#Coronavirus positive cases

[aurorashard]

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[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

Whenever you hear someone trying to blame kid's poor test scores "post pandemic" on "lockdowns," show them this.

By Dr. Sushama R. Chaphalkar, PhD.

New research shows that mild COVID-19 alters brain structure and connectivity in key areas responsible for memory and cognition, emphasizing the lasting effects on young people’s brain health.

In a case-control study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive tests to examine brain structure, function, and cognition in adolescents and young adults with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared to healthy controls in a pandemic hotspot in Italy. They identified significant changes in brain regions related to olfaction and cognition, with decreased brain volume and reduced functional connectivity in areas like the left hippocampus and amygdala, which were linked to impaired spatial working memory. Notably, no significant differences were observed in whole-brain connectivity, suggesting that these changes were localized rather than widespread.

Background COVID-19, primarily known for respiratory symptoms, also affects the central nervous system, leading to neurological issues like headaches, anosmia, and cognitive changes. MRI-based studies reveal anatomical brain changes in COVID-19 patients, such as reduced gray matter and decreased volume in regions like the hippocampus and amygdala, often linked to cognitive deficits.

While research mostly focuses on severe cases and older adults, a majority of infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, occur in adolescents and young adults who also experience long-lasting cognitive symptoms.

This age group, undergoing key brain development, is impacted by changes in spatial working memory and brain structure, which are crucial for cognitive functions shaped by social interactions, significantly disrupted by the pandemic.

Given that this is the largest and most understudied population affected by COVID-19, understanding the brain and cognitive impacts in adolescents and young adults is vital.

Therefore, researchers in the present study compared anatomical, functional, and cognitive outcomes, utilizing a longitudinal design that allowed them to assess both pre- and post-infection differences, in COVID-19-positive and negative adolescents and young adults from Lombardy, Italy, a global hotspot during the pandemic.

About the study The present study involved participants from the Public Health Impact of Metal Exposure (PHIME) cohort, a longitudinal investigation of adolescents and young adults in northern Italy. Between 2016 and 2021, 207 participants, aged 13 to 25 years, were included in a sub-study with MRI scans and cognitive tests. After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, 40 participants (13 COVID+ and 27 COVID−) participated in a follow-up study, which replicated the MRI and cognitive assessments.

The mean age of participants was 20.44 years and 65% were female. COVID+ status was confirmed through positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests within 12 months of follow-up. Neuropsychological assessments used the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to evaluate spatial working memory.

MRI and functional MRI data were acquired using a 3-Tesla scanner, processed, and analyzed for structural and local functional connectivity using eigenvector centrality mapping (ECM) and functional connectivity (FC) metrics. Whole-brain functional connectivity metrics showed no significant differences between COVID+ and control groups, indicating that the observed changes were specific to key brain regions rather than generalized across the entire brain.

Statistical analysis involved the use of pairwise Student's t-tests, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, linear regression, two-waves mediation analysis, negative binomial regression, and linear regression, all adjusted for covariates.

Results and discussion Significant differences were observed in the two groups regarding the time between assessments, COVID-19 symptoms, and vaccine status. The research identified five localized functional connectivity hubs with significant differences between the two groups, including the right intracalcarine cortex, right lingual gyrus, left frontal orbital cortex, left hippocampus and left amygdala, which is vital for cognitive functions. Only the left hippocampal volume showed a significant reduction in COVID+ participants (p = 0.034), while whole-brain connectivity remained unchanged, reinforcing the localized nature of the brain changes.

The left amygdala mediated the relationship between COVID-19 and spatial working memory "between errors" (p = 0.028), a critical finding that highlights the indirect effect of amygdala connectivity on cognitive function in COVID+ individuals. This mediation analysis underscores the role of specific brain regions in influencing cognitive deficits, as only the indirect effect was statistically significant for spatial working memory errors. The orbitofrontal cortex, involved in sensory integration and cognitive functions, also showed decreased connectivity in COVID+ individuals, supporting previous findings of structural and functional changes in this region during COVID-19.

The study is limited by small sample size, lack of diversity, potential confounding factors due to the long interval between MRI scans, treatment of certain subjects as COVID-negative based on antibody testing beyond the 12-month threshold, and the possibility of non-significant findings in mediation analysis due to these factors.

Conclusion In conclusion, the findings indicate persistent structural and functional alterations in specific brain regions of COVID-19-positive adolescents and young adults, including changes in gray matter volume and localized functional connectivity, which correlate with diminished cognitive function, particularly in working memory.

Further research is necessary to evaluate the longevity and potential reversibility of these brain and cognitive changes post-infection, enhancing our understanding of post-COVID outcomes and informing future interventions and treatments. The longitudinal design of this study, with pre- and post-COVID data, strengthens these findings by allowing direct comparisons over time, offering robust insights into the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent brain development.

Journal reference: COVID-19 related cognitive, structural and functional brain changes among Italian adolescents and young adults: a multimodal longitudinal case-control study. Invernizzi, A. et al., Translational Psychiatry, 14, 402 (2024), DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03108-2, www.nature.com/articles/s41398-024-03108-2

[merrybloomwrites]

I'll Be There for You - Platonic Smosh x Reader

Summary: 2020 starts great for reader before covid enters the chat and flips her world upside down. Her friends at Smosh are there to support her through one of the hardest times of her life.

Word Count: 2.5K

CW: covid, quarantine, parent death, panic attack

AN: Was listening to a Smosh Mouth episode and they brought up filming during quarantine and it randomly inspired this story. I lost my own dad during covid and Smosh was absolutely one of my escapes during that time so this story may just be me processing that haha

No romantic relationships for reader in this, just lots of supportive friends.

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From the moment you hear about this new virus, you’re nervous about it. The news stations are trying to keep everything positive, spin it like this is no big deal. But what you see on social media is telling a different story.

You’re not so much worried for yourself as you are for your family. They’re all the way across the country on the east coast while you’re in Los Angeles. And many of your family members have lung issues. While you don’t know much about this coronavirus, it seems to be most harmful to people’s lungs, leaving you to worry. 

It seems crazy to be taking a trip right now, but the threat doesn’t seem to be too bad. Travel is still permitted, and so your group goes ahead with your trip to Australia. You’ve been looking forward to this for months, and try so hard to not allow your anxieties overshadow your excitement. 

It’s a solid group on the trip: Shayne, Courtney, Ian, Damien, Sarah, and Matt Raub. All of you are trying to ignore the increasingly worrisome news and keep things light. You attend two different expos, doing live shows as well as meet and greets with fans. Those bookend the trip, with lots of different activities in the middle, including visits to a couple zoos to learn about local wildlife. 

You hold koalas and snakes, laugh with your friends, and for a little while, you forget all about the bad things that are happening. 

But you can’t hide from it forever. Despite everyone joking about the virus, you can’t help but be afraid. Every day of the trip, more news is revealed, and things look more and more grim. 

Towards the end of the trip you do a couple planned meet and greets at Sydney’s Madame Tussauds. You’re on the verge of a panic attack the whole time, feeling like every person you talk to could be carrying this unpredictable virus. 

Ian picks up on this and pulls you aside during a break.

“You okay?” he asks, concern etched on his face.

“I can’t shake this feeling, like we’re all going to get infected and then bring it back home, and every time a new person comes in the room it’s like another chance for germs to spread. What happens if we get sick? We don’t know anything about this virus, or what it can do to people, and there’s more and more cases everyday-” your rambling cuts off as you gasp for a breath. The panic attack is officially setting in, the room spinning around you as it gets harder to breathe. 

