of 70% of their adult population with at least 1 vaccine.

VT
HI
NH
MA
CT
ME
NJ
RI
NM
PA

Another 10 are above 65%.
1:56 PM · May 26, 2021

This is how we get herd immunity... people herding themselves into inoculation sites to take a needle.

[pbrower2a]

Jimmy Vielkind
@JimmyVielkind
NEWS: For the next six weeks, any person between 12 and 17 years-old in New York who is vaccinated against Covid-19 will be entered into a lottery for one of 10 full four-year scholarship to any SUNY or CUNY school, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said.
11:50 AM · May 26, 2021

[pbrower2a]

The partisan vaccination divide, per new The Economist/YouGov polling:

Among Biden voters:
Fully vaccinated 76%
Partially 10%
Plan to get 7%
Won’t get vaxxed 2%
Not sure 4%

Trump voters:
Fully vaccinated 54%
Partially 6%
Plan to get 3%
Won’t get vaxxed 26%
Not sure 12%
1:43 PM · May 26, 2021

Comment: the difference in death rates could decide some critical elections on the margin in 2022 and 2024. COVID-19 kills, and electoral officials everywhere are really good at denying the "cadaver" vote .

[pbrower2a]

If anyone wonders why I have not been showing the death toll from AIDS in America surpassing the population of one city after another in recent days, then two things stop me:

1. The cities are getting more spread apart in population, and

2. We no longer have the days of 3000 or so deaths that can catapult a toll up the ranks of cities. The size of the Golgotha of COVID-related deaths in America is now somewhere between the populations of Baltimore (30th) and Louisville (29th), and I don't mean some hamlet off Interstate 79 in West Virginia.

[pbrower2a]

When the truth of the past is inconvenient, then rewrite the history. Stalin in practice if not a quote.

[Eric the Green]

This account seems to include all children in its population numbers, although children under 12 are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pu...il-22.html

States ranked by percentage of population who've received at least one COVID-19 shot: June 7
Maia Anderson - Updated 7 hours ago

Vermont has the highest percentage of its population who've received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.

The CDC's data tracker compiles data from healthcare facilities and public health authorities. It updates daily to report the total number of people in each state who have received at least one COVID-19 shot. The numbers reported by the CDC may vary from the numbers published on individual state public health websites, as there may be reporting lags between the states and the CDC.

As of 6 a.m. EDT June 6, a total of 170,833,221 Americans had received at least one shot, or 51.5 percent of the country's population, according to the CDC's data.

1. Vermont
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 445,426
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 71.38

2. Massachusetts
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,661,533
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 67.63

3. Hawaii
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 956,917
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 67.58

4. Connecticut
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,287,436
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 64.16

5. Maine
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 861,339
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 64.08

6. Rhode Island
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 653,852
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 61.72

7. New Jersey
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 5,443,429
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 61.28

8. New Hampshire
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 821,755
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 60.44

9. Pennsylvania
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 7,603,927
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 59.4

10. New Mexico
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,224,090
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 58.38

11. Maryland
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 3,525,198
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 58.31

12. California
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 22,894,006
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 57.94

13. Washington
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,399,444
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 57.77

14. District of Columbia
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 406,810
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 57.64

15. New York State
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 11,012,486
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 56.61

16. Virginia
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,802,403
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 56.26

17. Oregon
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,353,283
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 55.79

18. Illinois
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 7,061,752
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 55.73

19. Delaware
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 541,396
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 55.6

20. Colorado
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 3,171,684
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 55.08

21. Minnesota
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 3,103,789
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 55.04

22. Wisconsin
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 3,012,827
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 51.75

23. Florida
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 10,755,920
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 50.08

24. Iowa
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,570,527
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 49.78

25. Michigan
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,923,076
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 49.3

26. Nebraska
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 946,588
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 48.93

27. South Dakota
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 430,735
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 48.69

28. Kansas
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,376,353
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 47.24

29. Kentucky
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,104,696
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 47.11

30. Arizona
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 3,422,113
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 47.02

31. Alaska
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 341,938
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 46.74

32. Ohio
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 5,436,634
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 46.51

33. Nevada
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,424,812
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 46.26

34. Montana
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 489,166
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 45.77

35. Utah
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,466,055
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 45.73

36. Texas
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 13,073,414
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 45.09

37. North Carolina
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,595,887
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 43.82

38. Missouri
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,622,196
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 42.72

39. North Dakota
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 324,292
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 42.55

40. Indiana
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,855,162
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 42.41

41. Oklahoma
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,659,223
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 41.93

42. South Carolina
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,136,299
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 41.49

43. West Virginia
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 740,637
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 41.33

44. Georgia
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 4,347,833
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 40.95

45. Arkansas
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,209,937
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 40.09

46. Tennessee
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 2,703,368
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 39.59

47. Idaho
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 678,254
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 37.95

