TX's Abbot and FL's DeSantis fan the flames of the pandemic

[MtnMan]

Meanwhile, back in the land of 'Duh .....


U.S. News // 12 hours ago
Florida withholds funds from school districts with mask mandates
Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The Florida Department of Education has announced it is withholding funds to two school districts that have mandated masks in violation of a controversial executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida withholds funds from school districts with mask mandates - UPI.com

The Florida Department of Education has announced it is withholding funds to two school districts that have mandated masks in violation of a controversial executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

www.upi.com

...

While that fucking douche bag is shown wearing a mask in the photo attached to the article.

He really has a "hole problem"... he's dug himself a hole, and he just won't stop digging. He is seeking the White House on the dead children of Florida.

 

[eelw]

Was waiting for proof they were manipulating the daily numbers. But could the numbers after CDC fully vaxxed recommendation back in May be also fudged? Like find it hard to believe no spike shortly after everyone stopped wearing masks in FL and tx

 

[esquared]

They've done that since the beginning, they're remarkably consistent.

But look at that last graph. You can see that the deaths with the previous
two surges. The slope after the two peaks show the gradual decline.
The slopes after this 3rd peak (assuming they have even hit the peak), shows a complete vertical drop.

Florida COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

Florida COVID-19 Coronavirus update by county with statistics and graphs: total and new cases, deaths per day, current active cases, recoveries, historical data, trends, projections, and timeline.

www.worldometers.info

 

[kitkat22]

Where at?

Eastern WA. We sit right across the border from Couer d'Lane and they are struggling.

 

[MrPickins]

Was waiting for proof they were manipulating the daily numbers. But could the numbers after CDC fully vaxxed recommendation back in May be also fudged? Like find it hard to believe no spike shortly after everyone stopped wearing masks in FL and tx

I can't speak for FL or the rest of TX, but in Austin, I still saw a lot of people with masks on in the early summer. It dwindled down over the end of June, and by July 4th it really bottomed out.


Right after that, the wave hit: https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/39e4f8d4acb0433baae6d15a931fa984

 

[ElFenix]

I can't speak for FL or the rest of TX, but in Austin, I still saw a lot of people with masks on in the early summer. It dwindled down over the end of June, and by July 4th it really bottomed out.


Right after that, the wave hit: https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/39e4f8d4acb0433baae6d15a931fa984

this has been my experience in houston. masking remained pretty high even after the mandate went away in march. most stores kept their own mandates, but gradually those went away.

 

[manly]

Was waiting for proof they were manipulating the daily numbers. But could the numbers after CDC fully vaxxed recommendation back in May be also fudged? Like find it hard to believe no spike shortly after everyone stopped wearing masks in FL and tx

This summer surge is directly tied to the delta variant. It's a bit amazing, but we had a springtime lull in cases that felt too good to be true at the time. Meanwhile, India was on fire and COVID was powering up in many parts of the world. It was a bit surreal to live in the U.S. because the common person began to believe the pandemic was over for us. That by scaling vaccinations through May, we had beaten the virus.

Fast forward weeks and months later, and it all made a lot more sense. India was on fire due to delta, and other fires started when delta began spreading through unvaccinated populations. I can't speak to fudged numbers or anything like that, but once delta started outcompeting other variants in the U.S., the writing was on the wall. Because although we successfully scaled vaccine production, we weren't able to maintain demand. In reality, we had a very narrow window to achieve herd immunity. And for bullshit tribal politics reasons, the real world probability of that happening this year was basically impossible. Maybe we'll ultimately get there in 2022, but clearly that'll require a combination of vaccination immunity and significant natural infection immunity. One thing we really shouldn't forget is that the COVID pandemic has produced a lot of twists and turns, and I'm certainly not good enough to predict an end game in 2022.

