Anti-Vax Detox

Posted on by Thor

Forbes reported that anti-vaxers are recommending bathing in Borax after a vaccination to “detox the vax.” The suggested bath included baking soda and Epsom salts to remove the “radiation,” Bentonite clay to pull out the “poison,” and, yes, one cup of borax to “take nanotechnologies out of you.” Please note that this is pure insanity.

Bathing does NOT “undo” the effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. Getting vaccinated does not require a detox follow up. A bath is not going to clear away the fictional harms imagined by the misinformation guru.

The vaccine is injected into the Deltoid muscle. It is therefor inside the body not on the skin. The helps your cells to produce spike proteins. The presence of the spike proteins then shows your immune system what to build defenses against. No amount of bathing will remove the spike proteins from inside your body. These spike proteins naturally degrade and leave your body soon after they’ve done their thing.

With businesses, schools, and other locations requiring Covid-19 vaccinations some anti vaxers are getting the jab to keep their jobs. Just look at the newscasters at  FOX News as an example. Now there is no harm in bathing in baking soda, Epsom salts, or bentonite clay. Borax however is a different story. It consists of a combo of boron, sodium, and oxygen typically serves as a household cleaner or a laundry detergent booster. Borax can irritate your skin and be harmful if inhaled, leading to nose, throat, or lung damage, or, if swallowed, lead to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Too much exposure to borax can result in damage to your reproductive organs, shock, or liver failure. This is why the FDA doesn’t allow borax in any food products in the U.S. DO NOT bath in BORAX.

Other misinformation has  have suggested things like cupping, making small incisions in your skin, and injecting yourself with other poisons. Bleach like Borax is intended as a cleaning agent. Ignore these medieval witch doctors.

Viking Breakthrough

Posted on by Thor

Vikings lineman Dakota Dozier was hospitalized November 9, 2021 due to a breakthrough infection of COVID-19. Five players have been isolated on the team’s COVID list. Coach Mike Zimmer said 29 people were identified as close contacts and are being retested daily.

Dozier is the second of at least three positive cases among players on the Vikings team since last week. Linebacker Ryan Connelly and tackle Timon Parris, were isolated on November 8, 2021, joining safety Harrison Smith, center Garrett Bradbury and Dozier on the COVID list.

When a reporter asked if Dozier’s hospitalization was due to receiving a vaccine or to the virus itself, coach Zimmer confirmed the player had a COVID-19 infection and was experiencing difficulty breathing at the time he was admitted to the ER. “I’m not a doctor, but it was, like, COVID pneumonia or something. He had a hard time breathing,” Zimmer said.

According to the NFL, vaccinated players are tested for the virus once every week but have the option of being tested more often, while unvaccinated players are expected to get a COVID-19 test every day. Individuals who are identified as close contacts with someone who tested positive for the virus are also expected to be tested every day “as appropriate,” according to the league’s guidelines.

German COVID-19 Surge

Posted on by Thor

BBC News reported that Germany is experiencing it’s 4th COVID-19 surge. One of Germany’s top virologists has warned that a further 100,000 people will die from Covid-19 if nothing’s done to halt an aggressive fourth wave.

On November 10, 2021 the country registered its highest rate of infection since the pandemic began, with almost 40,000 cases in a day. Doctors in the intensive care COVID-19 ward at Leipzig University Hospital warn this fourth wave could be the worst yet.

The state of Saxony has the highest seven-day infection rate in Germany at 459 cases per 100,000 people. The national rate is 232. It also has the lowest take-up of vaccine with just  57% of the population vaccinated. At the start of this week, Saxony banned unvaccinated people from bars, restaurants, public events and sport and leisure facilities. At least several other states are expected to follow suit.

Sixteen million Germans over the age of 12 have not been fully vaccinated. The German government has admitted it’s unlikely to persuade many of those people now. Germany’s anti-vaxxers are furious. Several thousand protested last weekend in Leipzig.

Stop the Squeal

Posted on by Thor

Children aged 5-11 years old, are now eligible to get the COVID -19 vaccine shot in America. The 6 year old Big Bird from Sesame Street helped children get over their fears of getting a vaccine shot on a CNN special. Texas Republican Sasquatch Ted Cruz accused Big Bird of pushing “Government propaganda…for your 5 year old!” after the Muppet tweeted about getting the shot in his wing.

