mycomancy posted:

That "vaccines won't save you from long COVID" preprint is some clickbait headline bullshit and all y'all worried because of it need to take a breath and read the loving paper! It says straight up that one shot will keep you from getting seriously hosed up, while two keeps most poor outcomes at bay.

Don't be D&D smoothbrains, read more than the headline!

mod sassinator posted:

feed kitty teh nuggets

Iron Crowned posted:

Yeah.

The other day I was thinking that perhaps the reason that the CDC/FDA dragged their feet on the child vax for so long is because opening up another segment will make the vax percentage look worse.

McNugget Buddy posted:

Is organizing a furry convention harder than it looks

mycomancy posted:

That "vaccines won't save you from long COVID" preprint is some clickbait headline bullshit and all y'all worried because of it need to take a breath and read the loving paper! It says straight up that one shot will keep you from getting seriously hosed up, while two keeps most poor outcomes at bay.

Don't be D&D smoothbrains, read more than the headline!

skewetoo posted:

Going to a restaurant right now (during a global plague) is some real psycho poo poo right?

I'm not crazy am I?

People around me are doing it like it's nbd and it's breaking my smooth brain

skewetoo posted:

Going to a restaurant right now (during a global plague) is some real psycho poo poo right?

I'm not crazy am I?

People around me are doing it like it's nbd and it's breaking my smooth brain

mycomancy posted:

That "vaccines won't save you from long COVID" preprint is some clickbait headline bullshit and all y'all worried because of it need to take a breath and read the loving paper! It says straight up that one shot will keep you from getting seriously hosed up, while two keeps most poor outcomes at bay.

Don't be D&D smoothbrains, read more than the headline!

Dren posted:

Sometimes the seal on my secureclick isn't perfect. Should I put something on my face to get a better seal or maybe just try a different size?

Thoguh posted:

Lmao some friends of mine went to Dune in the theater last weekend. They are boosted and have no kids so whatever, I'm not gonna yell at them. But somebody posted a picture on facebook of them their with some people that brought their one month old baby to see Dune in a theater last weekend. I just can't wrap my head around that. Like, pandemic aside who the gently caress brings a one month old baby to a long and loud movie. But also, pandemic.

mycomancy posted:

That "vaccines won't save you from long COVID" preprint is some clickbait headline bullshit and all y'all worried because of it need to take a breath and read the loving paper! It says straight up that one shot will keep you from getting seriously hosed up, while two keeps most poor outcomes at bay.

Don't be D&D smoothbrains, read more than the headline!

quote:

On the other hand, previous vaccination does not appear to be protective against several previously documented outcomes of COVID-19 such as long-COVID features, arrhythmia, joint pain, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, sleep disorders, and mood and anxiety disorders. The narrow confidence intervals (related to the high incidence of these outcomes post-COVID) rules out the possibility that these negative findings are merely a result of lack of statistical power.

Cloaked posted:

I did; could you describe how this statement is not something to be concerned about, if we assume for now that the study survives review? What exactly is your criteria for "seriously hosed up" and definition of what "most poor outcomes" means?

McNugget Buddy posted:

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1453768475244126214

Raskolnikov2089 posted:

As opposed to the long term effects of COVID19 in children, all of which are studied and well known.

mdemone posted:

I'm starting to think this Covid thing is actually a big deal

Iron Crowned posted:

You should shave off your goon beard

McNugget Buddy posted:

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1453768475244126214

Insanite posted:

https://twitter.com/jakebackpack/status/1453707313047613452?s=20

love this genre of story. can you imagine living with the oppression of covid zero?

efb, but will leave it up for the browsing over coffee crew

mawarannahr posted:

supply is my kink

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

Can someone please copy and paste this, I'm paywalled and phone posting and want to read dumb American opinions.

Vivian Wang posted:

The trip began in Shanghai, where the couple, both former professors, joined a tour group of other retirees. They traveled through Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia, staying at a bed-and-breakfast and eating three times at the same lamb chop restaurant. Flying south to Xi’an, they dropped in to a 1,300-year-old temple. Their fellow tour group members checked out an art museum, strolled through parks and visited friends.

Then, on Oct. 16, the day they had planned to visit the Terracotta Warriors, the couple tested positive for the coronavirus.

Since then, China has locked down a city of 4 million, as well as several smaller cities and parts of Beijing, to contain a fresh outbreak that has infected more than 240 people in at least 11 provinces and regions. The authorities have shuttered schools and tourist sites. Government websites have detailed every movement of the unlucky couple and their sprawling web of contacts, including what time they checked into hotels and on which floors of restaurants they sat.

