COVID-19 and the States

[Lani]

[Volkonski]

[raison de arizona]

I’m getting whiplash from this whole Feds Stay Out Of Our Business/Feds Get Into Our Business thing, but good for the people of Texas.

[Foggy]

Gosh, he wants some help from the federal government now?

Let's give him what his people really need, and then spend all of 2022 making him the laughingstock of America for his pathetic and embarrassing hypocrisy.

[LM K]

The world has been In the Soup for two years. Can someone explain why there havent been public health moves to, oh, say, designate 1 hospital in every major metro area as non-COVID, for all other needs? This would seem to be a good time to step out of the box in our thinking.

Also, too, and this is just me: after July 4, 2022, if you are willfully unvaxxed, prepare to be massively, globally shunned. Shunning in one’s community is much more effective than shaming.

I fully expect LM K to have something to say about it and I’d love to hear what it is.

You rang?

*Designated non-covid hospitals?

Absofuckinglutely! People with cancer, who've been in car accidents, who've had heart attacks and strokes, etc shouldn't die or become more disabled than necessary because some assholes wouldn't mask and vax.

These hospitals must have fully staffed ICUs with adequate ventilators for non-covid needs. All supplies are off limits to covid patients.

Depending on state/county population, the non-covid hospital would be allowed to treat unvaxed outpatients only. Outpatient care availability to be determined daily.

*$5,000 cash to every vaxed resident 12 years and up. Those who qualify for a booster must get a booster to qualify for their cash award. Those whom can't vax for medical reasons will be given $5,000 if they share their story publicly (sharing one's diagnosis is not necessary).

Bonus goes to $7,000 for each child 5-11 that is vaxed.

This bonus is yearly for 5 years for those who stay on schedule with current and future boosters.

*Shunning? I wish that was possible. That's a really complicated social experiment to establish.

*Healthcare providers and teachers who refuse to vax lose their license until they vax. Regular boosters are required.

*Pay teams of unarmed volunteer mask enforcers to any business or organization that requests help enforcing mask rules. Pepper spray is allowed for use if antimaskers refuse to leave the business/organization.

*Mandatory weekly testing for everyone over the age of 8. Younger kiddos have a hard time when a swab touches their brain.

*Gps bracelets to track infected people while they are contagious. Pay teams to track movements of the infected once they have received their gps bracelets.

*Mandatory jail time for those who violate isolation rules. Childcare provided for those parents while they are jailed.

*ALL entertainment subscriptions, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, and Disney, cancelled for unvaxed households. Medical exemptions allowed.

*A publicly searchable database tracking vaccination status.

*Free high speed internet for vaxed households. Dial-up only for unvaxed households. For unvaxed households with children learning remotely, provide high speed internet during school hours.

*Free covid treatment for the vaxed who get breakthrough cases. They did their best. We should reward that.

Imo, the 3 most effective of my suggestions? Yearly payments, entertainment subscription cancelation, and internet service availability.

ETA: Damn, I'm a monster!

[AndyinPA]

Nope, not a monster.

[LM K]

I say this for all of us here:

Duh.

Everyone knows. I suspect even the cult knows. They don’t care. Until they end up intubated, when they admit COVID is real and please throw all the medical resources at it possible. Until they die.

Sadly, some die insisting that covid isn't real. They just have really bad colds that turned into pneumonia.

[pipistrelle]

I say this for all of us here:

Duh.

Everyone knows. I suspect even the cult knows. They don’t care. Until they end up intubated, when they admit COVID is real and please throw all the medical resources at it possible. Until they die.

Sadly, some die insisting that covid isn't real. They just have really bad colds that turned into pneumonia.

I suspect they know but can’t admit it.

[LM K]

Fuck Texas.

[Notaperson]

Gosh, he wants some help from the federal government now?

Let's give him what his people really need, and then spend all of 2022 making him the laughingstock of America for his pathetic and embarrassing hypocrisy.

DeSantis, when he's back from vacation, will be begging for federal help soon too.

Florida shatters COVID-19 daily case record with 76,000 new cases

https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-co ... d/38646298#

[Lani]

I say this for all of us here:

Duh.

Everyone knows. I suspect even the cult knows. They don’t care. Until they end up intubated, when they admit COVID is real and please throw all the medical resources at it possible. Until they die.

