Government Response to Coronavirus 6: Dr. MyPillow and Demon Sperm

[Ozlsn]

From my own state "In the ICU where only Maria is vaccinated others die in disbelief".

The article is just so, so sad. 

Spoiler

In the middle of a row of unconscious coronavirus patients, Maria Roessen is a rare and wondrous sight.

The 66-year-old is dressed in a pale blue hospital gown and sitting perched up in a chair in Sunshine Hospital’s intensive care unit under a bubble-shaped plastic hood with monitors attached to her chest and a tube hanging under her nose.

...

Some patients are ventilated and lying on their bellies as colourful tubes attached to them stretch out to machines humming softly nearby. Others are bare-chested on their backs, beneath a sea of monitors, their feet dangling out the end of the bed.

There is a tiny resuscitation table for newborn babies in the corner of the ward following a surge in pregnant, unvaccinated women being admitted, putting them and their unborn babies in heightened danger of severe outcomes.

...

“The level of verbal assault our clinical staff have been exposed to in the last six to eight weeks is something I have never, ever experienced in my career,” the intensive care physician said.

“The misinformation, the belief this isn’t real, the absolute distress they are experiencing when their relatives are critically unwell makes it very, very difficult to have a conversation with them about how we can help them because what they’re requesting is often not consistent with the medical advice.”

But the gratitude of some families remains profound. One recently sent in dozens of kebabs to feed staff who were caring for their loved one.

...

Ms Roessen is hopeful she will be discharged next week. Others will not be so lucky.

“There are members of Melbourne’s western suburbs that are not going home to their families and that is a tragedy we all struggle with,” Professor French said.

“These are people’s mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children.”

It just makes me so sad how widespread the misinformation is, and here is it exacerbated by correct information not getting out quickly or strongly enough in community languages - there are a few, very amplified voices in certain communities whose voices are heard over the medical advice. One of the major hospitals has started countering this by having staff from those communities record videos in those languages to promote vaccination. There was a big boost in the Greek community after a prominent anti-vaccination figure ended up in ICU and his family begged on radio for others to be vaccinated, another when a prominent Greek-background politican was interviewed and spoke about how relieved he was his parents had been vaccinated. So much still comes down to someone we trust giving the information, and finding those voices to give the information to to pass on. 

Our overall vaccination rates are increasing in the 16+ age group, with 12-15 year olds catching up. We are waiting on TGA approval for the vaccine to be used in 5-11 year olds, so all primary kids are still unvaccinated. Our daily case numbers are still over 1000, but the hospitalization and death rate is much lower than wave 2 last year.

The protests have now shifted to vaccination requirements for employment and to have table service in venues. A speaker at a rally yesterday shouted "And tomorrow the hospitals will be filled!" and I was like mate, they already are. If you need an ICU bed next week you may be unlucky - and forget about ECMO unless you're under 40 and were previously fit and healthy.

It makes me so sad that this didn't need to happen, that we had time at the start of this year to get information and vaccines out.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Ozlsn
Left off a zero

[Womble]

Someone I know had  Covid and recovered but is still traumatised from being in the ICU and watching a lot of other people die. It is not a good place to be.

[Becky]

Didn't know where to put this, Politics or Covid, but from the NY Times email update this morning:

"...The gap in Covid’s death toll between red and blue America has grown faster over the past month than at any previous point.

In October, 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per 100,000). October was the fifth consecutive month that the percentage gap between the death rates in Trump counties and Biden counties widened.

Some conservative writers have tried to claim that the gap may stem from regional differences in weather or age, but those arguments fall apart under scrutiny. (If weather or age were a major reason, the pattern would have begun to appear last year.) The true explanation is straightforward: The vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe Covid, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults."

TFG will have a lot to answer for, if there is truly an afterlife and judgment.  

[Cartmann99]

 

[47of74]

Fuck Trump

Quote

New emails and documents released by a congressional committee investigating the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic show the extent to which top White House officials interfered in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s efforts to warn Americans about Covid-19.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis has conducted interviews over the last several months about how former President Donald Trump and his closest confidantes, including former White House adviser Scott Atlas and son-in-law Jared Kushner, tried to steer the course of the federal response, sidestepping the interagency process.

