NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

[Svnla]

With the public about to travel again, fees are coming back...get your wallet ready.


As the summer travel outlook improves, added fees are making a comeback (yahoo.com)

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[PingSpike]

I had my second pfizer dose on Wednesday morning. Nothing but sore arm until I went to bed, woke up with bad chills and couldn't get warm. Next day my whole body hurt, had a low grade fever and was totally exhausted. I basically napped with an electric blanket or sat in a chair almost falling asleep all day. Then in evening it let up (possibly triggered by taking tylenol) and I went to bed early. Today it was like it never even happened except my shoulder is still sore.

 

[Kaido]

Got my second Pfizer shot. First shot resulted in a 4 hour nap (I'm not a napper). Just dropped like a rock. Also, everything tasted like metal for nearly a week, even water. Nasty. Also the next day, it felt like Jason Bourne had shoved a full-sized pen into my arm. Hurt so much I couldn't lift it above my shoulder. Second shot resulted in 30 hours of hardcore flu. Fever, hot & cold cycles, whole-body aches, persistent headache, skin hurt, the works. Really awful. Then it just kind of magically vanished & I suddenly felt better. I had fatigue for a day or two. Honestly I was expecting worse, as I have a garbage immune system. I had a bad experience in the past with antibiotics, where I couldn't eat food for like ten years as a result, so I was definitely in the fast-tracked vaccine-hesitancy group (not anti-vax, just not a fan of new, rushed, untested-long-term stuff), just based on my personal historical experience with medicine that we didn't know the long-term effects of. But the daily death rates are horrible & the side-effects like kidney problems & covid long-haulers aren't terribly exciting either, so I decided to bite the bullet & go for it.

Unfortunately the vaccine doesn't let you skip out on covid testing, as you can still carry it, you're just immune to it. I have to get regular covid testing done, as I visit a lot of customer sites, so I think I have a permanent hole in my brain from being poked so many times. Q-tips are evil lol.

 

[Svnla]

It is really odd that some of you had that much reactions from the vaccine(s) while I had none, nada, zip. Not even a little bit but maybe a little stinger from the needle. Must be from my cuteness and adorable. The vaccine just melt away like butter. 😀

In other news, friends and business associates in Asia are saying things are not looking so great. New infections are going up, not as bad as in India but they are up, especially in those crowded cities so now the governments are shutting things down, again.

Malaysia reports more than 4,400 new COVID-19 cases; some festive bazaars permitted to continue

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported a spike of more than 4,400 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (May 7), on the first day of a renewed lockdown in several areas including the capital Kuala

www.channelnewsasia.com

Japan extends COVID-19 emergency as Olympics approach

TOKYO: A COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan was extended on Friday (May 7), less than three months before the Olympics, with restrictions also imposed in two more regions as infections surge.The emergency measures, less strict than blanket lockdowns in other countries, had

www.channelnewsasia.com

Philippines tightens controls on inbound travellers over COVID-19 variants

MANILA: Travellers entering the Philippines will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine, up from a week previously, as authorities try to contain more infectious coronavirus variants, the presidential spokesman said on Friday (May 7).The new controls will apply regardless of whether a...

www.channelnewsasia.com

With this rate, my trip will be cancel again. <sad panda>

 

[Kaido]

Latest study estimates that more than 900,000 Americans have died of the 'rona. As we're just shy of 329 million people in this country, that's a statistically huge amount:

New Study Estimates More Than 900,000 People Have Died Of COVID-19 In U.S.

The total, estimated by researchers at the University of Washington, is 57% higher than the official death toll. Worldwide, they said, COVID-19 deaths are nearing 7 million, twice the official total.

www.npr.org

I am incredibly grateful to have gotten my vaccine shots. I was hesitant about it, but I look at places like Brazil, where they're getting hit really hard, and that they only have vaccines that are like 50% effective, and just feel super super grateful that we have stuff like Pfizer available.