You hear Ian say something, but the ringing in your ears prevents you from understanding him. A moment later Sarah is standing in front of you, catching your eye and encouraging you to breathe with her. After a minute of matching her breaths, you’ve calmed down and gotten through the worst of the panic attack. 

Sarah leads you to the couch, sitting next to you, close enough to be a grounding presence but far enough that you don’t feel closed in. Ian walks over, crouching in front of you and handing you a water bottle. 

“Sorry about that,” you finally say.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Sarah says. “Your feelings are completely valid.”

Ian nods before saying, “I know we’re all making jokes about this, but I think everyone’s just covering up how scared they are. I’m definitely scared. You’re right to say that there’s so much we don’t know. I’d say don’t worry about all that, but that’s stupid because you’re gonna worry anyway.” 

You laugh at that, feeling much better now knowing that you’re not alone. Ian smiles and places a comforting hand on your knee and you reach out to hold Sarah’s hand as well. The three of you sit for a moment and then Shayne walks in the room saying, “Time to start up again.”

He looks at you guys, sees the redness in your eyes and notices the way the others are comforting you and asks, “Everything okay?”

“Yea, I’m good now,” you answer. “We’ll be right out.”

Shayne nods and walks away. You go to stand but before you can get up Ian says, “You don’t have to go back out there if you’re not comfortable. We can do the rest without you if you need some space.”

“I’ll be fine, but thank you,” you reply. He smiles and gives your leg one last squeeze before standing and giving you a hand up. It’s a nice moment, one where you’re reminded about how wonderful it is to work for Ian. He’s a kind boss, but also like a big brother to you, and you appreciate having him in your life. 

The rest of the time in Australia goes smoothly, and then it’s time to fly home. Sarah and Ian stick by you throughout the long day of travel. You don’t ask them to, but you can tell they’re worried that you’ll get anxious in such a crowded space. Somehow that makes it easier, and you’re able to spend the day joking with your friends rather than panicking. 

You’re exhausted when you get home, saying a rushed goodbye to your friends and heading home.

And then the isolation begins. The world practically shuts down completely as soon as you get back to the states. You go from constantly being around people, to being completely alone. It’s fine at first, you’re exhausted from traveling and this gives you a good excuse to be lazy for a few days. 

You spend a lot of time on the phone with your family, begging them to stay inside the house and stay safe. And they seem to listen, only going out twice for supplies. But apparently that’s all it takes. 

Just over a week after the Australia trip your mom gets sick. It’s obvious right away that it’s covid. For one thing, your mom has worked with children for decades. Her immune system is impeccable, you’ve never seen her get a cold or the flu before. For her to be sick is odd, plus she has all the symptoms, so it’s a no brainer.

And then a few days later, your dad is sick as well. You knew it was inevitable, that once the virus was in the house he was going to get it as well, but hearing it for sure makes your blood run cold. 

He already has a couple of lung issues, and you can’t help but feel like this isn’t going to go well. You hate that you’re stuck on opposite coasts and can’t do anything to help. You call them as much as possible, wanting to stay positive and hearing their voices always helps.

But then your dad gets worse and ends up in the hospital. You finally tell your Smosh friends what is going on. You’d kept it quiet at first, but they picked up that something is wrong. 

You try to continue on like normal, assuring your friends that you’re fine, but they don’t accept that. While they never overstep, you’re often surprised with kind texts or things appearing on your doorstep. 

It’s a particularly bad day. Your dad has just been placed on a ventilator. You get the news while in a zoom meeting, and everyone can tell that something has happened. 

“You okay, Y/N?” Courtney asks. 

You shake your head no and think about what to answer. You could be vague, just say it’s an update about your father and leave it at that. But these are people that care about you, that want to support you. 

“My dad just got put on a ventilator,” you reply. 

“My god, Y/N, I’m so sorry. Did they say anything else?” Shayne says. 

“Apparently the doctors said it’s a preventative measure. Supposed to let his lungs heal. But we’ve all seen the statistics. Most covid patients don’t come off the vent.” 

“If you need to go you can,” Ian says. “Don’t feel like you need to stay on this call.”

“No, that’s okay. I’d rather keep working. Either that or sit in silence in my apartment,” you answer with a shrewd laugh. 

“Alright, well if you need to leave at any time please feel free. No explanation needed, we’ll understand,” Ian says. 

The meeting resumes and you sit quietly while they plan the upcoming Smosh Games schedule. You don’t have any input, and it’s pretty clear you’re not really listening, but you’re comforted by the sound of your friends' voices. 

The zoom call finishes, and you’re left alone with your thoughts. You’re not sure how much time passes, but the sun has moved to shine through a new window as husk begins so it must be a while. 

You’re startled back to reality by a text on your phone. Your heart races, fearing it’s you mom with even worse news. You breathe a sigh of relief when you see it’s from Spencer, his message saying, “Check out your front door.”

Doing as he’d instructed, you see a bag that had been delivered. It’s takeout from chilis, enough food for multiple meals, all your favorites. 

This is just what you needed. Your appetite hasn't been great, but smelling the familiar food has your stomach growling. After sending him a thank you message you dig in. 

Now full of comfort food, you manage to do your normal nightly routine of cleaning up the apartment and taking a shower. You go to bed feeling scared, but supported. 

Three days later, you get the news you’d been dreading. Your moms calls in the morning, saying the doctors think he won’t make it through the day. It’s a Sunday, and you have nothing to distract you. People text, but you leave them unanswered. 

It’s a beautiful day in Los Angeles, and you do the only thing you’re allowed to do: take a walk. 

Losing track of time, you wander through neighborhoods, making sure to keep distance from other people out walking. It pains you to see happy families, people who are making the most out of this pandemic. People whose lives aren’t being drastically changed forever. 

You get back home in the early afternoon. Soon after, your mom calls. You almost ignore it, knowing what she’s going to say but wanting to delay the inevitable. But you know you can’t do that. 

It’s a short conversation, your mother unable to say too much between the tears. 

You hang up feeling numb. It grows dark outside and finally you text Ian, asking for the next day off. 

His response is immediate, expressing his condolences and telling you to take at least the week off. You ask him to send a message to the others, not wanting to have to do it yourself. 

You wrap yourself into a cocoon of blankets, lay in bed, and cry over the loss. 

The next few days you find that you’re exhausted, with random bursts of high energy. You use the energy to respond to your friends' messages, thanking them for reaching out and telling them you’re okay. 

You speak on the phone with Damien for a while a couple days after it happens. While all of your friends are supportive, he’s the only one who’s been through this before. He truly understands what it’s like to lose a father. His experience, his words, everything he has to offer is incredibly comforting to you. And when he says he’ll always be there to listen, you know he’s telling the truth and not just saying what he thinks is the “right thing”. 

And then that Thursday, just a couple days after your dads death, the vlog of your time in Australia is released. 

You get the notification that it’s been posted as you always do, and instead of being excited that a new video is up, it sends you into a breakdown. You’re crying, gasping for breath, and you need someone there with you. 

For the first time since all of this began you cannot be alone. People have been offering to stop by and because it’s been over two weeks since any of you have been around others it’s technically safe. But you always refused, assuring them that you’re fine. 

Now, however, you need people around you. Through tears you find your phone and immediately call Courtney, asking if she and Shayne could come over. She says yes without hesitation and stays on the call while the two of them make their way to your place. 

