Coronavirus 6: The Plague of Delta

[smittykins]

Our Episcopal diocese slightly revised the protocols for receiving Communion.  We have to sanitize our hands first and put masks on(Father puts his on just before Consecration), and he dips the wafer into the chalice before giving it to us(intinction).

[47of74]

Iowa hospitals are starting to limit elective procedures again.

Quote

As a result of an increased number of patients — partially driven by a surge in COVID-19 admissions — Cedar Rapids hospitals are limiting elective surgeries and procedures.

Both UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital and Mercy Medical Center confirmed Friday their facilities are preserving capacity because of high patient counts in recent weeks.

“To make sure we have capacity to serve the community and emergency cases, we started to temporarily limit ‘nonemergent’ surgeries and procedures,” St. Luke’s spokeswoman Sarah Corizzo said in an email to The Gazette.

St. Luke’s is limiting surgeries that require an inpatient hospital stay to 10 surgeries per day.

 

[fundiefan]

The over the top anti vaxer I know has spent the last two weeks trying to sell pretty expensive tickets to a concert tomorrow night - she won't go because they require vaccine proof or current negative test & she's typical anti-everything she doesn't like. She's had the post pinned to the top of her page for at least two weeks, I guess.

Now, she's posting it and re-positing it. She is clearly desperate (she is out $400 if she can't sell them; she is, of course, selling at face value; no deal there). 

Here's the thing. She has lost any followers/friends who are not anti-vax. The only people who pay attention to her on FB are people who are just like her. After years of being the insane thing she is, every non-insane person walked away. She knows it. Or, claims to know it when she wears it like a badge because "she knows the truth and no one can handle it". 

I want to know who she thinks will buy the tickets? 

*I have a sock FB so I can keep my real life private from a lot of the FB info sharing, etc. That's how I saw her post - another mutual real life friend who is still FB friends but unfollowed her - told me about it. I guess she (the anti-vaxer) not only posted the ticket post, she tagged every one of her FB friends - whether she's talked to any of them in five years or not. 

One of my favorite sayings is - no one ever said anti-vaxers are smart. This is why. She's so lost in her own arrogance, she can't see that there is no one on her Facebook who isn't just like her; that if she wants to sell the tickets, she needs to leave her bubble. 

Personally, I hope she loses the $400. But, that's just me. I want to see her go off the deep end. She seriously must hurt herself because when she clearly loses control, she disappears for several days afterwards. 

[Smash!]

Well unfortunately my physiotherapist is very smart in his field and asks a lot of good questions. Unfortunately he can‘t fathom that our government doesn‘t protect us which leads to questions such as „if the virus was so dangerous why aren‘t there more measures in place?“ Plus he has a deep distrust in this vaccine and science, fueled by his girlfriend who falls for the conspiracy theories around the vaccine.

 

[CTRLZero]

Another article about surgeries being postponed because hospitals are over flowing with the unvaccinated.  This is by Nashville Scene contributor Betsy Phillips, who needs surgery to deal with an infection/breathing problem.  
Trying to get into Vanderbilt Medical for needed surgery

Excerpt:

In either case, unless you are a trained professional, the safest thing for you to do is distance yourself from someone like this [the willfully unvaccinated]. And frankly, that’s my plan. The unvaccinated in this state have told me that they will harm others to get their way. I have evidence, based on my own experience, that this is true. I have been harmed now by people refusing to get vaccinated. As Maya Angelou advised, I will now do them the courtesy of believing that they are who they’ve shown themselves to be.

[Cartmann99]

Thread about the ivermectin crowd turning towards other "cures" for Covid.

Spoiler

 

 

[Ozlsn]

I could live with this group avoiding the ER. Die at home, don't seek medical care, don't pit other patients and healthcare workers at risk. Sounds like a good plan.

[Coconut Flan]

I was treated to a floor show at a doctor's office today.  First we had Mr. Anti-vax.  The receptionist politely asked him if he'd changed his mind and gotten vaccinated.   He equally politely said no and he didn't think he would.  He was wearing a flimsy cloth mask and only said thank you and put on the surgical mask they gave him.  So far so good.  It means I will NOT remove my KN95 while there, but he's behaving.

Then we get trying to enter the office COVID deniers.  They walk in the poor receptionist asks if they have masks.  They do not.  She offers them masks and they refuse.  She shepherds them out of the office to the hall and provides the county and state orders saying masks must be worn in medical facilities.  And it heads south in a handbasket.  They refuse to wear masks, berate the receptionist until she's in tears, and won't leave from standing in the hall until they talk to the doctor.  He finishes with me and goes to chat.  I check out, find my sunglasses, find my phone, and head out into disaster.  The wife thanks the doctor for talking to them and then starts screaming profanity to the world in general and yells at everyone in the lobby area of the building to get the ****** masks off and to quit giving into hoaxes and tyranny and continues screaming into the parking lot.  I looked at the doctor and said two more minds lost.  

[church_of_dog]

2 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

They refuse to wear masks, berate the receptionist until she's in tears, and won't leave from standing in the hall until they talk to the doctor.

