Balloon Juice - Anne Laurie, Author at Balloon Juice

Anne Laurie has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday / Sunday, Jan. 22-23

by Anne Laurie| January 23, 20226:29 am| 36 Comments

Charting an #Omicron infection. The amount of virus that builds up in someone’s body is known as viral load.
In general, people are thought to be most infectious when their viral loads are high https://t.co/LGJUDsBuJH

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

Since people are asking:

… Research suggests that the original version of the coronavirus and early variants had an incubation period of about five days, on average. The Delta variant seems to move faster, with an average incubation period of about four days. Omicron is swifter still, with an incubation period of roughly three days, according to a recent C.D.C. study.

The amount of virus that builds up in someone’s body is known as viral load. In general, people are thought to be most infectious when their viral loads are high.

In a recent study of the Alpha and Delta variants, researchers found that people tended to reach their peak viral loads about three days after infection and clear the virus about six days after that, on average.

Whether Omicron follows the same pattern remains to be seen. In one preliminary study, researchers found that Omicron infections were about a day shorter than Delta infections and resulted in slightly lower peak viral loads, on average. But the difference might be due to higher rates of pre-existing immunity — as a result of vaccination or prior infection — among the people who were infected with Omicron. Another research team found that among vaccinated people with breakthrough infections, Omicron and Delta produced similar levels of infectious virus…

Earlier in the pandemic, people were advised to use a rapid test five to seven days after a potential exposure to the virus. Given Omicron’s shorter incubation period, many experts now recommend taking a rapid test two to four days after a potential exposure. (They also recommend taking at least two rapid tests, about a day apart, in order to increase the odds of detecting an infection.)

People who are testing to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others, for example at an upcoming gathering, should test as close as possible to the event itself, experts said…

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday / Sunday, Jan. 22-23Post + Comments (36)

All-time peak yesterday, 158,000 US Covid hospitalizations, represent 2 opposite geographic trends:
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions are increasing in the West and South, decreasing in the Northeast and Midwesthttps://t.co/wQo7Wp58q0 by @LaurenLeatherby @albertsun pic.twitter.com/uUSy6x0M0l

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 21, 2022

Three new U.S. studies offer more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to omicron, at least among people who got booster shots. https://t.co/1ZLkshk0o5

— AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) January 21, 2022

Covid hospitalizations are falling in the Northeast but rising in other parts of the US https://t.co/hgNmS2ZE30

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 23, 2022

Clear & present danger that — as has happened previously in this #pandemic — a drop in new cases will lead to complacency & cavalier behavior, even as hospitals remain full and #COVID19 deaths mount. https://t.co/tdMnFH8dWR

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 22, 2022

2 years ago today: Trump says he's not worried about a pandemic after the first U.S. case of coronavirus. "We have it totally under control … It's going to be just fine" pic.twitter.com/TiJQT8bykP

— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) January 22, 2022

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Latest on global distribution of #Omicron from https://t.co/PGzJWRqfXT shows that it dominates, in terms of % of all recent #SARSCoV2 samples genetically sequenced:
Africa 98%
Asia 77%
Europe 88%
North America 91%
South America 85.5% pic.twitter.com/490nSaKVco

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 22, 2022

China's Beijing orders more COVID tests as cases mount before Olympics https://t.co/dIpWCeoAIO pic.twitter.com/fLSYY5CKVW

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 23, 2022

… Nine locally transmitted cases were found in Beijing on Jan. 22, the National Health Commission said on Sunday, of which six were in the city’s Fengtai district.

Fengtai will organise nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 for all of its residents on Sunday, district health authorities said.

Authorities have asked residents of “risky areas,” including a neighbourhood of Fengtai, to not leave the city, a local government spokesman said at a Sunday news conference, adding that Fengtai residents have been asked to avoid mass gatherings.

Beijing city has also asked residents to proactively conduct nucleic acid tests if they find themselves with COVID-19-like symptoms within 14 days of receiving any deliveries from overseas, local authorities said in a statement dated Saturday.

Authorities have suggested Beijing’s first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus could have arrived via a package from Canada…

Mainland China reported 56 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 22, down from 63 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.

Of the new cases, 19 were locally transmitted, versus 23 a day earlier, it said.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 34 from 43.

There were no new fatalities, leaving the death toll at 4,636.

As of Jan. 22, mainland China had confirmed 105,603 cases.

