Clusterfuck

Indian scientists divided over restricted use approval for Covaxin — Science Chronicle

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While some scientists have raised concerns about granting restricted use approval to Covaxin even in the absence of efficacy data, four-dozen scientists have in a statement slammed them saying “reprehensible utterances are causing huge credibility crisis for the Indian scientific community”. Apparently, questioning the approval process by the Indian regulator is seen as being anti-Indian […]

Indian scientists divided over restricted use approval for Covaxin — Science Chronicle

India’s drug regulator approved two COVID-19 vaccines on 3 January, a decision Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed on Twitter as “a decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight!” against the pandemic and a testament to the Indian scientific community’s self reliance. But some scientists and patient advocates are sharply critical of the move—in particular, the decision to greenlight Covaxin, a vaccine developed in India by Bharat Biotech, without awaiting the results of a phase III trial to determine efficacy and safety…

Efficacy data from a challenge study in rhesus macaques and immune responses in a human phase II trial suggested the vaccine was likely to be very effective.

The approval of a vaccine without phase III data is “unconscionable,” says Vineeta Bal, an immunologist at India’s National Institute of Immunology.

Scientists criticize ‘rushed’ approval of Indian COVID-19 vaccine without efficacy data — https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/scientists-criticize-rushed-approval-indian-covid-19-vaccine-without-efficacy-data

It worked in monkeys so let’s just skip the Phase III trial.

See my earlier post I would not take Covaxin without efficacy data: Gagandeep Kang — Science Chronicle

Utter Chaos? No Just Your Normal Vaccine Rollout in a Pandemic

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With the vaccine rollout left mostly up to states and counties, they have had to rapidly devise their own methods for distributing shots to their residents. Every state has its own priority system and way of scheduling appointments, which sometimes change week to week. The complicated logistics paired with inconsistent communication to the public has resulted in mass confusion. The result: People are spending hours seeking information and searching for coveted appointment slots.

‘Just utter chaos’: A Twitter thread offers a window into the frustrating search for Covid-19 shots — https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/28/just-utter-chaos-twitter-thread-offers-window-into-frustrating-search-for-covid19-shots/?utm_campaign=rss

Here in Oklahoma we’re in Phase 2 of the rollout and the process to get a Covid vaccination appointment in this state can best be described as incredibly difficult. We don’t have a huge number of residents here in flyover country and to be honest, that’s a good thing. I can’t imagine how difficult this process is in the more heavily populated areas of the country.

BTW I’m getting jabbed tomorrow.

More on Colleges and Covid

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U.S. counties with large colleges or universities with remote instruction (n = 22) experienced a 17.9% decrease in incidence and university counties with in-person instruction (n = 79) experienced a 56% increase in incidence, comparing the 21-day periods before and after classes started. Counties without large colleges or universities (n = 3,009) experienced a 6% decrease in incidence during similar time frames.


Leidner AJ, Barry V, Bowen VB, et al. Opening of Large Institutions of Higher Education and County-Level COVID-19 Incidence — United States, July 6–September 17, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:14–19. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7001a4external icon

That’s it. That’s the post.

The Pandemic Will Not End Soon – a Case Study in Finger Pointing and Blame Games

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Some vaccine experts, though, said they are not surprised by the speed of vaccine distribution so far. “It had to go this way,” Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told STAT. “We had to trip and fall and stumble and figure this out.”

Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, said some of the gap between doses administered and delivered is likely due to a program run by CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate those in nursing homes. States participating in the program have to set aside 50% of their doses, which Hannan said could account for a share of the difference between doses shipped and doses administered nationally.

“I don’t think it’s bad,” she said of the pace of distribution so far. “I think it was always going to be like this. And I think that this is actually the easy part.”

Frustration over vaccine rollout builds, as new variant reported in U.S. for first time — https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/29/public-health-experts-grow-frustrated-with-pace-of-covid-19-vaccine-rollout/?utm_campaign=rss

We are definitely so screwed.

College Presidents Fail to Protect Students from Covid-19 – College Clusterfuck Update 11.22.20

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In fact, university Presidents — leaders, let us remember — did not mobilize to protect students from Covid. Frankly, I never thought they did, because I do try to pay attention to these things, but to prove it to myself, I went through 33 pages of headlines for the Coronavirus tag in the Chronicle of Higher Education, all the way back to the first entry on February 24 (“Coronavirus-Themed Party at Albany Draws Criticism“)…

As it turns out, protecting students from Covid was never a top priority for University Presidents. The American Council on Education (“a membership organization that mobilizes [ha] the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice”) has published periodic surveys on what University Presidents consider pressing issues.

