Most of us envision a romantic portrayal of Thanksgiving. Pilgrims, seeking freedom, come to the new land, and in peaceful cooperation with the Native Americans carve out a hardscrabble life. After a good harvest in their first year, the Pilgrims invite the local Native Americans for a feast, everyone ate turkey, and all were happy — the end.
There is also a revisionist story to Thanksgiving that the creation of the holiday is a blood-soaked nightmare. After the massacre of Native Americans, it was celebrated annually with a big turkey dinner to give thanks for the divine providence to clear the land of heathens.
Neither of these narratives is correct, and the story lies somewhere between.
The Pilgrim’s trip was financed by business interests who would buy cash crops from the Pilgrims upon the establishment of a colony in the new world, somewhere in the vicinity of modern New York City, south of the 42nd parallel, along the New Jersey coast. The story of that hurricane and the Mayflower almost sinking? True.
The sailing of the Pilgrims was supposed to be on two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. The Speedwell was an unseaworthy wreck and waiting to attempt to repair her resulted in the crossing happening at the height of hurricane season. Instead of 65 onboard, there were 130 along with sheep, dogs, chickens, and goats. The settlers would not have been allowed on deck, so would have spent most of their time in the foul, smoke-filled air, smelling of waste and bilge, in a rolling sea. If it sounds awful, you’re right, it was.
The story of the printing press being used to secure a cracked timber in the Mayflower? Sort of true. A tool called a jackscrew, which is similar in appearance, was used to save the ship.
When the Pilgrims finally landed, they had been blown hopelessly off course and landed on what is today Cape Cod, not Plymouth. They sent a shore excursion and found the native population hostile. The real story is that white traders and fishermen had been coming to the northeast coast for decades to trade, trap, fish, and take slaves.
Realizing they had blown off course and were north of the 42 parallel, they created the Mayflower Compact, a bit of a dubious agreement of self-government with loyalty to the King of England. It was the first Democracy in the new world.
The Mayflower sailed around Cape Cod looking for safe harbor, and they arrived off what is modern-day Plymouth. There is no Plymouth rock (sorry) that the Pilgrims stepped out on, and if there were, centuries of weather would have sent it up onto the shore or back out to the sea. A small party scouted the land, and much to their amazement, found it cleared, developed, and abandoned. They found signs that something catastrophic had happened to the local peoples, including dried corn and meats in crumbling longhouses, and some hurriedly dug graves. They saw this as divine providence that God had cleared this land for them.
What had happened was a great plague had swept North America in the late 1500s, killing about 90% of the population on the continent. It is one of the worst human population die-offs in the history of the world. The common belief is that early whites brought smallpox and other diseases to the land, but that doesn’t hold up to native accounts from countless tribes, including those who never made contact with the whites. They all describe a fever, that is more like a severe virus or flu unique to the continent. No one ever reported the telltale boils of smallpox or the red rash of measles.
Fearful of establishing a colony in a lightly scouted area, the Pilgrims elected to stay on the Mayflower. The conditions were in a word, horrific, and that winter was extremely harsh. Shore excursions could find almost no game, and arriving in October, the growing season in New England had long passed. By March of 1621, only 53 passengers and half the crew were alive. Of those, most were very ill, suffering from scurvy, dysentery, and malnutrition. The Mayflower sailed back to England in April of 1621, taking with it water in its drinking casks instead of beer, which was the chosen drink (even for infants and children). The investors were angry when the Mayflower arrived on its return voyage, empty of any riches from the new land.
Weak, sick, and with little success, the colonists started building their village in Plymouth, under the watchful eye of the Wampanoag and Nauset. The great plague had left only 10% of the Wampanoag and a handful of Nauset as survivors. A debate raged on what to do with these visitors. The warriors advised chief Massasoit to kill them. They were weak, the track record of dealing with whites was bleak, and they could easily crush the colonists. Some debated to leave them alone. Let nature takes its path with the ill-prepared whites slowly dying off. They argued that most of the population was women and children and they appeared to have no understanding of the land.
Massasoit had other problems, enemies laid to the west in the Narraganset, and he had no way to defend his people. The settlers had iron tools, and he felt that an alliance could help protect his people, and they could trade for items. He also thought that it was the moral thing to do.
Much to the colonists’ shock on March 16, 1621, an Eastern Abenaki Native American named Samoset (also spelled Somerset) walked right into the Pilgrim settlement. He said in English, “Hello Englishmen!” He stayed for the night, asking for beer, and told the settlers that he would bring others. The next day they arrived seeking to trade with skins, but being a Sunday, the Pilgrims refused. On March 22, 1621, Samoset returned, with four warriors and Squanto, a Wampanoag.
Squanto is a complex character in this story. Captured along with Samoset by white traders, he was taken in as a slave in England, where he learned English and English customs. Listening to his captors, he discovered they were obsessed with a metal – gold. Squanto hatched a plan to get back home and escape, telling them he knew where gold was in the new world, and he could show them with the help of Samoset. An expedition went back to the northeast coast. At the first opportunity, Samoset and Squanto escaped, and no vast treasure was found.
Squanto and Samoset came back to North America to discover their nations were wiped out by disease, and their people viewing them with distrust. They had not suffered during the last decade, in the minds of the survivors of the plague, while the Wampanoag and Abenaki died. Squanto was never fully trusted for the rest of his days.
Enter the other character in this story, Edward Winslow. During that meeting on March 22, the Wampanoag demanded they receive a hostage before holding talks because they did not trust the whites. After some discussion, Edward Winslow was selected, volunteered, or was voluntold – depending on which account you follow. A peace treaty was negotiated. Squanto was left behind under the guise he would provide aid to the settlers. In reality, he was left behind to serve as a spy for Massasoit.
The story of Squanto teaching the Pilgrims to plant Indian Wheat (corn as we call it today), how to fertilize the soil with fish and lobsters, where and how to hunt the native animals, how to fish the native streams, and identify edible plants are all true. Had Squanto not helped the Pilgrims, the colony would have likely failed by the winter of 1621-22.
The exact date of the first Thanksgiving is not known, but it was in the fall or early winter of 1621. The Pilgrims were in a much better state through the help of Squanto, Massasoit, and the Wampanoag/Nauset. However, the story you were taught in school – not remotely true.
Sometime in the late fall or early winter, a large contingent of the surviving Wampanoag showed up at the Plymouth colony, about 90 to 100 people. The Pilgrims numbered 53 when they made landfall in March of 1621 and had dwindled to 47. So those paintings of lots of Pilgrims and a few Native Americans? Not true.
The Wampanoag brought with them, among other things, five killed deer. For the Pilgrims and English society in 1621, venison was like bring lobster, filet minion, veal chops, and toro sushi all at the same time to someone’s house. The Wampanoag said to paraphrase heavily, “we’re going to have a feast – here.“
The Pilgrims accepted the offer (not that there was much choice), and of course, provided their food to add to the feast. Wild turkey might have been on the menu, but the real food of choice for the first Thanksgiving was – venison. In an ironic twist, the feast went on for three days. The Puritans were against all forms of sin, and a three-day feast of food and alcohol check off the” gluttony” box. In addition, there are reports of gambling, trade, and exchange of stories.
So that is the real story of the first Thanksgiving.
As for celebrations after? They happened sporadically on years of a good harvest. The Wampanoag/Nauset enjoyed an increasingly shaky peace with the settlers until 1674 – just 53 years. By then, all of the surviving original Pilgrims had died. With it, the understanding of the incredible debt owed to the Wampanoag and Chief Massasoit. Boston had grown to the second-largest city in North America, behind New York.
Edward Winslow came to be a trusted friend of Massasoit. In 1623 Massasoit fell gravely ill, possibly from the same illness that killed most of the natives almost two decades earlier. Edward Winslow was sent for by Massasoit, as were other area chiefs, to sit with the sick leader and to be there for his passing. Edward Winslow personally nursed his friend, and Massasoit survived. A bond was formed in the longhouse that would last until Massasoit’s death. Sadly, it would be Massasoit’s son and Winslow’s son that would undo their hard work and lay the foundation for King Phillips War – more on that later.
Ships laden with more settlers arrived almost daily, and Edward Winslow’s son, Josiah, who became governor of the Plymouth Colony, held the native population in contempt. Metacomet, also known as Phillip by his baptized name, was Massasoit’s third son and became the leader of Wampanoag.
In 1671 Josiah humiliated Metacomet forcibly disarming him and his warriors and making them sign a very one-sided treaty. The Wampanoag became subjugated unless they would conscript themselves to “praying towns,” giving up their ways and following both the Christian God and the English ways in all aspects. To meet these requirements, increasing numbers of indigenous peoples moved into “praying towns.”
By 1674 rumors of war swept the land. Fear had grown so large that in December, over 300 Wampanoag and Nauset who were living in praying towns were rounded up. They brought men, women, and children to Deer Island in Boston Harbor. With no food, drinking water, shelter, or way to keep warm, the entire population froze to death.
In 1675, under the orders of Josiah Winslow, three Wampanoag were hung from a tree for the murder of a John Sasamon. No one knows how John died, whether it was murder, an accident, or suicide. Did he fall through the ice of Assawmpset Pond? The trial to this day is considered make-believe, and one of the hanged included a close friend of Metacomet.
