I know more friends & family who all have #COVID right now than at any other point during the #pandemic, and this new wave hasn’t even come close to peaking yet. #Canada #BC

I have a #question for #GroceryMastodon and/or #PickleMastodon in the #US.

Where are the #sweet #pickle #salad cubes?? Why have they been off #grocery shelves ever since the #pandemic started?

I used to put sweet salad cubes in my #tuna fish salad but for the last 2½ years, I've had to settle for sweet relish and it's just not the same.

Anyone know these little square pickles are gone? I feel kinda silly for asking but it's been bugging me for years now.

(a boost would be nice!)

#IAmDB

There's this weird bit of dissonance in job applications...

...where I'm writing about the pandemic and diversity work done during 2020-2021,

...framing this time as a series of triumphs and barriers overcome by me, the best job candidate for your position,

...until I lean back and actually let myself think

...and the actual memories are traumatic little flashbacks.

--
#JobMarket #Academia #Pandemic #Diversity #DEI #JobApplication #AcademicChatter

A #Florida consulting firm has helped thousands of #taxpayers file for billions of dollars in tax refunds under a 2020 law aimed at rewarding companies that kept employees during the #pandemic. The firm could end up making a billion dollars in fees from the work.

#taxrefunds #florida

https://legalavocado.com/wp/avocado-roundup-pandemic-tax-credit-is-gold-mine-for-consultants-nightmare-for-irs/

So... up until this week, I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the geeky, weird, fangirl, sarcastic account separate from my other impending apocalypse doomy account...

But that doomy stuff has been occupying this space.

Which leads to the question...

NOW??

Just because MSM is paying attention to #COVID

We've been in the DEPTHS of this #pandemic for almost 4 years.

It's not "back"...

IT NEVER LEFT!!!

But hey welcome aboard. (Again?) I dunno.

None of us are OK
Day ~1300

https://timesensitive.fm/episode/rachel-comey-on-meeting-her-customers-right-where-theyre-at/
Somebody was saying the other day that they wanted ANY #podcast that was #Pandemic aware-it’s-still happening & how frustrating it was

Randomly found this interview from 9/2022 & I’m not familiar with Rachel Comey’s work b/c I don’t tend towards #NYC designers, but her story was interesting & she seems lovely BUT wanted to chuck my phone 40~minutes in when she started going in Post-Pandemic, travel,inspiration etc🙄

The fashion industry is SUPER influential but they don’t use it

"Normality bias"
Yes, most people tend to react as if there were no emergency in a given situation:
when they are not regularly informed that an emergency situation is underway!!!

I'm sure that some #PublicHealth officials have told their bosses that this was going to happen, even in the big one.
Day-to-day communication is the first item on the list of 101 measures to take to mitigate the effects of any outbreak, multi-country outbreak (🤔 ), epidemic or pandemic.

#Pandemic #CovidIsNotOver #MaskUp

"Human beings have an enormous desire not to know. It is very painful to know. If we did a popularity contest among all the defense mechanisms, the defense mechanism of denial would win hands down."

-- Robert Moore, _Facing the Dragon_
.
.
.
#Covid #Pandemic #Denial

"The pandemic is over."

#Covid #Covid19 #SarsCov2 #pandemic #CovidIsNotOver #Orwell #1984

*bites tongue*

Reading a thread of someone saying the DAY they got vaxxed they went to a restaurant... "so free!" "went everywhere!"

Comments reinforced this "first day" concept.

Your body takes a bit to, you know, build up immunity. It's not instantaneous.

And it wasn't to prevent you from getting #Covid or spread it.

It was to keep you from DYING if you did get it.

And people wonder why I think the most dangerous part of this #Pandemic was when the vaccines came out.

#CovidIsNotOver

Global #COVID monitoring is crashing as BA.2.86 variant raises alarm
#Pandemic

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/08/global-covid-monitoring-is-crashing-as-ba-2-86-variant-raises-alarm/

In a press conference Friday morning, Van Kerkhnove highlighted that even basic reporting is failing. Of 234 countries and territories, WHO is now only getting case count data from 103 countries. Only 54 countries are reporting deaths, just 19 are reporting hospitalization rates, and 17 are reporting data on intensive care utilization.

Measures taken during the #Covid pandemic such as social distancing and wearing face masks “unequivocally” reduced the spread of infections, according to a UK report.

"The Royal Society report, called Covid-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, reviewed the evidence gathered during the pandemic for six groups of NPIs and their effectiveness in reducing transmission."

#COVID19 #SarsCov2 #pandemic #NPI

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/24/lockdowns-face-masks-unequivocally-cut-spread-covid-study-finds

The first years of the #pandemic there was lots of mourning and anger for me. I had finally started to process some of these feelings. Yes, #covid would be here to stay, and yes, I'd probably have no allies in my direct surroundings except for my partner. The hurt of ableism, abandonment, social murder was massive, but I'd manage. Isolate, endure and focus on other things in life that are still worthwhile.

Now that mask hostility is rising, this has become harder. Going out is difficult. Discrimination is increasing. Over the last two months, medical appointments have gone from no comment to a frustrating discussion every time.

Once again my focus in life narrows down. It is only my chronic illness, plague avoidance and survival. I can't go anywhere or speak to anyone without that being front and center.

I'm back to cancelling some medical appointments. Not just because of fear of infection, but also because I feel too emotionally drained to keep fighting for my right to mask and not being taken seriously.

It's not really anger or mourning right now that's growing in me. It's a sad emptiness, a hollow tiredness, some dread for the future and this getting worse. Having to learn to accept that leaving my living space means dealing with hate, bullying, judgement & unfair treatment.

