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FUCKDOWN, U.S.A.

Started by Abnormal Palm, April 19, 2020, 01:24:03 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Vitamin C

Every time I see this thread, I can't stop singing the title to the tune of the Beach Boys' Sufin' USA. Maybe that was intentional?

Everybody's gone fuckdown...

Pranet

I get the theme music for friend of the forum Jonathan King's Entertainment USA.

Cold Meat Platter

Just a trombone with a wah mute for me.

Fuck Down Volume 2:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shut_Down_Volume_2#Track_listing

In My Room (Quarantining With The Covid)
Don't Worry Baby (I'm Double Vaxxed)
In The Parkin' Lot (Waiting For My Test Result)

Vocals: Al Jabdine

Drygate

Florida seems to have peaked

https://covidactnow.org/us/florida-fl/?s=22651188

If a totally open state is over the hump, does that mean the worst is over for the US for now?

Big Mclargehuge

Quote from: Drygate on September 07, 2021, 05:58:32 PM
Florida seems to have peaked

https://covidactnow.org/us/florida-fl/?s=22651188

If a totally open state is over the hump, does that mean the worst is over for the US for now?

They've been misreporting their cases. Basically they've been counting deaths by death certificates and cases by positive tests, but they've been purposfully delaying processing on both to make it look like less people are dead/have covid than there actually is (So for example, if 1000 people died of covid yesterday, they've frustrated the processing of death certificates so that only 30 end up in the reported counts, they then go back and retroactively add in the other 970 quietly if and when they can be arsed.) basically that hump is just going to end up being the nub of a longer and longer line.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article253796898.html

Ferris

^part of that effort to frustrate the accurate reporting of information is to stop processing numbers/cases on weekends.

It was labour day weekend here, so that's 3 days of the state officially reporting zero cases. There will be a spike tomorrow, but if you're doing 7 day averages and the last 3 days have been 0 then you're unlikely to have an accurate picture of the data.

Florida is a good example of a response being political first and foremost. DeSantis will run for president in 2024 so doesn't want to obviously have blood on his hands - as result, he is using every machination of the state to obscure what a disaster his handling of covid has been.

It's all about making a Republican look good (or at least, not disastrously bad) and comes with the added benefit that he can bleat about how he was pro "freedom" and the GOP primary electorate will lap it up because they are a pack of credulous morons.

If a lot of people have to die in a pretty unpleasant way in order to get Ron a little higher up the political food chain, that is a price he is willing to pay.

Ferris

I see their positive test rate is an astonishing 15.9% which suggest massive under-testing and under-reporting of cases. I believe PHAC recommends positivity rates for tests should be around 1% in order to give comfort there is enough testing going on.

I've never seen a jurisdiction post double digits before, so congratulations to Florida I guess.

Mr Faineant

I live in Florida. It's a fucking nightmare here. It's all over the place. Many of my vaccinated friends have had it over the last few weeks. They are generally fine, but not all without some unpleasantness.

Fambo Number Mive

Quote@VincentRK
·
Sep 6
Almost 25% of daily US COVID deaths are in Florida. This wave is striking because it is pretty hard to go above pre-vaccination waves. It's almost double.

Thankfully has not happened in any other state. In fact, very few countries have had this happen either.

https://twitter.com/VincentRK/status/1434857581164601350

jamiefairlie

I blame Disney for making all the inhabitants think that everything's an elaborate illusion.

Mr Faineant

Quote from: jamiefairlie on September 08, 2021, 04:52:48 PM
I blame Disney for making all the inhabitants think that everything's an elaborate illusion.

Not sure if it's Disney or the churches.

Drygate

That's messed up if true about Florida. How does Big Ron think he's going to walk it off?

Although maybe masks in schools don't make that much difference according to this
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/the-science-of-masking-kids-at-school-remains-uncertain.html

Ferris

Ultimately what happens is there's an exposure because someone (who later tests positive) goes into a shop or a school or a church or whatever, and everyone there should get tested. Now, the recent UK and US response has been to basically say "nah let's not bother lol" but where I live, we still do that.

I've been in the same place as someone who tested positive because I got an exposure notice. That person had to sanitize their hands and wear a mask because those were the rules we had (and still have) in place. As result, nobody from that exposure later tested positive, so a near miss but mitigated by basic actions that we've all agreed to take because we live in a society.

Masking isn't my idea of a good time, but if (on a banal operational level) it means people end up with lower risk, then what's the big issue with it? Costs me fuck all to pop a mask on when I'm buying watermelons and brandy, but will lead to more positive outcomes such as the (real life) scenario I've outlined there.

I do sometimes wonder if I'm taking crazy pills. Wear a mask, maybe it 'only' reduces cases by a meagre 10% - great, that has a direct and linear reduction on people dying on ventilators drowning in their own mucus.

