It Almost Seems Like They’re Moving Backward In Texas
[guest post by Dana]
Things are looking pretty bad in Austin right now:
The number of staffed intensive care unit beds has sunk to single digits this week as the Austin area weathers the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.
As of Monday, Region O — which is made up of 2.3 million people in 11 counties: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Lee, Llano and San Saba — had only six staffed ICU beds, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Throughout the 11-county region, 647 patients are hospitalized for the coronavirus, out of more than 3,700 inpatients regionwide. The region has only enough staffing to care for a little more than 4,200 patients
“The problem with that is that outside COVID-19, the risk has increased for those in car crashes, having heart attacks or other health issues” that require that kind of care, said Matt Lara, a spokesperson for Austin Public Health. “We are asking people get vaccinated, wear a mask and stay home, if possible. We need to take precautions to help the hospitals.”
The surge in cases is being driven by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading among the very young and the unvaccinated.
On Monday afternoon, Austin-area public health officials reported 445 new coronavirus cases and 74 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Travis County.
Of the 557 people currently in the hospital for COVID-19, 191 were in ICUs and 116 were on ventilators.
Meanwhile, Gov. Abbott of Texas is asking the public to put off elective surgery:
Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas while two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates in defiance of the governor.
Abbott’s request Monday came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their COVID-19 overflow. Private hospitals in the county already were requiring their staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus…
The Republican governor has directed the Texas Department of State Health Services to use staffing agencies to find additional medical staff from beyond the state’s borders as the delta wave began to overwhelm its present staffing resources. He also has sent a letter to the Texas Hospital Association to request that hospitals postpone all elective medical procedures voluntarily.
Hospital officials in Houston said last week that area hospitals with beds had insufficient numbers of nurses to serve them.
Abbott also directed the state health department and the Texas Division of Emergency Management to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers to treat patients not needing hospital care and expand COVID-19 vaccine availability to the state’s underserved communities…
The governor is taking action short of lifting his emergency order banning county and local government entities from requiring the wearing of masks and social distancing to lower the COVID-19 risk. Abbott has said repeatedly that Texans have the information and intelligence to make their own decisions on what steps to take to protect their health and the health of those around them.
Do they? Do they really? Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.
In March 2020, when there were concerns that health systems could be overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients, it was recommended that elective surgeries be put on hold:
Containing the spread of COVID-19 and conserving resources—most notably personal protective equipment and ventilators—were key factors in the recommendation to postpone elective surgeries.
Because of those factors, the AMA offered praise for the recommendation after it was released.
The CMS guidance “on adult elective surgery is a vital step is allocating resources during the pandemic,” said AMA president Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA. “As hospitals and physician practices plan for anticipated surges of patients needing care for COVID-19 infections, health professionals must use their expertise to develop allocation policies that are fair and safeguard the welfare of patients. The CMS guidance offers needed flexibility to physicians by allowing them to consider the imperative of resource conservation, especially personal protective equipment.”
That was 17 months ago, and yet here we are. Again.
It’s a bit mind-boggling that more than a year and a half later, similar steps are necessary. Looking at the situation in Texas, one wouldn’t necessarily think that this is a country where there is sufficient availability of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the means with which to administer it to the public. And yet here we are. Still.
I’ll just drop this here. Note that Sen. Cruz is not imploring Texans to get vaccinated already but is instead ranting about how he is against mandates of any kind. (Or as Allahpundit put it, here is Cruz “campaigning for 2024”):
No mask mandates.
No vaccine mandates.
No vaccine passports.
No COVID mandates! pic.twitter.com/QpCNQof9PQ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 10, 2021
Yet one more politician crassly politicizing Covid-19 for his own political gain while his own state is experiencing a devastating surge in Covid hospitalizations.
Get the vaccine.
–Dana
Good morning.
Pre-emptive strike: Yes, other politicians on both sides of the aisle have exploited the pandemic for their own political gain too. However, the post is looking at the problem in Texas and the thus, Texas politicians…
Dana (174549) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:00 amAny mention of Texas without mention of Biden’s invasion on the border is disappointing.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:15 amWhat does Texas contact tracing look like? How many cases are coming from across the border?
Hoi Polloi (ade50d) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:16 amThe Delta variant of COVID has surprised scientists — and not in a good way. This Washington Post article is, as far as I know, a good summary of what is currently known — and what isn’t.
Sample:
We shouldn’t underestimate this enemy. A few weeks ago, I hoped that the death toll from COVID, in the United States, would be less than 700,000; now I think that it is possible it will hit one million.
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:16 amWhen do we hold China liable for this biological attack?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:19 am“Any mention of Texas without mention of Biden’s invasion on the border is disappointing.”
“When do we hold China liable for this biological attack?”
The party of personal responsibility.
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:23 amThulu,
yes, holding the correct people accountable is critical for moving forward. Unlike your party that wants to blame all people of a certain race for the sins of others that were done in a different time.
