I just got back from a 2 week road trip in California, Joshua Tree, Lake Tahoe, Lava Beds National Monument, the Salton Sea, East Jesus, and the Sequoia National Park were beautiful, not too packed, and the weather was a welcome break to Seattle's rain. A lot less people wear masks in California than in the Northwest states but they are good at social distancing, they also have fabulous outdoor dining set ups, and damn if everyone wasn't super friendly and nice. It's funny how certain talking heads try to spin things about states like New York and California. I guess you could call some of the caves I explored hellholes...

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It's the whole Anti-Vax, Anti-Facts, and Anti-Intellectual movement that's going on right now. Get on the bandwagon Levi!

The joke is on them. Trust me, we didn't need this vast conspiracy to convince most Americans to stay inside and sit on the couch. All we really needed was new movies going to straight to streaming.

California hasnt been too bad all year,masks in public and when shopping.I wear a mask when I go to the stores and when entering a restaurant but the most populated areas around here are 70 to 80% vaccinated.the lesser populated areas are closer to 30 %.Cali actually is fully open as of today but restaurants and businesses have options to call their own shots.The 49ers are actually going to play home games here and Its fairly normal but for people who prefer masks for a bit longer.GNR is coming and KISS and many others BYOB.

Here are just a few of the things I've learned from the pandemic, no order:

- Covid vaccines are a freaking modern miracle and we are extremely fortunate to have so many brilliant people working on them
- Covid vaccines work and are saving lives on a daily basis in our communities right now
- We were lucky this virus wasn't worse and that we were able to neutralize it with a vaccine this fast
- Some people will literally get sick and possibly die or get others sick bc they believe strongly in bad information
- Politics and medicine don't mix
- We need more investment in Public Health - medicine, epidemiology, pandemic response, first responders, communication, prevention, education, etc
- Science, when unmolested by politics, is not shy about being wrong and changing course when new information comes out
- We should make more things in our own country with American owned companies, maybe even if it costs more
- JIT manufacturing practices are awesome until they aren't
- Conspiracy theorists and purposeful purveyors of perfidious information have zero shame and don't care about the havoc they cause
- Many people have a difficult time identifying actual experts in a given field
- I never really thought about indoor air quality as much as I do now
- Media literacy and logic should be taught in every grade level K-12

Delta variant now 90-95%+ of new cases in the UK. We are in wave 3, only question is how severe it will be. Hopefully other countries stopped flights from India? Otherwise you will shortly have another wave. The UK didn't stop flights, and had > 40,000 people per month arriving from India, which is still the case amazingly AFAIK. So currently we're in a large experiment to see how effective the vaccines are, and how quickly we can complete the vaccination programme. Deaths not up, hospital admissions slightly up, cases increasing exponentially. For the latter, the maths will be whether daily case rate is 15,000 on 21st June.

When the next 'variant of interest' occurs, hopefully the UK will bother to close the borders, but I doubt it will, sadly. A 3rd jab is planned now, as you'd expect.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/people-hospitalized-covid-19-now-100140919.html

"People hospitalized with COVID-19 now have one overwhelming thing in common. They're not vaccinated.
In Minnesota, the HealthPartners system has seen a “precipitous decline” in COVID-19 hospitalizations, says Dr. Mark Sannes, an infectious disease physician and senior medical director for the system, which operates nine hospitals and more than 55 clinics. But now, nearly every admitted patient he does see is unvaccinated.

“Less than 1% of our hospitalized COVID patients are vaccinated," he said."

And seeing as the total currently hospitalized statewide is under 180…I’m gonna go with one vaccinated person tops in the HealthPartners hospital system.

Poor sap.

exactly

Nice rundown.

3-4 years ago I needed some gas shocks for the hatch on my pin hauler. O'relliy's prices were through the roof. I went googling and found an online sales source and much better prices. I was given a choice if I wanted to buy a pair for gas shocks locally(U.S.) made or imported. The local shocks were only $3.00 more---per pair--- so I went local. But these are machined parts with perhaps not much manual labor involved. Product that requires a lot of manual labor will be a tougher nut to crack.

I speak with my wallet all the time now.

Years ago I had a vehicle with a timing chain (or belt, can't remember now) that a guide wore down after less than 90,000 miles. Timing interval was 100k.

I contacted the company, they wouldn't even supply the parts with me footing labor. Parts were maybe $200. Labor around $2,000.

I told them I'd never buy another of their vehicles.
Too bad, because otherwise I really liked the product. It was manufactured in America, which was a plus as I was supporting our economy.

That's about a decade now that company has made zero from me or my family. I like to laugh that for $200 from them they would probably have made another $40,000 from me!

I ended up buying a Jeep GC. I'm very happy all around.

My county has almost reached herd immunity vaccine numbers for people 12 and older, in about 2 weeks we should be over 70% fully vaccinated! For people 50 and up, we are already at 77.2% fully vaccinated.

