scenario's

Littlesmile the DIY-at home testing often expects you to go for nasal swabs...the "official testing sites" (at least here in NL) take nose/throat swabs...for PCR-testing.

Real number of deaths may be "easier" to make realistic estimates on-compared to the Spanish Flu deaths...We have now better basic civil administration to start with in most countries. Some countries do have a problem there...NOT having a basic administration on births and deaths is making realistic numbers much harder...

Then you have to agree on what is a "CoViD-death" (UK/Russia only count those dying within 4 weeks of a positive test...not that realistic...). 

[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ has cases/deaths per million, per country....

India still claiming 344 deaths per million-while global average is more then twice that number at 700.5 (deaths per million=dpm). Peru has 6,023 dpm...(=0,6% of Peru population died from CoViD)...So if you would take India population 1,400 million and go for 0,6% of that you end up with 8,4 million India deaths...very likely much more realistic then the almost 482,000 India has as official deaths...

[url]https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-estimates[/url] or https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-estimates goes in between 11 and 22 million per january 3...The WHO itself [url]https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-true-death-toll-of-covid-19-estimating-global-excess-mortality[/url] or https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-true-death-toll-of-covid-19-estimating-global-excess-mortality ;

A recent assessment of health information systems capacity in 133 countries found that the percentage of registered deaths ranged from 98% in the European region to only 10% in the African region.

Countries also use different processes to test and report COVID-19 deaths, making comparisons difficult. To overcome these challenges, many countries have turned to excess mortality as a more accurate measure of the true impact of the pandemic.

Excess mortality is defined as the difference in the total number of deaths in a crisis compared to those expected under normal conditions. COVID-19 excess mortality accounts for both the total number of deaths directly attributed to the virus as well as the indirect impact, such as disruption to essential health services or travel disruptions.

DJ I did read somewhere WHO goes for 2x to 3x the official reported number of CoViD deaths-now at around 5,5 million-so between 11 and 16,5 million...same range as the Economist ends up with...

If you would go for a "maximum realistic number-highest range" maybe 0,6% of a global population put at 8 billion could give the maximum-so around 48 million ? 

But "death" is clearly defined...at least better then "long CoViD" or "case"...[url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/europe/uk/uk-nearly-2-4-million-people-have-symptomatic-covid/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/europe/uk/uk-nearly-2-4-million-people-have-symptomatic-covid/ via ZOE-tracker-self reporting...[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/ even goes for 2,6 million active UK cases january 2...

[url]https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-kingdom?view=social-distancing&tab=trend[/url] or https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-kingdom?view=social-distancing&tab=trend putting UK deaths at 200,000 april/may this year...

[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ puts active cases now at 30,6 million.

When you go for highest number of cases per million you end up with Andorra-30% of its population testing positive at least once...(Iran, Brazil etc. studies indicate people can catch CoViD several times...) So if you go for 20% of global 8 billion you end up at 1,6 billion global cases this far...if you go for 30% you may see 2,4 billion....

The Spanish Flu may have killed between 2 and 5% of the global population-time range wide between 1917 and 1923, more narrow 1918-1919...The Plague and Roman-time pandemics very likely killing over 30% of the known global population...But there have been civilizations we found traces of-but somehow disappeared...unclear due to what causes...so disease could have ended those civilizations...

The Romans had five expeditions into sub-saharan Africa...one of them may have reached Lake Victoria...but may also have had contact with Ebola...[url]https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/solving-the-mystery-of-an-ancient-roman-plague/543528/[/url] or https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/solving-the-mystery-of-an-ancient-roman-plague/543528/ ...

Disease did play a role in ending the Roman Empire [url]https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/plagues-roman-empire/473862/[/url] or https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/plagues-roman-empire/473862/ but-as always in history-it is a mega-mix of factors...

If one claims diseases as a main factor how can it be invading German tribes did not catch the disease that much it also would stop them ? 

Pandemics and/in history...endless stories !

DJ...

A "light start" ...[url]https://www.rt.com/news/545068-cia-world-war-ii-mistake-nazis/[/url] or https://www.rt.com/news/545068-cia-world-war-ii-mistake-nazis/ ; 

In one of the most successful disinformation campaigns of World War II, the Nazis convinced Western powers they were amassing weapons and 100,000 soldiers in the Austro-Bavarian Alps to stage a last stand for survival.

Boghardt told The Guardian it wasn’t the Nazis who were responsible for the myth’s success, but actually a mistake by Allen Dulles, who later became head of the CIA and oversaw the Bay of Pigs disaster.

-

 Another successful myth saw Field Marshal Montgomery, one of Britain’s highest-ranking military figures, arrested by the Americans after the Germans convinced them someone was seeking to impersonate him.

DJ "Information-wars".....

-Numbers [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table  global reported cases 1,334,347 +77% ! deaths "only" 4,421 -6%...(several hours later numbers changed, correction ? 1,368,400 cases/4,520 deaths).

Of those cases Europe had 593,604 +76%, 2,358 deaths -6%...so getting under 50% of global cases, just over 50% of global deaths...epicenter shifting away from Europe...North America did see 455,137 cases +81%, just 789 deaths -2% but these are still reflecting sunday numbers being reported monday...for most of the globe based on 00.00 hrs-00.00 hrs GMT (so UK Time).

South America "only" reporting 79,005 cases- weekly trend there is +162% !!! Former NL Suriname cases +636% ! Argentina cases +204%, Brazil +93%...

Asia may be "doing well" with "just"144,,481 cases being reported +62%, 775 deaths -15%....we all know these numbers are very major underreported..

India cases +238%, deaths still -24%...Israel-with very active healthcare-cases +239%, deaths -29%...

The "discussion/story" on Omicron "mild" is doing a lot of damage...It is NOT mild at all for older people and children ! For young age it is just as bad as Delta ! Most of the reported Omicron cases were of the BA.1 subvariant while a.o. India, Denmark see BA.2 increasing...Also most of the northern part of the globe is in winter, age/population much more different then that of South(ern) Africa...Healthcare in many places allready at breaking point, testing capacity often failing...[url]https://nltimes.nl/2022/01/03/schools-reopen-schedule-winter-break-higher-education-still-closed[/url] or https://nltimes.nl/2022/01/03/schools-reopen-schedule-winter-break-higher-education-still-closed  lots of experts warn reopening most schools per january 10 is unwise...ventilation a major problem....NL cases allready +23%, deaths +8%...

DJ-I can not help but notice a sense of despair in a lot of what I read on twitter...repeating mistakes over and over, ignoring science over and over, "media" giving "balanced views" in discussions between scientists and fools...."Reopening schools a succes" , "you can not keep things closed forever"....forgetting the reason why "we limited contacts"....

"You can not fix stupid" eventhough "stupid shall kill us all".....What is totally missing is knowing what pandemics did in human history...[url]https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/plagues-roman-empire/473862/[/url] or https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/plagues-roman-empire/473862/ . The idea that that kind of history can not repeat itself...learning the very, very hard way...virusses are beating us in this "war of the worlds" but "we" simply do not want to see it...very frustrating !

[url]https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues[/url] or https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues with new Delta subvariant AY.23 Indonesia, BA.2 Omicron ; Only 2 sequences so far both from Indian travelers to Singapore but most of the shared mutations with BA.1 appear to be in the spike NTD between codons 69-212 with the exception of S:T95I so perhaps it is a recombinant or something else. Almost all of the mutations of BA.2 are shared. The sequences also share ORF1a:SL2083I with BA.1 outside of the S gene.

But what can go wrong...So there are 18 sequences uploaded on Jan. 2nd 2022 from Indonesia that seem like potential candidate of the second generation Delta. They are still too new to be visible on either Neherlab or Cov-spectrum, but I believe it's worth monitoring from now on.

Delta is NOT gone at all ! Omicron BA.1 may be just the first wave....[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-booster-efficacy-questioned-helsinki-study-shows-only-minimal-nab-titers-against-omicron-among-the-elderly-following-booster-shot[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-booster-efficacy-questioned-helsinki-study-shows-only-minimal-nab-titers-against-omicron-among-the-elderly-following-booster-shot  Ignoring studies indicating there is a limit to what (present) boosters/vaccines can bring...variants mutate around immunity high speed... STOP THE SPREAD.... but nobody seems to listen...

[url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/science/variants/omicron/preprint-omicron-now-binds-to-mouse-ace2/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/science/variants/omicron/preprint-omicron-now-binds-to-mouse-ace2/ just as a reminder of this pandemic moving into other species, trillions of non-human hosts....IT IS NOT A FLU !!!!!

Since the global CDC to NBC keep doing a bad job ; [url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/health/testing/rapid-lft-antigen-tests-swab-your-throat-as-well-as-your-nose/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/health/testing/rapid-lft-antigen-tests-swab-your-throat-as-well-as-your-nose/  you may not be able to detect Omicron in your nose....test your throat as well !  Why this news has to go via alternative media/twitter ????

-US politics go for what they promised, Democrats want war with Russia, Republicans war with China....and Israel wants the US to do the war against Iran...[url]https://community.defconwarningsystem.com/forums/military-events.6/[/url] or https://community.defconwarningsystem.com/forums/military-events.6/ ....

End of part 1...No further news on B.1.640.2 variant...some of the sequencing may only start next week ? A lancet study on Omicron in Gauteng-South Africa misused as a "claim" Omicron would not bring serious problems for Europe, the America's, Asia....while the study only describes the SA outbreak...

[url]https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220104-france-s-daily-covid-19-cases-top-270-000[/url] or https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220104-france-s-daily-covid-19-cases-top-270-000 ;

French health authorities on Tuesday said they had registered 271,686 new Covid-19 infections, the highest recorded to date, confirming France's position as Europe's hardest-hit country as the Omicron wave sweeps across the continent.

DJ Vaccine passports do NOT stop the spread...[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table reporting UK 218,724 new cases...

On B.1.640.2 [url]https://www.thenationalnews.com/coronavirus/2022/01/04/covid-19-what-is-the-b16402-variant-first-discovered-in-france/[/url] or https://www.thenationalnews.com/coronavirus/2022/01/04/covid-19-what-is-the-b16402-variant-first-discovered-in-france/ ;

Experts have played down fears about a relatively new coronavirus variant first detected in France and linked to travel to Cameroon.

