26251 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

Вирус SARS-CoV-2 может существовать в мире с 2013 года. Об этом заявил руководитель службы профилактики и контроля инфекционных заболеваний университетского госпиталя Женевы, швейцарский изобретатель формулы антисептика для рук Дидье Питте.

«Остается неясным то, что в 2013 году в Китае примерно в 1100 километрах от Уханя в пещерах, которые исследовали спелеологи, был выявлен вирус, очень похожий — на 96% — на COVID-19, и он мог заразить людей, которые работали в этой пещере. И то, что остается непонятным, это то, что этот вирус, возможно, был выявлен одной из лабораторий в Ухане», — рассказал он РИА «Новости».

По словам Питте, тогда были сделаны диссертации, но они исчезли. Он также отметил, что в 2013 году, когда обнаружили вирус, его заморозили. Однако сейчас этого экземпляра в лаборатории нет. Он считает, что китайские ученые скрывали тот факт, что вирус, похожий на COVID, был обнаружен восемь лет назад. Он также рассказал, что в 2019 году в районе Уханя проходили военные олимпийские игры. По словам инфекциониста, некоторое количество команд заболело с симптомами, похожими на коронавирус.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can exist in the world since 2013. This was stated by the head of the Service for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital of Geneva, the Swiss inventor of the hand sanitizer formula Didier Pitte.

“It remains unclear that in 2013 in China, about 1,100 kilometers from Wuhan, in caves investigated by speleologists, a virus was found that was very similar - 96% - to COVID-19, and it could infect people who worked in this cave. And what remains unclear is that this virus may have been detected by one of the laboratories in Wuhan, ”he told RIA Novosti.

According to Pitte, dissertations were made then, but they disappeared. He also noted that in 2013, when the virus was discovered, it was frozen. However, now this specimen is not in the laboratory. He believes that Chinese scientists were hiding the fact that a virus similar to COVID was discovered eight years ago. He also said that the military Olympic Games were held in the Wuhan area in 2019. According to the infectious disease specialist, a number of teams fell ill with symptoms similar to the coronavirus.

https://ura.news/news/1052496964

Hackers shut down system for booking COVID-19 shots in Italy's Lazio region
https://www.channeln...-lazio-15355166

An analysis by British academics, published by the UK Government's official scientific advisory group, says that they believe it is "almost certain" that a SARS-Cov-2 variant will emerge that "leads to current vaccine failure." SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19.

The analysis has not been peer-reviewed, the early research is theoretical, and does not provide any proof that such a variant is in circulation now. Documents like it are released "as pre-print publications that have provided the government with rapid evidence during an emergency."
 
The paper is dated July 26, and was published by the British government on Friday.
 
The scientists write that because eradication of the virus is "unlikely," they have "high confidence" that variants will continue to emerge. They say it is "almost certain" that there will be "a gradual or punctuated accumulation of antigenic variation that eventually leads to current vaccine failure."
 
They recommend that authorities continue to reduce virus transmission as much as possible to reduce the chance of a new, vaccine-resistant variant.
 
They also recommend that research focus on new vaccines that not only prevent hospital admission and disease, but also "induce high and durable levels of mucosal immunity."

https://www.cnn.com/...intl/index.html
 
Covid vaccine boosters will be needed ‘for many years’ as immunity fades, Government Sage scientists warn
https://inews.co.uk/...redict-1129223 
 

تايلاند توسع القيود المفروضة لاحتواء فيروس كورونا لتشمل 40% من سكانها

Thailand expands restrictions imposed to contain the Coronavirus to include 40% of its population
https://www.shoroukn...12-fb6a454e0af1
 

Sky News Australia has apparently not posted a video on its YouTube channel, which has some 1.85 million subscribers, for over two days, despite earlier releasing videos on a daily basis.

YouTube has suspended the Sky News Australia channel from its platform, blocking the media outlet's ability to post videos, reportedly for violating a COVID-19 misinformation policy, social media users suggested on Saturday.
 
Speculation arose as the TV channel's YouTube page has not posted any new videos for two days, but with the network continuing to post as usual on its Facebook account. Neither Sky News Australia nor YouTube has officially commented on the suspension allegations, and all of the previous content on the channel, which has some 1.85 million subscribers, remains accessible.

https://sputniknews....misinfo-policy/

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Florida has reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data released Saturday.
https://www.timescol...ases-1.24347789
 

As the clock runs out on a nationwide eviction ban for what’s expected to be the final time, millions of tenants are staring at the prospect of losing their homes as they wait for emergency rental aid that the government has failed to deliver.
 
