Coronavirus

[FemMecha]

In my social sphere I've wondered why the people in organized religion are the most resistant to wearing masks and other imposed behaviors when I left their group for that very reason. The same people who wouldn't let me bring chips to a picnic or sing a certain song, are the same ones fussing. Then I realized it's because they want to be the ones controlling everyone's behavior. They like control but only if they do it. Then the contrast of talk about freedoms combined with their own high social control methods made sense.

Same with the conspiracy theorists. They only believe information they feel they have control over. If they aren't informing you, it's false. Reason is irrelevant in the face of ego and control.


American culture (maybe all humanity?) is filled with control freaks who can't adapt when control is threatened by something like a pandemic. The mental dysfunction has always been there but appearing more stable by the illusion of control. Remove the illusion and you see what is actually going on.

 

[Virtual ghost]

American culture (maybe all humanity?) is filled with control freaks who can't adapt when control is threatened by something like a pandemic. The mental dysfunction has always been there but appearing more stable by the illusion of control. Remove the illusion and you see what is actually going on.

If we judge by the standards of the developed countries this problem is visibly more pronounced in US. Since the narrative is "You decide" and then people take justice into their own hands, even over pointless details. What in the end makes everyone nervous and in combination with economic system that is on "sink or swim" basis makes sure that you have plenty of people that are out of balance. Since everyone has to constantly dodge disasters and tell others to piss off. What basically inevitably leads to mass depression and economic problems that will only amplify one another.

 

[Lateralus]

A Doctor Went to His Own Employer for a COVID-19 Antibody Test. It Cost $10,984. — ProPublica

Until there are enforced limit placed on what can be charged, by federal legislation, this shit will continue forever. What is amazing is an insurance company paid $10,984 for an antibodies encounter and never asked a single question when they regular deny payment for anything, arbitrarily, forcing people to appeal.

Price controls are one way to "fix" this problem, but the root cause is the lack of price information. When is the last time you went to a restaurant and ordered food without having any idea what it would cost, then got a bill for $10,000?

 

[ceecee]

Price controls are one way to "fix" this problem, but the root cause is the lack of price information. When is the last time you went to a restaurant and ordered food without having any idea what it would cost, then got a bill for $10,000?

I understand, I've worked in hospital administration and health information management. Disclosing the charge master would be a nice start but it won't happen either, not without enforced legislation at the federal level. States have tried it.

You can't use the restaurant logic here, I dislike this kind of simplification because it's much more complex. Disclosing price, while that works in other industry due to competition, it won't work in health care. Most people simply can't just go down the street and use a provider at a cheaper price because they often aren't cheaper and there often isn't another provider by design. One hospital, one health care system, one group is the only game in town.

Providers are able to charge what they like and in the case above, there isn't even push back from insurance. That's unheard of. Trump administration has already tried this, as did Obama to get more transparency and standardized pricing. In the end, health insurance and hospital lobbies feel it's too much for their business model. That should make it very clear why there is no change - in addition to a spineless Congress.

 

[Lateralus]

I understand, I've worked in hospital administration and health information management. Disclosing the charge master would be a nice start but it won't happen either, not without enforced legislation at the federal level. States have tried it.

You can't use the restaurant logic here, I dislike this kind of simplification because it's much more complex. Disclosing price, while that works in other industry due to competition, it won't work in health care. Most people simply can't just go down the street and use a provider at a cheaper price because they often aren't cheaper and there often isn't another provider by design. One hospital, one health care system, one group is the only game in town.

Providers are able to charge what they like and in the case above, there isn't even push back from insurance. That's unheard of. Trump administration has already tried this, as did Obama to get more transparency and standardized pricing. In the end, health insurance and hospital lobbies feel it's too much for their business model. That should make it very clear why there is no change - in addition to a spineless Congress.

