26251 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Approximately 50 new self-isolation pods will be available to unhoused, COVID-positive people in Victoria by early November, B.C.’s housing minister announced Friday (Oct. 1).

An additional 30 spaces will be created in existing shelters, and a flexible 20 pop-up ones will be created in a new, undisclosed location, attorney general and housing minister David Eby said in a joint press conference with Island Health and the City of Victoria. This adds to 287 self-isolation spaces already available.

The need for more spaces was only made publicly known last week when internal documents were leaked to a local media outlet, showing a significant number of COVID-19 cases and lack of self-isolation areas for Victoria’s unhoused population. Following the leak, an emergency press conference was called Sept. 24 in which Island Health chief medical officer Dr. Richard Stanwick admitted more proper isolation spaces are needed.



https://www.vicnews....ive-population/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 October 2021 - 12:53 PM.

[spanky123]

“B.C. expands mask mandate in schools to include kindergarten to Grade 3 after community outcry“: https://www.cbc.ca/n...pdate-1.6196198


Probably necessary but that’s just sad.

 

No doubt Horgan finally stepped in. Henry's assertion that kids can't get or pass covid was absurd and everyone knew it.

[Mike K.]

Approximately 50 new self-isolation pods will be available to unhoused, COVID-positive people in Victoria by early November, B.C.’s housing minister announced Friday (Oct. 1).

An additional 30 spaces will be created in existing shelters, and a flexible 20 pop-up ones will be created in a new, undisclosed location, attorney general and housing minister David Eby said in a joint press conference with Island Health and the City of Victoria. This adds to 287 self-isolation spaces already available.

The need for more spaces was only made publicly known last week when internal documents were leaked to a local media outlet, showing a significant number of COVID-19 cases and lack of self-isolation areas for Victoria’s unhoused population. Following the leak, an emergency press conference was called Sept. 24 in which Island Health chief medical officer Dr. Richard Stanwick admitted more proper isolation spaces are needed.



https://www.vicnews....ive-population/

 

What is this mystery media outlet Vic News won't name?

[Victoria Watcher]

Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said Friday they’ve developed a drug that reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by around 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases of Covid.

 

The companies plan to seek emergency authorization for the antiviral Covid treatment after the medicine showed “compelling results” in clinical trials.

 

The drug, molnupiravir, is administered orally and works by inhibiting the replication of the coronavirus inside the body.

 

An interim analysis of a phase 3 study found that 7.3% of patients treated with molnupiravir were hospitalized within 29 days. Of the patients who received a placebo, 14.1% were hospitalized or died by day 29. No deaths were reported in patients who were given molnupiravir within the 29-day period, while eight deaths were reported in placebo-treated patients.

 

https://www.cnbc.com...-treatment.html

[todd]

No doubt Horgan finally stepped in. Henry's assertion that kids can't get or pass covid was absurd and everyone knew it.

very sad.

[LJ]

Approximately 50 new self-isolation pods will be available to unhoused, COVID-positive people in Victoria by early November, B.C.’s housing minister announced Friday (Oct. 1).

 

I thought we bought up enough hotels for everyone to have their own room, how come we still have unhoused?

[amor de cosmos]

1 in 3 people in B.C. say they haven't been asked to show a vaccine card at a venue where it's required: poll
10% say they've witnessed negative reactions to requests for proof of vaccination, Insights West poll finds
https://www.cbc.ca/n...-card-1.6196529

Victoria opening new COVID-19 isolation shelter spaces as outbreak worsens
30 residents from a Kelowna shelter remain isolated in hotels after a COVID-19 outbreak
https://www.cbc.ca/n...elter-1.6196812

Three men arrested after refusing to wear masks on ferry to Swartz Bay
https://www.timescol...-bay-1.24361575
 

Newswise — The American Thoracic Society strongly opposes the use of Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 outside of a registered clinical trial.  The ATS further opposes court or other legal efforts to compel physicians to provide unproven treatments for COVID-19 or any other health condition.
 
As noted in the statement released by Merck, the maker of Ivermectin, currently available information does not support the use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.  According to Merck, there is:

• No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies; 
• No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and; 
• A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.

“We do not believe that the data available support the safety and efficacy of ivermectin beyond the doses and populations indicated in the regulatory agency-approved prescribing information,” said Merck in their most recent statement on the use of Ivermectin and COVID-19.

https://www.newswise...oracic-society/
 

As has been the case with 5G and microchip technology, graphene has been the subject of several "trojan horse" conspiracy theories according to which governments or powerful individuals are supposedly seeking to remotely "control" people who receive some sort of mini device through coronavirus vaccines, or track their whereabouts through GPS.
 
This control could be exercised from 5G towers transmitting signals to people supposedly carrying graphene particles, one theory goes.
 
In another widely-disseminated claim, social media users alleged they had been "magnetized" by the vaccine, posting images of magnets, coins or cutlery allegedly attached to the arm in which they received the jab.
 
Some conspiracy theorists have claimed that vaccines containing graphene have altered people's "electromagnetic field" and that this can be fatal.
 
What is the truth?
 
To start with, none of the vaccines approved for use by the World Health Organization contain graphene or its derivative, graphene oxide.
 
Conspiracies were fueled when Canada in April recalled certain anti-coronavirus facemasks with a graphene layer over concerns that inhaled particles inhaled could cause asbestos-like lung damage.
 
In July, their sale was resumed after a review found that "biomass graphene particles are not shed from these masks in quantities that are likely to cause adverse lung effects."

etc
https://phys.org/new...gled-covid.html
 

But very little about these mandates is novel. Liberal societies have long compromised—for good reason—on individual choice when it comes to controlling infectious diseases, from smallpox to cholera. And, in many cases, the restrictions are far more severe than requiring vaccinations. In comparison, the Biden administration has had a relatively gentle touch. Consider what the government does to protect Americans from another infectious disease: tuberculosis, or TB. As a former TB patient, I have personal experience in this domain.
 
In 2016, I was diagnosed with TB. I was immediately turned over to public health authorities and informed of the many choices that the government would now make for me. I would submit to contact tracing. I would provide information for everyone I was in close contact with over the previous 18 months. Each person—from my professors to my students to my infant niece—would be tested. I would not choose my doctor. I would be quarantined as the government saw fit. I would submit regular X-rays and bloodwork. I would also provide sputum samples, which, they explained, often involved medically induced choking.
 