48. Wyoming
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 217,516
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 37.58

49. Louisiana
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,682,190
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 36.19

50. Alabama
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,773,379
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 36.17

51. Mississippi
Number of people vaccinated with at least one dose: 1,021,957
Percentage of population vaccinated with at least one dose: 34.34

Note: the top 22 states all voted for Biden. Wisconsin, the closest swing state, is #22. Other swing states that voted for Biden:
25. Michigan
30. Arizona
33. Nevada
44. Georgia

[pbrower2a]

Progress on inoculations, state by state

at least one inoculation:



red to green

under 40%  70% red
at least 40% but less than 45% 50% red
at least 45% but under 50%  30% red
at least 50% but under 55% 30% orange
at least 55% but under 60% yellow
at least 60% but under 65% 30% green
over 65% 70% green (! -- over 72% in Vermont)

Full inoculation



red to green

under 40%  70% red *UNDER 35% ** UNDER 30%
at least 40% but less than 45% 50% red
at least 45% but under 50%  30% red
at least 50% but under 55% 30% orange
at least 55% but under 60% yellow
at least 60% but under 65% 30% green
over 65% 70% green

(Mississippi, God damn!)

https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-c...ne-tracker

as of 18 June 2021.

------------------------ COMMENTARY ----------------------------

Draw what political conclusions you wish. Nothing easily fixes "Big Stupid" Cheers to Vermont, jeers to Mississippi.

To adults not yet inoculated, what's your excuse? Don't wait for the Grim Reaper!

Get inoculated for

1. avoiding COVID-19 and its risk of death
2. avoiding the damage that COVID-19 does to your vital organs and the risk of getting diabetes
3. avoiding sexual dysfunction that COVID-19 creates
4. peace of mind and personal pride
5. your family
6. your relatives
7. your friends, co-workers, customers, and clients
8. your employer
9. Humanity as a whole
10. the fiscal health of the federal, state, and local governments
11. your household pets
12. your conscience

Well, how about it? If you end up in a ventilator for a few weeks... your pooch and your kitty-cat will know that something is wrong. They will know from the body language of your loved ones.

[Bob Butler 54]

I am surprised that the labels aren't red to blue.

It gets me how this started with Trump thinking a disruption in the economy would hurt his chances for reelection and it has switched somehow to Republicans fighting to disrupt the economy.

[pbrower2a]

They could be, but this is supposedly non-partisan (I doubt that the Mayo Clinic would allow itself to be drawn into a partisan squabble). This coloring scheme suggests red (stop) to green (go) You can draw whatever conclusions you want about political orientation and inoculation. Formal education? New Mexico is the least-well-educated state that is in no way Southern, but it seems to do well. Better than Utah, which may show cultural difference between Mexican-American Catholics and white Mormons.

Come on, Latter-Day Saints (Mormons0! You can do better than that! If you can get people to give up alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and carbonated beverages, then you can get people inoculated. Threaten excommunication or at least a ban on church attendance if one does not get inoculated.

It likely relates to the "low-information voters" for whom Donald Trump expressed so much affection.

If you want to determine whether a demographic statistic is good or bad, then just look to which side of the spectrum Mississippi. Vermont seems to do best at getting people inoculated, and Mississippi worst.

Even one inoculation (aside from the Johnson and Johnson formulation, which gives full immunity with one does) gives one some safety.

In view of the potential for mutations of COVID-19 I might feel much safer going on a fall-colors tour of New England than going to the Deep South in the winter. We do not know what those mutations can do, and the worst thing possible is that one of those mutations might morph into something that can circumvent the inoculations already in place. Should that happen, then we are far from over.

So here's what I have to say about people eligible for inoculation who have yet to get it... get your arm to the needle as quickly as possible. The fewer human vectors remain for COVID-19, the safer we will all be, and the more certain that we can be that we will not be obliged to go through the same mess again, complete with analogous levels of mass death.

People are still contracting COVID-19, and it remains as lethal as ever.

[Eric the Green]

Indeed, Mr. Brower. John Oliver's video remains a favorite on this subject.

[pbrower2a]

It's worse in Brazil now.



This is a logarithmic curve appropriate for such phenomena as nuclear decay, bacterial growth, and pandemics. The death toll is over 500K in Brazil. It's hardly surprising that the bulk of deaths is in the favelas, the giant slums that typically have very poor water supply that makes appropriate sanitation difficult at best. Indigenous people are also getting hurt badly, and not only by the acceleration of deforestation (a Bolsonaro practice -- damn the environment, full profits ahead!) But if you are Bolsonaro, poor and indigenous people who were never going to vote for you anyway can go.... you know where.

Bolsonaro of course is Donald Trump's finest Latin-American pupil.

[Eric the Green]

Kill those who vote against you. That's a workable method. Bush deployed it in New Orleans in 2005. Assad used it in the most direct manner.