I always enjoy @BeijingPalmer's weekly China Brief, but this week was especially good:

"The idea that COVID-19 could survive a journey through the international mail system and then infect a parcel opener in China is absurd."https://t.co/AyqCUMfzFV

— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) January 20, 2022

To quote an ancient Western sage: It’s not what we *don’t* know — it’s what we *do* know, that ain’t so:

… Meanwhile, city authorities claim that omicron could have arrived in the capital via an international package and are urging caution in opening overseas mail—a worrying response. First, it doubles down on a nonsensical theory that Chinese media and disinformation campaigns have pushed since early in the pandemic to argue that COVID-19 originated in the United States. (Many of these claims have focused on frozen food.)…

Do Chinese officials believe their own claims? I think at least some of them do, but if they must constantly perform this excessive caution and hostility toward outsiders it doesn’t matter what they believe. Crackpot theories about the origins of COVID-19 and its spread have to be maintained inside the system. Moreover, once authorities have invested time and effort in certain measures, it’s hard to give them up: Think of how obsessive sanitizing has lingered in the West despite proof that it does little against COVID-19.

The other concerning aspect of the mail transmission theory is what it might be covering up. As with the case of an omicron outbreak in the port of Dalian, the claims about a contaminated package indicate that authorities don’t know where the infection in Beijing originated. That is unusual: Aided by heavy surveillance, China’s test-and-trace policies have generally been very effective since the initial COVID-19 outbreak was brought under control. At least one omicron case has slipped through the net, and quite likely more…

Coronavirus: ‘Exponential’ outbreak of #Omicron triggers lockdowns in Hong Kong housing areas. HK health authorities ordered a 5-day lockdown for a second block of apartments in a public housing area where ~105 Covid cases were confirmed https://t.co/Kv3I8VIkwS

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 23, 2022

India's COVID-19 cases rise by 333,533 in last 24 hours – govt https://t.co/HOwh3Tg4ca pic.twitter.com/523qRtgOKc

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 23, 2022

S.Korea reports second-highest COVID count ahead of holiday https://t.co/dBkASLL2WG pic.twitter.com/Yq5ZqapHbd

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 23, 2022

Covid: New Zealand PM Ardern cancels wedding amid Omicron wave https://t.co/iy8icu8uh7

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 23, 2022

Kiribati was one of the world’s last covid-free places. Now it’s under lockdown. https://t.co/2xMkWwCZTM

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 23, 2022

Russia reported a record number of new coronavirus infections Sunday for the third day runninghttps://t.co/flHQgmkDFS

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 23, 2022

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The CDC has updated their COVID data for December. They show that during the rapid spread of Omicron, vaccinated people experienced more breakthrough infections but were still much less likely to be infected than the unvaccinated. https://t.co/ctR5bRGJiA pic.twitter.com/Oppzfkr7BT

— Kevin 👐 Glass (@KevinWGlass) January 22, 2022

When will the Covid wave be over? 4 numbers to keep an eye on:

1. Number of new daily cases
2. The Reff (The effective reproduction number, or Reff), determines how many people, on average, each case infects
3. % of positive tests
4. Number hospitalized https://t.co/Wsmb0fK0Xx

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

From an entertaining *and* informative thread:

This article is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read and for the WSJ Opinion Page, that’s some rarefied bullshit air to breathe.

Let’s start with the authors’ facile, incorrect understanding of how variants evolve. https://t.co/QXhgku9yeZ

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) January 12, 2022

Never mind that four major VOCs (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) arose through antigenic drift in largely unvaccinated populations. We don’t know where omicron came from but most hypothesize either persistence in an immunocompromised host or spillback into an unknown animal reservoir.

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) January 12, 2022

But wait! The authors, one of whom is a lawyer/entrepreneur and author of a book called “Woke, Inc.” and the other is an otolaryngologist are here to tell everyone that this is a “familiar notion” in my field! pic.twitter.com/dU7Eg9yOLo

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) January 12, 2022

Just like there’s a vaccine for COVID, which does reduce risk of infection & does reduce transmission, especially when used with other NPIs while prevalence is high. Slowing the spread is unquestionably safer, whether measured in money, potential for new variants, or human lives.