Researchers at the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille posted their as yet not peer reviewed findings on December 29, on the website medRxiv. They detailed 12 infections in the same geographical area of south-eastern France from the variant tentatively identified as B.1.640.2.

-

A website called Thailand Medical had claimed that there had been 952 cases of B.1.640.2 as of January 1, without offering verifiable evidence.

According to Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, the discovery of B.1.640.2 predates that of the Omicron variant by several weeks. He said the first published report on B.1.640.2 by researchers was on November 4.

DJ Point is French Public Health did give a warning for it december 31...[url]https://twitter.com/peacockflu[/url] or https://twitter.com/peacockflu ;

So where did Thailand Medical News get the allmost 1,000 samples per january 3 from ? French database ? Somehow not getting more into the news ? 

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/study-shows-that-melatonin-based-drugs-inhibit-sars-cov-2-entry-into-the-brain-and-prevent-damage-of-cerebral-vessels-might-be-good-for-long-covid[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/study-shows-that-melatonin-based-drugs-inhibit-sars-cov-2-entry-into-the-brain-and-prevent-damage-of-cerebral-vessels-might-be-good-for-long-covid another interesting study on melatonin...

[url]https://twitter.com/ShaunLintern/status/1478379407882559493/photo/1[/url] or https://twitter.com/ShaunLintern/status/1478379407882559493/photo/1 London-UK in short...

Also confirmed: 

 has declared a critical incident due to high demand, staff absences and "rapidly rising rates of Covid-19" leading to increased admissions #livingwithcovid

DJ [url]https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-kingdom?view=infections-testing&tab=trend&test=infections[/url] or https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-kingdom?view=infections-testing&tab=trend&test=infections trying to look into nearby weeks for the UK...

DJ Simply crazy numbers allmost 0,5% of all Greeks testing positive on one day...(maybe some delays in reporting...still crazy !)

And Omicron is still spreading-so mutating-like "crazy"....[url]https://outbreak.info/location-reports?loc=IND[/url] or https://outbreak.info/location-reports?loc=IND ; BA.2 now 1% of cases in India...BA.1 5% over last 60 days...[url]https://outbreak.info/situation-reports?pango=BA.2&loc=IND&selected=Worldwide&overlay=false[/url] or https://outbreak.info/situation-reports?pango=BA.2&loc=IND&selected=Worldwide&overlay=false 7% of India cases december 24.

DJ, 

Numbers [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table ;

New reported cases-in part no doubt delayed reporting; 2,150,463 weekly trend +82% !!! Deaths as far as reported as CoViD deaths 7,190 trend -3%. 

No doubt most of the new cases will be Omicron-a lot BA.1, an increasing number BA.2-the worser type...still lots of Delta subvariants-some of the subvariants very likely to increase. B.1.640.2 also very likely...again people/non human hosts may carry more then one variant...The CoViD-family now has several family members different enough from eachother to coexist...

We lack testing/sequencing capacity...in fact may hardly know what is hitting us...

"Media-Experts-Politics" "the show must go on" still in denial of how bad this pandemic is getting...Danish numbers Omicron cases 2/3 of Delta cases ending up in hospital, UK study claiming only 1/3 "so it is mild"....and yes...vaccinated/booster does decrease chances of ending up at a ventilator/ICU or dead...Boosters offer 75% protection for a short time-dropping to 40% after 10 weeks-against symptromatic infection....some studies suggest...I would have to look it up...for the bigger picture I simply do not care for that kind of studies... variants are now developing that fast those studies are "old and outdated" by the time they are presented...

Variants are getting better and better in evading immunity...we can NOT !!!!! vaccinate ourselves out of this pandemic !!!

That was known at the start of this pandemic-when one does look at corona viral disease in animals...Culling /killing all the animals in an infected area as-often-the only solution. Still "we" went for herd immunity...now going for herd-immunity with vaccines...no long term strategy...even the best experts with decades of study/experience now facing questions they could not even dream of in their worst nightmares..

We simply do NOT have ANY experts for this kind of crisis...we have very good epidemiologists, virologists, but they have never faced this kind of outbreaks...

We need leaders that can unite the people-not further divide them like Macron in France [url]https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220105-macron-says-he-wants-to-piss-off-france-s-unvaccinated[/url] or https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220105-macron-says-he-wants-to-piss-off-france-s-unvaccinated France 90% of 18+ allready is vaccinated ! ...Germany is splitting up again with major protests in the former East Germany every monday evening against mandatory vaccinations...In NL -I am very sorry to say-police is getting unable-in part due to spending cuts-to deal with protests in a correct manner...

So numbers; 

Europe reporting 1,092,014 new cases-weekly trend +72%, deaths 3,236 trend -4% ...when you look at UK numbers-going for "natural & booster immunity (also in children) cases 218,724, trend +52%, deaths (as far as reported as CoViD deaths) only 48..trend however +52% last week UK reported 599 Covid deaths, last 7 days it grew to 909...allmost 130 per day...

North America reported 634,528 new cases-most of them in the US..trend +99% (US +100%) deaths 1,962 trend +1% (US +2%).

In South America Argentina reported 81,210 new cases...South America trend for cases +156%, deaths "only still" +4%..

Asia-home to 4 billion+ people...India underreporting 58,097 new cases..Asia trend for cases +75%...India trend +316% !!! Asia deaths still -11%, India -14%....

Israel cases +215%, Philippines +1,512% for cases...China cases +33%....sticking to Zero Covid will be very hard-with winter olympics on its way...even with very much restrictions...

Oceania then...cases +248%, deaths +47%...51 deaths last week, 75 this last 7 days...Australia cases +250%, deaths +44%...New Zealand cases +8%, deaths just 1 for each week...so 0% change. 

To finish this list Africa...cases +6%, deaths +27%...South Africa cases -36%, deaths however +63% (last week 366, this week 597), Zimbabwe-also hit very hard at the start of Omicron, cases still +4%, deaths +14% with limited testing...Some "experts" being very fast in their claims South Africa Omicron data showed "it was only mild" nonsense...you can only make claims after at least 4 weeks after cases going up...long term issues is even another matter...most "Media-Experts-Politcs" simply ignore long CoViD...part of the strategy to do so is by not having a clear definition to start with...

A look at variants with [url]https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues/393[/url] or https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues/393 ; So there are 18 sequences uploaded on Jan. 2nd 2022 from Indonesia that seem like potential candidate of the second generation Delta. They are still too new to be visible on either Neherlab or Cov-spectrum, but I believe it's worth monitoring from now on.

Substitutions on top of AY.23:

DJ 23 mutations on top of the AY.23 Delta sub-variant...I would have to look for how many mutations AY.23 itself did show (and compared to what ?) ...I do not have the knowledge for that...but is this Indonesia Delta subvariant not getting also close to being a new kind of CoViD-virus ? Indonesia cases only +25% ? 

End of part 2...part 3 flutrackers etc. 

part 4A, twitter; tech-problem due to twitter ?)

Double Individual Speculator

@x2IndSpeculator

·

12 u

Here's the main problem for ICUs. The 70+ cohort was at 1/3 of its admissions per 100k peak just two weeks ago & they are at 68% now. While younger broke their records previously, it's the 70+ group that's the most vulnerable; #SARS2 seems to have just reached them in this wave.

DJ-I am starting to hate "it is only mild" non-sense ! Omicron-in fact-just started ! Lots of indications Omicron and young children results in very high spread and record number of children ending up in hospital...even with schools still closed in many places....From a pandemic view a million+ cases per day is a total disaster ! 

Just a reminder most cases/deaths never have seen any testing at all ! Some "experts" still sticking to "Omicron ending this pandemic-mild"claims...we are running out of hospital staff...worldwide that is ! We are running out of testing capacity...forget about testing in animals, sequencing...

Guy Marks

@Marks1Guy

·

20 u

Compared to the other variants, Omicron is less trophic for the lower respiratory tract and therefore less prone to cause pneumonitis. This probably explains the lower case-fatality and case-ventilation rates. However, the expectation that somehow Omicron variant will

Guy Marks

@Marks1Guy

·

20 u

bring an end to the pandemic by harmlessly inducing so-called herd immunity is, IMHO, dangerous magical and wishful thinking, for three reasons. 1. Omicron is causing severe consequences in some people, particularly, those who are vulnerable. With very high case numbers,

even relatively uncommon bad outcomes (death or permanent disability) will occur in large numbers. 2. There is no evidence that natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to sustain protection against re-infection. Hence, protective herd immunity cannot be achieved by "letting it rip". 3. Variants arise due to massive (uncontrolled) transmission events. This is how each of the previous variants of concern have arisen. The rate of transmission in many countries right now (including Australia) makes it very likely that new variants will arise.

A lot of sense and realism ! 

-

Guy Marks

@Marks1Guy

·

20 u

Clearly the backbone of the response needs to be effective, equitable and acceptable vaccination: sufficient to achieve high levels of neutralising antibodies in most (> 90%) of the population. Some slippage in either effectiveness (level of neutralising antibodies) or coverage(eg due to refusal) can probably be accommodated by implementation of additional measures to reduce airborne transmission: universal use of well-fitted N95 masks indoors, effective ventilation and filtration of indoor environments, and TTIQ. This "vaccine plus" strategy is

Guy Marks

@Marks1Guy

·

21 u

feasible and can achieve Reff < 1.0. We need international cooperation at the highest level to achieve this, simultaneously, across the planet. This is our only way out. We've tried magical thinking - its not working. We now need to do the hard work. 

@theunion_tblh

 

@RealOzSAGE

Why this has to go via twitter ? (Good link to page with advice how to keep CoViD out...)

Twitter copy problems 

DJ Lots of info going on twitter but putting it here is a problem...

[url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/health/diet/vegetarian-diet-may-provide-more-protection-against-severe-covid-than-triple-vaccination/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/health/diet/vegetarian-diet-may-provide-more-protection-against-severe-covid-than-triple-vaccination/ ;

After adjusting for important confounders, participants who reported following plant-based diets had a 73% lower odds of moderate Covid, and those following plant-based or pescatarian diets had 59% lower odds of severe Covid.

