A Fifth of Coronavirus

[Skarpen]

Herd immunity seems to be out of the question:

https://www.politico.eu/article/herd-immunity-not-a-possibility-with-delta-variant/

Now it's 5. Why not say it's gonna have to be annual thing? 
https://michaelsavage.com/swedish-professor-people-will-need-five-covid-vaccine-doses-for-immunity-if-you-dont-submit-youll-no-longer-qualify-as-fully-vaccinated/

 

[rjshae]

U.S. government sends hundreds of ventilators to Florida as Covid surge continues

Quote

 

The federal government has sent hundreds of ventilators and other equipment to Florida this week to help the state respond to a record-breaking number of Covid hospitalizations.

The devices came from the federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile and included 200 ventilators and 100 smaller breathing devices and related supplies, according to an HHS official.

A record number of people have been hospitalized in Florida amid a surge in Covid infections largely being driven by the unvaccinated, public health officials have said.

 

Will Governor DoomSantis ban these, I wonder? That wouldn't seem logical, but you can never underestimate Trumps' Cult of Stupidity.

[Bartimaeus]

9 hours ago, Gromnir said:

am suspecting matheson, the novel's author, were not happy with goldsman. am seeming to recall matheson asking why anybody would buy movie rights just to change pivotal stuff. the point o' the title o' the book is that the main character recognizes that he has become like a monster o' legend to this new society o' vampire people which is evolving. while the vampires sleep during the day, robert neville came to them doing slaughter which would leave an indelible mark on their collective psyche long after he were dead and gone. the book vampires is intelligent and they know fear and they will remember neville as a creature outta legend the way humans o' today view vampires.

the movie version o' the i am legend creatures, as were our understanding, were much more feral than the people in the book. am suspecting it woulda' been impossible for movie robert neville to carry on a romantic relationship with one o' the vampires, yes?

am doubting it would make a difference, but maybe the owner o' the eyewear store could provide his employees with a copy o' the matheson novel. perhaps the prospect o' being turned into a bulletproof vampire and having forbidden and romantic relations with the last living person on earth wouldn't seem so terrifying, although such a fear would still be epic stoopid. one hurdle at a time, eh?

HA! Good Fun!

IIRC, there were alternative and deleted scenes, including a different ending where Will Smith survived after coming to an understanding with the "zombies" and realizing they were intelligent and just exactly the damage that he was doing to them, that were originally in the movie...but apparently American test audiences didn't like them not being stupid zombies, so they rewrote and reshot to end with a big stupid bang instead.

[Gromnir]

1 minute ago, Bartimaeus said:

IIRC, there were alternative and deleted scenes, including a different ending where Will Smith survived after coming to an understanding with the "zombies" and realizing they were intelligent and just exactly the damage that he was doing to them, that were originally in the movie...but apparently American test audiences didn't like them not being stupid zombies, so they rewrote and reshot to end with a big stupid bang instead.

sounds all too likely. is a shame too 'cause is a fantastic novel and our horrible synopsis might leave a person with the impression it were corny. am NOT a fan o' vampire or zombie books or movies, but i am legend is one o' our favorite scifi novels.

‘Out of control’: Dallas County reports 3,270 coronavirus cases in 3-day total

"Dallas County reported five more COVID-19 deaths and 3,270 new coronavirus cases Tuesday in totals that included the weekend."

icu beds is not gonna magic appear.

the thing am recalling most from reading various books 'bout spanish flu in the US were that the cities which weathered the pandemic better all approached pandemic mitigation efforts similar: they acted quickly and decisively to implement social distancing mandates. closed theatres and churches and prohibited gatherings o' more than two people. masks were required everywhere. this were early 1900s and med technology weren't what it is today, but the folks knew they were facing a deadly respiratory disease and so they implemented the limited, low-tech options they had at their disposal, the same limited options available for hundreds o' years. no surprise, those communities which responded fast and comprehensive suffered less. 

2020 USA response to the pandemic were so disappointing 'cause even a brief look at history made the right response kinda obvious. unfortunate, too many people don't like to read anything longer than a twitter post.

HA! Good Fun!

[rjshae]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

IIRC, there were alternative and deleted scenes, including a different ending where Will Smith survived after coming to an understanding with the "zombies" and realizing they were intelligent and just exactly the damage that he was doing to them, that were originally in the movie...but apparently American test audiences didn't like them not being stupid zombies, so they rewrote and reshot to end with a big stupid bang instead.

That would have been more of a true to sci-fi ending, I'd say. Leave the audience with something to think about.

[Raithe]

[Zoraptor]

5 hours ago, rjshae said:

 

..Governor DoomSantis..

Governor Deathantis, surely. It's even a homophone. If you've got a lisp.

