Yeah, it's bad data. Like how oil was selling for (-$40) a barrel at one point last year. Reporting right now is a mess everywhere because of overloaded submissions last week, the holiday and it being a weekend. Today's numbers in NJ were *only* 20K new cases and of course people are saying we're trending down. No, it's Monday.
Number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 tops 103,000, highest since January 2021
Twitter experts have assured me that COVID-19 cases are decoupled from hospitalizations at this point, so here I am with all my knowledge wondering what to make of the BNO data.
Smoove_B wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:09 pmTwitter experts have assured me that COVID-19 cases are decoupled from hospitalizations at this point, so here I am with all my knowledge wondering what to make of the BNO data.
Kind of like how people weren't dying of COVID. They died *with COVID*. These are now hospitalizations *with COVID*. Why did hospitalizations spike? It's a mystery! However people just happened to also have this 'mild' COVID strain and that's just a big coincidence. It's groundhog decade.
Right! All the kids being hospitalized right now (record numbers) aren't being hospitalized because of COVID. No, no. They are coming in with typical January ER visits and have an incidental COVID diagnosis. But hospitals won't get government money unless they test all the kids coming in and say they have COVID - they're just juicing the numbers!
I'd mentioned elsewhere (offline) that there was a local on social media asking where to get a COVID test. After poking a bit, it turns out he actually already had COVID before Xmas and was just released form the hospital. However, he still doesn't feel well (can barely function) so he wants to get a COVID test today...for reasons.
My running theory is he doesn't believe he had it because how could a mild cold-like illness have him hospitalized for 10+ days and still all kinds of messed up after being released? Everyone knows it's just the sniffles, so he's going to get another COVID test to show he doesn't have it and it clearly must be something else that has him feeling like death warmed over and unable to do much of anything.
Smoove_B wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:09 pmTwitter experts have assured me that COVID-19 cases are decoupled from hospitalizations at this point, so here I am with all my knowledge wondering what to make of the BNO data.
Kind of like how people weren't dying of COVID. They died *with COVID*. These are now hospitalizations *with COVID*. Why did hospitalizations spike? It's a mystery! However people just happened to also have this 'mild' COVID strain and that's just a big coincidence. It's groundhog decade.
I have a weird in-law who is essentially a Glenn Greenwald-esque leftist who recently was pushing the "with COVID" hospitalizations of children rather than "because of COVID". Kind of fascinating to see. The other thing with him is he has this really weird puritanical diet that's pretty core to his existence at this point, so he's pushing this weird "if you just have good nutrition then you'll be fine if you get COVID". I'm kind of afraid to ask if he's vaccinated.
Incidentally, per my kids maybe a half-dozen kids were out of school today due to COVID. One or two tested positive, while the others were out due to a COVID exposure (one kid's parent or grandparent tested positive, for example).
My daughter was really glad that they had everyone test, as one of the kids who tested positive was in her class and normally sits next to her, and apparently he was asymptomatic and so was surprised to get the positive result. And apparently his whole family subsequently tested positive.
El Guapo wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:52 pm
The other thing with him is he has this really weird puritanical diet that's pretty core to his existence at this point, so he's pushing this weird "if you just have good nutrition then you'll be fine if you get COVID".
Can you ask him if this line of thought translates to sexually transmitted infections? Like, would be be worried about getting herpes or gonorrhea from a random hookup and wear a condom? Or does he believe a healthy diet protects him from venereal diseases too?
Also, the conversation might get extra strange after you ask him, but I'm dying to know.
malchior wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 6:09 pm
Thanks. Good news is the wife is negative according to rapid test. I'm only exposed if she is since I rarely leave the bunker. Only thing we can do for my BIL like everyone else is just wait and see. It sucks. A distressing factor is that his wife is 8 months pregnant but then again New Years Eve adjacent festivities were just too important to pass up. I'll stop moralizing now but sheesh.
Thing is, Omicron was a shock to a lot of people. Everyone went for over a year unvaccinated and then some finally got the vaccine. No matter how someone looked at the risks, we were supposed to be in a time of reduced risk. We survived Delta. Most people were keeping to the same program that worked since being vaccinated. Then Omicron screwed it all up. The timing was brutal, right on the heels of Thanksgiving and really opening up right at Christmas/New Year.
