What Virus?

Posted on by Thor

A pandemic becomes endemic largely when politicians no longer see any political gain from arguing about it and when the media gets tired of covering the carnage. Americans have become comfortable with about 1000 deaths a day.

Russia has 358,000 reported deaths due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. That is likely a vast underestimate of the true number since Russia wants to project strength as it goes to war.  When discussing Russian deaths due to the war, a Russin military commentator said, “It’s almost a state secret,” the commentator asked not to be quoted by name. “We don’t know exactly [how many people have died] … at the given moment, it’s better to discuss other questions.” On March 21, 2022, The Russian defense ministry data showed 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed in action. That is about 333 Russian deaths per day. On March 22, 2022 there were 472 death due to COVID-19 reported in Russia.

In Ukraine the reported deaths due to COVID-19 have literally dropped to zero since the invasion by Russia since there is no working health care system to track the numbers. The only deaths being reported are those who are being shot and blown apart by Russian bombs. Prior to the invasion, Ukraine reported 112,000 deaths due to COVID-19.

BA.2 is ripping through Europe and now makes up about 30%  of the cases in America. It is 30% more infectious than Omicron. That makes BA.2 as infectious as the measles. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.

Prior infection from Omicron has built up the immunity for those who were not vaccinated. It has inoculated many of the stupid and stubborn. About 75% of the American population has been previously infected or has been fully vaccinated. These people are about 85% protected against severe disease and hospitalization. The other 25% of Americans are highly vulnerable to the next wave coming in the following weeks. Anyone over 65 is is more vulnerable to hospitalization and possible death. Basically everyone will be exposed to BA.2 and 25% of Americans are vulnerable simply because they refused to get vaccinated. People will die needlessly based on a misguided choice. In Ukraine no one has a choice. The bombs are indiscriminate and can kill anyone at any time. Americans do not understand that level of uncertainty and many choose to ignore it.

Stealth

Posted on by Thor

Multiple countries in Europe are showing an increase in infections, fueling concerns about the possibility of another global surge. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy were among those that saw an upswing in cases this past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The European surge also comes alongside conflict in Ukraine after the Russian invasion, leading to rising concerns about a public health crisis in the region sparked by densely crowded shelters and forced travel across borders. The WHO said earlier this month that the conflict may cause a surge in infections, straining scarce resources and contributing to more suffering and death.

BA.2, known as the “stealth” omicron variant, is making up a growing number of cases in some countries, and some studies show that it may be up to 30% more transmissible than the original omicron variant. China just locked down 52.5 million people to try and stop the spread of BA.2 stealth omicron. On March 15, China issued city-wide lockdowns in place in Shenzhen, affecting 12.5 million people, Dongguan (10.5 million), and Langfang (5.5 million), and locked down the whole province of Jilin, affecting 24 million. That’s 52.5 million people.

Cases of BA.2 made up an estimated 11.6% percent of cases in the United States as of March 5, 2022 according to CDC data, up from 6.6% February 26, 2022. In the United States hospitalizations are on the decline but this country has always lead the world in the number of cases and deaths. Only 44.3% of the U.S. population has received a booster dose so this country is ripe for another surge.

Omicron which was supposed to be a “milder” variant has killed more people than the Delta variant. World wide the number of deaths from COVID-19 is over 6 million. A new study found that the actual number may be 3 times higher, up to 18 million dead.

Surface

Posted on by Thor

As hospitalizations decline across America, politicians are once again in a rush to declare victory and lift all safety measures. It seems there is always a knee jerk reaction to the changing landscape of the pandemic and a high degree of acceptance of easily avoidable death.

Is it too early to lift all safety measures? Only about 27% of the US population has received a coronavirus vaccine booster shot, according to CDC data. The moves to phase out state mask mandates conflict with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s guidance to continue wearing masks in areas with “high” or “substantial” Covid-19 transmission, which includes about 99% of U.S. counties.

States lifting mask mandates include, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. The percentages of people vaccinated in these states are…

  • 66.8% in Delaware and Illinois
  • 68.2% in Oregon
  • 69.6% in California
  • 73.5% in New Jersey
  • 74.8% in New York
  • 77% in Massachusetts
  • 77.2% in Connecticut
  • 79.7% in Rhode Island
  • 59%. in Nevada

That means on average, over 25% of the people in those states are unvaccinated and therefor highly vulnerable to possible hospitalization and death. There are well over 100,000 new cases of Omicron a day. So why are states declaring victory over COVID? There is a new variant on the rise named Stealth BA.2 which spreads even move effectively than Omicron. This variant may create a new wave and stall the drop in hospitalizations as it has in the United Kingdom. In the next two weeks we should see just how bad BA.2 will become. It would make more sense to jump into the freezing water moments before a rescue is on the horizon.

Of 5 to 11 years olds, only 23% are vaccinated and they will be the first to be thrown under the bus. Omicron is more severe in children than adults. 1 in 7 kids can develop long COVID. Children infected then bring the virus home to their parents and grand parents.  There is likely to be another surge in the summer just as there was in 2020 and 2021.

Chris Hayes put out a Tweet saying, ” A big part of American Exceptionalism is just generally tolerating a lot more death and illness and violence and shorter life spans than other peer countries.” Over 900,000 deaths means less in America than it does for other nations. Politicians are fine with justifying the deaths of children, saying the children are dying with COVID rather than from COVID. That is a morally warped semantic perspective that seems to imply that children are expendable. Since the advent of a vaccine to combat COVID over 200,000 unvaccinated Americans have died needlessly due to an aggressive anti science sentiment.

History is once again repeating itself, we have been to this rodeo multiple times during this pandemic. America is unsinkable. This too shall pass, but stay safe in the mean time folks.