dwarf74 posted:

I'm not sure if this is helpful for a new OP, being a few months out of date, but here's Total Deaths, All Causes, US, Weekly from a CDC/NCHS dataset I grabbed earlier this year. I put this together to respond to claims about how (a) covid isn't actually killing people, (b) it's not actually that deadly, or (c) deaths are being mislabeled as covid for nefarious reasons.

It's no-frills, but I tried to make it as simple and self-explanatory as possible.

dwarf74 posted:

Yeah, I can add excess deaths when I next grab the data set. It's a great set - but really annoying to sanitize because it uses flu season rather than year, and the sorting gets way out of whack. (Example: Week 1 of 2018-19 comes after Week 52 of same, which is great for flu but poo poo for showing spring-summer 2020 for a less-data-literate audience.)

It's also got helpful columns like "flu deaths" and "all respiratory deaths combined". Or used to, last I snagged it.

If you want to play with these numbers yourself, you can get them from https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/fluview/mortality.html - click Downloads and make sure you check all the boxes. It'll spit out a csv file for you. It's been a few months and has changed a few times since I started doing this, so no promises it's the same now or will be in the future.

-Blackadder- posted:

A couple additions for the OP:

COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Apps

"A COVID-fighting tool is buried in your phone. Turn it on." - Washington Post

Apple/Google Exposure Notifications App Homepage

Android
Android COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Guide
Check for the App in your area

iOS
iPhone COVID-19 Exposure Notification Guide

COVID -19/Vaccine Misinformation Tracking/Mythbusting

COVID-19 Fact Checking Sites
NewsGuard Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center

Top COVID-19 Myths & Facts
Top COVID-19 Vaccine Myths & Facts

Kaal posted:

The Bona Fide KN95s are pretty excellent, and they come in different sizes, styles, and colors. They're Goon-recommended and also recommended by Wirecutter. We ordered a 10-pack to check them out, and then a 50-pack once we knew we liked them.

Website: https://bonafidemasks.com/face-masks/kn95-respirator-face-masks/

Coupons: https://www.wethrift.com/bona-fide-masks#deal=F3A85T8BV

poll plane variant posted:

Honestly upgrading from cloth to N95 or similar 100% of the time is probably the biggest easy thing you can do to protect yourself and others during "open Biden" delta surges. You can find the Asian masks for like 70c a pop on sale. I have a bigger face and these are my favorite for not popping off my chin. https://behealthyusa.net/products/special-blue-kf94-3d-mask-large-black-adult-size-100pcs-special-free-shipping Haven't worn a cloth/surgical since last summer.

HelloSailorSign posted:

My go to is Demetech https://www.demetech.us

quote:

One thing to be aware of if you're viewing all of this from the outside is to straight up not pursue information about recent studies. The scientific apparatus is supposed to work through critical peer review and interpretation of multiple studies of the same subject over time, and "a recent study" coverage in the general press is never, ever going to give you that, even in a situation where the information environment isn't as contaminated as this one. There is not really a substitute for the level of literacy and individual nuance and expertise that comes with directly reading a study and learning the subject. You need to become somewhat comfortable with uncertainty, because no matter how smart you are, uncertainty is the basic nature of the situation.

That said, I did a bunch of effortposts on information and covid for earlier iterations of this thread; they've not been added to the OP yet as I forgot to mention them, so I'll link them here.

Here's one post I wrote on some caveats about which sources of science to trust:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3915397&userid=198104#post503908856

Here's a post on how to read science:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3915397&userid=198104&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post504891860

Here's a post about unhealthy relationships to information and covid:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3915397&pagenumber=504&perpage=40#post504210939

Detailed, nonexhaustive explanation of conspiracy theories and takedown of one of the earliest sources of the Wuhan lab conspiracy:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3915397&userid=198104&perpage=40&pagenumber=7#post514737951


Here are some useful basic sources on regulatory and monitoring issues and covid:

Here's the public-facing site for FDA on recent regulatory activity relating to COVID:
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/counterterrorism-and-emerging-threats/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19

