Promising New Coronavirus Vaccine

[Alan Klein]

Interesting statistics from Puerto Rico where they had very high vaccinations rates but now have a 4600 percent increase in cases.  Coincidentally, my wife I were thinking of going there for vacation in February.  Now all travel plans everywhere are on hold.

Puerto Rico Faces Staggering Covid Case Explosion
The island had a 4,600 percent increase in cases in recent weeks after mounting one of the nation’s most successful vaccination campaigns.

...nearly 85 percent of those in Puerto Rico have received at least one vaccine dose, and about 75 percent have gotten both shots.

But in the face of a highly contagious new variant, a high vaccination rate is not that meaningful anymore, Mr. Irizarry said. Most in Puerto Rico have passed the six-month limit beyond which the vaccine’s effectiveness begins to wane, yet at least 40 percent have yet to receive their booster shots, health officials said
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/us/coronavirus-puerto-rico.html

[LesPalenik]

So, how do they explain the high infection rate despite the 85% vaccination? Maybe people felt overconfident and stopped wearing masks? Or maybe the Puerto Ricans, being such friendly and warm people, hug and kiss too much?

[Alan Klein]

So, how do they explain the high infection rate despite the 85% vaccination? Maybe people felt overconfident and stopped wearing masks? Or maybe the Puerto Ricans, being such friendly and warm people, hug and kiss too much?

The article mentioned the decreasing effectiveness of the vaccines, as well. 

[digitaldog]

So, how do they explain the high infection rate despite the 85% vaccination? Maybe people felt overconfident and stopped wearing masks?

That is part of it yes. And 85% is for ONE shot, not two. Plus a newer, very infectious variant, and the fact that vaccines alone do not and have never guaranteed you will not get Covid-19. One person in the article summed it up:

“We followed the mask mandate. Our vaccination rate was so high that we let our guard down. The second Christmas came, we were like, ‘We’re going to party!’”

And in part:

The superspreader concert helped usher in an explosion of Covid-19 cases in Puerto Rico...
While the Omicron variant has besieged the entire country, it is especially worrisome in Puerto Ricoa U.S. territory already overwhelmed by government bankruptcy, an exodus of health professionals and a fragile health care system

There is nothing surprising here, other than Alan posting a URL that provides nothing new to those who've paid attention to this topic and shows he actually didn't read the article he posted (or understood it, or understood; nothing new here. Another call for attention which worked unfortunately). Had he read the piece, he'd have maybe (maybe?) seen and understood that this country has only a 75 percent full vaccination meaning only 2 shots. In my state, we are above that a little for full vaccination and in my state, cases are way up too; nothing new.
75% is too damn low! So again, the anti-vaccine morons are the problem, not the vaccine.

[digitaldog]

What is kind of new, a new kind of shut down. 😢

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/02/health/us-coronavirus-sunday/index.html

Updated 12:13 PM ET, Sun January 2, 2022

“What I am so worried about over the next month or so is that our economy is going to shut down -- not because of policies from the federal government or from the state governments, but rather because so many of us are ill," Ranney said
In New York, staffing issues led to the suspension of several subway lines, New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last week.
In Ohio, the mayor of Cincinnati declared a state of emergency after a spike in Covid-19 infections led to staffing shortages in the city's fire department.
The mayor said if the problem goes unaddressed, it would "substantially undermine" first responders' readiness levels.
And thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed as staff and crew call out sick.

Vast majority of patients are unvaccinated, experts say
While Americans who have been fully vaccinated and boosted might get infected with Omicron, they are unlikely to get seriously ill, health experts say.
But doctors across the country say most people hospitalized for Covid-19 are unvaccinated.
"What we're seeing is that our vaccinated patients aren't getting sick, and our frail, multiple comorbidities-vaccinated patients do need admission, but their admissions are shorter and they're able to leave the hospital after several days," said Dr. Catherine O'Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Next we will hear it's the CEO of the USAs fault or similar rubbish.
Not new, not changing fast enough: the unvaccinated dying.

[LesPalenik]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Quebec television station people who do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 are often racist and misogynistic extremists.

https://youtu.be/5I0tk6OO5sw (in French)

[TechTalk]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Quebec television station people who do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 are often racist and misogynistic extremists.

https://youtu.be/5I0tk6OO5sw (in French)

I've replied to this on the political thread where it belongs.

[LesPalenik]

Scary article about the increase of deaths among "primarily working-age people" who have employer-sponsored group life plans through OneAmerica,

The death rate for those aged 18-64 has risen an astonishing 40% over pre-pandemic levels, according to the CEO of Indianapolis-based insurance company OneAmerica.

"We are seeing, right now, the highest death rates we have seen in the history of this business – not just at OneAmerica," said Scott Davison, head of the $100 billion insurance company that's been in operation since 1877 and has approximately 2,400 employees.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/life-insurance-ceo-says-deaths-40-among-those-aged-18-64-and-not-because-covid

[Robert Roaldi]

The December holiday season wreaked havoc with data collection, judging by the wild swings in daily US deaths from Covid on Worldometer. But the 7-day moving avg of daily deaths has stayed steady at above 1000 per day. That's a lot. The US death toll should reach 850,000 soon.

We have not changed our living habits, still maintaining distance and not socializing, wearing masks in public, etc. I don't pay much attention to pro sports but I found out yesterday that the NFL and NHL (I think) are allowing full stadiums this season. That might be a mistake.

Ontario has just moved back into Stage 2 Covid opening, which closes restaurants for indoor service and also closes many other venues, including schools for the next 2 weeks at least.

