In 2020, Robert Kuciemba, a woodworker in San Francisco was infected with covid by a co-worker after his Nevada-based Victory Woodworks transferred a number of sick workers to the San Francisco site for a few months. 

Through the proceedings of the case it turns out that the employer knew some employees might be sick but they transferred them anyway and ignored a San Francisco ordinance in place at the time to quarantine suspected covid cases.

Kuciemba was subsequently infected and he then infected his wife, who ended up in ICU on a ventilator.

The California Supreme Court just ruled against Kuciemba on the basis that a victory, while, in the court's words, "morally" the right thing to do, would create "dire financial consequences for employers" and cause a "dramatic expansion of liability" to stop the spread of covid.

There’s a few stunning details to note in this case. First, the court agreed that there is no doubt the company had ignored the San Francisco health ordinance. In other words, they accepted the company had broken the law. And then concluded “yeah, but, capitalism.”

Secondly, the case was so obviously important to the struggle between capitalism and mass infection that the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying organisation got involved and helped the company with its defence. Remember, this is a tiny company in a niche industry. The involvement of the biggest business lobbyists in the country tells us a lot about the importance of the principle they knew was at stake.

Thirdly, the defence of the company is very telling. They said “There is simply no limit to how wide the net will be cast: the wife who claims her husband caught COVID-19 from the supermarket checker, the husband who claims his wife caught it while visiting an elder care home." 

Well, exactly. Capitalism couldn’t survive if employers were liable for covid infections contracted in the workplace, and the ripple effect of those infections. And they know it. 

This case is something of a covid smoking gun, revealing what we always suspected but had never seen confirmed in so many words: the public health imperative of controlling a pandemic virus by making employers liable for some of that control is, and always must be, secondary to capitalist profit. 

This ruling is also saying out loud what has been obvious to anyone paying attention for the last two years: employers don’t have a responsibility to keep your family safe from covid. You have that responsibility. And if you give a family member covid that you caught at work and they get sick or die – even if it was a result of law-breaking by your employer – that’s on you buddy.

It is the same old capitalist story: the shunting of responsibility for ills that should be shared across society, including employers in that society, onto individuals.

This ruling essentially helps codify workplace mass infection and justifies it as necessary for the smooth functioning of capitalism.

This is not new. This is where the ‘just a cold’ and the ‘mild' narrative came from. It came from doctors and healthcare experts whose first loyalty was to capitalism. Not to public health. To money, not to lives. Abetted by media who uncritically platformed them.

While this ruling tells us little that we couldn’t already see from the public policy approach of the last two years, it is revealing (and to some extent validating) to see it confirmed by the highest law of the land in the United States. 

I'm still wearing my mask. And I keep a reusable mask in my purse in case I forget to refill my N95. "But Thom. The cloth masks don't work as well." Well, random reader that's so concerned for my health. A cloth mask is better than no mask.

Also, it's allergy season and the masks protect be from allergens. When my allergies get bad I'm more prone to infections.

-fae

Yikes. April 7, 2023:

"India has reported 6,050 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count in over six months, according to data from the Union health ministry. As of Friday, the total number of active cases had reached 28,303. On September 16, 2021, India reported 6,298 cases, which was the highest number of cases recorded in a single day...."

And yet, strangely, the rest of the article is mostly about vaccines. So far, the vaccines for COVID mostly make it less likely you'll have to go to the hospital. You get about 80% immunity after 2 weeks - but only for a month. After that it plummets to 30-40% immunity.

tl;dr

1. your immune system is not a muscle that needs exercise. getting sick more often wears down your immune system – this is why older people are more susceptible to illness, because their immune systems are worn out.

2. this “immunity debt” thing was made up by some rando in a 2021 article. it was speculation. there is no scientific evidence to back it up.

3. the microbes that live in your gut (friends! we love them!) are part of your immune system. best way to keep them healthy is to eat a varied diet and go outside sometimes. 

4. if we were going to get this “immunity debt” then it would have happened last year, when schools reopened, mask mandates were dropped, and most kids got covid last winter

5. covid can wipe out your immune system, destroying the immunities you’ve built up to various diseases. it’s like measles that way.

6. the likeliest scientific explanation for what’s going on: all those kids (and a lot of adults) caught covid, it wiped out their immune system, and now they’re catching dozens of other illnesses that they no longer have immunity against.

article dated 29 Nov 2022

What happened to this

(from March 2021). Why did we abandon working on this. Do you know how many people you can vaccinate in 10 minutes with this. How many more people would voluntarily show up. Fewer reactions. People could go home in 5 minutes and just continue there day. People like me like, not spending 45 minutes blacking out nauseous and eating everyone else's time. What happened to it.

