Senate Pandemics in the Age of Globalization: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion: See OP Warning

You're going to be doing so much digging you're gonna get tired of digging! You're gonna say, "I can't take all the digging" but you'll be digging and digging and digging some more!

 

I did my first proof of vaccination ceremony at a restaurant this evening. All the Austrians opened their slick digital vaccine certificates with QR code on their iPhones while my wife and I had to take our handwritten vaccine cards out of our wallets. The waitress entered info into some kind of iPhone data entry system. An epic tech and public health fail for team USA, but at least they didn’t boot us out of the restaurant.

 

Fun Fact: Ninety percent of people willing to get truck nuts are not willing to get the vaccine.

 

Boy our country is really in a funk and America really is the worse country in western society.

 

Don't get em...I heard they put microchips in those truck nuts.

 

I’m surprised they didn’t boot you out simply for being American.

We’re rapidly approaching that point, I think. Another 4 years of a GOP White House will probably do it. Biden and the Democrats are slightly better, but not by much (and the bar isn’t high).

 

And the truck nuts happen to be redneck like idiots right?

I remember when Joe Biden campaigned in Texas, some of those truck nuts tried to tail gate him from going to his convention or other events or tried to ram his bus.

 

@blackmyron Only about 70% of nurses in the United States are vaccinated compared to doctors which is at 96% according to surveys. For some reason about 30% of nurses are anti-vaxxed which makes absolutely no sense but I get the sense their luck like a lot of antivaxxers not only due to the Delta Surge but also hospitals and practices are going to start mandating it. The MAYO Clinic just announced a vaccine mandate and all employees must be fully vaxxed by September 17th (or goes thru all kinds of crap sitting thru education modules, mask requirement at all times and needing to be social distant):

https://www.weau.com/2021/07/26/mayo-clinic-require-covid-19-vaccinations-staff/

@Runjedirun Depends on what theme park it is and where. In California, Universal already has mandated masks need to be worn inside and I believe Disneyland is right behind them. And talk is they are getting really close to going with a vaccine mandate and/or negative test within 24 hours. Florida obvious is a different story and I think the battle between DeSantis and really the unions within Disney/Universal are about to heat up since while he is still on his big wheel doing victory laps, they are the ones who have to be working in an unsafe work environment. I do believe I read that Disney is sticking with a reserved time for getting in which I think is not only a great idea during COVID but on a side note all the time. We gone to a few places now this summer with the kids that had a reserved time arrival and it was absolutely fantastic! Smaller crowds both to get in and on the crowds made it so we actually got out of there faster too. I know that will not last beyond COVID but I wish it would. Might be more inclined to go places other then our usual spots LOL!

@Rylo Ken Get used to it as I think by the time you get back here, it will be all the rage at least in many points in the city and even some spots in the suburbs. Businesses realize that majority of people want to eat/shop/visit that give them the most safe and secure experience possible. The thing though there is a pretty good chance that by the time these mandates kick in for vaccination requirement, the Delta Surge might be over with. Some health experts think there is a lot more infection out there then we think given what happened in India and is now happening in the UK where with Delta, it's just like an overload of cases for a few months and then it drops off pretty quickly and dramatically. That could happen here though as Dr. Scott Gottlieb pointed out (who thinks we could be 2-3 weeks away from cases starting to dramatically drop off which I loved to see but don't think is possible) the reopening of schools could at the very least make the peak last longer or worse yet lead to a double surge of cases. Going to be really hairy the next few months for sure though Lollapalooza I don't think will be the massive spreader event that is feared since the vast majority of concert goers will be vaxxed since Lollapalooza is requiring that for each day you attend, you need a negative test (or are vaccinated obviously). A lot of Lollapalooza goers go multiple days so let's say if they got a two day pass, it's either get vaxxed or get two negative tests in a row. One negative test will not get you in for multiple days so a lot of concert goers apparently just got it just to not deal with that hassle. I actually ran into a former student over the weekend who said that his girlfriend wound up getting it just because she did not want to deal with that. Apparently she had COVID before and her doctor told her she didn't need to the vaccine (whoever that doctor btw should be punched!) but because of the multiple day negative test requirement got dosed and plus is going to a school where it will be required on campus. I think given the high amount of vaccines and it being outdoors I think transmission will be *knock on wood* low as honestly I worry a lot more about the nightclubs and bars indoors that are packed right now then a outdoor concert event where a vaccine or a negative test is required.

