Jump to content

CR: COVID-19 --Political Talk


Mrs Whiggins

Recommended Posts

50 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

We’re going up in all categories. Cases, Admits, Critical, Deaths

maybe there was a backlog 

Well obviously we're admitting more people to the hospitals.  We have more hospitals.  Perfect hospitals.  

Wait until we start testing for deaths.  Then the shit's really gonna hit the fan.  

10 months in, welcome to our national strategy folks.  Dumbest fucking version of America brought to you by...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Nifty tool; don't recall it  being posted on this thread:

https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu

 

COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool

This map shows the risk level of attending an event, given the event size and location.

The risk level is the estimated chance (0-100%) that at least 1 COVID-19 positive individual will be present at an event in a county, given the size of the event.

Based on seroprevalence data, we assume there are ten times more cases than are being reported (10:1 ascertainment bias). In places with more testing availability, that rate may be lower.

Choose an event size and ascertainment bias below.

 

 

Somewhat helpful, I guess, but the 10X prevalence assumption is mighty coarse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is why we can't have nice things.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rolla-missouri-unsanctioned-homecoming-dance-at-steakhouse-became-possible-coronavirus-superspreader-event?ref=home?ref=home

 

Quote

Long before it was deemed a potential superspreader event, it didn’t take a detective to realize that someone in Rolla, Missouri, was throwing a massive party.

Sailing-themed invitations were screen-shotted on Snapchat. Parents wrote cryptic Facebook posts. Pink formal dresses popped up on Instagram.

But the Rolla residents who witnessed those posts likely didn’t put the full picture together. Nor could they have predicted the extent to which the event—an unsanctioned homecoming dance at a local steakhouse—would affect the community, forcing the health department to devote all its resources to one fiasco and nudging the high school to go back to full-on virtual learning.

 

 

Quote

This week, Ashley Wann, health director of the Phelps-Maries County Health Department, told The Daily Beast that up to 200 Rolla High School students—and “numerous” parents—gathered indoors at Matt’s Steakhouse on Saturday, Nov. 7. Wann called it “a parent-organized event,” and the department has said students from the freshman through senior classes were present.

“The individuals that we have been in contact with all report no masks were worn and that masks were made optional by the event organizers,” Wann told The Daily Beast.

When the inevitable COVID-19 cases started popping up, Wann said her department’s job was made harder by the fact that there was no list of attendees.

 

Quote

This wasn’t an accident: The health department was told “by community members and those in attendance” that organizers intentionally hid the number and identity of those in attendance to avoid contact tracing in the event of an outbreak, according to Wann. That account of deliberate epidemiological obfuscation was bolstered by a handful of accounts from residents.

As of Friday, there were seven cases tied to the event and several others at Rolla High School among students and staff members, Wann told The Daily Beast. She was not optimistic about her department’s ability to link all relevant cases.

The story out of Rolla mirrored many others throughout the country, where health departments face an uphill battle against COVID-19 skepticism and the politicization of mask-wearing—and the potential for one event to spark massive outbreaks. But it stood out for what residents described as a purposeful effort to ward off health officials’ scrutiny even as the pandemic’s third wave wreaks new frontiers of horror nationwide.

 

Spoiler

“We know that we will not be able to obtain a true picture of the impact this event had on our community,” Wann said. “Some individuals will choose not to report symptoms, some will choose not to be tested, and some may remain asymptomatic and spread it to others unknowingly, so a link back to the dance will not be made. Unfortunately there will be individuals that will be untruthful and intentionally withhold information, which is not unusual to contact tracing in general.”

Photos tagged at Matt’s Steakhouse on Instagram this week showed high schoolers in formalwear—black sequins, vests, and heels—smiling wide without masks in a room decorated with gold and blue balloons. One caption read: “Had to get one last party in before we go back to lockdown.”

But who would plan such an event in the middle of a pandemic, with local cases already overwhelming the public health department and superspreader events making news all over the country? Interviews with residents and a review of social-media posts suggest this was no simple case of kids being kids.

“So my friend and I did a thing yesterday,” local parent Cory Coates posted on Facebook after the dance. “We did a REALLY big thing. And we had a lot of support. And a lot of help. And a lot of really happy kids. And it was kind of amazing. And I really want to recognize and thank these people but I can’t. But my heart is full and I think the kids are happy and it was worth it. I would do it again. I’m happy and sad at the same time and I want normalcy. I think we delivered this for one night. #HOCORHS2020.”

