Sadly, this agency has a very long way to go I order to repair its reputation. And listening to Biden’s comments, he sadly used its ruling as a political pat on the back. I understand he has done a great job getting vaccines rolled out, but it would help if he also stated this is premature
Joshua, I am concerned re the high number of children in Brazil being seriously impacted by covid. I like to think it is due to Brazil’s poor healthcare system and then the horrific overload there because of covid rather than children being more susceptible to the Brazil variant.
Vicki, the P.1 variant clearly impacts younger folks more than the other variants. I believe the B.117 and B.1.617 variants also impact a somewhat younger cohort.
Taiwan has been doing very well. It’s considered one of the world’s best performers. But it’s now recording several clusters (hundreds of cases) which could grow into a problematic outbreak.
Thanks, Joshua. I thought I had included a link and just noticed I did not. It seems to be more unusual in Brazil or is this more a matter of headlines to grab attention
All restrictions being lifted early on May 29th 100% except for some masking rules . I wonder when hospitals will be able to go maskless again , I suspect the rest of this year .
With so many respected professionals reacting negatively to the CDC decision, I’d guess you are right, SSK
Does this mean no more masking indoors? (i.e. supermarkets, banks, convenience stores, restaurants, public transit, etc.)
No way any medical facilities go maskless anytime soon.
For the most part yes I believe . The places where you need to wear masks are laid out . I wonder if businesses can make you wear if they wanted to I expect no . I mean the numbers are there we neee to get back to normalcy at some point
Vicki, the P.1 variant (I believe there is also a P.2) is most prevalent in Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina. It’s in those countries that we see a significantly lower age cohort impacted. It appears that the vaccines, at least the mRNA vaccines, work well against P.1 and P.2. We do have some P.1 in the U.S., but it couldn’t establish itself in the face of the largely successful vaccination drive.
Moving forward, I think the key question is how long will those who are vaccinated be immune, i.e., will we need boosters and when? If we’re lucky immunity lasts a long time with no need for boosters in the short term, or perhaps ever. Should this be the case AND the vaccines work against all variants of concern, then we’re golden. The virus will peter out and not come back. But, if immunity wanes relatively fast, OR the vaccines don’t work as well against certain variants that become dominant over time, AND case levels simmer at a low level this summer, biding their time, then we could have a resurgence this fall and winter.
I’m more risk-averse than most Americans, clearly, as I would and will err on the side of caution. Not paranoia, but I think that the prudent course of action is not to go maskless everywhere, and not to toss out all distancing and crowd size protocols. I’m a gradualist in this regard. But, I’m not making the decisions, the governor and mayors are.
Thank you, Joshua. I align with you re being more risk adverse. This thing has gotten ahead of us too many times, so I believe there is every reason to err in the side of caution
That said, Texas says there has been no increase since the mask ban was lifted. Not that I believe much coming from TX. But Let’s hope their truth is not too far removed from reality. The Pacific Northwest seems to have thwarted the surge….I think.
I know P.1 was on the cape and we seem to have gotten ahead of that. Let’s just hope
I’d love to hear from anyone whose teen has been vaccinated re reaction. But I absolutely understand if folks want to keep that private.
Masks no longer required for outdoor youth sports, outdoor classes, and recess.
The coronavirus is on a determined run to disrupt things in countries that have barely been impacted thus far. The Japan outbreak is alarming, given the population density. But now add Taiwan to the list, as well as Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Except for Japan and Malaysia the absolute numbers are quite small right now. But that will likely change in the coming weeks. There’s a lot of susceptibility to the virus in these countries, with very little natural immunity and sluggish vaccination programs. After this Asian intrusion I predict the virus will find its way to Africa with renewed vigor – the B.1.617 lineage.
The good news is the U.S. continues to do better, and Europe is also improving, though still lagging behind the U.S.
The Indian numbers look a little better than last week, but there’s a lot of hiding of data, especially in rural areas. Even with the hiding of data the official data looks very grim, with 4,350 deaths today.
