Pandemic Part 10. A new paradigm?

 

February 17, 2022

The Center for Disease Control estimates that, taking the massive spread of Omicron around the country into account and the final relatively high vaccination rate in the country, 73% of the nation is now immune from the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, i.e. COVID 19.

Nobody is really sure exactly what that means.  But it might mean that we're entering a phase where the virus doesn't disappear, but it's much less disruptive to society.

It's still the case, however, that it remains a danger for the unvaccinated.

March 1, 2022

Wyoming's public health emergency shall expire on March 14.

March 21, 2022

A new variant of Omicron has developed, which is about 30% more transmissible than the already more transmissible Omicron.  It's spiking in Europe and in Hong Kong has caused an outbreak with a massive death rate, mostly concentrated in the unvaccinated elderly.

China has reported its first deaths in many months.

According to experts, the world is about 50% through the probable course of the pandemic.

April 14, 2022

Over 1,000,000 Americans have now died from the COVID 19.

July 22, 2022

President Biden has COVID 19.

At this point, two members of our four member family also have, with one having had it quite recently and finding it awful, but being grateful accordingly for having been vaccinated.

A new, more traditional type of vaccine, has now been approved.

September 20, 2022

On 60 Minutes over the weekend, President Biden stated; "The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over."  The HHS Secretary later confirmed that position.

Epidemiologically, it isn't over, but then neither is the plague's pandemic either.  The statement has been criticized, with 400 people per day dying of the disease, but by and large it reflects the mood of the public which has largely gone back to a new post Covid introduction, world in which COVID 19 is part of the background.

December 15, 2022

The new defense spending authorization includes a requirement that the Secretary of Defense rescind vaccination requirements for troops because, well because that's the idiotic sort of thing that politicians like to stick into bills.

All of the troops should be vaccinated.

December 24, 2022

China, which has not accepted western vaccines, reported 37,000,000 new vaccinations in a single day.

January 2, 2023

A new variant of Omicron, XBB.1.5, now makes up 40% of the new cases in the U.S.

And Covid is still killing.

January 20, 2023

Governor Gordon Tests Positive for COVID-19

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  Governor Mark Gordon has received results of a COVID-19 test that showed he is positive for the virus. The Governor is experiencing only minor symptoms at this time and will continue working from home on behalf of Wyoming. 

March 1, 2023

The Washington Post broke a story that the Department of Energy issued a report believing, with "low confidence", that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in a Chinese lab.

A really good analysis of this story can be found here:  

Why Scientists, Lawmakers & Diplomats Care Where COVID Began

In actuality, the Biden Administration early on ordered governmental intelligence agencies to get to the bottom of the virus' origin.  Eight intelligence agencies were assigned to the tasks, two of which have concluded, but with confidence doubts, that the virus was natural in origin. Two, we know now, felt the opposite, with it already known since 2021 what the FBI felt, with "moderate confidence" that the origin was a Chinese lab.  Two just haven't reported.

None of this kept some from claiming that it's now proven that the virus originated in the lab.

FWIW, private scientists, as opposed to intelligence agencies, overwhelmingly feel that it originated due to animal transfer in the Wuhan market.

March 18, 2023

Recent evidence points to raccoon dogs at the Wuhan market as the source.

April 11, 2023

President Biden declared the COVID emergency to be over.

August 22, 2023

Declared over or not, two new strains are on the loose and a new booster should be available mid September.

April 12, 2024

The CDC has found there's no link between the COVID vaccines and cardiac arrest in young people.

Not that this is a surprise.

It'll make no difference in the anti-scientific atmosphere of the day. A society that can believe that legalizing marijuana, which is largely untested and wholly unregulated, and that Donald Trump won hte 2020 election, will still believe that the vaccine is risky, but cause it wishes to.

June 15, 2024

Reuters has revealed that during the height of the pandemic, the US ran an anti-vax campaign in the Philippines to try to undermine Chinese efforts there.

There's no excuse for that whatsoever.

November 18, 2024

Is it the flu or is it COVID? One at-home test can tell you

Last prior installment:

Pandemic Part 9. Omicron becomes dominant

Monday, November 13, 1899. Guerilla warfare.