(2 February 2021)

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

@allthecanadianpolitics

Some highlights with direct action:

There is no mystery to this approach. It means free N95 masks for the entire population and appropriate masks for children. It means installing proper ventilation and filtration (HEPA filters) in schools and workplaces, along with CO2 monitors. It means paid sick leave for the infected. It means transparent data collection and reporting so people can gauge the ever-changing risk in public spaces. And it means communicating the truth about this pandemic, which is by definition an evolving and novel emergency that requires our full attention.

[Japan, with a significantly more aged population than the rest of the world, managed Covid better] not with lockdowns, but by observing a real public health message on “the three Cs.” Avoid closed spaces with poor ventilation. Avoid crowded spaces. Avoid close contact settings with people.

And mask up.

hey everyone, great news! starting monday we're relaxing our don't-piss-in-the-pool requirements and no longer mandating that swimmers control their bladders while in the water. of course if you're more comfortable not pissing in the pool, you may continue to do so - everyone should make the pee decision that feels safest for them and their family. please respect everyone's choice about where to pee. thanks 😊

fantastic update, our restaurant has lifted its smoking ban and is now smoking-optional. you may continue to not smoke inside if you'd prefer, but we're excited to now offer our guests the freedom to make everyone else in this enclosed airspace inhale whatever particulates they'd like to release via combustion. if you have like some kind of health problem or whatever, you are totally welcome to choose not to smoke. we're very excited to be getting back to normal!

How Long Covid Exhausts the Body

Millions of people continue to suffer from exhaustion, cognitive problems and other long-lasting symptoms after a coronavirus infection. The exact causes of the illness, known as long Covid, are not known. But new research offers clues, describing the toll the illness takes on the body and why it can be so debilitating.

Diagnosing Long Covid

Patients with severe Covid may wind up in hospitals or on ventilators until their symptoms resolve. Damage to the body from severe Covid — pneumonia, low oxygen, inflammation — typically shows up on traditional diagnostic tests.

Long Covid is different: A chronic illness with a wide variety of symptoms, many of which are not explainable using conventional lab tests. Difficulties in detecting the illness have led some doctors to dismiss patients, or to misdiagnose their symptoms as psychosomatic. But researchers looking more deeply at long Covid patients have found visible dysfunction throughout the body.

Studies estimate that perhaps 10 to 30 percent of people infected with the coronavirus may develop long-term symptoms. It’s unclear why some people develop long Covid and others don’t, but four factors appear to increase the risk: high levels of viral RNA early during an infection, the presence of certain autoantibodies, the reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus and having Type 2 diabetes.

The Immune System

“Dang, why am I always so sick?”— Messiah Rodriguez, 17

Long Covid patients appear to have disrupted immune systems compared to post-Covid patients who fully recover. Many researchers believe chronic immune dysfunction after a coronavirus infection may set off a chain of symptoms throughout the body.

One possibility is that the body is still fighting remnants of the coronavirus. Researchers found that the virus spreads widely during an initial infection, and that viral genetic material can remain embedded in tissues — in the intestines, lymph nodes and elsewhere — for many months.

Figure: Coronavirus RNA is visible in different body tissues at 500x magnification. Daniel Chertow et al., preprint via Research Square

Ongoing studies are trying to determine if these viral reservoirs cause inflammation in surrounding tissues, which could lead to brain fog, gastrointestinal problems and other symptoms.

Figure: Coronavirus components persist in one patient’s small intestine, 92 days after the start of their Covid symptoms. Christian Gaebler et al., Nature

Researchers have also found evidence that Covid may trigger a lasting and damaging autoimmune response. Studies have found surprisingly high levels of autoantibodies, which mistakenly attack a patient’s own tissues, many months after an initial infection.

A third possibility is that the initial viral infection triggers chronic inflammation, possibly by reactivating other viruses in the patient’s body that are normally dormant. The reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus, which infects most people when they are young, might help predict whether a person will develop long Covid, one study found.

Inside the intricate world of the immune system, these explanations may coexist. And just as different long Covid patients may have different symptoms, they may also have different immune problems, too. Identifying the problems that are central to each patient’s illness will be critical for guiding treatment, said Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale.

For instance, a patient with autoantibodies might benefit from immunosuppressive medication, while a patient with remnants of the Covid virus should receive antivirals, Dr. Iwasaki said. “Depending on what each person has, the treatment would be quite different.”

