Coronavirus thread

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Trump got his booster, after Fox News goaded him to knock boosters


By Aaron Blake
Senior reporter
Today at 2:01 p.m. EST

If you want a case-in-point of how coronavirus vaccine skepticism gets seeded on the right, you'd struggle to do better than former president Donald Trump's August interview on Fox News.

And Trump's new disclosure that he got his booster reinforces it.

To recap: Trump said in a new conversation with Bill O'Reilly that he has gotten his coronavirus booster. This follows on Trump having relatively frequently encouraged people to get the vaccine — even as he initially declined to do so and didn't disclose getting vaccinated while in the White House. (The news only leaked out in March.)

Trump saying this is particularly important given the current natural-immunity push on the right; Trump was infected with the coronavirus in October 2020. Since then, he got the vaccine and a booster.

But for a moment in August, the Trump was goaded into seriously questioning the same booster he now says he has gotten.

Trump said early in the interview with ally Maria Bartiromo that people should get the vaccine — in arguably stronger terms than he had before.

"I recommend that people take it," he said, before stressing that people should have the choice.

Trump added: "Now one thing: When you have the vaccine, people that do — and it's a very small number relatively, but people that do get it — get better much quicker. And it's very important to know. They don't get nearly as sick, and they get better. [Sen.] Lindsey Graham is an example. He said, if I didn't have this vaccine, I would have died."

"So once you get the vaccine, you get better," Trump added.

Bartiromo, though, quickly took the conversation back to boosters, after Trump initially ignored her question about whether he would get one. And she helpfully suggested that maybe his answer on boosters might be different.

"It's a great point," she said, "but I still come back to the idea — I still come back to the idea of a booster shot. I mean, yes, you are right, the vaccines work — "

The clear subtext: I mean, the vaccines work, but what about this other thing?

Trump took the cue. He quickly suggested that maybe — just maybe — the boosters were actually a "moneymaking operation for Pfizer."

"Think of the money involved," he said, adding: "The whole thing is just crazy. It doesn't — you wouldn't think you would need a booster. You know, when these first came out, they were good for life."

That idea that the vaccines were "good for life" was never assumed to be true, but the fact that Trump was talking in these terms furthered the cause of vaccine skepticism. And he very much seemed to be giving Bartiromo the kind of answer that she wanted.

Trump's disclosure Sunday that he got the booster reinforces that even this man who declined to initially tell people to get vaccinated, who got a natural infection, and who questioned the push for boosters has now gotten one himself. That's arguably the biggest point — that this paragon of a Republican Party that remains so vaccine-resistant has taken the next step, despite his personal skepticism.

But the big point, when it comes to how that broader skepticism became what it is today, is how Trump was pulled into saying what he did in August. Here was a guy asked about the booster and who hailed the benefits of the vaccines in response. But that wasn't the answer that was desired. And Trump, mindful of catering to his base, obliged with a highly conspiratorial message that maybe the boosters were just a Big Pharma money-grab.

To Trump's credit, he has — however infrequently and delayed — continued to point to the benefits of vaccination and now boosters. He has done so even as other prominent conservatives have wagered that dancing around their booster status (Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis) or vaccination status (Tucker Carlson) or hailing their unvaccinated status (Sarah Palin) is the way to go.

He also did so even after getting booed for it, which happened at a rally shortly after his Bartiromo interview. That shouldn't get lost in all of this, and it continues to be a wonder someone hasn't bankrolled a TV ad playing Trump's repeated comments endorsing vaccination.

But the larger procedural point is why Trump, in delivering his comments, again got jeered by the O'Reilly audience. "Don't, don't, don't, don't," Trump said in response, assuring: "It's a very tiny group over there."

While it might be a tiny group that is bold enough to jeer their hero, it's hardly a tiny group that is feeding them what they and others who are vaccine-reluctant want to hear — often relying upon the kind of innuendo Trump was convinced to traffic in back in August.

That would be smart:  someone (Why not Trump himself?) paying for an ad for him to encourage others to get vaccinated.  I did see the clip of him getting booed on t.v.  Disgusted to hear about his interview with Maria Bartiromo and how that went. 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The musician Brian May has since come down with a nasty case of Covid (despite being triple-jabbed).  He and his wife took a chance and went to a daytime birthday luncheon with friends.  He's now urging his fans to get jabbed (via Instagram).

