Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #89

[LadyL]

Childhood Without Other Children: A Generation Is Raised in Quarantine

Alice McGraw, 2, at the Mount Olympus monument in San Francisco on Nov. 25, 2020.

Alice McGraw, 2 years old, was walking with her parents in Lake Tahoe this summer when another family appeared, heading in their direction. The little girl stopped.

“Uh-oh,” she said and pointed: “People.”

She has learned, her mother said, to keep the proper social distance to avoid risk of infection from the coronavirus. In this and other ways, she’s part of a generation living in a particular new type of bubble — one without other children. They are the toddlers of COVID-19.

that's really sad

 

[LadyL]

A teen got COVID-19 from a woman who stood 20 feet away for just 5 minutes

View attachment 275159

The epidemiologists concluded the student was infected via respiratory droplets that were propelled along by the restaurant's airflow. Another diner along the flow's trajectory was also infected, but those with their backs to the breeze were not.

The findings illustrate that the standard definition of dangerous close contact - within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes - is not necessarily safe, especially for indoor settings, and it should not be seen as protective.

yikes

 

[SouthAussie]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Ben Carson Says He Was 'Desperately Ill' With The Coronavirus

I wouldn't be surprised if others had the magic potion as well. Like perhaps Donald Jr and Andrew Guliani ... but we will likely never know.
Donald Trump Jr tests positive for coronavirus

 

[MimosaMornings]

The Next Six Months Will Be Vaccine Purgatory — The Atlantic

“But vaccines are not an off switch. It will take several months to vaccinate enough Americans to resume normal life, and this interim could prove long, confusing, and chaotic. The next six months will almost certainly bring delays in vaccine timelines, fights over vaccine priority, and questions about how immune the newly vaccinated are and how they should behave. We’ve spent 2020 adjusting to a pandemic normal, and now a strange, new period is upon us. Call it vaccine purgatory.”

 

[BUF]

Florida...

Orlando Sentinel sues DeSantis for refusing to release weekly White House coronavirus reports

The Orlando Sentinel has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and his office for failing to provide the weekly White House Coronavirus Task Force reports in a timely manner.

DeSantis’ office has not provided any of the task force reports for the month of November. It’s been 37 days since the newspaper requested the Nov. 1 weekly report.

The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis and his office have violated the Public Records Act by refusing the release of the reports. It seeks the immediate release of the requested and future reports.
.......
“The state has given us no explanation as to why this crucial health information should be withheld,” said Julie Anderson, the editor in chief of the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We had no choice but to ask a court to intervene to uphold the public records law.”

The reports are produced by a 26-member task force, which was formed in January and is chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. Dr. Deborah Birx serves as its response coordinator.

The reports are sent to all state governors every week and include critical information about trends in the spread of the virus, positivity rates and deaths in all counties and list recommendations for each state to contain the virus.

The White House has indicated these reports should be “widely” shared, including with the media, according to the lawsuit.


More at link

 

[BUF]

NEWS, from
@jdawsey1 @lauriemcginley2
--> Meadows tells FDA chief Stephen Hahn, the to resign if the agency doesn't greenlight the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the day

https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1337475261533720576


https://www.washingtonpost.com/

 

[dotr]

Flight attendants in China advised to wear diapers for COVID protection | Toronto Sun
Dec 11, 2020
''China’s transportation officials are recommending flight attendants wear disposable diapers and avoid washrooms at all costs on flights serving countries with high rates of coronavirus cases.

The guidance from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is part of a lengthy document detailing technical guidelines for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in planes. It also states that flight and cabin crew should, on lower-risk flights, designate a private lavatory for the crew and sanitize it before and after each use.''

“It is recommended that cabin crew members wear disposable diapers and avoid using the lavatories barring special circumstances to avoid infection risks,” state the guidelines from the CAAC, which oversees China’s airline industry''

 

[MimosaMornings]

'Staggering and alarming': 7,500 new COVID-19 cases reporting in North Carolina

“North Carolina is reporting 7,540 news cases Friday with a 10.4% positivity rate. The total number of cases in the state stands at 423,623 with 5,752 deaths.”
—————

Yet.....in North Carolina at a large indoor shopping mall while people shop on a busy Friday night, this event is planned for tonight.....

Anti-mask group plans 'trash the mask' event at Concord Mills | wcnc.com

“The event, which was organized on Facebook by Amy Moore Benjamin and a group called Trump Event Images, is in response to Gov. Roy Cooper's new COVID-19 restrictions, including the statewide nightly curfew that begins Friday. North Carolina is experiencing a major surge in COVID-19 cases that health officials project will only get worse as more infections linked to Thanksgiving are reported.

