# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 301
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6027 "2020-12-11T16:15:21Z")
I think we are seeing the Thanksgiving bounce. There will be another one for Christmas and I shudder to see what happens in mid-January. The problems with medical workers is exacerbated not only by them getting sick with the virus, but also breaking down from overwork and even retiring. And a few were fired early on for wearing masks. Incidentally, I have a vague memory that the NYT has left corona virus news outside its firewall, but I have no ready way of checking that. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6028 "2020-12-11T17:03:44Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I think we are seeing the Thanksgiving bounce. Or not. > **[FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, first approved in U.S.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/11/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/?outputType=amp)** > > U.S. coronavirus deaths topped 3,300 on Thursday, setting a harrowing record for the second consecutive day. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6029 "2020-12-11T19:22:29Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I think we are seeing the Thanksgiving bounce. What makes you say that? If anything, the _rate_ of increase seems to have slowed a bit compared to where it was before Thanksgiving, even though the absolute numbers are still going up. No clue if this is for real or if some of the backlogged cases from Thanksgiving weekend still haven’t been posted, but at any rate, nothing seems to be happening that was dramatically different from before (except in California, but there’s no obvious reason why California would get more of a Thanksgiving bounce than the rest of the country). ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6030 "2020-12-11T19:26:57Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Incidentally, I have a vague memory that the NYT has left corona virus news outside its firewall, but I have no ready way of checking that. That’s my memory too. They also have a good deal going on for a for more days, full digital subscription is a dollar a week for a year. I snapped that up early on in the pandemic and I am so glad I did. I live in a news desert, my local paper is a former shadow of itself and not worth reading but the NYT gives me several hours a day of good contact with and about the outside world. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6031 "2020-12-11T19:37:50Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > They also have a good deal going on for a for more days I took their free subscription probably two years ago (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t) and the email address I used for that has been getting that same dollar-a-week offer every week or two. So there’s probably no rush. (I can’t afford everybody. I’m supporting two local papers at full subscription price, and currently the Washington Post at their special $29/year rate. When that runs out I won’t be able to renew.) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6032 "2020-12-11T19:59:32Z")
Also, every other significant bounce has taken more than 2 weeks. In Texas, we’ve had two full rounds of restrictions/cases fall/ease restrictions/cases jump and it’s been about 5 weeks both times. If we get a Thanksgiving bounce, it won’t be “people who caught COVID at Thanksgiving dinner”, it will be “people who caught COVID from people who caught COVID at Thanksgiving dinner”. The first ripple or two look like noise. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6033 "2020-12-11T20:01:51Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > (I can’t afford everybody. I’m supporting two local papers at full subscription price, and currently the Washington Post at their special $29/year rate. When that runs out I won’t be able to renew.) Good to know. My local paper isn’t worth subscribing to (sadly we used to have two excellent independent papers, which I read both of front to back daily), it’s digital rate is outrageous so I spend all of my budget on the Times now. I was considering the Post, also a good paper, but I was used to the Times, it seems like it ventures out a little more in arts, culture, etc. The $29 Post yearly would be worth considering if my budget has the room after the new year-Biden’s first year in office is going to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6034 "2020-12-11T21:07:14Z")
Trump has ordered the head of the FDA to approve the Pfizer vaccine today or resign. Basically exactly the thing that will undermine confidence in the vaccine. > **[FDA authorizes the first coronavirus vaccine, a rare moment of hope in the...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/11/trump-stephen-hahn-fda-covid-vaccine/)** > > The message from a top Trump aide prompted the agency to accelerate its announcement, which had been planned for early Saturday. Will look for non-paywalled version, but this is where I got it. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6035 "2020-12-11T21:15:26Z")
> **[White House Reportedly Told FDA Head: Approve Vaccine Today Or Resign](https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/12/11/white-house-reportedly-told-fda-head-approve-vaccine-today-or-resign/)** > > On Friday, chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly told the commissioner of the FDA to either sign off on the vaccine by the end of the day or submit his resignation. Fox says the FDA head denies it, and their “sources said the idea that Meadows warned Hahn to approve the vaccine by Friday or resign was ‘not entirely true.’” > **[FDA chief denies report White House ordered him to authorize Pfizer vaccine...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fda-chief-denies-report-white-house-authorize-pfizer-vaccine-by-friday-or-resign)** > > FDA's Stephen Hahn said the report was an "untrue representation" of his conversation with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6036 "2020-12-11T21:30:38Z")
“Not entirely true” is nowhere near “entirely not true” when it comes to denials. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6037 "2020-12-11T21:41:11Z")
