Pandemic 2020

This doesn't sound good.

Coronavirus Mutation Concern Verified by Largest COVID-19 Viral Sequence Analysis in U.S.

Argonne computational resources supported the largest comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 genome sequences in the U.S. and helped corroborate growing evidence of a protein mutation.

Before COVID-19 first entered the United States in March, Houston Methodist Hospital had already begun preparations to test for and sequence the virus on a large scale, given the news coming out of Wuhan, China.

Between March 5, when the first case turned up in metropolitan Houston, and July 7, physician/researchers at Houston Methodist sequenced the genome of over 5,085 strains of the virus. These accounted for nearly 10 percent of the COVID-19 cases that came through the 2,400-bed Houston Methodist health system, during two distinct waves that occurred in that time frame.

“99 percent isn’t 100 percent. If there is a mutation that accounts for just one percent of the population, and you suppress or eradicate the majority, you can drive up some trait of that one percent, whether it’s virulence or transmissibility, and then it’s a different ballgame.” — James Davis, Argonne staff scientist

Collaborators from the University of Texas at Austin, Weill Cornell Medical College, the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory worked together to analyze the data and try to correlate patient outcomes with viral traits.

“This is the largest viral sequence analysis in the U.S. right now and it’s one of the most comprehensive, continual snapshots of sequences that dates to the beginning of the outbreak,” said James Davis, a staff scientist in Argonne’s Data Science and Learning division. “It also provides a much clearer picture of how the strains are evolving.”

During the course of the research, the group helped solidify mounting observations and concerns internationally that a mutation in the virus’s spike protein had become dominant, driving COVID-19’s transmissibility rates as witnessed by the second wave that surged through Houston around mid-May.

A paper describing their methods and results was published in the journal mBio on October 30 ,2020.

That mutation in the spike — responsible for infiltrating the human immune system and the current target of vaccine research — was in an amino acid called Gly614 and was the result of one protein, aspartic acid, mutating into another, glycine.

During the earliest parts of the pandemic, March through April, Gly614 was just one variant among many others. But during the second wave in May, Davis recalls, all of the cases they were sequencing at Houston Methodist showed that Gly614 had proliferated to the point of becoming the dominant amino acid in the spike protein.

In fact, it was found in over 99 percent of the sequenced variants.
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Here is a way to potentially grow a lot of vaccines or perhaps even antibodies cheaply in a short period of time. I imagine you could use cannabis plants to do this too. The next pandemic we could be waiting for harvest time!
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First-Ever Flu Vaccine Derived From Tobacco Plants Just Smashed Clinical Trials
CLARE WATSON9 NOVEMBER 2020
A new flu vaccine grown in plants has been put to the test in two large-scale clinical trials, a first for vaccine research.

The vaccine contained virus-like particles which resembled circulating flu strains, extracted from native Australian tobacco relatives that were genetically instructed to produce the viral proteins.

The two trials combined involved nearly 23,000 people and the results suggest that the plant-derived vaccine is not only safe, but comparable to current commercial flu vaccines.

"To the best of our knowledge, these studies and the clinical development programme that preceded them are the largest demonstration to date of the potential for a plant-based platform to produce a human vaccine that can be safe, immunogenic, and effective," the research team wrote.

Every year, the vaccines that protect us against influenza have to be reformulated for the next flu season, which is a huge undertaking.

The influenza virus is a chameleon of sorts, constantly changing the protein molecules it displays on its outer surface, and this has researchers feverishly looking for ways to improve our current vaccine technology.

Most influenza vaccines are currently made using virus particles grown in and harvested from chicken eggs or lab-grown cells, which takes months even after scientists work out which flu strains (and surface proteins) they need to target.

Plants, which can be engineered to produce select proteins and cultivated at scale, could be an alternative, helping to boost our capacity to produce seasonal flu vaccines.

The technique might also help to overcome complications encountered in the way current flu vaccines are manufactured that sometimes renders vaccines less effective.

In this system, the researchers used an Australian relative of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana benthamiana, engineered to produce just the outer shell of influenza viruses. These virus-like particles are then extracted and purified under strict conditions to make a flu vaccine.

The researchers tested their plant-derived vaccine in two clinical trials, funded by the Canadian biotech company which developed the technique, and no major safety concerns were reported.