In response, Metacomet declared an open guerrilla war on the colonists. Over the next three years, the bloodiest conflict in the continent’s history was fought, with over 10% of the settler population killed and entire towns wiped off the map. There was an open discussion about evacuating the colonies in the early stages of the war due to the ruthless violence of the Wampanoag and supporting tribes.
In the end, Metacoment’s family was murdered, which broke his spirit, and literally, broke him. Despite an offer from the governor of Rhode Island for sanctuary for him and the straggling survivors of his people, he allowed himself to be captured. Metacomet was tried, found guilty of treason, hung, quartered, and beheaded. His head was put on display and left for years. The Wampanoag and their supporters were eradicated. The rest is as they say…history.
Update: CDC Director Rochelle Walensky granted final approval to the FDA amendments of the Pfizer and Moderna EUAs.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – (MTN) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUA) for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines authorizing a single booster dose for all individuals 18 and older six months after receiving their second dose. Shortly after, the Centers for Disease Control panel of vaccine scientists unanimously endorsed the FDA’s authorization. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky needs to provide final approval, but that is expected to happen on Friday.
Pfizer requested the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine to be amended to include booster doses for all adults on November 9 and Moderna made an identical request on November 17. Previously, only adults 65 and over, and people 18 to 64 with certain medical conditions, work in specific jobs, or live in communal areas were authorized to get a booster if they had received an mRNA vaccine from either company.
Almost all of these people would be eligible for a booster shot. Despite the mounting evidence that immunity wanes after five to seven months, only 675,000 residents have received boosters through November 7.
Data out of Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany indicate that the United States is woefully unprepared for a sixth wave. Israel authorized boosters for older residents in July at the beginning of its fifth wave and expanded the program to include everyone 12 and older in September. That program was instrumental in ending the fifth wave.
For 9.2 million Israelis, COVID is now endemic. The government took a unified approach, enabling local councils within individual communities to determine if their city was green, yellow, or red. Almost all of Isreal is in a “green life category.” Masks aren’t required and life, travel, business, and entertainment are normal. Israel has a similar vaccination rate to the United States but a much larger number of people who received boosters.
Multiple studies have shown that infection acquired immunity and vaccine immunity are strong for five to seven months and then start to wane. In December 2020 health officials set expectations that it was unknown how long immunity would last, and many indicated that future booster shots would be likely. Anti-vaccination advocates and disinformation campaigns have used waning immunity as a talking point to sow distrust in vaccination programs.
Last month, the FDA and CDC approved booster shots for anyone 18 and older that received the viral-vector Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases declined slightly while hospitalizations now rest on a seven-day-old plateau as Washington approaches the end of the 21st month fighting Covid-19. Sixteen counties no longer have “high transmission” rates.
In state news, British Columbia and Washington have eased border crossing rules, waiving COVID test requirements at some crossings. Drivers who need to bypass road closures due to flooding and mudslides can cross the border without the required PCR test, but only if they agree they are transiting between border crossing.
Governor Inslee backed down from plans to use stricter measures for Washington employers with 100 or more workers, as the nation waits to see what happens to the Biden Administration’s OSHA Covid-19 vaccination requirements.
The Washington State Department of Health announced that free in-home COVID test kits will be made available in nine counties.
Locally, the Bellevue School District is down to five confirmed COVID cases districtwide between students and staff. In the Northshore School District, Maywood Elementary is dealing with a surge of new Covid-19 cases, with 11 cases, eight confirmed this week.
Nationally the number of new cases is up 14% and more governors provided guidance or directives to make booster shots available to all adults. The vaccination deadline is ten days away from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Pentagon reported 99% of sailors are vaccinated versus 93% of marines.
The NFL is dealing with another potential COVID scandal, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying a fake vaccination card.
New Covid-19 case rates are showing a pattern of county hotspots instead of widespread transmission. As an example, Chelan County just rolled over 60% of all residents vaccinated this week but is dealing with a bump in new cases.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
If Washington state wants to ever get to a place of endemic spread, the data indicates the bare minimum vaccination rate would be 70% of the entire population.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
167.4
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
328.5
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
306.1
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
285.1
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
241.3
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 17, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 264.5 Covid-19 cases per 100K. There are signs that a new plateau is forming with transmission rates too high coming into the start of the holiday travel season.
Chelan, Douglas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Okanogan and Grays Harbor Counties were just under 400.
Sixteen counties representing 3.52 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate was unchanged and the hospitalization rate increased for elderly patients 80 and older..
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
119.8
0.7
Ages 12-19
111.1
0.9
Ages 20-34
116.7
2.8
Ages 35-49
125.3
5.9
Ages 50-64
94.9
9.6
Ages 65-79
64.0
16.0
Ages 80+
66.0
25.7 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
“Given the current situation in B.C., travelers who must transit through the United States to get to their residence in Canada are exempt from the COVID-19 pre-arrival test, the test in Canada, and quarantine requirements,” stated a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson by email.
CBSA expects to be using pre-existing exemptions within federal government orders to apply to travelers who are simply transiting Washington State highways, such as between the Osoyoos border crossing and checkpoints entering Surrey.
Individuals will still need to present a valid passport to cross the international border.
Governor Inslee backs down on expansion of OSHA vaccine and test requirements
During media availability today, Governor Jay Inslee indicated the state was backing down on expanding pending Biden Administration rules that would require companies with more than 100 employees to have vaccinated staff or rest weekly. Earlier the governor had said the state was considering removing the testing requirement and applying the same standard to medium and large private employers that are required for state employees.
The new OSHA rules that were supposed to go into effect on January 5, 2022 are in limbo. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay of the mandate, calling it “staggeringly overbroad,” saying it failed to account for the different levels of risk faced by workers in different workplace settings. The court ruled OSHA may not implement the mandate unless another court overturns the ruling.
The 6th Circuit Court was selected using a ping pong ball to hear the broader case, which will likely head to the Supreme Court.
Nine Washington counties offering free at-home Covid-19 test kits
Nine counties in the northeastern, south central, and southwestern parts of Washington will offer free at-home COVID tests to residents.
Kira Lewis, a public health nurse at the Spokane Regional Health District, says at-home tests take about 10 minutes, and could be taken Thanksgiving or Christmas morning before going over to a family member’s house.
“More testing in the community that’s accessible to all members of the public helps people make good decisions about their social lives and interacting with others,” she said. “That is important for the individual and it’s important for our community as a whole moving forward, continuing to have high rates of transmission in our area. We need to meet that with high rates of available testing.”
The nine counties are Adams, Benton, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens.
Travel Advisories
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained.
Thank you
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Vaccination
More states open up booster shots to all adults
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Utah joined eight other states already opening up booster shots to all adults, as more governors try to get ahead of the start of a sixth wave.
New York and Rhode Island haven’t made boosters available to all adults statewide, but are asking healthcare providers not to turn anyone away in counties with high transmission rates.
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Hospital readiness continues to slowly improve except on the Olympic Peninsula. Although the number of COVID patients under care is in decline, the total number of hospitalized patients is unchanged due to deferred elective surgeries, increased movement among the population creating more injuries, and other wintertime diseases.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91.2% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 633 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 87.6% of capacity statewide, with 20.2% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 238 patients with 49.1% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 147 additional ICU patients.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 89. The Department of Health reported 882 Covid-19 patients statewide with 117 requiring ventilators. The number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been in the mid-800s to low-900s for seven days in a row.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – International (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*) – Somerset (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (0/1) – Bothell High School (5**/9) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4*/24) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/34) – Eastridge Elementary (1*/3) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/2) – Frank Love Elementary (0/6) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (2*/0) – Inglemoor High School (4*/1) – Kenmore Middle School (1*/2) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/8) – Northshore Middle School (1*/9) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1*/4) – Shelton View Elementary (0/1) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/8) – Wellington Elementary (1*/5) – Westhill Elementary (2*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/5) – Woodinville High School (2*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (2*/3)
– Maywood Hills Elementary (11**/5)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Northshore School District moves to status red with Maywood Hills Elementary reporting 11 confirmed COVID cases and eight this week. It is the largest Covid-19 outbreak in terms of new cases reported at the same time in the three school districts Malcontent News tracks since school started.
The Bellevue School District stays status green with five confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. Additionally, we can process quarantine data by the day, and we will start tracking those numbers next week.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 111,106 new cases and 1,622 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. The Delta variant continues to target the unvaccinated and a very small, but growing number of people vaccinated more than six months ago. New cases are up 14% since last week.
Vaccination deadline looms for active duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel
The Pentagon reported that 99% of sailors and 93% of Marines were either fully or partially vaccinated, with the November 28 deadline ten days away. Among the five branches, the Navy has the highest vaccination rate while the Marines have the lowest.
Marines and sailors who choose not to get the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of November will be released from the service, in a general but honorable discharge, officials with those services have said, making them ineligible for some benefits from the GI Bill.
The Orange County Register reported a message sent to the troops said “Marines refusing to take the vaccine absent medical exemptions, religious accommodations or pending appeal,” will be processed for discharge and additional disciplinary action or even a court martial is not out of the question. The Navy has issued a similar message.
Army will push out soliders who refuse to get Covid-19 vaccine
Soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and have not requested an exemption will no longer be allowed to re-enlist or be promoted, effectively ending their military careers, according to a report by Defense One. The new directive applies to active-duty troops as well as reservists and National Guardsmen, including those serving in states whose governors do not require the vaccine.
