# 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:** 71
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1433 "2021-05-30T04:13:38Z")
170,633,467 total cases 3,548,676 dead 152,603,176 recovered In the US: 34,035,318 total cases 609,421 dead 27,818,961 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 170,142,545 total cases > 3,537,778 dead > 151,967,403 recovered > > In the US: > > 34,022,657 total cases > 608,961 dead > 27,767,040 recovered ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1434 "2021-05-30T14:54:12Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > no real reason why viral rates in unvaccinated people should change just because everybody is tired of this thing. Partial herd immunity. Even if only 30% of the population is vaccinated, that reduce the spread rate, and reduces the risks to the unvaccinated a bit. Because people don’t mix at random, and the unvaccinated tend to be in the same social circles as other unvaccinated, it doesn’t help them as much as it otherwise might, but it DOES help some. And if course, for the same reason, the immune compromised, and others who can’t be vaccinated, or don’t benefit from it, whose social circles believe in vaccination, are somewhat more protected. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1435 "2021-05-30T15:14:44Z")
Definitely well past time for the gov’t to start collecting & reporting stats on hospitalizations, ICU stays, and deaths segregated by vaccinated versus not vaccinated. That won’t help the True Believers and their propagandist enablers. But it can (eventually) reach some percentage of fence sitters. As well, it can build political support for either sanctioning the non-vaxxed as a clear and deliberate threat to public health, or else provide moral cover for sensible society to say “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn how many unvaxxed die; it was their choice.” ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1436 "2021-05-30T15:55:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Definitely well past time for the gov’t to start collecting & reporting stats on hospitalizations, ICU stays, and deaths segregated by vaccinated versus not vaccinated. Agreed. I’m really surprised we aren’t seeing that already. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1437 "2021-05-30T16:03:00Z")
The lack of herd immunity is puzzling in Covid, and really has only been seen in Israel to any appreciable degree. Sweden and many have placed undue reliance on herd immunity. Yes, it has a theoretical effect. The limited data shows it offers precious little increased security to those who are unvaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1438 "2021-05-30T16:03:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Definitely well past time for the gov’t to start collecting & reporting stats on hospitalizations, ICU stays, and deaths segregated by vaccinated versus not vaccinated. See here: [Welp, looks like the pandemic is over in Arizona - #75 by Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welp-looks-like-the-pandemic-is-over-in-arizona/938717/75) > **[In Bend, COVID-19 patients flood hospital, ICU; 98% unvaccinated](https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/05/in-bend-covid-19-patients-flood-hospital-icu-98-unvaccinated.html)** > > Factors include both ongoing spread of COVID-19 and an increase in patients who put off medical treatment during the pandemic and are now showing up with neglected illnesses. So there are some stories hitting the headlines about this. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1439 "2021-05-30T16:10:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Definitely well past time for the gov’t to start collecting & reporting stats on hospitalizations, ICU stays, and deaths segregated by vaccinated versus not vaccinated. The WaPo posted a nice graphic of this in the US. If you google vaccinated vs. unvaccinated covid rates, you’ll get tons of articles across the US with headlines like “97% of new covid cases are among the unvaccinated”. Meanwhile, TX has been completely open since the beginning of March. The only people getting covid now are unvaccinated. > **[The unseen covid-19 risk for unvaccinated people](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2021/covid-rates-unvaccinated-people/)** > > With the adjustment for vaccination, the national death rate is roughly the same as it was two months ago, while the adjusted rates in several states show the pandemic is spreading as fast among the unvaccinated as it did during the winter surge. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1440 "2021-05-30T17:23:32Z")
I think the WaPo article just assumes that all the cases are among the unvaccinated. I want to see real data. Which can’t happen unless the states are collecting real data, and making it available. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1441 "2021-05-30T17:49:47Z")