If you're unvaccinated, one thing. But if you're vaccinated and even boosted and decided to have a dinner out after having done so for the past 6 or 7 months without issue, you probably just didn't understand the risks of Omicron.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "“I like taking the guns early...to go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” -President Donald Trump. "...To guard, protect, and maintain his liberty, the freedman should have the ballot; that the liberties of the American people were dependent upon the Ballot-box, the Jury-box, and the Cartridge-box, that without these no class of people could live and flourish in this country." - Frederick Douglass MYT
El Guapo wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:52 pm
The other thing with him is he has this really weird puritanical diet that's pretty core to his existence at this point, so he's pushing this weird "if you just have good nutrition then you'll be fine if you get COVID".
Can you ask him if this line of thought translates to sexually transmitted infections? Like, would be be worried about getting herpes or gonorrhea from a random hookup and wear a condom? Or does he believe a healthy diet protects him from venereal diseases too?
Also, the conversation might get extra strange after you ask him, but I'm dying to know.
FYI his most recent post is praising Eric Adams's "holistic" COVID-19 plan. He notes "poor nutrition is a leading factor in most underlying risk factors for severe Covid outcomes, especially obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many autoimmune disorders." No mention of his views on the outcome-determinative impact of swagger, incidentally.
So I don't think he's saying that it will prevent you from getting an infection, just that it will help prevent you from getting a severe infection.
He's also concerned that too many vaccines might damage the immune system, and has proposed instead "a mass education on dietary protocols to counter obesity and boost immunity."
Ok, so he wouldn't wear a condom because he'd just be getting "mild" herpes or syphilis? Got it.
I mean, he's not completely wrong. Diet is important. Nutrition is important. But there are legions of unvaccinated dead people that were in top physical fitness and engaged in healthy diets. Having a poor diet and being overweight definitely seems to be a risk factor for complications, but even if your cousin is Slim Goodbody, that doesn't confer a pass on COVID-19.
In case you're wondering what type of advice Congress is getting:
The chief doctor for Congress is urging lawmakers and staff to take greater precautions in protecting themselves from the coronavirus as the Capitol grapples with an explosive spike in COVID-19 cases.
The Capitol's attending physician Brian Monahan said on Monday that the Capitol COVID-19 testing center's seven-day "positivity rate went from less than 1 percent to greater than 13 percent" since the end of November.
In a letter to congressional offices, Monahan advised members to shift towards remote work, noting that hundreds of people have been infected. For those choosing to remain on the Hill, he suggested cloth face coverings should be swapped out with more robust N95 or KN95 masks.
My brother’s son woke up this morning with a sore throat. It’s the first day of the semester in NY, so they held him out to get tested. The school requires anyone with self reported symptoms to get PCR tested negative before returning, which sounds good in theory but there’s no infrastructure in place to get the tested. He ended up testing negative (yay!) but the process was a shit show. They dismantled the drive through testing in his area this summer, so the only option was to go to a clinic where they waited for an hour in a lobby with 30 other people to get tested. They didn’t have Covid when they got to the clinic, but there’s a good chance they had it when they left.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
When in doubt, skewer it out...I don't know.
Daehawk wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 11:41 pm
Modern medicine.
Healthcare infrastructure.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "“I like taking the guns early...to go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” -President Donald Trump. "...To guard, protect, and maintain his liberty, the freedman should have the ballot; that the liberties of the American people were dependent upon the Ballot-box, the Jury-box, and the Cartridge-box, that without these no class of people could live and flourish in this country." - Frederick Douglass MYT
Last week, the Health Department was notified of small pop-up tents that were offering free COVID-19 testing operating in Center City. The staff who worked at these sites claimed they were funded by FEMA. Over the weekend, it was confirmed that these sites were not funded by FEMA. The City is asking residents who see these pop-up COVID-19 testing tents to avoid them and call the Health Department at 215-685-5488 to report them. The Health Department maintains a testing finder at http://phila.gov/testing. Due to the overwhelming need for testing right now, people who are experiencing symptoms, but cannot find testing, are encouraged to act as if they are already positive.
What exactly would the scheme be for running these tents? To charge people marked up prices to apply rapid tests? Or some other way of conning money / info out of people?
