Coronavirus

[Mr._Clark]

Here's a snip from a comment discussing the covid reinfection paper. The author is not saying that BA.4/5 will necessarily escape the Omicron BA.1 vaccines ("we don't have adequate data"), but his comments do make me wonder what will happen with BA.4/5.

>>>The Omicron BA.1-specific vaccine booster remedy?

The worry is centered about the immune escape of these subvariants, which was characterized in a recent Nature paper with the conclusion “Together, our results indicate that Omicron may evolve mutations to evade the humoral immunity elicited by BA.1 infection, suggesting that BA.1-derived vaccine boosters may not achieve broad-spectrum protection against new Omicron variants.” That is to say, besides vulnerability to reinfections, the Omicron BA.1 specific vaccines, due to become available this Fall, may not provide enhanced protection as anticipated. BA.4/5 are too different from BA.1 with respect to how our immune system sees them. Even the head of BioNTech has recently warned about the potential for further immune escape and the reduced impact of vaccines, including an Omicron-BA.1 specific one.

We are already seeing evidence of some less protection against severe Covid, that requiring hospitalization, with recent reports of vaccine effectiveness, such as 77% in 21 United States hospitals among immunocompetent individuals with 3 shots. Recall the mRNA vaccine effectiveness vs. hospitalization was 95% through Delta. We don’t have adequate data for vaccine protection vs BA.4/5 yet, but it is certainly possible there will be some attrition which has fortunately not been noted between BA.1 and BA.2.<<< (emphasis added).

A reinfection red flag

Why a new report is so troubling

erictopol.substack.com

He also asks in a twitter post why pan-beta-coronavirus vaccines and nasal vaccines are not being developed more aggressively:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1538202668451041280

I'm not sure what "the" answer is, but while attempting to find it I ran across this blog post from earlier this year which includes some interesting comments concerning the various known viruses and vaccine candidates. He concludes that broader vaccines should be possible.

>>>This means that when you talk about broader vaccine coverage, you could be referring to several different things. For the purposes of this blog post, I'll classify them as follows:

Type I Vaccines: generate immunity to all four genuses of coronavirus

Type II Vaccines: generate immunity to the betacoronaviruses

Type III Vaccines: generate immunity to the sarbecovirus (lineage B) betacoronaviruses

Type IV Vaccines: generate immunity to current and future variants of just the particular sarbecovirus we're dealing with, SARS-CoV-2.

. . .

There are actually several vaccines along this spectrum that are in the clinic, and I would roughly assign them this way:

Type I: None at the moment (that's a tall order) . . .

Type II: DIOSynvax, from a Cambridge startup working with CEPI.

Type III: Walter Reed's SpFN ferritin-nanoparticle vaccine. GBP511 is coming along towards the clinic here, too.

Type IV: Gritstone Bio's GRT-R910, ImmunityBio's hAd5 S+N.

. . . There's no reason why broader coronavirus vaccines should be impossible to develop. . . .<<<

Science | AAAS

www.science.org

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

It seems to me that "among those with reinfection" should be "among those with at least one infection."

Having said that, I don't see this making a difference in terms of the conclusions reported in the preprint.

I would think they were in the one infection group but perhaps moved to the others as needed and removed from the one infection group otherwise your numbers may be skewed?

 

[mtrycrafts]

That is good information. Here's an example of a vitamin D overdose:

....

Let's be careful out there!

I wonder if he sued that nutritionist for a fortune. He should have.

 

[mtrycrafts]

So he was literally pissing his money away.

Sounds like he was killing himself with his money.
Gullibility has no bounds.

 

[Cos]

Coming toward the tail end of my C19, Double Vax and boostered not enough vs 3 weeks of travel for work. Symptoms were not terrible, lost taste and smell, but I think that is more due to congestion. Opted not to take the Pills and I did not qualify for Monoclonal antibodies due to my age and health and a severe supply shortage

Not a great 4th of July break!

 

[Mojo Navigator]

That is good information. Here's an example of a vitamin D overdose:

>>>A British man's overdose on vitamin D is a cautionary tale for people who are considering adding supplements to their lives, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

After a visit with a private nutritionist, the man began taking more than 20 over-the-counter supplements every day, including 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day. That's a dose hundreds of times higher than standard nutritional recommendations.

Within a month, the man began suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and repeated bouts of vomiting, along with cramping in the legs and ringing in the ears. . . .

