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COVID-19 Coronavirus

You are here: Home / Archives for Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus
“COVID-19 is a novel disease for which treatment protocols are evolving and remain imperfect. With the internet’s eternal tropism towards bullshit, there will be plenty of false or misleading claims about ways of preventing, enduring or “curing” COVID-19 infections. Please don’t amplify them here. If you do have knowledge or experience you feel is of interest to the jackaltariat, please make sure you make it clear where that information comes from: sources, expertise, and so on.  It’s easy to get stuff wrong in a crisis and mistakes can create real harm. So be careful out there…and in here.”

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday/Wednesday, Jan. 19-20

by Anne Laurie|  January 20, 20215:40 am| 16 Comments

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

1 year ago today a 35-year-old man presented to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington, with a 4-day history of cough and fever. The next day the CDC confirmed him as the first US case of COVID-19. https://t.co/8Eh1L0Siak

— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) January 19, 2021

show full post on front page

The official US death toll from #Covid19 has topped 400,000 people. That is more than the entire population of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Alarming to me is the fact that about 14% of those people have died in Jan. 2021. About 55,000 people have died this month & we're not yet 3 weeks in. pic.twitter.com/Np33gLwqy8

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 19, 2021

Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin, asked by Sen. Joe Manchin what he thinks the greatest threat to the U.S. is, says the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's killed over 400,000 of our American citizens. That's just an incredible loss of life."

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) January 19, 2021

TFW a coup is also a superspreader event https://t.co/V8mrJjzm9O

— Cody Fenwick (@codytfenwick) January 19, 2021

Dr. Tony Fauci urges Americans to get vaccinated as he receives his second dose https://t.co/NTR11dbZJB

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 20, 2021

An excellent idea from @heffnera on the post-Trump ethics cleanup: "denying federal assistance, be it PPP or vaccines, on the basis of American communities' political representation should be criminalized." https://t.co/mFgbZmoOif

— Katherine Eban (@KatherineEban) January 19, 2021

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China says it will investigate all individuals who entered Beijing from abroad, post Dec.10. They also plan to shut down a subway station after the biggest daily jump in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks was reported https://t.co/ZG8jF3ku35 pic.twitter.com/62q2MDfg8z

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

Explainer: COVID-19 vaccine shots add to confusion over China's tests for travelers https://t.co/jfOUhpT0FQ pic.twitter.com/Gf3Vc2Uzg1

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

Japan's vaccine programme chief denies reports of May roll-out https://t.co/p7eEDTsCYV pic.twitter.com/BgHkJCeSEX

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

Taiwan cancels more events as local COVID-19 cases rise https://t.co/PEvgsEw2R1 pic.twitter.com/SbO90Xw3t2

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

Russia confirmed 21,152 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload to 3,633,952 https://t.co/zLcgsgKvUU

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 20, 2021

30% of COVID patients who have been in hospital are readmitted – seven times higher than non-COVID patients – and 12% die. A striking illustration of the harm the virus does, and not simply in the old. https://t.co/pnVZUFQLlh

— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) January 19, 2021

UK still in COVID-19 peril so too early to talk about lifting lockdown, minister says https://t.co/g09AkLkHWg pic.twitter.com/ICqpb2gKFO

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

France's life expectancy dropped slightly in 2020 because of the #COVID19 pandemic.

Life expectancy at birth dropped by 6 months for men & 5 months for women in 2020 compared to the previous year, France's national statistics agency @InseeFr_News reportshttps://t.co/ugt6sHT1dr pic.twitter.com/cPDnKJcivK

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 20, 2021

Germany is extending the country’s pandemic restrictions until mid-February amid concerns that new mutations of the coronavirus could trigger a fresh surge in cases. https://t.co/vfVWArQ1qm

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 19, 2021

Exclusive: COVID-19 shots to cost $3 to $10 under African Union vaccine plan https://t.co/KTntzMrB6E pic.twitter.com/fXGDvAtZCI

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

Coronavirus: Why South Africa has yet to roll out vaccines https://t.co/LsCfmBat06

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 20, 2021

Argentina begins administering second doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. The country received a shipment of 300k vials a few days ago for an immunization campaign that began Dec 29. Vax is made by Russia's Gamaleya Laboratory https://t.co/fhl1VslaKb pic.twitter.com/FifuP7teVd

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2021

Brazilian military flew medical personnel and 1,000 doses of a Chinese vaccine deep into the Amazon rainforest to start inoculating indigenous people against the coronavirus https://t.co/3NmScLB8Sf pic.twitter.com/7pnbwuWpmK