Yes, but as I said, if you google “vaccinated vs unvaccinated covid rates” you come up with individual articles where they report X% of new covid cases are from unvaccinated people. Maybe they wrote this wrong but the following quote led me to believe that they actually recorded vaccination status of new cases: > “At this time, our outbreak is being felt primarily by the unvaccinated,” Duchin said. “Approximately a half a million people 12 years of age and older remain unvaccinated, and 97% or more of current cases are among unvaccinated people. That means if you’re unvaccinated, your risk of COVID-19 is actually higher right now than it was last Memorial Day.” > **[97% of COVID-19 cases in King County are among unvaccinated people](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/97-covid-19-cases-king-county-are-among-unvaccinated-people/427UY4YCZNCIVIKNIPXZPKIY2Q/)** > > In King County, cases of COVID-19 and related hospitalizations have been decreasing, thanks to an increase in vaccinations. Edited: maybe you’re right because they said “or more” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1442 "2021-05-30T17:59:26Z")
For those who want to see trends. We haven’t seen lows like this since July of 2020. Previous week D is the +/- difference from corresponding day of the previous week. The numbers are adjusted because a number of states are dumping corrections that don’t reflect actual daily numbers of deaths. | Day | Date | Daily adj | 7 day avg | prev wk D | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sat | 5/15 | 499 | 611 | (196) | | Sun | 5/16 | 284 | 619 | 60 | | Mon | 5/17 | 354 | 617 | (13) | | Tue | 5/18 | 829 | 626 | 62 | | Wed | 5/19 | 619 | 595 | (220) | | Thu | 5/20 | 661 | 581 | (94) | | Fri | 5/21 | 798 | 578 | (26) | | Sat | 5/22 | 468 | 573 | (31) | | Sun | 5/23 | 211 | 563 | (73) | | Mon | 5/24 | 329 | 559 | (25) | | Tue | 5/25 | 792 | 554 | (37) | | Wed | 5/26 | 593 | 550 | (26) | | Thu | 5/27 | 630 | 546 | (31) | | Fri | 5/28 | 627 | 521 | (171) | | Sat | 5/29 | 460 | 520 | (8) | ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1443 "2021-05-30T19:11:53Z")
South Africa locking down again: > **[South Africa returns to stricter lockdown, virus 'surging'](https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-africa-coronavirus-vaccine-coronavirus-pandemic-business-e877331e6fa1bc08b4145da2c66a58d8)** > > South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that his country will return to stricter lockdown measures in the face of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. > [@](#): > > Positive cases in South Africa in the past seven days were 31% higher than the week before, and 66% higher than the week before that, Ramaphosa said in a live TV address. He said some parts of the country, including the commercial hub Johannesburg and the capital city Pretoria, were now in “a third wave.” > > “We do not yet know how severe this wave will be or for how long it will last,” Ramaphosa said. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1444 "2021-05-30T20:15:16Z")
Here in Dallas, the numbers are honestly even better. The last time the numbers were this low, it was still difficult to get tested and the positivity rate was like 15%. So there was a ton more COVID we couldn’t see. Now it’s like 3%. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1445 "2021-05-30T20:31:35Z")
Same in San Antonio. Our test positivity rate has been below 3% for the past 5 weeks in a row. It’s dipped below 2% twice with the report on 5/21 being 1.6%. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1446 "2021-05-30T20:38:28Z")
I feel like the two weeks of enforced lockdown when the state went dark was well timed . . It hit right as vaccinations became more widespread and I think COVID struggled to rebound ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1447 "2021-05-30T21:10:21Z")
I wonder about the meaningfulness of the test positivity statistics. I was only tested once for COVID, that was many months ago, and was more or less on a lark. I saw a sign at the lab where I get other blood drawn, and said “I feel fine, haven’t been knowingly exposed, but what the heck, sign me up!”. Spoiler: I didn’t have COVID. I know there are some employers that have been testing their whole staff pretty continuously. And there are vast numbers of other people who haven’t been tested ever. I’m going to speculate, just based on human nature, that the vast majority of folks who are not vaxxed are also unlikely to voluntarily go get a test. If they show up sick at a hospital, sure. Otherwise? You’ll have to pry their blood out of their cold dead body! So if the unvaxxed aren’t being tested, then who is? My provisional answer: the highly cautious fully vaxxed, plus whatever percentage of the public work for the few businesses/gov’t agencies that are still mass-testing their staff regularly. If my contention is true, then the positive test rate is artificially low because collectively speaking, the wrong people are being tested. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1448 "2021-05-30T21:37:55Z")