The no-holds-barred response is emblematic of China’s “zero Covid” policy, which has served the country remarkably well: China has reported fewer than 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began. The scale of the new outbreak, while tiny compared to many other countries, is large for China.

But the policy has also, increasingly, made China an outlier. The rest of the world is reopening, including New Zealand and Australia, which also once embraced zero tolerance. China is now the only country still chasing full eradication of the virus.

“Every locality should firmly adhere to the policy of ‘Defend externally against importation, defend internally against rebound,’” Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said at a news conference on Sunday. “The current control measures cannot be relaxed.”

The government’s strict strategy is the product of a uniquely Chinese set of calculations. Its thriving exports have helped to keep the economy afloat. The ruling Communist Party’s tight grip on power enables lockdowns and testing to be carried out with astonishing efficiency. Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics in February.

For many Chinese, the low case numbers have become a source of national pride. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, has repeatedly pointed to the country’s success in containment as proof of the superiority of its governance model.

But experts — both in China and abroad — have warned that the approach is unsustainable. China may find itself increasingly isolated, diplomatically and economically, at a time when global public opinion is hardening against it.

“The regime thinks it needs to maintain a ‘zero Covid’ policy to maintain its legitimacy,” said Lynette Ong, a political scientist at the University of Toronto. “At a huge cost, though.”

In the early phase of the pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party’s very hold on power seemed to hinge on its ability to control the virus. Its initial attempts to cover up the outbreak in Wuhan gave rise to a stunning outpouring of public anger. Images of overwhelmed hospitals and patients begging for help flooded the Chinese internet.

As the virus barreled across the rest of the world, that narrative changed. China’s strict lockdowns and mass testing campaigns, once criticized as heavy handed, became models for other countries. As deaths mounted in western democracies, Mr. Xi repeatedly emphasized how quickly China had flattened its caseload. Outrage about the initial response to Wuhan gave way to at-times strident nationalism.

Other countries that adopted “zero Covid” policies were hailed as models of competent governance that prioritized saving lives over convenience and economic growth.

As the virus has dragged into its second year, and with the onset of the far more contagious Delta variant, countries are again reconsidering their strategies. Australia, which was home to the world’s longest lockdown, is scrapping quarantine requirements for vaccinated residents returning from overseas. New Zealand formally abandoned its quest for zero this month. Singapore is offering quarantine-free travel to vaccinated tourists from Germany, the United States, France and several other countries.

China has refused to change tack. When Zhang Wenhong, a prominent infectious disease expert from Shanghai, suggested this summer that China learn to live with the virus, he was attacked viciously online as a lackey of foreigners. A former Chinese health minister called such a mindset reckless.

Professor Ong said the government was afraid of any challenge to its narrative of pandemic triumph.

“Outbreaks have become so commonplace that it’s really a non-event,” she said. “But the Chinese authorities want to control any small potential source of instability.”

There are also more practical reasons for China’s hesitation. Medical resources are highly concentrated in big cities, and more remote areas could quickly be overwhelmed by an uptick in cases, said Zhang Jun, an urban studies scholar at the City University of Hong Kong.

In addition, though China has achieved a relatively high full inoculation rate, at 75 percent of its population, questions have emerged about the efficacy of its homegrown vaccines.

And, at least for now, the elimination strategy appears to enjoy public support. While residents in locked-down areas have complained about seemingly arbitrary or overly harsh restrictions on social media, travel is relatively unconstrained in areas without cases. Wealthy consumers have poured money into luxury goods and fancy cars since they’re not spending on trips abroad.

“As long as they can still feel a certain level of freedom of mobility, I think that kind of Covid-zero policy doesn’t strike the domestic audience as too severe,” Professor Zhang said.

Other governments that have chosen to live with the virus may yet lose their nerve. After lifting many restrictions this summer, Singapore reinstated them in September amid a spike in infections. (Still, the government is moving forward with travel lanes.)

But experts agree that the costs of expecting zero cases will hit eventually. China’s economic growth is slowing, and domestic travel during a weeklong holiday earlier this month fell below last year’s levels, as a cluster of new cases spooked tourists. Retail sales have proven fitful, recovering and ebbing with waves of the virus.

The country may also suffer diplomatically. Mr. Xi has not left China or received foreign visitors since early 2020, even as other world leaders prepare to gather in Rome for a Group of 20 summit and Glasgow for climate talks.