The man stopped taking the supplements when his symptoms began, but his condition didn't improve. By the time he was referred to the hospital two months later, he had lost 28 pounds (12.7 kg) and his kidneys were in trouble. Tests showed he had overdosed on vitamin D, a condition called hypervitaminosis D. . . .

Too much vitamin D in the blood leads to hypercalcaemia, which occurs when the calcium level in your blood is above normal. The man in the BMJ case study was diagnosed with hypercalcaemia, which can weaken your bones, create kidney stones, and interfere with how your heart and brain work.
The man was hospitalized for eight days and treated with drugs to lower the levels of calcium in his blood. A followup two months later found his blood calcium levels had dropped to almost normal. While the man's vitamin D level had also significantly improved, it was still high, Alkundi said.<<<

How an increasingly popular supplement landed a man in the hospital | CNN

A private nutritionist told a British man to take large doses of vitamin D along with other supplements. It didn't go well.

www.cnn.com

Let's be careful out there!

In my experience it is pretty rare to OD on Vitamin D3 but this is a good example. I suspect that the man misunderstood or did not recall the proper dosing of D3. Instead of 50,000 iu three times a day that should have been three doses of 50,000 iu per month ! It's not unusual for people to forget the proper dose.

Because D3 is a hormonal form of cholesterol (converted to D3 in the presence of sunlight) that is stored in fat tissue. The more fat, the more storage "space" one has. It does not require daily dosing like most water soluble vitamins. Their are plenty of Scandinavian studies to back this up.

It is best to remember that optimal blood levels of D3 are between 50-100 which should guide optimal dosing.

 

[Verdinut]

In my experience it is pretty rare to OD on Vitamin D3 but this is a good example. I suspect that the man misunderstood or did not recall the proper dosing of D3. Instead of 50,000 iu three times a day that should have been three doses of 50,000 iu per month ! It's not unusual for people to forget the proper dose.

Because D3 is a hormonal form of cholesterol (converted to D3 in the presence of sunlight) that is stored in fat tissue. The more fat, the more storage "space" one has. It does not require daily dosing like most water soluble vitamins. Their are plenty of Scandinavian studies to back this up.

It is best to remember that optimal blood levels of D3 are between 50-100 which should guide optimal dosing.

The proper type of vitamin D to take is the D3 form, not the synthetic D2 of vegeterian origin. I'm taking 2000 IU of D3 daily at present and 3000 IU in winter because of reduced sun exposure, as we are in the northern part of the planet.

 

[GO-NAD!]

That is good information. Here's an example of a vitamin D overdose:

>>>A British man's overdose on vitamin D is a cautionary tale for people who are considering adding supplements to their lives, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

After a visit with a private nutritionist, the man began taking more than 20 over-the-counter supplements every day, including 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day. That's a dose hundreds of times higher than standard nutritional recommendations.

Within a month, the man began suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and repeated bouts of vomiting, along with cramping in the legs and ringing in the ears. . . .

The man stopped taking the supplements when his symptoms began, but his condition didn't improve. By the time he was referred to the hospital two months later, he had lost 28 pounds (12.7 kg) and his kidneys were in trouble. Tests showed he had overdosed on vitamin D, a condition called hypervitaminosis D. . . .

Too much vitamin D in the blood leads to hypercalcaemia, which occurs when the calcium level in your blood is above normal. The man in the BMJ case study was diagnosed with hypercalcaemia, which can weaken your bones, create kidney stones, and interfere with how your heart and brain work.
The man was hospitalized for eight days and treated with drugs to lower the levels of calcium in his blood. A followup two months later found his blood calcium levels had dropped to almost normal. While the man's vitamin D level had also significantly improved, it was still high, Alkundi said.<<<

How an increasingly popular supplement landed a man in the hospital | CNN

A private nutritionist told a British man to take large doses of vitamin D along with other supplements. It didn't go well.

www.cnn.com

Let's be careful out there!

If that "nutritionist" had any qualifications, they should lose them.

 

[Swerd]

I would caution people not to be cavalier, with vitamin D as vitamin D intoxication is a real problem and serious. You are particularly prone if you are a somewhat darker skinned Caucasian. If you are going to take more than 1000 units of vit D per day, you should have vit D and serum calcium measured, especially if you fit the demographics above.

A British man's overdose on vitamin D is a cautionary tale for people who are considering adding supplements to their lives, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

After a visit with a private nutritionist, the man began taking more than 20 over-the-counter supplements every day, including 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day. That's a dose hundreds of times higher than standard nutritional recommendations.

