USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

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Al Capone Junior
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USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Al Capone Junior » Sun Mar 21, 2021 4:16 pm

Fair warning: this might be a teensy weensey bit ranty.

Clearly nobody was as prepared for a novel virus pandemic than the usa. However, we obviously didn't account for the astoundingly high levels of ignorance, stupidity, denialism, and stubborn belligerence that infests this country. Moreover, the belief that being a Christian gives you the right to be a complete douchebag to everyone, all the time, confounds the matter. Although to be fair, religion isn't the only thing needed to be a complete f.cking drag on society, but it really helps.

And to be fair again, much of the blame for how unbelievably pathetic the response to this crisis has been is due to the consequences of electing first, a lousy actor, and then, a couple or three decades later, electing a lousy reality show cast member, who has piss-flavored cotton candy for hair. Well, that, and the staggering number of ultra-asswipes who, brainwashed by their confirmation bias driven feeds (which recommend alex jones 15,000,000,000 times in one year), don't see a problem there.

And with every raging moment of the virus and every mounting body count, we double down on the stupid, each time trying to out-outrageous the over the top-ness of the last a..hole, who also should just STFU.

And in perfect accordance with al's law*, progress of any kind is always met with staunch opposition. Weaponized virtue is wielded like a sword, and used to shield the douchey from being called out on their crap, and to shut down debate.

Meanwhile, tucker the sh.t-spewer carlson is prominently featured daily on fox, and marjorie greene**, super-c.nt extraordinaire, gets elected to congress.

Justifying hate and selfishness whilst whining about your "rights" has supplanted completely the notion of social responsibility. Governors are declaring the pandemic over, despite the very predictable consequences of such stupidity immediately coming to pass. But this just results in more doubling-down on the spewed sh.t that really is stinking up the place these days.

Now we should give credit to Biden for choosing to focus on the pandemic, rollout of vaccines, and in getting ppl to come together, stop being so angry and try working together again***. But given the recent security witch hunt against pot smokers in the white house, the fact that he has been part of the political machine for so long dispels the notion that major, meaningful changes have much hope of resulting from his election****. Undoing the disasters of the previous administration would be acceptable tho.

So here we stand, bibles in one hand, guns in the other, unaware that we are the laughing stock of the world, and deservingly so. Our influence in the world has been decimated, and the pandemic will likely smoulder on for years, if not decades.

But god will not save us from ourselves. We're going to have to face reality, and that right soon. I don't know if I will live to see Florida underwater, but I'm pretty sure that my niece and nephews will (10, 13, 19). I would hope that they will be less narrow minded, and see that Florida's submergence coincides with the disappearance of entire nations, and displacement of huge numbers of ppl, who are just like us, homo sapiens. And when the next novel virus emerges from the wild and jumps species into us, I hope they choose to be something more than just selfish a..holes when facing it.

*no matter how idiotic the idea, not only is someone on the internet flogging it, but they have a following

**mod snip: I have removed some of this post because it breaches rules 2 and 3. /mod snip

***note that I am not saying that things were really better in the past, as Steven Pinker has soundly shot that notion down. But occasionally there are certain narrow aspects of the past that were in fact better than they are today.

****note that I am not dissing the man, he was the obvious choice, and I think his efforts to get ppl vaccinated are genuine. However, I in fact did not vote for Biden. I wrote in Niel Degrass Tyson on my ballot

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by shpalman » Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:39 pm

Herainestold wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:34 pm
America is sitting on 30 million doses of AZ, which has not been approved for use in the US. No vaccines have been exported from the USA.
The EU would totally be within their rights to block vaccine exports until a significant portion of the populace is vaccinated. Its not like they are going to impoverished third world nations.
The White House said it was finalizing plans to send a total of 4 million vaccines to neighbors Canada and Mexico on Thursday, in the country's first exports of shots.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Herainestold » Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:38 pm

shpalman wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:39 pm
Herainestold wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:34 pm
America is sitting on 30 million doses of AZ, which has not been approved for use in the US. No vaccines have been exported from the USA.
The EU would totally be within their rights to block vaccine exports until a significant portion of the populace is vaccinated. Its not like they are going to impoverished third world nations.
The White House said it was finalizing plans to send a total of 4 million vaccines to neighbors Canada and Mexico on Thursday, in the country's first exports of shots.
That is good news for the citizens of those countries.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Millennie Al » Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:59 am