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2021

======

A new COVID challenge: Mutations rising along w/ the explosion of cases. The virus is becoming more genetically diverse & the high rate of new cases is the main reason. Each new infection gives the virus a chance to mutate as it makes copies of itself https://t.co/bqpCQEIYDJ

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2021

Do you have questions about #Covid19 variants? (Who doesn't?) Unfortunately, right now there are more questions than answers. But @DrewQJoseph has pulled together a lot of important information in this accessible piece. https://t.co/mlBNr2r0hQ

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 19, 2021

Survivors of #COVID19 can be re-infected w South African mutant form of the virus, meaning natural immunity is insufficient to protect. https://t.co/5TQFqLH6uP

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 20, 2021

Discovery: SARSCoV2 triggers antibodies from previous #coronavirus infections, such as any of the 4 that cause the common cold, or SARS & MERS. Finding from Northern Arizona Univ & the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope https://t.co/gXVkt6WPDn pic.twitter.com/pR1HJwck9g

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2021

======

A new California variant may be driving the virus surge in the state. In late December California scientists began searching for a fast-spreading new variant that had just been identified in the UK. What they found: Calif had a mutant of its own—CAL.20C https://t.co/khDgO7XAly

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 20, 2021

NY Gov. Cuomo wants to bypass the federal government and buy vaccines directly from Pfizer, which is headquartered in NY https://t.co/VveTRbz7eD

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2021

After 2.5 hours standing in line in subfreezing temp for my "appointment " I finally got the @moderna_tx #COVID19 Vaccine. Hooray! But looking around, 90% of vax recipients are under 35 yr old white folks, in downtown #Brooklyn
This is messed up. pic.twitter.com/15gh1C9dKx

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 19, 2021

Kamala Harris: ‘For many months we have grieved by ourselves, tonight we grieve and begin healing together’ pic.twitter.com/yFptaxvCSr

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 19, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday/Wednesday, Jan. 19-20Post + Comments (16)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Jan. 18-19

by Anne Laurie|  January 19, 20215:44 am| 47 Comments

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

Coronavirus deaths are rising in nearly two-thirds of American states as a winter surge pushes the overall toll near 400,000. Health officials warn a new, highly contagious variant is spreading and will likely be the dominant version in the U.S. by March. https://t.co/JOjw6a7yVE

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2021

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It's crazy how much more negative the news coverage of the buggy Healthcare dotgov rollout was than the news coverage of the completely fucked up vaccine distribution has been.

Reminder: Nobody died as a result of the website taking an extra couple of weeks to fix.

— Daily Trix (@DailyTrix) January 18, 2021

The US had +142,022 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 24.6 million. The number was likely reduced by the holiday. The 7-day moving average continued falling to below 211,000 per day. pic.twitter.com/s6XMqFonF8

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 19, 2021

I don't think it's an exaggeration–as we head toward 500,000 dead americans–that the covid response has been one of the greatest failures of any administration https://t.co/XMp1VaO6zT

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 19, 2021

More wanton vandalism, on his way out the door…

Trump has issued an Executive Order easing international travel restrictions, but Biden plans to reinstate them. https://t.co/laSoUZoRbr

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 19, 2021

======

Officials worldwide failed in the early pandemic response, according to a WHO panel. The report questions faulty assumptions, poor planning & sluggish responses that fueled a pandemic that has killed 2 million people & infected more than 95 million https://t.co/khNJNgtT8q

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

The world is on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure" in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.​ https://t.co/YGxMpme2ty

— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) January 18, 2021

Map worth 1000 words pic.twitter.com/JGUIC4793F

— Amy Maxmen, PhD (@amymaxmen) January 18, 2021

Lunar New Year starts Febuary 12th — relatively late — this year:

China's latest COVID outbreak worst since March 2020 https://t.co/HVpOC7JaLe pic.twitter.com/syyvWyymPQ

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

Taiwan cancels major festival as domestic COVID-19 cases rise https://t.co/VpUYxaYsTY pic.twitter.com/X8wnjLlync

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

Students returning home may have caused 9400 secondary #COVID19 infections across the UK. A new model posits that each infected student who returned home produced, on average, ~1 secondary infection https://t.co/mq36UBYYN3 via @medical_xpress pic.twitter.com/8Rt09mxdPf

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

British hospitals use blockchain to track COVID-19 vaccines https://t.co/N30oXEllvC pic.twitter.com/y8rsTUqyly

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

Russia confirmed 21,734 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the total caseload to 3,612,800 https://t.co/bKTIaxKv9e

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 19, 2021

Australia says 'no' to tennis stars calls for quarantine change https://t.co/RI19ltKYwK pic.twitter.com/w8PEUkMWgf

