Tag Archives: Delta variant

You’ll already be a winner

22 Thursday Jul 2021

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What a difference in just two weeks. What’s up with that?

The Missouri vaccine lottery.

Yesterday:

GOVERNOR PARSON LAUNCHES “MO VIP” CAMPAIGN GIVING VACCINATED MISSOURIANS A CHANCE AT $10,000
Press Release
JULY 21, 2021

JEFFERSON CITY Today, during a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of a statewide COVID-19 vaccination incentive program, MO VIP, to encourage vaccination among all Missourians age 12 and up. Over the next three months, 900 Missourians who have or will choose to be vaccinated will win cash or education savings account prizes in the amount of $10,000.

[….]

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is partnering with Missouri Lottery to conduct a fair and secure program with a randomized selection process. DHSS is using federally funded Coronavirus Relief Funds to fund this campaign. This funding was approved under previous and current federal administrations for broad COVID-19 response purposes to include efforts to boost vaccine uptake.

[….]

To allow time for records and eligibility to be verified, confirmed winners will be announced two weeks following each drawing….

[….]

Additionally, local public health agencies that administer COVID-19 vaccines will now be eligible to provide a financial incentive of up to $25 for each vaccine recipient, up to a total of $11 million. This program would provide incentives for administrators to pass along to recipients for 440,000 vaccines administered across Missouri and would sunset on December 31, 2021. Local public health agencies are able to partner with enrolled COVID-19 vaccinators within the State of Missouri to be part of this program.”’

[….]

“…To allow time for records and eligibility to be verified, confirmed winners will be announced two weeks following each drawing…” Wait, is that verification in the form of something like a “vaccine passport”? Just asking.

Of Course, Mike Parson (r), couldn’t help himself. A year ago:

MISSOURI LAUNCHES THREE NEW RESOURCES TO AID COVID-19 ECONOMIC RECOVERY, INCLUDING $15 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR TOURISM
JULY 16, 2020

JEFFERSON CITY Today, Governor Mike Parson announced new resources as part of the Show Me Strong Recovery Plan, including the Show Me Strong Pledge, Business Recovery Lab, and $15 million in grant funding to help rebuild Missouri’s tourism industry.

[….]

….$15 million in CARES Act funding will be designated for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), entities that promote Missouri as a great place to visit. The funds will be administered by the Missouri Division of Tourism and will grant eligible DMOs funding for recovery efforts such as payroll relief, reimbursement for necessary safety equipment, and the initiation of marketing campaigns with messaging focused on safe travel.

[….]

How’s that one working out?

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

Previously:

Cynical anti-science right wingnut sociopath attempts to distract everyone else from his gross incompetence (July 8, 2021)

Governor Mike Parson (r) [2018 file photo].

Aren’t we special (July 13, 2021)

Yeah, but Roy Blunt (r) can’t go door to door in Missouri to let people know because Mike Parson (r) wouldn’t like that very much (July 14, 2021)

The government is spying on us through our toasters… (July 15, 2021)

This is America – in two maps (July 21, 2021)

Meanwhile, in Henry County, Missouri

20 Tuesday Jul 2021

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“…All the COVID-19 patients we have in the hospital have not been vaccinated…”

Yesterday, a public health advisory in Henry County, Missouri:

….In response to the increase in positive COVID-19 patients in and around our county, Henry County Health Center (HCHC) is issuing a health advisory to all Henry County residents.

[….]

Craig Thompson, CEO at Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare (GVMH) reports an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital, as well as an escalation in the number of people testing positive for the virus. “All the COVID-19 patients we have in the hospital have not been vaccinated,” said Thompson. “With the vaccine there is still a chance that you could contract the virus, but it could mean the difference between experiencing mild symptoms or a lengthy hospital stay.”

[….]

….It is the recommendation of HCHC and GVMH that those who have not received their vaccination become vaccinated as soon as possible.

HCHC recommends that residents continue to maintain social distancing, practice good hygiene, and continue wearing a mask in public if you are not fully vaccinated.

Here we are.

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

Sadly so

14 Wednesday Jul 2021

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Today:

Christopher Morrison MD @cwmorrisonMD
To the other physicians on my timeline and on Twitter: I can’t stress enough how bad the situation with COVID is here in SW Missouri and there is no apparent end in sight. It’s imperative that you do everything in your power to try and get your community vaccinated.
1:27 PM · Jul 14, 2021

Christopher Morrison MD @cwmorrisonMD
[….]
The most simple message is this: 99.5% of COVID deaths are unvaccinated.
1:28 PM · Jul 14, 2021

Expertise. Science. Math. Reality.

Here we are.

