Random covid-19 observations

[D.A. Ridgely]

As I understand it, Canada is doing the smart thing. They're putting in orders for everything they can, and plan to donate the excess to poor countries once they have all their own people vaccinated.

That makes a lot more sense, thank you. Still seems a bit cynical of them, but more sensible.

More sensible yet would be selling the excess on the black market.

[Warren]

As I understand it, Canada is doing the smart thing. They're putting in orders for everything they can, and plan to donate the excess to poor countries once they have all their own people vaccinated.

That makes a lot more sense, thank you. Still seems a bit cynical of them, but more sensible.

More sensible yet would be selling the excess on the black market.

More sensible yet would be selling several times the excess on the black market.

[JD]

As I understand it, Canada is doing the smart thing. They're putting in orders for everything they can, and plan to donate the excess to poor countries once they have all their own people vaccinated.

That makes a lot more sense, thank you. Still seems a bit cynical of them, but more sensible.

More sensible yet would be selling the excess on the black market.

More sensible yet would be selling several times the excess on the black market.

Warren is truly at the highest level of evolution.

expanding-brain-vaccine.jpg (123.9 KiB) Viewed 716 times

[Jennifer]

I'm posting this as a "covid observation" because if not for covid, it is EXTREMELY unlikely I'd be doing this: I'm currently working on a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, first time I put a jigsaw puzzle together since I was a kid living with my parents. (My dad was fond of those hyper-complicated thousand-piece puzzles of things like "a black-and-white reproduction of a 19th-century political campaign poster" or "a color photo of a zillion red cherries." I sometimes helped him put the puzzles together, on a big folding card table in an out-of-the way corner of our family room.)

A Facebook friend of mine under harsher lockdown than me has been passing the time with jigsaw puzzles, and when another friend asked him where he gets his puzzles, he mentioned various cheap stores including Dollar Tree. I'd never bothered to visit a Dollar Tree toy section before, but after reading his comment I did check my nearest one and bought 500-piece puzzles for adults. The puzzle I have is only 14 inches by 11 inches when complete, so unsurprisingly, these individual puzzle pieces are TINY. But that's good, because I (obviously) don't want to monopolize our kitchen table, so the only place I have to work on a puzzle, where I wouldn't need to worry about one of our fans blowing the pieces hither and yon, is one of those miniature folding TV-tray tables -- when I'm not working on the puzzle, I can stash the table in an out-of-the-way corner.

There are two sensations related to jigsaw-solving which I'd completely forgotten about until I started putting this one together yesterday: the feeling of satisfaction when, say, you finally complete the puzzle's frame, or when you find that one piece needed to bring two sections together ... and the "AAARGH if I don't walk away from this stupid puzzle RIGHT NOW I'm gonna lose it."

[Jennifer]

Pence and his wife got the vaccine today, publicly, on camera. That's about the only decent thing I recall him doing during his time in office.

It feels downright weird, for a member of this administration to do the standard-normal-responsible things which, traditionally, we'd have expected from any prez or veep, of either party.

[Eric the .5b]

Pence and his wife got the vaccine today, publicly, on camera. That's about the only decent thing I recall him doing during his time in office.

It feels downright weird, for a member of this administration to do the standard-normal-responsible things which, traditionally, we'd have expected from any prez or veep, of either party.

Especially given that it's the idiots these people have whipped up who make it necessary for decent pols to get the vaccine publicly, on-camera.

But Pence probably imagines getting a presidential nom once Trump's in prison.

[Shem]

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[Jennifer]

Excerpts from The Long Fucking Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Morning was bright and clear but there was no school. There would be no more in-person classes until COVID-19 cases went down again.

Carrie gazed out the window while she wiped the breakfast dishes, and drearily Laura sloshed the cooling water in the dishpan.

“I want to go somewhere!” Carrie said fretfully. “I’m tired of staying in this old kitchen!”

“We were thankful enough for this warm kitchen yesterday,” Mary gently reminded her. “At least we aren’t superspreaders like Mr. and Mrs. Boast, who had the whole family over for Thanksgiving and gave each guest a ball of butter from their last churning. At least five people were infected.”

Laura felt cross. The kitchen seemed stale and dull. “This winter is going to be so fucking long,” she said.

“Laura,” Ma said reproachfully. “You all may put on your wraps and go out into the yard for a breath of fresh air.”

She paused, then added, “But don’t forget your fucking masks.”

[Aresen]

COVID19 OFFS:

COVID-19 Vaccine Can Turn People Into "Crocodiles": Brazilian President

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has launched an attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
The far-right leader has been sceptical of the coronavirus since it first emerged late last year, branding it "a little flu." This week he insisted he would not be vaccinated, even while launching the country's mass innoculation program.

"In the Pfizer contract it's very clear: 'we're not responsible for any side effects.' If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem," Bolsonaro said on Thursday.

That vaccine has been undergoing tests in Brazil for weeks and is already being used in the United States and Britain.

"If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it," he said, referring to the drug manufacturers.

When launching the immunization campaign on Wednesday, Bolsonaro also said it would be free but not compulsory.

But the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the vaccine was obligatory, although could not be "forced" on people.

That means authorities can fine people for not being vaccinated and ban them from certain public spaces, but not force them to take it.

Brazil has recorded more than 7.1 million cases and almost 185,000 deaths from Covid-19 amongst its 212 million population.

Bolsonaro said that once a vaccine has been certified by Brazil's regulatory agency Anvisa, "it will be available for everyone that wants it. But me, I won't get vaccinated."

[thoreau]

Fauci vaccinated Santa. We're going to be ok.