Phase III trials testing safety and efficacy like this are usually one of the last hurdles vaccines need to clear before they can be approved for widespread use.

But keep in mind that even if a flu vaccine is approved as safe and effective, any manufacturer needs to be able to produce millions of doses every year, which could be a challenge for vaccine-producing plants.

The first trial involved more than 10,100 adults from Asia, Europe and North America, aged 18 to 64 years, and it was designed to show that the vaccine could prevent 70 percent of people in the trial from developing flu-like or other respiratory illnesses in one flu season.

Although this high benchmark was not reached in the trial, the vaccine did protect about a third of people from flu strains circulating in the 2017-2018 Northern Hemisphere winter that were a match for the viral particles in this vaccine.

That result might sound low, but the efficacy of commercial flu vaccines often varies year to year depending on how well a vaccine matches the different flu strains circulating that winter.

The researchers concluded, based on data collected during 2017-2018, that their plant-derived vaccine provided a "broadly similar" level of protection as commercial vaccines used in that particularly long flu season, which is a fair result.

The second study recruited another 12,700 people aged 65 years and over. This is quite important because elderly people's immune systems tend to wane with age, making them more vulnerable to contracting infections.

"Like other influenza vaccines, antibody responses to the [plant-derived] vaccine also diminished with age," the researchers said.

The plant-derived vaccine stimulated less of an antibody response in older people, a somewhat expected result, but it did activate a substantial increase in immune cells ready to respond to flu-like infections.

Promisingly, the protection the vaccine granted people from flu-like illnesses in the 2018-2019 flu season was still on par with a commercially available flu vaccine used that season.

"The field of plant-derived vaccines has grown a lot in the past 28 years, since it was first shown [in 1992] that viral proteins could be expressed in plants," John Tregoning, an infectious disease researcher from Imperial College London, said in a commentary about the latest trial results.

"This is the first time a plant vaccine has been tested in a [human] clinical trial," Tregoning added. "It is a milestone for this technology and sows the seeds for other plant-based vaccines and therapeutics."

If all goes well, this research might one day give us another way to manufacture seasonal flu vaccines that could also be scaled up in the event of another flu pandemic.

In their paper, the researchers claim that their plant-based system can produce the first doses of a newly designed flu vaccine within two months of identifying an emerging influenza strain.

But there is likely still a long road ahead navigating regulatory approvals for this vaccine, so watch this space.

The research was published in The Lancet.

hillbill said:

104,000 new cases in USA Today shatters yesterday’s record of 100,000. Gruesome

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it's a cuomo blue state hoax to steal votes! STOP THE COUNT!..oh wait..what?

DIY-HP-LED said:

Some People Already Have Antibodies That Recognize Covid-19, Thanks to Common Colds

A new study suggests that a small portion of the population carries antibodies that respond to the coronavirus behind covid-19 without having been infected—antibodies lifted from previous bouts with the common cold caused by related viruses.

gizmodo.com

Some People Already Have Antibodies That Recognize Covid-19, Thanks to Common Colds

A new study suggests that a small portion of the population carries antibodies that respond to the coronavirus behind covid-19 without having been infected—antibodies lifted from previous bouts with the common cold caused by related viruses.

The research is the latest to indicate that some people may have a degree of preexisting immunity to the coronavirus. But though it’s possible these findings could help explain some trends in the pandemic, such as children being less vulnerable to severe illness, it’s still unclear just how protective this borrowed immunity could really be.

The new study, published in Science on Friday, tested blood samples collected from adults and children in the UK prior to the known start of the pandemic in December 2019, as well as from people early on in the pandemic who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for covid-19. These samples were compared to people who had confirmed covid-19.

Common Cold Coronaviruses Might Prime the Immune System to Recognize SARS-CoV-2
A group of scientists think they’re closer to understanding why some people’s immune systems seem…
Read more

As expected, most of the confirmed cases had a diverse group of antibodies geared to respond to the virus’s spike protein, used by the virus to infect cells. These came from all three of the antibody types that combat viral infection (IgG, IgM, IgA). But in some uninfected patients, including those confirmed to have a recent common cold coronavirus infection, the researchers also found antibodies that appeared to react to SARS-CoV-2. “Our results from multiple independent assays demonstrated the presence of preexisting antibodies recognizing SARS-CoV-2 in uninfected individuals,” the researchers wrote.
more...

