Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #98

[KALI]

I don't agree. At all. SouthAussie has been waaay more emotionally level and clear then I ever could.

I think there was a little bit of envy at play there

 

[pocketaccent]

A timeline of the CDC's advice on face masks
...
Feb. 29, 2020
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tweets that wearing a face mask will not prevent the public from contracting the novel coronavirus.
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” he wrote in a tweet that was later deleted.
...
March 24, 2020
Even as the coronavirus spreads across the United States — shutting down businesses, sporting events and schools — the CDC’s advice around masking remains unequivocal: Healthy people who do not work in the healthcare sector and are not taking care of an infected person at home do not need to wear masks.
...
April 3, 2020
After insisting for weeks that healthy people did not need to wear masks in most circumstances, federal health officials change their guidance in response to a growing body of evidence that people who do not appear to be sick are playing an outsize role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
...
July 14, 2020
“I think we’re being very clear now,” says Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. “Now’s the time to wear a mask.”
...
Oct. 23, 2020
Scientists report that if 95% Americans wore face masks when they left their homes, they could save well over 100,000 lives — and perhaps more than half a million — through the end of February.
...
March 8, 2021
The CDC releases new guidelines allowing Americans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to shed their masks while visiting with others in small indoor gatherings. Social distancing isn’t needed either, the guidelines say.
...
April 27, 2021
As coronavirus cases drop, the CDC releases new guidance saying that people do not need to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. This applies regardless of vaccination status.
...
May 13, 2021
As the United States continues to see dramatic improvements in coronavirus case numbers, federal officials announce a sweeping relaxation of face mask guidelines that allow fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places — either outdoors or inside.

July 27, 2021
With the highly transmissible Delta variant fueling yet another increase in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.
......................
Ugh! The CDC is always a couple of steps behind in fighting against Covid.
Delta was surging in India beginning in March 2021 and they said to take off the masks the same month if vaccinated. Of course the unvaccinated were the first ones to ditch their masks. And here we are.

 

[KALI]

Dbm

 

[SouthAussie]

I don't agree. At all. SouthAussie has been waaay more emotionally level and clear then I ever could.

No worries, KALI. Tootsie is an Aussie, like me. And was referring to the EU who was withholding our vaccine orders from us.

Thanks for recognising that I am trying my hardest to be level about our situation. It is frustrating, but we have to manage our way through this. And we will.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Sorry I'm a bit confused. Didn't mean to upset anyone.

Thanks South, yes I did mean the EU.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I have a favourite song I think of when things are bad or when I have to do anything which I'm not looking forward to.

It's the song There's got to be a Morning After, which was in the movie The Poseidon Adventure.
That song has got me through some tough and challenging times.

There has to be an end to what we're all going through. We're going to get there!

 

[TootsieFootsie]

What I'm glad about. Yes my best friend who is no longer here used to call me Pollyanna, except it wasn't the glad game.
It was my alway trying to find something good in a bad situation.

My good thing, bad thing. I say something like, the bad thing was a piece of my tooth and filling fell out. But the good thing is that a dentist did a magic thing and practically made me a whole new tooth, the week before we got locked down this time.

 

[weepingangel]

Massachusetts/more at link
Workers at Veterans' Home at Center of COVID-19 Outbreak Sue
Employees of the Massachusetts veterans’ home at the center of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020 have sued several members of the facility’s former leadership team, alleging they were forced to care for sick and dying veterans, sometimes after testing positive themselves, in “inhumane conditions.”

At least 77 veteran residents of the home died of the disease — 76 of them in the spring of 2020 in one of the worst outbreaks at a long-term care facility in the nation. Another resident died last winter at an offsite location.

Employees who were symptomatic or who had tested positive for the virus were forced to continue working, according to the complaint, and were disciplined by Walsh if they called out sick, according to the lawsuit.

One nurse reported that the entire facility “smelled like death” in late March, and she would go home after her shifts were over and vomit.

 

[ilovewings]

Massachusetts/more at link
Workers at Veterans' Home at Center of COVID-19 Outbreak Sue
Employees of the Massachusetts veterans’ home at the center of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020 have sued several members of the facility’s former leadership team, alleging they were forced to care for sick and dying veterans, sometimes after testing positive themselves, in “inhumane conditions.”

At least 77 veteran residents of the home died of the disease — 76 of them in the spring of 2020 in one of the worst outbreaks at a long-term care facility in the nation. Another resident died last winter at an offsite location.

Employees who were symptomatic or who had tested positive for the virus were forced to continue working, according to the complaint, and were disciplined by Walsh if they called out sick, according to the lawsuit.