See the difference? I didn’t think so.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:28 amBreaking-
Cuomo resigns.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:28 amwe should make damn sure those thousands of unvaccinated illegal migrants respect our mask mandates!!
rule of law and stuff, etc.
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:31 am“Unlike your party that wants to blame all people of a certain race for the sins of others that were done in a different time.”
You have a problem.
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:31 amYes I do. It’s the socialist left.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:34 amWhen do we hold China liable for this biological attack?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:19 am
What do you suggest the US do? Sue China? Go to war?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:34 am“Yes I do. It’s the socialist left.”
I’m sorry the socialist left made all these people not take the vaccine.
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:36 am@13 are you also sorry the socialist left trusted and funded china’s research?
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 9:42 amMasks don’t work. When I say that, it’s shorthand for that mask isn’t properly being fitted and most aren’t even rated at N95 or higher.
Japan, has one of the highest compliance in wearing masks and is absolutely getting HAMMERED right now:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/japan/
I don’t think mandates of any kind is the way to go.
The way to go, is honest data-driven conversations devoid of partisan flavors.
The way to go is to encourage those are still hesitant to get vaccinated. Explain the data descrepencies between the vaccinated v. unvaccinated in hospital settings. (I think folks are being overwrought with the number of cases).
whembly (123289) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:09 amFor the record: The Delta variant has been traced back to India. The Alpha variant, which was the most common in the US before Delta took over, has been traced back to Britain.
(I would love to know where the original variant came from, but doubt that “Emperor” Xi will let our researchers find out. Assuming that’s even possible, now.
Those who are sure they know where must have psychic powers that I am not blessed with. Or access to top, top secret intelligence — in which case they should not be discussing such matters on a public forum.)
For the moment, I think Americans should be working together against the enemy virus, with its latest tricks, using the policies that, so far, have been shown to work best.
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:09 am#15 Yesterday, Japan had 7 new deaths from COVID, the United States 326, of which 120 were in Florida and 23 in Texas.
(Their deaths per million is 121, ours 1902.)
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:18 amTexas?
Backward?
Have you ever listened to Louis Gohmert?
Saxet!
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:24 am9.we should make damn sure those thousands of unvaccinated illegal migrants respect our mask mandates!!
Or get a S&W shot- right at the border??? 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:25 am“are you also sorry the socialist left trusted and funded china’s research?”
No, because this didn’t happen.
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:26 am2… Rob hits a solo home run. How do you put focus on Texas without mentioning the insane Biden-Harris actions on the border?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:42 am16. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:09 am
Those are the places where they first predominated. Most cases in the UK are now Delta.
The one in Wuhan was not the most recent common ancestor. There was another variant in China, milder, that is a collateral descendant of the original.
There were probably two lab leaks – the first one in late August or early September 2019 (but before Sept. 12 when the database of viruses collected was taken off the Internet) from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the second one, in mid to late October 2019 from the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, located about 300 yards from the seafood market (although it did have some stalls with air breathing animals) that was falsely made the epicenter of the epidemic.
On the other hand the 1977 reappearance of a 1950 variant of influenza did not come from a lab leak, either in Russia or in China, but from a test of a vaccine administered to Chinese military recruits. They apparently exposed them to flu to see if the vaccine worked. This was right after the Cultural Revolution.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lab-leak-wuhan-virology-covid-19-coronavirus-origins-china-biden-11628280778
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~bioe301/public_html/kortum/class/students/hw/Palese%20review.pdf
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:45 amhttps://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/08/09/florida-sets-another-covid-case-record-as-hospitals-face-sheer-exhaustion/
No doubt caused by the illegal aliens streaming over the Florida/Mexico border.
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:46 am@17
That’s a correlation argument, not necessarily a causation that mask works.
Other factors can account for why deaths are lower in Japan than in the US. IE, Japanese experienced more coronavirus (not just COVID19) seasons than the US which gives them a more robust natural immunity than US population.
Others could be disparities of infected in age groups in both countries.
Masks themselves are not a talisman. Outside of fitted and sealed respirators (ie, N95) masks are useless against aerosol transmission.
There are complex reasons why we’re see the cases jump up.
The government need to stop fighting these civil liberties policies by mandating mask/vaccinations and get out of the partisan muck. They need to do a much better job in delivering facts to the public.
The irony, of irony that I keep going back to is this:
https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/covid-19/wildfire_smoke_covid-19.html
The CDC is full of contradictions. On the one hand, the smoke particles are too small for general masks usage to prevent smoke inhalation damage. Yet smoke particles are even LARGER than the aerosolized viral transmission of COVID19. Hell, they still don’t recommend non-hospital community to use N95 in this scenario!
whembly (2e3fb6) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:48 am@23 how many?
where are they transported by the administration?
you seem to know
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:53 amAre you having a stroke, JF?
Davethulhu (aa6793) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:56 amwhat a troll
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:00 amWhy, Rob? There are 6.6 million un-vaxxed adults in TX, and the number of un-vaxxed illegals are a fraction.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:01 am@28 there were 320 million unvaxxed americans eighteen months ago
you don’t seem to understand how viruses work
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:06 amNew rule: No vaccination, no ICU bed.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:22 amDo they? Do they really? Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.