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Type O..has the more immune effect; they also get less colds.

Type O- is the universal type and can be given to anyone for blood transfusion.

Well, here it is, back to Oregon's governor orders business restrictions like what we had last March only this time, the number of people coming down with Trump's flu is staggeringly higher.

Freeze, Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown restricts businesses again as COVID-19 cases surge

Restrictions under the new framework apply statewide, not just in counties with acute coronavirus spread. And the new restrictions will be in place in some parts of Oregon for more than two weeks. Brown said Multnomah County will be under the new guidelines for at least four weeks, and other hot spots will also face longer restrictions.

“Maybe we thought the fight was over, but it’s not," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist. "This is likely the most dangerous time in Oregon.”

New regulations include:

• Limiting restaurants and bars to take-out service only.
• Closing gyms and other indoor recreational facilities, museums, and indoor entertainment like theaters.
• Closing outdoor recreational facilities, zoos, gardens, and entertainment venues. City parks and playgrounds will remain open.
• Requiring all businesses to mandate that employees work from home when possible, and to close offices to the public.
• Limiting grocery and retail stores to 75% capacity and encouraging curbside pickup service.
• Prohibiting visits at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
• Limiting social get togethers, whether indoors or out, to no more than six people from two households.
• Limiting worship services to 25 people when indoors and 50 people when outdoors.

The increased regulations are the toughest steps Brown has taken since a series of executive orders in the early days of the pandemic. But they also aren’t as widespread.

This is going to piss off the people who live on the east side of the state:

While Brown’s new directive includes a lighter touch for some businesses than the last shutdown, the governor also promised Friday to take a hard line with individuals who ignore restrictions on social gatherings — a key reason for exponential case growth the state has seen. Brown said she’s directing Oregon State Police to work local law enforcement on potentially ticketing, or even arresting, people for breaking the rules.

“In terms of individuals, I am not asking you,” Brown said. “I am ordering you.”

Our right wing authoritaryian types are going to go into full blown melt down hearing that from a woman who is both liberal and a lesbian. They are fine with the orange man sending troops to beat, gas and arbitrarily snatch Portlanders from the streets. The others. But orders that affect THEM? Might as well tell them we are coming for their guns. Oh, the humanity!

Breaking a governor’s emergency order is a class C misdemeanor in Oregon. Businesses have long faced possible penalties for flouting regulations.

Despite looming warnings of a case surge in the fall, Oregon officials have shied away from once again shutting down portions of the state economy, but have also warned that it could be necessary if COVID-19 spread gets out of control.


The increase in cases is believed to be at least partly due to colder autumn weather, which is driving people indoors for small gatherings that would otherwise occur in the open air.

“What’s causing this spread?" Sidelinger said. “Two words: Social gatherings.”

So, that's it. Whatever hopes we had of getting together with others over the holidays are over. The kids are going to be a mess. But it's what we have to do. As Trump put it, I am going to "let the virus dominate me".

Fogdog said:

Well, here it is, back to Oregon's governor orders business restrictions like what we had last March only this time, the number of people coming down with Trump's flu is staggeringly higher.

Freeze, Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown restricts businesses again as COVID-19 cases surge

Restrictions under the new framework apply statewide, not just in counties with acute coronavirus spread. And the new restrictions will be in place in some parts of Oregon for more than two weeks. Brown said Multnomah County will be under the new guidelines for at least four weeks, and other hot spots will also face longer restrictions.

“Maybe we thought the fight was over, but it’s not," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist. "This is likely the most dangerous time in Oregon.”

New regulations include:

• Limiting restaurants and bars to take-out service only.
• Closing gyms and other indoor recreational facilities, museums, and indoor entertainment like theaters.
• Closing outdoor recreational facilities, zoos, gardens, and entertainment venues. City parks and playgrounds will remain open.
• Requiring all businesses to mandate that employees work from home when possible, and to close offices to the public.
• Limiting grocery and retail stores to 75% capacity and encouraging curbside pickup service.
• Prohibiting visits at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
• Limiting social get togethers, whether indoors or out, to no more than six people from two households.
• Limiting worship services to 25 people when indoors and 50 people when outdoors.

