I'm in Australia. Our vaccine rollout was a disaster in the beginning. Morrison bet big on AZ, then the stories on clot issues came out and everyone was scared to take it. Fortunately due to border closure our covid situation was good even though vaccination rate was low. Then delta hit we got affected bad. Vaccination rate shot up and as more Pfizer supply arrived our vaccination rate was one of highest in the world. However still didn't save us from omicron. We opened up too fast and too early and we got hit hard again.
Coronavirus 2019-2020 thread (no unsubstantiated rumours!)
- Thread starter localizer
- Start date
I hope overseas governments, Washington in particular, pay attention to how the politicians in NZ handle protests. They played Barry Manilow over speakers and turned on the lawn sprinklers to turn back a thousand plus demonstraters. They had invaded parliamentary grounds to protest against covid mandates and other covid related issues.
SteelBird
Colonel
Today I bought this medicine, Molnupiravir 200mg, not for a specific person yet, just prepare in case I might need it. It costs me US$110 for two boxes.
The story is as follow: There are ten persons in my company and we had 5 days holidays for Chinese new year. On the first day of office, we tested all staff and found two positive. After three days, we ran another test and found one more positive. So we planned another test three days later which fall on this Monday. However, on Sunday, my wife (she's also one of our staff) said she felt a bit fever. We did a test and found her positive too. I was negative. This morning we tested the remaining staff and found one more positive. Totally five positive so far. Oh my god, it is 50% positive! I suspect myself to be infected too but just not developed any symptom yet. I told my staff that there is a possibility that we might all be infected one after another.
The government let down the guard too early and allow omicron to be imported. Now, it has spread around in our community and seem vaccines can't stop it. By early January we had come down to zero local case and today we get 500 cases. All new cases are omicron. The worst is to be coming!
The story is as follow: There are ten persons in my company and we had 5 days holidays for Chinese new year. On the first day of office, we tested all staff and found two positive. After three days, we ran another test and found one more positive. So we planned another test three days later which fall on this Monday. However, on Sunday, my wife (she's also one of our staff) said she felt a bit fever. We did a test and found her positive too. I was negative. This morning we tested the remaining staff and found one more positive. Totally five positive so far. Oh my god, it is 50% positive! I suspect myself to be infected too but just not developed any symptom yet. I told my staff that there is a possibility that we might all be infected one after another.
The government let down the guard too early and allow omicron to be imported. Now, it has spread around in our community and seem vaccines can't stop it. By early January we had come down to zero local case and today we get 500 cases. All new cases are omicron. The worst is to be coming!
plawolf
Lieutenant General
That was a total piece of shit research that should never have been allowed funding.
Essentially they measured effectiveness by specifically and solely looking for antibodies targeting spike proteins only.
One would be hard pressed to develop a criteria that is more advantageous to western MRNA vaccines, that focus only on said spike proteins, and more unfavourable to Chinese deactivated virus vaccines.
That would be like a university deciding to limit its entrance selection criteria solely on maths while not even looking to all the others. So is it any wonder that the student who spent all his time studying maths would come up tops over other students who studied everything in a balanced way?
Note that this is a particularly useful comparison because at the end of the day, it’s not exam test scores that matter, but actual competence and capabilities.
Western MRNA vaccines have been struggling against Omicron. Funny we cannot find any stories in the western MSM of countries that reply overwhelmingly on Chinese deactivated virus vaccines also struggling so (beyond a few patently wrong articles that got basic facts all wrong).
Yes, epic fail...
A failed state? The harrowing reality of U.S.'s COVID-19 response
Opinion 19:39, 14-Feb-2022 Fiona Sim
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s latest report to Congress on the COVID-19 pandemic. /gao.gov
With a nationwide COVID-19 death toll of 919,000 and counting, it should come as no surprise that the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s latest report to Congress on the COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight horrendous deficiencies in federal and state responses. What's more concerning is that the study reveals a gaping hole in the capabilities of the country to manage future potential pandemics and/or climate-related natural disasters.
Testing kits
The GAO report itself calls back to inadequacies highlighted in its September 2020 report regarding the need to ensure sufficient COVID-19 testing supplies and strategies. Two years since the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S., and it seems very little has changed.
The report states that the Department of Health and Human Services has five major deficiencies. One of them being their inability to use its funding: the Department has thus far only spent $16 billion of the $58 billion it allocated for testing-related activities, as of November 2021, leaving 72 percent unspent. Who is responsible for implementing testing strategies and procuring equipment – and why are they not doing their job? It is hard to believe there has been anything more important than ensuring robust testing and tracing functionalities over the past two years, yet the data shows a distinct absence of urgency.
