COVID-19 (f/k/a "the Coronavirus")

[MU82]

Deborah Birx, the previous administration's coronavirus response coordinator, said most COVID-19 deaths in America could have been prevented had the administration had acted earlier and more decisively.

"I look at it this way: The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge," Birx said. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

[GooooMarquette]

Deborah Birx, the previous administration's coronavirus response coordinator, said most COVID-19 deaths in America could have been prevented had the administration had acted earlier and more decisively.

"I look at it this way: The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge," Birx said. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

Pretty scathing comments from the administration's own Covid response coordinator.

[Mutaman]

Other than discouraging mask use (let the record show that it was Fauci who announced initially that masks were of no value), having Fauci and Birx as the face of covid was the greatest error Trump made in handling the pandemic, hey?

That should be
Other than completely checking out on any decisions at all on COVID efforts between the election and the inauguration.

Turning social distancing and lockdowns into a political battleground.

Perversely refusing to acknowledge the dead and sick, offering virtually no words of comfort or sympathy.

Lying about his own bout of coronavirus.

Supporting  those idiots  who protested maskless against restrictions, even to the point of violence, even to the point of an attempted kidnap/murder of the governor of Michigan.

Holding rallies and events with no masking and no social distancing that were superspreader events.

Declining to use the Defense Production Act until too far into the pandemic and even then on a limited basis.

Not having a national plan on testing and mitigation.

et cetera et cetera.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Deborah Birx, the previous administration's coronavirus response coordinator, said most COVID-19 deaths in America could have been prevented had the administration had acted earlier and more decisively.

"I look at it this way: The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge," Birx said. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

She fucking enabled it!

[Jockey]

She unnatural carnal knowledgeing enabled it!

If you take a job like that, you can't be afraid to speak truth to power. She wasn't up to that task.

[GooooMarquette]

If you take a job like that, you can't be afraid to speak truth to power. She wasn't up to that task.

You are correct that she wasn't up to the task. But to be fair, not everybody knows whether they will be up to the challenge when they take on a new role.

So yes - she was part of the problem, but I still give her credit for speaking out now, even though it puts the entire administration (including herself) in the crosshairs of the criticism.

[Jockey]

You are correct that she wasn't up to the task. But to be fair, not everybody knows whether they will be up to the challenge when they take on a new role.

So yes - she was part of the problem, but I still give her credit for speaking out now, even though it puts the entire administration (including herself) in the crosshairs of the criticism.

It's not an easy thing to do. You are putting your career on the line. But life/death situations should override that.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

So yes - she was part of the problem, but I still give her credit for speaking out now, even though it puts the entire administration (including herself) in the crosshairs of the criticism.

I disagree to the extent that it appears to me she is attempting to shift blame to others. She was huge part of the problem, from praising Trump for his scientific literacy and attention to detail to sitting there and nodding when Trump said the government would look into using disinfectants.

If the administration filed to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths, she needs to acknowledge her part in that. Instead she is making excuses.

[GooooMarquette]

It's not an easy thing to do. You are putting your career on the line. But life/death situations should override that.

Oh, I absolutely agree that they should.

Just pointing out that people don't always do what they should do, when they should do it. And even though Birx should have done more earlier, it doesn't take away the importance of saying this now...since the alternative would be to continue participating in the coverup.

[MU82]

Totally agree about Birx. While Fauci and others spoke the truth much earlier, Birx was still enabling a president who lied daily about the pandemic and made life worse for millions of Americans.

Finally, even Birx reached her tipping point and began to speak the truth, and even as she did so she carefully danced around her boss' horrific response to the coronavirus.

Her reward for those months and months of loyalty? He publicly ripped her, calling her "pathetic."

Still better that she finally realized the truth and spoke to it.

Meanwhile ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/us/covid-cases-vaccines-eligible.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210329&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=108420427&segment_id=54446&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa

President Biden on Monday called on governors and mayors to maintain or reinstate mask-wearing orders, saying that because of "reckless behavior," the coronavirus was again spreading fast, threatening the progress the nation has made so far against the pandemic.

"People are letting up on precautions, which is a very bad thing," he said. "We are giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains."

Mr. Biden asked the nation to hold on longer, saying that he had directed his coronavirus team to ensure that there was a vaccination site within five miles of 90 percent of Americans within three weeks.

On Monday, New York said all adults would be eligible starting April 6, joining at least 37 other states that will make all adult residents eligible for vaccinations by mid-April.

[GooooMarquette]

Meanwhile ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/us/covid-cases-vaccines-eligible.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210329&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=108420427&segment_id=54446&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa

President Biden on Monday called on governors and mayors to maintain or reinstate mask-wearing orders, saying that because of "reckless behavior," the coronavirus was again spreading fast, threatening the progress the nation has made so far against the pandemic.

"People are letting up on precautions, which is a very bad thing," he said. "We are giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains."

Mr. Biden asked the nation to hold on longer, saying that he had directed his coronavirus team to ensure that there was a vaccination site within five miles of 90 percent of Americans within three weeks.

On Monday, New York said all adults would be eligible starting April 6, joining at least 37 other states that will make all adult residents eligible for vaccinations by mid-April.

Yep. And it's really troubling that the daily new case totals are going up again (seven-day average of 63,000/day, up from 54,000/day two weeks ago), despite all the vaccinations.

