Coronavirus outbreak

[stawns]

1 minute ago, gurn said:

Due to the large percentage of vaxxed  people, the number of cases is very much secondary to number of hospitalizations.

At least to those of us that are vaxxed. Those that aren't vaxxed, well they should be the ones  worried about case numbers.

 

While I am hopeful there, we still won't know for a CPL weeks, even from looking at Europe.  Those numbers lag behind cases by a month or so 

 

Still, I think there's reason for some hope.  Even still, just by the sheer numbers, hospitals will likely be flooded like never before

[Gurn]

When this all got started we stayed at home to protect the old, the vulnerable, those that can't protect themselves, and the rest of us.

Now we stay at home to protect those that won't protect themselves, and the very few that can't protect themselves due to other medical conditions.

 

tldr   the majority is doing what it can to protect the minority.

Even the whinny, never happy, pissers and moaners that cry about their 'freedums".

[Caboose]

How about we stop boosting our population and start distributing vaccines to places that have none? Omicron comes from South Africa, where they have 26% of the population fully vaccinated. 

 

Until we see vaccine equity, the developing world will continue to be a breeding ground for these variants. No one can boost themselves out of the pandemic.

[King Heffy]

1 minute ago, Caboose said:

How about we stop boosting our population and start distributing vaccines to places that have none? Omicron comes from South Africa, where they have 26% of the population fully vaccinated. 

 

Until we see vaccine equity, the developing world will continue to be a breeding ground for these variants. No one can boost themselves out of the pandemic.

Supply is not the reason for South Africa's poor vaccination rate.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-south-africa-delays-covid-vaccine-deliveries-inoculations-slow-2021-11-24/

[nuckin_futz]

 

Not quite sure what I just saw here. But got to give credit where credit is due. Kudos to the former Pres for setting the record straight.

[Gurn]

Heck, Nigeria just destroyed a million vaccinnes:

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/nigeria-destroys-million-expired-donated-covid-19-vaccines-81901304

 

"

Nigeria destroys 1 million expired donated COVID-19 vaccines

Nigeria has had to destroy more than 1 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine that were too close to their expiry date to be used

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Nigeria destroyed more than 1 million expired doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday after authorities said they could not be used before their expiration date.

Faisal Shuaib, head of Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said health officials in Africa's most populous country were left with little choice after receiving the donated doses that didn't have much shelf life left.

“We had developed countries that procured these vaccines and hoarded them," he said. “At the point they were about to expire, they offered them for donation.”

Last week Shuaib had announced that Nigeria would no longer accept such donations, though he did not specify publicly what officials considered too short a shelf life.

Only 2% of Nigeria's 206 million people are fully vaccinated, and health officials have set an ambitious goal of vaccinating more than a quarter of the population by February. While hesitancy has been high, the country's vaccination rate has nearly doubled over the past week.

Nigeria has been seeing a spike in confirmed infections since it detected the highly-infectious omicron variant in late November, recording a 500% increase in cases over the past two weeks, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.

The 2,123 new COVID-19 infections it confirmed on Tuesday was the highest daily tally since last January and the second highest since the pandemic began.

“If we are going to overcome this COVID-19 pandemic, we have to do better job of ensuring better supply of the COVID-19 vaccines," said Shuaib. "No country will be able to eradicate COVID-19 ... until all countries are able to eradicate it.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Note- the vaccines were still viable, as they were before the expiry date. So a two fold problem

Inability to get those shots to the people that needed them;  and do it in a timely fashion.

 

[stawns]

22 minutes ago, Caboose said:

How about we stop boosting our population and start distributing vaccines to places that have none? Omicron comes from South Africa, where they have 26% of the population fully vaccinated. 

 

Until we see vaccine equity, the developing world will continue to be a breeding ground for these variants. No one can boost themselves out of the pandemic.

We are, the problem is the people in those countries are t taking it.  African countries are having to destroy millions of expired doses

[RUPERTKBD]

16 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said:

 

Not quite sure what I just saw here. But got to give credit where credit is due. Kudos to the former Pres for setting the record straight.

