NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

Page 536 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,348
3,426
126
The path to vaccination in SE MI seems a bit disorganized from the state and institution level so I'm curious what others here have experienced. Two things around the process stood out to me.

First - the reliance on employers to report on who should get a vaccination - at least in education. Those employers are only given very general and very vague guidelines on determining priority. Some employers are choosing to make that determination on their own, often with little insight into how the decisions are made while others are asking employees fill out surveys asking if they are over 65, have any major risk factors etc. Those surveys often pass on that vagueness to employees. I know one person at a large institution who got a survey from her employer that asked "Are you an essential employee?". She asked her boss who asked their boss and neither knew the answer as they had no further direction given to them (She largely monitors a data center which is mostly remote work for her role. That said she is required to come to the "office" when necessary and even had an official letter to avoid the enforced lockdowns in March. But that "office" is also a large, well ventilated data center with, at most, 2 other masked people in it.)

Second - rules and processes differ by the vaccination locations. One location allows a certain number of people to wait around at certain times in case the vials have more doses than officially promised. This is not widely advertised (perhaps by design as they can't do this for a lot of people and don't know how many additional doses they can give?). Another place allows people to schedule vaccination shots online themselves, bypassing the employer process. That said, while I was chatting with a few med techs last night, I found out that has been a 3 week long 'bug' in their scheduling system and you aren't supposed to be able to do that and they are working to remove that functionality. Which has now been around long enough that it has made it's way into 'official' process documentation. It's how my wife got her shot scheduled - she was was sent a PDF by her employer with a link to a how-to video someone made explaining the process using this self schedule ability. And these two vaccination locations are some of the largest hospital systems in the state...

I will say the process for administering the vaccination was a well oiled machine. So that is a plus
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,972
7,889
136
Right now it's looking like the UK is doing even worse than Trump's US when it comes to COVID deaths-per-capita. It looks as if we'll overtake Belgium within a month, on that metric, to end up topping the global table.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
45,889
32,673
136
US buying more vaccine form Pfizer and Moderna.


This would exceed US demand since we can't vaccinate under 16 yet until those trials are done. Even more so if the JNJ vaccine pans out. Presumably the US will send excess to our neighbors if supply starts backing up, think more likely with this admin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zorba

Spacehead

Lifer
Jun 2, 2002
13,201
10,063
136
UK variant spreading in SE MI thanks to someone in Michigan who traveled there and brought it back
I assume eventually we'll all have to deal with it to some extent.

Fortunately I am posting this from the waiting room after getting my first Pfizer vaccine shot
Fayto6t.gif


The path to vaccination in SE MI seems a bit disorganized from the state and institution level so I'm curious what others here have experienced. Two things around the process stood out to me.

First - the reliance on employers to report on who should get a vaccination - at least in education. Those employers are only given very general and very vague guidelines on determining priority. Some employers are choosing to make that determination on their own, often with little insight into how the decisions are made while others are asking employees fill out surveys asking if they are over 65, have any major risk factors etc. Those surveys often pass on that vagueness to employees. I know one person at a large institution who got a survey from her employer that asked "Are you an essential employee?". She asked her boss who asked their boss and neither knew the answer as they had no further direction given to them (She largely monitors a data center which is mostly remote work for her role. That said she is required to come to the "office" when necessary and even had an official letter to avoid the enforced lockdowns in March. But that "office" is also a large, well ventilated data center with, at most, 2 other masked people in it.)
Are employer has nothing to do with it. Not sure if it's that way everywhere in PA or not. They posted a letter saying manufacturing is considered essential & was included in whichever level were in now.
Actually, it looks like everyone in the county is allowed to sign up, it's just a matter of sorting out who goes before who i guess. One of the options is selecting your occupation. Maybe they're trying to get a read on how many are interested in getting the vaccine.
 

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
10,907
2,058
126
Right now it's looking like the UK is doing even worse than Trump's US when it comes to COVID deaths-per-capita. It looks as if we'll overtake Belgium within a month, on that metric, to end up topping the global table.
Did the UK run out of ICU beds in the worst-hit areas? That was widely reported in Southern California and other places in the U.S., and explains the higher mortality in recent weeks.

