U.S. coronavirus death toll hits 950,000
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) February 27, 2022
An excellent & nuanced statement from @AmerMedicalAssn President @GeraldHarmonMD.@CDCgov is communicating can/ if (CAN consider foregoing masks IF criteria are met). Too many ignore the “IF”.
Dr. Harmon is communicating should/ given (you SHOULD mask, GIVEN reality for most). https://t.co/UUdvS1XlcH
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) February 26, 2022
Also, 2800 people died in the US yesterday. The pandemic is NOT over, no matter who says it is, or how often or loudly they say it. (Unless you consider seven 747 jets crashing a day our “new normal”)
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) February 26, 2022
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Breaking News: Two major scientific studies point to a market in Wuhan, China — not a lab in the same city — as the birthplace of the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/g4B64DsEZh pic.twitter.com/S3sWFjUeoZ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 26, 2022
Scientists released a pair of extensive studies on Saturday that point to a market in Wuhan, China, as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Analyzing data from a variety of sources, they concluded that the coronavirus was very likely present in live mammals sold in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in late 2019 and suggested that the virus twice spilled over into people working or shopping there. They said they found no support for an alternate theory that the coronavirus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan…
The two reports have not yet been published in a scientific journal that would require undergoing peer review.
Together, they represent a significant salvo in the debate over the beginnings of a pandemic that has killed nearly 6 million people globally and sickened more than 400 million. The question of whether the coronavirus outbreak began with a spillover from wildlife sold at the market, a leak from a Wuhan virology lab or some other way has given rise to pitched geopolitical battles and debates over how best to stop the next pandemic…
The authors of the new study include researchers who previously published smaller reports that had pointed toward a similar conclusion, but were based on much less detail. Their earlier analysis suggested that the first known case of the coronavirus was a vendor at the Huanan market.
In a separate line of research, scientists at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention carried out a new analysis of the genetic traces of coronaviruses collected at the market in January 2020. Previous studies have shown that the viruses sampled from early cases of Covid belonged to two main evolutionary branches. The Huanan market samples included both branches, the scientists reported in a study they posted online on Friday…
For the new studies, Dr. Worobey and his colleagues estimated the latitude and longitude of 156 cases of Covid in Wuhan in December 2019. The highest density of cases centered around the market.
The researchers then mapped cases in January and February. They used data collected by Chinese researchers from Weibo, a social media app that created a channel for people with Covid to seek help. The 737 cases drawn from Weibo were concentrated away from the market, in other parts of central Wuhan with high populations of elderly residents.
The patterns pointed to the market as the origin of the outbreak, the studies found, with the coronavirus then spreading to the surrounding neighborhoods before moving out farther across the city. The researchers ran tests that showed it was extremely unlikely that such a pattern could be produced merely by chance…
This confirms my personal suspicions, from growing up in a working-class urban neighborhood: Early spread via older ladies frequenting the wet market to be sure of getting really fresh dinner fixings. Worth clicking over to see a wealth of detail & maps!
But since I know some folks prefer their evidence in the format of an animated GIF, I'm happy to oblige. Sorry, it lacks the cutesy punch of an out-of-context scene from a Will Ferrell movie, but I'll just have to hope actual scientific evidence is equally entertaining. pic.twitter.com/lZB70oni0O
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) February 26, 2022
Hong Kong reports record 26,026 daily COVID cases https://t.co/eLQ0KUIkyC pic.twitter.com/SWbNAnogY9
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2022
For two years, Hong Kong successfully insulated most of its residents from COVID-19 and often went months without a single locally spread case. Then the omicron variant showed up. The mutation breached Hong Kong’s defenses and has been spreading rapidly. https://t.co/Jf5qdEyQUn
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2022
UAE drops face masks outdoors, quarantine for COVID contact cases https://t.co/65vStHVaiO pic.twitter.com/Q10V1wxO3F
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2022
Ukraine, already contending with Covid & polio, faces mounting health threats. The country is coming off its highest spike in Covid cases & has been working to control a polio outbreak since October https://t.co/i611BfUhR1
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 26, 2022
Italy reports 38,375 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 210 deaths https://t.co/6up2CyhmpH pic.twitter.com/8m0sViEJxV
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 26, 2022
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From a thread by an emergency physician in Toronto:
Let's embrace a new concept: 'Smart Masking'
The Omicron wave is receding, but Covid hasn't vanished and is still a potent risk to a huge portion of the population. Until we get better vaccines/treatments, we should make the common spaces we share as safe as possible. pic.twitter.com/ZWVasicH65— Kashif Pirzada, MD (@KashPrime) February 27, 2022
The end of this wave is a good opportunity to recharge our collective batteries. But Covid has not vanished.
