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I don't think this is true nor the right approach. Small Pox was eradicated by the vcccine, with the last known cases recorded in the 1970's. The same is essentially true of Polio with the Polio vaccine. It's now practically non existent. Without these interventions, likely millions more would have died. Being against human medical intervention should then mean never visiting a doctor or hospital.

That approach does not work at all with cancer. The solutions we have for cancer are by artificial means.
 
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The virus will not be beaten by artificial means (man made vaccines), it will be beaten by the human body finding it's own way to combat the virus. Just take a look at the flu virus, more commonly known as the 'common cold'. There is no cure for the common cold and yet there are hundreds if not thousands of variants and yet the human body found a way to combat it. The same will happen with the covid virus, the human race must be allowed to be infected so the human body can do it's job because if not then the world will be in a permanent state of lockdown and restrictions in my opinion because as with the flu virus, the covid virus will mutate over and over and over again leading to governments around the world protecting the weak and vulnerable.
That approach would have led to millions of dead Americans, and tens of millions people worldwide. If everyone in America would have gotten vaccinated, it would essentially be over now. "Artificial means" is what has extended the US human lifespan by around two decades over the past 100 years.
 
My personal concern at this point is actually through testing sites that are maxed out with no open date/time slots.

We closed a lot of our mobile sites back in May when the CDC opened up masking guidelines, cases were starting to decline rapidly, etc., So now, we’re starting to see the likes of only certain stores operate with testing like CVS, Walgreens, and some local doctor offices have test kits to. The problem is, they’re booking over two weeks out to get tested and their cancellation list is even overwhelmingly long, which is forcing people to either A.) Not get tested and they return to their normal work life assuming it may not be a ‘big deal’, or B.) These people just go on with life unaccounted for with the amount of cases that don’t reflect the actual infection rate. [<- Assuming the infected person is not hospitalized, which obviously they would be tested if admitted.]

What we need to see happen, is mobile test sites start re-opening, because we have plenty of testing kits available, [including rapid], The resources with volunteers are wide open, but we don’t have enough actual venues, where people are being forced to frequent the same spot in their communities, and no one wants to venture an hour or so outside their community to be tested if they’re infected.

We keep seeing health officials promote ‘getting tested’, but how are these people people supposed to get tested if there’s no available time slots to do so. So when our central health database releases numbers at 5PM daily (Not including Sundays) those numbers may not actually reflect the actual infection rate, which could be considerably higher. It’s literally one step forward – two steps back.
 
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My personal concern at this point is actually through testing sites that are maxed out with no open date/time slots.

We closed a lot of our mobile sites back in May when the CDC opened up masking guidelines, cases were starting to decline rapidly, etc., So now, we’re starting to see the likes of only certain stores operate with testing like CVS, Walgreens, and some local doctor offices have test kits to. The problem is, they’re booking over two weeks out to get tested and their cancellation list is even overwhelmingly long, which is forcing people to either A.) Not get tested and they return to their normal work life assuming it may not be a ‘big deal’, or these people just go on accounted for with the amount of cases that don’t reflect the actual infection rate.

What we need to see happen, is mobile test sites start re-opening, because we have plenty of testing kits available, [including rapid], but we don’t have enough actual venues, where people are forced to frequent the same spot in their communities, and no one wants to venture an hour or so outside their community if they’re infected.

We keep seeing health officials promote ‘getting tested’, but how are these people people supposed to get tested if there’s no available time slots to do so. It’s literally one step forward – two steps back.

The guy I played tennis with yesterday told me a story of his wife. She got a call from her gym that two of the instructors in a class that she was in tested positive. So she tried to arrange for a test. But she wasn't showing symptoms so they said that they only take people showing symptoms. She did manage to get an appointment but they pointedly asked about symptoms and they wouldn't test her in the end. The things is that people need tests, even if they aren't sick. Your employer may require weekly tests or you may need testing for a trip.

So I didn't understand this. It's possible that they had processing limitations or that they had wound down processing. It seems like it should be easy. It seemed to be a few months ago.

There is a testing place that I could walk to (I live near a clinic). They have four parking spaces for testing and I've seen them testing when I run through their parking lot. But I haven't seen it in operation for a few months. So testing could be in an odd state right now.
 
The guy I played tennis with yesterday told me a story of his wife. She got a call from her gym that two of the instructors in a class that she was in tested positive. So she tried to arrange for a test. But she wasn't showing symptoms so they said that they only take people showing symptoms. She did manage to get an appointment but they pointedly asked about symptoms and they wouldn't test her in the end. The things is that people need tests, even if they aren't sick. Your employer may require weekly tests or you may need testing for a trip.

So I didn't understand this. It's possible that they had processing limitations or that they had wound down processing. It seems like it should be easy. It seemed to be a few months ago.

There is a testing place that I could walk to (I live near a clinic). They have four parking spaces for testing and I've seen them testing when I run through their parking lot. But I haven't seen it in operation for a few months. So testing could be in an odd state right now.

