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Covid 19 #26: Now is the Winter of Our Discontent


Fragile Bird

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I give up on trying to make sense of the whole ridiculous situation we are all in.

This is the only article in English I managed to find: https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/7865-six-children-called-to-court-over-remote-schooling-protests

But basically, some highschoolers organised a protest on February 9th, demanding a return to schools for all students. The protests seem to have been calm, all the videos I saw show them wearing masks and standing far apart from each other. Then the police came and wrote them up for breaking covid rules about gathering.

In the past few days, six of the students (some underage) got fines and court summons.

I don't know what to think of the situation anymore. Yes, we have to be very careful about not spreading diseases and gathering in crowds is not recommended, and school closures have a purpose.

But really, they are still just kids who want access to schools. At least I know I can admire them for having a dedication to their education and enough motivation to organise an action about it.

And our government is very problematic and leaning more and more towards undemocratic measures (criticising the media, the curfew, not listening to oppostion), and highschoolers being summoned to court and being fined over wanting to go to school, with our PM commenting "they should just pay their fines" just seems like a provocation at this point. The group of immunologists and doctors advising the government are in favour of opening all the schools, so keeping schools closed for most highschoolers (primary schoolers, as in children up to the age of 15, have been back in schools for a couple of weeks now, as well as the final year's high schoolers/secondary schoolers).

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3 hours ago, rotting sea cow said:

I tend to think (and hope) you are on the right track, although this disease makes sometimes weird turns. Most people I know, they start loosing the sense of taste and smell, but in your case it's coming after a while already.

I've myself the feeling of something sticky back in the throat, nothing else. Maybe I should get tested too.

Ah thanks. I do not dare to jump conclusions. I don’t think I’ll feel safe until after day 14ish. At least I’m halfway through. 

yes, do it now without delay. It was essentially luck that I got a test on Saturday and pleaded my mother into not coming to pick sister up before I had results, even though everybody with one exception told me it didn’t make sense to get a test. And boy I am so glad I did, because the whole thing stirred clear of my mum this way. 

3 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

How long are you under quarantine?

10 days -officially. Again, I’m unlikely to leave the house until after two weeks and a negative PCR. 

1 hour ago, Clueless Northman said:

Oh well mine is truly mediocre but it doesn't seem to affect me so that's probably fine. It's usually between 95% and 97% and it's quite common that level goes down to 94%, and of course can go up to 99%, but I'm rarely at 98-99 - at least not when resting, of course if I just exercised it'll jump up.

  

My cousin's husband got this last, after shortness of breath, sore throat and fever. Took him a few weeks to really recover it, but other than that he was basically fine at this stage of illness. Hopefully, it'll be the same for you, with of course smell and taste coming back faster.

I haven’t had fever or considerable shortness of breath just yet. But I suppose you just never know what tomorrow brings with this shit. Thank you for the encouragement! 

1 hour ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

I lost my sense of smell and taste during a 4 month sinus infection in 2018-2019. I had sinus surgery in 2019, and it took a couple weeks - maybe even a couple months - to come back fully.

You can sometimes hurry the process along a bit by occasionally smelling strong scents like peppermint oil or coffee beans a couple times a day.

Don’t trust that you can actually smell cleaning products when you are cleaning (and assume your sense of smell is returning) - the “scent” of bleach stimulates the trigeminal nerve, not the olfactory nerves. 

The soup I had for lunch tasted oddly tasteless, then I realized that my ginger tea tasted the exact same. Then I stuck a candle under my nose and nothing. I will probably try triggering it when I feel more secure of my recovery but it’s fine for now. 

And I’ve got to say there’s a morbid hilarity to eating sauerkraut without the taste. It’s like chewing soft plastic. 

1 hour ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

Walgreens, $35 US :) 

Of course, it’s not hospital grade. Maybe you bought an extra fancy one, or maybe the prices have come down a lot?

Allegedly my father ordered one for us and he’ll drop it at my door when it arrives. 

 

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Even Pope Francis didnt go as far as this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/02/new-orleans-archdiocese-catholics-avoid-johnson-johnson-vaccine

Quote

 

The archdiocese of New Orleans has told local Catholics to avoid the Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine, because its early development used “morally compromised cell lines created from two abortions”.