While undergoing treatment, my movements would be restricted. Whenever a sputum sample came back positive for the bacteria, I would return to quarantine. While in quarantine, public health workers would sporadically come to my home to ensure I was compliant. Even out of quarantine, I could leave my house, but I couldn’t go far. A trip outside the city required permission. And if permission was granted, it came with conditions. I would need to immediately report to the public health department at my destination, which would take over the supervision of my medication. If I were to deviate from this protocol, I would be taken to court and placed in jail.
 
The treatment for TB is unforgiving. I would receive a cocktail of antibiotics for six to nine months. I would not administer these antibiotics myself; rather, a government employee would come to my home every day to unwrap the pills and watch me swallow them. I would learn the rationale for such strict measures: Studies have shown that TB patients are frequently noncompliant. This is due in part to the difficulty of the antibiotic treatment. Patients typically experience peripheral neuropathy (pain and numbness from nerve damage), rashes, nausea, and incapacitating fatigue. The antibiotics can cause liver and kidney damage and, in rare cases, colorblindness. Due to drug toxicity, one must eliminate alcohol and certain foods and avoid exposure to the sun. The antibiotics also interact with many other common medications. In my case, I had no choice but to stop taking antacids. After I developed neurological symptoms of serotonin syndrome, I had to stop taking antidepressants.
 
Having gone through this process, I experience some mild amusement when I hear commentators naively wonder if the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate poses a troubling new problem for liberal society. Many much more intense measures have been in place for decades—they’ve just affected a smaller number of people.

https://foreignpolic...-health-safety/

 

 

Portugal’s health care system was on the verge of collapse. Hospitals in the capital, Lisbon, were overflowing and authorities were asking people to treat themselves at home. In the last week of January, nearly 2,000 people died as the virus spread.

 

The country’s vaccine program was in a shambles, so the government turned to Vice Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a former submarine squadron commander, to right the ship.

 

Eight months later, Portugal is among the world’s leaders in vaccinations, with roughly 86% of its population of 10.3 million fully vaccinated. About 98% of all of those eligible for vaccines — meaning anyone over 12 — have been fully vaccinated, Gouveia e Melo said.

etc

https://ca.news.yaho...-141101052.html
 

South Africa launched a new COVID-19 vaccination drive Friday and will try to give doses to 500,000 people in two days to reinvigorate a flagging campaign that's coming up against hesitancy and complacency in the continent's worst-affected country.
 
The campaign will run through Saturday, and is the first time South Africa has offered vaccines on a wide scale to people on the weekend.
 
The government has urged anyone 18 or over who hasn't been vaccinated to turn up at hospitals, town centers and mobile clinics nationwide for a shot and, in an attempt to encourage them, dropped requirements that they must register for an appointment in advance. People can now register at the vaccination site.
 
*snip*
 
South Africa has fully vaccinated 15% of its population of 60 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data. But it has not met targets it set earlier in the year and Ramaphosa has said the country now needs to vaccinate 250,000 people daily to reach a reset target of fully vaccinating 70% of the adult population by the end of the year.
 
The ongoing two-day vaccination drive will be an early test of that new goal.
 
Ramaphosa is attempting to entice people to get shots by tying vaccination rates to a return to normal life in South Africa, which has remained under various levels of lockdown since March 2020.

https://medicalxpres...inate-days.html
 
COVID-19 vaccines will be added to immunization list required for CA students
The rule will come into effect once the vaccine is FDA-approved for each age group.
https://arstechnica....or-ca-students/

Alabama clears plan to use COVID-19 relief funds to build prisons
https://thehill.com/...o-build-prisons
 

The therapists help him do various exercises in order to make sure that he maintains his strength in his residual limbs so that after his wounds have healed and he is fitted for prosthetic legs, he will be able to walk again on his own.

“At this point, we’re shooting for being able to get him to a point where he can be at home,” Salinas said. “He’s required 24-hour nursing care for a while since his admission here — requiring in essence bathing, dressing and going to the bathroom, all of those things. What we’re shooting for primarily is for him to be able to get up from the bed on his own, transition to the wheelchair on his own, transition to the bathroom on his own mostly under his own power as opposed to us doing most of the work.”

Forina was initially admitted into the hospital on July 26 after his issues with the virus grew more severe.

“I knew that I had COVID already because I had already tested positive,” Forina said.

He said that he had chosen not to get the COVID-19 vaccine despite pleas from his wife and daughter, who did get the vaccine. When asked about why he chose not to get the vaccine, his response was simple and to the point: “Stupidity.”

“Stupidity, basically because I didn’t believe in it,” Forina said. “I didn’t believe that a vaccine … I just didn’t want to get it done.”

It was a decision that he now says he regrets making.

https://myrgv.com/lo...etting-vaccine/
via https://www.dailykos...to-get-the-shot
 

In the face of that recalcitrance, some localities (Washington, D.C., and most of Texas and California, along with a handful of counties in other states) are just giving cash to tenants if the landlord can’t be reached or won’t participate. In Philadelphia, for example, disbursements have been faster with the direct-to-tenant option. Gregory Heller, executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, said that his city used Cares Act funding to give rent money to tenants in the fall of 2020, before ERAP, and “figured out it was much simpler.”
 
Direct-to-tenant rental assistance doesn’t seem like a radical idea, and it isn’t. In fact, the Treasury Department put out guidance at the end of August explicitly allowing for it. But in many states it tends to be viewed with distrust because of fears that tenants will exploit the system. Emma Foley, a research analyst at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, says these concerns are largely unfounded and stem from a general suspicion around welfare programs that permeates state and local agencies.
 
“The fear of fraud or misuse makes a lot of state agencies fear that [their] inspector general will pull funds at a later point in time when they’re audited. There’s an apprehension around it,” she said. Foley added that some states believe tenants will feign eligibility requirements without the check provided by the landlord. The variation between states is “not even about how progressive the state is,” she said, citing the example of Texas, “a red state that is actually performing pretty well” in getting the emergency assistance out. “It’s all on the people making the decisions, how experienced they are in housing and welfare, how willing they are to engage with communities, and how much they want people to maintain safe housing.”

“A lot of the ways that we have designed welfare programs are pretty dated,” said Peter Hepburn, assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers University–Newark and a research fellow at the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. “They basically presumed a level of skepticism and mistrust about the motivations and moral character of the poor is bred into it, and a lot of it carried over to the implementation of the ERAP.”
 
Housing advocates argue that direct-to-tenant assistance and making self-attestation easier wouldn’t just help people pay their rent on time—it might actually help shift views on social welfare among state administrators and the public. That’s been the progressive hope around other broad programs rolled out at the start of the pandemic, like the stimulus payments or the expanded child tax credit, which, while temporary, focused on getting money to large numbers of people quickly, without a lot of worry about how it would be spent.

https://newrepublic....s-not-landlords
 

A war of words broke out between podcasters Cenk Uygur and Joe Rogan Thursday night after the Young Turks founder criticized Rogan's ongoing attacks on COVID-19 vaccines.
 