Dismantling our defenses now ignores the certainty that new variants will come at us in future. We need to be smart about keeping our common spaces safe in the meantime. pic.twitter.com/OrKXPpHUkl— Kashif Pirzada, MD (@KashPrime) February 27, 2022
Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID-19? Experts say it’s not likely that the highly transmissible variant – or any other variant – will lead to herd immunity.
Here’s why. https://t.co/EJsqwjz6Hf
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2022
New study shows young adults died of Covid because of an ECMO machine shortage. Initials stand for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. ECMO acts as heart&lungs for ailing patients when other options have been exhausted. Shortage led to unnecessary deaths https://t.co/MWEc7HElEz pic.twitter.com/8ypBTqOye8
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 26, 2022
Researchers have found that the virus that causes Covid can lead to testicular damage and atrophy https://t.co/K0WIuEnmqL via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 26, 2022
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States, cities and school districts are weighing whether to drop mask mandates, following the CDC's latest guidance that healthy people can stop wearing face coverings as virus cases continue to fall. https://t.co/HrhfrGKMxP
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2022
Perspective: For the unvaccinated but uncertain, these doctors have a plea and a plan https://t.co/xownySRKLS
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 27, 2022
It’s a job I couldn’t do, but Goddess bless those who are willing to take up the burden:
… As covid-19 caseloads go down and political tensions remain high, efforts to persuade people who have yet to get one of the coronavirus vaccines may seem futile. The national narrative tells us that lines have been drawn and people have picked sides. But if we look at the quiet scenes that have been playing out in area hospitals, a more hopeful picture emerges. It is one that shows the divide between the unvaccinated and vaccinated goes beyond red vs. blue, and that many people remain hesitant but not firmly resistant.
Among the reasons people have given D.C. health-care workers for not getting vaccinated: They worry it could make them miss a day or two of work. They don’t have a primary care doctor they can turn to with questions. They heard from a friend or a relative that someone had a negative reaction to the vaccine.
“My sense is there are a whole swath of people out there who are getting the wrong information,” says Losonczy, who has two children younger than 4 and splits her time between George Washington University Hospital and United Medical Center. She says that just by having short conversations with patients at UMC, which is located in Ward 8, a medical desert, she has been able to get one to three people vaccinated during almost every shift.
Monika Misak, a resident doctor who also works in emergency medicine in D.C., describes having that same experience. She says she has encountered patients who only needed someone to hear their concerns before asking if they could get the shot that day.
Those are the people — the unvaccinated but convincible — Losonczy and Misak hope to help with a new vaccine ambassador program at UMC. The two worked together to come up with the program, and in recent days, they received approval to launch it. Misak, who will spearhead the effort, said the idea for it came to her after watching too many Black and Latino patients die unnecessarily…
Now that the program has received approval, the plan calls for recruiting at least three medical students, training them to talk with people about the vaccine and then scheduling them to work shifts at UMC so they can have those conversations with patients. UMC offers the program a unique chance to reach people other medical professionals aren’t seeing. For many residents who live east of the river, it serves as their primary source of medical care…
Want to attend Warren Buffett's 'Woodstock for Capitalists'? Get vaccinated. https://t.co/0vdCNdSI40 pic.twitter.com/L7zDLpVKBx
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2022
New York City's school vaccination rates show deep disparities between rich and poor https://t.co/eKnYIg9NPR
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 26, 2022
One trucker convoy halts plans to go to Washington DC to protest Covid polices even as others are pressing on. For the record, there were never any "Covid policies" directed at truckers. They've been free to drive their massive vehicles unvaxxed & unmasked https://t.co/0wz2efRZPM pic.twitter.com/IgixpLSRtX
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 27, 2022
A caravan of truckers that left California for Washington, D.C., on Friday to protest coronavirus mandates arrived in Las Vegas early Saturday with only five trucks in its ranks, the organizers said, prompting them to scrap the convoy and direct members to merge with other anti-mandate groups heading to the capital…
According to its Facebook page, the Freedom Convoy’s route started in Los Angeles on Friday and was scheduled to make stops in Salt Lake City, Denver and other major cities before arriving in Washington on March 1 in time for President Biden’s State of the Union address. But it appeared that the group couldn’t hold on to its supporters for long.
