Covid 19-31 The Mutants Are Coming

[Fragile Bird]

I don’t know how much attention the topic of opioid deaths during the pandemic has received in the US (not much, as far as I can tell north of the border) but it’s gotten a lot of attention here.

The top 10 jurisdictions for deaths per 100,000 people:

W. Virginia  42.4

British Columbia  31.4

Ohio  29.6

Massachusetts  29.3

Connecticut  27.5

Washington DC  26.7

Rhode Island  25.9

Kentucky  23.4

Maine  23.4

Alberta  18.7

I always heard it was the US Midwest, Ohio and other states, that had the worst crisis. Those east coast states are a big surprise.

The lowest provinces in Canada are Quebec, at 2.5 (with lowest number of doses prescribed in Canada at 3,601 per 1000 people) and Newfoundland at 2.3, with the second highest number of doses per 1,000 people prescribed, double that of Quebec at 7,878.

[Zorral]

Kentucky and West Virginia long have been cited for their massive opioid abuse in the stories about the crisis. They too are states that have large unemployment -- most of US does now, though, of course, since the pandemic.  Maine isn't so surprising s it too isn't a rich state with high unemployment unable to access to decent health care. So many people get addicted in the first place to opioids due to pain, pain physical and emotional too.

Someone in Texas told me the other day that NYC is having another crack epidemic.  I've seen not a hint nor heard a whisper about that -- though we sure are having an epidemic of guns being fed into the city.

 

[Fez]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I don’t know how much attention the topic of opioid deaths during the pandemic has received in the US (not much, as far as I can tell north of the border) but it’s gotten a lot of attention here.

The top 10 jurisdictions for deaths per 100,000 people:

W. Virginia  42.4

British Columbia  31.4

Ohio  29.6

Massachusetts  29.3

Connecticut  27.5

Washington DC  26.7

Rhode Island  25.9

Kentucky  23.4

Maine  23.4

Alberta  18.7

I always heard it was the US Midwest, Ohio and other states, that had the worst crisis. Those east coast states are a big surprise.

The lowest provinces in Canada are Quebec, at 2.5 (with lowest number of doses prescribed in Canada at 3,601 per 1000 people) and Newfoundland at 2.3, with the second highest number of doses per 1,000 people prescribed, double that of Quebec at 7,878.

When the issue was mostly prescription opioids, it was more concentrated in the midwest. Once it became more about heroin and fentanyl the epicenter of the crisis moved further east in the US. 

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

Someone in Texas told me the other day that NYC is having another crack epidemic.  I've seen not a hint nor heard a whisper about that -- though we sure are having an epidemic of guns being fed into the city.

I don't know about crack specifically, but there is skyrocketing stimulant misuse in a lot of parts of the country, both cocaine and meth.  Some of it is still tied into the opioid epidemic, but a lot of it is just stimulants on their own.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

On a lighter note, the U.S. government said that a survey done by the major dating aps found that you increase your chances of finding matches by a good amount if you identify as being vaccinated or are planning to get vaccinated.

That's good news considering this upcoming summer may the horniest in human history. 

[Zorral]

Hornier than the cicadas' summer?

[Mlle. Zabzie]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

Hornier than the cicadas' summer?

This summer’s madness is brought to you by....

[Larry of the Lawn]

17 hours ago, Fez said:

When the issue was mostly prescription opioids, it was more concentrated in the midwest. Once it became more about heroin and fentanyl the epicenter of the crisis moved further east in the US. 

I don't know about crack specifically, but there is skyrocketing stimulant misuse in a lot of parts of the country, both cocaine and meth.  Some of it is still tied into the opioid epidemic, but a lot of it is just stimulants on their own.

Have definitely seen, anecdotally, an increase in opioid and cocaine / crack use in my community over the last year, in my rural northeastern community.  

[DireWolfSpirit]

Crack is back, meth, fentynal, look at all the plague these cicada's are bringing us!

[Zorral]

5 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Have definitely seen, anecdotally, an increase in opioid and cocaine / crack use in my community over the last year, in my rural northeastern community.  

I cannot say how sorry I am to see this.  So very sorry.  This is indeed a plague.

