TallGuyJohninBKK

It's interesting. I follow, among others, the Washington Post's medical columnist Dr. Leana Wen... who also does regular Q and A columns with readers' questions. And I've seen it crop up frequently where people ask her about difficulties in getting Paxlovid if needed when traveling abroad... And one of the things I've seen her advise to her U.S. audience is for people planning to travel who are concerned can contact their doctor and see about getting an advance prescription, in case it's later needed while they're away on travels. Apparently some doctors will do that, others won't. Though I think that was more back when the U.S. govt was paying for Paxlovid itself. The under-prescribing of Paxlovid may be our biggest covid policy failure January 16, 2024 "The United States suffers from a litany of policy failures in the response to covid-19. Low vaccine uptake in vulnerable populations such as nursing homes remains a major problem, as does the lack of investment in local and state public health infrastructure. But one deficiency stands out above the rest: The antiviral medication Paxlovid is highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, yet the usage rate is staggeringly low. Only about 15 percent of high-risk individuals who contract the coronavirus are prescribed the drug. ... Finally, the FDA should provide explicit instructions to allow doctors to issue “just in case” prescriptions. High-risk patients who are traveling and are concerned about accessing treatment should be able to take antivirals with them so that they can initiate treatment as soon as they test positive. It’s remarkable that science has delivered exceptional breakthroughs that have dramatically reduced severe illness and death from the coronavirus. The great tragedy is our continuing failure to take advantage of these advances." https://archive.ph/UF3IT https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/16/paxlovid-covid-under-prescribed/ Leana S. Wen, a Washington Post contributing columnist who writes the newsletter The Checkup with Dr. Wen, is an emergency physician, clinical associate professor at George Washington University and author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.” Previously, she served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.

Trump’s federal election prosecution isn’t going to trial anytime soon. But it could still produce damaging revelations before Nov. 5 A new schedule from Judge Tanya Chutkan leaves the door open for an October surprise. 09/05/2024 Special counsel Jack Smith and Donald Trump will be trading high-stakes legal filings — some potentially jammed with new and explosive evidence related to Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election — in the weeks leading up to Election Day. A federal judge has given the special counsel’s team until Sept. 26 to detail what his team says will be a “comprehensive” slate of evidence detailing Trump’s alleged conspiracies to subvert the 2020 election. ... The prospect of damaging new information related to Trump’s effort to subvert the previous presidential election emerging in the closing days of the 2024 race adds a new, unpredictable element to the campaign’s final stretch — the definition of an October surprise. But it’s not yet clear how much of the filings the public will see: Chutkan could order redactions to some of the sensitive information that Smith or Trump seek to include in their briefs. But any revelations are likely to draw significant attention just as millions of voters are casting early ballots. (more) https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/05/trump-federal-election-case-chutkan-schedule-00177619

Judge Tanya S. Chutkan told the former president's lawyers that she is "not concerned with the electoral schedule" September 6, 2024 It’s not fair, legal counsel for Donald Trump told a federal judge on Thursday. The former president’s election interference case — which could have gone to trial this spring had it not been for litigation over the Republican candidate’s claim he was completely immune from prosecution — is starting back up again just as early voting is about to begin. While ballots are being cast, prosecutors could air new, potentially damning evidence about the defendant's efforts to remain in power. So what, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan responded. Her only concern, she said, is the crimes that special counsel Jack Smith, armed with a fresh grand jury indictment, has accused the 78-year-old defendant of committing: defrauding the United States and seeking to throw out the votes of millions of Americans after decisively losing to President Joe Biden in 2020. ... Chutkan issued an order following Thursday’s hearing that sets the stage for potentially damning evidence to be publicly shared just as the election heats up. That order sets Sept. 26 as the deadline for prosecutors to file an “opening brief” on Trump’s immunity claims, which Politico reported could be “jammed with new and explosive evidence related to Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election” (prosecutors said they would include “substantial exhibits” in their filing). A defense response is due by Oct. 17 and prosecutors’ response to that is due Oct. 29. (more) https://www.salon.com/2024/09/06/sets-stage-for-mini-mini-trial-in-january-6-case-right-before-the-november/

I guess some of us aren't big fans of nutjob conspiracy theory and misinformation peddlers running for high office... Kinda the same reason most of us abhor Trump!

