Cases budge up…
Deaths continued falling….
Tests keep dropping….
Virus shot’s keep climbing…
Washington Post…..
In the past week in the U.S. …
Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 5.8%.
The number of tests reported fell 14.4% from the previous week.Read more
Since Dec. 14, more than 167,187,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the U.S.
More than 62,392,000 people have completed vaccination, or about 18.79% of the population. Read more in our vaccination tracker…
Wash Post ...Link…
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, on Tuesday said he is confident the mass vaccination effort underway in the United States will prevent another “explosion” of coronavirus cases and a fourth deadly wave of the pandemic.
“As long as we keep vaccinating people efficiently and effectively, I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Fauci said of a fourth wave during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to still see an increase in cases.”
Fauci said it will “remain to be seen” if there is an uptick in cases or if it will “explode into a real surge” as more states reopen their economies and relax public health guidelines.
“I think that the vaccine is gonna prevent that from happening,” he said. ….
President Biden plans to announce Tuesday that he is moving up his target for all American adults to become eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by almost two weeks to April 19, according to a White House official.
Biden is also expected to announce that the United States has administered 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the official confirmed, putting the president on track to meet or exceed his goal of administering 200 million doses in his first 100 days in office….
Nationwide fears about contracting the coronavirus have dropped to the lowest level since a month after the pandemic began last year, according to a new survey.
The Gallup poll published Tuesday found 35 percent of U.S. adults say they are very or somewhat worried about contracting COVID-19. That percentage represents the lowest level of concern since April of 2020.
At the same time, 22 percent now say they are very or moderately worried about access to hospital services and or treatment for the virus, and another 14 percent are just as worried about access to a COVID-19 test should they need one….
Associated Press: “New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases, in the latest available seven-day period… Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000.”
“The heavy concentration of new cases in states that account for 22% of the U.S. population has prompted some experts and elected officials to call for President Joe Biden’s administration to ship additional vaccine doses to those places. So far, the White House has shown no signs of shifting from its policy of dividing vaccine doses among states based on population.”
The identifiable group most likely to refuse to be vaccinated?
White Evangelicals.
Even though many prominent Evangelical leaders have advocated for the vaccinations( some have even set up vaccination sites in the churches), a fairly large slice of their adherents stubbornly refuse to do so.
The problem of course is that so called “ herd immunity” is based upon a large percentage of the population being vaccinated.Accordingly these people are not only risking their own health but the health of others.
As I’ve previously noted many of these people are barely rational.Some claim that if it’s Gods will that they die so be it.Anyway who wouldn’t want to go to heaven?You see the kind of irrationality that we are up against.
Around my way the ‘group’ would be Trump supporters…
Yes. My company is hearing from some employees that it is against their religion to get the vaccine. And Yes, I suspect they are Protestants, but obviously that is not a question we can ask.
People who refuse to be vaccinated are dumb.
But if you call them that they get incredibly thin skinned.
Ironically these are often the same people who claim to appreciate people to “tell it like it is” to not be “politically correct” and use euphemisms.
Which is why I don’t. I call their rejection of science and medicine dumb as dogshit.
I refer to them as
“ virus spreaders”
And yeah they are dumb too.
In interviews some of them are saying that even if they get the virus and die from it they are going to heaven and that it is a better place.
It is difficult to deal with that irrational mindset.
What irks though is that they are not only endangering themselves but others and providing fodder for virus mutations or variants.
Will Democrats continue to accept money from or welcome political support from anti-vaccine activist Robert Kennedy Jr?
I would think so. As a general rule, you accept money from donors without researching the donor’s political stances. Exceptions to that rule are relatively few.
RFK Jr. is a prominent person though. He is not just some anonymous donor. His anti-vaccine views, especially related to the Covid vaccine which he has pledged to “go to war” against are well known.
So, if someone accepts his money or has him host a fundraiser for them or lets him introduce them at an event, they are sending the message that they either agree with his anti-vaxx message or do not think it is as big of a deal as it would be for an anti-vaxx Republican.
RFK Jr. is not a prominent person. I think I learned he was against the vaccine from you on pdog. Otherwise, I probably would not have known about that part of him. I would not assume that anyone who takes money from him is an anti-vaccer.