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They lower it to 45+ for 2nd dose tomorrow in Saskatchewan and my wife is going for her second shot. Looks like I'll have to wait till next week for my second stab. They're supposed to open up 2nd shots here to anyone 18+ by months end.

How are the daily case numbers for you guys? UK is up to 9,055 daily cases latest figure, so cases continue to increase exponentially again (delta variant). It's not over yet, even though a lot of folks seem to think it is.

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk

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Lucky you !

~50%

sad thing is you may be right

Got my 2nd moderna shot through work. A few days short of a 2 month interval between 1st & 2nd shot.

The second shot really packed a punch. (Headaches, chills, body ache)

Avatar updated as well

https://thewire.in/government/uttarakhand-govt-orders-fir-against-labs-for-fake-covid-tests-during-kumbh

Private Labs Carried Out Around 100k to 400k Fake COVID Tests in India's Uttarakhand in April, All Certified Negative, in Order to Meet Daily Target of 50k Tests. The True Extent of the ‘Scam’ is Yet to Be Known

Sounds like the poor employees at Wells Fargo pulling their their numbers from thin air.

UK daily cases today was 11,007 (they should split number by age <> 60 as that's the mortality divide). Exponential increase ongoing. On the plus side, vulnerable folks are vaccinated so deaths should remain low, but scary to see how the delta variant is spreading even in a well-vaccinated population. The UK doesn't close its borders, here is the result. By contrast e.g. Germany bans UK visitors, and of course we all know ANZ policies. Spot on and good for them. Other relatively 'welcoming' countries (US?) may see a third wave soon too IMO. Get ready!

I've locked myself and family down again until the cases decline. Work colleagues had a BBQ this evening, and as it was raining switched to indoor. Needless to say, I didn't attend, and will wait 2 weeks to see if they caught Covid. I've wiped 2021, just as I wiped 2020. Hopefully 2022 will be ok, though with our politicians who knows. When the next deadly variant emerges, will they close the borders and lockdown, or let it play out as now? IMO corporate-dominated politicians are ethically moribund. We are on our own, people.

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Looking like Lisbon is having fun with delta which is showing up in the data as well.

wow… good luck with this. Any talk of calling off the Euros? Some big games coming to London. Hard to believe the Spanish team was only vaccinated last Friday when one tested positive. These guys are paid millions by top clubs, yet couldn’t get vaccinated weeks before big soccer tournament of the summer? Venezuela in the Copa- sure, most of their players have covid. But Spain?
Thousands of fans traveling around Europe with limited vaccinations and variants on the rise- what could go wrong?

One thing this virus does is spread. Calm before the delta storm, just like how the UK had the Kent variant first which then spread elsewhere.

Obviously I hope I'm wrong.

And if countries have controlled their borders properly, unlike the UK, they may be ok. But lots of Europeans vacationing in Portugal...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-57523149

"A total of 75,953 [weekly] confirmed and probable cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant have now been identified in the UK, new figures show.

That's up by 33,630, or 79%, on the previous week, Public Health England (PHE) says.

The most recent data shows 99% of confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus across England are the Delta variant, PHE says."

Yep, nothing like external pressures.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-european-championship/story/4412850/euro-2020-uefa-could-strip-wembley-of-hosting-final-semis-over-uk-quarantine-rules-sources

Another vote for vaccination vs natural immunity if you still have a choice. Dr. Gottlieb swings right if you care about such things!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/06/17/new-covid-study-hints-at-long-term-loss-of-brain-tissue-dr-scott-gottlieb-warns.html

Yes, like how the IOC forced Japan to go ahead. Apparently the agreements put all the risk and cost on the host country, to ensure compliance.

I think they should not have happened. It was inevitable the Indian variant would reach Europe. I predict a third wave across Europe, although of course I hope 'only' the UK and Portugal have a third wave. But we've been here before. Twice. It is a different situation i.e. with a much lesser impact of cases hopefully, but I'm uncomfortable when I see exponential case rises happening again. And anyone who thinks it won't spread around the planet, again, is probably wrong. The question is- will we achieve herd immunity in time?

Yesterday, I went to Walmart. Most were not wearing masks. I guess I am supposed to assume they are all vaccinated; I don't; Too many cheaters in the country.

This morning I had an appointment at the VA Dole Regional Medical Center. EVERYONE was wearing a mask !. And wearing them properly, too. I fit right in with the crowd.

Pretty much all restrictions for businesses have been dropped in NY as of earlier this week.

https://apnews.com/article/ny-state-wire-shootings-coronavirus-pandemic-health-615754e0be23aa2ba34485216c09e29b

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/nyers-await-cuomo-update-on-restrictions-after-cdc-says-state-hit-70-vaccine-goal/3106907/

Except for:

Unvaccinated people are still responsible for continuing to wear masks, per the CDC. Existing COVID-19 protocol remains in place for pre-K-12 schools, public transit, shelters, large-scale indoor events venues, correctional facilities and healthcare settings in accordance with CDC guidelines, Cuomo noted. Those standards could be tweaked before long, too, if the CDC adjusts its guidance.