Yeah, I think people are starting to realize that when they might suspect that they are infected (Vaccinated or not), they can just simply walk in and walk out with a test, but it’s not looking that easy, with the current testing sites available are completely full with virtually no cancellations. And I don’t think that’s a good look for communities, when there’s a rise in cases everywhere across the nation, that more mobile sites need to open ASAP, especially if we have the resources. Otherwise, we’re just looking at a discrepancy in numbers that won’t reflect the daily reports, with possibly infected people not knowing what they should do, even if they have minor symptoms.

Last weekend, I went to a small adult getaway at a cabin up in the woods with a few family friends, and even though we are all vaccinated, everyone decided to get tested just to be safe, and even that was kind of a hassle preparing in advance for that.
 
Yay.. and now Lambda is here in the US.



It's interesting to see how they are saying that Lambda isn't as aggressive (read: gaining much ground) as Delta, and that it is "survival of the fittest". That makes me wonder: are the strains that make up the variants hostile to each other? If so, could one be hacked to be hostile to another, and essentially attack the other? In a sense, fight fire with fire?

BL.
 
Dana Farber sent me an email that they are working on boosters for their patients and not to call our doctors about it (I sent email a week ago). They will let us know. I'm going in this week and I think that I won't bother them about it as I'm sure that they have a team that will work it out. I do not know if I qualify but I will take it if offered. I'll also sign up for trials for Pfizer or Moderna if they need volunteers for the variants vaccines.
 
Dana Farber sent me an email that they are working on boosters for their patients and not to call our doctors about it (I sent email a week ago). They will let us know. I'm going in this week and I think that I won't bother them about it as I'm sure that they have a team that will work it out. I do not know if I qualify but I will take it if offered.
Did you see a leaked CDC document said they think over 1,000,000+ Americans have already gotten a third "booster" shot "illicitly" (my word)? I figured a lot of medical people who have easy access to it did, but I'm surprised at that number!

I'll also sign up for trials for Pfizer or Moderna if they need volunteers for the variants vaccines.
Yesterday Gottlieb said something interesting I had never heard before (this was Friday on Squawk Box). He said Pfizer is probably not going to release their delta variant booster because the original vaccine seems effective enough. A booster that improved against Delta slightly would have the disadvantage of (somewhat?) invalidating all the data they have on the overall effectiveness, safety, and side effects of the original vaccine. He said they will continue to develop variant boosters but only use them if the advantages significantly outweighed such disadvantages.
 
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Did you see a leaked CDC document said they think over 1,000,000+ Americans have already gotten a third "booster" shot "illicitly" (my word)? I figured a lot of medical people who have easy access to it did, but I'm surprised at that number!


Yesterday Gottlieb said something interesting I had never heard before (this was Friday on Squawk Box). He said Pfizer is probably not going to release their delta variant booster because the original vaccine seems effective enough. A booster that improved against Delta slightly would have the disadvantage of (somewhat?) invalidating all the data they have on the overall effectiveness, safety, and side effects of the original vaccine. He said they will continue to develop variant boosters but only use them if the advantages significantly outweighed such disadvantages.

A million boosters doesn't surprise me at all. The wealthy and connected likely got their first doses in December and January. I read that people were paying $10K to $50K to get vaccinated early. It's a lot easier today to get a booster because records are maintained at the state level. So you just have to get a third dose in another state. I could arrange a third dose right now at one of my MA hospitals. The option is there to arrange an appointment in the patient portal.

I don't even know if it violates any laws if you get the third dose that isn't the same as the first two (the EUA limits each person to the recommended number of doses but it's per brand).

Moderna has been more vocal about their variants vaccine. One other problem you'd have with a variants vaccine is that a lot of countries would probably try to cancel their first vaccine orders if a new one came out. What I'd want is a vaccine that protects against all of the variants, not just Delta. Clinical trials do cost money.
 
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San Francisco is offering a booster shot to J&J vaccinated individuals. Technically it is a second shot, since J&J is a one shot vaccine. During a recent physical, I asked my doctor about it and he just added the antibody test to my panel. It came back positive for antibodies due to my J&J shot in April, so he told me not to bother with a booster for now.
 
Found this interesting:

Q: Why are boosters needed, if other parts of our immune system kick in when antibodies wane?

A: Indeed, so-called “memory B cells” can produce new antibodies within three to five days after detecting the virus. That’s typically enough time for the immune system to fend off infection and symptoms — but not for delta.
Delta multiplies so quickly that memory B cells aren’t always fast enough to deter infection — especially if you’re exposed to a big dose of the virus. Research indicates that people with weakened immune systems benefit from a third dose.

— Dr. David Boulware, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, University of Minnesota

Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/08...us-variant-boosters-and-the-end-of-the-surge/
 
DO I NEED A PRESCRIPTION? WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE?

