COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[sguberman]

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1379621738850422787
Read this thread imagine if Trump had won.

For the love of God, can we please just start linking to articles directly instead of tweets by rando grifters?

Why is he a grifter?

[QAnonKelly]

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1379621738850422787
Read this thread imagine if Trump had won.

For the love of God, can we please just start linking to articles directly instead of tweets by rando grifters?

Why is he a grifter?

Do some research into him. His background is in nutrition, not diseases and he regularly posts bad information. Not too long ago he said something about how COVID can be spread by farts in a non joking manner.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1379621738850422787
Read this thread imagine if Trump had won.

Yes. It's well documented (so not well known in CNN/MSNBC America) that Trump's "racist" America First policy, is why America is now the world-leader on vaccinations and Economy Recovery. Biden, btw, happily continued it and even took the credit  

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/world/europe/europe-vaccine-rollout-astrazeneca.html

But the biggest explanation, the one that has haunted the bloc for months, is as much philosophical as it was operational. European governments are often seen in the United States as free-spending, liberal bastions, but this time it was Washington that threw billions at drugmakers and cosseted their business.

Brussels, by comparison, took a conservative, budget-conscious approach that left the open market largely untouched. And it has paid for it.

In short, the answer today is the same as it was in December, said Dr. Slaoui. The bloc shopped for vaccines like a customer. The United States basically went into business with the drugmakers, spending much more heavily to accelerate vaccine development, testing and production.

“They assumed that simply contracting to acquire doses would be enough,” recalled Dr. Slaoui, whom President Donald J. Trump hired to speed the vaccine development. “In fact what was very important was to be a full, active partner in the development and the manufacturing of the vaccine. And to do so very early.”

Washington had already spent billions on clinical trials and manufacturing by the time Europe decided to pool its resources and negotiate as a bloc. In mid-June, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, announced a joint vaccine purchase with a $3.2 billion pot.

In Washington, Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine program, had a $10 billion budget. European officials say it’s unfair to compare the two figures because neither amount is a complete picture of all the money spent on vaccines. But there is no dispute that in Washington, officials had decided that money was no object if vaccines could avert the economic cost of a lockdown. Europe, on the other hand, was on a tight budget, so its negotiators chased cheaper doses.

“Pricing has been important since the beginning,” Sandra Gallina, the E.U.’s main vaccine negotiator, told lawmakers in February. “We are talking about taxpayers’ money.”

Europe’s first deal, with AstraZeneca, came in August, months after the United States. And while Europe negotiated as a powerful buyer, it lacked the wartime procurement powers that the Trump administration had used to secure raw materials for companies.

That meant that the bloc was not first in line for the doses.

The United States made the negotiations easy — its critics say far too easy — by signing away any right to intellectual property and absolving the drug companies of any liability if the vaccines disappointed. Washington paid for the development and the trials; the companies had essentially nothing to lose.

So, basically, EU followed the "experts" who said the there is no way you can get vaccines that fast, while Trump invested heavily in Big Pharma (so hated by Dems) vaccines and signed away all the "right to intellectual property and absolving the drug companies of any liability". "Right-wing" UK that will bear the liability it "took away" from AstraZeneca. And "right-wing" Israel as well (+ they supply Big Pharma with "private" data).

EU did it eventually, but, boy, it was way too late.

Can you see D pres spewing out $$$ to Big Pharma while quickly signing away all the liabilities from them etc? Try to be intellectually honest! Hihihi 

Same with Big Populist Stimulus. No way without Trump. Imagine a big scale Helicopter Money to poors/middle class before Trump. No f**king way.

Imagine also, if Dems embraced Trump's China Travel Restrictions and demanded more (look at how Australia did with their travel restrictions), instead of mocking it and almost do the opposite. Then it would be, perhaps, a whole different story...   

[Calthrina950]

Well, I can say that I've now been scheduled to receive my first coronavirus shot. I will be going in for an appointment with Kaiser Permanente, my family's insurance provider, this coming Monday. Fortunately, I am off that day, so I don't have to worry about adjusting my work schedule. I don't know which vaccine I'll be receiving yet.

[GeorgiaModerate]

This is pretty cool:

https://twitter.com/Tylerjoelb/status/1378124201975025670

[QAnonKelly]

Feeling pretty crappy now.

[Person Man]

Just got my first.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1379852722933927937

[Frodo]

One in 4 U.S. adults is now fully vaccinated
New Mexico and South Dakota lead the country in full vaccinations.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I don’t even want to know what the percentage is for Canada. Sigh.

[Inmate Trump]

Feeling pretty crappy now.

It'll pass, but I know it sucks.  My second shot gave me fever, chills, and body aches.  The fever only lasted a few hours thankfully and the other symptoms faded after a few days.  Hang in there!

