How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[10023]

Originally Posted by dktshb

I know. Reading all his messages I have come to conclude that apparently there is a "cult of ignorance" in the United Kingdom too.

No, it’s that people should be perfectly capable of assessing their own risk and acting accordingly.

The first lockdowns in March of last year made sense because we didn’t quite know what we were dealing with. By May or June we did and precautions should have been voluntary and based on individual risk.

The subsequent rules (even when restaurants/pubs in the UK were open from late July to October, they were not enjoyable) and then 6 more months of lockdowns were inexcusable and caused by the inability or unwillingness of the old or otherwise vulnerable to take appropriate precautions. And the media has pushed lies and engineered panic in order to keep people with nothing to worry about compliant. We didn’t need lockdowns, we needed common sense.

[Pedestrian]

U.S. retail sales post largest gain in 10 months; weekly jobless claims fall
BY LUCIA MUTIKANI, REUTERS - 12:31 PM ET 4/15/2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales rose by the most in 10 months in March as Americans received additional pandemic relief checks from the government and increased COVID-19 vaccinations allowed broader economic re-engagement, cementing expectations for robust growth in the first quarter.

The brightening economic prospects were underscored by other data on Thursday showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to the lowest level since March 2020, when mandatory closures of nonessential businesses were enforced to slow the spread of the first COVID-19 wave.

Though output at factories rebounded modestly last month amid a global semi-conductor chip shortage that is hurting automobile plants, manufacturing remains underpinned by the strong domestic demand. The upbeat data, which followed on the heels of recent reports showing inflation heating up, will likely not shift the Federal Reserve's ultra-easy monetary policy stance . . . .

https://www.fidelity.com/news/articl...2C21PQ-OUSBS_1

[jtown,man]

Working out is key to avoiding Covid. No, going to the gym tomorrow isn't going to help you. But the data are clear: being overweight is a HUGE factor in getting a bad case of Covid.

To the earlier question about knowing people that don't want the vaccine. Almost everyone back in Arkansas that I know isn't. I don't think any of my family is to be honest. The doorman in the my building says he isn't getting it.

Compare this to kids in my classes at school. They are driving 4 hours south to get a vaccine.

[Pedestrian]

Many U.S. states and cities have a growing surplus of Covid-19 vaccines as a significant percentage of Americans choose not to be inoculated. Overall, U.S. demand remains strong with 37% of people having gotten at least one dose, making the country one of the world’s leaders in vaccinations. Unfortunately, the U.S. is the world leader when it comes to coronavirus infections. And in certain U.S. states, as many as one in three shots are going unused. Those who refuse one are potentially putting those who do not at risk: Until herd immunity is reached, the chance that a new variant could circumvent existing vaccines remains real. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg Evening Briefing

I actually think this is over-reaction. What is true is that in certain states as much as ⅓ of the vaccine supply has not YET been used (Georgia) however it's an open question whether that's due to vaccine hesitancy or inefficiency on the part of the state's roll-out. Georgia has been a laggard from the beginning. Most states seemed to have used an average of around 80% of the vaccine they have been provided and the remaining doses are reserved in most cases as "second doses" for those who've received only the first Moderna or Pfizer dose.

In the Bay Area, now that everyone 16 and over is eligible, appointments seem to be going quickly:

COVID vaccine hunters say Bay Area slots are going quickly as 'open season' arrives

One the other hand, in Arizona I do note the daily injections seem stuck in the upper 50,000s while nationally they keep going higher. I don't know if this is because of supply limitations or because your tough, independent Arizonan wants to face the virus without help. It is true that Arizona has a bit more vaccine on hand than average at 21.4% of what it has been provided.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Working out is key to avoiding Covid. No, going to the gym tomorrow isn't going to help you. But the data are clear: being overweight is a HUGE factor in getting a bad case of Covid.

To the earlier question about knowing people that don't want the vaccine. Almost everyone back in Arkansas that I know isn't. I don't think any of my family is to be honest. The doorman in the my building says he isn't getting it.

Compare this to kids in my classes at school. They are driving 4 hours south to get a vaccine.

Overweight makes the illness worse if you get it so in that sense it helps prevent SYMPTOMATIC COVID, but there's no data it prevents asymptomatic infection and it's asymptomatic infection that the rest of us need to be concerned with. If you are infected, whether symptomatic or not, you are a possible place for a mutation to occur and you can give it to someone who will have a tougher time with it.

Don't use being in what you think is good shape be an excuse not to get vaccinated as 10023 is doing.

