Oregon Republican Party calls Capitol riot a ‘false flag’ operation to discredit GOP, silence Trump supporters

QAnon Kool-Aid gulped down by gallons in Oregon.

11421_capitolriot_gettyimages.jpg

The Oregon Republican Party earlier this month approved and released a resolution calling the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by pro-Trump supporters a “false flag” operation and condemning Republicans who voted to impeach now-…

The Covid-19 Vaccines Are Amazing. Let’s Quickly Get Them into People’s Arms.

moderna-vaccine.jpg

Moderna Vaccine

You probably read something yesterday, maybe just a headline, about Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine being “six times less effective” against the B.1.351 coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. This is, to put it plainly, a bullshit take on what is actually excellent news. This is the important bit, via Stat:

Both the Moderna vaccine and the immunization from Pfizer-BioNTech produce such powerful levels of immune protection — generating higher levels of antibodies on average than people who recover from a Covid-19 infection have — that they should be able to withstand some drop in their potency without really losing their ability to guard people from getting sick.

“There is a very slight, modest diminution in the efficacy of a vaccine against it, but there’s enough cushion with the vaccines that we have that we still consider them to be effective,” Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases official, said Monday on the “Today” show.

Let’s hear that again: “Both the Moderna vaccine and the immunization from Pfizer-BioNTech produce such powerful levels of immune protection…” These vaccines are so good, so potent, that even this sixfold drop in one measure of the vaccines’ ability to neutralize this one SARS-CoV-2 variant isn’t even enough to significantly reduce their overall protective power.1 That’s the important news here, that’s the very good news, that’s what you should be taking away from this. We have miraculously developed a near-perfect medicine for a plague that has significantly disrupted all human life on Earth and we’re flipping out over some technical details that the experts assure us don’t mean much in terms of overall effectiveness?! No thank you. Not today.

In a Twitter thread, Zeynep Tufekci is tearing her hair out because of the media’s misunderstanding and sensationalization of the “sixfold drop”.

I know people are tired but needless anxiety isn’t helping us. Let’s focus on getting through these months — better masks if indoors with others, more strict attention to our precautions — and the real problem: making more of these amazing vaccines quickly & getting them out there!

I get it, we want to understand but not how it works. Stop worrying about Nab titers. That does NOT mean the vaccine is six times less effective. People whose job it is to worry about it are on it & we just got confirmation: it works against the variants.

Plea to media: this isn’t a good headline. It makes people think the vaccine is six times less effective against the new variants (FALSE!) when the news today is *excellent*: The vaccine continues to work well against the new variants. That’s the headline.

For a much more technical take on the efficacy of the vaccines against variants, see virologist Florian Krammer’s long thread. His conclusion:

mRNA vaccines induce very high neutralizing antibodies after the second shot (consistently in the upper 25-30% of what we see with convalescent sera). If that activity is reduced by 10-fold, it is still decent neutralizing activity that will very likely protect. Furthermore, we know that the mRNA vaccines are already protective after the first shot when neutralizing antibody titers are low or undetectable in most individuals.

There is a concern here and it’s that B.1.351 or B.1.1.7 might mutate into variants that are significantly resistant against the vaccines’ good effects. Krammer again:

First, we need to do what every good scientist is praying for a year now: We need to cut down on virus circulation. The more the virus replicates, the more infections there are the higher are the chances for new variants to arise. Also, we need to try and contain B.1.351 and B.1.1.248/P.1 as much as possible.

That’s why, aside from preventing hundreds of thousands of deaths in the next several months, getting these vaccines into people’s arms is so important: the less the virus spreads, the less opportunity it will have to mutate into something even more dangerous. The US vaccination effort is slowly ramping up — we’re at an average of 1.3 million doses per day right now and the trend is heading in the right direction. We can get this done!

So what can you do about this right now? 1. Stop worrying about the variants until the experts let us know we have something to worry about. 2. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get it! 3. Spread the word about vaccine availability in your area. Yesterday Vermont opened signups for vaccination appointments for all Vermonters 75 and older, and I texted/emailed everyone I could think of who was over 75 or who had parents/relatives/friends who are over 75 to urge them to sign up or spread the word. 4. Continue to wear a mask (a better one if possible), wash your hands, social distance, stay home when possible, don’t spend time indoors w/ strangers, etc. Thanks to these remarkable vaccines, real relief is in sight — let’s keep on track and see this thing through.

