Coronavirus news, week 28

1. Trump's touting of Regeneron is a two-edged sword for its maker, which faces additional problems based on its being developed off stem cells from an aborted fetus. (For that matter, the second link notes that's also true of Remdesivir.) Plus, Moderna, AstraZenica and Johnson and Johnson's vaccine development work all involve fetal stem cells. Beyond that, Regeneron has enough of its product for ... oh, 50,000 people if that.

Indeed, this is such a problem that wingnuts, not only at their own blogs and websites, but in comments poaching on liberally religious and secularist blogs, have been spinning like crazy on this aborted fetal cells issue. And failing.

2. Meanwhile, COVID cases have spiked again, with nine states, including the South Dakota where Gov. Kristi Noem hates American Indian check points but panders to Sturgis superspreaders, setting records on cases per day and South Dakota and a couple others setting death records.

 

Wingnuts have been spinning hard on this one as well, with websites like American Thinker, just linked, talking about things like "what is a case," when the CDC and state health departments have never changed their determination of what a COVID case is. 

Sorry, wingnuts, and sadly, wingnuts, it's all true. Witness the New Mexico resurgence.

3. Here in Texas, coronavirus 2020 has already lapped over into 2021, as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo announced last week it was scrubbing next year's event.

“With more than 1.2 million stock show guests, exhibitors, visitors and competitors converging into the various buildings on the Will Rogers complex during our 23-day show, the chances to harbor and spread coronavirus well beyond the North Texas region, especially in the midst of flu season, is too great a risk to take for the public good,” stock show president Brad Barnes said.

What else is there to say, other than? #WearADamnMask, rural COVIDIOT Texans. It's funny, or rather, "funny," and sad, that wingers don't see something like this, even, as a wake-up call.

4. In light of that? Increasing national mask rates from 50 percent to 95 percent could save THOUSANDS of lives.)

5. In a semi-cancelled North Texas event, the drive-through mini-State Fair has reportedly been as badly traffic-snarled as the Mixmaster.