The statement put the archdiocese at odds with Pope Francis. In December, the Vatican said it was “morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted foetuses in their research and production process”, as the use of such vaccines “does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive”.

 

The article does point out that both Biden and Fauci are Catholics (I didnt know about the latter), and are perfectly fine with the J&J vaccine. But....someone always has to make a fuss about something.

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The governors of both Texas and Mississippi have declared NO MASKING ANYWHERE, and, EVERYTHING IS OPEN.  No crowd limitations on anything, indoors or out.  Covid's all over, we don't need any precautions of any kind anywhere anymore.

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34 minutes ago, Zorral said:

The governors of both Texas and Mississippi have declared NO MASKING ANYWHERE, and, EVERYTHING IS OPEN.  No crowd limitations on anything, indoors or out.  Covid's all over, we don't need any precautions of any kind anywhere anymore.

I saw that too. Yet down here, I’m considered the crazy one. 
 

A little over a month ago Covid finally swept though my workplace. 

In a two day time span 9 of about 35 people got symptoms and then tested positive. (No idea how many may have been asymptomatic)

2 ended up hospitalized for a few days. 

Luckily no one died.

But because no one died, it just reinforced everyone’s belief that Covid is no big deal and we should open up as quickly as possible. 
 

 

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17 minutes ago, A True Kaniggit said:

I saw that too. Yet down here, I’m considered the crazy one. 
 

A little over a month ago Covid finally swept though my workplace. 

In a two day time span 9 of about 35 people got symptoms and then tested positive. (No idea how many may have been asymptomatic)

2 ended up hospitalized for a few days. 

Luckily no one died.

But because no one died, it just reinforced everyone’s belief that Covid is no big deal and we should open up as quickly as possible. 
 

 

having 2 out of 9 end up in hospital even if only for a couple of days should be enough to show it is a big deal.

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Here in NYC, at least in comment sections of some of our publications, people are trying to figure out what to call the year we've gone through, and what to call March 15th when full down 'pause' / self quarantine / lockdown and closure of public spaces went into effect.  Trying to remember what they were doing then, and where they were.

Everything about a year ago is very fresh in my memory, and I don't feel a need to call it back up -- it's just there.  I also have my journal -- not started then, but what I've been keeping most of my life, starting in high school, and then stopping in first grad school and for a few years after that.

I seldom go back and look at these things.  When I do I always have the same reaction: "Who is that person who knows nothing?"

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4 hours ago, Buckwheat said:

I give up on trying to make sense of the whole ridiculous situation we are all in.

This is the only article in English I managed to find: https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/7865-six-children-called-to-court-over-remote-schooling-protests

That is pretty bad.  I don't know how any government thinks that picking on kids shows them in a good light.  COVID-19 certainly hasn't been good for democracy.

I fear the next month is going to be pretty bleak in most of Europe.  Cases have started to go up again and vaccines wouldn't arrive in sufficient numbers till April.  That's a recipe for a lot of nervous people.  Fatalities haven't gone up yet but, given the vaccination rate, that trend continuing is not guaranteed.

There is still some progress.  We will have the J&J approval in the EU on the 11th March (UK shouldn't be far off that timing also).  Novavax is supposed to apply for approval in the UK in April.  Maybe EU too depending on the status of its order.

There is talk about the EU changing its approval process.  I think that's focusing on the wrong thing.  J&J will get approved in a few days but we still wouldn't see actual vaccines until the beginning of April.  And the Irish government hinted that it doesn't expect many J&J doses in April.  It will be Pfizer and Astrazeneca (Astra finally moving to the levels we were supposed to be getting in Feb).

On 3/1/2021 at 6:19 PM, IheartIheartTesla said:

So the US at this time is not planning on sharing vaccines with Mexico

Yes.   I don't think history will look kindly on all this.  France proposed that G7 countries should donate 5% of their doses to other countries but even that hasn't gone anywhere (seemingly).  As the WHO has said, vaccinating healthy individuals while refusing to help vaccinate vulnerable people in other countries is not justified morally.  France did apparently "loan" the Czech's 100k doses, which was considerate, given Czechs high COVID levels but that is the best I can see.

