26251 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

I guess there is a bit of a fine line between compulsory and recommended.

It sounds like you can pay the Greece “fine” indefinitely. So if that’s the case, it’s more a fee. That really might not be unreasonable.

Smart meter opponents went away when a fee was added to analog meter users.

[Victoria Watcher]

I guess there is a bit of a fine line between compulsory and recommended.

It sounds like you can pay the Greece “fine” indefinitely. So if that’s the case, it’s more a fee. That really might not be unreasonable.

Smart meter opponents went away when a fee was added to analog meter users.

In Europe, Slovakia's government has proposed giving people 60 and older a 500-euro ($725 Cdn) bonus if they get vaccinated against COVID-19, the finance minister said Wednesday. So far, only 46.1 per cent of the nation's 5.5 million people have been fully vaccinated.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-2021-1.6269105

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 December 2021 - 02:56 PM.

[dasmo]

I guess there is a bit of a fine line between compulsory and recommended.

It sounds like you can pay the Greece “fine” indefinitely. So if that’s the case, it’s more a fee. That really might not be unreasonable.

Smart meter opponents went away when a fee was added to analog meter users.

Not unless you are on a tiny fixed income where that $100 makes a difference. But it does beat going to prison.

[Victoria Watcher]

That’s what GoFundMe is for.

[dasmo]

That’s what GoFundMe is for.

[dasmo]

This is from the Lancet so thought it was worthy of the main thread.

 

"High COVID-19 vaccination rates were expected to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in populations by reducing the number of possible sources for transmission and thereby to reduce the burden of COVID-19 disease. Recent data, however, indicate that the epidemiological relevance of COVID-19 vaccinated individuals is increasing. .... It appears to be grossly negligent to ignore the vaccinated population as a possible and relevant source of transmission when deciding about public health control measures."

 

https://www.thelance...fulltext?s=08#

[Victoria Watcher]

The province says people not fully vaccinated continue to account for more than half of B.C.'s cases and 68 per cent of hospitalizations.

 

 

https://www.timescol...cinated-4820624

[Spy Black]

The province says people not fully vaccinated continue to account for more than half of B.C.'s cases and 68 per cent of hospitalizations.

 

Of course they do! - and they'll continue to do so.

The mindless anti-vaxers preach endless, utter garbage, and people who listen to or support them continue to get sick, and/or die from COVID-19.

 

Request to the Moderators: This is not a discussion with two opposing points of view, so I would request that the moderation of this thread reflect the reality of COVID-19, and that the anti-vax rhetoric all be moved to the banana meme thread (this includes blatant anti-vax rhetoric trying to sell itself as "quality discussion").

[Ismo07]

This is from the Lancet so thought it was worthy of the main thread.

 

"High COVID-19 vaccination rates were expected to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in populations by reducing the number of possible sources for transmission and thereby to reduce the burden of COVID-19 disease. Recent data, however, indicate that the epidemiological relevance of COVID-19 vaccinated individuals is increasing. .... It appears to be grossly negligent to ignore the vaccinated population as a possible and relevant source of transmission when deciding about public health control measures."

 

https://www.thelance...fulltext?s=08#

 

Of course vaccinated can transmit, and this report speaks to the proportion vaccinated is increasing because the amount of people vaccinated is increasing...  Yes they are a relevant source of transmission, I'm not sure anyone is saying the vaccine stops people from getting the virus, that is really a narrative that has been propagated and intensified by media on both sides.  This fellow does hand pick information though.  Dasmo do you agree that the vaccine does protect people from the virus in some way? Simple yes or no? 

[amor de cosmos]

A new craft beer is ringing in a positive note during the COVID pandemic.
 
The Nanaimo Craft Beer Society, in collaboration with Longwood Brewery and soon-to-open Bayview Brewing Company in Ladysmith, have created 7 Belles Saison, a spicy dry ale released last month. The ale is now being promoted to hail the efforts of health-care workers during the pandemic.
 
The beer started as a “black box” challenge, sponsored by the craft beer society and organized through the Island Brewers Union.
 
“It was our idea to do it, but we’re not a brewery. We’re a non-profit,” said Stuart Setch, Nanaimo Craft Beer Society director.
 