Mr Faineant


I live there too and can say that the only scenario that would cause Florida to change course would be if ICUs were over capacity, dying people were blocking the corridors, and there was a big backlog of funerals. DeSantis will keep lying about the stats and the law until then.

I can personally attest that mask-wearing in Florida university classrooms is around 20% or less. I reduce the risk by live streaming all lessons via Zoom so at least around half the students take the lesson at home and the classroom is thus only at half capacity.

Drygate

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on September 08, 2021, 10:03:39 PM
Ultimately what happens is there's an exposure because someone (who later tests positive) goes into a shop or a school or a church or whatever, and everyone there should get tested. Now, the recent UK and US response has been to basically say "nah let's not bother lol" but where I live, we still do that.

I've been in the same place as someone who tested positive because I got an exposure notice. That person had to sanitize their hands and wear a mask because those were the rules we had (and still have) in place. As result, nobody from that exposure later tested positive, so a near miss but mitigated by basic actions that we've all agreed to take because we live in a society.

Masking isn't my idea of a good time, but if (on a banal operational level) it means people end up with lower risk, then what's the big issue with it? Costs me fuck all to pop a mask on when I'm buying watermelons and brandy, but will lead to more positive outcomes such as the (real life) scenario I've outlined there.

I do sometimes wonder if I'm taking crazy pills. Wear a mask, maybe it 'only' reduces cases by a meagre 10% - great, that has a direct and linear reduction on people dying on ventilators drowning in their own mucus.

Aye good points.

But....some people don't spread covid as much as others. In my gym there was someone who tested positive (with symptoms later on) and they didn't spread it on to anyone there (at least as far as I know and not to me). We weren't wearing masks etc as per the rules. So I don't think it's as simple as saying if you come into close contact with someone who has it, you're going to get it. I know a few families where one person in the household gets it with symptoms and the others don't get it. But then you get super spreader events where one person infects loads of people.

Some things I've read that can affect who spreads it are BMI, where they are int the shedding cycle, age, what symptoms they have, viral load. (this article has some links on it) Due to that, I'm sure its possible to say that it was the precautions someone took that protected them.

I'm not saying don't wear masks.

But I do think there's a difference between wearing a mask when you pop into a shop or similar versus making kids wear them.

Although lots of experts say there's no harm (developmental, mental, educational, social) in making children wear masks, many say the opposite:
https://www.city-journal.org/masking-children-unnecessary-and-harmful?wallit_nosession=1
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-124394/v2
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/school-mask-mandates-downside/619952/
https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/article/mandatory-masking-of-school-children-is-a-bad-idea/
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/masks-children-parenting-schools-mandates-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-biden-administration-cdc-11628432716

If the benefits of wearing masks are uncertain, and there are some harms of wearing them for some people in certain situations (eg children in schools or children in general) then maybe it's not as simple as "just wear one".

MojoJojo

Quote from: Drygate on September 09, 2021, 09:19:14 AM
Aye good points.

But....some people don't spread covid as much as others. In my gym there was someone who tested positive (with symptoms later on) and they didn't spread it on to anyone there (at least as far as I know and not to me). We weren't wearing masks etc as per the rules. So I don't think it's as simple as saying if you come into close contact with someone who has it, you're going to get it.
The point is you have to assume you've got it and could spread it to others.
Quote
Some things I've read that can affect who spreads it are BMI,

I'd be interested to see something that has studied that. There's no obvious mechanism.

Uncle TechTip

There was something in the Groan yesterday, about a study in the Netherlands or somewhere, a deep analysis of how an infection spread at a certain event. It was found to be the air conditioning that did the most damage, people sat near the vents were most at risk of developing symptoms. But it also fleetingly mentioned, that regular smokers had a lower risk of infection, something i saw in the very early stages. Our lungs are so full of gunk, the virus can't take hold.

Ferris

Quote from: Drygate on September 09, 2021, 09:19:14 AM
Aye good points.

But....some people don't spread covid as much as others. In my gym there was someone who tested positive (with symptoms later on) and they didn't spread it on to anyone there (at least as far as I know and not to me). We weren't wearing masks etc as per the rules. So I don't think it's as simple as saying if you come into close contact with someone who has it, you're going to get it. I know a few families where one person in the household gets it with symptoms and the others don't get it. But then you get super spreader events where one person infects loads of people.

Some things I've read that can affect who spreads it are BMI, where they are int the shedding cycle, age, what symptoms they have, viral load. (this article has some links on it) Due to that, I'm sure its possible to say that it was the precautions someone took that protected them.

I'm not saying don't wear masks.

But I do think there's a difference between wearing a mask when you pop into a shop or similar versus making kids wear them.