Speaking of Florida, I actually was very curious how they avoided catastrophe through early 2021. They had a fair share of infections, but considering they had opened up months before other populous states did and never closed for the winter, it was actually surprising how well they did. Remember earlier this year, all the headlines were about the Florida governor spiking the football and proclaiming how well his state had done during the pandemic. And how their economy was booming. We still don't know exactly how they got off relatively lightly; but in reality, all they did was defer a bunch of cases from last year to this year.

 

[uclaLabrat]

This summer surge is directly tied to the delta variant. It's a bit amazing, but we had a springtime lull in cases that felt too good to be true at the time. Meanwhile, India was on fire and COVID was powering up in many parts of the world. It was a bit surreal to live in the U.S. because the common person began to believe the pandemic was over for us. That by scaling vaccinations through May, we had beaten the virus.

Fast forward weeks and months later, and it all made a lot more sense. India was on fire due to delta, and other fires started when delta began spreading through unvaccinated populations. I can't speak to fudged numbers or anything like that, but once delta started outcompeting other variants in the U.S., the writing was on the wall. Because although we successfully scaled vaccine production, we weren't able to maintain demand. In reality, we had a very narrow window to achieve herd immunity. And for bullshit tribal politics reasons, the real world probability of that happening this year was basically impossible. Maybe we'll ultimately get there in 2022, but clearly that'll require a combination of vaccination immunity and significant natural infection immunity. One thing we really shouldn't forget is that the COVID pandemic has produced a lot of twists and turns, and I'm certainly not good enough to predict an end game in 2022.

Speaking of Florida, I actually was very curious how they avoided catastrophe through early 2021. They had a fair share of infections, but considering they had opened up months before other populous states did and never closed for the winter, it was actually surprising how well they did. Remember earlier this year, all the headlines were about the Florida governor spiking the football and proclaiming how well his state had done during the pandemic. And how their economy was booming. We still don't know exactly how they got off relatively lightly; but in reality, all they did was defer a bunch of cases from last year to this year.

I'd argue it was possibly a function of timing and the fact that behavioral patterns in the south (and probably florida especially) are the opposite of the rest of the country. Possible that people spend more time outside during winter months relative to summer when the heat is oppressive, as opposed to winter in the north?

Winter spikes still happen due to the holidays maybe?

 

[NWRMidnight]

Eastern WA. We sit right across the border from Couer d'Lane and they are struggling.

Yes they are! Spokane Valley here. My brother is at deconness I'm Spokane.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Looks like FL hospitalizations are finally going down.

"Florida hospitals reported 15,778 patients, equal to 27.5% of all patients in those hospitals. That’s a 386-person drop in COVID patients from Saturday and 1,386 down from Wednesday’s report, the last day hospitalizations increased."

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Looks like FL hospitalizations are finally going down.

Read up a few posts. More possible they're fudging the numbers somehow.

 

[vi edit]

I trust nothing out of Florida. They've already been busted manipulating how they track deaths. I have no doubt they are fudging other things. The only thing they really won't be able to hide is in another year or so the number of deaths in the last year vs historical norms.

 

[VRAMdemon]

Another one bites the dust..
QAnon conspiracist dies from COVID-19 he called a hoax to the very end

QAnon conspiracist dies from COVID-19 he called a hoax to the very end

A right-wing conspiracy theorist died after becoming infected with the coronavirus, which he continued to deny was real.Robert David Steele died at age 69, according to anti-vaccine "wellness" guru Mark Tassi, who suggested the U.S. Marine Corps and CIA veteran was killed by medical...

www.rawstory.com

Tassi, who suggested the U.S. Marine Corps and CIA veteran was killed by medical professionals at the hospital.

"They're trying to make [Gov. Ron] DeSantis look bad," Tassi said in an Instagram video. "Why? Because DeSantis is not going along with the agenda."

Steele, a frequent Alex Jones guest who claimed NASA operates a child slave colony on Mars, denied his diagnosis in an update posted two weeks ago..