It can work for things like lab tests, where procedures are well defined and decisions are made with a relatively low level of coercion. And there is a lot more to the healthcare system than hospitals.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

 

[Red Herring]

Numbers in Germany have been going up fast and high enough for the local governments and the federal government to turn the "lockdown light" we've had since November into a more serious lockdown. Numbers are a fraction of what they are in the USA but serious enough to warrant a long overdue increase of measures.

Our state has declared a four week long curfew starting tomorrow. You're only to leave the house for good reason (which includes grocery shopping). As far as I know daycare and kindergarden will remain open, but that is a bit unclear. Non essential shops etc will be closed. Restaurant had already been limited to take-away, not sure if they'll be allowed to continue offering that. Private meetings had already been limited to two households. Most cultural events had already been cancelled. Obviously, masks and physical distancing have been compulsory nationwide since April.

This year had been pretty bad financially since as a freelancer with no savings to speak of I wholely depend on projects from customers which come and go with the ups and downs of the economy. However, luckily the state we live in provided all freelancers with a modest income during the first lockdown and it has already been announced that they will pay part of the lost income for the second lockdown as well. So I cautiously expect to receive a few thousand euros in january as compensation/assistence for this second lockdown.

I really hope our family will somehow get through the second wave and that there will be enough vaccines available in time to avoid a third wave.

 

[The Cat]

The FCC Is Allowing 5G Towers on Indigenous Land Without Tribal Consent

During the pandemic, consultation requests have increased in some areas.

In July, the FCC tried to pass two new amendments to reduce tribal consultations. One of the amendments would exempt Section 106 consultations for companies expanding on an existing tower of less than 30 feet.

“Especially now with the pandemic (the FCC) is doing so much work knowing that tribes are vulnerable and hardly in the office,” said Sheila Bird, the former preservation officer for the United Keetowah Band.

Land of the 5g, home of the damned. Manifested Destiny.

 

[Jaguar]

Coronavirus can travel farther and faster inside restaurants than previously thought, South Korean study suggests

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2020/12/11/korean-restaurant-coronavirus-airflow-study/

Earlier this year, two diners at a South Korean restaurant were infected with novel coronavirus in a matter of minutes from a third patron who sat at least 15 feet away from them. The third patron was asymptomatic at the time. After dissecting that scene from June, South Korean researchers released a study last month in the Journal of Korean Medical Science that suggests the virus, under certain airflow conditions, travels farther than six feet and can infect others in as little as five minutes.

The study appears to be more bad news for restaurants, which have already been identified in research as a primary source for the spread of the virus. The Korean researchers recommend that public health authorities update safety guidelines based on their study, arguing that six feet of space between tables is not enough to protect diners from being infected.


Infrared video shows the risks of airborne coronavirus spread - YouTube

 

[anticlimatic]

 

[Jaguar]

And this is contributing what to a discussion thread on Covid? If you don't take the virus seriously, go start a thread to pretend it's not.

 

[The Cat]

 

[JAVO]

Australia Scraps Covid-19 Vaccine That Produced H.I.V. False Positives - The New York Times

... $750 million later

 

[FemMecha]

I have asthma and am happy to wear a mask. What is so annoying is that these people are both anti-mask and anti-shut-down. We wouldn't have to shut down if they wore a mask and took other safety precautions. It is their fault when we have to shut down.

 

[anticlimatic]

And this is contributing what to a discussion thread on Covid? If you don't take the virus seriously, go start a thread to pretend it's not.

Is this teacher lady taking it with an appropriate degree of seriousness, by your standards?

 

[Jaguar]

Is this teacher lady taking it with an appropriate degree of seriousness, by your standards?

Screw the teacher—if she is one—my post was to you. If you get off watching women yell, start a thread: Women Yelling.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I think I will just hibernate and wait for spring.

 

[FemMecha]

The first batch of vaccines are being shipped this morning to medical workers. This makes me tear up. I am beyond thankful that help is coming for the people working the front lines, then the elderly and vulnerable, and then the rest of us.

With any luck perhaps the violent and willfully irrational people will refuse to take the vaccine and karma can do its work unfettered.

 

[The Cat]