Coronavirus thread

[prémont]

ICUs still going down too.

Yes, and seen in this light it's strange, that the number of fatalities (since middle of December about 14 in average) compared to the number of patients in ICU (today 43) is still rather high and even seems to be slowly raising. Is this a residue of the delta wave, and how many have died as a cause of infection with the omikron?

[MusicTurner]

Yes, I think the fatalities number is also related to old Delta and then other diseases, cf. the hospitalizations share of 40%. Haven't seen any exact stats though.

[Karl Henning]

Another sign of relative omicron mildness: now it's 40% of hospitalized cases here who just have the infection, without it being the reason for hospitalization. Before, it was around 20, later 25. ICUs still going down too.

Saw similar news in Boston.

[Spotted Horses]

The Danish health authorities have decided to offer the particularly vulnerable group a fourth Pfizer jab, so I expect to get this very soon. I got the third jab four months ago. Hopefully an omikron-specific vaccine has been developed, when the time for the fifth jab comes.

Based on no data, I get the impression that the world is getting booster-happy. Spread that vaccine around more evenly and you might be better off, getting less exposure and less people in which the vaccine reside and can mutate.

[Karl Henning]

Based on no data, I get the impression that the world is getting booster-happy. Spread that vaccine around more evenly and you might be better off, getting less exposure and less people in which the vaccine reside and can mutate.

Aye ... Poul himself has remarked more than once on the need to vaccinate more of the world.

[prémont]

Based on no data, I get the impression that the world is getting booster-happy. Spread that vaccine around more evenly and you might be better off, getting less exposure and less people in which the vaccine reside and can mutate.

It's only the particularly vulnerable group, which will get a fourth jab. With lesser and lesser corona-restrictions the virus becomes widspread and it will become next to impossible to avoid contact with it. Most corona deaths in our country have occured among the vulnerable and the elderly. So the antibody production of the vulnerable group has got to be stimulated as much as possible. Young healthy people don't run the same risk if they are infected.

[Karl Henning]

Youngkin's executive order was pushing junk to the science-denying MAGA crowd, of course

Seven school boards sue to stop Gov. Youngkin's mask-optional order on the day it takes effect

By Hannah Natanson and Nicole Asbury
Today at 8:28 a.m. EST Updated today at 11:02 a.m. EST

Seven school boards — including one overseeing the largest and most prominent district in the state — are suing to stop a mask-optional order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on the day it is supposed to take effect, arguing that the order violates the Virginia Constitution.

The school boards, led by Fairfax County Public Schools, whose 180,000 students make it Virginia's biggest system, filed suit Monday morning in Arlington Circuit Court. The suit asks for an immediate injunction barring enforcement of Youngkin's order, which sought to leave masking decisions to parents, contravening federal health guidance and the masking mandates that the vast majority of Virginia school districts have maintained throughout the pandemic.

In the school boards' complaint, their lawyers write that Youngkin's executive order goes against Article 8, Section 7 of Virginia's constitution, which asserts that "the supervision of schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board." The lawyers also say Youngkin's order contradicts a state law passed over the summer that requires Virginia school districts to follow federal health guidelines to the "maximum extent practicable." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masking inside K-12 schools for everyone over age 2, regardless of vaccination status.

[Karl Henning]

China's success taming virus could make exit strategy harder

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and HUIZHONG WU The Associated Press, Updated January 22, 2022, 5:43 a.m.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The sweeping "zero-tolerance" strategy that China has used to keep COVID-19 case numbers low and its economy functioning may, paradoxically, make it harder for the country to exit the pandemic.

Most experts say the coronavirus around the world isn't going away and believe it could eventually become, like the flu, a persistent but generally manageable threat if enough people gain immunity through infections and vaccines.

In countries like Britain and the U.S., which have had comparatively light restrictions against the omicron wave, there is a glimmer of hope that the process might be underway. Cases skyrocketed in recent weeks but have since dropped in Britain and may have leveled off in the U.S., perhaps because the extremely contagious variant is running out of people to infect. Some places already are talking about easing COVID-19 precautions.

China, which will be in the international spotlight when the Beijing Winter Olympics begin in two weeks, is not seeing the same dynamic.

The communist government's practice throughout the pandemic of trying to find and isolate every infected person has largely protected hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and staved off the deaths that have engulfed most of the world.

But the uncompromising approach also means most people in China have never been exposed to the virus. At the same time, the effectiveness of China's most widely used vaccines has been called into question. New studies suggest they offer significantly less protection against infection from omicron, even after three doses, than people get after booster shots of the leading Western vaccines.

