COVID-19 News

[EmDeemo]

Did anyone order a self petard hoisting?

Louie Gohmert: Mask-shunning lawmaker catches Covid-19

Pelosi warns maskless lawmakers may be thrown out

The US House of Representatives introduces the new rule after a Texas congressman catches Covid-19.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Planck]

reclaim your mind,

Now with more irony then a dying star.

*This message approved by the technocratic medical fascism corporation.

 

[Shrike]

Finally...a gentleman with definitive answers to the Covid-19 Pandemic...

 

[jbm]

Did anyone order a self petard hoisting?

Louie Gohmert: Mask-shunning lawmaker catches Covid-19

Pelosi warns maskless lawmakers may be thrown out

The US House of Representatives introduces the new rule after a Texas congressman catches Covid-19.

www.bbc.co.uk

He says he may have got it from his mask.

 

[Tranquility]

Here's an interesting take on risk factors (Personally, I think some of the U.S. variation has to do with all the different tests out there without a good way to integrate their data.):
Risk Factors Causing Complications Due to COVID-19
In part:
Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH: That's a good message for health care workers and people out there. Masking and social distancing are key, and I don't think we can seem to say it enough.

Maybe we can get into some specifics about COVID-19, and perhaps you can describe to the audience what you think the risk factors are that make people more vulnerable to complications if they do get COVID-19, or to get COVID-19 in the first place.

C. Michael Gibson, MS, MD: Today, there was a publication that looked at a random sample of 61,000 people from Spain. For me, at least, what was striking was that the prevalence of antibody tests being positive was fairly constant. It’s about 5%, and it was similar across a lot of age groups. It didn't vary that much. It didn't vary by gender. In terms of being infected, it was fairly constant across a broad group of people.

For Spain, at least, there was no difference based upon socioeconomic status. That's different than in the United States when you look at cities like Baltimore. For people who were Hispanic, in the last week, they had a 42% rate of testing positive. Here in Boston, Deepak, 36% of the Latinx community in some of our densely populated areas were positive.

The theory is that, in the Latinx community, there's greater population density. They have work that requires that they go into the workplace. They can't work from home as often, and they are facing a higher risk of getting the infection.

When it comes to who's at greater or greatest risk of complications, the story is a little different. There, you see the people who are older, they are at much higher risk. Diabetics face a higher risk. Deepak, you may know that, in the past week, there were some data that showed that the virus can attack the islet cells. Some people can develop new onset of diabetes, so it’s not just old diabetes being at risk, but you're at risk of contracting diabetes.

Other comorbidities like high blood pressure have been a risk factor. For me, it's a little confusing. I'm not sure if it's the high blood pressure itself, or if the high blood pressure is a marker or a surrogate of some kind of ACE [angiotensin-converting enzyme] receptor pathogenesis here or treatment with drugs. That one's a little less clear in my mind.

The other big issue is race and mortality. People in, say, Latinx or black communities may have a higher risk of contracting the virus. That may, in turn, lead to higher mortality or greater numbers of people dying of those different ethnicities. There was a New England Journal of Medicine article that compared people of black to white ethnicities. If you do a race where both parties have equal numbers of patients, their relative risk was the same. It may be driven by a greater number of people of those ethnicities being hospitalized, rather than a greater risk once they are hospitalized, at least in The New England Journal of Medicine article.

It’s complicated, but older people and those with comorbidities seem to be our highest-risk patients. Who are those people? There tend to be a lot of nursing home patients who've been devastated by this disease.

Here's an almost understandable summary of some of the basic science going on with treatment possibilities:
COVID-19: Anti-viral strategy with double effect


Wow if it holds up.
Association Between Statewide School Closure and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in the US

Findings In this US population–based time series analysis conducted between March 9, 2020, and May 7, 2020, school closure was associated with a significant decline in both incidence of COVID-19 (adjusted relative change per week, −62%) and mortality (adjusted relative change per week, −58%). In a model derived from this analysis, it was estimated that closing schools when the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was in the lowest quartile compared with the highest quartile was associated with 128.7 fewer cases per 100 000 population over 26 days and with 1.5 fewer deaths per 100 000 population over 16 days.

Meaning There was a temporal association between statewide school closure and lower COVID-19 incidence and mortality, although some of the reductions may have been related to other concurrent nonpharmaceutical interventions.

 

[EmDeemo]

He says he may have got it from his mask.

Allowing that much shit to come out of his mouth was bound to end in illness

 

[Haze Mister]

I think it's important that people know there are covid-19 deniers. We can keep the post, but this is the covid-19 news thread.

