The tide is turning ??
More Americans have now received at least one vaccine dose than have tested positive since the pandemic began, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Trackerhttps://t.co/dwvEfawFi6 @business pic.twitter.com/trOSaGy5rN
— David S. Joachim (@davidjoachim) March 8, 2021
The US administered 1.7 million vaccine shots today, bringing the total to 92.1 million, or 27.7 doses per 100 people. The 7-day moving average remained largely unchanged at 2.17 million shots per day. 18.1% of Americans have received at least one shot; 9.5% are fully vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/jRQlp0eaO3
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 9, 2021
CDC says: Vaccinated people can visit indoors without masks, but must still wear them in public and avoid large gatherings when around those who aren’t immunized or are at high risk for contracting coronavirus.https://t.co/PshgG43yMq
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 8, 2021
The US had +45,116 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 29.7 million. The 7-day moving average fell to below 59,000 new cases per day, its lowest level since October 18. pic.twitter.com/JzTayCsv6t
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 9, 2021
Officially, 28,813,424 #COVID19 cases have been reported to @CDCgov . And 92 million people have received at least 1 dose of #vaccine . So vaccination rates are running about 3 times the cumulative caseload — we're on a roll, America!https://t.co/7O9Xi78ZuH pic.twitter.com/tDqin0KvpT
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 8, 2021
President Biden spoke with Army Staff Sergeant Marvin Cornish, who received this facility's first Johnson & Johnson vaccine today.
Biden's administration has been working to head off doubts about that vaccine, out of concern some people could skip it and wait for another. pic.twitter.com/AX7gWYTxHx
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) March 8, 2021
Most unvaccinated Americans are concerned about potentially experiencing serious side effects from a #COVID19 vaccine.
About 1/3 are concerned about potentially having to pay out of pocket, missing work, or getting COVID from the vaccine.
Our latest: https://t.co/Cmr4rntz7r pic.twitter.com/4ngYJhW56p
— KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) (@KFF) March 8, 2021
How close is the US is to a possible Covid19 surge? The country is in the "eye of the hurricane" right now, according to epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, citing rapidly spreading #coronavirus variants, particularly B.1.1.7 https://t.co/BjtUNvZEqT
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 8, 2021
======
From WHO's news conference w/ the question answered by Dr. Mike Ryan, exec. director of WHO's emergencies program
Q: Should WHO have been louder in its warnings of the looming pandemic last year?
Ryan: "Yes, maybe we need to shout louder. But maybe some people need hearing aids" https://t.co/AebpstefnP pic.twitter.com/Bvikq7oI8z— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 8, 2021
How fast is Covid vaccine progress around the world? https://t.co/wgdM6y3NS0
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 9, 2021
Surprising: "Although Wuhan is the earliest #COVID19 affected city & had most of the patients in China, the #SARSCoV2 antibody was only in 2.22% of 17,794 blood donors during Jan–April 2020…Results suggest most of Wuhan remained uninfected during the early wave of COVID-19." https://t.co/2kTA45F1yH
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 8, 2021
China launches COVID-19 vaccination certificates for cross-border travel https://t.co/vytBXEoAVa pic.twitter.com/uXU9UJV2rK
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
Indonesia approves AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use https://t.co/n2FpRMSJF5 pic.twitter.com/Hu6SkT6O4M
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
Thailand launches yacht quarantine for tourists https://t.co/qsavvjwPsr
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 9, 2021
Russia on Tuesday confirmed 9,445 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of reported infections to 4,342,474 https://t.co/1aNDaUY4bU
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) March 9, 2021
German MP Nikolas Löbel resigns over face mask scandal https://t.co/hDp1d3H6ud
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 8, 2021
The Netherlands has extended a tough coronavirus lockdown until the end of the month. But the Dutch prime minister is predicting that a “tipping point is coming when the vaccine gains the upper hand over the virus." https://t.co/Dx0Shlq8RY
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) March 8, 2021
Australia PM says COVID-19 vaccination drive on track to meet targets https://t.co/5aihP3X2Bm pic.twitter.com/mQgajNyzI7
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
======
Even as vaccines roll out, the pandemic’s holy grail — a drug to successfully treat COVID-19 — continues to elude medicine https://t.co/DuIx9avZxj
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 9, 2021
This is *absolutely nothing to worry about* and actually extremely normal for all vaccines and the reasons why are totally fascinating. Women tend to mount stronger immune responses. https://t.co/BJW4mwaOMU
— Erin Biba (@erinbiba) March 9, 2021
Chinese herbs vs. Covid19: USC in Los Angeles is launching a clinical trial exploring the use of Chinese medicine to treat the infection. Therapy is a combo of 13 compounds used extensively in Wuhan where patients were reported to have significant success https://t.co/thU3R6piP0
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 8, 2021
A Cuban-developed Covid vaccine is entering a massive Phase III trial. The recruitment of 44,000 volunteers ages 19 to 80 is underway to test a vax called Soberana-2. It is the 1st Covid vaccine developed in Latin America https://t.co/bT5Tu6QmuD via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 9, 2021
