My parents are both Vaccinated for the original COVID 19 strain and are still wearing masks and following the best practices with one advancement.
My Mom surprised me early by asking me out for my birthday in March! An in person lunch celebration :party:
A year ago is the last time I had a chance to sit with her face to face and love each other and never expected it to be a FULL year before seeing her again. I am impatiently, patiently waiting for my vaccine but I am estatic to see her again!
:flower: :flower: :flower:

How did it go? I'm finding that getting back together with people is kind of strained, like we don't remember how to do it.

What it will mean for the virus to become endemic.

I guess all that's left is to wonder what China will do living in a world where this virus is endemic.

The US is transitioning out of crisis mode. Wow.

If a fire is spreading, you don't mitigate it, you put it out. That's the precautionary approach — Andrew M

You put it out if you can. If you can't put it out (like we can't) you admit that shit early, pull your men out, and let that bastard burn out on its own.

Risk a lot to save a lot, risk nothing for what cannot be saved: Firefighter's credo.

It seems that even if the WHO made the investigation jointly with China about the Covid outbreak and was very diplomatic, some things that the UN agency has stated does raise an eyebrow:

The head of the World Health Organization, the U.S. government and 13 other countries on Tuesday voiced frustration with the level of access China granted an international mission to Wuhan — a striking and unusually public rebuke.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing to member states on Tuesday that he expected “future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing” — the most pointed comments to date from an agency that has been solicitous to China through most of the pandemic.

He said there is a particular need for a “full analysis” of the role of animal markets in Wuhan and that the report did not conduct an “extensive enough” assessment of the possibility the virus was introduced to humans through a laboratory incident.

Even if the WHO report does state what China wants to hear, that a leak from the Wuhan lab does not warrant further investigation, this possibility hasn't gone away, even if at first was aggressively shouted down. Quite credible people thinking about the possibility, lastly a former head of the CDC Director Robert Redfield:

don't believe this somehow came from a bat to a human," he said. Usually, it takes awhile to become more efficient in human-to-human transmission.

"I just don't think this makes biological sense," said Redfield, a virologist.

The most likely etiology is the virus escaped from a lab, he said. It's not unusual for respiratory pathogens to infect laboratory workers. Redfield said he was not implying any intentionality to the escape of the virus.

Of course this possibility, the lab-leak hypothesis, from a highest level of biosafety BSL-4 laboratory at Wuhan, which had bats and had studied SARS corona viruses and was the first of it's kind in China, doesn't seem so far fetched. Yet it's politically, both domestically and internationally, the worst kind of scandal that nearly any government would want to hide. Hence I think the Chinese will deny it as it tried to downplay first the whole outbreak from the start, even if the hypothesis would be true.

At least 97% of the funding for the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been identified as coming from taxpayers or charitable trusts, according to the first attempt to reconstruct who paid for the decades of research that led to the lifesaving formulation. — The Guardian

Oh good, I guess we can then tax any profit with 97% as well then since we paid for it? Wtf...

Oh good, I guess we can then tax any profit with 97% as well then since we paid for it? Wtf... — Benkei

We can do that regardless, if we only wanted to...

This seems like a good place to vent about the utter collapse of the German Coronavirus policy. Wtf has happened? After doing somewhat well during the first wave, Germany's policy in the last couple of months has been nothing short of disastrous. Everyone knows it, everyone is angry, but not a single high ranking politician seems able to do something about it. Even Merkel looks powerless, which is really absurd. Utter incompetence unveiled for all to see.

Is it the same in the other European nations? France seems to have similar problems, but I'm not really aware of the internal politics.

How Taiwan beat COVID-19 – new study reveals clues to its success

I remember working hospitals that were at 115% of bed capacity 10 years ago. Treating patients in the halls, or large janitor closets. Moving furniture out of the common area and using sheets to create a makeshift tent city to accommodate an extra 6 patients for a week. Nothing made the news. I recall reporting to work and being told by the nursing supervisor that we had to shutdown all elective surgeries and clinics that day because a full third of the hospital nursing staff called in sick that day. Not a strike, just a reminder of what happens when a policy change is not appreciated by staff. Again, not news worthy. The bed shortages are nothing new. Running over capacity and under staffed is nothing new. The incessant news coverage of the potential to operate this way is certainly new, but otherwise...business as usual. Now our unit is down staff due to Covid. This year it's Covid, last year was Covid. The year before was Norovirus (nasty little thing). Norovirus usually runs staffing numbers down for a month or so. Nothing new there. Outside of the constant news storm, not really certain about what the fuss is about...It's just another day.