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/21/entertainment/brian-may-covid-intl-scli/index.html

PD

[Karl Henning]

That would be smart:  someone (Why not Trump himself?) paying for an ad for him to encourage others to get vaccinated.  I did see the clip of him getting booed on t.v.  Disgusted to hear about his interview with Maria Bartiromo and how that went. 

PD

Don't even need Putin-grade puppeteer expertise to pull the wankmaggot dotard's strings!

[Karl Henning]

Baker announces indoor mask advisory for Mass., activates National Guard to help hospitals with COVID-19 surge

[Karl Henning]

City's vaccine mandate a path back to normal

If it takes the incentive of a movie or a burger and a beer for the unvaccinated to comply, then bring it on.

By The [Boston Globe] Editorial Board Updated December 21, 2021, 4:00 a.m.

When lives are on the line, difficult decisions are made easier.

Make no mistake, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Monday for a host of new indoor venues and for all city employees was no political walk in the park. And as if to prove the point, a loud gaggle of anti-vax demonstrators gathered to protest the move at City Hall even as Wu was introducing it.

But when hospitalizations are rising — up 89 percent compared to two weeks ago — and the city is averaging 369 new cases a day, it's the responsible move. Along with the city's mask mandate and increasing opportunities for people to be tested for the virus, vaccination requirements are a necessary part of the city's toolkit.

Skeptics have only to look at the even more difficult decisions being made across Europe where lockdowns have either been ordered (the Netherlands) or are on the table (Britain).

And closer to home, universities and teams in the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association are already wrestling with COVID-related shutdowns and cancellations.

In Boston the vast majority of COVID-related hospitalizations are among the unvaccinated, the mayor noted.

"Our essential workers have been on the front lines of fighting this pandemic for more than 650 days," Wu said. "And it's time for Boston to follow the science and public health data to ease their burden and to take the big steps that we can to help close vaccination gaps."

She acknowledged that "this is just one step," adding, "but given where we are at this moment, it's a necessary one."

And so, beginning Jan. 15, all patrons and employees of indoor restaurants and bars, gyms and fitness centers, and entertainment, recreational, and event venues will have to show proof of at least the first round of vaccination. That gets bumped up to proof of full (two-shot) vaccination on Feb. 15 for those age 12 and over. The policy will apply to children ages 5-11 for the first dose on March 1 and sets May 1 for full vaccination.

Given that only 30 percent of the city's 5- to 11-year-olds are vaccinated, as Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, put it Monday, "We can and we must do better than this."

When New York City implemented its vaccine mandate for indoor venues, vaccinations rose by 9 percent in one month, she added.

Boston is also ending its dual policy for city workers, which had allowed some to opt for testing instead of vaccination. Full vaccination on the same timetable "will be a condition of employment for the City of Boston," Wu said, adding that about 90 percent of the city's workforce is already vaccinated.

Many of the city's largest entertainment and sports venues and at least a handful of restaurants have already implemented their own vax-mandate policies as a way of bringing patrons back and making them feel safer. But the city's new policy will level that playing field, adding movie theaters, bowling alleys, and party and event spaces to the mix.

The mayor also promises a new app in the days ahead to make it more convenient to show that newly important proof of vaccination.

But there is still the Christmas and New Year season to get through, and even by Jan. 15 indoor dining will come with no ironclad guarantees of being risk-free.

A public health order is not a magic wand; it will not make the dangers of COVID disappear in the new year.

The key to making the policy work — for as many people in this state as possible — is extending its reach. With a governor who refuses to implement a state-wide mask mandate [Gov. Baker announced an indoor mask advisory today—kh], extending an indoor vaccine mandate statewide seems even more unlikely.

So the kind of regional compact Wu has begun to build remains the next best option. After all, public health emergencies don't end at the Boston line or the Charles River. So it's important that officials from Cambridge, Brookline, Arlington, Medford, Salem, and Somerville have all committed to bringing their communities on board with similar policies, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has stepped up to work with cities and towns within the region on implementation.

"This is not about anyone's conveniences," Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone said at Monday's news conference. "It's the unvaccinated who are killing us right now. . . . How many more lives will we have to lose?"

Absent that magic wand, Wu has managed to strike a balance with a policy that is practical without being punitive, that provides one more incentive for the unvaccinated to do the right thing, even if it's only to be able to go to a movie or have a burger and a beer out with friends.