25% of the population has an IQ below 90.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:25 amThe party of personal responsibility.
The “short-dress” argument.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:27 ammost aren’t even rated at N95 or higher.
Mine are. Yours can be, too:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/#our-favorite-respirator-masks
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:36 am2… Rob hits a solo home run. How do you put focus on Texas without mentioning the insane Biden-Harris actions on the border?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/10/2021 @ 10:42 am
And whiffed on his response to #12.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:39 amWe’re really wasting too much thought, not to mention money, on those people. Let Darwin sort them out!
nk (1d9030) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:41 am@35: see #30
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:44 amBTW, in all these ICU stories, we are all clear that people who go on a ventilator don’t usually survive, right? I heard it was 1 out of 4 with Covid; maybe there are newer numbers.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:46 amWe’re really wasting too much thought, not to mention money, on those people. Let Darwin sort them out!
Heh… now do Chicago…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/10/2021 @ 11:51 amMore like the 6.7 million Texans don’t understand it, JF. Exactly how many un-vaxxed illegals have “invaded” Texas?
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:01 pm@37-
Footnotes removed.
ICU outcomes and survival in patients with severe COVID-19 in the largest health care system in central Florida
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:04 pm@39 i’m supposed to know lol
you don’t know, but you’re sure they’re just fine
JF (e1156d) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:09 pmEither Abbott took a page from DeSantis, or verse visa, regarding mask/vaccine mandates. Either way, he governs more like a Trumpalesque strongman than conservative decentralizer.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:14 pmThat aside, his four steps are in the right direction. However, TX is a not success story. They’re middle of the pack in deaths and cases per million, and they’re 37th in vaccinations. Also, new cases and deaths are still on the rise, and new hospitalizations grew 42% this past week.
That’s how important turbocharging the influx of illegal immigrants is to Biden, Pelosi, Schumer , etc., JF.
They will do whatever it takes to increase their hold on the reins of government… even if it kills American citizens.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:18 pmNo mask mandates.
No vaccine mandates.
No vaccine passports.
No COVID mandates! pic.twitter.com/QpCNQof9PQ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 10, 2021
“In a time of crisis, character is revealed.” – Cancun Tedtoo
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz flies to Cancún amid his home state’s winter weather disaster
While millions of Texans struggle with a lack of power, heat and water amid deadly winter weather, Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancún, Mexico. – yahoonews.com
IDIOT.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:25 pmMy county is 70% fully vaccinated. The state is 65% fully vaccinated and 75% with at least one shot. The current average daily case rate is 25/100K, up 20-fold from a month ago. Currently hospitalized: 190 out of 2 million.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:28 pmOT- RE- President Plagiarist blovating on Senate vote for infrastructure bill:
“The bill passed by a bigger margin than the Interstate highway bill did in 1956.”
There were only 96 senators in 1956, not 100, Joe; Hawaii and Alaska were not states until 1959, so numerical comparisons are superfluous outgassing. Liars figure and figures lie, eh, Joe!?
See a doctor, pal.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:31 pmOoops. Only up about 8-fold in the last month. Misread something.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:32 pmRip,
The obvious answer is an economic boycott and the refusal to trade with a nation that uses slave labor and artificially manipulates its currency.
But you don’t care for the answer, do you?
NJRob (10777c) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:45 pmGeorge Carlin Skit Germs, Immunity. Contains profanity
Purple Haze (34bae0) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:49 pm‘Contains profanity’
Antibiotic bug killer— or carcinogen?
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:52 pmRip,
The obvious answer is an economic boycott and the refusal to trade with a nation that uses slave labor and artificially manipulates its currency.
But you don’t care for the answer, do you?
NJRob (10777c) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:45 pm
I think your answer is fine, but in order to be effective it would need to be multilateral, and I don’t see that happening. Other countries have too much at stake not to deal with China.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 1:22 pmRip,
The obvious answer is an economic boycott and the refusal to trade with a nation that uses slave labor and artificially manipulates its currency……
NJRob (10777c) — 8/10/2021 @ 12:45 pm
How long would the boycott be? What results do you want to see-regime change? How would the US deal the Chinese retaliation (dumping US debt)?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 1:25 pmWould you boycott countries that continued to trade with China?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/10/2021 @ 1:26 pmGo to people. Use the bully pulpit. Explain what China has done and continues to do on the global stage.
Stop funding people to sit home. Reestablish manufacturing facilities. In the meantime, redirect purchases to Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.
Most nations would be willing to pretend to go along with the boycott like they did with Iraq and then just trade under the table.
Regime change is necessary.
Yes, I’d expect China to lash out militarily which would then lead to a hardening of hearts and hopefully spines.
