Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #109

[Sundog]

‘Covid bullies’ are harassing and trolling people mourning the deaths of loved ones

Instead of condolences, some people who post about the deaths of loved ones receive hateful and mocking comments.

www.nbcnews.com

When Jennifer Ritz Sullivan's mother, Earla, died of Covid in December 2020, pandemic protocols meant she couldn't be in the hospital with Earla as she took her last breath.

She couldn't hug her sister — or be hugged in return — as the two women grieved virtually on FaceTime.

So Ritz Sullivan, 38, of Goshen, Massachusetts, turned to social media as an outlet for her grief...

I wonder if this is still happening, it sounds like most of the incidents that this article is reporting about took place in 2020. One of the cases they mention is from January 2022, it sounds like. But the other two incidents they describe are from 2020.

I hope it has changed now, but the internet is full of hate and bullies of all kinds. It's hard when people turn to social media for solace.

 

[ilovewings]

I wonder if this is still happening, it sounds like most of the incidents that this article is reporting about took place in 2020. One of the cases they mention is from January 2022, it sounds like. But the other two incidents they describe are from 2020.

I hope it has changed now, but the internet is full of hate and bullies of all kinds. It's hard when people turn to social media for solace.

You are so right about social media ---plus the pandemic seems to have brought out the worst
Of too many people!!!

 

[anneg]

‘Covid bullies’ are harassing and trolling people mourning the deaths of loved ones

Instead of condolences, some people who post about the deaths of loved ones receive hateful and mocking comments.

www.nbcnews.com

When Jennifer Ritz Sullivan's mother, Earla, died of Covid in December 2020, pandemic protocols meant she couldn't be in the hospital with Earla as she took her last breath.

She couldn't hug her sister — or be hugged in return — as the two women grieved virtually on FaceTime.

So Ritz Sullivan, 38, of Goshen, Massachusetts, turned to social media as an outlet for her grief...

This cruel behavior is sickening!

 

[Betty P]

This cruel behavior is sickening!

Really terrible. These conspiracy theory nuts are horrible. It sounds like a lot of them hang out on Twitter. Glad I don't post or read much there. I hate to say it, but it's probably best to not post personal things like this on social media unless you're in a private group.

I've belonged to a couple of cancer related groups on social media for several years. Those are kept private for this reason. When cancer survivors discuss things, the rude folks are almost never survivors. They have the "Perfect World" complex in which they tend to blame patients for doing something to cause their cancer. "Well you wouldn't have gotten it if you had gotten your mammograms every year" or "women get breast cancer because they had abortions" or "those women got breast cancer because they ate junk food and didn't exercise" - that kind of stupid stuff.

 

[CSIDreamer]

‘Covid bullies’ are harassing and trolling people mourning the deaths of loved ones

Instead of condolences, some people who post about the deaths of loved ones receive hateful and mocking comments.

www.nbcnews.com

When Jennifer Ritz Sullivan's mother, Earla, died of Covid in December 2020, pandemic protocols meant she couldn't be in the hospital with Earla as she took her last breath.

She couldn't hug her sister — or be hugged in return — as the two women grieved virtually on FaceTime.

So Ritz Sullivan, 38, of Goshen, Massachusetts, turned to social media as an outlet for her grief...

That's so sad. People just got despicable. I remember, too, comments like:

Was he vaxxed? Oh. Well there ya go.
It's just the flu.
You non maskers deserve it.
Thought she had cancer?

The whole world changed for the worse IMO. So hateful.

 

[ilovewings]

Californians working while sick with COVID-19, fooled by mild symptoms

Health experts are noting that more people who are experiencing very mild illness are working anyway — exacerbating the coronavirus transmission risk.

www.latimes.com

Article in LA Times that people are working while sick because their symptoms are so mild they don't even know they have Covid- and those being fooled include health care workers. I presume they assume they have a cold and aren't testing either. Obviously, such a situation causes spread of this virus.

This is behind a paywall- don't know if this article is somewhere else on the internet that is accessible.

 

[ilovewings]

What's behind the FDA's controversial strategy for evaluating new COVID boosters

Some scientists are alarmed that the agency plans to evaluate the next generation of boosters by reviewing mouse studies alone. Others say there's no time to waste waiting for human trials.

www.npr.org

The FDA is pretty much set for emergency authorization of the new bi-valent vaccine. However, this vaccine, as we know has been tweaked to cover the Omicron variants.
The other rather important issue is that there has not been a lot of testing on humans- so human trials are lacking and the data from Pfizer/Moderna is coming from testing on mice and using data for the vaccines that were initially approved in 2021.

I have to admit that makes me kinda nervous about getting that new vaccine.

Here is another article

Benefits of new COVID-19 booster targeting variants outweigh any potential risks, experts say

The FDA is deploying a new strategy to get the next booster out the door by using genetically modified mice to expedite the process.

news.northeastern.edu

"While there will be a human study starting this month, the booster has only been
tested on mice causing some scientists to question whether the data is enough to ensure
the safety and efficacy of the booster. The earliest studies in the development of a
Covid 19 vaccine used non-human primates as well, before conducting clinical trials
in humans". A professor stated that it is a misconception that the booster is being
developed using only mice data, considering how much we now know about
the underlying technology of the vaccines. He stated " it is not like we are looking at
something totally new".