"To all the loser @joerogan fans crying over my attack on his 'freedom' hypocrisy & stupidity, are you guys part of the crew or do you kiss his ass for fun? I thought he was a big boy who could handle himself," Uygur wrote on Twitter after sparring with Rogan's fans.
 
"If he doesn't like my free speech, he can grow a pair & defend himself."
 
Uygur quickly offered to take the conflict offline, saying that he could beat Rogan — a longtime mixed martial arts hobbyist and commentator — in a fight. He even told a fan who offered $1,000 to stage the encounter that it would be the "easiest $1,000 I ever made."
 
"You think he's going to assault me? Sure, whatever. That's incredibly dumb. But also wouldn't work. I'm much larger than Joe and I've fought my whole life. I'd end him. But grownups don't do that. I'll send you the PO Box to send check to later," Uygur tweeted.

https://www.salon.co...gan-to-a-fight/

Edited by amor de cosmos, 02 October 2021 - 08:38 AM.

[spanky123]

I thought we bought up enough hotels for everyone to have their own room, how come we still have unhoused?

 

We have more than enough and most have empty spaces. You are asking why the poverty industry wants more money and power?

[amor de cosmos]

COVID-19 may bring high risks of severe disease and death in many patients by disrupting key metabolic signals and thereby triggering hyperglycemia, according to a new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

In the study, reported Sept. 15 in Cell Metabolism, the researchers found that hyperglycemia-;having high blood sugar levels-;is common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and is strongly associated with worse outcomes. The researchers also found evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can induce hyperglycemia by disrupting fat cells' production of adiponectin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.
 

We normally don't think that fat cells are very active, but in fact they synthesize many protective proteins for your body-;and it appears that SARS-CoV-2 may disable that protection in many patients."

Hyperglycemia, the core feature of diabetes, is associated with inflammation and weakened immunity against infections, and was recognized as a significant risk factor for severe COVID-19 early in the pandemic. However, doctors later began finding evidence that COVID-19 is associated with hyperglycemia in patients who have no history of diabetes.

https://www.news-med...re-disease.aspx
 

MINSK, October 2. /TASS/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that Belarus is "more successful" in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic than Western countries, he said in an interview with CNN.
 
Lukashenko said that fake statements about the situation with coronavirus in Belarus are being spread in the West. "You want to say that this Belarusian dictator is a madman. He doesn't offer treatment to people. But I am more involved in this than all of you Western leaders taken together. Moreover, I don't know if you've had COVID but I have had this disease and I know what it's like. … So I have personal experience and a personal reason to draw certain conclusions and give advice to people. But if I said that you can take 100 grams of vodka and go to the sauna, well, that was a joke and any normal civilized person will take it as such, but you grabbed on to this and said, Lukashenko wants to treat people with vodka and sauna. That was a joke," he said.
 
"We use the unified treatment protocols of the World Health Organisation. It is the same protocol in America, Britain, Russia and here, and we use it in treatment, but we are more successful because you have ruined your healthcare, and we have been building ours constantly. God help this situation not to get worse. So don't you go accusing me. This is all fake news - everything that you've just said is fake, fake, fake news you've got from the internet, and a channel like CNN should be ashamed to be doing that," Lukashenko added.

https://tass.com/society/1345063

Катар включил «Спутник V» в список разрешенных для въезда вакцин
Qatar has included "Sputnik V" in the list of approved vaccines
https://iz.ru/123023...a-vezda-vaktcin

2.213 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in China
http://www.ecns.cn/n...ye2791381.shtml
 
meh, just another new york democrat

Ex-US President Donald Trump has revealed in an interview with Yahoo Finance that he was inoculated with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, noting though that he wouldn't mind any of the jabs available in the country.
 

"Well, I got the Pfizer and I would have been very happy with any of them".

 

https://sputniknews....1089610686.html
 

Alaska on Saturday activated emergency crisis protocols that allow 20 medical facilities to ration care if needed as the state recorded the nation's worst COVID-19 diagnosis rates in recent days, straining the state's limited health care system.

The declaration covers three facilities that had already announced emergency protocols, including the state's largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. The state's declaration also includes the other two hospitals in Anchorage and facilities across the nation's largest but sparsely populated state.
 
"Today's action recognizes that Alaska has an interconnected and interdependent health care system, requiring the need for activation of the state's decision-making framework. That framework includes a progression of conventional, contingency and crisis standards," the state health department said in a statement announcing the activation.

https://medicalxpres...ovid-spike.html
 

We’ve all known that COVID-19 has taken a cruel toll on the health of older Americans. Now, a new study from the Commonwealth Fund foundation finds that the coronavirus has been equally brutal financially.
 
In fact, the 2021 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults shows Americans 65+ have been facing greater economic hardship and health care disruption than people their age in 10 other wealthy nations. In some cases, far greater.
 
The findings were released a day after the U.S. Census reported that median household income for Americans 65+ fell by 3.3% from 2019-20. It’s now roughly $46,400, said David Waddington, chief of social, economic and housing statistics at the Census. (The median household income dropped by 2.6% for those under 65).
 
Some 9% of Americans 65 and older are now living in poverty. Half of Medicare beneficiaries have incomes below $30,000, according to the National Council on Aging.

https://www.marketwa...mic-11632427657

[pontcanna]

Union concerned after multiple people at Vancouver Island jail test positive for COVID-19

 

October 3, 2021

Multiple people at a Greater Victoria jail have positive for COVID-19, says the union representing staff members at the facility.

According to Paul Finch, the British Columbia General Employees’ Union’s treasurer, over half a dozen people at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in recent days.

“There have been several confirmed cases in the last few days and so we’ve got figures from the end of September to the beginning of October and we believe there’s been approximately over a dozen confirmed cases,” said Finch.

Details regarding the exact number of positive cases and whether the infected individuals are inmates, staff, or a combination of the two, are not clear.

 

More: https://www.cheknews...ovid-19-894258/

 

[Victoria Watcher]

 

https://www.worldome...fo/coronavirus/

 

looks like worldwide deaths is about to hit the all-time low.

 

 

[amor de cosmos]

Alberta reported more COVID-19 cases in September than any month prior, data shows
Record hospitalizations, ICU admissions also set last month
https://www.cbc.ca/n...-data-1.6197781
 

While most government workers are required to prove if they are vaccinated against COVID-19, it's a very different story in the private sector.
 