You're entitled to your opinion, just as he's entitled to his... But as he (unlike you) is a recognized expert on correctly forecasting past U.S. presidential election outcomes, I know whom I'm going to listen to. From the above News Nation report: "CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A historian who’s correctly predicted nearly every presidential race since 1984 says that if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drops out of the 2024 election, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will benefit."

From the above News Nation report: "One of Lichtman’s negative “keys” against the party currently in the White House is a significant third-party campaign, as he says it’s a sign of people’s discontent with the current government. “The basis of my keys to the White House is that it’s governing, not campaigning,” Lichtman said. “The disappearing RFK campaign then wipes out a possible negative key against the incumbent party.”

Also, the same Fox News report above includes the following: -- in Wisconsin, a Dane County circuit court judge for now has denied Kennedy’s request for a temporary restraining order to put on hold the state elections commission’s decision to keep him on the ballot. AND --in Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson plans to appeal the lower court ruling granting Kennedy's request to the state's Supreme Court.

There are differing opinions on the impact of RFK Jr. dropping out of the presidential race. But here's one by a recognized expert: RFK Jr. dropping out would benefit Kamala Harris: Historian Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the ballot in Arizona If he drops out of race, it would boost Harris' campaign, historian says Kennedy campaign 'disappearing' wipes out negative key for Harris: Lichtman Aug 23, 2024 CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A historian who’s correctly predicted nearly every presidential race since 1984 says that if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drops out of the 2024 election, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will benefit. Allan Lichtman, an American University professor, has used a formula of 13 true-or-false questions, or “keys,” in his winning predictions. (more) https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-dropping-out-benefit-kamala-harris-historian/

From everything I read, Paxlovid seems to be generally considered UNDER-utilized as a COVID treatment, partly because of the relatively high costs if people are having to pay out of pocket, but also because its recommended use is only within the first 5 days of developing COVID symptoms... And people often just don't move so fast in terms of getting tested, seeing a doctor to get a prescription, etc... Some general background here: 13 Things To Know About Paxlovid, the Latest COVID-19 Pill June 20, 2024 "Paxlovid, an oral antiviral pill that can be taken at home, is the go-to treatment for COVID-19. If you are at high risk for severe disease from COVID, and you take it within the first five days of experiencing symptoms, it will lower your risk of getting so sick that you need to be hospitalized." ... 2. When should I take Paxlovid? You have to take Paxlovid within five days of developing symptoms. Like all antivirals, Paxlovid works best early in the course of an illness—in this case, within the first five days of symptom onset, says Jeffrey Topal, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist... ... 6. How well does Paxlovid work? In November 2022, the CDC reported on a real-world study that showed adults who took Paxlovid within five days of a COVID diagnosis had a 51% lower hospitalization rate within the next 30 days than those who were not given the drug. The study included people who had been vaccinated or had a previous infection, which the CDC said implied the drug should be offered to people who are eligible regardless of their vaccination status. However, a study by Pfizer, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2024, suggested that Paxlovid may not be beneficial for people at low to moderate risk who have mild illness and those who have been fully vaccinated. Yale Medicine https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/13-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19

Re Bolton: https://archive.ph/tYsO2

Or in reality, it's because she opposed insurrectionist and felon Donald Trump as the nominal leader of her own party, and the Republicans in her district penalized her for her integrity and patriotism.

Rats and sinking ship come to mind: Top Truth Social execs—including the CEO—are shedding stock before Trump even can Sep 4, 2024 ... While Trump isn’t able to start selling his shares yet, some other insiders have started shedding their stake in the company. Trump Media’s chief financial officer and treasurer, Phillip Juhan, disclosed last week he’s selling $1.9 million worth of stock, according to SEC filings. Trump Media’s general counsel, Scott Glabe, chief operating officer Andrew Northwall, and chief technology officer Vladimir Novachki each sold shares as well, according to Aug. 22 SEC filings. Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman and Trump Media’s president and CEO, also sold off $632,000 worth of stock last Thursday. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-truth-social-execs-including-193113371.html But, if Trump somehow manages to become U.S. dictator for life (who needs "stolen" elections, after all), perhaps there will be a resurgence here... Let's hope NOT!

