And in reality, COVID does not appear to be nearly as virulent as the common flu.

Absolutely, completely, 300% untrue. This statement is so far off from reality we need to measure the distance in light years.

In 2018-2019, there were an estimated 35.5M ((31.3M " 44.9M) cases of flu, leading to 14M-21M medical visits, 490K of which required hospitalization. A little more than 34K died from the common flu that season.

#95 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

I'm really trying to see how you think the above description is worse than 7+ million cases resulting in 200+K deaths in only 6-7 months, especially since those are estimates and the COVID numbers are as real as it gets.

#94 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Nothing I read suggests the UK government's decision is based on the now defunct idea that kids don't spread COVID and from what I read there are two main pillars their decision is based on.

1. Decreasing COVID prevalence in the UK. I think this has changed since they released these guidelines and is likely to change as we move into fall.

2. They're placing a lot of faith in their testing and contact tracing capabilities.

The UK seems to be where I keep saying the US could and should be in order to be more open and unrestricted. We'll see how it plays out!

Does this really surprise anybody?

The rationales they're throwing out are absurd.

"We were given a mandate in 2018 to seat a SCOTUS justice because that's what our voters wanted us to do" said Tom Cotton (paraphrased) in an interview I saw yesterday.

As if Democratic senators aren't elected with SCOTUS appointments in mind?

Grim

#1 | POSTED BY MAO_CONTENT

Do you actually have anything worth while to add? Or does somebody you know have to die first?

Is it labeled with a tattoo or a sticker?

#12 | POSTED BY HAMBURGLAR

And it probably reads "grimy".

Dems have talked about doing this long before her death, so what's new?

#104 | POSTED BY MSGT

The GOP is forcing it to become a reality?

Not that anyone will read them...

#70 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Well...it's the sun. A tabloid...

In any case, neither of those links addresses the point.

The point is that children were once claimed to be less infected than adults and, therefore, it was safe to open schools.

However, that appears to have been an artifact of the testing bias. Because kids aren't as sick or don't develop severe disease as frequently, they weren't tested as frequently under current guidelines.

Studies addressing the very question of infection in kids have shown them to be just as susceptible to COVID as adults and, in some studies, produce more virus. In other words, opening schools will absolutely increase community spread.

#49 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Why do you keep posting that nonsense?

The rates in the DoD personnel ranks is irrelevant.

As for kids, yes it's well established that they have very mild or no illness. However, they also have higher viral titers and spread it quite effectively to each other and their families.

How does this make any sense at all?

#38 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Truthfully it doesn't. Which is why a measured approach to keep the line as flat as possible (as opposed to constant highs and lows) is the goal.

Countries like New Zealand and South Korea did it right in that they snuffed it out early. Sure, it'll show back up and second waves are inevitable, but with the extremely low case loads they're able to control new outbreaks as well.

The aim is to keep that cycle going for as long as you can until a vaccine is approved.

Or you can be a sociopath who thinks the best thing to do is simply let people get it until we have "herd mentality."

Did other countries do that?

Yes. South Korea kept it under control by rigorously applying public health measures.

Maybe one of the outcomes of COVID would be the creation of a DARPA-like organization who's mission was to provide quick-turn results to emerging medical disasters.

This is what infectious disease specialists have been calling for for ages. But, because pandemics are rare it was easy to brush off by people more concerned with fake budgetary issues.

In fact, the infrastructure Trump dismantled was what little of that preparedness network we had.

I guess I didn't phrase it correctly. You're saying two million dead as a result of COVID. That would seem to imply that at some point in the future, there will be no more deaths from COVID. We still have tens of thousands of flu deaths every year. Why do you think COVID is going to be different?

#36 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Gotcha.

You're correct. There will continue to be deaths from SARS-CoV-2 for as long as it circulates in humans.

I'm not sure what measure is used to declare a pandemic over and the virus now endemic (which is certainly is), but my 1-2 million estimate is from the pandemic phase.

Agreed. But I don't understand the rest of your post.
#118 | POSTED BY EBERLY

You don't take a hard position on anything.

In fact, you seem to see it as a bad thing given how you treat other poster's hard positions on topics.

I don't get what the problem is with the new book?

Is it because the protagonist is trans and not a good person?

Are they going to demand the purging of any trace of The Silence of the Lambs?

when? I'll give you a hint.....it's when they started accusing righties of turning into such mean people.
it was almost 4 years ago......

#29 | POSTED BY EBERLY

Having that fence post permanently inserted up your ass doesn't mean you're not a -----. It actually makes you the biggest ----- of them all because you don't seem to have a concrete position in your body, even after all that has happened in the last four years.

Republicans are ----.

Prenda allows a normal person to run a school," Enrollment Director Rachelle Gibson says in one of the company's numerous online videos.

That's a seriously scary thought.

Congrats, Repubs, your greed and stupidity are going to ensure the downfall of the US in its entirety.

What exactly is a promt, intelligent response?

Well, first of all we could have sent properly trained and equipped personnel to receive the initial cases from ex pats returning from China. What we got in reality was a ---- show where untrained workers that probably spread the illness into the surrounded community.

We would have also had proper contact tracing in place to mop up initial hot spots that were identified by properly implemented testing. We got neither because the administration preferred to down play and ignore it to avoid spooking the stock market.

Public health responses to new illnesses are tested and optimized. This wasn't a black box to be developed on the fly. Trump and his administration not only did none of it but did the opposite of it by doing nothing.

#14 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

We've been in a time frame when spread is historically reduced.

Going in to influenza season there is absolutely no good reasons to assume case numbers and spread will remain at current levels. That's why 200K dead from spring into summer is concerning.

Maybe not 5 million, but I think if we stay this course there will definitely be over 1 million deaths when all is said and done. Probably closer to 2 million.

Republicans had the ability to block Obama and so they did.
And now Trump can nominate someone and Democrats can't stop it.
They would if they could.
#91 | POSTED BY BILLJOHNSON

Congrats Bill! You are THE problem!

Nonsense. Clearly he died from a heart attack while COVID positive.

-boaz

#39 the stupid ankle biter thing is t cute, though.

Of course I don't expect my posts to make a difference. Somebody who could so shamelessly use her words to promote the current power grab to cement minority rule is too vile to care how vile they are.

My only intention is that they don't get a free pass and that at least somebody informs them of their status and the complete incompatibility of their views and the patriotism they claim to hold.

You do realize that there has been a Democrat president in power for 8 of the last 12 years, correct?

#67 | Posted by REDIAL

Trumpers haven't needed facts for almost 4 years, they're not going to start caring now.

"That's their job. There's nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being a president in his last year"

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
July 2016

#21 | Posted by Maverick

You're a piece of ----.

Trumpers are such absolutely god awful pieces of runny dog ----.

The absolute dregs of society.