And even some of us nobodies.
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I do not think I will take the test when we get the free gubmint testing supplies. That way I can continue on in blissful ignorance.
Finally almost testing negative, today had the faintest of faint pink bands. I am guessing tomorrow I'll be fully negative.
I’m on the downhill side of my positive test. Not the worst Illness I’ve ever had, but not any fun either.
To my Alabama folks, stay safe out there. Alabama is running a 45+% positivity rate for testing (that's the 7-day average, not just a single day fluke). For those who haven't gotten boosted please do and for those who haven't gotten vaccinated, I doubt I will change your mind but here we go: do it for your family, do it for your neighbors, hell do it for me. Omicron might be milder but for unvaccinated that's like the saying "getting shot in the stomach is milder than getting shot in the chest".
https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/alab...in-nation.html
Dear Evan Hansen is in town this week. After watching the movie (my wife and I in Jackson, Mississippi as the only two people in the theater), she really wanted to see the play.
With Covid raging here, she said she just doesn't feel comfortable even with a N95 mask sitting in a sold out crowded concert hall.
Next time.
My mother is itching hard to go to a home basketball game. I've dissuaded her thus far, esp. playing East Armpit Technical College all during November, but getting harder now that we're in the conference and not playing like a AAU team.
I'm just not warm to getting it. I wont' cower from it, I run my business and do my job and try to be prudent but not over the top. But for something this discretionary, where I really don't have to go and can watch on TV, I just don't see the risk as worth it even though we're all vaxxed up.
Same for dining out. I like to cook, and can do that with as much or even less allocation of time than going out, it's cheaper, and I'm not in a crowd of people most of whom seem oblivious to any risks and are thus not the best crowd in which to find oneself anyway.
So for now I don't hide from the rain running from doorway to doorway, but neither do I walk down the middle of the street in traffic.
I'm great, Pedro, hope you and your wife are doing well.
I'm no longer having any symptoms. Just got back from a leisurely 6.55 mile walk while listening to a seminar. Not doing any running yet, but walked 30+ miles this week, so I'm feeling fine.
I'm still sleeping in a separate bedroom, eating separately, and wearing a mask when I go to common rooms at my house - have no clue how my wife avoided it when my daughter and I got it, but trying to make sure she doesn't get it.
About ready to unmask at home, but it's not a big deal to us right now so just being ultra cautious.
Yeah I think that's similar to our course.
We went to a movie, wore N95 masks during a matinee where we chose our seats. When we saw nobody else in the Theatre, it made it easy.
Outdoor sports, we've attended.
Stopped dining out, although we do takeout once or twice a week, go inside to get it, but just don't hang around for an hour.
Others do, and I don't criticize them for it. We all have our own decisions to make like that. Some of us drive a little faster than others. Some of us drive vehicles that are less safe.
I almost decided to go to Auburn tomorrow for the game because I think for at least the next few months I'll be as safe as anybody, but I missed the deadline (and truthfully didn't know I'd be feeling this good yet). I may go to a game soon because I'm not sure when I will go again. I hate the SEC Tournament is in Tampa this year, although truthfully, I may be in Cincinnati playing new grandfather.
Life goes on, but weighing a lot of things to me seems pretty easy to balance in favor of being a little more cautious.
The wife and I are doing well. I finally tested negative today, just in time for our trip next week. Glad to hear that you are recovering nicely as well. Honestly, that sounds very prudent. I'm almost certain that I got it from sharing spaces with my wife (we have a 1bd apartment, not easy to keep separate).
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Good to Hear everyone is recovering and nothing severe. We’re at all kinds of basketball games, running concessions at hs games, and of course boosters decided to do a pancake breakfast a week or two ago so everyone I think got it there or at the mustang madness tourney that weekend. Heck we didn’t even test I was just tired and had very minor cold symptoms. Wife had a fever for a day or two and felt bad then better (I had warned her to get boosted so she didn’t feel as bad and she didn’t listen). Kids all had some tiredness and maybe a minor cold symptom. Several others tested and were positive but only one of the players did because they all wanted to play. So the honest truth of it now is that people are tired of this and aren’t gonna test because they don’t want to miss anything. So it’s just gonna run wild like it has, and the only way not to be as concerned is to have zero contact or get vaxd and boosted and hope for the best. Luckily it seems minor for most anyone that’s fully vaccinated. Still know many do not want to do that and I hate it for them that the only answer is to stay locked in the house. I can’t even worry about hiding from it, I’ll go insane if I have to spend another year locked up.
My SIL is still sick but holding her own. The normal upper respiratory stuff
Florida shuts monoclonal antibody treatment sites after FDA sets new limits
Florida health official disagrees with FDA's decision, particularly regarding Regeneron
Florida Deputy Secretary for Health Kenneth A. Scheppke went on the record saying that the state disagrees with the FDA's decision, particularly regarding Regeneron, noting that it has not been supported by any clinical evidence provided by the FDA.
