Tuesday's report:
142,059 new cases; about 28k fewer than two weeks ago.
Top 10:
Fuck Florida.
Texas: 21,240 new cases; 318 deaths
California: 10,106 new cases; 103 deaths
Georgia: 7,327 new cases; 128 deaths
Ohio: 7,325 new cases; 28 deaths
Tennessee: 5,089 new cases; 127 deaths
North Carolina: 4,760 new cases; 58 deaths
Illinois: 4,660 new cases; 39 deaths
New York: 4,606 new cases; 32 deaths
Minnesota: 4,598 new cases; 12 deaths
The national trend still appears to be declining, though there are several states with high numbers and strained resources (*ahemahem* Texas, masters of the pandemic) which means we'll continue to be losing a lot of people over the coming weeks. If Florida's numbers are to be believed they're probably not number one in cases or hospitalizations anymore, which I'm sure comes as a relief to our resident Floridians for now. They did, however, post more cases yesterday than California and DeathSantis continues fighting against mask mandates, politicizing what should be a no-brainer safety precaution. Fuck Florida. 35 states reported over 1k new cases, so we're still a long way off from the end of this current wave despite the downturn.
1,934 deaths is around 300 more than two weeks ago and brings the total to 682,341. Florida, Texas and Georgia took the top spots and Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona all had more deaths than California which is pretty horrible considering the population difference. Some of Tuesday's total is likely a correction from the weekend but the 7-day average has been pushed just above 1.5k.
Related news:
Few people medically exempt from getting COVID-19 vaccine: Experts --The bottom line is that there should not be any health reasons--pre-existing conditions or otherwise--that prevent people from getting the vaccine. Studies show "no immediate health issues or side effects", so all of those people lining up to get an exemption from a chiropractor are wasting their time.
West Virginia battles Covid surge after failing to build on early vaccine success--They went from one of the best to one of the worst in short order and now their healthcare system is just about as fucked as those in the South.
COVID surge pushes much of Idaho toward medical rationing--You know...the thing the GOP said would be prevalent under Democrat-proposed healthcare reform.
Stay safe, folks.
Several NFL teams are now requiring fans in physical attendance show proof of vaccination to get through the front door.
I'll start with Buffalo. Erie County has seen a bunch of new cases, and officials there are taking it seriously. Yes, Buffalo is upstate NY and yes, a lot of upstate NY is red, but Buffalo is a major-ish city and is still blue, so this isn't a massive surprise. With vaccine proof in hand (yes, you need to bring your card, or you need to enrol in NYState's "Excelsior" program, nuff said) you don't need to mask in the stadium, which of course means some dumb motherfucker's going to lie/cheat their way in and infect some kids.
The New Orleans Saints said four weeks ago not only would vaccination be required, but also, you need to bring a negative test with you. Oh, and you don't get a refund if you refuse, because remember Mardis Gras? Yeah.
The Seattle Seahawks are not quite as strict. Starting this coming home game, you have to have proof of vaccination, or a recent negative test. However, you also need to be masked, because the stadium is in the city and the city says mask up.
And finally, the Raiders of Las Vegas have announced a vaccination requirement. Well, most of them. The Fiends were first in line, not a huge surprise there with the other stuff they already cram into their system, with the Great Khans right behind them. The Jackals and Vipers are also believed to have signed on as well, but they haven't released an official statement. The Powder Gangers are notable, public holdouts, choosing to "stick it to the man". As such, they will not be allowed to attend home games, and the NCR will wipe them out once Hoover Dam is secured.
It looks like Murderous Insurrection 2 won't be happening. The expected turnout is 700.
Also for added fun, if you show up wearing a Trump hat
Yeah, I don't think a ton of Biden supporters were going anyhow. But man, I can't wait to hear about the Trump supporters in Trump clothing showing up and the whole thing becoming the Republican civil war, right out of Biden's window.We request that anybody attending our events not wear any clothing or have signs supportive of either President Trump or Biden.
Anyone not honoring this request will be assumed to be an infiltrator and we will take your picture, find out who you are, and make you famous.
"Should we call the police, Mr. President?"
"No," (sips) "not yet. I'm sure there are very fine people on both sides. They're just very loving tourists."
That, of course, does not match their stated public goals. So yeah, you're probably right. The group is claiming they're just helping these poor political prisoners out of nonparistan charity, but nobody believes that, not even them.
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Milley confirmed today that he called China, saying that the U.S. would not launch a surprise attack.
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Fauci goes on CNN to refute yet another COVID conspiracy theory spread by yet another celebrity with no idea what they're talking about.
Despite what Nicki Minaj says, no, the vaccine does not cause impotency.
Remember how we were talking about how there weren't any real reasons that religions should get a waiver from the vaccine mandate? well ....
U.S. judge blocks N.Y. vaccine mandate for healthcare workers
bleh ...U.S. District Judge David Hurd in Utica, New York in a written order said he was blocking the mandate from taking effect on Sept. 27 because it does not allow for exemptions based on workers' religious beliefs.
The order came in a lawsuit filed on Monday by 17 doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who say New York's requirement violates their constitutional rights in various ways.
The plaintiffs are all Christians who say they object to receiving the vaccines because the cell lines of aborted fetuses were used in their testing and development.
Hoo boy.
1) Pfizer used mRNA tech, which in turn, does not use aborted cell tissue. Get that one.
2) The MMR vaccine was developed using aborted cell tech, so, you've already shot up with it. Have fun with that. Oh, and shingles.
3) The Pope personally and specifically said it was okay, and his word is God's word on earth.
4) And the Vatican is making everyone get vaccinated.
Religious freedoms aren't without limits. Public health is one such limit. You're largely free to not get the vaccine, but that freedom does not amount to permission to ignore public health requirements. In this case, of a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, that seems pretty clear. If your job has a desk-work option, maybe that can work, especially if it's work-from-home. Otherwise, I'm not saying you should be fired, but you've made a choice that makes it impossible for you to safely work. So indefinite suspension until the pandemic is passed.
Religious freedoms require accommodations, where accommodations are feasible. They're not a free pass. For instance, if you're a Sikh construction worker, and your headdress interferes with wearing proper safety equipment, you're either going to have to give up that headdress or find an equivalent that can work with it or modify that headdress to work with existing equipment. A much tighter turban probably works fine with a hardhat, but you can't claim a religious freedom exemption to work on-site without a hardhat. You see this with police, too; turbans often get approved in place of regular uniform headwear because the headwear doesn't serve a practical purpose, but if your job requires wearing a respirator on the regular, you can't have wear a full beard unless there's a version available that allows for that and still seals up properly.
While workplaces have to try and work with people to find those accommodations, accommodations are not a way around a necessary requirement, nor even a compromise. They're finding a way to meet that practical requirement and the religious needs, if possible, and if it's not, your religious freedoms don't apply; you can take the job and voluntarily set those objections aside, or you can find a different job.
I'm 100% in favor of accommodations, where possible. In this case, that would amount to having unvaccinated staff spend the entire day in hazmat gear to prevent them contaminating any location in the building, with a separate dressing area/showers/etc outside the building for them to gear up before entry. Anything short of that is a concession against the interests of public health, which shouldn't be acceptable.
They don't. More details here.
Right so religious exemption based on a vaccine using aborted fetus tissue is just bullshit. It’s the same argument my grandmother was using, and after I explained it to her, and explained that even the pope said it was OK to get vaccinated, she got vaccinated, thankfully.