The COVID-19 Discussion Thread (OTB)

[schlaugh]

Very good. Hopefully the pharmacy you chose will have the vaccine when it comes time for your appointment.

It should, but let’s see.

Publix said they would book appointments only if they had the vaccine in stock.

[grant hutchison]

Thanks for this information.

I second that.

You're welcome.

And I also wanted to post something unrelated, which bothers me a bit but I'm not sure if it should. It's about mortality statistics. The WHO lists how many people per million population have died of COVID-19, which is important. However, the problem with that statistic is that if you look at it for say a month or two months, it gives you an idea of how serious the problem is, but as the time span grows longer, is seems to lose its relevance. For example, if you look at "cumulative deaths from cancer," it might be larger than the population just because people have been dying from cancer for a long time.

The best statistic for mortality is a bit of a moving target and subject to debate. Nothing is ideal, for reasons such as the one you mention.
Early in the Current Unpleasantness, I seemed to have difficulty convincing some people that national per capita measures of cases and deaths were inappropriate comparators at that time, because the disease was largely confined to hotspots, so that the population of the entire country had scant relevance to the progress of the disease.
Now that community spread is everywhere, per capita measures become more useful, but still need caution flags, because demographics and the provision of acute hospital beds vary from country to country and within countries, so we're not comparing like with like.
And once a disease has a longterm presence in the community, you need to add in a time factor. So cancer mortalities, for instance, are quoted as deaths per capita per year. Because of the way Covid-19 has come in waves at different times in different locations, we don't have a time interval yet that allows useful comparisions, and the duration of the pandemic is short enough that cumulative per capita figures alone are not grossly misleading, given the other caveats that surround them. If the disease attains endemicity, then at some point it will become useful (as with, for instance, tuberculosis or measles) to quote mortality per capita per year, but we're not at that stage yet.

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

Hot diggity, Mrs. Schlaugh and I were able to book vaccine appointments this morning through one of the big grocery chains in the southern US (Publix). The company announced last week that they would open up vaccinations at 108 of their pharmacies with appointment booking through their web site starting at 06:00 today EST.

So I got up early and waited for the site to come up, which it did about 06:10.

Reminded me of trying to get tickets to a Rolling Stones concert.

Our provider is still in "Don't call us, we'll call you" mode.

Also, the USA will hit 400,000 deaths sometime today. And deniers are still denying.

[Trebuchet]

Nevermind, posted in wrong thread!

[Roger E. Moore]

Not good at sharing, but here goes. Am 65, have high blood pressure + diabetes II, etc. About 2 weeks ago caught a bad sore throat. Could not be seen by CVS nurse-prac until I had a COVID-19 test, for which my wife made an appointment using her smart phone, which I never learned to use. App't. came about a week later, went to the little CVS "cootie cottage" (which is which the staff calls that little testing building to the side), swabbed nose (ouch!), waited for result later same day. Result: no COVID-19. Test was free because I'd checked so many boxes as to make it mandatory.

But... by then the sore throat was gone. Presto! No need for app't or follow-up.

Remember: cootie cottage.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

Covid cases have being going up here, the government has put part of the province in a red zone meaning that people should have contact with people in their household, just hoping the entire province doesn't go red.

[ozduck]

It looks likely that the international border restrictions in Australia will continue for most of 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55699581

[Kay Burton]

Covid cases have being going up here, the government has put part of the province in a red zone meaning that people should have contact with people in their household, just hoping the entire province doesn't go red.

And such a problem arose due to the blind confidence of a large number of people that COVID is government manipulation, a lie. Only from where so many cases and so many deaths?

[Noclevername]

And such a problem arose due to the blind confidence of a large number of people that COVID is government manipulation, a lie. Only from where so many cases and so many deaths?

As with any Conspiracy Theory, there's plenty of rationalization and cognitive dissonance to account for any inconvenient facts. In this case, the most popular excuse making the rounds is that the official reports "manipulate the numbers" by painting many independent illnesses and deaths as Covid-related.

[Solfe]

My neighbor is supposed to get the vaccine tomorrow. I can think of no permeation situations that would make her eligible for this shot, but I do know someone who is working at the site where she is to receive it and a lot of complexity of the process. Considering how these shots are distributed, this neighbor has to have a situation that I am completely unaware of. There is really no way to sneak through the system.

Over the weekend, there was glitch in the system causing a lot of appointments to be canceled due a lack of vaccine. It was exacerbated the fact that some people got their hands on a bad website link to make an appointment. Now the neighbor is out on Facebook asking if her appointment is canceled. Since I have a friend that actually works at vaccination site, I know the neighbor has a sheet of paper with an 800 number, a local number, a website address and email address for questions.

