A Fifth of Coronavirus

[Zoraptor]

In what can only be called an utterly surprising move* Pfizer and Moderna have jacked up their vaccine prices by $5 a shot in their latest EU contract. Good to see the benefits of mass production and competition resulting in lower prices, as always. That increase alone is more than the total cost of an AZ dose. Still the $40bn+ windfall for Pfizer and Moderna from the EU alone will do wonders for their share price.

Oh, and Sky News Australia has got themselves a week ban from Youtube due to covid misinformation. A Murdoch media outlet spreading misinformation, big pharma jacking up prices in a crisis and politicians helping big pharma jack up prices by nobbling the opposition and passing the cost onto their citizens; not exactly the most unpredictable news ever.

*also really surprising is that Pfizer claims that 2 doses and both sufficient for long term protection and that an additional booster is required, depending entirely on whether they're talking to potential or existing customers.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Zoraptor

[Elerond]

On 8/2/2021 at 1:16 AM, Zoraptor said:

*also really surprising is that Pfizer claims that 2 doses and both sufficient for long term protection and that an additional booster is required, depending entirely on whether they're talking to potential or existing customers.

These are both true at least in some sense.

Pfizer says that their studies in Israel show antibodies of people who had two shots in January have dropped in six month, but are still high. Also vaccine seem to still protect very well against worse version of covid and keep need for hospitalizations low.

Quote

Good to see the benefits of mass production and competition resulting in lower prices, as always. That increase alone is more than the total cost of an AZ dose. Still the $40bn+ windfall for Pfizer and Moderna from the EU alone will do wonders for their share price.

It depends on who is buying

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n281

"South Africa’s government found itself on the defensive this week after a senior health official revealed that 1.5 million doses of the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine just purchased for use among health workers would cost $5.25 (£3.84; €4.32) a dose, more than twice what the European Union is paying at $2.15."

Although cheap price don't necessary help when you don't get vaccines as AZ has still not delivered all the dozes to EU that they promised in first quarter and there is real risk that they need to pay 500 million euros to EU for those undelivered dozes, which probably will increase price of AZ's vaccine for other countries. 

[BruceVC]

I got my first vaccine today, very organized and the whole process took 1 hour in and out 

I had to take one of the Sinopharm vaccines because we have several different vaccines and you take what is available on the day 

I am sure it is fine, I have noticed I can suddenly understand some words in Mandarin and I dont think the CCP  suppresses human rights anymore....I assume this is normal right 

[Gromnir]

Who is to blame for rising COVID-19 cases, by vaccination status

HA! Good Fun!

[teknoman2]

meanwhile the virus is back with a vengeance in Wuhan despite the population there being almost fully vaccinated

[BruceVC]

35 minutes ago, teknoman2 said:

meanwhile the virus is back with a vengeance in Wuhan despite the population there being almost fully vaccinated

Yeah, its the overall efficacy of the Chinese vaccines I question. They work and they wont kill you but much less efficacy. Maybe 50-65 % compared to Western vaccines of 70-90 % generally with both jabs 

Western vaccines will always be my first choice, I took Pfizer now. I will only take the Russian and Chinese vaccines if I had no choice 

[ShadySands]

Did you take Pfizer or Sinopharm?

[BruceVC]

3 minutes ago, ShadySands said:

Did you take Pfizer or Sinopharm?

Pfizer, I was just joking about  taking Sinopharm vaccines. We are getting them in SA but they havent arrived yet 

Edited August 5, 2021 by BruceVC

[Gromnir]

Newt Gingrich: The left wants "to get rid of the rest of us because we believe in George Washington"

"The anti-American left would love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know nothing of American history, nothing of American tradition, nothing of the rule of law," he said.

"If you go and look at the radical left, this is their ideal model. It's to get rid of the rest of us because we believe in George Washington, or we believe in the Constitution, and you see this behavior over and over again."

*sigh*

am knowing we mentioned the smallpox bit previous...

How George Washington Used Vaccines to Help Win the Revolutionary War

"By spring [of 1776] the condition of the American soldiers in Canada had deteriorated severely due to continuous outbreaks of smallpox... Approximately half of the soldiers were ill. The majority of the new recruits were not immune to the disease, and reinforcements sent to Canada sickened quickly." Becker recounted. "Contemporary evidence is overwhelming: smallpox destroyed the Northern Army and all hope of persuading the Canadians to join the Revolution."

"Our misfortunes in Canada are enough to melt a heart of stone," John Adams wrote in June 1776. "The small-pox is ten times more terrible than Britons, Canadians, and Indians together."

FULLY AWARE of the disaster in the north, George Washington realized that merely evading smallpox would no longer suffice; he wanted to prevent it altogether. Inoculation was already available, although the procedure -- called variolation -- was not without risks. The vaccines we're accustomed to today were not invented yet, so doctors would simply make a small incision in the patient's arm then introduce pus from the pustules of an infected victim into the wound. Variolation often resulted in a minor smallpox infection with a speedier recovery and vastly lower fatality rates, around two percent. Survivors were granted lifelong immunity.

At first, Washington simply required new recruits to be inoculated. Then, in February 1777, he bit the bullet entirely.

"Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running thro' the whole of our Army, I have determined that the Troops shall be inoculated. This Expedient may be attended with some inconveniences and some disadvantages, but yet I trust, in its consequences will have the most happy effects."

This was a bold move. At the time, variolation was technically outlawed by the Continental Congress, so Washington was openly flouting the law. Whole divisions were inoculated and quarantined en masse, a process that would continue for months. Strict secrecy was maintained to prevent the British from uncovering the program, lest they launch an attack upon the recovering troops. By year's end, 40,000 soldiers were immunized.