So the tables with two chairs in the lunch room as already been ditched. Apparently there was not enough room so our student cafe looks exactly like it did in March 2020 just as the pandemic hit. Not enough room to accommodate students so are they are looking at other things to make it less crowded in terms of overall numbers including bringing in some tents, having some "lunch classrooms" and hoping some students will go home to eat since everyone this year gets off campus lunch long as their parents/guardians approve. We are though not only are we getting the saliva tests but also rapid response tests in case they need to test students who fell ill right away or want to do quick contract casing in case there is/when a positive case happens. I am curious what happens with masks once school starts. Today I had to go in and get my classroom equipment. I went in with a fellow social studies teacher who used to be my boss but now we are friends to the point our families now hang out together therefore as we walk in neither of us were wearing a mask. Since both school and camps are all on "summer break" we literally ran into nobody until we got to the tech center therefore stayed maskless. But soon as we got there everyone was wearing masks so we threw ours on and kept them on until we went to our classrooms. So at least for now it seems like masks are still in but will see what happens when we have our institute days in two weeks. *sad face*

I shouldn't put the sad face on though it's been a great summer overall for us despite the heartache and stupidity that is happening yet again. Lots of quality time together and unlike last year, we could do stuff beyond our backyard. So many days spent at the pool as @anakinfansince1983 said before I will never take that granted again or going to the store and feeling like it's Russian Roulette. Yes it sucks Delta came on and took away whatever small chance we had of going to Disney or something but I think the low stress summer is what we needed especially my wife. Just trying to figure everything out is even in a way harder then last year since with vaccines it should be safe to have kids fully back in the building with very little risk but because of stupidity it isn't what it should be. A trip to Disney would been too much stress for my wife this year.

 

Universal didn't really mandate anything here. The theme park didn't want to go with that policy.

 

The Lollapalooza superspreader event in Chicago is two days away. There have been comparisons to a music festival in Utrecht a few weeks ago - 20,000 festival attendees leading to 1,000 covid cases.

full festival capacity in Chicago is 400,000, and the FBI is already aware of a brisk market for fake vaccine cards.

 

Sometime on or after August 3rd, I'm going to return to working in schools. Last year I worked as a site-based sub at one school; this year I'll just be a regular sub. Through June, I figured I wouldn't be wearing a mask this year. That's out now, regardless of what our deranged governor says. I'll be wearing a mask wherever I go.

My experience with the pandemic has been so bifurcated. From March-August of last year, I spent 95% of my time in my apartment. I started going out more in my last two months in Arkansas, though I was still in my apartment for a majority of the time. After I got back to Arizona, I immediately began working in an elementary school. I was there on a daily basis, and on the worst days of the pandemic to date, I was in the presence of 200-300 people. Since I got back from New York at the beginning of June, a majority of my time has again been inside my home. I've been going out more than I did last year in Arkansas (a low bar to clear), but being home feels safer right now than it has since February.

Right now seems like the largest gap between collective behavior and best health practices since last March. I may have written about this before, but in case I haven't, I was in downtown Houston at the beginning of March last year. I walked around the Galleria mall, which was busy with people. I thought to myself that it would be a long time before I saw that again. I imagine things are right now like they were then, and it's arguably more risky than ever. Of course, vaccinated people are in much better shape, but as we're seeing, you can still come down with Covid despite being vaccinated. For those who aren't (and there are a lot of them in Texas), it's straight-up dangerous.

 

UK close to accepting the EU Covid Pass for fully vaccinated travellers

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...

 

OUCH!

Sorry, just rammed into a paywall

Well, the explosion of COVID cases here basically corresponds to domestic summer tourism patterns. Speaks for itself...

We'll see if we're going to run into a sort of wall of contaminations like the UK just did, or if this will be a persistent rise for as long as high season lasts.