That hashtag appeared to mirror the slogan “HOCO: Sailing out of 2020,” which was featured in a screenshot from Snapchat shared with The Daily Beast on Friday that showed details of the event over a nautical motif and asked parents who wanted to contribute or help with organizing to contact Coates.

“Let’s do this thing!” said the post.

201113-messer-superspreader-embed_a6iyhl

In a text exchange with The Daily Beast on Friday asking about the event, Coates said she didn’t “have any comments at this time.” She neither confirmed nor denied planning the event herself but added: “If you are going to do the article, I do suggest you look into all the HS activities the week leading to the dance and community events.”

Coates noted that several events, including boys and girls basketball and wrestling tryouts, powder puff practice, and games happened the same week as the dance.

As of Friday, Rolla’s Phelps County—pop. 44,789—had a cumulative total of 1,214 confirmed cases and 34 deaths from the coronavirus, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard. The county had an average of 28 new daily cases over the past seven days, a figure that appeared to be increasing. The most recent dates for overnight cases were Monday and Tuesday, which had 70 new cases and 30 on each day, respectively.

Craig Hounsom, Superintendent of Rolla 31 School District, announced in an email to staff and parents on Thursday evening—hours after news first broke of the dance and the related cases—that Rolla High School would switch to “full virtual learning” from Nov. 16 through Nov. 23. The email, obtained by The Daily Beast, cited “a sharp increase in COVID positive cases, high numbers of student quarantines due to internal and external contacts, high school absentee rates due to sickness, and the increasing number of quarantined staff members.”

While teens are less likely than older adults to die from the virus, they can still deal with long-term, debilitating health complications and are just as likely to transmit it to others. And large events can kill those who aren't present, like a notorious August wedding in Maine that led to 170 infections, killing at least 7 people who did not even attend.

And even if the dance didn’t cause all the new infections, it has thrown a serious wrench in local efforts to keep the town, which calls itself “the middle of everywhere,” from drowning in cases of the deadly virus.

“All case investigation and contact tracing efforts have been forced to focus solely on this event, pushing us even further behind with contacting new positive cases,” said a statement released this week from the health department. “This event has the potential to be a superspreader event with more cases expected over the next several weeks. Actions and events such as this are reckless and go against all public health mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the entirety of the community.”

Highlighting that tension—and the difficult task facing the health department—one local woman claimed in a series of Facebook posts that her daughter “did not attend the dance” but that she had added the health department number into her phone in order to avoid their calls.

“I’m sorry, but if you’re OK with your kid ratting other kids out to the health department for attending a private event, you are the bigger problem …. SMDH SOCIALISM,” she wrote. “I don’t have to answer any of their questions. F#%* them.”

“This is how it all starts,” she continued. “Dividing, labeling. Your home raided in the middle of the night. Don’t think it could happen here? Think again. The difference is, our citizens are armed, according to their constitutional rights.”

As for Coates, when asked about whether the parents who planned the event opted not to keep track of attendees in order to make contact tracing harder, she responded that “the event was planned following what the HS typically does at dances. A list of students who attend is not a normal practice for the HS.”

When pressed on whether she or other parents engaged in an effort to mislead or evade the health department, she replied, “I’m not going to respond to accusations.”

Rolla High School principal Jim Pritchett did not respond to messages and emails requesting comment on Friday about the reasoning for the school closure or the usual protocols for school dances.

A staff member at the red-brick Rolla High School—who asked to remain anonymous over fear of professional retaliation—said that tickets are usually sold at dances, in part to keep track of which students are in attendance. But that staff member said Coates had a point about the number of recent school events.

“She’s not wrong,” said the staff member. “We had football the whole season. The kids came and practiced every day. There were masks and distancing, but you can’t distance that much while you’re playing a sport, so I kind of agree with her on that. But at least at the school sanctioned things, we have protocols.”

“They’re 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds. They don’t really know better,” they said, noting that many of the students who attended the dance were back at school on Monday. “But I’m disappointed in the parents for putting everyone at risk like this.”

“And now we’re going virtual,” the staff member continued. “They hated it when we went hybrid, but now it’s their fault.”

Emails and phone messages for Matt’s Steakhouse were not returned this week, but the owner did comment on Facebook in response to community complaints, writing that “an event was held here that was put on by a group of parents.”

