24 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – February 17 2022”
Thanks, TK
Telling that the many opposed to masks for kids didn’t put any effort into insisting school air quality be improved which of course is important covid or not covid.
And Sutton just lifted its masks mandate starting day after February vacation.
Same for my sons school . I don’t think many school will not comply .
Vicki, to your point, many places and institutions of learning (colleges, for example) are lifting mask mandates. Seems premature to me, especially with spring break just a couple of weeks away. It’s not as if the caseload is so small that we can’t have significant outbreaks. Yale is having one right now – hundreds of students.
Deaths nationwide are finally declining. We’re at a 2,300 7-day average number of deaths. Yesterday, more than 3,000 were tallies. I suspect the same (or close to it) will occur today. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1494323091874332673
Good morning, Joshua. How are you feeling
It makes me beyond happy to see numbers decline. Like you, I also think it is premature. And I understand wanting to feel as if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But we are adults and we know that caution that has been missing to date has caused set backs. So why see the light and then slam the door on it
It is a simple piece of cloth
Joel McHale’s SB ad was my favorite. We are a band of mixed nuts
Why are shelves empty of cooking oil lately? Vicki, have you noticed? No doubt Covid-19 related of course. 🙁
It seems every store has empty shelves of one item or another nowadays.
I always have a backup oil so have not noticed. Milk and cream and cream cheese are in short supply. Something else weird too that I can’t recall. I’m told avocados will be in short supply. 90 percent come from Mexico and it has some short of a avocado disease there
Thanks. I didn’t do my due diligence. Shame on me. A friend said he’d heard disease on news.
I’ll read to see why an inspector would be threatened.
There is more to the story. Several sources says the inspector was threatened after denying entrance to the avocados. The reason for the denial is muddied. Very curious.
Vicki, I’m feeling pretty well. Thanks for asking. I still have a minor lingering cough, but it’s much better than it was. For me, the important thing is I’ve not had excess fatigue, beyond the normal work-related tiredness. I can run 9 miles just as fast (well, just as slowly) as before.
The numbers are looking better. I still think it’s prudent to: a. Continue to mask up indoors in public spaces; b. Monitor what’s going on with BA.2.
We could very well get away without a BA.2 ripple, but I’m skeptical that will happen. Should a ripple occur it would begin about 7 to 14 days from now and last a few of weeks. I’m basing this on what’s been happening in Europe.
I do think that by late March/early April the signs of a receding threat will be everywhere throughout the U.S. And yes, I think it will be okay for masks to be put in storage at that point. But, for those who still feel vulnerable for whatever reason, they should be able to wear their masks, distance, etc … as they see fit.
I do want to report one caveat and that is that in parts of Scandinavia – Denmark, for example – a spike in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths is occurring at the moment. It’s mostly BA.2 related. They just removed restrictions 2 weeks ago. It could be that the population had less immunity, as they weren’t as exposed as we were. But, we still have to wait and see.
My bad. I detest the word hype. Exaggerated is better
No, it is not hype. You may recall that I talked about BA.2 as far back as 4 or 5 weeks ago. It concerned me then. It concerns me now.
First the `good’ news. What may protect the U.S. is the fact that BA.1 (original Omicron) blew our doors off, if you will. And perhaps that will give us sufficient immunity. But, BA.1 also blew the doors off other countries, including several in Europe that are now experiencing resurgences.
Now the bad news. Once again, we Americans have amnesia. We relax what few `restrictions’ we have at the worst possible moment. Now is not the time to do so. Mid to late March, yes, provided we have our caseload nationwide under relative control. We also are declaring victory prematurely, just as we did last June. I’ve seen a number of folks say “Covid is on the ropes.” Well, maybe it is. I certainly hope so. But, let’s not declare it’s over until it really is over. When we’re still experiencing a large caseload, 2,300 deaths a day, and still have ~75,000 hospitalized, it’s not over. And, with another sub-variant on our doorstep – detected in 47 states – we could experience a resurgence. I do think that resurgence would be short-lived. But still, it would lead to more misery for plenty of folks.