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) January 12, 2022

Study suggests the impact of #SARSCoV2 on the brain is opening paths of knowledge about #Alzheimers & #Parkinsons & various forms of mental illness. Long #COVID19 teaches that many chronic diseasesay have viral origins. https://t.co/x1Oc6xVm3p

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 20, 2022

Covid has been linked to headaches & altered mental status in hospitalized kids. Among children who tested—or were presumed positive for SARSCoV2— 44% developed neurological symptoms & were more likely to be admitted to ICUs than kids w/o the symptoms https://t.co/VrIpoQU2Zk pic.twitter.com/SNPF8B0mnG

— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) January 21, 2022

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Anti-vaccine rally in Washington DC comes despite successes in fighting #COVID19.

The scientific case for vaccines recommended by health officials remains as solid as ever. But #antivaxx propaganda has found its way into many reaches of American life.https://t.co/o0BtDoz65m

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 23, 2022

Food banks are experiencing a critical shortage of volunteers as the omicron variant frightens people away. Volunteers are shying away from their usual shifts, and companies and schools that supply groups of volunteers are canceling their participation. https://t.co/iH3Nfywh9k

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

Great example here of the acela corridor phenomenon re: covid takes I mentioned the other day

Maybe it's true in that corner of the country that it's only partisan Dems that are politicizing things (I doubt it, but I don't live there) https://t.co/7guPBJ1cmM

— Mike Black (@MikeBlack114) January 8, 2022

Observer in Louisiana:

But you are ignoring reality in most of the rest of the country by making that asinine statement

Scores of lunatic GOP AGs (including mine) filing suit against every possible restriction or mandate they can think of, DeSantis questioning vaccination, etc

The piece frames unvaxxed folks as some poor unreachable minority

It’s half of the fucking state population down here. That’s not something you can just hand wave away

The piece frames unvaxxed folks as some poor unreachable minority

It’s half of the fucking state population down here. That’s not something you can just hand wave away

Love to see a bunch of political pundits and the expertise guy opine on why political considerations should be the key thing to consider in the midst of a pandemic still killing 2,000 people a day while public health folks are talking about rationing care again

One less source for nervous Outbreak jokes, at least:

All the escaped monkeys have been accounted for following the crash of a pickup towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals, which collided with a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway, authorities said. https://t.co/lPa8jUogg2

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 23, 2022

Late Saturday Night Open Thread: Kink-Shaming the Professional Death Cultists

by Anne Laurie| January 22, 202211:01 pm| 119 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Popular Culture, Republican Stupidity

Like Tucker ever had a chance with any of the M&M’s. Dude would have to pay for it from Necco Wafers.

— Shine Bright (@BeachPineapple1) January 22, 2022

Swear to Murphy the Trickster God, if I didn’t know he was a paid chaos agent (for Murdoch, the GOP, Putin — are those still separate entities?), I’d think that Tucker Carlson was sliding into my personal ‘Don’t post about genuinely crazy people’ zone. But he’s clearly tapped a rich vein of GOP self-parody!

I’d have thought I could say that I like candy as much as the next fella but apparently not if the next fella is Tucker.

— Jonathan Selbin (@JonathanSelbin) January 22, 2022

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Saturday Night Open Thread: Another Excellent Relocation

by Anne Laurie| January 22, 20228:01 pm| 149 Comments

This post is in: Humorous, Open Threads, Popular Culture

A statue of Theodore Roosevelt was removed overnight from its spot outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The statue depicts Roosevelt riding a horse, as two nameless African and Native American men flank him on foot. https://t.co/KqLwUHcY6n

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 20, 2022

The usual suspects, of course, are outraged. Especially the ones who only knew about the American Museum of Natural History — and, possibly, Teddy Roosevelt — because of those terrible ‘Night at the Museum’ movies. But the AMNH was one of the lodestones of my childhood, and I can assure you: That statue was considered an embarrassment even fifty years ago. It will *not* be missed in NYC. And it’s found a much more culturally appropriate home elsewhere:

… The towering bronze statue depicts Roosevelt riding a horse, as two nameless African and Native American men flank him on foot.

It has provoked strong debate in the city, as many criticized the apparent subservience of the pair to the White man in the center — calling the scene a symbol of racism and colonialism.

“The statue was meant to celebrate Theodore Roosevelt … as a devoted naturalist and author of works on natural history,” the museum website has said about the removal. “At the same time, the statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing.”…

The Roosevelt statue will be on long-term loan to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026, in North Dakota, where Roosevelt spent time in the Badlands. The presidential library was termed “a fitting new home” by New York City officials when the decision was made last year, noting it could be “appropriately contextualized” there.