Almost none of northeastern Ontario's largest industrial employers have vaccination policies.
 
The Algoma steel mill  in Sault Ste. Marie says it does not require its 2,800 employees to be vaccinated.
 
Vale, with some 4,000 workers in Sudbury, didn't answer CBC's questions, but United Steelworkers Local 6500 says there is no policy in place.
 
That's also the case at Glencore in Sudbury, where about 1,000 miners and smelter workers are represented by the Mine Mill union.
 
"This is a very polarizing issue for a lot of people," says union president Eric Boulay.
 
"Some are for it and some are against it, and they want to see the union fight for their direction, and that's two different directions."

https://www.cbc.ca/n...tario-1.6195250
 

Anu Khullar says she was shocked how easy it was to refuse to quarantine in a hotel after landing in Calgary on June 20, following a trip to Honduras.
 
She received no pushback and no fine, she said.
 
"There were two police officers standing there and they just smiled at me and said, 'Hi,'" said Khullar, who lives in Edmonton and owns a home in Honduras. 
 
"Got my luggage, got my car, drove home, everything was great."
 
Canada's hotel quarantine requirement for international air passengers ended in August, but it's still sparking controversy. That's because while more than 5,000 air passengers who refused to quarantine in a hotel were hit with fines, others who violated the rule faced no repercussions.
 
"This wasn't a program that was sort of implemented fairly, necessarily, across the board," said Cara Zwibel, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's fundamental freedoms program.
 
CBC News has yet to confirm that any hotel quarantine fines have been issued to date to air passengers who landed in Calgary or Montreal. They are two of just four cities — along with Vancouver and Toronto — where international passengers could land while the hotel quarantine rule was in effect, from Feb. 22 to Aug. 8.

*snip*

Khullar said she felt no need to quarantine in a hotel because she was fully vaccinated and could do her full 14-day quarantine in her empty house.

Her original return flight to Canada was to land in Vancouver. But Khullar said she switched her arrival city to Calgary after reading scores of posts on social media from people who said they landed in Calgary, refused to go to a quarantine hotel and didn't get fined.

"It was an absolute joke," said Khullar. "You might as well say, 'OK everybody, just fly back to Alberta. You don't have to worry about a single fine.'"

https://www.cbc.ca/n...lgary-1.6196752

Canadian NBA player Andrew Wiggins receives COVID-19 vaccine after initially refusing
Thornhill, Ont., native now eligible to play in all games for Warriors
https://www.cbc.ca/s...riors-1.6198298

T-cell tests unreliable in establishing previous COVID-19
https://www.alphagal...y/ItemId/213222

Study: For unvaccinated, reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 is likely
https://medicalxpres...-sars-cov-.html
 

MILAN: COVID-19 vaccines are less effective on people with weakened immune systems, three small Italian studies show, which the studies' researchers say highlight the need to deploy booster shots for this group of vulnerable people.

The studies show that, on average, 30 per cent of immunocompromised patients do not develop immunity to the virus after vaccination.

The remaining 70 per cent respond to the vaccine, especially after the second dose, but to a lesser extent than healthy people and with differences from group to group, the Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome, which conducted the three small studies, said in a statement on Monday (Oct 4).

The studies were conducted among a group of 21 patients with primary immunodeficiency disease, 34 children and young adults undergoing heart and lung transplants, and 45 young people with liver and kidney transplants.

The results indicate the need to increase the level of protection of the most vulnerable with booster doses, the hospital said.

https://www.channeln...romised-2221021
 

A new study by two researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) posits the use of residential electricity consumption data as an accurate measure of community response during unprecedented and disruptive events, such as a pandemic. In this context, by tracking how the households’ electricity demands changed during a given time period, the researchers could analyse links between community behaviour and information about the pandemic’s progression as it became publicly available.

The study concluded a strong positive correlation between the household peak consumption, specifically in the evenings, and newly reported COVID-19 cases in Singapore. This suggests that the local community reacted proactively during the early stages of the pandemic by opting to stay in, where possible. Voluntary steps were taken to protect themselves, even before a government-mandated lockdown.

“Our team routinely analyses data on domestic electricity usage, collected using smart energy meters. We wanted to apply this area of expertise to study pandemic response, as we believe this can support policymakers in assessing the people’s willingness towards embracing risk-reduction behaviours, to design effective public health updates,” said Assistant Professor Jimmy Peng from the NUS Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who oversaw the research.

The study was first published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 24 August 2021.

https://www.alphagal...y/ItemId/213194
 

The research, which was conducted across multiple hospitals in Spain, compared data from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic with data from the previous year. Of 1,385 cases of CRC diagnosed over the two-year period, almost two thirds (868 cases, 62.7 percent) were diagnosed in the pre-pandemic year from 24,860 colonoscopies. By contrast, only 517 cases (37.3 percent) were diagnosed during the pandemic, which also saw a 27 percent drop in the number of colonoscopies performed, to 17,337.
 
Those who were diagnosed with CRC between 15 March 2020 and 28 February 2021 were also older than in the pre-pandemic year, had more frequent symptoms, a greater number of complications and presented at a more advanced disease stage.
 
Experts say the fall is a consequence of the suspension of screening programs and the postponement of non-urgent colonoscopy investigations during the pandemic. Fewer cancers were identified by CRC screening in the pandemic period, with just 22 (4.3 percent) cases found in comparison to 182 (21 percent) in the pre-pandemic year. During the pandemic, more patients were diagnosed through symptoms (81.2 percent of diagnoses) compared with the pre-pandemic year (69 percent).

https://medicalxpres...d-pandemic.html
 

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on sexual abuse survivors going through the criminal justice system has been ‘huge’ with support services reporting referral increases of up to 366 per cent.

They also reported supporting clients for much longer periods of time because of the delays now being seen in the criminal justice system.

A new evidence briefing out today, written by Lancaster University and published on the Justice in Covid-19 for Sexual Abuse and Violence (JiCSAV) project website, focuses on the experiences of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Third Sector Support Services during the pandemic.

The report also highlights a range of innovative ways in which support services have rallied to help their clients.