Results: There were 568 COVID-19 cases and 2316 controls. Among the 568 cases, 138 individuals had moderate-to-severe COVID-19 severity whereas 430 individuals had very mild to mild COVID-19 severity. After adjusting for important confounders, participants who reported following ‘plant-based diets’ and ‘plant-based diets or pescatarian diets’ had 73% (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.81) and 59% (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.99) lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 severity, respectively, compared with participants who did not follow these diets. Compared with participants who reported following ‘plant-based diets’, those who reported following ‘low carbohydrate, high protein diets’ had greater odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 3.86, 95% CI 1.13 to 13.24). No association was observed between self-reported diets and COVID-19 infection or duration.

Conclusion In six countries, plant-based diets or pescatarian diets were associated with lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19. These dietary patterns may be considered for protection against severe COVID-19*.

* Actually, the protective effect of not eating meat may be greater than the protective effect of being triple vaccinated if you consider the recent revelations from the UKHSA 

Part of this pandemic story is virusses jumping from animals into humans...Less meat consumption would decrease both pandemic risks AND climate change ! 

[url]https://nltimes.nl/2022/01/05/smaller-class-size-better-ventilation-needed-keep-schools-open-lockdowns[/url] or https://nltimes.nl/2022/01/05/smaller-class-size-better-ventilation-needed-keep-schools-open-lockdowns ; 

The Youth Perspective Platform, a committee from the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau, said that schools could continue to remain open even during a lockdown if schools switch to teaching children in smaller groups.

Director of the committee, Kim Putters, told the Trouw that students should always be able to go to school to benefit children's educational progress.

According to the committee, teachers need to work in smaller groups to open safely. Smaller groups are safer and allow teachers to focus more on each student individually. "You can maintain social distance better and better look at the individual needs of the pupils,"  the Youth Perspective Platform said.

School buildings would also require improved ventilation. "The importance of space, ventilation and general hygiene is obvious, as aerosols play an important role in the transmission of coronavirus. Therefore, good ventilation or air filtering is essential for a safe school environment," the committee wrote.

Schools and municipalities have to carry 70 percent of the costs to improve ventilation. The government pays the remaining 30 percent. Some schools have been unable to afford new ventilation systems. The committee wanted the government to increase financial support to remodel schools. "Remove the obstacles as quickly as possible so that school buildings and classrooms become Covid proof and the ventilation backlog is caught up," the committee said

DJ We have to things in a more clever way ! Mix work/study from home and at school/workplace better...

End of part 4C? 

[url]https://www.rt.com/russia/545250-kazakhstan-protests-csto-military-help/[/url] or https://www.rt.com/russia/545250-kazakhstan-protests-csto-military-help/ ; The Kazakh president has asked the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help amid violent unrest gripping the nation, claiming that “terrorists” were overrunning strategic facilities across the country.

These highly organized “terrorists” had been trained abroad, Tokayev alleged.

DJ Kazakhstan is in between Russia-China-Iran....[url]https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/u-s-e-u-can-t-grab-ukraine-without-a-fight-so-they-re-overthrowing-government-of-kazakhstan[/url] or https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/u-s-e-u-can-t-grab-ukraine-without-a-fight-so-they-re-overthrowing-government-of-kazakhstan 

"Unrest" organized by the west ? Russia and China will act...Forget about international cooperation on a worsening pandemic...

-[url]https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220105-france-reports-new-record-of-more-than-332-000-new-covid-19-cases-in-24-hours[/url] or https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220105-france-reports-new-record-of-more-than-332-000-new-covid-19-cases-in-24-hours ; 

France registered a record of more than 332,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the number of deaths also rose as the country battles a fifth wave of the virus.

DJ Elections in France on their way...[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table global cases will-again-go over the 2 million...UK reporting 194,747 new cases...

Since there is an overload of info-limited time-part 2 just some headlines;

[url]https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2021/12/articles/animals/other-animals/covid-in-animals-review-updated-part-7-cattle/[/url] or https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2021/12/articles/animals/other-animals/covid-in-animals-review-updated-part-7-cattle/ ...basic story...like with horses, pigs etc. finding out they can catch CoViD-variants will cost a lot of money...so lots of people not willing to do that much research on it...

DJ [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_coronavirus[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_coronavirus ; Bovine coronavirus (BCV^[2] or BCoV^[3]) is a coronavirus which is a member of the species Betacoronavirus 1.^[4][5] The infecting virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus 

I believed some link it with the 1890 Russian "flu"...[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2 ; SARS‑CoV‑2 is a virus of the species severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV).^[2] It is believed to have zoonotic origins and has close genetic similarity to bat coronaviruses, suggesting it emerged from a bat-borne virus.^[9][17] Research is ongoing as to whether SARS‑CoV‑2 came directly from bats or indirectly through any intermediate hosts.^[18] The virus shows little genetic diversity, indicating that the spillover event introducing SARS‑CoV‑2 to humans is likely to have occurred in late 2019.^[19]

and [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus#Origin[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus#Origin ; The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all coronaviruses is estimated to have existed as recently as 8000 BCE, although some models place the common ancestor as far back as 55 million years or more, implying long term coevolution with bat and avian species.^[72] The most recent common ancestor of the alphacoronavirus line has been placed at about 2400 BCE, of the betacoronavirus line at 3300 BCE, of the gammacoronavirus line at 2800 BCE, and the deltacoronavirus line at about 3000 BCE. Bats and birds, as warm-blooded flying vertebrates, are an ideal natural reservoir for the coronavirus gene pool (with bats the reservoir for alphacoronaviruses and betacoronavirus – and birds the reservoir for gammacoronaviruses and deltacoronaviruses). The large number and global range of bat and avian species that host viruses have enabled extensive evolution and dissemination of coronaviruses.^[73]

^-

^{Unlike other betacoronaviruses, bovine coronavirus of the species Betacoronavirus 1 and subgenus Embecovirus is thought to have originated in rodents and not in bats.[74][83] In the 1790s, equine coronavirus diverged from the bovine coronavirus after a cross-species jump.[84] Later in the 1890s, human coronavirus OC43 diverged from bovine coronavirus after another cross-species spillover event.[85][84] It is speculated that the flu pandemic of 1890 may have been caused by this spillover event, and not by the influenza virus, because of the related timing, neurological symptoms, and unknown causative agent of the pandemic.[86] Besides causing respiratory infections, human coronavirus OC43 is also suspected of playing a role in neurological diseases.[87] In the 1950s, the human coronavirus OC43 began to diverge into its present genotypes.[88] Phylogenetically, mouse hepatitis virus (Murine coronavirus), which infects the mouse's liver and central nervous system,[89] is related to human coronavirus OC43 and bovine coronavirus. Human coronavirus HKU1, like the aforementioned viruses, also has its origins in rodents.[74]}

^-

^{The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with approximately 70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV.[123] The virus has a 96% similarity to a bat coronavirus, so it is widely suspected to originate from bats as well.[124][125]}

DJ  Corona-virus come in many different forms...Omicron may have some mouse-influences...that does not mean it would spread more easy into farmanimals...More detections of infections in (zoo) animals may be related to more testing of (zoo) animals...also US/Canada deer (limited economic value in old way of thinking) showing more of the "old-Wuhan wild type" infection/spread (but maybe not getting them very ill...). 

Pets would be group three of animals, ferrets are ideal for CoViD...mink-like...but cats and dogs-so far-seem not to show yet an increase of cases...no doubt Wormsandgermsblog will try to keep an eye on it...but it would also be major news...

However it is a very serious risk ! Would effect food/dairy production...Birds see lots of bird-flu cases...record levels...a risk on its own, may increase the price of eggs, poultry etc...If CoViD-19 variants start spreading in birds we have a very worse situation...

Extra monitoring would be welcome...public health should go for "economy"....

[url]http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/terrifying-arctic-greenhouse-gas-levels-continue.html[/url] or http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/terrifying-arctic-greenhouse-gas-levels-continue.html Some climate scientists come up with calculations that extreme methane release could result in extreme temperature rise within a decade...I think their story makes a lot of sense...maybe some "positive feedbacks" offer some "hopium" ...(Greenland landice gliding into the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean limiting ice-loss ?)

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-preliminary-study-findings-on-israel-s-fourth-dose-reveals-unimpressive-results-and-raises-questions-about-fourth-dose-programs[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-preliminary-study-findings-on-israel-s-fourth-dose-reveals-unimpressive-results-and-raises-questions-about-fourth-dose-programs  and 

[url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/asia/israel/israel-effects-of-4th-covid-booster-dose-are-good-but-not-good-enough/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/asia/israel/israel-effects-of-4th-covid-booster-dose-are-good-but-not-good-enough/ 

DJ Earlier studies did warn there is a limit to effects of boostervaccines...at that time Omicron (etc.) was unknown yet...Basic story is booster vaccinations may limit risks...but effects are decreasing much faster...And with variants getting better in evading immunity I think we did reach the limits to what vaccines could offer us....You can NOT vaccinate yourself out of this pandemic...Vaccines may be a usefull tool...but we wasted the time offered by present vaccines...Maybe better vaccines could be of some use...

[url]https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/01/chinas-excellent-very-good-year.html[/url] or https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/01/chinas-excellent-very-good-year.html ;

Amidst global gloom, 2021 was the best year in modern Chinese history. Here’s what they accomplished:

• Eliminated extreme poverty.
• Reached 96% home ownership.
• Kept Covid death rate at 0.6% of America’s.

bigger

• Grew the economy $2 trillion PPP, the fastest growth ever.
• Became the richest country on earth.
• Became the world’s biggest overseas investor.
• Became the world’s largest movie market.
• Produced nearly one new billionaire and 300 millionaires every workday.
• Completed new train lines in seven countries, including Laos’ first.
• Ran 15,000 cargo trains to and from Europe, up 30% YoY.
• Joined RCEP trade pact, with 30% of global GDP and of the world’s population.
• Sold $140 billion retail online in 24 hours (Amazon’s record is $5 billion).
• Launched the first central bank digital currency.
• Dominated scientific research and issued the most patents of any country.