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Manatee County FL - On May 11 the county commission voted 6-1 to discontinue indoor Covid protocols for county gov employees to "stop ruling people's lives". Their guidance was 'letting people make their own choices' and not following CDC advice of masking for the unvaccinated. Elected officials rhetoric on the vote has aged pretty poorly. https://www.bradenton.com/article251336158.html

Fast forward to June 18 and they had to close an entire building down - an IT staff of 6 - 5 got Covid, 4 were hospitalized, 2 died (one at the hospital, one at home). The only IT staffer that didn't get sick was vaccinated. The other 5 not vaccinated and not elderly. I am afraid we are going to see more outbreaks and preventable tragedies like this as restrictions are lifted. Details:

https://www.bradenton.com/news/coronavirus/article252212853.html

“ About 99% of sequenced and genotyped cases across the U.K. are now the delta variant.”

806 people hospitalized with the delta variant, basically a doubling.

84 fully vaccinated, rest unvaccinated.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-18/delta-variant-cases-soar-in-u-k-with-more-people-hospitalized?sref=fjrBr5qu

Waiting in line for my second dose, watching some old lady play the sympathy card to butt to the front of the line. She won't budge at the door.

Fun bit is the crew members who tested positive were vaccinated.

Also new to me is that I didn’t realize a ship employed 1400 crew members. Cruise factoids always seem to be jaw dropping to me.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/royal-caribbean-delays-cruise-ship-after-8-crew-members-test-n1270979

Loads of support crew are needed on a cruise liner as it's a 24/7 operation.

Very interesting fact that approximately 10% of those admitted to hospital were fully vaccinated. I'm not sure if that would be lower in countries where Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are more prevalent? I think Astra Zeneca was the main vaccine used in the UK. I will be watching the UK situation closely. Please keep the updates coming. Thanks.

In my opinion, Israel is the country to watch to see if they are having breakthrough cases because they used Pfizer as a main vaccine. I could not find much presently about breakthrough cases in Israel.

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/effectiveness-covid-19-vaccines-findings-real-world-studies

here's a study that takes in countries data from Israel, England, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the US - a data sample obviously in the millions, 600m in fact that have had at least one Vax injection. Not completely peer reviewed, however indicates finding "greater than 80% reductions in rates of infection and hospitalisation, and these appeared unaffected by age"
So yes there is some risk even after being vaccinated, however accurate peer reviewed complete data is not yet finalised so these numbers may improve. Look at Israel for the answer and see the enormous decline in hospitalizations.

My wife got her second stab of Pfizer last week. Nothing besides a sore arm for a day. I go in the morning for my second stab. Hopefully same results

Pfizer was the main vaccine used, especially at the start of the rollout as it was the first approved, later on it has been Astrazeneca, due to the ease of storage. I don't have the split of usage.

10% hospitalised equates to 90% efficacy - far and above what the majority of similar vaccines can achieve.

Though the 10% hospitalised doesn't come close to telling the whole story.

Of the patients in my hospital only 20% of positive patients are currently actually in ICU, the other 80% are on wards, and there have been no fatalities of people fully vaccinated.

Does it? I mean far be it from me to question math, but that isn’t how you would derive efficacy.

The lunatics were out in force before the Foo Fighters show Monday night...

I have to admit the idea of Dave Grohl being tried in front of an international tribunal in a bulletproof box in Nuremberg for asking for vaccine proof is hilarious to me!

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This is interesting, although outdated from about a month ago. 13 deaths of fully vaccinated people in Canada. No breakdown by age group.

https://www.vancouverite.com/14000-covid-19-cases-in-vaccinated-canadians-121-deaths/

I have been trying to find some stats for the US and UK on deaths of individuals after being fully vaccinated and after the two week waiting period. If anyone has any links. Thanks.

Mmm...that's CRAZY talk. You mean what was being touted by by the company, scientist, virologists and FDA for its approval actually is true? This is absolutely shocking news!

Here's more food for thought about why people should be getting the Covid19 vaccination...

"COVID long-haulers are killing themselves as symptoms become too painful to bear — but support groups offer relief"
https://www.insider.com/long-term-covid-sufferers-are-killing-themselves-heres-why-2021-4

Dawson's Creek' Writer Heidi Ferrer Dies by Suicide After '13-Month Battle' With Long-Haul COVID
https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/heidi-ferrer-long-haul-covid-suicide

Heidi's Blog detailing her struggles
http://girltomom.com/covid-19/how-im-recovering-from-long-haul-covid

Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor's death last month highlighted COVID-19's impact on mental health.
https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-roadhouse-founder-ceo-kent-taylor-dead-65-louisville-kentucky-2021-3