COVID-19 News and Discussions

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wjfox
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caltrek wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 4:15 pm Trump Country is Getting Hit Much Harder by Recent Wave of COVID Deaths
by Jon Skolnik
November 08, 2021

https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/trump-country-deaths/

Inroduction:
(Alternet) This past month, the gap in COVID-19 death rates between counties that voted for Donald Trump and President Biden has been higher than ever recorded, according to a New York Times analysis, likely due to lingering Republican hesitancy over the safety of the vaccine.

This month, about "25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties," the Times found. The analysis – which defines "Trump counties" as any that saw at least 60% of their electorate vote for Trump in the 2020 election – also observed that the gap appears to be climbing.

According to the Times, the difference is most likely explained by the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine, which has seen much higher rates of hesitancy amongst conservatives. In fact, prior to the vaccine, when the nation saw a marked partisan discrepancy in the use of public health measures, there was a marginal partisan difference in the death rates.

"The true explanation is straightforward," explained the Times' David Leonhardt. "The vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe Covid, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults."

Among those who refuse to get vaccinated, roughly half are "unlikely to change their minds," according to NBC News. It remains unclear whether the gap will continue to widen given the country's entrenched hesitancy around the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine – a sentiment that's been largely fueled by right-wing news sources like Fox News. According to a Media Matters analysis from July, almost 60% of segments about the vaccine "included claims that undermined vaccination efforts."

Great news – I hope this continues. :) The voter demographics in the U.S. will be improved. And the world is overpopulated anyway – if the stupidest segment wants to Darwin Award themselves off, that's fine with me.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Covid-resistant people inspire new vaccine tactic

3 hours ago

Understanding how some people naturally resist Covid infection, despite clearly being exposed to the virus, could lead to better vaccines, say researchers.

A team at University College London said some people had a degree of Covid-immunity before the pandemic started.

This likely came from the body learning how to fight viruses that are related to the one which has swept the world.

Upgrading vaccines to copy this protection, could make the jabs even more effective, the team said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59207466
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Pretty handy to have if you don't know where to begin in terms of finding useful epidemiological information about Covid.

To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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White-Tailed Deer Study Hints at a Frightening New Era for Covid-19
Tara Yarlagadda
November 11, 2021

https://www.inverse.com/science/white-t ... er-covid19

Introduction:
(Inverse) WE ARE ENTERING an uncertain phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, where our actions could determine whether the disease shifts to being endemic — a normal part of life, like the seasonal flu or chickenpox.

It isn’t just humans that can get Covid-19. Animals can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 too, adding another unpredictable element that could potentially shape the future pandemic. This is the virus that causes Covid-19.

Critically, the transmission of Covid-19 among free-ranging wildlife — non-domesticated animals living separate from humans — is rarely observed in nature. In 2020, a single wild mink found in Utah marked the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a free-ranging, native animal in the United States.

But a study on white-tailed deer posted the pre-print server bioRxiv on November 1 suggests a dramatic shift.

The study indicates that, between April 2020 and January 2021, up to 80 percent of white-tailed deer in Iowa became infected with SARS-CoV-2.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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he also punished mayors who were not politically aligned with him by denying them access to emergency medical equipment and support. Literally saying that he was withholding things from them because they had been critical of him.
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An excellent summary by the "Lonely Satirist." Unfortunately, these basic facts are not being acknowledged by Fox News or many of its guests. So, supporters are quickly forgetting Trump's demonstrably negative role. That, combined with all the whining about how Biden isn't Superman, will quite possibly result in Trump's election in 2024, or in the election of a Trump clone. I honestly can't say I understand how this country got so far off track, only that it seems to have done so.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Sweeping Restrictions on Covid-19 Safety Measures Become Law in Tennessee
by Rosana Hughes
November 13, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/sweeping ... tennessee/

Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed sweeping restrictions on Covid-19 safety measures into law late Friday following a whirlwind three-day special legislative session at the tail end of last month.

The restrictions, which affect the authority of schools, health officials and private businesses, have been met with pushback from leaders in those communities and are expected to be met with legal challenges.

Some of the restrictions under the new legislation include prohibiting businesses that do not receive federal funds from requiring employees to receive a Covid-19 vaccine or request proof of it. The rule also applies to government agencies and public schools.

Proof of a negative Covid-19 test, however, can be required by private businesses such as entertainment venues. And businesses at risk of losing federal money can continue to require vaccines after obtaining permission from the state comptroller’s office. State prisons and health care organizations that receive money from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are also exempt from the prohibition on vaccine mandates.

Employees who quit their jobs because of vaccine requirements will be allowed to collect unemployment benefits, something that will apply retroactively to those who have not yet found new employment.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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caltrek wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 1:15 pm I honestly can't say I understand how this country got so far off track, only that it seems to have done so.
I'm sorry, but the only logical choice was Bernie Sanders. I realize there was worry about appealing to the electorate as a whole and then strategically voting/passing progressive legislation while in office. Understand, that this isn't Canada, where that idea actually makes sense as the electorate is not nearly as insane.

Biden himself? He never really was that enthusiastic about progressive change to begin with. Whether he's better than Trump/GOP garbage is irrelevant to the material conditions people have to experience on a daily basis. It's all too easy to forget, when your next paycheck decides your fate. That's not to say that any of this gives conservatives a free pass to their blatant authoritarianism, anti-intellectualism, anti-scientific bullshit. But voters themselves also have to take it upon themselves to be educated and active enough when it counts, otherwise "Clark Kent" is who they'll ever see.

The issue is that we needed an equally strong response. This was the right time for one, and the "left" if you want to call them that, faltered.
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Re: COVID-19 News and Discussions

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Qoute on qoute “progressives” were too busy simping over corporate democrats like Pete Butt and others. A candidate winning on policy in this country at this point isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Americans want to be entertained, and Trump is the great entertainer. Electing Biden only ensures a Trump presidency in 2024 barring an equally bombastic candidate from the democrats which is unlikely.
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