Needing the comfort of your room you say, “Front door is open. I’ll be in my bedroom when you get here.”

“Just a couple more minutes,” Courtney replies as you climb under the covers. 

“Okay,” you murmur to let her know you heard her. 

As promised she and Shayne enter a few minutes later. Without hesitation Courtney climbs into bed with you, wrapping you up in your arms. You melt into the embrace, sobs ripping through your body. 

When you’ve finally cried yourself out, you pull away and notice Shayne’s no longer in the room. A moment later he walks back in, carrying water, tissues, and your favorite cookies. You smile weakly at him and pat the bed, inviting him to join you and Courtney. 

He sits next to you, and you’re effectively sandwiched between the two of them. It’s comforting to be surrounded by two of your best friends. You’d always been close with them, and we’re happy that nothing changed when they started dating. 

They’re two people who will always have your back, no matter what. They stay with you until the next morning, Shayne leaving temporarily to pick up anything he and Courtney need for the night. 

You hadn’t realized how much you needed to be around people, but it’s clear how much it helps to actually see people and talk to them without a screen. 

Finally, you start accepting people’s invitations to hang out. You make good use of your apartment complex’s patio area so that you can hang out while still social distancing. You don’t often talk about your dad or how you’re doing, but rather about other mundane things. It feels good to talk to friends about something even somewhat normal. 

The other cast members take turns filling in for videos that you’re supposed to appear in. You’d tried going back to business as usual, but found that you couldn’t be as lighthearted and funny as you usually were. Rather than try to fake it, you’d switched to a more behind the scenes role for the time being. 

In May and June, fans start to notice that you aren’t appearing in any videos. Many theories float around, and you decide you’re ready to make the news about your dad public, instead of letting the rumors continue to spread. 

You make a post about your father on Instagram, a picture of the two of you with a caption explaining the loss. Support floods in, from friends, family, and fans alike. 

Though it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever experienced, it’s so nice to know you have such wonderful people who will always have your back.

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AN: Thanks so much for reading! I'm working on two stories for Whumptober, One Spencer x reader and the other Damien x reader!

[beardedmrbean]

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to publicly testify Tuesday before Congress on his administration's nursing home policies during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hearing, before the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, will see Cuomo defend his decision to allow COVID-19-positive patients back into nursing homes and long-term care facilities while the pandemic was underway.

Cuomo previously testified before the subcommittee during a closed-door hearing in June. Transcripts from that interview, as well as with high-ranking officials during Cuomo's administration, will be released ahead of the public hearing.MORE: Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed by congressional subcommittee investigating COVID-era handling of nursing homes

"Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York's nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic," subcommittee Chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said in a statement last week. "On September 10, Americans will have the opportunity to hear directly from the former governor about New York's potentially fatal nursing home policies."

In March 2020, as COVID-19 cases were surging, Cuomo issued an order requiring nursing homes to readmit all residents who were "medically stable" and returning after being hospitalized for the virus.

"No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19," the order read. It further stated that nursing homes were "prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission."

At the time, Cuomo explained that the order would help expand hospital capacity to meet the demands of caring for the sickest COVID-19 patients. After facing criticism from nursing home advocates, however, the governor amended the order in May 2020, prohibiting hospitals from discharging patients to nursing homes unless they first tested negative for COVID-19.

Cuomo fought back against criticism of his policies and, in July 2020, a report from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) stated that COVID-19 was introduced into nursing homes by infected staff, and that peak staff infections correlated with peak nursing home resident deaths. The report also found that "admissions policies were not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities."MORE: Andrew Cuomo testifies before House panel on COVID nursing home policy

However, in January 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that found the NYSDOH had undercounted the number of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 by as much as 50%, and failed to count in its official death tally nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 after being admitted to hospitals.

In 2022, Cuomo's representative said the Manhattan District Attorney's office would not file criminal charges in connection with the former governor's handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.

Earlier this year, an independent investigation, commissioned by current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, found that although Cuomo's nursing home response policy was based on "the best available data at the time," communication to the public was poor and caused anxiety for family members of nursing home residents.

"Even the most well-intentioned policy had unforeseen consequences in [New York state] nursing homes," the report read.

[body-mind-motion]

Covid-19 & The Government

While recalling the days I spent during the coronavirus outbreak, I remember seeing people in Nepal waiting for long hours in line to get vaccinated. It was when my curiosity regarding the role of government in managing the pandemic and working on its citizen’s health peaked. People learn new things every day but the things people learn from their personal experiences are everlasting. With this belief of mine, I would like to talk about what I observed during the coronavirus outbreak and the conclusions I drew regarding the role of government, with the help of this article. 

My curiosity to understand the responsibility of government during the pandemic, led me to take part in the One Young World Academy ‘Pandemic Preparedness Series’ where I received an opportunity to listen to experts working to handle the pandemic. While taking part in the program, I understood the lack of adequate doses of vaccines in Nepal was a result of a supply chain problem that should have been solved by the government. When borders of countries get closed as coronavirus cases rise, it becomes hard to move materials from one place to the other. It impacted the supply chain a lot. The solution to this problem could be making sure the borders of countries are open when supplying medicines and vaccines. I believe the main role of government in promoting its citizens' health is to ensure that goods are flowing freely across different nations so there is no lack of medicines and vaccines. 

In addition, pre-planning is also extremely important as the government needs to make sure there is a stock of raw materials and components so that there is no shortage of raw materials when the country needs them. After this, the right doses of the right vaccines and medications can be provided to the people in case of an emergency. 

Along with this, during the coronavirus outbreak, there was negativity all around us. Even when people tried to distance themselves from the negativity, I noticed they were still struggling to do so, which led to a detrimental impact on their mental health. Social media, news channels, and several other mediums of communication played a role in conveying the message of how devastating the pandemic is. I realized although spreading awareness regarding the pandemic was important, helping people not to lose hope was equally important as well. It led me to volunteer in the Live Now Regional Campaign for Youth Positivity and COVID-19. Here I contributed by providing content in the format of poems which was published on the website and social media of the Live Now Platform and was shared not only in Nepal but across the Asia-Pacific Region and beyond. Although people individually worked in sectors like mental health and youth positivity, I realized the role of government in Nepal in helping people to have a good mental health status was limited. I believe the government should be working efficiently in the sector of mental health as well for the promotion of its citizen's health. 

In conclusion, the main roles of the government to holistically promote its citizens' health are ensuring there is no lack of raw materials, goods are flowing freely across different nations, and putting equal effort in all dimensions of health. The observation of my country during the unprecedented situation of the pandemic helped me to draw these conclusions and place my beliefs accordingly. 

-Sarwagya Bhattarai

[boaringoldguy]

Clown World.

We are caught in The Twilight Zone!

ntd.com CIA Officers Paid to Change Their Position on Origins of COVID-19: Whistleblower NTD 6–7 minutes

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seal is displayed in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va., on Aug. 14, 2008. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Six CIA officers were paid to change their position on the origins of COVID-19, according to new whistleblower testimony.

A current CIA senior officer told the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that a CIA team of seven personnel analyzed the origins of COVID-19. Six of the members believed, based on the available evidence, that they could say with low confidence that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, where the first COVID-19 cases appeared.

The seventh and most senior member of the team thought COVID-19 came from animals.

“The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the panel, and Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CIA Director William Burns in a letter on Sept. 12.

“These allegations, from a seemingly credible source, requires the Committees to conduct further oversight of how the CIA handled its internal investigation into the origins of COVID-19,” they said.

