Latest on the Corona Virus

**BillyCarpenter** · 03-04-2021

I was out and about this morning and I saw many more folks not wearing a mask. Beautiful. My body, my choice. lol

Maskless in Mississippi: Business owners celebrate rollback of COVID-19 restrictions

Field’s Steak and Oyster House is taking advantage of the governor’s announcement. Wednesday night, nearly every seat in the house was full.

MISSISSIPPI, USA — Mississippi is no longer masking up, but Bay St. Louis is still bustling.

Along Beach Boulevard Wednesday night, parking spots were tough to come by and restaurants were full of customers.

Just a day before, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced the state would be all but eliminating its mask mandate, expanding capacity at many businesses, and eliminating the 11p.m. bar curfew.

Many business owners and elected leaders there say it’s welcome news.

“We’ve been busy for a few months now. And I guess a lot of New Orleans people I guess just wanting to get out of the house and come to somewhere where they can feel kind of normal and go into a restaurant and have a nice meal,” said Lloyd Nicaud. He and his family own several restaurants along the Mississippi coastline.

We caught up with him at Field’s Steak and Oyster House, where he says weekend reservations are full of “504” area code phone numbers.

Field’s Steak and Oyster House is taking advantage of the governor’s announcement. Wednesday night, nearly every seat in the house was full.

“I’m very comfortable with it. People around here, for the most part around here have been very safe about it. And common sense, and so it’s been good for us,” said Nicaud.

While cities can create and enforce their own COVID restrictions, Biloxi Mayor Andrew “Fofo” Gilich tells us he convened with other mayors of coastal communities via phone on Wednesday morning, and they’re on the same page.

“You can see people are anxious to get to some semblance of normalcy,” said Mayor Gilich. “It was a good, you know, welcome news – to you know, stay cautious but hey, let’s move down the road.”

The Mayor of Gulfport released a statement saying masks are encouraged, but they’re no longer required in most places except for city buildings.

“If you’re high risk, stay home, wear a mask all the time. But basically we’re opening the doors so business can return, hopefully by May or June, we’re in a… ‘hey, that’s history’. We’re looking for future,” said Mayor Gilich.

Texas and Arkansas have relaxed mask mandates, too. President Biden and health experts were quick to push back. Biden said Wednesday, “The last thing we need is that kind of neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask.”

Mayor Gilich believes it’s the right move.

“Is there any concern or any worry in your mind that this will lead to a spike in cases in Mississippi?” asked Eyewitness News’ Devin Bartolotta.

“Well, I don’t think anyone knows. But we’ve just used the history of hospitalizations. You know, we canceled some of the Mardi Gras parades and the big functions… and there are things we did to take precautions,” said Gilich. “Again, we are going to stay cautious, and it’s always a concern. Who knows.”

**skynet** · 03-04-2021

Originally Posted by SalesServiceGuy

... certainly after people are safe from the deadly consequences of COVID-19, there will be plenty of time to discuss the ethics and privacy concerns of these tools designed to protect public safety. Property, transportation, entertainment and venue operators have the right to protect themselves from liability.

Not hard to image criminal concerns against getting vaccinated. Tracking.

You don't force something in and debate it afterwards, over here politicians consider an idea and vote on it.

**bsm2** · 03-05-2021

President Joe Biden sharply criticized states such as Texas and Mississippi for lifting Covid-19 restrictions against pleas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top public health officials, accusing those in power of "Neanderthal thinking."

"I think it's a big mistake. Look, I hope everybody's realized by now, these masks make a difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we're able to get vaccines in people's arms," Biden said when asked about the decisions by GOP Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi to relax restrictions.
"The last thing -- the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," Biden said, referencing a card he keeps in his pocket with the daily death toll of the virus amid his administration's push to get vaccines into arms.
Biden, who is meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Oval Office on the subject of ending cancer, called on all Americans to continue to follow guidelines despite the mixed messaging from some state officials.

**BillyCarpenter** · 03-05-2021

Originally Posted by bsm2

President Joe Biden sharply criticized states such as Texas and Mississippi for lifting Covid-19 restrictions against pleas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top public health officials, accusing those in power of "Neanderthal thinking."

"I think it's a big mistake. Look, I hope everybody's realized by now, these masks make a difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we're able to get vaccines in people's arms," Biden said when asked about the decisions by GOP Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi to relax restrictions.
"The last thing -- the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," Biden said, referencing a card he keeps in his pocket with the daily death toll of the virus amid his administration's push to get vaccines into arms.
Biden, who is meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Oval Office on the subject of ending cancer, called on all Americans to continue to follow guidelines despite the mixed messaging from some state officials.

Someone needs to explain to Joe that releasing infected immigrants into the country is stupid and goes against science.

**SalesServiceGuy** · 03-05-2021

Sacha Baron Cohen MIGHT Be Selling Vaccines to Celebrities

Sacha Baron Cohen MIGHT Be Selling Vaccines to Celebrities - YouTube

During Sacha’s interview we discover that he is definitely running a side business selling vaccines to celebrities, and things suddenly take a turn for the worse for him and his wife.