Are there any anti-vaccine Republicans that if they were to endorse a candidate it would mean that the candidate must also be an anti-vaccer.
Well …..he IS a Kennedy and that IS a iconic family name in America…
A better reason to decline RFK, Jr’s support would be his fawning apologia (repeated through paid commercials by People’s Energy) for the Hûgo Chávez régime in Venezuela.
(Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan oil monopoly PdVSA, supplied RFK’s People’s Energy and other community groups with free heating oil during a grave winter shortage.)
Is that RFK Jr or his brother JPK II?
RFK Jr is a rabid anti-vaxxer, has been for years, but because he is a Kennedy and a prominent environmentalist, has at least until the last election remained a very influential fundraiser and surrogate for Democrats.
If they are truly serious about shouting down anti-Covid vaccine bullhorns, they should “cancel” him, unless that only applies to people seen on the right. Kennedys have long gotten free passes on things of course.
Yees. CG correctly complains about political correctness out of control on some college campuses, but he is quick to support the GOP cancel culture in calling for a ban of a relative unknown. It is not as if RFK Jr. is a sought-after speaker or a prominent fundraiser.
Despite their rhetoric, the GOP cancel culture is alive and well. And Don’t think that Potatohead is still welcome in Republican homes either. He was canceled too.
Are there any Republican anti-vaxxers that the GOP should cancel?
I feel like you do not actually know who RFK Jr, is.
Do you know whom RFK Sr. was?
This is like jamesb level of reality denying.
For the record, all anti-vaxxers should be publicly condemned for holding a dangerous mindset.
I know who his dad was. I have no problem with people criticizing Jr. for his anti vaccine views. In fact, I encourage it!But I don’t think that means one shouldn’t accept a donation from him.
Democrats are held to different standards ….
There are legitimate reasons why someone might choose not to get a flu shot. But the flu does not kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. I suppose some people might have reason to fear that the vaccine might cause an allergic reaction, but that it only a legitimate concern for a very small group.
And it is not as if all people who do die from Covid-19 die immediately. Many just have permanent and serious lung damage. So these people will suffer for a long time before they “go to heaven.” The next door neighbor of my boss still cannot smell or taste food and he came down with the virus almost a year ago.
RFK Jr doesn’t exactly have a huge national following. I never hear him mentioned except on here.
I honestly don’t give a shit about him and I don’t think many others do either.
The anti vaxx sentiment in culturally conservative rural areas is more widespread than one gadfly with a famous name.
For example I thought my niece who lives in rural southern Missouri was falling into that anti vaxx QAnon rabbit hole. I still don’t think she is vaccinated and probably won’t be for awhile, but I do think she has come away from the edge these other small town 20 and 30 something yr old moms are teetering on. They believe any BS on social media about the vaccine being untested, unsafe, and somehow “not Christian”.
So excuse me if I prioritize. This group think is much more a threat to achieving herd immunity than RFK Jr.
Saying RFK Jr. doesn’t have a huge national following is kind of an understatement! To the best I can recall, his name never came up in any of my conversations during my entire life – other than this past week on pdog.
What’s next? Are we going to be asked about Chelsea Clinton or Amy Carter Or Bristol Palin? hope not.
Yeah. For whatever reason CG seemed personally insulted when we pointed out the demographic groups that are currently anti vaxx. He replied by bringing up an irrelevant individual on the left.
Come on Zreebs and Scott, it all comes back to a Kennedy as long as they are from one family and a Democrat.
Don’t you know that the morals and rules in DC went to hell when old Ted had sex on the floor of a fancy French Restaurant over 40 years ago.
So forget about it all those Republicans who refuse to get vaccinated. The whole Matt Gaetz episode is all Ted Kennedy’s fault.
My question: who will Matt give up to try to get out of this? Nestor?
My guess: other Republican Members of Congress.
Of all his “whataboutisms “ this was CGs weakest.
What does RFK )r campaign contributions have to do with anything?
The discussion was about White Evangelicals refusal to get vaccinated.Almost all these people are Republicans.I doubt that any of them know or care about RFK jr ,although the last time I remember hearing much about him he was playing footsies with Trump.
The hypocrisy here is astounding. I do not are if people disagree with me on an issue, but there is party tribalism here to the max (with the exception of DSD) when it comes to Democrats. What role can I possibly play here at this point? Most of you just want an echo chamber.