Al Capone Junior wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 4:16 pm
due to the consequences of electing first, a lousy actor, and then, a couple or three decades later,
If Reagan did something and you haven't fixed it after thirty years, the problem is not with him but with you.
marjorie greene**

**mod snip: I have removed some of this post because it breaches rules 2 and 3. /mod snip
Not only is this totally unacceptable as sexism, it's also stupid as the problem is her behaviour, not her appearance. By criticising her appearance you diminish your argument against her behaviour (which, I notice, you give no examples of).
However, I in fact did not vote for Biden. I wrote in Niel Degrass Tyson on my ballot
Well, in that case when you need is a mirror and a long hard look in it. In the election there were only two outcomes with any chance of happening: Trump gets elected or Biden gets elected. You had a chance to influcence that and wasted it. Don't complain that others refuse to face reality when you do it too.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by shpalman » Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:28 am

AstraZeneca Covid vaccine 79% effective with no increased blood clot risk according to some newspaper writing about the US trial.

By the way, I didn't make the mistake of actually reading Al's rant in the OP, and from the replies, I think I made the right call there.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by discovolante » Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:35 am

I've edited the OP as part of it breached the forum rules, and moved a few posts responding solely to that part to The Pit. I've only edited Millenie Al's post rather than moving it as it deals with a few different points in the OP.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Al Capone Junior » Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:53 am

Fair enough, points taken. I won't bother with repeating what ms greene has spewed forth, bc it'll just piss me off. Suffice it to say it was so over the top that even repugnicans on the hill felt the need to sanction her bc of it. What's more scary, mitch mcconnell saying you've gone too far? Or the fact that enough ppl willingly voted to get such a person into office, even after they heard the hate and vitriol coming from her mouth?

I know the repugnicans have made hate and violating other people's rights a mainstream thing, and Im real worried that this will combine with gun nuttery to actually produce another civil war.

It's hard to not be furious all the time, but ditching all social media permanently helps quite a bit.


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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by shpalman » Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:31 pm

Meanwhile the US is continuing to waste (some unspecified fraction of) Pfizer and Moderna doses due to not having the right syringes. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03 ... ted-states
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bagpuss » Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:14 am

This is a very good Tableau Public dashboard of US vaccine rollout.

The map of % vaccinated is interesting and mostly much as you'd expect, although I was slightly surprised by Alaska, New Mexico and South Dakota topping the list of % population vaccinated. My surprise may, however, be more indicative of my ignorance of these states rather than any genuinely surprising thing happening.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Martin_B » Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:32 am

bagpuss wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:14 am
This is a very good Tableau Public dashboard of US vaccine rollout.

The map of % vaccinated is interesting and mostly much as you'd expect, although I was slightly surprised by Alaska, New Mexico and South Dakota topping the list of % population vaccinated. My surprise may, however, be more indicative of my ignorance of these states rather than any genuinely surprising thing happening.
Both Alaska and South Dakota are probably much smaller populations than you think, and all three do have high % of the population concentrated in a small number of locations (especially Alaska). However, I suspect that this may be common for many inland 'rural' US states.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by monkey » Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm

CDC do that at the county level, which may be a bit more informative, if you can remember where cities/the denser bits are. But only for fully vaccinated, but that should look similar to at least one vaccine. Kind of makes more sense now some people would have had the J+J jab.

Warning: it's not the best map I've ever used.

clicky

Georgia sucks, Texas is a dick.

It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise). Looks like there's a bit of correlation between % vaccinated and level of community transmission on the CDC map.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm

monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by monkey » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:52 pm

bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm
monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
I vaguely remember people talking about it, but don't know what the outcome was. My quick google just turned up news stories about how differently States are doing things, so my possible is doing a lot of work there.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:18 pm

monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:52 pm
bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm
monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
I vaguely remember people talking about it, but don't know what the outcome was. My quick google just turned up news stories about how differently States are doing things, so my possible is doing a lot of work there.
States are definitely each doing their own thing. It's entirely possible that some states are allocating doses regionally within the state based on who knows what factors.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Herainestold » Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am

bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm
monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Martin_B » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:43 am

Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am
bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm
monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
I'm not sure if that would be a Federal decision or a state decision. And trying to get states to play nice with each other is a perennial issue. Some states would probably rather destroy their own stock than give it to a neighbouring state!
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by tom p » Wed Apr 21, 2021 8:08 am

Martin_B wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:43 am
Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am
bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm

I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
I'm not sure if that would be a Federal decision or a state decision. And trying to get states to play nice with each other is a perennial issue. Some states would probably rather destroy their own stock than give it to a neighbouring state!
You'd think, given the insane levels of jingoistic patriotism and general a..holeishness in the USA, that 'take the vaccine, or we'll have to give it to California' would work to spur the hesitant into getting their jabs in the c.nty states, if only to piss off those fags in San Fransisco & liberal elites in LA

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Herainestold » Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:33 pm

Martin_B wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:43 am
Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am
bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm

I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
I'm not sure if that would be a Federal decision or a state decision. And trying to get states to play nice with each other is a perennial issue. Some states would probably rather destroy their own stock than give it to a neighbouring state!
My understanding was that it was being distributed according to population and that was a federal decision that could be changed. Some counties in Wyoming (a small state in terms of population) are refusing more shipments because their freezers are full, nobody wants it. Meanwhile Michigan is begging for more doses and being refused.
I dont know if states can ship their allotment to other states. Maybe not.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:24 pm

Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am
bolo wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:36 pm
monkey wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:25 pm
It's possible that some states have been given more jabs because they've been hit badly by the virus (either through idiocy, or otherwise).
I don't think so. The governor of Michigan tried hard to persuade Biden that this would be a good idea, and was essentially told to get lost.
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
They could, they have decided not to.

It's a federal decision.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:27 pm

Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:33 pm
I dont know if states can ship their allotment to other states. Maybe not.
Possibly. In the DC area, I know there were some transfers between DC, Maryland, and Virginia, because so many people work in one and live in another. But I'm not sure what the rules are about that, if any, but I doubt there would be very extensive transfers between states, for (state-level) political reasons.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:37 pm

bolo wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:24 pm
Herainestold wrote:
Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:17 am
Couldn't they shift doses from vaccine hesitant states to ones in dire need, like Michigan?
They could, they have decided not to.

It's a federal decision.
There's a daily COVID briefing from the White House by Andy Slavitt, Rochelle Walensky, and Tony Fauci. From Monday's remarks by Slavitt:
Just because a state may be behind in their demand for vaccines or it may take a little more work to get vaccines into arms in some places relative to others, it does not mean that we think we should be giving up on those locations. It does not mean that we think they should lose those doses and they should be automatically transferred somewhere else.

It just simply means that we and the state and county officials and local doctors need to work harder to listen to the local communities and — as Dr. Fauci, I think, so well said — allow people to get the information that they need to make the decision about whether to get vaccinated or not.

So we are going to make sure everybody, no matter where you are in the country, has ample opportunity to get vaccinated. We are not going to, quote, unquote, “punish” less — less ready areas.

We’re going to actually work harder with them to make sure that people have the information they need.

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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Herainestold » Thu Apr 22, 2021 4:38 am

I understand the reasoning but it seems to be an inefficient use of resources to send doses to freezers in some states when other states are begging for them.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by Martin_B » Thu Apr 22, 2021 6:21 am

Herainestold wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 4:38 am
I understand the reasoning but it seems to be an inefficient use of resources to send doses to freezers in some states when other states are begging for them.
I guess it's a balance between that, and the inefficiency in delaying the dispatch of doses by determining exact requirements of each state.

I mean the big supermarkets (for example) can work out re-stocking requirements for individual stores, but they're based on long-term historical requirements and well-established stock accounting software, not on something which has only been operating for <6 months and has had widely varying requirements during that period.
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Re: USA: covid, vaccine rollout, and new levels of idiocy

Post by bolo » Thu Apr 22, 2021 5:01 pm

I agree with that, and especially because the rollout is going so fast now that by the time you got finished arguing about a changed strategy, it might be overtaken by events anyway. As of this week, everyone 16+ is now eligible, and availability is far better than it used to be. BoloJr (age 17, no aggravating conditions or special status) was able to get an appointment yesterday to be vaccinated today.

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