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Corona Virus spreading ... US official says no need to worry

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
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We WERE doing ok as far as numbers go. It got into the nursing homes and one in particular had 23 deaths. But just when it was getting under control, it made its way into both jails here. Then when they started releasing prisoners into the community without a plan, it made it's way into the homeless community. Now just how in the heck do you force a homeless person to quarantine or wear a mask etc?

And many cases were caused by travel. Not necessarily driving. But people still flying internationally into hot spots and returning. Sure, the borders are closed for non essential vehicles. What people have been doing is hiring a shipping company to transport their vehicles across the border then flying south to the nearest airport and picking up their vehicles and driving south.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
We got our second shots today. The UT Health Center in Tyler impressed me with their organization on our first visit for our vaccine shots. This time it doubly impressed me. We were there for shift change and it was slicker than snot. During our 15 minute observation period one whole crew got up, lined up and marched on out. Another crew came marching in, slipped in to the vacated chairs and things carried right on without skipping a beat, just like a drill team.

I was also surprised how few people were there today. I was told that it was because today was set aside for second shots and emergency care workers. I don't see why that would make such a big difference but I do know that we were in and out of there in less than 25 minutes and that included the 15 minute observation period.

Both my SILs had uncomfortable reactions to their second shots, nothing serious just muscle aches, temperatures and nausea, almost like the flu that lasted about 24 hours. Both got the Moderna vaccine while we both got the Pfizer. I don't know if that is relevant or not. So far neither my wife or I have had any reaction to the shots. We both have slight discomfort at the injection site but that's about all. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll wait a couple of weeks and then start moving our lives back to some kind of normalcy. We'll still take precautions when out and about but we will be out and about. My only question now is, "How long does this vaccine last?

Oh, I forgot to mention that cases in our area continue to drop. I have not seen any reasonable explanation why. We are down to a level that I haven't seen since at least the middle of last year. Strange, since over the last week or two mask wearing has almost been abandoned by the majority of people.
 
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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
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Frank, good to hear it was so smooth and organized.

Your area, like ALL of the USA, is experiencing drops in cases. I was actually surprised to hear that NorthernRedneck's area is on the upswing given proximity to the US and the decline in US case, just figured it was going down there too.

Interesting that your area is also abandoning masks. I see the same inside the town of Lowell. The local Aldi store has the required "MASKS MUST BE WORN TO ENTER" but as soon as you get inside you find that maybe 40% of the people wear them, the cashiers have them drooping down their faces, hanging from 1 ear, etc. The cashier simply said "we don't enforce that here."

I've been to 3 other Aldi stores in the past 30 days and never saw anything less than 100% mask wearing in those towns.

To my mind the difference is that Lowell is the only truly RURAL town left in our county. Every other town in the country has become a commuter town. Lowell still retains a large agricultural base, it is physically distant, by miles, from every other city/town in the county, and seems to follow its own rules. So maybe, your local town is like mine? They feel separated from the problem?

I still contend that GOOD MASKS, used properly, actually work. But moth people wear ineffective cotton fashion masks, have probably washed them exactly ZERO times in the past year, and lay them down on unclean surfaces, touch them inside & out, etc and then say "...but I wore my mask."
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
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But moth people wear ineffective cotton fashion masks, have probably washed them exactly ZERO times in the past year, and lay them down on unclean surfaces, touch them inside & out, etc and then say "...but I wore my mask."
Those "moth people" are a scourge on our society. :sneaky:
iu
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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I'm really surprised this did not include anything on Vitamin D

Even people with underlying conditions, who have sufficient Vitamin D levels, tend not to end up in the hospital. Vitamin D is cheap and as long as its taken daily, in sufficient quantities, tends to have outstanding effectiveness against moderate and severe Covid.
 

EastTexFrank

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GOLD Site Supporter
I'm really surprised this did not include anything on Vitamin D

So am I. There were studies quite a while back that showed that vitamin D deficiency contributed to the seriousness of the Covid symptoms. It was the same with hydroxychloroquine. Simple, cheap, readily available precautionary drugs and supplements don't make billions for big pharma. I am really cynical about some of the stuff that has gone on during this pandemic.

A couple of years ago my doctor put me on a vitamin D supplement because I was deficient and also recommended a multi-vitamin just because of my age. I don't know if either helped me avoid Covid but it certainly didn't hurt. I sometimes feel that we avoid the simple answer because society has programed us to believe that high tech answers are always better. I always remember the story of NASA spending millions of dollars to develop a pen that would write in the vacuum of space. The Russians used a pencil.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
The majority of cases where I live stem from the jails and homeless community. Pretty hard to control those populations. Well, in jail they can control it but the problem lies with the courts as these inmates have "rights" once they're released from jail. So letting them out then telling them they have to self quarantine upon release is difficult.