Thank you.
I had a parade committee meeting tonight so posted the link here and then had to start the zoom so couldn’t read more than lead in. I do believe the lead in is somewhat exaggerated. They use a lot of “May” words. Once you get into the meat of the article, it settles down with positives and negatives.
I went back to last night when you discussed BA.2 and it was a far more leveled discussion
As far as ending masks. We continue to be the very worst of the worst in our approach as a country.
Watch for subtle signs. The decline in cases in Massachusetts has slowed to a crawl. In fact it looks like it may have bottomed out at an elevated level and could be rebounding a little. Keep your eyes on this.
Important short video – WHO’s Dr. Van Kerkhove (American scientist) explains succinctly the issue of BA.2. Notice how she talks about epi-curves and the slowing of decline. When you see that – and I think we’ve begun to see that in Massachusetts – you need to be mindful. Rapid decline is great until it bottoms out at a relatively high level. Generally, what causes a decline to stall and then rebound is a sub-lineage or sub-variant. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1494243762117226496
Vicki, the media tends to sensationalize, unfortunately. Still, BA.2 isn’t hyped. It’s a problem. It’s what’s impacting Hong Kong and Denmark right now, among other places. Will it get us? Not sure. Perhaps we’ve built up the immunity we need. But, we can’t know that for sure.
Thanks, TK
Telling that the many opposed to masks for kids didn’t put any effort into insisting school air quality be improved which of course is important covid or not covid.
https://twitter.com/kit_yates_maths/status/1493505610637139969?s=21
And Sutton just lifted its masks mandate starting day after February vacation.
Same for my sons school . I don’t think many school will not comply .
Vicki, to your point, many places and institutions of learning (colleges, for example) are lifting mask mandates. Seems premature to me, especially with spring break just a couple of weeks away. It’s not as if the caseload is so small that we can’t have significant outbreaks. Yale is having one right now – hundreds of students.
Deaths nationwide are finally declining. We’re at a 2,300 7-day average number of deaths. Yesterday, more than 3,000 were tallies. I suspect the same (or close to it) will occur today. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1494323091874332673
Good morning, Joshua. How are you feeling
It makes me beyond happy to see numbers decline. Like you, I also think it is premature. And I understand wanting to feel as if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But we are adults and we know that caution that has been missing to date has caused set backs. So why see the light and then slam the door on it
It is a simple piece of cloth
Joel McHale’s SB ad was my favorite. We are a band of mixed nuts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJJB0JE4hAI
Thanks TK.
Why are shelves empty of cooking oil lately? Vicki, have you noticed? No doubt Covid-19 related of course. 🙁
It seems every store has empty shelves of one item or another nowadays.
I always have a backup oil so have not noticed. Milk and cream and cream cheese are in short supply. Something else weird too that I can’t recall. I’m told avocados will be in short supply. 90 percent come from Mexico and it has some short of a avocado disease there
The ban is the result of a threat made to a USDA inspector:
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/17/1081452471/mexico-avocado-ban
Thanks. I didn’t do my due diligence. Shame on me. A friend said he’d heard disease on news.
I’ll read to see why an inspector would be threatened.
There is more to the story. Several sources says the inspector was threatened after denying entrance to the avocados. The reason for the denial is muddied. Very curious.
Yes, there is much more, involving organized crime cartels:
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/u-s-suspends-mexican-avocado-imports-due-to-organized-crime-133258821536
I looked quickly but didn’t find specific info. Did find this
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-07/cooking-oils-surge-is-sign-food-inflation-can-go-even-higher
Vicki, I’m feeling pretty well. Thanks for asking. I still have a minor lingering cough, but it’s much better than it was. For me, the important thing is I’ve not had excess fatigue, beyond the normal work-related tiredness. I can run 9 miles just as fast (well, just as slowly) as before.
The numbers are looking better. I still think it’s prudent to: a. Continue to mask up indoors in public spaces; b. Monitor what’s going on with BA.2.