In a letter to leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Scheppke noted that Florida had ordered more than 30,000 doses of both Regeneron and the sotorovimab monoclonal antibody treatment (which remains permitted), but that HHS had not been responding to their requests for an update on the order.
"While we were hopeful to immediately connect on this timely and important issue, unfortunately, you were no longer able to accommodate our request for a call today and canceled," Scheppke wrote. "We believe the decision to delay our meeting was made with the awareness that this would be announced. Rather than transparent communication from the federal government to states, decisions continue to be made through news cycles and this actively prevents states from making operational decisions that actively save lives."
Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the Biden administration for the decision.
"Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law," DeSantis said in a statement. "This indefensible edict takes treatment out of the hands of medical professionals and will cost some Americans their lives. There are real-world implications to Biden’s medical authoritarianism – Americans’ access to treatments is now subject to the whims of a failing president."
@josh_wingrove: DeSantis says his state may sue to keep using two Covid treatments after the FDA halted their use and said they simply don't work on omicron.
The drug manufacturers haven't objected; one even agreed. The AMA agrees. DeSantis objects.
W/ @JonathanJLevin:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...hey-don-t-work
Not with boosters.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...ainst-omicron/
Lab study shows omicron-blocking antibodies persist four months after a Pfizer-BioNTech booster
Fauci is a lying, conniving, bum.
Andersen added that the situation needed to be looked at more closely, at which point Fauci organized an all hands on deck conference call with colleagues where he was told that risky experiments with the novel coronavirus may not have gone through proper biosafety review and oversight.
Hours later, Fauci hastily organized a call with dozens of worldwide virologists, and notes from the meeting obtained by Special Report reveal that suspicions of the lab leak theory were suppressed over concerns of how the public would react to news of possible Chinese government involvement.
In the meeting, fears were raised by then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins that "science and international harmony" could be harmed and accusations of China’s involvement could distract top researchers.
IMO he deserves to be tarred, feathered. and run out of DC on a rail.
Fauci has a lot of dubious, lying friends in the medical and the research jobs with high salaries, who were well trained to lie.
US scientists who downplayed COVID-19 lab leak origins theory sang a different tune in private, emails show
U.S. scientists who publicly attributed the COVID-19 pandemic to natural origins rather than human engineering were far less confident in private, transcripts and notes from previous meetings show.
However, conversations between public officials seem to indicate that some experts may have consciously chosen to suppress evidence that could fuel "conspiracists."
"I really can't think of a plausible natural scenario where you get from the bat virus ... to nCoV where you insert exactly four amino acids 12 nucleotide that all have to be added at the exact same time to gain this function," Dr. Robert Garry from Tulane's School of Medicine said, according to notes from a February 2020 meeting released by House Republicans.
Linkage
I believe the Junior Senator from Kentucky has Faucci pretty well figured. It's like the Senator was reading these emails months ago.
Omicron 2.0 is apparently on the way.
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Yeah, I read that the Omicron 2.A didn't last and experts recommend to stick with the Delta.
Sister in law somewhat better after a rough few days. Seems it won’t let go of her.
My Father in law Bill has more severe symptoms now and is pretty short of breath with a bad cough. Said he would visit his doctor today. Prayers appreciated.
Hope your family is doing well Kingcat.
While it could, it is far more likely that the next one will come from bats again. Close proximity doesn't guarantee an easy cross-over. For whatever reason, bats seem to harbor the most likely novel coronaviruses to infect us. That being said, it could be that we have studied bats more than other reservoirs and as such know more about these viruses in them.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We are saying goodbye to one of the finest men you could ever know. We are at the hospital here my wife’s Daddy is now saying his goodbyes to us all. He is able to smile, talk, and even laugh a bit as he leaves instructions and says goodbye. They will take him off the maximum oxygen they could give at his request when he is ready. They have already started easing his pain and will increase it when he says to.
We really need some prayers to help us show the strength and resolve he has. He took the antibody infusion a couple of days ago but it was a little late it seems. He refused intubation and said he was ready to go. At nearly 91 he worked as recently as a few days ago replacing his toilet.
We should all strive to be as God fearing man as Bill Strong.
Thinking of him and all your family Kingcat.
God bless you and your family King, and God’s speed with Mr Strong.
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God Love you all, Kingcat and you all are in my prayers on a daily basis, brother.
Bill passed this morning at around 5 AM at nearly 91 years of age. Yesterday evening he got to see and talk to nearly the whole (large) family as five at a time were allowed to visit, believe it or not.
And video called with his many great grandchildren off an on during the day.
Left this world as he lived it, Pre-organized and arranged and as Godly as things could possibly be. Even his death.