The federal eviction moratorium in place since September is set to expire Saturday, after the Biden administration refused to extend it and Democrats in Congress couldn't muster the votes to intervene. Now lawmakers and activists fear an unprecedented surge in evictions in the coming months just as the highly transmissible Delta variant causes a spike in coronavirus cases.
 
The eviction wave is expected to hit population centers across the country. Housing advocates point to renters in Ohio, Texas and parts of the Southeast — where tenant protections are generally low, housing costs are high and economic problems from the pandemic linger — as particularly at risk. Even though it has its own ban in place through August, New York is also a concern, because it has been especially slow at distributing rental assistance funds to the hundreds of thousands of tenants in the state who are behind on their rent.

“We’ve been circling a drain,” said KC Tenants Director Tara Raghuveer, a housing organizer in Kansas City, Mo. “On Saturday, poor and working-class tenants go down the drain in some places.”

https://www.politico...ce-biden-501917

Edited by amor de cosmos, 01 August 2021 - 07:28 AM.

[LJ]

There was $46 billion put aside to help renters and landlords and only $3 billion has been used, they don't need congress, they need to start using that dough.

[Rob Randall]

Canada passes Israel for giving out vaccines but you could make the argument Israel is doing better since they have a much younger population.

[amor de cosmos]

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has issued fines to two passengers arriving in Toronto from the United States the week of July 18, 2021, for non-compliance with entry requirements.  
 
Each traveller received four fines—a total of $19,720 for each traveller—for providing false information related to proof of vaccination credentials and pre-departure tests, as well as, for non-compliance with the requirement to stay at a government-authorized accommodation and on-arrival testing requirements.
 
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) works closely with domestic and international partners to detect and intercept fraudulent documents. The CBSA also works with PHAC to ensure only valid proof of vaccine documents are accepted.
 
Violating any quarantine or isolation instructions provided to travellers by a screening officer or quarantine officer when entering Canada is also an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to a $5,000 fine for each day of non-compliance or for each offence committed, or more serious penalties, including six months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines.
 
For all travellers coming to Canada, it is important to be informed and to plan in advance. It is the traveller’s responsibility to ensure they are eligible to enter Canada and that they meet all of the mandatory requirements.

https://www.canada.c...ture-tests.html
via https://gizmodo.com/...00-f-1847404888
 

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the nation’s criminal justice system in two major ways.
 
First, prisons and jails, as places where diverse populations came into very close physical contact, became outbreak hot spots.
 
And then courts closed or limited their operations, seeking to follow workplace safety rules and social distancing guidelines. Many courts stopped hosting jury trials for months.
 
These facts further increased the risks of going to trial: Defendants had to wait longer for their day in court, and each day they spent in jail increased their risk of being exposed to the coronavirus. The research on pleas has clearly indicated that when the cost of going to trial increases, guilty pleas increase too.
 
Sure enough, a survey of 93 defense attorneys found that plea bargaining practices have indeed changed during the pandemic. More than 60% of the lawyers surveyed said they thought prosecutors were offering more lenient deals than they would have before the pandemic. At the same time, more than 30% of the attorneys had a client who claimed innocence, but nevertheless accepted a plea offer because of concerns related to COVID-19.
 
To examine whether COVID-19 exacerbated the innocence problem in guilty pleas among a larger sample of potential defendants, we used a computerized simulation platform of legal procedures funded by the National Science Foundation and developed at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. More than 700 U.S. adults agreed to participate in our study, and we randomly assigned them to be either innocent or guilty of stealing a pair of sunglasses. In the simulation, all participants were detained before trial, then offered a plea deal to be immediately released.
 
Among both guilty and innocent conditions, we further randomly informed half of the participants about the complications related to COVID-19 – that the jail was currently having an outbreak of coronavirus and court dates had been pushed back because of the pandemic.
 
The results confirmed that both guilty and innocent participants were more likely to plead guilty when warned of the increased complications posed by COVID-19. Further, innocent participants ranked the pandemic as a more important factor in shaping their decision to plead than guilty participants.

https://theconversat...t-commit-165056

A Group of Scientists Presses a Case Against the Lab Leak Theory of Covid
In a review of recent studies and comparisons to other outbreaks, a group of virologists contends that there is more evidence to support a natural spillover from animals to humans.
https://www.nytimes....s-lab-leak.html
 

Despite receiving both of his Covid vaccine doses, Piers Morgan suspects that he contracted Covid during England’s Euro 2020 final loss to Italy, which the TV host attended at Wembley Stadium.
 
