Tag: COVID-19

Posted on

Doctor Dies Of COVID Just Weeks After Calling Vaccines ‘Totally Unnecessary’

Dr. Stephen Karanja

Dr. Stephen Karanja
Dr. Stephen Karanja (image via Update of Nepal Banda)
A doctor in Kenya who virulently opposed the use of COVID-19 vaccines has died from the virus just weeks after calling the shots “totally unnecessary.” From the BBC:

Dr Stephen Karanja, chairman of the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association, advocated steam inhalation and hydroxychloroquine tablets.

Health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected his claims.

“[The vaccine] being distributed in Kenya, has been reviewed and found safe not only by the WHO rigorous process but also by several stringent regulatory authorities,” the WHO said in March.

In a letter dated 3 March Dr Karanja said that “there are drugs that have been repurposed and used effectively to treat Covid-19,” adding that “we also know that vaccination for this disease is totally unnecessary making the motivation suspect.”

I don’t celebrate the death of any man, but this is would seem to be yet another lesson to those who continue to fall for or espouse anti-vaccine propaganda. #Choices

(h/t JoeMyGod)

Posted on

India Reports Over 400K New COVID Cases In One Day

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

Over 400,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported in India on Saturday as the  new surge there continues to ravage the country. Forty percent of new cases globally are in India where over 3,000 people a day are dying from the virus. From the Washington Post:

The soaring number of cases prompted the United States to restrict travel from India on Friday. Dozens of countries have begun sending aid to bolster hospitals overwhelmed by patients and short on oxygen.

On Saturday, a hospital in the capital, New Delhi, issued an SOS for oxygen supplies, saying its tank was empty.

Eight coronavirus patients died over the next hour before it was refilled, said S.C.L. Gupta, the medical director of Batra Hospital. The dead included one of the hospital’s own doctors. “We have lost him,” Gupta said.

The 7-day rolling average of new daily cases in India was more than 357,000 on Thursday. That’s five times what it was just a month ago. A tight lockdown last year helped the country avoid huge case numbers, but clearly officials relaxed those restrictions far too soon.

Posted on

100 Million Americans Fully Vaccinated Against COVID

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine White House coronavirus response director Jeff Zients announced today that over 100 million Americans are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. From CNN:

The news comes as CNN reported that Biden’s coronavirus advisers are moving into the next phase of their response, from ramping up availability of Covid-19 vaccines to reaching those who have not yet gotten the shot.

White House officials have three overarching goals for the next 100 days: increasing accessibility, combating misinformation and assisting those without the resources to get vaccinated.

The US has administered approximately 237 million shots of the three Covid-19 vaccines as of Friday morning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With 330 million people in the United States, medical experts say the minimum needed in order to reach the goal of ‘herd immunity’ is 70 percent or 231 million.

Posted on

Health Officials: Fully Vaccinated Can Skip Masks When Outdoors

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

A man wearing a face mask during the pandemic As vaccinations for the coronavirus have begun to slow, federal health officials announced today that those Americans who are fully vaccinated will no longer need face masks when exercising outdoors, or at small outdoor gatherings or indoors with family members of their household. From the New York Times:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped short of telling those people that they could shed their masks altogether in outdoor settings — citing the worrying risk that remains for transmitting the coronavirus, unknown vaccination levels among people in crowds and the still high-caseloads in some regions of the country.

Federal health officials and President Biden were announcing the updated advice on Tuesday, linking the news with the administration’s public campaign to get most American adults vaccinated by summer and trying to offer reassurances that some semblance of normal life can return.

But the C.D.C. is maintaining advice on other safety measures, saying vaccinated adults should continue wearing masks and staying six feet apart in large public spaces, like outdoor performance or sports events, indoor shopping malls and movie theaters, where the vaccination and health status of others would be unknown. And they still should avoid medium and large gatherings, crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, officials said.

Posted on

India’s COVID Second Wave Is Leading Factor In Rising Cases Globally

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

A man wearing a face mask during the pandemic New cases of COVID1-9 worldwide have now exceeded their previous peak with the number of infections higher than it’s ever been. According to the Washington Post, a leading factor for the increase is the intensity of India’s second wave. That country now accounts for nearly one third of all new cases.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Earlier this year, India appeared to be weathering the pandemic. The number of daily cases dropped below 10,000 and the government launched a vaccination drive powered by locally made vaccines.

But experts say that changes in behavior and the influence of new variants have combined to produce a tidal wave of new cases.

India is adding more than 250,000 new infections a day — and if current trends continue, that figure could soar to 500,000 within a month, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician at the University of Michigan.