DJ China is sticking to Zero-CoViD, at least has a long term strategy...but the costs of sticking to that strategy will go up....Omicron is a problem in China...keeping CoViD under control may turn China into even more a police-state. However, the west is not doing any better...In my opinion we may be doing even a lot worse ! 

New Zealand is one of the "lucky places", Western Australia was, maybe some other Islands may be able to limit pandemic damage...but with more variants better in spreading it is getting harder and harder...

End of part 2

DJ, 

Just over a year ago "demonstrators" stormed government buildings...members of parliament had to escape...Those "demonstrators" were "bad"...the last few days "peacefull demonstrators" with iron bars, guns delivered from "unclear cars"  storm government buildings...however these "demonstrators" looting and destroying are "good"...a.o. against mandatory vaccines but also against Russia...

China is a dictatorship but Saudi Arabia is okay...with some cities having squares for beheadings..."part of culture"...The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is OWNED !!! by a 20,000+ "royal" family with the king having his own nuclear weapons available in Pakistan..."no problem" for "the west"...as long as we get the oil...

Point is KSA now is talking with RIC...(Russia, Iran, China)...Since the US did become oil-producer #1 by fracking-needs to sell LPG-the Saudi royal family Aramco has to increase export to main energy consumer China...and China does no longer pay for energy in US$...

So the US wants to save the US-petro-$, global dominance-also in weapons...but it-in fact-has lost the fight.  The vaccine-war is just another aspect...this pandemic NOT the priority for most countries-that is why it only gets worse...

Most of the non-western world is willing to see the Kazahkstan unrest-hijacking of real protest against real corruption, inequality, poverty for "other interests" as yet another UK/US regime-change operation. 

Western "media" see Yellow Vests in France as hoologans, the riots in NL, Germany during anti-vaccine demonstrations as "a mob"...but in countries doing deals with Russia, Iran, China this "civil unrest" is "fighting for democrazy"...please !

We are further drifting towards world-war three....

-Numbers [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table this pandemic again-second day-over 2,5 million new cases being reported...The WHO repeating Omicron is NOT !!!!! mild ! But a.o. Australia seeing a lot of Delta caces still...In a.o. Denmark BA.2 Omicron subvariant becoming dominant (with E484K and N501Y mutations...EeK and NellY...a worse subvariant). 

So a look at some countries/regions...numbers showing positive tests in countries often at test-capacity limits...the real numbers must be much higher...

USA did see 751,512 cases yesterday, the day before 712,617...weekly trend +72% (last 7 days the US did see 4,271,209 people testing positive, the week before it was 2,477,365...so the last 14 days the US did see 6,748,574 positive test on a population of 334 million=2% !!!)

Global positive cases at 2,510,903 if only 1% of them would need hospital care it would mean 25,000+ per day...global trend for cases +65%, deaths 7,134 reported -3%. 

A look at Africa-a bit further in Omicron (BA.1) cases still +5%, deaths +19%, South Africa cases -20%, deaths +37%...due to timing, christmas/new year, a delay in numbers...

Since a lot of health-care-workers (HCW-ers) are getting ill themselves (often even do not have N95/FFP-2 or -3 masks) healthcare capacity is going down. 

Omicron was "like Delta" for children and old age...more recent data-again-indicating Omicron may not be that much "milder"...but still a lot of countries will restart schools-often without good ventilation (schools can not pay the energy bill...) and masks...

"Good news" [url]https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues[/url] or https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues no further new subvariants reported ! 

Of course H5N1 infecting-for the first time in Europe-a UK citizen-directly from a bird is alarming...One worry is does this person may be able to spread H5N1...the other-maybe even greater-worry is did H5N1 in birds get more infectious ? Will it become easier for H5N1 to spread outside birds-in cats, foxes etc ? Could it-directly or indirectly-become yet another pandemic ? Influence diseases/virusses ? 

"More good news (dr.j.c style)"is Spain is not reporting over 100,000+ new cases...in fact Spain is not reporting any cases...maybe simply unable to be reporting anything, counting cases...

Still to give some indications;

#1, USA reporting 751,512 new cases +72% 2,143 deaths +3%

#2, France 261,481 +70%, deaths 204 +16% (I will try to get more info on B.1.640.2 and/or BA.2 )

#3, Italy 219,441 +114%, deaths 198 +19%

#4, UK 179,756 +30%, deaths 231 +56%

#5, India 117,100 +486% !!!!, deaths 302 +8% 

#6, Argentina 109,608 +135%, deaths 40 +44%

#7, Australia 72,121 +261% , deaths 12 +42%

#8, Turkey 68,413 +78%, deaths 156 (still) -4%

#9, Germany 56,787 +36%, deaths 305 -10%

#10, Brazil 44,218 +133%, deaths 171 -11%

Global reported cases now over 300 million...last two weeks did see 13,794,773 cases last 7 days plus 8,339,176 (+65 as weekly trend) so over 22 million new cases reported just last 14 days...If 1% of that number 220,000+ needs hospital care-on top of decreasing capacity being overloaded-one needs to be "very optimistic" (let me be less polite-a total fool !!!) to not expect further social disruption...

NL inflation now 6%+, extreme weather around the globe, "tensions increasing" with NATO moving east "to stop agression against NATO moving east"...liberating oil fields...

On our way to a very major crisis-just in the first week of 2022...

End of part 1

Part 3-a look at some news from twitter-out of an overload of info...at best some selection...

[url]https://twitter.com/x2IndSpeculator[/url] or https://twitter.com/x2IndSpeculator ;

Double Individual Speculator

@x2IndSpeculator

·

12 u

Finally, CDC! They are a couple of days behind BNO, but their publication is making it official. Total new admissions have now broken a record. Many metrics need y-axis adjustments. Positivity at 27%.

1

2

10

DJ-

[url]https://twitter.com/x2IndSpeculator/status/1479218140387201027/photo/2[/url] or https://twitter.com/x2IndSpeculator/status/1479218140387201027/photo/2 

Some "experts" making claims of "Omicron is mild" without enough data/info being available (due to christmas/new year). SA data is overrun...days behind...simply because of extreme numbers...lack of numbers does NOT indicate lack of cases or deaths ! 

Still some "experts" translated "no news" as "good news"....by now we have to get rid of this kind of "experts"..."hopium" does NOT help ! False info gives wrong strategies !!!

DJ US healthcare being overstretched...with most-most severe-cases in regions with low vaccinations. (There has been garbage relating most excess deaths to vaccines...simply incorrect when you look at statistics ! Both in US and Europe [url]https://innovationorigins.com/en/no-more-talk-just-maps-start-2022-off-on-a-high-note-with-this-fiery-new-years-covid-cartography/[/url] or https://innovationorigins.com/en/no-more-talk-just-maps-start-2022-off-on-a-high-note-with-this-fiery-new-years-covid-cartography/ most of the excess deaths are in places with LOW vaccinations ! Vaccines do give complications-people did/do also die from vaccines...most likely that [url]https://vaers.hhs.gov/[/url] or https://vaers.hhs.gov/ is "limited"...but still-for the US-may be "many" (some claim 20,000 vaccination deaths ? Being honest about risks is needed to get public trust. Would 20,000 people dying from vaccination be acceptable to save "hundreds of millions" cq "the economy" ? DJ-Point is vaccines only can buy time...

[url]https://www.coronaheadsup.com/coronavirus/israel-vaccine-passport-has-run-its-course-and-is-no-longer-relevant/[/url] or https://www.coronaheadsup.com/coronavirus/israel-vaccine-passport-has-run-its-course-and-is-no-longer-relevant/ ;

Prof. Galia Rahav, head of the infectious disease department at Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest hospital, told Ynet that the Green Pass mandate is a “farce”. The certificate is issued to Israelis who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus or recovered from it within the last six months.

“What meaning does it have anymore when we know that some 80% if not more of those who were confirmed to carry the virus are vaccinated?” said Prof. Rahav. “Sure, the vaccine is important and protects against serious illness, but I don’t know what is the point of this setup anymore.”

DJ Vaccines do still offer (limited) protection against severe disease-but never did stop catching/spreading the virus that much that it could end this pandemic without also other NPI-restrictions...Vaccine-strategy worsened this pandemic, resulted in increase of vaccine/immunity evasion-selection ! (And still not learning much...) 

Christophe Fraser 

@ChristoPhraser

·

17 u

Christmas holiday mixing shifted the age distribution of Omicron cases to older age groups - see the top right of this plot. (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk)

DJ Omicron had terrible timing...new-year/christmas family get-together...

[url]https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam[/url] or https://twitter.com/yaneerbaryam ; Japan...requests 3 prefectures enact measures to curb COVID Okinawa, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi all host U.S. military bases, which announced stricter infection controls at Japan's urging after on-base outbreaks..spilled into surrounding communities.

DJ There are major global differences-cultural; masks not uncommon in East Asia but also political, public health a higher priority for "socialst-like" countries (Scandinavia, New Zealand, China, Vietnam, Cuba etc.). Freedom/market in US,UK, NL etc in fact killing millions of people !

If you are NOT willing to raise taxes for good public services it is the poor that pay the price, the rich only getting more rich (and at a cost most rich think as unacceptable...). 

Getting multiple reports @Delta is telling workers across work groups that they should come to work w/ symptoms even if someone in the household tested positive. And test positive workers should come to work after 5 days if the fever is below 100.9, even if still testing positive

In so many ways airlines are mass-murderers...

Omicron is NOT mild !!!! Lots of countries allready reporting Omicron in children may not be (much) better then Delta was-only spreading much faster !

And; https://twitter.com/tomtom_m/status/1479162755823415297/photo/1 or [url]https://twitter.com/tomtom_m/status/1479162755823415297/photo/1[/url] 

DJ-Jumping to conclusions you love to see is not science but wishfull thinking/dreaming...Delay in reporting cases is NOT "no cases"...