 

[Kaido]

It is really odd that some of you had that much reactions from the vaccine(s) while I had none, nada, zip. Not even a little bit but maybe a little stinger from the needle. Must be from my cuteness and adorable. The vaccine just melt away like butter. 😀

In other news, friends and business associates in Asia are saying things are not looking so great. New infections are going up, not as bad as in India but they are up, especially in those crowded cities so now the governments are shutting down, again.

With this rate, my trip will be cancel again. <sad panda>

The odd thing was how small the needle was & how quick it was! For Pfizer, at least. They were done in like a second without even a big pinch lol.

It is super weird how people have vastly different reactions. My wife had the exactly same reactions that I had for both shots, except that her heavy flu symptoms lasted for nearly 4 days. Like the worst flu she's ever been through, could hardly get out of bed, plus a massive headache, just totally wrecked. Better now but just tired. Crazy stuff! As much as I was hesitant about it, I'm shocked at how many people flat-out refuse to take it. Probably at least 50% of the people I know or have talked to are planning on not getting the vaccine. I totally 100% understand, but dunno if we'll be able to achieve herd immunity if the anti-vax numbers are that high nationwide. I strongly suspect we're going to be wearing masks until Christmas 2021, at the very least...

 

[Svnla]

The odd thing was how small the needle was & how quick it was! For Pfizer, at least. They were done in like a second without even a big pinch lol.

It is super weird how people have vastly different reactions. My wife had the exactly same reactions that I had for both shots, except that her heavy flu symptoms lasted for nearly 4 days. Like the worst flu she's ever been through, could hardly get out of bed, plus a massive headache, just totally wrecked. Better now but just tired. Crazy stuff! As much as I was hesitant about it, I'm shocked at how many people flat-out refuse to take it. Probably at least 50% of the people I know or have talked to are planning on not getting the vaccine. I totally 100% understand, but dunno if we'll be able to achieve herd immunity if the anti-vax numbers are that high nationwide. I strongly suspect we're going to be wearing masks until Christmas 2021, at the very least...

I did get the two shots from Pfizer and you are right, they were so quick to complete, much faster than the yearly flu shot.

A lot of people in US are turning down the vaccines because the numbers of shots completed went down while million and million of people around the world are still waiting for their turns, if their governments could provide the vaccines for them..

 

[Kaido]

I did get the two shots from Pfizer and you are right, they were so quick to complete, much faster than the yearly flu shot.

A lot of people in US are turning down the vaccines because the numbers of shots completed went down while million and million of people around the world are still waiting for their turns, if their governments could provide the vaccines for them..

Google says we're at 109 million fully vaccinated in the U.S., which is fantastic given that we have about 329 million people & we're only in May, as that's roughly 1/3 of the population!

 

[Svnla]

As I said previously, other countries in Asia are in trouble with the new variant of the virus, another wave.

Beyond India, a growing number of Asian countries are engulfed by fresh coronavirus waves - CNN

Vietnam's Covid-19 community transmission tally rises by 15 - VnExpress International


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[destrekor]

Or idk... Maybe wait till they actually run some studies to confirm this speculation? We have real proof that the vaccines are generally fine at their tested doses, and without any evidence to support mix and match.

A big problem to date for data gathering has been a rush to just throw shit at the wall in a totally arbitrary manner, so we're left with literal garbage data.

I don't see why the adenovirus shot mixed with an mRNA shot would be inherently advantageous. They are both shots that tell your cells how to make similar versions of the spike protein, which your body then creates antibodies against. The big difference between them is just the mode of delivery and type of genetic material carried. And the antibody creation process isn't just producing a single antibody - your immune system creates a variety of reactive antibodies - a big reason why single mutants don't render immunity useless.

I could see one possible benefit, in that while all the Covid-19 vaccines are providing instructions to produce a Spike protein, the Spike proteins are different enough that they are providing ever-so-slightly different immune rates to the variants.

But I agree in stressing that this is just wild conjecture that needs verified by researchers.