NJRob (64d775) — 8/10/2021 @ 3:14 pm#26 Sammy – I think this is a plausible hypothesis:
But one that is not fully testable, without the complete cooperation of “Emperor” Xi and company. (And possibly not even then.)
Would you agree or disagree with that tentative conclusion?
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/10/2021 @ 3:18 pmChina is literally our largest trading partner, so a boycott is unrealistic and I’d rather not go back into a major recession or depression, especially after the Xi regime helped start the previous one.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/10/2021 @ 3:42 pmIf we want to be smart about it, there are multiple steps we can take over the next several years to lessen their role in our economy, starting with joining TPP and sanctioning the people and companies we know are cheating. Same with those enterprises that exploit Uighers.
We can incentivize companies to not do business with the regime, and de-incentivize companies that stay there.
We can create or expand a program that brings Hong Kongers to the US.
We can stop the flow of Chinese students matriculating at US universities and give those slots to students from other Asian nations, especially those from Taiwan.
We can hack their asses the way they hacked our OPM.
We can launch a check-the-tags campaign, to encourage Americans to notice the labels and not buy Made in China.
Etc.
@56. 1970. Back in London… “Buy British’ craze. Gasps of a dying Empire.
Confucius say:
“If you’ve got them by the balls, wang and T-bills, their hearts and minds will follow.”
Or was that Teddy Roosevelt?! 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/10/2021 @ 3:57 pmGood on them…https://news.yahoo.com/maskless-california-man-bullies-wrong-223854449.html
urbanleftbehind (058b0e) — 8/10/2021 @ 5:15 pmDid trump completely break the GOP or was it always like this impotent and self pitying? I used to view them as the least bad choice unless the stars aligned and the Libertarian party accidentally nominated a sane candidate. But seeing this in one of our largest and wealthiest states is just incredibly disheartening. And the ID of the GOP reflexively finds some way to make their team the victim of out side forces instead of taking some responsibility for their own policy decisions. Just sad.
Time123 (78eca7) — 8/10/2021 @ 5:52 pm59… which party is it that is in a race to impose its values (spoiler: which are far-left) on ALL Americans?
I call BS.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/10/2021 @ 6:02 pmI think that the actual, real world, demographics of the unvaccinated are the same as the demographics of Huntsville prison. Why we hear about the Republican percentage is because they think they can make political hay out of it.
Because, like, you know, what else they got except “NO! I WON’T! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! I’M GOING TO RUN AWAY FROM HOME AND JOIN THE CIRCUS, SEE IF I DON’T!”
nk (1d9030) — 8/10/2021 @ 6:25 pmI think the demographics of the unvac’d
urbanleftbehind (058b0e) — 8/10/2021 @ 7:51 pmare more like the police blotter of the Times of Northwest Indiana, which are about the same as Ralphie’s first dream defending his house against a set of striped shirt burglars in A Christmas Story (i.e. far more accurate than a 2021 ADT commercial), also set in NWI/ da Region.
Well … https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity/
And more links here.
nk (1d9030) — 8/10/2021 @ 8:03 pmThe two main group[s of the unvacc’d are loyal Trumpians and original anti-vaxxers. The latter are not always strident or complete about it, if they were “vegetarians” they would range from strict Vegans to people who say they don’t usually eat meat.
It seems that the weaker end of the latter group is seeking vaccination now, but the press focus on the loyal Trumpians is doing everyone a disservice. There is probably no better way of increasing the obstinacy of an obstinate person that hectoring them.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:13 amIt is already hard to get someone to admit they are wrong, but “admit you’re stupid” isn’t the winning path.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:14 amOff-topic:
Unexpectedly, inflation remains high at 5.4%, but is predicted to drop real soon now.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:17 amA glimpse into the future:
“Inflation at 6% isn’t all that high, historically. It was much higher in the 1940s and 1970s. If we are to keep people employed at these new green jobs we’ve crreated, we just have to accept this as the New Normal™”
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:19 amIn person hectoring – Bring it punk.
mg (8cbc69) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:29 amThere are still an enormous number of ships sitting in San Francisco Bay waiting to unload. From what I understand, this is also true of the water outside LA/LB.
A huge chunk of the inflation we’re seeing is driven by supply disruptions caused by the pandemic and by the way states and individuals have responded to the pandemic. The disruptions should *eventually* even out.
aphrael (4c4719) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:39 amhttps://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-air-conditioning-covid-19-wave
There’s a thought I had:
R0 is not a stable figure. The longer an epidemic goes on, the higher it gets, even without any changes in the virus.
This should be obvious. As with many other things, “the dose is the poison.”
That is because the average case gets further along before being beaten back (as most cases are) and tht means the average dosage of viral particles is higher and that means that the infection starts from a later point, and that means cases get worse before being beaten back (or sometimes not – but in a hospital, there may be more limited chances to infect others – the most seriously infected people pass on the disease less than people below that level, provided the hospitals can admit them.
That;s how you got a very serious epidemic in wuhan, or in northern Italy or in New Delhi.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:42 am69. aphrael (4c4719) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:39 am
And the crews come the United States unvaccinated.
