This is a sketch done while my Urban Sketching student also sketched the Science Center. It was a quick demonstration on blocking in a sketch.
Pandemic Film: Disney Landscape
This was the first painting I did at the start of the pandemic. Some were rather upset seeing the image and wanted to tar and feather me and run me out of town. That is when I knew I was onto something and the pandemic paintings became a daily habit.
During the lock down getting a pandemic themed painting done every day was easy. The news was changing fast and the absurdity of the response or lack of response was was ample inspiration for insane painting themes.
Taking these hundreds of images and assembling them into a film seems like a vacation. I still have ideas I want to paint but they have to be set aside so I have time to edit and animate the film. After three years many of the images I already painted apply over and over again. Humans keep blindly making the same mistakes and choose willful ignorance to fuel their bliss.
Breath is the New Body Fluid
COVID-19 is airborne. Airborne is when a droplet containing a virus is small enough to float in the air. This simple fact was not fully acknowledged by scientists until recently. It took the World Health Organization (WHO) to admit this truth, yet even now the WHO website claims that COVID is spread through close contact which is where the six foot short range distance myth was generated.
COVID can spread much further than six feet. It wafts through the air like cigarette smoke. If you were to enter a room where someone was smoking you would immediately smell the smoke even if the person were across the room. I personally have ascribed to a 22 foot social distancing rule. In public, no one will see me unmasked for the foreseeable future. To date I have never tested positive for COVID.
Early in the pandemic the false narrative lead to control measures that involved reducing direct contact, cleaning surfaces, putting up plexiglass barriers, 6 foot physical distancing, use of masks within droplet distance, and wearing high-grade mask protection only for so-called aerosol-generating health-care procedures. Millions were infected while they whipped down surfaces and breathed infected air.
Reducing airborne transmission of the virus requires measures to avoid inhalation of infectious aerosols, including good ventilation, HEPA air filtration, reducing crowding and time spent indoors, use of masks whenever indoors, and attention to mask quality and fit. Masks worn as chin straps or loose fitting cloth and blue surgical masks don’t stop an airborne virus. Quality well fitted N-95 masks are needed.
As the pandemic continues we are growing numb to the mass death, hysteria, and fear. People have come to accept mass infection and disease. COVID breaks down the immune system in much the same way that AIDS breaks down the immune system. The virus damages CD8 and T cell response in much the same way as hepC or HIV. There is now a sharp increase in hepatitis, rsv, flu, norovirus, UTIs, staph and fungal infections.
In the 1980s everyone became very aware of possible transmission via body fluids. Today the invisible wafting breath of people around you have become the body fluid to be most aware of. People do not believe in what can not be seen, so most are happy to live in a fantasy and go about life as if the virus were no in every breath they breath.
You need to burn to develop non-flamability!
Some seem to think that getting infected is the solution to fighting an infectious disease. No one is exactly sure how long the protection after natural infection will last and how durable that protection will be against a variety of different variants. An infection will protect you from reinfection against only the variant that caused your illness. The virus is mutating very quickly. The next mutation can cause re-infection. Some people think that after you’ve gotten a natural infection, you will be permanently protected against COVID-19 as if this were measles. That is simply not true.
An infection will cause COVID-19 antibodies can stay in the body for months. New evidence suggests that ‘hybrid’ immunity, the result of both vaccination and a bout of COVID-19, can provide partial protection against reinfection for about eight months. However, if a new variant finds ways to escape the existing immune response, then even a recent infection might not guarantee protection. The Omicron variants circuiting now are mutating at an incredibly fast rate. Many of these new variants are finding ways to break through existing immunity.
The virus is evolving so fast, that it is impossible to predict exactly how many months someone might be protected from re-infection if they survive their bout with COVID. One in five people who are infected develop long COVID which can greatly reduce quality of life.
We all have to get burned!
Public responses to widespread disease have remained mostly unchanged since the Black Death, in the 14th century. Over 3000 COVID related deaths a week in America has become the new normal. Blindly accepting so much death is as American as Sunday football. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan has a seating capacity of 107,601. What better place for a maskless orgy of denial and disease? If I had any desire to see a Michigan football game I would be perfectly happy to watch on TV.
When people observe others taking risks despite the pandemic they assume those risks are acceptable. Unfortunately from the start of the pandemic, leaders have not been honest and transparent. Contradictory messages are the norm.