[Malcador]

Or Governor DeMortis

[Agiel]

21 hours ago, Gorth said:

Not that I really needed any confirmation, that "anti vaxxers" suffers from one or more intellectual deficiencies... if it wasn't so sad and threatened the lives of other people I would laugh at them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58164833

Last week, the New York Times reported that the owner of an eyewear store in the Bronx, New York, was struggling to persuade some of its staff to get a Covid vaccine, with one citing the plot of I Am Legend as a concern.

"One employee said she was concerned because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies," the report said.

Responding to the article, Akiva Goldsman, 59, who co-wrote the screenplay based on a 1954 novel of the same name, tweeted: "Oh. My. God. It's a movie. I made that up. It's. Not. Real."

They probably haven't seen the superior Charlton Heston movie <<The Omega Man>> that was the direct forebear of <<I Am Legend>> in which the protagonist survives the viral apocalypse because he developed and administered the _vaccine_ to himself.

"Beauty, eh?"

Edited August 11, 2021 by Agiel

[Gromnir]

so she recognizes covid-19 cases is exploding across the nation. she admits georgia emergency room admissions are up by at least 1/3 but somehow don't consider that figure alarming. seeing as how the vast majority o' those admitted to the hospital for covid-19 related problems is unvaccinated and given that +99% o' the people who need icu care or is gonna die is unvaccinated, one would think the efficacy o' the vaccine is self evident, but somehow mtg sees opposite? 'cause unvaccinated people is needing hospitalizations, the vaccine is a fail?

furthermore, mtg opines full fda approval o' the vaccines should be delayed with the basis for such a delay not being a science concern but the recognition numerous states and localities will indeed choose to mandate vaccines no doubt after voting on such measures. lord knows we can't have can't have democracy decide issues o' public safety and general welfare, eh?

most who watch will be dismissive o' majorie taylor greene's misinformation peddling and ignorance embrace, but am expecting the trump base and antivaxxers is doing their bestest animated bobblehead impressions as they nod along and at least silent cheer mtg stoopid. 

am getting that with american polarization at levels not seen in 100 years, there is no issue which is fair game, but if in 2016 you had told us a pandemic would divide americans we woulda been dubious. woulda' assumed a rally to the flag moment which likely woulda turned whomever were President into a heroic figure whether they deserved the applause or not. tell us multiple vaccines would be developed in less than a year (thanks in large part to independent darpa efforts and funding) we woulda probable dismissed as perhaps hollywood movie plot material... too good to be true.  the notion conservative white americans (mostly male) would then be unwilling to take the vaccine woulda been just stoopid. antivaxx were always a thing in the US but were also relative fringe-- minority communities and hippie moms. 

none o' this makes sense. mtg is clear spewing nonsense. unvaccinated people is being hospitalized at rates we saw last november when no vaccine were available, and the mtg folks is just digging in with their nonsense.

...

we got nothing.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gromnir]

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/two-tennessean-doctors-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-yltudq/

is a couple weeks old at this point but might be worth watching, particular at ~7:35 (dr. explaining vaccine hesitancy explained by patients) and ~9:13 (the former head of the TN vaccine program explaining the continued embrace o' the inexplicable by those refusing the vaccine even after a 1.5 years o' the pandemic.)

almost 25k new cases today in florida alone. cases inevitable translate to hospitalizations in a bit more than a week and hospitalizations still lead to a disturbing number o' deaths after 'bout two additional weeks. as such, current numbers is always two to three weeks behind the deaths. the university of texas (austin) model suggests the actual peak o' the current surge is gonna come mid-to-late september. 

on the positive side, it would appear vaccination rates have increased more than a little. fear appears to be a significant motivator for at least a few o' the vaccine holdouts. am suspecting if there were a way for southerners to get their jab not at a pharmacy or public vaccine site but in some place and way their anonymity would be preserved, it would significant boost vaccine numbers. some large % o' conservative and white males would rather risk death than look like a punk.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gorth]

Speaking of misinformation, Murdoch's misinformation campaign not only in the US but back in his home country of Australia has taken a shot and are now rethinking their strategy... presumably how they can repackage the misinformation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-58168048

 

Sky News Australia has removed dozens of videos from its websites, after YouTube suspended the channel for spreading Covid misinformation.

The conservative TV network, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has been criticised for promoting conspiracies and questioning public health orders in its broadcasts.

In recent days it has taken down about 30 videos without explanation or making corrections.

Sky News Australia has declined to comment.

 

While the videos are gone, they do leave behind an idea of their nature and what it says about Murdoch media, whether it be Sky News or Fox News.

 

 

[Keyrock]

I'm never a fan of any outlet getting deplatformed and silenced for "misinformation" because who decides what information is "credible"? I mean, Fauci himself had a hand in discrediting the lab leak theory when he knew damn well that it was very plausible.