In the contest, home brewers came up with their own beer recipes from beer kits supplied for the challenge. Of the 21 submissions, a recipe by Alfred Elviss, of Bayview Brewing Company, bubbled to the surface when the brews were tasted at the Island Brewers Union home-brewing competition in September. The prize was to have the winner collaborate on a commercial scale with Longwood Brewery.

https://www.nanaimob...h-care-workers/

Canada's stranded field hockey team has flights booked home from South Africa
Team has been waiting to travel home since Junior World Cup was cancelled due to new coronavirus variant
https://www.cbc.ca/n...ooked-1.6269614
 

B.C. chiropractors voted overwhelmingly this week for their professional regulator to "take a stand" against a promised COVID-19 shot mandate, bringing a long-running conflict over vaccination back into the spotlight.
 
At the annual general meeting of the College of Chiropractors of B.C. on Wednesday, 78 per cent of those in attendance voted in favour of a resolution to "maintain the right to medical freedom of choice" for chiropractors.
 
The resolution's author, Mark Foullong of Kelowna, told the meeting it would be "unlawful and unconstitutional" for the college to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, claiming they are not proven to be safe or effective.
 
Vaccines are expected to be made a requirement for licensing of all regulated health professionals in B.C., but that's not a decision that was made by the college. Instead, it's been promised in the form of an order from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
 
College registrar Michelle Da Roza said the board hasn't had a chance to consider the resolutions passed at Wednesday's meeting, but stressed that they are not binding.
 
"The board has not yet been requested or required to implement or enforce a vaccine mandate. As such, it cannot comment on what its role might be in relation to such a mandate, assuming there is one," she wrote in an email to CBC.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ndate-1.6270243

Virus that causes COVID-19 found in Quebec deer
Deer appeared healthy, showed no signs of disease, Environment and Climate Change Canada says
https://www.cbc.ca/n...uebec-1.6269947
 
study of the day

An international team of scientists believe they may have found a molecular mechanism behind the extremely rare blood clots linked to adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines.
 
Scientists led by a team from Arizona State University, Cardiff University and others worked with AstraZeneca to investigate vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), also known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a life-threatening condition seen in a very small number of people after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
 
*snip*
 
The global team used state-of-the-art cryo-EM technology to analyze the AstraZeneca vaccine in minute detail to understand whether the ultra-rare side effect could be linked to the viral vector which is used in many vaccines, including those from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
 
Their findings suggest it is the viral vector – in this case, an adenovirus used to shuttle the coronavirus’ genetic material into cells – and the way it binds to platelet factor 4 (PF4) once injected that could be the potential mechanism.
 
In very rare cases, the scientists suggest, the viral vector may enter the bloodstream and bind to PF4, where the immune system then views this complex as foreign. They believe this misplaced immunity could result in the release of antibodies against PF4, which bind to and activate platelets, causing them to cluster together and triggering blood clots in a very small number of people after the vaccine is administered.
 
“It’s really critical to fully investigate the vector-host interactions of the vaccine at a mechanistic level,” said Singharoy. “This will assist in understanding both how the vaccine generates immunity, and how it may lead to any rare adverse events, such as VITT.”
 
Their findings are published today in the international journal Science Advances.

https://www.eurekale...releases/936586

Following research about college students from before COVID-19 with a survey at the pandemic’s Year I mark, an international team of scientists detected no improvement in the students' mental well-being even after the introduction of vaccines and the easing of social distancing methods, let alone a return to campuses in many instances.
https://www.eurekale...releases/936388

42 Ridiculous People Who Broke COVID Rules In 2021 And Honestly Deserve A "Fool Of The Year" Award
https://www.buzzfeed...ovid-rules-2021

‘Picked Up My Phone and Called Joe Rogan’: Dana White Got Covid and Phoned Podcaster for Medical Advice
https://www.mediaite...-getting-covid/

People Who Have Recovered From COVID Are Sharing What It's Like To Live With Parosmia, A Condition Where Food Can "Taste Like Garbage," And It's Heartbreaking
Dozens of people have revealed that they are still living with the condition.
https://www.buzzfeed...covid-19-tiktok
 
