Corona-zona

  Two updates on testing. Antigen Tests Less Sensitive to Omicron On Wednesday I blogged about the challenges the new Omicron variant is posing for testing. Essentially, you can have antigen tests that are fast and inaccurate or PCR tests that are slow and accurate.  Antigen tests are just barely satisfactory for symptomatic cases (false negatives in 1 of 4 to 1 of 8 tests), and they are basically useless for asymptomatic cases (false negatives in 1 of 2 to 1 of 3 tests). Even that assumes the tests work for Omicron. Well yesterday the FDA announced that antigen tests are less sensitive to Omicron than other variants. They don't have information on how much less sensitive they are but are working to get that info. They are also trying to learn why and think the tests can be adjusted to compensate once they know. Dr. Fauci is quoted in this article: "What the FDA is saying today is that when you look at Omicron and its ability to detect Omicron, some of the tests have a dimin...

Today seemed like a good time for an update on the Omicron variant.   Ramping Up in Arizona? So it's not totally clear what the Omicron situation is in State 48. Strangely, the  GISAID database  lists only one sequence for B.1.1.529 (the number assigned to Omicron) in Arizona over the last month. Next we have the  tgen dashboard . That catalogs all the sequences done in the state. As of December 21 they say Omicron represented 1.44% of samples. Since they display results for each month, I assume that is for samples taken between November 23 and December 23. The rest were various flavors of Delta. Then there is ASU dashboard . For unknown reasons, it hasn't had its circulating variants widget updated since Dec 6. At that time they said 3.16% of sequences were Omicron. But they also have a chart for "s-gene dropouts."  That is a feature of PCR tests where they fail to detect a particular bit of genetic material.  It is indicative of only some variants, a...

 A couple quick updates on two recent Corona-zona posts. Brynovich Has to Start Over About six weeks ago I blogged about how AZ Attorney General was pandering to the MAGA crowd by filing suit against upcoming vaccine rules by the Biden administration. This week a federal district court judge  denied  his request for an injunction.  Basically the court ruled that he jumped the gun by filing the suit before the actual rules were formulated. Now if he wants to persevere he will have to start over and and include those in a new complaint. This guy is not a very good lawyer. Also the link above describes the rules as a vaccine mandate. But damn it, it's not a vaccine mandate. It's a rule that you must either get vaxxed or be tested regularly (if you work for a company with over 100 employees). That's a choice, not a mandate. The press should stop framing this in a way that is both misleading and helpful to the COVIDiots. Rodgers Sort of Tries Apology, Gets Slapped on F...

  Here are updates on three recent Corona-zona posts for your reading enjoyment. Florida School Walks Back Vaccination Quarantine Policy Last week I blogged about a private school in Miami  that established a policy saying kids must be quarantined for a month after a COVID-19 vaccination. They claimed the policy was a result of careful deliberation even though this apparently included no research on whether COVID-19 vaccines can cause "virus shedding" (they can't). Yesterday there came word that they changed their mind after receiving notification from the Florida Department of Education that their policy was being investigated. Wait, a Florida government agency is actually doing something to promote vaccination and public health?!? Somebody tell DeSantis—he must put a stop to this immediately! Florida Surgeon General Nominee is a Mask-hole Too Last Saturday I blogged about an appointment by Governor Ron "Florida Man" DeSantis of an anti-vaxx doctor to be the ...

  Today, several updates on matters previously discussed on this blog. Florida Fires Back at Idaho Last week, I reported that Idaho was challenging Florida for the title of top COVIDiot state by appointing to a health board a medical doctor who opposes masks and vaccines and supports ivermectin.   Well, Florida was not about to take that challenge lying down! Governor Ron "Florida Man" DeSantis did them one better by making another such medical doctor the state's surgeon general . Take that, Idaho! Doctors Who Spread Misinformation Are Starting to Face Discipline I have never understood how medical professional organizations have been able to look the other way while their members dispense disinformation about pandemic-related topics like masks and vaccines. As noted earlier, many of these physicians are doing it to make money . Idaho even  appointed one of them  to a medical board. It seems the professional organizations are finally losing patience with t...