Within a month, the man began suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and repeated bouts of vomiting, along with cramping in the legs and ringing in the ears …

The man stopped taking the supplements when his symptoms began, but his condition didn't improve. By the time he was referred to the hospital two months later, he had lost 28 pounds (12.7 kg) and his kidneys were in trouble. Tests showed he had overdosed on vitamin D, a condition called hypervitaminosis D …

I've heard of 50,000 IU given once monthly by injection (ie under medical supervision) as an attempt to counter bone loss due to osteoporosis. It's extreme, and it doesn't seem to be very effective. But I've never heard of 50,000 IU three times daily!?!

I never fail to be surprised by people who take advice from a "private nutritionist" while ignoring standard recommendations for vitamin doses. And then they decide they're going to increase the dose to somehow gain an added advantage. Misguided is too polite a term for this.

It reminds me of the guy I knew while in college who had never cooked anything before. He tried a simple recipe that called for roasting chicken in the oven for 1 hour at 350°. He thought waiting an hour was way too long, so decided to set his oven to 700° and wait ½ an hour. His oven dial couldn't go to 700, not even 500. So he cranked up the dial as far as it could go. He never got to see how well that worked … the smoke and fire in his kitchen intervened.

 

[Verdinut]

If that "nutritionist" had any qualifications, they should lose them.

I never trust nutitionists, but some naturopathic doctors are qualified and have extended knowledge by research documentation and practice.

 

[GO-NAD!]

The BA.5 Wave Is What COVID Normal Looks Like

The endless churn of variants may not stop anytime soon, unless we do something about it.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Trell]

The cost in life of politicizing vaccination.

July Update: COVID Death Rates by Partisan Lean & Vaccination Rate

As always, here's my methodology: County-level 2020 Population data via U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Census County-level 2020 Trump vote data via each state's Election Commission or Secretary of State websites County-level Case & Death data via Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science &...

acasignups.net

 

[ryanosaur]

Vent post. Proper.

I'm really tired of the Party-Like-It's-2019 mentality.

OK, I know we need to get on with our lives; I'm all for it, in fact. The world has changed a little, however. I get nobody likes wearing masks, and truthfully, I know some 2-3 layers of jersey cotton isn't gonna really stop a virus from spreading.
At the same time, some measure of social distancing and proper mask wearing also seems to pay off. It keeps us mindful, aware... perhaps to the point of a relatively decent level of personal safety, which I measure as being not-likely to get sick even passing through a crowded grocery store.
For me, this has worked just fine. I worked during most of the first year of Covid in a service-industry job, and I've successfully navigated the world since with just a little common sense and my 3-layer anti-microbial cotton masks.
Starting around Thanksgiving last year, some family had a near-common holiday event where their Tribe (local members of a Burning Man community) got together for a 3-day camp out on the property where they (the family) live. Everybody was supposed to be testing. It was thought out and a largely agreed upon approach.
Which failed.
Every body caught The Vid.
The Lady and I do not participate in these events. We have, at times been known to poke around briefly, say hi to folk we know, etc. But not this time. However, her Parents were there at the main house. They were not participating in the party as the campsite is out in the woods a bit, but on the last day, every one came back in and was hanging around outside the house.
My role and involvement was picking up the in-laws to drive to The City for their flight the next day.
We didn't get notified until a day or two later that everybody from the party was popping positive.
Fortunately, neither I nor the in-laws were exposed.

So far this past few months, I know too many people that are getting sick. In fact, our local Fam from that Thanksgiving Party caught it again almost 6 mos to the day after the first round.
The In-Laws came back for some medical care and they caught it during their travel here from Mexico (where they retired to). Some other family on The Lady's side came to vist, also... Yup, them too: sick!
The Lady decided we had to still have a get-together with the whole group. Masks... pre-plated food, distancing. I said no, but got overruled.
It was fine... nobody else got sick, but it is still the principle of this whole situation.

Yesterday, The Lady had lunch (for the second time) with a friend of hers who had moved to the MidWest. She came back to visit her community out here (another Burning Man Tribe). After their lunch, The Lady comes back home, we are going about our days work, perhaps an hour had passed and she gets a text:
Her friend popped Positive for Covy.

For me, I'm vaccinated and boosted. The Lady is not. As a service industry guy, it was important to have the protection. She is more interested in NovaVax which just got approved, finally, but likely won't be available for a little bit still.
Regardless, we now have to play the Isolate-Game. She can test as early as tomorrow, though Thursday would likely yield a more accurate response. Even then, she still should play it safe through Friday to make certain. I, too, need to wait and see what happens to her as my fate will likely be tied to her outcome.