Writing in his column for the Mail on Sunday Morgan said:
 
“After two weeks battling the Covid Delta variant, I’ve been left with waves of fatigue and a persistent cough that apparently could go on for quite a while.
 
“But by far the most annoying side effect is my current ongoing inability to taste or smell fine wine.
 
“Fellow vino-loving friends have been quick to offer support, albeit also sensing an opportunity to save money.
 
“‘I have a bottle of Chateau Batailley for us to share,’ emailed Andrew Neil from his home in France.
 
“‘But if your taste buds are still in recess then I will plunder my private stash of Blue Nun for you. Apparently if you drink it, you could die, but if you inject it, the virus dies.
 
“‘Proven scientific fact – Donald Trump told me.’”
 
*snip*
 
We recently reported that Portuguese producer has developed a kit to help restore sense of smell in Covid patients.

https://www.thedrink...catching-covid/

Crisis-hit Tunisia receives 1.5 mn Covid vaccines from Italy
https://english.alar...-vaccines-italy

马来西亚连续21天确诊病例破万 国会现确诊休会引朝野争议　　
Malaysia's confirmed cases exceed 10,000 for 21 consecutive days
http://www.chinanews...2/9534694.shtml

Пандемия коронавируса обошлась бюджету столицы более чем в 600 млрд рублей. Об этом рассказал мэр Москвы Сергей Собянин.
The coronavirus pandemic cost the capital's budget more than 600 billion rubles. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told about it.
(seems to be ~$10,279,890,602.03)
https://ura.news/news/1052497020
 

　　中新网郑州8月2日电 (阚力 韩章云)郑州市于8月2日晚间召开新冠肺炎疫情防控新闻发布会对外通报称，截至8月2日18时，已完成核酸采样980.95万人，占应检人数92.29%。

　　郑州市政府副秘书长李慧芳通报说，自7月30日郑州市二七区发现首例无症状感染者以来，截至8月2日18时，此轮疫情导致郑州市新增本土确诊病例13例，无症状感染者50例。确诊患者均为轻型和普通型。

China News Service, Zhengzhou, August 2 (Kan Li and Han Zhangyun) Zhengzhou City held a press conference on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic on the evening of August 2 and informed the public that as of 18:00 on August 2, 9,809,500 nucleic acid samples had been completed. , Accounting for 92.29% of the number of people required to be inspected.

Zhengzhou City Government Deputy Secretary-General Li Huifang informed that since the first asymptomatic infection was found in Erqi District, Zhengzhou City on July 30, as of 18:00 on August 2, this round of the epidemic has resulted in 13 newly confirmed cases in Zhengzhou City, 50 cases of asymptomatic infection. The confirmed patients were mild and ordinary.

http://www.chinanews...2/9534783.shtml
 

In May, when the CDC said fully vaccinated people could ditch masks and social distancing, it seemed to signal a return to normalcy. But epidemiologists cautioned at the time that the move wasn’t likely to be permanent, and shouldn’t be interpreted as the end of Covid-19 as a daily concern. Colder weather or a right hook in the virus’s evolution could bring restrictions right back.
 
Still, Americans seem shocked by the recent turn of events. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised everyone — even those who’ve gotten Covid-19 shots — to go back to indoor masking, a decision driven by new data showing the hyper-contagious Delta variant colonizes the nose and throat of some vaccinated people just as well as the unvaccinated, meaning they may just as easily spread this new version of the virus, while stilling being protected against the worst manifestations of the disease.
 
The prospect of contending with a prolonged outbreak phase — and adjusting again to a constantly evolving roster of restrictions — has brought back another feature of pandemic living in America: anger.
 
*snip*
 
Though this new flavor of outrage might look and sound like righteous indignation, mental health professionals say that what’s behind it is fear.
 
“It’s scary to admit that somebody else has power over you and you’re at they’re mercy and you’re afraid of them, but showing that is not a very American ideal,” said David Rosmarin, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a clinician at McLean Hospital. “Instead of expressing that fear, it’s a lot more comfortable to blame somebody else.”
 
