Coronavirus endemic, which means life probably won't be the same

 

I don't really think the COVID-19 pandemic has established a pattern that can predict what to expect for the future. I did a recent post, "Time markers like B.C. and A.D. now have competition, that proposes similarities like A.D. and B.C. to coincide with the current situation. But there is perhaps even another element that takes precedence over the others...during pandemic or D.P. We seem to be in a limbo where medical technology must catch up with science...

"Nature asked more than 100 immunologists, infectious-disease researchers and virologists working on the coronavirus whether it could be eradicated. Almost 90% of respondents think that the coronavirus will become endemic — meaning that it will continue to circulate in pockets of the global population for years to come."

Look at this article from Nature, scroll down to "Endemic Future" for how the scientific community predicts our future. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis says...

“Eradicating this virus right now from the world is a lot like trying to plan the construction of a stepping-stone pathway to the Moon. It’s unrealistic.”

We are most likely to stay in the DP period for some time. 

Coronavirus latest developments you should be aware of

 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blows off recent COVID-19 figures from Florida, and says the media criticizes him but not blue states. Here are some very accurate figures: Fla. #3 total virus cases; #4 total deaths. As of February14, "Florida's Department of Health has reportedly refused to share data about the number of COVID variants found in the state. Florida has two coastlines of beaches with each having its share of super spreaders. 

But what is worrying everyone is spring break. Young people seem to go into complete denial when it comes to things like this annual tradition that brings together millions on Florida beaches where masks and distancing are repressed for fun. And then there is the Kentucky schmuck, Senator Rand Paul, a Republican, of course, who has had the virus, but is a doctor who should know he could get reinfected or become a carrier. He still refuses to wear a mask.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has just released a scathing report with "wide-reaching condemnation of President Donald Trump’s botched response to the coronavirus pandemic." Here's the scenario...

"The 346-page Government Accountability Office document, much longer than most, outlines broad Trump administration failures so alarming that the normally circumspect auditors pronounced themselves 'deeply troubled.'”

The Washington Post has more...

"Almost 90 percent — 27 of 31 — of the GAO’s recommendations from June, September and November “remained unimplemented” as of Jan. 15, less than a week before Trump left office."

Iowa is still in the forefront with the governor's decision to rescind all COVID-19 precautionary measures. "On Feb. 5, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she was lifting nearly all of her restrictions on businesses, gatherings and masks." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky commented...

"What I would say is now is the time to not let up our guard. Now is the time to double down. Still with a 100,000 cases a day, still with over 2.5 times the cases we had over the summer."

Although the U.S. has dropped below the 100,000 cases per day mark, there is still the threat of new new variants and Iowa has recently confirmed a total of 8 of the U.K. mutations. Research is limited so far but early results are showing the variants are definitely more transmissible, perhaps more contagious and dangerous. 

But the most troubling thing I have come across since the start of the pandemic is this article from New Scientist explaining that two of the variants have combined their genomes "to form a heavily mutated hybrid version of the virus." A genome is an organism's complete set of genetic instructions, a full set of chromosomes. The “recombination” event was discovered in a virus sample in California, a good sign that the pandemic might be entering a new phase.

Scientific explanation...

"Unlike regular mutation, where changes accumulate one at a time, which is how variants such as B.1.1.7 arose, recombination can bring together multiple mutations in one go. Most of the time, these don’t confer any advantage to the virus, but occasionally they do." 

The most frightening consideration here is that this new mutation process seems to be able to do whatever it wants to do, regardless of our medical and scientific efforts. and in the process become more deadly. So what can we do? As Dr. Fauci has been saying from the beginning, wash your hands, wear a mask, now double, when in public, and practice social distancing. It is still his premise that, by employing these simple precautions, we could bring the pandemic to its knees. 

Rush Limbaugh dead but will not RIP

 

Rush Limbaugh dead at the age of 70, and I have absolutely nothing good to say about the man. As far as I am concerned, he was the scourge of the radical right and did more harm to this country that will no doubt last for decades. Limbaugh was a practiced and prolific liar and conspiracy theorist. I cringe when I see Fox News Tucker Carlson slowly transitioning into his shoes. There will be accolades from conservatives but nothing will ever justify Rush Limbaugh.

Time markers like B.C. and A.D. now have competition

 

You know that B.C stands for before Christ., A.D. covers the period after Christ. But did you know that B.P. stands for before pandemic and A.P. stands for after pandemic. We know what it was like in B.P., but there is a question by many health experts if there will ever be an end to A.P. There is a reason for all this and LiveScience explains it...

"The idea of counting years has been around for as long as we have written records, but the idea of syncing up where everyone starts counting is relatively new. Today the international standard is to designate years based on a traditional reckoning of the year Jesus was born — the A.D. and B.C. system."

"A.D. stands for anno domini, Latin for in the year of the lord, and refers specifically to the birth of Jesus Christ. B.C. stands for "before Christ."