⬇️ new platforms for vaccine production also help to increase the production capacity. It is important to ensure that the production capacity is spread in different geographies to have global coverage in case of crisis. https://t.co/2Zukaq2N6s
— Dr Sylvie Briand (@SCBriand) March 8, 2021
Experts say the flow of misinformation in Spanish has intensified in the U.S. since Election Day. First it promulgated Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen. More recently, it has sought to undermine vaccination efforts. https://t.co/WWmfVlJNT0
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 7, 2021
"We're facing a tidal wave of COVID-related disability cases, and we're not ready." Long-haul COVID patients tend to exhibit the kinds of symptoms that disability case reviewers have historically been skeptical. The pandemic is producing scores of cases https://t.co/YNhEEOgzsV
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 9, 2021
Have you been wondering how the cold chain is maintained as #Covid vaccine doses are shipped across the country. @HoganAlex took a look at the process. https://t.co/3AKOjqsLGE
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) March 8, 2021
======
The Navajo Nation is moving closer to becoming the first area in the United States to administer the first vaccine dose to its entire population. https://t.co/kA9WAl6Osb
— Decoherence (@DecoherenceWave) March 7, 2021
White House adviser @DrNunezSmith gives this update on how Covid cases, deaths and vaccinations vary in relation to race.
There are still big gaps in the data, she said. "I want to emphasize here — it is possible to do better," she says. pic.twitter.com/j5VFl2j3eG
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) March 8, 2021
Ron DeSantis said "the state was not involved" in helping to vaccinate 1,200 residents of a super-rich Florida community in January.
But both the hospital system that supplied the doses and Monroe County have contradicted his claims. https://t.co/M317KsK2zG
— Axios (@axios) March 8, 2021
Now I learn this wasn't an isolated group of goofballs, it was actually organized by the state's Lt. Governor. https://t.co/AT7689xFXq
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 8, 2021
Reason editor Soave never heard about / chose to ignore the Sturgis superspreader…
I hear that some spring break activities take place indoors. https://t.co/867j7IHSVB
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) March 9, 2021
Ever try playing beer pong outside on a windy day?
— Sneaky Pete (@truespartan01) March 9, 2021
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY yesterday:
New cases = 89. Reported deaths still at 1159.
Positivity at 1.6%
156 cases in the hospital, 43 in the ICU
41% hospital beds available, 36% ICU beds available.
MRI accomplished yesterday, but even with Valium I couldn’t wear a mask in the tube. They let me wear it down around my chin when they weren’t in the room with me. Now I have to keep my fingers crossed for the next two weeks, because I was mask-less for about 90 minutes. I had to be mask-less in the dentist’s chair twice in the last year and now yesterday in the MRI. I’m pushing my luck, especially when I’m so close to getting my first jab early next month.
YY_Sima Qian
On 3/8 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Imported Cases
On 3/8 China reported 8 new imported confirmed cases, 9 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 11 confirmed cases recovered, 5 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & none were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 268 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 180 active confirmed cases in the country (173 imported), none in critical/serious condition, 246 asymptomatic cases (245 imported), 0 suspect cases. 4,543 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
On 3/9 Hong Kong reported 21 new cases, 13 imported (4 from Pakistan, 3 from the Philippines, & 1 each from the US, Singapore, Canada & Nigeria, 2 unknown) & 8 domestic (3 of whom do not yet have source of infection identified).
the pollyanna from hell
AL, I think you wanted some of this below the fold. For me it is all above.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,280 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 316,269 cases. He also reports nine new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,186 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.40% of resolved cases.
There are currently 18,704 active and contagious cases; 155 are in ICU, 76 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 2,345 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 296,379 patients recovered — 93.7% of the cumulative reported total.
Nine new clusters were reported today: Jalan Nusa Mega, Jalan Industri A1, and Jalan Setia Jaya in Johor; Jalan U-Thant building site and Jalan Salak building site in Kuala Lumpur; Lorong Kilang in Selangor; Medan Bayan Lepas in Penang; Sungai Lembing in Pahang; and Amanjaya in Kedah.
Sungai Lembing and Jalan Setia Jaya are community clusters. Amanjaya is a high-risk group cluster. The rest are all workplace clusters.
1,278 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 464 cases: 121 in older clusters, nine in Lorong Kilang cluster, 238 close-contact screenings, and 96 other screenings. Johor reports 165 cases: five in older clusters; 75 in Jalan Nusa Mega, Jalan Industri A1, and Jalan Setia Jaya clusters; 22 close-contact screenings; and 63 other screenings. Sarawak reports 162 local cases: 40 in existing clusters, 90 close-contact screenings, and 32 other screenings. Penang reports 143 cases: 50 in older clusters, 28 in Medan Bayan Lepas cluster, 37 close-contact screenings, and 28 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 118 local cases: six in older clusters, 49 in Jalan U-Thant building site and Jalan Salak building site clusters, 33 close-contact screenings, and 30 other screenings.