The CIA was asked to provide all documents from the CIA team that analyzed the origins of COVID-19, including communications among members regarding the analysis. Mr. Wenstrup and Mr. Turner also requested documents showing the pay history of the seven members.

“At CIA we are committed to the highest standards of analytic rigor, integrity, and objectivity. We do not pay analysts to reach specific conclusions,” a CIA spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. “We take these allegations extremely seriously and are looking into them. We will keep our Congressional oversight committees appropriately informed.” Another Letter

In another missive, the lawmakers asked Andrew Makridis, until late 2022 the CIA’s chief operating officer, to sit and answer questions.

“The whistleblower pointed the Committees to a CIA led COVID Discovery Team(s) in which you played a central role in its formation and eventual conclusion that the CIA was ‘unable to determine’ the origins of COVID-19,” they told Mr. Makridis.

Mr. Makridis, now with Beacon Global Strategies, should participate in a voluntary interview on Sept. 26, the letter said.

The lawmakers suggested that a subpoena might be issued if Mr. Makridis declines to appear. Intelligence Report

The CIA and other intelligence agencies each offered an assessment of the origins of COVID-19.

A declassified report said that all of the agencies “continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection,” though a majority of the agencies believe the virus originated in animals.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the FBI say evidence indicates the virus originated in the Wuhan lab, where testing—some U.S.-funded—of coronaviruses has been taking place for years.

Two agencies, including the CIA, “remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting,” the report stated.

It also said that none of the agencies think COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon.

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told Congress in April that the CIA’s stance was “unjustifiable, and a reflection not that the agency can’t make an assessment with any confidence, but that it won’t.” New Bill

The report was just 10 pages and was released in response to a bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Sept. 11 introduced new legislation that would compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release records on the COVID-19 origins.

“Every American deserves to know the truth about the origins of Covid-19, China’s involvement, and the ongoing cover-up,” Mr. Marshall said in a statement. “Yet, here we are after YEARS of asking for the Biden Administration to provide this much-needed transparency and they continue to stonewall our investigations and find ‘work arounds’ to dodge our requests.”

He added: “Every American should be asking, ‘Why is that?’ Our legislation requires the HHS to publicly release all agency records related to the origin of COVID-19, the cover-up of the pandemic origins, and coronavirus research, including vaccine development. It’s past time for answers—this is a matter of national security.”

The HHS includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funded some of the research conducted at the Wuhan lab. Influenced

The NIH exerted “undue influence” in downplaying the idea that COVID-19 originated from the lab, a House report released over the summer said.

Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, two top NIH officials, helped draft a paper that claimed to rule out the possibility of a lab origin.

Neither were listed as co-authors or thanked as contributors.

“After publication, Proximal Origin was used to downplay the lab leak hypothesis and call those who believe it may be true conspiracy theorists. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins tracked the paper through the review and publication process. And finally, Dr. Collins expressed dismay when Proximal Origin did not successfully kill the lab leak theory. He subsequently asked Dr. Fauci if there was anything more they could do. The next day, Dr. Fauci directly cited Proximal Origin from the White House podium,” the report stated.

Other records showed authors of the study were concerned that the virus may have come from the lab.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a comment from the CIA.

From The Epoch Times

[bopinion]

2024 / 29

Aperçu of the week

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”

(Elmer Holmes Davis, US-American news reporter, author, Director of the United States Office of War Information during World War II and winner of the Peabody Award, the Alfred I. duPont Award and many more)

Bad News of the Week

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has often been called “Trump with a brain”. The same could be said of James David “J. D.” Vance. And that's what makes him so dangerous. And his selection as Trump's running mate a clever move from the Republican perspective. Vance stands for the American Dream like no other. From nothing, as a working-class child with a drug-addicted mother, he has worked his way up through military service and law school to become a successful businessman, a bestselling author and US senator.

That sells well. As does his “age” - if you can call it that at 39. And that he comes from the Rust Belt. And, of course, that he owes his success to America and the Almighty God. His political views are arch-conservative. Migration? No. Abortion rights? No. Ukraine support? No. Climate protection? No. Understanding of democracy? No. Welfare state? No. Creepy. Where Trump is vague, Vance is clear. He doesn't just play the tough guy, but seems to really believe in his wet reactionary dreams.

And he knows how to sell his political ideas eloquently. Presumably even to those for whom Trump's populism is too crude. And he also knows how to coherently explain his original blanket rejection of his current idol (“Never-Trumper”). After all, he has proven in office that he was and will be the best president of all time.

We will probably only find out in his memoirs whether Vance donned the Make America Great Again cap out of a calculation for power or out of real conviction. Either way, he will be able to score points with the electorate, which is clearly not immune to racism, sexism, homophobia, protectionism, conspiracy theories, exclusion, predatory capitalism or xenophobia and seems to have a second planet in the trunk.

Good News of the Week

I've been waiting all weekend for the breaking news. Finally it went “pling” and I read: Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia wins the Tour de France for the third time. And I said to myself that it was probably due to the coronavirus isolation at the beach house in Delaware that Joe Biden still hasn't realized that he's up against the wall in the presidential election. Or the announced visit by Benjamin Netanyahu, to whom he does not want to show any weakness. And then came the long-awaited news on Sunday evening Central European Time: Joe Biden is withdrawing his candidacy for re-election.

Unfortunately, contrary to general expectations, Biden has failed to put in place a solid succession plan during his term of office. Now, due to a lack of alternatives, he is also making an automatic case for his Vice President Kamal Harris. Her nomination before the 2020 election was “the best decision of his life”. There are disadvantages associated with the probable nomination of Harris: her approval ratings are hardly any better than those of Joe Biden recently. She lacks a profile of her own. Her track record as Vice President is rather poor.

On the other hand, Harris also has her (marketable) advantages: She is only 59 years “young”. She is known nationwide. She should be able to reach the female electorate and those with a (relatively recent) migration background. As the running mate so far, she probably has direct access to the donated campaign funds (war chest) and structures. She's already been vetted - and I don't mean the mandatory security checks for White House positions, but the search for “dirt” by Republicans.

With Harris' endorsement and initial support from notable Democrats, the likelihood of an open contest by the convention in late August has diminished significantly - even if that would have been the more democratic way to go. Biden's withdrawal comes late, but hopefully not too late. The US electorate can still be told that there is an alternative to Donald Trump that may even be more than just the lesser of two evils. Harris just needs to credibly step out of Biden's shadow. And sell her achievements better than Biden, whose political performance is not at all reflected in his approval ratings.

Personal happy moment of the week

There are people who have obviously done everything right in their lives. After a solid working life, they take a well-paid early retirement and celebrate this change with lots of friends at a nice party in their own garden. We were allowed to be there and enjoyed draught beer and a sumptuous buffet. And I ate a lamb skewer from the grill for the first time. Thank you very much, Stefan!

I couldn't care less...

...that Friday saw the biggest IT outage in history, with worldwide repercussions for air travel, retail, critical infrastructure such as hospitals, public administration and countless companies and private individuals. The error triggered by Crowdstrike paralyzed Windows. This may be by far the most widely used operating system globally, but in our household it reaches exactly 0.0%.

It's fine with me...

...that Ursula von der Leyen was elected by the European Parliament for a second term as President of the EU Commission. She has already successfully managed to keep the reins in her hands, even though the 27 heads of government of the member states like to run in different directions. With a strengthened right-wing, fairly reactionary conservatives, the migration issue condemned to eternal insolubility and a host of vested interests, it will not be easy to keep central projects such as the Green Deal on track. But Von der Leyen can be trusted to do so. Good luck.

