All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (4 Viewers)

[Maxp]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

 

[insidejob]

Louisiana's newest GOP congressman announces he has COVID-19 (apnews.com)

The article doesn't say if he's a COVID denier or not. Anyone know who this guy is? I don't pay much attention to Louisiana politics that don't affect me.

 

[Taurus]

So let me get this straight.
States aren't getting all the vaccine doses they were promised.
The Feds say it's a production problem.
Pfizer says they have millions of doses just sitting around, waiting for the Feds to tell them where they go.
The Feds shut down tonight at midnight.
Presumably, nobody will be around to track those vaccines on the Federal side, they could go anywhere and we'd have no idea.

Would anyone here be the least surprised to learn that Donald is selling those vaccines to the highest bidder?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

We were set to received our allotment and start vaccinating staff next week. LDH just sent us word it's not happening due to the confusion. This is asinine.

 

[insidejob]

We were set to received our allotment and start vaccinating staff next week. LDH just sent us word it's not happening due to the confusion. This is asinine.

So much for me getting a black market vaccine from you. Maybe I can see if Trump's willing to sell me a couple doses of those unclaimed Pfizer vaccines.

So let me get this straight.
States aren't getting all the vaccine doses they were promised.
The Feds say it's a production problem.
Pfizer says they have millions of doses just sitting around, waiting for the Feds to tell them where they go.
The Feds shut down tonight at midnight.
Presumably, nobody will be around to track those vaccines on the Federal side, they could go anywhere and we'd have no idea.

Would anyone here be the least surprised to learn that Donald is selling those vaccines to the highest bidder?

I betcha I can tell you why Trump isn't moving on those vaccines...the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are reportedly 8-10 x's more expensive than the AstraZeneca vaccine of which Operation Warp Speed ordered a lot more. The catch with the cheaper AstraZeneca vaccine is that it also sucks in comparison to the more expensive ones. I read that the efficacy of AZ's vaccine is only 60-90% compared to the 95% of the other two. This is typical Trump business too. Skimp out on the good shirt and inoculate the masses with the garbage version.

USA! USA! USA!

 

[RobF]

I betcha I can tell you why Trump isn't moving on those vaccines...the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are reportedly 8-10 x's more expensive than the AstraZeneca vaccine of which Operation Warp Speed ordered a lot more. The catch with the cheaper AstraZeneca vaccine is that it also sucks in comparison to the more expensive ones. I read that the efficacy of AZ's vaccine is only 60-90% compared to the 95% of the other two. This is typical Trump business too. Skimp out on the good shirt and inoculate the masses with the garbage version.

USA! USA! USA!

Just on the prices of the vaccines, apparently Belgium's budget state secretary tweeted the prices that the EU has agreed to pay for the various vaccines out there at the moment. Good for transparency, but the manufacturers want to keep this stuff confidential. Oops. But here's the list:

• Oxford/AstraZeneca: €1.78
• Johnson & Johnson: $8.50
• Sanofi/GSK: €7.56
• Pfizer/BioNTech: €12
• CureVac: €10
• Moderna: $18

(taken from this article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...identally-tweets-eus-covid-vaccine-price-list)

I'd be curious to see what the US has agreed to pay, and the UK as well (we're still going through our stupidly nationalist phase at the moment, so we didn't join the EU's joint purchasing scheme even though we could have. Maybe we got the same deals, or better, but I suspect the odds are that we did not).

 

[insidejob]

Just on the prices of the vaccines, apparently Belgium's budget state secretary tweeted the prices that the EU has agreed to pay for the various vaccines out there at the moment. Good for transparency, but the manufacturers want to keep this stuff confidential. Oops. But here's the list:

• Oxford/AstraZeneca: €1.78
• Johnson & Johnson: $8.50
• Sanofi/GSK: €7.56
• Pfizer/BioNTech: €12
• CureVac: €10
• Moderna: $18

(taken from this article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...identally-tweets-eus-covid-vaccine-price-list)

I'd be curious to see what the US has agreed to pay, and the UK as well (we're still going through our stupidly nationalist phase at the moment, so we didn't join the EU's joint purchasing scheme even though we could have. Maybe we got the same deals, or better, but I suspect the odds are that we did not).

Yeah, I suspect not too. And we're probably getting our lunch eaten on the vaccines that we have agreed to purchase because the Stable Genius is a Master Negotiator and won't even listen to anyone who really knows what they're doing. He "makes the best deals!" though, so we can take comfort in that. With each passing day there's a new story hitting the news that makes it more and more clear that he's really holding on to this election fraud nonsense because he did so much criminal shirt ever since he started his campaign that it's going to be a tough ask not to prosecute him.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Pfizer said they weren't part of Operation Warp Speed after Trump took credit for Pfizer's success. Trump is criminally petty.