This is what gets me -- they are indoors, and as they get increasingly agitated they are probably speaking more and more loudly (or "moistly", as poor J. Trudeau said), which means the rest of us are at higher risk the more agitated they get.

This is why, when I was requiring masks and limiting the number of people who could enter the library while I was on duty, I couldn't let them enter on their own, but had to keep the door locked and let each person in individually, so that I could actually require the mask (and worn properly, thankyouverymuch) before they got inside, and if anyone threw a tantrum it would be outside the building.  Sigh.

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

They refuse to wear masks, berate the receptionist until she's in tears, and won't leave from standing in the hall until they talk to the doctor. 

Why the hell are they seeing a doctor when it's obvious they won't follow advice anyway? 

[Coconut Flan]

The doctor called me after hours and apologized for the disruption.  He also apologized for letting it distract him from a couple of things he'd meant to tell me and to make sure I had all my questions answered. That's a first for me.  

Their display of stupidity, lack of sense, and lack of self-control was all going on while I was being told I have macular degeneration.  I haven't fully come to terms with that yet.  I knew something was wrong, but had no idea what it was.  This was the second opinion and the diagnosis keeps getting worse.  

Edited September 15, 2021 by Coconut Flan

[Bluebirdbluebell]

@quiversR4hunting for confirmation of the other three, but we lost yet another conservative talkshow who was anti Covid vaxx and died of Covid. His name is Bob Enyart. The Washington Post says that's four of these assholes. I have very limited sympathy for anti-vaxxers and way less sympathy for those who have platforms to spend misinformation. Being an anti-vaxxer is bad enough, but how many people died listening to these assholes?

I'm kind of surprised my vaccinated friends are acting like things are fine or at least getting better. It's particularly painful seeing this attitude in people with children under 12. 

Edited September 15, 2021 by Bluebirdbluebell

[NotQuiteMotY]

11 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

This is why, when I was requiring masks and limiting the number of people who could enter the library while I was on duty, I couldn't let them enter on their own, but had to keep the door locked and let each person in individually, so that I could actually require the mask (and worn properly, thankyouverymuch) before they got inside, and if anyone threw a tantrum it would be outside the building.  Sigh.

Oh, I wish I could do this at mine. We had one individual wearing a N95/KN95 (I wasn't the staff member helping her and I wasn't going close than I had to to anyone wearing a mask improperly) who had it sitting UNDER their nose. Seriously, what's the point of buying one and wearing it in an incredibly uncomfortable fashion with the end result of breathing all over others anyway?! We have a mask requirement, but it's depressing how many people come in wearing them improperly.

4 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

I'm kind of surprised my vaccinated friends are acting like things are fine or at least getting better. It's particularly painful seeing this attitude in people with children under 12. 

YES. I keep wanting to shake people who are taking unmasked, too-young-to-be-vaccinated kids out everywhere. I get that a lot of trips are necessary and you don't have the option of someone to stay with them at home, but at least make sure it's actually necessary stuff and they're as protected as possible!

[Coconut Flan]

The US numbers are beginning to trend down no thanks to far too many people.

California has finally dropped a level.  May all the other states soon follow.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/California-now-1-of-only-3-states-to-exit-CDC-s-16459110.php

Quote

The state is now the only one in the country to reach the “substantial” tier of the agency’s risk chart, for the first time since the rapid spread of the delta coronavirus variant brought the summer COVID-19 surge, state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said Tuesday.

 

[church_of_dog]

43 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

The US numbers are beginning to trend down no thanks to far too many people.

California has finally dropped a level.  May all the other states soon follow.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/California-now-1-of-only-3-states-to-exit-CDC-s-16459110.php

 

I'm glad to know that.  Especially since I'll be heading to the Bay Area in 2 weeks to visit my mom in her skilled nursing unit.  I will have to show my vax card, plus wear a mask, and am limited to one hour/day of visit time.  Will see when I get there whether all these rules are enforced or not.

My California county, where population and thus covid stats are very low in absolute numbers, is having a spike.  A combination, I suppose, of recently holding the county fair (after skipping last year), school reopening (in person), plus commercial shops not making any effort to have people mask up.  Oh, and our fully vaxxed rate is still under 40%.  I'm hoping in a few weeks it will quiet down but for now I'm hermiting more than ever, and back to wearing masks in the grocery store (but so far I feel ok with just a cloth mask rather than n95s, due to my own vaxxed status).

 

[Coconut Flan]

Quote

1 in 500 Americans have died from COVID

The United States reached another pandemic milestone on Tuesday: One of every 500 Americans has died of COVID-19, Johns Hopkins University data shows. With the 662,899th death, America reported a toll equal to 0.2% of the population, based on the number of people who answered the 2020 Census that was conducted near the beginning of the pandemic. Half of those deaths have happened since just before Christmas 2020. 

The country reached this point as hospitalizations have surged due to the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The surge has caused shortages in health care facilities not seen since the winter peak of COVID-19, before vaccines were widely available in the U.S.

As of last week, the U.S. has also recorded more COVID-19 cases in 2021 than in the previous year. In the last 28 days, the country has recorded 4.3 million new cases and more than 39,000 deaths.