  1. Obviously, this could change! But the situation right now w/r/t variants is very good.

Tags: COVID-19   Florian Krammer   medicine   Moderna   Pfizer   science   Zeynep Tufekci

Bagatelle!!!

Soni's thoughts

Hola peeps, my amazing friends, how are you all!! Hope all are enjoying your days at home with own people!! Now a days i am not able to be active and post daily on wp… Yeah too occupied with office and other stuffs😐😐 today got some time for myself hehehe… No office, weekend right😃😃 So all of a sudden i time travelled in my mind to my childhood days, like how i used to pass my days, time with friends and parents, sister… What all games i used to play and what all types of games i had…and i remembered a fantastic game which my mom bought for me and my elder sissoo called BAGATELLE, mmm i am not sure if you guys are aware of this game🤔 if yes then you know how interesting this game is!!!

Bagatelle is a game of small pin balls made of iron…

View original post 454 more words

Costa Rica to vaccinate entire adult population against Covid-19 –

“We signed the budget that provides resources to vaccinate against COVID-19 the entire population over the age of 18 without medical contraindications (3.7 million people),” President Alvarado shared on social media. “I thank Congress for its agile work for approval. Vaccinating is protecting and promoting economic recovery.” Source: Costa Rica to vaccinate entire adult population against Covid-19 –

EXPECTATIONS

Unlocking The Hidden Me

You dig out a hole and plant this seed

Water it but it turns out to be a weed

Dominant it becomes as it grows large

Carrying preconceived notions in a barge

People will come, laugh and sit with you

Most of them stones and diamonds would be few

They tend to water this weed

But pity you, you pay no heed

You go beyond your lane

To entertain them, you even bear pain

Happily you do so, but

The weed keeps growing close and shut

When your turn comes to get acclaim

No one is there to shower you fame

For the weed you grew

You only will have to get it through

Expect from others and you get empty dishes

Expect from yourself to fulfill all your wishes.

As under the bridge of fake praises and assurances

There flows a river of selfish adherences.

Thank you so…

View original post 34 more words

MUSUR DALER BORA RECIPE | HOW TO COOK BENGALI STYLE LENTIL FRITTERS

Letscookwithtina

This easy to cook Snack is a popular recipe in our house. My mother cooks this recipe on weekends. We enjoy this recipe over a cup of tea. Also she cooks this recipe when we there is nothing much to have with rice Dal combo. Like I always say, this recipe is very easy to cook. You don’t need much ingredients to cook this recipe.

Indian kitchen seems incomplete without a container of lentils. From red lentil to yellow lentil, to any other Dal, an item of Dal is must in our Menu. My mother prefers to cook mix Dal, i.e a mixture of moong, masoor and tur Dal. And believe me it tastes awesome. Do you want the recipe?

These delectable morsels are very humble in nature. From accompanying rice and dal to tasty appetizers it works great. Just serve hot with a dollop of ketchup, your guest…

View original post 247 more words

« Après l’arrivée des chercheurs d’or… la forêt était devenue mauvaise et remplie de fumées épidémiques de xawara. Les anciens chamans qui savaient faire danser l’image des esprits étaient morts de ces fumées mortelles. »

After the gold diggers arrived … the forest had turned bad and filled with epidemic xawara fumes. The ancient shamans who knew how to make the image of the spirits dance had died from these deadly fumes.

Barbara Crane Navarro

Garçon Yanomami avec son arc et flèches dans la forêt, Alto Orinoco, Amazonas, Venezuela – photo: Barbara Crane Navarro

Comme le dit le porte-parole et chaman Yanomami Davi Kopenawa dans son livre La chute du ciel: « Nous sommes allés dans les trous d’or où travaillaient les orpailleurs. … Ils étaient vraiment très nombreux ici, bien plus que nous! Ils avaient creusé de vastes fossés bordés d’énormes tas de gravier partout pour trouver la poussière brillante qu’ils recherchaient sans relâche dans les ruisseaux.

