The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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ap215
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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More People Are Moving to Manhattan Than Before the Pandemic

New York City is making a comeback.

After the US was briefly frozen by Covid, the city started to see more movement than the rest of the country, much of it in one direction: out. Now, that migration out of many NYC neighborhoods has reversed. In fact, even as the city’s population is still decreasing, more households are moving into Manhattan now than were moving in before the pandemic in 2019, according to moving data provided by Melissa, a global data intelligence and address analytics company.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022 ... nd=premium
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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As always, reports of NYC's death are greatly exaggerated. The parts I saw are doing just fine. I can assure you that it's 1/10 as moribund as LA has been looking lately.
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Number6
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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I went to the optometrist today and I was surprised to see they're still requiring masks. I didn't have one and they gave me a disposable mask for my visit. Before seeing the optometrist the technician checked my eyes on a couple of machines and I had to pull the mask down because my breath was fogging the lens of the instruments. When the optometrist did the exam I kept my mask on except for one procedure that that's where I had to put my chin on and rest my forehead against a bar while he checked my eyes with a light and an handheld lens.

During my dental appointment earlier this year the dentist office required masks in the waiting room and I think they're still doing this. I'll find out when I go for my checkup next month.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Get your boosters......

https://www.yahoo.com/news/now-wary-us- ... 43511.html
For now, wary US treads water with transformed COVID-19
CARLA K. JOHNSON
Sat, July 2, 2022 at 7:49 AM
The fast-changing coronavirus has kicked off summer in the U.S. with lots of infections but relatively few deaths compared to its prior incarnations.

COVID-19 is still killing hundreds of Americans each day, but is not nearly as dangerous as it was last fall and winter.

“It’s going to be a good summer and we deserve this break,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle.
+
“It feels cautiously good right now,” said Dr. Dan Kaul, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. “For the first time that I can remember, pretty much since it started, we don’t have any (COVID-19) patients in the ICU.”
+
Today, in the third year of the pandemic, it’s easy to feel confused by the mixed picture: Repeat infections are increasingly likely, and a sizeable share of those infected will face the lingering symptoms of long COVID-19.

Yet, the stark danger of death has diminished for many people.

“And that’s because we’re now at a point that everyone’s immune system has seen either the virus or the vaccine two or three times by now,” said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Over time, the body learns not to overreact when it sees this virus.”
+
Big differences separate flu from COVID-19: The behavior of the coronavirus continues to surprise health experts and it’s still unclear whether it will settle into a flu-like seasonal pattern.
+
Experts agree a new variant might arise capable of escaping the population’s built-up immunity. And the fast-spreading omicron subtypes BA.4 and BA.5 might also contribute to a change in the death numbers.
=
Unvaccinated people have a six times higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with people with at least a primary series of shots, the CDC estimated based on available data from April.
Get your shots.
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ap215
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Ultra-contagious BA.4, BA.5 subvariants fuel coronavirus spread across much of California

LOS ANGELES — In a sign of how the new coronavirus wave continues to spread across California, two-thirds of the state’s counties are now in the high COVID-19 community level, in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces.

This comes as health officials are warning of concerning weeks ahead as two new ultra-contagious omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — spread. Experts believe the subvariants, which are are not only especially contagious but also capable of reinfecting those who have survived earlier omicron infection, are a major factor behind the continued persistence of coronavirus transmission across California.

https://denvergazette.com/news/nation-w ... 775b6.html
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Libertas
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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I am scared, again. I have enough trouble breathing sometimes now, thank you very much. :twisted:

And, because an adult is in the WH, because a patriot is in the WH, I just got this message from Medicare:

Talk with your family about getting the little ones vaccinated. In case you missed it, CDC now recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, and boosters for everyone 5 years and older.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing children from getting seriously sick.
If cons take back power, how fucked are we...completely.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Won't affect covid. The 99% who have unilaterally declared it over in the absence of any data to that effect will go on about their business as if it were 2019, and the remaining 1% will have to avoid crowds because people are stupid.

Frankly, I'm REALLY tired of avoiding crowds and I wish people would get smart, but they never have on anything else, so I have no illusions on this issue.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
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Libertas
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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I keep buying these

3M Aura 9205+ N95 NIOSH

Just got 20 for $30...I wear it a few times, then grab a new one. I wish DC would mass produce them for us for free.
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ZoWie
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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I'll have to look up the number on my 3M masks. They're the industrial grade NIOSH N95s. They look kind of like giant sardines until you unfold them. They seal real nicely and meet all the specs. They're not the most comfortable, but they work the best of any I've tried.
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Number6
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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ZoWie wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:03 pm I'll have to look up the number on my 3M masks. They're the industrial grade NIOSH N95s. They look kind of like giant sardines until you unfold them. They seal real nicely and meet all the specs. They're not the most comfortable, but they work the best of any I've tried.
I hope people haven't thrown away their supply of N95 masks. I hope we don't have to go back to masking but if it get worse then that's a small price we need to pay to protect us and others.