We could very well get away without a BA.2 ripple, but I’m skeptical that will happen. Should a ripple occur it would begin about 7 to 14 days from now and last a few of weeks. I’m basing this on what’s been happening in Europe.
I do think that by late March/early April the signs of a receding threat will be everywhere throughout the U.S. And yes, I think it will be okay for masks to be put in storage at that point. But, for those who still feel vulnerable for whatever reason, they should be able to wear their masks, distance, etc … as they see fit.
I do want to report one caveat and that is that in parts of Scandinavia – Denmark, for example – a spike in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths is occurring at the moment. It’s mostly BA.2 related. They just removed restrictions 2 weeks ago. It could be that the population had less immunity, as they weren’t as exposed as we were. But, we still have to wait and see.
Glad you are improving
Joshua…is this hype
https://whdh.com/news/as-ba-2-subvariant-of-omicron-rises-lab-studies-point-to-signs-of-severity/?fbclid=IwAR0V3loXI_n6k6XdY9keWO2g3kM1Z2Hq3rvHJqj6kz_yoduc-2mThiJK_C0
My bad. I detest the word hype. Exaggerated is better
No, it is not hype. You may recall that I talked about BA.2 as far back as 4 or 5 weeks ago. It concerned me then. It concerns me now.
First the `good’ news. What may protect the U.S. is the fact that BA.1 (original Omicron) blew our doors off, if you will. And perhaps that will give us sufficient immunity. But, BA.1 also blew the doors off other countries, including several in Europe that are now experiencing resurgences.
Now the bad news. Once again, we Americans have amnesia. We relax what few `restrictions’ we have at the worst possible moment. Now is not the time to do so. Mid to late March, yes, provided we have our caseload nationwide under relative control. We also are declaring victory prematurely, just as we did last June. I’ve seen a number of folks say “Covid is on the ropes.” Well, maybe it is. I certainly hope so. But, let’s not declare it’s over until it really is over. When we’re still experiencing a large caseload, 2,300 deaths a day, and still have ~75,000 hospitalized, it’s not over. And, with another sub-variant on our doorstep – detected in 47 states – we could experience a resurgence. I do think that resurgence would be short-lived. But still, it would lead to more misery for plenty of folks.
Thank you.
I had a parade committee meeting tonight so posted the link here and then had to start the zoom so couldn’t read more than lead in. I do believe the lead in is somewhat exaggerated. They use a lot of “May” words. Once you get into the meat of the article, it settles down with positives and negatives.
I went back to last night when you discussed BA.2 and it was a far more leveled discussion
As far as ending masks. We continue to be the very worst of the worst in our approach as a country.
Watch for subtle signs. The decline in cases in Massachusetts has slowed to a crawl. In fact it looks like it may have bottomed out at an elevated level and could be rebounding a little. Keep your eyes on this.
Important short video – WHO’s Dr. Van Kerkhove (American scientist) explains succinctly the issue of BA.2. Notice how she talks about epi-curves and the slowing of decline. When you see that – and I think we’ve begun to see that in Massachusetts – you need to be mindful. Rapid decline is great until it bottoms out at a relatively high level. Generally, what causes a decline to stall and then rebound is a sub-lineage or sub-variant. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1494243762117226496
Vicki, the media tends to sensationalize, unfortunately. Still, BA.2 isn’t hyped. It’s a problem. It’s what’s impacting Hong Kong and Denmark right now, among other places. Will it get us? Not sure. Perhaps we’ve built up the immunity we need. But, we can’t know that for sure.
What we do is that the death toll in this wave is excruciatingly painful. Another 3,200 today. It’s colossal failure, and also tremendously sad. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1494499091748823043
I know it is real. And I know the actual article was legit. The intro was IMO over the top.
Another media post just came out. I am too tired to find now but will find and shared tomorrow.
Inslee is on CNN. WA dropping masks on 3/21. Asked about omicron variants he said they would make decisions based on science.
My thought…..well isn’t that a new approach
C-19 for 2-18 is ready.