“We were not participants and did not work the event,” said the owner. “Many of our staff do wear masks. It is their choice. Business owners are struggling to find a balance that works for each of them, us included.”

There is currently no city-wide mask mandate. Though the district has asked students to wear them, the staffer at the high school told The Daily Beast that they have seen students refusing to wear masks, or wearing them inappropriately, hanging from their ears or under their chins.

Deanne Lyons, a member of the Rolla City Council representing the city’s sixth ward, told The Daily Beast on Friday that the city plans to discuss the issue of a mask-mandate again on Monday. But in past meetings, they said, that went poorly.

“The night I was sworn in, someone showed up comparing mask mandates to the Star of David,” said Lyons, “insinuat[ing] that the council members were Nazis for having any restrictions in place to prevent the spread of COVID.”

“That was in June,” they added. “The last meeting had someone citing a right-wing conspiracy website about masks making our lives worse.”

As for the dance, Lyons believes adults who took part in the event “have zero excuse.” They told The Daily Beast on Thursday that it was “bewildering” to imagine “people really would risk their own children and other people’s children and our entire community for a dance, a dance that could be made up at another time, when this isn’t happening.”

Wade Hawks, a 22-year-old Rolla native and graduate of the high school currently studying at the Rolla-based Missouri University of Science and Technology, told The Daily Beast he believes the parents and the steakhouse should be held accountable for “endangering our community.”

“I know a lot of people that would have run into or been in contact with these people through their work,” said Hawks. “The people that are now going to be affected are still not going to take it seriously and it’s going to be a plague in our little town.”

 

Edited by Francisco 2.0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Fletch said:

A few months ago I ran into a bar fly I see around local watering holes at a gas station. He guaranteed me this was all conspiracy and the second Biden was announced it’ll all go away. He said something like “look around! Do you see bodies out in the streets!?!?” I’m still wrapping my head around that thought 

sounds like someone forgot to look in the trees

giphy.gif

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So in utterly infective COVID window dressing up here, instead of playing the state football championships in Memorial Stadium where you can scatter a crowd pretty good, they’re playing them at school sites, so we’re going to have 1500 people standing shoulder to shoulder at lighted patch of grass in Shickley. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

It is spiraling right now.  Remember the lag, all those Biden victory parties are going to be super spreaders just like Halloween was, and like turkey day will be.

We're completely fucked because people are morons.  All of them.

What Biden victory parties? You mean the ones Biden attends? Or the ones that happened out in the streets after they announced the win for Biden?

At least Biden has been consistent in setting a good example of social distancing and mask wearing at all of his campaign events. At the Republican National Convention, not only were masks scarce and the crowd packed closely together, they referred to the pandemic in the past tense. Trump's strategy in the last few weeks of his campaign was to go back to holding rallies and just pretending the pandemic didn't exist anymore. Because what the fuck does he care what message that sends to the country if it helps him win the election? Not only does he hold super spreader events, he encourages others to hold super spreader events. 

Don't underestimate the effect of Trump's messaging in the final weeks of the campaign on the current outbreak. And, with few exceptions, he has discouraged the wearing of masks throughout the pandemic. If we surveyed a million people who refuse to wear masks, I'd agree to pay you $2 for everyone who was a Biden supporter if you agreed to pay me $1 for everyone who was a Trump supporter. I figure I'd come out about $700,000 ahead. 

The vast majority of the morons are on the Trump side. And it makes sense because Trump is the king of the morons. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

What Biden victory parties? You mean the ones Biden attends? Or the ones that happened out in the streets after they announced the win for Biden?

At least Biden has been consistent in setting a good example of social distancing and mask wearing at all of his campaign events. At the Republican National Convention, not only were masks scarce and the crowd packed closely together, they referred to the pandemic in the past tense. Trump's strategy in the last few weeks of his campaign was to go back to holding rallies and just pretending the pandemic didn't exist anymore. Because what the fuck does he care what message that sends to the country if it helps him win the election? Not only does he hold super spreader events, he encourages others to hold super spreader events. 

Don't underestimate the effect of Trump's messaging in the final weeks of the campaign on the current outbreak. And, with few exceptions, he has discouraged the wearing of masks throughout the pandemic. If we surveyed a million people who refuse to wear masks, I'd agree to pay you $2 for everyone who was a Biden supporter if you agreed to pay me $1 for everyone who was a Trump supporter. I figure I'd come out about $700,000 ahead. 