Some other twitter; 

-

part 2,

Flutrackers limited "new news" still [url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/china-h5n1-h5n8-h5n6-h5n3-h5n2-h10n8-outbreak-tracking/934403-china-government-reports-h5n6-case-in-huizhou-city-guangdong-province-female-43-yrs-january-7-2022[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/china-h5n1-h5n8-h5n6-h5n3-h5n2-h10n8-outbreak-tracking/934403-china-government-reports-h5n6-case-in-huizhou-city-guangdong-province-female-43-yrs-january-7-2022 maybe worth mentioning...; Source: https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2022-01-0...x8976566.shtml

One H5N6 case reported in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province
January 7, 2022 22:41 CCTV

Original title: Huizhou City, Guangdong Province reports 1 case of H5N6

The Guangdong Provincial Health and Health Commission notified on January 7, 2022 that Huizhou City reported 1 case of H5N6.

Patient Wu Mouyu, female, 43 years old, currently lives in Zhongkai District, Huizhou City. The patient is currently in critical condition and is being admitted to a designated hospital in Huizhou.

Experts believe that the cases that appear this time are sporadic cases, and the risk of virus transmission is low at this stage. Experts remind: the public should continue to remain vigilant and take the following measures to prevent H5N6 and other bird flu.

DJ Can people catch both H5N6 and CoViD ? Could that result in more severe disease...so far limited news on H3N2 + CoViD in Brazil, "flu and CoViD" in Israel...very likely limited numbers-so far-in many other places...Since testing/sequencing is overstretched however some of the CoViD-deaths could also test positive for (a) flu...but simply do not get that test...it could become a serious-global-problem. 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/europe/h5n1-tracking/united-kingdom-and-northern-ireland/934254-uk-government-confirms-an-avian-flu-type-h5-human-case-january-6-2022?view=stream[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/europe/h5n1-tracking/united-kingdom-and-northern-ireland/934254-uk-government-confirms-an-avian-flu-type-h5-human-case-january-6-2022?view=stream latest; Alan Gosling, man in Devon with bird flu, is isolating

By Lisa Young @SouthWestFarmer
Content editor
...
Alan said this morning (January 7) that he is feeling "absolutely fine - but very lonely."

He said: "As far as health is concerned, I'm fine, but I can't stop thinking about the ducks.

"I'm as fit and healthy now as I was donkeys years ago, because looking after the ducks kept me busy and active every day.
...
"They all had different stories - and then I had to watch them being killed and I couldn't do anything to help them.
...
https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/ne...flu-isolating/

DJ; Sounds like H5N1 may not-yet-become another problem...still with this many birds catching (most) H5N1 other non-bird caces should be expected...H5N1 did increase in pandemic risk.

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934429-cidrap-citing-rise-in-hospitalized-kids-cdc-chief-urges-increased-vaccination[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934429-cidrap-citing-rise-in-hospitalized-kids-cdc-chief-urges-increased-vaccination ;

Today Rochelle Walenksy, MD, MPH, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gave a media briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the country has the tools to keep schools open during the Omicron wave, but not enough eligible children are vaccinated.
"A safe and effective vaccine is now recommended for all kids 5 and older," said Walensky. "The virus is constantly throwing up curveballs, and as the virus changes, the science changes."

Walensky said only 15% of US kids ages 5 to 11 were vaccinated, while just over 50% of those 12 to 17 were fully vaccinated. She said vaccination significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization for adolescents, with unvaccinated 12- to 17-year-olds 11 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated peers.

Kids are being hospitalized at the highest rates seen in the pandemic so far, but there has not yet been a signal of increased severity in this age group, Walensky said.
The rise in child COVID-19 hospitalizations is just one marker of the nationwide surge in cases being driven largely by the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant. Yesterday, the country reported 786,284 new COVID-19 cases, and 1,870 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. Though evidence suggests Omicron causes less severe illness, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States are nearing their pandemic peak, Reuters reports.

Walensky also noted that the CDC yesterday aligned its return-to-school guidelines for COVID-positive K-12 students and exposures to match the 5-day window the agency adopted for the wider public on Dec 28.
Despite the push from the CDC to keep schools open, some school districts across the country have moved to virtual learning this week. And in Chicago, leaders of Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for a third straight day as negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union over remote learning continue, the Associated Press reports.

DJ, I do not have children in that age group...If I had I may NOT send them to school-try to find an alternative...would have to think twice about vaccinations...maybe see if I could help in better ventilation in the school...I would welcome a mix of study at home and maybe 1 or 2 days at school in a small group...with lots of good testing...but with Omicron ? Some children love to go to school, lots of social contacts...others hate schools, rather read books...children at a certain age deserve to have a say in it as well...

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/local-regional-communities-and-organizations/cidrap/934423-cidrap-flu-scan-us-flu-markers-climbing-more-h5n1-poultry-outbreaks[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/local-regional-communities-and-organizations/cidrap/934423-cidrap-flu-scan-us-flu-markers-climbing-more-h5n1-poultry-outbreaks ; US flu activity continues steady rise

For the week ending Jan 1, most US flu indicators rose, with the season still dominated by H3N2 and now affecting a range of age-groups and hitting the northeastern and central regions hardest, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest weekly update.
Nationally, the percentage of clinic visits for flulike illness rose to 4.8%, up from 3.8% the previous week. The CDC has said that other circulating respiratory viruses are likely contributing to the respiratory illnesses that health providers are seeing. The percentage of respiratory samples that tested positive for flu dropped to 3.8%, down from 6.2% the week before.
Thirty-one states are reporting very high or high flu activity, another marker that tracks clinic visits. The number is up sharply from 19 states reported the previous week.
The cumulative hospitalization rate for flu rose to 2.6 per 100,000 population, up from 1.8 per 100,000 population the week before. However, the CDC said the level for this point in the season is well below the rate seen at this point in the four flu seasons that preceded the pandemic.
No new pediatric flu deaths were reported, keeping the total at two.
The CDC said the flu season is just starting and urged people to get vaccinated, noting that early indications show that uptake is down this season, compared with the last season.
Jan 7 CDC FluView update


H5N1 strikes poultry in Niger and Vietnam

Two countries—Niger and Vietnam—reported new highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza events in poultry, according to the latest notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Niger reported an outbreak at a layer farm near Niamey, the country's capital. The event began on Dec 31, killing 1,400 of 18,575 susceptible birds. Its last H5N1 outbreak occurred in July 2021.
Elsewhere, Vietnam reported five outbreaks in village birds from five different provinces: Binh Phuoc, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Quang Tri, and Tay Ninh. The outbreaks started between Nov 19 and Dec 28, and taken together, the virus killed 6,810 of 18,144 birds.
In other avian flu developments, European countries continue to report highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds, including Portugal with two H5N1 events and Denmark with an outbreak involving H5N8.
Jan 6 OIE report on H5N1 in Niger
Jan 6 OIE report on H5N1 in Vietnam
Jan 5 OIE report on H5N1 in wild birds in Portugal
Jan 4 OIE report on H5N1 in wild birds in Portugal
Jan 3 OIE report on H5N8 in wild birds in Denmark

DJ; Most likely flu-most of it H3N2-will increase after schools reopen and lots of people may also catch Omicron...not a good combination...H5N8 in Denmark...H5N1 all over the globe...simply not good !

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934430-why-canada-is-shutting-down-during-omicron-while-the-u-s-stays-open-their-health-care-systems[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934430-why-canada-is-shutting-down-during-omicron-while-the-u-s-stays-open-their-health-care-systems ; As Omicron sweeps through North America, the U.S. and Canadian responses couldn’t be more different. U.S. states are largely open for business, while Canada’s biggest provinces are shutting down.

The difference largely comes down to arithmetic: The U.S. health care system, which prioritizes free markets, provides more hospital beds per capita than the government-dominated Canadian system does.

“I’m not advocating for that American market-driven system,” said Bob Bell, a physician who ran Ontario’s health bureaucracy from 2014 to 2018 and oversaw Toronto’s University Health Network before that. “But I am saying that in Canada, we have restricted hospital capacity excessively.”

The consequences of that are being felt throughout the economy. In Ontario, restaurants, concert halls and gyms are closed while Quebec has a 10 p.m. curfew and banned in-person church services. British Columbia has suspended indoor weddings and funeral receptions....

DJ; US deaths per million 2,570, Canada 802 ! Cases per million US 181,061, Canada 64,903 "free market" healthcare is killing much more people ! 

Bloomberg also came-2019-with US, UK, NL best prepared for a pandemic propaganda....total nonsense ! "Free markets" go for profit - all to often profit only ! The idea of "public healthcare" goes back to the 19th century to end massive outbreaks..."free market" insanity destroyed public healtcare..one of the reasons why SARS-2 did get that much worse then SARS-1 did in 2003 ! 

"Neo-liberal conservatism" , free market corruption & greed is killing millions via this pandemic and climate change, "accidents" in traffic, workplace etc. The present dominant political dagma's may become worse then other "gogmatic political believes"....

This pandemic is a political disaster ! Allowing variants to spread "for free" is insane !

Again..I am not neutral or objective, neither an expert...just making up my mind...

End of part 2

DJ, 

I sometimes look back at "scenario's"...tried to find the "worst case scenario including major war"...but I did write a lot...Still [url]https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/satellites-would-be-attacked-first-then-these-radar-stations-if-ww3-commences-next-week[/url] or https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/satellites-would-be-attacked-first-then-these-radar-stations-if-ww3-commences-next-week I think Hal Turner (trump-supporter, extreme right wing but anti nazi...also very emotional) may have a point;

Dec 16, 2021.
The US Embassy in Kazakhstan issues a travel warning for major Kazakh cities because of "upcoming demonstrations and warns of possible riots and mass arrests.

Source:
[https://kz.usembassy.gov/demonstration-alert121521/]

Well, well, well.  That's some magic Crystal Ball the US Embassy in Kazakhstan has.   They issued travel warnings about demonstrations and mass riots three full weeks BEFORE there was even any sign of such things.   Gee, I wonder how they could have known?  Maybe because THEY THEMSLEVES were arranging all of it?