He was a Navy man by the way. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Another tough one.
A bit more about Ivermectin. I was reading some reports and letters recently and the scientific community are starting to put together a picture on how the myth came to be.
First came studies in cell culture which showed Ivermectin can neutralize the virus. These studies were done at Ivermectin concentrations which were typical 10-10000x the fatal dose in humans. This isn't super uncommon because dosages in cell cultures often don't translate well to in vivo, they tend to be close but not always.
These were followed by a number of the smaller initial studies which showed a benefit. These studies do appear to be legit and were not fraudulent in any way but were extremely small and not well controlled (nor intended to be). To be clear, all of the big studies which showed a benefit appear to have questionable or outright fraudulent but a number of smaller ones don't have any signs of malfeasance. Since then, all major studies which have been done properly (heavily blinded, fully randomized, and done with the proper controls) have shown no benefit of Ivermectin.
So how or why did these initial small studies show a benefit; was it is a statistical fluke or was something else going on? Retrospectively, one thing essentially all of these initial smaller studies which showed promise had in common, the studies were done in areas in which the local populations have endemic parasitic infections. Ivermectin being anti-parasitic, it makes sense then, could improve outcomes in populations with rampant parasitic infections. This is especially true when you consider one critical factor: the first round treatment for COVID is steroids. Placing someone with an active parasitic infection on steroids dramatically increases the likelihood that the parasitic infection will kill them. As such, incorporating an anti-parasitic could theoretically improve outcomes in these patients.
So long story short, Ivermectin can help COVID outcomes if and only if you have an active parasitic infection.
PEDRO REPORTS YOU NEED TO INGEST PARASITES TO HELP CURE YOUR COVID!!!!
Just practicing for my career in journalism. :) ;)
(seriously, don't do that. other than gummy worms)
Great, I just created the next weird COVID cure going around in the antivax circles. I swear, I thought I sufficiently cynical view of people and some of the stuff that has come around during COVID stunned even me.
The number of posts I have seen extolling urine therapy over the past couple months in some of the redder circles* I am involved in were STUNNING. These weren't tongue-in-cheek posts either, these were legitimate people who were legitimately evangelizing drinking your own pee. They were the same people who were the most vocal touting hydroxychloroquine, zinc/vitamin C, MMS (Miracle Mineral Solution aka industrial bleach), etc. instead of getting the vaccine.
*To be fair, anti-vaxxers aren't limited to the right wing. A few of the more "crunchy"-set people I know are also staunchly antivax but so far the one's I have encountered have limited their crazy to "natural medicine" like elderberry syrup, zinc, vitamin C, and claiming people need more sunshine/clean water.
I do understand that Vitamin D is a good idea, which I need to do. At least that was in the early reports that it could help reduce symptoms.
Of course no vitamin will cure you or innoculate you, so if they're doing that instead of a vaccine that's a big problem, but wouldn't hurt to do it With a vaccine, which I am remiss about doing.
Totally agree with that, these kinds of things (not the urine drinking/HCQ/Ivermectin but the vitamin taking) are things that you do 'on top of' not 'in lieu of'. I take a regular Calcium/VitD supplement and my serological VitD levels were in good shape at my last physical. That's pretty surprising considering we get almost no sun this time of year.
Risky gain of function research is mired in secrecy after the coronavirus pandemic
Shortly after the coronavirus outbreak, influential leaders in the science community huddled to say the deadly virus most likely originated naturally from an animal transfer to humans.
New reporting from Fox News' "Special Report" showed there was an effort by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, and other scientists to not mention the possibility of the virus originating in a lab. The consensus was reached on a call in early 2020 that the lab leak theory should be left out of an early paper on COVID-19 origins because it will add "fuel to the conspiracists."
In other words, lie to the ignorant, unwashed masses, as they are too stupid to hear the real facts and make a reasoned decision on their own, and it is very important to not piss of the Chinese
Two years later, there is no definitive proof that the virus started in nature or that it leaked from a lab. But the theory that the virus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which studies coronaviruses, is no longer shunned as a conspiracy and is gaining more traction among scientific communities calling for further inquiry.
FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT OUTLINES FRESH QUESTIONS ON WHAT FAUCI, GOVERNMENT KNEW ABOUT COVID ORIGIN
Fox News talked to several scientists and investigators who have studied COVID-19 origins, and here are some reasons – science-based and circumstantial – why they believe the evidence points to the global pandemic originating from a Wuhan lab, possibly from a researcher accidentally getting infected during an experiment with coronaviruses and spreading it into the community.
"When you evaluate the two theories, it is so overwhelmingly in favor of the lab leak that everything else is just incidental evidence about the details of what happened," said Richard Muller, emeritus professor of physics at the University of California Berkeley, who has been a strong advocate for the lab-leak theory.