“There are two other convoys that have massive turnouts, and are in progress to the D.C. area as we speak,” the organizers wrote on Facebook early Saturday, referring to two groups called the People’s Convoy and the Texas Convoy…
Yet another convoy left on Wednesday from Adelanto, Calif., roughly 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. About 40 truckers rolled out, and a rally that resembled a Make America Great Again event drew about a hundred more vehicles.
Many of those behind the demonstration appeared to be aligned with far-right organizations and activists, and some had connections to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack…
Odds on how long it’ll be before they’re all fighting over who gets the ‘credit’ — the GoFundMe credit?
Baud
And people look down on those of us who microwave processed foods.
eclare
The CDC has fucked up *again* with this advice. Really disappointing and disheartening, some people are just expendable, and society can’t be bothered to wear a face covering in public to protect them.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
60 new cases on 2/26.
Baud
So about 140 people.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 27,299 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 3,395,170 cases. It also reported 43 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 32,634 deaths – 0.96% of the cumulative reported total, 1.05% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 1.08.
153 confirmed cases are in ICU, 91 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 22,710 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 3,063,560 patients recovered – 90.2% of the cumulative reported total.
Seven new clusters were reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 6,774 clusters. 494 clusters are currently active; 6,280 clusters are now inactive.
27,043 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 256 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 118,275 doses of vaccine on 26th February: 54,858 first doses, 577 second doses, and 62,840 booster doses. The cumulative total is 66,986,213 doses administered: 26,927,116 first doses, 25,748,458 second doses, and 14,517,869 booster doses. 82.4% of the population have received their first dose, 78.8% their second dose, and 44.5% their booster dose.
mrmoshpotato
Hm, imagine that.
The Thin Black Duke
@Baud: Considering what’s going on in Ukraine right now, these cosplaying yahoos pretending to be Rambo are fucking embarrassing.
Baud
@The Thin Black Duke:
That’s a little unfair. They were embarrassing long before Ukraine.
Ascap_scab
@Baud: The boats, don’t forget the boats!
The Thin Black Duke
@Baud: True that.
Ohio Mom
Got my free masks. They are like the ones hardware stores sell, molded half-spheres. And they are fuzzy, which is something I haven’t seen before.
Frankly, they look cheap and they can’t be adjusted for different face sizes and shapes. We probably won’t be using them, we have plenty of better fitting ones on hand.
Now I am wondering, did the feds give CVS the money and this is what CVS spent it on? It would fit with the rest of their typical M.O., they are famous in Ohio for ripping off Medicaid.
mali muso
We just received our free Covid tests yesterday. I ordered them online from the website the same day it went live, so that was…a month ago? Still, happy to have them on hand just in case. I’m still masking up in public settings where I don’t know people (my coworkers and friends are all vaxxed and boosted).
SFAW
Buried in the myriad tweets is one that gives me hope (so to speak) re: long-term political sanity: I’m hoping that the whole “testicular damage and atrophy” targets RWMFs primarily.
SFAW
@mali muso:
Ours also took about a month to arrive.
CliosFanBoy
@mali muso: Mine came Wednesday. So it took awhile but they arrived.
Mo MacArbie
This is not meant as criticism, since this person is already more diplomatic than I’ve ever been. But the “’My sense is there are a whole swath of people out there who are getting the wrong information,’ says Losonczy…” bit was met with something between a chortle and a guffaw. Yeah, I kinda had that impression too.
YY_Sima Qian
On 2/26 Mainland China reported 112 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 22 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangdong Province reported 48 new domestic confirmed & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases. As the province does not breakdown recoveries between domestic & imported cases, I cannot track the count of active cases in parts of the province.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases (all mild), all at Fangchenggang, all are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine or from mass screening of all residents in areas under movement restrictions. 17 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 197 active domestic confirmed cases in the province (173 at Baise, 23 at Fangchenggang & 1 at Nanning). 1 zone at Fangchenggang is currently at Medium Risk. All areas of Baise are now at Low Risk.
At Shaoyang in Hunan Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, part of the transmission chain spreading from Shenzhen in Guangdong.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 38 new domestic confirmed cases. 10 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 355 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 3 new domestic confirmed (2 mild & 1 moderate) & 1 new domestic positive cases, 1st case is a staff at a foot massage parlor at the airport, found via voluntary screening, the other 3 are traced close contacts. The environmental samples taken from the residence of the 1st, as well as the elevator, have tested positive. There currently are 4 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city, a custodian at the airport & a cluster associated w/ a foot massage parlor at the airport.