Sabah reports 64 cases: 14 in existing clusters, 32 close-contact screenings, and 18 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 45 cases: 24 in existing clusters, 15 close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Terengganu reports 36 cases: 28 in existing clusters, five close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Perak reports 34 cases: 12 in existing clusters, nine close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings. Kedah reports 25 cases: three in older clusters, three in Amanjaya cluster, 10 close-contact screenings, and nine other screenings.
Kelantan reports 16 cases: four in existing clusters, four close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Putrajaya reports three cases: two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Pahang reports two cases: one in Sungai Lembing cluster, and one other screening. And Perlis reports one case, found in other screening.
Labuan and Melaka report no new cases today.
Two new cases today are imported: one in Kuala Lumpur, and one in Sarawak.
The deaths reported today are a 66-year-old man in Sabah with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease; an 88-year-old man in Perak with stroke; a 73-year-old man in Terengganu with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease; a 66-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; an 88-year-old woman in Sarawak, DOA with hypertension and dyslipidaemia; a 51-year-old man in Selangor with hypertension; a 66-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; a 66-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and intestinal cancer; and a 38-year-old non-Malaysian man in Kuala Lumpur, DOA with no co-morbidities listed.
raven
Dr Gupta “People will say, well that doesn’t make sense”. Joe says “if you are telling people if you get this vaccine you are going to be fine and you still can’t go see people all you are going to do is discourage people from getting it”.
Zzyzx
That CNN “eye of the hurricane” article is another one that claims we’ve plateaued when we’ve shed 11k cases/day daily in the last week according to the Worldometers 7 day average. Is it really that hard to just look at the data before writing?
Zzyzx
@Zzyzx: To not fall into the same trap I’m accusing CNN of, it’s closer to 10k than 11k: 58,798 7 day average yesterday 69,078 on 3/1.
Sloane Ranger
Yesterday in the UK we had 4712 new cases. This is a decrease of about 470 from the previous day and a 26.2% reduction in the rolling 7-day average, but reported figures may still be affected by weekend reporting delays. New cases by nation,
England – 3903 (down @590)
Northern Ireland – 122 (up 6)
Scotland – 501 (up @110)
Wales – 164 (up @12).
Deaths – There were 65 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 34.4% in the rolling 7-day average. New deaths by nation, England – 62, Northern Ireland – 2, Scotland – 1 and Wales – 0.
Testing – 805,744 tests were conducted on Sunday, 7 March out of a capacity of 767,836. This is an increase of 28.7% in the rolling 7-day average.
Hospitalisations – Not updated since last Thursday.
Vaccinations – As of 7 March, a total of 22,377,255 people had received the 1st dose of a vaccine and 1,142,643 had received both doses.
General – In view of the improving numbers, a block of Tory MP’s are pressing for moving ahead faster with the English re-opening plans. There has been push back from Government scientific advisors who point out that the last time the government re-opened led to a surge in cases. They want to keep to the original plan.
Cermet
@NeenerNeener: While the dental office (in the actual work room) is the more dangerous place, the MRI room is almost perfectly safe – you are generally alone and only the tech comes in the room and they wear a mask. I woudn’t bother with a mask while in a MRI.
Soprano2
@raven: Yes, this. I’m so glad the CDC finally released something positive about being vaccinated other than that you won’t die from COVID. Honestly, most people don’t think they’re going to die today or tomorrow anyway, so I think while that’s a benefit most people don’t perceive it that way. Being able to go see and hug your family safely, now THAT’S a benefit! I’ve got a co-worker who told me his son got upset that he got vaccinated, even though he has diabetes and liver disease. He told his son the same thing I’ve been telling people, that the risk of serious illness or death from the vaccine is pretty much zero, while you can’t say that about COVID. They’re all Trump lovers, so I’m not that surprised.
dr. bloor
@Soprano2: The guidelines look like a pretty good job of using honey instead of vinegar, with some harm reduction thrown in. Amazing what the CDC is capable of when they don’t have to waste their time bowing to Dear Leader.
arrieve
I’m waiting, not so patiently, for my turn in the vaccination lines, but so so glad to see the numbers of the vaccinated climbing daily.
I think the fact that it’s been a year now is a discouraging kind of anniversary — a year ago last week, I met one friend for lunch, and had breakfast with another to plan the trip we had scheduled for mid-March. And that was the last time I ate in a restaurant or met a friend for more than a few minutes, masked and distanced on a New York street corner.