Only in January 2022 have Congress announced plans to distribute one billion rapid testing kits for free to people's homes. This seems hardly commendable so late in the game, especially given the American population is 300 million strong. There have already been criticisms of the distribution system, which limits each household to four tests; for households of four or more, this makes the scheme redundant and limits some poorer families to have the ability to conduct a rapid home test just onc
Food and nutrition
The GAO report has highlighted that it is failing to feed and nourish the poorest in the nation despite having the base infrastructure in place to do so. The Food and Nutrition Service "does not have a comprehensive strategy for how its programs should respond to emergencies" despite being in year three of the pandemic, meaning that states were often competing for limited food resources and leaving millions hungry due to "challenges to data timelines." Bureaucracy should not be an excuse to let the most vulnerable in society suffer, yet in the supposed land of freedom and democracy, hunger was at the mercy of poor planning and slow response times.
The Food and Nutrition Service also acknowledged that "the pandemic disproportionately affected food insecurity for people of non-white races and ethnicities." The trend of inefficient bureaucracy increasing racial inequality doesn't stop with food. The report revealed that Tribal governments – there are 574 federally recognized tribes of indigenous peoples across the U.S. – have been eligible for various funding pots such as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which seeks to benefit the most economically, socially disadvantaged; However, the Treasury faced "various challenges that slowed the distribution of funds."
The GAO's latest report notes persistent gaps in race and ethnicity data for COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations which have been flagged since September 2020. This has not been resolved, and recommendations include the standardized aggregation of COVID-related data at county, state and federal levels. From the policing to the food distribution, it would seem structural, systemic racism is embedded into every facet of American infrastructure.
The reality of the GAO report
The true extent of the U.S.' failures in pandemic control continues to remain hidden from the public. It is no mistake that the mainstream media is currently filled with fear-mongering about foreign countries, whether it's rumors of a Russian invasion of Ukraine or U.S. Congress making proposals to fund $500 million into negative news coverage of China. It is all a distraction from the country's own internal problems and the grievances of the American population bubbling under the surface.
Throughout the 238-page document, the lack of transparency and accountability is a recurring theme. If this report were about any other country, no doubt the U.S. would be the first to make statements about poor governance, corruption, and a lack of democracy being the root of all ills. With the latest approval ratings of U.S. Congress at a lowly 23 percent, there has not been a more apt time to call the legitimacy and competence of the U.S. government into question.
The Biden Administration is forming a plan for "the end of the 'full-blown' pandemic" with the support of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan is predicted to call an end to mask mandates and curbing already lenient social restrictions.
When the U.S. reached 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, Biden shamed the Trump Administration for reaching a milestone that could have been avoided. With the total expected to reach one million deaths in just a few weeks' time, it seems that he will be eating his words. It is truly harrowing to consider just how many millions more may succumb to COVID-19 under Biden's watch.
Rather than redirecting every resource and reserve to combat COVID-19, which the GAO report has recommended, the U.S. government remains resolutely more concerned with maintaining its global hegemony than it is with saving the lives of its own people.
Editor's note: Fiona Sim is a London-based freelance political commentator and public sector worker. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
A failed state? The harrowing reality of U.S.'s COVID-19 response
Opinion 19:39, 14-Feb-2022 Fiona Sim
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s latest report to Congress on the COVID-19 pandemic. /gao.gov
With a nationwide COVID-19 death toll of 919,000 and counting, it should come as no surprise that the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s latest report to Congress on the COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight horrendous deficiencies in federal and state responses. What's more concerning is that the study reveals a gaping hole in the capabilities of the country to manage future potential pandemics and/or climate-related natural disasters.
Testing kits
The GAO report itself calls back to inadequacies highlighted in its September 2020 report regarding the need to ensure sufficient COVID-19 testing supplies and strategies. Two years since the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S., and it seems very little has changed.
The report states that the Department of Health and Human Services has five major deficiencies. One of them being their inability to use its funding: the Department has thus far only spent $16 billion of the $58 billion it allocated for testing-related activities, as of November 2021, leaving 72 percent unspent. Who is responsible for implementing testing strategies and procuring equipment – and why are they not doing their job? It is hard to believe there has been anything more important than ensuring robust testing and tracing functionalities over the past two years, yet the data shows a distinct absence of urgency.