The Filipino Army commenced guerilla warfare against U.S. forces.

Aguinaldo retired from Bayambang, through the mountainous to Calasiao, Pangasinan with his wife, son, mother sister, and some Cabinet members

Last edition:

Sunday, November 12, 1899. Ending conventional armed resistance.

Labels: 1890s, 1899, Filipino Army, Philippine Insurrection

Saturday, November 11, 1899. The Battle of San Jacinto

The Battle of San Jacinto (Labanan sa San Jacinto, Batalla de San Jacinto) took place between Filipino forces and the United States Army.

Like mosts of these battles, it was an American victory in spite of American forces being no more experienced than Filipino and the fact that they were not fighting on their own ground.   The U.S. troops were of the 33d Volunteer Infantry, drawn from Texas.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 12, 1899. Battle of Kraaipan and a Homecoming in Vermont.

Labels: 1890s, 1899, Boer Armies, Boer War, British Army, British Empire, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South African Republic (Transvaal), Spanish American War, The Boer Republics, United Kingdom, Vermont

First U.S. Armor Engagement of World War Two Display, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

 Last edition:

M3 Stuart Light Tanks. Outside Display. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, Armor, Army, British Army, National Museum of Military Vehicles, North Africa, Tracked vehicles, United States Marine Corps, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

Sunday, November 5, 1944. The air and sea war off of Luzon.

A photograph taken seconds before a Japanese pilot crashed his plane into the USS Lexington. The Lexington was severely damaged in these attacks.

AMM 2/c Loyce Deen, a torpedo plane gunner, is buried at sea in his TBF Avenger  He was the only crewman buried in his airplane. November 5, 1944.

Task Force 38 struck targets on Luzon, losing 25 aircraft.  The USS Lexington was damaged in Kamikaze attacks.  The Japanese lost 400 planes and the cruiser Nachi.

The British 8th Army captured Ravenna.  The victory cutoff rail transportation to Bologna.

The British landed at Salonika.

"This M-4 medium tank is put thru the (?) in the mud by members of the Motor transport unit, near Nancy, France. 5 November, 1944. 761st Tank Battalion."  This M4 is an "Easy 8", the best of the wartime Shermans in U.S. use.  The 761st was an African American unit.

Last edition:

Saturday, November 4, 1944. Sir John Dill.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Antwerp Belgium, Artillery, Australian Army, British Army, Budapest Offensive, Burma, Indian Army, New Britain, Red Army, Royal Air Force, Washington DC, World War Two

Tuesday, October 24, 1944. Leyte Gulf, day two.

It was a major day of naval maneuvering off of Leyte Gulf.

The USS Princeton was hit by kamikazes and so badly damaged that it had to be scuttled.  The Japanese destroyer Wakaba was sunk by aircraft from the USS Franklin.  The Musashi was sunk in the Sibuyan Sea by U.S. aircraft.  T he USS Shark was sunk by Japanese warships.  The USS Darter ran aground in the Palawan Strait and was scuttled.

The Japanese prison ship Arisan Maru was sunk in the South China Sea by an American submarine. Only nine of the 1,781 Allied and civilian prisoners of war survived the sinking.

The 1st Cavalry Division landed on Samar.

Martial law was lifted in Hawaii.

The Soviets prevailed in the Riga Offensive.

The British entered Lamia, Greece.

The China Burma India Theatre was divided into the India-Burma Theater and the China Theater.

Hitler announces his intent to launch an offensive in the Ardennes.

Blood plasma refrigeration unit above was mounted on wheeled machine gun mount by enlisted men serving in France with the 1st Army since D-Day. S/Sgt. Homer N. Shrimplin, of Jelloway, Ohio, and Pvt. Frank Bozoyak, of Bordentown, N.J., are hitching the unit to their truck. 24 October, 1944.