Big Bird wants your kids to get a vaccine that will not only protect them from a virus that has killed more than 750,000 Americans but also keep them from unintentionally spreading it to parents and grandparents who may well be more susceptible to more serious infections even if they are vaccinated. Covid-19 was the 6th leading cause of death among kids aged 5 to 14 in September 20211. Same was true in August 2021.

Attacking Big Bird is pure virtue-signaling by Cruz. But more important is is just plain dump. It is so sad that this is the state of politics in America. CNNs Jim Acosta came up with the great phrase “Stop the squeal” mostly for the former presidents lies, but also for the meaningless virtue signaling of the GOP.

COVID-19 Air

Posted on by Thor

The U.S. lifted restrictions November 8, 2021 on travel from 33 countries, including the U.K., (9,333,891 COVID cases) South Africa, (2,924,072 COVID cases) Brazil, (21,886,077 COVID cases) Mexico, (3,827,596 COVID cases) Canada, (1,735,017 COVID cases) and most of Europe. In Europe there is a surge in COVID-19  infections, alarming health officials and sparking fears that the continent could be engulfed by a new wave of the pandemic this winter.

Travelers must show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. I am certain that Florida‘s Governor Ron DeathSantis will take issue with these vaccination passports and will fight these airlines insisting every unvaccinated person in the world should  be allowed into the state. He has already been fighting tooth and nail with the cruise industry. But he lost that lawsuit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) the U.S. will accept travelers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, (WHO) not just those in use in the U.S. That means that the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in Canada, will be accepted. Though vaccinations are required, there are exemptions for travelers under age 18 and passengers from countries with low vaccination availability. In other words, if the country hasn’t vaccinated many people, then hey, come on in anyway, and don’t bother taking any precautions because this is “Merica.”

COVID Smash

Posted on by Thor

The news November 3, 2021 that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was secretly unvaccinated rocked the sports world earlier this week. On August 26, 2021 the QB was asked directly by a reporter if he was vaccinated.  He claimed he had been immunized. In his mind he probably felt he wasn’t lying because you can be sure he has been immunized against genital warts. All people ages 9 to 45 can get the HPV vaccine to protect against genital warts.

This QB lied and has been violated the NFL safely protocols. The NFL’s COVID protocol handbook states,  “All players and staff who are not fully vaccinated must wear masks (surgical masks are preferred; gaiters and masks with valves or vents are prohibited) at all times when inside the Club facility.”

He was on the sidelines in street clothes during a preseason game without a mask, he has given indoor press conferences without wearing a mask, and, he didn’t bother wearing a mask at a Packers Halloween party. You might think that was the one time he might consider covering his face.

Rabid fans support the frightened player since he must suffer from a supreme case of  Trypanophobia which is is an extreme fear of injections or hypodermic needles. Children are especially afraid of needles. This kid is “furious” that his vaccination status was “leaked.”

The Packers should be subject to punishment. But hey there is money to be made packing fans into the stadiums during a pandemic. The QB might be fined one game check.  He earns an annual salary of $33,500,000. Oh my.

COVID-19 Pet Heart Infamation

Posted on by Thor

Web MD reported that a veterinary clinic in the United Kingdom found that COVID-19 can infect dogs and cats resulting a swollen heart condition known as myocarditis.

The study was small, but it found that dogs and cats can be infected with the Alpha variant of COVID-19. Many of the owners of these pets had respiratory symptoms several weeks before their pets became ill and had tested positive for COVID-19.

The study followed the cases of four cats and two dogs who had severe myocarditis. Luckily, most of the pets rebounded. All improved after treatment except one cat who relapsed had to be put to sleep.

Cases of myocarditis had increased at the clinic and the vets realized that the owners had reported being infected by COVID-19 prior to bringing in their pets for treatment. “It is quite compelling that there was an infection in the household and then a few weeks later, clinical signs appear in our pets,” Dr. Luca Ferasin said. “The big difference was that while the owners were experiencing respiratory signs with fever and typical signs of COVID, our pets were presented primarily with a heart disease.”

The symptoms presented very much the same, with dogs and cats that were depressed, lethargic, and they lost their appetite. 1.5 % of pets at eh clinic had heart inflammation Prior to December of 2020. Between  December and March of 2021 12.5 % of the pets had the condition. None of the animals had traditional symptoms of COVID-19 like difficulty breathing.

