COVID-19

[Disrupt]

Brings to mind a little joke...

Q: How many conspiracy theorists does it take to change a light-bulb?

A: That's not funny. That's not funny at all!

Substitute any thin-skinned group you find yourself with - liberals, vegans, etc. If the faintest whiff of sarcasm has you collapsing into your fainting couch, well why is that?

Back to topic. So cool that we're sequencing now.

SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 emerging in the New York region detected by software utility created to query the spike mutational landscape​

Anthony P West Jr., Christopher O Barnes, Zhi Yang, Pamela J Bjorkman
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.14.431043
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?].

Using the vdbtool, we detected several clusters of isolates (unrelated to variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351, B.1.1.248, and B.1.429; Rambaut et al., 2020b; Faria et al., 2021; Tegally et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2021)with spike mutations at sites known to be associated with resistance to antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (Gaebler et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021)(Table 1).This program can find clusters of isolates sharing identical sets of spike mutations, and then these patterns can be used to find potentially related isolates. One notable cluster of isolates was collected from the New York region and represents a distinct lineage, now designated as B.1.526(Figure1). There are two main branches of this lineage, one having E484K and the other including S477N, both located within the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike (Figure 2 and Supplementary Table S1). Regarding four of the mutations in isolates in this lineage: (1) E484K is known to attenuate neutralization of multiple anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, particularly those found in Class 2 (Gaebler et al., 2021), and is also present in variants B.1.351 (Tegally et al., 2020) and P.1/B.1.1.248 (Faria et al., 2021), (2) D253G has been reported as an escape mutation from antibodies against the N-terminal domain (McCallumet al.,2021), (3) S477N has been identified in several earlier lineages (Hodcroft et al., 2020), is near the binding site of multiple antibodies (Barnes et al.,2020), and has been implicated to increase viral infectivity through enhanced interactions with ACE2 (Chen et al., 2020; Ou et al., 2020),and(4) A701V sits adjacent to the S2’ cleavage site of the neighboring protomer and is shared with variant B.1.351(Tegallyet al., 2020). The overall pattern of mutations in this lineage (Figure 2) suggests that it arose in part in response to selective pressure from antibodies. Based on the dates of collection of these isolates, it appears that the frequency of lineage B.1.526 has increasedrapidly in NewYork (Table 2).

 

[I'm Ron Burgundy?]

Settle down @felvapes lol


there is nothing polite about it lol
oh and to be clear I didn’t say fuck off I said shut the fuck up.

No @Disrupt it doesn’t come off as sarcasm, it comes off as belittling others...It’s quite apparent.

 

[momofthegoons]

This thread is the gift that just keeps on giving......

I've now issued a couple of warning points for those who let their anger/frustration get the best of them. There will never be a time when it's okay to tell another member to 'fuck off' or 'shut the fuck up' on this forum.

But it's all to the person who gives articles with their posts and politely says ppl will need to make up new reasons they don't want to take something

It's one thing to give articles.... and quite another to be dismissive towards other members on the board while doing so. @Disrupt , you need to refrain from the condescending comments towards members that don't agree with you. It's stirring the pot. And I'm not going to tolerate that either; going forward.

 

[Disrupt]

No @Disrupt it doesn’t come off as sarcasm, it comes off as belittling others...It’s quite apparent.

Appreciate you pointing that out, thanks. Whatever it is, can't imagine conversation without it. Snappy comebacks are always encouraged.

Don't intend to belittle others, intend to belittle shoddy opinions. We've all held onto opinions past their usefulness. If someone pokes fun at your fraying sweater, are you amused or insulted?

to be dismissive towards other members on the board

How is this dismissive? (Tip: anti-vaxxers will want to make up new, entirely different reasons why they won't take this one either.) That's all the last few posts are about.

It's worth noting that a few posts back, blatant disinformation endangering public health was exposed. Some fora prohibit reposting that sort of thing. It's your saloon, but if you're going to allow provocative material, you gotta expect it to provoke.

As a constructive suggestion, maybe that sort of material would find a home in the Mysteries of the Universe Thread.

 

[I'm Ron Burgundy?]

@Disrupt
Shoddy opinions?
you’re a pompous piece of shit.
Now you can go fuck off.