Right now, IMO, it would be hard to impose a mandatory mask police because everyone was tired of wearing masks and when the pandemic subsided and the mandates were removed we felt we were back to "normal." Returning to a mask mandate will depress people and as a result we'll see more shootings, domestic disturbances, and general breakdown of civility to the point nearly everyone will become a "Karen."
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ZoWie
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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I've given up on ever getting the public to mask up. There is indeed a certain fatigue that seems to set in, since the same thing happened in the 1918 pandemic, right down to large protests by people who thought foreign actors (Bolsheviks in that case) were trying to weaken the country by interfering with respiration.

We're about to have a really nasty covid surge. Yes, I know, they've been predicting that since March or so, but this time the virus seems to really mean it. In addition, there's a historical pattern of a summer surge both of the previous years the disease existed. My completely uneducated guess is that it relates to natural immunity and some of the vaccine immunity both waning after 6 months.

It's too bad, because I really had a lot I wanted to do this summer, but if people won't mask up in confined spaces I won't be able to do much of it.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
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Number6
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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ZoWie wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:12 pm I've given up on ever getting the public to mask up. There is indeed a certain fatigue that seems to set in, since the same thing happened in the 1918 pandemic, right down to large protests by people who thought foreign actors (Bolsheviks in that case) were trying to weaken the country by interfering with respiration.

We're about to have a really nasty covid surge. Yes, I know, they've been predicting that since March or so, but this time the virus seems to really mean it. In addition, there's a historical pattern of a summer surge both of the previous years the disease existed. My completely uneducated guess is that it relates to natural immunity and some of the vaccine immunity both waning after 6 months.

It's too bad, because I really had a lot I wanted to do this summer, but if people won't mask up in confined spaces I won't be able to do a lot of it.
Summer's here and people want to be out-and-about which means crowded restaurants, theaters, concerts, casinos, etc... which will be vectors for transmission. Hopefully, I'm wrong but when the Fall and Winter arrives and we don't have an dramatic upsurge of cases from Summer them the conditions for increased transmission will be greater. During the Summer, more people are outside and it's harder for COVID to spread whereas in Fall and Winter more people will be indoors. If crossing my fingers will help prevent an upsurge then I'll also cross my toes in hopes we have a reasonably normal remainder of the year.
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ZoWie
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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We're already in the summer surge, if you follow the figures put out by the various health departments. Actually these have a tendency to undercount the cases, for a number of reasons related to self-tests not being recorded, travelers falling through the statistical cracks, and mild or asymptomatic cases never making it into the data.

New York is calling it the 6th wave. I don't know what they're calling it here, if anything. People are acting as if it doesn't exist, but meanwhile the R-sub-zero numbers are getting close to that exponential growth phase. We're back to the situation where everyone knows someone who knows someone who has it, but this time no one seems to care.
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Libertas
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Pin please if you can this thread


We are in trouble, especially with the GOP doing everything in their power to end all safety protocols.


“BA.5 is the worst version of the virus that we’ve seen.”

“It takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility well beyond earlier versions of omicron”

https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/15 ... 9n9tUGrEKg


Cons, all of them, are working night and day to END any and all protocols put into place by the adults. Some of us are not going to escape this. :twisted:
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ap215
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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LA County COVID-19 Hospitalizations Top 1,000 as Virus Spread Continues

The number of COVID-19-positive patients in LA County hospitals has jumped past the 1,000 mark and the county has reported its highest daily number of virus-related deaths since late March.

The county Department of Public Health reported 18 COVID deaths on Friday, the largest daily number since March 30. The fatalities raised the county's virus-related death toll to 32,413.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/loca ... s/2934292/
ap215
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Senator Chuck Schumer tests positive for COVID, spokesperson says

NEW YORK -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has tested positive for COVID-19 and reports experiencing very mild symptoms, his spokesman said Sunday night.

Schumer, 71, is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, spokesman Justin Goodman said in a statement.

https://abc7ny.com/chuck-schumer-covid- ... /12041213/
ap215
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Good stay away clown

Novak Djokovic planning to skip U.S. Open, still unvaccinated for COVID-19

Unless something unexpected happens, Novak Djokovic isn’t planning to participate in the U.S. Open next month.

Djokovic, just after he beat Nick Kyrgios to win Wimbledon on Sunday, said he is not planning to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in time to participate in the final Grand Slam of the season.

https://sports.yahoo.com/novak-djokovic ... 57207.html
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San Diego has entered a "high" COVID-19 community level and the Navy is requiring masks be worn in most indoor settings on their bases. This is most likely a spike from the 4 of July holiday.
San Diego County entering the CDC's "high" COVID-19 community level means masks will be required in most indoor settings at military installations in our region, according to the Department of Defenses.