El Guapo wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:54 pm
Incidentally, per my kids maybe a half-dozen kids were out of school today due to COVID. One or two tested positive, while the others were out due to a COVID exposure (one kid's parent or grandparent tested positive, for example).
The twins (who are in separate classrooms to maximize our family's exposure potential! ) reported that there were 4 kids missing from boy's class and 7 kids missing from girl's class. No word on whether these were COVID related or kids coming back late from break or what, but it's fun. Apparently the Chicago Teacher's Union is voting today on whether to push for remote learning again. I assume they'll vote overwhelmingly in favor of it as that's the CTU's position, but it's unclear to me whether they'll actually refuse to come in to work or what.
ImLawBoy wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
Apparently the Chicago Teacher's Union is voting today on whether to push for remote learning again. I assume they'll vote overwhelmingly in favor of it as that's the CTU's position, but it's unclear to me whether they'll actually refuse to come in to work or what.
That sounds like something that they should have done before school resumed, right?
El Guapo wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
What exactly would the scheme be for running these tents? To charge people marked up prices to apply rapid tests? Or some other way of conning money / info out of people?
If I was running a current Cthulhu RPG campaign, I'd say they were looking for lizard people.
ImLawBoy wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
Apparently the Chicago Teacher's Union is voting today on whether to push for remote learning again. I assume they'll vote overwhelmingly in favor of it as that's the CTU's position, but it's unclear to me whether they'll actually refuse to come in to work or what.
That sounds like something that they should have done before school resumed, right?
I have no idea of the logistics of setting up voting for 25,000 union members during the holidays, although it's electronic so it's not like they needed to print ballots or anything.
El Guapo wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
What exactly would the scheme be for running these tents? To charge people marked up prices to apply rapid tests? Or some other way of conning money / info out of people?
If I was running a current Cthulhu RPG campaign, I'd say they were looking for lizard people.
I am told these are all hospitalizations with COVID or staff shortages from firing unvaxxed nurses. I also can't help but scoff at Murphy doing this remote.
So I have a new theory on what's happening in NJ and I'm smacking my head for not realizing it sooner. Our governor isn't doing anything because he knows his emergency powers end on 1/11 and need to be voted on by the state legislature to continue. He knows that if he does anything (mask mandates, vaccine passes, school closures, business closures,etc...) residents from both sides of the aisle are going to flood Trenton with complaints about overreach, tyranny, etc... and make voting for the continuation of his powers problematic. So instead he thought he'd stay under the radar after election day and wait until after his powers were re-established next week. But then Omicron arrived and he's now stuck (politically) at the same time the virus is hitting us harder than anything else other than the original wave. For the schools (especially the schools) he is putting the heat on local districts to make the call knowing they're going to get blasted by locals (for and against temporary closures) instead of him.
I'll know I'm right if everything changes on the morning on 1/12 and he starts actually doing something to stop the uncontrolled spread in our state. To be clear, it'll be far too late for any of that, but I guess we'll see.
El Guapo wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
What exactly would the scheme be for running these tents? To charge people marked up prices to apply rapid tests? Or some other way of conning money / info out of people?
They weren't charging for tests, so presumably this was a scheme to collect people's personal information.
El Guapo wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:14 am
What exactly would the scheme be for running these tents? To charge people marked up prices to apply rapid tests? Or some other way of conning money / info out of people?
They weren't charging for tests, so presumably this was a scheme to collect people's personal information.
Maybe it's possible they would charge their insurance (or the government)?
Or possibly they were collecting DNA samples to clone and replace all the people with pod people.
Defiant wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:20 pm
Or possibly they were collecting DNA samples to clone and replace all the people with pod people.
There's an episode in the last season of Person of Interest, where the evil AI creates an outbreak of a deadly form of flu in a single hospital (so only a few people affected). This is so people would get scared and all run to get vaccinated (and the AI wanted to collect their DNA samples). I only watched it for the first time about 6 months ago, and I was snickering to myself that the script writers back in 2016 couldn't fathom that a 3rd of the population would outright refuse vaccinations for a REAL global outbreak.
malchior wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:12 pm
Plausible. Also possible they let them expire since he doesn't need them and then we know we are on our own.