[Zoraptor]

SNA didn't get deplatformed, they got video upload restricted for a week, which was more of a warning shot than anything else.

Yeah, it's dodgy when social media sets itself up as judge, jury and executioner for what counts as misinformation, but media really shouldn't be touting unproven cures such as HCQ or ivermectin, and Murdoch outlets regularly touted both. I guess at least they're unlikely to do anyone taking them extra damage beyond not being the miracle cure that they might expect.

[InsaneCommander]

[Raithe]

[Gromnir]

8 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

 

Yeah, it's dodgy when social media sets itself up as judge, jury and executioner for what counts as misinformation,

obvious alternatives are simply not reviewing for accuracy (complete free market of ideas) or having government get involved (1984). the parentheticals is tongue in cheek, but am thinking the alternatives is equally problematic. is too much information to be accurate reviewed, but do nothing is leading to a dangerous spread o' stoopid. any kinda attempt to review is necessarily gonna be private or government and both o' those options have drawbacks. some kinda independent private review o' the vast amount o' information maybe sounds like a swell idea, but if facebook is paying the folks who do the reviews is doubtful anybody will be convinced o' the independence o' the reviewers.

however, it is amusing that a meme based on some version o' our george washington post a few pages previous were resulting in facebook misinformation tags. 

the problem were the title o' our linked story:

How George Washington Used Vaccines to Help Win the Revolutionary War

facebook does a quick search and learns that jenner didn't invent vaccines until 1796. the american revolution took place two decades previous. therefore, the george washington claim is obvious misinformation and were labeled as such. simple. 

the thing is, the linked story, as 'posed to the memes, clarified the misunderstanding:

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.

so is the meme misinformation or not? the story we linked clear explains variolation as 'posed to vaccination, but if you are a private or government body finding yourself tasked with fact checking, how do you decide where to draw the line? and if you is some nameless drone doing endless misinformation checks, what would make you look past the meme for a deeper explanation for how george washington coulda' embraced what we think o' today as vaccines? maybe just skip memes as impossible to review? 'course the ridiculous memes is the nonsense which goes (forgive the pun) viral.

is too much information to be accurate reviewed, but do nothing is leading to a dangerous spread o' stoopid. is gonna be private or government and both o' those options have drawbacks. some kinda independent private review o' the vast amount o' information maybe sounds like a swell idea, but if facebook is paying the folks who do the reviews is doubtful anybody will be convinced o' the independence o' the reviewers.

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Gromnir

[Zoraptor]

The Washington one is interesting because of the argument of variolation vs vaccination. That is definitely not the sort of thing that SM should be worried about on principle though, it's far too granular and semantic. End of the day it doesn't really matter whether variolation <-> vaccination or not since they both achieve the same end. It's the scientific equivalent of policing grammar.

Personally I always try to refer to variolation as inoculation instead, since it prompts less arguments for some reason.

[Gromnir]

but again, am suspecting the folks who were fact checking were not actual doing so on the basis o' semantics quibble.

the typical meme would include a picture o' general washington along with the following verbiage: 

George Washington Used Vaccines to Help Win the Revolutionary War

were variations, but such were the gist o' the memes.

so if you are a fact checker who in all probability has no idea o' what is variolation and you see that vaccines were invented by jenner twenty years after the american revolution, the understandable conclusion is that the meme is inaccurate.

it takes a level o' knowledge one cannot expect fact checkers to possess to proper identify a great deal o' what gets labeled as misinformation.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Zoraptor]

Yeah, agreed. Can't really blame a fact checker who has probably checked wikipedia for something, especially when it's a subject of (semantic) debate even between experts.

The strongest argument for the Sky News AUs stuff is that it can cause actual harm, under the assumption that people believe they're getting a treatment when they aren't, and that's a way stronger argument than one for any meme about events 200+ years ago.

[rjshae]

Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Expanded Monoclonal Antibody Access in Florida with New Monoclonal Antibody Centers

Apparently the governor had no choice but to perform medical experiments on Floridians. I wonder who will be the control?

Edited August 14, 2021 by rjshae

[Gromnir]

one thing we find amusing 'bout the fears o' the zombifying vaccine which beyond all reason continue to spread is that a bit over a year ago we saw the zombified trump base attacking government buildings in places such as ohio and michigan, and that were more than eight months before the vaccine were available. 

“These People Aren’t Zombies. They’re People.”

HA! Good Fun!

[Gorth]

Maybe they were looking for brains in The Capitol

[Gromnir]

54 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Maybe they were looking for brains in The Capitol

well, the picture is from the ohio statehouse. am not thinking anybody would look for brains in ohio.

HA! Good Fun!

[Raithe]