The concept of B.P. and A.P. is my idea and does not have any scholastic or

scientific background. It just seems to me that the COVID-19 issue has become so profound that it deserves its own recognition. It will be hard to establish a "Year 1" actual date, but one day, hopefully, Dr. Fauci will be able to do this. In the meantime, we are currently wallowing in A.P. trying to get our ducks together to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

LiveScience tells us...

"The B.C./A.D. system gained in popularity in the ninth century after Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne adopted the system for dating acts of government throughout Europe."

Something tells me that there is another addition with B.P. and A.P., namely D.P., which stands for during pandemic. The reason for this is the inclination of many medical and scientific experts proclaiming the virus could be with us for a while. And right at the top for reasoning is the introduction recently of new variants of COVID-19 from the U.K., Brazil and So. Africa. Further, California has come up with its own version. 

WHO, the World Health Organization, has a timeline on the coronavirus pandemic listing December 31, 2020, as the starting point. This might be a good date for judging "Year 1," but there is so much we don't know at this point, especially from China where the whole thing is supposed to have originated.. In the U.S. there are now 28,283,497 cases, 497,591 deaths. It could have been better in lieu of a mentally disturbed individual in the White House for four years.

Coronavirus pandemic bad enough but Robt. F. Kennedy Jr. just makes it worse

 

Would John F. Kennedy turn over in his grave, or would he agree with his nephew, Robt. F. Kennedy, Jr. in the denial of vaccines to prevent COVID-19? I believe the former, and it is tragic to see this once politically famous family go down in flames. For repeatedly making false claims about coronavirus vaccines, Robt. F has been banned from Instagram. This is significant since much of anti- vaxxer misinformation is passed along through social media.

However, "His Facebook account remains active despite similar claims posted there." Yet Instagram is a part of Facebook. Go figure. And here is one of his bizarre lies...connecting the death of legendary baseball player Hank Aaron to the Covid-19 vaccine. Kennedy is a lawyer and should know better; anyone this educated should understand science making it clear since the COVID-19 pandemic started that vaccinations are the precursor to protection from the virus.

Kennedy's advocacy is not acceptable as two variants of the pandemic are raging across the U.S., one from Great Britain and one from So. Africa. At the same time we have our homegrown variant from California which is spreading in 12 states and a few countries. Being highly transmissible, and the UK B117 has been judged more contagious, plus the fact that even the current vaccines aren't guaranteed against these variants, anti-vaxxers are doing great harm to other Americans.

And if this wasn't bad enough, Dr. Rishi Desai, chief medical officer at Osmosis and former CDC epidemic intelligence officer reports...

"As the medical community warns about highly transmissible mutations of COVID-19, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts are among states rolling back pandemic-related restrictions."

But if you're still not convinced, this recent headline from National Public Radio should rattle your cage: "Why The Pandemic Is 10 Times Worse Than You Think." There is reasoning behind this statement and it comes from a research team at Columbia University which has built a mathematical model giving a much more complete picture of how much virus is circulating in our communities. And it's much more scary...

"It estimates how many people are never counted because they never get tested. And it answers a second question that is arguably even more crucial — but that until now has not been reliably estimated: On any given day, what is the total number of people who are actively infectious? This includes those who may have been infected on previous days but are still shedding virus and capable of spreading disease."

Here's the model's conclusion...

"On any given day, the actual number of active cases — people who are newly infected or still infectious — is likely 10 times that day's official number of reported cases."

We've been warned about asymptomatics, and, of course, there are deniers squirming everywhere, so there is every reason to believe these numbers, especially when you consider the U.S. has racked up 28,093,867 cases and 492,119 deaths from COVID-19. But why are people still protesting the very science that will save their lives? Aljazeera has this answer...

"Lockdowns have been financially devastating for millions of people who have been unable to work and lost their incomes. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), unemployment has soared across major economies since the beginning of the pandemic."

I will accept that conclusion but must add that in the U.S. there is a group that

erroneously believe they are fighting for their rights against a government that is attempting to curb their rights.  This gang of misfits, led by Donald Trump, is the major factor that is interfering with pandemic control in the U.S. And, until we rid the country of this faction, COVID-19 and several other problems before the current new President, Joe Biden, will haunt our progress as a free nation.

Trump acquitted, giving even more power to extreme right

 

Donald Trump has been acquitted in the impeachment trial even with seven Republican Senators crossing the aisle and voting for conviction. Moscow Mitch releases a glaring put down of Trump, yet votes to acquit him. Lindsey Graham got his nose out of Trump's butt long enough to vote to acquit. Greg Sargent's prediction in the Washington Post was fulfilled...

"Mark it now: The vast majority of them will agree that the storming of the Capitol was an abomination and that the perpetrators must be held to account. But little by little, many will migrate to a place where Trump himself is absolutely and comprehensively exonerated from any culpability for inciting it in any way."