Finally, if what you say about the prevalent attitude in Chicago is true, I'm just glad I don't live there. I want my Uber driver to be vaccinated. I want everyone I share the halls of my building to be vaccinated. If an employee of my building refused, I'd want management to require frequent tests of that person. And I would stay out of indoor spaces shared with friends and family who refuse and I would tell them why point blank.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

56 is old? Holy shit!

And I disagree that we should be targeting any age group for vaccination. All adults should be encouraged to get the shots. I’m not as irrationally freaked about variants as some others are, but we DO have to acknowledge that as long as the viral load is high in the public, the virus will gradually evolve into resistant strains. Keeping viral levels low within the population is the best way to dramatically slow that process down.

Old is in the mind. So long as the mind is sharp... one never ages. Skin... just the exoskeleton to the individual. Nothing but a conglomeration of cells and collagen. But the mind... the mind is the electrostatic web that defines the person. So long as the branches that radiate remain strong between the left and right hemispheres, one does not age. Bones may grow brittle and skin contracting like desecration cracks in the desert but the game of life is best explored via perception and neuroplasticity.



56 if anything, is intellectually is younger and fresher. More experiences, more long term memories stored. More overall plasticity of the natural world and past events.

Which is why neurodegenerative diseases are so tragic. Better to lose a leg than to degenerate into long-term memory inhibition that is irreversible.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Working out is key to avoiding Covid. No, going to the gym tomorrow isn't going to help you. But the data are clear: being overweight is a HUGE factor in getting a bad case of Covid.

To the earlier question about knowing people that don't want the vaccine. Almost everyone back in Arkansas that I know isn't. I don't think any of my family is to be honest. The doorman in the my building says he isn't getting it.

Compare this to kids in my classes at school. They are driving 4 hours south to get a vaccine.

I had to drive 80 miles for mine. But I kind of woke up today for the 2nd shot happy. Part of history. A historical moment shared amongst millions of other. A sort of viral WW1 or WW2 moment of collective gratification that the war is almost over. The picture of the sailor kissing the lady in Times Square is best defined in 2021 as the fella getting the shot by a the sailor of our times, the nurses and doctors and scientists.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Overweight makes the illness worse if you get it so in that sense it helps prevent SYMPTOMATIC COVID, but there's no data it prevents asymptomatic infection and it's asymptomatic infection that the rest of us need to be concerned with. If you are infected, whether symptomatic or not, you are a possible place for a mutation to occur and you can give it to someone who will have a tougher time with it.

Don't use being in what you think is good shape be an excuse not to get vaccinated as 10023 is doing.

Finally, if what you say about the prevalent attitude in Chicago is true, I'm just glad I don't live there. I want my Uber driver to be vaccinated. I want everyone I share the halls of my building to be vaccinated. If an employee of my building refused, I'd want management to require frequent tests of that person. And I would stay out of indoor spaces shared with friends and family who refuse and I would tell them why point blank.

Also, being overweight might make a person statistically more likely to have a severe case of COVID, but being healthy and in shape does not mean there is no risk of severe illness or death. Just like being overweight might make you statistically more likely to die in the event of a car accident, but that doesn't mean that car accidents don't pose a major risk to people who are in shape.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Overweight makes the illness worse if you get it so in that sense it helps prevent SYMPTOMATIC COVID, but there's no data it prevents asymptomatic infection and it's asymptomatic infection that the rest of us need to be concerned with. If you are infected, whether symptomatic or not, you are a possible place for a mutation to occur and you can give it to someone who will have a tougher time with it.

Don't use being in what you think is good shape be an excuse not to get vaccinated as 10023 is doing.

Finally, if what you say about the prevalent attitude in Chicago is true, I'm just glad I don't live there. I want my Uber driver to be vaccinated. I want everyone I share the halls of my building to be vaccinated. If an employee of my building refused, I'd want management to require frequent tests of that person. And I would stay out of indoor spaces shared with friends and family who refuse and I would tell them why point blank.

You and I would never come into contact in the “wild”. We wouldn’t go to any of the same places (you keep bringing up the example of grocery stores, but only because you won’t go during senior citizen hours).

If I’m going to have asymptomatic Covid but you are at risk of illness, should (a) both of us be confined to our homes with restaurants, bars, gyms and retail closed; or (b) you avoid such places while I go about my life in as normal a manner as possible?

The answer is clearly (b), and anyone who supports (a) is doing so out of either an unjustified degree of concern or spite (this is my father’s attitude - basically, “why should the young get to have fun if I can’t”). Either way, screw them.

