Pandemics and Epidemiology (COVID-19, monkeypox, etc.)

Gee, the federal government that has been utterly bungling handling the pandemic at every opportunity bungled this, too? I'm not surprised, but I am really sad.

soothing headpat

Edit: I promise, It Makes Sense in Context. Part of it, anyway. Weirdest pagetopper I’ve had in a while.

Edited by Altris on Aug 1st 2020 at 1:34:55 AM

So, let's hang an anchor from the sun... also my Tumblr

First amongst firsts, indeed...

Optimism is a duty.

Indonesia update: 111.145 confirmed (+1.519), 68.975 recovered or discharged (+1.056) and 5.236 dead (+43).

Scaled seeker

1 new case imported today in Taiwan. Another person arriving from the Philippines.

Also, it seems like that one Belgian guy might have had had it before arriving in Taiwan - he apparently had previously suffered telltale symptoms of it before he arrived in Taiwan like loss of taste and smell even though he didn't get tested for it in Belgium for...some reason. In light of that, I'm listing him as an imported case again pending new info.

475 total, 55 domestic, 36 from the fleet, 7 deceased, 441 released.

Edited by M84 on Aug 2nd 2020 at 8:47:00 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

I came across this interesting article from AP about the prevalence of corona conspiracy theories and misinformation. What stuck out to me was this quote at the end:

Having to (try to) wean my own mother off of conspiracy theories seemingly every other week, this hit me hard.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Aug 2nd 2020 at 9:48:28 AM

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

That's not some brand new discovery, there...

The leader of the lower chamber of the US parliament has said she has no confidence in White House coronavirus adviser Birx.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Sorry to be pedantic, but not Parliament, Congress. We have no Parliament.

She's a leader of the opposite party to Trump, so not surprising. But I wouldn't trust any information coming from the White House, either.

Edited by PointMaid on Aug 2nd 2020 at 11:20:28 AM

I never said it was.

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

^^^I was writing to a more general audience, and Congress is just a specific form of a parliament.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

That's like saying captilism is the same as communism. They're both forms of government, but they're not the same thing.

Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around

Congress and Parliament are both legislatures, so I can see how they can be considered variations on a theme...but “parliamentary” and “republican” are the two main, distinct forms of democratic government, so it’s simpler and clearer if we don’t refer to the legislatures of republican systems as ‘parliaments’.

Call Congress the US legislature if you like.

Edited by Galadriel on Aug 2nd 2020 at 2:56:40 PM

Huh?

Parliament is simply the name for a lawmaking assembly, irrespective of what kind of government it is in. Republic is anything that is not a monarchy. Both monarchies (e.g the United Kingdom) and republics (e.g Switzerland) have parliaments. "Congress" is simply a particular title that the US parliament uses to have.

Anyhow, since it's offtopic now: Melbourne in Australia has declared a mega lockdown:

''Melbourne is waking up to its first full day of Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions, after the first night of a curfew predicted to run for six weeks.

Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday declared a state of disaster for Victoria, and announced a raft of new measures to try to contain the state's burgeoning COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to the curfew and new restrictions, "significant changes" to workplaces are due to be announced today.

Penalties for flouting curfew are also expected to be clarified today. Mr Andrews did not officially confirm these yesterday, but did say that anyone breaking curfew risked being fined $1652 on the spot or facing a $10,000 fine in court.''

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Parliamentary System: Head of government is responsible to the legislature ("the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the confidence of the legislature")
Presidential System: Head of government is NOT responsible to the legislature, they are elected separately ("A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentary system, where the head of government comes to power by gaining the confidence of an elected legislature")

Random question:

Has anyone stopped to think what'll happen if any of the vaccines don't work? That's what everyone is pinning their hopes on

Will we be dealing with masks/social distancing/lockdowns/businesses and industries collapsing for the rest of our lives?

I guess, after a night of pillaging and raping, a Viking wants a little something to go with his cocoa.

If nothing else, doesn't this mean there's no good reason not to call it Congress?

They keep trying until one does.

Seriously, how many times do we have to go through this?

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

People say I'm doomsaying when I'm really not.

How is that not a realistic scenario? Are there not hundreds of other viruses/illnesses for which an effective vaccine was never created?

I guess, after a night of pillaging and raping, a Viking wants a little something to go with his cocoa.

And what makes you think this will be one of them?

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

Yeah the likelihood is that some of the vaccines won’t work, that’s why they’re trying to make so many different ones, so that we’ll end up with a handful that do work and can be used to cover all the different types we’ll need.

Even if vaccines don’t work perfectly that doesn’t mean the disease will be with us this way forever, some great progress has been made on treatment, if case severity be reduced via vaccines and then treatment can make getting over it relatively simple than we might not even need a full immunity vaccination.

None that have had this level of commitment towards the creation of a vaccine.

With a lot of diseases it‘s not that we couldn’t make a vaccine, is that we don’t need to because the disease isn’t as easily transmitted or as deadly.

Edited by Silasw on Aug 2nd 2020 at 7:42:47 PM

"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran

Just remember these two points:

1. Covid-19 was able to spread the way it did because it was new in humans, so NOBODY had antibodies or immune cell memory of it.

2. Diseases often get less deadly as time goes on. Killing or sickening your host before they can pass it on to others is counterproductive.

Edited by PointMaid on Aug 2nd 2020 at 3:43:06 PM

Thank you to both you guys. That's what I needed to hear.

Honestly, news articles/the media commit far more fearmongering than they really should, building things up to apocalypse scenario and causing anxious people (like me) to start feeling terrified and hopeless.

Glad to see there's still reasonable people out there

Edited by MrHellboy on Aug 2nd 2020 at 2:42:38 PM

I guess, after a night of pillaging and raping, a Viking wants a little something to go with his cocoa.

Uuuuuuuuh, no.

Media have to play up the apocalyptic scenarios because otherwise we get overrun with covidiots and out breaks resulting from them. Until we have the effective vaccines or treatments people have to observe anti-coronavirus measures or else healthcare systems break down and thousands die.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

For clarifications sake:

1. We already have antibodies for Covid-19 from people who have recovered from it. Vaccines are about replicating those.

2. Those following the subject know we already have vaccines that work. They're not 100% tested but they're like 95% tested.

A lot of people think we're still experimenting with the vaccine when we're almost to the release stage. The issue isn't that they won't work, the issue is worrying that they might have a side effect of some kind and making sure that doesn't happen to a huge chunk of the population.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Aug 2nd 2020 at 12:59:50 PM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.

EDIT: Forget it.

Actually , haven't they already had a great many good results so far? I haven't read about any serious side effects

There would have been plenty of Covidiots even without the media doomsaying. I'm not anti-mask or doing whatever we need to to be safe, but I am anti-lockdown, at least for an extended period of time. People still need to get out of the house and live their lives

Edited by MrHellboy on Aug 2nd 2020 at 3:07:09 AM

I guess, after a night of pillaging and raping, a Viking wants a little something to go with his cocoa.

Australian state governments have raked $5.2 million in COVID-19-related fines, with Queensland earning almost $3 million on its own.

Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)