[IheartIheartTesla]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/22/pfizer-and-astrazeneca-highly-effective-against-india-covid-variant

Quote

Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs are highly effective at protecting people from the strain of the Covid-19 virus first found in India, a study by Public Health England (PHE) has found.

The analysis, carried out between 5 April and 16 May, found the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the India variant two weeks after a second dose, compared with 93% effectiveness against the Kent strain. For its part, the AstraZeneca jab was 60% effective, compared with 66% against the Kent variant over the same period.

No analysis of the Moderna jabs, but I cant imagine its different (or worse than the two above)? At any rate, some good news regarding the worrisome Indian strain.

[Fragile Bird]

On 5/17/2021 at 1:02 PM, Zorral said:

As a state that shares a border with Canada, I do not want borders open, as Canada is surging, and neither nation nor state is even 1/2 vaccinated.

I'm also continuing to double-mask, at least indoors.  Additionally believe in taxing the rich to the max.  

 

I have been meaning to respond to this all week, and was reminded of it again because politicians are again demanding the borders be opened (tourism! shopping dollars!) There are a lot of sad and lonely US shop and mall owners on or near the border crying for Canadian shopping dollars, especially with a stronger Canadian dollar, and Canadian provinces crying for US tourists (Americans don't really come here to shop, except for insulin and other drugs). I just wanted to point out the 3rd wave peaked here on April 30th, the May 1 number was 8,445, the equivalent of the US having 73,900 cases a day, and the highest daily number of the entire pandemic. Friday's number was 4,673, the US equivalent is 40,900. The US had just under 30,000 new cases on Friday, with almost 48% of the population having received 1 shot and 38% of the population fully vaccinated. 50% of the Canadian population have received 1 shot, but a mere 4% have received 2, and the equivalent numbers aren't that far apart, so I don't think you need to worry about the Canadian surge.  Just stay away from Manitoba, they currently lead North America in the percentage of new cases. Also, avoid visiting communities with Amazon warehouses....

On a more serious note, it does point to the issue of proving you are fully vaccinated. Are countries supposed to believe a slip of paper that can easily be faked? Canada is going to hit 60% of people over 12 having one shot in the next couple of days, and the population over-all before the end of the month, and we expect 75% of the country as a whole will have received one dose by the end of June, and 20% to be fully vaccinated. What is vaccine equivalency with the US? Do we each only let in fully vaccinated people? How will that be proved? Will US border states be happy with only 20% of Canadians being allowed in by July, (the loss of shopping dollars!). I am of course only talking about people driving across the border, there are no US rules for people flying in. To come to Canada right now you have to quarantine for two weeks and pass three covid tests. A bit of a hint here, federal officials have told Canadians not to make plans to visit the US any time soon, likely not until after September.

And what happens if Canada is 80% fully vaccinated and the US is at 55% or 60%? Do we allow Canadians to go to the US? Do we allow Americans to come to Canada?

[williamjm]

3 hours ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/22/pfizer-and-astrazeneca-highly-effective-against-india-covid-variant

No analysis of the Moderna jabs, but I cant imagine its different (or worse than the two above)? At any rate, some good news regarding the worrisome Indian strain.

Moderna has only started to be used in the UK very recently so they probably don't have enough data on it yet to say anything.

[DireWolfSpirit]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I have been meaning to respond to this all week, and was reminded of it again because politicians are again demanding the borders be opened (tourism! shopping dollars!) There are a lot of sad and lonely US shop and mall owners on or near the border crying for Canadian shopping dollars, especially with a stronger Canadian dollar, and Canadian provinces crying for US tourists (Americans don't really come here to shop, except for insulin and other drugs). I just wanted to point out the 3rd wave peaked here on April 30th, the May 1 number was 8,445, the equivalent of the US having 73,900 cases a day, and the highest daily number of the entire pandemic. Friday's number was 4,673, the US equivalent is 40,900. The US had just under 30,000 new cases on Friday, with almost 48% of the population having received 1 shot and 38% of the population fully vaccinated. 50% of the Canadian population have received 1 shot, but a mere 4% have received 2, and the equivalent numbers aren't that far apart, so I don't think you need to worry about the Canadian surge.  Just stay away from Manitoba, they currently lead North America in the percentage of new cases. Also, avoid visiting communities with Amazon warehouses....