The increased regulations are the toughest steps Brown has taken since a series of executive orders in the early days of the pandemic. But they also aren’t as widespread.

This is going to piss off the people who live on the east side of the state:

While Brown’s new directive includes a lighter touch for some businesses than the last shutdown, the governor also promised Friday to take a hard line with individuals who ignore restrictions on social gatherings — a key reason for exponential case growth the state has seen. Brown said she’s directing Oregon State Police to work local law enforcement on potentially ticketing, or even arresting, people for breaking the rules.

“In terms of individuals, I am not asking you,” Brown said. “I am ordering you.”

Our right wing authoritaryian types are going to go into full blown melt down hearing that from a woman who is both liberal and a lesbian. They are fine with the orange man sending troops to beat, gas and arbitrarily snatch Portlanders from the streets. The others. But orders that affect THEM? Might as well tell them we are coming for their guns. Oh, the humanity!

Breaking a governor’s emergency order is a class C misdemeanor in Oregon. Businesses have long faced possible penalties for flouting regulations.

Despite looming warnings of a case surge in the fall, Oregon officials have shied away from once again shutting down portions of the state economy, but have also warned that it could be necessary if COVID-19 spread gets out of control.


The increase in cases is believed to be at least partly due to colder autumn weather, which is driving people indoors for small gatherings that would otherwise occur in the open air.

“What’s causing this spread?" Sidelinger said. “Two words: Social gatherings.”

So, that's it. Whatever hopes we had of getting together with others over the holidays are over. The kids are going to be a mess. But it's what we have to do. As Trump put it, I am going to "let the virus dominate me".

Freeze, Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown restricts businesses again as COVID-19 cases surge

The order will last at least two weeks and also restricts private gatherings and worship services. Some businesses and schools will be allowed to continue operations.

www.opb.org

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I live in Newtown Connecticut (yea, that one) & we've had a mandatory face mask rule in effect since April, due to the fact that we are 70 miles from the epicenter of COVID-19 on the East Coast, New York City
Wednesday the Governor announced a curfew from 10:00 PM until 5:00 AM & yesterday my wife came home from her school where she teaches & told me that her school, the largest one in the State of CT (1200 students) is shutting it's doors next week and going totally virtual.
This school is in Bridgeport, the largest city in CT, and primarily serves mostly low income children of color/immigrants
They're fucked now because some don't even have internet, nevermind a PC & how do you teach kindergarteners online?
Plus, how are the parents going to deal with it?
It's going to be some fucked up winter that's for sure.

Fogdog said:

Well, here it is, back to Oregon's governor orders business restrictions like what we had last March only this time, the number of people coming down with Trump's flu is staggeringly higher.

Freeze, Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown restricts businesses again as COVID-19 cases surge

Restrictions under the new framework apply statewide, not just in counties with acute coronavirus spread. And the new restrictions will be in place in some parts of Oregon for more than two weeks. Brown said Multnomah County will be under the new guidelines for at least four weeks, and other hot spots will also face longer restrictions.

“Maybe we thought the fight was over, but it’s not," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist. "This is likely the most dangerous time in Oregon.”

New regulations include:

• Limiting restaurants and bars to take-out service only.
• Closing gyms and other indoor recreational facilities, museums, and indoor entertainment like theaters.
• Closing outdoor recreational facilities, zoos, gardens, and entertainment venues. City parks and playgrounds will remain open.
• Requiring all businesses to mandate that employees work from home when possible, and to close offices to the public.
• Limiting grocery and retail stores to 75% capacity and encouraging curbside pickup service.
• Prohibiting visits at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
• Limiting social get togethers, whether indoors or out, to no more than six people from two households.
• Limiting worship services to 25 people when indoors and 50 people when outdoors.

The increased regulations are the toughest steps Brown has taken since a series of executive orders in the early days of the pandemic. But they also aren’t as widespread.

This is going to piss off the people who live on the east side of the state:

While Brown’s new directive includes a lighter touch for some businesses than the last shutdown, the governor also promised Friday to take a hard line with individuals who ignore restrictions on social gatherings — a key reason for exponential case growth the state has seen. Brown said she’s directing Oregon State Police to work local law enforcement on potentially ticketing, or even arresting, people for breaking the rules.

“In terms of individuals, I am not asking you,” Brown said. “I am ordering you.”