Anger is what people in his profession refer to as a “secondary emotion.” It’s a feeling that arises in response to a more primal emotion, like fear and anxiety over having some aspect of your life threatened. “The reality is that there are millions of people who are miseducated about something, they’re making a big mistake that will have massive consequences that might affect you and your family and that makes you scared,” Rosmarin said. “But nobody is saying that.”
 
*snip*
 
For those who’ve made a living studying pandemics, they see another lesson in the current outpouring of outrage — the danger of setting unrealistic expectations. “One of the big mistakes of the U.S. Covid response, among many, was at the beginning to not make it clear that this was going to be a long war,” said historian John Barry, who wrote the definitive account of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, “The Great Influenza.”
 
For much of the first year of the pandemic, many top public health officials touted the idea that our way out of the pandemic was reaching herd immunity — a phenomenon by which a pathogen stops spreading because so many people are protected against it, either by a previous exposure or by vaccination. Between natural infections and vaccines, if we could get to 60% or 70% of the population with some immune memory to SARS-CoV-2, the thinking went, we could erect a wall of protection around the still-vulnerable, enough to stamp out transmission of the virus entirely.
 
But even before Delta emerged, some scientists were having doubts that this would work. If other endemic coronaviruses were any clue, immunity from natural infections waned within a few years. Vaccines were blocking transmission, but not entirely. New variants could erode away the protections conferred by both. Now Delta appears to be doing just that.
 
A more likely scenario for exiting the pandemic phase of Covid-19, many scientists told STAT earlier this year, was that over time, likely a period of years, our immune systems would learn enough about SARS-CoV-2 to stave off the deadliest symptoms of infection. In this way the pandemic pathogen would become an endemic one — circulating among us and causing smaller, seasonal surges of milder illness.
 
*snip*
 
Epidemiological researchers like Emory University’s Jennie Lavine have turned to models to try to project when SARS-CoV-2 might transition from pandemic pathogen to endemic. In a paper published in Science, Lavine and her co-authors predicted that this transition might take anywhere from a few years to a few decades, depending on how quickly the pathogen spreads and how widely vaccines are adopted.
 
That’s not the timespan most people have been thinking along. As a result, people are now not just angry, but in denial, that after all we’ve been through — the lockdowns, the staggering death toll, the historic race to build a Covid vaccine — after all that, SARS-CoV-2 is still with us, a threat that still needs to be navigated.
 
That’s why this time around, epidemiologists like Lavine fear it will be even more difficult to get people to don masks, especially those who believed the pandemic was over for them the moment they received their shots.

“There is a way in which the rhetoric around herd immunity has been a disservice, and I think we’re probably seeing it make this moment worse as people are starting to face in a tangible way in their communities that this isn’t going away,” said Lavine.

https://www.statnews...s-anger-denial/
 
Tokyo Olympics cases rising as 17 more reported
So far 276 Games-related coronavirus cases recorded, organizers say
https://www.aa.com.t...eported/2321905

Australia cranks up COVID-19 curbs with Brisbane lockdown extended, army patrols in Sydney
https://www.channeln...ckdown-15358848

Over 1.66 bln doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in China
http://www.ecns.cn/n...ct3740811.shtml

A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available.
The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
https://medicalxpres...alizations.html

Former President Barack Obama is planning a massive outdoor party on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts next weekend to celebrate his 60th birthday as concerns over the Delta coronavirus variant rise.
Sources told Axios the hundreds of guests expected to be in attendance are asked to be vaccinated and that there will be a "COVID-coordinator" to make sure relevant protocols are followed. A source also said negative COVID-19 tests are required for every guest, but didn't give details on how that would be monitored.
https://www.business...vineyard-2021-8
 

Tennessee Rep. David Byrd, a Republican, didn't just get COVID-19, he has become one of the many suffering from the long-hauler's form of the deadly virus.
 
The Washington Post reported Sunday that after having the virus for 8 months, he's begging people to get vaccinated because no one should have to deal with what he has.
 
"It is a disease that wants to kill us," Byrd said in a statement Friday. He explained that he spent 55 days on a ventilator while the virus destroyed his memory, his muscles and his organs. He ultimately was forced to have a liver transplant in June.
 
The report explained that things were so bad that his family began organizing his funeral.
 
"This is not an issue that should divide us," he begged people to understand.

https://www.rawstory...get-vaccinated/

[Victoria Watcher]

https://www.worldome...country/canada/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So USA deaths remain the lowest ever.  But Canada and the UK are up from their respective lows for deaths.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2021 - 05:51 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Florida has been in the news a lot lately.