I think the raw positivity rate isn’t useful, but the direction it’s moving (in combination with the number of tests being administered) is meaningful. Also, I think authorities have suggested that when the positivity rate is about 10% it’s evidence that there isn’t enough testing being done. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1449 "2021-05-30T21:40:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m going to speculate, just based on human nature, that the vast majority of folks who are not vaxxed are also unlikely to voluntarily go get a test. Despite being sick for 10 days, the _only_ reason hubs got tested was because I threw a fit (and also because he was too sick to put up much fight). I have never been tested because there was no reason. A friend who works for the state was getting tested every week because she was hoping for an asymptomatic case and a couple of paid weeks off. She never got her COVID vacation and now she’s fully vaccinated. So, I do agree with you about wondering about the test stats. They are going to skew heavily towards happier results than are accurate. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1450 "2021-05-31T03:00:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So if the unvaxxed aren’t being tested, then who is? My provisional answer: the highly cautious fully vaxxed, plus whatever percentage of the public work for the few businesses/gov’t agencies that are still mass-testing their staff regularly. I work for a university that is using “an abundance of caution” and insisting that the fully vaccinated students, and all faculty and staff who work on campus are still tested at least weekly plus wear masks inside. I would imagine that there are a lot of other schools and hospitals and private businesses also doing so still. I don’t need to get tested myself because I’ve never actually worked on campus (I work for one of the several institutes ‘owned’ by the university) and have worked from home since last March, but we’re in the position of still not even having a return to the office month, let alone date. They’re saying we’ll hear more “in the near future.” Same as they said 11 months ago…but I digress, sorry. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1451 "2021-05-31T04:51:57Z")
171,033,299 total cases 3,556,724 dead 153,137,277 recovered In the US: 34,043,068 total cases 609,544 dead 27,840,884 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 170,633,467 total cases > 3,548,676 dead > 152,603,176 recovered > > In the US: > > 34,035,318 total cases > 609,421 dead > 27,818,961 recovered ---
**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:** [May 31, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1452 "2021-05-31T11:02:54Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I work for a university that is using “an abundance of caution” and insisting that the fully vaccinated students, and all faculty and staff who work on campus are still tested at least weekly plus wear masks inside. I would imagine that there are a lot of other schools and hospitals and private businesses also doing so still Great data point; thank you. As you say, your employer is far from alone in having those requirements. I work for a truly huge international company that insists on masking everywhere all the time at work and encourages WFH for the small minority of workers whose jobs are doable WFH. They have never done any mandatory group testing, and certainly not all-hands testing even once, much less regularly. There is a smidgen of repeat testing required by certain foreign governments applied to a comparative few workers. They do cheerlead for and reward monetarily anyone being vaxxed. But the company also has a sizeable contingent of redstate folks working there, including at HQ. I would bet our all-employees vax rate is below the national average. My niece is a public school kindergarten teacher near me. Her K-6 school serves an area with upper-middle to professional class SES. From the outset of COVID it’s been a madly swinging pendulum of school closed, school online only, school either in person or online at parent’s discretion, alternating days of all one or all the other, and now every day is both with attendance at parent’s discretion. As the school year winds down, only 5-10% of students are actually remote; the vast majority are in-person every day. At first they did mass regular testing of staff. That ended last summer and has not resumed. The administration cheerleads for vaxxing, but offers no carrots or sticks. The big question IMO is this: across all the employers in the USA, how many are like yours, and how many are like mine or niece’s? More importantly, how does that break down by numbers of employ_ees_ rather than employ_ers_. Probably not a question either of us can answer. But it would be important for the folks making decisions based on the test positivity rates to know. I’d like to know too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=72)