Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Zanza]

The vaccination squabbles with the EU are helping me to move on from Brexit 

I wonder if that is a common response amongst remainers?

The fallout from Brexit will still be there when the pandemic is over. It's perpetual poor relations and economic damage.

Like Norway and Switzerland then?

Worse.

Britain is not part of the Single Market, so there is much more economic friction.

Politically, Britain is a great power unlike CH/NO. It expects to be treated as a sovereign equal, but the EU does not see it as its equal, only as equally sovereign. Furthermore, the British government can score political points from a constant state of conflict, so it has no motivation to resolve the conflict. For the EU, that's a thorn in its side, constantly demanding attention. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

Yes, I'd agree with that.

At some point the politics will change of course; but there are certainly no imminent signs.

[Syt]

Austria broke the 3k mark of daily new cases today, with Vienna accounting for nearly 1/3. I was out today (nice spring day, but vicious wind), and the inner parts of the city were as crowded as it would always be. Keeping even a meter distance was difficult when waiting to cross at a traffic light (with a lot of people not bothering to keep distance). I did see about 1/4 of people wearing FFP2 masks outside, too, though.

[Duque de Bragança]

ICU beds in Île-de-France (not just Paris) near capacity: 94.2 %

Incoming regional lockdown?

[celedhring]

We're still... surprisingly "fine". 130 IA-14, lowest rate since the summer. The curve is plateauing though (the country has been reopening), so I guess we'll start riding up soon...

[Josquius]

The vaccination squabbles with the EU are helping me to move on from Brexit 

I wonder if that is a common response amongst remainers?

]
What squabbles?
I know quitlings have been keen to bang on about that brief mistake with vaccine exports but the EU was quick to say "woops sorry" and make things right there.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The NI protocol balls-up (swiftly rescinded for sure), the briefing against the Az vaccine (most notably by Macron) and the summoning of the EU ambassador when the European Council president lied about Britain having a vaccine export ban.

I think that counts as squabbling and, for once, the EU comes out looking worse than the UK.

[Legbiter]

The NI protocol balls-up (swiftly rescinded for sure), the briefing against the Az vaccine (most notably by Macron) and the summoning of the EU ambassador when the European Council president lied about Britain having a vaccine export ban.

I think that counts as squabbling and, for once, the EU comes out looking worse than the UK.

Yeah.

And with every passing day the EU vaccine effort looks more and more embarrassing compared to the US and UK. 

Here we seem to have managed to contain the latest cluster, no new infections from that infected healthcare worker although a handful of his neighbors' family members were infected.

[Syt]

I approve of how Mexico enforces the mask mandate: https://twitter.com/SBSNews/status/1370168865930407942

[The Larch]

I approve of how Mexico enforces the mask mandate: https://twitter.com/SBSNews/status/1370168865930407942

They know a thing or two about masks. 

[DGuller]

I like the initiative, but they need to learn to shape the wire around the nose to make for a tighter seal.

[The Larch]

So apparently Canadian Catholic bishops have issued a warning to their parrishioners for them to avoid the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, claiming that they're made with stem cells obtained from abortions. 

[Sheilbh]

Novavax's vaccine was 100% effective at preventing severe Covid-19 and had a 96.4% efficacy rate against the original strain of the virus, even higher than the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna shots, according to analysis of its trial

Also apparently there were trials in the UK and it is similarly effective against the new UK variant/B117

[Barrister]

So apparently Canadian Catholic bishops have issued a warning to their parrishioners for them to avoid the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, claiming that they're made with stem cells obtained from abortions. 

They're not wrong.  Kind of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_fetal_tissue_in_vaccine_development

The abortions happened years or even decades ago, but yes those stem cells have been grown in labs ever since.  The Catholic Church's position has always been that you can take those vaccines is there's no other option since there is a serious health risk and the Church always takes a pro-life point of view, but since for Covid-19 there is an alternative then Catholics should seek out the alternative.

[Sheilbh]

So apparently Canadian Catholic bishops have issued a warning to their parrishioners for them to avoid the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, claiming that they're made with stem cells obtained from abortions. 

This is North American culture wars - US and Canadian bishops are dividing on this.

The Vatican's adopted a different and more nuanced position but it's not hard line enough for some North American bishops