Tag: Pandemic

Meet Mu!

First we had the Covid-19 virus and then it morphed into the Delta variant and now the new variant is called Mu….

This week the World Health Organization named a new “variant of interest” of the coronavirus, called the Mu variant. It was first found in Colombia in January 2021, and has been found in about 39 countries so far.

Mu has changes, called mutations, which mean it might be able to evade some of the protection we get from COVID vaccines.

But one reassuring element is that, despite being around since January 2021, it doesn’t seem to be outcompeting Delta, the dominant variant across most of the world.

If Mu was truly a really bad variant, we would have expected to have started to see indications of this, and we haven’t yet.

This week the World Health Organization named a new “variant of interest” of the coronavirus, called the Mu variant. It was first found in Colombia in January 2021, and has been found in about 39 countries so far.

Mu has changes, called mutations, which mean it might be able to evade some of the protection we get from COVID vaccines.

But one reassuring element is that, despite being around since January 2021, it doesn’t seem to be outcompeting Delta, the dominant variant across most of the world.

If Mu was truly a really bad variant, we would have expected to have started to see indications of this, and we haven’t yet.

What’s a variant of interest?

An impressive element of our COVID response has been frequent genomic sequencing, which we haven’t done before on this scale. This tracks and maps the evolution of the virus in real time, as it adapts and mutates.

Some mutations will be detrimental to the virus, but some will be beneficial, allowing it to spread better, escape the protection offered by vaccines or even evade COVID tests.

If there are changes to the virus that mean it looks like it has the potential to do more harm, then we might designate it a “variant of interest”.

Mu has mutations that might confer some of these properties, but evidence is still emerging.

The four other variants of interest are Eta, Iota, Kappa and Lambda.

https://theconversation.com/whats-the-mu-variant-and-will-we-keep-seeing-more-concerning-variants-167183

There are many question that sane people have about the rise of a new health threat…..here are some questions and answers…

A coronavirus variant known as “mu” or “B.1.621” was designated by the World Health Organization as a “variant of interest” earlier this week and will be monitored by the global health body as cases continue to emerge across parts of the world. It is the fifth variant of interest currently being monitored by the WHO.

Q: Where was it first detected and where is it now?

A: The variant was first detected in Colombia in January 2021, where cases continue to rise. It has since been identified in more than 39 countries, according to the WHO, among them the United States, South Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Canada and parts of Europe.

Q: How widespread is mu in the United States?

A: About 2,000 mu cases have been identified in the United States, so far, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), the largest database of novel coronavirus genome sequences in the world. Most cases have been recorded in California, Florida, Texas and New York among others.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/heres-what-we-know-about-the-mu-variant/

If you are concerned then learn all you can about this variant and adjust your life to stay safe and well….

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–02Sep21

With vaccines widely available and those idiots that have decided not to take the ‘jab’ their price for stupidity just got a lot higher….

The financial cost of remaining unvaccinated ⁠against COVID-19 is rising. Health insurance providers are now asking people who contract the disease to share the cost of treatment, which can get expensive if it requires a lengthy hospital stay.

Early in the pandemic, most private insurers waived cost-sharing for patients under their plans or even covered the full cost of treatment. In November 2020, nearly 90% of insured individuals would have had their out-of-pocket costs — including copays, coinsurance or payments toward a deductible — waived if they had been hospitalized for COVID-19, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).  

But with effective coronavirus vaccines widely available, most insurers are no longer waiving those costs, according to KFF. The change reflects a broader push by U.S. companies to nudge workers into getting inoculated in hopes of holding down medical expenses. To that end, Delta Air Lines this week said that it would charge unvaccinated employees an extra $200 a month for health coverage.

…

“Health insurance companies were spending so much less than expected because during pandemic. No one went to the hospital, elective procedures were delayed and insurers had more money than they were supposed to,” said Matthew Rae, director for the Program on the Health Care Marketplace at KFF.