Together, those factors could complicate China's effort to get past the pandemic. Experts say if the country of 1.4 billion people were to relax restrictions, it could face a surge similar to what Singapore or Australia experienced, despite a highly vaccinated population.

"China's susceptibility to outbreaks is likely to be more because most people have not been exposed to the virus due to the stringent measures that were put in place, thus lacking hybrid immunity, which is supposed to prove better protection than vaccination alone," said Dr. Vineeta Bal, an immunologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.

"It is risky for China to reopen right now because omicron is spreading globally, and even if the variant doesn't cause major illness, it'll spread like wildfire," she added.

Dali Yang, a professor who studies Chinese politics at the University of Chicago, said, "It's a big challenge, for leaders, especially their rhetoric on saving lives. How do you justify opening up and then having tens of thousands of people dying in the process?"

Chinese President Xi Jinping has cited China's approach as a "major strategic success" and evidence of the "significant advantages" of its political system over Western liberal democracies.

The world's most populous nation was the only major economy to grow in 2020, and it accounted for a fraction of global deaths and infections.

As part of the country's tough-minded strategy for keeping the virus at bay, residents in Chinese cities must display their infection status on a government-monitored app to enter supermarkets, offices or even the capital.

But weeks ahead of the Olympics, omicron is testing this approach with outbreaks in the southern province of Guangdong, as well as Beijing.

Organizers of the Olympics announced they will not sell tickets locally and will allow only select spectators in. Foreign fans are not allowed.

Authorities have also asked people to not visit their hometowns around the Lunar New Year at the start of February, a move that will dampen spending during China's most important family holiday. And the major city of Xi'an in the west and parts of Ningbo, a busy port south of Shanghai, are under lockdown.

With the Communist Party gearing up for a major meeting this fall, at which Xi is expected to be appointed to a third term as party leader, China is unlikely to relax its policies in a major way any time soon.

"If the numbers from COVID start to skyrocket to big levels, then this will reflect badly on his leadership," said Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese political leadership at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

China relies heavily on its own Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, along with several others made domestically. It has not approved the Pfizer shot, even though a Chinese company bought distribution rights in 2020.

Instead, the focus is on developing China's own mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer and Moderna formulas. One such vaccine is in late trials.

Another option for China may be to track how the virus is evolving and put off opening its borders until it becomes even milder. But it's anyone guess when or if that might happen.

"What will the next variant be? How serious will it be? You can't tell," Bal said.

[Florestan]

Most corona deaths in our country worldwide have occured among the vulnerable and the elderly.

Fixed.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

During the pandemic, divorce rate in the USA increased due to several factors possibly including disagreements over vaccination and govtl restriction policies.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/21/covid-has-put-pressures-and-strains-on-relationships.html

[Karl Henning]

During the pandemic, divorce rate in the USA increased due to several factors possibly including disagreements over vaccination and govtl restriction policies.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/21/covid-has-put-pressures-and-strains-on-relationships.html

It's a strain on relationships, no question.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Just ran across this article (after previously reading and hearing about other countries like France and Spain changing their restriction policies and seemingly making it more difficult to play if one isn't "double-jabbed")--Huffington Post:

Novak Djokovic Could Play In French Open Under Latest Vaccine Rules
A new French law says anyone with proof they tested positive within the previous six months is exempt from having to show a vaccine pass.
Angela Charlton and Samuel Petrequin
AP logo
01/24/2022 01:58pm EST


PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked player Novak Djokovic could be allowed to defend his French Open title under the latest COVID-19 rules adopted by the French government, even if he is still not vaccinated when the clay-court Grand Slam starts in May.
Djokovic was deported from Australia and barred from playing in the Australian Open this month for not meeting the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.
It initially appeared that the Serb tennis star would not be welcomed at Roland Garros either under a new law intended to exclude the unvaccinated from stadiums, restaurants, bars and other public places.
As questions quickly arose about Djokovic's status in France following his deportation from Australia, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu previously said that as soon as the law was passed the country's vaccine pass would become compulsory to enter stadiums, theater or exhibitions, "for all spectators, practitioners, French or foreign professionals."
But the vaccine pass is not restricted to vaccination.
Under the law that took effect on Monday, anyone who has proof they tested positive within the previous six months is exempt from having to show a vaccine pass. That suggests Djokovic could play in the French Open in May and June, the next Grand Slam tournament, because he has said he tested positive in mid-December.
The French sports ministry was not immediately available to answer questions from The Associated Press on Djokovic.
French Open organizers have previously said it's too early to comment since virus restrictions can change between now and May depending on the virus situation.
Djokovic's team also declined to comment Monday. Djokovic said earlier he would not give public statements until the end of the Australian Open.
Cafe owners and patrons in Paris largely welcomed the new law, which is central to the government's anti-virus strategy.
"Personally, it reassures me in the sense that I know the people I have around me," said Parisian Charles Tuile. "We want to be in a place where we can be safe in terms of health. And if you can see that the waiter checks vaccine passes and even ID cards, then it's reassuring in many ways."
France is registering Europe's highest-ever daily coronavirus infection numbers, and hospitals are continuing to fill up with virus patients, even though the number of people in intensive care units has dropped in recent days.
The government has imposed few other restrictions amid the surge in the omicron variant, focusing instead on the vaccine pass, approved by France's parliament and Constitutional Council last week.
Critics question whether the pass will make much difference in a country where 94% of French adults have had at least one vaccine dose, and scattered groups held protests Saturday against the new law. The French government hopes that it protects the most vulnerable and reduces pressure on crowded ICUs, where most patients are unvaccinated.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/novak-djokovic-could-play-french-open_n_61eef54fe4b03add23fcec32