The Nov. 16 memo, signed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, says troops’ service records will be flagged the day they make their final vaccine refusal, which follows a meeting with a medical professional and a second order to get vaccinated. This flag will bar them from being promoted, reenlisting, continuing to receive enlistment bonuses, attending service-related schools, or receiving tuition assistance.
“I authorize commanders to impose bars to continued service…for all soldiers who refuse the mandatory vaccine order without an approved exemption or pending exemption request,” Wormuth wrote in the memo. “The Soldier will remain flagged until they are fully vaccinated, receive an approved medical or administrative exemption, or are separated from the Army.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying fake vaccine card
Days after brushing aside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers less than truthful vaccination status, wide receiver Antonio Brown is accused by his former chef of buying a fake vaccination card, plunging the NFL into another public relations mess.
The Tampa Bay Times broke the story earlier today, with the chef claiming Brown bought the card to avoid NFL protocols. If true, Brown in theory could face massive fines from the NFL for repeated protocol violations. Aaron Rodgers broke as many as 16 Coivid-19 protocols but was ultimately fined $14,650 for attending an unsanctioned Halloween party.
EXCLUSIVE: Bucs receiver Antonio Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols, according to his former live-in chef.
Brown could be in additional trouble with the FBI. Buying a fake vaccination card is a federal crime. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers issued a brief statement via Twitter, indicating they had collected all vaccination records during the preseason and “no irregularities were observed.”
Phoenix will require all city employees to be vaccinated by January 22, 2022, or face termination. Phoenix joins other cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle that already require government employees to be vaccinated against COVID.
A news release from UCHealth issued on Thursday states a team of about 20 nurses, providers, respiratory therapists, and administrators will be deployed to UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) for about a month. The team is expected to ease capacity and staffing challenges. The request came from Gov. Jared Polis.
“We are so grateful that this team will assist us in providing exceptional care in northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, the president, and chief executive officer at PVH and UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. “We anticipate this additional support and other plans we already have in the works will help make a significant difference.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said on Tuesday that an indoor mask mandate in the nation’s capital would be eased on November 22, reflecting a shift away from mask requirements as coronavirus vaccination rates continue to rise and infections fueled by the Delta variant subside in the city.
The New York Times reported about 88 percent of the District of Columbia’s adult residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to city health officials.
Masks will still be required in certain circumstances, including on public transportation, inside school buildings, and in congregate living facilities like nursing homes, college dormitories, and jails.
Idaho
In what could be read as a victory for Governor Brad Little and a blow to Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, the Idaho legislature ended its special session making almost no changes to state COVID policies.
The Senate did adopt a memorial piece of legislation that sends a message to the president and Congress “to make a very forceful statement about our position on the presidential mandates related to Covid-19,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder.
The lawsuit alleges that the woman’s 15-year-old girl was vaccinated by a Walmart employee at the store’s pharmacy without parental consent. The 15-year-old girl wanted the COVID-19 vaccine so she could hang out with her friends.
“The biggest problem I have with this situation is that Walmart vaccinated my daughter without my consent and knowledge,” said the girl’s mom Michelle Tonkinson.
In a statement, Walmart said, “Walmart is committed to offering quality and compliant health care. We take allegations like this seriously. We will review the claims and respond with the court as appropriate once we are served.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts health officials reported another 3,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases — the most in one day since February — and eight new deaths Thursday, according to a report by NBC 10.
The report pushed the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 826,996 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 18,834.
The number of new confirmed cases in Wednesday’s report from the Department of Public Health had been the most in one day since September, according to archival data. But that report included “a backlog of testing results” from several prior days. The prior single-day high had been in February — and February 6 was the last time more than 3,196 cases were confirmed in one day.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the state was opening up booster shots to anyone over 18 years old, joining a growing list of states breaking with current FDA guidelines.
Minnesota
Hospitals across the state are delaying surgeries to free up bed space in the face of growing concerns over hospital capacity constraints, according to a report by KSTP.
“Things have been getting worse in the last couple of weeks,” said Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “We have emergency departments that are full of patients. We have patients in beds in hallways. Our units are full.”
Only 1.1% of ICU beds and 0.5% of non-ICU beds were available in the metro Thursday, according to response capacity data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Everybody’s delaying surgeries. We’re pulling this lever across the board. Our care teams, our leaders, our surgical teams are making this decision minute by minute,” Koranne said. “Shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries, but even the last couple of weeks, what we are having to do unfortunately is push back some heart surgeries. At the end of the day, we only have a limited amount of care capacity available.”
Missouri
On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services once again reconfigured the state’s COVID data dashboard, adding thousands of previously unreported deaths and infections, according to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch.
Some date back to the spring of 2020, and many are instances of illness or death now attributed to Covid-19 but that weren’t publicly tallied by the state at the time.
As part of the update, the state also began reporting COVID cases that occurred after vaccination or prior infection. The numbers show that such cases have been remarkably rare, and are most common among those with underlying health conditions.
The department added 2,792 “probable” Covid-19 deaths, increasing the state total 22%
New Mexico
According to state health officials, around 25% of all COVID-19 cases in the last week were among children in a report by KOB.
School-age children are included in that group, so could this impact in-person learning? School districts around the state have new “enhanced” COVID procedures in place, in case the surge gets worse.
If a school has a certain percentage of COVID-positive cases, that facility would be required to start implementing those additional measures. The good news, so far, is that both Rio Rancho Public Schools and Albuquerque Public Schools said they have not reached that point, they hope to keep it that way.
Utah
For the third day in a row, 13 Utahns have been added to the death toll from COVID-19 — a number that now stands at 3,411 people, according to the Utah Department of Health in a story published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
The health department on Thursday also reported 1,789 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,633 per day.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity, and over capacity in the state’s largest hospitals. According to the health department, 96.7% of all ICU beds and 101.8% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. (Hospitals consider anything over 85% to be functionally full.) Of all ICU patients, 44.2% are being treated for COVID-19.
Virginia
On Thursday, Sentara Healthcare faced off in court with one of their own doctors, Paul Marik, according to WTKR.
Marik, who is the director of the Critical Care Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, is suing the healthcare system because they won’t allow him to treat COVID-19 patients with the drug ivermectin, along with a host of other drugs that make up his developed MATH+ Protocol.
“Almost all of the treatments we use have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in randomized controlled trials,” Marik said.
Marik claims that Sentara’s policy may have led to the deaths of four of his patients who were never given the opportunity to learn of or be treated with potentially life-saving medicines. He said these actions are criminal.
There is not a single peer reviewed study that used accurate placebo controlled double blind study data that indicates Ivermectin is effective as a preventative or treatment. The largest validated study to date indicated that for the sickest patients, the antiparisitic drug was counterindicated.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – (MTN) The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet to consider authorizing Pfizer vaccine Covid-19 boosters for all this week.
Pfizer requested the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine to be amended to include booster doses for all adults 18 and older regardless of comorbidities, vocation, or living situation on November 9. Currently, only adults 65 and over, and people 18 to 64 with certain medical conditions, work in specific jobs, or live in communal areas are authorized to get a booster.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’S Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told CNN the EUA amendment request was the center’s “highest priority.”
3.3 million Washington state residents 16 and older were fully vaccinated on May 30, according to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). Under the updated guidelines, almost all of these people would be eligible for a booster shot. Despite the mounting evidence that immunity wanes after five to seven months, only 675,000 residents have received boosters and the DOH told Malcontent News last week the state would not deviate from current federal guidelines.
A growing list of states isn’t waiting for the federal government. Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, and West Virginia have issued guidance or directives for anyone who received their second dose of mRNA vaccine more than six months ago to get a booster shot within the last week.
Sunday on Face the Nation, Colorado governor Jared Polis expressed frustration on information coming from the FDA and CDC on boosters.
“I’ve been very frustrated with the convoluted messaging out of the CDC and the FDA. Everybody should get the booster after six months. The data is incredibly clear that it increases your personal protection level. That’s why my parents got it. I got it. My family members got it.”
“To me, if you want to get to endemic, you have got to get the level of infection so low that it does not have an impact on society, on your life, on your economy,” Fauci said. “People will still get infected. People might still get hospitalized, but the level would be so low that we don’t think about it all the time and it doesn’t influence what we do.”
“To get there,” he said, “would take a lot more people rolling up their sleeves for initial COVID-19 shots and boosters.”
The FDA is widely expected to approve Pfizer’s request but the authorization will require approval by the Centers for Disease Control and must be signed off by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to become official policy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss Pfizer’s request.
Data out of Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany indicate that the United States is woefully unprepared for a sixth wave. In Germany where cases are exploding only 3% of the population has received booster shots. Most cases continue to be among the unvaccinated in low-vaccinated regions.
Israel authorized boosters for older residents in July at the beginning of its fifth wave and expanded the program to include everyone 12 and older in September. That program was instrumental in ending the fifth wave where life has largely returned to normal. Despite the surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths were significantly blunted compared to the winter of 2020.
Germany and Israel have similar vaccination rates to the United States and the Delta variant has repeatedly moved through areas with low-vaccinated populations as seasonal changes move people indoors. COVID cases are increasing in 31 U.S. states with Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Maine are dealing with significant surges.