 

[Spacehead]

It is really odd that some of you had that much reactions from the vaccine(s) while I had none, nada, zip. Not even a little bit but maybe a little stinger from the needle. Must be from my cuteness and adorable. The vaccine just melt away like butter. 😀

Yeah, i had nearly zero reaction to the Pfizer vaccine & most people i know didn't have too bad of reactions to it. The guys at work that got Moderna were a different story though. Two of them had worse reaction to the 1st dose than the 2nd but some of them also worked themselves up into believing it was going to be bad before the shot.

 

[Svnla]

Yeah, i had nearly zero reaction to the Pfizer vaccine & most people i know didn't have too bad of reactions to it. The guys at work that got Moderna were a different story though. Two of them had worse reaction to the 1st dose than the 2nd but some of them also worked themselves up into believing it was going to be bad before the shot.

Myself and all of my immediately family members had zero issue with the vaccine shots. Most of my co workers and upper management staff did not have any complain either. We are told to be back in the office slowly but TBA later.

Now let see how the rest of the world is doing. Up and down and up and down like wack a mole.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I am incredibly grateful to have gotten my vaccine shots. I was hesitant about it, but I look at places like Brazil, where they're getting hit really hard, and that they only have vaccines that are like 50% effective, and just feel super super grateful that we have stuff like Pfizer available.

Same here. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And if the US does have another wave, I can't imagine getting the vaccine will be as easy it is right now if/when there is a mob trying to get ahead of it as us vaxxed people continue on with our normal lives. People are definitely taking for granted what we've got here right now.

 

[Zorba]

Latest study estimates that more than 900,000 Americans have died of the 'rona. As we're just shy of 329 million people in this country, that's a statistically huge amount:

New Study Estimates More Than 900,000 People Have Died Of COVID-19 In U.S.

The total, estimated by researchers at the University of Washington, is 57% higher than the official death toll. Worldwide, they said, COVID-19 deaths are nearing 7 million, twice the official total.

www.npr.org

I am incredibly grateful to have gotten my vaccine shots. I was hesitant about it, but I look at places like Brazil, where they're getting hit really hard, and that they only have vaccines that are like 50% effective, and just feel super super grateful that we have stuff like Pfizer available.

View attachment 44112

I have a new manager from Bangladesh, and he was talking about how he was always very confident about getting the vaccines soon because "This is America, and this is what America does." Made me want to stand up, salute a flag, and start singing Proud to be an American.

For all the things we do wrong, we do innovation right, that's for sure.

 

[Zorba]

The odd thing was how small the needle was & how quick it was! For Pfizer, at least. They were done in like a second without even a big pinch lol.

It is super weird how people have vastly different reactions. My wife had the exactly same reactions that I had for both shots, except that her heavy flu symptoms lasted for nearly 4 days. Like the worst flu she's ever been through, could hardly get out of bed, plus a massive headache, just totally wrecked. Better now but just tired. Crazy stuff! As much as I was hesitant about it, I'm shocked at how many people flat-out refuse to take it. Probably at least 50% of the people I know or have talked to are planning on not getting the vaccine. I totally 100% understand, but dunno if we'll be able to achieve herd immunity if the anti-vax numbers are that high nationwide. I strongly suspect we're going to be wearing masks until Christmas 2021, at the very least...

CDC needs to come out with some clear guidance, that relates vaccination rate with easing of restrictions. I think a lot of the dumbies don't understand the connection, and may have said that is what would motivate them.

 

[Muse]

Same here. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And if the US does have another wave, I can't imagine getting the vaccine will be as easy it is right now if/when there is a mob trying to get ahead of it as us vaxxed people continue on with our normal lives. People are definitely taking for granted what we've got here right now.

If they only knew how lucky they are they would all flock to get the shots. It's a shame, the hesitants. Just too bad. Many will come around eventually.

 

[Muse]

I have a new manager from Bangladesh, and he was talking about how he was always very confident about getting the vaccines soon because "This is America, and this is what America does." Made me want to stand up, salute a flag, and start singing Proud to be an American.

For all the things we do wrong, we do innovation right, that's for sure.

Too bad so many of us don't know this.

 

[Muse]

CDC needs to come out with some clear guidance, that relates vaccination rate with easing of restrictions. I think a lot of the dumbies don't understand the connection, and may have said that is what would motivate them.