On Friday, the committee released emails and transcripts with former senior CDC officials about the White House’s attempts to sideline the agency at critical moments at the beginning of the U.S. outbreak.

The emails and transcripts detail how in the early days of 2020 Trump and his allies in the White House blocked media briefings and interviews with CDC officials, attempted to alter public safety guidance normally cleared by the agency and instructed agency officials to destroy evidence that might be construed as political interference.

 

[47of74]

IWD is trying to help employers find workers

Quote

Iowa Workforce Development is challenging businesses to help solve their own recruitment problems in a roundtable event early Monday morning at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

The state agency, which oversees employment in the state of Iowa, has conducted around 25 other similar meetings across the state in two months. That includes a September meeting it hosted in Cedar Rapids, which was similar to the Monday meeting.

Businesspeople came to the meeting to learn about workforce programs, employer services, and resources to hire and retain workers. Employers have consistently identified hiring and retaining workers as the biggest issue facing their business.

Kathy Leggett, who is a policy advisor for Iowa Workforce Development, said businesses need to implement strategies themselves to find workers, like reaching out to immigrant communities. She said it’s hard for the government to fix the problem because each business is different.

Yeah, well maybe try having a non Branch Trumpvidian government too that isn't as corrupt as all hell.  That might help too.

[Ozlsn]

The thread is disturbing, the article is very disturbing. Basically decades of less than optimal funding combined with overwork, intense levels of stress and an increase in the number of abusive patients. It's not just losing staff, it's losing expertise and experience, and it will impact everyone who needs medical care.  

[47of74]

Awaiting the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the anti vaccine crowd 

Quote

President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce.

A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals.

Essential travelers entering by ferry will also be required to be fully vaccinated by the same date, the official said. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The rules pertain to non-U.S. nationals. American citizens and permanent residents may still enter the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status, but face additional testing hurdles because officials believe they more easily contract and spread COVID-19 and in order to encourage them to get a shot.

 

I’ve got my popcorn ready 

[Ozlsn]

I have been frustrated recently with my governments' (state and federal) response.  Prof Brendan Crabb sums up part of why for me:

 

Spoiler

 

Recognising that we have to work with country governments and their health systems, and asking how we can best assist is the only way through this. We're not safe until we're all safe, and that is going to require cooperation between governments, information sharing and some resource distribution.

Spoiler

We're screwed, aren't we. Sigh. Trying to stay optimistic.

 

[Emma]

The advantage of being pessimistic is the pleasant surprise when you’re wrong.

I agree with you though, that we’re screwed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this  constantly evolving, airborne killer turns out to be the end of the human race. How’s that for pessimistic?

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, Emma said:

The advantage of being pessimistic is the pleasant surprise when you’re wrong.

I agree with you though, that we’re screwed. I wouldn’t be surprised if this  constantly evolving, airborne killer turns out to be the end of the human race. How’s that for pessimistic?

Hm... I'm more inclined to seeing climate change as finishing us off. The virus will just contribute to chaos.

[Cartmann99]

 

[Howl]

About damn time: 

 

 

[47of74]

Here in Iowa an anti-masker was denied unemployment.

Quote

An Iowa nursing home worker who quit her job rather than wear a face mask intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 is not entitled to jobless benefits, a judge has ruled.

According to state records, Stephanie Lindsey, a full-time cook for the Luther Manor Communities nursing home in Dubuque, quit her job in May. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Luther Manor has required its employees to wear personal protective equipment at work since March 2020.

The rules require all employees to wear a face mask covering their mouth and nose, and, at times, employees have also had to wear a face shield or goggles for eye protection. The rules are based on guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since March 2020, Lindsey had been repeatedly reminded to wear her personal protective equipment, and she objected. She did not present the company with any medical evidence that suggested a mask would be detrimental to her health or provide any other reasons for her objections.