On another note, there have been cases in the schools as I mentioned earlier. So the kids are all going back to homeschooling starting Monday. This should be interesting. A house under construction during the day with a house full of kids.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I did end up having a reaction to the second Covid vaccine shot. On the day of the shot I felt just fine. I woke up on Tuesday morning feeling definitely "off color". I had a slight headache, I was cold and shivery all day even though the outside temperature was in the mid '60s and I was very tired but my temperature was close to normal. It did feel a little bit like the start of the flu. I took 2 Tylenol PM and went to bed early. I woke up at 02:30 absolutely soaked in sweat. I got changed and cleaned up and went back to sleep. This morning everything is just dandy. A quick shower and I feel fine. I guess that I had a low grade fever that broke during the night.

It's strange because a friend down in Conroe, Texas had the same reaction only his temperature soared to over 100° and he spent one night in hospital.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Another 60 cases reported for today and one death. We're not going in the right direction.
Meanwhile here in Indiana our cases are dropping. Hospitalizations are dropping. Deaths are dropping.

We are approximately 550,000 residents with 2 doses of the vaccine in their arms. And roughly 950,000 with 1 dose.

Each of our counties are rated on a scale of 0, 1, 2 or 3 for severity of Covid. 3 being the worst. My county, which is one of the most populated in the state, was dropped to to a "1" for Covid. The county south of me, which is fully rural, is now dropped to a "0" for Covid.

One bit of personal bad news with Covid is that there was an outbreak on the Notre Dame Fencing Team this week. Some idiot kids went out and celebrated Sunday night after the ND team beat the Northwestern Univ team. They caught Covid and brought it back to the team and spread it around. The team was supposed to fly to the ACC Fencing Championships this morning. I got a call from Dasha early this morning about 7:30. She was all packed up and heading to leave campus to go to the airport with the team and they got a text from their coach. They withdrew from the competition due to Covid. Dasha was exposed through the teammates but she was NOT one who went out, she did not test positive but the tracing data shows she is at risk. Notre Dame was heavily favored to WIN the TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE, and heavily favored to win 4 of the 6 individual titles. Dasha had a pretty strong chance of winning the national title for the ACC for Women's Saber.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Part of the problem is the availability of the vaccine up here. They're still working on immunization for essential workers and seniors. They're all excited about reporting a clinic that will handle 500 people a day for vaccinations. With a population base of 150000 people in the area, do the math on how long before the general public receives it. At this rate it'll be 2022 before I'm eligible.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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I'm surprised that Thunder Bay has that many people! But I'm also sort of shocked that it will take so long to vaccinate that many people.

The US is not vaccinating at light speed, but I think we are doing a pretty decent job overall. I do think we are making a mistake by given 2 doses of vaccine to everyone instead of delaying shot #2 and getting 1 shot into the arms of more people. But I suppose the FDA is smarter than me. Its just that if the goal is to keep people out of the hospital then the data is really showing that the 1st shot accomplishes that all by itself and the second shot, if delayed 75-90 days, would allow millions more to get the 1st shot.

The UK is delaying shot #2 and getting more people vaccinated. The theory is that it will reduce the burden on the healthcare system. It seems to be working.
 

NorthernRedneck

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Thunder bay is officially listed at 115000 people but the surrounding communities within a couple hours drive factored in brings it up to about 150000. Most smaller communities have a regional hospital but none are equipped to handle serious cases. So if you get injured or sick, you're looking at either an air ambulance or a land transport to the city. And part of the issue then is that back in the 90s, there were 4 main hospitals in the city. But they closed them and built one main hospital designed to service a population base of 95k people. That created a huge backlog.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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And on Monday the US will have a 3rd vaccine. The more the merrier as we race toward herd immunity. Can’t get there fast enough.



FDA Panel Unanimously Endorses J&J Covid Vaccine​

While it was so widely expected the announcement was merely a formality, just after 5pm on Friday the FDA Advisory Panel voted unanimously (22-0) to endorse the (one-shot, no mRNA) J&J vaccine, saying the benefits outweigh the risks, and recommended the agency grant emergency authorization, moving the nation's third vaccine one step closer to getting into Americans' arms.

The vaccine was 66% effective in protecting any cases of moderate to severe illness. It was 85% effective against severe cases of COVID-19 and completely prevented hospitalizations and death, four weeks after inoculation.
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
Cases, reported incidents of vaccine reactions are LOW here, DeWine is ready to open up, the people are screaming open up now.
I agree with him for a change.
Ohio counties are still showing as red or orange. I have to question that.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
They just announced that my region is going back to full lockdown on Monday. Well, that's what they're calling it. All retail will be open for business as usual with reduced numbers allowed inside. About the only difference is that the gyms and all personal care services such as hair salons will be closed. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This will do absolutely nothing to slow the spread when it's the seniors homes, jails, and homeless population that's experiencing a rise in cases. This is like forcing you to get castrated because your neighbor has too many kids.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
"This is like forcing you to get castrated because your neighbor has too many kids."

That's a very good analogy. It's been shown that lockdowns don't work so why do we keep on doing it? Beats me. Stupid people are going to do what stupid people do.