Polish Anti-Vaxxer Leader Dies From COVID
Johann Biacsics, one of the most stubborn and convinced of Austrian No Vax, died after contracting Covid-19. For days he tried to treat himself with bleach enemas. Didn't work.
https://crooksandlia...ader-dies-covid
 
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU should start discussing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, as the world steels itself for the threat of the newly-discovered Omicron coronavirus variant.
"Two or three years ago, I would have never thought to witness what we see right now: That we have this horrible pandemic, we have the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere. And thus, this is an enormous health cost," von der Leyen said at a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
https://www.business...r-leyen-2021-12
 

Despite the current uncertainty over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, people should still get vaccinated because it will save lives, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday.
 
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said at a WHO press briefing that the chances of those who have been fully vaccinated to develop severe COVID-19 diseases and die are significantly lower than of those who are not vaccinated.
 
"There is still a lot of uncertainty around Omicron ... there's no indication to suggest that the vaccines won't work. Even if there is a reduction in efficacy, it's still better to have the vaccine because it will save your life," she said, urging countries to give all those at risk access to vaccines.

http://www.ecns.cn/n...fi6637780.shtml
 

The coronavirus pandemic will likely cost the global tourism sector $2 trillion in lost revenue in 2021, the UN’s tourism body said Monday, calling the sector’s recovery “fragile” and “slow.”
 
According to the latest forecast by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the same amount was lost in 2020, making it one of the sectors hit hardest by the health crisis.
 
Despite recent improvements, the report warned that demand for travel could be further affected by “uneven vaccination rates around the world and new COVID-19 strains which had prompted new travel restrictions in some countries.
 
In the past few days, the emergence of the Omicron variant has led dozens of countries to reinstate restrictions on arrivals, or to delay relaxation in COVID-19 travel and testing rules, leading to wide uncertainty for holiday season travellers worldwide.
 
Spikes in oil prices and the disruption of global supply chains have also had an effect. According to the latest UNWTO data, international tourist arrivals are expected to remain 70-75 per cent below 2019 levels in 2021, a similar decline as in 2020.

https://moderndiplom...lion-this-year/
 
Lebanon will impose a night-time curfew starting December 17 on non-vaccinated people for three weeks and make full vaccination mandatory for all workers in several sectors due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, the Covid-19 committee said on Wednesday.
Vaccination will be mandatory for all civil servants and workers in the health, education, tourism and public transport sectors as of January 10, the committee said.
https://english.alar...ention-measures
 

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her likely successor Olaf Scholz are holding a videoconference meeting with premiers of federal states to agree on new measures, which include stricter rules against unvaccinated people.
 
According to public broadcaster ARD, the government’s draft foresees the nationwide application of the “2G rule”, allowing only vaccinated and recovered people to have access to shops, restaurants, cinemas, and cultural or sports events.
 
For some cultural and sports events, the “2G plus” rule will apply, meaning that organizers will ask for a negative test from all, including customers who were vaccinated or recovered.
 
The draft also includes tougher measures to reduce physical and social contact to contain the spread of the virus.
 
People from the same household will be able to meet with a maximum of two people from another household if any one of them is not vaccinated, according to the proposed measures.

https://www.aa.com.t...d-surge/2436934
 

German police had to close down an unauthorized event billing itself as a vaccination center on Saturday after a doctor began administering COVID-19 vaccine shots he had invented himself, German media reported.
 
The jab, which was developed without any official recognition, was being administered as a vaccination drive at Lübeck airport in the north of Germany.
 
Police said that some 50 individuals appeared to have received the mystery shot, while over 200 more people were in line when the authorities showed up.
 
They seized the liquids, syringes and lists recording who had already been vaccinated that day, as well as the personal data of those present.

Unsupported vaccine claims

Winfried Stöcker, a doctor and entrepreneur, came to fame in Germany in March after being interviewed by the magazine Der Spiegel about his homemade vaccine.
 
Stöcker is also the owner of Lübeck airport, German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk reported.
 
The unlicensed vaccination campaign is considered a criminal offense under the German Medicines Act.
 
Stöcker developed his vaccine without any cooperation with regulators. He tested the jab on himself and some 100 volunteers.
 
