He said it some time ago, but Biden plans to official end the pandemic emergency in May.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/us/politics/biden-covid-public-health-emergency.html

What do you think about that?

What is interesting to me is that a lot of people I follow on twitter who I always thought were spot on about most topics seems so far outside the norm on there thoughts on the Pandemic and won't ever forgive Biden and the government for ending Mask Mandates. I am not sure what they want the government to still do. Here is why I think the Pandemic over:

1. The vaccine and treatments are freely available. My SiL has lupus and she just got COVID for the first time and because she was vaccinated and was able to that IV treatment her bout with it was mild. She was the last person I was extremely worried about getting COVID and it was manageable.

2. It looks like Vaccinated COVID mortality rates are well below what pre-Pandemic flu mortality rates. I think its worth examining whether we as a country are ok with 50k deaths a year from the flu but I don't think that means we are still in a Pandemic.

3. I look at China where they had more stringent COVID Zero policies and it did not work. If the Chinese were rioting over wearing masks and anti-COVID prevention measures, I know the US is going for it.

4. Even looking at the mortality rate of states that had Mask mandates and didn't (CA v FL), mask mandates didn't seem to be politically worth it.

If I got any of this wrong, I welcome folks correcting me. Talk about it.

Poll result (25 votes) Yeah (11 votes) Vote Nay (14 votes) Vote

but I think lock downs are over and done with.

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TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

The immunocompromised, elderly, and high risk are still at an increased risk and these actions will make it harder for them.

I'm not even arguing that ending the emergency proclamation is the wrong step, but I think we really need to reexamine our beliefs and invest in preventing the excess deaths and long covid cases.

Our societal policies shouldn't be guided by the most cruel and ignorant among us, and while I am still Team Biden the handling of the pandemic could have been more policy focused versus individual choice.

__________________________________________

Maybe there are two types of people in the world: those who favor humans over ideology, and those who favor ideology over humans. I prefer humans to ideology, but right now the ideologues are winning.

once the emergency declaration ends.

Here's an article that spells out the various outcomes in terms of cost as result: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/how-costs-for-covid-tests-and-treatments-will-change-after-federal-emergency-declarations-end/ar-AA16YaBn

Assuming cities and states will cut back much much more on providing free tests/shots, I'm hoping there will be enough supply for private doctors to step in in either regard since it appears that where things are headed.

Have to feel for folks that don't have medical insurance since I'm assuming Moderna and Pfizer are going to charge an arm and a leg once the Federal reimbursement dollars dry up.

"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.

but, i feel it's a huge mistake to stop making vaccines/treatment as widely available and as free as possible.

like, if you're gonna make this move, that's no question the mostly logical "other side of the coin."

but hey, american gonna capitalism. at any and all costs.

widely available and free for many people who will need it.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Paxlovid and other antiviral treatments will eventually cost money
Oral antivirals that have been purchased by the federal government will remain free to everyone until the national supply runs out, regardless of when the public health emergency ends. That includes Paxlovid, the go-to treatment for people with mild to moderate Covid at high risk of severe disease.

But after the supply is emptied, most people — including those with private insurance or Medicare — will most likely be charged for the pills according to their plans.

People with Medicare Part D, which helps cover the cost of prescription drugs, can get Paxlovid free through December 2024, Kates said.

**end of copy and paste from article**

Also from the article, it appears vaccinations will for the most part be free, provided you have some form of insurance. Those without insurance will be covered if they get shots from the Federal government stockpile. Once that runs out, they will have to pay.

In addition, PCR tests will get cost even for those with insurance, which worries me a bit since that's the gold standard for COVID tests. Hopefully those won't get too high in cost once the emergency mandate ends, but time will tell.

"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.

10 days. one of my coworkers also got hit over the holiday and he his wife and his mom who was visiting were all down for like 7-10 days...everybody vaxxed too. its still an issue. its not an automatic death sentence like it seemed to be early on but its still out here...but like legs said its kinda here to stay at this point.

<--- Big Baller World Order

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

I was like “this shit sounds weird for Brookwhat” and then I goanced down and seen your actual response and was somewhat relieved.

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TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

>1. The vaccine and treatments are freely available. My SiL
>has lupus and she just got COVID for the first time and
>because she was vaccinated and was able to that IV treatment
>her bout with it was mild. She was the last person I was
>extremely worried about getting COVID and it was manageable.

First, vaccines will no longer be free once the emergency is over. And most the the anti-body treatments are no longer effective on the current strains.

So next time she catches it might be different. And Republicans in congress REFUSE to provide ANY funding for research or treatments.


>2. It looks like Vaccinated COVID mortality rates are well
>below what pre-Pandemic flu mortality rates. I think its
>worth examining whether we as a country are ok with 50k deaths
>a year from the flu but I don't think that means we are still
>in a Pandemic.

Lower as a percentage of people who get infected and die yes, but the COVID death numbers DWARF even the WORST flu symptomatic cases and death numbers we ever had in the US.
Flu 2012: 57,000 deaths
Covid 2021: 267,000 deaths

We had 95,000 COVID deaths in the MONTH of January 2021 alone.

The flu ain't got shit on COVID for deadliness - even omicron. Stop falling for the lies you are hearing.

>3. I look at China where they had more stringent COVID Zero
>policies and it did not work. If the Chinese were rioting over
>wearing masks and anti-COVID prevention measures, I know the
>US is going for it.