They are not cruise lines.
I think there’s some effort to vaccinate the crews.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:52 amAs a matter of fact, that is even true when there has only been an increase in demand, as long as there are no permanent limitations on supply.
Just leave inflation alone, and it will resolve itself. The supply curve will eventually get steeper than the demand curve and inventory control will break down and there will be an excess of supply over demand. That’s what happened in the United States during the late 1940s.
It was principally inflation that the “do nothing” Congress was doing nothing about. Inflation suddenly vanished in October 1948. Dewey never knew what hit him. Milton Friedman claimed later that the low interest rates were tight money.
Exception: When people lose faith in the value of the currency. This is measured by the foreign exchange rate.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:52 am@67.A glimpse into the future:
Here’s the deal: President Harris announced that– in what historians will surely call a break with tradition– the body of the late President Biden will be drawn through the streets of Washington to the Capitol Rotunda on a vintage, diesel-fueled, 18-wheeler, flat bed big rig to lay in repose; it will then be transported to a flag-draped commuter car of the 5:15 PM Amtrak local bound for Wilmington, Delaware for cremation. His remains will then be placed in one of his long treasured lunch buckets- a box and Themos combo– for interment at two locations:Scranton, PA and Wilmington, DE.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/11/2021 @ 10:59 amTexans don’t claim to be the smartest people on the planet. We often learn the hard way. But we don’t like government forcing us to do things because government isn’t that smart either. Giving government more power over our lives could ultimately make our lives worse.
Most people are smart enough to understand this, even if they don’t agree. Except the Californians.
DRJ (03cb91) — 8/11/2021 @ 11:08 amTexans may not be the brightest bulbs- especially when their power grid freezes up– but they do have the ‘right idea’ when it comes to trying to control the plague crossing at their own border w/Mexico.
The clear and present danger of President Plagiarist’s policy to allow illegal aliens – literally Covid-ravaged ‘Typhoid Marys’- pour into their state by the thousands, burdening local resources as they spread the bug and themselves into a mask-mandated, vaccine-weary U.S. proper, putting all legal citizens at risk, is the work of a brain-damaged imbecile who is more of a peril to America than PT Barnum ever was.
He’s a bum.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/11/2021 @ 11:35 amBelieve it or not, there are plenty of Californians that *are* smart enough to understand this.
Dana (174549) — 8/11/2021 @ 11:49 amStand proud Texas and don’t let anyone push you around with their womanly fears of virus infection.
The number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals is accelerating faster than at any other point in the pandemic as the contagious delta variant spreads unchecked, primarily among the unvaccinated.
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/10/texas-hospitals-crisis-covid/
Time123 (545f4b) — 8/11/2021 @ 12:04 pmbiden’s got a plan, so c’mon texans get with the program
More than 18 percent of migrant families and 20 percent of unaccompanied minors who recently crossed the U.S. border tested positive for Covid on leaving Border Patrol custody over the past two to three weeks, according to a document prepared this week for a Thursday briefing with President Joe Biden.
The Biden administration is considering testing all migrants in Border Patrol custody, according to the second document, but CBP, the Border Patrol’s parent agency, does not currently have the testing capability.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/18-percent-migrant-families-leaving-border-patrol-custody-tested-positive-n1276244
JF (f71c30) — 8/11/2021 @ 1:16 pmAccording to this:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109004/coronavirus-covid19-cases-rate-us-americans-by-state/
As of August 9th, Texas was in 28th place in case rate with highest rate at #1 North Dakota
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/
Also as of August 9th
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 1:25 pmTexas is #26, tied with Florida in death rate per 100,000 at 185 (which hasn’t changed much) with
#1 New Jersey checking in at 300 deaths per 100,000, #2 New York at 275
mission accomplished in texas, now biden’s spreading it around
https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/08/covid-outbreak-at-northwest-ice-detention-center-worsens.html
An outbreak of COVID-19 cases that started in June at a facility for detained immigrants in Tacoma, Washington, has continued to worsen.
According to a document submitted to federal court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington, the virus surge came as the federal government transferred nearly 1,100 immigrants to the Tacoma detention center in an attempt to relieve overcrowding at holding facilities at the southern border.
JF (e1156d) — 8/11/2021 @ 1:46 pmDCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/11/2021 @ 11:35 am
He doesn’t have such a policy – which is part of the problem, because he’s not making plans for it. People get released from detention on an “unplanned” basis.
Now it’s not like he has any choice, because the alternative is the death penalty, direct or indirect. Does anyone think there is a magic wand to wave? Anyone who talks like there is a decision to “allow” has the kind of support of strong government that a Marxist does.
And there are not so many with Covid, although it is now spiking.
It’s reached 18% now. While t’s high in Mexico, it could be that the detention period os allowing it to soread.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/18-percent-migrant-families-leaving-border-patrol-custody-tested-positive-n1276244
This is when they leavve BP custody, not when they enter it.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/11/2021 @ 2:18 pm80.