The Circulatory System

“Something as simple as climbing on a ladder all of a sudden became a mountain.”— Eddie Palacios, 50

Many long Covid patients struggle with physical activity long after their initial infection, and experience a relapse of symptoms if they exercise. Initial studies suggest that dysfunction in the circulatory system might impair the flow of oxygen to muscles and other tissues, limiting aerobic capacity and causing severe fatigue.

In one study, patients with long-lasting Covid symptoms had unexpected responses to riding a bike. Despite having apparently normal hearts and lungs, their muscles were only able to extract a portion of the normal amount of oxygen from small blood vessels as they pedaled, markedly reducing their exercise capacity.

One possible culprit: Chronic inflammation may damage nerve fibers that help control circulation, a condition called small fiber neuropathy. The damaged fibers, seen in skin biopsies, are associated with dysautonomia, a malfunction of automatic functions like heart rate, breathing and digestion that is very common in long Covid patients.

Figure: Chronic inflammation in long Covid patients may damage small nerve fibers. Peter Novak et al., Annals of Neurology

These findings demonstrate that people with long Covid are suffering systemic physical problems, rather than just being anxious or out of shape, said Dr. David M. Systrom, an exercise physiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who helped conduct the bike study.

“You can’t make up small fiber neuropathy by skin biopsy. That isn’t in somebody’s head,” Dr. Systrom said. “You can’t make up poor oxygen extraction to this degree. All of these are objective measures of disease.”

South African researchers found another circulation problem: Microscopic blood clots. Tiny clots that form during an initial Covid infection will typically break down naturally, but might persist in long Covid patients. These clots could block the tiny capillaries that carry oxygen to tissues throughout the body.

Figure: Platelets in the blood can become hyperactivated in Covid and long Covid patients, contributing to microclots. Etheresia Pretorius et al., Cardiovascular Diabetology

Inflammatory substances called cytokines, which are often elevated in long Covid patients, may injure the mitochondria that power the body’s cells, making them less able to use oxygen. Walls of blood vessels may also become inflamed, limiting the uptake of oxygen.

Whatever the cause, low oxygen levels may contribute to long Covid’s most common symptom, severe fatigue. Some long Covid patients meet the criteria for ME/CFS (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), which often starts after a viral infection. Researchers have found that ME/CFS patients also suffer from a lack of oxygen triggered by circulatory problems. That puts enormous strain on the body’s metabolism and makes simple activities feel like strenuous exercise.

The Brain

“I approach a red light, my brain knows that it’s red, but it’s not reacting to the rest of my body to put my foot on the brake. Do you understand how terrifying that is?”— Samantha Lewis, 34

Even people with mild cases of Covid can experience sustained cognitive impairments, including reduced attention, memory and word-finding. Possible long-term neurological problems from Covid constitute “a major public health crisis,” according to Dr. Avindra Nath, the clinical director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Researchers found a wide range of dysfunction in the brains of long Covid patients. Although it is unclear how often the virus directly penetrates the brain, even mild infections appear to cause significant brain inflammation, according to the researchers, who included Dr. Nath, Dr. Iwasaki and Dr. Michelle Monje, a neurologist at Stanford.

Infections may trigger the over-activation of immune cells called microglia in a way that appears similar to the process that can contribute to cognitive problems in aging and some neurodegenerative diseases.

Figure: Microglia are activated in the brain of a Covid patient, contributing to brain inflammation. Anthony Fernández-Castañeda et al., preprint via bioRxiv. Photos: Myoung-Hwa Lee

Another research group found that long Covid may significantly reduce the amount of blood that reaches the brain, a finding that has was also seen in patients with a related chronic condition, ME/CFS, before the pandemic.

The Lungs

“I couldn’t breathe. It literally felt like someone was sitting on my chest.”— Angelica Baez, 23

Shortness of breath is a frequent symptom of long Covid. But common lung tests — including chest X-rays, CT scans and functional tests — often come back normal.

Using specialized M.R.I. scans, a team of British researchers found preliminary evidence of lung damage in a small group of long Covid patients who had never been hospitalized. Detailed scans of their lung function indicated that most of the patients took up oxygen less efficiently than healthy people did, even if the structure of their lungs appeared to be normal.

The researchers cautioned that a larger group of patients will be needed to confirm the findings. If the results hold up, possible explanations for the observed shortness of breath include microclots in lung tissues or a thickening of the blood-air barrier that regulates the uptake of oxygen in the lungs.

Living With Long Covid

“It’s really not something you can push through.”— Dr. Abigail Bosk

Many hospitals now offer post-Covid clinics or recovery programs, which bring together doctors with experience treating long Covid patients. Given the number of patients, some doctors and programs have long waits for appointments. It can help to plan ahead and try multiple options.

