All About Vaccines

[Catlady in training]

See Noval Djokovic has managed to over-turn (for now) Australian governments attempt to deport him…thereby allowing him to play in Australian Tennis Open in spite of his unvaccinated status.

He won on the grounds of having had a positive PCR test on 16th December (thereby allowing him a three month grace period before Australia’s laws require vaccination.) But in the two days after 16th he attended indoor events where he was in close proximity to many other people. He really does appear to be selfish.

No ****. Is it any wonder though? The current society likes to put sportsmen on a pedestal, treating them like a special class of people just because they can kick/throw/hit a ball. No wonder they start to believe it and think rules for all other people do not apply to them.

[JackDaw]

No ****. Is it any wonder though? The current society likes to put sportsmen on a pedestal, treating them like a special class of people just because they can kick/throw/hit a ball. No wonder they start to believe it and think rules for all other people do not apply to them.

Yes. It’s not surprising.

Unfortunately as I get older also get grumpier and have been known to moan a bit about what a few high profile sportsmen do...but give the far younger 20 year old me the wages, acclaim, etc they get in their early 20, and pretty sure I’d have had the odd lapse from grace.

[JB]

Supreme Court blocks Biden Covid vaccine mandate for businesses, allows health-care worker rule
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/13/supr...-mandates.html

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies, but allowed a vaccine mandate to stand for medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid payments.

The rulings came three days after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency measure started to take effect.

That mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees must get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work.

[JB]

Big changes in the UK.

Javid to abandon Covid passes as the Omicron surge recedes
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/j...edes-nq7cbvgj5

Covid passes are to be abandoned this month after Sajid Javid effectively killed off the policy.

The health secretary has concluded that Covid-19 certification is no longer needed as the Omicron wave eases. He told MPs that he shared their “instinctive discomfort” at the policy.

With ministers keen to lift guidance on working from home when plan B measures are reviewed on January 26, it is increasingly likely that compulsory masks in enclosed spaces will be the only order remaining next month, if restrictions are not dropped entirely.

[Tami]

From Scotland

Unvaccinated pregnant women more likely to experience severe covid symptoms and newborn deaths, study says

Pregnant women who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus are not only more likely to be hospitalized for covid-19, but also at more risk of seeing their newborns die less than a month after birth, according to a peer-reviewed study in Scotland that was published Thursday.

The study was released in Nature Medicine, a monthly journal. The authors looked at more than 144,000 pregnancy records going back to March 2020, when the first coronavirus case was detected in Scotland.

But the authors focused on data between December 2020 and October last year because that was when vaccine shots and tests were more widely available. During that period, the unvaccinated made up 77 percent of all pregnant women who were infected and more than 90 percent who required hospitalization and critical care.

All the infant deaths examined in the study occurred for mothers who had not been vaccinated at the time of their covid-19 diagnoses, the authors said.

The results add urgency to vaccination efforts to protect both parents and babies during the remainder of the pandemic, the authors said: “Our findings emphasize the need for continued efforts to increase vaccination uptake in pregnant women. … Vaccine hesitancy in pregnancy thus requires addressing.”

Pregnant people initially received inconsistent advice about whether and when to get vaccinated, in part because they were not included in initial coronavirus vaccine trials. In April, health officials in the United Kingdom and the United States began to actively encourage vaccination during pregnancy.

The risk of stillbirth or neonatal death — defined as the death of a baby less than a month old — appeared to be highest among women who delivered within four weeks of the onset of infection, the study said. The risks were more than four times higher than those for babies born among the general population.

[Captain Nostalgia]

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/thousand...xxed-1.5736806

More than 7,000 people registered for their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, amid threats by Quebec officials to tax the unvaccinated.

"Our highest in several days," tweeted Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé, noting that 5,000 appointments were also made on Monday. "This is encouraging."

Finally a Canadian politician with grapefruits!

If you don't want to get vaccinated fine, but put your money where your mouth is.....and agree to pay the $25,000 dollar hospital bill when your off the ventilator, otherwise pay a tax to cover the costs of your idiocy.

[Jim Kelly]

Even though I support measures to get people vaccinated, I don't think the Quebec government's idea to charge sick people extra for their treatment is a workable solution. It breaks the basic principle of fair and equal access to health care which is a key Canadian value. We don't punish smokers or the obese by charging them more for their health problems--which some say is their own fault (I don't really believe that myself). It's the proverbial slippery slope--how far is a government going to go down that road? But it does fit with the style of the Quebec government where they try to force everyone to fit their uniform expectations and pass legislation to enforce that. Other governments try to persuade their citizens through education and outreach. I don't think punishment works in the end--it just produces a segment of the population that feels disincluded and then organizes against the government and the rest of the people.

[JB]

Interesting update to the NCAA's guidelines for winter sports.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/artic...-winter-sports

For purposes of the winter guidelines, the NCAA COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group has developed a definition of "fully vaccinated" that considers both vaccination status and other immunity factors that may impact risks for Tier 1 individuals, including student-athletes and coaches. Those considered fully vaccinated include people:

Within two months of having completed the primary series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (one dose).
Within five months of having completed the primary series of the mRNA Pfizer vaccine, or within six months of having completed the primary series of the mRNA Moderna vaccine (two doses for both).
Who have received a booster vaccine if they are beyond two months of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or beyond five or six months of the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, respectively.

