The COVID Vaccination Thread

[Pocket]

Just got word that the Biden administration announced it's ending their state of emergency in May, meaning no more free vaccines or testing kits, among other things. Despite, you know, everyone still needing annual boosters for the rest of their lives.

But enough about this shithole country; how's the civilized world getting on? Is COVID even still a thing there? Boy it must be nice living somewhere where at least one political party gives a jive whether you live or die.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Despite all the head doctors basically saying "we're still in pandemic, we still need all the resources and infrastructure" everything is getting cut back or cut off because the politicians don't want to deal with it anymore and are acting like the emergency is over. The only thing they've actually DONE in the last few months is mandate a clean test from people flying in from china, and that is due to be dropped in less than 2 months.

Frankly, if it meant quebec would stop making and airing those stupid ads asking us to wash our hands and wear masks if we feel sick, I wouldn't overly mind. Three ******* years on and despite all the dead it feels like we accomplished nothing.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

And people wonder why I'm still wearing the mask.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

But enough about this shithole country; how's the civilized world getting on? Is COVID even still a thing there? Boy it must be nice living somewhere where at least one political party gives a jive whether you live or die.

News from Japan (Spoiler tags added to reduce post/page length) :

- COVID-19 deaths in Japan top 60,000 since start of pandemic

Spoiler

Japan's cumulative total of COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic exceeded 60,000 on Sunday, a tally showed, in the midst of the eighth wave of coronavirus infections.

Compared with the total topping 50,000 on Dec. 1, Sunday's figure highlights the increased pace of deaths at 10,000 in just around a month.

After the number since Japan confirmed its first domestic case of COVID-19 in January 2020 eclipsed the 20,000 mark last February, 10,000 deaths were reported every three months until December, according to the Kyodo News tally...

(Full story: - https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-japan-top-60000-since-start-of-pandemic.html )

Low immunity, overwhelmed hospitals fuel Covid-19 deaths in ageing Japan

Japan still retains masking requirements

Spoiler

Low immunity against Covid-19 and a growing population of frail elderly is driving a surge in coronavirus deaths in Japan which had, for a long time, upheld some of the strictest pandemic restrictions.

Japan once boasted one of the lowest Covid mortality rates, but the figure has been trending upwards since the end of 2022.

It hit an all-time high on 20 January this year, surpassing the UK, US and South Korea, according to Oxford University's Our World in Data...

(Full Story: - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64494095 )

FEATURE: Return to maskless world still only in realm of fantasy in Japan.

People wearing masks cross a pedestrian crossing near JR Osaka Station in the Umeda commercial district of Osaka on the 11th Nov. 2022. (Kyodo)

Spoiler

More than seven months have passed since the Japanese government relaxed its guidelines on voluntary mask usage in May, reflecting receding fears of the virus due to a stabilization of cases. But the public ignored suggestions that mask use could now be dropped when "speaking with people at distances of at least two meters," for instance, or in quiet indoor spaces with ventilation.

That is unlikely to change at least in the short term as Japan experiences its eighth wave of the pandemic. The Japan Medical Association last month asked people to refrain from "high-risk behavior" to prevent the spread of the virus.

The resurgence of the virus comes after the Japanese government removed its cap in October on daily foreign arrivals and its ban on individual travelers from abroad and non-prearranged trips. It also started a subsidy program for residents to boost domestic tourism.

Unlike in some other countries, mask wearing in Japan has never been mandated by the government. But an online survey conducted in October by Laibo Inc. shows that it remains firmly entrenched almost three years since the start of the pandemic.

Less than 1 percent of 1,011 respondents, who were in their 20s to 50s, said they do not wear masks at all...

(Full story: - https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-still-only-in-realm-of-fantasy-in-japan.html ]

 

[Ironbite4]

But they allow cheering at wrestling events.

Ironbite-why didn't you report on that!?

 

[abates]

You can basically see where the New Zealand government threw their hands in the air and gave in:

There's been no word on vaccinations past the second booster, which was only for certain people (the elderly or health compromised) so I've no idea if we're getting yearly vaccinations or not.

 

[Anonymous X]

It’s that time of year again, and I’ve had my winter booster. The clinic I was at was almost empty though; even the people eligible for a booster seem not to be bothering for the most part.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

It's like the flu now. And how many people skip the yearly flu shots and then wonder why they got sick?

 

[wonko the sane?]

Much like the flu: getting the shot does not mean you won't get the disease. There's more sentence after that point: but just about everyone tunes that bit out cause if it's not perfect protection, it's not worth getting metal in your arm.

Quebec, in the one of the few things they've done right in years; is offering to give both shots at the same time. My age group opens in mid october, and I will be getting both the new covid shot, and the flu shot.