Scientific literature that questions what is thought to have been understood about covid-19 is of course welcome here. Blogs and articles from conspiracy websites don't meet that bar so please keep them out of this thread. This is not a covid conspiracy thread.

Frankly if you really have a case to suggest an enormous conspiracy, you are wasting your time posting it on a vapor enthusiast forum.

The moderation team here stands firmly with the medical and scientific community.

I assume this was directed at me even tho a PM would have been better. I have no interest in the so called "medical and scientific community" (who are the ones responsible for messing up with mine and countless other lives), and their or your position. I simply stated what I believe is the truth. This is an assault on humanity and as a sometime occasional member here it was my conscience that compelled me to say what I believe everyone needs to say or we are all fucked except the 0,001%, who will be fucked a little later.

I don't have "a case" to argue hence posting the links and not writing a long article. It's your site and am not invested in my posts or my account here or bothered about whatever you want to do, including deleting my account. My post history is there for anyone to see.

Fuck this fake pandemic and fuck the technocratic medical fascism.. reclaim your mind, your body and your health.

And also, fuck those motherfuckers.


[drops the mic]

 

[hinglemccringleberry]

I posted this to my FB. My bozo friend is gonna be SO pissed. I've got my flame suit on, complete with "mainstream science is lying to us but the Trump administration isn't" double standard retardant.

 

[EmDeemo]

I assume this was directed at me even tho a PM would have been better. I have no interest in the so called "medical and scientific community" (who are the ones responsible for messing up with mine and countless other lives), and their or your position. I simply stated what I believe is the truth. This is an assault on humanity and as a sometime occasional member here it was my conscience that compelled me to say what I believe everyone needs to say or we are all fucked except the 0,001%, who will be fucked a little later.

I don't have "a case" to argue hence posting the links and not writing a long article. It's your site and am not invested in my posts or my account here or bothered about whatever you want to do, including deleting my account. My post history is there for anyone to see.



And also, fuck those motherfuckers.


[drops the mic]

For someone who has apparently reclaimed their mind, you seem awfully angry and willing to break microphones.

Hope you have a better day soon.

 

[vtac]

I assume this was directed at me even tho a PM would have been better. I have no interest in the so called "medical and scientific community" (who are the ones responsible for messing up with mine and countless other lives), and their or your position. I simply stated what I believe is the truth. This is an assault on humanity and as a sometime occasional member here it was my conscience that compelled me to say what I believe everyone needs to say or we are all fucked except the 0,001%, who will be fucked a little later.

I don't have "a case" to argue hence posting the links and not writing a long article. It's your site and am not invested in my posts or my account here or bothered about whatever you want to do, including deleting my account. My post history is there for anyone to see.



And also, fuck those motherfuckers.


[drops the mic]

Apologies if you were offended by my post. That wasn't the intention. The post was made to clarify that this is a thread for COVID-19 news. Getting into conspiracy theory discussion is off-topic. As you can see it's already derailed the thread some.

What you believe is certainly up to you. Note that your original post was left untouched. If you do decide to make a case for your beliefs you can create a new thread and we'll see how it goes. Of course you'll have to do so with the understanding of what you're up against.

I should also remind everyone that this isn't an opportunity to break our be nice rules. Please remember that all members must be treated with respect.

 

[Tranquility]

How to Hold Beijing Accountable for the Coronavirus
...
The closest known relative to SARS-CoV-2 is a virus sampled by Chinese researchers from six miners infected while working in a bat-infested cave in southern China in 2012. These miners developed symptoms we now associate with Covid-19. Half of them died. These viral samples were then taken to the Wuhan Institute of Virology—the only facility in China that’s a biosafety Level 4 laboratory, the highest possible safety designation. The Level 4 designation is reserved for facilities dealing with the most dangerous pathogens. Wuhan is more than 1,000 miles north of Yunnan province, where the cave is located.

If the virus jumped to humans through a series of human-animal encounters in the wild or in wet markets, as Beijing has claimed, we would likely have seen evidence of people being infected elsewhere in China before the Wuhan outbreak. We have not.

The alternative explanation, a lab escape, is far more plausible. We know the Wuhan Institute of Virology was using controversial “gain of function” techniques to make viruses more virulent for research purposes. A confidential 2018 State Department cable released this month highlighting the lab’s alarming safety record should heighten our concern.