Sadly, some die insisting that covid isn't real. They just have really bad colds that turned into pneumonia.

Even more sadly, hospital workers are being harassed & attacked by patients' friends and family members who claim the hospital is killing patient by not giving the patient various dewormers, herbs, hydroxychloroquine, etc.

[pipistrelle]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/27/biden-s ... pport.html

• President Joe Biden pledged to aid governors struggling with the omicron variant of Covid-19, but acknowledged the states will need to take the lead in controlling the pandemic.

• Speaking just before a meeting Monday with some of the nation’s governors, Biden said: “There is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level.”

• Biden reiterated some of the promises he made last week, including the federal government’s purchase of 500 million rapid coronavirus tests.

[keith]

Gosh, he wants some help from the federal government now?

Let's give him what his people really need, and then spend all of 2022 making him the laughingstock of America for his pathetic and embarrassing hypocrisy.

Thoughts and prayers?

[raison de arizona]

Adrienne Taren MD/PhD
·
Dec 30, 2021
There aare no ICU beds in all of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, or Arkansas ask me how I know

Adrienne Taren MD/PhD
@AdrienneTaren
Important clarification, no STAFFED icu beds that they will allow me to put a patient in.

[raison de arizona]

Oro Valley is a Tucson, AZ suburb.

Oro Valley Hospital in Arizona is temporarily not accepting patients having heart attacks. Due to staffing issues from #COVID19 they are unable to provide 24/7 call coverage in the Cath Lab. https://www.kold.com/2021/12/31/oro-val ... -patients/

50 state hospital status:

► Show Spoiler

National Guard activated in 48 states:

► Show Spoiler

[LM K]

Interesting tweet. I struggled to figure out what the author meant by "circuit breaker". He wrote about it here.

Here’s what we need to do to avoid the worst-case scenario, starting now.These particular recommendations focus on a singular goal: keeping our hospitals from falling apart due to the need for care exceeding capacity.

•Circuit breakers must be introduced in some areas. Circuit breakers are short-term restrictions, regardless of vaccination status, designed to slow the spread of Covid-19. The goal of these circuit breakers is specifically to “flatten curves,” so that hospitals do not become overwhelmed. To accomplish this, restrictions need not last long. In fact, tremendous impact can be achieved in just a matter of days (or perhaps a week or two), if adhered to sufficiently. Such restrictions are familiar and should include eliminating indoor dining or limiting seating capacity drastically. (This means that temporary government relief for affected businesses should again be provided.) Other large gatherings like concerts should go virtual temporarily or should limit their capacity dramatically. Working from home should be encouraged when possible.

Unlike the spring of 2020, circuit breakers should have clear on-ramps and off-ramps, based on case counts. Why? Because case counts today predict hospitalizations a week from now, though the exact correlation depends on local vaccination rates, what fraction of the population has previously been infected, and the average age of newly infected individuals.


Hospital capacity is not just about beds and equipment, but also staffing. Omicron will cause more infections among healthcare workers and more of their families will have infections, whether from school or work. To avoid a massive loss in hospital workforce days, hospitals should adapt “test to stay” policies for employees who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 whether at home or at work, rather than enforcing lengthy quarantine periods. (Because it appears that even boosting is not a forcefield against Omicron, vaccination status won’t be relevant). For infected healthcare workers, hospitals should also use “test to return” for those feeling well enough to work after 5-7 days, replacing standard 10-14-day isolation periods. We now know that many people remain contagious for just a few days, while others far longer. Why guess when we can use rapid tests to determine whether someone is a risk to their colleagues and patients? This will keep the workforce from thinning out at inopportune times. Similar systems have recently been shown to have saved tens of thousands of in-person learning days for children, without worsening spread.

Provide US residents with free or inexpensive KN94, KN95, or N95 masks. These masks should be routinely used in crowded indoor settings. Less effective (surgical or some cloth) masks might be acceptable for low density settings where the risk of encountering someone at the peak of contagiousness is statistically far lower. (While using the best masks all the time would be “optimal,” we are human; let’s reduce harm rather than pretending we can eliminate it by striving for a perfection that nobody can achieve). Insisting on the best masks in crowded high-risk conditions will limit “superspreading” events.