[SlidellWx]

Latest data by parish for Louisiana showing percent of the 18+ population vaccinated. New Orleans crossed the 50% line for those receiving at least one dose and having a fairly high degree of protection from infection. Current positive rate is 0.5% in the city. Getting pretty darn close to herd immunity in the city.

The three principle parishes of metro New Orleans (Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany) all have more than 1 out of 3 adults fully vaccinated.


courtesy @Crimealytics

[someone123]

Originally Posted by 10023

If I’m going to have asymptomatic Covid but you are at risk of illness, should (a) both of us be confined to our homes with restaurants, bars, gyms and retail closed; or (b) you avoid such places while I go about my life in as normal a manner as possible?

Haven't the older people in the US mostly gotten a chance to get vaccinated by now, or soon will have a chance and so this scenario is basically out of date? If they elected not to get vaccinated I don't know why they would feel entitled to demand that others be vaccinated or stay out of shared indoor spaces. If they did get vaccinated, they are not in fact at high risk anymore.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by 10023

If I’m going to have asymptomatic Covid . . .

. . . most people in such a scenario would feel they should wear a mask and maintain proper distance from others when in public, but basic brats will insist that everyone else must bear their light burden for them.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Might be a dumb question but since you’re a physicist by trade, is it even theoretically possible to implant a chip into someone via a vehicle like a clear, colorless solution injected intramuscularly? I know things like valves and sensors can be implanted through major arteries and veins but you can actually see those with your naked eye.

It's possible to make nanochips so small that they probably can't readily be seen by the naked eye, but as far as I know they can't really do too much with current technology. See e.g. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-54327412

[Pedestrian]

There has been some discussion of irrational mutant fears here. So today, from the CEO of Pfizer:

Annual Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Shots Likely Needed, Pfizer CEO Says
By Jared S. Hopkins
Updated April 15, 2021 7:57 pm ET

Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Albert Bourla said it is likely that people who receive Covid-19 vaccines will need booster shots within a year afterward, and then annual vaccinations, to maintain protection against the virus as it evolves.

“The variants will play a key role. It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Mr. Bourla said during a virtual event hosted by CVS Health Corp. that aired Thursday but was recorded April 1.

“There are vaccines like polio where one dose is enough,” Mr. Bourla said. “And there are vaccines like flu that you need every year. The Covid virus looks more like the influenza virus than the polio virus.”

More research is required to confirm the need for annual booster shots, he said. But he added that the need appeared likely given research so far.

. . . New shots or boosters might be necessary, vaccine experts say, if the virus mutates significantly enough . . . .

In February, Pfizer and BioNTech began a study testing in people whether a third dose of the companies’ inoculation can protect against emerging variant strains.

Moderna Inc. executives have also said they expect boosters to be needed to ensure protection lasts in vaccinated people. The company recently started studying whether a booster shot of its two-dose vaccine is effective against a variant of the virus.

Countries with high vaccination rates will be ready to shift their focus to boosters possibly at the end of this year, Moderna said during a company vaccine event this week. Moderna President Stephen Hoge said it is safe to assume boosters would be needed “annually, probably seasonally, even though the pandemic is raging in a nonseasonal way” . . . .

https://www.wsj.com/articles/annual-...d=hp_lead_pos7

As I've explained, I am perhaps a little more sanguine than these biotech CEOs in that I think if the current vaccines work as well as they seem to we could suppress infection rates, and hence viral mutation rates, enough to make the rise of new mutant strains a pretty rare event. But that would take most people in the developed world putting aside their vaccine hesitancy and it would take a massive campaign to get the developing world vaccinated. I don't think we'll be able to do that in one year but maybe in 3-5.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Might be a dumb question but since you’re a physicist by trade, is it even theoretically possible to implant a chip into someone via a vehicle like a clear, colorless solution injected intramuscularly? I know things like valves and sensors can be implanted through major arteries and veins but you can actually see those with your naked eye.

Amazing things are being done with nanoparticles, perhaps more with organic ones than with inorganic. For example:

When atherosclerosis occurs in coronary arteries, blockages due to plaque or calcification-induced ruptures can lead to a clot, cutting blood flow to the heart, which is the cause of most heart attacks. When the condition occurs in the vessels leading to the brain, it can cause a stroke.

"An artery doesn't need to be 80 percent blocked to be dangerous. An artery with 45% blockage by plaques could be more rupture-prone," Chung said. "Just because it's a big plaque doesn't necessarily mean it's an unstable plaque."

Chung said that when small calcium deposits, called microcalcifications, form within arterial plaques, the plaque can become rupture prone.