If that's the case - and they don't extend his powers, the first thing that disappears is the masking mandate for all K-12 schools. And when that happen, locals decide and it will be total and complete chaos everywhere in our state.
I know the anti-mask people have been vocal since day one, but I am confident there are more teachers and parents in support of masks right now. At least, I need to believe that or I am going to implode.
Walmart and Kroger are raising prices for BinaxNOW rapid Covid-19 tests after the expiration of a deal with the White House to sell the kits for $14
The deal with the White House expired in December, and Walmart said this week that it is raising the kits’ price to $19.98 a box. Kroger now sells them for $23.99. The BinaxNOW tests aren’t currently available on Amazon.
Everywhere I read was they were about $25 and impossible to find.
Also, yesterday I drove by my local testing site to meet up with my parents. At 10:00 there was a line 20 people deep outside. I have no idea how many were inside. So I'm guess their appointments fill up instantly nowadays. I had no problem getting an appointment like 15 minutes ahead of time when I went for my first ever test however long ago that was (November/early December time frame). If I had to wait outside in 20 degree weather for an hour plus before waiting inside for ??? while I'm experiencing early COVID symptoms, I'd probably be sitting at home with early COVID symptoms and worse I'd probably be going from store to store looking for cold/flu meds. I was just debating picking some up for the Just In Case cause but from the sound of it, everywhere is Old Mother Hubbard when it comes to cold and flu stuff around here. You'd think it was toilet paper.
Guess who is really not happy that he has to be present at work during this.
When I ordered my free state-provided COVID tests (from the state of Colorado), they came from Amazon - in an Amazon-branded envelope via their courier, what seemed like 2nd-day delivery.
LordMortis wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:31 pm
Everywhere I read was they were about $25 and impossible to find.
Also, yesterday I drove by my local testing site to meet up with my parents. At 10:00 there was a line 20 people deep outside. I have no idea how many were inside. So I'm guess their appointments fill up instantly nowadays. I had no problem getting an appointment like 15 minutes ahead of time when I went for my first ever test however long ago that was (November/early December time frame). If I had to wait outside in 20 degree weather for an hour plus before waiting inside for ??? while I'm experiencing early COVID symptoms, I'd probably be sitting at home with early COVID symptoms and worse I'd probably be going from store to store looking for cold/flu meds. I was just debating picking some up for the Just In Case cause but from the sound of it, everywhere is Old Mother Hubbard when it comes to cold and flu stuff around here. You'd think it was toilet paper.
Guess who is really not happy that he has to be present at work during this.
By me it's 100 deep by 8AM and that's all they will take. And to add to the fun if you show up later in the day they don't make it clear that you need to line up early in the morning. I'm guessing because they just want you to go the f away. I absolutely hate the urgent care places in our area. They are all assholes even before Covid.
Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff.
El Guapo wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:37 pm
I will say that if no one in my wife's family tests positive before the end of winter, then I'll be 100% convinced that COVID is a hoax.
Yes, I have an entire group of people (friends of the family) that have done literally the opposite of everything recommended and have yet to realize any consequences. If they don't get it now I will propose we turn them over to the research community to figure out how they did it. I'm also pretty confident that unless one of them actually dies, they're never going to admit anything ever happened - that it's entirely possibly they had it and were just "really busy" that one week.
Octavious wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:38 pm
By me it's 100 deep by 8AM and that's all they will take. And to add to the fun if you show up later in the day they don't make it clear that you need to line up early in the morning. I'm guessing because they just want you to go the f away. I absolutely hate the urgent care places in our area. They are all assholes even before Covid.
This place is actually a church with community center facilities that have been set up as a COVID testing site since at least whenever I decided I needed to get my first (and only) test. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get an appointment and get tested and how quickly I got my results. This was when Michigan seemed to be the worst place in the nation (I think they said 10% of cases were from Michigan and beds around here were already full) to be but still before Omicron was thing.
) reported that there were 4 kids missing from boy's class and 7 kids missing from girl's class. No word on whether these were COVID related or kids coming back late from break or what, but it's fun. Apparently the Chicago Teacher's Union is voting today on whether to push for remote learning again. I assume they'll vote overwhelmingly in favor of it as that's the CTU's position, but it's unclear to me whether they'll actually refuse to come in to work or what.