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

We get more comments

11 Sunday Jul 2021

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We’re getting a massive traffic spike from this, posted this morning:

This morning in Springfield, Missouri (July 11, 2021)

A hospital administrator in Springfield, Missouri enumerated, via social media, the severity of the increase of admissions due to the COVID-19 surge. The math isn’t good.

Meta: I honed some of my social media chops over eighteen years ago as a volunteer “troll hunter” on a campaign forum for an eventually unsuccessful national presidential campaign. One of my innovations was a “troll museum”, a section where I moved trolling posts and comments to where they would be preserved for observation and public derision – without distracting from the purposes of the original campaign posts. This ain’t my first rodeo.

We’ve received a couple of additional comments. Again, we’re not allowing them out of moderation to be linked with the original post, but are reproducing them here for the purpose of public derision and mockery.

The first, less obnoxious, but not particularly well thought out comment:

[….] Just to play devil’s advocate, please don’t lump all non-Vac folks together. Some are old and have so many underlying problems, even their doctors advise them to pass on the jabs and just not go out at all.

Well, you certainly are doing the Devil’s work, if you believe in such things. A question: What percentage of the population in Greene County, Missouri is elderly (say, over 65) and has refrained from getting vaccinated because of their doctor’s concern for the possible impact(s) due to their preexisting medical conditions? We’ll wait.

Also, read this.

The next comment:

Would love to see all the information on what is the long term effect on all those getting the shot ( it’s not a vaccine) is especially our young ones. Seems like a shot that has never been approved thru normal channels should at the very least be a concern as all indications show that a extremely high percentage of people either will not get sick or will come through the ordeal just fine with the correct treatment. Amazing how many other sicknesses have diminished with covid-19 always in the forefront. We really need to see fact’s on this disease and those cure’s that are actually working.

Uh, it’s a vaccine. Read more, watch less television.

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

Also, possessive is not plural. It appears that science and critical thinking weren’t the only school subjects you slept through.

Reports on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, disease transmission, treatments, and vaccine development, testing, and efficacy are easily accessible via the CDC. Go read those readily understandable reports and studies. Science. Hint: the veterinary version of an anti-parasitic drug available from your local agricultural supply center doesn’t work, but it could make things worse.

This is what we face as a state and nation, and why we can’t have nice things.

So, here we are.

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

Previously:

Meanwhile, this is Missouri (July 5, 2021)

We get a comment (July 11, 2021)

We get a comment

11 Sunday Jul 2021

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We’re getting a massive traffic spike from this, posted this morning:

This morning in Springfield, Missouri (July 11, 2021)

A hospital administrator in Springfield, Missouri enumerated, via social media, the severity of the increase of admissions due to the COVID-19 surge. The math isn’t good.

Invariably when a traffic spike like this occurs we get comments, some from right wingnut trolls. If you’ve ever been around here before you’d notice we don’t get a lot of comments. That’s mostly because we’re normally only read by dozens of people. So many that even international spammers don’t bother us with investment solicitations or prescription advice anymore. Sadly, when we get a massive traffic spike it predicts the return of those spammers. Not to worry too much. Our system filters those out for the most part.

We also had the foresight to set our comment default to “moderation” when we moved to this platform. This means that a comment doesn’t get posted unless we approve it. Generally, we approve relevant comments. We save all the violence and death threats, but don’t publish them (really, there haven’t been that many). By the way, when you post a comment we also get your email and IP addresses.

This afternoon we received a trolling comment, held in moderation. We’re not going to allow it go up with the post, but it is such a perfect example of right wingnut talking points and willful ignorance that we’re presenting it here. This is what we face as a state and nation, and why we can’t have nice things:

[….]
Your people are in denial to be honest with you they don’t have a testing process that is full proof we have more false positives than anything besides let’s talk about what incentive the medical community has to follow the push of the government they get paid extra if they flag it person as covid positive. This is gotten out of control and to be honest with you the taxpayers are tired of the medical community only being concerned with money in their pocket this is all bullshit

So, here we are.

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

This morning in Springfield, Missouri

11 Sunday Jul 2021

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It’s not good.

Steve Edwards @SDECoxHealth
119 Covid inpatients at CoxHealth this morning. (We had only 14 patients in the middle of May).

Projections for the week of July 19 range from 153-178. This is likely well beyond our capability.

Delta is so highly transmissible, if not vaccinated, you are at tremendous risk.
7:27 AM · Jul 11, 2021

Some of the responses:

@GovParsonMO Thank you, Governor. You need to have more tourism in southwest Missouri.

Any numbers available for how many you are treating in ER/outpatient and sending home, sending home with oxygen? Any info on how many cases are bad enough to miss 2 weeks+ of work? # of people in area dealing with long haul symptoms?