China’s hard-nosed approach is also trickling down to Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous territory and global financial hub. In trying to align their own Covid prevention policies with the mainland’s, Hong Kong’s leaders have introduced the world’s longest quarantine, ignoring escalating warnings from business leaders about an exodus of foreign firms.

And even those supportive of the restrictions wonder whether there is an exit strategy.

“I think the current policies are still in the right direction,” said Jason Qiu, 27, who grew up in Gansu Province, not far from Lanzhou, the city of 4 million now under lockdown. “But if things go on like this for a long time — for example if the pandemic is going to continue for another five or 10 years, or become endemic — maybe it would be time to consider changing some measures.”

In a potential nod to those concerns, some officials have broached the idea of loosening restrictions, though cautiously. Gao Fu, the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent interview with Chinese media that once the country reached an 85 percent vaccination rate, “why shouldn’t we open up?”

Until then, those stranded by the lockdowns have been trying to make the best of their situations. State news outlets have reported that roughly 10,000 tourists are trapped in Ejin Banner, a region of Inner Mongolia, after the emergence of cases led to a lockdown. As consolation, the local tourism association has promised them free entry to three popular tourist attractions, redeemable within the next three years.

poo poo POST MALONE posted:

my wife dropped this "wait and see" poo poo on me yesterday and I'm just too tired to even talk about it. it doesn't really matter to me because we don't go anywhere anyway but still.

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

Can someone please copy and paste this, I'm paywalled and phone posting and want to read dumb American opinions.

FunkyFjord posted:

NYT posted:

The country may also suffer diplomatically. Mr. Xi has not left China or received foreign visitors since early 2020, even as other world leaders prepare to gather in Rome for a Group of 20 summit and Glasgow for climate talks.

Crazypoops posted:

CAN"T BELIEVE COUMMMUNSIT HELLL CHINA FORCING COVID FREE "LIFESTYLE" DOWN CITIZAENS THROATS KJALK:FJKL:sdfjnk;lsadnlkfv z.x;alkththghhag

Cloaked posted:

I did; could you describe how this statement is not something to be concerned about, if we assume for now that the study survives review? What exactly is your criteria for "seriously hosed up" and definition of what "most poor outcomes" means?

quote:

In the primary cohort, patients were included only if their confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred at least 14 days after a recorded administration of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in the USA (i.e. BNT162b2 ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’, mRNA-1273 ‘Moderna’, or Ad26.COV2.S ‘Janssen’). In the control cohort, patients were included only if no recorded vaccine against COVID-19 was recorded before their SARS-CoV-2 infection and if they had received a vaccine against influenza at any time.

quote:

Among them, 65.1% were vaccinated with BNT162b2 ‘Pfizer/BioNTech’, 9.0% with mRNA-1273 ‘Moderna’, 1.6% with Ad26.COV2.S ‘Janssen’, and 24.4% with unspecified subtype.

quote:

In contrast, there was no significant difference in the risk of many other outcomes including composite of death and any long-COVID feature

quote:

those who had received two vaccine doses at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection were also at a significantly lower risk of myalgia, myocarditis, cerebral haemorrhage, interstitial lung disease, urticaria, anosmia, and myoneural junction/muscle disease (each as composite endpoints with death), and at a significantly lower risk of death.

quote:

We found a substantial effect of age on the results. Many HRs in younger individuals (< 60 years-old) were in general lower (i.e. favouring vaccination even more) for outcomes significantly associated with vaccination (Fig. 3 and appendix pp. 16, 38-39). These lower HRs were observed against the backdrop of lower absolute risks for most outcomes among younger individuals (appendix pp. 38-39).

quote:

he findings that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 does not protect against some of the post-acute outcomes of COVID-19 should not obscure the fact that vaccination remains an important protective factor against these outcomes at the population level, since the best way to prevent those outcomes is to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first place. This is also the case in those ≥ 60 years-old.23 However, our results highlight that some post-acute outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 (and notably long-COVID presentations) are likely to persist even after successful vaccination of the population, so long as breakthrough infections occur.

facetoucher cat posted:

I had to just strip down to my underwear and mask so the most beautiful woman I've ever set eyes on could use a magnifying glass to look all over my entire body

Had to eventually take off my mask but, meh, worth

10/10 would get a clean bill of skin health again

zegermans posted:

did you smash

facetoucher cat posted:

Nah, my husband is in the room. It's his turn now

facetoucher cat posted:

I had to just strip down to my underwear and mask so the most beautiful woman I've ever set eyes on could use a magnifying glass to look all over my entire body

Had to eventually take off my mask but, meh, worth

10/10 would get a clean bill of skin health again