[Lief 🗽]

One in 4 U.S. adults is now fully vaccinated
New Mexico and South Dakota lead the country in full vaccinations.

It would be interesting to find out why these two relatively poor, rural states are leading the pack.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

One in 4 U.S. adults is now fully vaccinated
New Mexico and South Dakota lead the country in full vaccinations.

It would be interesting to find out why these two relatively poor, rural states are leading the pack.

In New Mexico, the tribal nations have been really good with vaccinations.

[Person Man]

At +7 hours, I just think I’ll sleep a little better.

[Dr. Arch]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 4/7 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE:What's the overall change in the total?

Brackets []: These represent the total change for the day, including backlogged reports, if any.

• These numbers are inflated relative to the actual reports for the day, so they are not used to calculate the comparative percentage shifts.

Older Numbers (Hidden in spoiler mode to make the post more compact)

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3/28: <Sunday>

• Cases: 30,957,997 (+40,867 | ΔW Change: ↑3.47% | Σ Increase: ↑0.13%)
• Deaths: 562,495 (+483 | ΔW Change: ↑6.15% | Σ Increase: ↑0.09%)

3/29: <M>

• Cases: 31,033,801 (+59,707 [+75,804] | ΔW Change: ↑23.38% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)
• Deaths: 563,206 (+639 [+711] | ΔW Change: ↑1.27% | Σ Increase: ↑0.13%)

3/30: <T>

• Cases: 31,097,154 (+63,353 | ΔW Change: ↑6.35% | Σ Increase: ↑0.20%)
• Deaths: 564,138 (+932 | ΔW Change: ↓0.64% | Σ Increase: ↑0.17%)

3/31: <W>

• Cases: 31,166,344 (+69,190 | ΔW Change: ↑2.11% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 565,256 (+1,118 | ΔW Change: ↓20.43% | Σ Increase: ↑0.20%)

4/1: <Þ>

• Cases: 31,244,639 (+78,295 | ΔW Change: ↑16.78% | Σ Increase: ↑0.25%)
• Deaths: 566,611 (+952 [+1,355] | ΔW Change: ↓18.28% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)

4/2: <F>

• Cases: 31,314,625 (+69,986 | ΔW Change: ↓11.41% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 567,610 (+999 | ΔW Change: ↓28.54% | Σ Increase: ↑0.18%)

4/3: <S>

• Cases: 31,382,205 (+67,580 | ΔW Change: ↑5.43% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 568,499 (+793 [+889] | ΔW Change: ↑0.76% | Σ Increase: ↑0.16%)

4/4 (Holiday): <Sunday>

• Cases: 31,420,331 (+38,126 | ΔW Change: ↓3.47% | Σ Increase: ↑0.12%)
• Deaths: 568,777 (+278 | ΔW Change: ↓38.90% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)

4/5: <M>

• Cases: 31,490,563 (+50,329 [+70,232] | ΔW Change: ↓15.71% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 569,197 (+420 | ΔW Change: ↓34.27% | Σ Increase: ↑0.07%)

4/6 (Yesterday): <T>

• Cases: 31,560,438 (+62,283 [+69,875] | ΔW Change: ↓1.69% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)
• Deaths: 570,260 (+906 [+1,063] | ΔW Change: ↓2.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.19%)

4/7 (Today): <W>

• Cases: 31,637,243 (+76,805 | ΔW Change: ↑9.91% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)
• Deaths: 572,849 (+873 [+2,589] | ΔW Change: ↓21.91% | Σ Increase: ↑0.45%)

[Hammy]

Imagine also, if Dems embraced Trump's China Travel Restrictions and demanded more (look at how Australia did with their travel restrictions), instead of mocking it and almost do the opposite. Then it would be, perhaps, a whole different story...  

Imagine also, if people actually used some brain cells and saw Trump's China travel policy for what it was, given COVID was coming into the US from Italy and other parts of Europe by this point, instead of just using "lol China Bad" NPC talk because they have another non-white country they can bash.

If only Republicans hadn't acted like the virus was nonexistent outside of China's borders or that China was somehow the only route it would ever be able to enter the US, THEN it would be another story.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/TimJHanrahan/status/1379957819458355200

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Imagine also, if Dems embraced Trump's China Travel Restrictions and demanded more (look at how Australia did with their travel restrictions), instead of mocking it and almost do the opposite. Then it would be, perhaps, a whole different story...  

Imagine also, if people actually used some brain cells and saw Trump's China travel policy for what it was, given COVID was coming into the US from Italy and other parts of Europe by this point, instead of just using "lol China Bad" NPC talk because they have another non-white country they can bash.

If only Republicans hadn't acted like the virus was nonexistent outside of China's borders or that China was somehow the only route it would ever be able to enter the US, THEN it would be another story.