Japanese-American infantrymen attend church services outside their billet in France. 24 October, 1944. 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Last edition:

Monday, October 23, 1944. The Largest Naval Battle In History.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Australian Navy, Battle of Leyte Gulf, boats and ships, France, German Kriegsmarine, Imperial Japanese Navy, U.S. Navy, Volkssturm, World War Two

Today in World War II History—October 23, 1939 & 1944

Today in World War II History—October 23, 1939 & 1944: 80 Years Ago—Oct. 23, 1944: Battle of Leyte Gulf begins as Japanese fleet lures the US Third Fleet away from the landing beaches at Leyte in the Philippines.

Last edition:

Today in World War II History—October 22, 1939 & 1944

Labels: 1930s, 1939, 1940s, 1944, Battle of Leyte Gulf, Imperial Japanese Navy, Philippines, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Sunday, October 22, 1944. Smokey Smith.

Medics administer blood plasma to an American casualty wounded when his division command post was shelled. Leyte Island, P.I. 22 October, 1944. 96th Infantry Division.  The wounded soldier is wearing M1942 Jungle Boots.  The medic has a painted camouflage helmet.

The Red Army reached the Norwegian border.

The Sovies prevailed in the Battle of Memel.  The Americans the same at Angaur.

The Japanese fleet assembled at Brunei sets sail for the Philippines.

Canadian Private Ernest "Smokey" Smith preformed the actions that resulted in his winning the Victoria Cross.

In Italy on the night of 21st–22nd October 1944, a Canadian Infantry Brigade was ordered to establish a bridgehead across the Savio River. The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada were selected as the spearhead of the attack, and in weather most unfavourable to the operation they crossed the river and captured their objective in spite of strong opposition from the enemy.

Torrential rain had caused the Savio River to rise six feet in five hours, and as the soft vertical banks made it impossible to bridge the river no tanks or anti-tank guns could be taken across the raging stream to the support of the rifle companies.

As the right forward company was consolidating its objective it was suddenly counter-attacked by a troop of three Mark V Panther tanks supported by two self-propelled guns and about thirty infantry and the situation appeared hopeless.

Under heavy fire from the approaching enemy tanks, Private Smith, showing great initiative and inspiring leadership, led his P.I.A.T. Group of two men across an open field to a position from which the P.I.A.T. could best be employed. Leaving one man on the weapon, Private Smith crossed the road with a Private James Tennant and obtained another P.I.A.T. Almost immediately an enemy tank came down the road firing its machine-guns along the line of the ditches. Private Smith's comrade, Private Tennant was wounded. At a range thirty feet and having to expose himself to the full view of the enemy, Private Smith fired the P.I.A.T. and hit the tank, putting it out of action. Ten German infantry immediately jumped off the back of the tank and charged him with Schmeissers and grenades. Without hesitation, Private Smith moved out on the road and with his Tommy gun at point-blank range, killed four Germans and drove the remainder back. Almost immediately another tank opened fire and more enemy infantry closed in on Smith's position. Obtaining some abandoned Tommy gun magazines from a ditch, he steadfastly held his position, protecting Private Tennant and fighting the enemy with his Tommy gun until they finally gave up and withdrew in disorder.

One tank and both self-propelled guns had been destroyed by this time, but yet another tank swept the area with fire from a longer range. Private Smith, still showing utter contempt for enemy fire, helped his wounded friend to cover and obtained medical aid for him behind a nearby building. He then returned to his position beside the road to await the possibility of a further enemy attack.

No further immediate attack developed, and as a result, the battalion was able to consolidate the bridgehead position so vital to the success of the whole operation, which led to the capture of San Giorgio Di Cesena and a further advance to the Ronco River.

Thus, by the dogged determination, outstanding devotion to duty and superb gallantry of this private soldier, his comrades were so inspired that the bridgehead was held firm against all enemy attacks, pending the arrival of tanks and anti-tank guns some hours later.

Smith survived the war and joined the Canadian Army again in 1950, at the start of the Korean War.  He retired from military service in 1964, after which he owned a travel agency.

With rifles slung across their backs, these four combat-clad U.S. infantrymen are bound for mass in a Catholic church in Nancy, France. 22 October, 1944.  NOte that all of these men are wearing older pattern field jackets and leggings.