Multiple studies have shown that infection acquired immunity and vaccine immunity are strong for five to seven months and then start to wane. In December 2020 health officials set expectations that it was unknown how long immunity would last, and many indicated that future booster shots would be likely. Anti-vaccination advocates and disinformation campaigns have used waning immunity as a talking point to sow distrust in vaccination programs.
Moderna has not applied with the FDA to amend the EUA for its vaccine and the FDA did not indicate it would be including Moderna in the discussions. Mixing and matching of COVID boosters were approved on October 21, but there is no indication if boosters for all are approved by the FDA and CDC, that mix and match rules will extend to recipients of the Moderna vaccine.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases and hospitalizations are down and vaccination rates are up across the Evergreen state but for 9,028 Washingtonians progress came too late as the state crossed another grim milestone.
New cases continue to drop statewide and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported 80% of all residents 12 or older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Despite the success, Washington ranks about 14th nationally for the most vaccinated population. The DOH also reported that hospitalizations are down significantly from last week.
A report from the DOH indicated that children and adolescents in Eastern Washington have the highest incidents of Covid-19 infections in the state during the last two weeks of October.
Kaiser Peramente reported 828 Washington residents received an expired dose of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and 27 and they are reaching out to impacted patients. If you have concerns you can call (206) 630-2080.
State Senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reported he had COVID and was stuck in the Latin American nation of El Salvador. Ericksen, who has tried to block vaccination programs is reported to have flown out of the country by air ambulance tonight.
Locally, King County has updated how they report vaccination rates to include children 5 to 11 and the initial data is very encouraging. In the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville region along with the supporting school districts, first dose vaccination rates ranged from 81.7% to 95.0% for all residents. In little more than a week, 18.5% to 35.5% of children 5 to 11 got their first dose of the COVID vaccine, depending on the zip code they live in.
Covid-19 cases in the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts remain under control.
Nationally, Dr. Anthony Fauci has called for boosters for all and the states of Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia, along with New York City decided not to wait for FDA authorization. The DOH reported they will continue to follow existing federal guidelines.
When it comes to boosters, Mr. T. (yes, that Mr. T.) pity the fool who doesn’t get their booster shot. The 69-year old actor and former wrestler got his booster shot on November 13.
Pfizer has formally requested for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for the antiviral drug Paxlovid. In Phase 2 and 3 testing and when combined with another HIV drug, Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations by 89% for people infected with COVID, if taken within the first five days of early symptoms.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced new guidelines for residents of nursing homes. The sweeping changes essentially eliminates all visitation restrictions at any facility that receives federal funding.
In other national news, a Connecticut nursing home is reporting an outbreak of Covid-19 sickened 89 and killed eight. A grieving Georgia husband is accusing a school district of working his COVID positive wife to death because she didn’t have any sick time left. Brad Little, governor of Idaho got his Covid-19 booster and shared it on Twitter as the Gem State enters the third month under crisis standards of care. COVID cases are exploding in Maine, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania while hospitals in Alaska, Colorado, and Montana continue to struggle with resources.
A Texas doctor has had their privledges suspended for sharing COVID disinformation, while a doctor turned legislature in Maryland is facing disciplinary action for prescribing invemectin. In Michigan, a third lawmaker is facing criminal charges for groping a nurse practioner while seeking a prescription for his COVID infection.
The Washington State Department of Health has updated the vaccination rate data, shifting the brackets again. With 31.8% of the total population vaccinated, Stevens County remains the least vaccinated county in Washington while San Juan County at 74.5% is at the top of the pile.
Several counties with higher case rates moved into new brackets on Monday. We start to see a decline in these numbers at 55% vaccinated so some of the anomalies in the data will shift in the next 7 to 10 days. The least vaccinated counties are rural and largely agricultural. With the end of farming and harvest season and poor weather, people are congregating less often.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
166.6
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
323.2
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
302.3
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
362.5
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
300.3 (down)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 15, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 267.0 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties were just under 400.
Fourteen counties representing 3.14 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate and hospitalization rate has decreased from last week.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
118.9
0.9
Ages 12-19
113.8
0.7
Ages 20-34
120.1
2.7
Ages 35-49
126.6
5.4
Ages 50-64
90.8
9.4
Ages 65-79
62.6
14.1
Ages 80+
70.3
22.5
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 56 deaths on Monday. As of Monday, 9,028 Washingtonians have died from Covid-19 related illness.
IHME forecast points to a sixth wave and 13,530 Washingtonians dead by March 1
The updated IHME forecast points to a sixth wave for Washington with hospitalizations peaking on February 3, 2022. Although the forecast model shows a significant increase in confirmed cases, hospitalizations would not exceed the fifth wave that is currently winding down, and mortality is projected to be much lower due to the high vaccination rate.
If everyone in Washington were to wear a mask, the IHME model predicts we could save 1,500 lives.
Many hospitalists have reported they would not be capable of handling the stress and trauma of another wave, and feel unsupported by the community.
80% of Washingtonians 12 and above have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine
The Washington State Department of Health reported 80.0% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73.9% of the state is fully vaccinated.
According to the Mayo Clinic and through November 7, Washington state ranks eleventh in the United States for children ages 12 to 17 fully vaccinated, ninth for adults 18 to 64, and eight for seniors 65 and older.
When you consider at least a single dose, Washington drops to 14th place for children ages 12 to 17, 14th for adults 18 to 65, and in a 32-way first-place tie for seniors 65 and older.
The red-blue political divide is also strong in the data. Among children 12 to 17 and adults 18 to 64 the first red state is Utah in 19th place. For seniors over 65, Washington is tied with 31 other states that have achieved >99% vaccinated.
Vermont leads for the most vaccinated adolescents while Massachusetts leads with the most vaccinated adults and seniors.
Over 800 Kaiser Peramente patients received expired Moderna vaccine doses
Kaiser Permanente is contacting 828 patients across Washington state that were inadvertently given expired doses of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and October 27. Both Kaiser Permanente and Moderna have stated that there is no impact on patient safety or efficacy.
“After consultation with Kaiser Permanente clinical experts, there is no evidence that the vaccine administered is ineffective or unsafe,” according to a statement from Kaiser Permanente. “Our clinical experts do not recommend a repeat vaccine dose for patients who were administered these doses.”
Patients with questions about their vaccines can call (206) 630-2080.
Eastern Washington children have the highest case rate in Washington
Education Service District (ESD) 101 encompasses Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman Counties and had a 14 day new case rate of 569.5 per 100,000 children and adolescents.
King and Pierce Counties comprise ESD 121 and had a new case rate of 303.1 per 100,000. The lowest rate in the state was on the Olympic Peninsula, known as ESD 114 with a new case rate of 290.0.
Although severe COVID is uncommon in children and adolescents, Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma reported that 40% of their hospitalized Covid-19 patients in September developed MIS-C, which can be fatal.
There is little Information about long COVID among children and adolescents and most studies available currently are highly flawed. Among the limited studies that are credible, there isn’t significant evidence that long COVID symptoms last more than 12 weeks among pediatric patients.
State senator Doug Ericksen who fought against vaccine mandates infected with Covid-19 in El Salvador
Washington State Ultra-Conservative Freedom Caucus creator state senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reached out to his Washington legislature allies requesting assistance after becoming Covid-19 positive in El Salvador. Ericksen was in the Latin American country as an election observer when he tested positive for COVID.
“I took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID shortly after I arrived. I cannot get back home, and it’s to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive iv monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron).”
Over 60% of the residents of El Salvador are fully vaccinated, however, hospitalized treatment for Covid-19 is mostly limited to comfort care and oxygen therapy. Ericksen has not shared if he is vaccinated, nor did he share if he was attempting unproven therapies such as Ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C or Vitamin D, which would be available.
On October 19, Ericksen called for the resignation of Governor Jay Inslee (WA-D) due to the statewide vaccine mandate.
“Inslee has done significant damage to the credibility of state government and has eroded the public’s trust. Now he is firing thousands of public employees without regard to the harm it will cause. This effort to punish can only be seen as the willful act of a failed governor. Inslee has failed miserably. We don’t take this lightly. But the only thing that can allow our state to heal and move forward is for Jay Inslee to resign.”
On November 1, Ericksen indicated he would try to reintroduce Senate Bill 5144, which would “prohibit discrimination against those who are not vaccinated.”
“Washington state is number one in government coercion, but I don’t think that is an honor the people of Washington want,” Ericksen stated. “This is a natural result of a system that allows the governor to declare an emergency and then keep his sweeping emergency powers as long as he wants.”
There is an unconfirmed report that Ericksen was flown out of El Salvador on an air ambulance today.
Travel Advisories
We are lifting the travel advisory to Eastern Washington. Hospital resources and new case rates have dropped to a level where there are adequate medical resources to support a health emergency.
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend to avoid recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained. Wyoming transfers critical patients to Colorado and Utah, and both states have limited to no capacity to take transfer patients.
Thank you
Thank you to our new subscribers and those of you who have made one-time contributions. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for helping us keep the lights on!
“To me, if you want to get to endemic, you have got to get the level of infection so low that it does not have an impact on society, on your life, on your economy,” Fauci said. “People will still get infected. People might still get hospitalized, but the level would be so low that we don’t think about it all the time and it doesn’t influence what we do.”
To get there, he said, would take a lot more people rolling up their sleeves for initial COVID-19 shots and boosters.