Human beings are inherently social, not solitary, creatures. Making that a reality can be accomplished while masking and having some physical distance. Physical distancing is different than social distancing. The human need for connection with other people is probably what fuels a lot of disease transmission. Most people however have abandoned all protective measures. They actively seek to infect others as they ignore reality and go about life like it was 1999.
Social distancing does not have to equal social isolation. Those are two very different concepts and virtual interaction can make a big difference.
There is nothing you can do to stop a wildfire!
The Joe Biden administration has decided to let COVID-19 rip with no mitigation other than advising people on occasion to get vaccinated. He said, that there is “nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months” — which is the exact opposite of what presidential candidate Joe Biden promised voters during the 2020 campaign. Back during the election, he said “the trajectory of COVID-19 in America is headed in the wrong direction,” and only he could fix it. In a Oct. 23, 2020 speech, Biden pledged to “immediately put in place a national strategy that will position our country to finally get ahead of this virus and get back our lives.” He never delivered.
Right before July 4th 2021, Biden again claimed the pandemic was over, and we should all celebrate by gathering in large groups to watch fire works. I was in Saint Augustine and the maskless crowds were insane. It is as if a word from the president acted as a mass hypnosis, convincing all to unmask and breath in each other’s faces. We were some of the very few who wore masks. At the time Delta was ripping across the country. In July of 2021 1,208 Americans died due to COVID-19.
On January 20, 2020 when Biden was inaugurated, there were 396,837 confirmed COVID deaths. As of February 5, 2023 there have been 1,073,693 deaths due to COVID. That is most contently an under counting. That means Biden’s bungled pandemic response is so far responsible for 676,856 COVID deaths as opposed to Trumps inept response which resulted in 396,837 COVID deaths. The media is strangely silent on Biden’s horrible handling of the pandemic.
Biden remarked about the pandemic saying, “I mean, look what’s happened, and I think we, I sometimes underestimate it because, I STOPPED THINKING ABOUT IT, but I’m sure you don’t: we lost 1 – over 1 million people in several years to COVID.” Biden warned that, “there’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic.”
Biden informed Congress on January 30, 2023 that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, 2023. Sure 500 people are dying every day, but that is the new normal. The United States public health emergency was first declared on Jan. 31, 2020, under the Trump administration. Lawmakers have refused for months to fulfill the Biden administration’s request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and testing. The administration has surrendered and they have left you to try and survive as they gaslight you to make you think the pandemic is over. News flash, the pandemic is not over.
It’s just a mildfire!
Denialists and minimizes have been working hard to downplay the corona virus since the start of the pandemic. A favorite talking point for denialists is the “COVID is just like the flu.” This is of course false. The flu does not kill over a million people over 3 years. COVID-19 has a higher severe disease and mortality rate than influenza in all age groups. COVID-19 survivors report many more long-term effects of the infection than influenza survivors. Lingering symptoms like weakness, shortness of breath, trouble focusing and, in some cases, kidney and heart problems are much more common after COVID-19 than after influenza. “Mild” COVID-19 illness has been described as “flu-like.” It’s important to remember that the flu is a pretty debilitating disease so “mild” COVID-19 is still a pretty significant disease.
A large number of COVID-19 patients present with no or very mild symptoms, but those individuals can still transmit the virus to others, some of whom could have a much more serious course of illness. Every person who gets infected keeps the “chains of transmission” going, which can bring COVID-19 to those who are more vulnerable.
Nearly 1 in 5 people develop Long COVID, with long term conditions including long-term damage to the lungs, heart, kidneys, brain and other organs. “Mild” cases of COVID are associated with tissue damage and brain matter loss. Damage to the brain can result in loss of smell, and a loss in the overall volume of the brain. This brain matter loss may explain the behavior of some of the denialists.
COVID-19 increases risk of heart attack, strokes and other cardiovascular disease. Patients with COVID-19 were four times likelier to develop major cardiovascular disease in the acute phase of infection than those uninfected. Even a mild case of COVID-19 can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular problems for at least a year after diagnosis. Researchers found that rates of many conditions, such as heart failure and stroke, were substantially higher in people who had recovered from COVID-19 than in similar people who hadn’t had the disease. The risk was elevated even for those who were under 65 years of age and lacked risk factors. There is an unexpected surge in young people dying of heart attacks.
One MILLION N-95 Masks
On Twitter some anti-science conspiracy theorist was offering money for people to stop following Tern, a Twitter user who follows the latest COVID research. People kept writing in to see just how much money was being offered. Of course the anti science nerd had no actual figure in mind.
