Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #98

[TootsieFootsie]

No lockdowns, masks and vaccine abundance: This COVID-free island wins luckiest place on earth

Pitcairn Island, in the South Pacific, is COVID-free and idyllic, its 47 inhabitants say

Mark Tomlinson looks out his window to see the Pacific Ocean stretching to the horizon.

"You can sit here and there's not even a thought about COVID," he says.

"But you do realise how lucky you are to be here without all the difficulties everybody's going through."

Mr Tomlinson lives on Pitcairn Island, one of the most remote communities on earth.

Located deep in the South Pacific, nearly 6,000 kilometres away from any continent, the British overseas territory is one of the few places in the world that has remained COVID-free.

 

[SouthAussie]

Cobb County: Parents clash at mask mandate protest in Georgia county where 5th graders were sent home - CNN

“Tense confrontations, yelling and accusations of spitting were seen Thursday as parents gathered for a protest over mask mandates at a school district office near Atlanta.

The protests come a day after fifth graders at East Side Elementary in Cobb County were sent home because of high numbers of Covid-19 cases, according to a school district email sent to parents and obtained by CNN.

At one point, two people -- a masked man and unmasked woman -- got into a yelling match. The woman accused the man of spitting on her and the man accused the woman of hitting him in the mouth.

Masks are optional for students and school staff in Cobb County, according to the district's website, but guidance calls for social distancing in classrooms when possible.”
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All 5th graders at a Cobb elementary school sent home, parents want action
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This says it all.....JMO
An entire grade sent home at Cobb school. Mandate masks.

"We are sending thousands of children unmasked in school buildings because superintendents and elected leaders are too politically cowed by the anti-maskers."

And this is exactly the problem. The very loud anti maskers. The people who support masks must be louder and more prominent.

We see this in Australia also. This very loud minority kicking up a stink about everything. Whereas the great majority sit silently and do the right thing.

It gives an incorrect perception.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

50,000 Australian-Made AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive in Solomon Islands - Solomon Times Online

Fifty thousand Australian-made AstraZeneca doses arrived in Solomon Islands on 29 July on a flight from Brisbane - the largest single consignment of AstraZeneca doses yet to arrive in Solomon Islands from anywhere in the world.

Australia is delivering on its pledge to provide Solomon Islands with up to 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is the second shipment of Australian-made vaccines to arrive in Solomon Islands, following the 13,000 doses which were delivered on 11 June. These 50,000 doses form part of Australia’s pledge to work with the Solomon Island’s Government to provide a steady, reliable, and safe supply of vaccines to help protect the community and those on the frontline.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Two major Boston museums require all workers be vaccinated; Fauci says Americans can expect to see more children with COVID

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Zero cases: The countries that avoided COVID-19 completely

How does a country dodge COVID-19? The list of countries that have been untouched by COVID-19 so far is small. Most are remote and lightly populated islands, overwhelmingly in the Pacific Ocean. As sovereign countries, that excludes some remote islands such as the Pitcairn Islands group and Tristan da Cunha, both British Overseas Territories, and Tokelau, a dependency of New Zealand, despite having no recorded cases. It also excludes American Samoa, both as an unincorporated US territory and as having recorded COVID-19 cases in the past, although the case figure is currently zero.

North Korea claims zero cases, so does Turkmenistan, but these claims are hard to verify.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

'Significant milestones' hit as Australia delivers 1.6 million vaccines to the Pacific

Minister for International Development Zed Seselja says Australia and the Pacific regions have hit “pretty significant milestones this week” as 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered.

'Significant milestones' hit as Australia delivers 1.6 million vaccines to the Pacific

“As of this afternoon with the shipment going to Fiji, we’ll have delivered about 1.6 million doses to the Pacific,” he told Sky News Australia.

Mr Seselja said the majority of the vaccines had gone to Fiji with over 800,000 doses delivered but Timor-Leste was given a “very significant shipment” containing 300,000 vaccines.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Expert shares equation that shows even a 100% vaccination rate is not enough to stop Delta variant — ABC7 Bay Area

 

[pocketaccent]

Ha! Covid Fee! What a great idea.