For those who think this shouldn't be a concern because the highest risk people have already had Covid or been vaccinated...we can't just worry about people getting sick and dying. We also have to reduce spread to reduce the likelihood of deadlier new mutations that might ultimately be resistant to the vaccines we have already received. If that happens, many of the gains we've made could be wiped out overnight.

[tower912]

Indeed.    Too many are getting ahead of themselves.   

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Totally agree about Birx. While Fauci and others spoke the truth much earlier, Birx was still enabling a president who lied daily about the pandemic and made life worse for millions of Americans.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

The Pandemic's Wrongest Man
In a crowded field of wrongness, one person stands out: Alex Berenson.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/pandemics-wrongest-man/618475/

"The pandemic has made fools of many forecasters. Just about all of the predictions whiffed. Anthony Fauci was wrong about masks. California was wrong about the outdoors. New York was wrong about the subways. I was wrong about the necessary cost of pandemic relief. And the Trump White House was wrong about almost everything else.

In this crowded field of wrongness, one voice stands out. The voice of Alex Berenson: the former New York Times reporter, Yale-educated novelist, avid tweeter, online essayist, and all-around pandemic gadfly. Berenson has been serving up COVID-19 hot takes for the past year, blithely predicting that the United States would not reach 500,000 deaths (we've surpassed 550,000) and arguing that cloth and surgical masks can't protect against the coronavirus (yes, they can).

Berenson has a big megaphone. He has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter and millions of viewers for his frequent appearances on Fox News' most-watched shows. On Laura Ingraham's show, he downplayed the vaccines, suggesting that Israel's experience proved they were considerably less effective than initially claimed. On Tucker Carlson Tonight, he predicted that the vaccines would cause an uptick in cases of COVID-related illness and death in the U.S.

The vaccines have inspired his most troubling comments. For the past few weeks on Twitter, Berenson has mischaracterized just about every detail regarding the vaccines to make the dubious case that most people would be better off avoiding them. As his conspiratorial nonsense accelerates toward the pandemic's finish line, he has proved himself the Secretariat of being wrong:"

More at link. Idiots like this, given a friendly megaphone at Faux News, are why up to 50% of Republicans say they won't get the vaccine.

[tower912]

Variants surging.   Get vaccinated as quickly as you can.

[GooooMarquette]

Variants surging.   Get vaccinated as quickly as you can.

Yep. And keep wearing a mask at least until you're fully vaccinated.

Doesn't look good over there in Michigan, tower.

[tower912]

Mind boggling, really.

https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/

Go through the charts and it is the worst in the thumb area and Northern Michigan.   

Schools are driving the outbreaks.    Many school districts threatening to go virtual after spring break.   

[Marquette Fan]

Variants surging.   Get vaccinated as quickly as you can.

I'm really worried about what's going to happen after Spring Break in Wisconsin.  So many people took Spring Break trips that I figure many will bring back some variants with them.  2.5 more weeks until I get my 2nd shot.

[Marquette Fan]

Mind boggling, really.

https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/

Go through the charts and it is the worst in the thumb area and Northern Michigan.   

Schools are driving the outbreaks.    Many school districts threatening to go virtual after spring break.

Scary stuff.

Interesting about schools driving the outbreaks as all I keep hearing by me in Wisconsin is it's not spreading at all through the schools.

[tower912]

The nursing home populations and seniors are nearly all vaccinated.     This surge is being driven by the young and unvaccinated.   Including school age children.

5th and 7th grade classes at my son's school are now virtual due to exposures.   Email to the parents recommending quarantining for a week after spring break if the family goes anywhere where it is surging or stays and does not follow safety protocols.

4th wave.   It isn't over.   Get vaccinated.   Wear your mask.

[Marquette Fan]

The nursing home populations and.seniors are nearly all vaccinated.     This surge is being driven by the young and unvaccinated.   Including school age children.

5th and 7th grade classes at my son's school are now virtual due to exposures.   Email to the parents recommending quarantining for a week after spring break if the family goes anywhere where it is surging or stays and does not follow safety protocols.

4th wave.   It isn't over.   Get vaccinated.   Wear your mask.

Oh I believe you - I've been doubting when I hear the administration and other people saying its not spreading in our schools.  I wish we'd go all virtual the week after spring break but I know that won't happen.

So many people I know are choosing not to get vaccinated and now with no mask mandate in WI I'm more worried too.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Tons of cars from Indiana and Michigan heading south last weekend.

Our school is requiring virtual for 10 days or a negative test after 6 days for anyone going on spring break.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Another fictitious, Trump/Fox/Right Wing talking point was <shocker> wrong:

Suicides Fell by 2,600 in 2020, Despite Donald Trump's Lockdown Warnings
https://www.newsweek.com/suicides-fell-2600-2020-despite-donald-trumps-lockdown-warnings-1580585

"Suicide rates dropped in 2020 despite former President Donald Trump warning that COVID-19 lockdowns would lead to an increasing number of people taking their own lives.

Total U.S. suicides for 2020 numbered 44,834, over 2,600 fewer deaths than 2019's total of 47,511, according to National Center for Health Statistics figures cited in an article published Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association. A smaller decrease of around 800 happened between 2018 and 2019. "

[Jay Bee]

Variants surging.   Get vaccinated as quickly as you can.

I tried; now it's too late. Just tested positive. This is not fun.

[Hards Alumni]

I tried; now it's too late. Just tested positive. This is not fun.

That really sucks, man, after all this time being careful, and your scare last year with your apartment building.

Hope you're doing okay.