Related: our normal thanksgiving is canceled because we were supposed to have it at my brothers place this year: but they're all down with covid right now, and the parents are supposed to leave for spain the following tuesday and consequently are taking no chances. For my confused american friends: our thanksgiving is this sunday.

 

[Paladin]

and we've officially given up even PRETENDING to care anymore.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/13/health/covid-isolation-cdc.html

 

[Rhinox]

. . . . yeah. Figured this would happen. Covid is now just a new version of the flu.

 

[Dekafox]

What I find annoying is that they changed their guidelines effectively because "no one was listening to us" so by bringing it in line with what those people who weren't listening are doing, they can now claim victory, even though those people won't listen or care that they did so, except as vindication. Especially when 7% of the US currently has one of the many forms of organ damage called Long COVID. Guess if everyone's life expectency gets reduced enough due to repeated COVID infections, that's that much less money the insurance companies and any pensions that still exist have to pay out for people getting old.

On the plus side, according to the article I saw, the vaccines still have a 54% success rate in preventing symptomatic infections according to a study finished earlier this month, even against current strains(like JN1 presumably, as that's apparently become the dominant one in NZ at least, if not elsewhere)

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

What I find annoying is that they changed their guidelines effectively because "no one was listening to us" so by bringing it in line with what those people who weren't listening are doing, they can now claim victory, even though those people won't listen or care that they did so, except as vindication. Especially when 7% of the US currently has one of the many forms of organ damage called Long COVID. Guess if everyone's life expectency gets reduced enough due to repeated COVID infections, that's that much less money the insurance companies and any pensions that still exist have to pay out for people getting old.

On the plus side, according to the article I saw, the vaccines still have a 54% success rate in preventing symptomatic infections according to a study finished earlier this month, even against current strains(like JN1 presumably, as that's apparently become the dominant one in NZ at least, if not elsewhere)

Meanwhile, in Japan...

Japan likely experiencing 10th wave of COVID-19

The spread is being driven by the highly contagious new JN.1 variant.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[Kup]

As someone who has dealt with various forms of Long Covid since 2022...to say this makes me angry doesn't capture my frustration.

Perhaps the most maddening aspect is the difficulty in getting diagnosed and then finding which bodily system is causing the problem. I'm convinced the virus is still in my cells and whenever I get a secondary infection, it flares up.

Covid took away so much from me. One of the biggest? My ability to handle strenuous exercise. That was my outlet, my escape, how I burnt off stress. Now, if I hit the weights hard, I'm bed bound for two weeks. My road bike sits unused. I've barely touched my mountain bike. Both are because of my balance issues. When I do use my mountain bike, its mostly around town as if its a hybrid, and I gotta try and keep my heart rate below 120.

This is the life we're condemning others to with policies like these. It's like The Purge, just less in your face. At least tell me you want me to die, be up front about it.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

Over four years after SARS-CoV-2's debut, researchers still struggle to understand long COVID, including the ostensibly simple question of how many people have it. Estimates for its prevalence vary widely, based on different study methods and definitions of the condition. Now, for the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has attempted to estimate its prevalence among adults in each US state and territory. The results again show a wide range of prevalence estimates while revealing the states that were hardest hit as well as those that seem relatively spared.

Overall, the CDC found that seven states in the South, West, and Midwest had the highest prevalence of long COVID in the country, between 8.9 percent and 10.6 percent: Alabama, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming, and, the state with the highest prevalence of 10.6 percent, West Virginia. The results are published today in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

On the other end of the spectrum, New England states, Washington, and Oregon had lower prevalence rates, between 3.7 percent and 5.3 percent. The lowest rate was seen in the US Virgin Islands with 1.9 percent. Washington, DC, and Guam had ranges between 1.9 percent and 3.6 percent.

(Source - Ars Technica)

 

[wonko the sane?]

Hmmm, it KINDA looks like the states with highest prevalence for pre-existing poor health also have the highest instances of long covid.

Just saying.

 

[G.B.Blackrock]

Are we at a point, yet, where most places are similar in terms of how many people have HAD COVID? (even places better about protocols have had most of their populations hit, but they've tended to be spaced out better, and have suffered less intense symptoms, thanks to masking and vaccinations) If this is saying that places with lower rates of prevention have higher rates of long COVID, specifically, that should be talked about more.

 

[abates]

A 62-year-old German man got 217 covid vaccinations between June 2021 and November 2023:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/06/health/covid-217-shots-hypervaccination-lancet/index.html

According to researchers, he didn't have any side effects, but it also didn't make him any more immune than the recommended dosage would have.

Just in case anyone still harboured any worries about the vaccine.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

So many nanomachines, he must be up to at least 40Gs of gay by now.

 

[wonko the sane?]

I'm not worried about the covid vaccine, but that is interesting news.

I'm more worried about the fact that measles has entered community transmission stage in montreal. Cause apparently we are that ******* stupid.