Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

And why did you stay locked up for a year? Because of your age and fear. TRUE

 

Yet again, people that do not understand how vaccines work probably should not post and continue expose their ignorance to the world.

 

Only 2% of NIH grants in the 1st year of the pandemic went to Covid research. Avg time from funding announcement to issuing the money was 5mo. Failure to fund critical Covid research quickly in 2020 allowed controversies to grow without data.

The NIH spent 2X as money on aging research than it did on Covid research

The NIH gave out 56,169 grants but only 2 on masks, 6 on distancing, 5 on airborne v surface transm, 2 on schools

NIH was a major reason we had no solid Covid data. Heads should roll.


NIH funding of COVID-19 research in 2020: a cross-sectional study

 

The mortality for the elderly clearly is markedly higher. Something like 20% for over 80%

 

NIH was given $4.9 Billion from Congress to fund SARS-CoV-2. In less than 9 months they had disbursed $2.2 Billion of it. It is not like you just snap your fingers and 1) some one has a study already set up for a novel virus no one had seen before 2020 2)it is not like they instantly have the proposal written and 3) it takes time and red tape when disbursing federal tax dollars. This is why science should not be performed under the public eye. Far too much ignorance in our country to be able to understand how and why things work.

Finally, anything with a GI Surgeon on it masquerading as an expert on viruses, pandemic response or public health policy should immediately be dismissed.

 

You think 2% of all NIH funding going to Covid in 2020 is acceptable? Well, I feel pretty strongly most of the US will agree with me on this issue. No giant school studies, no large mask studies. Minimum 10-15% of all NIH funding should've gone to the largest pandemic in over 100 years. If you disagree with that I don't know what to tell you. And yes, you can snap your finger and get things going. Crap, we made a vaccine that some said would take 3-5 years in 6+ months. Throw money at it. Not sure how anyone could disagree with this.

 

Because then all of you people who just want to constantly bee-atch and complain would be screaming "all of the other things we ignored because threw all our money into COVID". It is outrageous we ignored all of these other, much more dangerous conditions...ahh...blah, blah, blah.

So yes, I think that the NIH distributing $2.2B in less than 9 months is actually more than good. It is incredibly good.

Again, just guessing you have never written a grant proposal to a federal government funding agency (and would guess the clueless GI surgeon never has either) but to organize my resources, line up what I was going to study, how I was going to study, obtain all of the needed quotes and sources for materials for the study, formalize the proposal into the standard format for government review, send it in, have it reviewed, receive the first round of (potentially several rounds of) questions, answer all of those questions, possibly amend the submission, have it re-reviewed and then maybe funded, have the funds actually transferred to a place I could use and then move forward with the study. Guess what...none of that goes quickly, no matter how much the uneducated and uninitiated stomp their feet and demand it should.

 

Fed budget cycle is Oct 1 through Sep 30. By the time COVID hit the US in March, half the budget year had already passed. And a good chunk of NIH money was already tied up with other projects. With that said, Congress did still manage to carve out billions from the budget for COVID in FY 2020.

As for studies, they take time to prepare. Especially if they are going to be government funded. It's just not reality, nor good science to act in haste when it comes to scientific research. Anyone saying otherwise is either ignorant, or a quack.

 

LOL. We developed a vaccine in 6+ months by throwing money around left and right. But you think 2% of the NIH budget is sufficient? Get out of here with that garbage. Where is the monster School study? Where is the monster mask study? Where is the big social distancing study? You know, the things that the CDC made policy without having data on? Here is the NIH's purpose: "NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. Its mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability."

So let's spend 2% of our budget on the largest pandemic in over a century. Brilliant.

 

Now do mortality rates for vaccinated vs. unvaxxed.

 

I know right. Biden, Fauci, Harris, Walensky and Gates all said you wouldn't get Covid if you got the vaccine. I'm glad they now understand how vaccines work.

 

Obviously its less for the unvaxxed.
That doesn't change the fact that the older you are the higher the mortality is.

 

Life. How does it work?

 

Since I don't see the international one...oops.

 

Serious questions.

I’ve read that the two newest variants are even more contagious but have lesser symptoms. Some describe them has having a cold or in some cases a bad cold. The loss of taste and smell is not a symptom in most cases.

Also that they are contagious enough that everyone will eventually get one or the other or the next mutation.

With this info if true is it imperative that a second booster is necessary? I’ve had 2 Pfizer’s and a booster, I’m 69 and my wife is 68. Will these variants keep getting milder as they mutate? Anyone think this will end up like the flu having a yearly shot except for covid?

 

Your appalling lack of understanding makes it difficult to discuss, but you are wrong on every count. By the way, Pfizer-BioNTech did not take a penny from Operation Warp Speed for R&D and development. The $1.95B deal was to pay for delivery of the doses to the government. So actually, no, we did not develop vaccines by throwing tax dollars around.

Also, it does not matter if you like it or not. Neither my opinion nor your opinions matter here. The government funding process moves at one pace, and only one pace, even if you don't like it and the GI doctor from Hopkins does not like it.

 

If you think that there is only 1 pace then you are beyond reasoning with. The Pandemic sure made people do crap a lot faster than normal. Can't figure out why you are ignoring that fact.

 

Cmon guys. The data shows that the vaccine prevents serious illness at a high kevel and had great success vs the stronger variants. Why the constant need to mock it? No one made you get it. Let it go.

 

It probably will, where you'd get the 2 parter to start then once a year boost. I'm due for my 4th dose but I have immune issues/we just upped my chemo. Again. But yeah I see it as the flu shot where there's too many variants, folks plan for the main ones, and DayQuil/NyQuil the heck out of the milder variants.

 

The federal government coerced people to get it. I know people who had to make that decision. Keep their job. Or get fired. Healthy young people. Others were able to get an exemption. Something they should not have had to do. So spare me the “no one made you get it”.

This should not be let go. Forcing/Coercing healthy people who were at little to no risk should never be let go. Those who supported that should be tarred and feathered so it never happens again!