Robert David Steele died at age 69, according to anti-vaccine "wellness" guru Mark "The good news is that I will survive with a few days off," Steele added. "I should be back up and at least functional soon. This is been a near death experience, very much like a new death experience the whole country is going through right now. We will never be the same because now we know that we've all been lied to about everything. But, now we also know that we can trust each other. I'm alive today because I had a network that put me into a good hospital in Florida."

Steele gained a following among QAnon conspiracy theorists, many of whom posted on social media their belief that he was murdered, and he told reporters from Vice that he was the first to call the coronavirus a hoax.

"When we interviewed him for the @vice show QAnon: the search for Q he refused to wear a mask and claimed he was the first person to call covid a hoax," tweeted journalist Jack Bryan. "So folks wear a mask and get vaccinated, crazy won't protect you. "
"And for clarification, Robert David Steele led the charge on anti vaccine/covid denialism," Bryan added "and I believe he is therefore likely responsible for more American deaths than say Osama Bin Laden, so no I'm not saying this is sad news."

This exactly the people like DeSantis and the like are targeting and coddling to. These type of people don't care if they live or die. In a sane world of people, banning school mask mandates or other helpful health measures will disproportionately hurt Republicans. So why do it?

Because the inmates are running the asylum. This is not cold, calculating political savvy. It’s an attempt to stay on the right side of the crazy cultish mob they’ve incited. They define themselves as hating and opposing democrats. If democrats are for it, they’re against it even if it hurts themselves more than anyone else. It’s really that simple. They’re not going to do whatever the responsible adult/expert in the room tells them to. They’re all just trying to ride this wave to personal power and enrichment.

They thought that some residual instinct of rational self-preservation would kick in once the vaccines became widely available and dropping case and death numbers confirmed that the vaccines worked. They didn’t realize how many of their constituents were in full-on " I'm not going to do anything this government tells me to do" temper tantrum mode. And now they can’t try to lead their constituents toward any modicum of rational self-preservation because their party is having its GOP perpetual crazy competition. If you try to stand up for anything that the most toxically deranged of your supporters are opposed to, you’ll get Cheneyed. Don’t assume that Republicans are attempting to win free and fair elections in the future either - or that they’re trying to compete in the marketplace of ideas; they are not. They are trying to get power - that is it and nothing more. They’re done trying to court “other” voters; they will stick with "their kind", who will not so much put them over the top in elections, but validate their power grabs.

 

[HomerJS]

I trust nothing out of Florida. They've already been busted manipulating how they track deaths. I have no doubt they are fudging other things. The only thing they really won't be able to hide is in another year or so the number of deaths in the last year vs historical norms.

Why haven't we heard from the chief health officials of Florida and Texas? Why hasn't the press demanded they give interviews.

PS - Wow just answered my own question. Just broke a few days ago. Hopefully this guy will talk once out of office.
Scott Rivkees, Florida surgeon general under Ron DeSantis, to step down (tallahassee.com)

 

[hal2kilo]

Eastern WA. We sit right across the border from Couer d'Lane and they are struggling.

Almost like we live in 2 different states.

 

[kitkat22]

Almost like we live in 2 different states.

We mirror Idaho a lot. For better or worse. We happen to be the regional medical hub for the Inland NW. It is not unusual for us to see patients from Montana, Idaho or Oregon.

We are seeing a lot of spill over from the outer regions and unlike Western WA, we have less vaccinated and less hospitals.

 

[hal2kilo]

We mirror Idaho a lot. For better or worse. We happen to be the regional medical hub for the Inland NW. It is not unusual for us to see patients from Montana, Idaho or Oregon.

We are seeing a lot of spill over from the outer regions and unlike Western WA, we have less vaccinated and less hospitals.

I used to have some dear friends (woman I went to HS with) that lived in Spokane and used to visit them, so I'm familiar with the 'lay of the land" out there. Sucks getting old, people start peeling away (dead) little by little.