Library trustees agreed the statue was “problematic in its composition” and said in a statement they would be establishing an advisory council comprising representatives from Indigenous and Black communities, historians, scholars, and artists to determine next steps…

For the moment, white supremacist ‘history enthusiasts’ can combine a trip to check up on ol’ Teedy with their pilgrimage to Kristi Noem’s Mount Rushmore. And once the country has recovered from the current political extinction burst, the TR Library can quietly relocate the statue, possibly as a marker to the restrooms.

Saturday Night Open Thread: Another Excellent RelocationPost + Comments (149)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: We Will Go Forward

by Anne Laurie| January 22, 20228:23 am| 215 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, Excellent Links, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Right to Vote, Our Failed Media Experiment

Psaki on voting rights bills failing: "My advice to everyone out there who's frustrated, sad, angry, pissed off, feel those emotions, go to a kickboxing class, have a margarita, do whatever you need to do this weekend, and then wake up on Monday morning, we gotta keep fighting." pic.twitter.com/WkW4dJz0PB

— The Recount (@therecount) January 21, 2022

As I said earlier: Like a good teacher, President Biden’s not mad at GOP, he’s just disappointed…

“I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy. I am disappointed — but I am not deterred,” Biden says, adding “We will continue to work with allies to advance necessary legislation to protect the right to vote.” pic.twitter.com/huT21CXMwd

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) January 20, 2022

If you haven’t yet read Heather Cox Richardson’s post, it’s well worth the click:

Every news story criticizing Biden should start with this paragraph from @HC_Richardson. https://t.co/G2XJCEpQpD pic.twitter.com/xPob7aQLiv

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 21, 2022

… After news of Willis’s request broke, Trump issued a statement calling the investigation a witch hunt and continuing to insist—despite all the recounts—that the vote in Georgia in 2020 was characterized by “massive voter fraud.” He said: “my phone call to the Secretary of State of Georgia was perfect, perhaps even more so than my call with the Ukrainian President, if that’s possible.”

Our failed media ‘betters’…

Sure, Donald Trump tried to steal the January 6 election, and he cheered on a violent attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. But Joe Biden wants to restore a landmark voting rights law that was gutted by Republicans on the Supreme Court.

So they're the same.

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) January 21, 2022

Saturday Morning Open Thread: We Will Go ForwardPost + Comments (215)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 21-22

by Anne Laurie| January 22, 20226:35 am| 60 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

Haven’t seen much debate of the fact that 85% of US 12 and up have at least one shot. Not nearly enough fully vaccinated and boosted, but hardcore antivaxxers occupy far more of our collective headspace than their percentage of the population (likely a lot lower than 15%) merits. pic.twitter.com/ni7LmXHSMk

— Henry Farrell (@henryfarrell) January 21, 2022

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 21-22Post + Comments (60)

The United States is now reporting 1,853 new coronavirus deaths per day, the highest seven-day average since October 2, according to data from @CNN and Johns Hopkins University.

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 21, 2022

In the U.S. more people died of Covid in the past week than died of Ebola during the whole 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.

Maybe it’s me, but the slew of ‘the pandemic is essentially over’ articles seem a bit premature.

— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) January 22, 2022

As #Omicron crests, booster shots are keeping people across the U.S. out of hospitals. Extra vaccine doses were expected to lower infection rates. But the shots also seem to be preventing severe illness caused by the new variant, according to the CDC https://t.co/GcaftZweGK

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

Omicron won’t be the last variant nor will SARS-CoV-2 be the last novel pandemic pathogen. Seems the debate shouldn’t be whether xyz is endemic/not but rather about what investments we must mobilize now to build strong public health systems for both immediate & long-term benefit.

— Eric Reinhart (@_Eric_Reinhart) January 21, 2022

Wow – Distributing covid tests is a big deal for the Postal Service!

But they should still fire DeJoy.https://t.co/2ywtTfgexi

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 21, 2022

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From a longer thread:

“Omicron continues to sweep the the world”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser on #covid19.
“The number of deaths remains stable for the moment, but we're concerned about the impact Omicron is having on already exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems."

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

"Omicron may be less severe, on average, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response and costs more lives”, says @DrTedros.

