22 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – November 3 2021”

      1. Agree 100%. I’m definitely pro vaccine, but I REALLY have some concerns about the 5-11 year old group. I think the U.S. is going overboard in promoting vaccines to this group, while at the same time basically giving up the fight to vaccinate the still large group of unvaccinated adults. Evidently, the Biden Administration delayed (or in many cases, failed to do so at all) sending out teams to states with low vaccination rates, for fear of political backlash. I sincerely believe that’s a mistake. Stay true to your convictions. Don’t hesitate. Take on the fight rather than cower in fear. I worry that Democrats are too much in defensive mode in this regard. It’s not a winning strategy.

    1. None of it. That witch is a bonafide TRUMPSTER as are most of her supporters. I would have smashed our TV if that scum bag were elected!

      I don’t see a single mask. Contrast that with the Wu headquarters where ALL were masked.

      See the difference. Why does this pandemic have to be political????? Why are some people just NOT reasonable????

      1. I was just thinking the same thing as I read Joshua’s comment. We are not political pawns. Even our children are being used as such.

        1. We are in far more serious trouble than I ever thought we could be ….due to the folks who took an oath to protect us.

  1. Noticed the differences in mask-wearing at the Wu and Essaibi-George election night events. Telling.

    Voted for Wu. Have always admired her on the City Council. She’s to the left of me, for sure, but I like some idealism in a mayor of a great city. Nevertheless, I don’t want to demonize Annissa Essaibi-George. I do NOT like some of her positions, and the personal attacks during the campaign were wrong. Yet, I’ve watched her work hard on the City Council. I respect her.

    1. Wish I could share you opinions on Annissa.
      I look at her and listen to her and all I see and hear is Trump.
      I also don’t think she can hold a candle to Wu intellectually.

    1. Thanks, Joshua. You found what I was looking for but sure didn’t think to look in that direction.

      I tried hard to find anything that states outdoor transmission was impossible. I’d really would have liked to believe it isn’t. I couldn’t and hoped Hadi had found something. Everything I found stated that more research had to be done to be certain of level of outdoor exposure. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I read that as it has yet to become a priority to research.

  2. Netherlands situation is concerning:

    – Cases are rising significantly (and test positivity up to 17%)
    – Hospitalizations and ICU usage rising steadily
    – Deaths rising significantly (tripling in 10 days!)

    Their CDC Director, a very sober-minded person who initially downplayed Covid last year, said today:

    – It’s “clear” that vaccines aren’t as effective as advertised against infections. He believes that the effectiveness is now “well below 50%.” Breakthrough cases are, in his words, “common., not rare”
    – Also, vaccinations are still “very good” at preventing severe disease, but that percentage is declining, too. He estimates it’s around 90%; down from 98% 5 months ago.

    Implications, according to him – he gives advice to the government:

    – Vaccinations are a very important tool, but are not sufficient
    – Measures such as crowd/capacity limits must be considered and implemented in all indoor spaces
    – Distancing (1.5m) must be adhered to by all
    – He only mentioned masks in passing. Makes sense, because he’s still kind of a mask skeptic. But, he said that wearing masks is better than not wearing masks.

  3. My very latest is on the Novavax coronavirus vaccine. It’s a traditional vaccine. This could help with vaccine hesitancy. It also could help with global effort to vaccinate. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2021/11/03/if-approved-the-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-could-help-reduce-vaccine-hesitancy-in-the-us/?sh=6857ba487f12

    These pieces take me a very long time to write, by the way. This one probably took 12-14 hours. My colleagues at Forbes write articles in less than 3 hours. I don’t know how they do it. They mustn’t be as self-critical as I am, because when I look at my articles from a month ago or longer I see flaws in writing, which I’m almost ashamed of.

  4. Germany is facing a brewing crisis, mostly in its Western states (some border the Netherlands and Belgium). Available ICU beds <10% in some regions due to hospitalization spike and an acute nursing shortage (some of it burnout related). Similar in Belgium and the Netherlands (actually worse in Holland, as the country doesn't have as much hospital capacity per capita). Nationwide, it's expected that the ICU capacity may be reached within a month, with a December lockdown possible.

    Please keep in mind that these are highly vaccinated countries. Better than our nation, with better underlying health among their populations. I will be shocked if we don't experience a similar spike. Signs of trouble have shown up in parts of California, Colorado, Minnesota, and even New Hampshire. Will it extend to more states? I don't know for sure. But, let's not count on it not doing so.

    Yet, President Biden tweets this today: “We have reached a turning point in our battle against COVID-19: authorization of a safe, effective vaccine for children age 5-11.”

    I don't get it. A real disconnect here. We haven't reached a turning point yet, Joe. And certainly not due to a shot being available to 5-11 year olds, when the real problem is the high numbers of unvaccinated adults, waning immunity for a growing number as well (who haven't been boosted), and absolutely NO mitigation.

  5. Excellent article. It is exactly what I’ve been saying all along…not as well. There is a ton of understandable hesitancy when it comes to mRNA ….especially when it comes to our young folks.

    I’m not sure why I was able to open the article but am sure glad I was

    1. I think they reset the 4 free articles once a month. Usually on the 1st, but perhaps this time on the 2nd or 3rd.

  6. In Our World in Data – my go-to source for Covid data – it’s official. The U.S. decline in caseload and hospitalizations have stalled. In fact, cases appear to be rising again since last week, albeit rather slowly at this point in time. Hospitalizations are no longer decreasing. Flat in terms of growth, for now. That will likely change soon.

    Gottlieb, a man I respect, said with a straight face 2 to 3 weeks ago that the downward trend would continue with a comparatively steep descent and that by Thanksgiving we’d have much lower case numbers. I wondered then, as I do now, how he could once again fall into the trap of making predictions. Based on what? Hunches? At this point, the best thing to do is NOT make bold predictions. Expect a worsening situation and hope for the best. But always remain focused on a vaccination plus mitigation strategy.

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