Only in January 2022 have Congress announced plans to distribute one billion rapid testing kits for free to people's homes. This seems hardly commendable so late in the game, especially given the American population is 300 million strong. There have already been criticisms of the distribution system, which limits each household to four tests; for households of four or more, this makes the scheme redundant and limits some poorer families to have the ability to conduct a rapid home test just onc
Food and nutrition
The GAO report has highlighted that it is failing to feed and nourish the poorest in the nation despite having the base infrastructure in place to do so. The Food and Nutrition Service "does not have a comprehensive strategy for how its programs should respond to emergencies" despite being in year three of the pandemic, meaning that states were often competing for limited food resources and leaving millions hungry due to "challenges to data timelines." Bureaucracy should not be an excuse to let the most vulnerable in society suffer, yet in the supposed land of freedom and democracy, hunger was at the mercy of poor planning and slow response times.
The Food and Nutrition Service also acknowledged that "the pandemic disproportionately affected food insecurity for people of non-white races and ethnicities." The trend of inefficient bureaucracy increasing racial inequality doesn't stop with food. The report revealed that Tribal governments – there are 574 federally recognized tribes of indigenous peoples across the U.S. – have been eligible for various funding pots such as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which seeks to benefit the most economically, socially disadvantaged; However, the Treasury faced "various challenges that slowed the distribution of funds."
The GAO's latest report notes persistent gaps in race and ethnicity data for COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations which have been flagged since September 2020. This has not been resolved, and recommendations include the standardized aggregation of COVID-related data at county, state and federal levels. From the policing to the food distribution, it would seem structural, systemic racism is embedded into every facet of American infrastructure.
The reality of the GAO report
The true extent of the U.S.' failures in pandemic control continues to remain hidden from the public. It is no mistake that the mainstream media is currently filled with fear-mongering about foreign countries, whether it's rumors of a Russian invasion of Ukraine or U.S. Congress making proposals to fund $500 million into negative news coverage of China. It is all a distraction from the country's own internal problems and the grievances of the American population bubbling under the surface.
Throughout the 238-page document, the lack of transparency and accountability is a recurring theme. If this report were about any other country, no doubt the U.S. would be the first to make statements about poor governance, corruption, and a lack of democracy being the root of all ills. With the latest approval ratings of U.S. Congress at a lowly 23 percent, there has not been a more apt time to call the legitimacy and competence of the U.S. government into question.
The Biden Administration is forming a plan for "the end of the 'full-blown' pandemic" with the support of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan is predicted to call an end to mask mandates and curbing already lenient social restrictions.
When the U.S. reached 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, Biden shamed the Trump Administration for reaching a milestone that could have been avoided. With the total expected to reach one million deaths in just a few weeks' time, it seems that he will be eating his words. It is truly harrowing to consider just how many millions more may succumb to COVID-19 under Biden's watch.
Rather than redirecting every resource and reserve to combat COVID-19, which the GAO report has recommended, the U.S. government remains resolutely more concerned with maintaining its global hegemony than it is with saving the lives of its own people.
Editor's note: Fiona Sim is a London-based freelance political commentator and public sector worker. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
I'm sorry you're blinded by the disinformation campaign pumped out by the $500M, government sponsored "free press" in the US. Those of us in China know that with a competent government, you don't have to live in fear. Here in Shenzhen, we never had a lock down even though we've had several "waves." The Chinese government was able to keep the number of infected so low that contact tracing and mass testing becomes extremely effective. By and large, we live a normal life with the exception of having to be tested occasionally when a case occurs.
I can't say the same about my parents in the US. They are elderly and have lived under the shadow of covid for the past 2 years. They used to eat out frequently, have gatherings, and go to the gym almost daily. Now they don't do these things anymore because they are afraid they may not fair so well if they get it due to their age. Every time I talk to them I wish they were here with me.
Aaron Blunck (the freestyle skier who was probably banned by twitter for speaking the truth) is right when he said China has done a "stellar job" and the US media has been misleading. There are also plenty of expats in China who say the same thing on youtube if you care to be open minded.
LOL okay. Apparently my post was so threatening it deserved to be deleted. If it was complete nonsense it would be better to let it stand, no? But anybody living in a red state in the US (and many in blue) states know that your take is patently false. The state I live in locked down maybe two weeks at the beginning. Businesses were more restricted, but you could still go out and everything. For all intents and purposes, it's almost back to normal. The local activist mayor thought they'd re-institute a mask mandate and the state gov shut that nonsense down. Many people I know have had Covid. With one exception it was either equal to a common cold or a mild flu.