09-02-2024, 05:55 PM
(08-21-2024, 01:02 AM)Maxmars Wrote: It turns out that we have reportedly experienced a "summer surge" of COVID... and thus the FDA is anticipating approval of a new round of what they still refer to as "vaccines."
From CNN: FDA may greenlight updated Covid-19 vaccines as soon as this week, sources say
From ARS Technica: This year’s summer COVID wave is big; FDA may green-light COVID shots early
The backstory is attributed to 'unnamed sources who know these things'... I can't imagine why they would propagate hearsay, but hey, this is America.
The agency is expected to greenlight updated mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech that target a strain of the virus called KP.2, said the sources, who declined to be named because the timing information isn’t public. It was unclear whether the agency simultaneously would authorize Novavax’s updated shot, which targets the JN.1 strain.
I really can't get passed the "head scratching" nature of refusing to call it targeted gene therapy, or never mentioning the fact that as far as 'prevention' or 'containment' it is utterly ineffective. But that's just me.
Last year, the FDA gave the green light for the 2023–2024 COVID shots on September 11, close to the peak of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in that year's summer wave. This year, the summer wave began earlier and, by some metrics, is peaking at much higher levels than in previous years.
Currently, wastewater detection of SARS-CoV-2 shows "very high" virus levels in 32 states and the District of Columbia. An additional 11 states are listed as having "high" levels. Looking at trends, the southern and western regions of the country are currently reporting SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater that rival the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 winter waves, which both peaked at the very end of December.
I wont belabor my opinion, you can probably guess it... Let's hope that this round actually qualifies as "safe and effective' versus the ongoing reality "sudden and unexpected."
It is going around again here in the Caribbean. I can tell, because the medical professional staff are wearing masks when out in public. God forbid TPTB actually bother to convey to us that another wave was tastefully served up by the incoming visitors, most likely cruise ship passengers. Why cruise ship passengers? Because the minimal screening doesn't apply to them. If a person is noticeably sick on a flight, they might be sidelined. Cruise ship passengers have no such restriction. In fact, they can be completely bombed -- unlike flight passengers -- and still manage to board the ships. Good for them. Once here, they are encouraged to bump into themselves and everyone else while they navigate the narrow streets of downtown, often in pursuit of: a beer, and/or a bathroom. We islanders don't feel ill toward them. Mostly sorry that we don't have something more substantial to offer than being shoulder-to-shoulder with other passengers as they migrate into t-shirt and other shit shops and the occasional jewelry store. Jewels are apparently really cheap here, as compared with other places on the tour.
Nobody here takes any precautions any more. We have a bunch of immune compromised elderly, and most people seem to subscribe to the "gonna get it anyway" mindset and feel free to shop at the grocery stores, coughing, and picking up stuff that they don't purchase. Here's a clue: Please for the love of [insert deity of choice] make sure you want to purchase an item before you touch it. Not too hard, is it skippy? Don't pick up a loaf of bread, cough on it and put it back. It's bad enough that the checker has to pick up the stuff you've coughed on.
Some people here seem it as "thinning of the herd." Yeah. You don't want to push that narrative too much. Some of us old bastards are really skilled with 'thinning'.