He then claimed that his vaccine was 97% effective and could be reproduced in large quantities, but he was met with criminal charges.
 
Medical experts argued that the entrepreneur-slash-physician had skipped several safety steps and failed to provide information to regulatory bodies.
 
*snip*
 
There was no information about the vaccine status of those who had lined up to get the unapproved jab at Lübeck airport, or why they decided to try an unregulated, unapproved vaccine.

https://www.dw.com/e...down/a-59961203

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. The vaccine against coronavirus for children aged 6 to 11 is likely to be diluted 10 times compared to Sputnik V for adults. The drug may be called Sputnik 2M, but the name is still being discussed, Director of Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gintsburg told TASS.
https://tass.com/world/1369577
 

Основатель сибирской сети офтальмологических клиник «Омикрон» Александр Падар подал в суд на Всемирную организацию здравоохранения (ВОЗ). Он требует, чтобы организации запретили использовать слово «Омикрон» для обозначения нового штамма коронавируса.
 
«Наше название — зарегистрированный товарный знак. В первую очередь в сфере медицины и здравоохранения, поскольку это наш основной вид деятельности. И ассоциация с каким-то штаммом коронавируса наносит вред нашей деловой репутации. А если еще это будет какой-то особо опасный штамм… Ну, сами подумайте, если кто-то умрет от „Омикрона“ — родственник ваш или друг, то вряд ли вы пойдете в клинику с аналогичным названием», — цитирует Александра Падара портал NGS.ru.

The founder of the Siberian network of ophthalmological clinics "Omicron" Alexander Padar has filed a lawsuit against the World Health Organization (WHO). He demands that organizations be banned from using the word "Omicron" to refer to a new strain of coronavirus.
 
“Our name is a registered trademark. Primarily in the field of medicine and health care, since this is our main activity. And the association with some strain of coronavirus damages our business reputation. And if it is also some particularly dangerous strain ... Well, think for yourself, if someone dies from Omicron - your relative or friend, then you are unlikely to go to a clinic with the same name, "- quoted Alexander Padar portal NGS .ru.

https://ura.news/news/1052520065

Chinese mainland reports 53 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases
http://www.ecns.cn/n...fi6637942.shtml
 
President Biden is planning to announce on Thursday steps his administration will implement to fight COVID-19 in the winter months, including more aggressive travel-related COVID-19 restrictions starting next week.
https://thehill.com/...requirements-on

Mark Meadows called reports on his book 'fake news' after Trump said it was fake news
https://www.business...r-trump-2021-12
 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) appeared on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Wednesday and ripped Dr. Anthony Fauci’s response to the Omicron variant.
 
“It looks benign, mild symptoms,” said Brian Kilmeade of the new variant.
 
Johnson claimed the virus has evolved to become more contagious but not more lethal “because killing your host doesn’t help [it] replicate very well.”
 
The senator also alleged that Fauci long ago “overhyped” the AIDS epidemic. Johnson also suggested that the best way to fight Covid-19 isn’t through vaccination, but via early treatment of people who have already gotten the disease. Additionally, he stated that it was not possible for AIDS to infect the entire population.

https://www.mediaite...uci-on-omicron/

[dasmo]

B.C. chiropractors vote for regulator to 'take a stand' against COVID-19 vaccine mandate

At the annual general meeting of the College of Chiropractors of B.C. on Wednesday, 78 per cent of those in attendance voted in favour of a resolution to "maintain the right to medical freedom of choice" for chiropractors.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ndate-1.6270243

[Spy Black]

B.C. chiropractors vote for regulator to 'take a stand' against COVID-19 vaccine mandate

At the annual general meeting of the College of Chiropractors of B.C. on Wednesday, 78 per cent of those in attendance voted in favour of a resolution to "maintain the right to medical freedom of choice" for chiropractors.

This is irrelevant to the discussion.

 

The relevant and knowledgeable authority has made crystal clear that vaccinations are the methodology that B.C. will utilize in order to move past COVID-19.

In case you haven't noticed, legislators and the legislation they enact (both Federally and Provincially) supports these authorities 100%, and do so 100% of the time.

 

Chiropractors aren't doctors, and have absolutely no knowledge of epidemiology or virology. 

In short, their opinion is no more relevant than any other anti-vaxer out there.