Today, by contrast, more than 70% of the nation’s largest insurers are no longer waiving COVID-19 treatment costs, according to Kaiser, which surveyed the two largest insurers in each state and Washington, D.C.. Another 10% of plans plan to phase out cost-sharing by the end of October.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-health-insurance-cost-treatment/

I am usually a staunch critic of the health industry…but with a free vaccine and those that are stupid enough to forego….then I have NO problem making these morons pay for their stupidity.

Any thought?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mississippi Stupid

My state has an amazing amount of stupid but this pandemic has brought the morons out of the woodwork and the the most moronic is the governor, Tatter Twat Reeves…..

Recently this dullard told the people of Mississippi that there is no reason to mask up for Heaven awaits…..

It’s become almost a glib cliche to describe members of the conservative power structure in this country as belonging to a “death cult” each time a Republican lawmaker or influencer steps gleefully aside to allow the ongoing pandemic to kill people ostensibly in that person’s care. And yet, I can’t think of a better, more frustratingly accurate term to use to describe Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves after his recent coronavirus statements, delivered while the highly infectious Delta variant of the disease surges across the country.

“I’m often asked by some of my friends on the other side of the aisle about COVID … and why does it seem like folks in Mississippi and maybe in the mid-South are a little less scared, shall we say,” Reeves told several dozen attendees last week during a Republican fundraiser event in Eads, Tennessee, just across the border from his state.

 

“When you believe in eternal life,” he continued, “when you believe that living on this Earth is but a blip on the screen, then you don’t have to be so scared of things.”

Despite Reeves’s subsequent caveat that “God also tells us to take necessary precautions,” it’s important to really parse out what he’s saying here: that people in the South are more content, if not outright eager, to embrace a pandemic-induced death, because of their faith in the (specifically Christian understanding of the) afterlife. Jews, Muslims, Indigenous peoples, atheists, and any other disbelievers need not apply.

https://www.mic.com/p/someone-tell-mississippis-governor-that-heaven-isnt-a-consolation-prize-for-covid-84193731

So this heaven thing will be their consolation prize…for as I am concerned…Heaven Can Wait!

Can you believe that the people of Mississippi elected this mental midget to leadership of the state?

I can!

I have been saying for decades just how stupid the Mississippi voter can be.

Not to worry I am positive that Reeves will out stupid himself any day now.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What Is This ‘Booster” Thing?

There is lots of opposition to the vaccines….and now we learn that a ‘booster’ will probably be ready by this Fall……but why a ‘booster’?

A good question since all the info available is confusing us mere mortals and making the dialog even more mind numbing….

What exactly is a booster shot? According to Emily Landon, associate professor at UChicago Medicine, “Boosters are offered to people who got the full course of a vaccine and developed a good response initially, but it waned over time” (via UChicago News). A third round of COVID-19 vaccine shots has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for those who are immunocompromised. Booster shots, on the other hand, pertain to the general public.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are categorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. They function by prompting the body’s natural immunity response in our cells to create and fight off a specific protein known to cause COVID-19.

When it comes to the upcoming booster shots, representatives from both Pfizer and Moderna explain that they have more than one type of booster shot in development (via WUSA9). Some being developed are the same as the initial two doses administered, while others are different and contain variations that cater specifically to the emerging virus variants.

In her Q&A series, Emily Landon goes on to stress the importance of sticking with the same vaccine manufacturer from which individuals received their first two doses (via UChicago News). Therefore, it’s advised that individuals not mix their original Pfizer or Moderna vaccine with a different brand of the booster shot, if possible. Once official approval is obtained from the CDC and FDA for general population usage, individuals should schedule their booster shot eight months out from the date of their original second dose.

Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/493776/how-is-the-covid-19-booster-different-from-the-original-vaccine/

This for those that are still resistant to getting a vaccine…..

It can feel like the battle lines have been drawn: on one side, those who have been vaccinated, and on the other, those who haven’t.