The CDC said on Friday that people seeking a third vaccine dose will not need a prescription or recommendation from a healthcare provider. They would self-attest that they are eligible at a vaccination site.

The vaccines themselves have been purchased by the federal government and are being distributed free of charge, but hospitals, pharmacies and other providers can bill insurers for administration costs. People covered by Medicare, the government health plan for people over the age of 65, who qualify for an additional vaccine dose can receive it at no charge. Medicare will continue to pay vaccine providers an average of $40 for each administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.

America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group representing most private health insurers, said health insurance providers will continue to cover all administrative costs for COVID-19 vaccines as required.


-- Reuters
 
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Only by the uneducated, since they are two different things.

COVID has more in common with the common cold than the flu.

Some colds are caused by Coronoviruses-not SARS-CoV-2, which has what has turned the world upside down the past year and a half, but other viruses with the same general spherical/spike protein structure. Not all colds are coronaviruses, some are rhinoviruses, but the symptoms are essentially the same and you likely won't know unless you're tested(and that would happen if say you're being admitted to the hospital and they need to know what it is).

Our bodies can handle most coronaviruses with nothing but a few days of few days of feeling bad/sneezing/coughing/runny nose/etc although they can still be bad if you're immunocompromised.

SARS-CoV-2, and now the variants of it, are essentially the "cold from hell" that can not only cause all the traditional cold-like symptoms(and in some people that is all it does) but also do much, much, much worse damage. By now we have a good idea of what all SARS-CoV-2 is capable of, and it seems as though given the right circumstances there's essentially no limit to what it can do.
 
You need to educate yourself better before accusing others of being uneducated. The flu comes under the primary banner of the 'common cold'. They are not two different things because the one is born out of the other. Read here to educate yourself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold

I learned from your link that you may be confusing similarly named viruses and diseases.

Some types of influenza virus (note: there are many. The "flu" shot - not cold shot - each year usually picks the most likely 4 or so strains for a given region of the world) cause symptoms that are clinically a "cold" but the majority of colds are caused by non-influenza viruses. The flu is not under the banner of the common cold. Perhaps learn the difference between "the flu", the term you used which refers to the illness influenza, and "influenza viruses".
 
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The Flu and Cold are both respiratory illnesses, but caused by different viruses. Cold symptoms are usually mild and they can resolve themselves quickly at home. Whereas Flu symptoms can lead to some severe outcomes and even death. There are no vaccines for the cold virus, except COVID, but there are flu vaccines to create immunity against the multi-strains (3 or 4) of the influenza virus given for a particular region of the world.

Part of the confusion some people think that the Flu is part of the umbrella of the common cold is with the symptoms COVID give, because if you're unvaccinated, then the COVID symptoms will most likely resemble the Flu and lead to very severe outcomes and death. Whereas when you're vaccinated, the symptoms can be no symptoms to being mild almost like you have a cold. So COVID is a coronavirus that can give anyone a multitude of symptoms that can defy the chart below, but Covid-19 is caused by a Coronavirus and not by an Influenza virus which is the flu and when you are fully vaccinated, your symptoms are more likely very mild like having a cold and resolve quickly within a few days. There was a news I read today of a lady in Toronto Canada, who got fully vaccinated (Moderna+Pfizer) and 14 days later after her 2nd dose, she left for Baja Mexico. When she came back, she came in with a sore throat and in the airport tested positive for COVID. The sore throat resolved itself within 2 days and she's fine ever since. However, if she wasn't vaccinated, then the outcome would be more severe.

The chart below, by the CDC, illustrates the typical symptoms between a common Cold and a Flu (pre-COVID).
 

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You need to educate yourself better before accusing others of being uneducated. The flu comes under the primary banner of the 'common cold'. They are not two different things because the one is born out of the other. Read here to educate yourself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold
What do you think you have linked to here that proves what you're saying? What do you even mean by "the primary banner"?
 
I was at Trader Joe's yesterday and masking was about 50%. It felt a bit odd. I was at Whole Foods this morning and masks were about 70% but my local Whole Foods had brought back the table at the entrance with masks and hand sanitizer. I think that all of the staff were wearing masks. I was the only person wearing a mask at my gym of course. I did get in there before the kids.
 
You need to educate yourself better before accusing others of being uneducated. The flu comes under the primary banner of the 'common cold'. They are not two different things because the one is born out of the other. Read here to educate yourself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold
You really have no idea what you are talking about. Coronaviruses (family Coronaviridae, plus strand, nonsegmented, enveloped) and rhinoviruses (family Picornaviridae, plus strand, nonsegmented, nonenveloped) cause common colds. Influenza viruses (family Orthomyxoviridae, negative strand, segmented, enveloped) cause the flu. They are structurally quite distinct from one another.
 
I think the biggest problem right now is that nobody can quite agree on how to deal with the Delta, Delta+ and some newer variants. And all that does is cause way too many disagreements with the politicians AND the general public. 😒 😑 🙄
 
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