As I write this...

...I'm listening to a brand new album by Deep Purple. The musicians are well into their 70s, but they still let it rip. The songs sound almost like leftovers from 50 years ago that a sound engineer found while sweeping up a well-known studio in Montreux. Nice.

Post Scriptum

We Germans know what it's like to (have to) be a divided country. And we were very lucky to be able to leave this behind us. Unfortunately, other peoples, such as the Koreans, cannot claim this for themselves. And there is still a divided country in Europe too: Cyprus.

The small island in the easternmost part of the Mediterranean has been suffering from an ethnic conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots for 50 years now. The conflict has a belligerent character, which the two protecting powers Greece and Türkiye - both of which are members of NATO - are virtually cheering on. The demarcation line with a buffer zone that divides the island is still monitored by UN blue helmets. Sad.

[lenbryant]

(Times) This May Be Our Last Chance to Halt Bird Flu in Humans, and We Are Blowing It

The outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among U.S. dairy cows, first reported on March 25, has now spread to at least 33 herds in eight states. On Wednesday, genetic evidence of the virus turned up in commercially available milk. Federal authorities say the milk supply is safe, but this latest development raises troubling questions about how widespread the outbreak really is.

So far, there is only one confirmed human case. Rick Bright, an expert on the H5N1 virus who served on President Biden’s coronavirus advisory board, told me this is the crucial moment. “There’s a fine line between one person and 10 people with H5N1,” he said. “By the time we’ve detected 10, it’s probably too late” to contain.

That’s when I told him what I’d heard from Sid Miller, the Texas commissioner for agriculture. He said he strongly suspected that the outbreak dated back to at least February. The commissioner speculated that then as many as 40 percent of the herds in the Texas Panhandle might have been infected.

Dr. Bright fell silent, then asked a very reasonable question: “Doesn’t anyone keep tabs on this?”

The H5N1 outbreak, already a devastating crisis for cattle farmers and their herds, has the potential to turn into an enormous tragedy for the rest of us. But having spent the past two weeks trying to get answers from our nation’s public health authorities, I’m shocked by how little they seem to know about what’s going on and how little of what they do know is being shared in a timely manner.

How exactly is the infection transmitted between herds? The United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all say they are working to figure it out.

Sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter  Get expert analysis of the news and a guide to the big ideas shaping the world every weekday morning. 

According to many public health officials, the virus load in the infected cows’ milk is especially high, raising the possibility that the disease is being spread through milking machines or from aerosolized spray when the milking room floors are power washed. Another possible route is the cows’ feed, owing to the fairly revolting fact that the U.S. allows farmers to feed leftover poultry bedding material — feathers, excrement, spilled seeds — to dairy and beef cattle as a cheap source of additional protein.

Alarmingly, the U.S.D.A. told me that it has evidence that the virus has also spread from dairy farms back to poultry farms “through an unknown route.” Well, one thing that travels back and forth between cattle farms and chicken farms is human beings. They can also travel from cattle farms to pig farms, and pigs are the doomsday animals for human influenza pandemics. Because they are especially susceptible to both avian and human flu, they make for good petri dishes in which avian influenza can become an effective human virus. The damage could be vast.

The U.S.D.A. also told me it doesn’t know how many farmers have tested their cattle and doesn’t know how many of those tests came up positive; whatever testing is being done takes place at the state level or in private labs. Just Wednesday, the agency made it mandatory to report all positive results, a long overdue step that is still — without the negative results alongside them — insufficient to give us a full picture. Also on Wednesday, the U.S.D.A. made testing mandatory for dairy cattle that are being moved from one state to another. It says mandatory testing of other herds wouldn’t be “practical, feasible or necessarily informative” because of “several reasons, ranging from laboratory capacity to testing turnaround times.” The furthest the agency will go is to recommend voluntary testing for cattle that show symptoms of the illness — which not all that are infected do. Dr. Bright compares this to the Trump administration’s approach to Covid-19: If you don’t test, it doesn’t exist.

As for the F.D.A., it tells me it hasn’t completed specific tests to confirm that pasteurization would make milk from infected cows safe, though the agency considers it “very likely” based on extensive testing for other pathogens. (It is not yet clear whether the elements of the H5N1 virus that recently turned up in milk had been fully neutralized.) That testing should have been completed by now. In any case, unpasteurized milk remains legal in many states. Dr. Bright told me that “this is a major concern, especially given recent infections and deaths in cats that have consumed infected milk.”

Making matters worse, the U.S.D.A. failed to share the genomes from infected animals in a timely manner, and then when it shared the genomes did so in an unwieldy format and without any geographic information, causing scientists to tear their hair out in frustration.

All this makes catching potential human cases so urgent. Dr. Bright says that given a situation like this, and the fact that undocumented farmworkers may not have access to health care, the government should be using every sophisticated surveillance technique, including wastewater testing, and reporting the results publicly. That is not happening. The C.D.C. says it is monitoring data from emergency rooms for any signs of an outbreak. By the time enough people are sick enough to be noticed in emergency rooms, it is almost certainly too late to prevent one.

So far, the agency told me, it is aware of only 23 people who have been tested. That tiny number is deeply troubling. (Others may be getting tested through private providers, but if negative, the results do not have to be reported.)

On the ground, people are doing the best they can. Adeline Hambley, a public health officer in Ottawa, Mich., told me of a farm whose herd had tested positive. The farm owner voluntarily handed over the workers’ cellphone numbers, and the workers got texts asking them to report all potential symptoms. Lynn Sutfin, a public information officer in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told me that response rates to those texts and other forms of outreach can be as high as 90 percent. That’s heartening, but it’s too much to expect that a poor farmworker — afraid of stigma, legal troubles and economic loss — will always report even mild symptoms and stay home from work as instructed.

It’s entirely possible that we’ll get lucky with H5N1 and it will never manage to spread among humans. Spillovers from animals to humans are common, yet pandemics are rare because they require a chain of unlucky events to happen one after the other. But pandemics are a numbers game, and a widespread animal outbreak like this raises the risks. When dangerous novel pathogens emerge among humans, there is only a small window of time in which to stop them before they spiral out of control. Neither our animal farming practices nor our public health tools seem up to the task.

There is some good news: David Boucher, at the federal government’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, told me that this virus strain is a close match for some vaccines that have already been formulated and that America has the capacity to manufacture and potentially distribute many millions of doses, and fairly quickly, if it takes off in humans. That ability is a little like fire insurance — I’m glad it exists, but by the time it comes into play your house has already burned down.

I’m sure the employees of these agencies are working hard, but the message they are sending is, “Trust us — we are on this.” One troubling legacy of the coronavirus pandemic is that there was too much attention on telling the public how to feel — to panic or not panic — rather than sharing facts and inspiring confidence through transparency and competence. And four years later we have an added layer of polarization and distrust to work around.

In April 2020, the Trump administration ousted Dr. Bright from his position as the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the agency responsible for fighting emerging pandemics. In a whistle-blower complaint, he alleged this happened after his early warnings against the coronavirus pandemic were ignored and as retaliation for his caution against unproven treatments favored by Donald Trump.

Dr. Bright told me that he would have expected things to be much different during the current administration, but “this is a live fire test,” he said, “and right now we are failing it.”

Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) is a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, the author of “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest” and a New York Times Opinion columnist. @zeynep • Facebook

A version of this article appears in print on April 28, 2024, Section SR, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: The U.S. Is Blowing Its Chance to Halt Bird Flu in Humans. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Pandora Dewan

Levels of the virus that causes COVID-19 remain high across the U.S. despite recent decreases in positive case reports across the country. However, viral activity varies significantly across different states, new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.

As of September 21, the overall viral activity level in wastewater across the country has been demoted from "very high" to just "high," although "very high" levels are still being detected in 13 states. These are particularly concentrated in the Midwest. Twenty-one states now exhibit "high" levels of wastewater activity, and nine are classed as "moderate."

Meanwhile, "low" levels have been detected in six states, with "minimal" levels, the lowest classification, seen in New York.

After a surge in COVID-19 cases this summer, infection rates seem to be on the decline. Positive tests now account for 11.6 percent of all COVID tests (excluding at-home testing) in the U.S., down 1.8 percent from the previous week. Coronavirus levels do remain high in certain states, especially those in the Central U.S.

The map below shows which states have seen the highest detections in wastewater.

(Follow link for interactive map)

Viral levels in wastewater are a helpful indicator of disease prevalence within a population.

Recent spikes in COVID-19 cases have been largely driven by a new class of subvariants nicknamed FLiRT after the position of the mutations on the virus' spike proteins, the projections that allow them to enter our cells.

These proteins are also used as targets by immune systems and vaccinations, so changes in their structure can allow the virus to bypass the body's defenses more easily. However, existing vaccines are likely to provide at least some form of protection against more severe symptoms and long COVID.

As of September 28, the now dominant subvariant, KP.3.1.1, accounted for more than 59 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases over the previous two weeks, according to the CDC, with the FLiRT variants accounting for more than 80 percent of cases in total.

However, while the U.S. has seen a steady rise in infections over the summer, hospitalizations and deaths have remained relatively low. It appears that the new FLiRT variants, while more infectious, do not generally cause such severe symptoms.

The symptoms include the following, according to the CDC:

Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Loss of taste or smell Sore throat Runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea

More vulnerable individuals may still be at risk of severe illness, so it is important to self-isolate if you receive a positive COVID test.

[brondingsloan]

[Image Generated using DALL - E]

Reflecting on the case and the marketing strategies of Corona and Heineken reveals a tale of two varied approaches, each with its unique implications in the competitive landscape of the beer market.

As I read the case- I kept comparing the dynamic nature of advertising and selling beer in the US. Having grown up in India- the nature of ads from alcohol companies were very different. My reflection highlights some of the areas where regulatory frameworks lead to innovative marketing tactics such as surrogate advertising.

Finally- I could not help but wonder what the impact of the pandemic was on a brand like Corona (for obvious reasons). I remember listening to a podcast back in the day about the ultimate positive effect the pandemic had on beer consumption in the US, and my final point covers that.

Corona and Heineken's Divergent Paths Corona’s growth in the U.S. market, challenging Heineken's long-standing dominance, serves as an example of how brand imagery and lifestyle alignment can reshape market dynamics. While Heineken has promoted its brand as a premium quality, heritage, and sophisticated one, Corona adopted a different strategy. Its marketing campaigns evoked a sense of relaxation, escapism, and the simple pleasures of life, epitomized by the iconic image of a lime-wedged bottle on a sun-drenched beach.

The Indian Context: Surrogate Marketing Turning to the Indian market, where direct advertising of alcoholic beverages is prohibited, brands have resorted to surrogate marketing to make their presence felt in the consumers' minds. Companies promote products that share the brand name with the alcoholic beverage, such as music CDs, water, or even airlines, thereby maintaining brand recall.

For long, some of the funniest and most memorable ads, usually came from such brands. This strategy, while requiring creativity and indirect messaging, highlights the complex interplay between regulatory environments and marketing innovation, allowing brands to build a presence in a market with strict advertising restrictions. (Alcohol brand selling "Music CDs": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zhozmQCDYg&pp=ygUdbWVuIHdpbGwgYmUgbWVuIGltcGVyaWFsIGJsdWU%3D)

Lately, many brands have launched zero-alcohol products, using these as surrogates to gain market popularity. Heineken was definitely the winner in the Indian market – from my recollection, I never saw a Corona ad.

Any publicity is good publicity? - True for Corona!

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges particularly for a brand like Corona, given the unfortunate name association. Despite initial setbacks and market confusion (with rumors rife with association to the virus), Corona's marketing strategy demonstrated resilience and adaptability. Research suggested that the brand's visibility and consumer loyalty contributed to this growth, with each new COVID-19 case seemingly boosting Corona's sales by $5.30 weekly compared to other major beer brands. The article mentioned that Corona beer gained "accidental popularity" due to its name's association with the coronavirus, driving increased attention and sales during the pandemic​. Link to article: https://www.marketplace.org/2022/12/30/how-did-the-pandemic-affect-the-corona-beer-brand/

[beardedmrbean]

Hufvudstadsbladet writes that Alexander Stubb took Åland by storm during his first visit there as president on Tuesday.

Describing it as a "charm visit" the paper features a photo of a seemingly endless queue in the main square in the capital, Mariehamn, of people lined up to take selfies with the president.

Hufvudstadsbladet also points to a more serious side to the visit, writing that Stubb said exactly what the Ålanders wanted to hear — the demilitarised status of the autonomous region is not a problem, and that having reviewed Finland's defence plans for Åland, he sleeps well at night.

Iltalehti reports that the president's press conference in Mariehamn on Tuesday was mainly focused on current foreign and security policy issues.

Asked about his statements to the French newspaper Le Monde regarding possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, he stood by his position, stressing that any decision on whether or not to start a negotiation process is in Ukraine's hands.

In reference to the counter-attack by Ukraine in Kursk, Stubb said that Finland would not impose restrictions on the use of the arms it supplies to Ukraine.

"Ukraine has every right to defend itself within the framework of international law," said President Stubb.

Potential for sabotage

Several papers picked up on a report first published online on Tuesday afternoon by Helsingin Sanomat saying that the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) sees Finnish arms aid to Ukraine as a target of potential Russian sabotage.

This summer, Finland sent its 24th shipment of arms aid to Ukraine. Officials have not revealed any details about their content or, for example, the mode of shipment.

The total value of all defence materials sent from Finland to Ukraine now stands at 2.2 billion euros.

Helsingin Sanomat quotes Supo researcher Lotta Hakala as saying that there are no signs of anything unusual concerning the logistics, storage and transport of Finland's arms aid. However, Supo has now publicly said they are potential targets for sabotage.

Supo has also found no evidence of Russian involvement in recent break-ins and vandalism at some water processing facilities in Finland.

The Security Intelligence Service adds, though, that Russia is trying to influence public opinion in countries that support Ukraine in order to create a climate of fear and uncertainty aimed at eroding popular support for Ukraine.

Covid up, but most cases mild

The number of cases of coronavirus infection is on the rise in Finland, but according to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) symptoms seem to be less severe than in the past, and people are less likely to seek hospital treatment.

Ilta-Sanomat looks at the situation after asking readers to tell the paper about their experiences with covid over the summer, and receiving more than 600 responses by early this week.

The vast majority of respondents said they had mild symptoms after being infected. The most common symptoms included fever, headache, fatigue, cough, runny nose and muscle aches.

This is all very similar to the effects of a common cold.

Around 30 covid deaths were recorded in Finland between June and July this year, compared with over 120 in the same period last year.