The neighbour of a friend near Hamilton, Ontario, told my friend that there are more hospitalizations due to vaccinations than due to Covid. Where must he be getting his information to believe something that crazy.

[digitaldog]

Where must he be getting his information to believe something that crazy.

Well we were told "Now that Covid is on the way out", maybe he heard it from the same fellow?

[TechTalk]

The neighbour of a friend near Hamilton, Ontario, told my friend that there are more hospitalizations due to vaccinations than due to Covid. Where must he be getting his information to believe something that crazy.

Perhaps from fringe conspiracy sites like ZeroHedge...

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/what-if-largest-experiment-human-beings-history-failure

A seasoned stock analyst colleague texted me a link today, and when I clicked it open, I could hardly believe what I was reading.  What a headline.  “Indiana life insurance CEO says deaths are up 40% among people ages 18-64”...

...AT A MINIMUM, based on my reading, one has to conclude that if this report holds and is confirmed by others in the dry world of life insurance actuaries, we have both a huge human tragedy and a profound public policy failure of the US Government and US HHS system to serve and protect the citizens that pay for this “service”.

IF this holds true, then the genetic vaccines so aggressively promoted have failed, and the clear federal campaign to prevent early treatment with lifesaving drugs has contributed to a massive, avoidable loss of life.

AT WORST, this report implies that the federal workplace vaccine mandates have driven what appear to be a true crime against humanity.  Massive loss of life in (presumably) workers that have been forced to accept a toxic vaccine at higher frequency relative to the general population of Indiana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Hedge

Over time, Zero Hedge expanded into non-financial analysis, including conspiracy theories and fringe rhetoric associated with the US radical right, the alt-right, and a pro-Russian bias. Zero Hedge's non-financial commentary has led to a number of site bans by various global social media platforms, although its 2019 Facebook ban and 2020 Twitter ban were later reversed.

[LesPalenik]

Stats Canada reports similar numbers in some provinces.

From March 2020 to the beginning of September 2021, there were an estimated 20,994 excess deaths in Canada, or 5.0% more deaths than what would be expected were there no pandemic, after accounting for changes in the population, such as aging. Over this same period, 26,065 deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

While COVID-19 claimed the lives of 5,930 Canadians from the beginning of February 2021 to the beginning of September 2021, significant excess mortality was not observed nationally during this time. However, some provinces, including Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, experienced periods of excess mortality, generally coinciding with a higher number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 over the same period.

In addition, British Columbia and Alberta saw periods of higher-than-expected mortality at the end of June 2021 and into July, when a heat wave gripped the two provinces. Excess mortality was also observed in the two westernmost provinces in August and September.

While the sharp increase in deaths in British Columbia associated with the heat wave affected those aged 40 years and older, the more recent increase in the number of deaths appears to be driven by those under 40, specifically males. There were 145 (67%) more deaths than expected among males under the age of 40 through the months of August and September.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211206/dq211206a-eng.htm

[Alan Klein]

Stats Canada reports similar numbers in some provinces.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211206/dq211206a-eng.htm

The figures are terrible.  But this may be the beginning of the end of the pandemic as we move into an endemic end-game like the seasonal flu.  Maybe with the larger cases and more vaccinations, we'll finally reach some sort of herd immunity and allow Covid to fade out. 

[digitaldog]

The figures are terrible.  But this may be the beginning of the end of the pandemic as we move into an endemic end-game like the seasonal flu.  Maybe with the larger cases and more vaccinations, we'll finally reach some sort of herd immunity and allow Covid to fade out.

So now that Covid is on the way out, we're left with the economic damage.

Often very wrong but never in doubt.

Update: US tops one million new daily COVID-19 cases – a global record
Infections are spreading across the US, fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Covid on the way out? 

[James Clark]

Stats Canada reports similar numbers in some provinces.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211206/dq211206a-eng.htm

Anecdotal, but of all the people I see not taking basic precautions (masking in tight spaces, not distancing etc.) I'd say males under 40 are disproportionately represented.  So not altogether surprised.

[Alan Klein]

Politicians and scientists who ignored the economy before are recently trying to thread the needle between safety and keeping the country moving.  It's just sowing more confusion as many people don't know what's best.  My wife and I ordered tests that are on their way.  When we're supposed to use them is just not clear. But we're getting them just in case.  Meanwhile, in NYC, 1/3 of the students didn't show up at schools the first day, their parents unsure what the right thing is to do.  I get the impression everyone's winging it based on their pre-conceived notions or what the teas leaves seem to be saying currently.

CDC declines to add Covid testing recommendation to updated isolation guidance despite criticism
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/04/cdc-adds-testing-guidance-to-shortened-covid-isolation-recommendation-after-facing-criticism.html

Biden: Schools should stay open despite omicron wave
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/588237-biden-schools-should-stay-open

[TechTalk]

I get the impression everyone's winging it...

Winging it is what people do when all they have are impressions without knowledge and evidence. Everyone is not winging it, only some.

[Alan Klein]

Winging it is what people do when all they have are impressions without knowledge and evidence. Everyone is not winging it, only some.

CDC knowledge and advice seems to be changing daily.  It was better before when they were focused only on health.  Now they've been told by Biden that we have to think about the economy and getting kids back into schools.  So they're winging it too.  You would think they joined the Republican party.

[TechTalk]

Endless, relentless, mind-numbing repetition of the same theme songs over and over and over. Response is pointless as it only starts the same tune all over again.

[digitaldog]

Endless, relentless, mind-numbing repetition of the same theme songs over and over and over. Response is pointless as it only starts the same tune all over again.

That's unfortunate.

His endless, relentless, mind-numbing repetition is his energy source.