— Survivor Corps keeps a directory of post-Covid clinics.

— Dysautonomia International offers a list of doctors with experience treating autonomic disorders commonly seen in long Covid.

— Body Politic hosts a Covid support group where thousands of long haulers share information and advice on Slack.

— The Long Covid Support Group hosts a community on Facebook.

— The Royal College of Occupational Therapists offers advice for managing post-Covid fatigue.

— An essay from Maria Farrell offers advice on how to get well, and the importance of making time to rest.

— ME Action, a group supporting people with ME/CFS, offers advice to long Covid patients on how to manage symptoms.

— Americans with long Covid may qualify for disability benefits, although without conclusive medical results, many people face roadblocks.

— Three leading researchers into long Covid often share information about the latest findings on Twitter: Dr. Amy Proal, a microbiologist at PolyBio Research Institute; Dr. David Putrino, the director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System; and Dr. Iwasaki, the Yale immunologist.

— Health Rising covers the latest research into long Covid, ME/CFS and other chronic illnesses in detail.

— Gez Medinger, a video producer, interviews some prominent researchers into long Covid on YouTube.

— A video interview with Dr. Svetlana Blitshteyn, a neurologist and the director of the Dysautonomia Clinic, offers advice for treatment and an overview of current research into autonomic disorders.

— A detailed guide to understanding, treating and living with orthostatic intolerance is available from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Source: by Josh Keller (The New York Times). Illustration by Violet Frances for Bryan Christie Design. Produced by Jonathan Corum. Additional reporting by Pam Belluck and Amanda Morris. 

Amazing, that the west that accused China of ‘vaccine diplomacy’ for… donating vaccines to poor countries, is the same one doing this. Honestly, sickening.

This isn’t helping this isn’t helping we are gonna die if this goes further for the love of everything holy what the fuck

I see a few in the notes going at this from a “This is morally abhorrent” angle, or pointing out the severe consequences Bangladesh could suffer if they did publicly condemn Russia.

But as Red up there alludes to: shipping COVID-19 vaccines is not an act of charity you do for countries and populations you like.

Ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines get to every corner of the planet in as high a quantity as possible is something that, after two years of Hell, you do out of self-interest in a desperate attempt to prevent the next virus mutation.

This is idiotic.

Bangladesh shares a border with India.

India is one of the most densely populated regions in the world.

India was RAVAGED by COVID at its peak.

India was THE international transmission hotspot in the early days of the pandemic.

Plague Inc. strategists even agreed India was the best starting point for an infection because of how quickly you can infect the world from there. Long before COVID was even a thing.

On a scale of 1 to fucked how bad this decision is, I’d say it’s about an orgy.

Take it from the biochemist who used to work with vaccines:

1. Some vaccines will keep you from getting sick: measles, mumps, rubella, etc.

2. Some vaccines won't keep you from getting sick, but it will keep you from dying: COVID, flu, etc.

3. Some people can't get vaccines, or vaccines don't work for them. They are a tiny percentage of the population.

4. Side effects from vaccines are normal.

5. mRNA vaccine technology has been around for 20 years. It's not *that* new.

6. Vaccine cards have been around for a very long time. You'd know that if you traveled to certain countries, or looked it up on Google.

7. I'm getting tired of saying all this stuff to people. At this point, I don't give a flying fuck what you believe, grow the fuck up and just get your fucking vaccine and/or booster shot. But if you insist on being a selfish asshole, stay the fuck away from me.

#also this shouldn't need pointed out but I'll say it anyway: the vaccines are *working*#I've worked in multiple Care of the Elderly wards in the past few months where there have been covid outbreaks#but because most of the patients are fully vaccinated only a small percentage have needed oxygen and even fewer have died#and these aren't young healthy patients - these are people who are often frail with multiple co-morbidities#and they're surviving at a much higher rate than they would have pre-vaccines#one of my consultants even said that when similar outbreaks happened in 2020 they would expect up to 50% of patients to die#in short: get the vaccine if you haven't already#it's such a minor inconvenience to get done and it has saved countless lives already important insights from @glorious-blackout!

Listen... morally, I understand this. I get it. Everyone's tired and fed up, and the weight of a statistic like '10% of the province is unvaccinated but takes up 50% of the hospital beds' is huge. Absolutely get your vaccine as soon as possible, and absolutely encourage others to. But legally, ethically, this has got to be a grey area at best (and Quebec isn't known for always passing... the most legal/ethical bills).