“The increase in referrals was an issue before the pandemic, but things are far worse now,” says lead author Dr Siobhan Weare.

https://www.alphagal...y/ItemId/213215

People Are Sharing The Dark Effects Of The Pandemic That Are Rarely Talked About And It's Truly Eye-Opening
"Many guide dogs forgot how to be a guide during the pandemic because they didn't need to go anywhere with their owner."
https://www.buzzfeed...ffects-covid-19

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says unvaccinated NBA players shouldn't be allowed to play
Hall of Famer joins CBC News to discuss cases of outspoken anti-vaxxers
https://www.cbc.ca/s...abbar-1.6197502
 

If the content in these links were posted on Instagram itself, they could trip the platform’s misinformation algorithms because they contain factually incorrect statements. (The vaccine guide link, for example, suggests that vaccines cause autism, which isn’t true.) If the algorithm picked up on this, the account could be suspended or even banned. But Janny Organically and a host of other Instagram users have figured out a clever workaround: They’ve found sites that allow you to curate a list of links under one tidy and unassuming URL. Janny Organically uses one of two very popular link curating platforms: a Milwaukee-based company Campsite.bio. Another is Linktree, an Australian company. Campsite.bio doesn’t share much about its size, but its client roster includes some big names: Dell, USA Softball, and the popular WNYC radio show Radiolab, to name a few. According to Linktree’s website, it has 8 million clients and offices in Sydney and Los Angeles. Instagram users also have the option of using a link-list service called Linkin.bio, which is hosted by Instagram itself.  
 
I counted dozens of popular antivaccine Instagram accounts that use link lists, including a chiropractor in San Diego with 33,000 followers, an essential-oils-peddling homeschool mom in Tennessee with 101,000 followers, and an Australian podcaster with 80,000 followers. Some organizations use them, too: A powerful antivaccine advocacy group called Freedom Keepers United uses a Campsite link on its Instagram account, which has more than 66,000 followers. Another antivaccine group, Moms for Liberty, uses Linktree in several of its local chapters.
 
Some of these accounts go far beyond simply opposing vaccine mandates: One called igactivist links readers to wild theories about how the COVID-19 pandemic is a prelude to the collapse of banks and government mind control. Alongside products like T-shirts with slogans like “normalize breastfeeding” and “Mama Bear,” the Linktree on the Instagram account Bjoans connects to the Liberty First Society, a right-wing education group founded by attorney KrisAnne Hall who, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, has made appearances with a white nationalist group.

etc
https://www.motherjo...misinformation/
via https://www.alternet...orithms-report/

Spain regains ‘around 96%’ of jobs lost in pandemic: Minister
September saw its sharpest drop in unemployment on record, according to newly released data
https://www.aa.com.t...inister/2382441

У летучих мышей в РФ выявили коронавирусы
Coronaviruses have been detected in bats in the Russian Federation
https://ura.news/news/1052508800

Texas schools have reported more coronavirus cases in two months than they did in the entire 2020-21 school year
https://www.alternet.../texas-schools/

[Barrrister]

Does anyone have this weekends numbers, specifically the numbers for the Island?

 

[LocalMom]

Province wide: 617 new cases from Friday to Saturday, 707 cases from Saturday to Sunday, and 662 cases from Sunday to Monday

782 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 2,333 total active cases.

414 new cases in Interior Health, which has 1,132 total active cases.

346 new cases in Northern Health, which has 965 total active cases.

226 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 859 total active cases.

218 new cases in Island Health, which has 640 total active cases.

[amor de cosmos]

COVID hospitalizations in northern B.C. hit record high, 2 more lives lost
Online booking system launched to keep up with demand for new tests as cases in region climb
https://www.cbc.ca/n...oking-1.6199654

Indigenous community in northern B.C. closes access to non-residents to curb COVID-19
Lheidli T’enneh First Nation will allow only residents and essential workers to enter until Oct. 12
https://www.cbc.ca/n...osure-1.6199649

Ontario rolling out rapid COVID-19 tests to some high-risk schools, child-care settings
Rapid tests will be provided at request of local public health units
https://www.cbc.ca/n...hools-1.6199874
 
study of the day

Newswise — New research indicates that an overload of various inflammatory molecules, literally “trapped” inside insoluble microscopic blood clots (micro clots), might be the cause of some of the lingering symptoms experienced by individuals with Long COVID.
 
This unexpected finding was made by Prof Resia Pretorius, a researcher in the Department of Physiological Science at Stellenbosch University (SU), when she started looking at micro clots and their molecular content in blood samples from individuals with Long COVID. The findings have since been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology in August 2021.
 
“We found high levels of various inflammatory molecules trapped in micro clots present in the blood of individuals with Long COVID. Some of the trapped molecules contain clotting proteins such as fibrinogen, as well as alpha(2)-antiplasmin,” Prof Pretorius explains.
 
Alpha(2)-antiplasmin is a molecule that prevents the breakdown of blood clots, while fibrinogen is the main clotting protein. Under normal conditions the body’s plasmin-antiplasmin system maintains a fine balance between blood clotting (the process by which blood thickens and coagulate to prevent blood loss after an injury) and fibrinolysis (the process of breaking down the fibrin in the coagulated blood to prevent blood clots from forming).
 
With high levels of alpha(2)-antiplasmin in the blood of COVID-19 patients and individuals suffering from Long COVID, the body’s ability to break down the clots are significantly inhibited.
 
The insolubility of the micro clots became apparent when Dr Maré Vlok, a senior analyst in the Mass Spectrometry Unit at SU’s Central Analytical Facilities, noted that the blood plasma samples from individuals with acute COVID and Long COVID continued to deposit insoluble pellets at the bottom of the tubes after dilution (a process called trypsinization).
 
He alerted Prof Pretorius to this observation and she investigated it further. They are now the first research group to have reported on finding micro clots in the blood samples from individuals with Long COVID, using fluorescence microscopy and proteomics analysis, thereby solving yet another puzzle associated with the disease.

https://www.newswise...rom-long-covid/

WASHINGTON — As the pandemic grinds on through a second year, many American workers are feeling the pressure, and many say they intend to leave their jobs within a year, according to a new survey from the American Psychological Association.
https://www.apa.org/...ors-change-jobs
https://www.scienced...11004140335.htm
 
A specific wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) light is not only extremely effective at killing the virus which causes COVID-19, but is also safer for use in public spaces, finds new CU Boulder research.
https://www.colorado...covid-19-spread
https://www.scienced...11004115142.htm

Convalescent Plasma Futile as Treatment for Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
https://www.upmc.com...asma-remap-jama
https://www.scienced...11004140313.htm
 
Vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer jab stays highly effective against severe Covid - including the Delta variant - for at least six months, an analysis of US patients said Monday.
https://english.alar...-least-6-months
 

Journalists covering demonstrations against COVID-19 countermeasures have been called “terrorists,” “pedophiles,” “murderers,” and “scumbags.” Protesters have harassed and assaulted members of the press, and told them that “the nooses are ready.”
 
Threats like these have become increasingly familiar for reporters in Europe and the United States, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a CPJ partner, has recorded threats and assaults against reporters in cities including Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. 
 
