DON'T PANIC.... well, maybe a little bit.

[harryopal1]

At the moment the focus is on the Delta variant which is spreading very quickly and is apparently more lethal. Some comfort is taken from the notion that the present vaccines provide protection from the worst effects if not immunity. Be that as it may there will doubtless be further mutations which may or may not be worse. The race then will be a variant vaccine focussing on the latest Covid mutation. Then that to be followed by yet another Covid variant.... and so on.

Countries are hoping that with mass vaccination they can open up again but that seems to be wishful thinking. If travel resumes with any gusto and the way we move across the planet with transit stops it seems inevitable that yet again there will be disruptive outbreaks.

Not a great time to be in any business to do with hospitality that relies on feet in the door rather than orders on line.

 

[ChrisTex]

So I heard something interesting, this morning, schools might be returning face to face in January. One mate said his daughter's school is looking to reopen in October.

 

[nd_eric_77]

So I heard something interesting, this morning, schools might be returning face to face in January. One mate said his daughter's school is looking to reopen in October.

My school is bringing back all teachers this coming Monday (6 September). Among G9 - G12 students, approximately 80% are fully vaccinated, and another 10% have received their first shot. Reading the tea leaves, it appears that we will have students in classrooms when we come back from the term break in early October. I hope we legitimately bring them back instead of some "hybrid model".

 

[ChrisTex]

My school is bringing back all teachers this coming Monday (6 September). Among G9 - G12 students, approximately 80% are fully vaccinated, and another 10% have received their first shot. Reading the tea leaves, it appears that we will have students in classrooms when we come back from the term break in early October. I hope we legitimately bring them back instead of some "hybrid model".

That is my hope too if what the principal told me is true. He mentioned it is about an even split now in terms of wanting f2f vs online. We'll probably know more towards November.

I am not sure what percentage of the high school students are vaccinated, but I would say it is 70-85% who have received at least one jab.

 

[Nimbus]

Just heard on the radio this morning that hospitals in northern Idaho have run out of beds, to the point where some patients had to wait 100+ hours. That’s more than 4 days. It has gotten to the point where doctors are rationing care; meaning not everybody will receive it, they are using a priority / severity scale.

Idaho is a red state where counties have rejected mandatory masking in schools, and where the vaccination rate is still about 50% despite vaccines being freely available for months. In the state 19 out of 20 covid patients are not vaccinated. This means hospitalization would be reduced by 95% if everybody is vaccinated.

What’s scary is that Idaho last month was still ok, it’s behind other states like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas. If Idaho runs out today, then the entire south must have run out of ICU beds too. America is becoming Indonesia, but it’s mostly self-inflicted.

 

[Balifrog]

Now, HERE is a real reason to panic ....

Six beer limit for homes in hard lockdown

Residents in apartment blocks locked-down by NSW Health are having their alcohol deliveries policed as part of a policy to limit the number of drinks being consumed each day.

www.news.com.au

Love this part (last phrase..)

"Residents are allowed to receive a ration of one of the following: six beers or pre-mixed drinks, one bottle of wine, or one 375ml bottle of spirits.

Excess alcohol is being confiscated until lockdown rules are lifted.

Residents can consult with a clinician if they think they need more than the allowed limit."

On the other hand I understand, for some Aussies 6 beers is just enough for breakfast ....

Seriously, every day the limits of stupidity is pushed back a bit ....

 

[ChrisTex]

Meant to post this a while back.

What is the C.1.2 coronavirus variant — and should we be worried?

A new coronavirus variant has emerged from South Africa. It has a high number of mutations but has a ways to go to challenge Delta.

www.yahoo.com

 

[harryopal1]

Robert Burns. "“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”

With economies being torn to shreds by lockdown impacts it seems more and more countries are planning to open up again after reaching a targeted vaccination level. The ABC this morning reports that Israel recently recorded the highest seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases per million people of any country in the world despite having vaccinated 80% of its population over 12 years of age.

 

[Nimbus]

Lockdowns are simply not going to happen again in USA, because people are tired and the economic cost is no longer bearable. We will let the hospitals collapse and have bodies pile up in refrigerated shipping containers. The local hospital has prepared two containers, last year at the peak of the original variant they only had one.