What the heck, man? Don't be an imbecile. Use the tools you have and don't ask randoms on Facebook for medical appointment advice. We literally can't know. </rant>

[Trebuchet]

It looks likely that the international border restrictions in Australia will continue for most of 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55699581

As noted in a Covid thread on my other forum, they chartered special planes to bring in tennis pros for the Australian Open. Then they found positives on some of the planes and some of the pros are confined to hotel rooms. The pros are whining about not being able to practice. Meanwhile, thousands of Australians are stuck in the UK and not allowed to come home.

[Gillianren]

One faire for the summer announced dates; another declared that they are already cancelling. When the first one announced dates, I immediately responded with "I'm not holding my breath."

[Extravoice]

One faire for the summer announced dates; another declared that they are already cancelling. When the first one announced dates, I immediately responded with "I'm not holding my breath."

If you attend the faire, holding your breath might be a prudent course of action.

(Sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to link from the “you just have to make a joke” thread.)

[The Backroad Astronomer]

And such a problem arose due to the blind confidence of a large number of people that COVID is government manipulation, a lie. Only from where so many cases and so many deaths?

That is part of the problem plus there were some who absolutely had to go to work or socialize even if they had symptoms or were around people who had it. And now the red zone will be extended to the zone which I live in and another. My are gets lumped into one a larger zone which has one of the largest cities where there are several outbreaks. It feelss like some are being punished for others decisions.

[Noclevername]

It feelss like some are being punished for others decisions.

Ain't that always the way it seems to go?

[The Backroad Astronomer]

Ain't that always the way it seems to go?

Pretty much.

[Solfe]

I just found out that my new place of employment has about 400 of 600 staff working from home. I had no idea. Apparently the form to request work from home accommodation is limited to just a handful of questions like:

"Do you have an underlying medical condition?
"Do you feel unsafe?

"If you answered, yes to either question, please let us know what kind of computer do you need and your start from home date."

[Van Rijn]

“what kind of computer you need”?

They are supplying computers? At my job, pre-COVID-19, we had a telecommute policy for a while, but management wasn’t in love with it. It really got going when there was an office space shortage, then the rules became tighter when more space became available and management changed, but the employees were always expected to supply the computer.

I haven’t checked back, but I do wonder what happened with telecommuting this year at my former workplace. Pre-COVID-19, the number of days per week telecommuting were strictly limited and you were expected to come in for important meetings (though phoning in was sometimes allowed). I expect most of that has gone out the window.

[Solfe]

“what kind of computer you need”?

They are supplying computers? At my job, pre-COVID-19, we had a telecommute policy for a while, but management wasn’t in love with it. It really got going when there was an office space shortage, then the rules became tighter when more space became available and management changed, but the employees were always expected to supply the computer.

I haven’t checked back, but I do wonder what happened with telecommuting this year at my former workplace. Pre-COVID-19, the number of days per week telecommuting were strictly limited and you were expected to come in for important meetings (though phoning in was sometimes allowed). I expect most of that has gone out the window.

There that missing verb again. (Fixed it in my post.) I keep doing that.

They provide computers, software, internet services and now cameras. The cameras are for meetings and occasional one on one contacts. The "at work" staff felt too socially distance from employees at home, so cameras. As far as one to one meetings go, they are just "hey, how are you?" affairs, like a trip to the breakroom or gathering around the water cooler.

We all have a weekly meeting with "the voices from home", which is less than idea. Camera will change that, too.

Yeah, they record everything... but only when the camera is turned on by the employee.

[Van Rijn]

Oh! I wasn’t commenting on grammar, it was quoted and worked well enough. Besides, I rarely comment on grammar or spelling in posts anyway unless they are truly egregious. Heck, I usually post in a conversational style and would be a little concerned if someone started pointing out my issues. I’ve forgotten most of the grammar rules I learned, consciously at least. I just go by what looks right when I read it.

I was just a little surprised and impressed at the generous policy mentioned. Of course, where I worked, we were IT folks, so it would be a rare person who didn’t have broadband or a decent home computer and it didn’t matter much to us, but still.

[ozduck]

As noted in a Covid thread on my other forum, they chartered special planes to bring in tennis pros for the Australian Open. Then they found positives on some of the planes and some of the pros are confined to hotel rooms. The pros are whining about not being able to practice. Meanwhile, thousands of Australians are stuck in the UK and not allowed to come home.

The whining has been pretty much treated with the derision it deserves. The majority of the players have been fine and some of the the 'whiners' have had the grace to apologise once the actual state of affairs here and the reason for it has become more apparent to them. People like Novak Djokovic already have plenty of previous form in regards to Covid-19 activities.

