COVID Thread

[Gomez Adams]

U.S. Army begins to discharge soldiers who refuse COVID-19 vaccination

"Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness," Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth says. The Army says 96% of active troops have been vaccinated.

www.npr.org

So you took 12 vaccines to join, but one more during the biggest pandemic in over a century is a bridge too far for you?

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[Gomez Adams]

You've been talking about it for weeks. CNN just got to it.

How worried should we be about the new 'stealth' Omicron?

As a new subvariant of Omicron spreads rapidly in some parts of the world, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen answers questions about safety for vaccinated people and those who recently had Covid-19.

www.cnn.com

A new subvariant of Omicron is spreading rapidly in some parts of the world. This spinoff from the original Omicron variant, called BA.2, has been found in at least 49 countries, including the United States. In some countries, like Denmark, BA.2 has already surpassed the original Omicron (BA.1) as the dominant variant.​

 

[Gomez Adams]

Cases are now trending down in every state but one.

Alabama.

Figure the odds.

 

[Zeedox]

Cousins will be cousins...

 

[Zeedox]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-schools-students-education-1.6339008

The new Omicron subvariant BA.2 has arrived in New Brunswick, the Department of Heath announced Friday.

A person in the Moncton region, Zone 1, has tested positive, the microbiology lab at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton has confirmed.

BA.2 is believed to be more transmissible than the BA.1 Omicron variant already hammering the province.

No information about the person's condition, vaccination status or the source of infection has been released.

 

[Gomez Adams]

Shit.

 

[Gomez Adams]

And while we're at it:

US reports more than 900,000 total Covid-19 deaths

As of Friday, more than 900,000 people in the United States have died of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

www.cnn.com

 

[Zeedox]

Austria Just Passed Europe's First Vaccine Mandate for All Adults

With a few exceptions, all adults who refuse to comply could face fines up to $4,000.

gizmodo.com

The new legislation, signed into law this week, officially takes Austria the first European country to require vaccines for the majority of adults, CNN notes.

Starting in mid-March, Austrian police will reportedly conduct routine checks to verify people’s vaccination status. Those who refuse to get vaccinated could reportedly face fines of 600 euros, ($687) or up to 3,600 euros ($,4,124) issued as many as four times per year for those who continue to oppose the requirement. The mandate, which takes effect on Saturday, February 5, applies to adults over the age of 18 and will last until January 31, 2024. The upper house of the Austrian parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the mandate by a margin of 47-12.

 

[Gomez Adams]

That should be implemented globally.

 

[Gomez Adams]

It doesn't get a hell of a lot lower than this.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1491109560072896513

 

[Zeedox]

So by that logic shooting victims die from their wounds and not from being shot.

I am beginning to question the validity of the American school system...

 

[Gomez Adams]

Right now, the republicans are trying to ban anything resembling Critical Race Theory in our state senate. The fact that it's not taught anywhere in the state is irrelevant.

And the payoff is that the republican white nationalist that authored the bill says that it in no way prevents the teaching of racism and slavery the history he wants taught.