Trump Media erases all 2024 stock gains days before Donald Trump can cash out his $1.95B stake September 5, 2024 https://fortune.com/2024/09/05/donald-trump-truth-social-tmtg-stock-price/ Donald Trump has lost $4 billion in wealth amid bumpy ride for Trump Media & Technology Group September 5, 2024 Former President Donald Trump's personal stake in Trump Media & Technology Group topped more than $6 billion in March when its shares soared after making their public market debut. Nearly six months later, that fortune has dwindled to less than $2 billion amid losses and shrinking revenue. A months-long slump has lopped more than 70% from the stock's valuation since its late March peak, with the shares hitting a new low on Wednesday. As the biggest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology, Trump has suffered the largest losses, although the decline is only on paper for now since he's not yet able to sell any of his shares. Trump owns about 60% of Trump Media & Technology Group, a money-losing social media company that trades under the ticker DJT (the former president's initials). The company has gained a following among Trump's supporters, typically retail investors who have flocked to groups on Truth Social to express concern about the declining share price and blame short sellers for the stock's swoon. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-djt-stock-trump-media-technology-group-truth-social/

Triggered!!!

Can't help it that you're unaware of the details and political affiliations of the various U.S. broadcast networks and their political leanings. Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate... the company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations, after Nexstar Media Group, owning or operating 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets, covering 40% of American households. ... "A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market".[4][5] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported "fake news" in mainstream media, while Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

You really should know your own world better... Fox, OAN, NewsMax and others, including Nexstar and Sinclair: Nexstar's NewsNation is just another right-wing cable network The network, host of the next GOP primary debate, spreads racist tropes, promotes anti-immigrant hate, and defends men reported for sexual misconduct 11/21/23 https://www.mediamatters.org/cable-news/nexstars-newsnation-just-another-right-wing-cable-network Nexstar's NewsNation Faces Turmoil, Staff Departures Amid Conservative Bias Concerns Mar 9, 2021 Nexstar‘s NewsNation channel is in turmoil as it faces staff defections amid concerns that the outlet is being pushed by management to lean to the right in its news coverage. The simmering controversy for the channel previously known as WGN America gained steam on Tuesday when Nexstar confirmed that Jennifer Lyons, the WGN-TV Chicago news veteran who led the launch of the primetime “NewsNation” block last September, has resigned her post as VP of news. That follows several lower-level departures last week that appear to have been prompted by concerns that former Fox News executive Bill Shine is leading a charge to steer the channel to the right. Shine is a consultant to Nexstar and NewsNation but does not have a formal role at the company. https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/newsnation-jennifer-lyon-nexstar-bias-1234926851/ Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television stations across the U.S., most of which are affiliated with the four "major" U.S. television networks and MyNetworkTV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexstar_Media_Group and No. 2 rank U.S. television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group as well: Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate... the company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations, after Nexstar Media Group, owning or operating 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets, covering 40% of American households. ... "A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market".[4][5] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported "fake news" in mainstream media, while Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