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

Party town in the age of coronavirus: The pandemic is shaking the foundations of Dubai's economy with an unprecedented surge in daily virus cases but the glitzy, dreaming big city-emirate cannot afford to shut down. By @IsabelDeBre. https://t.co/MMVlPfAbjA

— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) January 19, 2021

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Norwegian health officials now say the Pfizer vaccine is safe. The vax had been implicated in 33 deaths of nursing home residents, all extremely ill. Norwegian officials say the deaths appear to be unrelated to the shots. Some who died were terminally ill https://t.co/luEfYUopqT

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

Throwing the bus under the bus?! CVS and Walgreens Under Fire for Slow Pace of Vaccination in Nursing Homes – Kaiser Health News. #covid19, #longtermcare, #vaccinessavelives https://t.co/ZBHjDMy5Ab

— Irving Stackpole (@istackpole) January 18, 2021

South African variant:

Previous coronavirus infection may offer less protection from new variant https://t.co/xWjIj4nuUy pic.twitter.com/KvS9mI5hUp

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

40,401,540 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally. This is equivalent to 0.52 vaccine doses per 100 people. Data from OurWorldInData. https://t.co/zMEAULKJR1

— VaccineCounter (@VaccineCounter) January 18, 2021

======

The Los Angeles County Fire Department saw its COVID-19 positivity rate fall significantly after 75% of firefighters on the force received their first COVID-19 vaccine. https://t.co/qDe9EJrBo1

— ABC News (@ABC) January 19, 2021

Vaccination planning is a new undertaking with aims of reaching as many people as possible. Pop-up vaccine sites at churches are designed to help hard-hit communities https://t.co/SElNvnCHzp

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

Exhausted nurses in rural Yuma, Arizona, are regularly sending COVID-19 patients on a long helicopter ride to hospitals in Phoenix when they don’t have enough staff. Yuma County is the hardest-hit county in one of the hardest-hit states. https://t.co/C5MMt05n9N

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2021

If I had to pick between a lottery chance of having a treatable allergic reaction to an amazingly >95% effective vaccine or contracting an unrecognizable virus that hijacks genetic production inside my body and kills millions in miserable ICU deaths, I’d get the shot. thanks

— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) January 18, 2021

We will! We have! But failure to suppress the virus means all of this goes on longer!

I don't blame lockdowns for my crawling the damn walls. I blame entitled consumer dipshits who refuse to sacrifice and politicians who made isolating economically impossible for workers.

Fuck! https://t.co/2MiCNETT9X

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) January 17, 2021

Rebekah Jones released on bail (no ankle bracelet or internet ban):

Florida COVID-19 whistleblower turns herself in on felony computer charge https://t.co/iq5FoFMwAG pic.twitter.com/EMQKOPZ76X

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2021

From a scary thread:

if you’ve had a fever for more than three days, are feeling brain fog/confusion, and are having trouble breathing, please go to the hospital. if you’re having trouble breathing even without the other symptoms, go to the hospital. you don’t have a mild case of covid. it’s serious.

— Erika Heidewald Wants a Vaccine ?? (@erikaheidewald) January 18, 2021

someone on here has all those symptoms and someone told him to take nyquil and i about shit a fucking brick. i didn’t realize people don’t know to go to the hospital when their symptoms are that bad and i’m so sad it’s gotten like this

— Erika Heidewald Wants a Vaccine ?? (@erikaheidewald) January 18, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Jan. 18-19Post + Comments (47)

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

by Cheryl Rofer|  January 18, 202111:46 am| 163 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, COVID-19 Coronavirus

One of the things that has made endurance difficult through the pandemic is the lack of an endpoint. A great many yardsticks are available from many sources – cases by day or month, numbers of hospital beds available, hospitalizations, deaths – but not when things are likely to get better, when we can see our friends and family in person again, when children can return to school, when we can feel safer.

The measures we have go up and slightly down, then up again. They can be tied to the early call to “open things up” long before it was wise to, with no plans for stopping the spread. They can be tied to the politicization of measures, like mask-wearing, that might have helped to stop the spread. The general movement in numbers has been upwards, to our current state of almost 4000 deaths daily and a total of 400,000 dead, a medium-sized city of Americans gone forever.

In New Mexico, we’ve seen a bump up from the holidays, and the numbers seem to be going down again, but we don’t know whether that will last.

The lack of an endpoint results from the lack of a plan. So parents feel like they will be teaching their children at home forever. Senior citizens feel like they will be isolated in their homes or retirement communities forever. Young people feel like they will never be able to go to a restaurant again or have a party. It is not surprising that they take any excuse to break the rules, which feel arbitrary because there are so many voices.