**BillyCarpenter** · 03-05-2021

Canada vaccine panel recommends 4 months between COVID doses due to severe vaccine shortage

TORONTO -- A national panel of vaccine experts in Canada recommended Wednesday that provinces extend the interval between the two doses of a COVID-19 shot to four months to quickly inoculate more people amid a shortage of doses in Canada.

A number of provinces said they would do just that.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also expressed optimism that vaccination timelines could be sped up. And Health Canada, the country's regulator, said emerging evidence suggests high effectiveness for several weeks after the first dose and noted the panel's recommendation in a tweet. But two top health officials called it an experiment.

The current protocol is an interval of three to four weeks between doses for the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Johnson & Johnson is a one dose vaccine but has not been approved in Canada yet.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization said extending the dose interval to four months would allow as many as 80% of Canadians over the age of 16 to receive a single dose by the end of June simply with the expected supply of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Second doses would begin to be administered in July as more shipments arrive, the panel said, noting that 55 million doses are expected to be delivered in July, August and September.

In comparison, the federal government previously said 38% of people would receive two doses by the end of June.

“They are making, I think, a reasonable calculation in a time of drug shortage,” said Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network. “It’s the right decision in my mind. Let me ask ... A couple are given two vaccines. Do you give two to one, or give one each one dose? It’s a no braine

**BillyCarpenter** · 03-05-2021

Delingpole: Lockdown Equivalent Every Two Years to Save Planet, Claim ‘Experts’

Carbon dioxide emissions need to fall by the equivalent of a lockdown every two years to save the planet, climate scientists have claimed.

The claim derives from a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change titled ‘Fossil CO2 emissions in the post-COVID-19 era’.

According to the abstract:

Five years after the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement, growth in global CO2emissions has begun to falter. The pervasive disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic have radically altered the trajectory of global CO2 emissions. Contradictory effects of the post-COVID-19 investments in fossil fuel-based infrastructure and the recent strengthening of climate targets must be addressed with new policy choices to sustain a decline in global emissions in the post-COVID-19 era.

In short, the nations of the world will need to do much, much more if they are to meet the CO2emissions reduction targets set out by the Paris Climate Agreement. This is predicated on the idea that by keeping global industrial CO2emissions below a certain level, mankind will somehow tweak the global temperature control knob to such effect that planetary warming will be kept within a supposedly safe range of “1.5 °C to well below 2 °C.”

And in order to achieve this, the report’s lead author Corinne Le Quéré says, there must be the equivalent of a global lockdown every two years.

**SalesServiceGuy** · 03-05-2021

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine becomes 4th to receive Health Canada approval

Canada has ordered 10 million doses with an option to purchase 28 million more

The vaccine is the fourth to receive approval from federal regulators and the first that requires only a single dose. It's being produced by the U.S. health care giant's pharmaceutical subsidiary, Janssen Inc.

"As with all COVID-19 vaccines, Health Canada authorized the Janssen one after an independent and thorough scientific review for safety, efficacy and quality," Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada's chief medical adviser, told a media briefing in Ottawa today.
"After assessing all the data, we concluded there was strong evidence that showed the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the potential risks."

While the vaccine is less effective than previously approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — both of which had efficacy rates of 90 per cent and above — Sharma said the shot offers strong protection against the threats that matter most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

"The efficacy rate does not mean that following vaccination with a vaccine with 66 per cent efficacy, that you will have a 34 per cent chance of contracting COVID-19," said Sharma.

The Johnson & Johnson approval is expected to accelerate Canada's vaccine rollout by adding another option to the previously-approved Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines. (A second version of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produces by the Serum Insititute of India also has been authorized.)

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is widely seen as one of the easiest to administer because it requires only one dose and can be stored for long periods of time at regular refrigerator temperatures of 2 C to 8 C.

**BillyCarpenter** · 03-05-2021

Prediction: Liberal states will be forced to drop restrictions or face a revolt. As we see more and more places open back up for business that's what gonna happen. Of course, they'll find some experts to back them up and claim it was their idea.

ARIZONA LIFTS OCCUPANCY RESTRICTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

Arizona is back in business, as Gov. Doug Ducey announced Friday it will reopen all establishments to 100 percent capacity.

“We’ve learned a lot over the past year,” Ducey said in a statement. “Our businesses have done an excellent job at responding to this pandemic in a safe and responsible way. We will always admire the sacrifice they and their employees have made and their vigilance to protect against the virus.”

Arizona joins Texas in lifting occupancy restrictions on everything from restaurants to gyms to movie theaters. Texas has also dumped its mask mandate.

Overall, fives states have either ended or will soon end mask mandates. Along with Texas, the list includes Mississippi, Iowa, Montana and North Dakota. Eleven states never required face coverings statewide — Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee.

Declining COVID-19 positivity rates and the growing availability of vaccines were among the reasons cited as “hope for the future” by Ducey.

“We withstood the calls from the extremes on both sides, and we will continue to ignore them,” he said. “We always knew that fighting this virus would be dependent on the personal responsibility of everyday Arizonans.”