Of course, it would be coming from Europe LOL. China flights were heavily restricted!

If you read my post, you'd see that I think that China Travel Restrictions was very good, but not nearly enough. Even so, Trump was heavily criticized by Dems and Media for that. A lot of, if not all countries restricted travels from China, but only in US it became somehow "controversial", "xenophobic", "fear-mongering" or whatever. Because of Democrats and Media. Especially by NY Democrats; and NY become the incubator of COVID in a month... Of course, this critique made it impossible for more restrictions/quarantine [from Asia, Europe and the other parts of the world; and even inside US]. Will you really argue with that


I mean, really. Look at NZ and Australia. They got a lot of praise, but, likely, they could take it under control, because of "reactionary travel bans".

[Person Man]

+18 hours - I got OK sleep last after only getting 3 hours of the sleep the 3 nights prior. My Golfer's Elbow from desperate climbing feels a little fresher and my sinuses feel slightly irritated.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

https://twitter.com/TimJHanrahan/status/1379957819458355200

If we would just implement a vaccine mandate, there would no need to anticipate any restrictions on anything by the mid-summer.  I don't understand why such an essential part of our health policy apparently revolves around appeasing Plandemic conspiracy theorist anti-vaxxers.

[It’s so Joever]

We just need to approve the vaccine for kids above 12 ASAP. We have good data from the Pfizer trials and it’s clear the whole “kids can’t spread it” myth that a lot of people spouted out without strong evidence is clearly incorrect. Vaccinating all teenagers should be a priority by this administration.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1379619581396926466

It was obvious from [almost] the beginning, but there is even more proofs. I feel really sorry for the people who chose to self-isolate themselves in a year because of TDS fearmongering...

Yes, you could absolutely socialize outdoor.
No, you don't even need masks (as long as you keep ok'ish distance). Or, you can use it, if you want to; the main point is, I repeat, outside + levelheaded measures = really safe.

*Obviously, only if you are healthy and if there is no huge outbreak in your communities.

Unless there is an outbreak enforce School Mandate (as in Florida), instead of Outdoor Mask Mandate.

[NYDem]

https://twitter.com/TimJHanrahan/status/1379957819458355200

If we would just implement a vaccine mandate, there would no need to anticipate any restrictions on anything by the mid-summer.  I don't understand why such an essential part of our health policy apparently revolves around appeasing Plandemic conspiracy theorist anti-vaxxers.

The government may have the power to mandate, but people would react quite negatively and it would probably be counterproductive. Trying to force adults to get vaccinated could lead to increased hostility, and fewer people getting vaccinated than without a mandate. Some people would take the fines and make a show of it.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

https://twitter.com/TimJHanrahan/status/1379957819458355200

If we would just implement a vaccine mandate, there would no need to anticipate any restrictions on anything by the mid-summer.  I don't understand why such an essential part of our health policy apparently revolves around appeasing Plandemic conspiracy theorist anti-vaxxers.

The government may have the power to mandate, but people would react quite negatively and it would probably be counterproductive. Trying to force adults to get vaccinated could lead to increased hostility, and fewer people getting vaccinated than without a mandate. Some people would take the fines and make a show of it.

Who are these "people"?  Anti-vax conspiracy theorists?  I don't care what they think, and neither should our government. 

The vast majority of American support vaccine mandates for the good of producing herd immunity.  That's why every single state has some form of vaccine mandate for children for many diseases.

[NYDem]

https://twitter.com/TimJHanrahan/status/1379957819458355200

If we would just implement a vaccine mandate, there would no need to anticipate any restrictions on anything by the mid-summer.  I don't understand why such an essential part of our health policy apparently revolves around appeasing Plandemic conspiracy theorist anti-vaxxers.

The government may have the power to mandate, but people would react quite negatively and it would probably be counterproductive. Trying to force adults to get vaccinated could lead to increased hostility, and fewer people getting vaccinated than without a mandate. Some people would take the fines and make a show of it.

Who are these "people"?  Anti-vax conspiracy theorists?  I don't care what they think, and neither should our government. 

The vast majority of American support vaccine mandates for the good of producing herd immunity.  That's why every single state has some form of vaccine mandate for children for many diseases.

Not all of the ~25% of the people who don't want to get the vaccine are "anti-vax conspiracy theorists". Many people are skeptical of it because it is a brand new vaccine with an emergency use authorization, and are worried about long-term effects.

That's all besides the point though. You do need to care what they think if you want them to get vaccinated. If you were to fine people for not getting the vaccine a lot of people would comply, but a lot of people would also just pay the fine. You also risk people refusing it "out of principle" because they don't like the idea of a mandate. There is a risk that it would only solidify the chunk of people who don't want the vaccine.