Keep in mind you're referring to official numbers. I can almost guarantee Mexico has had the worst per-capita outcomes of populous countries and most likely Brazil is right up there as well. But they are also much poorer countries than UK/US/etc. so that isn't surprising.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,972
7,889
136
Did the UK run out of ICU beds in the worst-hit areas? That was widely reported in Southern California and other places in the U.S., and explains the higher mortality in recent weeks.

Keep in mind you're referring to official numbers. I can almost guarantee Mexico has had the worst per-capita outcomes of populous countries and most likely Brazil is right up there as well. But they are also much poorer countries than UK/US/etc. so that isn't surprising.

I constantly hear of an extreme pressure on ICU capacity, but haven't seen anything about it actually running out. I'm thinking the death rate is due partly to this government's instincts always being to open things up as much as possible so as to keep the rents and profits flowing (that ludicrous scheme for subsidising upmarket restaurant meals - i.e. the kind that Tory MPs eat - so as to encourage people to eat out, being the most absurd example), partly because of their decades of under-investment in the NHS, and partly due to Brits just being not the most healthy of peoples, in terms of things like obesity rates. Perhaps the new coroniavirus strain is part of it also.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,195
12,025
126
www.anyf.ca
Lol this is brilliant. Shows how ridiculous all the exceptions are though. Either don't do a lock down, or do a full lock down. This half measures stuff does not work and only screws over small business.

 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: Zorba and pmv

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
Saw on the news earlier today, rich countries are acquiring over 60% of available vaccines, most of Africa countries and some in Asia won't have any vaccines until 2023 at the earliest.

Being poor = sucky indeed.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Ajay

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
Saw on the news earlier today, rich countries are acquiring over 60% of available vaccines, most of Africa countries and some in Asia won't have any vaccines until 2023 at the earliest.

Being poor = sucky indeed.
Right now, we're just trying to manufacture, distribute, and measure success. There are going to be more vaccines in the game soon and perhaps, some that aren't marketed here due to FDA approval will be available elsewhere (assuming it's effective).
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
No travel to outside the US for a while.


.
 

Ajay

Lifer
Jan 8, 2001
15,332
7,792
136
I think our summer vacation this year will be staying at a VRBO in northern NH or on the coast of Maine; hiking, vegging and making our own meals.. Was going to be D.C. this year - oh well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Captante

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,972
7,889
136
Resumed watching The Walking Dead on Amazon (despite having gotten weary of it in season 8). Interesing to notice in this shot that they at least got one thing right about pandemic behaviour.

1611833534596.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ajay

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,665
14,929
126
Saw on the news earlier today, rich countries are acquiring over 60% of available vaccines, most of Africa countries and some in Asia won't have any vaccines until 2023 at the earliest.

Being poor = sucky indeed.


COVAX was setup for that purpose. Canada has committed to donating unused supply. AstraZeneca is also affordable, just need to wait for production rampup
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
45,889
32,673
136
Well husband's 91yo grandfather got it from his GF. Fortunately we were able to direct them to a hospital with antibody therapy and think we caught it in time.
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
Latest news, business associates in Vietnam (one of the country that was able to handle the virus well so far) just told me that they have 98 new cases with the new strain. New record in a single day. They have the virus from a friend that was in Japan and she got from UK variant (70% more infectious).

And with the Lunar New Year coming up within a week or two with million and million of people celebrating by getting together, this is not looking good.

Vietnam's single day community transmission tally jumps to record high - VnExpress International

Peru is locking down because of the second wave.

Peru orders lockdowns amid crippling second Covid-19 wave - CNN

Hunker down folks. This damn virus will be around for a long while.
 
Last edited:

Ajay

Lifer
Jan 8, 2001
15,332
7,792
136
I'm surprised that scientists identified variant P.1 as being present in Brazil in December of 2020. Does Brazil actually do any surveillance testing? Do they freeze some swabs for later analysis? I mean, we are talking about Brazil! I just wonder if it was present b/4 December. The apparent explosive spread in an area where 75% of the population had already been infected is troubling and suggest that it could take years to eliminate COVID-19 (or, that it might become like influenza).

Original article: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsa...re-very-worried-about-the-variant-from-brazil
 
  • Like
Reactions: Captante