It doesn’t sound like its a good idea to detain people. And then, after putting people into this petri dish, releasing or transferring them elsewhere because the place had gotten overcrowded. No planing because it is not supposed to happen. (They’re not supposed to be there.)
They are not using prophylaxis – infusing them with antibodies, because naturally the FDA has not approved this.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/11/2021 @ 2:23 pm@79, you need to look at performance over time.
Time123 (545f4b) — 8/11/2021 @ 3:13 pmthe caption on the photo below
Mask mandate OK
Vaccine mandate OK
Mandate mentally ill get treatment? HOW DARE YOU!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8dj9zYVcAIlvft?format=jpg&name=large
From Street People of LA
https://twitter.com/streetpeopleLA/status/1425217724767105026?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 4:00 pmI read a piece at PJ Media where someone wonders if forcing a vaccine injection on someone is battery and raises a lot of other questions about forced compliance
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 4:05 pmhttps://pjmedia.com/columns/victoria-taft/2021/08/10/fight-back-heres-how-people-are-legally-resisting-dystopian-diktats-to-get-a-covid-shot-or-be-fired-n1468302
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 4:05 pm#83
I believe the words
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 6:57 pm“as of August 9th 2021” give a clue and then the charts show data is cumulative.
You can always click the link for the source materials
Why is vaccination so far elevated over recovered immunity?
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/11/2021 @ 7:02 pmThe data says 25% of the population likely have recovered immunity.
So why can’t they get an antibody test and be cleared from mask use or vaccine requirements?
Doesn’t anyone want that data?
Seems negligent not to have it.
Vaccination and masking for certain cohorts is unscientific regardless to the masking/vaxxing machine protestations
Cumulative!=performance over time. My point is that changes over time show that Texas is doing abnormally poorly right now, even if their cumulative performance is close to the US median. Which btw, isn’t good in comparison to other wealthy countries.
Time123 (545f4b) — 8/11/2021 @ 7:10 pmThe data says 25% of the population likely have recovered immunity.
The mRNA vaccines, and to a lesser extent the adenovirus vaccines (e.g. J&J), are aimed at proteins common to most (all?) of the strains. Natural immunity is the body’s just-in-time reaction to a single strain. Not only may the antibodies be ineffective against another strain, but Joe and Jim may have developed different antibodies to the same strain, so it’s really hard to say.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 8:19 pmBy the way, I see all these innumerate “statistics” about hospitalizations, like the one that says that 60% of Israeli hospital admissions for Covid are for vaccinated people, and is used to assert that vaccination is useless.
These ignore several facts:
1. The vaccinated patients are all older and were in marginal health beforehand. The unvaccinated patients are generally younger and healtier.
2. 80% of Israeli adults are vaccianted (and even more among older adults), so, do the math and you find that — ignoring everything else — one is over 2 1/2 times more likely to be hospitalized if you are unvaccinated.
3. Hospitals may be triaging to accept the vaccinated first.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/11/2021 @ 8:27 pmAn interesting point on the testing:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m53tHJkIQj8
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/11/2021 @ 8:38 pmTrump has refused requests to make vaccine PSAs.
This is having a real impact because, according to this poll, the most vaccine-hesitant are the folks in the counties with highest Trump vote shares.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 7:52 amGov. Abbott and other GOP governors aren’t going to push too hard on vaccines when the de facto leader of the GOP won’t do so, and they’re too cowardly to risk his wrath and their election viability by stepping out too far.
The real question, then, is why he hasn’t done more to get the word out when it’s been demonstrated over and over that the vaccines save lives. Stephen Moore may shrug his shoulders and say “I dunno” but the answer to me is easy: He’d rather sacrifice the lives of his fellow Americans because it’s on Biden’s watch, and he wants to make the current president look bad. It’s not in Trump’s character to make such an unequivocal statement, and is why he’s too immoral and too unpatriotic to ever step in the White House ever again.
Do you have a more recent poll?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 7:58 amNo, BuDuh. This came from a Townhall post yesterday, which linked to a 7/26 news release from UPMC, which linked to the poll results on 7/23.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 8:08 amTrump should send a PSA to the border.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 8:11 amUnless I am misunderstanding your link at 8:08, the suggestion you are making to Trump is that he needs to offer a PSA to the “highly informed, scientifically literate, and sophisticated in the use of data” group of Americans?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 8:16 amYes, you are misunderstanding the link (and didn’t drill down to the actual results). More accurately, you’re going along with Barkoukis’ misleading take. It’s true that PhD’s rival the high-school educated in vaccine hesitancy, but the least hesitant are those with 4-year, professional and masters degrees. She also failed to mention that the most vaccine hesitant (more than PhD’s and the high-school educated) are the folks in counties that had the highest levels of Trump vote shares, more so than the blacks.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 8:49 amSo… who does the PSA for the highly educated group that agrees with the high school educated?