I have to say I would be more comfortable with testing on humans-- I know they have rolled this new vaccine out in the UK so we should be watching if there are any problems detected there

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Biden administration to stop sending free at-home Covid tests Friday

Without congressional funding for more kits, the government needs to conserve its stockpile in case of a fall surge of disease, the White House said.

www.nbcnews.com

The government will end its giveaway of Covid-19 at-home tests Friday because of insufficient congressional funding, a senior Biden administration official said Sunday.

A stockpile of the tests is being depleted, and officials want to have enough on hand in the event of a fall surge, the source said.

The giveaway, which includes tests mailed at no cost to recipients who request them at Covidtests.gov, will end Friday, according to an announcement on the site — unless there's a surprise round of funding from Congress, the source said...

 

[ilovepierre]

You are so right about social media ---plus the pandemic seems to have brought out the worst
Of too many people!!!

Oh for sure!
At at a time when people should have been coming together and being kind, people were divided and just being all around nasty to others!

I work at a grocery store and the way some of the customers treated us was disgusting…like it was our fault there was nothing on the shelves or certain products couldn’t be shipped to the store…

 

[MassGuy]

Tragic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564675587385573385

 

[CSIDreamer]

Tragic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564675587385573385

Maybe we will have another round of "is Kim Jong Un done". Ah, memories.

JMO

 

[Cool Cats]

New COVID boosters could mark turning point in …​

New COVID boosters could mark turning point in pandemic​

While many Americans say they’re over COVID-19, the virus doesn’t seem to have taken the hint. Instead, it’s been spinning off new variants and subvariants at a furious pace and continuing to infect hundreds of thousands of people every day.

But now that frantic pattern could finally be coming to an end — and (fingers crossed) the more predictable COVID future we’ve been promised could be on its way.

As early as Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize new Pfizer and Moderna booster shots tailor-made to fight the Omicron subvariants that have been triggering the vast majority of new U.S. COVID cases for months. A combined 175 million doses should be available shortly after Labor Day.

 

[Cool Cats]

California Approves Bill to Punish Doctors Who Spread False Information​

California Approves Bill to Punish Doctors Who Spread …​

The law would designate spreading false or misleading medical information to patients as “unprofessional conduct,” subject to punishment by the agency that licenses doctors, the Medical Board of California. That could include suspending or revoking a doctor’s license to practice medicine in the state.

 

[CSIDreamer]

California Approves Bill to Punish Doctors Who Spread False Information​

California Approves Bill to Punish Doctors Who Spread …​

The law would designate spreading false or misleading medical information to patients as “unprofessional conduct,” subject to punishment by the agency that licenses doctors, the Medical Board of California. That could include suspending or revoking a doctor’s license to practice medicine in the state.

This bill is just about Covid? IMO, that's an awfully slippery slope.

Doctors push big pharma as it is, which causes distrust among patients.

JMO

 

[cujenn81]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/30/health/paxlovid-efficacy-seniors

Paxlovid, the Covid-19 treatment made by Pfizer, reduced hospitalizations and deaths in older patients during the Omicron surge in Israel earlier this year, but made no difference for patients under 65 at high risk for severe disease, new research has found.

The study is one of the first published examinations of the real-life effectiveness of Paxlovid against the Omicron variant, now the dominant version of the coronavirus. Pfizer’s trials of Paxlovid were conducted during a surge of the Delta variant last year, and included only unvaccinated individuals.

The new study did not address another pressing mystery: how often patients experience “rebound” cases of Covid after taking the drug. Jill Biden, the first lady, exited a second isolation period on Monday after her infection returned following a course of Paxlovid.

Deaths were significantly reduced in the older patients treated with Paxlovid. Only two of 2,484 treated patients died, compared with 158 of the 40,337 untreated patients, a risk reduction of 79 percent.

The drug had little effect on younger adults, however, making no significant dent in deaths or hospitalizations, which were as low in this group as among the older treated patients.

 

[sds71]

US clears updated COVID boosters targeting newest variants

U.S. regulators have authorized updated COVID-19 boosters, the first to directly target today's most common omicron strain.

apnews.com

 

[Betty P]

Biden administration to stop sending free at-home Covid tests Friday

Without congressional funding for more kits, the government needs to conserve its stockpile in case of a fall surge of disease, the White House said.

www.nbcnews.com

The government will end its giveaway of Covid-19 at-home tests Friday because of insufficient congressional funding, a senior Biden administration official said Sunday.

A stockpile of the tests is being depleted, and officials want to have enough on hand in the event of a fall surge, the source said.

The giveaway, which includes tests mailed at no cost to recipients who request them at Covidtests.gov, will end Friday, according to an announcement on the site — unless there's a surprise round of funding from Congress, the source said...

Pretty sure in most of Europe, the government is still providing these for free. Why does the US often resist taking care of its own people?

 

[anneg]

Pretty sure in most of Europe, the government is still providing these for free. Why does the US often resist taking care of its own people?

From the article (BBM):

With the halting of distribution Friday, the vast majority of people in the U.S. would still have the option of free testing or getting reimbursed through private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

So apparently free testing and reimbursement for tests purchased will be available, but you won't be able to have free tests mailed to you (unless more funding is authorized by Congress).

 

[musicaljoke]

Pretty sure in most of Europe, the government is still providing these for free. Why does the US often resist taking care of its own people?

Yeah, we can pick up test kits for free at the grocery store. But, we have publicly funded health care, so it's in our own best interest to stop the spread. (Ontario)

 

[Bethan]

Pretty sure in most of Europe, the government is still providing these for free. Why does the US often resist taking care of its own people?

However in the UK provision of free testing kits stopped 5 months ago. I’ve recently purchased some in Tesco‘s supermarket at £2.00 per test.