But Joe Biden has plans for addressing covid-19 and for vaccinating people quickly. The plans contain markers that we will see being met (or not). One hundred million vaccinations within the first 100 days. Make vaccines more available in more places, like through mobile vaccination clinics. Hire people to trace contacts. Provide funds to schools to prepare for safe in-person learning.

If everything in these plans is carried out, we will begin to see an endpoint. Case numbers and deaths will decrease. We will be able to do some normal things, like go to the store, without feeling that we are endangering our lives. Children will go back to school.

The virus is so widespread now that nothing will happen quickly. We’ve watched the maps turn redder and redder with uncontrolled community spread. Time delays are built into decreases in numbers, just as they are for increases. Ron Klain, President-elect Biden’s chief of staff and manager of Barack Obama’s response to the Ebola virus, says that we will see a total of a half-million dead by the end of February.

We're not going to "happy talk" this virus away. It's time for being straight with the American people about the crisis we are facing. When people say that the Biden "American Rescue Plan" is "too big," ask them if they appreciate just how big a mess we are facing. https://t.co/9ebKxCAx1B

— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) January 17, 2021

The pandemic has momentum. But if we mask up for 100 days, if Congress grants a more appropriate level of support, the Biden plans will work. We can start to see a turnaround by the end of February, slow at first, then gathering speed. For now, that turnaround is my light in the tunnel. Once we get there, we will start to see the light that is the end of the pandemic.

Cross-posted to Nuclear Diner

Light At The End Of The TunnelPost + Comments (163)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday/Monday, Jan. 17-18

by Anne Laurie|  January 18, 20214:55 am| 14 Comments

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

2020 mid-January: “hope the weather’s nice this week”

2021 mid-January: “hope the only mass casualty events this week are pandemic-related”

— KochBroHat (@Popehat) January 17, 2021

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One year, 400,000 #coronavirus deaths: How the U.S. guaranteed its own failure https://t.co/iMnj7SUuKp

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

The US had +174,560 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 24.4 million. The 7-day moving average continued falling to below 222,000 per day. pic.twitter.com/VsEv51f8tV

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 18, 2021

Biden’s incoming chief of staff warns the coronavirus death toll will reach 500k by the end of February.https://t.co/BFPJkI1tr9

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

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Here's where the USA stands, worldwide, for #COVID19 #vaccine rollout….
(Not the worst, but terrible) pic.twitter.com/6ahCfT2E7U

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 17, 2021

(To be fair, at least two of the #2-5 countries are doing a worse job of tracking infections… )

Here's where we stand today: The USA is, of course, Number One in #COVID19 cases and deaths. Moreover, we've had more than twice the case and death toll of the world's #2 country.
In fact, we are doing worse than combined #2-5, India, Brazil, Russia, UK. pic.twitter.com/YM5zM9SnfG

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 17, 2021

China reports 109 new COVID-19 cases as infections persist in northeast https://t.co/bDLJjfl4aj pic.twitter.com/miGy2fZiZE

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 18, 2021

Chinese officials trace a growing new outbreak to a salesman hawking health products. He appeared at several workshops in Jilin in northeastern China & is linked to 102 infections. 79 workshop attendees, including the salesman, tested positive https://t.co/hGtqp3M9Xi

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

Asia Today: Coronavirus infections in the Philippines have surged past 500,000 as the government faces criticism for failing to immediately launch a vaccination program. https://t.co/zxlE4qcgv5

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vows to get the pandemic under control and hold the already postponed Olympics this summer with ample coronavirus protection. https://t.co/gVwUhdxMce

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2021

#Oped Russians' varying attitudes towards the coronavirus vaccine is a reflection of their level of trust in the Kremlin as well as local governance, @alexeizakharov writeshttps://t.co/0RgHULvLmg

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 17, 2021

Vaccination has started… all the way to the Greek islands! 🇬🇷

In Syros, Rhodes or Chios, health workers are getting the vaccine to protect themselves and others.