The anti-vaxers day has come and gone I'm afraid ... and Germany today finally made the move that will eventually be made around the world, and directed that the non-vaccinated remain locked down, and that mandatory (read "forced") vaccinations may be in the cards for the fools that are perpetuating this pandemic.

Edited by Spy Black, 02 December 2021 - 09:36 AM.

[dasmo]

This is irrelevant to the discussion.

 

The relevant and knowledgeable authority has made crystal clear that vaccinations are the methodology that B.C. will utilize in order to move past COVID-19.

In case you haven't noticed, legislators and the legislation they enact (both Federally and Provincially) supports these authorities 100%, and do so 100% of the time.

 

Chiropractors aren't doctors, and have absolutely no knowledge of epidemiology or virology. 

In short, their opinion is no more relevant than any other anti-vaxer out there.

The anti-vaxers day has come and gone I'm afraid ... and Germany today finally made the move that will eventually be made around the world, and directed that the non-vaccinated remain locked down, and that mandatory (read "forced") vaccinations may be in the cards for the fools that are perpetuating this pandemic.

No it wont. But keep rubbing those hands together. 

[Spy Black]

No it wont. But keep rubbing those hands together. 

Nah mate, you misunderstand me.

I have no love for authority, and in fact I'm on record many times in this very forum as a profoundly anti-authoritarian chap.

 

But this is different, and COVID has killed over 5 million people around the world (think about that for a minute ... 5 million dead).

Governments around the world will do whatever they have to do in order to quell this pandemic ... and regardless of which direction they choose to go in, I'll support their choice of that direction.

 

When it's all over, I can assure you that you will be hard pressed to find somebody more anti-authoritarian than I am, and I'll return to my innate, and deep suspicion of police, lawyers, politicians, and drug companies.

 

But until then, and with 5 million dead - sitting on ones hands and preaching "individual rights" simply doesn't cut it.

You'll continue to disagree with me, and that's fine ... but your disagreement (luckily) actually changes nothing in terms of what governments will do (or will not do) down the road as it relates to the willfully unvaccinated.

 

As noted earlier, the anti-vax crowd believe this back-and-forth is actually a legitimate debate, one with which they hold the opposing viewpoint.

Of course it's not a debate at all, and there is only a single legitimate process which will move society beyond COVID-19 as a pandemic issue, a process that will hopefully render COVID-19 a minor endemic virus, one that is well understood and easily protected against.

Edited by Spy Black, 02 December 2021 - 10:52 AM.

[Mike K.]

That's why the real onus should be on keeping government from extending the use of these passport technologies and requirements beyond covid. If they start extending them to everyday life post-COVID, that's when the pitchforks will come out. This society is overtly anti-government, compared to societies of the past. Distrust in government has never in recent Western history been higher, and that's the pre-COVID sentiment.

[Victoria Watcher]

Three teenagers have been arrested after escaping from a Covid-19 quarantine facility in the middle of the night.

Australian police said the three boys, aged 15, 16 and 17, scaled the fence of the Howard Springs centre near Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT) on Tuesday.

Police arrested them after launching a manhunt on Wednesday.

All of them had tested negative for Covid the day before, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said at a press conference.

https://www.independ...967561.html?amp

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 December 2021 - 03:23 PM.

[sebberry]

Australia is basically one big prison camp anyway.  The irony is anti-vaxxers are protesting mask and vax mandates here believing that they're equal to 'prison camp conditions', while failing to realize they're exactly what's needed to prevent us from becoming Australia. 

[Victoria Watcher]

They “launched a manhunt” for three teenagers that tested negative.

It’s preposterous.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 December 2021 - 03:35 PM.

[Ismo07]

They “launched a manhunt” for three teenagers that tested negative.

It’s preposterous.

 

 It is preposterous from both sides.  The likely have some rules where you need to have 2 multiple negative tests I guess.  They are very concerned still "down under" and have taken it to a degree that is way out there for sure.  At least from the reports out of there.  But after being there, why bother trying to break out?   I wouldn't mind a week there to be honest.

Edited by Ismo07, 02 December 2021 - 03:50 PM.

[Barrrister]

Amy numbers for the Island yet?