Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Sheilbh]

There's an element of 'Oh look over there, at that', in this, parts of Eastern Europe may be in a terrible situation, but that doesn't absolve our own political leadership from their delusions and missteps.

Sure but I think we can make that criticism without comparisons that are at risk of triviliaising the situation other people/countries are going through. It's a bit like when people say x Western democracy is like Putin's Russia or Xi's China - I don't think that's how, say, a Russian or Chinese opposition or human rights activist would see it and we shouldn't minimise their courage by that comparison.

The UK death rate is about the level of the US (even though we are more vaccinated), which is falling rapidly. It's also at about the EU average (which obviously includes Eastern Europe) or Czechia which is climbing very sharply again. Not so sure about Czechia but with the EU and the US there are pockets of very low vaccination levels - that doesn't apply to anywhere the same degree in the UK.

As I say I think the focus on case numbers is a little misleading because the connection is not that strong any more and it's mainly very low risk young people getting affected. The thing I find worrying is the growing numbers of hospitalisations and deaths in the vulnerable - I think that's linked to waning immunity and the ongoing failure to roll out booster shots quickly or efficiently enough. I think there's now a 1.5-2 million gap of people who are eligible for booster shots but haven't had them yet. They are still prioritising the top 4 categories from the vaccination program so these are the most vulnerable. I think that should really be the focus of anger/frustration in the UK because we've known about waning immunity since about June/July from Israel and have had an entire summer to prepare for booster campaigns (same with kids' shots in England - Scotland's doing very well in comparison)

On the upside the Merck covid treatment has been approved by the MHRA, hopefully the Pfizer one will be soon. So we may soon be at a point where we have vaccines that seriously reduce the risk of serious illness/death while having treatments for those serious cases that even further reduce deaths. (Obviously that's fine for us and other rich countries - the next priority is to get them to everyone).

Incidentally on how incredibly effective the vaccines are, I thought this chart from te ONS on age adjusted risk of deaths including covid was very good. It's 32 times more likely for the unvaccinated, which I know won't convince anyone who has already made up their mind but should be getting drummed home every time we talk about breakthrough infections.

Maybe as Shelf would say, this is more about nudging people into getting vaccinated?

Yeah - if you look at the chart of French (and Italian) vaccine rates compared with, say, the UK or Germany you can really see when they brought vaccine passports in. It's like they shift gear. And I remember the chart of the immediate impact when Macron announced a vaccine passport would be introduced:


Italy and France have changed my mind totally on this. I'm very pro now.

[Josquius]

That exactly the wrong people (as in wrong in all matters) are so against vaccine passports has me in favour.
Fucking vice signallers.

[Sheilbh]

That exactly the wrong people (as in wrong in all matters) are so against vaccine passports has me in favour.
Fucking vice signallers.

In the UK almost everyone is politically. Tory backbenchers hate it, Labour oppose it even for NHS staff (I suspect they might be getting resistance from unions/union members? I think they've said they might support them for some non-essential services like nightclubs) and the Lib Dems are opposed too (presumably on general liberal grounds). There's no majority for it, which is a shame, because I think it is probably the right policy.

I have no idea how everyone coalesced around opposing them, but there we are.

[Josquius]

I wouldn't read it that way, I'd view it 3 ways between support it, don't support it (most politicians) and absolutely against it no matter what,usually due to some conspiracy nonsense.

[The Larch]

California town declares itself a 'constitutional republic' to buck Covid rules
Oroville's city council adopted a resolution stating it would oppose state and federal orders that it deems to be government overreach

A northern California town has declared itself a "constitutional republic" in response to Covid-19 health restrictions imposed by the governor, in the latest sign of strife between the state's government and its rural and conservative regions.

The city council in Oroville, located at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills about 90 miles from the capital of Sacramento, adopted a resolution this week stating it would oppose state and federal orders it deems to be government overreach.

Oroville leaders said the designation was a way of affirming the city's values and pushing back against state rules it doesn't agree with, although a legal expert said the designation was merely a gesture and did not grant the city any new authority.

Tensions have existed throughout the pandemic between the rural north and California's leadership, which has been among the first to implement lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccination requirements.

In Butte county, fierce opposition to Covid lockdowns and school closures drove support for recalling the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, with 51% of voters in the county backing the ultimately failed effort. Newsom's policies, however, appear to have worked and the state had the lowest Covid infection rate in the US last month.

Last year, Oroville refused to enforce state requirements prohibiting indoor dining. Butte county, where Oroville is located, declined to recommend a mask mandate earlier this fall, even as cases surged and a a local medical center reported treating more patients than at any other point during the pandemic.

Before passing the resolution, council members argued they were taking a stand and advocating for residents to make their own health choices.

"I assure you folks that great thought was put into every bit of this," the city's mayor, Chuck Reynolds, said. "Nobody willy-nilly threw something to grandstand."

But the city's declaration does not shield it from following federal and state laws, said Lisa Pruitt, a rural law expert at the University of California, Davis, who said it was not clear what the designation meant.

"A municipality cannot unilaterally declare itself not subject to the laws of the state of California," Pruitt said. "Whatever they mean by constitutional republic you can't say hocus pocus and make it happen."