Here's their FAQ page:
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-frequently-asked-questions

Here's the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is generally an excellent way to stay up to date on US public health issues generally (but requires greater literacy):
https://www.cdc.gov/MMWr/

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

This was a really good breakdown on the evidence of ivermectin effectiveness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0jzRPZogTI

TL;DR,

it does not help

Kaal posted:

So Covax is the global effort to vaccinate poor countries, and it is run jointly by three organizations: The World Health Organization (WHO), the Gavi vaccine alliance (Gavi), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). WHO and Gavi have set up donation funds that are specific to Covid-19 (CEPI has an investment portal, which is more intended for large-scale funding). WHO is focused on medical training and advocacy efforts, whereas Gavi is focused on vaccine distribution. Here's more information about the Covax program: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-africa-europe-coronavirus-pandemic-5e57879c6cb22d96b942cbc973b9296c

Gavi: https://www.gavi.org/donate

WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate

VideoGameVet posted:

Bill Maher last Friday once again railed at the CDC for not talking about the connection between obesity and COVID deaths, but he totally ignores why food is the "3rd Rail" in American Politics.

So I wrote a letter to him: https://medium.com/weight-loss-truths/covid-and-obesity-an-open-letter-to-bill-maher-2bbf72df8102

jetz0r posted:

Take care of your partner and yourself. That's both important, and something you can control. 95% rated filtration masks (N95, KF94, etc), boosters every 4-6 months, and do not share unfiltered air with anyone else. You can both make it through this, but you can't give up. All you'll get for giving up is the same toxic optimists that were eagerly telling you everything is fine will be telling you how unlikely it was that your partner would get that sick, or that you should have been more careful because of the comorbidites.

American society's leader do not care if either of you die or suffer. You know this, I know this, and they know this. The same people that don't want single payer healthcare because it's not profitable are still in charge. They are fine with any amount of suffering and death, as long they can profit from it. And right now, the way to stay profitable is to pretend everything is normal. But the world has changed. A respiratory disease that's as contagious as chicken pox, hospitalizes 10% of its victims, and easily spreads during an asymptomatic period is part of life now. I'm sorry there's no treat for being good. We're still in a devastating natural disaster, and sociopaths in charge are telling every one to get out into the flood waters to work and spend.

You can still go enjoy life with your partner, just not the same way as before. My partner and I have been doing a lot of picnics and walks outside, when the wildfire smoke is clear enough. Along with some joint arts and crafts to have some cool items that we both helped create.

Jaxyon posted:

Please, please, talk to someone.

800-273-8255

Stop reading this forum if it's creating a negative fedback loop.

Take care of yourself.

Epic High Five posted:

Pretty concerning to see so many already straying from Appleist-Flavorist Thought

Rosalind posted:

Thank you for the new thread and for getting rid of that link on the first page to horrifically outdated effort post I wrote in February 2020 with tons of (now known to be) ridiculously bad guidance.

I spoke with a friend at NYC DOHMH this morning. They're cautiously optimistic about the fall, despite schools reopening today. The new NYC mandates seem to be working, according to their metrics, but my friend wouldn't give me details on what that means.

edit: Oh also I know there are more than a few goons participating in the study I'm affiliated with. Thank you for your participation!

Kavros posted:

Thanks for the writeup, and much hope for the thread.

I'm still watching my family get split right down the middle on vaccination, with one side condemning themselves to repeat deaths for the sake of vaccine denialism. 3 deaths and 5 hospitalizations so far, and nobody we need to persuade can still be persuaded in any way. I hate the cynicism it inspires so I try to keep plugged into any news about the general advancement of public health against this horror.

Jaxyon posted:

Worth noting that a coronavirus is a type of virus, or rather a family of types of virus. It describes the structure and is one of the least useful ways to refer to SARS-COV-2/COVID-19.

SubG posted:

Once again: this is speculative at best.