[Pham Nuwen]

Now hold on. Am I to infer that pfizer is saying that Florida didn't order any more doses of the vaccine? Is that what I'm reading?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/ ... tis-claims

[Shem]

Now hold on. Am I to infer that pfizer is saying that Florida didn't order any more doses of the vaccine? Is that what I'm reading?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/ ... tis-claims

No. The White House didn't give Pfizer the shipping information to send part of the doses. As a result, every state got shorted by 30-40%. The White House tried to save face with an easily checked lie; that Pfizer had shipping issues. DeSantis is parroting that. Pfizer shot back that no, they are in fact ready to go, but they need to know where to send them.

[Shem]

Also, I don't think states are placing individual orders, though I could be wrong about that now.

[Pham Nuwen]

Now hold on. Am I to infer that pfizer is saying that Florida didn't order any more doses of the vaccine? Is that what I'm reading?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/ ... tis-claims

No. The White House didn't give Pfizer the shipping information to send part of the doses. As a result, every state got shorted by 30-40%. The White House tried to save face with an easily checked lie; that Pfizer had shipping issues. DeSantis is parroting that. Pfizer shot back that no, they are in fact ready to go, but they need to know where to send them.

I know it shouldn't but that actually makes me feel better.

[Hugh Akston]

Now hold on. Am I to infer that pfizer is saying that Florida didn't order any more doses of the vaccine? Is that what I'm reading?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/ ... tis-claims

No. The White House didn't give Pfizer the shipping information to send part of the doses. As a result, every state got shorted by 30-40%. The White House tried to save face with an easily checked lie; that Pfizer had shipping issues. DeSantis is parroting that. Pfizer shot back that no, they are in fact ready to go, but they need to know where to send them.

I know it shouldn't but that actually makes me feel better.

Well it should make you feel better, because hopefully when the White House occupant isn't a dumb fucking dumbfuck they can maybe get easy shit like this right.

[Pham Nuwen]

Now hold on. Am I to infer that pfizer is saying that Florida didn't order any more doses of the vaccine? Is that what I'm reading?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/ ... tis-claims

No. The White House didn't give Pfizer the shipping information to send part of the doses. As a result, every state got shorted by 30-40%. The White House tried to save face with an easily checked lie; that Pfizer had shipping issues. DeSantis is parroting that. Pfizer shot back that no, they are in fact ready to go, but they need to know where to send them.

I know it shouldn't but that actually makes me feel better.

Well it should make you feel better, because hopefully when the White House occupant isn't a dumb fucking dumbfuck they can maybe get easy shit like this right.

That's pretty much why I was relieved a bit.

[dhex]

He added, “It’s a production issue with Pfizer. It has nothing to do with the federal government or nothing to do specifically with Florida. This is just what’s happening nationwide.”

Good going with the oddly specific denial there, chief.

[Jennifer]

It really is galling to see covid-denying politicos now jump to the front of the vaccination line.

[Pham Nuwen]

They were always going to jump the line not that your outrage is misapplied.

[Jennifer]

Even by corrupt-American-politico standards, the Republicans have been behaving outrageously.

At minimum, I wish the doctor who vaccinated Ernst used the biggest, bluntest needle she had.

[thoreau]

At minimum, I wish the doctor who vaccinated Ernst re-used the biggest, bluntest needle she had.

FTFY

[Aresen]

Even by corrupt-American-politico standards, the Republicans have been behaving outrageously.

At minimum, I wish the doctor who vaccinated Ernst used the biggest, bluntest needle she had.

OTOH, if there is a defect in the vaccine, I can't think of anyone I'd prefer to be the person who experiences an unfavorable reaction.

[dead_elvis]

If we're going there in terms of who "deserves" the vaccine, I'd have absolutely no problem with a commission to comb through social media and anyone who wasn't taking it seriously is at the very back end of the line. I'd add "or at all ever" but we need the herd protection thing (which is why the order should be based on epidemiology and not deservedness to begin with)

[Number 6]

If we're going there in terms of who "deserves" the vaccine, I'd have absolutely no problem with a commission to comb through social media and anyone who wasn't taking it seriously is at the very back end of the line. I'd add "or at all ever" but we need the herd protection thing (which is why the order should be based on epidemiology and not deservedness to begin with)

They can spend the interim volunteering in COVID ICUs. Without PPE. Or, they can ride along with me. Same stipulation. "Where do you sit? In that seat where your knees are brushing the patient."

[Jennifer]

I've been watching blizzard porn on the Weather Channel to get my snow fix, down here in Georgia, and my mind started wandering down the well-worn wistful path "If Jeff and I still lived in New England right now..." when suddenly an intrusive new thought intervened: in those alternate realities where we never left Connecticut, and still had the same job setups we had back then, with Jeff commuting to one of the super-rich cities on the shore of Long Island Sound (and with commuter train stops to and from New York City), there's a pretty high chance Jeff and I might've had covid early on ... and one or both of us might've had the "deadly, or at least devastating," version of it.

IIRC, one of the earliest American super-spreader events (in retrospect), before most Americans were likely to have even heard about this new and unusually bad virus, was some big party/wedding/celebration thing in the "rich person suburbs-of-Manhattan" part of Connecticut, with a couple hundred guests from all over the tristate CT/NY/NJ suburban Manhattan area. And a bunch of them got infected, and chances are that in viral terms, Jeff would have been only one or two degrees separated from everyone at the party -- maybe one of the guests was also one of the executives who worked in Jeff's humongous office/workplace building, or one of the caterers at the party went on to be the woman standing in line in front of Jeff when he stopped to buy something at a particular "fancy" grocery store on his way home from work....