It is frightening for sane thinking people--yes, there are still some left--who have come to realize that Republicans have absolutely no honor left. This radical right would let a lunatic go in the face of overwhelming evidence that he committed terrible atrocities while in office. Donald Trump will go down as the most vile and corrupt president to ever serve this country, but also the world's most effective con man. But these morons in the Senate acquitted him. 

And if this isn't enough, there is a new proliferation of self-proclaimed "prophets"

who, according to Alex Henderson of AlterNet, "are known for making political predictions." Ruth Graham of the New York Times reports that "some of them have turned out to be way off in their predictions." Graham adds...

"Such 'prophets,' according to Graham, are likely to promote political conspiracy theories."

These heretics operate mostly online and are, according to Graham...

"are part of the rising appeal of conspiracies in Christian settings, echoed by the popularity of QAnon among many evangelicals and a resistance to mainstream sources of information."

But let me tell you, there is no bigger threat to this country--that is other than Donald Trump--than Fox News anchor, Tucker Carlson. I wish someone had done the same tally on him as they did on Donald Trump lies. However, there are a couple of PolitiFact sites here, and here. that will give you an idea just how deceitful and dishonest this lowlife is. Max Boot of the Washington Post says...

"When Donald Trump was in office, he posed the most dangerous threat to American democracy. With the former president now golfing full-time, the most dangerous threat may well emanate from the Fox 'News' Channel — and specifically from its top-rated host, Tucker Carlson. He seems to be on a mission to make America’s worst problems even worse."

One of Carlson's specialties is promoting vaccine conspiracies, which influences people in the wrong direction and a major threat to their health. He is the epitome of an anti-vaxxer, anti-masks, anti-distancing, all rolled into one pompous moron. Tucker Carlson is the go-to for far-right extremists who, according to AlterNet "have the potential to mount a coordinated, low-intensity campaign of political violence." From the Proud Boys to QAnon, these noodle-heads are dangerous.

AlterNet reports...

"Several U.S. security experts say they now consider domestic extremism a greater threat to the country than international terror. According to my [The Conversation] research on political violence, the U.S. has all the elements that, combined, can produce a low-intensity terrorist conflict: extreme polarization and armed factions willing to break the law, in a wealthy democracy with a strong government.

The article points out that during modern days, civil wars only break out in poor countries where leadership is weak or non-existent. Yet, Donald Trump, in his four years in office has driven the powerhouse United States to the point of all-out insurrection with a radical faction that only seems to get stronger. Joe Biden is busy with controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and there are other issues on his plate like immigration and minimum wage but we all must look out for the radical right.

Latest News for those in a hurry

 

Joe Biden wants to eliminate credit bureaus. His idea is to transfer all data to a public registry under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I found numerous violations of consumer rights as a private advocate several years ago. My question is, would the government handling this be any better...or worse? Read More...

Sorry but I cannot conjure up the least amount of sympathy for a sleaze, namely Rush Limbaugh, that has spewed downright dangerous rhetoric for this country over the years. Example...

"Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Limbaugh told listeners that the virus was no worse than 'the common cold' and that the news media had 'weaponized' the crisis to hurt Trump."

Limbaugh needs to go and he can take the rest of conservative talk radio with
him. Read More...

Election officials across the country are experiencing a rash of phone calls from Republican voters. Their primary concern is what happened on January 6, at the nation's Capital. Insurrection orchestrated by Donald Trump with lives lost and over 200 rioters in jail. The result is 1,000s of Republicans are leaving the party, 33,000 from California alone. Read More...

The big question today is who's in control? Demented State Republican Parties would have us believe it is still Donald Trump. Here's an example from Alex Henderson of AlterNet...

"In the view of the Oregon Republican Party, what transpired on Jan. 6 was not an insurrection — and the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol were not supporters of Donald Trump. Rather, the uprising that the world witnessed that day was a 'false flag.' Its aim, according to the party, was to discredit Trump and 'advance the Democrat goal of seizing total power, in a frightening parallel to the February 1933 burning of the German Reichstag.'"

Joe Biden needs to get Merrick Garland confirmed and in his seat as Attorney General. 

Gun sales are booming with 330 million firearms on the street. With a U.S. population of 329 million, wouldn't you say that is enough? Not so say the 40 million who purchased guns in 2020, plus another 4.1 million in January of 2021. This is both obscene and insane when you consider America's gun violence is the second highest in the world. Douglas A. McIntyre of USA Today says...

"Growing civil unrest may have prompted people to buy guns for personal and family protection, many social scientists have posited, although this remains a matter of debate. Another theory is that chaos brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is a major cause."

This may be true to some extent but McIntyre leaves out the most important reason. These buyers, led by the NRA's head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, are making these purchases because of the propaganda fed to them by the gun lobby. Don't be misled, LaPierre, like Trump, may be temporarily disabled, but there is still power in both of these misfits. Five-million of this total were new buyers with sales to women up 40%. Fortunately Joe Biden plans to take on the gun lobby.