 

Oh, sorry - there was no paywall when I googled it...

Anyway, here's the actual article:

Spoiler: FT article

The UK government will this week consider loosening travel restrictions for travellers from the EU and the US, with one senior airport executive confident that ministers would broaden quarantine exemptions “imminently”. The move, which one government official said was “finely balanced”, would be a boost to the tourism sector and help to reopen the UK to mass foreign travel. Ministers are separately looking at removing France from the newly created “amber plus” category, which requires travellers from the UK to quarantine upon their return, amid hopes that the Beta variant of coronavirus in that country is coming under control.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s Europe minister, told Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, on Monday in Paris that there was no basis for keeping France on the amber plus list. Raab said decisions were reviewed regularly. The first decision centres on a UK government review of the system for regulating foreign travel, which will conclude this week, and will consider whether fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US will be able to avoid quarantine in Britain. Government officials said it would be “easier” to apply looser rules to travellers from the EU, which has issued citizens with a digital health pass since the start of this month. One said: “Technically, we are pretty close.” One said that granting the same waiver to US travellers was more complicated because “their system is largely paper-based and is operated by 50 states”. One senior airport executive was confident that ministers would broaden quarantine exemptions to double-jabbed US and EU visitors “imminently”, with transport operators expected to check passengers’ certification before check-in. Ministers are said by officials to be considering whether to act unilaterally “as a gesture of goodwill”, but there is no sign that the US is about to reciprocate.

On Monday, the White House confirmed it would maintain its travel ban on the UK and countries in the EU Schengen area imposed by former president Donald Trump in March last year. Lifting quarantine restrictions on EU travellers, or those from the US, would open the door for easier travel back to Britain for expat UK citizens. But it would create an anomaly concerning France, which was this month placed on the new amber plus travel list, where even double-vaccinated British tourists have to quarantine on their return. If vaccinated European travellers were exempt from UK quarantine rules, they could enter Britain freely while a Briton on a day trip to Calais would still have to self-isolate. Ministers are reported by senior Tories to be ready to put France back on the standard amber list, where vaccinated Britons have only to take a test on their return, as the Delta variant replaces the Beta strain as the most dominant form of the virus. This week’s review of the travel policy is expected to be the last before October, meaning that the rules announced will be in place for the rest of the crucial summer holiday season.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said the UK should aim to open up to EU and US vaccinated travellers at the end of July. “The UK is emerging from the worst effects of the health pandemic, but is falling behind its EU rivals in international trade by being slow to remove restrictions,” he said. Both the airline industry and Abta, which represents travel agents, have written to transport secretary Grant Shapps in the past week calling for a further easing of travel restrictions and more financial support for the industry. “It is increasingly clear that the government is failing to provide the predictability and stability required to rebuild consumer confidence and bring about the necessary conditions for a recovery,” said Luke Petherbridge, Abta’s director of public affairs.

 

Thanks!

 

New data from Israel today shows continued 90% protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. There appears to be a drop-off in protection against asymptomatic infection, but since the case numbers are so much lower now, it's hard to tell if that's real or a statistical anomaly.

Take-home point: get vaccinated. If you live in a high-prevalence area, wear a mask.

 

I'm double vacced and still wearing a mask.

We're seeing infection rates drop but I suspect that kids not being at school being tested regularly is a reason why rates are reducing somewhat but also hope that they genuinely are going down

I'll stay masked for a while yet though.

 

But they're so hard to counterfeit!

 

everyone in my department at work is vaxed and we're all still masking. some people have kids that aren't vaxed, etc. and i'm in no rush to take my mask off. still seems crazy every time i'm inside in public and see people without masks. the grocery store is like 90% maskless despite our county's 46% vaccination rate.

 

You know that all of the unvaccinated are unmasked. If someone's wearing a mask now, it means they're vaccinated.

 

@Rylo Ken Again Lollapalooza itself is not the main issue. It's outside and the overwhelming majority of attendees will be vaccinated and quite honestly a lot of already had it already. It should be a low tranmission event. The issue is all the other events that happen in the city from other concerts to after parties in nightclubs where there is no vaccinate or mask mandate. That is the issue.