I commented in the other thread, but my impression is that she was trying to take a cheap shot at Biden and figured Trump would be only too happy to pile on. What she didn't take into account was that Trump was always going to be more focused on pumping his own tires, rather than letting the air out of JB's....

[higgyfan]

7 minutes ago, stawns said:

We are, the problem is the people in those countries are t taking it.  African countries are having to destroy millions of expired doses

Hopefully Moderna will start super producing their 'day after Covid pill' which will kill the virus even if the patient has started to have symptoms.  Cheaper to use, no storage restrictions, easy to ship to other countries.  Could be a game changer for the more populated and poor nations.

[nuckin_futz]

13 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

Hopefully Moderna will start super producing their 'day after Covid pill' which will kill the virus even if the patient has started to have symptoms.  Cheaper to use, no storage restrictions, easy to ship to other countries.  Could be a game changer for the more populated and poor nations.

It's Merck and Pfizer that have the pills not Moderna. The problem with the pills vs the vaccine it they are much harder to produce. It'll take quite a while to manufacture enough to fill all the orders they have already taken.

 

The FDA approved Merck's pill earlier today.

Edited December 23, 2021 by nuckin_futz

[stawns]

9 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

Hopefully Moderna will start super producing their 'day after Covid pill' which will kill the virus even if the patient has started to have symptoms.  Cheaper to use, no storage restrictions, easy to ship to other countries.  Could be a game changer for the more populated and poor nations.

Absolutely, but I'd bet were at least a year away from that being readily available

[nuckin_futz]

5 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

I commented in the other thread, but my impression is that she was trying to take a cheap shot at Biden and figured Trump would be only too happy to pile on. What she didn't take into account was that Trump was always going to be more focused on pumping his own tires, rather than letting the air out of JB's....

True but he did the right thing knowing full well the Qanon/Hillbilly portion of his base won't be pleased with him. He knows what the reaction to his comments will be. Recently on his lightly attended arena tour with Bill O'Reilly he got boo'd when he spoke positively about the vaccines.

 

So either his conscience has got the better of him or he has an ulterior motive (he has an ulterior motive ) but who cares. It's a nice break from his usual bullsh** salesman routine.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, -DLC- said:

I went to (try and) get tested at the airport - "5 1/2 hour wait"

 

Daughter went to a different location pre-opening (before 7:30 am) - 17 block line up.  We both have mild symptoms but many are lining up "just to be sure" which is creating huge delays for those who actually have symptoms and need to know (versus want to know).

 

It's crazy.  Good news is they're giving out rapid tests to do at home.  

 

Be safe, be well but most of all be happy people.  T'is the season to get vaccinated.

Oh god don't go to the airport, I could've told you that Deb. I spent two days there for my failed flight experiment (also referred to as a vacation by some). 

 

I'm in my late 30s so I will not be rushing to get the booster as I got my second vaccine in August. I'm not doing top ups every three months, and there's more vulnerable people that need the booster more then me. 

 

Anyways how are they doing the rollout for boosters? 

[Gurn]

4 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

I'm not doing top ups every three months,

Currently boosters are 6 months, at least,  after your second shot.

[Gatzkek]

10 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said:

True but he did the right thing knowing full well the Qanon/Hillbilly portion of his base won't be pleased with him. He knows what the reaction to his comments will be. Recently on his lightly attended arena tour with Bill O'Reilly he got boo'd when he spoke positively about the vaccines.

 

So either his conscience has got the better of him or he has an ulterior motive (he has an ulterior motive ) but who cares. It's a nice break from his usual bullsh** salesman routine.

There's no ulterior motive. The vaccine is his baby.

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

I commented in the other thread, but my impression is that she was trying to take a cheap shot at Biden and figured Trump would be only too happy to pile on. What she didn't take into account was that Trump was always going to be more focused on pumping his own tires, rather than letting the air out of JB's....

I mean Trump certainly didn't help his cause by opening his mouth many times, but this world needs more people speaking their mind directly and less PR talk.  