I bet Covid Kimmy is all pissed off about this cause she loves pandering to the anti-mask and anti-vax crowd.

[47of74]

Then there's stick of fuck down in North Carolina

Quote

A North Carolina police chief has been placed on unpaid leave and probation for telling officers about a "clinic" that would issue them a Covid-19 vaccination card without actually receiving the shot, local officials said.

T.J. Smith -- the police chief of Oakboro Town, North Carolina -- violated policies including, fraud, willful acts that endanger the property of others and serving a conflicting interest when he allegedly told officers about the scheme, according to a letter addressed to him from Town Administrator Doug Burgess.

The alleged violations stem from "detrimental personal conduct including notifying law enforcement officers to attend a 'clinic' where they would be able to obtain proof of COVID 19 vaccination cards without being vaccinated," the letter said.

The one-page letter -- signed by Burgess and released Tuesday -- says Smith was ordered to go on unpaid leave for two weeks and probation for six months beginning December 21. Smith has the right to appeal, the letter states.

He should have been discharged. 

[47of74]

CovidKim had a bit of a legal setback today;

Quote

A wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Gov. Kim Reynolds can continue, a district court judge ruled.

Former Iowa Department of Public Health spokesperson Polly Carver-Kimm sued Reynolds and several other current and former state employees last year, alleging Reynolds and a top aide forced her termination because she was being too responsive to the media and in fulfilling open records requests.

On Dec. 22, District Court Judge Lawrence P. McLellan rejected that request. Carver-Kimm's job within the Iowa Department of Public Health included "the specific obligation to fulfill open record requests," the judge wrote, and her contention is that she was forced out for fulfilling that role.

Carver-Kimm alleges that during the early days of the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic she was slowly being stripped of duties after working with media on things like modifying open records requests to speed up that process and passing along concerns about sanitation and social distancing inside state emergency operations center.

 

[47of74]

Some of CovidKim's major supporters also had a setback in court

Quote

Courts in Iowa will hear COVID-19 complaints filed against Tyson Foods.

The food manufacturing company wanted a lawsuit heard in federal court, because it said it was acting under former President Donald Trump’s executive order to keep the nation’s food supply running.

On Thursday, an appeals court ruled Tyson failed to show it was performing a basic government task.

Families of four workers in Waterloo who died from COVID-19 are suing the company.

Ah yes, the I was only following orders defense.  Hope it works about as well for them as it did for certain groups of Europeans and Japanese after World War II.    

[Howl]

  

On 11/6/2021 at 7:40 PM, Ozlsn said:

From my own state "In the ICU where only Maria is vaccinated others die in disbelief".

This destroyed me: 

Quote

There is a tiny resuscitation table for newborn babies in the corner of the ward following a surge in pregnant, unvaccinated women being admitted, putting them and their unborn babies in heightened danger of severe outcomes.

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Howl

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, Howl said:

  

This destroyed me: 

My friend who ended up in ICU with covid in 2020 while pregnant posted about getting her booster yesterday. Her babies came so close to needing that table. They had a neonatal and ob team on standby, because they thought they were about to lose her at one point. It makes me so utterly sad that pregnant women are still unvaccinated, when the benefit outweighs the risk by so much.

[Cartmann99]

 

[47of74]

If only our President had the intestinal fortitude to do this, no matter how much it pisses off sacks of feces like Covid Kim, DeSatan, and so on.

Quote

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he "really wants to piss off" unvaccinated people, intensifying a heated political debate over strict new rules for those who have refused the shot.

In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday, Macron said: "I'm not for pissing off the French ... Now the unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so, we're going to keep doing it, until the end. This is the strategy."

His remarks drew swift and angry condemnation from opposition lawmakers, who were debating Macron's proposed new set of rules for unvaccinated people that would ban them from much of public life.

A parliamentary debate over the bill was suspended in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and will restart later in the day, raising doubts over whether the stricter vaccine pass will take effect by the government's intended January 15 deadline.