– Mike Stucka

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/09/15/covid-pandemic-vaccinations-masks-biden-administation/8340559002/

::smh:: at what didn't have to happen.

[Howl]

4 hours ago, NotQuiteMotY said:

We had one individual wearing a N95/KN95...who had it sitting UNDER their nose.

The technical term is "dick nosing" when the mask is worn under the nose. 

[Smash!]

Mark Zuckerberg is a criminal. Facebook could close those antiscience groups and ban everyone who spreads misinformation. They don’t do that. This is in my opinion a scandal that‘s not talked about enough.

On instagram in the browse section it always shows me a post with the headline saying an UK radiopersonality died from the vaccine. It‘s true she died because Astra Zeneca was new and this rare side effect wasn‘t widely known yet. But they don’t say that. It makes me mad every time I see that post.

[Dandruff]

Well, I got my third Pfizer shot today.  Asked my rheumatologist whether I should get it sooner vs. later and the answer was an unambiguous yes.  I had an easier time after my second shot vs. my first so I'm hoping I won't have much in the way of side effects.  I should know by tonight.

I stopped my NSAID a few days ago and will try stay off it the rest of this week to give myself whatever slight advantage I can for immune response.  I'm not sure if it matters, or how much it matters, but I'm willing to make the attempt.  If I feel truly awful I'll start taking it again, though.

[Smee]

21 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

 

I'm kind of surprised my vaccinated friends are acting like things are fine or at least getting better. It's particularly painful seeing this attitude in people with children under 12. 

Meanwhile in Australia our leaders are pushing the vaccination message so hard (after scaring everyone off astrazeneca and fucking up the supply of Pfizer so plenty of people COULDN’T get vaccinated) and promising to open things up when vaccination targets are reached. People are sick of lockdown and remote learning and want to go browse a shop or have dinner with their parents, so the constant barrage of messaging is “get vaxxed and all will be good mofo” and I dread how that will play out with vaccinated people relaxing and not being cautious. Every day, the deaths are announced with “12 people died in the past 24 hours, 10 of them were unvaccinated, the other two had underlying conditions” as if to reassure us that as long as we get jabbed all is hunky dory. And here, odds are likely that the unvaccinated deaths weren’t from antivaxxers, just people who couldn’t access Pfizer and were scared of AstraZeneca. I’m a bit sick of hearing about “underlying conditions” too, depending on how it’s defined, that could be half the population.

[adidas]

On 9/15/2021 at 12:45 PM, Ozlsn said:

Why the hell are they seeing a doctor when it's obvious they won't follow advice anyway? 

Not my original thought, I saw it on FB but I 100% agree: how do the ‘I dOn’T wAnT iT iN mY bOdY’ anti vaxxers feeling about the medical concoctions they’ll be receiving via IV in the ICU?

Also seen on FB:
In the USA
Not Vaccinated: 
1 in 8 chance of catching covid
1 in 61 chance of death

Vaccinated:
1 in 13,402 chance of catching covid
1 in 86,500 chance of death

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, Smee said:

I’m a bit sick of hearing about “underlying conditions” too, depending on how it’s defined, that could be half the population.

I'm very sick of hearing the deaths excused as "not vaccinated" or "underlying conditions".  The access issues and bloody fear mongering here have been appalling, and frankly none of them would have died at that time without covid. How many people who die in car crashes have underlying issues, and does it make the car crashing any less responsible for them dying at that time?

I am hoping the curves are flattening, but am also trying not to be too hopeful right now so I'm not as down when it inevitably goes to hell  again.

[Smee]

18 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/09/15/covid-pandemic-vaccinations-masks-biden-administation/8340559002/

::smh:: at what didn't have to happen.

I keep thinking back to last year when the New York Times front cover was a list of every name of the 100 000 people killed and how horrifying it is that they were really the “first 100 000” and there have been more than 5x as many since then.

[Melbelle]

Maybe it's where I live, but I feel like I never hear people talk about underlying conditions and how there are things (in addition to being vaccinated) that people can do lower their chances of dying or getting as seriously ill from covid.  I've found it really frustrating that health officials haven't been squawking all day, every day, about people working to lose weight, eat better diets, get more vitamin d, zinc, etc.  Not to mention, all of this advice would help people live better lives and be more resilient to the typical cold and flu as well.  Instead, people have gained more weight during the lockdowns and actually worsened their resilience to covid, colds, and the flu. It's one of the biggest grievances I've had with the national health organizations during the last 18 months.  I mean, it's no different than knowing what underlying conditions can make you more susceptible to cancer, heart disease, etc.  Plus, I think it would have been good for the mental health of so many if they would have had something they could control to focus on when so much has been out of our control since this began.  

[treehugger]

@Melbelle, the problem with underlying conditions is that they aren’t just things you can control.  Overweight is just one of them.  Diabetes is another and there isn’t anything Type 1 diabetics can do about it, so are autoimmune disorders (my husband has one), and on and on it goes.  
Also, while there are a lot of people who are overweight, the truth is, even that itself is often a side effect of something.  Immune suppressants, medication for mental health, birth control all list weight gain as a side effect.  It isn’t as easy as “just lose weight”.