If the United States makes boosters available for everyone, it is possible the country can get control of the virus by spring of 2022, Fauci added.
Editor’s Note: Although we agree with Dr. Fauci, we believe it will be near impossible to convince the remaining 62 million American adults who are unvaccinated, to get vaccinated.
Get Your Booster
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
There has been significant improvement for Hospital Readiness across Washington state except on the Olympic Peninsula. Many hospitals have restarted elective procedures and seasonal illness has returned to Washington state, adding to the overall patient load.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.8% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 621 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.4% of capacity statewide, with 20.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 236 patients with 44.9% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 153 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 84. The Department of Health reported 830 Covid-19 patients statewide with 106 requiring ventilators.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – Clyde Hill (1*) – International (1*) – Lake Hills (2*) – Newport Heights (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1*1) – Bothell High School (3*/13) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5**/18) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/13) – Eastridge Elementary (0/3) – Fernwood Elementary (2*/3) – Frank Love Elementary (0/10) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (3*/0) – Inglemoor High School (5**/2) – Kenmore Middle School (2*/3) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3*/5) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/10) – Northshore Middle School (1*/22) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (2*/6) – Shelton View Elementary (0/2) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (0/5) – Wellington Elementary (0/3) – Westhill Elementary (3*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/7) – Woodinville High School (4*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (3*/3)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five ore more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Bellevue School District moves back to status green with eight confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. In the Lake Washington School District, Inglewood Middle School reported five confirmed cases on Monday, moving the school to status yellow.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts and quarantines. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code and now reports the data from ages 5 and up. This resets vaccination status through the region. Based on reader feedback, we have added zip codes 98008, 98053, 98074, 98075, and 98077 to fully ecompass the Lake Washington School District and the King County portions of the Northshore School District.
Vaccination rates for children between 5 to 11 are in a word, remarkable.
Percentage of King County Residents 5 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, November 16, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 to 11 years old
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 and older
98155
20.5%
89.5%
98028
22.5%
85.9%
98011
18.0%
82.7%
98034
22.6%
81.7%
98033
35.5%
90.0%
98072
19.9%
85.2%
98077
18.5%
76.7%
98052
30.5%
91.7%
98004
25.0%
95.0%
98039
26.5%
87.5%
98005
26.7%
91.7%
98007
14.0%
86.0%
98008
19.1%
88.0%
98053
31.9%
90.2%
98074
28.1%
93.5%
98075
22.5%
91.4%
Vaccination rates with at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 143,685 new cases and 1,241 deaths nationwide on Tuesday.
Pfizer formally requests Emergency Use Authorization for the antiviral Paxlovid and agrees to license the drug to 95 countries
“With more than 5 million deaths and countless lives impacted by this devastating disease globally, there is an urgent need for life-saving treatment options. The overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of Paxlovid, and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized, underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application, along with other regulatory agencies around the world.”
In Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing, Paxlovid provided an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause in patients treated with PAXLOVID compared to placebo within three days of symptom onset, with no deaths in the treatment group. Similar results were seen within five days of symptom onset.
Additionally, Pfizer announced it has signed a voluntary licensing agreement to expand production of Paxlovid, to 95 low- and middle-income countries, covering 53% of the world’s population.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist for the World Health Organization welcomed the news in a tweet.
Good to see the license for new #COVID19 antiviral from @pfizer will be available through @MedsPatentPool for LMICs. This drug can prevent severe illness in high risk individuals if given in 1st 5 days. @WHO guidelines group will review data when available & make recommendations https://t.co/SZgQ2bS8Z0
The 69-year old actor and retired professional wrestler Mr. T tweeted over the weekend that he received his Covid-19 booster shot, declaring, “I pity pain!”
He thanked his doctor and nurses and told TMZ he wanted to play it safe.
I am Blessed and I am Thankful. I just got my Booster Vaccination shot. My arm is a little sore but no pain. I Pity Pain! Thanks again to all the Doctors and Nurses…
More states break with the FDA/CDC and approve boosters for all
The list of states that are recommended for anyone 18 or older to get a booster continues to grow. Last week Colorado and California broke ranks with the FDA and recommended all residents over 18 who got their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than 60 days ago, or the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna second dose more than 180 days ago to get their COVID booster.
For some states, “the reason they’ve gone ahead and done this is they are really concerned about experiencing another wave in their state of transmissions and we have seen in some states an uptick in Covid-19 cases. Unfortunately, a lot of those are driven by those who are not vaccinated, but there are some breakthrough infections among those who are vaccinated,” Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, told CNN on Tuesday.
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Colorado created the Western States Pact to align their Covid-19 response, share research, and public education. The Washington State Department of Health stated last week that Washington has no plans to deviate from current federal guidelines.
Editor’s Note: It is our opinion that DOH’s stance is a mistake given the strong evidence that a sixth wave is coming. It is our recommendation to get a booster if you’re eligible, and a lot of people are eligible.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services eases rules for nursing home visits
“Early in the pandemic, visitation restrictions were implemented to mitigate the risk of visitors introducing COVID-19 to the nursing home. Today’s guidance update reflects that, while visitors, residents, or their representatives should be made aware of the risks associated with visiting loved ones, visitation should now be allowed for all residents at all times.”
Visits must also be allowed to take place indoors for all residents, whether they’re vaccinated or not, even when a facility is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak investigation or when a resident is on transmission-based precautions or quarantine. While visits under such conditions are “not recommended” by the CMS, they must be allowed if that’s what a resident chooses.
State Updates
Connecticut
A Connecticut nursing home has moved into recovery mode after suffering an outbreak of COVID-19. Geer Village said that the outbreak, which started in September, left eight residents dead and 89 residents and staff members infected according to a report by CBS News.
The North Canaan-based facility, which includes independent and assisted living among other services, said it conducts bi-weekly testing on residents and staff. In a statement, Director of Nursing Cady Bloodgood and Chief Executive Officer Kevin O’Connell said they are continuing to “monitor the situation closely.”
“Sadly, we have lost 8 residents with serious underlying health issues to COVID,” the facility said on Friday. “We are encouraged to see 69 staff and residents already recovered and coming off isolation. While we must continue with COVID-19 prevention protocols, we want to assure everyone we are doing our best to keep residents and staff safe.”
Georgia
A husband is accusing school officials of making his wife continue to work at a Georgia school despite being COVID positive, ultimately causing her to die according to a report by WSB.
Sara Anderson, was a cafeteria worker at Conyers Middle School who died from COVID on October 5.
“She was a hard worker, and if a manager asked her to do anything, she did it,” Robert Anderson said. He said Sara started feeling sick on September 15 and felt worse the next day. He says her manager told her she was out of sick days and that she had to go into work.
“She was pressured into going to work again, and that was on the 17th. On the 18th, she passed out,” Robert Anderson said.
Doctors diagnosed Sara Anderson with COVID, and then COVID pneumonia. A few days later, she was in the ICU and passed on October 5.
Idaho
Idaho governor Brad Little received his Covid-19 booster shot publicly in an attempt to urge others in his state to get vaccinated. Idaho entered its third month operating at crisis standards of care on November 16, with COVID cases still raging through the Panhandle region.
State health officials Tuesday reported 1,627 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals throughout Illinois, according to the Daily Herald. Of those hospitalized, 325 were in intensive care, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Hospitalizations have increased by 16.8% from a week ago, IDPH figures show. Current the state test positivity rate is 2.8%, which points to over-testing, but increased from 2.2% a week ago.
Maine
More and more signs are emerging that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly through Maine, especially among unvaccinated populations, contributing to troubling spikes in hospitalizations and deaths as a holiday week approaches.
The state set yet another pandemic high with 275 hospitalizations on Tuesday and also set a record for the rate of tests that are coming back positive, 8.5 percent on average over the last seven days. Thirteen additional deaths were reported Tuesday as well.
Representative Andy Harris (R-Md.) said a complaint was filed against him with a medical board for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.
Harris alluded to the complaint during the House Freedom Caucus meeting about vaccine mandates on Monday, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“An action is currently being attempted against my medical license for prescribing ivermectin, which I find fascinating, because as an anesthesiologist, I know I use a lot of drugs off-label that are much more dangerous,” Harris said at the meeting.
Michigan
Michigan state Senator John Bizon faces misdemeanor assault charges after a nurse practitioner with Oaklawn Medical Group accused him of inappropriately touching her while seeking medication to treat his Covid-19 infection.
The incident in question occurred on August 14, at Oaklawn After Hours Express in Marshall, according to a report filed with the Marshall Police Department on August 17. Two health practictioners filed complaints about Bizon groping them and making inappropriate comments.
Minnesota
Minnesota is preparing to expand COVID-19 vaccine booster access to all adults this week, with or without federal backing, and encouraged renewed protections in communities and schools against a worsening pandemic wave.
The positivity rate of COVID-19 diagnostic testing rose above a 10% high-risk threshold in Minnesota, which is reporting high viral transmission levels in 86 of 87 counties but particularly severe levels in central and northern counties with lower vaccination rates.
“I don’t think we can say that any place in Minnesota is in particularly great shape right now,” state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced Tuesday, a day after he was elected chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Perry’s office said in a statement announcing his diagnosis that the congressman, who has not publicly indicated whether he has been vaccinated against the virus, is experiencing “quite mild” symptoms and he “will continue working while quarantining at home.”
Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas has suspended privileges for an ear, nose, and throat doctor after she tweeted several opinions on COVID-19 vaccines, including advising patients from getting it according to a report by XKAN.
A hospital representative confirmed the suspension of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to The Washington Post. Houston Methodist said Bowden, who only recently joined staff and says she is vaccinated, is “spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science.”
Bowden tweeted earlier this month that she was “shifting focus to treating the unvaccinated” due to the “current climate and writing on the wall,” in addition to the promotion of experimental treatments over the FDA-approved coronavirus vaccines.
[OLYMPIA] – (MTN) California governor Gavin Newsom and Colorado governor Jared Polis issued directives last week instructing healthcare providers to allow booster shots to anyone 18 and older, breaking from federal guidelines and forging a different path from the Western States Pact.
In April 2020, California, Oregon, and Washington entered into an agreement that would align the COVID response between the three states. Two weeks later Nevada and Colorado joined the pact. A similar agreement was reached on the East Coast, including many New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The cooperative agreements were created to share research and education telecommunications networks and services to align the regional response.
The states have largely been in agreement for the last 19 months so the recent fracture on booster protocols is a new development. After Colorado announced their directive on Tuesday, Charlie Boisner, the COVID-19 Public Information Officer for the Washington State Department of Health, told Malcontent News in an e-mail, “DOH is following guidance from the FDA, CDC and Western States as to whom is eligible to receive a booster shot. Additional populations may be recommended to receive a booster as more data becomes available. Washington has no plans of implementing measures outside of current authorizations.”
In a follow-up after California announced they were also breaking from FDA and CDC guidance and issuing a directive for “boosters for all,” Boisner responded, “Washington has no plans of implementing measures outside of current authorizations.”
Several Western Washington hospitals are dealing with a significant number of breakthrough cases among staff that were vaccinated in January and February.
On Monday morning New Mexico, also dealing with a late fifth wave surge, and New York City issued directives to make Covid-19 booster shots eligible for anyone 18 and over who wants one.
Colorado is facing a late fifth wave, with hospitals operating at crisis standards of care and projections indicating the state will run out of hospital resources by Christmas. Cases are also up in California with the surges in both states largely driven by the unvaccinated. Within the data, there is growing evidence that vaccines and natural immunity are waning. Among the unvaccinated reinfections are increasing dramatically and among the vaccinated, breakthrough cases among those vaccinated more than six months ago are creeping upward.
Last week Dr. Anthony Fauci urged anyone eligible to receive a booster to get one as soon as possible.
Germany may serve as a warning for the United States and the impact from a confusing rollout of booster shots. Ranked 45th for vaccination rates, only 3% of the population has received a COVID booster shot. In the eastern parts of Germany where only 50% of the population is vaccinated, cases are raging again. The German government is planning to deploy 12,000 troops to assist overwhelmed hospitals. Historically, Europe has been a leading indicator of the next surge to hit the Americas.
Earlier this year Israel dealt with a surge of Delta cases when the nation was vaccinated at a similar level to the United States today. The nation implemented a booster program in early July and expanded it twice, making boosters available for everyone 12 and older on September 25. Case rates have returned to a normal level, despite ranking 47th in vaccination rate in the world, and only slightly ahead of the United States.
During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said there continued to be a need to prioritize those who are currently eligible for a Covid-19 booster but added, “as you likely know, FDA is currently looking at the data for expanding boosters to all populations.”
Two different studies were released in October 2021, providing insight into how long natural and vaccine immunity last. Neither offer lifetime protection and lifetime protection was never promised. A growing list of studies indicates that natural and vaccine-based immunity wanes after five to seven months.
On October 1, a study on the durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 was published in The Lancet. Researchers predicted that natural immunity began to fade after 142 to 185 days and natural immunity would disappear after 16 months, The study also stated that this would vary widely depending on age, overall health, genetics, and risk factors, and immunity could be as short as three months or as long as five years.
Before the first Covid-19 vaccines became publicly available, researchers and scientists were publicly stating that boosters would be likely and that testing programs would evaluate the effectiveness of future boosters. Those predictions came true.
Many people are eligible for booster shots today including 188 million American adults who are overweight with a BMI of 25 or higher.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) The National Weather Service added a Wind Advisory to the eastside at 7:36 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. today including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Newport Hills, Sahalee, and Pine Lake.
Temperatures in the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area were over 60 degrees as an intense flow of sub-tropical air was pushed ahead of an advancing cold front. The area has reached high temperatures for the day with the front advancing into our region.
Winds will be from the south and increase as the cold front approaches, and then shift to the southwest and west and intensify. Southwest winds will rise to 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph. The ground is extremely saturated, increasing the possibility of trees being blown down. Scatter power outages are likely as the morning progresses.
When the wind shifts to the southwest temperatures will drop and by sunset will be down to 45 degrees. Drivers should prepare for a long commute on Monday evening and give themselves some extra time. Heavy rain, landslide risk, and saturated soil can impact Sounder Train service, commuters should check on conditions in the evening and have an alternative plan for the return home.
Never drive around road closed or high water warning signs, especially in the dark. According to FEMA, a passenger car or car-based sport utility vehicle can stall out in six inches of water and start to float in 12. Even if you successfully drive through high water, moisture can get into critical mechanical components and foul lubricants causing long-term damage.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) When it rains it pours and it has been pouring in Western Washington for almost a week with flood watches and warnings across the region. Monday will deliver yet another punch of heavy rain and the strongest winds yet driven along an atmospheric river extending out into the Pacific Ocean.
The forecast for tomorrow is extremely challenging with little agreement across weather models. The strongest winds will move through Central Puget Sound from 6 a.m. to noon on Monday. For wind storms, Malcontent News puts more weight on the Euro Model, which is forecasting a Wind Advisory grade event for the morning.
The National Weather Service has not issued a Wind Advisory at this time. On Sunday at Seatac Airport winds reached Wind Advisory territory for three hours, peaking with a gust of 42 MPH.
For Sunday night, the rain will increase between 11 p.m. and midnight with breezy winds from the south. It will be unseasonably warm, with low temperatures from 55 to 57. South winds will be 10 to 15 MPH with increasing gusts toward daybreak. Overnight rainfall will be around one-tenth of an inch.
Monday morning will be wet, windy, and warm. Temperatures will reach 57 to 59 degrees early in the day before dropping sharply in the afternoon. Winds will continue from the south from 15 to 25 MPH with gusts to 45 MPH. Rainfall with be close to three-quarters of an inch through the area, further saturating the soil.
Saturated soils combined with the wind will increase the chance of trees being uprooted, as well as enhance the landslide risk. Scattered power outages are likely. By sunset, the winds will die down along with the rain. Overnight temperatures will drop to 38 to 40 degrees.
Drivers should prepare for a long commute on Monday morning and give themselves some extra time. Heavy rain, landslide risk, and saturated soil can impact Sounder Train service, commuters should check on conditions in the morning and have an alternative plan for the return home.
People should never drive around road closed or high water warning signs, especially in the dark. According to FEMA, a passenger car or car-based sport utility vehicle can stall out in six inches of water and start to float in 12. Even if you successfully drive through high water, moisture can get into critical mechanical components and foul lubricants causing long-term damage.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Federal officials charged Kalvinn Jay Garcia, 24, of Sedro-Woolley with arson for a fire he lit on February 24, 2020, in an alley behind the Seattle Police Department East Precinct building. Surveillance video from the East Precinct saw Garcia light the fire, and a dumpster exploding in flames. The fire climbed up the back wall of the alley and spread to Queer Bar, a gay bar and events venue that had 50 people inside at the time.
Seattle Police quickly apprehended Garcia as he tried to flee from the scene. He was originally charged in King County Superior Court and held at King County Jail. Due to Covid-19 protocols, he was released.
Despite the attempt to burn down the entire block that contains 100 apartments and the East Precinct, the right-wing “thin blue line” media has been silent about the arrest.
Just months after the arson as Seattle erupted into civil rights protests over the killing of George Floyd, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins warned of the dire risk if a fire were set at the East Precinct.
Why would the right-wing media be so quiet about such a terrible attack on the Seattle Police just months before the formation of CHOP? If the reality of a fire in that area would be a disaster, why didn’t that disaster become a reality three months earlier? Is this just another case of weak King County prosecutors letting another anti-police Antifa terrorist loose on the streets? Will Garcia simply get a slap on the wrist for his actions like all the other leftist Communist-Marxist pseudo-leftist terrorists in Seattle?
If you’ve read this far you’ve been manipulated using the same misinformation techniques of the right-wing media. Every keystroke above is factual. Garcia had his first court appearance on November 12. Garcia lit a fire in the alley shared with the East Precinct. The Seattle Police caught the arson on their surveillance cameras and captured a fleeing Garcia. Chief Scoggins on June 7 did tell officials that fire in that block would be unstoppable. Not one word typed above is “false,” in a Rupert Murdoch sort of way.
Garcia’s target wasn’t the East Precinct, it was Queer Bar on the other side of the alley, which had 50 people inside and Garcia is also facing a hate crime enhancement for his actions. Garcia comes from a troubled family with convictions for heinous crimes across two states. However, the pedophilia connection card is only interesting when presented to QAnon followers.