All of this because pretty much every person I know is done with masking and keeping some measure of safe distance between themselves and other people. Folk are traveling again and not wearing masks. It's party night at the Bar every night. Here in CA, the latest news from last week had our positivity rate nearing record high during the whole of the Pandemic thus far.

And...

It's a party... Party like it's 2019.

 

[Mr._Clark]

Vent post. Proper.

I'm really tired of the Party-Like-It's-2019 mentality.

OK, I know we need to get on with our lives; I'm all for it, in fact. The world has changed a little, however. I get nobody likes wearing masks, and truthfully, I know some 2-3 layers of jersey cotton isn't gonna really stop a virus from spreading.
At the same time, some measure of social distancing and proper mask wearing also seems to pay off. It keeps us mindful, aware... perhaps to the point of a relatively decent level of personal safety, which I measure as being not-likely to get sick even passing through a crowded grocery store.
For me, this has worked just fine. I worked during most of the first year of Covid in a service-industry job, and I've successfully navigated the world since with just a little common sense and my 3-layer anti-microbial cotton masks.
Starting around Thanksgiving last year, some family had a near-common holiday event where their Tribe (local members of a Burning Man community) got together for a 3-day camp out on the property where they (the family) live. Everybody was supposed to be testing. It was thought out and a largely agreed upon approach.
Which failed.
Every body caught The Vid.
The Lady and I do not participate in these events. We have, at times been known to poke around briefly, say hi to folk we know, etc. But not this time. However, her Parents were there at the main house. They were not participating in the party as the campsite is out in the woods a bit, but on the last day, every one came back in and was hanging around outside the house.
My role and involvement was picking up the in-laws to drive to The City for their flight the next day.
We didn't get notified until a day or two later that everybody from the party was popping positive.
Fortunately, neither I nor the in-laws were exposed.

So far this past few months, I know too many people that are getting sick. In fact, our local Fam from that Thanksgiving Party caught it again almost 6 mos to the day after the first round.
The In-Laws came back for some medical care and they caught it during their travel here from Mexico (where they retired to). Some other family on The Lady's side came to vist, also... Yup, them too: sick!
The Lady decided we had to still have a get-together with the whole group. Masks... pre-plated food, distancing. I said no, but got overruled.
It was fine... nobody else got sick, but it is still the principle of this whole situation.

Yesterday, The Lady had lunch (for the second time) with a friend of hers who had moved to the MidWest. She came back to visit her community out here (another Burning Man Tribe). After their lunch, The Lady comes back home, we are going about our days work, perhaps an hour had passed and she gets a text:
Her friend popped Positive for Covy.

For me, I'm vaccinated and boosted. The Lady is not. As a service industry guy, it was important to have the protection. She is more interested in NovaVax which just got approved, finally, but likely won't be available for a little bit still.
Regardless, we now have to play the Isolate-Game. She can test as early as tomorrow, though Thursday would likely yield a more accurate response. Even then, she still should play it safe through Friday to make certain. I, too, need to wait and see what happens to her as my fate will likely be tied to her outcome.

All of this because pretty much every person I know is done with masking and keeping some measure of safe distance between themselves and other people. Folk are traveling again and not wearing masks. It's party night at the Bar every night. Here in CA, the latest news from last week had our positivity rate nearing record high during the whole of the Pandemic thus far.

And...

It's a party... Party like it's 2019.

It's difficult when the spousal unit or SO has a different view on acceptable risks. It has been a fairly serious issue for some couples I know.

The problem is (as you noted) that the person who doesn't want to take as many precautions can go out and expose themselves and there isn't a lot the other person can do about it.

Picking nits in a vent post is risky business, but I would say the other person actually wants to party like they're Boris Johnson in 2020 (i.e. ignore the risk).

Partygate: A timeline of the lockdown parties

Boris Johnson is to be questioned over Covid rule-breaking parties. But what do we know about them?

www.bbc.com

 

[ryanosaur]

It's difficult when the spousal unit or SO has a different view on acceptable risks. It has been a fairly serious issue for some couples I know.

The problem is (as you noted) that the person who doesn't want to take as many precautions can go out and expose themselves and there isn't a lot the other person can do about it.

Picking nits in a vent post is risky business, but I would say the other person actually wants to party like they're Boris Johnson in 2020 (i.e. ignore the risk).