Fiction..... https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart

You mean like all of Trump's billionaire buddies? And Trump's tax cuts for the rich? Here Are Trump’s Top Billionaire Donors Some of the nation’s wealthiest people are powering Trump’s bid to return to the White House: His 26 biggest billionaire backers, worth a combined $143 billion, have poured $162 million into the effort so far. Aug 14, 2024 https://www.forbes.com/sites/leokamin/2024/08/14/here-are-trumps-top-billionaire-donors/ A true man of the people... NOT! Trump pressed oil executives to give $1 billion for his campaign, people in industry say “This is a scandal” and “an indictment of the system” — but probably legal, one legal watchdog told POLITICO. 05/09/2024 Former President Donald Trump asked oil industry executives last month to donate $1 billion to aid his campaign to retake the White House, three people familiar with the conversation told POLITICO — a request that campaign finance experts said appeared troubling but is probably legal. The request, first reported Thursday by The Washington Post, occurred during a meeting of industry executives at the former president’s home in Palm Beach, Florida. The oil industry has a long list of policy actions it would want Trump to take, including dismantling parts of President Joe Biden’s green agenda and rolling back pollution regulations that threaten to crimp their profits. As POLITICO reported Wednesday, oil executives are also preparing some highly specific requests for Trump, including executive orders they hope he would sign if reelected. (more) https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-executives-campaign-finance-00157131

August 3, 2024 "It is rare for Cabinet members to not support the president they served. They are normally some of a president’s most loyal supporters. But in the case of Trump’s Cabinet, these uniquely qualified insiders — spanning from the vice president and chiefs of staff to more than a dozen agencies, such as Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security and Transportation — are deeply divided about whether he should return to power." Among the former cabinet members who the Post said won't say whether or not they'll support Trump: https://archive.ph/tYsO2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2024/trump-cabinet-endorsements/

Dick Cheney, meanwhile, is hardly alone among prominent Republicans in NOT being on the Trump 2024 train: During Donald Trump’s term, 42 people served in his Cabinet. Nearly half of them haven’t endorsed his 2024 candidacy. There’s no precedent for this. Aug. 6, 2024 ... "By the Post’s count, 42 people, at some point between January 2017 and January 2021, served in Trump’s Cabinet. Based on the latest tally, 24 of them — roughly 57% — are publicly supporting their former boss’s ongoing candidacy. The rest either won’t take a position or have declared publicly that they won’t support the Republican Party’s 2024 nominee. ... As ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos recently summarized during an appearance on MSNBC, “His secretary of state called him a ‘moron.’ [Former Defense Secretary James] Mattis says he doesn’t even respect the Constitution. John Kelly says he’s the worst person he ever met. Think about that applying to any other president of the United States at any other time." (more) https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/half-trumps-former-cabinet-secretaries-havent-backed-2024-election-rcna165185

Some interesting developments going on on the endorsements front: Eighty-eight corporate leaders endorse Harris in new letter, including CEOs of Yelp, Box Sep 6 2024 Eighty-eight corporate leaders signed a new letter Friday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Signers include former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, Snap Chairman Michael Lynton, Yelp boss Jeremy Stoppelman and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. [emphasis added] If the Democratic nominee wins the White House, they contend, “the business community can be confident that it will have a president who wants American industries to thrive.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/06/harris-endorsed-trump-murdoch-yelp-snap-ripple.html But this was the most intriguing one above to me: "They include James Murdoch, former CEO of 21st Century Fox and an heir to the Murdoch family media empire." Interesting.... One of right-wing media mogul (Fox & NY Post) Rupert Murdoch's sons endorsing Kamala Harris for president over Donald Trump! James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is a British-American businessman.[1] He is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.[2] He was the chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia of News Corporation until 2013 when it was split into News Corp and 21st Century Fox. He was formerly a director of News Corp and was a member of the office of the chairman." But there were prior hints: "In July 2020, Murdoch resigned from the board of directors of News Corp. His resignation letter stated that his resignation was "due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions" ... In 2020, Murdoch and his wife each donated US$615,000 to the Biden campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Murdoch

And... Trump Talks About Sending Tweets at 3 A.M. and His Pal Jeffrey Epstein on Lex Fridman Podcast Updated September 4, 2024 ... Trump clearly got very confused and misspoke a number of times, including when he talked about appearing on “The Answer” with Rosie O’Donnell when he meant the daytime talk show “The View.” The former president also rambled about how Joe Biden “thinks he looks good in a bathing suit, which he doesn’t.” One of the more awkward moments during Trump’s relatively short 45-minute chat (most Fridman interviews are several hours), was when he was asked about the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and any files that Trump might release if he becomes president again. ... “Um, he was a good salesman. He was, you know, a hale and hearty type of guy,” while suggesting he might release files on Epstein. In reality, Epstein was one of Trump’s friends and there’s an incredibly creepy video of the two dancing with their lecherous looks in the 1990s. (more) https://gizmodo.com/trump-talks-about-sending-tweets-at-3-a-m-and-his-pal-jeffrey-epstein-on-lex-fridman-podcast-2000494377