Journalists in Europe told CPJ that some protesters target members of the press, who they see as representing the same forces they are rallying against. While most of the reporters vowed to continue their coverage of demonstrations against lockdowns, masks, and COVID vaccines, some also voiced concern that reporters—especially those without institutional support, like freelancers—may not be able to continue much longer.

longish
https://cpj.org/2021...ccine-protests/

Warriors' Andrew Wiggins explains decision to get COVID-19 vaccine: Options were 'to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA'
https://www.espn.com...ed-not-play-nba
 
Romania to suspend most surgery to cope with COVID-19 wave
https://www.reuters....e-idUSL8N2R057Y

More Than 900,000 Iranian Women Out of Work Post-Pandemic
https://iranwire.com/en/features/10489

Kremlin blames record COVID-19 deaths on slow vaccination rate
https://www.channeln...-deaths-2223111
 

МОСКВА, 5 окт - РИА Новости. Российским врачам рекомендовано тестировать пациентов с симптомами гриппа на коронавирус, чтобы поставить точный диагноз, сообщила вице-премьер РФ Татьяна Голикова.
 
"Рекомендации врачам по проведению лицам с клиническими симптомами гриппа (так как они очень схожи сейчас с COVID-19, и это является особенностью этого эпидемиологического сезона) дифференциальной лабораторной диагностики, в том числе с помощью ПЦР-тестирования. Чтобы идентифицировать, что это – COVID или грипп", - сказала Голикова на совещании президента РФ Владимира Путина с членами правительства.

Также во время совещания Голикова сообщила, что сроки тестирования на коронавирус будут сокращены с 48 до 24 часов.
 
MOSCOW, October 5 - RIA Novosti. Russian doctors are advised to test patients with flu symptoms for coronavirus in order to make an accurate diagnosis, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.
 
"Recommendations for doctors to conduct differential laboratory diagnostics for people with clinical symptoms of influenza (since they are now very similar to COVID-19, and this is a feature of this epidemiological season), including using PCR testing. To identify whether it is COVID or the flu, "Golikova said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with members of the government.
 
Also during the meeting, Golikova said that the timing of testing for coronavirus will be reduced from 48 to 24 hours.

https://ria.ru/20211...1753208600.html
 
Попова заявила об опасности гриппа для переболевших коронавирусом
Popova announced the danger of influenza for those who have had coronavirus
https://iz.ru/123127...h-koronavirusom

Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Developer Hopes to Receive WHO Approval Before 2022
https://sputniknews....1089682789.html
 

TOKYO -- Purchases of PCR tests in China's Hubei Province surged months before the first official reports of a novel coronavirus case there, according to a report by Australia-based cybersecurity company Internet 2.0.
 
About 67.4 million yuan ($10.5 million at current rates) was spent on PCR tests in Hubei during 2019, nearly double the 2018 total, with the upswing starting in May, according to the report.
 
Internet 2.0 collected and analyzed data from a website that aggregates information on public procurement bids in China. The analysis team consists of former officials from intelligence agencies in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and other countries.
 
The report casts further doubt on China's official line about the origins of the virus, a topic that has fueled tensions between Beijing and Washington. China's foreign ministry has disputed the report's findings.
 
PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests are used to detect the presence of a particular genetic sequence in a sample, and they have applications beyond COVID-19 testing. But the report alleges the unusual uptick likely signals awareness of a new disease spreading in and around Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.
 
Orders doubled from universities, jumped fivefold from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and surged tenfold from animal testing bureaus. Purchases from hospitals declined by more than 10%.
 
Monthly procurement data shows a spike in orders in May, especially from CDC buyers and the People's Liberation Army.
 
"We believe the increased spending in May suggests this as the earliest start date for possible infection," the report said.

https://asia.nikkei....rmed-COVID-case
https://www.bloomber...cases-firm-says

Fox News is recruiting health workers to do COVID tests for employees who refuse vaccinations: report
https://www.rawstory...-covid-testing/
 

Oct. 4, 2021 -- Houston architect Lanson Jones is one of the nearly 80 million Americans who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine, arguing the shots are experimental, were rushed to market, may cause side effects, and aren’t all fully approved by federal officials.
 
But when he contracted COVID in September, he didn’t hesitate to seek treatment with monoclonal antibodies -- a year-old, laboratory-created therapy no less experimental than the vaccines that is not fully approved by the FDA FDAand can also cause rare side effects.
 
“I haven’t done the shot because I hear a lot -- a lot -- of information about what are some of the effects of these vaccines and how it’s really not being reported, and I just felt I didn’t want to put something in me that has some question,” says Jones, 65.
 
“But with this monoclonal antibody treatment, I didn’t hesitate. I had no doubt in my mind -- not even one ounce of doubt about it. Not one person said, ‘Oh, well some people have had a reaction to it.’"
 
*snip*
 
But what doctors and public health experts say is most surprising is that so many of those embracing it are unvaccinated Americans who have refused the shot for reasons that could very well apply to the newly developed and experimental monoclonal antibody therapy, as well.
 
“I think it’s irrational, quite frankly, if you have to boil it down to one word,” says Howard Huang, MD, who heads up Houston Methodist’s infusion program, which is providing up to 900 doses a week. “It really doesn’t make any sense on multiple levels.”
 
For one thing, he says, the FDA has just granted full approval for the COVID vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, upgrading its status from its emergency use authorization (EUA). Many experts expect the FDA to grant similar full approvals to the Moderna vaccine and possibly the Johnson and Johnson shot, which currently have EUA designations.
 
Many vaccine holdouts have cited the EUA status of the COVID vaccines -- one step shy of full approval -- as a reason they don’t trust the shot. But the antibody treatments have also been granted only EUA approval, which hasn’t stopped vaccine-resistant Americans from seeking them.
 
“So, they’re refusing an FDA-approved and tested [vaccine], and then they’re seeking something that’s still under an FDA EUA,” says Huang. “I just don’t get it. I really don’t.”

longish
https://www.webmd.co...ibody-treatment
 

The largest healthcare provider in New York has fired 1,400 employees who refused to get COVID-19 vaccinations despite a statewide mandate.
 
A spokesman for Northwell Health told The New York Times that the company's goal "was to get people vaccinated, not to get people terminated."
 
Under New York's vaccine mandate, all healthcare staff must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. As of September 29, 87% of New York hospital workers were fully vaccinated, up from 84% seven days before, the state said.
 
Some state and healthcare officials have warned that mandates could exacerbate staffing shortages in hospitals and other medical facilities.
 