Tous les cours d’eau étaient inondés de boue jaunâtre, souillés par les huiles à moteur, en plus recouverts de poissons morts. Les machines grondaient dans un rugissement assourdissant sur leurs rives dégagées et leur fumée empestait toute la forêt environnante. … Je me suis dit: ‘Hou! Tout cela est très mauvais. Ces blancs semblent vouloir dévorer la terre comme des tatous et des pécaris !…

View original post 156 more words

Second Look Behind the Headlines – News you can use…

Baldacchino di Perla

"Luce di parole, ombra di sogni."

Northern Desert Photography

Living on the Edge of the Sagebrush Ocean

Susana Cabaço

Spiritual Insights & Personal Empowerment

Barbara Picci

Artist & Art Blogger

craft journey

Furnicraft, woodwork, and art

musings corner

reveries and rants

Japão para Românticos

Bem Vindos a este espaço onde compartilhamos um pouco da realidade do Japão à todos aqueles que desejam visitar ou morar no Japão. Aqui neste espaço, mostramos a realidade do Japão e dos imigrantes. O nosso compromisso é com a realidade. Fique por dentro do noticiário dos principais jornais japoneses, tutoriais de Faça você mesmo no Japão e acompanhe a Série Histórias de Imigrantes no Japão. Esperamos que goste de nossos conteúdos, deixe seu like, seu comentário, compartilhe e nos ajudar você e à outras pessoas. Grande abraço, gratidão e volte sempre!

Leben als Mensch

Willkommen auf Elke´s Glücks-Blog

Sharpshot Nature .Com

- Specializing in the great outdoors, capturing nature at its finest!

Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss education and democracy

Expansão e Percepção

Seu Guia de Inspirações e Reflexões Diárias

noga noga.

my-health-and-beauty.com/

Uğurcan'ın Ütopyası

Benim Gezegenime Hoş geldiniz !!!

AKILS

Blog de viajes y lugares

Ed Mooney Photography

The official blog of Ed Mooney Photography. Dad of 3, Photographer, Blogger, Powerlifter. Exploring the historical sites of Ireland.

everything Explored on the earth

It has new aidias,news, about education , motivation, social, historical, culture, marketing creation new aidias education of language science culture and history

Born to die

L'unico modo sensato di vivere è senza regole

Early Morning Memories

by Anuran (A) & Sayoni (S)

My thoughts

Fun for the Brain

Neo Vision College

An exemplary learning community.

Anthony’s Crazy Love and Life Lessons in Empathy

Loves, lamentation, and life through prose, stories, passions, and essays.

Episodic Squalid Rants

public tantrums by a non-two-year-old

The Street Art Directory

Public, street and urban art worldwide

Artie & Stu

all the rules of free form

Everyone read that they fell in love first

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2937106805202763" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

davidscottmoyer

Lapsed Painter, Occasional Photographer, Compulsive Writer

Health & Fitness

Health Blogs

Buildings Tell Tales

Exploring the hidden architectural heritage of Budapest

Divit kalem

Yaşamdan

Roy's Weblog

The third incarnation...

Thought Pukes

More than a thought less than a question

"بوصلة الحياة"

"بوصلة الحياة: مدونة متعددة المجالات، من السياسة إلى الرومانسية، ومن تطوير الذات إلى الأدب وأكثر!" بقلم مشاعر بنت عبدالرحمن

parallax

The view from here ... Or here!

ClearingSpace4Joy

Bringer and seeker of joy

Belladonna’s Flashlight

The One Where She Stumbled Through Her 40's and Faced Her Demons

~ Trivial Music Silliness ~

Baw wit da baw. Just sayin'.

mo mnsoor blog

Website storys

Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

Welcome to the Anglo Swiss World

gnaddrig ad libitum

Querbeet und ohne Gewähr

Peace & Truth

KINDNESS IS FREE, sprinkle it all over the world, and 😁 smile

Ética de la vida diaria

Nuestra ética de todos los días...

Elizabeth Gauffreau

Fiction Writer in Poet's Clothing