Does anyone here know anything differently re France and rules?

PD

[prémont]

Fixed.

Yes, I might have written that, but I didn't.

[Madiel]

In completely unrelated news but it was last referred to in this thread: turns out I DID get the house keys on Monday.

So now I just have to figure out how to move house and sell the old one...

[Karl Henning]

In completely unrelated news but it was last referred to in this thread: turns out I DID get the house keys on Monday.

So now I just have to figure out how to move house and sell the old one...

Congrats!

[Madiel]

It's never occurred to me until now, but... I think I've moved closer to the board's host!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Just ran across this article (after previously reading and hearing about other countries like France and Spain changing their restriction policies and seemingly making it more difficult to play if one isn't "double-jabbed")--Huffington Post:

Novak Djokovic Could Play In French Open Under Latest Vaccine Rules
A new French law says anyone with proof they tested positive within the previous six months is exempt from having to show a vaccine pass.
Angela Charlton and Samuel Petrequin
AP logo
01/24/2022 01:58pm EST


PD

Possibly, French Open Admin may implement a vaccination mandate independently of the gov policy in order to avoid grey area, complication and scandal. Just a possibility.

It is my understanding that France is the 4th worst country for the total/accumulative covid case. The restrictions hit worker class people and service industry while it hit upperclass people less. Relaxation of restriction could be influenced by domestic politics, rather than science, ie. size and political influence of blue collar workers, economic condition, political stability, popularity of majority/presidential party, etc.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-25/neil-young-threatens-to-delete-spotify-catalog-over-joe-rogan-vaccine-misinformation

January 24, 2022, 10:05 PM EST

Singer Neil Young has demanded that his music be removed from Spotify over concerns that the platform's most popular podcaster, Joe Rogan, is spreading vaccine misinformation, Rolling Stone magazine reported.

"I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both," he wrote in a letter to his record company and management team, according to the magazine.

"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," he added.

Earlier this month 270 scientists and medical professionals issued an open letter to Spotify, urging the streaming giant to establish a misinformation policy after an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience promoted what they said were "baseless conspiracy theories" about the pandemic.

[MusicTurner]

In spite of the record-breaking numbers of infections, with 46,000 today, our Danish PM is now reported to announce the end of all restrictions as per 31st of January, in a TV speech tomorrow. Also, the end of officially categorizing corona as a disease of critical society importance.

Hopefully this is not too early. Similar trends can probably be expected elsewhere.

Sweden reporting 139,000 new cases during 4-5 days since Friday, in spite of much less testing going on there. That's about 7% of the total cases discovered in Sweden since the start of the pandemic (1,9 mio).

For the history: Norwegian scientists have found the virus antibodies in local blood samples from pregnants from December 2019, a month earlier than most previous European identifications; there were some mentioned cases in Italy early on too, and possibly Sweden. First Chinese discovered examples were around the 1st of December.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Congrats!

+1

It's never occurred to me until now, but... I think I've moved closer to the board's host!

Neat!  Have you two ever met in person?

Possibly, French Open Admin may implement a vaccination mandate independently of the gov policy in order to avoid grey area, complication and scandal. Just a possibility.

It is my understanding that France is the 4th worst country for the total/accumulative covid case. The restrictions hit worker class people and service industry while it hit upperclass people less. Relaxation of restriction could be influenced by domestic politics, rather than science, ie. size and political influence of blue collar workers, economic condition, political stability, popularity of majority/presidential party, etc.

True, they do still have that option.  After what all happened in Australia, they have a lot of thinking to do.

PD