Suggesting that an outbreak of a deadly bat coronavirus coincidentally occurred near the only level 4 virology institute in all of China—which happened to be studying the closest known relative of that exact virus—strains credulity.
...

Now, to get a little conspiratorial (I asked first, cool your jets.), when you look at "gain of function" work, the problem:
Lab-Made Coronavirus Triggers Debate The creation of a chimeric SARS-like virus has scientists discussing the risks of gain-of-function research.
...

The results demonstrate the ability of the SHC014 surface protein to bind and infect human cells, validating concerns that this virus—or other coronaviruses found in bat species—may be capable of making the leap to people without first evolving in an intermediate host, Nature reported. They also reignite a debate about whether that information justifies the risk of such work, known as gain-of-function research. “If the [new] virus escaped, nobody could predict the trajectory,” Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, told Nature.

In October 2013, the US government put a stop to all federal funding for gain-of-function studies, with particular concern rising about influenza, SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). “NIH [National Institutes of Health] has funded such studies because they help define the fundamental nature of human-pathogen interactions, enable the assessment of the pandemic potential of emerging infectious agents, and inform public health and preparedness efforts,” NIH Director Francis Collins said in a statement at the time. “These studies, however, also entail biosafety and biosecurity risks, which need to be understood better.”

...

The conspirators out to get Fauci make the link:
Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab with U.S. Dollars for Risky Coronavirus Research
...

But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.

In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.

Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.

SARS-CoV-2 , the virus now causing a global pandemic, is believed to have originated in bats. U.S. intelligence, after originally asserting that the coronavirus had occurred naturally, conceded last month that the pandemic may have originated in a leak from the Wuhan lab. (At this point most scientists say it's possible—but not likely—that the pandemic virus was engineered or manipulated.)

...
He's been involved with the research since the original transfer of technology to the Chinese:
Why US outsourced bat virus research to Wuhan
...
As such in October 2014, because of public health concerns, the US government banned all federal funding on efforts to weaponize three viruses – influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

In the face of a moratorium in the US, Dr Anthony Fauci – the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and currently the leading doctor in the US Coronavirus Task Force – outsourced in 2015 the GOF research to China’s Wuhan lab and licensed the lab to continue receiving US government funding.

The Wuhan lab is now at the center of scrutiny for possibly releasing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and causing the global Covid-19 pandemic.

It is understandable that the Chinese lab likely struggled with safety issues given the fact US labs share similar problems, and indeed in January 2018 the US Embassy in Beijing sent cables warning about the safety of the Wuhan lab and asked for help.
...

I guess the bottom line as to if the conspirators are right about Fauci gets to a few things we don't know, mainly, was it good or was it bad to continue research? If we find the virus was actually released from the labs in Wuhan rather than the bat soup narrative, it seems like Fauci might have made some really wrong choices.

 

[florduh]

it seems like Fauci might have made some really wrong choices.

Past Coronavirus Research Grants Are Being Used To Smear Anthony Fauci

But in reality, the grants appear to have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, they were awarded after a different kind of coronavirus — SARS — spread across the world in 2003. The NIH also didn’t give the funds directly to the Wuhan Institute, instead awarding them to EcoHealth Alliance, which invests in health research globally. The money helped support research that led to 20 research papers on coronaviruses published over the six years, according to the NIH. It’s not clear whether Fauci was personally involved in the grants in any way.

 

[Tranquility]

Past Coronavirus Research Grants Are Being Used To Smear Anthony Fauci

Buzzfeed, huh. With all the reputable sources provided, Buzzfeed is the response. The funny thing, THEY use criticism of sources as their main argument. Ironic, don't you think?

As for the rest, it seems they agree with all the points I made above. They just want to show that they believe the research is completely unrelated.

1. It seems we all agree Fauci had a lot to do with the transfer of technology that was deemed too dangerous for the U.S. to China.
2. It may or may not be a coincidence our current Sars-CoV-2 virus fits in perfectly with the technology transferred. Perfectly.
3. It may or may not be true the virus was released from Wuhan.
4. If it was, it's not a smear, but a credible claim.

Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab

Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, shot down the discussion that has been raging among politicians and pundits, calling it “a circular argument” in a conversation Monday with National Geographic.
“If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated … Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species,” Fauci says. Based on the scientific evidence, he also doesn’t entertain an alternate theory—that someone found the coronavirus in the wild, brought it to a lab, and then it accidentally escaped.

 

[zor]

Herman Cain bit it this morning, after an almost month-long stay in the hospital following his postings of anti-mask rhetoric.

