the no-nonsense, nothing-but-the-facts-m'am C19 thread

[gm]

Incredible poorly written article regarding testing that mixes points and percentages and makes quotes seem like data driven conclusions. Not taken into consideration is how many tests were not given during covid, or given in less than ideal conditions, while students were online. Clearly schools, like work places, government, military and everything else (except vax and ppe manufacturing) suffered. I'm really surprised NPR published such a shoddy article.

I also think we will eventually find that the learning losses were recovered.

[DET59]

I also think we will eventually find that the learning losses were recovered.

Almost everything written about covid and school is politically based and not research based. The USA system of educational is incredibly localized as was the response to covid, To make generalized statements about learning right now is silly and simply political. I live in Korea where the reaction by society and educators was very, very different and pretty uniform. There are many of the same concerns (and a whole lot more testing); the students I work with, primarily College freshman, are pretty much the same as the kids who've be coming to class since before covid. They've just lived as teenagers in a more interesting time which may be a life experience they benefit from in the long run. A very wise man once told me,

"School isn't as good as it used to be, and it never was."

[scottmitchell74]

Time will tell, I suppose, but thinking that kids 5-17 being out of the classroom environment for years won't have a massive impact is hopeful, at best, and that's being kind. The "summer slide" is a real and known thing, how would being out for years not have a much more dramatic impact?

This is a largely white-collar 50+ board that may be somewhat removed from the age groups and demographics most affected by the overly long and unnecessary school shutdowns.

I'll be around here a decade from now to gladly eat crow when all the depression, suicide, education, social, financial and other destruction to the young(er) generations magically cleRs up. I truly want to be wrong.

[lonewolf49]

This too shall pass.
The world/education was/is inconvenienced but not irreparably harmed by the covid pandemic. Past generations were educated in primitive, understaffed, limited curricula schools, interrupted by wars, health pandemics, natural disasters, seasonal harvests, and cultural customs. As always, given the same circumstances, some will survive and thrive with varying degrees of success, and some will falter and fail.

[gh]

please recall that this thread has very tight parameters and is about COVID facts and nothing else

[Halfmiler2]

In NJ, the Replacement Rate has edged over 1.0 again but daily deaths are generally in single digits and hospitalizations under 100,

[Halfmiler2]

Monthly Update
The COVID afternoon numbers for 9/1/22:

Cumulative Numbers:
Globally: 600.466 million cases & 6.485 million deaths
The USA: 94.342 million cases & 1.044 million deaths
NY State: 5.921 million cases & 57,565 deaths
NJ State: 2.278 million cases &; 31,464 deaths
Bergen Co: 239,092 cases & 3,208 deaths

NJ & NY Detail:
The NJ RT rate is 0.91(under 1.0=contracting)
NJ has 1,005 & NY has 2,368 hospitalization.
NJ has 13% recent positivity rate.
including probables, NJ has 34,567 &; NY has 73,656 deaths.
NJ has 7 million and NY has 16.2 million vaxed

Daily Averages:
Globally: 0.763 million cases + 2.8K deaths
The USA: 98K cases + 450 deaths
NY State: 4.7K cases + 21.6 deaths
NJ State: 2K cases + 9.4 deaths
Bergen Co: 200 cases + 0.5 deaths

Monthly Update:

Cumulative Numbers at 10/1/22 PM:
Global: 617.584 million cases & 6.545 million deaths
The USA: 96.395 million cases & 1.060 mill deaths
NY State: 6.109 million cases & 58,124 deaths
NJ State: 2.3 million cases & 31,630 deaths
Bergen County numbers unavailable.
(NY and NJ numbers are confirmed numbers only excluding probable numbers.)

NJ and NJ Detail:
NJ RT is 1.14 and been over 1.0 most of the month.
NJ has 910 & NY has 2,306 hospitalizations
NJ has 7.06 & NY has 16.314 million vaccinations
NJ has 10.37% & NY has 7.1% positivity rates.
NJ has 34,744 & NY has 74,242 deaths including probables.

[scottmitchell74]

https://youtu.be/PvVaKFB65lw

It's a covid fact that This actually happened!

[TN1965]

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, has COVID in U.K. prison, wife says

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julian-assange-covid-wikileaks-founder-uk-prison-wife-says/

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has tested positive for COVID-19, his wife said on Monday, as she battles his extradition to the United States.

[Halfmiler2]

During the past week, the RT in NJ has dropped under 1.0 to 0.90 which is an indication that COVID is contracting again.

[scottmitchell74]

https://abc7chicago.com/new-york-supreme-court-ny-nyc-vaccine-mandate-judge-strikes-down/12376645/

Yay!! Great news. This gave me happy chills.

There will be more like this. I'd bet we're at the beginning of such moves.

[gm]

No one needs to follow rules they don't agree with.

[Steele]

I just moved to Puerto Rico and watched an outdoor local semi-pro baseball game on TV last night. About 80 degrees F and whatever the humidity is here (99%?). The six or seven rows of seats were about 1/2 full, everyone without exception wearing a mask (cloth, surgical, N95, neck gator), I assume a requirement to attend. Players not masked, close huddles on the pitcher's mound talking inches from one another.

They had a section of about 20 people with drums and such, like in a soccer match, generating non-stop chanting, cheering, singing, etc., for their team.

Those are the facts on the ground, I have no idea what to make of them in relation to COVID.

[jeremyp]

I just moved to Puerto Rico and watched an outdoor local semi-pro baseball game on TV last night. About 80 degrees F and whatever the humidity is here (99%?). The six or seven rows of seats were about 1/2 full, everyone without exception wearing a mask (cloth, surgical, N95, neck gator), I assume a requirement to attend. Players not masked, close huddles on the pitcher's mound talking inches from one another.

They had a section of about 20 people with drums and such, like in a soccer match, generating non-stop chanting, cheering, singing, etc., for their team.

Those are the facts on the ground, I have no idea what to make of them in relation to COVID.

Time will tell.

[El Toro]

please recall that this thread has very tight parameters and is about COVID facts and nothing else

Here's my fate tempting post...

Early in the pandemic in a deleted thread there was discussion on other respiratory illnesses and effectiveness of vaccinations/treatments.

One medico poster who unfortunately I can't remember mentioned the ongoing failure to produce an effective vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) despite long term efforts. I responded, perhaps too hopefully, that the significant advances in vaccine technology in the last decade had a much higher chance of producing something useful in the near term as it might for COVID-19.

Well, the good news is that Pfizer has published data on its most recent protein-based vaccine for RSV that showed an 81.8% efficacy against severe lower respiratory illness. Pfizer will be submitting the vaccine for approval later this year for both infants and older people.

Link to study in New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2106062

It's worth noting that both COVID-19 and RSV generate high risk for similar vulnerable groups of older adults, so anything which reduces that risk should reduce death risk and burden on the hospital system.


RSV is a major disease for both infants and also older people with USA stats of:

• 58,000 children younger than 5 years old hospitalized
• 60,000-120,000 older adults hospitalized with 6,000-10,000 of them dying

https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html