@heels1785 I totally understand what they are trying but it's absolutely useless since:

1. Vaccinated people are by and large
are not the problem since tranmission between vaxxed to unvaxxed is overall low.
2. Like 99% of people wearing masks the past few months are vaccinated which again is not the problem.
3. You need mask mandates for everyone in those states/areas since there is no vaccination requirement but no way will MAGA Governors even think about it. The Missouri Health Department is pleading with the govenor to throw one for the next two months in indoor venues just to get over the Delta Surge (since the hope is it's like India and UK where it goes in with a roar and peaks really fast but then drops fast) but he won't even begin to think about doing it. Meanwhile Democratic Governors in MAGA states like Kentucky and Louisiana know if they did the supermajority GOP state legislatives will just strike it down. And even if they somehow did pass it, local officials won't enforce anyway.
4. Ultimately it's a band-aid over a shotgun wound since yes while masks can help over the next two months it won't solve the ultimate problem of the unvaccinated.

I do think #4 is coming to ahead this fall when the FDA gives the vaccines full authorization and mandates will start coming in droves which will lead to perhaps blood in the streets. Side note? The new line in anti-vax world is they will take the Novavax when it's approved. Why they pick that one? Because while authorization for the Novavax vaccine is expected this fall, the company announced shipment delays and really won't hace many doses ready to early 2022 which buys them more time to say "I will get it when blank happens". It's be comical if it weren't so serious.

@tom Depends where you are at least for me. If it's a store with a few people it doesn't bother me and to be honest I haven't really been wearing it when we go grocery shopping late at night since hardly anyone is there so plenty of room to be socially distant. But a restaurant overflowing? Yeah I don't get that one at all.

And again for those who want to wear a mask still even affer full dose (which includes us) the quality of the mask is vital and the Biden administration did a really good job of ramping up production of KN95 and N95 masks. At first I wasn't going to wear them thinking supplies were still thin but we are honestly swimming in them (just like the vaccines!) therefore you won't be taking any away from a person who might need it more so I highly suggest buying them. They even them now for kids which is what they got them all for school at least until they can get vaxxed.

So it looks like numbers are changing in Israel and that as cases expand the more it's unvaccinated people:



This would be more in line with what the UK, Canada and Italy that the effaicy against Delta is a bit less then it was against the original stain it *knock on wood* still has a 85-88% protection against infection. I do think though that Delta does show that while the vaccines are incredibly mimble and effective, boosters are going to be needed at least for the first few years before there is hopefully a universal covid shot that can truly long lasting protection.. The people I trust said those most at risk this fall (so every six months) while everyone else gets a yearly booster just like a flu shot which again growing hope they can be combined so it's a one and done shot once a year for both. I know the hope was for longer protection but again from who I talk to, their concern was it be 3-6 month protection instead of 6-12 month and as one of them said having the vast majority of people needing one dose a year "is totally doable" especially since he thinks we will be able to combine with the flu shot and have protection against both in one shot. You just wonder how we can get this to more countries if we need a booster every year at least for the foreseeable future. Yes having more products (vaccines) on the market will help and *knock on wood* we get a oral thearuptic that can really help against mild cases but the main thing is we need to stop wasting so many darn shots! Honestly if the anticaxxers won't take them then maybe us vaxxed should get a third dose (assuming it's safe) so they don't go to waste.

 

Looks like updated CDC guidance for mask wearing for the vaccinated. I guess this means the unvaxxed can continue not wearing one as always. Or ya know...listen to this guy:

Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: 'Don't believe this delta variant nonsense'

 

My university system has announced that every professor, staff and student must have received at least their first vaccine dose by August 17th (shortly before the start of the fall semester) or, if granted a religious or medical exemption (I think? It's not clear), submit to regular COVID tests. It's a step forward but I have two problems.

1. They are not saying how this will be enforced, which is a big question in a university system with hundreds of thousands of students and 40,000 on my campus alone.

2. There is no mention of the consequences for refusing to go along with the requirement. That should be clear: get vaccinated or you'll be fired or expelled.

 

its the buses that worry me , I feel ok when its mostly empty , but then a load will get on ...