UPDATE, AUG 20:
The Texas Education Agency temporarily stops enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates, as the State Supreme Court ruled that school districts can require face-coverings.
The TEA said it will halt the enforcement until court cases are resolved
Abbott has been prominent in his curbing of containment measures. He tested positive for the virus earlier this week after attending an event with packed, unmasked attendees.
The mask ban had been defied by several large cities, including Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio; seven counties; and 48 school districts.
Daily cases in Texas have increased by 37% over the past 14 days, approaching the record levels of last winter. As of August 8, 829 students and 872 school staff members tested positive.
UPDATE, AUG 19:
President Joe Biden announces a series of measures over the Delta Variant of Coronavirus, both to extend vaccinations and to push back Republican Governors blocking containment efforts.
In a statement from the White House, Biden pointed to booster shots for most vaccinated adults and use of Medicare for the inoculation of staffs in nursing homes.
Biden also directed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to “use all of his authority, and legal action, if appropriate” to stop governors such as Florida’s Ron DeSantis and Texas’s Greg Abbott from banning masks in schools.
Biden said politicians halting mask requirements in school districts are setting a “dangerous tone”: “We’re not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators from protecting our children.”
Without naming DeSantis, he referred to the governor’s threat to reduce the pay of school administrators, saying federal relief funds would cover any cuts.
The Administration is sending letters to eight states — Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah — over masking in classrooms.
Officials said the requirement foe employee vaccination, in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, covers more than 15,000 nursing homes with 1.3 million workers.
If regulators conclude that third shots are safe and effective, the initiative will start on September 20. Officials said they are awaiting data to decide if the 14 million Americans who have received the Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine should have an additional jab.
UPDATE, 1000 GMT:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has tried to block and remove containment measures, has tested positive for Coronavirus.
Abbott’s office said the governor is asymptomatic and is being treated with monoclonal antibodies.
The announcement came hours after Abbott appeared at a meeting in which the crowd was packed and not wearing masks.
.@GregAbbott_TX is at the Republican Club at Heritage Ranch meeting tonight! pic.twitter.com/oIuabG72lU
— Texans for Abbott (@AbbottCampaign) August 17, 2021
UPDATE, 0655 GMT:
Amid Florida’s record surge in Coronavirus cases, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to remove local elected officials.
School leaders in Alachua County and Broward County have resisted DeSantis’ order banning mask mandates.
Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said on Tuesday during a virtual meeting, “We have districts who are picking and choosing what laws they want to follow.”
Alachua County Schools Superintendent Carlee Simon stood up to the pressure from Board of Education officials in the meeting, “If the goal is getting students face to face, then the masks are what helps us get there.”
Other counties, include Miami-Dade, are considering mask mandates despite DeSantis’s threats.
The school districts are at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding. The Biden administration said last week that federal Coronavirus relief funds can be used to cover the cuts.
Corcoran responded on Tuesday by urging the board to disregard any intervention by the US Department of Education.
Board of Education members outlined punishments leading to the removal of school officers or a report to the state Legislature demanding action against districts.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, AUG 18: More than 20% of US intensive care units are at or over 95% capacity, amid the spread of Coronavirus’s Delta variant, a minority of Americans refusing vaccinations, and some Republican governors blocking containment measures such as masks in public spaces.
Coronavirus patients now occupy more than a quarter of ICU beds in use.
The 7-day average for daily Coronavirus cases has soared from 11,237 on June 21 to 139,872 on Tuesday, including almost 260,000 cases on Sunday. The 7-day average for daily deaths is 696, 270% higher than the 188 on July 7.
Last weekend five states — Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon, and Mississippi — broke records for the 7-day average of daily cases. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida have the highest outbreaks in the US on a per capita basis.
Mississippi has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the US, and Louisiana the fifth-lowest. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible Republican Presidential candidate in 2024, has loudly opposed containment measures: he has rejected mask mandates to the point of threatening school districts with loss of funding, and school officials personnel with loss of pay.
Hospital workers are reporting admissions close to the surge numbers over the winter, despite more than 70% of US adults receiving a first vaccine dose and more than 50% of the population fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Alabama became the first state to report “negative” capacity in ICU beds. Arkansas has implemented plans just to have 17 beds available, compared to eight last week.
With 838 Oregonians hospitalized with COVID-19 and 222 in ICUs, plus those hospitalized for other serious illnesses and injuries, 93% of our hospital beds and 90% of our ICU beds are full. https://t.co/TXY7IKL4Om
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) August 18, 2021
With some hospitals struggling to find beds, large tents are being erected. Employees are working overtime, and contract nurses and emergency medical technicians are needed.