The results were stunning. The smallpox infection rate in the Continental Army rapidly fell from 17 percent to one percent, prompting the Continental Congress to legalize variolation across the states.

...

george washington might not be the founding father newt gingrich and desantis should invoke to defend their ignorance and stoopid.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I think that Newt crying yet another refrain of "they will not replace us" dog whistles misses the fact that "traditional, classic Americans" seem pretty determined to kill themselves in the name of abusing the waitstaff at Buffalo Wild Wings.

[Malcador]

Could have sworn Gingrich was dead.

[Gromnir]

not the onion, but

https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2021/07/29/dr-priscilla-frase-intv-ozarks-healthcare-missouri-private-vaccine-backlash-sot-ac360-vpx.cnn

the thing is, this behaviour is not new, surprising or limited to any particular identifiable group. the kinda stoopid people will embrace outta fear o' being excluded by their community or peer group is the norm and not the exception. before we found out 'bout some long-term health issues, we were engaged and brought our fiancé to meet the family. our immediate family is small and most were welcoming. however, more than a few o' our supposed friends and acquaintances were little more accepting o' us being engaged to a white woman than were the traditional, classic american bigots we expected to encounter on streets when we were in public together.  

think any o' us is more evolved than the chimpanzees in those brutal ostracism videos put together by anthropologists would be a mistake.

what is new in 2021 is the fact that those who know better and is not ignorant is willing to sacrifice literal hundreds o' thousands o' lives to support a populist movement. wtf? 

HA! Good Fun!

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Gromnir

[Gromnir]

we are gonna need more duct tape and more of mr. rivera.

HA! Good Fun!

[Gfted1]

Just fyi, for those of you that form your world views from these type videos, the above video is a spoof.

[Amentep]

Yeah, you can get a lot of that guy:

 

[Gorth]

The first one was funnier

 

[Gromnir]

our world view is typical predicated on some personal reflection after reviewing academic sources and math. is why we laugh at folks who were hoarding toilet paper (and eggs o' all thigs) for a month or two last year and am similar dismissive o' the persons who shrug off the medical advice from fauci regarding covid. 

last year we saw some buffoonery when folks like the recent dead herman cain tweeted the 94% statistic, presumable 'cause the 94% observation meshed nicely with the covid-19 mitigation efforts are an overreaction world view. too many clowns felt validated by the number w/o understanding what it meant. didn't need fauci to explain the stoopid of 94%,shouldn't have needed. curious, nowadays fauci explaining why the 94% tweets were idiot bait makes 30% o' the country more likely to embrace the stoopid underlying the statistic.

a funny video o' a guy narrating a real video o' the kinda stoopid which happens all too frequent on airplanes nowadays (duct taped guy were no doubt sharing the 94% statistic on social media last year) is worth a laugh even if the need to duct tape people to their airline seats 'cause they got common sense and know better is far less amusing.

HA! Good Fun!

[Gfted1]

Nobodys talking about you.

But that did remind me that theres still two boiled eggs in the fridge that I have to eat before vacay.

[Malcador]

6 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Just fyi, for those of you that form your world views from these type videos, the above video is a spoof.

I base mine off of Jerry Springer.

[Gfted1]

*throws chair at Malc*

 

[BruceVC]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/some-college-students-are-buying-fake-vaccination-cards-to-bypass-covid-testing/ar-AAMWt62

@Amentep, you were right....people are bypassing the vaccine passport system. But what  is the next step? Should people be arrested to send a message 

[Skarpen]

14 hours ago, BruceVC said:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/some-college-students-are-buying-fake-vaccination-cards-to-bypass-covid-testing/ar-AAMWt62

@Amentep, you were right....people are bypassing the vaccine passport system. But what  is the next step? Should people be arrested to send a message 

Why not whack them like you want to do to all unvaccinated? 

[BruceVC]

27 minutes ago, Skarpen said:

Why not whack them like you want to do to all unvaccinated? 

Would you support that as a solution but I assume you mean arresting people who refuse to take vaccines ?

You and I must on the same page because that is one of the solutions that cannot be ignored....but you dont want to have to use the rule of law and order

But yes it can be considered if we cannot achieve citizens being compliant and ignoring how the virus spreads 

[Skarpen]

33 minutes ago, BruceVC said:

But yes it can be considered if we cannot achieve citizens being compliant and ignoring how the virus spreads

Compliant with what exactly? You must understand that right now the covid vaccines are not mandatory by any law anywhere. Yet constantly there is a talk how to punish or force people to take vaccine. Where do you see law and order in this equation? You cannot punish people for not doing something that is not mandatory in any way. 

[Gorth]

8 minutes ago, Skarpen said:

Compliant with what exactly? You must understand that right now the covid vaccines are not mandatory by any law anywhere. Yet constantly there is a talk how to punish or force people to take vaccine. Where do you see law and order in this equation? You cannot punish people for not doing something that is not mandatory in any way. 

You don't need to "actively" punish people to get a point across. Sometimes rewarding those who embrace an idea can do the same. I.e. like some of the major financial institutions are doing in the US. If you want to work for us, you better prove you've gotten two vaccine shots or you are not a proper fit for this company. Then it's entirely up to the individual to prioritize what they want in life. A job for said institution or look for work elsewhere (and elsewhere is shrinking). Nobody is forcing them at gunpoint. It's a free country after all.

 

Edit: Unless someone somewhere wants to argue that the government should prevent that and take over control of private companies in the old fashioned Soviet style.

 

Edit2: Speaking of Soviet style... it does look like Florida has become a new Soviet Republic with the state government actively forbidding local authorities from trying to prevent the pandemic.