# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/483 "2021-02-10T07:59:36Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > They used a sample of blood donors from June and found that 44% of them had antibodies to COVID, Similar studies in the UK start with the observation that 10% of the UK population was immune to COVID even before the outbreak. If Brazil had more corona virus before COVID, their natural immunity might be even higher. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/484 "2021-02-10T18:46:52Z")
More on the double-mask issue. > **[CDC Says Double-Masking Offers More Protection Against The Coronavirus](https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/10/966313710/cdc-now-recommends-double-masking-for-more-protection-against-the-coronavirus)** > > New research found that wearing a cloth mask over a medical mask significantly boosts protection against droplets that can transmit the virus. Knotting the ear loops of surgical masks also helps. ---
**Author:** ![joe.russell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@joe.russell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joe.russell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/485 "2021-02-10T23:39:44Z")
> **[Perspective | Welcome to Iowa, a state that doesn’t care if you live or die](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/02/10/iowa-lift-all-restrictions/)** > > The governor lifted all covid-19 restrictions — showing what we really mean when we say “Iowa nice.” More on Iowa lifting restrictions. ‘Our rights we will prize, and our rights we will maintain’ ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/486 "2021-02-11T05:07:58Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > They used a sample of blood donors from June and found that 44% of them had antibodies to COVID I could do a study of tampon purchasers and find that 92% of them were female. Sample population matters. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/487 "2021-02-11T05:20:00Z")
107,855,946 total cases 2,364,978 dead 79,871,568 recovered In the US: 27,897,214 total cases 483,200 dead 17,827,323 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 107,411,435 total cases > 2,351,192 dead > 79,322,447 recovered > > In the US: > > 27,799,946 total cases > 479,772 dead > 17,639,217 recovered ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/488 "2021-02-11T14:12:09Z")
I’m afraid this is overly optimistic but would love to be wrong: > **[The Latest: Australia on track for vaccine by end of March](https://apnews.com/article/world-news-angela-merkel-germany-coronavirus-pandemic-63cf62ab6fca16a0c7e38d83316db807)** > > MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia is on track to manufacture and administer its own version of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March, the health minister said on Friday... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/489 "2021-02-11T14:51:44Z")
What he meant was that by April the priority system will fall away and an unseemly scrum encompassing all the 250M Americans who want a shot will start. I’m not being a naysayer or a cynic here. We were eventually going to get to the place where it’s open to anyone = open to everyone. The problem is going to be all the sharp elbows jostling at the front and all the logistical hiccups scaling up point of delivery from what it is today to 10x what it is today. Gonna be an ugly scrum with lots of trampled folks. Who “needs” or “deserves” a shot sooner will not be part of the outcome. The “bright side”, such as it is, is the mind-bogglingly large number of Americans who intend to voluntarily sit it out. I’d much rather fight through a 250M scrum for my shot than through a 350M scrum. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/490 "2021-02-11T14:54:22Z")
Will it be that many? An awful lot of people fall into 1A or 1B. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/491 "2021-02-11T15:00:05Z")
I’m ballparking. Feel free to pick your own favorite number. My point largely remains: If you (any you) thought the phone lines and internet sites were jammed with all the 65 yos trying to get shots, imagine what happens when the entire under-65 populace is added to the baying horde. Noting that we won’t have finished the over-65s by then either. At least not everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/492 "2021-02-11T15:21:41Z")
The NYT reports 33.8M one dose recipients and 10.5M two dose recipients so far in the USA. [total 54.8M doses] Current injection rate is 1.56M per day (also per NYT) April 1 is in 48 days. April 15 is in 63 days. (cite: calendar) 63\*1.58M = 99.54M shots by April 15 My rough estimate is 54M fully vaccinated and 42M single shot by 15 April. Sounds good to me, but I don’t know how big groups 1 and 2 are. And the J&J rollout should improve these numbers. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/493 "2021-02-11T15:33:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The “bright side”, such as it is, is the mind-bogglingly large number of Americans who intend to voluntarily sit it out. > **[1 in 3 Americans don’t plan to get the vaccine - San Antonio Express, 2/11/2021](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanAntonioExpressNews/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=SAEN%2F2021%2F02%2F11&entity=Ar00601&sk=F72C6A2C&mode=text)** > > San Antonio Express - 2/11/2021 > About 1 in 3 Americans say they definitely or probably won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new poll that some experts say is discouraging news if the U.S. hopes to achieve herd immunity and vanquish the outbreak. > > The poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that while 67 percent of Americans plan to get vaccinated or have already done so, 15 percent are certain they won’t and 17 percent say probably not. Many expressed doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. > > The poll suggests that substantial skepticism persists more than a month and a half into a U.S. vaccination drive that has encountered few if any serious side effects. Resistance was found to run higher among younger people, people without college degrees, Black Americans and Republicans. > … ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/494 "2021-02-11T15:39:38Z")
