Octopus Overlords

Kasey Chang wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:45 pm How did the Qanon Fodder parents conclude that masks are unreasonable?

Kasey Chang wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:45 pm Do they REALLY believe that children can't catch COVID?

At its peak (1952), polio killed 3,145 Americans. After a vaccine became available in 1955, all 50 states passed laws requiring polio vaccination before kids can enter public schools.

COVID killed 345,000 Americans in 2020, and has killed 416,000 more so far in 2021.

Anyone who's eligible for a booster, and most Americans probably are eligible for a booster at this point, should be going out and seeking it. And this is the fastest way that we can increase the total immunity in the population because someone who has an old vaccine that may only have 50% of its effectiveness left, they go out and get a booster. They restore 95% effectiveness based on the data that we've seen within a matter of days. So the fastest way that we can get increased immunity in the population and increase the total immunity in the population may be through boosting people who've already been vaccinated with two doses. Plus, it's going to be easier to convert that person. It's going to be much easier to convince someone who's had two doses of vaccine to go out and get a third than to convince one of the 18% of Americans who's chosen to remain unvaccinated this long to get vaccinated for the first time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You just said that was one of the biggest missteps- missteps in this pandemic. This pandemic has been full of mistakes. Why is this the biggest one?

DR. GOTTLIEB: Yeah look, I- I think when we look back, this may be a very big missed opportunity to try to get ahead of this Delta wave, again, because this is going to be the fastest way that we can increase the total immunity in the population. We have to look at the immunity in terms of not just how many people have been vaccinated, but also the depth of immunity, how many people have a lot of residual immune protection against this virus and are going to be what we call a dead-end host and not going to be someone who can catch and spread this virus. And the fastest way to turn someone into a dead-end host is to get them fully vaccinated. There's a lot of people with declining vaccine effectiveness right now who can both catch and spread this virus. If we give them a booster, we restore the full effectiveness of that vaccine.

I notice that it’s that all 50 states passed laws, and not that it was federal. Of course the horse is out of the barn for asking states to look at this non politically.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:36 am I'd say there's some recency bias WRT to it being the biggest misstep but it's certainly an opportunity we don't want to miss.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:36 am Scott Gottlieb from FTN yesterday:

Anyone who's eligible for a booster, and most Americans probably are eligible for a booster at this point, should be going out and seeking it. And this is the fastest way that we can increase the total immunity in the population because someone who has an old vaccine that may only have 50% of its effectiveness left, they go out and get a booster. They restore 95% effectiveness based on the data that we've seen within a matter of days. So the fastest way that we can get increased immunity in the population and increase the total immunity in the population may be through boosting people who've already been vaccinated with two doses. Plus, it's going to be easier to convert that person. It's going to be much easier to convince someone who's had two doses of vaccine to go out and get a third than to convince one of the 18% of Americans who's chosen to remain unvaccinated this long to get vaccinated for the first time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You just said that was one of the biggest missteps- missteps in this pandemic. This pandemic has been full of mistakes. Why is this the biggest one?

DR. GOTTLIEB: Yeah look, I- I think when we look back, this may be a very big missed opportunity to try to get ahead of this Delta wave, again, because this is going to be the fastest way that we can increase the total immunity in the population. We have to look at the immunity in terms of not just how many people have been vaccinated, but also the depth of immunity, how many people have a lot of residual immune protection against this virus and are going to be what we call a dead-end host and not going to be someone who can catch and spread this virus. And the fastest way to turn someone into a dead-end host is to get them fully vaccinated. There's a lot of people with declining vaccine effectiveness right now who can both catch and spread this virus. If we give them a booster, we restore the full effectiveness of that vaccine.

I'd say there's some recency bias WRT to it being the biggest misstep but it's certainly an opportunity we don't want to miss.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released to CNN on Friday new evidence showing how US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials were pressured by Trump administration officials to alter scientific guidance and prevented from communicating directly with the public.

A Southwest Airlines employee was taken to a hospital after a passenger assaulted her during the boarding process at Dallas Love Field Airport on Saturday, airline officials said.

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:01 pm There needs to be a zero tolerance, no-fly across all airlines policy for this. Unreal.

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/stat ... 5354844165

A Southwest Airlines employee was taken to a hospital after a passenger assaulted her during the boarding process at Dallas Love Field Airport on Saturday, airline officials said.

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:40 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:36 am I'd say there's some recency bias WRT to it being the biggest misstep but it's certainly an opportunity we don't want to miss.

I agree - with you and to his point about offering boosters now to everyone.

I saw some data this morning from VT and cases are shooting up at an insane rate, which is a little surprising for a state that has ~82% with one dose and somewhere around 72% fully vaccinated. If they're seeing a significant number of cases in VT among people that didn't get a booster? That does not bode well for the rest of us as the virus shifts north.