 

[arb]

Wow
So one person says fuck you and look my mates classes ms up yourself coz I just make random statements and expect you to do the work to prove or disprove them

Another says stop snide comments and fuck off.

But it's all to the person who gives articles with their posts and politely says ppl will need to make up new reasons they don't want to take something

And another says not being snide will never happen in their own semi snide manner

Whose the most touchy and abusive here???

Gotta love selective pragmatism and abuse acceptance

I'm not at all commenting or taking sides in all those comments either

Just pointing out ppls bs and ability to abuse or be snide when it suits

I said I thought we were done with the snide shitticisms.........lolz.
No fucking off of any kind.
I was pretty clear in my warning post my thoughts on this matter.
I will continue to point out and laugh at any perceived shitticisms I choose to to,too,two,2.......fuck.
Sadly you are all wrong I'mthe only one allowed to be right today......it's my birthday.

 

[Disrupt]

Now you can go fuck off.

So... insulted.

it's my birthday.

Happy Birthday! And many happy returns.

 

[arb]

Be cool if we could have this one thread to talk mad smack in.
Be all up in each others asses with it.......get creative and scream our rage into the abyss.
Then laugh,not get butt sore realize we all are purity much the same level of shitty inside and get along...........dreams eh?

 

[Tincandtoke]

???????????

 

[felvapes]

Settle down @felvapes lol


there is nothing polite about it lol
oh and to be clear I didn’t say fuck off I said shut the fuck up.

No @Disrupt it doesn’t come off as sarcasm, it comes off as belittling others...It’s quite apparent.

Re read

Someone else said fuck off if you don't want to believe my hearsay

You did indeed say shut the fuck up
Methinks you need to settle grettle
Have a vape dood....lol

So much wank in here

Honestly

I've taken very little sides and said little of my opinion

But can see and identify much BS and hypocrisy and back pedaling and abuse in this thread from most ppl.

Ridiculous and childish.

Shit that tazzy hide away is looking better every day
Pack a vape for me @LesPlenty

 

[CarolKing]

Pissed off that’s still price gouging going on where I live. A gallon of bleach $8.99. It’s taking advantage of lower income consumers.

Im trying to filter the worthwhile conversation in this thread. Some of it is really useful, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about human behavior as well. Good times.

 

[LesPlenty]

price gouging going

Like the Phizer and Moderna vaccines...bloody rouges, 3x and 4x the cost of others.

 

[Vitolo]

A gallon of bleach $8.99

If there's a Big Lots near you, they sell bleach too.
It's $2 a gallon.
Big Lots Bleach

 

[Disrupt]

From NYT. Avoid posting from such a dubious source, but they do good analyses sometimes. And it's great news!

Source: New York Times database; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · Data shown is normalized compared with the weekly deaths for the week ending Dec. 20, 2020 and is through Feb. 7.

Nursing Homes, Once Hotspots, Far Outpace U.S. in Covid Declines​

By Matthew Conlen, Sarah Mervosh and Danielle IvoryFeb. 25, 2021

Since the arrival of vaccines, which were prioritized to long-term care facilities starting in late December, new cases and deaths in nursing homes, a large subset of long-term care facilities, have fallen steeply, outpacing national declines, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data. The turnaround is an encouraging sign for vaccine effectiveness and offers an early glimpse at what may be in store for the rest of the country, as more and more people get vaccinated.

From late December to early February, new cases among nursing home residents fell by more than 80 percent, nearly double the rate of improvement in the general population. The trendline for deaths was even more striking: Even as fatalities spiked over all this winter, deaths inside the facilities have fallen, decreasing by more than 65 percent.

“I’m almost at a loss for words at how amazing it is and how exciting,” said Dr. David Gifford, the chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association, which represents thousands of long-term care facilities across the country.

“If we are seeing a robust response with this vaccine with the elderly with a highly contagious disease,” he said, “I think that’s a great sign for the rest of the population.”

Experts attribute the improvements in large part to the distribution of vaccines. About 4.5 million residents and employees in long-term care facilities have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 2.1 million who have been fully vaccinated.

Other factors, including the steep drop in new infections nationwide in recent weeks, may have contributed as well.

“What is certainly surprising to me is how quickly we’re seeing this,” said Dr. Sunil Parikh, an associate professor of epidemiology and medicine at Yale School of Public Health in Connecticut, where weekly cases in nursing homes had dropped from several hundred around the holidays to as little as 30 statewide during one recent week.