 

[vi edit]

Oregon is similar. Southern/Eastern OR are being eviscerated right now. In the face of all this, Gov has a state mandate for masking in schools. OR school board in a county that shares a border with Idaho just fired their superintendent for following the governor's mandate. Portland is mostly fine. We just are stuck with everyone else's sick that they can't handle.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I trust nothing out of Florida. They've already been busted manipulating how they track deaths. I have no doubt they are fudging other things. The only thing they really won't be able to hide is in another year or so the number of deaths in the last year vs historical norms.

Watch we stop hearing the drumbeat of immigration next year, as they'll be leveraging it to make up the difference in corpses they've left in the dirt.

 

[hal2kilo]

Watch we stop hearing the drumbeat of immigration next year, as they'll be leveraging it to make up the difference in corpses they've left in the dirt.

It's always going to be an agenda based on fear.

 

[Stokely]

I trust nothing out of Florida. They've already been busted manipulating how they track deaths. I have no doubt they are fudging other things. The only thing they really won't be able to hide is in another year or so the number of deaths in the last year vs historical norms.

That's exactly right. Florida's state government is a proven bad actor. Fool me three times....I trust the hospital numbers to a point as I think those are submitted to the CDC. I have a brother working in Brevard County ICUs (mostly one hospital) so I can get a local idea from him. Basically: it's bad. That's all I need to know to continue being careful.

Things may start going down as they did in other Delta-hit areas but so far they haven't.

 

[UNCjigga]

Why haven't we heard from the chief health officials of Florida and Texas? Why hasn't the press demanded they give interviews.

PS - Wow just answered my own question. Just broke a few days ago. Hopefully this guy will talk once out of office.
Scott Rivkees, Florida surgeon general under Ron DeSantis, to step down (tallahassee.com)

Is he quitting in disgust or is he a loyal fall guy for DeSantis to blame?

 

[manly]

I'd argue it was possibly a function of timing and the fact that behavioral patterns in the south (and probably florida especially) are the opposite of the rest of the country. Possible that people spend more time outside during winter months relative to summer when the heat is oppressive, as opposed to winter in the north?

Winter spikes still happen due to the holidays maybe?

Oh absolutely, human behavior is the largest factor by far. The virus doesn't care what race or political party you're affiliated with; it's an equal opportunity infection. Now to be clear, it wasn't like Florida had a great outcome either; they were roughly average for a big state. The wins DeSantis was touting had more to do with economic resilience than with public health. But still, what seemed like extremely lax mitigation policies did not result in absolute carnage. We all remember the infamous video of a Naples, FL supermarket last year where it seemed all staff and patrons were unmasked. Someone pointed out in one of these threads that in parts of the southern U.S., summer is brutally hot, so people tend to stay indoors with A/C. So the seasonal uptick in disease transmission works differently in different places; no surprise considering how large the U.S. is. Others have rightly pointed out that while states may not have had mask mandates, cities or big stores did. So at least for a time, mask wearing wasn't purely a function of the state-level guidance.

I'd be shocked if there isn't a winter surge in the U.S. The only way you don't get one is if you've already infected the vast majority of unvaccinated by then.

 

[Stokely]

That actually may be the case. A recent University of Florida came to the conclusion that cases would be on the downside by now simply based on how contagious Delta is...it could be happening but I don't feel anyone will know much until the hospital entries start tailing down. So far I don't think that has happened much if at all.

Not sure there will be a "surge"--especially since Floridians are outside more in the winter, right now it's stay in the AC as much as possible--probably just a lower-than-now flow of cases as people who didn't get enough exposure previously (or whose vaccines may have waned, if that does happen) get it. Boosters should make a difference. I think other places where you have "real" winter plus that could be lagging Florida on Delta may have a surge depending on how unvaxxed they are.

 

[vi edit]

For sure. I think Florida as a state was pushing low 20% positivity rate at one point. Some counties probably much higher than that. That high of a positivity rate means there's *A LOT* of people in the wild that are asymptomatic and don't know, or can't be arsed to go get tested. The *real* infection numbers in those areas is much higher than testing shows. Testing just brings to light how bad it is.