PA Counties locked down

[markshere2]

I actually appreciate masks... In healthcare facilities.

You know, the place where all the sick people go to spew their germs everywhere.

The masks keep them from sneezing and coughing their cooties into the air that I have to breathe.

Otherwise no.

I do not trust the government at all with respect to vaccinations. Damn shame, that. We will have more pandemics in the future, and our response will not be nearly as good as it could have been before the deep state work this scam demic.

[Cloud]

I actually appreciate masks... In healthcare facilities.

You know, the place where all the sick people go to spew their germs everywhere.

The masks keep them from sneezing and coughing their cooties into the air that I have to breathe.

Otherwise no.

I do not trust the government at all with respect to vaccinations. Damn shame, that. We will have more pandemics in the future, and our response will not be nearly as good as it could have been before the deep state work this scam demic.

I have to ask. If a mask works in an healthcare facility why wouldn't you wear one at the gym ,wawa,school etc etc.Sick people could be anywhere .

[eatmydust]

I have to ask. If a mask works in an healthcare facility why wouldn't you wear one at the gym ,wawa,school etc etc.Sick people could be anywhere .

Some how I've survived every viral attack the world has thrown at me for 63 years, I know I'm not immortal but so far, so good. In a hospital setting, I'm happy to have those that are hovering over my open wounds masked so that they don't sneeze, spit, or drool into my inards, and I'm sure the same goes the other way with my blood, fecal mater, urine, etc. I've had a bowel resection with bladder involvement so all of the above can come into play.

[Cloud]

Some how I've survived every viral attack the world has thrown at me for 63 years, I know I'm not immortal but so far, so good. In a hospital setting, I'm happy to have those that are hovering over my open wounds masked so that they don't sneeze, spit, or drool into my inards, and I'm sure the same goes the other way with my blood, fecal mater, urine, etc. I've had a bowel resection with bladder involvement so all of the above can come into play.

I can see the surgeons wearing masks in the operation room.I had an operation last year and they did not mask me for the procedure. Im heading to the Dr's office in a couple of hours and they are not requiring masks.

[father-of-five]

I actually appreciate masks... In healthcare facilities.

You know, the place where all the sick people go to spew their germs everywhere.

The masks keep them from sneezing and coughing their cooties into the air that I have to breathe.

Otherwise no.

I do not trust the government at all with respect to vaccinations. Damn shame, that. We will have more pandemics in the future, and our response will not be nearly as good as it could have been before the deep state work this scam demic.

I agree. I work in a hospital emergency department with a population (behavioral health) that often does not get the same precautionary care as other patients because those patients tend to slow down their wait times. Given that a positive corona virus test gets me an automatic 5 days out of work, I'd rather save my time off for when I want to use it and be precautionary.

[ImminentDanger]

Existing antibodies work against the latest coronavirus variant: CDC
by Jenny Goldsberry - September 08, 2023
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...us-variant-cdc

The Centers for Disease Control issued a statement that reversed its previous assessment regarding the most recent COVID-19 variant.

Currently, the latest variant, referred to as BA.2.86, is combated by already-known antibodies, per research from multiple labs examined by the CDC. The announcement was issued Friday.

Initially, the CDC released a risk assessment that warned the variant could be "more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines." As of Friday morning, cases with the variant were found in Colorado, Delaware, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

"CDC and other experts are reassured by these research findings that support the effectiveness of this type of immunity against this variant," its latest statement read. "Additionally, based on CDC's experience with past SARS-CoV-2 variants, people will likely have protection against severe disease mediated by both cellular and antibody immunity."

The country saw a 19% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and an 18% increase in deaths in the last week of August, according to the CDC. There were 15,067 hospitalizations from the coronavirus from the week before.

Other cases of the variant were found in a few countries across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The CDC said it will need further real-world data to issue further assessments.

FDA Adviser: Most Americans Don't Need New COVID Boosters
By Jim Thomas - 08 September 2023
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/of...08/id/1133798/

Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician, vaccine and infectious diseases expert, and vaccine adviser to the Food and Drug Administration, said most healthy young Americans do not require an additional COVID-19 booster shot.

This assertion comes after the emergence of the new B.A.2.86 variant, contributing to an uptick in COVID-19 virus transmission rates.

Offit told the Daily Mail that middle-aged and younger Americans without underlying chronic conditions already possess robust immunity derived from prior COVID-19 vaccinations and infections, effectively safeguarding them against severe illness during the impending winter.