This is really important. So many people just think in terms of personal risk. Even then, the risk from the vaccines is miniscule compared to the risk of consequences of covid-19 infection. The sense that getting vaccinated contributes to everyone's well being going forward doesn't register for a lot of people, it smacks of altruism and many people are turned off by the notion of altruism. That's a sad state of affairs.

 

[Kaido]

I have a new manager from Bangladesh, and he was talking about how he was always very confident about getting the vaccines soon because "This is America, and this is what America does." Made me want to stand up, salute a flag, and start singing Proud to be an American.

For all the things we do wrong, we do innovation right, that's for sure.

We are a goofy mess sometimes, but I do love the patriotism & general "'Merica!" vibe we have going on because you can go anywhere in the country & it's a pretty universal uniting feeling. I really loved the movie "Independence Day" with Will Smith because it had the same energy. I could be wrong, but I don't really know of any other country out there that's quite like ours, as far as what unites us & as far as pulling together collectively. Religion, politics, and race will always be struggles, but by golly we are innovators!

 

[jpiniero]

For all the things we do wrong, we do innovation right, that's for sure.

Innovation isn't the word you are looking for. Logistics maybe. Moderna was developed here but the others weren't.

 

[Muse]

Innovation isn't the word you are looking for. Logistics maybe. Moderna was developed here but the others weren't.

Yeah, nobody's got a monopoly on innovation! "Necessity is the mother of invention." BTW, happy Mother's Day! 😛 Meet the father (yours truly)!😎

 

[manly]

Google says we're at 109 million fully vaccinated in the U.S., which is fantastic given that we have about 329 million people & we're only in May, as that's roughly 1/3 of the population!

View attachment 44113

It is fantastic, but the trendline is discouraging. Unless you figure out some way to crack vaccine hesitancy (ignoring the outright refuseniks), experts now believe it is unlikely we will reach "herd immunity" this year. Maybe that'll be OK, we could possibly be into the 60s % vaccinated, with significant natural immunity as well. If I had to guess, the pandemic isn't ending for the U.S. this summer, and there will be a manageable bump of infections in the late fall.

 

[pmv]

Yeah, i had nearly zero reaction to the Pfizer vaccine & most people i know didn't have too bad of reactions to it. The guys at work that got Moderna were a different story though. Two of them had worse reaction to the 1st dose than the 2nd but some of them also worked themselves up into believing it was going to be bad before the shot.

I had nil reaction to Astrazenica.

(Other than a mild feeling of disappointment at the thought I was getting the old-school vaccine rather than a high-tech mRNA one, i.e. one that was sufficiently science-nerd-friendly to merit it's own xkcd cartoon. Felt like getting the Nokia 5110 of vacines, while others are getting iPhone 12 jabs.)



I do find it curious in the extreme how there's such a huge variation in reactions to these things, though. In particular, while the incidence of nasty blood-clots with AZ is too low to worry about (1 in a million or less, is it?) the very fact that so few people are affected is in itself thought-provoking for me.

It just shows how extremely variable humans are in their physical make-up, whether for genetic or experiential reasons.

And yet so much of medicine is based on ideas of 'the average human' and the assumption that we all respond to things the same way. I'm not making an anti-vaxx point (playing the odds suggests you are safer getting the vaccine than risking COVID, which also seems to affect people with very varying-degrees of severity). But it does sometimes seem to me that medicine underplays the degree of variation within the human species.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Looks like there's been some updates to the vaccination schedule and my age group (30 and older) will be able to get the vaccine starting May 17 so that's great to hear.

 

[manly]

I had nil reaction to Astrazenica.

(Other than a mild feeling of disappointment at the thought I was getting the old-school vaccine rather than a high-tech mRNA one, i.e. one that was sufficiently science-nerd-friendly to merit it's own xkcd cartoon. Felt like getting the Nokia 5110 of vacines, while others are getting iPhone 12 jabs.)

The AZ and J&J vaccines use DNA techniques, so I wouldn't call them old-school vaccines.