-Blackadder- posted:

snip

Stickman posted:

I'm not convinced masks won't be gone again the second Delta has some downward momentum or we hit some new piddly X% of eligible population vaxxed bs benchmark. The MSM is already spinning up their "endemic means ditch NPIs" consent machine and there's some serious deja-vu.

dwarf74 posted:

I too have the grey star of shame and neither want nor need anything, for my power is eternal

Also - my younger kid has now developed a slight fever. PCR test was done earlier today but it takes too drat long, so I grabbed a self-test for him just for like slight peace of mind or something. Waiting the 10 minutes right now.

dwarf74 posted:

Rapid test came back negative. I know that's worth little, ultimately, but my current guess is RSV. We'll get PCR back hopefully tomorrow but I'll take what little reassurance I can right now

blackmet posted:

Biowarfare posted:

I ordered 10 boxes of surgical masks from the same "add to cart" button (same ASIN, item listing, and FBA seller) and got five different brands lol

Fritz the Horse posted:

what's wrong with us neighsayers

Waltzing Along posted:

2011, huh?

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

This is the first I knew I was in the new OP. Thanks! I don't have PMs any more but would love to get them back.

Edit: should have read further. I would I've to keep my current avatar but remove the lovely text please, and thank you!

SubG posted:

I guess. I think presenting a back and forth on unfiltered exhalation valves on FFRs vs EHMRs kinda buries the lede, though. Which is that it's kinda a moot point because you really shouldn't be relying on an unfiltered exhaust valve on an FFR for source control either. Like instead of a back and forth on the subject I kinda feel like the important information is that masks with unfiltered exhaust valves shouldn't be used for source control at all. That's the lede. We're only talking about FFR vs EHMR exhaust valves because people keep getting confused by that NIOSH paper on FFRs and are assuming it says something it does not. But even if it did apply to EHMRs...it still wouldn't matter because you shouldn't be relying on unfiltered exhalation on FFRs for source control either.

I mean given that we have good data on the efficacy of N95s/KN95s I kinda think the fixation EHMRs is a little weird. I understand that they make sense in some situations, but it seems like the better general advice for most people is to just get an N95/KN95, learn how to wear it correctly, and then to always do so. I mean MacGyvering a 7500 to have one reversed valve or whatever is fine, but I kinda feel like if you weren't already familiar with the SA covid cinematic universe or whatever (in which we hash this poo poo out every couple days) then if you stumbled into the thread and read the OP you'd come away thinking that doing a roll-your-own solution involving EHMRs was part of the default recommended covid prep routine or whatever.

HonorableTB posted:

Hey Beetus, do you want to include the live youtube feed I sent you of global Covid data updated in realtime?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMre6IAAAiU

Phigs posted:

If someone is boosted and wears an EHMR their exhaust is not going to be a major vector for disease spread.

If we're at the point of worrying about that sort of person spreading COVID we sure as gently caress should not be letting people out of their homes.

Fallom posted:

I had an inflamed liver for a year after mono and I was advised not to drink

SubG posted:

I mean the last page has been mostly people arguing about whether or not you should care about source control (!), asking questions about what kind of protection EHMRs provide, and people reiterating the information about the 3M 6000 series with a 604 exhalation filter, and so on. Which seems to be what happens every time any of those subjects comes up. So it seems like exactly the sort of thing that would make sense to be in the OP. And...and this is a question...does the thread have a no misinformation rule? Like if someone came in and started extolling the virtues of Ivermectin would the be told to cut it out? If so, it might make sense to actually assert a position on e.g. masking.

Vasukhani posted:

Why is the process for children so much longer? This is absurd. The costs of kids getting critically ill from covid is much higher the risk of a few side effects.

mod sassinator posted:

What exactly is the rule being broken here? You are not allowed to get too upset while reading the thread? Help us understand what your thought process is here because that sounds completely biased and arbitrary to enforce.

It's a simple question being asked and a simple answer.

Vasukhani posted:

Which is what we're going to end up with now...


I'll stop on this topic since I dont want to get thread banned again. Thank you for explaining that the main issue was the late initiation of trials.

