Pandemic threat? Anyone else concerned?

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I am not surprised that Fauci jumped on Joe and the Hoe's invite to join their administration...once a taxpayer leach, ALWAYS a taxpayer leach.

As a physician with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fauci has served American public health in various capacities for more than 50 years, and has been an advisor to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.

And I have to say I do admire the movement 'You take the vaccine first Dr. Fauci, then we will' thoughts. 'Ductus Exemplo'

However, whether he takes it or not has nothing to do with my families decision on it. I just like it! :)
 
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bigredfish

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Was going to post the original link from ZH but as some don’t seem to grasp the concept of content aggregators I figured I’d post the original



And of course because it deals with common sense, and therefore wont be found on CNN or MSNBC Morning Joke, many of our liberal members will have a hard time with it...

“Authorities don't seem to grasp that many of those hesitating to get vaccinated are not anti-vaxxers; they simply see the vaccine approval process as deeply flawed for common-sense reasons: for example, there is simply not enough data on safety, duration and real-world efficacy. “
 

Crows

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COVID QR Codes , coming to a Store near you !
The Mrs went to the supermarket today, big line up to get in .. she got to the front of the line and was told on entry she had to scan a QR code with her Phone incase of an outbreak they can trace everyone .
 

sebastiantombs

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It's also been announced that the CCP Virus was present in the US as early as December, 2019, at least. Analysis of blood samples taken then show remnants of the CCP Virus DNA and antibodies. To me this means the infections are probably much higher than the current numbers indicate and that the death rate is also lower than the current numbers indicate.
 

Frankenscript

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It's also been announced that the CCP Virus was present in the US as early as December, 2019, at least. Analysis of blood samples taken then show remnants of the CCP Virus DNA and antibodies. To me this means the infections are probably much higher than the current numbers indicate and that the death rate is also lower than the current numbers indicate.
This development (presence of SARS-COV2 in US before China even knew what was going on with their aberrant pneumonia outbreak) was much anticipated and is scientifically extremely interesting. Remember how originally it was thought that the HIV virus crossed over to humans in the early 80s or 70s; now it's know to go back at least as far as the 1920s.

There's a lot more work to do to understand with accuracy how far back this can be traced. Also, the accuracy of the tests used is problematic: the percentages of apparent positives is a relatively small signal on top of the expected false positive noise, but it is clear there were some positives seen. If anybody is interested to understand why it is only now that this finding is coming out, it's because the antibody tests used have been progressively improving to the point where the signal can confidently be seen.

Note the paper I read (download it as PDF via a link here) was serologic (antibody) testing only, not looking for virus RNA. The antibodies persist detectably in blood much longer than the RNA does.

It's clear that this will continue to be tracked across geography and time to get a clearer picture of the migration of the disease. Fortunately, frozen blood samples are kept for many purposes that enable this kind of retrospective analysis. Who knows? Maybe it didn't even start in China! ;)

It's unlikely that this will show some huge pool of prior US infections (to sebastiantombs point); the data we have so far show antibody presence in something like a percent of the blood samples from very specific cohorts of people (and this number INCLUDES a fair number of likely false positives); even if this were extrapolated to the entire US population, it equates to a few days worth of infections at our current rate. The illness seen by these few early infections would have been lost in the noise of routine respiratory illness at the time.
 
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View attachment 76192

I am borrowing this....:)
 

sebastiantombs

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And I keep thinking about the "antrhrax outbreak" in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Parallel being the removal of mask by the "authorities" when the public was not there to see them do it.

And to reinforce my point about case numbers being higher. By your own words, paraphrased, "only a few days worth at current rates". Since everyone's hair is on fire with the current rates that would seema pretty significant number of cases. The accuracy of the tests used is probably as "good" as the tests currently used from what I've seen, but then again I'm not a biologist, just an observer.
 

Ssayer

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APD continued and said the new "curfew" begins Monday and will be applied from "11:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m. attitudes and cussing will be giving a citation for disorderly conduct and possibly a vehicle being towed so heed the warning."


And here it is: "As far as Christmas parties, pop-up shops, card games, any social gatherings that exceed 10 people, we will be writing the tickets. We ask that you follow the mandate."

Of course, they'll still allow "mostly peaceful protests"...
 

Frankenscript

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And I keep thinking about the "antrhrax outbreak" in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Parallel being the removal of mask by the "authorities" when the public was not there to see them do it.

And to reinforce my point about case numbers being higher. By your own words, paraphrased, "only a few days worth at current rates". Since everyone's hair is on fire with the current rates that would seema pretty significant number of cases. The accuracy of the tests used is probably as "good" as the tests currently used from what I've seen, but then again I'm not a biologist, just an observer.
Fair point about the case numbers, though my extrapolation to full US is certainly an overstatement. But this is an interesting story and we'll just have to... (wait for it!...) follow the science as it unfolds. No need to speculate too much, as our tools are improving by the day.

As to the anthrax scene in CEotTK (one of my favorite movies, along with Blade Runner), the difference is I know a lot of people who are the "authorities" (doctors imploring people to wear masks and take precautions), and I can tell you they aren't faking it.
 

Frankenscript

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I agree 100%

Its the reason that I will not be taking a vaccine that the experts don't know enough about. Covid is and always has been a guessing game.
You are not alone in your skepticism about taking the vaccine. The "good" news is that the vaccine is probably not going to be available to you for some time, so there will be plenty of time for further safety data collection to occur. Of course, I know nothing of your profession or health situation so maybe you are at the front of the line. Here's a way to check, given broad assumptions:


Yes, yes, it's NY Times, but it's a moderately interesting calculator you can access with a FREE account.

As for me, I'm a somewhat overweight 53 year old in Indiana, so there are 23 million Americans in line in front of me. Apparently, "scientists turned marketing hacks" are not considered essential workers in this country so I'm behind doctors and wall street bankers. Bankers? WTF? Anyway...it's probably mid to late Q1 for me to get it.

Presuming the FDA signs off on the EUA, I would take the vaccine immediately if offered, for a couple reasons:

-I'm leery about taking an mRNA vaccine without a few more months of safety data collection and a more standard review of that data, but I've known enough people my age who got REALLY SICK from COVID-19 that my estimation of risk favors the vaccine
-My wife has more health issues; even if I got a mild case, she might die or get very sick... protecting me protects her
-My wife works in a medical profession (could probably get vaccinated early, when she returns to work next year [she's voluntarily on hiatus]), but if she got COVID-19 I would likely get it from her. As a family we are more than baseline risk due to her job.

My primary concern about the virus is some sort of unexpected autoimmune reaction comparable to Guillain-barre syndrome, but once a few million people have been vaccinated and several months of data collected, that concern wanes.

I will say that people I trust designed the Pfizer and Moderna studies, the studies are being run well, and I'm sure the data are accurately being reported. There's no inherent problem, just the routine and understandable concern about being first in line for something new. I feel that myself, and nothing other than more data being collected will assuage it.
 
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