The number of Australians who have not been able to return yet has been exacerbated because of the caps on incoming passenger numbers due to the need to not overwhelm quarantine hotel places. 99.9% of all arrivals are required to spend 14 days in one of these places and are not allowed to leave until they have tested negative for Covid-19. If they have a positive test their time in quarantine will be increased until they are no longer contagious. The cap has been reduced recently because of preparations to cater for the, so-called, UK & South African variants. Also a lot of these Australians were virtually permanently living overseas but decided to return once the Covid situation in those countries became worse. The caps will be increased markedly in February and the Federal Government has promised another 20 charter flights to the countries with the biggest backlog to try to catch up. These flights are in addition to the normal commercial flights.

[Jens]

Also a lot of these Australians were virtually permanently living overseas but decided to return once the Covid situation in those countries became worse. The caps will be increased markedly in February and the Federal Government has promised another 20 charter flights to the countries with the biggest backlog to try to catch up. These flights are in addition to the normal commercial flights.

I'm sort of surprised. The danger of taking an international flight and stuff might outweigh the danger of staying put even in a place with lots of cases. I know one person (American) who decided to return to the US from Japan despite the difficulties, but because of a serious family illness.

[Noclevername]

I just found out that my new place of employment has about 400 of 600 staff working from home. I had no idea. Apparently the form to request work from home accommodation is limited to just a handful of questions like:

"Do you have an underlying medical condition?
"Do you feel unsafe?

"If you answered, yes to either question, please let us know what kind of computer do you need and your start from home date."

Wow, that's a great policy!

My sister works a US federal job, and they actually had to send an inspector over to the house to make sure she has suitable working conditions; a quiet isolated room, secure wifi, etc. before letting her work from home. And of course the government's policy kept shifting as to how often she had to go into the office in person.

[ozduck]

I'm sort of surprised. The danger of taking an international flight and stuff might outweigh the danger of staying put even in a place with lots of cases. I know one person (American) who decided to return to the US from Japan despite the difficulties, but because of a serious family illness.

A lot of these people were living in India which had a big 'late' surge in some cities. Many others were in the UK which has had it pretty tough. They are 'making a run' for home and perceived safety. They see Australia with an infection rate of below 0.1 per 100,000 people and then see the UK with a rate of 65 per 100,000. We have had 2 deaths in total from Coronavirus since November 2020 while the UK is currently averaging over a 1,000 deaths a day so they see it as reasonable option. A number of the others were spread around Europe and are finding it hard to get a flight. You almost have to be in Business class to have a good chance of a seat.

[Solfe]

Wow, that's a great policy!

My sister works a US federal job, and they actually had to send an inspector over to the house to make sure she has suitable working conditions; a quiet isolated room, secure wifi, etc. before letting her work from home. And of course the government's policy kept shifting as to how often she had to go into the office in person.

I am not sure if that is remotely the real policy, but it is the result. Call centers are petri dishes. People sitting on top of each other, sometimes sharing cubes and equipment. The only way to run one safely, is not every other cube but staggered and spaced out, too. There is physical space for 600 people but to be more than 6 feet at all times cuts that down to about 200. The other thing is, new staff are vetted before they arrive and are segregated to their own area for a month.

There are other compelling reasons for this. The center is a mall converted to a business park. The mall walkways are unconverted for indoor walking spaces. If someone had covid and walked around that area they'd encounter people from other call centers. It'd be a disaster. The whole park is down from several thousand people to maybe 1000 but not all at once.

[Trebuchet]

The vaccine situation here is annoyingly confusing. The state is saying over 65. But our county, whose most important industry is retirement, is saying 80. At least that was Monday; the previous Friday it was 85. And my wife got an invitation from a clinic in another county where she sees a specialist because she's over 70.
The case rate in the other county being significantly worse than ours, we won't be going down there.

[Gillianren]

I hope you get it soon; I hope we can all get it soon.

[Swift]

I hope you get it soon; I hope we can all get it soon.

yes

[Roger E. Moore]

I hope you get it soon; I hope we can all get it soon.

My place of work (South Carolina Department of Social Services) is investigating how long till it gets the vaccine, and my wife is checking through the local pharmacies how long till we can get it.

[Solfe]

I'm not even checking see about this vaccine. My wife got it, my son will get it next month and I have no idea about the other two kids.

I should highlight my wife hates that I have never peeked at a birthday gift, shaken Christmas gifts or ever looked in her purse during our 25+ relationship. It drives her nuts.

"Aren't you curious?" she asks.
"Yes," I answer.
"THEN WHY!?!" she screams.