One crematorium in the city of Surat says it used to receive about 20 bodies a day, but now it is receiving 100. As of Monday evening, at least 3,023,700 people have died worldwide from coronavirus.

Posted on

Half Of US Adults Have Received At Least One COVID Shot

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine
Getting my second Pfizer vaccine shot last month
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data on Saturday that shows nearly half of U.S. adults (49.7%) have received at least one dose of the corona virus vaccine. That accounts for more than 128 million over the age of 18 having received at least one shot. More than 82 million, or 31.8% of adults, are fully vaccinated. See the full data here. The U.S. is averaging just over 3 million vaccine shots a day, which is good news considering a recent poll showed 49% of Republican men have no intention of getting the shot. A big part of overcoming the pandemic relies on folks getting vaccinated in order to stop the spread of the virus. That equation now includes a focus on about new, more potent variants which now make up about half of new infections in the U.S. With that in mind, the White House announced Friday that it will allocate $1.7 billion from the recent stimulus package to target the detection, surveillance and mitigation of the variants.

Posted on

Poll: 43% Of Republicans Say They Won’t Get Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine A new poll by Monmouth University shows 21% of Americans say they will never get a COVID-19 vaccine shot if they can avoid it. That number is down 3 points from similar polls by Monmouth in January and March. But – the survey was conducted before the recent news regarding Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. Political affiliation is a big determining factor in how people feel about the vaccines. • 43% of Republicans say they’ll never get the shot versus 5% of Democrats; 22% of independents say they want to avoid getting the vaccine altogether. • Adults under age 65 continue to be more likely to avoid getting the vaccine (25%)  than seniors than seniors (11%). The survey also found President Biden currently holds a job rating of 54% approve and 41% disapprove. His rating last month stood at 51% to 42%. Biden garners good reviews for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak with 62% saying he has done a good job and 31% saying he has done a bad job. That’s an increase from 57%–31% in March and 58%–23% in late January. Click here for more results of the poll.

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 12, 2021

Nigel Shelby

Nigel Shelby
Nigel Shelby
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The parents of a Huntsville, Ala., teen Nigel Shelby – who killed himself in 2019 after being bullied at school for being gay – are now suing that school district. They allege that school officials knew their son was considering taking his life. • Kenneth-in-the-212: The NYC-based blog has a new weekly feature – ‘Manspread Monday.’ You know you want to hit that link… 🙂

• Buzzfeed: This hilarious SNL skit about period lesbian dramas is so accurate it hurts. “My parents died before I was born.” “Mine too.”

• Variety: Nomadland dominated at the BAFTA Film Awards, where the Frances McDormand-led road movie picked up four prizes including lead actress, cinematography, director, and best film. • Bloomberg News: Video chat on you TV? Apple is working on a product that would combine an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart-home functions. • Detroit Free Press: Ted Nugent, the aging rocker, mocked health guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in a recent Facebook video asking, “Why weren’t we shut down for COVID one through 18?” Of course, the coronavirus that has killed close to 560,000 people in the U.S. was named for the year in which the first infection was reported — 2019.

Posted on

Nearly 40% Of Marines Are Refusing COVID Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine New data released Friday shows almost 40% of U.S. Marines are taking a pass on coronavirus vaccines. From CNN:

As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated service men and women. About 48,000 Marines have chosen not to receive vaccines, for a declination rate of 38.9%.

The military cannot make the vaccines mandatory now because they have only emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, meaning service members who are required to receive a series of other vaccinations have the option of declining shots to protect against Covid-19.

Officials say most of the vaccine hesitancy stems from concerns about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and fears over long-term effects.

According to the Pentagon, there are some 2.2 million service members operating around the globe. Read the full report here. Some folks feel the hesitancy may come from military service members tending to lean right politically and conservatives have been vocal about not wanting to take the shot – even though their savior Donald Trump will tell you he created it with his own two hands.

Posted on

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Deliveries To Drop Due To Manufacturing Issues

Image of a vaccine shot

Image of a vaccine shot There’s going to be a big dip in Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries due to woeful failures at the contracted manufacturing plant in Maryland. From the New York Times:

Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses across the United States next week than are currently being allocated, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dealing a setback to a national vaccination campaign that has just found its footing.

The distribution of the drug, a single-shot vaccine, has been inconsistent since Johnson & Johnson delivered its first batch at the beginning of March, sending 2.8 million doses across the country before dipping below 400,000 in the following weeks.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was forced to jettison up to 15 million doses manufactured at the factory because the batch had been contaminated with a virus used in the production of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is also manufactured there.

The Johnson & Johnson shot has been popular for it’s easier to store “one-and-done” single dose. J & J had previously promised to deliver 24 million new doses by the end of April. Read the full article here.