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

The first commercial airline flights in one month have taken off from Xi’an in western China as the government eased travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. https://t.co/UdXzxeqkJV

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

The sweeping “zero-tolerance” strategy that China has used to keep COVID-19 case numbers low and its economy functioning may, paradoxically, make it harder for the country to exit the pandemic. https://t.co/2kP2osBcVs

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

Not that the rest of us are bitter…

… The communist government’s practice throughout the pandemic of trying to find and isolate every infected person has largely protected hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and staved off the deaths that have engulfed most of the world.

But the uncompromising approach also means most people in China have never been exposed to the virus. At the same time, the effectiveness of China’s most widely used vaccines has been called into question. New studies suggest they offer significantly less protection against infection from omicron, even after three doses, than people get after booster shots of the leading Western vaccines.

Together, those factors could complicate China’s effort to get past the pandemic. Experts say if the country of 1.4 billion people were to relax restrictions, it could face a surge similar to what Singapore or Australia experienced, despite a highly vaccinated population…

The world’s most populous nation was the only major economy to grow in 2020, and it accounted for a fraction of global deaths and infections.

As part of the country’s tough-minded strategy for keeping the virus at bay, residents in Chinese cities must display their infection status on a government-monitored app to enter supermarkets, offices or even the capital.

But weeks ahead of the Olympics, omicron is testing this approach with outbreaks in the southern province of Guangdong, as well as Beijing….

China relies heavily on its own Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, along with several others made domestically. It has not approved the Pfizer shot, even though a Chinese company bought distribution rights in 2020.

Instead, the focus is on developing China’s own mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer and Moderna formulas. One such vaccine is in late trials.

Another option for China may be to track how the virus is evolving and put off opening its borders until it becomes even milder. But it’s anyone guess when or if that might happen…

Hong Kong health authorities warn of worsening COVID outbreak https://t.co/o03cqJrhRs pic.twitter.com/n0fX4Urwch

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

Taiwan on COVID alert as domestic Omicron cases spike https://t.co/Ra9541MVDB pic.twitter.com/iJQH0cPD2L

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

India's daily COVID cases rise by 337,704 in last 24 hours – govt https://t.co/kuib8FWW6j pic.twitter.com/uAQsFZENy4

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

Tokyo daily COVID-19 cases hit record for 4th straight day https://t.co/7kAzaEIlCb pic.twitter.com/ZdniEIloSV

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

As Japan infections surge, so does risk of pandemic fatigue https://t.co/3bPDbPkmmo pic.twitter.com/xmzoM7oMQS

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Japan on Friday acted to contain a record surge in COVID-19 cases with a return to curbs that have however shown diminishing results, while a laggard vaccine booster programme leaves many people vulnerable to breakthrough infections.

The government empowered authorities in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures to implement curbs on mobility and business activity – measures that, with three prefectures already under such devolved restrictions, now cover half of Japan’s population.

The highly infectious Omicron variant has driven the current wave of cases, and nationwide infections hit an all-time high of around 46,000 on Thursday…

But studies of cell phone traffic, train usage and other mobility data suggest levels of compliance by the public have steadily decreased…

Japan has fully vaccinated almost 80% of its population, but an increasing number of them are vulnerable to breakthrough infections as they got their shots more than six months ago. A booster programme that would help immunise them against the fast-moving variant has reached less than 2%…

One doctor told Reuters there appeared to be delays in imports of vaccines for boosters, as Japan depends on overseas drugmakers for almost all of its supplies.

Another pointed to a decision to shut down mass vaccination centres after the main inoculation push last year, and the health ministry’s initial insistence on an eight-month gap between first-phase inoculations and booster shots.

Makoto Shimoaraiso, a Cabinet official guiding Japan’s pandemic response, said that delays in regulatory approvals and reopening of inoculation sites had hampered the vaccine rollout…

The country has recorded just over 2 million coronavirus cases and 18,461 deaths during the pandemic.

Tokyo’s occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, rose to 31.5% on Friday. An increase to 50% would warrant escalation to a full state of emergency, officials have said…

#Omicron extends its reach to some of the planet's most remote islands. Isolated islands in the Pacific through geographic isolation and stringent policies remained mostly untouched by the pathogen —but no longer https://t.co/K47wEASyg3

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 21, 2022

Poland reports new daily record of 40,876 COVID cases https://t.co/tMZ4SVZV82 pic.twitter.com/3w7vhfQByv

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

… Authorities have said the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels not yet seen in Poland, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily infections.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Twitter that the number of tests being conducted had grown steadily over the past week, with some 151,000 test results, including 100,000 PCRs, reported on Saturday.