The vast majority of the morons are on the Trump side. And it makes sense because Trump is the king of the morons. 

I voted for Biden fwiw.  On my street there were two separate parties; not big and outdoor but still gatherings.

 

Halloween we went by our old hood and there was a giant Trump flag in front of a house with about 75 people unmasked partying.

 

Personal anecdotes but still - #bothsides!

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a party that spontaneously occurred in my garage/alley last Saturday after the election got called. Somehow the garage door ended up crooked, with bent spars and a spring broken. It to be rebuilt and rehung the next day- new rails, new spars, brackets, everything except the panels and the door itself. Cost me over a grand, which pales in comparison to the market value of the bourbon and champagne that was consumed. 
 

Everybody wore masks though. Worth it!
 

  • Hook 'Em 6
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

There was a party that spontaneously occurred in my garage/alley last Saturday after the election got called. Somehow the garage door ended up crooked, with bent spars and a spring broken. It to be rebuilt and rehung the next day- new rails, new spars, brackets, everything except the panels and the door itself. Cost me over a grand, which pales in comparison to the market value of the bourbon and champagne that was consumed. 
 

Everybody wore masks though. Worth it!
 

You got so drunk that you broke your garage door? Have some rep. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

You got so drunk that you broke your garage door? Have some rep. 

Not sure what happened, to be honest-  one minute high school kids were making tik toks of me doing the Paul Wall part on “How to Be the Man”, the next minute I’m calling around to garage door companies at 1am and they are telling me they don’t understand what I’m saying. It’s all kind of a blur. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

I voted for Biden fwiw.  On my street there were two separate parties; not big and outdoor but still gatherings.

 

Halloween we went by our old hood and there was a giant Trump flag in front of a house with about 75 people unmasked partying.

 

Personal anecdotes but still - #bothsides!

I've seen a statistic that people who refuse to wear masks are 91% likely to be Trump supporters. That's not "#bothsodes!" When one side is a whole hell of a lot worse than the other, it's fallacious to equate them just because the better side isn't just exactly perfect. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pos rep to Tuco and HenryJames.

"No, Mr. B_C...you can't tax deduct destroying your own garage door on your taxes as a capital loss.  No, I wouldn't file a claim to your homeowner's insurance if you had anything to do with it.  Wait, you think it was drunken high school kids?  That you provided alcohol to?  Wait, what happened next?  You know what?...nevermind...stop talking.  This is why I told you to vote for Trump, to get your life back on the straight and narrow.  Good night..............sinner."  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, while I’m thrilled to not have Covid right now and just seem to be having a rather severe allergy flare up, there are some downsides.

I had particularly rough coughing fit in Target this morning.

Boy howdy, I got the major stink eye from everyone within hearing distance lol.

I think I need to invest in a t-shirt that says “It’s not Covid! I have allergies! I have a negative test to prove it! I swear!”.

I got in and out real fast - I couldn’t even leisurely browse The Dollar Spot, dangit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From visiting a hospital for a bit of outpatient slashing-up, I am convinced the average human is incapable of the sustained concentration that precautions require.

Noses poking out of masks. People drifting way the fuck too close. The impression of little kids playing a game, where if they touch base, they're safe.

Anybody who's ever been in Basic Training, remember how spazzed out the recruits are on the first day, unable to comprehend basic English, dropping stuff, going the wrong way? That's how it felt.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^
to be fair to Vice President Pence, his religious faith does not allow him to be alone in a room with a bar graph after sunset.  

Oh wait, that's "alone in a room at a bar with Steffi Graf after sunset"       My bad.

Edited by Lobo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bama Chick said:


I had particularly rough coughing fit in Target this morning.

Boy howdy, I got the major stink eye from everyone within hearing distance lol.
 

Very relieved you tested negative. I say keep em all in the dark. The folks who quietly believe it isn't to be taken seriously, may decide to take it seriously.

 

Looks like the Kushner clan should be called the contagion clan. SIAP

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Very relieved you tested negative. I say keep em all in the dark. The folks who quietly believe it isn't to be taken seriously, may decide to take it seriously.

 

Looks like the Kushner clan should be called the contagion clan. SIAP

 

It's a bigger shame that the universe allowed these two to procreate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Not sure what happened, to be honest-  one minute high school kids were making tik toks of me doing the Paul Wall part on “How to Be the Man”, the next minute I’m calling around to garage door companies at 1am and they are telling me they don’t understand what I’m saying. It’s all kind of a blur. 

