Pandemic: Life on the ground

[Marcus]

It was a complete change in thinking about colds. I suspect there's going to be other changes in thinking as a result of the pandemic.

I think you can have noticeable improvements in the health of a population by some of those changes. I would like to see handshaking not come back and be replaced by something like bowing. I think cultures where this is common where onto something.

I agree. I see a lot more of alternate behaviors now to replace handshaking, and especially the handshaking with a drawing in for a hug. There is a commercial showing people elbow bumping in place of handshaking; it ends with two people with their hands full searching for an alternative and settling on a reached out foot touching. Hilarious, but what an interesting time it is, to see these social niceties evolving in real time.

[Jersey Girl]

Perhaps now isn't the time to whine but I'm doing it anyway. You know...it seemed like the pandemic was starting to calm down, if not collapse into an endemic, and I was starting to think that I could actually make travel plans for the end of April or possibly May. I even had my sights set on late August or Sept for a return to the UK. And now...NOW...as if the pandemic weren't enough to contend with we're possibly facing WW3.

I can't even live any more over here. It's not just about the trip thing, it's about going on three years of ducking surges off and on and off and on and off and on...and finally, finally, finally, thinking that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel only to have the lights go OUT again.

I wish there were an emoticon to express what I'm feeling. There just isn't one.

Yes I know I'm being childishly selfish. So WHAT.

[Res Ipsa]

Ed Yong of the Atlantic has written a new pandemic article on how 1,000 deaths a day in the US from COVID became acceptable. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... te/626972/

[Jersey Girl]

The Late Show's Rockin' 2 Year Coronavirus Pandemi-Versary: A F̶o̶n̶d̶ Look Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONRoZZS1hxY

[Res Ipsa]

An interesting piece called The Epidemic of COVID Complacency. https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-ep ... omplacency It’s by Eric Topol, a physician-scientist that has been one of many voices of reason throughout the pandemic. We can’t make COVID go away by wishing it away. Hospitalizations in Europe have begun to increase again. https://Twitter.com/erictopol/status/15 ... 30240?s=21

[Jersey Girl]

An interesting piece called The Epidemic of COVID Complacency. https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-ep ... omplacency It’s by Eric Topol, a physician-scientist that has been one of many voices of reason throughout the pandemic. We can’t make COVID go away by wishing it away. Hospitalizations in Europe have begun to increase again. https://Twitter.com/erictopol/status/15 ... 30240?s=21

New cases are also going to start popping off in the countries receiving refugees from Ukraine since Ukraine's percentage of vaccinated is only in the high 30's percent.

[ajax18]

Ron DeSantis Warns Leftists ‘Will Impose Restrictions’ After the Midterm Elections

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday warned that leftists, many of whom have experienced a sudden “epiphany” and have lifted remaining coronavirus restrictions in their respective states, will reimpose mandates “if they feel the need” after the midterm elections are over.

“The minute those elections are over, they will impose mandates if they feel the need to do that. They will impose restrictions,” DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion in Doral, Florida, making the remarks as blue state leaders lift the remaining restrictions in their areas, months ahead of the midterm elections.

“And so that will happen. If those types of people are allowed to be put in power — my view on that is, they’ve put Fauci in the witness protection program because he will say, you know, no, you should still wear a mask, and he’s never going to say be normal, go back to normal. So they know that, and they know that that’s not what people want,” DeSantis said, emphasizing that “people want to be able to make decisions for themselves.”

“There’s nothing wrong if on an individual basis you make a certain calculation. That’s fine. We encourage you to do that. But it’s wrong to mandate people and restrict people, and that will happen. I guarantee you, winter of 2022, any of those folks that are there, you are going to see that happen,” he continued.

“The only way to make sure it doesn’t happen is to have nice, big, red wave. So, we’ll see,” he added.

The governor issued a similar warning last month.

“So when you start to see them kind of reevaluate or say all this, just understand this. The science didn’t change. The medical science didn’t change. The political science changed. They feel the heat,” he said:

“They know that voters have been tired of perpetual lockdown policies. They know that they have basically offered no offramp and they know that they’re fixing to be whooped at the polls, so that’s causing the epiphany,” he added.

Hawaii’s Democrat Gov. David Ige already essentially admitted this, noting that he will reinstitute the state’s mask policy — which is set to be lifted March 25 — in the future “if COVID case numbers surge.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022 ... elections/

[ajax18]

New cases are also going to start popping off in the countries receiving refugees from Ukraine since Ukraine's percentage of vaccinated is only in the high 30's percent.

Yeah, especially when the vaccines and boosters didn't even stop transmission of the disease. There can only be one solution. Cancel Christmas, mask up the pre schoolers, ban all travel to and from Florida, shut down the churches, but of course keep the borders open to all unvaccinated and unmasked refugees and immigrants willing to vote for leftwing public officials. And make sure our socialist distancing guidelines never interfere with leftwing protests, vandalism, and looting. Covid knows who the true believers are and who are the anti-scientific miscreants that deserve to be infected and die.

[Marcus]

An interesting piece called The Epidemic of COVID Complacency. https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-ep ... omplacency It’s by Eric Topol, a physician-scientist that has been one of many voices of reason throughout the pandemic. We can’t make COVID go away by wishing it away. Hospitalizations in Europe have begun to increase again. https://Twitter.com/erictopol/status/15 ... 30240?s=21

New cases are also going to start popping off in the countries receiving refugees from Ukraine since Ukraine's percentage of vaccinated is only in the high 30's percent.

Good point.

[ajax18]

Former President Barack Obama Tests Positive for COVID-19

Former President Barack Obama tweeted Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, describing mild symptoms.

In a tweet, he said: “I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative.

“It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.”

Obama’s announcement came as many places across the U.S. have reported declining case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths as the wave caused by the omicron variant fades. Trends reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been downward since February. The CDC also reports that 81.5% of Americans have had at least one does of the coronavirus vaccine, though Obama, who is vaccinated, seems to have what is known as a “breakthrough” case.

In 2020, it was conventional wisdom that then-President Donald Trump had contracted coronavirus because he had been “arrogant and negligent.” However, several other leaders, many of whom have prided themselves on public displays of hyper-caution or support for severe coronavirus restrictions, have since contracted the virus anyway.

Obama drew criticism last year for dancing maskless among the guests at his 60th birthday bash at his Martha’s Vineyard estate, in the midst of the so-called delta wave.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022 ... -covid-19/