---- END INSERTED UPDATE OF 5:52 PM EST ------

DJ The US is trying to "control the globe"...US foreign policy is based on a view the US elite based on the US position after World War Two...but even the Korea war should have "balanced" the US view of "exceptionalism"...

In my-limited-view NATO was the continuation of some nazi-goals in another form...[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Unthinkable[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Unthinkable ; 

Operation Unthinkable was the name given to two related possible future war plans by the British Chiefs of Staff against the Soviet Union in 1945. The plans were never approved nor implemented. The creation of the plans was ordered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in May 1945 and developed by the British Armed Forces' Joint Planning Staff in May 1945 at the end of World War II in Europe.^[1]

One plan assumed a surprise attack on the Soviet forces stationed in Germany to "impose the will of the Western Allies" on the Soviets. "The will" was qualified as "a square deal for Poland",^[2] which probably meant enforcing the recently signed Yalta Agreement. The planners decided that without massive American help Britain would probably fail. The assessment, signed by the Chief of Army Staff on 9 June 1945, concluded: “It would be beyond our power to win a quick but limited success and we would be committed to a protracted war against heavy odds."^[3] The code name was now reused instead for a second plan, which was a defensive scenario in which the British were to defend against a Soviet drive towards the North Sea and the Atlantic following the withdrawal of the American forces from the Continent. At no time was either plan shared with the United States or anyone else.^{[citation needed]} When the Labour Party came to power in the 1945 general election it ignored the draft plan.

The study became the first Cold War-era contingency plan for war with the Soviet Union.^[4] Both plans were highly secret and were not made public until 1998^[5] - although a British spy for the Soviets, Guy Burgess, had passed on some details at the time.^[6]

DJ "The West" did invest a lot in Russia prior to World War One...RussianRailways, Oil did see a lot of western money flowing into it...The Russion Revolution did cost some very rich people a lot of money...(Investors in US railways did also invest in Russian Railways, Shell-started oil exploration in the Dutch East Indies...became a major investor in a.o. Baku-oilfields...Royal families had a part of their wealth in Russia...so when the czar and his family were murdered they did not only lose familymembers but also a lot of investments).

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_wealth_and_income[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_wealth_and_income ;

While hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic had crippled the German economy and plunged millions of German workers into unemployment, Hitler and his party received lavish donations from wealthy benefactors at home and abroad.^[7] The iconic American car maker and anti-Semite Henry Ford was reported to be one of the foreign supporters.^[7] Edwin and Helene Bechstein, part of a rich aristocratic family who sold pianos, supported Hitler financially.^[7] The Ruhr steel barons Fritz Thyssen and Gustav Krupp donated almost five million Reichsmarks to the Nazi Party over the course of the war.^[7]

And [url]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar[/url] or https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar ; 

DJ After World War One hitler worked for French and UK intel to see how German veterans were thinking...The basis for hitlers rise to power was laid by the west...Lufthansa sponsored hitlers election campain by flying him all over Germany...Hitler was "man of the year" for Time in 1938...

Basically; The West did not have any major problem with hitler till april 1940...invasion of Denmark, Norway...For the "western elite" Hitler was a puppet they believed to be able to control...main goal was Russia, by then the Soviet Union...Stalin did try to make an aliance with UK and France but was refused...so ending up making a deal with nazi-Germany...(the love-hate relationship between Germany and Russia is a long-interesting-story, Northstream I and II are just the latest part of it...) 

I could also mention western intervention in Russia after the 1917 november/october revolution (Russia had another calander back then)...US forces in Wladivostok, Japanes forces in Eastern Russia...

Basic point is the West has been the agressor most of the time...including former Soviet member states in NATO goes against promisses made to Gorbachow in 1991...

So-this pandemic is "out of control"...millions of cases per day...most not getting tested/reported...a lot of western countries facing not only a major healthcrisis but also hyperinflation, a housingcrisis, no public support for the "neo-liberal uncontrolled capitalism"  any longer...so; Let start a war...

War is a way of making money...only problem is corruption has been pushing up prices for (not only US, also UK, French) weapons, other countries now produce better weapons at lower prices...

I think Hal Turner his story is incomplete...maybe to keep it short, not to complicated...but NATO is facing RIC; Russia Iran China and a lot of allies; Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, most likely by now also Pakistan while Turkey-still a NATO member-has better relations with Russia/Putin then with the US or EU...

France may stay out of a US war with Russia (etc), BoJo allways wanted to be churchill-2....Most of Europe is not waiting for a war with Russia...needs Russian energy...US LNG from fracking is a lot more expensive and has to be paid for in US$ not in € (Euro's)..

Russia, Iran, China would love to have better relations...the problem is in some western countries...If the only outcome of talks with "the west" is insults then Russia and China will go for other strategies....

This international background is important because;

-You need major international cooperation when dealing with a pandemic...not a vaccine war (Russia is disappointed that SputnikV still is not accepted by the EMA...[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Medicines_Agency[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Medicines_Agency  now in Amsterdam, before Brexit in London)

-This pandemic is that serious it should be the ONLY priority...for some countries this pandemic is not even a priority (maybe even "welcome" because some "politicians" think it will kill the old and weak...) global control of energy (via US-petro $) is..

-Wars are very expensive...the wars the west did start in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Yemen etc. did cost that much it-in itself-is a cause of hyperinflation...(In money terms these wars may have cost the US and UK more then World War Two !!!!)  the more money for wars the less money for public healthcare...one of the reasons why SARS-1 was stopped in 2003 and SARS-2 did "fly around the globe" several times...

-China is fighting this pandemic still in China...so far exporting a lot of vaccines. PPE etc...also to the west...(we outsourced it !) A major war between US/UK (maybe a few other NATO members) and Russia and China is putting the world in a very major supply crisis...

So-I think we are now in about the worst kind of scenario's I could think of allmost two years ago...Enough intelligent (wo)men will try to stop further escation towards a major war...

A major problem is in US "politics"; democrats want war with Russia, republicans war with China...an election system giving unclear results (Did Al Gore win ?)..the US-elite believing they are above any international law [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act ; The American Service-Members' Protection Act (ASPA

authorizes the President of the United States to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court". This authorization has led the act to be nicknamed the "Hague Invasion Act".^[4][5]

The act prohibits federal, state and local governments and agencies (including courts and law enforcement agencies) from assisting the International Criminal Court (ICC). For example, it prohibits the extradition of any person from the U.S. to the ICC; it also prohibits the transfer of classified national security information and law enforcement information to the ICC.

The act also prohibits U.S. military aid to countries that are party to the ICC. However, exceptions are allowed for aid to NATO members, major non-NATO allies, Taiwan, and countries that have entered into "Article 98 agreements", agreeing not to hand over U.S. nationals to the ICC.

DJ This US law should have been totally unacceptable for any NL government ! In my opinion this law should have ENDED !!!!  US-NL relations ! NL was the first state to recognize the US, when "the English" took over Nieuw Nederland, Nieuw Amsterdam and treated the Dutch living there as second class "jan-kees" they did lay the basis for the Dutch Republic as a basis for the early US republic...I think NL plays a very major role in early US history...in some ways even more then the UK did...(a.o. as a Kingdom !)

End of a sunday-part 1...

part 3, Flutrackers lots of info !

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934552-why-health-experts-discourage-hacking-rapid-tests-with-throat-swabs[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/canada/canada-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934552-why-health-experts-discourage-hacking-rapid-tests-with-throat-swabs ; During an interview with The National earlier this week, another infectious disease expert, Dr. Zain Chagla, noted saliva could prevent a test kit from working properly.

'Not all kits are meant to do saliva' Not all kits are meant to do saliva and so you really want to make sure that's within the guidelines of your kit. Otherwise you may get a negative result when you're aiming to get a positive result and making behavioural changes based on that," Chagla said...

DJ-Good point ! However-if lots of people feel ill, nasal swabs does NOT detect anything-but oral/throat swabs do show a positive test-result people try to do the right thing ! Try to find out what is happening, if they pose a risk to others...An unwelcome step would be people testing negative on nasal swabs but with symptoms go out....How long does it take to learn throat swabs work good enough in wich tests ? 

How long does it take to get that kind of testing widespread when schools are reopening and Omicron may be missed often in nasal test because "Omicron is different"? 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934550-florida%E2%80%99s-covid-cases-and-hospitalizations-are-surging-but-the-state-has-the-second-lowest-death-rate-in-the-nation-what%E2%80%99s-going-on[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934550-florida%E2%80%99s-covid-cases-and-hospitalizations-are-surging-but-the-state-has-the-second-lowest-death-rate-in-the-nation-what%E2%80%99s-going-on ; With COVID cases skyrocketing, Florida is experiencing one of the worst waves of the omicron variant in the United States.

Yet Florida’s death rate over the past seven days is the second lowest in the country, after only Alaska. What’s going on?

Even as record COVID cases in the U.S. were reported last week, deaths dipped slightly, and still, Florida’s death rate is distinctly low, particularly in a state with a large, vulnerable elderly population.

Experts say several factors could explain the currently low rate: Florida’s horrific toll from delta and its acquired resistance and vaccination rates may be buffering the state at a time when others states are contending with two variants. Or, because of the way Florida reports COVID deaths, which already tend to lag infections and hospitalizations, the true death rate from this recent wave may be too soon to know.

Only months ago, the state’s death rate was among the highest in the nation. The delta wave hit Florida hard, taking the lives of more than 22,000 people between June 15 and October 15. On its worst day for deaths during the delta wave, 403 people succumbed to the disease in Florida.

“Florida had the worst or second-worst outbreak in the country for delta,” said Dr. Howard Forman, a Yale physician, professor, and COVID tracker. “Because of that, there are a lot of people in Florida with infection-acquired immunity and vaccine acquired immunity against delta. By the time the omicron wave came, Florida had almost no delta, where places like New York were just beginning a delta wave when omicron appeared.”

DJ; Some experts seem to be blind for the fact testing capacity has run out...still claim "cases are going down" when often testing is going down because testers are ill....People do not die from Omicron in a day...it takes weeks to see statistics giving a more correct picture...