•Send every US resident free rapid antigen tests. Rapid tests should be readily available to the public and free. While rapids don’t rule out infection, they identify almost all of the contagious ones. However, it’s possible that Omicron’s transmission dynamics will render rapid tests somewhat less useful because the “warranty” on the information they provide may turn out only to be good for several hours, rather than a day or two. This is something we are watching and waiting for the FDA to comment on soon.

•Go big on vaccination and boosting by re-opening mass vaccination sites. These sites provided vaccines to communities that now lack vaccine access.

•Go small on vaccination and boosting by going door-to-door to reach people in need. EMS workers can do this. We need to lower the bar for those finally considering vaccinating due to Omicron.

[LM K]

Cloth masks are no longer adequate; Omicron is too contagious for cloth masks to be effective.

I wrote about masks in a previous topic.

Below is my post.

There are a ton of fraudulent masks out there. The NTY has an excellent article excellent article about fraudulent masks and how to find authentic N95 and KN95 masks.

They recommended these two websites from which to purchase authentic masks.

Bonafide Masks.

Project95.

A few days ago I purchased 50 KN95s from Bonafide Masks. Both sites are excellent. Project 95 sells a ton of PPE and home testing kits. I'm going to start purchasing gloves and other supplies from Project 95.

I'll purchase KN95s and K95s only from these sites. Added bonus! Everything is cheaper on both sites because they're bulk sellers. But even if masks costed more, I'd still use only these two sites.

Do not purchase KN94, KN95, or N95 masks from Amazon. Based on research by the NYT I'm purchasing only from BonafideMasks and Project 95.

KN94 and KN95 masks can be reused. Each mask should be aired out for a few days between uses. Masks can be reused up to 5 times, or fewer if dirty. If you use masks daily, you can rotate your masks. Store used masks so that they can air out. I hang mine, but you can air yours out in paper bags if you want the mask inside something to air out.

[AndyinPA]

Thanks for the info. We have switched already to KN95 masks.

[Slim Cognito]

I have a stash of surgical masks. Are they also obsolete?

[LM K]

I have a stash of surgical masks. Are they also obsolete?

Yep.

[pipistrelle]

I have a stash of surgical masks. Are they also obsolete?

Yep.

From the CNN article above:

"We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most drugstores and some grocery and retail stores. "You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone."

[raison de arizona]

AZ, trying to keep the testing lines moving.

CEO Embry Health:

2 hours ago I issued an emergency order for @EmbryHealth authorizing triple time pay for our five busiest sites being crushed by unprecedented demand. I'm doing everything possible to get additional people to these sites to get the patients through the lines.

► Show Spoiler

The surge in testing demand today was breathtaking considering that it's a Sunday. Which typically sees half as many patients as a Monday. Tomorrow is going to be a......

[Volkonski]

Jessica Williams
@jwilliamsNOLA
·
46m
New Orleans vaccine mandate for children entering businesses starts Monday https://nola.com/news/article_8d1ebfa4- ... user-share via
@nolanews

[LM K]

I have a stash of surgical masks. Are they also obsolete?

Yep.

From the CNN article above:

"We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most drugstores and some grocery and retail stores. "You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone."

Thanks, pipistrelle!

Everything I'm reading says that we should wear KN95s and that surgical masks aren't adequate because they have gaps when worn. Cloth and surgical masks keep you from exhaling virus particles. KN 95, KF94, and K95s protect from inhaling virus particles.

Surgical masks don't protect you from inhaling virus particles.

However, surgical masks are better than cloth, esp if they fit well on your face and don't gap.

I have small face, so surgical masks gap on both sides. I use a lanyard with my KN95 to get a better seal. But most don't have small faces, so it's less of a problem.

[raison de arizona]

Omicron is hitting children hard

NEW: Daily #COVID19 admissions among U.S. children are twice as high as they were during the peak of the Delta wave

source: HHS, https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-1 ... /g62h-syeh

NEW: 23,220 emergency department visits *for* #COVID19 were reported by U.S. *pediatric hospitals* between Dec 24-30. This shattered the 7-day record, which was set during the peak of the Delta wave (Sept. 2020)

source: HHS, https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-1 ... /anag-cw7u