I expect vehement denials of the cause from the idiots out there, of course, but maybe some will wipe away the cobwebs and boot up their prefrontal cortex, they sure as hell haven't been using it so far.

 

[ginolicious]

Really thought I could avoid this. Got 6 months avoiding it. Now I’m getting tested at 12:25. Fucking fuck fuck.

 

[zor]

My partner and I had a scare when one of her employees tested positive and developed awful symptoms. We were tested quickly and got results in 3 days (4 for me). It can be very anxiety-inducing, hope you're ok @ginolicious and will remain safe!

 

[ginolicious]

Not sure if it’s the test itself I’m scared of. Or the fact I may actually have it. @zor

 

[Tranquility]

Not sure if it’s the test itself I’m scared of. Or the fact I may actually have it. @zor

Early symptoms may influence eventual outcome possibilities:
There May Be 6 Types of COVID-19
...
For the study, the researchers analyzed data on 1,600 people who reported their symptoms into an app.

The six symptom groups in a sequence from least to most severe are:

• Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
• Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
• Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
• Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
• Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.
• Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.

The last three types are tied with the most severe disease, the researchers noted. The range of those with severe symptoms who need help breathing range from about 9% to 20%, while those with milder symptoms who need breathing aids range from 2% to 3%.

 

[Gunky]

Herman Cain bit it this morning, after an almost month-long stay in the hospital following his postings of anti-mask rhetoric.

I expect vehement denials of the cause from the idiots out there, of course, but maybe some will wipe away the cobwebs and boot up their prefrontal cortex, they sure as hell haven't been using it so far.

The timing suggests he got it at Trump's rally in Tulsa.

 

[florduh]

Buzzfeed, huh. With all the reputable sources provided, Buzzfeed is the response.

Irrelevant. Just the first option that popped up in Google. No credible news source buys into the bullshit narrative you're trying to build here.

1. It seems we all agree Fauci had a lot to do with the transfer of technology that was deemed too dangerous for the U.S. to China.

Not really. The NIH gave 3.7 million in grant money to a Non-Profit. That non-profit gave 600k over 5 years to the "Wuhan Lab". No evidence Fauci was personally directing anything to "Wuhan". This is ridiculous.

4. If it was, it's not a smear, but a credible claim.

Nope. You're again attempting to smear Fauci. Poorly, I may add. The previous claim that you're "unaware" of any effort to discredit Fauci may seem even more laughable than it did before. But I believe that was honest. After all, fish are "unaware" of water. This is just what happens when you're swimming in Right Wing nonsense all day

 

[Tranquility]

Irrelevant. Just the first option that popped up in Google. No credible news source buys into the bullshit narrative you're trying to build here.

Rather than this nonsense attack against the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Asia times and The Scientist, perhaps you should address the facts.

Not really. The NIH gave 3.7 million in grant money to a Non-Profit. That non-profit gave 600k over 5 years to the "Wuhan Lab". No evidence Fauci was personally directing anything to "Wuhan". This is ridiculous.

Yeah, really. If you are claiming Fauci had nothing to do with the transfer, you are in opposition to the vast majority of the news organizations out there. Funneling it through an NGO does not change anything.

Nope. You're again attempting to smear Fauci. Poorly, I may add. The previous claim that you're "unaware" of any effort to discredit Fauci may seem even more laughable than it did before. But I believe that was honest. After all, fish are "unaware" of water. This is just what happens when you're swimming in Right Wing nonsense all day

I'm sorry your hero has credible facts that put his judgment in question. If the complaint is that we don't know where the virus originated and so Fauci's tech transfer was not relevant, I might not disagree. If your sole complaint is that Fauci was not even the guy who did it, I think you're not going to find support for that proposition no matter how many quirky websites you hit.

I think the "water" of right wing smearing I've learned about has to do with Fauci's dismissal of hydroxychoriquine and promotion of remdesivir. As snopes discussed:
Is a Global Conspiracy Promoting Remdesivir Over Hydroxychloroquine for Treating COVID-19?
Snopes says "false". As to linking it to the tech transfer:

Between 2014 and 2019, the EcoHealth Alliance was awarded a series of grants totaling approximately $3.7 million by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of which Fauci is the director, to study the “risk of future coronavirus (CoV) emergence from wildlife using in-depth field investigations across the human-wildlife interface in China.” Only a portion of this money has been used to fund research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, however.