A person who has had a documented COVID-19 infection in the past 90 days is considered the equivalent of "fully vaccinated."

[JB]

Omicron variant is half as likely to cause hospitalization and 91% LESS likely to cause death in infected patients when compared to Delta, CDC report finds
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...use-death.html

The Omicron variant is 91% less likely to cause death that the Delta variant, according to data revealed by the CDC.

Omicron is also half as likely to cause hospitalization, and those who do require hospitalization at 75% less likely to end up in the ICU.

The new strain accounts for 98% of U.S. cases, the CDC reports, though deaths have remained relatively low compared to rampant case growth.

Many experts and officials are hopeful that the variant will soon run out of people to infect, and its spread will peak before rapidly declining.

Also, someone told me that the CDC announced that they won't be providing daily death counts anymore, but I haven't found confirmation of that just yet.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Even though I support measures to get people vaccinated, I don't think the Quebec government's idea to charge sick people extra for their treatment is a workable solution. It breaks the basic principle of fair and equal access to health care which is a key Canadian value. We don't punish smokers or the obese by charging them more for their health problems--which some say is their own fault (I don't really believe that myself). It's the proverbial slippery slope--how far is a government going to go down that road? But it does fit with the style of the Quebec government where they try to force everyone to fit their uniform expectations and pass legislation to enforce that. Other governments try to persuade their citizens through education and outreach. I don't think punishment works in the end--it just produces a segment of the population that feels disincluded and then organizes against the government and the rest of the people.

Well I disagree.

The unvaccinated make up about 97% of people in the hospital. They are putting undo strain and cost on the health care system and tax payers as a result.

I think the tax will be effective because it is making the young adults sign up to get vaccinated.

As for the others... My experience with anti vaccers is that they adhere to some weird political credo's, and are the types who complain about having to pay taxes to support public health care as socialism. So if they want to pay privately here is there chance.

[Kieran_Frost]

Well I disagree.

The unvaccinated make up about 97% of people in the hospital. They are putting undo strain and cost on the health care system and tax payers as a result.

I think the tax will be effective because it is making the young adults sign up to get vaccinated.

As for the others... My experience with anti vaccers is that they adhere to some weird political credo's, and are the types who complain about having to pay taxes to support public health care as socialism. So if they want to pay privately here is there chance.

The same could be said for smoking, Obesity. We can't start charging people more because we don't agree with their choices, that way is a slippery slope that leads to madness. I don't know what the answer is, to get people vaccinated, other than trusting in time and the wisdom of self-evaluation to make them see the light... but taxing them isn't the option a good society takes (by good I mean morally good).

[JB]

The same could be said for smoking, Obesity. We can't start charging people more because we don't agree with their choices, that way is a slippery slope that leads to madness. I don't know what the answer is, to get people vaccinated, other than trusting in time and the wisdom of self-evaluation to make them see the light... but taxing them isn't the option a good society takes (by good I mean morally good).

I agree.
Obesity is at the top of the list of conditions that makes covid most dangerous. The CDC just last week cited obesity as the culprit for hospitalizing children with covid. The pandemic was the wakeup call my father needed and he's worked hard to better his health for the last 2 years after struggling with obesity all his life. He was recently taken off all medication for diabetes because his A1C is finally at a safe level and now he's much less likely to be hospitalized should he get covid.
But we can't tax people who decide not to do what my father did.

[Captain Nostalgia]

The same could be said for smoking, Obesity. We can't start charging people more because we don't agree with their choices, that way is a slippery slope that leads to madness. I don't know what the answer is, to get people vaccinated, other than trusting in time and the wisdom of self-evaluation to make them see the light... but taxing them isn't the option a good society takes (by good I mean morally good).

Well....My preference would be that the unvaccinated are charged for their time in the hospital as opposed to being taxed.

Again put your money where your mouth is. Let's see how many anti vaccer rallies there are, after they know they could face a $25,000 dollar bill for choosing to remain unvaccinated.

I bet you some of them drop their kooky political beliefs real fast.

[numberthirty]

The same could be said for smoking, Obesity. We can't start charging people more because we don't agree with their choices, that way is a slippery slope that leads to madness. I don't know what the answer is, to get people vaccinated, other than trusting in time and the wisdom of self-evaluation to make them see the light... but taxing them isn't the option a good society takes (by good I mean morally good).

When we have a shot that will save nine out of ten folks from the most lethal outcomes of smoking or obesity and folks refuse to take that shot?

This will be something like "Apples..."/"Apples..."

Until then?

"Apples..."/"Orange..."

Never mind that it is actually medically impossible for me to catch a smoking habit or obesity from folk who have them. Or for either of them to mutate into potentially more dangerous versions when I catch them.

[numberthirty]

Never mind that we already do tax smokers pretty heavily in the US.