Surely there's a different way? As the article points out, vaccination passports aren't required yet, vaccines aren't even mandated. As some people pointed out, what happens of other diseases? Sure, you could tax products like cigarettes and alcohol; we already do, as does most of the world (sugar tax comes to mind too), but there isn't a purchased product linked to a cause being taxed here. It's the absence of one. Medically, it also kind of brings up a question of 'when can you say for sure that something was preventable or not?'

Also, tax is filed in April, it's January now. The last time the government (federal, admittedly) said that something would happen 'in the next few days', it didn't. (Ottawa said all flight passengers entering Canada would begin to be tested in the coming days in late November. I returned home this week, test-less.) 'In the coming weeks' could well mean that this tax affects people's tax for 2022, filed in 2023. That means this legal gymnastic exercise won't have an impact at the time it's needed, which is now. This doesn't keep the hospital beds from filling up.

Mandates work. We even know they've worked in Alberta, where people went and got vaccinated when they realised they kinda had to. Don't make it a money thing, the last thing you want is more stress and a financial barrier caused by Covid.

Anyhow, this doesn't look like it'll pass/hang around for too long if it comes into effect at all. What it might well do is divert governmental resources when they could be better used for crucial Covid-related things. The numbers aren't going down, not in Quebec.

There you are, here's a solution literally also from today!

(Edit: found a more in-depth report, link edited)

Some additional considerations:

1. Quebec won't be the first to charge the unvaccinated. It might be the first to term it a 'tax', which is where they will have problems. Austria and Greece are starting to impose fines on the unvaccinated: Austria's being as high as €3600 every four months for anyone over 14 not vaccinated. (Greece's is more limited: it only applies to those over the age of 65). It is important to note here, Austria's proposal makes accommodations for pregnant people and those who medically cannot be vaccinated.

2. Singapore, with universal healthcare, will now bill unvaccinated patients for their hospital stays. (In effect since 8 December) Here too, there are provisions for those with medical conditions preventing them from getting vaccinated.

Listen... morally, I understand this. I get it. Everyone's tired and fed up, and the weight of a statistic like '10% of the province is unvaccinated but takes up 50% of the hospital beds' is huge. Absolutely get your vaccine as soon as possible, and absolutely encourage others to. But legally, ethically, this has got to be a grey area at best (and Quebec isn't known for always passing... the most legal/ethical bills).

Surely there's a different way? As the article points out, vaccination passports aren't required yet, vaccines aren't even mandated. As some people pointed out, what happens of other diseases? Sure, you could tax products like cigarettes and alcohol; we already do, as does most of the world (sugar tax comes to mind too), but there isn't a purchased product linked to a cause being taxed here. It's the absence of one. Medically, it also kind of brings up a question of 'when can you say for sure that something was preventable or not?'

Also, tax is filed in April, it's January now. The last time the government (federal, admittedly) said that something would happen 'in the next few days', it didn't. (Ottawa said all flight passengers entering Canada would begin to be tested in the coming days in late November. I returned home this week, test-less.) 'In the coming weeks' could well mean that this tax affects people's tax for 2022, filed in 2023. That means this legal gymnastic exercise won't have an impact at the time it's needed, which is now. This doesn't keep the hospital beds from filling up.

Mandates work. We even know they've worked in Alberta, where people went and got vaccinated when they realised they kinda had to. Don't make it a money thing, the last thing you want is more stress and a financial barrier caused by Covid.

Anyhow, this doesn't look like it'll pass/hang around for too long if it comes into effect at all. What it might well do is divert governmental resources when they could be better used for crucial Covid-related things. The numbers aren't going down, not in Quebec.

There you are, here's a solution literally also from today!

(Edit: found a more in-depth report, link edited)

This is too accurate.

hey, it’s covid gothic!

You can't be too careful. Covid is very dangerous and cases are spiking, which is why we've cut quarantine time to a ridiculously short period and employers want you back to work ASAP even if you're still contagious

If you’re vaccinated, quarantine for five days. If you’re not, 10 days. Omicron can infect vaccinated people! You can show a negative COVID test or a positive test from the last 180 days. Remember though, omicron can reinfect people! We need you to test on arrival to ensure contact tracing can be carried out. But not if you’re coming from the United States, of course, because it’s not like there are cases or surges or any such things happening there. Please don’t quarantine either. Rapid tests might be a bit inaccurate. If a rapid test is positive, don’t go for a molecular test! Assume it’s COVID and isolate. (this I do slightly sympathise with though, we’re running low on tests) Your close contacts don’t need to isolate or ever think about it though. Have fun this January!