I can be all tough and claim "I don't care! I have witty responses! I know I'm cooler than them!" and that's partially true. I will need to be like that to keep standing. But it doesn't take away from the reality that living through this constantly without much improvement in sight, is very strenuous.

#covid19 #CovidIsNotOver

5 Things Disabled People Should Never Feel Embarrassed About During The Covid pandemic

#corona #covid #lockdown #pandemic #virus
https://usnewsper.com/2023/08/5-things-disabled-people-should-never-feel-embarrassed-about-during-the-covid-pandemic/?feed_id=27734&_unique_id=64e514b7d350f

Interesting #vox article about human #behavior in public places. A lot of blame is placed on the #pandemic, but I have to wonder how accurate that is. Disruption at #movietheaters for example was an issue well before the pandemic with people using their #phones at full brightness.

https://www.vox.com/culture/23835782/concert-attack-cardi-b-pink-ashes-movie-theater

💰 #China's central bank has cut one of its key interest rates for the second time in three months as the world's second-largest #economy struggles to bounce back from the #pandemic

The People's #Bank of China (PBOC) lowered its one-year loan prime rate to 3.45% from 3.55%

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66567085

UKSHA initial risk assessment for variant BA.2.86, also going by BA.X and Pi

Part 1. Context and UK case
As of 3pm, 18 August 2023, 6 unrelated cases of a new variant BA.2.86 have been identified in 4 countries. This variant is notable due to a high number of mutations.

Israel published the first genome on 13 August 2023. Subsequently Denmark has identified 3 cases, and a single case has been identified in both the US and the UK.

The UK case was identified in a patient tested at a London hospital on 13 August 2023, with no recent travel history. The sample was sequenced routinely as part of local hospital based genomic research.

Part 2. Variant technical group assessment
Meeting and assessment 1pm, 18 August 2023.

The newly identified variant BA.2.86 has a high number of mutations and is distant from both its likely ancestor BA.2 and also currently circulating XBB-derived variants.
Despite the small number of sequences, the appearance of the variant rapidly in multiple countries which are still operating genomic surveillance, in individuals without travel history, suggests that there is established international transmission.
The sequences are similar across the world, potentially suggestive of a relatively recent emergence and rapid growth, but this is a low confidence assessment until further sequences are available.
The UK case has no recent travel history, also suggesting a degree of community transmission within the UK. This clinical site sequenced data rapidly locally, and data from surveillance systems from the same period is likely to follow, thus a more complete assessment of UK transmission will be possible in 1 to 2 weeks.
It is unreliable to attempt to predict the combined effect of the large number of mutations, however there is sufficient information to expect significant antigenic change. There are also mutations in spike which may be associated with changes in other viral properties.
At present the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has designated this a variant for the purposes of tracking and assessment (V-23AUG-01). We will consider as signals of escalating concern the presence of phenotypic data confirming significant immune escape, other relevant phenotypic data, and signals of rapidly changing epidemiology in the UK or other countries where the variant has been detected.
UKHSA will share data from surveillance systems, variant growth rates, and phenotypic laboratory data when available. It is not possible to assess comparative severity by variant based on UK surveillance at present.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigation-of-sars-cov-2-variants-of-concern-variant-risk-assessments/risk-assessment-for-sars-cov-2-variant-v-23aug-01-or-ba286

#COVID19 #sarscov2 #pandemic

@ceracole that is intentional!

They got away with #democide by #inaction ( see 'rona #pandemic: #CovidIsNotOver ) and thus have neither incentive nor threat of #consequences to do anything!

#WhatYouAllowIsWhatWillContinue

Little bit of background on experts in the news:

Back when I was still in university, sometimes my professors appeared in news articles. More often than not, they didn't appear, but the same 2-5 others experts of the country appeared (again and again and again).

As students we asked some professors how this all came to be. Who appeared where and how? We got the following explanation:

A news outlet decides they want to create an article or video. The tone and conclusion of the piece have already been decided. Then they contact many experts in that field. For example, a query they would send out is: "Hello, we're looking for experts to talk to about X."

Not many experts respond, but some do. The query they will get in response will be something like: "Thanks for your interest, we are looking for someone to confirm that X leads to Y and Z."

My professors told me that in their naive days, they would still keep interacting and correcting and suggesting other takes. "Actually, Y and Z aren't like that, it's too simplistic, but I could talk about A and B and how it leads to maybe Y in your article."

What would happen? They were ghosted of course. 😂

Among many experts, news outlets would eventually always find one or two people willing to confirm their shitty clickbait shit. And once these experts work along, they get contacted more frequently than others. Experts who keep correcting and being difficult, aren't contacted again.

I studied in a very niche field and I know all experts in that field in my country. I started to recognize who would work along and what they would gain from it. I now know who's blacklisted and who is being kept out of the news and why.

This has been in the back of my mind during the #pandemic. I assume things work the same way among virologists, epidemiologists, and other related experts. It's frustrating because they carry the title of expert, they come across as knowledgeable and the media spreads their words everywhere. It's made to appear as if these experts represent their whole field and all others in it.

But how many experts have these news outlets had to contact before finding someone who was willing to collaborate with their minimizing?

#covid #covid19 #CovidIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne

And this is why we are perpetually doomed...

Professor Preban Aavitsland, head of the review committee that advised WHO on the standing recommendations:

“Repeated infections among low-risk individuals will contribute to maintaining population immunity..."

#Covid #CovidIsNotOver #covid19 #Pandemic #WearAMask #maskup
#LongCOVID

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/who-issues-new-covid-19-recommendations/