“It’s a dramatic decline,” he said, adding that more research was needed to determine what role community transmission played and whether the first dose of vaccine may offer more protection than previously thought.

In one promising sign, the American Health Care Association, the industry group, looked at nearly 800 nursing homes that received early doses of the vaccine in December and compared caseloads with facilities in the same counties that had not yet held a vaccine clinic. The nursing homes that got the earlier vaccine saw a 48 percent decline in cases among residents, compared with 21 percent among nearby nursing homes.

At Valley Senior Living in Grand Forks, N.D., more than 90 percent of residents agreed to be vaccinated. The high rate of uptake, combined with low levels of community transmission, has meant that life is slowly inching back to normal for the 400 or so people who live in the facility’s nursing and assisted living centers.

Residents are now allowed to visit with loved ones again, one or two people at a time. They are singing in choirs, albeit masked and spaced apart. There was even a recent Mardi Gras parade, complete with beads and music. It is a marked change from much of the past year, when outbreaks there led to months of shutdown and at least 12 deaths.

“Things are better,” said Garth Rydland, the chief executive at Valley Senior Living. “You kind of knock on wood every time you say something like that, but now, I feel a lot more confident.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Whatever it is, can't imagine conversation without it. Snappy comebacks are always encouraged.

Well perhaps you 'accept' that you need to give it a try? Because those belittling comments are 'disrupting' the good vibe we try to instill of this forum. And obviously you have upset several people in this thread with them.

It's worth noting that a few posts back, blatant disinformation endangering public health was exposed. Some fora prohibit reposting that sort of thing. It's your saloon, but if you're going to allow provocative material, you gotta expect it to provoke.

I have previously stated that it is not this forum's responsibility to filter out what is true and not true about the posts regarding COVID. This thread is allowed as a courtesy to members who feel the need to discuss the virus.

Don't intend to belittle others, intend to belittle shoddy opinions.

I've always found that those who say 'who me?' or 'I didn't do it' are the most guilty of said crime.

As a constructive suggestion, maybe that sort of material would find a home in the Mysteries of the Universe Thread.

My constructive suggestion to you is that you go back and read your comments towards other members and see if you can see the light. And I'll say to you what I've said to others.... putting someone or something down is never the way to bring another to your way of thinking. All that does is close their ears and eyes further.

 

[Disrupt]

putting someone or something down is never the way to bring another to your way of thinking.

Agreed. But persuading others (not about vaccines) is the day job. Not really going for that here.

In advocacy, we apply a sort of triage, dividing people into three groups to use our time effectivetly. The trick is to find those who are still on the fence and spend all of our time with them. Those who already agree, vaya con dios. Those whose minds are already set against, vaya con diablos. But it's tough to resist arguing with those whose minds are already set against. So, indulge the urge on the internet instead of in real life.

Well perhaps you 'accept' that you need to give it a try?

Sure, already dial it down pretty far. But that last specific comment that some claim to have been upset by? Still seems pretty innocuous.

There was a subtext. Don't know if anyone got it, but it's what makes conversation fun. One of the conspiratorial threads seems to be that the approved vaccines aren't vaccines at all but some sort of nefarious gene therapy. That seems to have something to do with them being lipid-encapsulated mRNA vaccines. The Janssen vaccine is an adenovirus encapsulated dsDNA vaccine. Conspiracy theories will need to adapt. Curious to see what they come up with, enjoy science fiction as much as anyone. That's all it was about.

 

[felvapes]

Well perhaps you 'accept' that you need to give it a try? Because those belittling comments are 'disrupting' the good vibe we try to instill of this forum. And obviously you have upset several people in this thread with them.


I have previously stated that it is not this forum's responsibility to filter out what is true and not true about the posts regarding COVID. This thread is allowed as a courtesy to members who feel the need to discuss the virus.




I've always found that those who say 'who me?' or 'I didn't do it' are the most guilty of said crime.


My constructive suggestion to you is that you go back and read your comments towards other members and see if you can see the light. And I'll say to you what I've said to others.... putting someone or something down is never the way to bring another to your way of thinking. All that does is close their ears and eyes further.