Our right wing authoritaryian types are going to go into full blown melt down hearing that from a woman who is both liberal and a lesbian. They are fine with the orange man sending troops to beat, gas and arbitrarily snatch Portlanders from the streets. The others. But orders that affect THEM? Might as well tell them we are coming for their guns. Oh, the humanity!

Breaking a governor’s emergency order is a class C misdemeanor in Oregon. Businesses have long faced possible penalties for flouting regulations.

Despite looming warnings of a case surge in the fall, Oregon officials have shied away from once again shutting down portions of the state economy, but have also warned that it could be necessary if COVID-19 spread gets out of control.


The increase in cases is believed to be at least partly due to colder autumn weather, which is driving people indoors for small gatherings that would otherwise occur in the open air.

“What’s causing this spread?" Sidelinger said. “Two words: Social gatherings.”

So, that's it. Whatever hopes we had of getting together with others over the holidays are over. The kids are going to be a mess. But it's what we have to do. As Trump put it, I am going to "let the virus dominate me".

Freeze, Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown restricts businesses again as COVID-19 cases surge

The order will last at least two weeks and also restricts private gatherings and worship services. Some businesses and schools will be allowed to continue operations.

www.opb.org

Click to expand...

After Jan she will have the Feds at her back, until then hold the fort as best you can, razor wire and camp covid are the final option for those who won't comply. Storming legislatures armed to the teeth will get someone killed next time, or charged with insurrection. Joe is gonna take this shit as seriously as you would and if someone is in the way of saving hundreds of thousands of lives, they won't be for long.

Common Coronavirus Mutation May Actually Make COVID-19 More Susceptible to a Vaccine

Mutation is not expected to interfere with effectiveness of vaccines under development.

A new study published in Science confirms that SARS-CoV-2 has mutated in a way that’s enabled it to spread quickly around the world, but the spike mutation may also make the virus more susceptible to a vaccine.

The new strain of coronavirus, called D614G, emerged in Europe and has become the most common in the world. Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows the D614G strain replicates faster and is more transmissible than the virus, originating in China, that spread at the beginning of the pandemic.

There were bright spots in the study findings: While the D614G strain spreads faster, in animal studies it was not associated with more severe disease, and the strain is slightly more sensitive to neutralization by antibody drugs.

The study published on November 12, 2020, provides some of the first concrete findings about how SARS-CoV-2 is evolving.

“The D614G virus outcompetes and outgrows the ancestral strain by about 10-fold and replicates extremely efficiently in primary nasal epithelial cells, which are a potentially important site for person-to-person transmission,” said Ralph Baric, professor of epidemiology at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health and professor of microbiology and immunology at the UNC School of Medicine.

Baric has studied coronaviruses for more than three decades and was integral in the development of remdesivir, the first FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19.

Researchers believe the D614G strain of coronavirus dominates because it increases the spike protein’s ability to open cells for the virus to enter. These crown-like spikes give the coronavirus its name.

The D614G mutation causes a flap on the tip of one spike to pop open, allowing the virus to infect cells more efficiently but also creating a pathway to the virus’ vulnerable core.

With one flap open, it’s easier for antibodies — like the ones in the vaccines currently being tested — to infiltrate and disable the virus.

For the recent study, Baric Lab researchers — including first author Yixuan J. Hou — worked in collaboration with Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Peter Halfmann, both virologists on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The original spike protein had a ‘D’ at this position, and it was replaced by a ‘G,'” Kawaoka said. “Several papers had already described that this mutation makes the protein more functional and more efficient at getting into cells.”

That earlier work, however, relied on a pseudotyped virus that included the receptor-binding protein but was not authentic. Using reverse genetics, Baric’s team replicated a matched pair of mutant SARS-CoV-2 viruses that encoded D or G at position 614 and compared basic property analysis using cell lines, primary human respiratory cells, and mouse and hamster cells.

Kawaoka and Halfmann contributed their unique coronavirus study model, which uses hamsters. The University of Wisconsin-Madison team — including Shiho Chiba, who ran the hamster experiments — performed replication and airborne transmission studies with both the original virus and the mutated version created by Baric and Hou.

They found that the mutated virus not only replicates about 10 times faster — it’s also much more infectious.

