Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #95

[SouthAussie]

^^ very true.

We (Canadians) are now paying for it by racing to get second shots into people before the Delta variant takes over for a fourth wave.

IMO, they should have held back enough for second shots.

This idea of waiting extra months, was nonsense.

Political decisions, not scientific ones.

Who knows how it will affect efficacy etc.??

Also, many people never go back for the second shot of ANY vaccine.

They forget, become complacent or no longer have it on their minds.

Yes, in a strange way, you are very lucky because you are somewhat isolated and can take the time to wait.

I hope for your sake that they decide not to open the Canadian border on June 22nd. I have read that it is a possibility. But Canada probably needs to get more 2nd doses into people (due to the Delta variant) before opening up. imo

 

[MaryG12]

Once we get our second vaccine we can lose the mask per Desantis.

We had another COVID-19 road trip today and wound up in Venus, located east/northeast of Punta Gorda. Drove past two really interesting organizations:

Archbold Biological Station

The Venus Project

Archbold is located off Old State Rte. 8. It's a fascinating area, like stepping into another world. Not only did we drive past farms of cattle, but also a deer farm, and a goat farm. The Venus Project is located just north of County Road 731.

We did pass by the Babcock Ranch Preserve - it's on my bucket list for places to go hiking.

 

[MaryG12]

VERY disappointing ......

G7 leaders have rejected pleas to find billions of pounds to end Covid jab shortages in poor countries, despite Boris Johnson making a plan to “vaccinate the world” his aim for the Cornwall summit.

Mr Brown said the gathering had “failed the first test”, with a thin plan that amounted to “passing round the begging bowl” rather than a solution to meet the vast scale of the crisis.

G7 rejects pleas to fund Covid jabs for poor countries, despite Boris Johnson’s ‘vaccinate the world’ vow

That is a huge problem.

What happens when these poor countries get infected with that new strain and people from this country decide to travel over to the poor countries for whatever reason, and bring the new strain back here?

Because I am not fully convinced that the powers in charge will be wise enough to shut off travel to these poor countries.

 

[musicaljoke]

Yes. It has been happening for a while.
An online record on a govt site or a digital passport are likely the best ways to overcome this growing issue. imo


More than 1,200 vendors operating in the UK and worldwide, offering false documents for as little as £25
Fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, researchers say

Travelers desperate to cross borders are buying fake coronavirus test results or falsifying their own in an attempt to bypass regulations.
Travelers Are Buying Fake COVID-19 Test Results on the Black Market

A Nevada man is charged in the theft of more than 500 blank vaccine cards in Los Angeles.

Ding ding! It's cheaper and easier just to get the vaccine.

 

[musicaljoke]

super glad to read that
I never would've guessed based on my local experiences

We have over 85% of eligible people vaccinated in our public health region and we've barely started vaccinating the students. I expect that after this week, we should be at 90% of eligible people will have their first dose.

 

[musicaljoke]

One dose only gives you about 30% protection though and Canadas' 'fully vaccinated' rate is very low compared to the US and the UK.

It's like the Hunger Games in my area.

Single dose of Pfizer or Moderna enough to prevent COVID-19 infection in two-thirds of cases, new B.C. study finds

 

[musicaljoke]

^^ very true.

We (Canadians) are now paying for it by racing to get second shots into people before the Delta variant takes over for a fourth wave.

IMO, they should have held back enough for second shots.

This idea of waiting extra months, was nonsense.

Political decisions, not scientific ones.

Who knows how it will affect efficacy etc.??

Also, many people never go back for the second shot of ANY vaccine.

They forget, become complacent or no longer have it on their minds.

Yes, in a strange way, you are very lucky because you are somewhat isolated and can take the time to wait.

From what I have seen, it's actually very rare for a person to miss their second shot. We see about 2% of people missing their first shot, but almost no one misses their second. That's an odd and unexpected finding.

 

[JDG]

We have over 85% of eligible people vaccinated in our public health region and we've barely started vaccinating the students. I expect that after this week, we should be at 90% of eligible people will have their first dose.

Generally speaking where is your public health region and is it a large metropolitan area? Curious

 

[JDG]

From what I have seen, it's actually very rare for a person to miss their second shot. We see about 2% of people missing their first shot, but almost no one misses their second. That's an odd and unexpected finding.