According to Offit, the updated boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are probably best reserved for people at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19: older adults, people with multiple coexisting conditions, and the immunocompromised.

"Specifically, those over 75 years of age, those who have health problems that put them at highest risk of severe disease (such as obesity, chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, and diabetes, among others) [and] those who are immune-compromised, and those who are pregnant" are the people who need the booster, he advised, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Asking young, healthy people with a lower risk of serious illness to get boosted with a variant-specific vaccine, followed by a different variant-specific formula a few months later, may not be practical, he said.

According to NBC News, he added, "I believe we should stop trying to prevent all symptomatic infections in healthy, young people by boosting them with vaccines containing mRNA from strains that might disappear a few months later."

Offit's recommendation coincides with the imminent FDA approval of newly refined COVID-19 boosters produced by Pfizer and Moderna, specifically tailored to counteract emerging virus variants.

Anticipations are high that the Biden administration will endorse a comprehensive nationwide distribution of these booster shots, urging all Americans to partake in the inoculation effort. This move comes despite differing perspectives from other nations, such as the United Kingdom, where authorities contend that these vaccines are primarily warranted for individuals aged 65 and above.

This fall, the federal government is poised to avoid assuming the financial burden of updated COVID-19 booster vaccines. Nevertheless, most Americans will be able to get the vaccines without cost through health insurance coverage.

However, approximately 28 million Americans find themselves without health insurance, according to KFF.

To address this demographic, the federal government has introduced the Bridge Access assistance program, allocating $1.1 billion to ensure that those lacking insurance coverage can access COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at no expense. This initiative is slated to remain in effect through 2024.

Reportedly, Pfizer and Moderna, the manufacturers of these booster vaccines, have indicated pricing in the range of $110 to $130 per dose.

This year's updated COVID-19 booster vaccine targets the XBB.1.5 variant, colloquially known as "Kraken," which held sway in the United States during the summer months. Preliminary assessments indicate that the booster can effectively counteract the BA.2.86 COVID-19 variant, aka "Pirola," which is currently contributing to the global escalation in COVID-19 infection rates.

Indications suggest the booster may have efficacy against the EG.5 variant, commonly referred to as "Eris," currently representing the predominant strain within the United States and responsible for the recent infection surge.

Last year, the uptake of the bivalent booster shot, which could have been particularly beneficial for individuals aged 65 and above, was notably modest, with only 17 percent of eligible American adults electing to receive it. Among the elderly demographic, where the potential benefits are most pronounced, the participation rate remained at a relatively low 43 percent.

In August, the Biden administration unveiled Project NextGen, a plan to allocate $1.4 billion toward COVID-19 drugs and vaccinations for all Americans, despite the administration's official declaration of the pandemic's conclusion in May.

Government officials say the funds, to be disbursed in the form of grants, will be directed toward developing advanced tools and technologies designed to protect against COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.

Recent data indicates a rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations across the United States, with approximately 17,400 hospital admissions during the week ending Aug. 26. The data marks an increase from the roughly 15,000 admissions observed in the previous seven-day period. However, these figures remain significantly lower than the peak levels witnessed earlier this year, notably in January, when weekly admissions reached approximately 44,000.

Despite the facts, the liberal leftists wanting to exercise control (and teach the citizenry to obey) will promote DANGER for everyone and the need to cede your rights.

...

[ImminentDanger]

Judge: Biden Admin Violated Doctor's First Amendment Rights
By Jeremy Frankel - 20 September 2023
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/bi...20/id/1135295/

A federal appeals court ruled that the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, and the surgeon general violated a Stanford doctor's First Amendment rights by using social media to silence him.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine, economics, and health research policy at Stanford University, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in 2020, which raised important questions about how lockdowns and other COVID-19 policies were handled in the U.S. during the pandemic.

"We were just acting as scientists, but almost immediately, we were censored. Google de-boosted us. Our Facebook page was removed. It was just a crazy time," Bhattacharya told the New York Post.

A three-judge panel based in New Orleans found that the federal government worked with social media companies to silence certain viewpoints on COVID-19.

"The government had a vast censorship enterprise. It was systematically used to threaten and coerce and jawbone and tell all these social media companies, 'You better listen to us: Censor these people, censor these ideas, or else,'" Bhattacharya said.

The truth about the Great Coronavirus Panic is still dribbling out...