 

[insidejob]

Okay, fellers. I'm posting this fantastic clip of the ground breaking patriotic news program called "Lou Dobbs Tonight" in this thread because it's supposed to be about vaccines. What I think we should really focus on is the last minute of the video when the pastor takes praying on Twitter to another level and prays on cable news instead.

@SystemShock is welcome to start the commentary since he's usually shy about such topics. Seriously though, even the "pastor" seems like he almost busts out laughing in the middle of his "prayer." How this has bastageization of prayer became normalized is something I'll never understand.

 

[insidejob]

So, am I the only one who missed this news about PPP loans and whatnot?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Just criminal.

 

[Lapaz]

Guess who's pushing anti-vax narratives on Fox News? Everyone's favorite trollop, Tucker Carlson, of course.



There's a part two of you really feel like watching 15 whole minutes. I really can't stand his stupid smug voice or his stupid smug face so I only made it about 4 minutes or so into part one.

I can't stand Tucker, but this segment wasn't that bad. He's taking issue with forcing people to take it and censorship, which seems reasonable. Some of his cynicism is distasteful, but he has a valid point that censorship causes distrust. It is better to educate and refute false information. Better to point to evidence to refute conspiracy theories, rather than censoring wackos.

 

[SystemShock]

Okay, fellers. I'm posting this fantastic clip of the ground breaking patriotic news program called "Lou Dobbs Tonight" in this thread because it's supposed to be about vaccines. What I think we should really focus on is the last minute of the video when the pastor takes praying on Twitter to another level and prays on cable news instead.

@SystemShock is welcome to start the commentary since he's usually shy about such topics. Seriously though, even the "pastor" seems like he almost busts out laughing in the middle of his "prayer." How this has bastageization of prayer became normalized is something I'll never understand.

So much to unpack... so little bandwidth... if those two truly believe what they said, this is a great example of the complete rejection of critical thinking.

You know what would've been a blessing, and/or a miracle? Not have this forking virus kill 1.5+ million people and devastate economies worldwide.

 

[MT15]

Gotta remember it's also about messaging. If Trump got the vaccine in public, you'd get like 40 million more people, minimum (IMHO) want to get vaccinated.

The more high profile people that get it, and get it early, the better. His one shot is a drop in the pond.

I don’t think Trump will ever get the vaccine, much less publicly. JMO.

Oh, and got my first shot today. Made an appointment for Jan. 6 for the second, if we get more by then. It’s not bad at all, slight soreness in the arm, and the microchip is barely noticeable.

 

[MT15]

Just heard that the delay on the vaccines was ordered by the general in charge (forget his name) out of caution due to the bad storm, to avoid any vaccine being lost due to weather delays. I think the shipments will resume now. There was crappy communication between the Feds and the states about the delay and the reason for it, and Azar made it worse because he didn’t know either and didn’t bother to find out.

No link, heard it on TV. The governor of Washington finally had a talk with the general and said it was all taken care of. I assume the other states will be the same.

When a vaccine has to be shipped on dry ice I think it’s reasonable to delay when there is bad weather.

So, GA I hope you guys get your shipment really soon.

 

[zztop]

So, am I the only one who missed this news about PPP loans and whatnot?

devos also redirected millions to private religious schools (instead of going to public ones)

States say Education Department is illegally diverting pandemic relief to private schools

A coalition of blue states sued the Department of Education on Tuesday, saying that coronavirus aid has been illegally diverted by department officials toward private schools, some of which have already received assistance during the pandemic

thehill.com

oh and the military got some funds directed to them as well and spent it on uniforms and other gear

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/22/covid-funds-pentagon/

 

[GrandAdmiral]

I don’t think Trump will ever get the vaccine, much less publicly. JMO.

Ironically, they're suggesting Trump not receive the vaccine right now. Fauci and the surgeon general were interviewed on CNN last night and both said that they're not recommending anyone who received the antibody cocktail to get the vaccine at this time.

 

[MT15]

I wonder why that would be? Those antibodies would be out of his system by now, presumably. I wonder if they are doing some damage control so that people in general aren’t swayed by Trump possibly refusing to take the vaccine?

 

[wardorican]

Congress clinches sweeping deal on coronavirus relief, government funding

Congressional leaders on Sunday reached a mammoth deal to fund the government and provide long-sought coronavirus relief as lawmakers race to wrap up their work for the year.

thehill.com

Looks like we will have a deal. Just need to finalize language.