Vasukhani posted:

It's okay! I was pretty mad the first time I was in this thread because of the megadeath. But I understand you just don't want it to become a shithole thread like it can when people start to dehumanize themselves and face the bloodshed of all of this. I won't promise to post better but I'll try to be less mad.

UCS Hellmaker posted:

The FDA you dumb gently caress the same people that stop the doctors associations from giving out things like thalidomide in the US without proper testing. There is a reason that anything pediatric related is heavily scrutinized, and the FDA will gladly step in and shut down any testing that is done in a rough shod manner and doesn't abide by the protocols required. because we have evidence of what happens when a country just lets things happen with little oversight But hey, I don't know poo poo but I know more then you and how testing works because its something we get taught and they slam into you that anything pediatric related takes an insane amounts of paperwork and slamming through an emergency action isn't possible because we don't want to repeat Mengele comparisons because of fear.

Gynovore posted:

Is *anyone* on SA endorsing ivermectin non-sarcastically?

mod sassinator posted:

The Biden admins have made catastrophic blunders that greatly magnified and will prolong the pandemic too--mainly the bunk 'science' that it was safe for unvaccinated people to stop wearing masks in May this year. As we saw it wasn't safe--studies proved vaccinated could still transmit, and it did nothing to goose the vaccination numbers in any meaningful way. We would all be in a much better place if mask use had stayed mandated and more ubiquitous through the entire year. Many epidemiologists at the time were saying Biden's unmasking decision was too soon (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/upshot/epidemiologists-coronavirus-masks.html) and they were proven totally correct as we all plainly see now.

Fritz the Horse posted:

The end goal of the vaccines was always to prevent disease, not transmission. It is unremarkable that vaccinated people can get mild and occasionally moderate symptoms and are still transmissible (severe disease very rarely). That was entirely expected.

My personal take is that, yes, we eased restrictions earlier than we should have though I am not an epidemiologist. That doesn't really provide any bearing on where we go from here.

I guess that sort of kicks it back to the thread OP/IK on whether this thread should be more retrospective "where we went wrong" (lol everywhere, constantly) vs. "what is the current situation, best practices, where to go from here?"

edit: a fundamental part of science vs. pseudoscience or conspiracy theories is self-correction. Good science adapts and changes in reaction to new facts and knowledge. I see a lot of people (not here necessarily, in general) insisting "well Fauci and the government change their mind all the time and they've been wrong so why should I trust them??"

Because good science reacts to our evolving understanding of the situation.

This is a general statement, I'd need to go back and review the science at the time. Just because something was a wrong idea in retrospect doesn't mean it wasn't the appropriate course of action with the facts available at the time.

Epic High Five posted:

At the risk of getting things all het up, my advice since last March for anybody who cared to ask or seemed in need of it was to look at countries that have actually contained this thing and do what people there are doing. Once the CDC advised against masks they were dead to me, and basically nothing has happened since to make me regret this decision. I'm sure there's lots of legitimate science and great people working there, but they don't inform the guidance the center gives. The May open'er up didn't surprise me at all but I certainly wasn't about to change my behavior considering even the stuff they were saying at that time was demonstrably false, like vaccines prevented spread.

If I had to pick a "where it went wrong" it would be that it became just a smaller part of the broader culture war that is consuming all facets of American life, but tbqh I don't think there's any way it could've been avoided considering even socks and coffee pods are partisan flashpoints now.

fake edit - I think another big thing is that it's abundantly clear that most Americans have not actually ever had a "normal" flu and definitely have never had to deal with pneumonia in any capacity

Jaxyon posted:

I'm probably overstating it somewhat, but

https://twitter.com/kabir_here/status/1437919445083643907

Epic High Five posted:

I'd say the more relevant argument isn't drawn from this but rather supported by it. Vaccine mandates and NPI mandates and similar have enjoyed a 20+ point over open'er up since basically it started being polled nationally. That this would reflect this in part isn't really a surprise, though you'd never know this if you aren't totally brokebrained.