Late candidate for post of the year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Was wondering if you knew Cory Coates, and if you did, if you'd cunt punch her for me?

I don't think I know her, but we have 3 mutual friends on Facebook, two of whom are prototypical big fish small pond meatheads.  Think Al Bundy but without the wit and charm.

#glorydays

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back in the summer, I know healthcare experts were predicting a 3rd wave around November. I figured they were probably right but I can’t believe the national charts where we have doubled the 2nd wave daily new cases.

I was curious what the Texas state dept health was stating about this growth. Their main chart with a time dimension show both cumulative cases and new cases on the same chart. SMH. This allows the new cases to barely be a blip. Charts can magically make something seem insignificant. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I voted for Biden fwiw.  On my street there were two separate parties; not big and outdoor but still gatherings.
 
Halloween we went by our old hood and there was a giant Trump flag in front of a house with about 75 people unmasked partying.
 
Personal anecdotes but still - #bothsides!

All the Biden celebrations I saw were all outside with almost 100% mask wearing. Then again, this is NYC and masks are definitely a thing here.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/12/2020 at 6:15 PM, Anastasis said:

@triplehorn, with all sincerity, this might be right up your head shrinker alley.  Let go of the HCQ dead end, and maybe pivot to supporting some of the quality research being planned with other agents.  Given the case loads right now, should be pretty easy to hit enrollment numbers.  Or just keep posting retrospective analyses out of India, whatever. 

 

 

Trial supports use of fluvoxamine in patients with mild COVID-19   Key passage from this article:

Quote

“Today, with all the focus on vaccines, we are neglecting to adequately fund research on the most promising existing drugs for treating this virus,” said Steve Kirsch, CETF founder. “COVID-19 will be with us for a while, so in addition to the vaccine studies, we should be focusing on testing drugs such as fluvoxamine, camostat, GS-441524 and doxazosin. Preventing serious illness and death should be the goal and repurposed drugs can be rolled out quickly to the benefit of millions worldwide. Virtually all of the funding for these outpatient trials is coming from a very small number of private donors. That needs to change. This trial provides strong evidence that drug repurposing may soon prove to be the fastest and least expensive way to end this pandemic.”

The bolded is right up there with our biggest failures in the US managing this pandemic.  Who's to blame?  Fauci? Trump?  Pharma isn't going to pay for and conduct generic repurposing studies.  Outside of vaccines, for which Fauci et al went all-in from the very beginning, federal funding for repurposed therapeutics in the US is virtually non-existent.  Fauci's fault? I don't know.  But the rest of the world has left us behind in researching repurposed generics and utilizing them on a population scale.  The evidence is overwhelming that we have multiple safe and effective options when targeted correctly yet it's radio silence from on high in the US.  Why? 

Despite the drug that will not be named having over 170 positive studies worldwide (10 positive studies the first 2 weeks of this November alone) , ivermectin is emerging as arguably the strongest effective available agent for early use.  Ivermectin RCT reported this week showing it outperforms tdtwbn:

Spoiler

Emy0j6_W8Asw_rc?format=png&name=900x900

Emy3CQUWEAAEo4h?format=png&name=900x900

Two arms also tested ivermectin prophylaxis with impressive results:

Spoiler

Emy2OLcWMAMiNNg?format=png&name=medium

dirt cheap, safe, and once per week or even once per month dosing. 

Apart from POTUS and VIPs getting good care with repurposed generics, for the rest of the population it's zilch.  Wait for a vaccine, and watch a lot more death than there has to be.  Why?

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, tell us more about how doctors in the United States are letting people die because reasons. 

Dude, it’s obviously a conspiracy, where the doctors are controlled by the Bilderbergers, Big Pharma, the lizard people under the Denver airport, and Ken Griffey Jr. Duh. Open your eyes, sheeple!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Dude, it’s obviously a conspiracy, where the doctors are controlled by the Bilderbergers, Big Pharma, the lizard people under the Denver airport, and Ken Griffey Jr. Duh. Open your eyes, sheeple!

You forgot about the queers.  Do you have any idea what they're doing to the soil?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Dude, it’s obviously a conspiracy, where the doctors are controlled by the Bilderbergers, Big Pharma, the lizard people under the Denver airport, and Ken Griffey Jr. Duh. Open your eyes, sheeple!

They meet at a place called The Meadows 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



×
×
  • Create New...