While I don't mean to defend disrupt here
And as I've said before I don't back any one persons opinions in this thread

Almost all the posts are dismissive of everyone else's opinions in here

If that's not allowed then you need to give warnings or bans or points or whatever to almost every post to everyone

Or shut it down completely

I'm not defending disrupt or saying they haven't been dismissive in some posts
But everyone else is and they often are being much more blunt and rude about it

It's not just the most recent posts either
It's been going on for most of this thread

As you say it's the thread that keeps on giving

If dismissive and rude behaviour is the issue you could almost have enough points to ban half the members in this thread reading start to finish

One rule for all

(I'm not arguing or having a go at you or your rulings either motg, just observing the way this has gone down....why I mostly eat popcorn instead of contribute in this one)

 

[Vitolo]

There was a subtext. Don't know if anyone got it, but it's what makes conversation fun.

Subtext and digging for meanings to interpret ("if anyone got it...") may be fun for some, but it is not
fun for all. For some it is distracting, confusing, and a frustration.
Many like things straightforward with no extra flavorings/subtext or innuendos.

...then you need to give warnings

Looks like it's been done.

I've now issued a couple of warning points for those who let their anger/frustration get the best of them.

I believe that we ALL came to this thread for different reasons.
Personally, I came to learn about:

1. What everyone else's state was doing to insure social distance, and mask wearing.
2. How the Long Term Care facilities in everyone else's State were being changed.
3. Vaccination rollouts, and timetables.
4. Public Updates about the virus that I may have missed while browsing News Sources, and Medical sites.
5. How law enforcement was helping uphold public safety in various states.

I appreciate this thread and getting the filtered information from those members that have posted updates
about a variety of changes....

• Difficulty obtaining products.
• Long Lines
• Access to our usual activities
• Being interrupted in daily activities by the uncooperative elements of our daily worlds.
• Efforts for public safety being undermined by thoughtless, self-serving actions.
• Updates about those of us whose states have started vaccination rollouts.

I read this thread every day for these gifts that it gives me.
I work at filtering out the excess unnecessary words and information in the posts.
When this thread started, I found a bunch of members here were posting what I was looking for.
That went on for a dozen pages.
I still come to this thread to read the posts that 5 members make.
The five members I speak of still discuss:
-What everyone else's state was doing to insure social distance, and mask wearing.
-How the Long Term Care facilities in everyone else's State were being changed.
-Vaccination rollouts, and timetables.
-Public Updates about the virus that I may have missed while browsing News Sources, and Medical sites.
-How law enforcement was helping uphold public safety in various states
-Difficulty obtaining products.
-Long Lines
-Access to our usual activities
-Being interrupted in daily activities by the non-cooperative elements of our daily worlds.
-Efforts for public safety being undermined by thoughtless, self-serving actions.
-Updates about those of us whose states have started vaccination rollouts.
To these people, I thank you from my heart for taking this seriously, and sharing all that you have shared.
It has been helpful information for many!

 

[momofthegoons]

But it's tough to resist arguing with those whose minds are already set against. So, indulge the urge on the internet instead of in real life.

There is a difference between arguing and discussing. And you've said it yourself... you are arguing.

But that last specific comment that some claim to have been upset by? Still seems pretty innocuous.

Here's the thing... it's not just that last comment. It's a series of comments that have set the tone of your posts. So again I ask you to please dial it back more.

Almost all the posts are dismissive of everyone else's opinions in here

If that's not allowed then you need to give warnings or bans or points or whatever to almost every post to everyone

I can see that my use of the word 'dismissive' has you and Disrupt scratching your head. I was being polite. I could have used a stronger word... and I feel my following up with the adjective 'condescending' might have cleared that up? I think you are both smart enough to know exactly what my point was.

It's not just the most recent posts either
It's been going on for most of this thread

Indeed. And it escalated to a point last week where I had to step in and say that going forward I was going to be moderating this thread much heavier than in the past. And... given the amount of warning points and mod posts since it seems like no one was taking me seriously.

Btw... the discussing of moderation posts is also against the rules. So I don't expect this one to be discussed further. If you have anything more to say to me about this, do it via pm.

 

[Kellya86]

Iv been busy for a week... did i miss anything????????

But seriously... i love the asylum....
Lets not make it like that other forum we shall not speak about....
I worry about rifts between people......