Hamsters were inoculated with one virus or the other. The next day, eight uninfected hamsters were placed into cages next to infected hamsters. There was a divider between them so they could not touch, but air could pass between the cages.

Researchers began looking for replication of the virus in the uninfected animals on day two. Both viruses passed between animals via airborne transmission, but the timing was different.

With the mutant virus, the researchers saw transmission to six out of eight hamsters within two days, and to all the hamsters by day four. With the original virus, they saw no transmission on day two, though all of the exposed animals were infected by day four.

“We saw that the mutant virus transmits better airborne than the [original] virus, which may explain why this virus dominated in humans,” Kawaoka said.

The researchers also examined the pathology of the two coronavirus strains. Once hamsters were infected, they presented essentially the same viral load and symptoms. (The hamsters with the mutated strain lost slightly more weight while sick.) This suggests that while the mutant virus is much better at infecting hosts, it doesn’t cause significantly worse illness.
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Jimdamick said:

I live in Newtown Connecticut (yea, that one) & we've had a mandatory face mask rule in effect since April, due to the fact that we are 70 miles from the epicenter of COVID-19 on the East Coast, New York City.
Now, Wednesday the Governor announced a curfew from 10:00 PM until 5:00 AM & yesterday my wife came home from her school where she teaches & told me that her school, the largest one in the State of CT (1200 students) is shutting it's doors next week and going totally virtual.
This school is in Bridgeport, the largest city in CT, and primarily serves mostly low income children of color/immigrants
They're fucked now because some don't even have internet, nevermind a PC & how do you teach kindergarteners on line?
Plus, how are the parents going to deal with it?
It's going to be some fucked up winter that's for sure.

Click to expand...

We never even opened up schools in my district except for special needs kids. Online learning sucks and not just for kindergarten either. What teenager is going to stay behind a computer desk during school hours without supervision? It's completely unrealistic. Even with internet access, my HS age kids fell behind last year when we went virtual. I've taken measures to keep my kids on track this year. Other parents don't have the options I have. As you say, some don't even don't have internet access. We simply aren't prepared for this. Also, as you say, our public school system meets more than just educational needs. This is going to fuck up a generation.

I think we are going to need to keep schools open throughout the year in order to give kids the chance to catch up. Also smaller class sizes, more teachers, more counseling. You just watch, the Republican controlled Senate is going to fight Biden and Pelosi tooth and nail to prevent them from funding mitigation measures.

Fuck Trump and his "it will go away, don't test for it because I might be proven wrong" presidency.

Fogdog said:

We never even opened up schools in my district except for special needs kids. Online learning sucks and not just for kindergarten either. What teenager is going to stay behind a computer desk during school hours without supervision? It's completely unrealistic. Even with internet access, my HS age kids fell behind last year when we went virtual. I've taken measures to keep my kids on track this year. Other parents don't have the options I have. As you say, some don't even don't have internet access. We simply aren't prepared for this. Also, as you say, our public school system meets more than just educational needs. This is going to fuck up a generation.

I think we are going to need to keep schools open throughout the year in order to give kids the chance to catch up. Also smaller class sizes, more teachers, more counseling. You just watch, the Republican controlled Senate is going to fight Biden and Pelosi tooth and nail to prevent them from funding mitigation measures.

Fuck Trump and his "it will go away, don't test for it because I might be proven wrong" presidency.

Click to expand...

Georgia is to be decided and Donald has more headlines to make, cross your fingers and toes. What happened to America after sputnik? What was the reaction to it and what were the economic consequences of it in the decades after? Regan killed the federal department of education as the first order of business, there's your answer and it is an old one that does not change. History and civics are viewed as useless topics by citizens who don't know who they are and what they are suppose to stand for.

Fogdog said:

This is going to fuck up a generation.

Click to expand...

They've named/designated certain generations Boomers/Gen X/Gen Z/Millennials & now we have the Generation COVID-19, which truly is fucked.
Think about it.
The lost education/job opportunities/social interaction that will never, ever be regained.
Fucking tragic for sure.

Fogdog said:

We never even opened up schools in my district except for special needs kids. Online learning sucks and not just for kindergarten either. What teenager is going to stay behind a computer desk during school hours without supervision? It's completely unrealistic. Even with internet access, my HS age kids fell behind last year when we went virtual. I've taken measures to keep my kids on track this year. Other parents don't have the options I have. As you say, some don't even don't have internet access. We simply aren't prepared for this. Also, as you say, our public school system meets more than just educational needs. This is going to fuck up a generation.