But things are never that black and white. Even among those who have been vaccinated, many people still have concerns and questions about the vaccine. And among those who haven’t, their reasons for not getting the jab vary from concerns over potential side effects, to a fear of needles, to simply not being able to take time off work. The roughly 30 percent of eligible Americans who have yet to be vaccinated are not all anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, and treating them as such could make them even less likely to get the shot.

We’ve collected some of the most common concerns with vaccination mentioned by people who are vaccine hesitant, and we’ve provided evidence-based responses to each one. If you or someone you know share any of these concerns, click through to see what information is out there to help you make this important decision.

Still Unsure About Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine? Start Here.

Help keep you self and your family safe in these times……

Get all the info then make your decision….

FYI–We all have heard about the Delta Variant…..and now yet another is poppinbg up….

Another coronavirus variant has been detected, say researchers who caution against becoming too concerned but suspect it’s better at getting around immunity protection than delta. The researchers spotted the C.1.2 variant in May in South Africa, Reuters reports, and published their work this month. It has not been peer-reviewed, but the findings have been forwarded to the World Health Organization. The variant has reached most of the country’s provinces as well as England, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland. It’s related to the C.1 variant that hit South Africa earlier in the year, per the Hill.

In C.1.2, scientists see “concerning constellations of mutations,” calling it “highly mutated beyond C.1 and all other” variants of concern. The researchers said the new variant is 44 to 59 mutations removed from the original Wuhan Hu-1 virus. WHO lists it, and three other variants, as being “of concern.” Researchers can’t answer many questions about C.1.2 yet. But they say it shares many mutations with other variants linked to greater transmissibility and reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies—though the mutations aren’t mixed the same way. One of the study’s authors said such mutations can be expected as a pandemic progresses. “This virus is still exploring ways to potentially get better at infecting us,” he said.

For God sake (if you believe in God) make your decisions based on facts and not the word of some babbling pastor or an overweight, over paid talk show host.

Be well

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–26Aug21

From the Files of “Can’t Fix Stupid”

WE have all seen the STUPIDITY of the American people around the vaccination against Covid-19…..and just when I thought stupid could get no worse…I am proven to be mistaken….Americans keep trying to out stupid stupid.

It seems the newest stupidity is to blame the vaccinated for the rise of Delta……

More unvaccinated Americans blame vaccinated Americans for Delta’s devastating U.S. surge than blame themselves, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

The survey of 1,649 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Aug. 16 to 18, found that just 6 percent of those who remain unvaccinated say they are the ones who deserve “the most blame for the new surge of COVID cases in the U.S.” The share who say vaccinated Americans deserve the most blame is slightly higher (7 percent).

Likewise, when asked “how much” blame each group deserves, just 9 percent of unvaccinated Americans say they themselves deserve a “great deal of blame.” Nearly twice as many (15 percent) say vaccinated Americans deserve a great deal of blame.

https://news.yahoo.com/poll-more-unvaccinated-americans-blame-vaccinated-americans-for-the-delta-surge-than-blame-themselves-194934930.html

Just illustrates just how f*cking stupid the American people can be.

Finally may I ssk….when does your rights supersede mine?

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/08/17/why-does-your-right-unmask-usurp-my-childs-right-safe-school

Most American are ‘sick’ of the individual rights morons…..

Outside of the GOP fringes, most Americans have taken a look around and realized the only way to mitigate the worst of the delta variant is to suppress the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers who got us into this mess in the first place.

“My thinking is, the people who don’t want mandates are the people who need to be regulated,” David Bowers, a 42-year-old Democrat from the Phoenix suburbs, told the Associated Press.

Bowers isn’t alone. That’s why nearly every day, a new poll emerges showing high levels of support for both mask and vaccine mandates. In effect, the American public is saying, “If you want to take part in civil society, then you’ll have to adhere to some basic ground rules, such as ‘you don’t get to endanger lives just because you went down a YouTube rabbit hole and failed to reemerge from its depths.’”