The best state in the nation in terms of lowest number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths per capita – California – is not doing well in comparison to the UK. Shows how dramatically better the UK is doing than practically everyone else. The table in the link below is really telling. While our vaccination program has been successful overall it’s comparatively much less successful than the UK. This is because it wasn’t coupled with mitigation AND it was more or less a “let’s throw spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks,” as opposed to the methodical vaccination roll-out in the U.K.: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1393698186527526915
I should add the U.K. has been extremely cautious in reopening in very carefully orchestrated stages. On June 21st most restrictions will be lifted, but only if certain preconditions are met. Even then there will be more restrictions in place than we will have, especially regarding large-scale events. And masking/distancing indoors will be the protocol in public spaces for the foreseeable future; probably until the spring of 2022.
Let’s not forget the UK has a single payer system, to which all belong. All have a GP or PCP, usually within walking distance. And each resident gets constantly bombarded with information on prevention. This is a huge advantage when it comes to public health in terms of prevention, ie, a vaccination campaign. I’m not advocating for such a system here, but I do recognize its strengths.
Well then May I advocate for it. As a member of a single payer system in the United States and having an in depth understanding of private insurance…..there is no comparison. Medicare rises so far above private that the two do not belong in the same sentence.
Now back to your regularly scheduled awesome, non political WHW covid blog
Sadly, this agency has a very long way to go I order to repair its reputation. And listening to Biden’s comments, he sadly used its ruling as a political pat on the back. I understand he has done a great job getting vaccines rolled out, but it would help if he also stated this is premature
Philip , I will look for another source
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/world/nurses-union-cdc-mask-vaccinated.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR3eS8rsKiVpXfDXzcadYp7JDDwF_5OyQqL5Oy1vUMORsAia6HVuWtiPmU8
This may help, Philip
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/nurses-union-calls-cdc-revise-035102164.html
Eric Clapton not a fan of the vaccines (or the lockdowns).
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/eric-clapton-hits-out-at-propaganda-over-vaccine-safety/ar-BB1gM5Uv
Joshua, I am concerned re the high number of children in Brazil being seriously impacted by covid. I like to think it is due to Brazil’s poor healthcare system and then the horrific overload there because of covid rather than children being more susceptible to the Brazil variant.
Vicki, the P.1 variant clearly impacts younger folks more than the other variants. I believe the B.117 and B.1.617 variants also impact a somewhat younger cohort.
Taiwan has been doing very well. It’s considered one of the world’s best performers. But it’s now recording several clusters (hundreds of cases) which could grow into a problematic outbreak.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/17/how-did-covid-slip-through-taiwans-gold-standard-defences
Thanks, Joshua. I thought I had included a link and just noticed I did not. It seems to be more unusual in Brazil or is this more a matter of headlines to grab attention
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/16/world/americas/brazil-covid-child-deaths.html
All restrictions being lifted early on May 29th 100% except for some masking rules . I wonder when hospitals will be able to go maskless again , I suspect the rest of this year .
With so many respected professionals reacting negatively to the CDC decision, I’d guess you are right, SSK
Does this mean no more masking indoors? (i.e. supermarkets, banks, convenience stores, restaurants, public transit, etc.)
No way any medical facilities go maskless anytime soon.
For the most part yes I believe . The places where you need to wear masks are laid out . I wonder if businesses can make you wear if they wanted to I expect no . I mean the numbers are there we neee to get back to normalcy at some point
Vicki, the P.1 variant (I believe there is also a P.2) is most prevalent in Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina. It’s in those countries that we see a significantly lower age cohort impacted. It appears that the vaccines, at least the mRNA vaccines, work well against P.1 and P.2. We do have some P.1 in the U.S., but it couldn’t establish itself in the face of the largely successful vaccination drive.