Vaccination will help us keep safe from COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/cp1DeTlutW

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 17, 2021

UK is vaccinating 140 people per minute on average, minister says https://t.co/aEnExvO9uh pic.twitter.com/Ol81c57jx2

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 18, 2021

Australia unlikely to fully reopen border in 2021, says top official https://t.co/b7SfozXeJk

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 18, 2021

The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne.

by @byjohnpye https://t.co/mcxveGFoPf

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) January 18, 2021

Some 5,616 new cases of the novel #coronavirus were reported in #Israel on Sunday, with 9.1% of tests returning positive, a record in the percentage of positive tests, although the number of tests conducted decreased as well.https://t.co/euS9v3OabM

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 18, 2021

Data for vaccines: As Israel races to inoculate most of its population, it has struck a deal with Pfizer to secure coronavirus vaccines in exchange for medical data — but critics say the deal raises ethical questions. By @IlanBenZion. https://t.co/xBwqhQECTo

— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) January 18, 2021

Ghana president warns of health system overload as COVID cases soar https://t.co/aqvpfjpo6c pic.twitter.com/O3uWEPVrDJ

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 18, 2021

Brazil’s health agency approves the urgent use of two coronavirus vaccines, allowing immunizations to start after delays and political disputes. https://t.co/0XGDL213ZX

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2021

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The virus is changing. It's a deadly enemy, and a tricky one. The more we understand it and track where it is and where it's going, the better off we'll be.

— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) January 17, 2021

Experts expect the J&J vaccine to show efficacy at or >80%, which would trail the ~95% achieved in trials of already-authorized vaccines.

The J&J vaccine requires just a single dose & does not have the cold storage requirements of the other vaccines.https://t.co/e4HI7dWl5w

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 16, 2021

Those who've read about deaths in Norwegian nursing homes among seniors who had recently been vaccinated against #Covid19, please read this. Those who haven't yet read about the Norwegian deaths — please read it too. https://t.co/ByEdqxgCX6

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 18, 2021

One-third of people infected by Covid-19 never show symptoms but still spread the disease to others. They never bother to get a PCR test because they don't know they are infected. Only widespread deployment of simple rapid antigen tests will identify them. https://t.co/UMMapyirrb

— Annie Sparrow (@annie_sparrow) January 17, 2021

The risks of catching Covid indoors are well-known, but what are the chances of being infected outdoors?https://t.co/5AkTmcJ6io

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 17, 2021

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Los Angeles, crushed by Covid-19, now confronts a more contagious variant. L.A. County, one of the hardest-hit areas in the United States, may face even more dire weeks ahead. Hospitals have run out of space in intensive care units https://t.co/3tjny7fAiJ

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2021

I need a graph that shows where how the COVID case/death disparities will only widen if vaccination continues on this path. https://t.co/rC2Z0EHALE

— KizzyPhD (@KizzyPhD) January 17, 2021

the quoted tweet is only a couple of degrees away from the lady who was like, "everyone complains about how hard 2020 was, but no one actually suffered."

just incredibly blinded by privilege

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 18, 2021

And on a lighter note…

For @SFGate, I tested the idiot COVID rich guy helmet. OPEN THE POD BAY DOORS, HAL. https://t.co/89UfNrHrFK pic.twitter.com/8ByBtmA8n3

— Drew Magary (@drewmagary) January 15, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday/Monday, Jan. 17-18Post + Comments (14)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 16-17

by Anne Laurie|  January 17, 20215:01 am| 66 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You

I retweeted this thread earlier with no comment.

But please look at these numbers. They are why we must tackle the pandemic directly and rapidly.

Even if they are off by an order of magnitude, they are still enormous. https://t.co/vKqd3B82hh

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 16, 2021

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Covid has now killed more than 10x as many people as car accidents https://t.co/udXcorqiMH

— drew (@ImNotOwned) January 16, 2021

The US had +202,767 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 24.3 million. The 7-day moving average continued to decline to just over 228,000 per day. pic.twitter.com/JKPRw3cj1Q

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 17, 2021

Zients continued: "You know, there was a lot of focus, obviously, on development and then sort of drop-shipping to states. There was zero focus on helping states with what people call the last mile or the last quarter mile, which is actually shots in arms."

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) January 16, 2021

He said: "we're planning for that. And we've done all of the homework we can do with the cooperation or lack thereof that we've gotten. We remain very confident in our ability to do 100 million shots in 100 days."

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) January 16, 2021

A perfect 18-word summary of where we stand with the U.S. #COVID19 crisis: https://t.co/i2dI34Xlnq

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 16, 2021

======

Alongside the variant discovered in Britain, at least three other troubling variants are spreading less widely. Countries worldwide are now bracing for the impact of more contagious #coronavirus variants https://t.co/PVnw422G7q

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

China has finished building a 1500-room hospital in 5 days after a surge in #coronavirus cases. The hospital is 1 of 6 being built in Nangong near Beijing in Hebei province. Altogether the new hospitals provide a total of 6500 new rooms https://t.co/ojdtgcG6Lx via @medical_xpress

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 16, 2021

China reports 109 new COVID-19 cases to keep concerns simmering before Lunar New Year https://t.co/M0Sn37u1pM pic.twitter.com/uZ3epkaghr