Poland, a country of around 38 million, has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 death rates per capita and its vaccination rate is below the European Union average. It has so far reported 4,484,095 COVID-19 cases and 103,819 deaths…

Latin America and Asia are the latest nations to face an omicron surge. In Costa Rica, election officials are encouraging those with the coronavirus to skip voting. Beijing is locking down some communities as the country awaits the start of the Olympics. https://t.co/McWIhjOsZ6

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2022

The world-famous Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro will be held in late April rather than the final weekend of February, as coronavirus cases spike in Brazil. https://t.co/oF2cZf8ryl

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

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The FDA has expanded the use of remdesivir to patients who are not hospitalized. The infused antiviral, which has been widely used for hospitalized Covid patients, is now approved for high-risk patients who aren't sick enough to be hospitalized https://t.co/LwLaQVMBaO

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

Bad ‘infection prevention’ techniques:

I'm telling you. Vitamin C and D "MEGADOSING" is causing so many stones right now. I'm tired. Everyone stop it!

— Ashley Winter MD || Urologist (@AshleyGWinter) January 21, 2022

COVID-19 vaccines may, in rare cases, have long-lasting side effects that resemble Long Covid. Researchers are "tiptoeing' around it; patients feel ignored by the medical community. Important story by @jcouzin and @GretchenVogel1 https://t.co/vcd66fMWxn

— Martin Enserink (@martinenserink) January 21, 2022

… The research was small in scale and drew no conclusions about whether or how vaccines may have caused rare, lasting health problems. The patients had “temporal associations” between vaccination and their faltering health, says Avindra Nath, clinical director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who has been leading the NIH efforts. But “an etiological association? I don’t know.” In other words, he does not know whether vaccination directly caused the subsequent health problems.

NIH’s communications with patients faded by late 2021, though Nath says the work continues behind the scenes. The pullback caused bewilderment and dismay among patients who spoke with Science, who said the NIH researchers were the only ones helping them. Now, a small number of other researchers worldwide is beginning to study whether the biology of Long Covid, itself still poorly understood, overlaps with the mysterious mechanisms driving certain postvaccine side effects…

How frequently side effects like Dressen’s occur is unclear. Online communities can include many thousands of participants, but no one is publicly tracking these cases, which are variable and difficult to diagnose or even categorize. The symptoms also include fatigue, severe headaches, nerve pain, blood pressure swings, and short-term memory problems. Nath is convinced they are “extremely rare.”

Long Covid, in contrast, affects anywhere from about 5% to 30% of those infected by SARS-CoV-2. Researchers are making tentative progress with several ideas about the underlying biology. Some studies suggest the virus may in certain cases linger in tissues and cause ongoing damage. Other evidence indicates aftereffects of the original infection might play a role even after the body clears the virus.

For example, evidence from animal studies supports the idea that antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein—the same protein that many vaccines use to trigger a protective immune response—might cause collateral damage, notes Harald Prüss, a neurologist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Charité University Hospital in Berlin. In 2020, while hunting for antibody therapies for COVID-19, he and his colleagues discovered that of 18 antibodies they identified with potent effects against SARS-CoV-2, four also targeted healthy tissues in mice—a sign they could trigger autoimmune problems…

Breakthrough infections can spur strong antibody responses, according to new research reported in the journal Cell https://t.co/L0NLI03gnm via @medical_xpress

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

From @CDCgov death rates for #COVID19 variants vs vaccination:
“Incidence & Death Rates Among Unvaccinated & Fully Vaccinated Adults w/and W/out Booster Doses During Periods of #Delta & #Omicron Variant Emergence — April 4–December 25, 2021”https://t.co/U5Jy3Dfv41 pic.twitter.com/DsTfuwCRMo

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 21, 2022

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Maybe in this 3rd year of the pandemic we'll finally learn what "endemic" means. https://t.co/9o6ywF38Ng

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

Endemicity is not just about constancy and pervasiveness: it is also about predictability, manageability, relative stability.

We're logging like a million daily infections and the capacity of our medical system is being strained. That's not what this is.

