Octopus Overlords

The Meal wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:17 pmOrdered.

El Guapo wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 12:02 pm You would think that given how much red America is dying from COVID, that there would be some blowback against red state politicians from their base, right? But if anything it seems like it's more politically dangerous to favor even sensible and relatively mild COVID measures.

An invitation for a holiday party at the home of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—one of America’s most notorious anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists—reportedly urged guests to get tested or vaccinated for coronavirus before they came inside his house. Politico reports Kennedy held a holiday gathering at his home in California last week, and virtual invites told attendees to take the same precautions that Kennedy has spent the pandemic attempting to undermine for enormous financial gain.

When Politico asked him about the apparent hypocrisy at his shindig, Kennedy blamed his wife—Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines.

El Guapo wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 12:02 pm https://twitter.com/dburbach/status/1471463918946164744

I've complained a fair amount about our broken political institutions, and they play a big role in why we have wound up with such shitty people in office, but I have to complain a bit about the electorate as well. You would think that given how much red America is dying from COVID, that there would be some blowback against red state politicians from their base, right? But if anything it seems like it's more politically dangerous to favor even sensible and relatively mild COVID measures.

The Trump administration deliberately undermined the nation's coronavirus response for political purposes, including by weakening testing guidance and championing widespread "herd immunity," according to a new report from the House panel investigating the pandemic response.

The Democratic staff report released Friday was a summation of the year's work investigating political interference in the pandemic response from Trump officials and the former president himself.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:38 pmAnd while it's exactly as I expected (including the removal of face coverings and guidance against singing in church), let me specifically call out Dr. Birx as as being complicit. "I'll go on vacation" so she can say she wasn't there when all this additional BS was being floated in August of 2020 is absolutely disgusting. I hope history remembers the role she played.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:38 pm let me specifically call out Dr. Birx as as being complicit.

A federal appeals court has reinstated the Biden administration's vaccine and testing requirement for private businesses that covers about 80 million American workers.

The ruling by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers.

In the decision Friday, the 6th Circuit noted that OSHA has historical precedent for using wide discretion to ensure worker safety and "demonstrated the pervasive danger that COVID-19 poses to workers—unvaccinated workers in particular—in their workplaces."

After testifying for over 3 hours in a Senate hearing where he suggested masks may not be necessary on flights, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly tested positive for covid. Sitting with him were CEOs of Delta, United, American, and Pres of Flight Attend. Here he is.

When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.

The Virginia Tech engineering professor, who studies viruses in the air, said the policy defies scientific reason, because respirators offer far more protection than a medical mask, both to the wearer and others around them.

"It would be like asking someone to take off their seatbelt, and to use this piece of rope to tie themselves to the seat instead," Marr said by phone.

The agency said in an email that evidence published before the emergence of Omicron did not support the use of N95s over medical masks to protect health workers against COVID-19. But until more is known about the new variant, "it is prudent to enhance all layers of protection," the agency said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada also updated its mask recommendations in November amid growing consensus that small airborne particles play a significant role in spreading the novel coronavirus, in a departure from previous messaging pointing to larger respiratory droplets as the main mode of transmission.

The guidelines endorse the use of respirators among the general public, noting that they may provide a better fit than medical or non-medical masks

Smoove_B wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:45 pm

Meanwhile in the United states, this is normal.

"They saw an injustice and they stood up" he said, totally serious.

Smoove_B wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:45 pm Meanwhile in the United states, this is normal.

"They saw an injustice and they stood up" he said, totally serious.

“Your rights end where mine begin. You don’t get to tell me how I conduct myself,” Jenne said.

BIG. Germany’s new coronavirus expert council, per ARD:

All models show that boosters alone don’t lead to a sufficient reduction of the omicron wave, “therefore additional contact restrictions are needed.”

Goal: Nationally effective contact restrictions in coming days.

Other measures:

- Ramp up vaccinations and boosters over the holidays

- Avoid large indoor gatherings

- Ramp up indoor masking with FFP2 (N95)

- Ramp up self testing

Assessment:

Omicron could lead to “explosive spread” that poses “high risk” to critical infrastructure in Germany (hospitals, police, EMS, telecoms, water, electricity) requiring immediate action now.

Also: No indication that Omicron is milder than Delta.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 1:15 pm If everyone had to wear N95s, there would be no N95s. Remember when surgical masks ran out?

On March 1st, the American Mask Manufacturers Association wrote to the White House that their members had 233 million N95 respirators ready to ship and could produce 298 million more per month. And with $75 million in funding scale to 3 billion per month.

This is what the White House is reading, this is what's guiding Biden's policy.

This is why 400,000 more people died this year in the US.

(embedded Tweet from Dr. Jha that basically boils down to "we must keep everything open and running")

The White House is being influenced by something we might call "pandemic centrism."

It says there is a compromise between saving lives and losing profits.

Where you let just enough people die to keep corporate profits up, but not so many that workers stop going to work.

"Pandemic centrism" is not public health policy.

It's economic policy that prioritizes the creation of wealth and the maintenance of the unjust status quo over saving lives, stopping illness, and preventing disability.

It's capitalism putting profit over life.

How do I know the White House is reading this?

Because the White House Chief of Staff just retweeted it minutes ago.

When you say you're going to "listen to science" it matter which science you're listening to.

Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:42 pm

A pause here. We are still just weeks into our fight against Omicron, and it’s not easy to gather data on incubation periods, which might differ among populations, or suss out exactly how the virus is tangoing with our cells. But the early warning signs are here—and as my colleague Sarah Zhang has reported, we know enough to act.

All of this, then, ups the urgency on having tests that can quickly and reliably pinpoint Omicron. “If Omicron has a shorter incubation period, that’s going to wreak havoc on how we test for it and deal with it,” Omai Garner, a clinical microbiologist in the UCLA Health system, told me. But testing in the United States remains slow, expensive, and, for many, infuriatingly out of reach. We’re ill-prepared for the incoming Omicron surge not just because it’s a new version of the coronavirus, but because it’s poised to exploit one of the greatest vulnerabilities in our infection-prevention toolkit. The coronavirus is getting faster, which means it’s also getting harder to catch.

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Dec 20, 2021 12:26 pm EDIT: Yeah, here you go - in the Atlantic this morning - Our Tests are Too Slow:

NEW: Boston bans unvaccinated people from indoor dining, indoor fitness, and indoor entertainment

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Dec 20, 2021 2:06 pm Boston is...trying.

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1472951872910729224

NEW: Boston bans unvaccinated people from indoor dining, indoor fitness, and indoor entertainment