 

Anyways I don't dare step foot in the US politics thread, my god what a disaster that is.  

 

Once Canada starts having two brain-dead teams a-la Democrats and Republicans, it will be time for me to move away to a different country. 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

New relief funding coming for businesses ordered closed:

 

British Columbia businesses that were mandated to temporarily shut down through public health orders because of surging COVID-19 cases will be eligible to receive a new one-time relief grant of up to $10,000.

 

The COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will supplement federal support programs and provide funding to help affected businesses alleviate some financial pressures and help with expenses including rent, employee wages, insurance, maintenance and utilities.

 

“We’re all exhausted by COVID-19, but unfortunately COVID-19 is not done with us,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. “As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we are coming together to ensure those hardest hit businesses will receive much-needed support. The COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will directly help businesses through these difficult times. I encourage everyone in B.C. to support impacted local businesses, including businesses that have been forced to close by buying gift cards and memberships for future use.”

 

The grant was fast-tracked by the Province following new restrictions announced by the provincial health officer on Dec. 21, 2021, and will cost an estimated $10 million.

• Businesses ordered fully closed include:
• gyms, fitness and adult dance centres
• bars, lounges and nightclubs
• event venues that can no longer hold events

Relief grants of between $1,000 and $10,000 will be provided to eligible businesses based on their number of employees, following the similar formula to the previous Circuit Breaker Relief Grant that supported businesses in the spring of 2021.  (see backgrounder).

 

Applications for the grant will begin in January 2022. More information on how to apply will be made available over the next few weeks, with the application process open until the end of February 2022. Business advisors will be able to support and direct applicants through a dedicated call centre that will be set up in early January by the Province and Small Business BC. Businesses will also be able to email questions to: covid@smallbusinessbc.ca

 

The provincial COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant program is in addition to the federal government’s expansion of its Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit and the Local Lockdown Program for workers and employers across the country who are affected by new capacity restrictions and closures.

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021JERI0081-002441

[gizmo2337]

I wouldn't be so optimistic on the pill treatments. Still no proof of how omicron came into existence, but it's pretty clear it's a lot different than the other variants and "inconsistent with natural evolution". One hypothesis is omicron might be the result of treating HIV patient with molnupivar during trials (Merck's)!!   

Some mutations similar to those in omicron variant were flagged in the molnupivar trials.
https://www.fda.gov/media/154418/download

The human race has to ask itself, are these treatments going to cause a virus mutation and variant that's worse than the one we have? 
 

Edit.
It's far far worse than I thought. Molnupivar works on the principle of mutating the virus such that it dies. Problem is, for sure something will survive that is worse and escape. FML. How did they approve this?

Edited December 23, 2021 by gizmo2337

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, gurn said:

Currently boosters are 6 months, at least,  after your second shot.

Yeah that's what I figured, so I will think about mine in February or March... but I support people that want them now. 

 

Btw Gurn me and you have argued a fair amount over the last few months, respectfully of course, but I'm seeing more and more selfishness when it comes to the small 8% of the adults that aren't vaccinated. Out of the let's say 10 people that I know of that aren't vaccinated, I still stand by one person who has a very good reason for his choice, while about 4 fall into miseducated/stubborn and 5 fall into more of the selfish side. 

[RUPERTKBD]

6 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

I mean Trump certainly didn't help his cause by opening his mouth many times, but this world needs more people speaking their mind directly and less PR talk.  

 

Anyways I don't dare step foot in the US politics thread, my god what a disaster that is.  

 

Once Canada starts having two brain-dead teams a-la Democrats and Republicans, it will be time for me to move away to a different country. 

Sure, but at the same time, outright lies shouldn't be ignored, just because someone is "speaking their mind" In the clip, even though as Futz pointed out, Trump was telling people to take the vaccine, he was also saying he developed 3 vaccines, which is at best, a stretch.

 

Anyway, I'm going to agree in general with both of you. With Trump, you take what good you can get and I agree that he deserves some credit for doing / saying the right thing here, just as he and Bill O'Reilly did in their last seminar, or whatever their calling it.