Moving forward, I think the key question is how long will those who are vaccinated be immune, i.e., will we need boosters and when? If we’re lucky immunity lasts a long time with no need for boosters in the short term, or perhaps ever. Should this be the case AND the vaccines work against all variants of concern, then we’re golden. The virus will peter out and not come back. But, if immunity wanes relatively fast, OR the vaccines don’t work as well against certain variants that become dominant over time, AND case levels simmer at a low level this summer, biding their time, then we could have a resurgence this fall and winter.
I’m more risk-averse than most Americans, clearly, as I would and will err on the side of caution. Not paranoia, but I think that the prudent course of action is not to go maskless everywhere, and not to toss out all distancing and crowd size protocols. I’m a gradualist in this regard. But, I’m not making the decisions, the governor and mayors are.
Thank you, Joshua. I align with you re being more risk adverse. This thing has gotten ahead of us too many times, so I believe there is every reason to err in the side of caution
That said, Texas says there has been no increase since the mask ban was lifted. Not that I believe much coming from TX. But Let’s hope their truth is not too far removed from reality. The Pacific Northwest seems to have thwarted the surge….I think.
I know P.1 was on the cape and we seem to have gotten ahead of that. Let’s just hope
I’d love to hear from anyone whose teen has been vaccinated re reaction. But I absolutely understand if folks want to keep that private.
Masks no longer required for outdoor youth sports, outdoor classes, and recess.
The coronavirus is on a determined run to disrupt things in countries that have barely been impacted thus far. The Japan outbreak is alarming, given the population density. But now add Taiwan to the list, as well as Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Except for Japan and Malaysia the absolute numbers are quite small right now. But that will likely change in the coming weeks. There’s a lot of susceptibility to the virus in these countries, with very little natural immunity and sluggish vaccination programs. After this Asian intrusion I predict the virus will find its way to Africa with renewed vigor – the B.1.617 lineage.
The good news is the U.S. continues to do better, and Europe is also improving, though still lagging behind the U.S.
The Indian numbers look a little better than last week, but there’s a lot of hiding of data, especially in rural areas. Even with the hiding of data the official data looks very grim, with 4,350 deaths today.
The best state in the nation in terms of lowest number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths per capita – California – is not doing well in comparison to the UK. Shows how dramatically better the UK is doing than practically everyone else. The table in the link below is really telling. While our vaccination program has been successful overall it’s comparatively much less successful than the UK. This is because it wasn’t coupled with mitigation AND it was more or less a “let’s throw spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks,” as opposed to the methodical vaccination roll-out in the U.K.: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1393698186527526915
I should add the U.K. has been extremely cautious in reopening in very carefully orchestrated stages. On June 21st most restrictions will be lifted, but only if certain preconditions are met. Even then there will be more restrictions in place than we will have, especially regarding large-scale events. And masking/distancing indoors will be the protocol in public spaces for the foreseeable future; probably until the spring of 2022.
Let’s not forget the UK has a single payer system, to which all belong. All have a GP or PCP, usually within walking distance. And each resident gets constantly bombarded with information on prevention. This is a huge advantage when it comes to public health in terms of prevention, ie, a vaccination campaign. I’m not advocating for such a system here, but I do recognize its strengths.
Well then May I advocate for it. As a member of a single payer system in the United States and having an in depth understanding of private insurance…..there is no comparison. Medicare rises so far above private that the two do not belong in the same sentence.
Now back to your regularly scheduled awesome, non political WHW covid blog
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/8a/10/83D7426F-26A1-45B3-B0C1-4E363B23DF42/DESE.guid.5.18.21.docx
Brilliant
Link not working. Will try another way
Only way I could figure how to share
https://imgur.com/a/x7OEYWx
And this makes me smile
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/17/996938155/border-communities-offer-surplus-covid-vaccines-to-canadian-neighbors?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR2fNDiVvILtP-I3t1EFip1ed5WLBUHKbnIZG1XY5mR1gBnVDu25U6BlWiw
C-19 for 5-18 is ready.