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I saw a story from the Guardian when searching for some information that says the EU is about to receive large amounts of the AZ vaccine, which means countries are going to have to make some decisions about how they are going to get shots in arms.

In the meantime, it looks like parts, if not all, of Canada will be moving to administer only one dose of vaccine, extending the second dose out by 3 or 4 months. The province of Quebec took that stance from the beginning, deciding on 3 months, and now the province of British Columbia will be waiting 4 months before administering second doses. The federal government and the provinces have apparently been discussing this in their conference calls. We should hear from the various provinces over the next few days about what they will do. Since we are scheduled to receive 23 M doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines between April and June, it's always been counted as 12.5 M people getting vaccinated. 23 M people getting one dose might be the wise thing to do.

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6 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

I saw a story from the Guardian when searching for some information that says the EU is about to receive large amounts of the AZ vaccine, which means countries are going to have to make some decisions about how they are going to get shots in arms.

In the meantime, it looks like parts, if not all, of Canada will be moving to administer only one dose of vaccine, extending the second dose out by 3 or 4 months. The province of Quebec took that stance from the beginning, deciding on 3 months, and now the province of British Columbia will be waiting 4 months before administering second doses. The federal government and the provinces have apparently been discussing this in their conference calls. We should hear from the various provinces over the next few days about what they will do. Since we are scheduled to receive 23 M doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines between April and June, it's always been counted as 12.5 M people getting vaccinated. 23 M people getting one dose might be the wise thing to do.

getting one shot and waiting 12 weeks for the next one seems to be working out in the UK as the right decision.  With our head start on you, if it turns out we need the 2nd dose sooner than 12 weeks we (the UK) should have the data a month or 2 before your second doses will be scheduled.

 

Not that this makes it any better your having to wait so long, but I guess it does give you more data to plan things.

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For the first in longer than I can remember, another country besides the U.S. was the leader in "New Daily Cases".

Brazil had the honors yesterday, according to the Worldometer site, edging out the U.S. 58,000ish to our 56,000ish.

I cannot remember another time when we were not the daily leader in new cases. So, baby steps, we'll take any improvements we can get.

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12 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

yes, do it now without delay. It was essentially luck that I got a test on Saturday and pleaded my mother into not coming to pick sister up before I had results, even though everybody with one exception told me it didn’t make sense to get a test. And boy I am so glad I did, because the whole thing stirred clear of my mum this way. 

Well, I went to the doctor so the antigen test is performed correctly and came back negative. Today I have a little of cough (but no other symptom), so it might be another virus. Which is interesting actually. We know that the flu has been knocked-out this winter everywhere, but what other virus can actually go through all precautions against SARS-CoV-2? I tried to look up for virus surveillance but didn't found anything that can help

I hope you are feeling better!

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6 hours ago, Padraig said:

That is pretty bad.  I don't know how any government thinks that picking on kids shows them in a good light.  COVID-19 certainly hasn't been good for democracy.

It hasn't been good for the values that the West "cherish". Things do not look good for the foreseeable future. Pretty bleak actually.

 

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2 hours ago, rotting sea cow said:

Well, I went to the doctor so the antigen test is performed correctly and came back negative. Today I have a little of cough (but no other symptom), so it might be another virus. Which is interesting actually. We know that the flu has been knocked-out this winter everywhere, but what other virus can actually go through all precautions against SARS-CoV-2? I tried to look up for virus surveillance but didn't found anything that can help

I hope you are feeling better!

That’s a good start though antigen tests can be unreliable. Hope it’s just a cold for you. 

I feel roughly the same as I did yesterday though I have better appetite and the lightheadedness is better. I have an odd feeling in my back but it’s unrelated to breathing so I suspect it’s down to sleeping and lying in odd positions. I’m still kinda nervous about what else might come or what else might be going on that I don’t register and I don’t dare to feel safe just yet. At the same time I find my mind breaking out of the anxiety cage and going to its usual random places and it’s making future plans rather than death plans. I usually consciously pull back from these and focus on the present and my body because I don’t yet dare to feel safe. 

sister had a negative pcr result yesterday. I’m hoping she’ll arrange herself another test. At this point the PCR cannot be too early because it’s been at least 72 hours since her potential infection. If she has another negative result she can return to life, bless her luck and everything she experienced was likely psychosomatic. 