It’s definitely so much better now — last spring was a kind of hell, with empty streets and ambulance sirens 24 hours a day and so many people dying. But it’s far from over. My cousin in London and her husband are both sick now; she’s feeling better, but he’s still very sick after three weeks. And her older brother has been in the ICU for weeks — came off the ventilator but had to have a tracheostomy.
I wish I thought we’d come out of all this wiser. I’m so tired of idiots.
Soprano2
@dr. bloor: Using honey is definitely the way to make more people want to get vaccinated. All this scolding and finger-pointing just makes people feel bad, and telling people “don’t change anything at all even if you’re fully vaccinated” like some have makes many people wonder what the point of getting the vaccine actually is. We want the opposite, we want most people to be eager to get vaccinated when they can. What we don’t want is for people to become so discouraged by the idea that this is NEVER going to end that they just say “what the hell, I’ve been careful for a year and all it’s gotten me is that I’m going to have to live this way forever”, and quit doing the things that they need to continue to do for a short while yet. I think this is the hardest time – we’re close to the end, and we just want it to hurry up and get here! I’m so glad Biden is president, I hate to think of the hellscape we’d be in right now if Trump had won, with him rewarding the red states with vaccines they don’t want and punishing the blue states by withholding vaccines from them. I truly believe that was their only “plan”.
In the same way the press needs a 12-step program to break their addiction to Trump, I think some people are going to need a 12-step program to become comfortable with “normal life” once we can resume it. I think a lot of people are psychically wounded in ways they don’t even fully realize by the events of the past year. I fully expect some people to continue acting as if COVID is rampant even after the transmission rates are extremely low, just because they aren’t zero. They’re never going to be zero again, and I think that’s going to be hard for some people to live with.
StringOnAStick
I’m hoping for a shot for both of us soon, and I have no problem with sticking with the same safety protocols afterwards until enough people are vaccinated to crush infection rates. That’s a harder thing to explain to the public, that we need as many people as possible vaccinated before any/all of us can cut back on safety protocols; that’s the point where behaviour can change. It’s a collective action issue, something humans and especially the rugged individual mythos, has trouble with.
Brachiator
@Soprano2:
I really don’t understand this pointlessly self-defeating attitude, but I am learning. The possibility of a vaccine made me feel better and hopeful. It’s pretty damn simple. Especially since I have health conditions that put me at greater risk of getting sick or dying.
And my siblings all felt like a burden was lifted when our mother got her first jab. Protecting her was a family mission.
Some people wonder what the point is? Get the vaccine if you want to live. That in itself is positive.
Lacuna Synecdoche
David Joachim via Anne Laurie @ Top:
I suspect that’s more a measure of our failure to test sufficiently than our success at vaccinating.
I say that not to criticize the Biden administration’s efforts, but more to criticize ongoing state level inefficiencies (and outright redstate obstruction) that continue to make it difficult to get a vaccine appointment in many areas.
Yutsano
@Cermet:
When I had to have an MRI in hospital I had to wear a mask that had no metal in it. So at least from my experience he will have to wear one. Best to use is a surgical mask. Almost all cloth masks have metal fixtures in them. I just happened to have a mask of spandex.
NeenerNeener
@Yutsano: They cut the metal strip out of a regular mask for me, but I just couldn’t handle the mask and the MRI face piece while lying on my back, even with Valium. I might have been able to deal with it while sitting up, but nobody has an MRI machine you can sit upright in yet. Which is a shame, too, because my back is still sore from yesterday’s session.
Soprano2
I’ve seen it, and felt it myself a little bit from what I consider to be bad messaging about the vaccines and what they make possible. You have to remember, most people aren’t steeped in information about it like we are. Most people don’t think “I could die from COVID at any time”, so saying to them “get vaccinated so you don’t die from COVID” doesn’t really seem like a benefit. IMHO the authorities have been way too eager to push all the continuing restrictions/”OMG the variants are going to kill us all” messages, and way too reticent about what things are easier/safer after you’re vaccinated. To people who are already somewhat doubting about getting vaccinated, this message makes it seem a lot less attractive than it really is. Amanda Marcotte says we didn’t learn anything at all about messaging from the AIDS crisis. She thinks that should be the template for the messaging about vaccination. When you make it seem like nothing changes after you get vaccinated, and that variants that are even worse are coming, lots of low information people think “why bother, I’m going to have to wear this mask and stay away from people forever anyway”. (And yes, I know that much of this is true, it’s more about how you say it to people than anything.)
Of course, the biggest problem is that the messaging about all of this from the federal government has been terrible and confusing from the beginning (until lately, after Biden became president), so that’s what most people have heard.
sab
Moderna #2 tomorrow. We can babysit grand-daughter! Should help her mom and oldest sister work and earn more. This year has been very difficult for them.
NeenerNeener
@sab: Yay for you!
rikyrah
@sab:
Yeah ??