Partygate: A timeline of the lockdown parties

Boris Johnson is to be questioned over Covid rule-breaking parties. But what do we know about them?

www.bbc.com

In defense, I will say The Lady does not want to get sick. I don't even think, for her, that it is a case of covid-fatigue. However I cannot speak for her friend, whom I have known for many years, too. I do not know her threshold, if any exists, for wearing a mask.
Considering the Burning Man tribal connection they all share, I would expect that, even if wearing one on the planes, she doffed it as unnecessary once on the ground.

Even as our positivity rate creeps ever higher!

Regardless, I think The Lady was a fool to not be more cautious, and I have expressed myself to that point. (Whether I was heard is, of course, completely immaterial.
Our friend may well be a much more foolish. I just am unable to call on her to be accountable for her actions. Even if I were to reach out and poke her, I'm certain she would respond like so many others are doing tody:
"It's just not so bad anymore."

To which I can only reply with a simple gesture:




In other news, Novavax has gained a unanimous recommendation from the CDC.

CDC clears Novavax Covid-19 vaccine for adults, says shots will be available in the coming weeks

Novavax uses different technology than Pfizer and Moderna. U.S. health officials hope Novavax's shots might convince skeptics to get vaccinated.

www.cnbc.com

 

[GO-NAD!]

Vent post. Proper.

I'm really tired of the Party-Like-It's-2019 mentality.

OK, I know we need to get on with our lives; I'm all for it, in fact. The world has changed a little, however. I get nobody likes wearing masks, and truthfully, I know some 2-3 layers of jersey cotton isn't gonna really stop a virus from spreading.
At the same time, some measure of social distancing and proper mask wearing also seems to pay off. It keeps us mindful, aware... perhaps to the point of a relatively decent level of personal safety, which I measure as being not-likely to get sick even passing through a crowded grocery store.
For me, this has worked just fine. I worked during most of the first year of Covid in a service-industry job, and I've successfully navigated the world since with just a little common sense and my 3-layer anti-microbial cotton masks.
Starting around Thanksgiving last year, some family had a near-common holiday event where their Tribe (local members of a Burning Man community) got together for a 3-day camp out on the property where they (the family) live. Everybody was supposed to be testing. It was thought out and a largely agreed upon approach.
Which failed.
Every body caught The Vid.
The Lady and I do not participate in these events. We have, at times been known to poke around briefly, say hi to folk we know, etc. But not this time. However, her Parents were there at the main house. They were not participating in the party as the campsite is out in the woods a bit, but on the last day, every one came back in and was hanging around outside the house.
My role and involvement was picking up the in-laws to drive to The City for their flight the next day.
We didn't get notified until a day or two later that everybody from the party was popping positive.
Fortunately, neither I nor the in-laws were exposed.

So far this past few months, I know too many people that are getting sick. In fact, our local Fam from that Thanksgiving Party caught it again almost 6 mos to the day after the first round.
The In-Laws came back for some medical care and they caught it during their travel here from Mexico (where they retired to). Some other family on The Lady's side came to vist, also... Yup, them too: sick!
The Lady decided we had to still have a get-together with the whole group. Masks... pre-plated food, distancing. I said no, but got overruled.
It was fine... nobody else got sick, but it is still the principle of this whole situation.

Yesterday, The Lady had lunch (for the second time) with a friend of hers who had moved to the MidWest. She came back to visit her community out here (another Burning Man Tribe). After their lunch, The Lady comes back home, we are going about our days work, perhaps an hour had passed and she gets a text:
Her friend popped Positive for Covy.

For me, I'm vaccinated and boosted. The Lady is not. As a service industry guy, it was important to have the protection. She is more interested in NovaVax which just got approved, finally, but likely won't be available for a little bit still.
Regardless, we now have to play the Isolate-Game. She can test as early as tomorrow, though Thursday would likely yield a more accurate response. Even then, she still should play it safe through Friday to make certain. I, too, need to wait and see what happens to her as my fate will likely be tied to her outcome.

All of this because pretty much every person I know is done with masking and keeping some measure of safe distance between themselves and other people. Folk are traveling again and not wearing masks. It's party night at the Bar every night. Here in CA, the latest news from last week had our positivity rate nearing record high during the whole of the Pandemic thus far.

And...

It's a party... Party like it's 2019.

I'm curious as to why she hasn't been vaccinated yet. She waited all this time for something that wasn't even on the horizon when the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines became available? I don't understand that.

 

[ryanosaur]

I'm curious as to why she hasn't been vaccinated yet. She waited all this time for something that wasn't even on the horizon when the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines became available? I don't understand that.