Steve Edwards @SDECoxHealth The answer to all questions is “a lot” sorry, don’t have time to track this down, but your point is well taken. Hospitalizations are the tip of the iceberg in terms of human and economic costs. Rising insurance cost, lost wages, long haul syndrome…

I know you’ve said you’re seeing pediatric patients now. Is there data on how Delta is affecting otherwise healthy kids? I’ve looked but can’t really find anything. How worried do we need to be for our kiddos who can’t be vaccinated?

Steve Edwards @SDECoxHealth It is scary that we are beginning to see more pediatric admissions, but our anecdotal experience is they have recovered quickly. Don’t know yet about long haul syndrome.

How ma[n]y are not vaccinated?

Steve Edwards @SDECoxHealth That number probably won’t change much, you can assume that 97% + percent of covid pneumonia admissions are unvaccinated.

Gonna need more beds. Biden is capable of sending military personnel to help with expansion and medical care. I would rule out Gov. Parsons. He would probably just send National Guard to hand out popsicles and balloons.

Wow! So 20 new Covid admissions since your tweet yesterday?

Steve Edwards @SDECoxHealth 20 net admissions, as we also have discharges so total new admissions exceed 20

Sadly, I agree with you that with the current trajectory it will indeed get worse before it gets better. I’m at a loss Mr. E. You all are Heroes in my eyes. I wish there was more I could do to help.

Missouri got confused about “all exposure is good exposure”

Fools…And to avoid this strain on our healthcare systems, all folks needed was a little prick in their arm w/ a proven life saving vaccine. My prayers are with the healthcare workers and not so much with the foolish. Sorry, I’ve low tolerance for politically driven stupidity.

Yes, and the strain on the system might be denying others treatment they desperately need. And the HCWs, many underpaid overworked and their own lives and families being put at risk.

Unfortunately, some people must learn everything the hard way…

Get vaccinated.

Wear a damn mask.

It isn’t over

18 Friday Jun 2021

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June 17, 2021
Missouri DHSS urges continued vaccination as close monitoring of Delta variant continues

For Immediate Release:
June 16, 2021

[….]

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Missouri is experiencing a rise in individuals contracting the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first detected in India) of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. It was announced by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention yesterday that the Delta variant has been reclassified as a “variant of concern” in the United States. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has been closely monitoring these developments and has been on the national leading edge of aggressive wastewater testing for variants of concern.

The Delta variant joins the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427/B.1.429 (Epsilon) variants circulating in the United States which are already classified as variants of concern.

Deemed highly transmissible, the Delta virus has been already detected in over 70 countries of the world, and is projected to become dominant worldwide. It is also causing more serious illness and hospitalizations among those who have not been vaccinated.

Monitoring the spread of emerging variants in the United States relies on widespread, rapid sequencing. While this national effort is still somewhat limited, it is clear that the variant has become prevalent in communities throughout Missouri. In February, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began testing wastewater samples to look for the presence of these variants. These testing results are displayed in a new layer of the COVID-19 sewershed surveillance StoryMap.

The unpredictability of emerging variants is cause for continuation of infection prevention precautions.

“Our greatest concern in Missouri is areas with lower vaccine uptake,” said Robert Knodell, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “With this variant being easier to spread and possibly causing more severe illnesses among unvaccinated people of all ages, vaccinations are the best way to stop this virus in its tracks.”

This recent rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant underscores the importance of continued testing for COVID-19 of all those with related symptoms, as well as those who have been exposed to the virus but may not have symptoms.

Social distancing and appropriate masking remain important and effective public health countermeasures. Vaccination is the most effective and long-lasting tool for protection from this infection. DHSS continues to encourage anyone age 12 and up to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines and where to get vaccinated at MOStopsCovid.com.

###

From the Missouri DHSS web site:

An estimated 43.4% of Missourians have initiated vaccination. [….]

An estimated 53.8% of Missourians aged 18 and older have initiated vaccination. [….]

An estimated 43.8% of Boone County’s 180,463 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 79,039 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 165,888 doses have been administered.

An estimated 30.7% of Cass County’s 105,780 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 32,473 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 66,840 doses have been administered.

An estimated 20.4% of Johnson County’s 54,062 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 11,045 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 22,780 doses have been administered.

An estimated 28.6% of Henry County’s 21,824 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 6,246 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 13,036 doses have been administered.

An estimated 31.0% of Lafayette County’s 32,708 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 10,135 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 20,566 doses have been administered.

An estimated 27.3% of Pettis County’s 42,339 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 11,573 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 24,198 doses have been administered.

An estimated 32.0% of Saline County’s 22,761 persons have completed vaccination. This means that 7,293 persons have completed vaccination. In total, 14,831 doses have been administered.

Do you feel invincible if you live in Johnson County, Missouri? You shouldn’t.

Get vaccinated. Fully. Wear a damn mask.

Avoid crowds. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face.

It isn’t over.