 

https://www.worldome...us/usa/florida/

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2021 - 05:50 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

if you look at this list BC is 4th worst in this country but ranks as state #51 when compared to the US.

 

https://www.ctvnews....tates-1.5051033

 

and YES the states at the top of the list for new infections are overwhelmingly Republican states.  9 of the top 10 i believe.  and maybe 12 or 13 of the top 15. 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2021 - 05:56 AM.

[Rob Randall]

and YES the states at the top of the list for new infections are overwhelmingly Republican states.  9 of the top 10 i believe.  and maybe 12 or 13 of the top 15. 

 

It's so maddening because the American pandemic didn't start out political. But Trump's long-time personal deficiency overcame him: his fear of sickness and looking weak. 

 

He discouraged mask-wearing and when he got wind of his followers expressing vaccine skepticism he latched on to it and stopped promoting shots and downplayed the virus while still bragging about Operation Warp Speed.

 

Meanwhile, Delta cuts a path through the country, unvaccinated victims die begging for a cure. All because one emotionally-neglected little boy in the 1950s.

[Sparky]

The 4th wave is on it's way.

[amor de cosmos]

Dr. Bonnie Henry among 16 people appointed to receive Order of B.C.
https://www.cbc.ca/n...of-bc-1.6127068
 

According to researcher Ali Harandi of the University of Gothenburg, it's not entirely unlikely that vaccines will affect periods. However, even if this is the case, the disorder would be classified as a rather harmless passing side effect.
 
Hundreds of Scandinavian women have reported menstrual disorders after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
 
In Sweden, there have been as many as 400 cases, according to the Medical Products Agency, while Denmark has reported over 1,000 cases of menstrual abnormalities in connection with the vaccination.
 
“These are menstrual abnormalities in connection with vaccination against COVID-19. It can be irregular menstruation, but it can also be about bleeding after menopause,” Ebba Hallberg, senior expert at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told national broadcaster SVT.

https://sputniknews....ainst-covid-19/
 

A short text message reminding people to book a COVID-19 jab can boost vaccination rates by several percentage points, according to a study of more than 90,000 people in California.
 
A reminder sent one day after individuals became eligible for the jab boosted appointments and vaccination rates by 6 percentage points and roughly 3.6 percentage points, respectively, compared with rates in a separate group that did not receive the reminder, researchers report on 2 August in Nature. A second reminder to those who still hadn’t booked a vaccination appointment a week later boosted appointments and jabs by another 1.7 and 1.1 percentage points, respectively.
 
These small gains, if applied to a large population, could speed up vaccinations for millions of people, the authors say. “The most surprising thing is how powerful such a low-cost intervention can be, and I don’t think we’re using it enough,” says Daniel Croymans, a physician at UCLA Health, the health system affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, and a co-author of the study.

https://www.nature.c...586-021-02108-2
 

Researchers at Oxford University, UK, have conducted a systematic review of the available studies to address a) whether asymptomatic or presymptomatic individuals can transmit the disease; b) the duration of the infectiousness of these individuals (asymptomatic or presymptomatic); c) the relationship between infectiousness and PCR cycle threshold; and d) whether a chain of transmission can arise from asymptomatic and/or presymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infections. The team’s paper detailing their review’s findings has been made available on the medRxiv* preprint server, while it undergoes peer review.
 
*snip*

Conclusion

The researchers stated that single or point binary PCR testing does not provide much information regarding the transmission rate of the disease. A follow-up study with repeated PCR tests in precise intervals could help understand the transmission of the disease. Typically, the Ct (cycle threshold) values represent the probability of the number of times the virus can undergo replication.
 
The team found insufficient data on the connection between virus transmission and the age of patients. They found that a variable percentage of asymptomatic candidates might develop symptoms later.

The team stated that more research must be conducted to gain a better understanding of the roles of asymptomatic and presymptomatic individuals in the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the researchers have recommended more longitudinal follow-up studies for at least three weeks with detailed epidemiological reports.

https://www.news-med...nsmission.aspx 
 

Any notion that COVID-19 was going to last for just a few months was very much misplaced in 2020. Especially after it was recognised that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was largely spread through the airborne route, all indications were that it would cause repeat bouts of waves. This is what happened in the flu epidemic of 1918.
 
In addition very few scientists predicted that we would see the type of mutations that occurred over such a short period of time. This has resulted in the virus becoming both more transmissible and more able to evade immune responses.
 