“What they actually told me was, approve the vaccine or you’re fired.” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6038 "2020-12-11T22:27:51Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > The $29 Post yearly would be worth considering I don’t know whether it’s a standard new-subsciber offer, or a Covid special, or a recurring option. Their standard rate is a good bit higher. If I forget to cancel this it’ll charge me automatically for standard rate for the following year (which is why there’s a note in my lists about it for the relevant month.) > [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Not entirely true” is nowhere near “entirely not true” when it comes to denials. That’s for sure. As near as I can tell, they were about to approve it anyway; it’s a little like ordering a cat to get off the chair when it’s already in mid-leap. I can only think of two things that this accomplishes: one, that Trump can present it to his base and the inside of his own head as ‘see, I told them what to do!’ and two, that it’ll discourage people from getting vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6039 "2020-12-11T22:34:46Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > hat it’ll discourage people from getting vaccinated. EXACTLY RIGHT! You just know full well Tan the Conman wants more people to die on a daily basis come January 20 so he can point out how much better he controlled the pandemic than President Biden. Yes, you read that correctly. Trump wants Americans to die to stoke his ego. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6040 "2020-12-11T23:05:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > “What they actually told me was, approve the vaccine or you’re fired.” Yeah, that’s my guess. Even: “Approve it _right now_ or you’re fired.” Sound like a nonsubstantive difference. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6041 "2020-12-11T23:09:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > If I forget to cancel this it’ll charge me automatically for standard rate for the following year (which is why there’s a note in my lists about it for the relevant month.) You can cancel any time and it will just end when your present subscription is paid through. Mine ends in February, I think, and I cancelled even though I really like the Post, because I don’t want to pay the non-promotional rate. I’ll probably take the NYT promotional rate for a year, then see if I can get a discount on the Post again. Although, I really do want to support them, the full rate is a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6042 "2020-12-12T00:26:10Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Also, the restaurant industry is struggling with 10K more restaurants expected to close in the next 3 weeks. For many of these restaurants (48% of those surveyed), they don’t plan to return once the pandemic is over. I’m mildly surprised that “only” 17% have closed so far. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6043 "2020-12-12T00:44:25Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Yeah, that’s my guess. Even: “Approve it _right now_ or you’re fired.” Sound like a nonsubstantive difference. The New York Times daily COVID newsletter observed: > The decision had not been expected until Saturday, after an expert panel [gave its approval](https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/WyeRcrOwJ0C_MURXWT79xg~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRhto5wP0TmaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMC8xMi8xMC9oZWFsdGgvY292aWQtdmFjY2luZS1wZml6ZXItZmRhLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTU0JmVtYz1lZGl0X2NiXzIwMjAxMjEyJmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTI0OTgwJm5sPWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWJyaWVmaW5nJnJlZ2lfaWQ9MzUxODE4MTkmc2VnbWVudF9pZD00NjcyNCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9ZTdlZjMwYTQyOTUyZGE0MWUxNzk5MzYyY2E4NWFmODNXA255dEIKAB1wCdRfuFHSWVISc2FzaGE5OUBydW5ib3guY29tWAQAAAAA) on Thursday. It was accelerated after President Trump [attacked the agency’s commissioner](https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/EJMEng3xQfBaubZkLJyfwA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRhto5wP0TdaHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9yZWFsRG9uYWxkVHJ1bXAvc3RhdHVzLzEzMzczNjk0MDM2MzgzNjIxMTQ_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTU0JmVtYz1lZGl0X2NiXzIwMjAxMjEyJmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTI0OTgwJm5sPWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWJyaWVmaW5nJnJlZ2lfaWQ9MzUxODE4MTkmc2VnbWVudF9pZD00NjcyNCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9ZTdlZjMwYTQyOTUyZGE0MWUxNzk5MzYyY2E4NWFmODNXA255dEIKAB1wCdRfuFHSWVISc2FzaGE5OUBydW5ib3guY29tWAQAAAAA), Dr. Stephen Hahn, for not approving a vaccine more quickly, and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, [threatened to fire him](https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/rYHZor6TRW1ps6L45Tk-og~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRhto5wP0T1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL2hlYWx0aC8yMDIwLzEyLzExL3RydW1wLXN0ZXBoZW4taGFobi1mZGEtY292aWQtdmFjY2luZS8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTU0JmVtYz1lZGl0X2NiXzIwMjAxMjEyJmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTI0OTgwJm5sPWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWJyaWVmaW5nJnJlZ2lfaWQ9MzUxODE4MTkmc2VnbWVudF9pZD00NjcyNCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9ZTdlZjMwYTQyOTUyZGE0MWUxNzk5MzYyY2E4NWFmODNXA255dEIKAB1wCdRfuFHSWVISc2FzaGE5OUBydW5ib3guY29tWAQAAAAA), according to a senior administration official. > > The agency has tried to fast-track vaccine approval without undercutting public confidence in the process. **The timing of the announcement appears unlikely to speed up the shipment of the initial doses of the vaccine.** My bold. Right. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6044 "2020-12-12T00:48:23Z")
Ontario, Canada has five different colour-coded phases, ranging from no restrictions to lockdown (except essential trips and services). Our region will shortly enter the second highest zone, essentially limiting many areas and businesses to an occupancy of ten people. Hopefully we avoid another shutdown, but this ain’t much better. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6045 "2020-12-12T01:06:14Z")
My local cancer center has cancelled routine follow-up appointments. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/6046 "2020-12-12T01:13:36Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > > > I think we are seeing the Thanksgiving bounce. > > Or not. Nah; yeah. > **[Viral spread: Americans paying the price for Thanksgiving](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-thanksgiving-f4d7db2ec316819bb8d5d6ec28047502)** > > With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving and falling sick with COVID-19, health officials are warning people — begging them, even — not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year's season. > [@](#): > > “It’s a surge above the existing surge,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Quite honestly, it’s a warning sign for all of us.” > > Across the country, contact tracers and emergency room doctors are hearing repeatedly from new coronavirus patients that they socialized over Thanksgiving with people outside their households, despite emphatic public-health warnings to stay home and keep their distance from others. > > The virus was raging across the nation even before Thanksgiving but was showing some signs of flattening out. It has picked up steam since, with new cases per day regularly climbing well over 200,000. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=300) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=302)