 

[47of74]

Reason 10,000 why I'm glad to be moving out of Iowa soon

Quote

State Rep. Jon Jacobsen paced, microphone in hand, around a table of anti-mandate organizers, as he unveiled a proposal to prohibit Iowa businesses from requiring employees to be vaccinated or wear masks.

“I can’t think of a greater civil rights issue than this,” Jacobsen said, comparing mandatory employer vaccinations to “an indentured servant-slash-slave relationship.”

If passed, the bill would prohibit businesses, including health care facilities, from asking employees to disclose their vaccination status. Businesses could not require employees or customers to wear face coverings, and they could not deny employment or service based on a person’s vaccination status.

If an employer violated the bill and required vaccinations, they would be liable “for any adverse reactions, injuries, disabilities or death” that resulted from the requirement. The business would also lose state licenses or permits. 

I'm fucking done with Iowa. 

[47of74]

Australia's government fucked up and a number of Australian politicians aren't too happy about it.

Quote

A number of current and former politicians in Australia have voiced outrage and frustration after the verdict was passed earlier this afternoon, allowing Djokovic to be released from detention and voiding the cancelation of his visa.

"The level of incompetence in the Morrison government is staggering," tweeted Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Earlier in the week, she had posted online about the refugees and asylum seekers detained in the same hotel as Djokovic, writing, "They came to Australia to flee war and torture. He came to win a tennis match."

After announcing his decision, Judge Anthony Kelly explained that Djokovic had not been given sufficient notice of his visa cancelation, or enough time by the government to prepare materials.

I'm all for sensible restrictions and doing everything we can to mitigate the pandemic but it's very much a two way street - people like Djokovic should have to live with the same rules the rest of us do but at the same time government needs to follow its own laws and rules.  Djokovic should have been made to leave Australia due to flouting the rules but now he's allowed to stay because Australia's government decided that cause pandemic they didn't have to follow their own rules.

Things like due process and following the laws and rules can't just go out the window wholesale on the government's part because of the pandemic because when they do that's when judges get pissed off and throw out restrictions altogether.  Or the people who come up with the rules get voted out of office or forced out and then we wind up with Branch Trumpvidians who think all restrictions are bad.  Do better, Australia.

[Ozlsn]

Lol. Our fed government believes they can make this up as they go - our current PM would have to be a contender for most incompetent "leader" we've had, and most of the rest of his Cabinet aren't far behind. Making it up at the last minute as they go and altering the rules to suit themselves is kind of their modus operandi.

My personal opinion is that Border Farce screwed up - he shouldn't have been allowed on to the plane or into the country initially as he hadn't met the visa requirements, but then they decided to make things worse by doubling down. At least Djokovic was able to get two court hearings quickly - being rich and high profile helps a lot unsurprisingly.

Anyway. Bring on May, and if we end up with these incompetent, visionless, unempathetic, souless dickheads in power again I despair.

[Someone Out There]

To be fair to Border Farce, they did try to stop him at the point of entry (and sent him to the 'to be deported hotel'), it's just that the first judge let him out.  I think where they failed was not also doing extra scrutiny on the other people who had exemptions from Tennis Australia/The Victorian Department of Health (neither of which have jurisdiction over whether they are allowed entry into the country, just entry into the tournament).

I'm not sure if Border Force is actually stationed in other countries at this point to disallow people who don't meet the requirements on the plane?  Rather it is airline staff allowing/disallowing people on the plane who theoretically meet the requirements, I'm sure Djokovic could have talked his way around that (and probably did).

Visa's are different to actually meeting entry requirements, he was eligible for the visa he had, however he did not meet entry requirements for his visa class i.e. be vaccinated (apparently a number of people are turned away at point of entry as they don't meet the entry requirements each year), and I doubt he or his team actually applied for the travel exemption from the federal government, instead they thought their Tennis Australia/Vic Health exemption was enough (which is incorrect).  If he had applied for that travel exemption and actually succeeded in obtaining it then it would be a different matter, they should have let him stay in that case.