Riobard

Coronavirus all excited back-to-school hard-on be gettin’ those hard-won lowered reproduction numbers against it jacked back up above 1.

In Paulding Co, GA, 65-88% probability of one currently infected person in any random group of 100 people. The low and high ends of the range represent, respectively, a 5-fold and 10-fold ascertainment bias adjustment accounting for non-diagnosed incidence. Betcha by golly now at least one kid in the school hallway photo has unwittingly already transmitted CoV. Superspreading inflated by uncovered faces is what can go wrong.

But with a blue/red distinction ...

If all American and Canadian states, provinces, and territories were to be considered nations unto themselves, raising total global country count to about 275, the province of Quebec’s population-adjusted mortality rate to date is in the top 10 globally, behind a number of USA states, Belgium, and on par with UK. Quebec’s deaths are disproportionately weighted in the Montreal area. The pandemic massacred much of the aged population in long term care facilities, mostly privately run, with apparently deplorable conditions. The Canadian military was deployed to try to help get things under control in those facilities. Harsh lesson.

American tourism in Thailand represents .5% GDP. By contrast, Chinese tourism there represents 10% GDP. Thailand has its head screwed on tight and right and won’t recklessly trade off overall stability for the one-fifth of GDP that is travel/tourism. It is not The Maldives. It is also thinking outside of the box, contemplating reciprocal tourism agreements with select nations as well as designating cloistered dedicated tourist zones. There is a correlation between visitors accepting of that level of management and the origin countries that represent the majority share of visitation to Thailand. More “Western” tourists will not be very accepting of the segregation model and will consider it an affront to privilege and autonomy, but why should Thailand care? It did the proper heavy lifting for its citizens and has honey badger status.

I thought the widespread trend was that most coronavirus-related content was released pro bono. I wonder if print media is backpedaling on that concession.

American Whites, given population share and vaccination attitudes, are the most likely subgroup to compromise widespread immunity through a prospective effective vaccination program. Hispanics and Asians are better allies if you want to bank on reaching the threshold that fizzles out CoV2 incidence. If natural immunity through infection is durable (jury not out on that verdict), then incidence to date also tips the balance in favour of herd protection. Disproportionate incidence for African Americans, if exposure is as protective as vaccination, may offset vaccination disinclination in terms of minimal broad community immunity threshold. It is a tragic paradox.

The article opened in my newsfeed at first, but now I can access only by typing the title into Google.

This: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/07/17/black-anti-vaccine-coronavirus-tuskegee-syphilis/

A brazen red fox, to confuse, ripped off a vast shitload of shoes piled up in a mound that outsmarted a hound, the felony aired on Fox News.

Chameleon ... has BF, gives BFE

Unfortunately, many will follow in his denial footsteps and die, particularly if he recovers decently.

Just a harmless l’il flu BUUUUUGG!!s@$&%#{¥

I should add that even if I have no immunity at a point in the future when community herd immunity is achieved that changes everything if there is minimal exposure incidence. Such a scenario opens creaky things up.

The critique is that the Czars-CoV-2 vaccine development may be premature.

There may also be an inverse relationship between symptom severity and antibody protection strength and durability. In other words, get off lightly in infection, longterm immune response light on its feet. In addition, the earlier utilized antibody tests may not have the best sensitivity (not a problem unless the result was negative) and specificity (a problem if it detected a different coronavirus). Worthwhile to repeat antibody testing that was done months ago. In the absence of clear answers, this is where I am at in terms of my risk tolerance for my both my own and others vulnerability and susceptibility, as someone not yet personally infected/protected: Without evidence of my own immunity protection, either natural through infection or artificial through vaccination, I won’t chance intimacy with anyone at all, even if they themselves can demonstrate either natural or artificial apparent immunity. As there may be a window in which an “immune” person can host coronavirus and be infectious while their body’s previous exposure or vaccination status is mounting its defence, including memory cells to trigger a better antibody response at a point in which significant antibody decay had already occurred, I risk picking up coronavirus. It pains me to write this because the guy with an ‘immunity passport’ hot enough to tempt me may be behaviourally more likely to have the kind of transient re-exposure I outlined ... he is definitely not monogamish. The virus does not float around in the air with selective radar like we see in space alien films; it will take its best shot anywhere. I think, as well, a big factor in my thinking about this is how the virus is shed; could somebody be harbouring recently reacquired viral particles in their mucous membranes while re-mounting immune response? Until more is known about these factors, I prefer to defer until I am confident of my own safety ... and of not playing transmission middle-man ... brings to next point. Similarly, if I have reasonably known protective immunity based on infection or on (future) vaccination, at this point I would want the sexual partner to have the same immune status for his own sake, until such time in our knowledge evolution there is greater certainty about my potential for transient contagion. There is evidence that immunity to many other diseases protects both sides, including the unexposed, but the jury is not out on SARS-CoV-2 and understandably the scientific community hedges judgement on such questions, more so they would say “How the fuck should I know?!” if asked about our promiscuity abroad. Currently for me this means maintaining precautionary measures in non-sexual situations and being monogamish in whoring even if I have apparent immunity and I am comfortable travelling. [Sorry: I had drafted this elsewhere and the paste function is not giving font options this time]