The 1,400 employees fired by Northwell account for about 2% of its workforce. Northwell has around 77,000 employees across 23 hospitals and more than 830 outpatient facilities.
 
Karen Roses was among the staff fired from Northwell. A former patient care technician at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, New York, she told Insider that she refused to get the shot and was fired the day after the statewide mandate came into force.

Northwell said in a statement to Insider that it had taken a "rapid, aggressive approach" and that its workforce was now fully vaccinated. This would allow it to "provide exceptional care at all of our hospitals, without interruption and enable all our facilities to remain open and fully operational," it added.

https://www.business...ployees-2021-10
https://www.nytimes....yees-fired.html

Far-right commentator who contracted COVID threatens Dr. Fauci: 'Give me liberty or give you death'
https://www.alternet.../2021/10/fauci/
https://twitter.com/...063484677443586

Marchers Attack Coronavirus Testing Station in Union Square
https://www.curbed.c...-york-city.html

[Nparker]

The BC Public Service will require all employees to provide proof they are fully vaccinated beginning November 22, 2021.

[LJ]

I love the teachers union, first they were screaming that they should be the first to get the vaccine, now they are not sure they want mandatory vaccines.

[qv]

I love the teachers union, first they were screaming that they should be the first to get the vaccine, now they are not sure they want mandatory vaccines.

It's like they have thousands of members who don't all want the same thing!

[amor de cosmos]

Seniors advocate to release review of COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. care facilities
https://www.timescol...ties-1.24362289
 

The city of Dawson Creek, B.C., home to about 12,000 people near the B.C.-Alberta border, has removed a previously published portion of a recent city council meeting video after it began circulating in COVID-19 disinformation groups worldwide.
 
The incident illustrates why everyone — including small communities — needs to think more deeply about who they give a platform to, says Ahmed Al-Rawi, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University who specializes in disinformation.
 
The portion of the video that was removed featured several speakers at a Sept. 2 council meeting making false or misleading statements about COVID-19 vaccines and their effectiveness.
 
*snip*
 
As the number of views of the video increased, so did scrutiny of Dawson Creek's council for giving anti-vaccine protesters a platform to speak in the first place.
 
Bumstead said staff at city hall were inundated with calls from people across North America about the video, some pleased with what they had seen, others upset the city had allowed false assertions to be broadcast unchecked.
 
After several weeks, Coun. Shaely Wilbur issued a public apology on her Facebook page. "I am from the core of my being disturbed that if in any way I have allowed misinformation to be taken as fact and distributed through social media via a delegation to council," she wrote, and encouraged residents to get vaccinated.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...creek-1.6201246

Anti-Vax NHLer Got a Serious COVID Side Effect. Anti-Vaxxers Blame Vaccines Anyway.
Edmonton Oiler Josh Archibald refused to get vaccinated, and now his career is in jeopardy after contracting COVID. Here’s how anti-vaxxers turned those facts into a nefarious conspiracy.
https://www.vice.com...itis-conspiracy
 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will on Wednesday unveil details of his government's plan to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory in the public service and for travellers within Canada, a source tells CBC News.
 
The information comes from a senior government source, who spoke to CBC News on the condition of anonymity because this person is not authorized to speak publicly.

The announcement is expected to include details of how the mandates will be enforced and when they will go into effect.
 
Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland are expected to speak about the plan at a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
 
The federal government first announced in August its intention to make vaccines mandatory for federal public servants and travellers on planes, ships and interprovincial trains.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ement-1.6201101
 

The coronavirus could be harming vital cells in the pancreas and leaving people with diabetes , according to new research being pursued by scientists.
 
The relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes is poorly understood and scientists don't yet have definitive answers.
 
But as the pandemic progressed, a growing number of reports suggested that people who caught COVID-19 were noticing diabetes symptoms for the first time. It is too soon to say whether the condition is permanent.
 
"Clearly there's a link, there's some sort of mechanism that makes the diseases fuel one another," Francesco Rubino chair of metabolic surgery at King's College London, told Insider. "The question is whether new-onset diabetes could be caused by this virus."

https://www.business...in-cells-2021-9
 

Abstract

The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings show that the stay-at-home policies were associated with a considerable drop in urban crime, but with substantial variation across cities and types of crime. Meta-regression results showed that more stringent restrictions over movement in public space were predictive of larger declines in crime.

https://www.nature.c...562-021-01139-z

Those under 40 more likely than older adults to recover COVID-related smell and taste loss
Ongoing survey tracking smell and taste recovery of COVID-19 survivors shows 4 out of every 5 recover senses within 6 months.
https://www.vcuhealt...-and-taste-loss
https://www.scienced...11005124655.htm

Research reveals mechanisms behind 'COVID toes'
https://medicalxpres...covid-toes.html

One in seven patients miss cancer surgery during COVID lockdowns: study
https://medicalxpres...-lockdowns.html
 

מדענים מווהאן ומארה"ב תכננו ליצור נגיף קורונה חדש, שלא קיים בטבע, באמצעות שילוב של קודים גנטיים מווירוסים אחרים. כך עולה ממסמכים שהוגשו לסוכנות מיזמי מחקרי הביטחון המתקדמים של ארה"ב (DARPA) שהודלפה בחודש שעבר. כך מדווח ב"טלגרף" הבריטי.

מומחה לגנטיקה שעובד בארגון הבריאות העולמי וחשף את התכנון, לאחר שבחן את ההצעה לעומק, סיפר כי אם נגיף הקורונה הנוכחי (Sars-CoV-2) נוצר בדרך זו, הרי שבכך יינתן הסבר מדוע הוא מעולם לא נמצא בטבע טרם המגיפה. עד עתה, נגיף בשם בנאל-52 (Banal-52), שדווח בלאוס בחודש שעבר - חולק עם נגיף זה 96.8% מהגנום.

מההצעה של סוכנות מיזמי מחקרי הביטחון המתקדמים של ארה"ב עולה כי הצוות תכנן לקחת רצפים גנטיים מנגיפי הקורונה הקיימים, הטבעיים, ולהשתמש בהם - במטרה ליצור רצף חדש שיהיה הממוצע בין כולם. "המשמעות של אותו הממוצע", הסביר בכיר בארגון הבריאות העולמי לטלגרף, "היא שלרצף הנגיפים החדש לא תהיה התאמה מושלמת לאף אחד מהווירוסים".

Scientists from Wuhan and the United States have planned to create a new corona virus, which does not exist in nature, using a combination of genetic codes from other viruses, according to documents submitted to the US Advanced Defense Research Agency (DARPA) leaked last month. This was reported in the British Telegraph.