Robert Kennedy Jr, has long in his own right, been a national figure, especially on environmental issues. He has hosted numerous fundraisers for Democrats and been a top surrogate all across the country. He has also been very anti-vaccine for many years. To “ordinary people” on the right over whatever anti-vaccine mindset they have, but to just shrug off a prominent Democrat political figure who takes the same position is as cult-like as anything associated with Trump.
?????🙄
CG missed a significant segment of vaccine reluctance/refusal on the non-Right (although often Evangelical) side: Afro-Americans and other folks who aren’t anglophones of European descent. Far, far more significant than yet another wayward son of The Clan.
As everyone here knows, the Tuskegee Experiment (watching old black men die of syphilis without useful medical intervention) and various other parts of an inhumane history have understandably made minorities suspicious of what they see as White Establishment Medicine, a reluctance or resistance that medical and public-health professionals, as well as public figures, of colour are working tirelessly to overcome.
I’m sure that there are a few completely nutty conspiracy theories on that side, too: if not from Evangelicals or Pentecostals, then from one wing or the other of the Nation of Islam (who taught 50 years ago that Sickle-Cell Anæmia was a genocidal plot.)
Anybody who is anti-vaccination, regardless of religious or political beliefs or race, should have the error of their logic pointed out in the hopes of having as many people get vaccinated as possible.
But to some here, it’s only a one way D vs. R street, 24/7/365
The single most prominent anti-vaccination activist in America is Robert Kennedy Jr, who is not just some “obscure figure.” He has hosted a nationally syndicated radio show, been widely published, and has written best-selling books. He used to be frequently talked about as a potential candidate for office or as someone who might be appointed to a high office.
Is there one prominent anti-vaxx Evangelical figure that Americans would be able to point out by name?
Before Covid, in 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom was meeting extensively with Robert Kennedy Jr. about vaccines, because Newsom was pushing a bill that would make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccine requirement for their children and spoke about how all vaccines may not be necessary. If vaccines are important to stop the spread of Covid, which they obviously are, they also still played an important role and still do for other diseases as well.
Nowadays, Newsom is blaming anti-vaxx activists for his pending recall vote, but he had no problem cozying up to them in 2019.
Gimme a break. I’ll point out the foolishness of anti vaxxers no matte if they are left right or have no ideology.
RFK Jr has little to no following.
Polling has shown Evangelicals as a group are more resistant to getting the vaccine. Are there others on the left or in the middle or who are unreasonably skeptical of the vaccine? Sure.. But show me an identifiable group like evangelicals that are resistant. The same group that showed resistance to masks and social distancing for the same reasons Jack mentioned–that it’s in God’s hands.
RFK Jr. is the most prominent anti-vaxx activist in the country and has been for years. Despite his having been for years, he was also very prominent in his party.
Name one specific anti-vaxx activist on the right without Googling. You cannot do so.
In regards to vaccines, there are issues with some Evangelicals, Christian Scientists, Jehovah Witnesses, African-Americans, and others, for various reasons.
There were also of course plenty of people, who were not Trump supporters, who did not wear masks or social distance.
But you only care about whichever group you can use to attack Republicans.
I care about getting to herd immunity.
Partisan sensibilities be damned.
Bringing up a smattering of individuals who are opposed to vaccination is not the same as addressing a larger identifiable group that is resistant to it.
The issue is one of political hypocrisy. I asked if RFK Jr, would continue to be a prominent fundraiser and surrogate for Democrats despite taking the same position you claim is so dangerous when anyone on the right takes it.. The answer largely given here was “yeah, so what.”
For some on here (besides DSD), it is very clear that there is almost nothing a Democrat can do that cannot be excused or ignored.
RFK Jr’s stupidity on vaccines is fair game.
I do not accept the premise that he is “prominent”.
As to naming an evangelical leader who is as anti vaxx as RFK Jr that is irrelevant.
Republicans, particularly Republican men and evangelicals, are less likely to want the vaccine. There is no defined anti vaxx “leader” on the right, but there doesn’t need to be. For whatever reason they are proclaiming their undying loyalty to Trump even though he himself is vaccinated–as are many other Trump following Republicans. I’m stymied by it myself. But that doesn’t make me a “hypocrite” for pointing it out.