I can't speak about nationally, I can't even speak about statewide but I know that in my little neck of the Piney Woods things are ramping up. UT Health in Tyler, when they started vaccinating, were making 10 appointments every 15 minutes. When my wife and I went through for our first shots they had increased that to 15 appointments every 15 minutes and when we were there on Wednesday they were preparing to step it up to 25 appointments every 15 minutes for 12 hours a day, depending on the availability of the vaccine. That's 1200 people a day getting shot up in one facility.

The local CVS in our little town started vaccinations this week. When I drove past there today the car park was full. I don't know what their daily throughput is but every little helps. I checked their website when I got home and they are making no more appointments until early March. The bottleneck seems to be the availability and distribution of the vaccine.
 
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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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. . . I checked their website when I got home and they are making no more appointments until early March. The bottleneck seems to be the availability and distribution of the vaccine.
I'm not so sure that is the big reason. It is a major problem.

With the mandated 15 minute wait time before going home, to see if a patient goes into shock, some of the backlog is caused by lack of parking space.

Honestly if you have a 4 person team working vaccinations, 2 to log you into the computer & watch you after your shot, 1 to talk to you pre-shot, 1 to give you a shot, then they should be able to vaccinate 1 person every minute or two. So let's say 30 patients an hour just for the sake of conversation, that is 1 person every 2 minutes. What CVS has that many parking places to deal with the influx-outgo of all those people while also making a bunch of people wait for 15 minutes?

The clinic we got our shots at was doing about 1 shot every 2 or 3 minutes. It shared a lot with a supermarket and a few other businesses and there were people waiting in cars outside just to pull into a spot when someone pulled out. Inside, despite having a waiting room set up specifically for vaccinations, they had standing room only because there were not enough seats.

Now to your point, the "doses" are stored and allocated out. Some of that may well be due to the freezer problem, certainly no doubt of that. But I honestly think if they sent 1000 doses to the local CSV on Tuesday there would be a traffic jam at the CVS and they could not get the shots administered due to the "15 minute wait" rule to see if they have a reaction.

I know that some areas have set up DRIVE IN vaccination sites. Those are typically at sports venues with huge parking lots. A line funnels traffic in, you get a shot through the window of your car, you go park for 15 minutes, then you leave. A place like that can handle 1000 or more shots a day. Chicago's UNITED CENTER is setting up a mass vaccination site. It is said to be able to do 6000/day once it gets up and running. It will have car vaccinations + walk in vaccinations. But it is surrounded by acres of parking lots, serviced by bus routes, etc.
 

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
They just announced that my region is going back to full lockdown on Monday. Well, that's what they're calling it. All retail will be open for business as usual with reduced numbers allowed inside. About the only difference is that the gyms and all personal care services such as hair salons will be closed. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This will do absolutely nothing to slow the spread when it's the seniors homes, jails, and homeless population that's experiencing a rise in cases. This is like forcing you to get castrated because your neighbor has too many kids.
Just elect Biden as PM and it will suddenly vanish.(y)
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
Canada has no vaccine manufacturing capabilities (or very limited). They are solely reliant on importing the vaccine. Combine that with the Trudeau government's general incompetence and the fact that they like to oppress the common people and you get the situation in Canada.

At the end of the day Canada is getting what they deserve for electing the liberals.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Canada has no vaccine manufacturing capabilities (or very limited). They are solely reliant on importing the vaccine. Combine that with the Trudeau government's general incompetence and the fact that they like to oppress the common people and you get the situation in Canada.

At the end of the day Canada is getting what they deserve for electing the liberals.
Not everyone voted for them. But that's a debate for another topic. All I can say about that is it doesn't matter what the rest of the country wants as the whole area surrounding Toronto has the majority of seats needed for the vote and let's be honest. Trudeau has been bring in immigrants by the plane full and giving them handouts in order to buy their votes.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Just read today, we now have the California mutation. Way more contagious and deadly, yet the numbers drop.
California mutation, UK/Kent mutation and South African mutation are all more contagious. NOT more deadly. At least not that I have seen.
 

Ceee

Well-known member
Site Supporter
This was on Fox News Rundown Extra this morning - What You Need to Know About the Covid Variants and Vaccines.
I thought it was really interesting. He discussed the different variants and which of the available vaccines he thought were best and why.
They didn't have a full printable version, and I'm not smart to add things from a podcast.
 

Ceee

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Honestly I think it is because the OX/AZ vaccine is a non-profit.
So the money motive is gone.
Who get's paid off if the OX/AZ vaccine is approved?

Non-profit for the US? I'm just asking the question because I'm still trying to learn about all this.

Are you saying that the FDA is possibly stalling because they want the US vaccine producers to get the profit instead of giving the money to some company outside the US? If that's the case, I'm not sure that's the right thing to do, but I can see a political motive for doing that.

I still haven't even had my first vaccine yet, but if I had the luxury of choosing one, it would be Pfizer.
 
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