Colleges charge unvaccinated students fees up to $750 to foot additional COVID-19 testing

As universities prepare to welcome droves of students back to campus, some have announced additional fees for those who are not vaccinated -- to help foot the bill for their supplementary COVID-19 testing -- in a move that has courted controversy among the vocal faction of Americans resisting the shot.
...
"Students who do not submit a proof of vaccination status or who are not vaccinated will be required to undergo weekly surveillance testing," the university stated on its website. "This testing will be conducted by WVWC officials. The cost will be covered by the Covid Fee charged to all unvaccinated students."
...

 

[SouthAussie]

Ha! Covid Fee! What a great idea.

Colleges charge unvaccinated students fees up to $750 to foot additional COVID-19 testing

As universities prepare to welcome droves of students back to campus, some have announced additional fees for those who are not vaccinated -- to help foot the bill for their supplementary COVID-19 testing -- in a move that has courted controversy among the vocal faction of Americans resisting the shot.
...
"Students who do not submit a proof of vaccination status or who are not vaccinated will be required to undergo weekly surveillance testing," the university stated on its website. "This testing will be conducted by WVWC officials. The cost will be covered by the Covid Fee charged to all unvaccinated students."
...

As well as the first lawsuit against vaccine mandates ... and it failed.

"At Indiana University, a group of students sued to block the school's vaccine mandate. On Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied the plea, the first case pertaining to vaccine mandates to come before the Supreme Court, without comment."

I think these people who say it is their right to not be vaccinated and it is their right to attend university don't understand that the public health goal posts stand firm. It is not their right to potentially infect other people.
Perhaps online learning is the better solution for them.

 

[SouthAussie]

Looks like the largest concert promoter in Colorado is planning to require vaccination as of October 1st.


“The date was chosen specifically to allow time for any eligible unvaccinated ticketholders and staff to reach fully vaccinated status should they choose to do so.”

AEG says this policy is a way to protect live music and its fans.

“Somebody has to step up front and lead. I do believe that almost all the other people in live music will follow suit to some degree,” said Strasburg.

AEG To Require Proof Of Vaccine At Events After Oct. 1

 

[MimosaMornings]

This Tennessee Republican Nearly Died From COVID. Now He’s Fighting Masks. — The Daily Beast

“In November, just as Tennessee was reporting a record high number of new COVID-19 cases, Byrd and other members of the House Republican caucus ignored public health recommendations against large gatherings and held a three-day retreat. The event was in the lodge at Pickwick Landing State Park in Byrd’s district. Byrd hosted a big dinner at a nearby restaurant on the first night and of course he was among the many who did not wear a mask.

The day before Thanksgiving, Byrd tested positive for COVID-19. He was flown by helicopter from his hometown of Waynesboro to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville and he issued a plaintive statement on Dec. 7.

Please pray for God’s healing for my lungs, and that He will give me strength and endurance as I battle this virus.”

He spent 55 days on a ventilator in the ICU.

He was one of the lucky ones who survived after needing to be intubated. But he was initially unable to use his limbs. And he began to suffer liver failure.

On June 12, he received a liver transplant. He was still recovering on July 29, when he arrived in a wheelchair at the House chamber.


“In failing to voice any concern for the effect his words and deeds as an elected official might have had on others, Byrd initially seemed just a typically monstrous minimizer who has suddenly decided that “COVID is real and it is very dangerous” after it nearly killed him.

But Byrd has now outdone himself and proven to be among the lowest of the low.

On Wednesday night, Byrd joined all 73 members of the House Republican caucus in petitioning Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session of the legislature to prohibit local mask mandates and keep businesses from barring the unvaccinated.”

 

[TootsieFootsie]

The Newest Disease Detection Tool for Covid and Beyond: Poop

Since reopening campus at the University of California-San Diego last summer, university officials have relied on the tried-and-true public health strategies of testing and contact tracing. But they have also added a tool to their arsenal: excrement.

That tool alerted researchers to about 85% of covid-19 cases in dorms before they were diagnosed, according to a soon-to-be published study, said Rob Knight, a professor of pediatrics and computer science and engineering who helped create the campus’s wastewater testing program.

When covid is detected in sewage, students, staffers and faculty members are tested, which has allowed the school to identify and isolate infected individuals who aren’t yet showing symptoms — potentially stopping outbreaks in their tracks.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Go New England! A bit of a north / south divide there.

Ha! We know this! Ha HA .

I am going back to New England next month...driving---- and I started to think, maybe people will throw eggs at my car.
I think I need to put a big sticker on the back...

 

[Sundog]

Ha! Covid Fee! What a great idea.

