Really excellent and measured analysis of the early omicron data in the first segment of this broadcast.

2 articles on CNN this morning.
Man in Italy uses fake silicone arm to try to get vaccine certificate
Nurse charged with making fake Covid-19 vaccine cards

Lol, a bunch of Anti-Vaxxers tried to organize a boycott of a pro-vax Canadian ice cream company. It hasn't gone well.

https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2021/1 ... t-failure/

A boycott of Chapman's Ice Cream totally backfired on anti-vaxxers and the company is now feeling the love from all across Canada.

In November, Chapman's, an Ontario ice cream company based in Markdale, announced they'd be giving a $1 raise to all employees who were fully vaccinated and asked all unvaccinated employees to take a rapid test, on the company dime.

The $1 raise was meant to balance out the costs of doing the rapid tests. In response, a small group of people decided to start a boycott.

excellent science ...hope it actually works

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/1 ... ancer.html

Paywalled


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Maine had over 2000 new cases reported yesterday, though I don't know if that number was artificially inflated due to delayed reporting in some instances. As time goes on, people are becoming more ignorant, apparently. Hospitals in northern Maine being stretched thin, having to get extra beds donated from other agencies. I believe that was the most cases in one day for the whole pandemic, and more people are hospitalized now than at any other point. People still largely acting like there's no pandemic. I haven't been out in public for days.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-co ... oming.html

snip

But I’m pretty certain that everybody in the next six to 12 weeks will be infected with Omicron, unless they’re living the life of a hermit. That’s just the reality.”

We were able to visit the local movie theatre on Saturday to catch Eternals before it finished. Staff were onto it and asked to scan our passports [SO initially had trouble, new phone so pass not yet loaded into wallet]. Not very busy so no problem with people numbers inside. Hopefully the local tinhat fuckwit brigade don't cause us to revert to a higher level because it's a fairly busy movie month it seems, would like to catch Spiderman and the Matrix [missed Dune I think].

The new tory opposition leader is off to a flying start; owned in Parliament Q&A and drivelling on about how we should be immediately down to a less strict level so we can be more open. True to pattern he cares more about the entitled rich pricks than the plebs. He's another one off the assembly line of rich, white men [the party here slightly more diverse than the GOP] only he's something of a funny christian; voted against abortion and in support of those that want to harass women for it and he's the third dodgy fucker that his dumbfuck of an electorate voted for since it was established.

Insane acceleration

Why omicron is overtaking delta — and what that means for our fight against COVID-19

Ontario figures suggest new variant has doubling time of just 3 days

Lauren Pelley · CBC News · Posted: Dec 13, 2021 11:53 AM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/why-omic ... -1.6283611

And Ontario is reasonably covered with double vax and some triple.

Insane acceleration

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/2021/12/13/two-shots-may-not-be-enough-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-booking-a-booster-as-omicron-surges-in-ontario.html[/URL]

If only their denial of reality had consequences that affected only them, I'd happily wave them on.

Tortured_Genius wrote:Just got back from my local shopping centre where some rabid conspiracy anti-vaxxer(s) have put up dozens of stickers all over the place (outside and inside shops) denouncing Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Putin, WTO, WHO, Uncle Tom Cobbly and all presumably controlled by the Illuminati.

Thinking about it, it should be unsurprising that large numbers of people are falling for what are essentially cults based around unfounded beliefs. Every school morning for nearly 2 decades I was forced to sing praises to an imaginary sky daddy and his telepath zombie son with absolutely no evidence. I wasn't buying it whereas most did, or at least paid it lip service since it made for an easier life (I did indeed get shit for no-belief). The conspiracy cultists even have an advantage in that Bill Gates, Putin, etc all demonstrably exist.

Unfortunately dissuading the deluded (and there are several in my own family) and getting them to have the bloody vaccine is at the same level of difficulty as deprogramming a cultist or religious zealot

From one of my recent outings on antivaxxers...

Do you ever wonder how religions begin?

In a recent offering, we began to look at how propaganda rabbit-holes work. The current situation is providing a road map of the process not seen since convicted huckster Joseph Smith and his famously unseen golden tablets, and not seen so obviously to all at any point in the past. There are many manifestations of this around at the moment, but the big one is one that's been with us for a very long time; antivaxxers.

We're well beyond people merely shouting. Those of us who've been engaged in debunking junk science for any non-trivial amount of time have known that antivaxxers have been responsible for deaths for a long time, and have been saying so but, until now, we couldn't even get close to putting numbers on it. At present, they're racking up a kill count that would shade a small dictatorship.

This is an evidence session from earlier today to the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, with a first panel of experts looking at data about omicron and vaccines and how it relates to current government policy and messaging, and a second panel in the medical profession looking at how the NHS is set to face the oncoming crisis. It's well worth a watch to get an in-depth and up-to-date picture of where we're really at, but TL;DR it's not good. The NHS has already had its resources stretched way too thin and the current measures from government are going to be too little too late to stop omicron making things significantly worse.

Spearthrower wrote:99 year old Grandad took a tumble and had to spend 2 nights in hospital where he caught covid.... ffs.

And sadly didn't make it. Funeral tomorrow. He was truly a great guy. Worked hard all his life, knew nothing else, and was absurdly fit until a year ago.

My partner's 105 year old grandmother also died a few days after.

Massive disparity there as she was buried the next day due to Thai Muslim beliefs, while my grandad's funeral is 17 days after his death!

Spearthrower wrote:

Spearthrower wrote:99 year old Grandad took a tumble and had to spend 2 nights in hospital where he caught covid.... ffs.

And sadly didn't make it. Funeral tomorrow. He was truly a great guy. Worked hard all his life, knew nothing else, and was absurdly fit until a year ago.

My partner's 105 year old grandmother also died a few days after.

Massive disparity there as she was buried the next day due to Thai Muslim beliefs, while my grandad's funeral is 17 days after his death!

I'm so sorry to hear that, condolences to his friends and family x

Damn, that sucks. Sorry. dude.

Spearthrower wrote:

Spearthrower wrote:99 year old Grandad took a tumble and had to spend 2 nights in hospital where he caught covid.... ffs.

And sadly didn't make it. Funeral tomorrow. He was truly a great guy. Worked hard all his life, knew nothing else, and was absurdly fit until a year ago.

My partner's 105 year old grandmother also died a few days after.

Massive disparity there as she was buried the next day due to Thai Muslim beliefs, while my grandad's funeral is 17 days after his death!

Sorry to hear, Spearthrower, that's terrible.
My (86 year old) dad took a fall last night and is in the hospital in Illinois. He'll be in for at least tonight. There are no beds for him so he has to stay in the ER.