Then my diabolical mind started spinning, Just how much would it take for me to completely ignore the science and return to life as normal as if the virus didn’t exist? I decided my price would be one MILLION N-95 masks. Even the science deniers might have a turn of mind as people keep dying around them. Of course many science deniers have already died.
A study found that twice as many Republicans have died of COVID than Democrats. A refusal to take a simple vaccine is the major cause of those deaths.e
Of course 1,099,866 masks would have been preferable. One for each person in America who died needlessly from an airborne virus. Their lives are worth an unimaginable fortune.
Child COVID Resevoir
Children spread COVID-19. Children’s ability to fight off infections of all kinds is damaged for months by COVID. We are forcing them to catch the virus repeatedly.
Babies under age 1 might be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children. Newborns can get COVID-19 during childbirth or by exposure to sick caregivers after delivery. If you have COVID-19 or are waiting for test results due to symptoms during your stay in the hospital after childbirth, wear a well-fitting face mask and have clean hands when caring for your newborn. Keeping your newborn’s crib by your bed while you are in the hospital is OK, but maintain a reasonable distance from your baby when possible. When these steps are taken, the risk of a newborn getting COVID-19 is low. However, if you are severely ill with COVID-19, you might need to be temporarily separated from your newborn.
Infants who have COVID-19 but no symptoms might be sent home from the hospital, depending on the circumstances. It’s recommended that the baby’s caregivers wear face masks and wash their hands to protect themselves. Frequent follow-up with the baby’s health care provider is needed — by phone, virtual visits or in-office visits — for 14 days. Infants who test negative for COVID-19 can be sent home from the hospital.
Children with COVID-19 might have many symptoms, only a few symptoms or no symptoms. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in children are cough and fever. Possible signs and symptoms include:
- Fever
- Cough that becomes productive
- Chest pain
- New loss of taste or smell
- Changes in the skin, such as discolored areas on the feet and hands
- Sore throat
- Nausea, vomiting, belly pain or diarrhea
- Chills
- Muscle aches and pain
- Extreme fatigue
- New severe headache
- New nasal congestion
Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop a post-COVID-19 condition. Research suggests that children with both mild and severe COVID-19 have experienced long-term symptoms. The most common symptoms in children include:
- Tiredness or fatigue
- Headache
- Trouble sleeping
- Trouble concentrating
- Muscle and joint pain
- Cough
These symptoms could affect your child’s ability to attend school or do his or her usual activities. If your child is experiencing long-term symptoms, consider talking to your child’s teachers about his or her needs.
Animal Reservoirs
Some have theorized that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was circulating widely in populations of mice before it found its way back into human hosts. That would explain why the variant was so completely different that the previous variants of COVID. It came out of left field, unrelated to strains of the virus that had been mutating in the human population.
Humans as a rule tend to think of themselves as the center of the universe. They are however only a fraction of the life on the planet. Scientists have known for a long time that animals can catch COVID-19. However research has been scant as to exactly which animals have contracted the virus and more importantly how often animals have passed the virus back to humans.
Undoubtedly people have passed the virus to their pets as they become infected multiple times. COVID may have infected over 500 other mammal species. Humans have become complacent about the virus spreading from human to human so of course there is little concern about the virus spreading among animals. The only problem is that the virus tends to mutate differently in other mammals. COVID is not a human virus it is a virus that attacks many species. Mutants of the virus could become more transmissible but no one knows it that has happened.
17 million mink were murdered in Finland in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. China began killing pet store hamsters in another effort stop the spread. It is fascinating how murder is often considered the best solution to a public health issue. Animals who get the virus are often asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. That is another reason people seem blissfully ignorant of this issue.
White tailed deer in America have been rather susceptible to the scourge of the virus. Since hunters wander the woods to kill the deer they might be the ones spreading the disease to the deer population. Researchers test some of the deer killed and an amazing number are infected. Of 481 deer tested, 30% were infected. Another surprise is the the variants found are different that those circulating among humans. One bit of advice to hunters is that they should not eat the brains of their kill.
Sars Ani-Vis has built a site that shows the animal species that are becoming infected and where they are found. The deer population in America has the largest number of documented cases followed by dogs and cats. The numbers however are very small compared to the millions of humans that have died from COVID-19. Not many researchers are following this lead. There is probably not much money in knowing animals are getting infected.