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/middle-east-aa/middle-east-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934560-cyprus-finds-covid-19-infections-that-combine-delta-and-omicron-%E2%80%9Cdeltacron%E2%80%9D[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/middle-east-aa/middle-east-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934560-cyprus-finds-covid-19-infections-that-combine-delta-and-omicron-%E2%80%9Cdeltacron%E2%80%9D DJ-Hope to find time for more info on New Variants...may be limited problem, overtaken by Omicron soon...still very early...

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/china-other-health-threats/china-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934559-china-tianjin-officials-imposing-a-graduated-covid-19-semi-lockdown-4-districts-today-and-the-rest-of-the-districts-tomorrow-12-january-9-2022[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/china-other-health-threats/china-covid-19-sept-13-2020-may-31-2021/934559-china-tianjin-officials-imposing-a-graduated-covid-19-semi-lockdown-4-districts-today-and-the-rest-of-the-districts-tomorrow-12-january-9-2022 ;

The National Health Commission reported that from 0 to 24:00 on January 8, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 92 new local confirmed cases (including 3 cases that were converted from asymptomatic infections to confirmed cases. All in Henan):

　　There were 56 cases in Henan, including 39 cases in Xuchang City, 11 cases in Zhengzhou City, 2 cases in Luoyang City, 2 cases in Anyang City, 1 case in Shangqiu City, and 1 case in Huaxian City;

　　30 cases in Shaanxi, all in Xi'an;

　　3 cases in Tianjin, including 2 cases in Jinnan District and 1 case in Nankai District;

　　2 cases in Zhejiang, both in Ningbo City;

　　1 case in Guangdong, in Shenzhen.

　　Omi Keron

　　Nucleic acid testing carried out in the city

　　In the early morning of January 8th, Tianjin detected two cases of positive COVID-19 nucleic acid test among the personnel willing to do the inspection and the active visits of the fever clinic. After comprehensive research and judgment by the city-level expert group, they were determined to be local confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia (light type).

　　After screening of key populations, as of 21:00 on the 8th, 18 cases of new coronavirus infections have been detected among close contacts in Tianjin, all of which have been transferred to designated hospitals for isolation and treatment.

-

The Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the Municipal Leading Group for Epidemic Prevention and Control, and the Municipal Headquarters for Prevention and Control have decided to carry out nucleic acid testing for all employees in the city:

　　From 7:00 on January 9th, all residents of Jinnan District, Nankai District, Dongli District, and Xiqing District remained relatively static in their place of residence at that time. According to the overall deployment of the prevention and control headquarters of each district and the neighborhood (town) community ( Village) organization and arrangement, go to the designated place, and timely cooperate with the nucleic acid test. Complete the nucleic acid detection of personnel in the area within 24 hours.

　　From 7:00 on January 10th, all residents of the other 12 districts remained relatively static in their place of residence at that time. According to the overall deployment of the district prevention and control headquarters and the organization and arrangements of the street (town) community (village), they went to the designated location. , Cooperate with nucleic acid detection in time. Complete the nucleic acid detection of personnel in the area within 24 hours.

　　Residents in the relevant districts do not participate in the nucleic acid test within the specified time, the "health code" is adjusted to an "orange code", and the nucleic acid test is completed and the result is negative, and it is converted to a "green code".

zhttps://news.sina.com.cn/c/2022-01-09/doc-ikyakumx9204028.shtml?cre=tianyi&mod=pchp&loc=12&r =0&rfunc=32&tj=cxvertical_pc_hp&tr=181

DJ Did all 15/16 million residents get tested or just municipility workers ? January 8th, Tianjin detected two cases of positive COVID-19 nucleic acid test among the personnel willing to do the inspection and the active visits of the fever clinic. After comprehensive research and judgment by the city-level expert group, they were determined to be local confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia (light type).

Is there a "China Omicron"-variant ? Or are the detected mutations (in students) similar to [url]https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues/395[/url] or https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/issues/395 detected in US, Japan...possibly Hawaii-link ? 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/934152-we-can-t-vaccinate-the-planet-every-six-months-says-oxford-vaccine-scientist[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/934152-we-can-t-vaccinate-the-planet-every-six-months-says-oxford-vaccine-scientist ; 

DJ It is also not effective...variants getting better and better in evading (this kind of) immunity...You can NOT end this pandemic with "only" boosters a.o. WHO is warning !

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/south-america/seasonal-flu-2009-2013-1-2-including-h1n1-pandemic-2009-aa/brazil/931516-brazil-2021-seasonal-flu?view=stream[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/south-america/seasonal-flu-2009-2013-1-2-including-h1n1-pandemic-2009-aa/brazil/931516-brazil-2021-seasonal-flu?view=stream latest; Source: https://www.brytfmonline.com/paraiba...s-ses-paraiba/

Paraíba confirms seven deaths and 104 cases of H3N2 infection, says SES | Paraiba
Andrea Hargraves January 9, 2022 1 min read

Paraíba recorded, between December and Saturday (8), 116 cases of influenza A virus, according to the Epidemiological Bulletin published by the Ministry of Health of Paraíba (SES-PB). Of the 116 positive patients, 104 were H3N2 positive and 12 were not the subtype.

According to the bulletin, among the 116 patients who tested positive for influenza A virus, 45 were hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), of whom seven died.

Of the seven recorded deaths, two patients were men and five women, over the age of 70, who had comorbidities, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and respiratory disease were the identified comorbidities...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Source: https://todahora.com/com-1-203-casos...s-liga-alerta/

With 1,203 cases of Influenza and 7 deaths from the disease, Amazonas calls alert
The majority (63%) of patients with Influenza A reside in Manaus, but patients with the infection were also registered in the interior of Amazonas (19%) and other states (3%).
TH writing
Published: 01/08/2022 05:30:00

The Health Surveillance Foundation of Amazonas – Dr. Rosemary Costa Pinto (FVS-RCP) updates, on Friday (01/07), the epidemiological scenario of Influenza in the State. 1,203 cases of Influenza A were identified.

Of the 1,203 cases of Influenza A, 84% (1,007) are of the H3N2 lineage. The Influenza epidemiological bulletin highlights that the highest occurrence of Influenza A cases (385 cases) was recorded between December 12 and 18, 2021, with a reduction in the following weeks.

DJ Manaus no CoVid/H3N2 coinfections, Paraiba had 45 coinfections of Covid and flu (?...Omicron ?)

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/animal-diseases-of-concern-excludes-h5n1/influenza-in-animals-excl-h5n1/923788-ca-2021-canine-influenza?view=stream[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/animal-diseases-of-concern-excludes-h5n1/influenza-in-animals-excl-h5n1/923788-ca-2021-canine-influenza?view=stream latest; Source: https://outbreaknewstoday.com/canine...-update-68890/

Canine influenza H3N2 outbreak in Los Angeles County update
by News Desk
January 8, 2022

In a follow-up on the canine influenza outbreak in Los Angeles County, Veterinary Public Health now reports 1284 confirmed and probable cases of canine influenza virus (CIV) H3N2 in dogs in LA County from July to December 20, 2021.

The death toll has risen to 13 dogs linked to this outbreak. Of the cases reported, most were associated with attending boarding kennels or dog daycare settings...

So is this "Canine Influenza Virus H3N2" related to human H3N2 flu ? From october 25-2021; The dog flu, or canine influenza, is an infectious respiratory disease caused by an Influenza virus, similar to viral strains that cause influenza in people.

Pismo Beach Veterinary Clinic is often busy with owners seeking care for their pets, but lately, Dr. Joel Conn said even more people have been calling the office with concerns about the dog flu.

“We haven’t had a major outbreak in this area since about 2016, 2017-ish," Conn said. "But there has been a fairly large outbreak in LA County, and so we are seeing some of that start to hit SLO County.”

L.A. County Department of Public Health said so far there are 800 confirmed cases and seven deaths from the dog flu. In SLO County, there have been five confirmed cases but no deaths reported...

DJ; Could dogs with H3N2 (CIV) get more contagious for (sorts of) Omicron/CoViD ? 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/economics-at-flutrackers/934548-us-hospitals-struggle-to-match-walmart-pay-as-staff-flees-omicron[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/economics-at-flutrackers/934548-us-hospitals-struggle-to-match-walmart-pay-as-staff-flees-omicron ; Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate of any U.S. state, at 1.8% in November. In that environment, lots of employers struggle to find workers. But the stakes in health care are higher, especially in the COVID era.

Troy Bruntz runs Community Hospital, a 25-bed critical access facility in McCook, Nebraska. He’s been trying to recruit a third ultrasound technician for at least six months without getting a single application.

For lower-level positions, the hospital competes with the local Walmart store, where wages are rising. He monitors the pay offered by the retailer as well as the other large local employers, a hose manufacturer and an irrigation equipment supplier.

“What used to be an $8 job now is $15,” said Bruntz, a 52-year-old who once worked as an accountant for KPMG. “That’s the only way we get people to come to work.”...

DJ...HCW-ers being paid less then supermarket jobs....related [url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934546-omicron-explosion-spurs-nationwide-breakdown-of-services[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934546-omicron-explosion-spurs-nationwide-breakdown-of-services ; Source: https://apnews.com/article/coronavir...df4fc77488195a

Omicron explosion spurs nationwide breakdown of services
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and TERRY TANG
an hour ago

Ambulances in Kansas speed toward hospitals then suddenly change direction because hospitals are full. Employee shortages in New York City cause delays in trash and subway services and diminish the ranks of firefighters and emergency workers. Airport officials shut down security checkpoints at the biggest terminal in Phoenix and schools across the nation struggle to find teachers for their classrooms.

The current explosion of omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the U.S. is causing a breakdown in basic functions and services — the latest illustration of how COVID-19 keeps upending life more than two years into the pandemic.

“This really does, I think, remind everyone of when COVID-19 first appeared and there were such major disruptions across every part of our normal life,” said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at the global health nonprofit Project HOPE. “And the unfortunate reality is, there’s no way of predicting what will happen next until we get our vaccination numbers — globally — up.”...

DJ Governments have to act-and act now ! There are essential jobs that need to go on to keep society running...Sticking to "market economy" could result in teachers, HCW-ers getting better pay in supermarkets...; blind ideology..."markets will save us"...