Also, the under 16s won’t be trying to get a shot, as the vaccine isn’t approved for them. And almost people get vaccinated, case counts will go down, and it will feel less urgent. And systems will be better. I guess we will see, but I think it will be better, not worse. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/495 "2021-02-11T16:00:18Z")
Surely this won’t be allowed to happen! > **[Short On Special Syringes, Japan May Waste Millions Of Pfizer Vaccine Doses](https://www.npr.org/2021/02/11/966712940/short-on-syringes-japan-may-waste-millions-of-pfizer-vaccine-doses)** > > Japan had purchased doses to vaccinate 72 million people, but without the appropriate syringes, it will fall 12 million people short. > Japan may have several million fewer coronavirus vaccine doses than originally planned because the country does not have the appropriate syringes, in another setback to one of the slower vaccination rollouts among developed economies. > > The Pfizer vaccine normally contains five doses per vial. But a special syringe, known as a low dead space syringe, which expels more medicine from the space between a syringe’s needle and plunger, can eke out six doses per vial. > > “We will use all the syringes we have that can draw six doses, but it will, of course, not be enough as more shots are administered,” Health Minister Norihisa Tamura [said](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/02/6b5b9a101956-fewer-people-to-get-pfizer-vaccine-in-japan-due-to-syringe-shortage.html) Tuesday. > > This means that the Pfizer vaccines, that could have been enough for 72 million people, will only cover 60 million. The Kyodo news agency reports that Japan will try to purchase additional doses from Pfizer. > … ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/496 "2021-02-11T16:29:27Z")
The US has the same problem though right? It used to be five but then someone using the low waste syringe figured we could get 6. So Pfizer is all “okay 6” now. We will just ship less. Thanks suckers! ---
**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:** [February 11, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/497 "2021-02-11T19:10:20Z")
The categories and priority groups vary by state, so it’s impossible to say who will have been vaccinated by April. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/498 "2021-02-11T20:41:15Z")
A doctor in Houston is being prosecuted for giving leftover vaccine doses to various, eligible people. CNN Article [here](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/us/texas-covid-vaccine-theft-charges/index.html), and a more recent New York Times article is [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html) (but paywalled). ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/499 "2021-02-11T22:00:58Z")
The Times article says that medical societies sided with the physician, the judge scolded the prosecutor, and the case was dismissed. It’s quite upsetting to be accused of a crime, and also expensive in that you have to hire a lawyer. However, so long as you weren’t wrongly convicted, I would say that the system worked. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/500 "2021-02-11T22:04:35Z")
Despite the judge dismissing the case, the NYT article said that the district attorney is still going to present it before the grand jury. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/501 "2021-02-11T22:27:24Z")
Re grand jury, it’s probably an idle threat, but I should have mentioned it. Here’s a legitimate link with less likelihood of a the paywall: > **[The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired. (Published 2021)](https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/article249164850.html)** > > Ten doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would expire within hours, so a Houston doctor gave it to people with medical conditions, including his wife. What followed was “the lowest moment in my life,” Dr. Hasan Gokal said. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/502 "2021-02-11T22:46:59Z")
This bit from the NYT article was interesting, “Dr. Gokal said that no one from the district attorney’s office had ever contacted him to hear his version of events. And when his lawyer requested copies of the written protocols and waiting list referred to in the complaint, a prosecutor told him by email that there were no written protocols from late December; nor had a written wait list yet been found.” Elsewhere, the article mentions that what he was being told was that he gave the vaccine to too many “Indian people”. He was calling people from his phone contacts, and given that he is Pakistani, I’m not surprised that many of the people were also Pakistani or Indian. Remember that the vial was opened at 6:45pm to administer a dose to the last scheduled patient. After that, there was a window of perhap six hours during which the vaccine remained viable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=26)