News reporting on the Trump interview in question: Trump Slurs and Stumbles Way Through Conspiracy-Laden Interview Donald Trump majorly fumbled an attempt to defend his 2020 election conspiracies. September 4, 2024 https://newrepublic.com/post/185563/donald-trump-slurs-stumbles-conspiracy-interview

My summary: Amid new signs of easing in the U.S.'s continuing mid-year COVID surge, weekly COVID deaths rose again to a fully reported tally of 971 for week ending August 10, more than triple the weekly low of 308 COVID deaths in early June. Still, the current weekly COVID deaths tally remains less than half of that reported at the beginning of 2024 amid the now-typical year-end/holidays COVID surge. The rate of sampled hospitalizations due to COVID reversed prior weekly increases and began declining for the week ending August 17. Two other publicly reported COVID forward-looking indicators -- Emergency Department visits and positive COVID testing rates -- continued modest prior declines in the latest update through August 31, though the positive COVID testing rate remained high at a 16.3% rate. CDC COVID update for Sept. 6, 2024: Weekly national summary "COVID-19 activity remains elevated nationally, but there are continued signs of decline in many areas. COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, and rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations remain elevated, particularly among adults 65+ and children under 2 years. Surges like this are known to occur throughout the year, including during the summer months." https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html According to the CDC, the "early indicators" of COVID test positivity and COVID related Emergency Department visits both declined slightly for the week ending Aug. 31. The rate of COVID hospitalizations also declined slightly, but the rate of COVID-related deaths rose for the latest reporting periods. Deaths are typically a trailing indicator compared to the other statistics. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home Reported COVID deaths in the U.S. reached nearly 1,000 (971) for latest finalized reporting week ending Aug. 10: * the three gray columns above indicate totals for those recent weeks remain partial. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 With the absence of any comprehensive COVID infection testing and reporting program in the U.S. and reduced reporting of COVID hospitalization data, public health officials increasingly have turned to wastewater monitoring of COVID viral content as a primary forward-looking indicator of COVID activity and trends in the country, as follows: "Wastewater (sewage) can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people don’t have symptoms. You can use these data as an early warning that levels of infections may be increasing or decreasing in your community." https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-nationaltrend.html https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html

Here's the charts from the latest UKHSA weekly COVID update for England as of Sept. 5: My text summary - New weekly COVID deaths reported at 127 (down 24% for the week ending Aug. 23) fell to their lowest level since late May. Among two other publicly reported indicators, weekly COVID cases (not an especially reliable indicator due to sparse testing) increased 4.4% for the week ending Aug. 28. But the positivity rate for COVID testing (7-day rolling average) continued declining down to 9% from a peak of almost 16% earlier in the summer. There was no updated data for COVID new hospital admissions since the last weekly report. The latest numbers are second consecutive week of data (reported deaths and testing positivity) showing England's spring-summer COVID surge is finally easing. https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#deaths Weekly COVID deaths from the recent low in May: Weekly data for deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate in England Up to and including 16 August 2024 (some recent prior week figures have been revised vs prior weekly reports): Date -- Amount 23 Aug 2024 -- 127 16 Aug 2024 -- 167 9 Aug 2024 -- 200 2 Aug 2024 -- 197 26 Jul 2024 -- 182 19 Jul 2024 -- 216 12 Jul 2024 -- 205 5 Jul 2024 -- 165 28 Jun 2024 -- 186 21 Jun 2024 -- 149 14 Jun 2024 -- 158 7 Jun 2024 -- 146 31 May 2024 -- 113 24 May 2024 -- 147 17 May 2024 -- 168 10 May 2024 -- 93 https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#cases https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#testing