The promise of a return to something approaching normal — which seemed within reach last spring — has proved more elusive in recent days. Vaccine mandates can bring us further along on that path.

[Holden]

So, we're going to lock down every time there is a new mutation of the virus? So much for learning to live with it. At this rate we will be locked down for decades.

[Mandryka]

So, we're going to lock down every time there is a new mutation of the virus? So much for learning to live with it. At this rate we will be locked down for decades.

That's obviously going to be dependent on the mutation itself, and the country, its population's susceptibility and health system. In England  we've decided that there's no reason for us to lockdown at the moment - the people who make the decisions believe that it's best to wait a few more days to get a better handle on how how dangerous omicron is.


One thing I would say is this: the evidence is that the English people (I haven't seen the data for other nations in the UK) are responding to information about omicron by restricting their own behaviour voluntarily - they're going to social events less, using public transport less, planning smaller Christmas gatherings etc. That's what happened in Sweden in 2020 if I remember correctly. It may just be that the best policy in some places is openness and trust, and that imposing lockdowns is needlessly, maybe damagingly, heavy handed.

[drogulus]

     Moderna could be ready to develop Omicron booster in weeks

     

[Karl Henning]

Opinion: The real reason the right hates Anthony Fauci

By Paul Waldman
Columnist Today at 12:46 p.m. EST

The next time someone says Fox is a "news" organization, you might want to recall this moment, when one of the network's stars tells activists to find and confront Fauci, "go in for the kill shot" of what he thinks is a clever question ("Boom! He is dead!") and then "get that footage to us" so it can be used against him.

[Karl Henning]

Unvaccinated Houston man's death may be first attributed to omicron in U.S.

By Annabelle Timsit and Lateshia Beachum Today at 6:56 a.m. EST

An unvaccinated Houston-area man in his 50s is the first recorded fatality associated with the omicron variant in the Texas county — and may be the first U.S. death publicly attributed to it.

The man, who tested positive for the omicron variant before his death, according to Harris County Public Health (HCPC), had previously been infected with the coronavirus and had underlying health conditions that made him particularly vulnerable.

State and county officials renewed calls for people to get fully vaccinated and boosted as the best protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death, including illness caused by omicron.

"This is a reminder of the severity of COVID-19 and its variants," Barbie Robinson, HCPH executive director, said of the Harris County man's death in a news release. "We urge all residents who qualify to get vaccinated and get their booster shot if they have not already."

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 73.3 percent of eligible county residents have had at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, leaving more than a quarter without any protection.

"Please get vaccinated and boosted," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo tweeted.

The United States has been inundated by the omicron variant, which was discovered in southern Africa last month and has led to tightened restrictions in much of the world.

The World Health Organization said last week that the variant has been recorded in 89 countries and that the number of cases associated with it is doubling every 1½ to three days in areas where the variant is spreading in the community.

In England, 14 people have died of the coronavirus as tests showed they were positive for the omicron variant.

Omicron could cause less severe disease than its predecessors among those who are fully vaccinated and boosted, public health experts say, but the more transmissible variant may make rapid inroads through unvaccinated populations and overwhelm hospitals.

[Karl Henning]

The Omicron Best-Case and Worst-Case Scenarios

[Mandryka]

     Moderna could be ready to develop Omicron booster in weeks

   

Don't hold your breath. If we really need one of those it sounds like it'll be a long hard 2022 waiting.

[vandermolen]

Finally had my booster vaccine today (Moderna). I was easily the oldest there - the others were the technology savvy youngsters who had snapped up all the appointments. Apparently there are 100,000 over 65 year olds (like me) who are not 'refuseniks' but who have simply been unable to book an appointment. I had to drive some distance to the nearest vaccine centre where I could get an appointment. Because I had a booked appointment I only had to wait 5-10 minutes in the queue and not for 4 hours for a 'walk-in' appointment. I had to wait 15 mins in the car afterwards to check that I was ok. Felt very tired and a bit disorientated and spaced out but am told that is my normal state  . Feel fine now.

[Karl Henning]

Finally had my booster vaccine today (Moderna). I was easily the oldest there - the others were the technology savvy youngsters who had snapped up all the appointments. Apparently there are 100,000 over 65 year olds (like me) who are not 'refuseniks' but who have simply been unable to book an appointment. I had to drive some distance to the nearest vaccine centre where I could get an appointment. Because I had a booked appointment I only had to wait 5-10 minutes in the queue and not for 4 hours for a 'walk-in' appointment. I had to wait 15 mins in the car afterwards to check that I was ok. Felt very tired and a bit disorientated and spaced out but am told that is my normal state  . Feel fine now.