However, identifying whether blood vessel calcification is unstable and likely to rupture is particularly difficult using traditional CT and MRI scanning methods, or angiography, which has other risks.

"Angiography requires the use of catheters that are invasive and have inherent risks of tissue damage," said Chin, the lead author. "CT scans on the other hand, involve ionizing radiation which can cause other detrimental effects to tissue."

Chung said that the resolution limitations of traditional imaging offers doctors a "bird's eye view" of larger-sized calcification, which may not necessarily be dangerous. "If the calcification is on the micro scale, it can be harder to pick out," she said.

The research team developed a nanoparticle, known as a micelle, which attaches itself and lights up calcification to make it easier for smaller blockages that are prone to rupture to be seen during imaging.

Chin said the micelles are able to specifically target hydroxyapatite, a unique form of calcium present in arteries and atherosclerotic plaques.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1209161147.htm

or

Michigan State University and Stanford University scientists have invented a nanoparticle that eats away -- from the inside out -- portions of plaques that cause heart attacks.

Bryan Smith, associate professor of biomedical engineering at MSU, and a team of scientists created a "Trojan Horse" nanoparticle that can be directed to eat debris, reducing and stabilizing plaque. The discovery could be a potential treatment for atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death in the United States.

The results, published in the current issue of Nature Nanotechnology, showcases the nanoparticle that homes in on atherosclerotic plaque due to its high selectivity to a particular immune cell type -- monocytes and macrophages. Once inside the macrophages in those plaques, it delivers a drug agent that stimulates the cell to engulf and eat cellular debris. Basically, it removes the diseased/dead cells in the plaque core. By reinvigorating the macrophages, plaque size is reduced and stabilized.

Smith said that future clinical trials on the nanoparticle are expected to reduce the risk of most types of heart attacks, with minimal side effects due to the unprecedented selectivity of the nanodrug.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0128114720.htm

There are actually quite a few experimental uses of nanoparticles in biomedicine now.

By definition, a nanoparticle is any particle less than 100 nanometers in size. I'm pretty sure no one could see that. It might make the fluid it's in appear cloudy if the concentration is high enough.

But I'm wondering why you ask. What use are you thinking of in relation to COVID?

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Amazing things are being done with nanoparticles, perhaps more with organic ones than with inorganic. For example:


https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1209161147.htm

or


https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0128114720.htm

There are actually quite a few experimental uses of nanoparticles in biomedicine now.

By definition, a nanoparticle is any particle less than 100 nanometers in size. I'm pretty sure no one could see that. It might make the fluid it's in appear cloudy if the concentration is high enough.

But I'm wondering why you ask. What use are you thinking of in relation to COVID?

I imagine homebucket is wondering if anti-vaxxers irrational fear of a Bill Gates microchip is technically plausible at all.

[nito]

Originally Posted by craigs

. . . most people in such a scenario would feel they should wear a mask and maintain proper distance from others when in public, but basic brats will insist that everyone else must bear their light burden for them.

Exactly. If we had took a zero-tolerance approach to this pandemic rather than enable selfishness to take root we’d be well over this by now. Sadly, the same recurring minority selfish/ignorant elements within western society let down everyone and knowingly/unknowingly became enablers/collaborators to the virus.

Also, why is it that each time 10023 mentions his ”good shape”, the more I am thinking of the Aesop Fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf…

[JManc]

Originally Posted by 10023

You and I would never come into contact in the “wild”. We wouldn’t go to any of the same places (you keep bringing up the example of grocery stores, but only because you won’t go during senior citizen hours).

If I’m going to have asymptomatic Covid but you are at risk of illness, should (a) both of us be confined to our homes with restaurants, bars, gyms and retail closed; or (b) you avoid such places while I go about my life in as normal a manner as possible?

The answer is clearly (b), and anyone who supports (a) is doing so out of either an unjustified degree of concern or spite (this is my father’s attitude - basically, “why should the young get to have fun if I can’t”). Either way, screw them.

If you're asymptomatic (test positive), you should be confined to your house for 10-14 days regardless of pedestrian's risk factor.

[the urban politician]

I’m in great shape, everybody

I work out a lot, and I lift weights.

I watch videos of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 70s training for Mr. Olympia and it motivates me. He had an amazing body! Covid ain’t got a chance against me and Arnold!

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I imagine homebucket is wondering if anti-vaxxers irrational fear of a Bill Gates microchip is technically plausible at all.

Wouldn't really small microchips eventually be flushed from the system anyway? A permanent chip would have to be surgically embedded, right?