I do not know what one has to do to be seen as “prominent.”
He did not have anywhere near the success on radio that Rush Limbaugh did but more Americans would have heard the name “Robert Kennedy Jr” than Rush Limbaugh.
and without a doubt internationally
RFK Jr is nowhere near as famous as Rush Limbaugh. CG just doesn’t like it because he grew up listening to RushLimbaugh and admiring him, his values and his style.
I don’t know anyone who follows RFK Jr.
Limbaugh had a lot more radio listeners. Robert Kennedy Jr. easily has higher name recognition than Rush Limbaugh had in the United States and certainly in other countries.
Not a difficult concept.
How hard is it for someone to say that Democrats should stay away from RFK Jr at this point?
Why the reluctance? Even some of his own family members have written Op-Eds distancing themselves from him and saying how dangerous he has become. But on political blogs, it’s all about tribalism.
If RFK Jr is the most prominent anti-vaxxer in the country, the it onlyshows that there are NO prominent anti-vaxxers in the country.
Both Scott and I stated that RFK Jr should be criticized for his anti vax efforts. So The rather typical lie that CG comes up with is “there is almost nothing a Democrat can do that cannot be excused or ignored” even though we specifically said the opposite.
I Don’t ever recall RFK Jr. being a surrogate for anyone. If he is, he is not the Democrats best choice. That doesn’t mean that Democrats should refuse his donations as CG suggests.
Should he continue to host fundraisers at his home for Gavin Newsom, etc? Should he introduce Newsom at rallies, even if he promises not to say one word about vaccines?
It’s not like he is someone sending $25 checks. He is a major fundraiser and advisor on environmental issues. Newsom actually took his counsel on vaccines in 2019. When he has endorsed candidates, those candidates in the past have highly publicized the endorsement (beyond his siblings or other relatives who have run for office.) After all, he has a legendary name in the party.
Should all that continue? With this global pandemic and his pledge to “wage war” against the vaccine effort, why shouldn’t his donations be returned? Would you say the same about Harvey Weinstein?
His father was legendary. jr is not widely known.
No. , I don’t think that RFK Jr support helps a candidate, and the candidate would do better to choose someone else if he needs a surrogate.
He is is father’s namesake and a prominent figure in his own right. When Obama was elected President, RFK Jr. was expected to be named EPA Commissioner, but there were some issues in his personal life that caused him to take himself out of the running.
Zreebs, the words you are using are so mealy-mouthed on this. We all know that you will call Republicans “evil” with a prideful flourish online. Why can’t you just be definitive and say that RFK should be shunned politically?
That does not mean he gets locked up or loses his right to vote or speak publicly, etc. It just means that people who want to be viewed as representing the mainstream of society will not give him any sort of platform.
Yes Jack, weak tea at best.
Corey’s comparison of anti-vaccination talker Rush Limbaugh (with 15 million listeners) and Robert Kennedy Jr. was an incredible reach. Total false equivalency.
By the end of this thread you would have thought that Robert Jr. ran the Democratic Party. Hint: he doesn’t.
Not sure where Corey’s obsession with the Kennedy’s started. But someone needs to tell him they are all out of office.
But the attempt to link Kennedy and Newsom was simply laughable and straight out of Fox News. Newsom expressed concerns about legislation here in California that would tighten the penalties for parents who refused to vaccinate their children. Kennedy praised those concerns and praised Newsom. But then Newsom signed the legislation into law. Not Jr’s desired outcome. So much for Robert Kennedy’s tremendous influence within the Democratic Party.
Now, I have my issue with Gavin, he can be a fast talker, but he isn’t anti-vaccine. In fact, he will make the State’s efforts to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine the cornerstone of this campaign against the recall this coming November. A campaign he should win.
The polls are fairly accurate on this issue. The vast majority of people in the country who are resisting vaccination are Republicans, especially Republican men. Does anyone really think Jr. has any sway with those folks? But Rush sure did. So glad he’s dead.
Thats correct.
About half of Republican males say they won’t get vaccinated.
That’s the issue.
Since CG (at least right now) appears to be back in the Republican fold ?He should spend his time proselytizing among his fellow Republicans on the subject.