A genetics expert who works for the World Health Organization and unveiled the design, after examining the proposal in depth, said that if the current corona virus (Sars-CoV-2) was created this way, then it would explain why it was never found in the wild before the epidemic. So far, a virus called Banal-52, which was reported in Laos last month, shares 96.8% of the genome with this virus.

The U.S. Advanced Defense Research Agency's proposal suggests that the team planned to take genetic sequences from existing, natural corona viruses and use them - in order to create a new sequence that would be average among all. "The significance of that average," "Is that the new virus sequence will not be a perfect match for any of the viruses."

https://www.israelha...rticle/4903809/
https://www.telegrap...iruses-funding/

Australian firm recalls US COVID tests over false positives
https://medicalxpres...ovid-false.html

Russia hits record number of daily coronavirus deaths for 2nd day in row
Virus claims lives of 929 people in 1 day as pandemic situation worsens
https://www.aa.com.t...-in-row/2384399

В Петербурге до конца года завершат исследования съедобной вакцины от COVID
В Петербурге до конца года завершат исследования вакцины от COVID-19 со вкусом ряженки
In St. Petersburg, by the end of the year, the study of an edible vaccine against COVID will be completed
In St. Petersburg, by the end of the year, will complete studies of a vaccine against COVID-19 with ryazhenka flavor
https://ria.ru/20211...1753333896.html

White House: Some Feds With Valid Vaccine Exemption Requests Could Still Be Fired
Task force says that for some jobs where no other safety protocols are adequate, federal agencies may require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, without exception.
https://www.govexec....e-fired/185862/
 

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ® to stop allotting federal pandemic funding toward grants for school systems in the state that do not have mask mandates, saying the grants are “not a permissible use” of the funds.
 
In a letter to Ducey, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo pushed back on the grants, noting that their requirements “undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.” He also stated that the governor will have just 30 days to provide an explanation on how to “remediate” the problem, according to The Associated Press.
 
Ducey created the grant programs in August in an effort to place more pressure on school districts that went against his state's ban on mask mandates. Through the program, $163 million funding was made available to schools that did not have mask mandates and an additional $10 million program provides vouchers to families of children in public schools that are required to quarantine due to contact with someone who has COVID-19, the AP noted.

https://thehill.com/...-mask-education
 

A five-day course of molnupiravir, the new medicine being hailed as a “huge advance” in the treatment of Covid-19, costs $17.74 to produce, according to a report issued last week by drug pricing experts at the Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College Hospital in London. Merck is charging the U.S. government $712 for the same amount of medicine, or 40 times the price.
 
Last Friday’s announcement that the new medicine cut the risk of hospitalization among clinical trial participants with moderate or mild illness in half could have huge implications for the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Because it’s a pill — as opposed to monoclonal antibodies, a comparable antiviral treatment that is administered intravenously — molnupiravir is expected to be more widely used and, hopefully, will cut the death rate. In the first 29 days of the trial, no deaths were reported among the 385 patients who received the drug, while eight of the people who received a placebo died, according to the statement put out by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the two companies that are jointly launching it.
 
In addition to having huge implications for health, the pill could bring staggering profits to both Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. A small Miami-based company, Ridgeback licensed the medicine from Emory University in 2020 and two months later sold the worldwide rights to the drug to Merck for an undisclosed sum. Although Ridgeback remains involved in the development of the drug, some have described the deal as “flipping.”

https://theintercept...erck-ridgeback/
 
Most Americans resumed travel or leisure before COVID-19 vaccines became available
https://medicalxpres...d-vaccines.html

Sen. Lindsey Graham Booed After Telling Fundraiser Attendees to 'Think About' Getting COVID Vaccine
https://sputniknews....1089696858.html

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley warned on Tuesday that “hatred of America” is “a pandemic much more damaging than any virus.”
https://www.mediaite...than-any-virus/
 

Florida was the only state that failed to submit a plan necessary to qualify for a federal aid program designed to buoy the state's public school system, according to the U.S. Department Education – and the department is struggling to ascertain why. 
 
"[The Florida Department of Education's] delay raises significant concerns because of the unnecessary uncertainty it is creating for school districts across the state and because it is hindering their ability to confidently plan for how to use these funds to address the needs of students," wrote Ian Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs for the U.S. Department of Education, in a Monday missive. 
 
The state's failure "to meet its responsibilities is delaying the release of essential … resources that are needed by school districts and schools to address the needs of students most impacted by the pandemic," Rosenblum added, noting that the state missed multiple timelines for the relief money.
 
Back in March, as part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER), Florida received two-thirds of its $7 billion federal aid package to support "students' health and safety and address their social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Rosenblum explained in his letter.
 
But according to The Tallahassee Democrat, the federal government is still holding onto $2.3 billion of this package because the Sunshine State failed to submit plans detailing how the remainder would be spent.
 
In addition, Department of Education records indicate that Florida has scarcely spent the federal funds it has already been distributed by the Biden administration. The state has reportedly spent 79% of its disbursement from the CARES Act, 15.6% of its allotment from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, and 4% of its ARP funds.
 
No money has been directed to local school districts, according to federal officials, but parents, employees, and local officials have clearly expressed that Florida's public school system is in dire need of a lifeline, Rosenblum said in his letter.

https://www.salon.co...t-funding-plan/
 

According to New Hampshire Public Radio, New Hampshire GOP state Rep. Ken Weyler is now facing bipartisan calls to be stripped of leadership — including from GOP Gov. Chris Sununu. According to the accusations, the state house Finance Committee chairman circulated a series of bizarre COVID-19 conspiracy theories laced with attacks on the Catholic church.
 
"Sununu's statement comes after Weyler, 79, emailed colleagues materials full of COVID conspiracy theories, including a discredited, false report that claims COVID deaths are driven by a plot orchestrated out of Vatican City, Washington D.C. and London," reported Josh Rogers. "'It's all one huge puppet theatre, where the majority of the people — even most of those who are complicit — haven't got the slightest clue what is going on, and how everyone is being played,' the report states. Among other false claims, the report says some COVID vaccines include 'living organism(s) with tentacles.'"
 
According to WMUR's Adam Sexton, Weyler also called the Catholic church a "criminal network" full of "Satanists" and "Luciferians" dabbling in "dark ancient spiritual practices."

https://www.rawstory...n-conspiracies/
via https://www.salon.co...tacles_partner/

Edited by amor de cosmos, 06 October 2021 - 06:25 PM.

[todd]

“...fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. Alaska’s per-capita case rate over the past week remains the highest in the country..”:

https://www.adn.com/...begin-arriving/