Probably another confounding factor isn't necessarily that the competition was a lunatic, but rather Elder's campaign message in the last week was "it's pretty suspicious how obvious it is I'm going to lose" which...probably doesn't inspire people to hit the polls. Like when your campaign messaging is so bad that even red state Dem parties famous for being totally worthless wouldn't even dream about it, you're probably not going to have a good time

Platystemon posted:

The run on ivermectin was “based on science to some degree”.

That is to say that they both involved weak science that at most warranted “hmm that’s interesting. Get back to me with studies that don’t have these serious flaws”, not “let’s rewrite policy right now based on this preprint”.

https://twitter.com/DiseaseEcology/status/1371346026355851266

Jaxyon posted:

It doesn't really matter because kids aren't even getting 1' of space in most classrooms. They're hoping that covid moves in straight lines and only when students are at desks so the plastic barriers can stop it.

HonorableTB posted:

I wasn't able to get online today until after work, and the first thing I saw online today was a cabinet level foreign official give a televised statement debunking claims about Nicki minaj's cousin's friend's balls.

I'm just gonna log back off

HonorableTB posted:

Incredible Goon Vaccination Success Story

HonorableTB posted:

Thank you all for the kind words! I accidentally left a url in the screenshot and edited it out, so please use the updated screenshots if my post will be in the OP

Thorn Wishes Talon posted:

Most of those are unvaxxed. Boosters won't help them.

Have there been studies done specifically for health care worker immunity over time? I'm not an expert but I'd assume that regular exposure to the virus over the course of their work would allow them to maintain a high level of immunity even without boosters.

mod sassinator posted:

The Israeli data from Pfizer is healthcare workers, they were the first to get shots. They've been coming down with breakthrough cases with effectively a 6% drop in efficacy every month post 2nd shot.

'Microexposure' with viruses is something I have never heard of in my life. Think about how catastrophic it would be to the lab if what you are saying were true. So the lab is so sloppy with PPE, handling, protections, etc. that it's just exposing all the workers a little bit to dangerous pathogens? This isn't radiation--one viron has the potential to start a full infection.

Vasukhani posted:

There is also literally no way a surgical mask (which I can feel air escaping on the outside) is better source control than a pressure checked half mask with a piece of cloth over the exhale valve.

Stickman posted:

Any parent can tell you that frequent exposure to disease just means you get sick more often

Fritz the Horse posted:

Actually it is entirely appropriate to critically appraise the claims made by vaccine manufacturers when many experts are unconvinced the boosters are necessary for the general population. It is not medical experts writ large aggressively pushing for boosters for the general population, it is the pharma companies. That is certainly not reason to invalidate their claims, but it is worth noting.

It's also irrelevant to bring up antivaxxers. We're talking about boosters for people who are already fully vaccinated. The actual cost-benefit analysis is along the lines of:

Do those third shots give enough of a boost to the US general population that it's worth devoting many tens of millions of doses to rollout at this time? Or would those doses be better used for the unvaxxed either here or in other nations? I mean, South Africa is having a hell of a time with the pandemic (among worst in Africa) and has high rates of HIV infection, for one example.

If the boosters are authorized and pushed for general population, how will that impact availability for high-risk populations and unvaccinated in the US?

Granted at this point I don't think you're reaching very many unvaxxed people in the US, but there will still be a trickle due to the recent mandates and worsening delta peak.



edit: my personal stake in this is that I was on a ventilator for three days and almost died in January 2020 for reasons unrelated to COVID. Due to those issues, I'm in a high-risk group and recommended to get a booster ASAP.

Because of that I'm a little concerned about the possibility of a rush on booster shots by the general population delaying boosters for the high-risk populations that definitely need them. Maybe that's unfounded and there's plenty of supply, but that's my own personal investment.


I think it is the responsibility of the US to deploy more vaccines to other countries ASAP. We hosed up our own response to begin with and hoarded vaccine. It is incredibly selfish and inhumane to hoover up booster shots for marginal effect when they could instead be used outside the country to save vastly more human life.

Like if the metric is "human lives saved" then ship them to Africa, holy poo poo are you kidding me?