Indeed ,he could use the RFK Jr, stuff with them,”Hey you don’t want to listen to that damn librul do ya?Come on bro!Roll that sleeve up!”
A great idea, he could put his obsession with the Kennedy family to some good civic use.
…As of Thursday, just short of 20 percent of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated, giving some 66 million people a strong measure of protection against a disease that has already killed more than 500,000 Americans…
More…
The number of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses will drop significantly next week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data….
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About 90 million Pfizer doses have been administered, and about 80 million Moderna doses, compared to about 5 million Johnson & Johnson doses, according to CDC data…
More…
They live among us…
Some for their entire lives….
…
Immigrants have been turned away from pharmacies and other places after being asked for driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers or health insurance cards — specific documentation not mandated by states or the federal government but often requested at vaccination sites across the country, including right down the road from here. Often the request comes in English, a language many of the vaccine-seekers don’t fully understand….
More…
Many members of the American military and their family members stationed outside the US are growing increasingly frustrated at the pace of the coronavirus vaccine rollout on overseas bases which is lagging behind the continental US.
Military families based in Europe are fully reliant on military health clinics at their bases to receive vaccines. They are not able to receive doses in the countries they are living in, and European Union countries are behind the US in the number of vaccines distributed to their citizens at this point….
More…
Despite a massive effort by the Pentagon to promote the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, the US military’s opt-out rate for vaccinations may be far higher than the 33% figure defense officials have used publicly.
Conversations with military medical officials and service members, as well as data from several bases and units around the country, suggest the current rejection rate may be closer to 50%.
“I think the true opt-in rate right now would probably be around 50-ish percent,” said a military healthcare source about numbers on a military base of some 40,000 active duty troops. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss vaccinations….
More…
I don’t know if that Dead Doper Rush Limbaugh got the vaccine before he croaked but he sid far more to damage vaccination efforts than RFK Jr ever did by claiming that COVID was simply “the flu being weaponized” by Democrats.
I am unaware of Limbaugh saying anything negative about vaccines or encouraging anyone to not be vaccinated. It’s a complete apples and oranges irrelevancy.
There was a lot of misinformation in the early days of the virus among people who were downplaying it, including Nancy Pelosi, on both sides of the aisle.
The anti-vaxx movement has been around long before Covid and it was often remarked how crazies on both the left and right were adherents (besides anti-Semitism, one of the few things both sides of the lunatic fringe could find common ground on.)
But here, the right-wing anti-vaxxers are called the biggest threat possible and the left-wing anti-vaxxers are shrugged off as irrelevant or “I never heard about them.”
Limbaugh called COVID the “common cold”.
So why would his followers think they need a vaccine for that?
Wouldn’t that have been over a year ago, long before vaccines were available?
There are plenty of things to criticize Rush Limbaugh on, including dumb things he said in February and March of 2020 about the virus, that he later backtracked from, but on the vaccine, he appears to have said the absolute opposite of RFK Jr.
According to what I found, he was gushing about Operation Warp Speed and how great the vaccines will be and how Trump should get the credit and how for all the bad raps it gets, “Big Pharma” is doing great things to save lives, etc. So, he was very enthusiastic about the vaccine, as opposed to RFK Jr. who thinks it is a Big Pharma plot.
One thing that Rush Limbaugh and Robert Kennedy Jr had in common was that they were both recovering opioid addicts.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/rush-limbaugh-predicts-veritable-civil-war-as-red-states-reopen-and-blue-states-play-it-safe/ar-BB145Tag
Enoigh revisionist history on that Dead doper Limbaugh.
Jack has correctly IMO designated Republicans who spent months and months downplaying covid as “pro virus”.
That term for ole Rush like his XXXXXL sportcoat.
Bait and switch.. nothing at all to do with vaccines. He told people to get vaccinated.
He’s also dead. Let go of your hatred
If you spend a year discounting every pre vaccine effort to fight the virus (masks, social distancing,etc) don’t be surprised when a good chunk of your followers fail to heed your call to get the vaccine.
You spent a year telling people it wasn’t that bad amd not worth even minor adjustments to daily life to mitigate it.
How CG doesn’t realize that is beyond me. Or he’s just being willfully ignorant to claim Republicans are just as pro vaccine as Democrats.
This has gone off the hook….
No he knows.