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934513-over-40-of-nyc%E2%80%99s-covid-infected-hospital-patients-admitted-for-other-reasons[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states-ab/united-states-covid-19-sars-cov-2-september-13-2020-may-31-2021/934513-over-40-of-nyc%E2%80%99s-covid-infected-hospital-patients-admitted-for-other-reasons ;

Source: https://nypost.com/2022/01/07/many-n...other-reasons/


Over 40% of NYC’s COVID-infected hospital patients admitted for other reasons
By Bruce Golding
January 7, 2022 6:03pm Updated

New statistics show that more than 40 percent of the state’s hospitalized coronavirus-infected patients were admitted for “non-COVID reasons” — with the ratio in New York City “about 50-50,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.

Wednesday’s statewide 42 percent figure was up from 39 percent Tuesday, Hochul said during a news conference in Manhattan. Hochul noted that there were wide “variations in our different parts of the state” between people “in the hospital for COVID vs. non-COVID reasons.” “The most number of people admitted for non-COVID reasons as of … a couple days ago are in New York City. It’s about 50-50,” she said.

“And let’s look at upstate, Central New York, places like that, where 79 percent are admitted due to real COVID — that they’re sick enough from COVID that they have to be hospitalized — vs. 21 percent who happen to be there for another reason and test positive...

DJ So if you break a leg-test positive for CoViD-the idea is you should not be in "CoViD-hospital statistics"? Even if CoViD would worsen ? Is this a number-game ? Some people downplaying risks ? 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/934480-geert-s-new-year-message-what-s-next-in-2022-second-call-to-who[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/934480-geert-s-new-year-message-what-s-next-in-2022-second-call-to-who DJ-Geert van den Bossche-with all respect-is incorrect linking variants with vaccinations ! This far most variants showed up in countries with no (not yet) vaccinations...from Alpha in the UK prior to vaccines to variants in Brazil, Africa, Philippines with only limited (very) vaccines...Omicron-in part-possibly mice related ! However GvdB may have a point in that allowing vaccinated a lot of "freedoms" did increase immunity escape mutations...

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/928700-omicron-covid-19-variant-b-1-1529-a-variant-of-concern?view=stream[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/928700-omicron-covid-19-variant-b-1-1529-a-variant-of-concern?view=stream latest; President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has said the country’s fourth Covid-19 wave has peaked.Total excess deaths attributed to Omicron are about 10,000, compared with about 110,000 excess deaths during the previous, Delta-driven wave.
...
Excess natural deaths last year, for example, were more than 200,000, mostly ascribed to coronavirus and far beyond South Africa’s official pandemic death toll of just over 90,000 people. The country’s total population is 60m.

“That is pretty sobering,” said Tom Moultrie, professor of demography at the University of Cape Town, who tallies the excess death figures with a team of scientists. “We have possibly had a low-mortality situation in South Africa with Omicron by virtue of the burden we have suffered.”

DJ; In part most vulnerables allready died before Omicron showed up...however SA deaths-trend still going up....+57%...last week 426, last 7 days 670...SA reporting 119 deaths just yesterday, 2 days ago that number was 140....maybe not yet in the "10,000 excess deaths attributed to Omicron"...it is to early !!!

End of part 3...not because of lack of news from flutrackers-also reporting lots of H5 in birds most...but lack of time (and space). 

DJ-Do I think this [url]https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/only-hours-after-us-russia-preliminary-talks-news-goes-from-bad-to-worse-russia-says-may-deploy-intermediate-range-nukes-in-europe[/url] or https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/only-hours-after-us-russia-preliminary-talks-news-goes-from-bad-to-worse-russia-says-may-deploy-intermediate-range-nukes-in-europe is related to 

I think it is...The total mismanagement in this pandemic made this most of all a political disaster killing millions and now out of control....so start yet another war...

-Numbers [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table see both weekend=less testing=lower (most US) numbers...and also may show testing capacity limits...A lot of people with "mild symptoms" will not seek testing...may be next to you in a bus, school, workplace if you have bad luck...

Communication is a main tool in any crisis...but somehow was and is a total mess...

Global 1,856,698 new cases did see reporting yesterday...sunday january 9...untill end of december highest number of cases in this pandemic was just over 903,000...april 2021-Delta in India-with both cases and deaths being under reported. Global cases +51%, deaths-yesterday "only" 3,464 +1%...

January 27-2021 had 17,548 deaths...today is january 10-2022, schools, workplaces reopen....Omicron "milder then Delta" but it may be 2-12% "milder" and still worse then Alpha causing that high number of deaths allmost a year ago...vaccinations just starting...may make some difference. But today healthcare is a much worse shape then it was just a year ago....Omicron now also spreading in older age groups. 

DJ-If we are very, very lucky end of this month-february may see something in between 20,000 and 30,000 deaths per day...

A look at a few countries and regions;

Africa-very limited testing, but since testing has been poor all the time still may give some indications;

Africa cases +6%, deaths +37%, South Africa cases -11%, deaths +57%...the claim "it is only mild" may have been made much to early-and for political reasons...yet another excuse for inaction...

UK cases +9%, deaths +39%...the UK did see 921Covid deaths going up to 1,279 last 7 days. BoJo&Co claim high level of boosters will save lives...NHS at breaking point...

One of many wrong idea's is that since in South Africa Omicron was a short-strong-wave it would work out the same way in the UK and other countries...Most European and North American countries-now in winter-have an older population. Disease-wise a different background...Also Omicron is now switching from the BA.1 subvariant to the BA.2 subvariant...CoViD is NOT flu-like in any way !!! Forget about herd-immunity, vaccines, "living with it"...CoViD maybe-on the longer term-5 to 10 times more deathly then the flu ? We simply miss good statistics in most countries...

USA cases +43%, deaths +22%...the US had 4,5 million cases last week...moving towards 1 million cases+ per day...

France cases +47%, deaths +15%....had 24,784 cases per million of population last week, UK had 17,789, USA 13,336...in other words 2,48% of the French population tested positive last week, 1,78% of the UK, US did see 1,33% of its population testing positive...as far as people did seek testing/could get tested....NL had 0,9% testing positive...

The Philippines did see cases increase last week with 880%...Haïti with 811%, Gambia West Africa +649%, Guyana +544%...Guyana just north of the Brazil-state with a lot of mixing of H3N2-flu with most likely Omicron...Cyprus "Deltacron" cases +67%, deaths +60%...whatever "Deltacron" may be...it could be a virus with both Omicron and Delta...a new variant. It could be Delta with Omicron-elements, it could be people "just" catching both Omicron and Delta...it could also be "bad sequencing"....Denmark BA.2 now dominant cases -3%, deaths +32% to early to tell much...

India would also have a lot of BA.2 cases there +524%, deaths -3%...in reality India cases per day most likely allready in the millions...

Argentina is also "jumping out" did see 563,097 cases last week more then 50% of all of South America 1.099,357 cases last week. Argentina cases +154%, South America +167%...Argentina deaths last 7 days 284 +76%, South America +29%.

Brazil cases +266%, deaths +23%...for that matter Israel cases +272%, deaths +650% (from 2 to 15 in real numbers)...both Israel and Brazil reporting H3N2 and CoViD (most likely Omicron) co-infections...

Australia to finish this incomplete list...cases +223% over 100,000 per day now...deaths +40% (last week 65, this week 91)...comparing that with New Zealand cases +40%, 0 deaths  Australia had 17,215 cases per million last 7 days New Zealand 96...differences going extreme !

End of part 1

part 3, twitter,

There's an alternative to putting your fingers in your ears and shouting La La La. 1. Acknowledge how it spreads. 2. Use simple measures to reduce spread. 3. Tighten or loosen measures as cases rise or fall. 4. Make buildings safe. 5. Vaccinate the world.

DJ...I do like to copy the twitter-account as well...but "problematic"....link to [url]https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o1[/url] or https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o1 ;

SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 278 million people globally, with at least 5.4 million deaths recorded by the World Health Organisation as of 26 December 2021. The omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of concern is spreading rapidly.1

Some countries view infection as a net harm and pursue strategies ranging from suppression to elimination.2 They seek to sustain low infection rates through a combination of vaccination, public health measures, and financial support measures (vaccines-plus). Other countries implemented mitigation strategies that aim to prevent health systems from being overwhelmed by building population immunity through a combination of infection and vaccination. These countries rely on a vaccines-only approach and seem willing to tolerate high levels of infection provided their healthcare systems can cope.

The high transmissibility and degree of immune escape by the delta and omicron variants means sustained protective population immunity is unlikely to be achieved with the current vaccines based on the original strain.3 Compared to delta, omicron is much more likely to infect those who were vaccinated or exposed to previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, suggesting significant immune escape.4

Widespread transmission brings a degree of unpredictability to the pandemic response. High transmission risks more rapid adaptation of SARS-CoV-2, with outcomes that include increased transmissibility (seen with α, delta, and omicron), increased antibody immune escape (β and omicron) or greater pathogenicity (delta and α).5

There are other drawbacks to a vaccines-only strategy. Countries which tolerated high transmission have seen rises in both covid-specific and all-cause mortality, healthcare worker shortages, and repeated lockdowns to control surges in case numbers.26789 Countries which suppressed transmission early saw reduced mortality and less economic damage.271011

Good description of strategies...how "saving the economy" is destroying it...

Prof. Jose-Luis Jimenez

@jljcolorado

·

6 u

121S/ NETHERLANDS (Government 

@Rijksoverheid

): Absurd advice on schools: - importance of ventilation unclear (AIRBORNE virus https://who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted…) - Handwashing & disinfection MORE important (0 proven cases surface trans. https://cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html…) https://rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/co

-

ronavirus-covid-19/onderwijs-en-kinderopvang/corona-en-ventilatie-schoolgebouwen

Dutch Gov. 

@Rijksoverheid

: I have had to add you to #COVIDHallofShame for the WORST practices worldwide to stop the fastest transmitting AIRBORNE virus (https://who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted…) known to humankind. Surface trans. unimportant (https://cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html…)