On a more serious note, it does point to the issue of proving you are fully vaccinated. Are countries supposed to believe a slip of paper that can easily be faked? Canada is going to hit 60% of people over 12 having one shot in the next couple of days, and the population over-all before the end of the month, and we expect 75% of the country as a whole will have received one dose by the end of June, and 20% to be fully vaccinated. What is vaccine equivalency with the US? Do we each only let in fully vaccinated people? How will that be proved? Will US border states be happy with only 20% of Canadians being allowed in by July, (the loss of shopping dollars!). I am of course only talking about people driving across the border, there are no US rules for people flying in. To come to Canada right now you have to quarantine for two weeks and pass three covid tests. A bit of a hint here, federal officials have told Canadians not to make plans to visit the US any time soon, likely not until after September.

And what happens if Canada is 80% fully vaccinated and the US is at 55% or 60%? Do we allow Canadians to go to the US? Do we allow Americans to come to Canada?

Ordinary Americans will have no say in the matter. Our legislatures are all controlled by the big corporate lobbies.

The money(d) interests will get whatever they direct their boot licking reps in Congress to enact.

[HoodedCrow]

It would take a lot of Cheetos to fake a vaccine passport, not that it wouldn’t be tried. It would also be a federal offense, correct?

Don’t lie at the border, don’t even be funny. Not that anyone here does such things. Get fully vaxxed and we’re all better off. 
 

 

[Zorral]

4 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Just stay away from Manitoba, they currently lead North America in the percentage of new cases

Of course they do; Manitoba shares a border with -- ta-da! North Dakota! 

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

And what happens if Canada is 80% fully vaccinated and the US is at 55% or 60%? Do we allow Canadians to go to the US? Do we allow Americans to come to Canada?

We all should just stay home and tend to our own gardens, like Voltaire said. 

[Padraig]

The EU seems to be setting up a system to allow vaccinated people from other countries to enter.  But it does assume that other countries have a reliable system in place to show that their citizens have been vaccinated.  I'm not sure how far along other countries have got though.  I know the EU and US have had discussions but I don't know where that is gone.

But yes, you'd imagine big businesses will want to facilitate travel.

Otherwise, despite variant scares, things do seem to be broadly improving.  With the big exception of South America.

[Kalbear]

Us intel report says three workers from the wuhan lab reported sick at around the same time in nov 2019. More admittedly circumstantial evidence to the lab escape theory. 

The more confusing thing to me is the somewhat scarce reports of it appearing in Italy in sept 2019. 

[HoodedCrow]

We are required to get visas and vaccinations for quite a few travel spots. During a pandemic , it seems just more prevalent and logical.

[Luzifer's right hand]

5 hours ago, Padraig said:

The EU seems to be setting up a system to allow vaccinated people from other countries to enter.  But it does assume that other countries have a reliable system in place to show that their citizens have been vaccinated.  I'm not sure how far along other countries have got though.  I know the EU and US have had discussions but I don't know where that is gone.

But yes, you'd imagine big businesses will want to facilitate travel.

Otherwise, despite variant scares, things do seem to be broadly improving.  With the big exception of South America.

Austria already have a digital system that tracks vaccinations. It went beta a few months ago and seems to work well. 

The only problem is that data from vaccination certificates will be added to the system too and that those are incredible easy to fake. If you order vaccination certificates from amazon.de the system recommends rubber stamps and stickers to you(I tested it myself after reading about it).

Dozens of random people try to order fake vaccination center rubber stamps from a small company journalists in Germany visited every day and the journalists tried it themselves and dozens of companies made stamps for them without a problem. That small company that informed the journalists and did not ship them was the exception and not the norm. A doctor had his identity stole for these things and the German prosecutors office involved closed the case asap without even sending someone to the address that ordered the rubber stamps. 

Germany in the other hand is filling shipping containers with folders at vaccination centers at this point.

I think people really underestimate how easy faking a vaccination is and how many people are doing it right now. 

Edit: I think people in the pro-vax bubble also underestimate how far the Covid-19 anti-vaxxers are prepared to go.