 

[florduh]

Since Buzzfeed is beyond the pale for you (But PJ Media is not? lol) here's another source:

"False claims that the Wuhan lab had received $3.7 million in National Institutes of Health grant money have circulated online after an April 11 Daily Mail story made that assertion and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz repeated it in a Fox News interview. The NIH didn’t award such a grant. Instead, it gave a grant totaling $3.4 million, beginning in 2014, to the U.S.-based EcoHealth Alliance to study the risk of the future emergence of coronaviruses from bats. And EcoHealth distributed $600,000 of that total to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a collaborator on the project, pre-approved by NIH."

I'm sorry your hero has credible facts that put his judgment in question.

Who said he's my "hero"? Would that be a "straw man"? Those seem to greatly upset you. I just think the Right WInger obsession with this guy is laughable.

If the complaint is that we don't know where the virus originated and so Fauci's tech transfer was not relevant, I might not disagree.

Yes. This is one complaint. All you're doing is "raising questions" based on dubious evidence.

In any case, your entire premise is silly. If you want to imply Fauci is somehow responsible for COVID, because the NIH stopped allowing dangerous viral research within the United States, fine. But you're forgetting WHY such research was stopped domestically. The CDC had several high profile security containment issues. I could just as easily say Fauci's decision prevented Atlanta from becoming Wuhan, since the CDC isn't great at containment either.

 

[Tranquility]

I'm not sure, but I think this is most of the grant proposals. Note the agency and the dates.
Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence

I accept there may be a good reason to continue the research the politicians banned in the U.S. But, If the disease was released by that research, it makes politicians look good and someone else look bad.

Fish sticks (mask debate):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1288253717326770177

 

[florduh]

Children May Carry Coronavirus at High Levels, Study Finds
It has been a comforting refrain in the national conversation about reopening schools: Young children are mostly spared by the coronavirus and don’t seem to spread it to others, at least not very often.

But on Thursday, a study introduced an unwelcome wrinkle into this smooth narrative.

Infected children have at least as much of the coronavirus in their noses and throats as infected adults, according to the research. Indeed, children younger than age 5 may host up to 100 times as much of the virus in the upper respiratory tract as adults, the authors found.

That measurement does not necessarily prove children are passing the virus to others. Still, the findings should influence the debate over reopening schools, several experts said.

U.S. records a coronavirus death every minute as total surpasses 150,000

One person in the United States died about every minute from COVID-19 on Wednesday as the national death toll surpassed 150,000, the highest in the world

The United States recorded 1,461 new deaths on Wednesday, the highest one-day increase since 1,484 on May 27, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. coronavirus deaths are rising at their fastest rate in two months and have increased by 10,000 in the past 11 days.

 

[Tranquility]

While I'm sure the latter "actual date of death" data will go up when reports come in, it seems I've seen the picture before and it has shown the increase is over in Florida and it's just a matter of counting the chips.

Despite What You’ve Heard, The COVID Crisis Probably Peaked Two Weeks Ago
...
What the mainstream press keeps forgetting to tell people is that it can take the government days, if not weeks, to record a COVID-19 death. The daily reports aren’t telling us what’s happening now, but what happened earlier in the month. The chart below shows the impact of this. The gray bars represent when deaths are reported by Florida, and the red bars are when the deaths actually occurred.

Notice that Florida’s daily reports undercounted actual deaths in the first half of July (by more than 400). That’s when most of the deaths being reported now happened.

If anything, what the numbers show is that the virus peaked in that state around mid-July.

There’s more evidence that the crisis is already on the downtrend. Hospital admissions in Florida appear to have peaked more than a week ago. AdventHealth Orlando, for example, reports that the COVID-19 patient count was at 515 on July 19, while this Tuesday the hospital had 406 patients with the illness. And the AdventHealth system across the state is also reporting a decline in admissions from the virus since early July.
...

Balls the size of Basket Balls:
Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and nobody knows if it’s legal or if it works

Preston Estep was alone in a borrowed laboratory, somewhere in Boston. No big company, no board meetings, no billion-dollar payout from Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s covid-19 vaccine funding program. No animal data. No ethics approval.

What he did have: ingredients for a vaccine. And one willing volunteer.

Estep swirled together the mixture and spritzed it up his nose.

Nearly 200 covid-19 vaccines are in development, and some three dozen are at various stages of human testing. But in what appears to be the first “citizen science” vaccine initiative, Estep and at least 20 other researchers, technologists, or science enthusiasts, many connected to Harvard University and MIT, have volunteered as lab rats for a do-it-yourself inoculation against the coronavirus. They say it’s their only chance to become immune without waiting a year or more for a vaccine to be formally approved....