Another one bites the dust…
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Today, Tokyo Prefecture has reported 5,042 new cases of COVID-19.
For reference, when they reported 4,166 cases yesterday, that was the most new cases in a single day that they had ever reported. I don’t think it’s even been a week since they reported over 3,000 cases in a single day for the very first time.
This is not solely because of the Olympics (and, indeed, prefectures throughout the country have been reporting record numbers of cases day after day for the past two weeks), but that is obviously not helping…
Up until very recently, Japan had avoided hitting 10,000 cases per day on the strength of near universal mask usage. With the Delta Variant, that is clearly no longer working. Because the nation has prioritized vaccinations in those aged 65+ (87% in this age group have had at least one shot and 79% have had two), very few younger people have been vaccinated yet.
This is a critical juncture that we will hopefully overcome as vaccination reaches wider demographics, but with a weeklong holiday coming up, during which just about everyone travels, I very much doubt that we have seen the worst of this here in Japan.
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I feel like the Delta variant/vaccination combination is harder to predict than the original disease. Vaccination seems to be being used as an excuse by government to wash their hands of leadership responsibilities with the job left un-finished. We’re being left to walk a cliff edge in a stiff wind, when we really need a solid barrier on the side of the drop. It feels like we are back at the start of things, but without the psychological reserves and resolve.
Delta COVID is still making a significant number vaccinated people sick, albeit with vaccines helping us to be much less sick and much less dead. I still don’t want the 2 weeks of feeling like crap and the risk of the various long-term side effects of this disease, especially the “brain fog” part which would be Very Bad for how I make my living.
Here in Ontario 
we’ve just gotten the new “plan” for schools, 29 pages of more of the same that failed last year. This “plan” does not mention vaccines, the only significant change from the general situation last year. The Toronto Star’s editorials today are harsh… the cartoon sums it up…
That’s Ontario
Premier Doug Ford…
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There are so many bad things going on with delta right now, but this (for me and my POV) might be the most important. We medical types are exhausted and demoralized, feeling like we have been hung out to dry with no support. The resiliency and determination that got us through the first couple peaks is used up and there has not been anywhere near enough time (like any at all) to rebuild that supply. I don’t know that this will be the one that breaks us, but what I am hearing from FL and LA is not terribly encouraging.
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This will help, certainly
(/s)
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Better news:
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The blame gets spread around when things go wrong…
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And it probably should. While it is clear that the Ds are better than the Rs on the Covid issue, it isn’t like the Biden Whitehouse has performed flawlessly, with regard to stopping it.
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In Lousiana
There are no beds left. These are the darkest days of this pandemic. We are no longer giving adequate care to these patients. — Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer and infectious disease expert
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I would imagine you’d have to be a very special brand of a numbskull to go to that rally after what happened last year.
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To quote myself, I can’t say if this is the one that will break us, but, honestly, it is not looking good. And speaking from the point of view of HCW, every damn time I see another asshole minimizing the risk or spreading conspiracy theories a little more of me dies. The look on this woman’s face says it all. There are way too many of us with that look on our faces. It is hopelessness and helplessness. Standing with a shovel in front of an onrushing avalanche.
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Exactly. Especially considering that even some of the better government responses were half-assed to begin with. There were a few exceptions, like New Zealand, but in the US, states that know better still put no real teeth behind lockdowns and mask mandates; put kids back in schools too soon, and are now wringing their hands about vaccination requirements and returning to mask mandates.
Then there is the pouring-gas-on-a-Fire response of Republican-led states…
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Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the three congressional Republicans suing Speaker Nancy Pelosi over fines for not wearing masks during a vote on the U.S. House floor, has contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19, the second member of South Carolina’s delegation to do so.
Geez, think there ,ight be something to this whole masking thing after all?
Also:
Finally!
But insurers could try to do more, like penalizing the unvaccinated. And there is precedent. Already, some policies won’t cover treatment necessitated by what insurance companies deem risky behavior, such as scuba diving and rock climbing.
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SPORTS!
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still-experimental
Why is this? The FDA has got to have access to more data about the vaccines at this point than any other medication they’ve approved ever. What is wrong with their process that they are unable to declare the vaccines safe and effective at this point? Do they have to have a full year of data after being first administered or something? Will slightly different mrna vaccines to deal with delta+ or whatever also take as long? The dragging of feet on this is giving the anti-vaxxers an unearned talking point.
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It’s not experimental at this point. It is approved under emergency use authorization. FDA has a good primer page on EUA approvals and the timeline for submitting data for general approval.
The tl;dr version is that the vaccine manufacturers have to collect data on the post-EUA safety and efficacy and submit it to FDA if they intend to market the vaccine once the current emergency declaration expires.
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