I'm referring to stats on ALL vaccines and human behaviour, not just COVID.

COVID may/may not have a different impact on people.

 

[JDG]

From what I have seen, it's actually very rare for a person to miss their second shot. We see about 2% of people missing their first shot, but almost no one misses their second. That's an odd and unexpected finding.

Do you have peer reviewed articles and proper stats rather than 'what I have seen'?

What you have seen is very subjective and definitely does not represent the whole of Canada.

 

[JDG]

I hope for your sake that they decide not to open the Canadian border on June 22nd. I have read that it is a possibility. But Canada probably needs to get more 2nd doses into people (due to the Delta variant) before opening up. imo

I hope not as well. We need to be a little more certain of numbers, variants etc before the borders are opened.

There are a lot of Americans with vacation homes/cottages up here and they've missed last summer as well but its best if they miss this summer too IMO

 

[Sundog]

I hope not as well. We need to be a little more certain of numbers, variants etc before the borders are opened.

There are a lot of Americans with vacation homes/cottages up here and they've missed last summer as well but its best if they miss this summer too IMO

The U.S. State Department has issued a level 3 travel alert for Canada - which is "Reconsider Travel" so I am not sure how many Americans would want to travel to Canada right now given the Canadian situation. It looks like the level 3 travel alert for Canada was issued last week due to surge in COVID cases.

Canada Travel Advisory

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Once we get our second vaccine we can lose the mask per Desantis.

I'm shocked that he's even bothering to say that much.

Meanwhile, the Orlando theme parks took away the mask requirement outdoors already, and will be eliminating it indoors on Tuesday. Reports are that around 90% of the people walking around the parks are going maskless. So I guess that means 90% of those in the park are fully vaccinated. That's not even taking into account that some of those still wearing masks are probably vaccinated, but cautious nonetheless.

It's called the "honor system." LOL. If you believe that 90% of those in the parks got the vaccine, I've got a bridge to sell you.

 

[Gibbo214]

The U.S. State Department has issued a level 3 travel alert for Canada - which is "Reconsider Travel" so I am not sure how many Americans would want to travel to Canada right now given the Canadian situation. It looks like the level 3 travel alert for Canada was issued last week due to surge in COVID cases.

Canada Travel Advisory

Is the 'Canadian situation' worse than the US situation in regard to covid?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Seasonal flu ‘nowhere to be seen' in Australia

Experts who have spent decades studying the seasonal flu in Australia have never seen anything like it. A virus once detected tens of thousands of times year is almost nowhere to be seen.

"It's either eradicated, or it's at such low levels we're having trouble detecting it," said the Doherty Institute's Professor Ian Barr.

Influenza had already been pushed to record low levels in 2020, when just a few hundred cases were reported each month through winter after Australia shut its international border. But since then, cases have again dropped, almost to zero. In May, there were just 71 confirmed cases across the country, compared to more than 30,000 in the same month in 2019.

 

[SouthAussie]

Seasonal flu ‘nowhere to be seen' in Australia

Experts who have spent decades studying the seasonal flu in Australia have never seen anything like it. A virus once detected tens of thousands of times year is almost nowhere to be seen.

"It's either eradicated, or it's at such low levels we're having trouble detecting it," said the Doherty Institute's Professor Ian Barr.

Influenza had already been pushed to record low levels in 2020, when just a few hundred cases were reported each month through winter after Australia shut its international border. But since then, cases have again dropped, almost to zero. In May, there were just 71 confirmed cases across the country, compared to more than 30,000 in the same month in 2019.

So we have been importing all of our flu? Considering that we don't (usually) wear masks and live pretty normally, I wouldn't have expected this two years in a row.

Over 800 flu deaths in 2019, 40 in 2020 - so far in 2021, zero flu deaths.

Our doctors are all incorporating flu shots in our covid shot regime, though. My dr had me do my first covid shot, then my flu shot, then my 2nd covid shot. And friends of mine are telling me their drs are doing similar.