China focused on lockdown ONLY and did not adequately take other measures. Worked in short term, but they are paying for it now.


>4. Even looking at the mortality rate of states that had Mask
>mandates and didn't (CA v FL), mask mandates didn't seem to be
>politically worth it.

This is where the UNITED STATES is. Looking at preventable deaths as political fodder.

First, I truly believe an honest examination of COVID deaths in Florida is underreported for political reasons.

Florida had 357 deaths per 100,000 infections, 299 adjusting for age.

California had 258 deaths per 100,000 infections, 275 adjusting for age.

Florida just doesn't mind more people dying.

But while Florida is the one making the most noise, Texas had significantly worse outcomes. And don't even look at Mississippi.



>If I got any of this wrong, I welcome folks correcting me.
>Talk about it.
>
What you got wrong is you are falling for political and culture wars shit.

COVID is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. The flu is 9th.

Simply wearing a mask can dramatically reduce you chances of catching Covid. Simply getting vaccines and boosters as recommended lower your chance of death by 90%.

Look at the bullshit posted above about, people decided it's just not convenient to recognize that hundreds of thousands of people are dying a year, MILLIONS are being disabled temporarily and longer term, and a highly mutating disease is not *really* trying to be mitigated.

New strains of COVID don't come from vaccines, it comes from infections.

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Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

Why are you using 2021 data instead of 2022?

I mentioned vaccinated deaths. What are your stats on vaccinated deaths in 2022?


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/17/health/covid-death-reporting-2022/index.html

Interested to see cuts mortality rates by 90% means in real numbers.

The problem is how people determine the value human life - either by the absolute numbers or by rate of risk.

Example: If I say “People who are vaccinated and boosted have a 90% less chance of death than the unvaccinated” then SOME people say “Well, that’s a high percentage but the *absolute number* of people dying is low enough that I’m fine with it.” So they can just choose to ignore the rate. (Around 400 people in the United States died of COVID each day of 2023, around 16,000 this year.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/united-states.)

Then I say “Well then over 1.1 million people have died from Covid in the United States” and they say “Well, there were at least 100 million cases were reported, and probably another 100 million cases happened that weren’t reported. So only 1% or less of people have DIED, and that percentage is so low that I’m fine with it.” So they can also just think that 1.1 million people is a small number of people who died.
(They also then say "It's only fatties with no vitamin D who chose to be unhealthy.")


The *insane* thing to me is that people are focusing on the rate of serious illness and death numbers and are also NOT interested in doing basic things to minimize the spread. There's more than one factor we can influence with public policy.

This mirrors the teenage pregnancy debates of "Condoms vs. just say no."

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Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

Happens with crime all the time. Especially with the way crime in black communities gets reported.

All in all, of the 6.8 Million Crime Arrest in the US in 2019, 4.7 Million (69%) of those arrests were Caucasians. But the way crime is reported they will have you believe Africans Americans commit the most crime because of % to Pop.

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-43

Anyone interested in seeing the rest of them Google "FBI Crime Table 43".

IG: https://www.instagram.com/illharmonic.orchestra
FB: https://www.facebook.com/illharmonicorchestra
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/theephantom

They test for COVID before they test for flu and RSV.
I don't care what the legislative arm of business says, the medical field let's you know what's more pressing and urgent.

------
“There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus

The choice isn't "zero COVID policies" or "all good"


The issue with everyone following the admin's lead and moving on/accepting mass death and illness in service to capitalism and eating in restaurants is that it sabotages any further advancements.


The current "tools" either don't work as sold or are starting to be less effective due to variants.


The vaccine is/was an excellent temporary measure. But it doesn't stop the spread.

Evusheld and Paxlovid are becoming less effective against new variants...I've seen some reports that Evusheld is basically useless.


The message absolutely should be "we've come a long way but have more to do..."

with URGENT investment in air quality, better vaccines, and new treatments.


On the macro level, that makes the most sense other than politically. The Biden admin has been itching to declare this over...mass death, illness etc is a payoff for helping donors and individuals out there feel good.


It would also be better on the individual level, because right now 95% of the responsibility has been pushed on to us to figure it out.


And with the SOE over, anyone who doesn't think this shit will be monetized to the max is being willfully naive.


To sum up, the pandemic has evolved but it is not over. Biden admin has completely fucked up the messaging, investing in other advancements, etc. They chose donors and political wins over doing the right thing...and people are going to die because of it.


The 9-11 State of Emergency is still in effect. Think about that.


Oh, and the poll is broken. I voted and it took away a vote. For what its worth.

.

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Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

fortunately they *are* an amazing tool against severe sickness and death, but they were also pushed as if you get the shot, you're not going to get covid.

i mean they were calling vaxxed people getting covid 'breakthrough infections'. it makes all the mandates look terrible.

their intentions/hopes were correct. it just turned out it didn't help much against the spread. I just don't see trump getting off remotely as easy if he got up and said, if you get the shot you won't get covid, and it turned out to be false.

the mask stuff, i get the complaints to a point, i've been done with them for a while, but these people are acting like wearing a piece of cloth on their face somehow wrecked their lives. outside of doctors offices there aren't mask mandates anywhere but you wouldn't know it by how much people are still whining about them.

deadass i was like one of 5* people in there with a mask on.

seemed crazy to me.






*(i'm only exaggerating a bit. i was looking around the whole arena, and went down to the concourse at halftime and i'm *eyes peeled* for masks - they weren't there).