College Presidents Fail to Mobilize to Protect Students from Covid-19 — https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/11/university-administrators-fail-to-mobilize-protect-students-covid-19.html

The author of this article doesn’t attempt to hide his bias or contempt for the so-called leaders of our colleges and universities. I’ve made no attempt to hide my disdain either (sharp eyed readers will note my title above deletes two words from the original article title). The college clusterfuck has been one of my recurring themes:

Colleges’ Opening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day (College Clusterfuck Update)

“I slept on the floor, and woke up to ants crawling on my bed.”

College Clusterfuck 2.0 – “It’s a Dystopian Hell” – Updated

College Town Clusterfuck

The full article contains some pretty sorrid stuff. Enjoy!

Online education will become the standard operating model for higher education. Thousands of colleges and universities will go belly up. Professor Galloway at NYU says it’s simple math. See Galloway’s comments here: Post Pandemic Changes in Consumer Behavior

Covid-19 Data and Rapid Testing

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Rapid Covid-19 tests are being deployed by the millions across the nation. The federal government is sending these tests, which can provide results in minutes, to states for educators, students, nursing home patients, first responders, and other sites. That’s a good thing. But in a rush to get individual test results, we’re making a dangerous public health mistake: We’re losing critical data about Covid-19.

For months, the U.S. has struggled to get accurate information about Covid-19 cases and testing about different demographic groups. As rapid tests surge — and are performed at sites that don’t follow specific Covid-19 data reporting processes — even more information will be lost.

The hidden public health hazard of rapid Covid-19 tests — https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/05/rapid-covid-19-tests-hidden-public-health-hazard/?utm_campaign=rss

The Sturgis Motorcycle Event and the Death of Common Sense

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South Dakota, which had the most attendees, saw coronavirus cases surge within weeks of the rally’s Aug. 16 close, with the seven-day rolling average going from 84 on Aug. 6 to 214 on Aug. 27. The numbers remained elevated into October: The first day of the month, the seven-day rolling average was 434. The state is second in the nation in cases per capita behind North Dakota, with numbers high enough for the Harvard Global Health Institute to recommend stay-at-home orders.

How the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have spread coronavirus across the Upper Midwest — https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/17/sturgis-rally-spread/
https://globalepidemics.org/key-metrics-for-covid-suppression/ — downloaded 10.18.20

Don’t Blame the Kids…(a lot of them went back to college)

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During August 2–September 5, 2020, weekly COVID-19 cases among persons aged 18–22 years increased 55% nationally. Increases were greatest in the Northeast (144%) and Midwest (123%). Increases in cases were not solely attributable to increased testing.

Citation: Salvatore PP, Sula E, Coyle JP, et al. Recent Increase in COVID-19 Cases Reported Among Adults Aged 18–22 Years — United States, May 31–September 5, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 29 September 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6939e4external icon

Colleges’ Opening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day (College Clusterfuck Update)

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The study, done jointly by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Indiana University, the University of Washington and Davidson College, tracked cellphone data and matched it to reopening schedules at 1,400 schools, along with county infection rates.

Colleges’ Opening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day, Researchers Say — https://khn.org/news/colleges-opening-fueled-3000-covid-cases-a-day-researchers-say/

Quote for Today – 09.19.20

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Higher education committed suicide with its dual racketeering model. First was the college loan racket, in which schools colluded with the federal government to jam too many “customers” through the pipeline who didn’t belong there, and who buried themselves under a lifetime debt obligation they could never escape. The second was the intellectual racket of creating sham fields of study that contaminated all the other “humanities” with poisonous bullshit theory, and eventually even invaded the STEM disciplines. Covid-19 screwed the pooch on all that, scotching the four-year party-hearty in-residence part of the deal. For now, who needs an online class in Contemporary Sexual Transgression ($2000-a-credit) when you can just click on Porn-hub for free? Hundreds of colleges and universities will be going out of business in the years ahead.

James Howard Kunstler — https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/things-going-by/#more-‘