You have to consider the racial history of the US and how the government has treated non-whites in terms of medical experimentation. You really don’t even have to look beyond the Tuskegee experiments to know how Blacks may feel when being told, “take this.”
We can further discuss the historically fast creation time for vaccines that “normally” have taken closer to 10 years to create rather than one year. Add that to the distrust of medical experimentation…
This is not to defend her decision, however there are many who are not politically motivated yet still distrust of the mRNA vaccine technology.
Needless to say: it’s complicated.
(It really shouldn’t be… but is. )

 

[GO-NAD!]

You have to consider the racial history of the US and how the government has treated non-whites in terms of medical experimentation. You really don’t even have to look beyond the Tuskegee experiments to know how Blacks may feel when being told, “take this.”
We can further discuss the historically fast creation time for vaccines that “normally” have taken closer to 10 years to create rather than one year. Add that to the distrust of medical experimentation…
This is not to defend her decision, however there are many who are not politically motivated yet still distrust of the mRNA vaccine technology.
Needless to say: it’s complicated.
(It really shouldn’t be… but is. )

OK, I get it now. The context helps. There are parallels in Canada.

 

[Mr._Clark]

According to this article, modified vaccines to target BA.4 and BA.5 may not be available until well into the fall.

>>>In an ideal version of this fall, revamped COVID vaccines might have been doled out alongside flu shots, starting as early as August or September, to prelude a probable end-of-year surge. But that notion may have always been doomed. At an FDA advisory meeting in early April, Marks told experts that the fall vaccine’s composition should be decided no later than June. The agency didn’t announce the new ingredients until the final day of last month. And it chose to include BA.4 and BA.5, the reigning Omicron subvariant—rather than the long-gone BA.1, which Pfizer and Moderna had been working with. That decision may further delay the shots’ premiere, punting the delivery of some doses into November, December, or even later, depending on how the coming months go. If the goal is preventing a spate of seasonal sickness, that’s “cutting it quite close,” says Wilbur Chen, an infectious-disease physician and vaccine expert at the University of Maryland.<<<

New COVID Vaccines Will Be Ready This Fall. America Won’t Be.

Respiratory-virus season starts soon, and our autumn vaccine strategy is shaky at best.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Danzilla31]

In defense, I will say The Lady does not want to get sick. I don't even think, for her, that it is a case of covid-fatigue. However I cannot speak for her friend, whom I have known for many years, too. I do not know her threshold, if any exists, for wearing a mask.
Considering the Burning Man tribal connection they all share, I would expect that, even if wearing one on the planes, she doffed it as unnecessary once on the ground.

Even as our positivity rate creeps ever higher!

Regardless, I think The Lady was a fool to not be more cautious, and I have expressed myself to that point. (Whether I was heard is, of course, completely immaterial.
Our friend may well be a much more foolish. I just am unable to call on her to be accountable for her actions. Even if I were to reach out and poke her, I'm certain she would respond like so many others are doing tody:
"It's just not so bad anymore."

To which I can only reply with a simple gesture:




In other news, Novavax has gained a unanimous recommendation from the CDC.

CDC clears Novavax Covid-19 vaccine for adults, says shots will be available in the coming weeks

Novavax uses different technology than Pfizer and Moderna. U.S. health officials hope Novavax's shots might convince skeptics to get vaccinated.

www.cnbc.com

Working in nursing I see it everywhere. My entire unit and 2 others just got a huge wave of the vid 2 or 3 weeks ago. So bad I self isolated for 14 days as much as possible asked my much older and vulnerable parents to leave for Red River for awhile even though my Dad just had shoulder surgery. Even cancelled going to a audio event in Austin with a great group of guys I met that all have theater rooms and formed a club. I was so looking forward to that

It's obvious the vid is going through a spike and 4rth of July travel really helped it. I've also accepted that while those are my personal choices in dealing with the fact I have frequent exposure in the hospital pretty much 9 out of 10 people have stopped giving a sh#$t everywhere I go. And I can't blame them I just think people are wore out. Combine that with inflation and a higher cost of living and I think some families and individuals are now being forced to be in a position to not give a sh$t they have to make ends meet.

So I'm not judging just accepting and adapting to there choices as I need to.

Can you tell me if your wife tries that new vaccine? I'll need a booster in the fall and the vaccines we have now make me very sick like 3 days out of work sick unable to get out of bed sick.

I'd really like to try a new alternative and see if I can avoid that reaction