Seems like the EU botched it up with the centralized vaccination program. As typical, where the EU, there a problem.

(By this stats, even Chile is beating the EU at this time)


So finally the US has gotten it's act up!

I couldn’t understand how India got off so lightly in the first wave. I was worried about them a year ago, I never expected my worst fears to come true a whole year later.

Some harrowing stories come out of India.

https://twitter.com/akashstronaut/status/1385645544932929539?s=20

seems very opinion-based, no sources mentioned (wishful thinking on my part?)

It's another variant.

The countries or states that got off easy in the first wave or two got whammied in the third, etc. The vaccine has been a stop-gap to the spread, but it isn’t yet universal, and then there are the anti-vaccers...who still carry scars from the mandatory polio and smallpox inoculations they received in 1st grade on their shoulders, but who refuse to get a vaccine now...
The question is whether a populace brought up to obey and admire science can continue to do so. On the one side are the forces of governmentally supported scientists and mega-companies and mainstream celebrities promoting universal vaccination; on the other are religious entities and news outlets and conservative pundits arguing for freedom and liberty, and against hurried science and depressed economies, etc...
...after all, economists are scientists too...aren’t they?

Its the reality I’m afraid. Yes it is an unsourced tweet, but it describes a situation I have heard from a number of different sources over the last few days. There was a good discussion about it on Matt Frei’s slot on LBC yesterday (24th April, approx 11.30am).

There are people dying in the streets, cities with populations of millions where hospitals are in a state of collapse. Oxygen supplies all but exhausted. A black market for drugs which might help, etc.

The double variant, and a triple.

I got vaccinated almost by accident. Went to a medical centre for another purpose and they said ‘hey, while you’re here.....’

There was a good discussion about it on Matt Frei’s slot on LBC yesterday (24th April, approx 11.30am). — Punshhh

Matt Frei is an excellent investigative journalist on Channel 4 news.
However, I have been avoiding in-depth news recently.
It is all too dreadful. My heart goes out to all during this global pandemic.

There are people dying in the streets, cities with populations of millions where hospitals are in a state of collapse. Oxygen supplies all but exhausted — Punshhh

Words fail.

Ch4 news - Lindsey Hilsum, 4 min vid
Matt Frei warns: there are distressing images from the start of this report.

https://www.channel4.com/news/indian-hospitals-running-out-of-oxygen-as-covid-cases-rise

As typical, where the EU, there a problem. — ssu

We have a long way to go. Where are you from, Finland?

The double variant, and a triple — Punshhh

Yep. It's not like a refugee crisis or war. It's worse because of the shortage of resources when everyone else is also short.

Thank you for sharing. Love to everyone during this pandemic. :heart:

Stay well, stay healthy

Thank you for sharing — TaySan

4 minutes of awfulness - just a drop in the ocean. Wouldn't have gone there if not for @Punshhh. :pray:

Kyllä (Yes).

On the other hand, the pandemic has been for us rather easy (compared to our western neighbour): the health system hasn't been under serious stress at any time during the pandemic. Now we are starting to easing off the restrictions.

(Knocking wood...)

it's appreciated

Feeling you. I've never been to Finland but an ex-colleague went there for an internship. She came back fully amazed. You have a well organized country.

Here in the Netherlands they're gonna open up the terraces again on Wednesday. I think it will be crazy. I just took a short train trip. The country is nice when it's quiet (sigh).

Really looking forward to a brighter future. Also for Europe. Maybe I'll start a thread one day about the EU. I have been thinking about it for a while. It's a bit too heavy for now.

Veel sterkte (Take care)

I started reading this thread from the beginning. Some posts have not aged well.

A friendly dutch person. I knew there must be some.