Coronavirus

[One Brow]

According to this expert, it does.

Notice the use of "that pathogen", and nothing at all about "suppressed our immune systems" or anything similar.

I can go into a lot more detail, if you like.

 

[One Brow]

Authoritarians wouldn’t shut down Facebook. They would “suggest” that Facebook erase speech not approved by the government.

Biden administration ‘flagging problematic posts for Facebook,’ Psaki says

The Biden administration is playing an active role in flagging Facebook posts it considers to be “problematic” or “disinformation,” according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

www.yahoo.com

So, no government force or coercion was used. Which policies did Facebook change in response? IIRC, their answer was that they were already doing what the Biden administration suggested.

There seems to be a lot of acceptance. It is just "misinformation" and we're in an emergency, right?

So, you advocate allowing people to yell "fire" in a crowded location, even when there is no fire?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

So, no government force or coercion was used.

When the government threatens to "review" the law preventing your company from being sued into oblivion, makes a statement that it believes your company is responsible for murder on a mass scale, and introduces legislation to hold your company accountable for that mass murder, I'd call that coercion.

Democrats Want To Hold Social Media Companies Responsible For Health Misinformation

Democratic senators have introduced a bill that would hold Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies responsible if they promote harmful health claims on their platforms.

www.npr.org

 

[Deleted member 365]

It had more to do with actions beyond just wearing a mask. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, sanitizing and isolation all played a role. That said, we have suppressed our immune systems to the point where a simple cold is more severe than normal. Makes one wonder what flu season will be like once it kicks back in. Might be pretty bad.

Why Everyone Has the Worst Summer Cold Ever (Published 2021)

As pandemic restrictions begin to relax, common viruses that cause drippy noses, stuffy heads and other cold symptoms have roared back to taunt your immune system.

www.nytimes.com

If only we had a vaccine for the flu. Dammit! We’re so ****ed!

 

[fishonjazz]

It had more to do with actions beyond just wearing a mask. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, sanitizing and isolation all played a role. That said, we have suppressed our immune systems to the point where a simple cold is more severe than normal. Makes one wonder what flu season will be like once it kicks back in. Might be pretty bad.

Why Everyone Has the Worst Summer Cold Ever (Published 2021)

As pandemic restrictions begin to relax, common viruses that cause drippy noses, stuffy heads and other cold symptoms have roared back to taunt your immune system.

www.nytimes.com

I agree it was more than just masks.
Masks do nothing is an incorrect statment however.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Deleted member 365]

Just curious, how far away are we from herd immunity? I’m seeing cases drop in the UK. Could they possibly have reached herd immunity with natural infections and vaccinations combined?

Utah is currently at 63 percent fully vaccinated for ages 12+. We’re 7ish percentage points shy of herd immunity for ages 12+. In order to reach 70 percent, we’d need an additional 220,000 vaccinations. However, we had over 440,000 cases. If just half of those cases were in that 12+ age group, then we will have achieved 70 percent herd immunity for ages 12+, right?

@One Brow @infection thoughts?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Just curious, how far away are we from herd immunity? I’m seeing cases drop in the UK. Could they possibly have reached herd immunity with natural infections and vaccinations combined?

Utah is currently at 63 percent fully vaccinated for ages 12+. We’re 7ish percentage points shy of herd immunity for ages 12+. In order to reach 70 percent, we’d need an additional 220,000 vaccinations. However, we had over 440,000 cases. If just half of those cases were in that 12+ age group, then we will have achieved 70 percent herd immunity for ages 12+, right?

@One Brow @infection thoughts?

The short answer is 85% of all people in an area must have been vaccinated and/or recovered from infection.

The longer answer is that it can’t be answered definitively because it depends on many things that are not yet known so don't count on 85% being the answer. The single largest question mark right now is variant transmissibility. The delta variant is not more deadly than the original wild type SARS-CoV-2, but it is more transmissible. Some estimates put it at twice as infectious as wild type.

Being that the curve is determined by transmissibility (R0) and rate of interaction between potentially infectable hosts, that R0 value needs to be known to determine herd immunity. We only have it somewhere in a range between 4 and 6 for the delta variant, and we don’t have it at all for whatever future variants will pop up. There is also an age component to herd immunity due to infection risk being highly age affected. It is very complex problem and no one knows where the finish line is.

 

[Avery]

The short answer is 85% of all people in an area must have been vaccinated and/or recovered from infection.

The longer answer is that it can’t be answered definitively because it depends on many things that are not yet known so don't count on 85% being the answer. The single largest question mark right now is variant transmissibility. The delta variant is not more deadly than the original wild type SARS-CoV-2, but it is more transmissible. Some estimates put it at twice as infectious as wild type.

Being that the curve is determined by transmissibility (R0) and rate of interaction between potentially infectable hosts, that R0 value needs to be known to determine herd immunity. We only have it somewhere in a range between 4 and 6 for the delta variant, and we don’t have it at all for whatever future variants will pop up. There is also an age component to herd immunity due to infection risk being highly age affected. It is very complex problem and no one knows where the finish line is.

I'd add that herd immunity is also a high hill to climb as children under 12 are a large chunk of the population and would also need to be inoculated. Provided emergency approval goes ahead, that would also help the bottom line.

I'm not confident we'll ever reach a true herd immunity.

 

[One Brow]

When the government threatens to "review" the law preventing your company from being sued into oblivion, makes a statement that it believes your company is responsible for murder on a mass scale, and introduces legislation to hold your company accountable for that mass murder, I'd call that coercion.

You don't believe in holding companies responsible for the results of their actions and policies?

I've never thought of "if you do the crime, you do the time" as coercion.

 

[One Brow]

Just curious, how far away are we from herd immunity? I’m seeing cases drop in the UK. Could they possibly have reached herd immunity with natural infections and vaccinations combined?

For more infections diseases like measles, herd immunity is in the 90% vaccinated range. I'm not sure if that would apply to covid19, but I would think 70% is too low for almost any contagious disease.

 

[Deleted member 365]

Interesting read.

St. Louis County Health Director: I Was Assaulted, Called 'Brown C——' After Mask Plea

Editor's note: Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, spoke in favor of a mask mandate on Tuesday...

www.riverfronttimes.com

 

[One Brow]

Interesting read.

St. Louis County Health Director: I Was Assaulted, Called 'Brown C——' After Mask Plea

Editor's note: Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, spoke in favor of a mask mandate on Tuesday...

www.riverfronttimes.com

This is completely unsurprising. The west and south St. Louis suburbs are largely a creation of white flight after school integration measures, and these people have learned from their parents or sought refuge with like-minded neighbors.