Leaders in the city of 20,000 say the resolution is an effort to push back against state government and affirm the city's values and commitment to the constitution. Oroville drafted its resolution from scratch after not finding any examples of other cities with similar resolutions, said Scott Thomson, the city's vice-mayor.

"I proposed it after 18 months of increasingly intrusive executive mandates and what I felt to be excessive overreach by our government," said Thomson. "After the failed recall in California, our state governor seems to [be] on a rampage and the mandates are getting more intrusive. Now he's going after our kids and schools."

The majority of speakers at the Oroville city council meeting expressed their support for their resolution – applauding its introduction and calling council members "heroes" – with several specifically citing the state's vaccine requirement for schoolchildren.

"We're hoping that becoming a constitutional republic city is the best step in order to regain and maintain our inalienable rights protected by the constitution of the United States. What will be left if we don't have that? if we don't have bodily autonomy?" one speaker said in tears. "What else are they gonna want me to let them do to my kids? Where does it stop?"

The resolution does not affect local schools, which fall under the purview of the school district, Thomson said, but is a way for the community to declare it will not use city resources to implement state rules it does not agree with.

"We're not ignorant that there are serious issues at hand, we just do not agree with the way it's being handled."

One council member argued that mandates were "political theater" and that the immune system is the best defense against disease. The best protection against against Covid-19 is vaccination – Butte county has a vaccination rate of 48%, according to New York Times data.

The council approved the resolution by a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, even as one member who voted in favor of it warned residents it had "no teeth" and was a "political statement".

The city's efforts tap in to a common sentiment in rural northern California that the region is ignored, but also over-governed by the state, Pruitt said. Signs for the state of Jefferson, a movement to secede from California, are common here. But, Pruitt says, the city's gesture does not grant it more power or the ability to ignore state law.

"It seems to make the people of Oroville feel better that their city council has made this gesture but as a practical matter it doesn't make any difference," Pruitt said.

[Jacob]

In support of Dorsey's point that overly restrictive Covid policies are counter productive...

China has covid QR codes. If you spend 10 minutes within 800 metres (basically half a mile, for our American friends) of someone who tested positive, your QR code turns yellow and you can't do... much... basically, you're not supposed to go out and do things. It's a bit heavy handed and unreasonable for most people's taste. So what's happening is that people leave their phones at home when they go out, turn their phones off or switch on airplane mode, pay with cash instead of Union Pay and so on. Because if you get tagged with the yellow QR code, it sucks, so better not get it.

In similar news, the town of Ruili (in Yunnan) has basically been in hard lockdown for seven months. Chinese lockdowns are brutal and heavy handed (surprising no one). This, of course, means that large sections of the population circumvent it (out of necessity, basically)... so things like night time, cash only farmer markets for example. It's even at the level where "if the authorities come, just go with what you need and pay me cash next time". Presumably because they need to avoid getting caught, but also because if you rip off the seller you'll cut off your only avenue for getting fresh food so you better behave reputably.

...

Separately - for those of you who think the Chinese regime has good message control or competence - the gov't recently sent out messages to encourage people to prepare for emergencies, leading to panic buying of food. One of my mother-in-law's friends went out and bought 400 kg of rice (fucking hoarders )... until a few days later, the gov't came out and said "oh we meant for you to have flashlights ready and things like that, no need to worry about food." Bunch of fucking amateurs.

[HVC]

People here panic bought toilette paper. At least rice in bulk is useful in an actual emergency lol

[Eddie Teach]

You don't want to run out of either.

[DGuller]

You can get by without toilet paper, as long as the print media is still alive.  Getting by without food can indeed be problematic regardless of how resourceful you are.

[Admiral Yi]

You can get by without toilet paper (or toillette paper) as long as you have one hand, running water, and soap.

[Jacob]

Yeah, but the point was that there wasn't an actual emergency and that the government triggered a run on grocery stores through poorly thought out messaging.

[HisMajestyBOB]

They then announce that there will be a stable supply of meat and vegetables for the spring and summer, thus reassuring everyone.

https://twitter.com/yicaichina/status/1455359795423326212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1455359795423326212%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10

[Syt]

Vienna changes rules next week Friday. Restaurants and places like hardressers will only be open for vaccinated and people who have recovered from infection.

Not sure how effective that will be. Went for breakfast at the corner café and they don't even ask for any proof of vaccination or testing any more.

Those measures will be valid for all of Austria starting coming Monday. 30 people die daily of Covid in Austria. Meanwhile, an ÖVP government member said that the main focus has to be to ensure that the winter tourism season can go on unimpeded.

[mongers]

Vienna changes rules next week Friday. Restaurants and places like hardressers will only be open for vaccinated and people who have recovered from infection.

Not sure how effective that will be. Went for breakfast at the corner café and they don't even ask for any proof of vaccination or testing any more.

Those measures will be valid for all of Austria starting coming Monday. 30 people die daily of Covid in Austria. Meanwhile, an ÖVP government member said that the main focus has to be to ensure that the winter tourism season can go on unimpeded.

Tell me, did that work out well the year before last?   

[Syt]

It succeeded in spreading the virus throughout Europe.