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 17, 2021

In Tokyo's lockdown, some drink on even after authorities call time https://t.co/bJVqjA0iBO pic.twitter.com/OntoyfGxCP

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 17, 2021

Even though India has launched what could be the world’s largest vaccination campaign, it’s unclear if one of the vaccines works https://t.co/fFbOSuHwsc

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

Denmark on Saturday found its first case of a more contagious coronavirus variant from South Africa, and saw a rise in the number of infections with the highly transmissible B117 variant first identified in Britain, health authorities said.​ https://t.co/Kz1Fq3s7Qw

— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) January 16, 2021

Portuguese hospitals under pressure as COVID-19 cases reach record https://t.co/6wZcm3ME8P pic.twitter.com/Dw4TrHJN3p

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2021

Argentina detects its first case of the UK #coronavirus variant https://t.co/U4Fqa4TdOt via @medical_xpress

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

Brazil has won renown for its decades of immunization campaigns, but not in this pandemic. This is the story behind how Brazil's government bungled Covid-19 immunization planning. https://t.co/7k9ttogztL

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 16, 2021

Mexico records deadliest coronavirus week yet with 7,000 deaths https://t.co/9MEohTHmoK pic.twitter.com/PsMU3tqq0l

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 17, 2021

======

Rapid blood test identifies #COVID19 patients at high risk of severe disease https://t.co/Wbp3SQt4TJ via @medical_xpress

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 17, 2021

Variants: Gene-mapping champion Iceland is leading the way in hunt to pinpoint new variants of SARSCoV2 https://t.co/Gny634idNI

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 16, 2021

How British Scientists Found the More Infectious Coronavirus Variant.

Britain sequences #coronavirus samples en masse. The country produces 1/2 the world’s inventory of coronavirus genomes.https://t.co/Xd9lLVPKUd

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 16, 2021

Rolling two windows down can sharply reduce the Covid-19 risk in cars https://t.co/Evm3OrGjRf

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 16, 2021

======

Until Easter https://t.co/b7kGz7VNR6

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 17, 2021

Thousands of Covid-19 vaccines are ending up in the garbage because of federal and state guidelines. https://t.co/jxNk9DkvaC

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 16, 2021

California now reporting ~525 #coronavirus deaths daily. Nationally, we can expect more than 400k dead from Covid by Inauguration Day https://t.co/d8OMCuwdp0

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 16, 2021

Top work by @LaurenWeberHP & @KHNews team, exposing racial dynamics across the USA in white vs black #COVID19 #vaccination rates. As I noted yesterday, getting access to vax is ^ingly about tech savvy — the same computer issues that are leaving poorer US kids behind in school. https://t.co/CYAj3p07ZF

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 16, 2021

In the most striking difference, 1.2 percent of white Pennsylvanians had been vaccinated as of Jan. 14, compared with 0.3 percent of Black Pennsylvanians.

Only 18 percent of those vaccinated in Mississippi so far are Black, in a state that’s 38 percent Black. pic.twitter.com/uVhfYzzNkK

— Lauren Weber (@LaurenWeberHP) January 16, 2021

It might be faster to administer 100 vaccinations in a drive-thru location than a rural clinic, but that doesn’t ensure equity.

“Those with time, computer systems and transportation are going to get vaccines more than other folks — that’s just the reality of it” @TCBPubHealth

— Lauren Weber (@LaurenWeberHP) January 16, 2021

With this ludicrous statement, Rand Paul presents more compelling personal evidence that he remains a very ignorant, dangerous, and misguided individual. Unfortunately, we have far too many of them within our midst and within our government as of late. https://t.co/ZFfHwYKkr0

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) January 16, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 16-17Post + Comments (66)

Proud to Be A Democrat: President Biden’s Rescue Plan

by Anne Laurie|  January 16, 202110:10 am| 143 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal and said bold investment was needed to jump-start the economy and speed up the response to the coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/0nYbANYqg2 pic.twitter.com/MveIhYkeuP

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 15, 2021

This is, as Uncle Joe would say, a BFD — and deserves to be celebrated as such!

show full post on front page

.@JoeBiden rolls out $1.9T "rescue plan"

– $400B vaccine/schools
– Stimulus to $2K
– $400/week UI
– $30B rental aid
– 15% SNAP boost
– EITC boost
– $25B child care
– $20B public transit
– $35B small biz/grants
– Fund COBRA thru Sept
– Boost ACA subsidy
– $15 minimum wage
+ more

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 14, 2021

This is key–> Biden team wants to extend most aid through SEPTEMBER 2021.