Good idea - what we'll do is establish a double traffic light system determinate on everyone's BMI, lung capacity, and age, as well as any underlying systems. If you score green/green for risk to yourself and spreading it to others you can go unmasked for certain tasks. Happily the NHS has loads of spare capacity to do this kind of assessment for 67 million people, and of course keep it strictly up to date as the population ages and changes.

Though that's only half the story as you point out, so we'll have to do an air flow analysis for every building open to the public once via a chartered surveyor, and then again for a final approval from the local council or healthcare body. This will determine flow rates and points of danger - vents obviously are bad news but if there's an open window that mitigates the risk down to amber (assuming the weather doesn't change and you have to close them all again!) unless the flow is poor in the first place. And don't get me started on recirculating air! Perhaps different zones of different zones can be roped off and zoned differently. Obviously this all changes if a higher risk person enters the building at which point, ratings can change without notice and everyone might need to pop on their mask.

A massive faff, perhaps, but this way we would get the absolute peak of efficiency, and nobody would have to wear a mask for a second longer than they had to[nb]unless all those preliminary studies were wrong and we wasted a metric fuckton of time and effort and put everyone at equal risk for no reason![/nb], though of course it would completely overwhelm the government and private sector and de facto shutter every building while a team of surveyors run about with windsocks grading things and issuing risk ratings to literally every member of the population.

Or we could just all wear masks when we go inside and accept sometimes they are very necessary depending on personal health and that of those around us and our environment, and sometimes they are merely somewhat necessary.

Drygate

Yeah. That could work too! Maybe it's a bit heavy handed though when applied to all restrictions.

QuoteI'd be interested to see something that has studied that. There's no obvious mechanism.

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/8/e2021830118

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elderly-and-overweight-are-the-real-covid-super-spreaders-0w0zxlrp7


Dex Sawash


Is there some semi-plausible justification for the Florida cases reporting? What is the half-truth that covers for the big lie?

Blinder Data

Quote from: Uncle TechTip on September 09, 2021, 10:21:37 AM
There was something in the Groan yesterday, about a study in the Netherlands or somewhere, a deep analysis of how an infection spread at a certain event. It was found to be the air conditioning that did the most damage, people sat near the vents were most at risk of developing symptoms. But it also fleetingly mentioned, that regular smokers had a lower risk of infection, something i saw in the very early stages. Our lungs are so full of gunk, the virus can't take hold.

That also applies to colds, the flu, etc. I'm sure someone told me once that their elderly relative was advised to go back to smoking by their GP, because quitting had led them to catch a bunch of illnesses which were probably more dangerous than cigs at their age.

Ferris

Quote from: Dex Sawash on September 09, 2021, 12:03:09 PM
Is there some semi-plausible justification for the Florida cases reporting? What is the half-truth that covers for the big lie?

Massive amounts of under testing and under reporting. Their test positivity rate is at a bonkers level which means people just aren't bothering to get tested (or the facilities aren't available). Depending on your health insurance, it can cost doctors money to test you because the deductible is higher than the cost of the test. Some people presumably just aren't bothering to get tests because if you test positive you have to isolate. If you don't test positive, you can do what you like. Some people are likely asymptomatic.

To be honest I'd guess the main problem is the non verbal (and frankly, the openly verbal) messaging from certain government and media figures that suggest this is no longer a big deal so you don't need to worry or get tests or whatever so just relax, it's all good, testing is for nerds.

My guess, their case load is an order or magnitude higher than is being reported but that's impossible to prove so DeSantis can claim he did a great job on the campaign trail in 2024.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

In terms of deaths, Texas and California seem a more immediate concern?

Drygate

California are doing terrible and they've done all the things (masks, lock downs etc). From looking at the graphs, it looks like covid is going to covid no matter what you do.

Pranet

According to worldometers, in the current wave Florida have gone over 300 deaths a day and Texas just reached 400 deaths a day, and California have yet to reach (in the current wave) 200 deaths a day, with a larger population than Florida or Texas.

Fambo Number Mive

Also, California may have done lockdowns and had a mask mandate in the past, but I'm not aware of a mask mandate currently and there aren't any lockdowns in California.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Pranet on September 10, 2021, 12:11:55 PM
According to worldometers, in the current wave Florida have gone over 300 deaths a day and Texas just reached 400 deaths a day, and California have yet to reach (in the current wave) 200 deaths a day, with a larger population than Florida or Texas.

At the time of checking Florida didn't seem to have anything alarming in terms of deaths unless I really screwed up and clicked on Florida County, South Dakota*

*no such county*

**probably

Ferris

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on September 11, 2021, 08:42:07 AM
At the time of checking Florida didn't seem to have anything alarming in terms of deaths unless I really screwed up and clicked on Florida County, South Dakota*

*no such county*

**probably

350 people dying per day, scaled to the UK that's the equivalent of 1100 people dying per day or approx 10x the death rate. Seems a FUCKDOWN to me.