The evolution of the virus has been so rapid that the Delta variant, which is currently dominating the world, is at least twice as transmissible as the ancestral virus that was circulating.
 
What this means is that herd immunity is no longer a discussion the world should be having. We should start to avoid using that term in the context of SARS-CoV-2, because it’s not going to materialise – or is unlikely to materialise – during our lifetimes.
 
When politicians and others speak about herd immunity, unfortunately, they are under the misconception that the current tools we’ve got are adequate to eliminate the virus. It’s not what we have at hand right now.
 
Instead we should be talking about how to live with the virus. The tremendous success that’s materialised with COVID-19 vaccines allows us to do this, without actually getting into the herd immunity threshold.
 
Peddling the concept of herd immunity creates a misconception that we are actually going to get to a stage where this virus is going to be eliminated. That’s unlikely to happen. It will continue circulating.
 
There are a number of dangers in continuing to make people believe it’s possible.
 
Firstly, it could dent confidence in vaccines. Even if South Africa gets to its target of 67% of the population being vaccinated – as set out by the Department of Health – there will still be outbreaks of COVID-19. The result will be that people begin to doubt the benefits of being vaccinated. Also, for the now dominant Delta variant, immunity against infection (not only COVID-19 illness) would need to be closer to 84% for the “herd immunity” threshold to be reached.
 
Secondly, failing to face up to the reality that herd immunity can’t be achieved will mean that countries like South Africa will continue to believe that ongoing restrictions will get them there. That will compromise the lives of people on multiple fronts – including education and livelihoods.

*snip*
 
We are simply going to have to become comfortable with the idea that SARS-CoV-2 is going to be like one of the numerous other viruses that circulate that cause respiratory illness each day. Usually mild infections, and less often a severe disease.
 
So people will, unfortunately, continue dying of COVID-19, but certainly not at the magnitude that’s been seen over the past 18 months. A major advance would be for COVID-19 to be no more severe than what is seen every influenza season (10,000 to 11,000 deaths) in South Africa.
 
The UK experience is where we should be heading. That is getting back to a relatively normal lifestyle, provided that we’ve got a adequate number of people vaccinated, and particularly people who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
 
The UK is currently close to 85% of adults that have already received at least a single dose of the vaccine. As a result they’re able to remove almost all restrictions.
 
The UK is seeing an increase in number of cases of the Delta variant. But they’ve seen very nominal changes when it comes to hospitalisation and death. The vast majority of people (97%) who still end up being hospitalised and dying of COVID-19 in the UK are those who decided not to be vaccinated.

https://theconversat...hat-next-165471
 

The International Monetary Fund [IMF] approved its largest-ever distribution of monetary reserves totaling $650 billion to help the global economy recover from the Covid pandemic and ease the mounting debt of member states.
 
“The Board of Governors of the IMF… approved a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights [SDRs] equivalent to US$650 billion on August 2, 2021, to boost global liquidity,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement made public on Monday.
 
Georgieva called the decision “historic” and “a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis.” It will become effective on August 23.
 
However, the IMF’s decision was hard fought, with the plan delayed for more than a year. Some countries have criticized the plan, calling it a “giveaway to wealthy countries and rogue regimes.”
 
The Fund will credit the new SDRs to its 190 member countries proportionally to their current IMF quotas. Around 58%, or $375 billion, will go to advanced economies, and 42%, or $275 billion, to “emerging markets and developing countries, including low-income countries.”

https://www.english....om.lb/61307/541

50 New Covid Cases In Delhi In 24 Hours, Active Cases Lowest This Year
According to the health department, Delhi now has 519 active cases, which is the lowest this year.
https://www.ndtv.com...is-year-2501698

49 out of over 8.7 mln samples positive for COVID-19 in Nanjing's 3rd mass testing
https://news.cgtn.co...UhZm/index.html

Chinese mainland reports 61 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases
http://www.ecns.cn/n...ct3741074.shtml
 

BEIJING, Aug 3 (Reuters) - China's Wuhan city will test its 12 million residents for the coronavirus after confirming its first domestic cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
 
Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in late 2019, had reported no local coronavirus cases since mid-May last year but on Monday authorities confirmed three cases of the Delta variant. The strain has been found in a handful of provinces and big cities including Beijing over the past two weeks.
 