-Unemployment (UI/PUA) through Sept
-Eviction/foreclosure moratorium through Sept
-SNAP 15% increase through Sept
-Paid leave through Septhttps://t.co/dLo2es65VI

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) January 14, 2021

I’ll work with President-elect Biden to strengthen and pass this package immediately. But let’s be clear: if the Republicans want to drag their feet while working families struggle, the Democratic majority should use every legislative tool available to pass it.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 15, 2021

Biden including a $15 minimum wage in his stimulus plan is huge

Biden moving to abolish the tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities in his stimulus package is even bigger IMO

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) January 15, 2021

it's kind of refreshing to talk about actual government business.

politically, if you subtract the turmoil of trump's waning presidency, there are echoes of 2009, when obama/the dems were able to pull the economy out of its tailspin https://t.co/7Le5ZECIOd

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 15, 2021

My inbox and twitter timeline are flooded with statements from Democrats (and even the Chamber of Commerce) in support of the Biden COVID rescue plan. I had almost forgotten what a coordinated policy rollout looks like.

— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 15, 2021

I don't want this to get lost in all the numbers:

The President-elect's plan would cut child poverty in half. https://t.co/G0zSez6kXC

— Bharat Ramamurti (@BharatRamamurti) January 14, 2021

So presumably Biden anticipates getting his initial plan signed into law very fast. Fingers crossed. https://t.co/tYPTi94b6N

— 5?? Days Until Trump Is Gone?? (@snowmanomics) January 15, 2021

Cue the meeping, from the usual suspects…

you could just… not filibuster? https://t.co/xxJNQPrQlU

— AdotSad (@AdotSad) January 15, 2021

Not forgetting our ‘progressive’ alt-left Betters (May God turn their hearts, or at least their ankles, so we’ll know them by their limping… )

True, there's basically nothing* in this Biden proposal for you unless you're unemployed or poor or work in state & local government or have kids in school or are facing eviction or would like to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

* Except $1,400https://t.co/VtMZMeCBem

— Matthew Yglesias ?? (@mattyglesias) January 15, 2021

* The US fiscal response to COVID is easily among the most generous in the world
* The superdole is more important than checks
* $$ for vaccine rollout is more important than checks
* People who treat the 1400 vs 2000 thing as a betrayal should never be taken seriously again

— Neoliberal ?? (@ne0liberal) January 15, 2021

Proud to Be A Democrat: President Biden’s Rescue PlanPost + Comments (143)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 15-16

by Anne Laurie|  January 16, 20215:48 am| 19 Comments

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

My administration will move Heaven and Earth to:

– Allow more people to get vaccinated
– Create more places for them to get vaccinated
– Mobilize more medical teams to get shots in arms
– Increase vaccine supply and get it out the door as soon as possible

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 15, 2021

show full post on front page

Biden: "The honest truth is this, things will get worse before they get better. I told you I'll always level with you. The policy changes that we're going to be making are going to take time to show up in the COVID statistics. They're not just statistics, it's people's lives."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 15, 2021

Total #coronavirus cases in the US climb to 23 million (1/4 of the global tally), marking the 3rd consecutive 4-day cycle with 1 million new cases.

The US confirmed 3 million new cases in the past 12 days.https://t.co/Ngg0ZVjWdw

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 15, 2021

Here are 5 things we can do to prevent that starting right now. https://t.co/aG7fzdVLa7

— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) January 15, 2021

Pro / maybe not?…

For those of you too young to recall Kessler's tenure as @US_FDA Comiss (1990-97) he famously took on Big Tobacco & tried to get nicotine registered as an addictive drug. https://t.co/zY5gk4YTfh https://t.co/fX4p4jWAL7

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 15, 2021

Curious choice: former FDA commish David Kessler, who doesn't have a background in vaccine development or mass vaccination efforts, to lead whatever Operation Warp Speed morphs into in the Biden administration. https://t.co/lAe7X2JMPI

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 15, 2021

======

BREAKING: The global death toll from the coronavirus has topped 2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data. https://t.co/qfFQEaJr9U

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 15, 2021

Jan 11 2020: China reports first death from novel coronavirus.