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

"Everyone is sick at the same time" isn't an endemic, it's a fucking emergency

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

🚨I've had a frankly worrying number of messages from people who think the answer to the hospital crisis is simple: deny care to unvaccinated people.

I talked to ethicists and health-care workers about why this is a terrible, unconscionable idea. 1/https://t.co/Qo9dqvuPwV

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) January 20, 2022

The principle is really simple: "Everyone has an equal claim to relief from suffering, no matter what they’ve done or haven’t done." The medical system shouldn't be a means of punishing people for social choices. 3/ https://t.co/Qo9dqvuPwV pic.twitter.com/bRzjVgSOpa

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) January 20, 2022

Also, a person’s choices are always constrained by their circumstances. Access still matters. Unvaxxed people are disproportionately poor, rural, and uninsured. To a degree, medical care is *already* denied to them. 4/

And while unvaccinated people make up the bulk of hospitalized COVID patients, they are also far from the only reason that hospitals are now struggling. 5/

Many health-care workers have been harassed & threatened on the false grounds that they’re already withholding care (by not prescribing ineffective drugs). No one I talked to would countenance that. They’re still doing their jobs, in awful conditions. 6/

One of the most persistent misconceptions about the pandemic is that it’s a crisis of personal irresponsibility rather than political inaction. The instinct to punish individuals instead of holding leaders accountable is another manifestation of that 7/

And finally, I will note that there is a surprisingly large number of people who will casually state that unvaccinated folks should be left to die, and yet are incensed about being blocked on Twitter.

Obligatory response for this hashtag. #UNMASKOURCHILDREN pic.twitter.com/aI1dOBLTLe

— Scale of Judgment (@ScaleoJudgement) January 20, 2022

Friday Night Open Thread: Twitter Never Gives the Suckers An Even Break

by Anne Laurie| January 21, 20228:04 pm| 131 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Tech News and Issues, Schadenfreude

Twitter announced the launch of a tool through which users can showcase non-fungible tokens as their profile pictures, tapping into a digital collectibles craze that has exploded over the past year https://t.co/gmxKya4PxG pic.twitter.com/l4NRJtCvoo

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Wait I have to pay 2.99 in FIAT DOLLARS a month for twitter blue to use my nfts as my avatar? Please get out of my face I do not deal in fake government issued money

— kang (@jaycaspiankang) January 20, 2022

Whenever I see a photo of Jack Dorsey, I imagine Gimli the Dwarf announcing ‘He’s the cousin we don’t talk about.’ But he *does* understand his user base!

The Verge seems dubious about this latest Advanced Tech Move:

… On one hand, NFT profile pictures could be viewed as an incredible technology integration adding real utility for verified digital items. Alternately, it’s an unmissable signal pointing out the people that you should block or mute before they try to sell you some of their blockchain receipts.

No matter what your opinion of easily reproduced digital trinkets is, Twitter is integrating them in a way that separates ridiculous images of cartoon apes that have been right-clicked for use as standard profile pictures from ridiculous images of cartoon apes that are connected to blockchain tokens by adding a special “soft hexagon” shape around them…

Despite Twitter’s list of wallets, there are people who think it isn’t doing enough to verify the provenance of NFTs. As Adam Hollander points out, Twitter’s setup and hexagon logo only checks to see if there is an NFT connected to the user’s wallet — it doesn’t check or tell viewers if that NFT is verified as belonging to a high-profile collection (like the Bored Ape Yach Club, for example). You could go through the same right-click save exercise mentioned above, mint the image as a new NFT, and on your profile page, it will look identical to that of a person who has ownership of the verified image.

The only way someone can tell if your NFTs are actually from the collection that they appear to be is to click on your profile picture and check the details. Otherwise, a fake BAYC toke (like this one) looks at first glance just like the officially minted one (here). Twitter’s head of consumer product marketing Justin Taylor says this is on purpose, and that “We don’t want to limit this to just verified collections, that would be wrong, and non supportive of the broader nft movement. Anyone SHOULD be able to mint anything and make it their nft.”…

SURE ENOUGH…

lol, lmao pic.twitter.com/VSSRLuxnrv

— matthew. (@iAmTheWarax) January 21, 2022

Why do they laugh at my mighty sword?!?…

Friday Night Open Thread: Twitter Never Gives the Suckers An Even BreakPost + Comments (131)

Open Thread: #MoscowMitch Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

by Anne Laurie| January 21, 202211:28 am| 77 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Right to Vote, Voter Suppression