Related thread:

Today in World War II History—October 22, 1939 & 1944

Labels: 1930s, 1939, 1940s, 1944, Blog Mirror, Home Front, Poland, USSR, Weapons, World War Two

Last edition:

Saturday, October 21, 1944. The Nemmersdorf Massacre.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, 1944 Election, Battle of Aachen, Battle of Leyte, Franklin Roosevelt, Nemmersdorf Massacre, Palau, Palau Island, Prisoners of War, Rape and the Red Army, Red Army, War Crimes, World War Two

Today in World War II History—October 20, 1939 & 1944

Today in World War II History—October 20, 1939 & 1944: 80 Years Ago—Oct. 20, 1944: US Sixth Army lands on Leyte in the Philippines, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who declares, "I have returned."

Tuesday, October 17, 1944 The Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Diversionary air attacks take place in support of the upcoming landings at Leyte gulf.

The Greek civil war commenced with fighting in Athens.

Captured anti aircraft gun, October 17, 1944.

Last edition:

Monday, October 16, 1944. Fascist Hungary.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, 1946, 1950s, 1957, Albania, Albanian resistance movements, Army, Fascism, Hungary, Indian Army, Italy, Portugal, Red Army, U.S. Air Force, World War Two

Saturday, October 14, 1944. Rommel kills himself.

A German Mark V Panther tank has been knocked out by the U.S. Army Air Corps. It stands alone in this field near Ploy, France. 14 October, 1944.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, rather than face trial for his remote association with the July 20 plot, killed himself.  He was met first by representatives of the German government and his house surrounded and given the choice between suicide with a state funeral and immunity from prosecution for his family, vs a trial.  The German public was told that he died from wounds associated with an Allied strafing run on his car.

German observation posts in Aachen, Germany, are targets for these M10s and their three-inch guns of "A" Co., 634th TD Bn. 14 October, 1944.  Company A, 634th Tank Destroyer Battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division.

The Allies took Athens and the Piraeus.  British forces landed at Corfu.

German and Italian Social Republic forces took Domodossola, Italy from partisans.

Troops in Italy eating K rations, looking a lot like Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe depictions.

Two soldiers with a tapped keg of some kind.

The Germans withdrew from Niš, Yugoslavia.

The 81st Infantry Division replaced the 1st Marine Division at Peleliu.

Formosa was hit again by Task Force 38.  Task Force 38.4 conducted air raids on Luzon.

The Canadian frigate Magog was damaged beyond repair in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by the U-1223.

Last edition:

Friday, October 13, 1944. Black Friday for the Black Watch.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Antwerp Belgium, Army, British Army, Canadian Army, France, Greece, Italy, Lapland War, Latvia, Netherlands, Red Army, Taiwan, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Sunday, October 8, 1899. Marines take Noveleta, Luzon.

Marines captured Noveleta, Luzon.

The Marines had not yet taken on their modern form, and remained very much attached to the Navy at this point in time.  It would not really be until World  War One when the Marine Corps as we currently imagine it would start to form.

Last edition:

Monday, October 2, 1899. An action in the Philippines.

Labels: 1890s, 1899, Army, Clothing, Kansas National Guard, Philippine Insurrection, Weapons

Sunday, September 24, 1944. Market Garden reaches the Rhine.

Gendarmes of Epinal sneak up on German sniper.

The British took Deume, Netherlands. 30th Corps reached the south bank of the Rhine near Arnhem.  Other elements entered Germany southwest of Nijmegen.

The Italian government reopened the case of the murder of Giacomo Matteotti which had occurred in 1924.

The U-596 was damaged by US aircraft in Salamis Bay and scuttled.

Task Force 38 hit Japanese targets on the Visayan Islands.

Marine color Guard aboard a Coast Guard vessel, burial at sea, September 24, 1924.

Last edition:

Saturday, September 23, 1944. The Fala Speech.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Animals, Army, British Army, Canadian Army, Dogs, Eindhoven, Estonia, Franklin Roosevelt, Hungary, Operation Market Garden, Palau Island, Red Army, Royal Air Force, World War Two