Goal ..

 

What strategy are we using to combat Covid infection.

One plausible goal is to focus on minimizing COVID-19’s impact on hospitals. A collapsed health-care system means more people will die, not just of COVID-19 but from other treatable diseases and injuries. 

Elsewhere in the world, like in the U.K. and Germany, leaders have explicitly tied their policies to containing hospitalizations rather than all cases. But in addition to hospitalizations, Gounder suggests we should also consider the risk of long COVID. 

“I think for people that is the big question. We just don’t know enough,” she says. Preliminary data suggest vaccines do reduce the risk of long COVID, but exactly how much is unclear given the uncertainties in diagnosing it.

Once we’ve defined what we are trying to prevent, we can define thresholds for lifting and, if necessary, reinstating COVID-19 measures. This can actually be quite tricky if the goal is minimizing hospitalizations, a lagging indicator that gives you a picture of the past rather than the present. 

By the time hospitalizations start to rise, a bigger increase may already be baked in with people already infected but not yet sick enough to see a doctor. What to track instead?

Ikaria-2...

 

Ikariots typical weekly menu reads like a how-to guide for the popular Mediterranean diet: Olive oil 5–7 times a week, fruits and vegetables 4–5 times per week, fish twice, meat once, and a cup of coffee and a glass of wine on either end of their day—essentially moderation as a form of cultural expression. 

Eighty-five percent of the island’s residents engage in moderate physical activity, taking long walks or working the fields. Half of them observe religious fastings, requiring long periods without eating meat and dairy at certain times of the year, and most take a midday siesta. 

Men between 65 and 99 report at least moderate self-confidence during sex, and depression is somewhat exotic. 

Average Ikariots also share strong communal bonds and a disregard for money, even tourist money (a shocking contrast to other Greek islands like Mykonos, 90 minutes away by ferry, which is marketed as a hotspot for billionaires and the upper crust).

Ikariots throw themselves into their world-renowned “panigiria,” which are traditional feasts that celebrate the name days of Christian Orthodox saints or other religious holidays and take place all around the year.  . 

Ikaria-3 ..

 

Siegfried Hekimi, a biology professor at McGill University, says he is impressed not only by the fact that Ikariots live longer, but that they also look much younger. Their younger appearance is what seems to predict whether they will live longer. 

As we get older we are ravaged by the loss of homeostasis, the ability of our body to restore a functional, stable, internal environment. “This gradual loss is also what kills you when it becomes very severe at an old age,” 

When people look young for their age, it means their rate of loss of good homeostasis is slower than average, he continues. “Which suggests it will take a longer time for the processes to be so degraded that they will kill you. Thus, the logical conclusion is that, on average, people who look good for their age will live longer than people who look worse at the same age.” 

Rodgers...

 

A Wisconsin health care organization has ended a nine-year partnership with Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers after the quarterback detailed his reasoning for avoiding the three COVID-19 vaccinations endorsed by the NFL.

A statement posted on Twitter by Prevea Health said the company and Rodgers mutually agreed to end their partnership, effective Saturday. Prevea Health and Rodgers had been partners since 2012.

The statement said Prevea Health "remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.  

See...

 

Moderates...

 

Grave...

 

A federal appeals court suspended the Biden administration’s new vaccine requirement for private companies, delivering a major blow for one of the White House’s signature attempts to increase the number of vaccinations to corral the pandemic.

The decision was issued by a panel of three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The judges wrote that there was “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate,” staying the order while the court assesses it in more depth.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by a group of plaintiffs including Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R), part of a wave of lawsuits against the order from mostly Republican-aligned groups and politicians.

President Biden was aware of the issue but those who are pushing him left and right are not stopping.  Just a "Freedom issue" thought.

See...

 

That is why we are Building Back Better. The Triple Bs.

Idiotic...

 

Image is not related.

 The NYPD chased a helicopter that made an unauthorized landing in an empty Brooklyn parking lot and picked up two passengers on Thursday, according to reports.

Neighbors reported the low-flying helicopter that landed in a lot near Troy Avenue and Carroll Street in Crown Heights came after 12:30 p.m.

The helicopter then picked up two passengers before taking flight to New Jersey, and was followed to Lakewood Township Municipal Airport by one of the NYPD's Aviation Unit choppers where they met with the pilot after it landed.

Police sources said the pilot had a “cordial” conversation with the NYPD officers after landing and told police he didn’t know that he couldn’t land on a city street or a vacant lot. 

Just an, idiotic, thought.

Conceded

 

The result of New Jersey's election for governor will be “legal and fair" no matter the outcome, Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli said Thursday in his first comments since The Associated Press declared incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy the election's winner.

Ciattarelli has not conceded the election.
“No one should be declaring victory or conceding the election until every legal vote is counted,” Ciattarelli said in the 2-minute video clip posted on Twitter.

Ciattarelli, a former Assembly member, said he will wait for the state's 21 counties to complete counting thousands of mail-in and other ballots, which could take until next week, before deciding whether to ask for a recount.

Under state law, there is no automatic recount and the party seeking one must file a suit in state Superior Court in the county where the recount is requested.