"To ensure that everyone in the city is safe, city-wide nucleic acid testing will be quickly launched for all people to fully screen out positive results and asymptomatic infections," Wuhan official Li Qiang told a news briefing.
 
Parts of an industrial and technology zone were sealed off, a measure rarely seen in the city since a lockdown last year.

https://www.reuters....ier-2021-08-03/
 

The new wave of the Delta variant strain outbreak in Nanjing, the most extensive domestic COVID-19 contagion after the Wuhan epidemic in 2020, has triggered worries about whether the resurgence will have a more profound impact on businesses, manufacturing and consumption, and drag down the just-reviving Chinese economy in the second half.

Since the first confirmed case of the outbreak was detected on July 20 at Nanjing Lukou International Airport, capital city of East China's Jiangsu Province, more than 260 infections have been reported, including cases in more than 26 other cities, with Beijing and Sichuan Province's Chengdu among them.

The outbreak may spread to more regions in the short term, He Qinghua, a senior official at the National Health Commission, said at a press conference on Saturday.

As one of China's most economically active regions, Jiangsu Province, along with neighboring Zhejiang Province and Shanghai, is home to most of the country's exporters with businesses ranging from Christmas products to vehicles.

Companies told the Global Times that although the impact is still limited, the rapid spread of the epidemic may lead to a delay in order deliveries and personnel exchanges during the peak season.

https://www.globalti...8/1230234.shtml
 
U.S. Hits Goal of 70% Adults With One COVID Vaccine Dose
https://www.webmd.co...id-vaccine-dose

4 in 5 vaccinated Americans blame unvaccinated for rising cases: poll
https://thehill.com/...sing-cases-poll

CDC Extends Rule Allowing Immediate Expulsion of Migrants on US Border Due to COVID-19
https://sputniknews....ue-to-covid-19/
 

"I was just informed by the House physician I have tested positive for #COVID19 even after being vaccinated. I started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night and went to the doctor this morning," Graham said in a brief statement on Twitter.
 

"I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms. I will be quarantining for ten days," he noted, adding, "I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse."

https://sputniknews....e-without-shot/

[Victoria Watcher]

Opinion: Canadians have been in the dark about covid-19 deaths in hospitals. We need more transparency.

 

Canadians have been receiving daily covid-19 updates on the number of cases and deaths, but there are two figures that have been missing: How many Canadians contracted covid-19 in a hospital, and how many of them died?

 

That information has been mostly out of reach.

 

Journalists in Quebec received some of this data through information requests. There have been at least 743 deaths at 31 hospitals of people who contracted covid-19 through a hospital outbreak. The largest number of deaths occurred at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, where 150 people died from covid-19 outbreaks.

 

https://www.washingt...9-transparency/

 

The other problem is that each jurisdiction counts covid-19 deaths differently. Quebec is the only province that has considered most excess deaths (91 percent in the 85-plus age category) to be related to covid-19. That has meant that Quebec’s death count is higher than those of other jurisdictions in Canada in general because Quebec includes most of the province’s excess deaths (deaths in excess of where the death rate had been previous to the pandemic starting) as being related to covid-19. This is likely why Quebec’s death total is as high as it is.

_________________________

 

In other provinces, even if someone died while infected, if their death was determined not to be explicitly caused by covid-19, there was discretion about whether to count the death as an official covid-19 death.

 

In British Columbia, where zero excess deaths were attributed to covid-19 in the over-85 age category, 77 hospital deaths were reported by local health authorities or journalists. But like other provinces, this reporting was not consistent, so there’s no total count for deaths from covid-19 acquired in hospital that hasn’t been cobbled together by media reports and limited public health reporting.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2021 - 07:47 AM.

[Mike K.]

It's so maddening because the American pandemic didn't start out political. But Trump's long-time personal deficiency overcame him: his fear of sickness and looking weak.

He discouraged mask-wearing and when he got wind of his followers expressing vaccine skepticism he latched on to it and stopped promoting shots and downplayed the virus while still bragging about Operation Warp Speed.

Meanwhile, Delta cuts a path through the country, unvaccinated victims die begging for a cure. All because one emotionally-neglected little boy in the 1950s.

Didn’t the doc who penned the “begging” post then throw a party and get a bunch of people super sick?

[Victoria Watcher]

New York City will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday, making it the first big city in the U.S. to impose such restrictions.

The new requirement, which will be phased in over several weeks in August and September, is the most aggressive step the city has taken yet to curb a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant. People will have to show proof that they have had at least one dose of a vaccine.