I think we are going to need to keep schools open throughout the year in order to give kids the chance to catch up. Also smaller class sizes, more teachers, more counseling. You just watch, the Republican controlled Senate is going to fight Biden and Pelosi tooth and nail to prevent them from funding mitigation measures.

Fuck Trump and his "it will go away, don't test for it because I might be proven wrong" presidency.

Click to expand...

You can transform a society in 20 years with education, it's really the only way and social/emotional training should be as important as PE, there is plenty of evidence to support this too. Pour on not just money, but resources and caring and it can happen.

Jimdamick said:

They've named/designated certain generations Boomers/Gen X/Gen Z/Millennials & now we have the Generation COVID-19, which truly is fucked.
Think about it.
The lost education/job opportunities/social interaction that will never, ever be regained.
Fucking tragic for sure.

Click to expand...

What they lost in school they have made up for while attending Trump University for 4 years, it provides a truly excellent education and we've all been there with them.

Fogdog said:

We never even opened up schools in my district except for special needs kids. Online learning sucks and not just for kindergarten either. What teenager is going to stay behind a computer desk during school hours without supervision? It's completely unrealistic. Even with internet access, my HS age kids fell behind last year when we went virtual. I've taken measures to keep my kids on track this year. Other parents don't have the options I have. As you say, some don't even don't have internet access. We simply aren't prepared for this. Also, as you say, our public school system meets more than just educational needs. This is going to fuck up a generation.

I think we are going to need to keep schools open throughout the year in order to give kids the chance to catch up. Also smaller class sizes, more teachers, more counseling. You just watch, the Republican controlled Senate is going to fight Biden and Pelosi tooth and nail to prevent them from funding mitigation measures.

Fuck Trump and his "it will go away, don't test for it because I might be proven wrong" presidency.

Click to expand...

I think school for life is where we should go. Let anyone who wants to learn have the ability to put in the work inside a structure that helps them do as much as they can. Education should be 24/7/365.

People come from too many situations to kill their ability to access school before they are an adult.

In today’s news, the latest one-day increase in new cases (for yesterday) is ~184,000....

Jimdamick said:

They've named/designated certain generations Boomers/Gen X/Gen Z/Millennials & now we have the Generation COVID-19, which truly is fucked.
Think about it.
The lost education/job opportunities/social interaction that will never, ever be regained.
Fucking tragic for sure.

Click to expand...

I can't help but hold out the hope that we take this generational gap seriously. I think Biden's talk about getting additional funds to schools is the first thing to act on. If that doesn't happen then game over.

hanimmal said:

I think school for life is where we should go. Let anyone who wants to learn have the ability to put in the work inside a structure that helps them do as much as they can. Education should be 24/7/365.

People come from too many situations to kill their ability to access school before they are an adult.

Click to expand...

I don't know about the 7/24/365 bit. Kids have to play too. That's where they develop creativity. For the next year or so, catching up is needed. So, yeah, we all need to step up if we are going to avoid a lost generation. Not kids. Adults need to step up.

Or not, in which case we've lost a generation.

I'm trying to be optimistic but I don't see enough people who understand what their role is.

A year or so of interruption is not a Lost Genetation

Fogdog said:

I don't know about the 7/24/365 bit. Kids have to play too. That's where they develop creativity. For the next year or so, catching up is needed. So, yeah, we all need to step up if we are going to avoid a lost generation. Not kids. Adults need to step up.

Or not, in which case we've lost a generation.

I'm trying to be optimistic but I don't see enough people who understand what their role is.

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I mean the schools are open around the clock. Have resources available at all times for people to be able to use to advance their education on their own time.

Have everything some kind of hybrid of home and school for adults to be able to come in and work in a structured environment for things like testing and when they are getting stuck on something, special topics etc. We are more and more a 24 hour society.

I am talking a bit out of my depth with it, but I just think of all that unused infrastructure closing down buildings 70% (bullshit statistic, but schools close about 4 pm to 6am, and breaks) of the time.

The only thing I know is we would of course keep kids away from adult students. Because too many weirdo's.