Organizers are asking supporters to show up at Concord Mills and meet in the food court Friday evening before going shopping, all while not wearing face masks.”

 

[10ofRods]

NEWS, from
@jdawsey1 @lauriemcginley2
--> Meadows tells FDA chief Stephen Hahn, the to resign if the agency doesn't greenlight the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the day

https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1337475261533720576


https://www.washingtonpost.com/

I'm not following - what is Meadows's expertise in vaccines? Why are non-experts trying to get medical professionals to do their bidding? What is Meadows's scientific background?

 

[BUF]

I'm not following - what is Meadows's expertise in vaccines? Why are non-experts trying to get medical professionals to do their bidding? What is Meadows's scientific background?

It sounds like he was doing his bidding for his boss who was upset that the UK had already approved it, and for other reasons.

Personally, I would say take your time to do this thoroughly fwiw, but I’m a nobody.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/11/trump-stephen-hahn-fda-covid-vaccine/

 

[Rose in SC]

Scary record-breaking day in South Carolina!

South Carolina sets one-day record for COVID cases | wltx.com
"This is the first time the state has topped 3,000 case in a day since the pandemic began. South Carolina shattered its one day record for coronavirus cases, topping the old record by several hundred."

228,261 confirmed positive cases (+3,137) -
4,332 confirmed deaths (+47) -

Total Tests Received - 3,012,387
Percent Positive - 18.6%

 

[LadyL]

Canada/U.S. border restrictions extended into 2021

 

[BUF]

Canada/U.S. border restrictions extended into 2021

Canadians can still fly into the US, then back but have to quarantine for 14 days. Driving by car is not allowed. US people can’t fly into Canada, except for special permission for immediate family there.

One thing to take into consideration:
However, because of the government's travel advisory, Canadians will likely face difficulty getting travel insurance that provides medical coverage if they fall ill with COVID-19 while abroad.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/u-s-travel-restrictions-covid-19-land-border-fly-1.5607741

 

[mickey2942]

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told FDA chief Stephen Hahn vaccine must be authorized Friday or he needs to resign - CNNPolitics

Wow. This isn't ethical at all. The Executive Branch can't just cross government lines and order employees, or even SES employees to "approve it or leave". Wow.

Imagine the implications of this...

 

[Yvettea]

Military-grade camera shows risks of airborne coronavirus spread

No subscription needed

 

[10ofRods]

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told FDA chief Stephen Hahn vaccine must be authorized Friday or he needs to resign - CNNPolitics

Wow. This isn't ethical at all. The Executive Branch can't just cross government lines and order employees, or even SES employees to "approve it or leave". Wow.

Imagine the implications of this...

It's so disturbing - and infuriating. Making everyone else's job so much more difficult (especially those of us who have to educate the public about the nature of the vaccine and how it was approved).

Hopefully, people will be impressed with the actual process (and apparently the FDA was planning to approve it today anyway).

 

[dmac55]

Anthony Fauci, Frontline Workers: Guardians of the Year 2020 | Time
Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Frontline Health Workers Are TIME's 2020 Guardians of the Year

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Watching the news on a Friday afternoon. Time for a little Phil Collins.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Interesting article about how genetics play a part in Covid severity. The study is in its early days but they seem to be finding patterns in certain genes.

TYK2 - part of the system that makes your immune cells more angry, and more inflammatory. But if the gene is faulty, this immune response can go into overdrive, putting patients at risk of damaging lung inflammation.

DPP9 - also plays a role in inflammation.

OAS - helps to stop the virus from making copies of itself.

IFNAR2 - linked to a potent anti-viral molecule called interferon, which helps to kick-start the immune system as soon as an infection is detected. It’s thought that producing too little interferon can give the virus an early advantage, allowing it to quickly replicate, leading to more severe disease.

Covid: Genes hold clues to why some people get severely ill

 

[MimosaMornings]

Fox Nation's Nancy Grace tests positive for COVID-19 along with husband, kids, 88-year-old mother — USA TODAY

“Fox Nation host Nancy Grace has tested positive for COVID-19 along with her husband, David Linch, their 13-year-old twins, John David and Lucy Elizabeth, and her mother, Elizabeth.

The Daily Mail was the first to report that Grace's 88-year-old mother received a positive diagnosis on Monday. She is currently being treated in the COVID-19 ward of a hospital in Georgia, the outlet reports.”