Jason Rantz, Dori Monson, Dave Preston, Katie Daviscourt, Ari Hoffman, and Brandi Kruse would rather not talk about this incident. A hate crime against the gay community on Capitol Hill, a little more than three months before the Western Barricade and the Pink Umbrella Riot, in the same alley shared by the East Precinct, doesn’t exactly play to their base.
Rantz is part of the LBGTQIA community while Monson was suspended for anti-trans social media activity. Kruse has quit the “mainstream media” so she can continue to dog out Governor Jay Inslee for “politicizing the COVID epidemic.” Daviscourt’s view on traditional marriage is well documented and you’d think Ari Hoffman would defend his LGBTQIA and BIPOC boss at the Post Millenial, but calling out one of their own for a hate crime doesn’t play with the base.
Instead what we have is the glorious sound of silence. No questions on why Garcia was walking around a free man during this time? Local news coverage has been little more than regurgitating the Department of Justice press release. Not a whimper about a dangerous anti-police arsonist taken off the streets. That wasn’t his intended target, it just “could have been,” and now you’re just manipulating the story. See how it works? Not the right-wing media ever plays the “could have been” card in their narrative.
The reality is fear sells and fear gets eyeballs and clicks. If the news plays to the primal emotions of a fear narrative, that your very way of life is threatened by an invisible yet perceived threat, then you can control an audience.
What does any of this have to do with Garcia wanting to burn down the East Precinct Queer Bar?
An example of the fear narrative is playing out right now. Jason Rantz got himself on Tucker Carlson after a 13-year old called 911 due to his father having a medical emergency. The apartment’s address was wrongly flagged as being dangerous for Seattle Fire to enter, so they waited for the Seattle Police to arrive. SPD, always ready to let no crisis go unchecked, blames the vaccine mandate. The same mandate that had six officers go unvaccinated. Are we not going to mention the Seattle Police Department started hemorrhaging officers in 2019 under the careful guidance of union president Mike Solan?
Had the data on the address been correct there would have been no news story. Rantz’s own story indicates 911 dispatched an aid car and not a medic unit, setting up emergency services for failure the second the call went out. Not that 911 made an error on the call, or that the 13-year-old in an impossible situation told dispatch his father was conscious and responsive. In the end, Seattle Fire entered the apartment without SPD, which is more aid than Lorenzo Anderson got on June 19, 2020 in CHOP.
According to the story by Rantz on MyNorthwest, “One medic explained that “had it been addressed early, his chance of survival would have been 60%.”
No data has been released on the medical condition of the father due to HIPAA laws, however, if the father required CPR, the survival rate was nowhere near 60%. In an ideal hospital setting the survival rate is 32%, and outside of the hospital drops to 19%. Even when a patient reaches discharge post-CPR, many experience a lifetime of issues including cardiac damage and hypoxic injuries.
What about timely defibrillation? According to the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, the survival rate to discharge is 34%. The same report would put the man who died in “Group 3” in the study, right on the line of Group 2. The best survival outcomes are from zero to five minutes, which by the 911 records was an impossibility. While Rantz by proxy is trashing Seattle Fire and their response, the timeline data shows there wasn’t much of a chance of a better outcome.
If the man needed defibrillation, his survival odds were statistically unchanged than CPR – if that is what the medical emergency was.
However, none of these facts, which could be confirmed talking to experts in emergency medicine to get an unbiased view, doesn’t feed into the fear narrative of a city in crisis, a city that is run by anarchists and Marxists, and a city in flames. Rantz’s “prediction” on September 6 of 200 or more unvaccinated officers getting walking papers didn’t play out. Another key requirement of being in the right-wing media, never to admit you were wrong, shared bad information, or got played in your coverage. Just move the goalposts.
Is the violent crime plaguing Seattle a unique liberal socialist-communist-Marxist-Antifa-homeless-drug-using-welfare-state problem? Data out of red Oklahoma, and red Tusla County, and red Tulsa says no. Tulsa was where Donald Trump launched his 2020 campaign in earnest on June 20, 2020, and it ended up costing Herman Cain his life. G.T. Bynum, the mayor of Tulsa? A Republican who served on the city council and has been running the city since 2016. Tulsa is on pace to set an all-time homicide record in 2021, after almost breaking the record in 2020.
I’m sorry, does that not fit the narrative that there are other issues causing a national spike in crime that began when Donald Trump was President? We are sorry to report, trying to burn 50 members of the LGBTQIA community and their supporters alive while toasting the Seattle Police and 100 apartment dwellers is not in alignment with the fear narrative of the week.
The Seattle Fire Department got bad information from 911 in the first place, dispatch sent the wrong fire crew, and they came through the door within national average (slow side, but average) time is the fear story of the day. Would this be a bad time to bring up Warren vs. District of Columbia, Supreme Court of the United States, 1991?
Instead, we have Jason Rantz politicizing Covid-19 on the same day that Brandi Kruse criticizes the politicization of Covid-19, and somehow this is all Jay Inslee’s fault. Worst of all, they are using a 13-year-old child as a prop. Hey kid, dad might be alive if it wasn’t for the socialist-communist-Marxist-Antifa-homeless-drug-using-welfare-state run by Jenny Durkan, Jay Inslee, Barack Obama, and George Soros.
Remember, the BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and religious minorities in the United States are not victims – white people are, and the scary dangerous evil awful blood drinkers are coming. Let me manipulate you with this story.
[SEATTLE, Wash.] – (MTN) During a Facebook Live with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-D) on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recommended Americans who are eligible to get a Covid-19 booster shot to get one as soon as possible due to waning immunity.
With concern growing about a sixth wave in states that finished beating back the Delta surge and states such as Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont having a late fifth wave, questions about eligibility for boosters are growing.
Some states aren’t waiting for direction from the federal government. California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly told state residents 18 and older they should “absolutely” sign up to get a COVID booster. On Thursday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a directive that defies current federal guidance on Covid-19 booster shots, permitting all state residents 18 and older to get them.
During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said there continued to be a need to prioritize those who are currently eligible for a Covid-19 booster but added, “as you likely know, FDA is currently looking at the data for expanding boosters to all populations.”
Who is currently eligible for a Covid-19 booster
Eligibility depends on which vaccine you received and several other factors.
Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
If your initial vaccine was Janssen/Johnson & Johnson and you’re 18 or older, you are eligible for a booster 60 days after receiving your first dose. There are no limitations for age, comorbidities, living arrangements, or vocation.
The FDA has approved a mix-and-match approach, and you can receive a booster using the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or a second Johnson & Johnson dose.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a 1:500,000 chance of causing a rare condition called VITT. In the United States, there have been 47 reported cases and four deaths. If you were assigned female at birth and have a family history of blood clots or low platelets, or you are of childbearing age and using a hormone-based form of birth control, and you’re concerned about VITT, talk to your healthcare provider, OB/GYN, or fertility specialist.
If you’ve had a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the last 90 days and you were symptomatic, talk to your doctor or healthcare provider on whether you should wait to receive a booster.
BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna
Anyone 65 or older and received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is eligible for a booster 180 days after their second dose. People 18 to 64 can qualify for a third dose if they have certain medical conditions, work in a high-risk environment, or live in an area where social distancing isn’t feasible.
Medical conditions that put you at risk for severe Covid-19
Chronic lung disease such as moderate to severe asthma, bronchiectasis, COPD including obstructive sleep apnea, fibrosis or prior lung damage due to scarring, injury, or prior disease, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary embolism or history of, or pulmonary hypertension or history of
Dementia or Alzheimer’s
Diabetes – Type 1 or Type 2
Down Syndrome
Heart disease such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathies
HIV
Immunocompromised, auto-immune disease, taking immunosuppressants, or using drugs that suppress the immune system such as steroids both oral and topical
Mental health conditions including mood disorders, depression, and schizophrenia
Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25
Pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or sexually active and could get pregnant and would carry pregnancy to term
Sickle cell disease or Thalassemia
Smoking or vaping currently or in the past
Solid-organ or blood stem cell transplant
Stroke or cerebrovascular disease
Substance abuse past or present including alcohol, opiods, or cocaine
Tuberculosis
Living conditions
If you have any of these living arrangements, you qualify for a booster.
Long-term care facility
Homeless shelter – short or long term
Jail or prison inmate
Community living arrangements such as dormatories, halfway houses, group homes, or hostels
Live with a high-risk individual with a medical condtion listed above, or live in a multi-generational household, and you are the primary care provider
First responders such as healthcare workers, firefighters, police, or congregate care providers
Educational staff such as teachers, support staff, athletics staff, transportation, and daycare workers
Food and agriculture workers
Manufacturing workers
Correctional officers and employees who work in jails or prisons including healthcare, educators, and mental health providers
U.S. Postal Service workers
Public transit workers
Grocery store workers and other retail and service employees that have high contact with the public
There have been less than 1,000 mild to moderate myocarditis cases in the United States connected with receiving the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Most of these cases involved adolescents or young men. If you were assigned male at birth and have a history of heart disease, or are worried about myocarditis, talk to your healthcare provider to see if the Jassen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a better option.
Just like the J&J vaccine, If you’ve had a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the last 90 days and you were symptomatic, talk to your healthcare provider to determine if you should wait to receive a booster.
I thought the COVID vaccine was forever
The idea that the Covid-19 vaccine would be one and done is a creation of misinformation, misunderstanding, and poor reporting by some news outlets.