Good on ya, mate!

[Karl Henning]

Jennifer Rubin: While [Biden] did not say it directly, rising case numbers among vaccinated Americans are less meaningful than ever. For a fully vaccinated and boosted person who tests positive but has virtually no symptoms, covid-19 is not much different from other contagious respiratory ailments. The real threat lies among the unvaccinated.

[vandermolen]

Good on ya, mate!

Thank you my friend! 

[71 dB]

Finally had my booster vaccine today (Moderna). I was easily the oldest there - the others were the technology savvy youngsters who had snapped up all the appointments. Apparently there are 100,000 over 65 year olds (like me) who are not 'refuseniks' but who have simply been unable to book an appointment. I had to drive some distance to the nearest vaccine centre where I could get an appointment. Because I had a booked appointment I only had to wait 5-10 minutes in the queue and not for 4 hours for a 'walk-in' appointment. I had to wait 15 mins in the car afterwards to check that I was ok. Felt very tired and a bit disorientated and spaced out but am told that is my normal state  . Feel fine now.

Good to hear you are "boostered" Jeffrey! My booster shot will be no sooner than February 7th which is disappointing. There just isn't enough personel to give jabs quicker and now they are also vaccinating the kids in panic... ...so it is what it is... 

[MusicTurner]

PCR daily testing capacity of 3-4% of the population here in DK is not really enough now; you'll have to wait 6-7 days for one, also because of the Christmas buzz, of course. You'll need to take the sketchier quick tests in stead. So mapping the situation becomes more difficult also.

Having what is very likely just a minor cold, I'll be taking three quick-tests in four days in stead, and then have to decide, whether I'll be joining the family, which includes vulnerable people. The 1st on Monday was negative, but they only identify 55% of cases. Cancelled the dentist yesterday. I've also booked a PCR for the 27th. Yet, if it's that mild, I actually hope for that it's positive, but it probably isn't.

Omicron symptoms are often mild and like a cold, not with breathing problems or loss of taste/smell etc. In the Norwegian Christmas party, now surveyed, more than 50% experienced, and starting with the most common,

- coughing (83%)
- a wet nose
- tiredness
- throat pain
- muscle pain
- fever (54%)

Hospitalizations are still very much in the lower end, less than 0.5%, and apparently less than 5 ICU from about 25,000 infected. By far, the biggest numbers of infections belong only to the most recent days, however.

Another presser now scheduled for today, probably due to bad predictions for January.

[vandermolen]

Good to hear you are "boostered" Jeffrey! My booster shot will be no sooner than February 7th which is disappointing. There just isn't enough personel to give jabs quicker and now they are also vaccinating the kids in panic... ...so it is what it is... 

Thank you 71 dB 
Slightly sore arm this morning, but otherwise fine.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

PCR daily testing capacity of 3-4% of the population here in DK is not really enough now; you'll have to wait 6-7 days for one, also because of the Christmas buzz, of course. You'll need to take the sketchier quick tests in stead. So mapping the situation becomes more difficult also.

Having what is very likely just a minor cold, I'll be taking three quick-tests in four days in stead, and then have to decide, whether I'll be joining the family, which includes vulnerable people. The 1st on Monday was negative, but they only identify 55% of cases. Cancelled the dentist yesterday. I've also booked a PCR for the 27th. Yet, if it's that mild, I actually hope for that it's positive, but it probably isn't.

Omicron symptoms are often mild and like a cold, not with breathing problems or loss of taste/smell etc. In the Norwegian Christmas party, now surveyed, more than 50% experienced, and starting with the most common,

- coughing (83%)
- a wet nose
- tiredness
- throat pain
- muscle pain
- fever (54%)

Hospitalizations are still very much in the lower end, less than 0.5%, and apparently less than 5 ICU from about 25,000 infected. By far, the biggest numbers of infections belong only to the most recent days, however.

Another presser now scheduled for today, probably due to bad predictions for January.

Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well MT.  Hoping for the best for you and warm chicken soup thoughts your way.

Thank you 71 dB 
Slightly sore arm this morning, but otherwise fine.

Well done Jeffrey!

PD