Adding to that body of polling is the latest AP-NORC survey finding broad support for various vaccine and mask mandates amid increased anxiety due to the delta surge.

Solid majorities support requiring people to be fully vaccinated in order to participate in certain activities, while opposition to those requirements remains very low.

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2021/8/20/2047186/-Americans-have-identified-the-delta-threat-People-who-won-t-get-vaccinated-won-t-mask-up

“Can’t Fix Stupid”

I read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–25Aug21

My state of Mississippi has seen a large increase of Covid patients to the point that there are few to no ICU beds left unoccupied in the whole state….and the whole time our governor has been a staunch advocate of no masks or other precautions to slow the disease.

Finally someone in government has stepped forward to try and curb the rapid ascent of the disease….

The Mississippi State Department of Health on Friday issued a new order saying anyone infected with COVID-19 must isolate for 10 days or face possible misdemeanor or felony charges.

…
Breaking any health department order carries a minimum of a misdemeanor charge with penalties of a $500 fine, six months in prison or both.
This is the official order…..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VcUAKh1YuipMAVnlSykafyhbXye4W5wg/view

But still no official notification on masks in public….for the state…..most local businesses in my town are asking all patrons to wear masks.

It is a good start but much more precautions and action from a hide-a-way governor…how can he stand by and watch his fellow Mississippians get sick and die?

A better question is why do Mississippians vote for such political slugs like Tater Twat Reeves?  Is it ignorance or stupidity?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–23Aug21

This is from the ‘Can’t Fix Stupid’ Files

In my state, Mississippi, the Covid virus is racing across the state…one report states that Mississippi has the world’s fastest expanding disease…..and some stupid starts telling people that a horse drug can be effective in slowly the virus and it can be found at your local feed store.

As you would think the incidents of poisonings skyrocketed…..

Mississippi officials have become alarmed enough at calls coming in to its poison control center to issue a statewide health alert. Don’t take a drug intended for horses to self-treat COVID-19, officials said. “At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers,” said the letter, which was sent out Friday. Of the callers, the Hill reports, 85% had mild symptoms of poisoning and one person was told to seek medical help. Symptoms can include a rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurologic disorders, and even severe hepatitis.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is among those recommending ivermectin for people. He was suspended from YouTube in June for posting videos touting its use, per WPR. National regulators have warned against the practice, per Salon. The FDA said it’s just beginning research on ivermectin. “Taking a drug for an unapproved use can be very dangerous,” the agency said. “This is true of ivermectin, too.” The drug is approved to treat people with certain parasitic conditions, per WTVA, but not for anyone with COVID. “Animal drugs are highly concentrated for large animals and can be highly toxic in humans,” the Mississippi letter said.

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state’s health officer, said Mississippi is going through “the worst part of the pandemic,” per the Washington Post. The state reported 5,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, and has more than 1,600 patients in hospitals—including 450 in intensive care. Only Alabama has a lower vaccination rate. Mississippi health officials are baffled by people turning to ivermectin as the answer. “Why in the world would an individual want to take a medication for livestock that No. 1 has no oversight, no FDA approval, there are no FDA studies on almost,” said Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist who signed the letter. “I certainly would strongly recommend people not take any medicine from a feed store,” Dobbs said

More on this story here…..https://www.rawstory.com/ivermectin-fox-news-poison-control/

I am sorry but all my compassion ans sympathy is gone for these idiots…..could this pandemic be proving Darwin right?

My grandfather said that “Stupidity is lethal”…and his statement is proving prophetic.

Again my state proves that you ‘can’t fix stupid’….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Closing Thought–18Aug21

Are you fully vaccinated against the Covid-19?

I am since May…at least I thought I was fully vaccinated…..that is until I saw this bit of news…..

US experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively looking at whether extra shots for the vaccinated would be needed as early as this fall, reviewing case numbers in the US as well as the situation in other countries such as Israel, where preliminary studies suggest the vaccine’s protection against serious illness dropped among those vaccinated in January. An announcement on the US booster recommendation was expected as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Doses would only begin to be administered widely once the Food and Drug Administration formally approves the vaccines. That action is expected for the Pfizer shot in the coming weeks. Last week, US health officials recommended boosters for some with weakened immune systems, citing their higher risk of catching the virus and evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness waned over time. The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, said Sunday the US could decide in the next couple weeks whether to offer coronavirus booster shots to Americans this fall. Israel, which exclusively administered the Pfizer shot, has been offering a coronavirus booster to people over 60 who were already vaccinated more than five months ago in an effort to control its own surge in cases from the delta variant.

So does this mean that one booster is all I will need?  Or is this just an annual thing?

One last thing…..STOP using Israel as an example….they are screwing their Palestinian population with these vaccines…..they are NOT and have NEVER been a good example of anything.

Do the research to see if this ‘booster’ will be truly necessary.

Be Well….Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is This Evolution?

First of all I am not writing this for some silly debate on the difference between evolution and “intelligent design” (so please stick to the post and not some weird idea)

The Theory of Evolution formulated by Charles Darwin basically states….

The theory of evolution by natural selection, first formulated in Charles Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species” in 1859, describes how organisms evolve over generations through the inheritance of physical or behavioral traits, as National Geographic explains. The theory starts with the premise that within a population, there is variation in traits, such as beak shape in one of the Galapagos finches Darwin studied. Individuals with traits that allow them to adapt to their environments will help them survive and have more offspring, which will inherit those traits. Individuals with less adaptive traits will less frequently survive to pass them on. Over time, the traits that allow species to survive and reproduce will become more frequent in the population and the population will change, or evolve. Through natural selection, Darwin suggested, a diverse life-forms could arise from a common ancestor.  

Some of these characteristics may give the individual an advantage over other individuals which they can then pass on to their offspring.

Individuals with characteristics best suited to their environment are more likely to survive, finding food, avoiding predators and resisting disease. These individuals are more likely to reproduce and pass their genes on to their children.

Individuals that are poorly adapted to their environment are less likely to survive and reproduce.

What got me to thinking along this line is the raging Covid-19 virus and people’s reactions to the steps that need taking to prevent it from wiping out populations.

Could the reactions to the issues of health during the pandemic be evolution as Darwin envisioned?

Those with the logical and rational brain that have been intelligent enough to take the precautions will survive and those with the less sophisticated mind will doom themselves?

As my grandfather use to tell me….”Ignorance is easily cured but stupid is terminal”.

Those that are against these precautions are doing to themselves what they have been afraid that others we doing to them….dooming the white race.

Could this be a blessing or a curse?

Just thinking out loud.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now It Is Lambda

Just thought I would let my readers know in case they had not heard…..the Delta variant has a competitor….Lambda variant…..

The delta variant is spreading in the population and in the news. But the lambda variant of the virus that causes COVID, which popped up in South America, is definitely attracting the attention of researchers, who fear it might be more resistant to vaccines than other variants. And now it’s in Japan, thanks to the Olympics, the Japan Times reports. A woman came to Japan from Peru on July 20, tested positive for the coronavirus but had no symptoms, and quarantined. By July 23, authorities new she had the lambda variant. But the health ministry didn’t release the results until after the 2020 Olympic Games were over.

The World Health Organization calls the delta variant a “variant of concern,” but has labeled lambda a less-serious “variant of interest.” And, though COVID is surging in Japan after the Games, officials aren’t blaming the Olympics—or lambda—the Hill reports. But one Japanese politician, Masahisa Sato, was critical of his government’s failure to disclose the case. “If it was spotted at the airport quarantine, they should have announced it,” he said on a Japanese news program, the Daily Beast reports.

And with all the loosening of precautions here in the US….Lambda should find a willing atmosphere here in the US to help it run rampant.

Stupidity can be lethal.

Use Precautions….Be Well….Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”