Ilta-Sanomat notes that THL specialists have said that for the elderly or others in poor health Covid, like other infections, can still pose a serious and require hospitalisation.

Urban legend debunked

Have you heard of the old lady who feeds bread crumbs to birds from a large bag in Helsinki's central park? The story goes that she wears a black coat and a black scarf in summer and winter and doesn't say a word. If anyone approaches her, she vanishes.

Or how about the treasure hidden under what is now the Laajasalo bridge, stashed away by Carl Olof Cronstedt, a Vice-Admiral in the Swedish Navy? Cronstedt surrendered what is now the Suomenlinna fortress to Russian besiegers in 1808, and the story goes that first, he hid a huge bribe that he received for raising a white flag.

These are a few of the urban legends Helsingin Uutiset mentions before delving into its own investigation of one more — a longstanding rumour that the Helsinki House of Culture is home to an infestation of venomous spiders.

It is a fact that sometime during the 1970s a few Chilean recluse spiders apparently hitched a ride in a crate from South America to Helsinki's Museum of Natural History and established a small colony in the building.

HU set out to find investigate whether there is any truth to claims that something similar happened at the House of Culture.

The facilities production manager, Antti Sarmanne, claims to have seen the spiders several times in well over 20 years on the job.

"I think they came long before me. The story goes that the spiders came to the House of Culture in the equipment of a foreign artist, or from an exhibition," he said.

A thorough search by HU of the cellar's nooks and crannies found spiders, and spiders of more than one species, but none of them exotic or venomous.

Chilean recluse spiders have not been seen outside the Natural History Museum, its curator Timo Pajunen assured HU. During the 1990s, a spider was sent from the House of Culture to the museum for identification and it turned out to be a common house spider.

Helsingin Uutiset's conclusion is that whispers of deadly creepy-crawlers in the House of Culture can safely be ignored.

[sophiamit]

Corona Beer

"There's no mystery about brewing beer. Everyone can do it...beer is all marketing. People don't drink beer, they drink marketing." - Michael Foley

Reading this case was interesting, as I am from St. Louis, which is the US home of Anheuser-Busch. It was not surprising to me to read all of the stats about how Budweiser leads the US market, and I wonder if part of this is also due to their brand architecture. For instance, the St. Louis Cardinals play at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, which is named after the Busch family that started AB. It has had this name since 1953, cultivating a lot of recognition. This doesn't require an ad campaign per se, it's just the name on the stadium in a prominent part of the skyline (see picture below). These tactics, combined with the $192M AB spends in advertising impact the way US consumers view the brand.

To our conversation about customer segmentation in yesterday's class, I find it interesting that the sub-brand of "Corona and a lime" was developed by US consumers due to it's long-neck bottle. This is not how the beer is consumed in Mexico, as bottles are returned there. This potentially is a brand vulnerability. Additionally, the pricing structure is more expensive in the US than Mexico, positioning Corona Beer as a premium beer in the US. This could be the same fate as B&D, where customers have one perception in their mind, even if the product performs just as well. "Fun, Sun, and Beach" became more of a party beer, and the coronavirus also changed what Corona meant in the mind of consumers.

A final aspect to think about is the packaging. The glass long neck bottles are part of Corona's brand, but make the logistics of shipping and placing into stores much harder, which is how Corona Beer creates revenue. As one industry observer noted: "It is remarkably simpler and cheaper to brew, package, ship and retail 100 cases of Bud Light 12-pack cans than it is to ship 25 cases of Bud Light 12-packs, 25 cases of Blue Moon 12-packs, 25 cases of Fat Tire 12-packs and 25 cases of Corona 12-packs [and] that’s a vastly simplified example."

Case: Corona Beer

Article: Schuhmacher, Harry. “Potential Pitfalls of the Craft Beer Revolution.” All About Beer, The Beer Curmudgeon, 1 Sept. 2013, allaboutbeer.net/article/potential-pitfalls-of-the-craft-beer-revolution/. 

[sohannabarberaesque]

Heads Up to All

Please be advised that, through the agency of a home coronavirus test taken just this morning, I have tested POSITIVE for the coronavirus. This after not feeling well the past two days, though managing to continue working.

Be assured, though, according to a local Urgent Care Clinic doctor I discussed this with just this morning, that such is likely a mild case and is treatable with Vicks DayQuil and increased hydration as well as staying in over the next five days.

I'll endeavour to continue my presence in this space with the added time the coronaviral condition has given me at home. As well, your continued and continuing support of me and this blog will be welcome and appreciated.

[pcsasg]

Is social media useful in spreading information on covid-19 in Malaysia or your country? What is your opinion?

Gif from giphy

Hi there! This week’s blog is about public health and we will dive a little about the coronavirus disease, also known as covid-19 and in days gone by, named 2019 novel coronavirus. Coronavirus was first spotted at one of open air “wet market” in Wuhan, China. Afterwards, during that time, there was an assumption that there might a coronavirus originated in one of lab in China as a biological weapon. However, the newest reports concur that the coronavirus is not an engineered virus being developed to become a biological weapon.

What is social media role during coronavirus issue?

According to (Abbas et al., 2021), people usage time on social media is higher than usual during COVID-19 pandemic period since social media is the only platform where people can search for health information for their own and their loved one’s benefits. Due to global crisis and health disaster during the pandemic, social medias have become the most welcome relief for people.

(Abbas et al., 2021) also stated, typically, users will create or share about health information that already available via local or international sources as their response to an international public health issue.

As social media platforms can bring impacts to people, people also need someone who can share their own life experience or their knowledge about health issue and shared their experience or knowledge about health information. This method called peer support. The peer support concept on social media is referring to health information that will help people to know more about Covid-19 pandemic issue. People will be searching for health-related news regarding to Covid-19 pandemic in their social media account, for example the most common one is Facebook. Since Covid-19 pandemic brought “culture shock” to the world, people will be searching for the detailed health-related update and stay keep in touch with family, friends and peers. Public communication and interaction searching for accurate information and opportunity of Covid-19 to create proper virus prevention on social media. Since social media provides the latest news and trustable information to the world, social media have become the central role in answering in global health crisis issue.

Gif from giphy

Social media and electronic government (E-government) role during Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia

Image from YouTube

First Covid-19 case detected in Malaysia after three individuals had a close contact with one individual in Singapore. They had their trip into Malaysia from Singapore on January 24th 2020 and tested positive on January 25th 2020. After that, on the February 4th 2020, the very first Malaysian was tested positive Covid-19 after he returned from Singapore and started to cough and had fever.

During the pandemic time, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia take advantages of social media to educate and spread the awareness to the public about the Covid-19 precautions. On 18th March 2020 until 18th April 2020, the Malaysia Government implemented Movement Control Order (MCO) to control the Covid-19 from widespread.

During the entire period of Covid-19, social media accounts for example like X (previously known as Twitter) and WeChat were used to share the updates about preventive measure and healthcare. After Tan Sri Muhyiddin implemented MCO, the media started to actively using the #stayhome hashtag to spread the awareness. The government of Malaysia come up with enough latest information to the public via the Official Portal of the Ministry of Health Malaysia, verified Facebook page named Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia posted about the Crisis Preparedness and Response Center (CRPC) and Telegram channel named CPRC KKM.

The Malaysia government also launched one application that can only used on mobile named MySejahtera in April 20202 to help all the users to keep track of their health progress, helping the authorities to collect the latest information, check in location and come up with the most essential and fast reply.