One nurse reported that the entire facility “smelled like death” in late March, and she would go home after her shifts were over and vomit.

That is hard to read: OMG

 

[SouthAussie]

Qantas will make it mandatory for all of its 22,000 workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Frontline employees — including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers — will need to be fully vaccinated by November 15 and the remainder of employees by March 31.

"It's clear that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures and for a lot of Qantas and Jetstar employees that means getting back to work again."

The policy follows consultation with Qantas and Jetstar employees, including a survey sent to its 22,000 workers to seek their views on vaccination.

"Many of our people said they would feel concerned about working with unvaccinated colleagues, which is something that many workplaces across the country are grappling with."

'Vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns'. That's why Qantas is making them mandatory

 

[ilovewings]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/08/17/florida-schools-mask-mandates/

FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH MASK MANDATES MAY BE INVESTIGATED AND PUNISHED, STATE SAYS.

I thought I was reading this wrong-- I cannot believe I live in the United States where something this vile could occur during the worst public health crisis of our time- this is just sick.

 

[dmac55]

"Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday upped the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus."

"The Republican created a $163 million school grant program using federal virus relief funds he controls, but schools that have mask mandates or have to close because of COVID-19 outbreaks won’t be eligible for the additional $1,800 per student."

Arizona school mask policy
Arizona school mask policy

 

[musicaljoke]

"Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday upped the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus."

"The Republican created a $163 million school grant program using federal virus relief funds he controls, but schools that have mask mandates or have to close because of COVID-19 outbreaks won’t be eligible for the additional $1,800 per student."

Arizona school mask policy
Arizona school mask policy

It feels like there is a great evil afoot. What reason could there be to act so aggressively against those who are working to reduce transmission?

 

[ilovewings]

It feels like there is a great evil afoot. What reason could there be to act so aggressively against those who are working to reduce transmission?

It is beyond comprehension

 

[sds71]

Chicago pharmacist Tang-Tang Zhao was just arrested by the FBI, after he was indicted for selling 125 vaccine cards on eBay to 11 different buyers. He worked for Walgreens until late April.
Pharmacist Arrested for Selling COVID Vaccination Cards Online | OPA | Department of Justice

 

[SouthAussie]

Pope Francis issued an appeal on Wednesday urging people to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying the vaccines could bring an end to the pandemic, but needed to be taken by everyone.

Pope Francis was himself vaccinated in March, saying at the time that it was an ethical obligation.

"Vaccination is a simple but profound way of promoting the common good and caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable. I pray to God that everyone may contribute their own small grain of sand, their own small gesture of love," the pope said in his latest video message.

In a statement, the Ad Council said the pope's message represented its first campaign designed for a global audience.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/a...-to-get-covid-19-vaccines-for-the-good-of-all

 

[Cool Cats]

Troubling CDC vaccine data convinced Biden team to back booster shots

Top Biden administration health officials concluded that most Americans will soon need coronavirus booster shots after reviewing a raft of new data from the Centers for Disease Control that showed a worrying drop in vaccine efficacy over time, four administration officials told POLITICO.

The evidence, compiled by federal scientists over the past several months, showed a decline in the initial round of protection against Covid-19 infection that's coincided with a resurgence in cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant.

“This is what moved the needle,” one senior administration official said, describing the CDC data and the decision to urge boosters.

That data — which is set to be made public later this week — brought a swift end to a debate over when to administer boosters that has raged within the administration for months, and spurred the buildout of a plan for distributing the additional shots in a matter of weeks.

The Biden administration is now expected to formally announce its strategy within days, following a series of meetings throughout the weekend focused on concerns that Americans’ immunity against Covid-19 was not only fading, but dropping faster than anticipated in the face of the Delta variant.

Officials are still finalizing the details of the booster plan, and the government is not expected to begin offering third shots from Pfizer and Moderna until mid-September at the earliest.

 

[SouthAussie]

In the last two weeks, Southeast Asia has recorded 38,522 deaths from COVID-19, nearly twice as many as North America

Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and most Southeast Asia countries are all battling record COVID-19 infections or death tolls.

Seven of the top 10 countries where COVID-19 deaths have doubled the fastest are in Asia and the Pacific, with Vietnam, Fiji and Myanmar all in the top five

COVID-19: Southeast Asia battles world’s highest deaths - Indonesia

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Good on you, Pope Francis.

Pope Francis issued an appeal on Wednesday urging people to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying the vaccines could bring an end to the pandemic, but needed to be taken by everyone.

 

[Skigh]

New Zealand plunged into a draconian Covid lockdown as Delta variant cases rise to just TEN | Daily Mail Online