As a precaution, Ferasin advised pet owners who get infected with Covid-19 to avoid contact with their pets, just as they would with other humans.

Widespread COVID-19 Infections Among Iowa Deer

Posted on by Thor

Web MD reported that 80% of white-tailed deer in Iowa may be infected with COVID-19. Scientists are worried that the animals could become a reservoir for variants that could come back to haunt humans. In the new study, samples were collected lymph node samples from hundreds of dead deer across the state from April 2020 through January 2021. The researchers believe it’s likely that the virus is rapidly spreading among the deer, The New York Times reported.

There’s no evidence yet of deer-to-human infection, but the Penn State University authors and Iowa wildlife officials are warning deer hunters and others who have contact with deer to take precautions. The veterinary microbiologists who led the study, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, said they were shocked to find such widespread infection in deer. Hunters in Iowa are being advised to wear masks and gloves and thoroughly cooking the meat, the risk of exposure can be minimized,” she wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register. “To date, there have been no cases of contracting COVID-19 from eating food, including hunted wild meat.”

“Our results suggest that deer have the potential to emerge as a major reservoir host” for the coronavirus, the study says. “If deer can transmit the virus to humans, it’s a game-changer,” Tony Goldberg, a University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinarian who studies the evolution of infectious diseases as they move between animals and people, told the Times.

The paper, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, has been posted online. The findings were verified on Tuesday by federal scientists at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, according to a spokesperson who spoke to the New York Times.

In the case of farmed mink, Denmark slaughtered its entire population of 17 million farmed mink after scientists discovered they could pass the virus back to people. The virus had also picked up mutations after infecting the mink. If this turns out to be true of deer in America, then all hell could break loose this hunting season.

Three Students

Posted on by Thor

For the Crealde’ Urban Sketching Class I teach we focus on daring people by using ourselves as models for one class. I kick things off by posing a few times myself first for 10 minutes and then 5 minutes at a time.

Then have each student pose for 5 minutes. This sketch was a demonstration to show how to use pencil, ink and watercolor to quickly block in forms.

We conducted the call outside so several students chose not to wear masks. I choose to wear a mask at all times. I also try to maintain 4 dead body lengths (about 22 feet) between myself and a student not wearing a mask.

One student posed as if she was walking a dog. In  this class I also gave a rundown on how to draw dogs as well as people. In the second half of the class we went to The Lake Baldwin dog park where there were plenty of models.

The challenge of course is that dogs never stand still. So my lessons on how to draw quadrupeds could help he students get something on the page even if the dogs were running around. An added benefit is that the dogs are always curious about someone drawing so they will come up to the artist hoping for some scratches and pets.

Only the center artist in this sketch wore her mask at all times. She has my deep respect for that choice. Other students are rather clueless, and I keep them on property and outside of the classroom for that reason. The numbers of people being admitted to hospitals for COVID-19 is falling slowly but if everyone is clueless and returns to pre-pandemic lifestyles, there will be another winter surge.

Russian Spike

Posted on by Thor

In Russia the COVID-19 spike in cases shows no sign of letting up. The daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in Russia remain at their highest numbers of the pandemic as of November 3, 2021 as more regions announced they were extending existing restrictions in an effort to tame the country’s  surge of infections.

Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 40,443 new confirmed cases from a day earlier. It was the fifth time in seven days that the country reported more than 40,000 infections. The task force also reported a daily record of 1,189 COVID-19 deaths. Some experts believe that those numbers a far under reported.

The United States is reporting over 76,000 daily cases with the downward trend now leveling off and going up again. On November 2, 2021 there were just over 1500 deaths in America. So if this were an arms race of COVID-19 cases and deaths, America is still winning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 2021. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days, if necessary. “One non-working week is not enough to break the chain of infection,” Tomsk governor Sergei Zhvachkin said. Many other regions are planning to extend the lockdown.

Russia has low vaccination rates, although the Sputnik V vaccine was the first in the world to be distributed. Put simply, Russian citizens do not trust the government since the vaccine did not undergo rigorous testing before it was offered to everyone. Russians also have lax public attitudes toward taking precautions. Less than 35% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans to avoid traveling to a new batch of countries, including Russia and Belgium, because of high levels of COVID-19. Russia had the third-highest number of coronaviruses cases in the world over the past 28 days – more than 917,300 cases, according to John Hopkins data.