...

[ImminentDanger]

COVID Lockdowns Were a Giant Experiment. It Was a Failure. A key lesson of the pandemic.
By Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/arti...k-excerpt.html

Some selected quotes from a long article in the Intellegencer.

"One of the great mysteries of the pandemic is why so many countries followed China's example. In the U.S. and the U.K. especially, lockdowns went from being regarded as something that only an authoritarian government would attempt to an example of 'following the science.' But there was never any science behind lockdowns - not a single study had ever been undertaken to measure their efficacy in stopping a pandemic. When you got right down to it, lockdowns were little more than a giant experiment."

"Bush began pushing his administration to come up with a pandemic plan ..."

"The men Bush chose to lead the effort believed that lockdowns could be an important component of a mitigation plan."

"Henderson vehemently disagreed. (D.A. Henderson, perhaps the most renowned epidemiologist of the 20th century - the man who, decades earlier, had led the team that eradicated smallpox.)"

"Ferguson is an important epidemiologist, renowned for his estimates, derived from computer models, of possible deaths from a newly emerged virus."

"For Ferguson, the purpose of the report wasn't just to release their shocking estimates; it was also to push the American and British governments to commit to lockdowns for the long haul."

"... in the space of two months, lockdowns had gone from being unthinkable to being an unquestioned tool in the pandemic toolkit."

"Dr. Anthony Fauci was probably the best-known defender of lockdowns as a life-saving measure. But the policy continues to have many defenders within the public health establishment."

"Still, the weight of the evidence seems to be with those who say that lockdowns did not save many lives. By our count, there are at least 50 studies that come to the same conclusion."

"There were other negative consequences too. In the U.S., lockdowns forced hundreds of thousands of small business closures. They exacerbated inequality, as Amazon warehouse workers and meatpackers showed up to crowded workplaces while the 'Zoom class' locked down at home. Worst of all, though, it had a devastating effect on children whose schools were closed as part of a lockdown."

"Emily Oster, a Brown University economist, conducted a survey of about 200,000 children who were back in classrooms. The infection rate, she discovered, was 0.13 percent among students and 0.24 percent among teachers - an astonishing low number."

"So why did so many big-city schools stay closed long after the evidence was clear? There were three reasons. The first, and most understandable, was fear."

"The second factor was Trump. On July 6, he tweeted, 'SCHOOLS MUST REOPEN IN THE FALL!!' The next day, at a White House event, the president said, 'We're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools. It's very important for our country. It's very important for the well-being of the student and the parents."

In this case, Trump happened to be right; it was important. But by this late stage in his presidency, most Democrats assumed that anything he said was a lie. If Trump said schools should reopen, that was reason enough for them to assume they should stay closed. The sense that opening up was a Trump-endorsed policy seems to have energized opposition to it in blue America - even as data accumulated that the harm being done to the country's children outweighed any potential benefit."

"The third reason was the teachers' unions. Public-school teachers were unionized, and their unions - American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) - were allies of, and contributors to, the Democratic Party, which dominated most major urban areas. They held enormous sway over big-city school systems."

"Yet as late as the fall of 2022, there were still those who refused to acknowledge the damage done by lengthy school closings. One such person was Anthony Fauci."

"What he could never acknowledge was that 'shutting things down' didn't stop the virus, and that keeping schools closed didn't save kids' lives. Then again, to understand that, you had to be willing to follow the science."

For School Closings - They blamed Trump for the vehement reaction of the Democrats (despite that he was right).
The real sequence of reasons for the shutdowns should have been Democrats, Unions & (unreasonable) Fear.

It was a PANIC predicated on a possible Pandemic - And used by the Democrats to exercise unconstitutional authoritarian power.

...

[JenniferG]

Lockdowns were a means of showing who is in control. We are no longer a republic whose elected representatives serve at the pleasure of the people. The US has become a socialist state run by administrative agencies appointed unelected officials.

[wanneroo]

At least so far the lockdowns are the most outrageous thing I have seen in my life and to the day I die I will never forgive or forget those responsible and any civil, legal thing I can do to punish those people I am happy to contribute.

We knew early on who the virus would impact and for the average person out there and especially kids, it amounted to a bad cold.

Lockdowns did nothing to stop it and here we are paying for the damage 3 years later and I estimate it will take a generation, assuming things go well, to correct and steady all the financial damage done and put it in the rear view mirror.