Would the highly educated trust Trump or would they be more skeptical?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 8:56 amFrom the study:
It appears as though the highly educated answered specific questions that allowed the surveyors to have direct data points, however the Trump County Effect is strictly a correlation that doesn’t have the same direct data. Maybe they should have asked the hesitant who received their vote in 2020, rather than treat an entire county as monolithic.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:12 amWhy won’t Trump do a PSA for all the vaccine-hesitant?
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:19 am@101 cuz he’s banned from social media?
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:23 amWhy won’t Trump do a PSA for all the vaccine-hesitant?
Because for the most part they are his base, and they won’t believe him. Trump is talking out of both sides of his mouth: he endorses vaccination but also endorses the “freedom” not to be vaccinated. Trump supporters view his endorsements as being captured by the “Deep State” and “big pharma.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:26 amSince they have such a high sample size, what disciplines are most hesitant? Is it biological sciences, or is it sociology or English lit?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:27 amRip believes that the highly educated are Trump’s base.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:27 amMore data from the Washington Post:
I think almost all of you will find the “Cases in states” graph of interest, where you can see which states are doing especially well, now. And which aren’t.
My apologies for reposting this, but the “Weekend” post is drawing less attention, and this data is important. I think Dana, for instance, will want to see how Texas is doing, now, compared to other states.
(Reminder: The Post, to its credit, is making all its stories on the COVID pandemic free.)
Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:29 amDoes it matter since they are drunk drivers?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:29 am@103 “freedom” in scare quotes, says rip
either they have the freedom, or they don’t
which is it?
do you want to speak out of one side of your mouth, rip?
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:31 amhttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/coronavirus-migrants-border-covid.html
when the ny times catches up with the story, you know things are bad in biden’s america
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:38 am109… teh Old, Syphilitic Grey Whoooah may be on her last legs
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:43 am92, Most of the facts are true but the conclusion isn’t.
And she takes a report that a PCR test can detect a case of Covid somebody recovered from even 70 days ago (which would be rare – it’s an extreme and might even be a sign of a swiftly defeated re-infection) and makes it “several months” She rests her whole argument on that.
It’s well known that the PCR test does not distinguish between active virus and destroyed virus and is basically too sensitive. But people who test positive stop testing positive after far less than 70 days so this is not the cause of high rates of Covid.
Yes, someone who got sick and had previously had a mild Covid case might have their flu attributed to Covid if that was the only thing tested for, and if they don;t look at the strength of the positive result.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:49 amAs if that’s the only way an ex-president can communicate.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:50 amTrump has over $100 million in “Stop the Steal” money. Are you seriously telling me he can’t part with a few million and buy some TV ads? He’s the self-professed greatest negotiator ever. Surely he can cut a deal.
Some of this data is stunning. 25% of ALL respondents say they are concerned about an allergic reaction, although these are extremely rare. It’s like saying you are worried to send you child to school because of the (vanishingly small) chance of a mass shooter.
The statistics for PhD show mostly that people with PhDs are unwilling to listen to other people. Aain, I would like to know what disciplines are represented in this. Education?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:51 amI agree, Rip. Trump’s character will not allow him to make an unconditional pro-vaccine statement, and that’s the problem.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:52 amDoes it matter since they are drunk drivers?
WOW! What an amazingly non-sensical response. Your resentments do your typing now?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:53 amWhere do I find the actual timeframe?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:54 am109. I notie that the New York Times (besides noting that the general upsurge in Covid is not coming from migrants) hasn’t hit upon the flaw in the statistics.
They are being tested after being in U.S. custody for some time
It’s the United States government that is giving them Covid.
It should test them, first thing and then again three days later. And then when you quarantine people, don;t quarantine them together in enclosed spaces.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:55 amEveryone who doesn’t get a vaccine is a drunk driver according to you, Kevin.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:55 amSo… who does the PSA for the highly educated group that agrees with the high school educated
You misread that. “≤high school” does not mean they attended high school.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:56 am*” ≤ high school”
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:57 amHmmm not all html works here
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:57 amAt the bottom of the text portion of the link are multiple references. The link to Delphi seems to go to a whole mess of information that I don’t have time to go through. Maybe it is there?
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:57 amEveryone who doesn’t get a vaccine is a drunk driver according to you, Kevin.
So what? There are statistics among drunk drivers, too. If PhD’s were a large portion of them, it would also be interesting.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:58 amIt should test them, first thing and then again three days later.
NO, it should give them a J&J shot immediately, possibly before asking their name.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:59 amIn interviews, Black men and women said that much of their distrust of the coronavirus vaccine was shaped by their own experiences with discrimination or their identity as Black Americans…
“They came out with one so fast for Covid, and now they want to pay you to take it,” [one black man] said. “It seems fishy.”…
“It takes a little bit of hyper-vigilance when you’re a woman of color,” said Jazmine Shavuo-Goodwin, 31, who believes she encountered medical racism when doctors were dismissive of her severe stomach problems. “There’s a lot of homework you have to do, because your doctors may not truly listen to you, to your full complaint, before they’ve already diagnosed you.”…
Many Black New Yorkers struggled to make sense of why their community suffered so in that first wave. Some of the fears about the vaccine go back centuries, through the nation’s long history of medical experimentation on Black enslaved people and later on Black citizens.
