# 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:** 46
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/931 "2021-03-30T21:52:03Z")
2nd shot yesterday as well. I got used to shaving/shearing my locks off during deployments (heat and limited shower facilities) so now my wife uses the clippers every month or so. I’ve reached the age where I’m built for comfort, not speed so looks aren’t so important. Back to the breaking thread. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/932 "2021-03-30T23:57:04Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Yeah, the situation here (in New York City) isn’t great. > > Just wandering around parts of the city (safely, by bicycle) this is what I’ve observed – > > In the “hipster” neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan, masking is, well, considered optional. This isn’t data, this is just me eyeballing the streets, [snip] It sounds like your observations have all been outdoors, which is not a good way to judge mask-wearing rates. Ventilation or the lack thereof is quite possibly the biggest single variable in whether or not somebody gets a significant dose of the virus from an infectious person. I religiously wear a mask every time I go into any store, church, etc., but I don’t wear a mask outdoors (unless I’m walking between my car and a building that I’m going into or have been in), because the risk is so much lower. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/933 "2021-03-31T01:50:16Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > It sounds like your observations have all been outdoors, which is not a good way to judge mask-wearing rates. Well, it’s a perfectly good way to judge mask-wearing _outdoors_. Which is important, especially here in the city where the sidwalks are often crowded and too narrow to get six feet away from anyone. And especially important where crowds are gathered. As for the packed bars and restaurants in the more fashionable parts of Brooklyn, I observed that from the street. In Red Hook, especially, the bars were as crowded as they were pre-pandemic. Not a lot of masks in sight, either. After all, everyone was drinking. In the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, there are no masks. Indoors or out. None. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/934 "2021-03-31T01:52:46Z")
I’m not sure parents of young children are going to keep their kids isolated for another year, nor am I sure it’s the right thing to do: [Dr Fauci says children should not play together without masks until they are vaccinated | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/dr-fauci-children-covid-vaccine-masks-b1824600.html) ---
**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:** [March 31, 2021, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/935 "2021-03-31T08:15:06Z")
128,839,816 total cases 2,816,997 dead 103,969,784 recovered In the US: 31,097,154 total cases 564,138 dead 23,586,796 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 128,254,705 total cases > 2,804,706 dead > 103,466,706 recovered > > In the US: > > 31,033,801 total cases > 563,206 dead > 23,509,220 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:** [March 31, 2021, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/936 "2021-03-31T09:03:31Z")
Hungary: > **[The Latest: 6 more COVID cases found in local China outbreak](https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-cabinets-coronavirus-pandemic-wuhan-china-f225e7842defcdc96ceee57bdd934db4)** > > BEIJING — Health officials in China say six more people have become ill with COVID-19 in a southwestern Chinese city on the border with Myanmar... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/937 "2021-03-31T11:50:47Z")
In better news: A study of kids 12-15 found the Pfizer vaccine safe and effective, with similar side effects and similar levels of neutralizing antibodies formed as in the previously studied 16-25 year olds. > **[Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective for adolescents in trial](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-safe-effective-on-adolescents-in-trial-companies-say-idUSKBN2BN1IA)** > > Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective and produces robust antibody responses in 12- to 15-year olds, the companies said on Wednesday, paving the way for them to seek U.S. and European approval to use the shot in this age group... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/938 "2021-03-31T11:52:08Z")
In worse news, I’m listening to an NPR article about covid surging in India, with multiple nasty mutations affecting people who recovered from covid a year ago, of i caught that correctly. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/939 "2021-03-31T16:15:50Z")
Great to see the optimistic scenario seems to playing out in regards to vaccines stopping transmission of the virus (as opposed to just stopping symptomatic disease). > **[CDC director: Data suggests vaccinated people largely 'do not carry the virus'](https://theweek.com/speedreads/974785/cdc-director-data-suggests-vaccinated-people-largely-not-carry-virus)** > > The latest Speed Read,/speed-reads,,speed-reads, breaking news, comment, reviews and features from the experts at The Week > Her comments seemed to be in reference to a CDC study released earlier on Monday that examined Moderna’s and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines and found that in real-world conditions, they reduced the risk of infection by 90 percent two or more weeks after the second dose was administered. The CDC said the study demonstrated that the vaccines “can reduce both asymptomatic and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections.” Link to the study: [https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html) > Results showed that following the second dose of vaccine (the recommended number of doses), risk of infection was reduced by 90 percent two or more weeks after vaccination. Following a single dose of either vaccine, the participants’ risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 was reduced by 80 percent two or more weeks after vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/940 "2021-03-31T17:09:05Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’m not sure parents of young children are going to keep their kids isolated for another year, nor am I sure it’s the right thing to do: [Dr Fauci says children should not play together without masks until they are vaccinated | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/dr-fauci-children-covid-vaccine-masks-b1824600.html) This just seems tone deaf to me. Is this recommendation based on strictly stopping the spread of COVID-19 or a holistic assessment of risk/reward to children in the aggregate? I just don’t see most parents willing to do this for another year, especially given the risk profile of COVID-19 in children. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/941 "2021-03-31T17:32:22Z")
It may be that Dr. Fauci is reacting as an epidemiologist. Right now, there are no vaccinated children. So, while children are at low risk of the effects of COVID, they represent a pool of vectors passing the virus within the population, potentially creating new mutations to emerge as variants, possibly highly resistant to current vaccines. With the recent encouraging results of vaccination studies on children, this may change and then I would guess Dr. Fauci’s advice would change. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/942 "2021-03-31T18:52:36Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’m not sure parents of young children are going to keep their kids isolated for another year, nor am I sure it’s the right thing to do: [Dr Fauci says children should not play together without masks until they are vaccinated | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/dr-fauci-children-covid-vaccine-masks-b1824600.html) But it doesn’t say to keep your kids isolated, it says that your kids should wear masks when playing with other kids outside their bubble. I certainly don’t think most parents are planning on isolating their kids. Heck, I think most are planning on sending them to school or daycare. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/943 "2021-03-31T19:37:03Z")
The rising trends of daily reported cases (7 day average) seems to have reversed in the past couple of days, without reaching a new record high. With one exception. For the first time in months a state hit a new record daily high – Vermont as of Sunday March 28 hit a new daily high of 180 cases. Of course, it’s only a touch higher than the previous high of 173 they hit back at the beginning of January, and that number would’ve been lost in the noise of the cases in, say, New York. and it went down after the 28th. But it’s still a step backwards. > **[Have we flattened the curve in the US? - Johns Hopkins](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/new-cases-50-states/vermont)** > > Daily Confirmed Case Trends (7-Day Moving Average) in the US ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/944 "2021-03-31T22:26:55Z")
In bad news. > **[Shipments of Johnson & Johnson vaccine halted](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/545856-shipments-of-johnson-johnson-vaccine-halted/)** > > Future shipments of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine have been halted while the Food and Drug Administration investigates after human error at a manufacturing plant ruined 15 million dose… ---
**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:** [March 31, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/945 "2021-03-31T22:56:21Z")
France: > **[France to close schools, ban domestic travel as virus surges](https://apnews.com/article/france-close-schools-domestic-travel-ban-coronavirus-surge-b5ead689529516dc369170f695bfdf58)** > > PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced a three-week nationwide school closure and a month-long domestic travel ban, as the rapid spread of the virus ramped up pressure on hospitals... ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/946 "2021-03-31T23:33:34Z")
I think the logic is that the ability to guarantee kids below a certain age wear a mask and keep it on is severely limited. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/947 "2021-03-31T23:53:41Z")
All my friends have had their kids in masks. Kids are pretty adaptable. I guess the 5 year olds are better about masks than the 2 year olds. But it started with a friend asking all her friends to post photos of themselves on Facebook wearing masks, to normalize it for her toddler. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/948 "2021-03-31T23:57:49Z")
I think 2 years of socializing without facial cues is going to screw some kids up for a long time. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/949 "2021-04-01T00:11:22Z")
Presumably they are getting plenty of unmasked time with parents and siblings to learn social cues. A few hours a week masked in a playgroup won’t cause grave harm. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/950 "2021-04-01T00:34:18Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Presumably they are getting plenty of unmasked time with parents and siblings to learn social cues. That’s as good as learning with your peers? The practiced faces of your authority figures is the same? I would not presume that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=47)