Screenchot of CPRC KKM telegram page

Screenshot of KKM Facebook page

Now, if you ask me, i would definitely say yes. I do agree that social media is useful in spreading information on Covid-19 because through social media is the way that Ministry of Health Malaysia can reach out to the people since gathering is not allowed during the MCO period. People will depend on social media to stay connected with their family or friend and also to get the latest update regarding to health issues.

Image from Facebook

References

Brennan, D. (2022) Coronavirus history: How did coronavirus start?Dan, WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/covid/coronavirus-history (Accessed: 01 November 2023).

Abbas, J. et al. (2021) Social media technology during COVID-19: RMHP, Risk Management and Healthcare Policy. Available at: https://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-advent-of-covid-19-pandemic-crisis-man-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-

Elengoe, A. (2020, June). Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia. Osong public health and research perspectives. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7258884/#:~:text=On%20the%2025th%20January,the%2024th%20January%202020.

Ahamd, N. S., Zulkifli Hussain, Abd Hamid, H. S., & Khairani, A. Z. (2021, July 10). Roles of social media and counselling support in reducing anxiety among Malaysian during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921004179

Kahe. (2021, May 4). Important role of social media during pandemic disaster. Karpagam Academy of Higher Education. https://kahedu.edu.in/important-role-of-social-media-during-pandemic-disaster/

Md Shah, A. U., Azrie Safri, S. N., Thevadas, R., Noordin, N. K., Abd Rahman, A., Sekawi, Z., Ideris, A., Hameed Sultan, M. T., & h. (2020, June 2). Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971220304008#:~:text=The%20Government%20of%20Malaysia%20enforced,personal%20protective%20equipment%20for%20frontliners.

Mat Dawi, N., Namazi, H., Hwang, H. J., Ismail, S., Maresova, P., & Krejcar, O. (2021, January 27). Attitude toward protective behavior engagement during covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia: The role of E-government and Social Media. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.609716/full#:~:text=Malaysia%20residents%20can%20get%20information,of%20CPRC%20KKM%20(24).

#Week7 #MDA20009

[humandisastersquad]

From February 20, people 18 and over who have not had a COVID-19 vaccine or positive case in the last six months are eligible for another shot

The announcement also opens fourth doses up to Australians aged 18-29

LETS GOOOO

[babs-zone]

a covid conscious road trip diary

los angeles to portland and back, no viruses allowed | april 2023

by babs ✨

hi yes good to be back n writing here on tumblr dot com, and what better place to start than with a little joy? in this series (a companion guide to my tiktok vlogs) i'm going to share how my partner and i traveled from LA to PDX and back without contracting the novel coronavirus.

click here for the full playlist on tiktok. click here for the above video.

⏤

who this is for:

people still using mitigation against SARS-CoV-2 looking for ways to get out and have a lil adventure without throwing caution to the winds

people who stopped using mitigation and are tired of getting sick

people who stopped using mitigation and want to start again

anyone else that finds it interesting ;)))

who this is not for:

people who don't think SARS-CoV-2 is a big deal and don't care to have an open conversation about why that is

people who want to police others behavior— i understand that we may not always see eye to eye, make exactly the same choices, etc, but there is a way to have those conversations while still acknowledging the reality that i have never knowingly been infected with SARS-CoV-2; while there's no accounting for luck, there's got to be something to what i'm doing

on that note, let's talk about my covid reality so we have a baseline knowledge of where i'm coming from:

29 / have fairly stable lupus and sjogrens syndrome / white (ashkenazi background is the lineage to carry the autoimmune diseases with 3 known cases in my fam) / (F) on medical charts but she/they to y'all tytyty / queer

my most *acutely* debilitating recurrent symptom is head and facial pain, which can be (though isn't always) triggered by mask wearing. i experienced this pain prior to the pandemic, but as time has gone on, i've had multiple episodes of pain directly connected to the pressure of a mask on my nose/sinus area (kind of in the same place as the malar rash), that extends into my eyes, up/over/around my skull, and into the clothes-hanger area of my bag, which can then in turn irritate my ribs (though not always, chronically ill people know how these things can cascade). this pain leaves me with intense sensory sensitivity (so in the dark, quiet, unable to do a lot of things), and can also include vomiting. for this reason, i try to spend as much time outside as possible.

10a-6p day job in communications where i work in person ~twice weekly at minimum (gotta Make Content and photos), as well as freelance photography, so my work is hybrid. in 2021 when i returned to work after i got vaccinated, i was still working the same food service job i'd been at since 2016. i ultimately quit that job in september of 2021 when i wasn't able to take enough time off to safely travel to photograph a wedding i'd committed to (driving takes way longer than flying), but had that not happened, i could've easily continued in that position despite the risk, as i'd structured my freelancing around that service job.

polyamorous and live with 2/3 of my partners (one works hybrid, one in service so all in-person), but we all have our own bedroom (even if we sleep in each others sometimes)

our household is in a pod with our other partners' household, which is three people in two bedrooms, all of whom work from home

my entire pod masks indoors outside of our homes unless the environment is intentionally controlled (prior testing, planning, etc); this has been a basic rule of thumb that has not changed the entire pandemic

a few of us, myself included, have access to tests through our jobs, so my household ~usually~ gets two PCRs and two RATs per week

both households have at least one HEPA filter (though all the filters need changing ngl)

both households have one aranet4 CO2 monitors, which is passed around based on need

we've had two covid positives in the pod: separate incidents, both in 2022, where both individuals were successfully isolated before further spread. blessedly, no longcovid symptoms from either of them.

so going into this trip, we brought

a good plan based on the swiss cheese model (above)

lots of different kinds of masks, as switching up the way pressure hits on my face can mean longer time able to mask

a bunch of covid tests

that's it

we considered taking one of the HEPA filters, but, as mentioned, they need changing and we just didn't have time to do so

likewise, didn't bring the CO2 monitors so others could use

ok, i think that's good background, now on to the fun!

⏤

day 1 - LA to silicon valley

after packing up the car, our first stop was coffee at the palm in burbank (which has online ordering and a walk up window), then we drove drove drove.

next stop was for lunch in bakersfield at vida vegan eatery, which has outdoor seating, but it was covered on three sides with plastic. we could've asked the folks working to lift the plastic, or we could've just taken the chance and eaten outside there regardless, as we would've been the only ones out there, but we chose to eat in the car, because this was a driving day anyhow.

drove drove drove some more thru gilroy, the garlic capital of california, where we masked up to stop at a lil farm stand.

made it to silicon valley, where we stayed at the sunnyvale ramada. we looked at a lot of chain options in the area, and chose this one not because it necessarily had the best reviews, but because it clearly had rooms that opened to the outside as well as the AC unit visible on the window, so the room takes in fresh air.

when we arrive at hotels, we mask up while do the requisite once-over (check for bed bugs, etc). we turn the ventilation up real high, open any windows, and prop the door open. masks stay on til we get all the bags in, when we usually settle in.

on this night, we threw on some nicer clothes and took a rapid test (negiii) before heading out to grab my cousin for dinner. they mask regularly, and also rapid tested negative before we headed over. even so, we keep masks on and windows down when we share the car with anyone outside the pod.

ended up on a nice pedestrian street in mountain view for dinner outdoors at yugen ramen and it was so quiet; we truly had the place to ourselves. finally, topped off the night with a quick pop into the patisserie down the street, maison alyzée. it was close to closing, so mostly empty outside of the unmasked proprietor, but, to be frank, we went into this trip assuming we'd be the only ones masked anywhere.

alright that's all for day one, eleven more to go!