 

[ilovewings]

The Doctor Who Eliminated Smallpox Says COVID-19 Is Here to Stay

Read this and weep: The doctor who eliminated smallpox say Covid 19 is here to stay, and he has a lot more to say about this virus----that we are nowhere near herd immunity- This man is a genius so when he talks we should all listen. People acting like the virus is history are dangerous-- This article is behind a pay wall- I hope you can read it or find it somewhere else on the internet---the most scary thing about the virus is its constant mutation and the variants- and some of these variants may elude the effectiveness of the vaccine---- scary to even think about.

 

[SouthAussie]

The Doctor Who Eliminated Smallpox Says COVID-19 Is Here to Stay

Read this and weep: The doctor who eliminated smallpox say Covid 19 is here to stay, and he has a lot more to say about this virus----that we are nowhere near herd immunity- This man is a genius so when he talks we should all listen. People acting like the virus is history are dangerous-- This article is behind a pay wall- I hope you can read it or find it somewhere else on the internet---the most scary thing about the virus is its constant mutation and the variants- and some of these variants may elude the effectiveness of the vaccine---- scary to even think about.

I was able to access an article called The Forever Virus through Larry Brilliant's twitter account (a tweet from 9th June). In this article he speaks of how - due to vaccine refusal and vaccine shortages - it is now too late to quickly achieve global herd immunity, that the virus is now in a dozen different animal species, and it will ping pong around the world for years to come.

I agree, it is an interesting read and he speaks of several strategies to gradually overcome the virus ... if the world will actually uptake these strategies.


The key lies in treating vaccines as transferable resources that can be rapidly deployed where they are needed most: to hot spots where infection rates are high and vaccine supplies are low. The United States, flush with vaccines, is well positioned to lead this effort, using a modernized version of the strategy employed to control smallpox.

Now, governments must come to grips with another inconvenient truth: that what many hoped would be a short-lived crisis will instead be a long, slow fight against a remarkably resilient virus.

https://twitter.com/larrybrilliant/status/1402470928764653568

 

[musicaljoke]

Generally speaking where is your public health region and is it a large metropolitan area? Curious

It's in N.ON., mainly rural with one major city. It's a huge physical area divided into three sections. It's our section of which I speak.

A large percentage of our population are First Nations. They completely supported the vaccine rollout, managed their vaccination programs through their own local health teams, and had both vaccines done before the Feds went to a "single dose for everyone" plan. By the time we had vaccinated the elderly, we had 50% of our local population done, so we had a considerable head start.

Locally, the vaccination program is being lead by the Family Health Teams, who have more local knowledge about who needs a phone call, who needs a ride, who might not be able to make an appointment on their own, where there are places that the mobile unit needs to make a house call, who needs their hand held, etc.

People here aren't left to their own devices to try to book an appointment with the District Public Health Unit. Those who didn't booked online, got a personal call when their age group came up. They are not likely to hassle their doctor about whether or not they intend to get a vaccination, so compliance is high. When one person in the family was eligible, the team vaccinated the whole family rather than have to reorganize the details for each family member.

I am very fortunate, and only wish that this personal manner of rolling out the vaccination program could happen across the nation. It's a very time consuming task and requires detailed knowledge, but if our local Family Health Team can do it, then so can others, even in large centres.

Even so, there are people who are not connected to a Family Health Team, Public Health Unit, or anybody that cares for their health needs. It takes an active community to make sure no one is missed.

 

[ilovewings]

I was able to access an article called The Forever Virus through Larry Brilliant's twitter account (a tweet from 9th June). In this article he speaks of how - due to vaccine refusal and vaccine shortages - it is now too late to quickly achieve global herd immunity, that the virus is now in a dozen different animal species, and it will ping pong around the world for years to come.

I agree, it is an interesting read and he speaks of several strategies to gradually overcome the virus ... if the world will actually uptake these strategies.


The key lies in treating vaccines as transferable resources that can be rapidly deployed where they are needed most: to hot spots where infection rates are high and vaccine supplies are low. The United States, flush with vaccines, is well positioned to lead this effort, using a modernized version of the strategy employed to control smallpox.

Now, governments must come to grips with another inconvenient truth: that what many hoped would be a short-lived crisis will instead be a long, slow fight against a remarkably resilient virus.

https://twitter.com/larrybrilliant/status/1402470928764653568

Thanks for the twitter link!!!! it is a long slow fight against this resilient virus but also because, at least in the US, we have millions of selfish and uncooperative people (with masking and vaccines).