  Here are some updates on topics recently covered in this blog. No Vax Could Cost You "Unvaccinated individuals have potential to cost the employer more from a health care spend perspective," Symons told CBS MoneyWatch. "They could get COVID and incur expensive hospital costs up to $50,000 for an individual with a tough COVID case." Back in June I blogged a proposal to make people who refuse vaccinations pay their own way if they get COVID-19. It's only fair: If people exercise their freedom to forego the vaccine, they should also be responsible for the consequences of that decision.  As it is they freeride. They can refuse the vaccine for childish and/or political reasons, then depend on those of us who have made the responsible choice to save their bacon with expensive hospital care that everyone pays for through insurance premiums. Incredibly, nobody has rushed to implement my proposal, but insurance providers may be taking a step in that direction. They...

I haven't done an update post for some time, so here are a few items of interest. An Epidemic of Resignations I've recently blogged about how people are not all that excited about going back to work.  Also that people who would have normally resigned in 2020 went into a holding pattern and could be expected to resign en masse .   Well it seems to be happening . People quit their jobs at a rate of 2.7% in April.  That's an all time record. Delta "Promoted" to Variant of Concern Earlier this month I blogged about the Delta variant .  It's more contagious and produces more serious disease, and is causing particular problems in the UK. Earlier this week the CDC reclassified it as a "variant of concern." That same story says that as of Sunday, it accounted for about 10.3% of cases in the US.  Yesterday I checked the GISAID database for Arizona. Here delta accounts for just 6.86% of the sequences, so less than the national average. But public health of...

  Here are some updates on previous Corona-zona posts. Toilet Aerosols…Ewww Previous posts have discussed how the virus spreads, mostly focusing on how masks stop transmission of aerosols emitted from one’s mouth. Now there’s a new potential source.   It has been known for some time that SARS-CoV-2 can infect one’s gut and be expelled with feces. Those feces (hopefully) go into a toilet, and guess what happens when you flush the toilet.   You get aerosols, lots of them .   According to a scientist quoted in the article: Both the toilet and urinal generated large quantities of droplets smaller than three micrometers in size, posing a significant transmission risk if they contain infectious microorganisms. Due to their small size, these droplets can remain suspended for a long time. As the article points out, there are no documented cases of COVID-19 being spread this way. But it is a possibility. Gnome Shortages Back in January, I did the first post abo...

  Today, I offer for your reading enjoyment updates on some topics discussed previously in this blog. Surges I've recently written about worries over new surges .  A piece in today's NYT declares the pandemic out-of-control in Michigan.  Sadly, the governor there has been cowed into tepid pleas for responsible behavior in lieu of concrete action. Hard to blame her after armed covidiots plotted to kidnap and execute her. I hope those assholes are on ventilators right now.   The surge there is blamed on the UK variant, which is apparently taking over the country .  The good news is that the vaccines seem pretty effective against it. The vaccine makers are also working on boosters , expected by the end of the year.    That's good news.  The bad news is that there's a... Vaccine Wall As predicted here a month ago, vaccination rates are hitting a wall. We're starting to run out of people who want the shots. It's starting to show, especially in...

Here are updates on some recent Corona-zona posts. Anal Swabs After being scooped by Corona-zona on Chinese anal swab tests for SARS-CoV-2, Stephen Colbert did a bit on them during his monologue last Thursday (that part starts around minute 6:00). He makes some very funny jokes (if you enjoy scatological humor, which I do).  But in an additional tidbit, he reported that that U.S. officials in China told the State Department that they had been so tested.  The Chinese are denying it, naturally. But, come on, don't you think the U.S. officials would know if they had been anally probed by some Chinese dude?  DeSantis Has No Plan and Is Proud of It In mid-February I had a post about Governor Ron "Florida Man" DeSantis whining that he didn't get enough credit for his state's recent pandemic performance. I showed that Florida only looks good if you cherry-pick recent numbers, and that overall its performance has been terrible. Last week Salon.com ran  story  pointin...

Today I have updates on a few earlier posts for your reading enjoyment. Orgies COVID-19 continues ruining things for people looking to have a little sexy fun.  An earlier post , one of my most popular, detailed how a swinger convention resulted in a super-spreader event and how a gay orgy in Belgium exposed a supposedly anti-homosexual member of Hungary's EU parliament.   Last week, police in France raided a warehouse where a 100-person orgy was going on. Orgies are not illegal in France, but the group was violating curfew and mitigation ordinances.  People, please. Postpone your orgies until we get the pandemic under control, OK? How Not to Schedule, Florida Style In an earlier post I detailed how truly awful ADHS's bespoke vaccine reservation system is. Since then I've talked to several people who got word that shots were available but were unable to successfully schedule them due to flaws in the system. They gave up in frustration. It seems nobody is trying to d...