As the first COVID wave was winding down in the United States in May 2020, there were discussions about having “immunity passports.” People who had a confirmed Covid-19 case could be permitted to return to work and other activities based on the assumption they possessed natural immunity. Shortly after the discussions started, early evidence began to pile up that natural immunity was short-lived. The journal Nature Medicine shared a report on June 18 showing natural immunity started to fade after three months.
The closest claim that immunity from natural exposure or vaccination would last a lifetime came from former President Donald Trump in October 2020. Still, even then, he never made a complete claim of lifetime protection. On October 11, 2020 during an interview with Maria Bartiromo, Trump discussed his personal battle with Covid-19.
“It looks like I’m immune for, I don’t know, maybe a long time, maybe a short time,” he said. “It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows, but I’m immune. So the President is in very good shape to fight the battles.”
As Trump was recovering from COVID and considering if he had “long time” immunity, there was more evidence that natural immunity started to fade after three months and a growing number of reinfection cases. For public health officials, an even bigger concern was many people who got reinfected suffered from more severe cases.
In December, when the first Covid-19 vaccines were about to become publicly available in the United States, the medical community was already cautioning the public it was unknown how long immunity would last.
In January 2021, Dr. Kristen Marks M.D., an infectious disease specialist at New York-Presbyterian, said, “We really don’t know whether you’re still immune a year after vaccination. Some of the clinical trials will study adding a booster in a year and comparing whether that’s better or if the immunity is just as good for two years with the two shots. That remains to be determined.”
Data from the United Kingdom and Israel have shown that all immunity wanes. Although cases grew dramatically in both countries, hospitalizations and fatalities did not match the winter 2020 surges. A vast majority of the hospitalized, critically ill, and deaths were among the unvaccinated. In Israel, an aggressive booster program ended their wave where new cases have drifted downward to early July levels.
How long does natural and vaccine based immunity last
Two different studies were released in October 2021, providing insight into how long natural and vaccine immunity last. Neither offer lifetime protection.
On October 1, a study on the durability of immunity against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 was published in The Lancet. Researchers predicted that natural immunity had a half-life of 142 to 185 days. Half-life means how long does it take for half of the antibodies for a disease to disappear from a person’s blood serum. The study estimated that after 16 months, the average person would no longer have any natural immunity to Covid-19. However, the study also stated that this would vary widely depending on age, overall health, genetics, and risk factors. The half-life could be as short as 45 days or as long as 31 months.
Three days later, the Lancet published a study on vaccine-based immunity titled Effectiveness of mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine up to 6 months in a large integrated health system in the USA. That study indicated that immunity waned from 30% to 50% after five months depending on the mRNA vaccine administered, age, and Covid-19 variants. Simply put, vaccine immunity and natural immunity, when accounting for a range of factors, have similar half-lives.
The viral-vector vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has received less research and has been administered to approximately 15 million Americans. A third study indicated the J&J vaccine was the least effective of the three available options in the United States, particularly with the Delta variant.
Why aren’t the vaccines 100% effective
It is a common misconception that vaccines are 100% effective, especially in industrialized nations. Due to a combination of high vaccination rates for diseases such as measles, mumps, and polio, and enough immunized people to provide community immunity, it is easy to believe that vaccines are perfect and forever.
For example, polio still exists in several countries, and the U.S. Department of Defense and the CDC recommend a poliovirus booster for anyone traveling to those regions. Certain members of Generation X have been advised to get an updated MMR vaccination because data shows that protection from measles doesn’t last a lifetime. Even Ben Shapiro complained on Twitter in 2015 that his 13-month old son was exposed to pertussis and became severely ill.
When it comes to the COVID vaccines, no one in the medical community said any vaccines were 100% effective, and the data has always been publicly available.
In Phase 3 studies, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were 95% effective in the first few months after vaccination. Put simply, “If there were 100 people who would have gotten COVID, it prevented 95 of them from getting it, but it didn’t prevent all 100,” says Dr. Marks. “It definitely provides some protection, but it’s not perfect.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine reported a 72% efficacy rate in preventing moderate to severe disease from COVID-19 in the U.S. and was 85% effective in preventing severe disease.
The good news is that early data found that those who did contract COVID-19 after receiving the vaccine did not develop a severe form of the disease. “So even if it doesn’t completely prevent illness, the study data shows that it does reduce the severity,” Dr. Marks said. Ten months later, the early projections have largely come true.
In King County, Washington, 22% of all confirmed Covid-19 infections since January 17 have been breakthrough cases. Eleven percent of people hospitalized were vaccinated, and 15% died of Covid-19 related illness. When the total number of vaccinated versus unvaccinated residents is considered, the effectiveness of vaccines, even as the need for boosters is increasing, is evident.
Population
Confirmed Cases
Hospitalized
Deaths
Fully vaccinated
1.633M
20,252
433
115
Partial or unvaccinated
319K
71,857
3,373
667
349,000 King County residents are under 12 years old and were not vaccine eligible from January 7 to November 10
Unvaccinated King County residents were 12 times more likely to be hospitalized and 13 times more likely to die of Covid-19 from January 17 to November 3.
Additionally, a comparison of King County, Washington, and Dallas County, Texas, provides additional data on vaccination and public health programs’ impact. King County experienced the first superspreader event in February 2020, the first Covid-19 death, and had the first mass casualty situation at a hospital in the United States. A month later, Texas suffered its first Covid-19 death. Over the next 627 days, King County implemented some of the strictest COVID rules in the nation while Dallas County took a more open approach.
On November 1, Dallas County reported its 5,000 COVID-related death while King County reported 2,022. Simply put, 1 in every 530 residents of Dallas County has died of COVID since March 2020 versus 1 in every 1,137 residents in King County since February 2020.
Will we need to get boosters forever
To answer that question, we need to move away from facts and science and step into the arena of opinion. The short answer is, “maybe,” but it depends on the advancement of medical science, improvements in available vaccines, and our own behavior.
In the short term, the data is clear – peak immunity against current Covid-19 variants lasts 142 to 185 whether it is natural or vaccine-based. A regimen of booster shots will likely be needed every 6 to 12 months over the next few years.
Two antiviral drugs are currently being evaluated in the United States. Molnupiravir by Merck is reported to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by 50%, while Pfizer released a study on a medication they are developing that was 88% effective in early testing. Both drugs are oral and would be game-changers in the treatment of Covid-19.
Another way to get off the booster shot treadmill would be to reach 90% to 95% immunity, reducing the number of available hosts for Covid-19 to a level that the disease can’t widely spread in the population – so-called ‘herd immunity.” Given the resistance of 62 million Americans to get vaccinated, and almost half the world doesn’t have access to the COVID vaccine, that seems unlikely.
A third game-changer would be a new variant that emerges and is far more transmissible than the current dominant Delta strains but with significantly less severe symptoms. A version of Covid-19 that is closer to moderate Influenza in symptoms and lethality and is as contagious as measles would quickly infect the population, run out of hosts, and burn itself out while not overwhelming hospitals. This could also lead to “herd immunity.”
The final possibility is the vaccines themselves get better. The original Salk polio vaccine, authorized in 1955, was 50% effective at preventing infections but 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations. It wasn’t until 1962 when the Sabin oral vaccine replaced the Salk vaccine, that infections dropped 90% after a first dose and 99% after four doses.
If the Covid-19 vaccines follow a similar development path as other vaccines, a more effective version will likely be discovered in the future.
Why didn’t the United States approve boosters for all after the Biden Administration announced its intent
Over the summer, the Biden Administration and the World Health Organization (WHO), FDA, and CDC had a very public disagreement on who should get booster shots. President Biden wanted every adult to be eligible for a booster. The WHO objected, pointing out how some nations had no access to COVID vaccines while the United States was throwing out expired doses. The FDA and CDC also pushed back, arguing there wasn’t enough real-world data to support boosters for all.
While the debate raged, experts had a real-world case study unfolding on the other side of the world. Israeli officials started boosters for anyone over 60 on July 13 and three weeks later dropped the age to 40. On September 25, they dropped the age again to 12 and older. The program was highly effective at controlling deaths and hospitalizations, and when Israel is compared to the United Kingdom, the booster program implemented was an evident success.
On September 22, the FDA approved booster shots for recipients of the Pfizer vaccine, and on October 20 added the vaccine by Moderna. Eligibility was limited to people who were 65 or older or were 18 to 64 and worked or lived in places with a high risk of exposure or had a serious underlying medical condition that increased their chances of severe COVID. The FDA recommended a booster six months after receiving the second dose.
Also, on October 20, the FDA authorized boosters for anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. As the Delta variant raged in the southeastern United States during the summer of 2021, it became evident the J&J vaccine offered less protection against hospitalization. Additionally, the viral-vector vaccines created by Astra Zeneca and developed in Russia and China were also low-performing. Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was advised to get a booster 60 days after the first dose.
Unfortunately, the ethical and trust concerns that tainted the debate in the United States have resulted in new COVID cases stuck on a high plateau for the last three weeks. New cases are rising in most states, and the pattern of Covid-19 infections looks eerily similar to the United Kingdom. A vast majority of hospitalized COVID patients continue to be unvaccinated.
The world needs to learn to live with Covid-19 and everyone will eventually have a date with the illness. The question is, will you be effectively vaccinated or not when it happens.
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