And it seems that my father’s getting the Sputnik tomorrow. Hopefully mum’ll be called to get the first astra Zeneca jab for the weekend as well. I told them not to be picky about it and just get whatever they can the first chance. 

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6 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

In the meantime, it looks like parts, if not all, of Canada will be moving to administer only one dose of vaccine, extending the second dose out by 3 or 4 months. 

Interesting.  While the AZ vaccine seems to be ideal for a delayed 1 dose strategy, i'm not sure has anyone shown that Pfizer is fine being delayed also.  Pfizer does give reasonable protection over the first few weeks but that's far from 12.  But I may be missing something.

But with Israel sticking to the normal 2 dose strategy and the UK not, there should be good case studies emerging.

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It seems they want to do a study in the area of Austria with the most cases of the South Africa mutation and we are supposed to get an extra 100k doses of the Pfizer vaccine for that. 

The main topic in social media is how getting as many cases as possible by ignoring recommendations is the way to get the "best" vaccine. Yeah for social media. 

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37 minutes ago, Padraig said:

Interesting.  While the AZ vaccine seems to be ideal for a delayed 1 dose strategy, i'm not sure has anyone shown that Pfizer is fine being delayed also.  Pfizer does give reasonable protection over the first few weeks but that's far from 12.  But I may be missing something.

But with Israel sticking to the normal 2 dose strategy and the UK not, there should be good case studies emerging.

UK is just reaching 12 weeks from the first vaccines being given.
Results from 8 weeks on a single jab are promising (about 80% IIRC)

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43 minutes ago, Padraig said:

Interesting.  While the AZ vaccine seems to be ideal for a delayed 1 dose strategy, i'm not sure has anyone shown that Pfizer is fine being delayed also.  Pfizer does give reasonable protection over the first few weeks but that's far from 12.  But I may be missing something.

But with Israel sticking to the normal 2 dose strategy and the UK not, there should be good case studies emerging.

Quebec.

Quebec has vaccinated more than 450,000 people with Pfizer and Moderna. Vaccinations started before Christmas, so second doses won’t start for another two weeks or so. I had mentioned this earlier in the thread, but maybe it didn’t register. Quebec says efficacy is 80% or better, and other places have said 90%.
 

Quebec had the worst numbers in Canada and the most deaths with the second largest population. Ontario has the largest population and finally moved past Quebec in terms of cases at the end of January, but Quebec still leads in deaths, by more than 3,000, (10k v 7k). They had horrible outbreaks in LTC homes. Everyone in care in LTC has been vaccinated in both provinces and so deaths have dropped dramatically. 
 

People in the US have been appalled at the fact that 30% of US deaths have happened in LTC homes, with some states higher than 50%. That number in Canada is almost 80%. I think the US should be more appalled at the 70% of deaths in people not in LTC. 

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2 hours ago, Which Tyler said:

UK is just reaching 12 weeks from the first vaccines being given.
Results from 8 weeks on a single jab are promising (about 80% IIRC)

Can you share a link?  I've seen a few stories on this but those were referring to 3 or 4 after the first jab.  The only studies that have I have seen beyond 4 weeks were on the AstraZeneca vaccine (and we've known about that since December).

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

Quebec says efficacy is 80% or better, and other places have said 90%.

Same question I suppose. :)

This is an old article but on topic.

2 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

It seems they want to do a study in the area of Austria with the most cases of the South Africa mutation and we are supposed to get an extra 100k doses of the Pfizer vaccine for that. 

The main topic in social media is how getting as many cases as possible by ignoring recommendations is the way to get the "best" vaccine. Yeah for social media. 

Yikes.  Do you know the percentage of people in Austria with the South African mutation?

It'll be ironic if they get the vaccine by increasing cases...but it doesn't work...

Edited to add: And if seasonality is a factor, variants are a much bigger factor, given the rise of cases in many countries again (although, I think reduced restrictions plays a role too).

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