Beyond the ICUs, medical personnel are reporting younger patients. More than 1,800 children are now hospitalized, the highest number during the pandemic.
Survey shows that most scientists think that immune escape (resistance to vaccines) and waning immunity are the main problems in dealing with the pandemic, not vaccine hesitancy: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00396-2
Varharan
No, the scientists did *not* say “immune escape (resistance to vaccines) and waning immunity are the main problems in dealing with the pandemic, not vaccine hesitancy”.
Here is the sub-headline from your link: “Many scientists expect the virus that causes COVID-19 to become endemic, but it could pose less danger over time.”
Northern Ireland nurse reports many vaccine injuries among healthy people in Derry: https://hugotalks.com/2021/08/22/n-ireland-doctor-talks-about-massive-increase-in-jab-victims-blood-clotting-hugo-talks-lockdown/?fbclid=IwAR3DOUI2BuDgtmJXUWV4Zqj_yXUJ0mbLyhVJBKn5RFtGrgRFgH8dlqRozAM
Daneshmand (Varharan/Reza),
The “Northern Ireland nurse” is actually a GP who has become locally known for her opposition to any containment measures over Coronavirus.
Dr Ann McCloskey was contacted last September by the body overseeing doctors because she compared masks to “using a sheep fence to keep out mosquitos”.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/09/16/news/retired-derry-gp-contacted-by-regulator-over-her-opposition-to-masks-2067945/
Blood clots have occurred after vaccinations; however, they are rare — the incidence is less than the rate of clots among the general population.
S.
“Not “experimental” but given emergency authorization for use because of pandemic conditions.”
Are there any other mRNA vaccines other than for Covid-19? Nobody knows the possible long-term effects of them. But those familiar with the technology are warning of possible antibody dependent enhancement reactions among the vaccinated: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2538-8
“Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of disease is a general concern for the development of vaccines and antibody therapies because the mechanisms that underlie antibody protection against any virus have a theoretical potential to amplify the infection or trigger harmful immunopathology. ”
The mRNA vaccine works by getting cells to make antibodies that attack the spike protein of the virus. It also does not get T-cells to adapt in any way.
Varharan,
Once again, you mangle a link by removing context and distorting the article.
You’ll note that this is from July 2020 — in other words, five months before the rollout of the vaccines. *At that time*, the authors understandably called for study of potential effects.
“First, comprehensive studies are urgently needed to define clinical correlates of protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Second, because ADE of disease cannot be reliably predicted after either vaccination or treatment with antibodies — regardless of what virus is the causative agent — it will be essential to depend on careful analysis of safety in humans as immune interventions for COVID-19 move forward.”
Clinical trials through the autumn did exactly this. That is why the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines and later Moderna and J&J were given emergency authorization.
S.
Cerebral venous thrombosis after vaccination against COVID-19: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01608-1/fulltext
Just the tip of the iceberg…
It comes as experts in China warn that mRNA vaccines potentially have very dangerous side effects: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1213842.shtml
“Unlike inactivated vaccines (viral vector), the large-scale use of mRNA vaccines carries the risk of causing abnormal immune dysfunction, allergy or even death especially among the elderly and people with underlying diseases.”
Varharan,
No, “not the tip of the iceberg”.
From the study in The Lancet, “A new syndrome of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) has emerged as a *rare* side-effect of vaccination against COVID-19.”
The article in the Global Times, a Chinese State publication, is not a scientific paper but propaganda aimed at the US Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
S.
You do realize that mRNA vaccines have never been approved for use on the public before and are still experimental?
Another major issue with mRNA vaccines is their durability. Already we are being told that booster shots will be required every 6 months.
Varharan,
Not “experimental” but given emergency authorization for use because of pandemic conditions.
US FDA is likely to give Pfizer full approval for use within the next week.
S.
According to the CDC, nearly 7,000 people i the United States have died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html
Many more have suffered a serious side effect, including a permanent disability.
Varharan,
If you keep posting misinformation, your comments will be pre-screened or even blocked.
Here is the actual CDC summary:
“Reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. More than 357 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through August 16, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 6,789 reports of death (0.0019%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it’s unclear whether the vaccine was the cause. Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.”
S.
Varharan,
Children’s Health Defense is a well-known anti-vaccatination disinformation site — so your post is deleted.