McConnell to colleague Bret Baier: If I were the president, I don't think I'd have a two hour press conference again.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 21, 2022

Yeah, because #MinorityLeader ‘Speed Bump’ McConnell can’t even manage a ten-minute presser without stepping on his own… tongue:

In case you missed it, Mitch McConnell said the quiet part out loud last night: “African-American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”

Make sure everyone sees this.pic.twitter.com/ReOvHGJcnI

— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) January 20, 2022

Philip Bump, at the Washington Post — “Awkward phrasing isn’t the only problem with his argument”:

Shortly after the Senate voted down a proposed change to filibuster rules — thereby dooming a Democratic push to implement federal voting standards — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Republicans held a brief news conference…

A reporter raised the most extreme version of concerns about that change to McConnell, referring to the legislation that would no longer move forward.

“What’s your message for voters of color who are concerned that without the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Act they’re not going to be able to vote in the midterm?” he asked.

McConnell replied, “Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”…

“A recent survey, 94 percent of Americans thought it was easier to vote,” he continued. “This is not a problem. Turnout is up, biggest turnout since 1900. It’s simply — they’re being sold a bill of goods.”

The point about turnout being up significantly in 2020 is true. This was the same point President Biden made during his news conference on Wednesday, that turnout had been so high even without new federal rules, which he presented as a reason for some optimism. But this ignores a crucial point: Turnout was that high because voting access was expanded in response to the coronavirus pandemic. With more states implementing the sorts of changes that the Democratic proposal would standardize — and, of course, with a hyperpolarizing incumbent on the ballot — turnout was up.

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Open Thread: #MoscowMitch Says the Quiet Part Out LoudPost + Comments (77)

The concern expressed by Democrats is that there has been a backlash to the 2020 turnout that manifests in those new voting laws. Nineteen states passed new laws scaling back voting access. Sometimes those were efforts to unwind new policies that had been implemented for the pandemic. Often, they were broader. The entire point is that the 2020 benchmark provoked a backlash. For McConnell to point to it as proof that the system is doing fine is like a kid trying to assure you he hadn’t broken a vase by pointing to its having been intact when he picked it up.

There’s a useful analogue here. When the Supreme Court decided to remove the preclearance provision from the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. pointed to the lack of a racial disparity in turnout as a reason to do so. He described the law as having been “immensely successful at redressing racial discrimination and integrating the voting process” — and then used that success as a reason to upend the law. In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg memorably compared this to “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

This is McConnell’s argument now. He’s telling non-White voters that because they didn’t get wet in 2020, there’s no need to bar [other] people from drilling holes in their roofs…

I *am* American. #mitchplease pic.twitter.com/DU1VZnKoCJ

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) January 20, 2022

We were Americans before America was America. #MitchPlease pic.twitter.com/515oxVZQgz

— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) January 20, 2022

I want to personally thank Mitch McConnell

He just mobilized the biggest African American voter turnout for Midterms

— A Black Woman..The End (@battletested5) January 20, 2022

Excellent reminder:

McConnell is not a master of Senate procedure. Constant obstruction requires no skill, nor does hobbling the courts. He's either failed to pass legislation or moved through visionless bills. All while bolstered by the support of an increasingly homogeneous authoritarian caucus.

— Magdi Semrau (@magi_jay) January 20, 2022

Meanwhile, there is no evidence that McConnell had some cunning insight into Manchin & Sinema. He literally just did nothing & watched it all unfold. There's no tangled web here. Just a deeply immoral person who sat back & was rewarded by two people's pompous fecklessness. pic.twitter.com/qdfhJphvpI

— Magdi Semrau (@magi_jay) January 20, 2022

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Just a few bad apples.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

‘Forty-two’ said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

The revolution will be supervised.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

This blog will pay for itself.

I really should read my own blog.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

This really is a full service blog.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

I did not have this on my fuck 2021 bingo card.

Cillizza, who will never be asked to bring the noodle salad to the mensa picnic…

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday / Sunday, Jan. 22-23

Late Saturday Night Open Thread: Kink-Shaming the Professional Death Cultists

Saturday Night Open Thread: Another Excellent Relocation

Saturday Morning Open Thread: We Will Go Forward

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 21-22

Friday Night Open Thread: Twitter Never Gives the Suckers An Even Break

Open Thread: #MoscowMitch Says the Quiet Part Out Loud