UK, Australia, and New Zealand have reciprocal emergency health care agreements among these 3 CANZUK countries. Canada should be in it, by rights as a Commonwealth country on par in development, but its health care is run by province/territory and even interprovincial coverage can be a headache if you happen to be away from your jurisdiction. By the way, I may as well here disabuse you of the notion that Québecois receive free universal health care. On top of paying about the highest income tax rate in North America, I pay the province close to $700 annually for medication coverage whether used or not (and a substantial portion of prescription meds beyond the annual pharmaceutical fee), $500 annual GP user fee, many lab fees, $180 per consult with a decent urologist, and I have paid $990 apiece for required standard diagnostic MRIs. Travel medical insurance is a lot less than the aforementioned tally. Australia also has agreements with about 10 European countries but they are not uniform contracts and it is still recommended to travel with private insurance. I think the main impediment is that these agreements do not cover everything that is covered locally. Then it comes down to figuring out legally who is, or should be, the obligatory first payer versus residual payer, the government system or third party private insurer. Because residual-needs premium costs are often similar to fully insured private single-payer premiums, why benefit private corporations with savings for them that amount to dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets?

Brazil president reports he is on antibiotics and not fully recovered. He thinks he got mold in his lungs from being confined indoors too long. Eee Gads! My assumption is that if it is fungal it is coccidioidomycosis due to burying his head in the soil ... though he had better hope not. He will only eat his words stealthily crushed up in a spoonful of medicine.

I second this emotion. Also, many of us do not travel with a support system similar to what we may have at home. Power-of-attorney for finances, care, etc, advocacy in the foreign locale, etc. Having had a bad case of dengue fever in South America, I can attest that it is hell-ish to be on your own with a spiked body temperature and other debilitating symptoms.

The 5 states marked with an orange X are excluded from the newly defined international tourist arrivals permission but it is likely that the only relevant city for purposes of this forum is Porto Alegre. I do not know if a foreign national can domestically transfer to one of those state-located airports following arrival at an acceptable city ... my interpretation is that it is allowable. The reopening is also only for one month, to be reviewed. That is how things seem to go these days and it may be advisable to not plan too far ahead of time.

Certainly not a good time to travel, and getting the treatment you can pay for is a potential problem, but insurers now have more info to develop their price/profit algorithms and are opening up policy options. One popular Canadian company is offering full winter season locked-in rates for the many elderly retired ‘snowbirds’ that stay in southern USA ... no need to remind what’s happening there. For every 3 Covid-19 deaths in Brazil to date there has been 1 non-SARS-CoV-2 influenza/pneumonia death. And the latter has vaccination options to mitigate incidence. Let’s assume for the sake of illustration that medical costs are fairly equal pre-mortality for the two disease scenarios. Has your insurer ever asked about your vaxx uptake? Mine hasn’t. You will probably pay more currently but if there is money to be made by companies at a time when sales are low they will chase the almighty.

The months-long entry ban was not renewed and air borders are now open, counterintuitively given the CoV incidence rate. It has joined a few other nations, however, in the requirement of health insurance to cover medical costs that could arise.

Saskatchewan is trending like Spain, adjusted for population size. A global region that was already hit extremely hard is understandably going to apply strict measures in an attempt to bypass a repeat of earlier catastrophic and exhausting proportions.

I read that home confinement in Barcelona is strongly encouraged yet voluntary, but there are other specific rules that are subject to fines. As such, Thermas is now open 12:00-0:00 and by appointment only, presumably to comply with gathering and capacity regulations.

Thailand is one of a few countries that now requires proof of medical insurance that includes coronavirus coverage in order to enter. As I think that applies to the few non-citizens granted entry under exceptional circumstances, as there is otherwise a strict travel ban, it is something that should be checked if and when foreign nationals can travel there.