In interviews, some Black New Yorkers mentioned the government’s decades-long Tuskegee syphilis experiment — in which doctors withheld treatment from Black men with syphilis. Distrust for the vaccine has also been reinforced by contemporary injustices.
In interviews, a number of Black New Yorkers wondered how vaccines for Covid-19 could have emerged so quickly, but not one for H.I.V., which has disproportionately affected Black Americans….
One of the three vaccines — the single-shot Johnson & Johnson — had been directed to Black and Latino communities, among other places…. [I]n April, the federal government ordered a brief suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after it was linked to blood clots in the brains of several women.
“It reaffirmed my hesitance, it reaffirmed everything,” Ms. Shavuo-Goodwin, the graduate student and clinic manager, said. “It just shows Black lives don’t matter. You can test that on us just like you tested syphilis on us.”
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2021/08/since-when-does-america-give-anything.html
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:00 amEveryone who doesn’t get a vaccine is a drunk driver according to you, Kevin.
Sober up.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:01 amEveryone who doesn’t get a vaccine is a drunk driver according to you, Kevin.
No, they are just criminally irresponsible LIKE a drunk driver.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:01 amThose damn red-staters!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:01 am96. There;s no way that 40% of a group of migrants would test positive for Covid-19 at the same time unless they were in what amounts to a petri dish.
And they were.
They were “dropped off by the Border Patrol”
And only tested then.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:02 amI should also point out this paper is not peer-reviewed.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:03 amThe Tuskeegee study only had about 120 people enrolled in it and ended 49 years ago. It has more to do with low class than with race, although at that time, Africans Americans in the deep south were all low class.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:05 amThe J&J vaccine was being directed toward more vaccine hesitant people because to be considered “fully vaccinated” you would only have to give one shot. “One and done” It was also given to Orthodox Jews at Landau’s synagogue in Brooklyn.
They also wanted to give it to homebound people.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:08 amTrump is talking out of both sides of his mouth: he endorses vaccination but also endorses the “freedom” not to be vaccinated.
Yeah!!! That ‘freedom of choice’ thingy is such double-talk, ain’t it:
“You can have any color you want, so long as it’s black.” – ‘Model T maker’ Henry Ford, conservative capitalist.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:08 amThe questionnaire they used is here (PDF). No question about discipline of study was asked. Considering the obstinacy of the PhD group, I think it’s highly relevant.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:09 am@132: You only have to find/convince them once. It also stores a lot better.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:10 amThe whole right wing talk radio eco system is pretending that migrants coming from Mexico had such high rates of Covid positive test results when they first entered the United States. It was probably 2% to 5% but the Border Patrol managed to infect 5 to ten times as many.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:11 amNO, it should give them a J&J shot immediately, possibly before asking their name.
A S&W shot the moment they cross the border and break into the country illegally is much more effective. 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:11 amThis is where the 70 day figure comes from, Sammy:
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:14 amYes, this is because they were bathed, masked, and socially distant on their entire journey until the evil border patrol got their grubby hands on them.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 10:17 amBecause for the most part they are his base, and they won’t believe him
Rip believes that the highly educated are Trump’s base.
BuDuh (7bca93) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:27 am
I do know some otherwise highly educated people who are Trump supporters.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/12/2021 @ 11:04 am@103 “freedom” in scare quotes, says rip
either they have the freedom, or they don’t
which is it?
do you want to speak out of one side of your mouth, rip?
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 9:31 am
They aren’t scare quotes, Trump has frequently spoken about the freedom of choice not to be vaccinated.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/12/2021 @ 11:06 amSource
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/12/2021 @ 11:18 am“Don’t tell me to open my umbrella! Tell Biden to stop the rain!”
nk (1d9030) — 8/12/2021 @ 11:59 am@142 thanks for reminding us trump is pro-vaccine
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 12:05 pmgenius
Republican lawmakers on Thursday introduced the Vaccine Passport and Voter ID Harmonization Act, legislation that would require states mandating vaccine passports to also mandate voter ID requirements.
https://dailycaller.com/2021/08/12/vaccine-passports-voter-id-kevin-cramer-covid/
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 12:29 pm@142 thanks for reminding us trump is pro-vaccine
JF (e1156d) — 8/12/2021 @ 12:05 pm
Most people here have never said Trump was anti-vaccine, just that his support is lukewarm.
His supporters, on the other hand …..
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 8/12/2021 @ 12:53 pm“Don’t tell me to open my umbrella! Tell Biden to stop the rain!”
Sweet Baby Jesus… lawyers and umbrellas… I wonder how many liability lawsuits resulting from faulty mechanisms or too pointy points have yet to be filed.
Now snakes, on the other hand…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/12/2021 @ 1:01 pm