“The only way to patronize these establishments indoors will be if you’re vaccinated,” de Blasio said. “The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. If we’re going to stop the Delta variant, the time is now. And that means getting vaccinated right now.”

 

https://www.vicnews....or-dining-gyms/

[Mike K.]

How long until the Surrey variant arrives?

[Sparky]

^ It will be here as soon as the next ferry unloads. 

 

We spent the day at Willows Beach yesterday. License plates from all over the country and languages spoken from all over the world it seemed.

 

I with the Mayor of New York.

 

Proof of vaccination or no ferry or airplane ticket to our island. The anti vaxers can stay home and enjoy themselves there.  

[dasmo]

"In July 2021, following multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, town, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who had traveled to the town during July 3–17; 346 (74%) occurred in fully vaccinated persons. Testing identified the Delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients. Cycle threshold values were similar among specimens from patients who were fully vaccinated and those who were not.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Jurisdictions might consider expanded prevention strategies, including universal masking in indoor public settings, particularly for large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission."

 

Are you guys going to keep going along with "the narrative" again this fall? 

 

Anyway it's good to see you are all still alive here and mostly doing the same thing you always did. Hope you guys are enjoying the summer. I have been! It's a beautiful life! 

 

Maybe I'll drop by again when the dark winter 2.0 starts up gain in the fall to bring some positivity into this place. Until then I leave you with the wise words from Busta Rhymes....

https://youtu.be/LLsHDsl-F3g

[sukika]

Even with a federal disaster response team on site, one of the largest hospitals in Louisiana has 67 beds that are sitting empty because they don't have enough staff because so many are sick with COVID-19. 

https://www.instagra...g_web_copy_link

 

They have temporary job postings offering $80/hour for RNs and $66.50/hour for Respiratory Therapists right now. 

[max.bravo]

"In July 2021, following multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, town, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who had traveled to the town during July 3–17; 346 (74%) occurred in fully vaccinated persons. Testing identified the Delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients. Cycle threshold values were similar among specimens from patients who were fully vaccinated and those who were not.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Jurisdictions might consider expanded prevention strategies, including universal masking in indoor public settings, particularly for large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission."

Are you guys going to keep going along with "the narrative" again this fall?

Anyway it's good to see you are all still alive here and mostly doing the same thing you always did. Hope you guys are enjoying the summer. I have been! It's a beautiful life!

Maybe I'll drop by again when the dark winter 2.0 starts up gain in the fall to bring some positivity into this place. Until then I leave you with the wise words from Busta Rhymes....
https://youtu.be/LLsHDsl-F3g

Well duh, it’s overwhelmingly clear that the problem of vaccinated folks contracting delta variant is the fault of the unvaxxed. Conclusion reached. We just need to wait a little longer for the narrative to create a plausible reason why this is true.

How long til MSM starts talking about ADE? My guess is as soon as they concoct a plausible story explaining how the unvaxed are the cause of that too.

[Victoria Watcher]

israel:

 

 

The coronavirus cabinet approved new restrictions on Tuesday night, as senior government members admitted a lockdown in September is not a remote possibility anymore.

 

Starting August 20, the full green pass system will be in place again. Starting Sunday, masks will be mandatory in all outdoor gatherings and a vaccinated/recovered parent caring for a child in quarantine under the age of 12 will be demanded to isolate as well.

 

In addition, government offices will work with only 50% of their workforce in person, and the private sector will be encouraged to do the same.

 

https://www.jpost.co...-to-meet-675707

[Victoria Watcher]

Canada’s move to mix COVID-19 vaccines as part of a strategy to quickly immunize as much of the population as possible could present travel challenges to millions of people who received different doses.

 

While research has shown that mixing a viral vector vaccine, such as AstraZeneca, followed by an mRNA vaccine, such as Pfizer, produces a significant immune response, some countries, including many in the European Union, don’t recognize certain vaccines and vaccine combinations.

 

That means that those with mixed doses may not be considered fully vaccinated and could require additional COVID-19 safety measures such as testing and quarantining. Cruise lines can also deny boarding to passengers.

 

As of Monday, 67.6 per cent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, including about 3.6-million people who received a combination of vaccines.

 

 

 

https://www.theglobe...s-for-millions/

 

 

 

we did all that mostly over a 5-8 day delay in one mrna vaccine.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 August 2021 - 02:31 PM.