Colleges charge unvaccinated students fees up to $750 to foot additional COVID-19 testing

As universities prepare to welcome droves of students back to campus, some have announced additional fees for those who are not vaccinated -- to help foot the bill for their supplementary COVID-19 testing -- in a move that has courted controversy among the vocal faction of Americans resisting the shot.
...
"Students who do not submit a proof of vaccination status or who are not vaccinated will be required to undergo weekly surveillance testing," the university stated on its website. "This testing will be conducted by WVWC officials. The cost will be covered by the Covid Fee charged to all unvaccinated students."
...

So far two colleges have tried to add on a covid fee, but I don't see others following. Each one of our universities received thousands of dollars to cover these costs from the federal government, first under the Trump administration and then under the Biden administration. We use those dollars for testing, etc. We have to complete lots of paperwork to show how we have used these funds for these purposes related to covid.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Parent attacks teacher after mask dispute on first day of school in California district, official says (nbcnews.com)

The teacher suffered "lacerations on his face, some bruising on his a face and a pretty good knot on the back of his head," the Amador County Unified School District superintendent said.

A parent attacked a teacher following a mask dispute on the first day of school, a California superintendent said.

The incident occurred about an hour after the first day ended at Sutter Creek Elementary School in Amador County, NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento reported.

In a letter to families, Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson wrote: "As the first day of school comes and goes, there are always hiccups along the way, especially during this trying time."

"Unfortunately, a parent took it upon himself to verbally assault a principal that led to a serious physical altercation between him and a teacher as the teacher intended to protect the principal," she wrote in the letter...

 

[Cool Cats]

Parent attacks teacher after mask dispute on first day of school in California district, official says (nbcnews.com)

The teacher suffered "lacerations on his face, some bruising on his a face and a pretty good knot on the back of his head," the Amador County Unified School District superintendent said.

A parent attacked a teacher following a mask dispute on the first day of school, a California superintendent said.

The incident occurred about an hour after the first day ended at Sutter Creek Elementary School in Amador County, NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento reported.

In a letter to families, Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson wrote: "As the first day of school comes and goes, there are always hiccups along the way, especially during this trying time."

"Unfortunately, a parent took it upon himself to verbally assault a principal that led to a serious physical altercation between him and a teacher as the teacher intended to protect the principal," she wrote in the letter...

My mom was a principal and a mother tried to hit her regarding student drop off and pick up. She was literally in front of the bus the wrong way. Mom called her out when complaints came in, lady blew her cool and swung at mom but mom stepped back.

Also, right in the office 2 parents were arguing and one was sitting and one was standing. The standing one grabbed the sitting one by the hair and pulled her down to the hard floor. Just can't make this stuff up!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

No lines at the buffet, daily onboard testing: Here's what it's like to take a cruise right now (nbcnews.com)

Confused about cruising? You're not alone.

Cruise lines resuming service from ports in the U.S. and around the world are setting sail with a long list of health protocols in place to help keep passengers and crew members safe from the coronavirus.

Negative Covid tests or proof of vaccination for all passengers and crew members are the most common prerequisites operators have for boarding and moving about ships unmasked. Escalated protocols include the e-Mist electrostatic spraying system, which Uniworld River Cruises uses to disinfect its ships, and the labs that Viking Cruises built on its oceangoing ships (and onshore for river cruises) to facilitate processing the daily PCR tests all passengers are required to take.

With a surge in cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus, many cruise lines are tightening and adjusting their rules...

 

[Cool Cats]

How long will your COVID-19 vaccine last? And will you need a booster?

Dr Fauci said

"We do not believe that others, elderly or non-elderly, who are not
immunocompromised, need a vaccine [booster] right at this moment."

"We are evaluating this on a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month basis," Fauci added. "So, if the data shows us that, in fact, we do need to do that, we'll be very ready to do it and do it expeditiously."

"We believe sooner or later you will need a booster for durability of protection,"

Moderna and Pfizer both reported positive data from their ongoing phase 3 trials, which have continued to monitor volunteers at least six months after their initial shots. Moderna has said its vaccine remains more 93% effective against symptomatic illness after six months,

while Pfizer reported a dip in efficacy to 84%, though both studies were conducted with slightly different criteria and prior to the emergence of the delta variant.

 

[GRT]

4 Broward educators with COVID die within 2 days as school year nears

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Covid booster shot to be recommended for immune-compromised people – Fauci