"When the CDC COVID-19 Community Level is high in the county or equivalent jurisdiction ... indoor mask-wearing is required for all individuals, including Service members, DoD civilian employees, onsite DoD contractor personnel (collectively, “DoD personnel”), and visitors, regardless of vaccination status," the DoD's masking guidance reads (See full mask guidance on page 36).

The county was placed in the CDC's highest community level on Thursday. Community levels are used as a measurement of COVID-19's impact on local hospital systems, according to the CDC.

For now, San Diego County is only recommending masks indoors in civilian settings.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/ ... m/2996074/
As the link states, the county hasn't mandated but recommends masks for indoor settings. I'm sure I'll hear a lot of grumbling from people who got used to no having to wear the masks and I can't really blame them. I won't be grumbling because if my wearing a mask helps reduce or prevent the spread of COVID then it's worth it. When the mask mandate ended I sealed my cloth masks and put them away. I had bought a box of 100 N95 masks when we had to wear masks and I still have about 70 of them left. I'm hoping this mask mandate will be short-lived.
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ap215
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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How to stay protected from the BA.5 Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus

BA.5, a new Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus, has become dominant in the U.S., accounting for 65% of infections nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some experts have called it “the worst variant we have seen so far,” due to its high transmissibility and its ability to evade immunity conferred by vaccination or prior infection.

“People with prior infection, even with BA.1 or BA.2, are likely still at risk for BA.4 and BA.5,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said on Tuesday at a virtual press briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team.

https://www.aol.com/news/stay-protected ... 55650.html
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San Diego Unified School District, the largest school district in the county, requires masks wearing beginning today and will last at least two weeks. The second largest county school district, the Sweetwater Union High School District, vaccinated students and staff are encouraged to wear masks and unvaccinated staff must wear masks when in the presence of others.
Starting Monday, indoor masking will be required at all San Diego Unified School districts and offices.

This applies to students and staff in summer school programs and is set to last for at least two weeks.

According to the Sweetwater Union High School District's website, vaccinated staff and students are strongly recommended to wear a face mask. Unvaccinated staff must wear a mask when in the presence of others.

Joann Fields, San Diego AAPI advocate, said they are collaborating with the Sweetwater district to encourage wearing masks and weekly COVID testing to prevent the closing of school campuses.
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/healt ... f380435ae6
I took a home COVID-19 test yesterday because the level of COVID-19 in San Diego County is high and it was negative. I'll be going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for a bowling tournament and I'm keeping m fingers crossed that I won't get COVID before then. With the number of variants around it seem like it's just a matter of time before I catch it.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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LA County has been threatening to require masks for weeks now. They keep saying it's "imminent" but nothing happens.

Nobody would wear them anyway. It would be the first time in US history that civil disobedience was practiced by a huge majority of all persuasions, colors, and creeds.

Nothing happens until we invent a broad-spectrum vaccine that targets the basic coronavirus, not the specific mutated proteins on its spikes. That would be one of the biggest breakthroughs in recent medical history, and I hope it happens before either the virus or old age or good guys with guns put me six feet under.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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ZoWie wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:10 pm LA County has been threatening to require masks for weeks now. They keep saying it's "imminent" but nothing happens.

Nobody would wear them anyway. It would be the first time in US history that civil disobedience was practiced by a huge majority of all persuasions, colors, and creeds.
Enforcement would be hard for non-governmental areas. One possibility would be for stores to be fined/closed for owners/employees not wearing a mask and/or serving people who aren't wearing a mask.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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They actually tried that in LA County the first go-round something like six variants ago. A few places refused to enforce the law and said come on in. A restaurant run by a conservative white wannabe cowboy type in (I believe) Burbank was actually forced to close. There were street protests against closing it, and the cops came and everything.

I suspect this time the cops would stay out of it.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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ZoWie wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:20 pm They actually tried that in LA County the first go-round something like six variants ago. A few places refused to enforce the law and said come on in. A restaurant run by a conservative white wannabe cowboy type in (I believe) Burbank was actually forced to close. There were street protests against closing it, and the cops came and everything.

I suspect this time the cops would stay out of it.
We had that, here, in San Diego as well. There was a gym owner who refused to closed his gym during the height of the pandemic and puffed out his chest daring the city/county to shut him down. His wish was granted and they closed his gym. He went crying to the local Fox channel and another conservative channel complaining how he was the victim. From what I remember, there wasn't much sympathy for him from the general public.
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Re: The Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

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Number6 wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:25 pm We had that, here, in San Diego as well. There was a gym owner who refused to closed his gym during the height of the pandemic and puffed out his chest daring the city/county to shut him down. His wish was granted and they closed his gym. He went crying to the local Fox channel and another conservative channel complaining how he was the victim. From what I remember, there wasn't much sympathy for him from the general public.
And he would never have even THOUGHT about doing that but for a comment from the proven stupidest human being on earth.
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