People are not gonna learn until they see body bags and coffins on the street. Even then many would still refuse to believe it.

 

[ChrisTex]

What’s scary is that Idaho last month was still ok, it’s behind other states like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas. If Idaho runs out today, then the entire south must have run out of ICU beds too. America is becoming Indonesia, but it’s mostly self-inflicted.

I haven't heard anything about this in regards to Texas. Could be it just isn't being covered./reported.

 

[Ruserious]

I haven't heard anything about this in regards to Texas. Could be it just isn't being covered./reported.

Ive seen lots online about it. Many twitter posts about people stuck in small local hospital ICUs and unable to move to larger ones as the are full. Here is also the data for Texas Medical center as an example (100% prepandemic ICU full and the new extended ICU to handle the pandemic is now at 90%):

TMC Key Takeaways - Texas Medical Center

Located in the heart of Houston, Texas Medical Center campus is home to leaders in research, medicine, and innovation in healthcare.

www.tmc.edu

Lots of similar info from Louisiana and other southern states

Here shows that Texas has 8214 ICU beds occupied and only 270 available.

Texas COVID-19 Hospital Resource Usage

Texas COVID-19 hospital resource usage tracker based on Department of State Health Services data.

covid-texas.csullender.com

 

[dafluff]

People who both had Covid and the vaccine (in this case mRNA, but maybe it works for other vaccines), have a much stronger immune response.

The antibodies in these people's blood can even neutralize SARS-CoV-1, the first coronavirus, which emerged 20 years ago. That virus is very, very different from SARS-CoV-2." In fact, these antibodies were even able to deactivate a virus engineered, on purpose, to be highly resistant to neutralization. This virus contained 20 mutations that are known to prevent SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from binding to it.

New Studies Find Evidence Of 'Superhuman' Immunity To COVID-19 In Some Individuals

That's how some scientists describe the findings of a series of studies looking at the antibodies created by individuals who were infected by the coronavirus and then had an mRNA vaccine.

www.npr.org

 

[Vulgarian]

This is for people who first survived the disease and were later vaccinated. Does it work the other way round? Should I now be licking door handles/passers-by?

 

[R Cameron]

This is for people who first survived the disease and were later vaccinated. Does it work the other way round? Should I now be licking door handles/passers-by?

I have been waiting to see this information, but it is not (yet?) readily available. Essentially you are describing a vaccinated person having not just one, but two 'breakthrough' infections, so understandably there is very little data on the exact prevalence of this very rare occurrence. I have seen some level-headed YouTube doctors speculating that any Covid infection, even if completely asymptomatic, after full (mRNA) vaccination will likely function as a booster shot and provide both greater and longer lasting immunity. But there simply isn't enough data for that to be stated with certainty.

 

[Nimbus]

Perhaps the best method is to use two types of vaccines in sequence: the mRNA and the live attenuated one. It gives our body two different ways of recognizing and fighting the virus, which may lead to this “super antibody”.

 

[Dave70]

Just heard on the radio this morning that hospitals in northern Idaho have run out of beds, to the point where some patients had to wait 100+ hours. That’s more than 4 days. It has gotten to the point where doctors are rationing care; meaning not everybody will receive it, they are using a priority / severity scale.

Why didn't they put up tents outside the hospitals like Indonesia had done?

 

[Balifrog]

Why didn't they put up tents outside the hospitals like Indonesia had done?

Staffing is probably the problem ?

 

[macvert]

Staffing is probably the problem ?

You mean tent-poles ?

 

[Nimbus]

Why didn't they put up tents outside the hospitals like Indonesia had done?

Perhaps they have the space, many hospitals can simply convert their parking building if they need extra roof over patients’ head. What they need is an actual ICU bed with all the attached equipment and staff. That’s very hard to expand. There’s a shortage of nurses as is, and finding one with ICU qualification is even harder.

 

[Dave70]

Boys more at risk from Pfizer jab side-effect than Covid, suggests study

US researchers say teenagers are more likely to get vaccine-related myocarditis than end up in hospital with Covid

www.theguardian.com