Jan 15 2021: Global death toll from Covid rises to 2 million https://t.co/q3lSg4kvjm

— COVID19 (@V2019N) January 15, 2021

China has finished building a 1,500-room hospital for COVID-19 patients to fight a surge in infections the government said are harder to contain and that it blamed on infected people or goods from abroad. https://t.co/ZW9WImw4ZA

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 16, 2021

Ice cream tests positive for coronavirus in China https://t.co/RyAWwEp5jG

— The Independent (@Independent) January 16, 2021

Russia reported 590 coronavirus deaths Saturday, putting the total number of reported fatalities above 65,000 https://t.co/vkbtNfTxJb

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 16, 2021

Nearly half of Russian regions have limited access to the coronavirus vaccine, according to a Russian think tank reporthttps://t.co/Ag6fJonuwS

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 16, 2021

60 percent of Russians are still unwilling to take the coronavirus vaccine, despite the country's national vaccination drive gaining steamhttps://t.co/yvFhlGldxj

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 15, 2021

India begins the world's largest inoculation drive with health and frontline workers being first in line for the jabshttps://t.co/Td0KkQEoMk

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 16, 2021

Sanitation worker gets first shot as India launches COVID-19 vaccination campaign https://t.co/udaeT8Updv pic.twitter.com/rHvB7YUvvt

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2021

A black market for illegal coronavirus vaccines is thriving in the Philippines https://t.co/79zwZMArgD

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 16, 2021

Nigeria warns against fake COVID vaccines https://t.co/xI3m5rpJVe pic.twitter.com/VsvBOpObo3

— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) January 15, 2021

Two COVID-19 cases on Australian Open flight, arrivals to quarantine https://t.co/uKsG7A2Hw1 pic.twitter.com/G00YmV0BXM

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2021

Canada has secured more vaccine doses per capita than anyone else, but it’s been slow to administer them https://t.co/Pw92MNUMI9

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

1 of 2 #coronavirus variants first detected in Brazil has been found in the UK.

But the version discovered is not the "variant of concern" from Brazil, detected in travelers to Japan, which is thought to be more infectious.https://t.co/8icCTxQnBr

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 15, 2021

Mexico's coronavirus death toll rises to 139,022 https://t.co/sDDAksIt9M pic.twitter.com/90YtstDDOC

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2021

======

Human behavior more than variants will affect how #SARSCoV2 spreads, a top WHO official said Friday. "It's just too easy to lay the blame on the variant & say the virus did it," Dr. Michael Ryan said. "Unfortunately it's also what we didn't do that did it" https://t.co/CYndnxRJMM

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

By March, the rapidly spreading UK #coronavirus variant -B.1.1.7- is on track to become the prevailing version in the U.S. This is preventable if people would heed mask mandates & social distancing guidance, but the pandemic, for stupid reasons has become politicized https://t.co/CKMAc3P6J9

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

Companies are scrambling to expand the #coronavirus vaccine supply https://t.co/qaBSYerR60

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

Several EU countries receiving significantly fewer doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine than expected, after the US firm slowed shipments https://t.co/vX0vc9Uf4S

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 15, 2021

A single dose of Johnson & Johnson's Ad26.COV2.S vax appears to be safe & to induce a robust immune response in key age groups 18 to 55, & 65 and up. 800 total randomized to low-dose or high-dose vaccines or placebo. Antibody titers high in both vax groups https://t.co/WdjrTVVa2E pic.twitter.com/Ovemf9bXk4

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

Pfizer will deliver fewer doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in the next three to four weeks as it works to renovate a factory in Belgium https://t.co/7uIyDS8WGR

— Bloomberg (@business) January 15, 2021

Health authorities in Norway say 13 ppl over 80 yrs old, living in nursing homes, have died as a result of @pfizer #COVID19 vaccination. They caution: this should not deter vaccine use: People >80 rarely get vaccines of any kind, and deceased were frail.https://t.co/JYjmq3B8VH

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 15, 2021

======

Now that the Democrats are taking over DC, suddenly Politico is interested in how fast Covid-19 is spreading…

Almost 23M cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the U.S. so far. And now we're facing a rocky vaccine rollout.

Using data from the COVID Tracking Project, we’re following how each state is responding to Covid-19. Here's where we stand this morning 👇 https://t.co/r0HDQiaN3Z pic.twitter.com/ZXQPBaODJv

— POLITICO (@politico) January 15, 2021

The incidence of COVID19 has increased among children & young adults since September. New CDC report says to enable safer in-person learning, communities should fully implement & adhere to mitigation strategies, especially universal mask wearing https://t.co/uk4wlTWpX1 pic.twitter.com/JSR3ONE7Wt

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 15, 2021

“With the first wave, LA was the poster child on how to do things right. Then we blew the lead." @ushamcfarling explores how LA's #Covid19 response reached the point where the National Guard had to be be called in to handle corpses.
Cautionary tale. https://t.co/MYHHxyrsWb

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 15, 2021

“As I waited for my shot, I wondered if I should be there.” That’s what @CaroleFeldman was contemplating as she prepared to be vaccinated in the uneasy American capital this week. The latest @AP Virus Diary. https://t.co/GSo7x5eys3

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 15, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 15-16Post + Comments (19)

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