Liaoning Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 196 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Shandong Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the province (both at Qingdao).
Shanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (mild), a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 2/24. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed case remaining in the province (8 at Jinzhong, 2 at Taiyuan & 1 at Xizhou), all part of the transmission chain spreading from Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.
At Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province there currently is 1 active asymptomatic case remaining.
Heilongjiang Province reported 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases (at Heihe), all traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed (4 at Mudanjiang & 5 at Jixi) & 26 active domestic asymptomatic (12 at Heihe, 6 at Mudanjiang, 3 at Qiqihar & 5 at Jixi) cases in the province. 2 residential compounds & a hospital at Jixi are currently at Medium Risk.
At Chengmai County in Hainan Province there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case remaining, part of the transmission chain spreading from Jixi in Heilongjiang.
Shanghai Municipality reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a staff working in the international arrival area of the Pudong International Airport, found via daily screening, has been living in closed loop since 2/14. There currently are 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Hubei Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 21 active domestic confirmed (16 mild & 5 moderate, all at Wuhan) & 7 active domestic asymptomatic (6 at Wuhan & 1 at Huanggang) cases in the province. 4 residential buildings & 1 hotel at Wuhan are currently at Medium Risk.
Beijing Municipality reported 2 new domestic confirmed case (both mild), a person who had traveled to Wuhan in Hubei for business meeting/training between 2/17 – 2/20, & the other is a traced close contact, both have been under centralized quarantine since 2/22.
Jiangsu Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases . 5 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 107 active domestic confirmed & 38 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Sichuan Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic). There currently are 28 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Xiamen in Fujian Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who entered centralized quarantine to care for in under aged child arriving from overseas.
At Henan Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Yunnan Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed & 12 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 38 active domestic confirmed & 66 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province.
Imported Cases
On 2/26, Mainland China reported 127 new imported confirmed cases (12 previously asymptomatic, 6 in Guangdong), 78 imported asymptomatic cases, 7 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 82 confirmed cases recovered (41 imported), 43 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (42 imported) & 13 were reclassified as confirmed cases (12 imported), & 1,251 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 2,588 active confirmed cases in the country (1,404 imported), 19 in serious condition (1 imported), 924 active asymptomatic cases (733 imported), 9 suspect cases (all imported). 69,826 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 2/26, 3,119.664M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 5.042M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 2/27, Hong Kong reported 26,026 new positive cases (7 imported & 26,019 domestic), 83 deaths (6 fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted).
On 2/27, Taiwan reported 60 new positive cases, 44 imported & 16 domestic.
Miss Bianca
Jesus Christ, in addition to everything else, Ukraine is dealing with a *polio* outbreak? I thought polio had been eradicated completely in Europe. That there were just a few pockets of areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan where polio existed in the wild.
Yet another thing the anti-vax movement is fucking up – are we going to see the return of diseases we thought were gone?
eachother
If past is prelude. Conditions of war may provide Covid incubation advantages originally found, according to the study referenced above, in wet markets.
Many of the ‘bullets’ being fired in this hot war may be tracers of the microscopic, viral variety.
VOR
My concern is whether the CDC is responding to the level of anger coming from the Maskholes. The stunts like the Ottawa “trucker” protest, the publicity about this stupid US convoy, and the level of hot air from GOP politicians like DeSantis may be an influence. Someone may be thinking they can tamp down the anger by lowering the mask guidance. Well, that might work if the anger was based on reality but in many cases it is not. US “lockdowns” have been NOTHING like the actual lockdowns in other countries.
J R in WV
There are no “Lockdowns” in America, haven’t been for months now. People won’t even wear masks properly in waiting rooms at their Dr’s office. We’re going to be wearing masks, N95 masks, for a very long time when indoors. The last time we were out in public and took our masks off was May 2001 for dinner on our 50th anniversary. We wore masks then until the drinks and food arrived.
Now if I don’t cook, or radiate prepared dinners with the microwave, we eat carryout when I have to be in town for an errand. No colds in two years now, and no flu — wonderful success if you ask us!
ETA: I don’t know what has become of the CDC, but they are way off course and have been for the whole two years now. Lost most respect for most of the agency from the beginning. Their recommendations are way too wrapped up in multiple conditions too complex for 90% of the nation to follow or care about. Most people only hear the first phrase of any statement by CDC or any other medical spokespeople.
Ryan
@eclare: Every step in this process, we’ve done less than what’s needed to be safe. You’d think they would have figured out that by now.