El Guapo wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:29 am Seems like the public health consensus on boosters has shifted pretty sharply to "only worth it for unusually vulnerable people due to limited data on waning availability and the need to get more people first doses" to "we should be giving everyone boosters" in the last month or two, is that right? Is that due to there now being more data on waning immunity, or something else?

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:08 am Unless you live in NJ. Then the governor says on Monday "All adults over 18 should get a booster" but then doesn't actually officially lift policy guidelines to make it happen. If only he knew someone that could do that.

And yes, there are still plenty of vaccines to go around. The United States is sitting on the largest surplus of vaccines and also has the greatest number of total cases (to date). USA! USA! USA!

El Guapo wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:26 am Has there been any research on waning immunity for 12 - 17 year olds? With my 9 YO now in the process of getting vaccinated, I suppose that becomes the most pressing issue for my family.

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:13 pmI need to slide back into the shadows...

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:01 pm There needs to be a zero tolerance, no-fly across all airlines policy for this. Unreal.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:10 am Prison is a decent proxy for no-fly.

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:08 am

El Guapo wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:29 am Seems like the public health consensus on boosters has shifted pretty sharply to "only worth it for unusually vulnerable people due to limited data on waning availability and the need to get more people first doses" to "we should be giving everyone boosters" in the last month or two, is that right? Is that due to there now being more data on waning immunity, or something else?

Yes, the shift has been rather fast. I think there's now 10 studies showing that the waning immunity issue (for all three vaccines) is significant and with only ~60% fully vaccinated, you now have quite a bit of fuel for the virus to get nutty again this winter. The fact that it's causing severe illness (hospitalization-level illness) in vaccinated populations with waning immunity is likely driving the push.

Unless you live in NJ. Then the governor says on Monday "All adults over 18 should get a booster" but then doesn't actually officially lift policy guidelines to make it happen. If only he knew someone that could do that.

And yes, there are still plenty of vaccines to go around. The United States is sitting on the largest surplus of vaccines and also has the greatest number of total cases (to date). USA! USA! USA!

EDIT: In looking on the Internet, we've crossed 5 million deaths globally. I mean, really.

LordMortis wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:47 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:01 pm There needs to be a zero tolerance, no-fly across all airlines policy for this. Unreal.

I honestly don't understand how that is not already a thing. Growing up you didn't even joke about screwing with the airlines once you were in the air port. Then we got the TSA. How has "Guess what? Fly private to/from a private air port, cause you're done here." not been a thing since like July of 2020 for violent or "do not comply" passengers? It doesn't make sense to me at all.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:10 am Prison is a decent proxy for no-fly.

Chicago’s health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez on Tuesday lauded the vaccination campaign after 6,687 Chicago Public Schools students, or about 1% of the school body, were inoculated as part of the latest push.

Overall, about 8,300 children across the city received their first doses last Friday — the single-largest day for youth vaccination to date, Arwady said.

“I’ve been very pleased about the early uptake” for 5- to 11-year-olds, Arwady said.

Nearly 13,000 Chicago students, age 5-17, received the vaccine through the weekend.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 3:12 pm It's all low hanging fruit right now. The question is where does "hesitancy" and anti-vax start stalling progress. 75%? 50%?

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 3:25 pm if it's (the point at which the speed drops off a cliff, not where it ultimately stops) 40% I'll be ecstatic.

As of Nov. 2, 56.7 percent of 12- to 15-year-olds had received at least one vaccine dose, and 47.5 percent of this population was fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC.

As of 6 a.m. EDT Nov. 16, a total of 195,435,688 Americans had been fully vaccinated, or 58.9 percent of the country's population, according to the CDC's data.

On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA's COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) ("ETS"). The court ordered that OSHA "take no steps to implement or enforce" the ETS "until further court order." While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 3:05 pm https://twitter.com/benwakana46/status/ ... YuYww&s=19

Vermont is one of the most vaccinated states in the country and has served as a model for its COVID-19 response throughout the pandemic. But now, the state is experiencing its worst COVID-19 surge yet, with several factors -- including its own success -- to blame, officials said.

In Vermont, nearly 72% of residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 -- more than any other state, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. At the same time, it has the 12th-highest rate of new COVID-19 cases over the last week, state data released Tuesday shows.

...

Scott said he isn't reissuing a mask mandate amid the increase in cases, saying he feels it would be an "abuse of power," but encouraged residents to "take a few extra precautions," including wearing masks indoors while in public and getting tested before gatherings.

"If we make smart decisions in the coming weeks, and make an extra effort to protect the vulnerable, we can help reduce hospitalizations," Scott said. "But it takes all of us committing to these smart, practical choices, starting with getting vaccinated."

"None of us wants to step backwards," he added.

Unagi wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:49 am Re: % of 5-11 year olds that were vaccinate by state...

Where does one find that data? All I can find are week old news reports.