D&D and the rising pandemic

[Zardnaar]

Lawns are honestly terrible, invasive things.

English kind of invented them but they have the weather to support it.

Putting lawns in desert areas that are short of water.......

I never water mine as it's wet enough here.

Interesting take on them.

 

[Zardnaar]

Rent-A-Goat is awesome. They are excellent for clearing brambles, thorns, blackberries, and ivy off of steep slopes, where mechanical removal would be very difficult and expensive. They set up a temporary fence around the area, lock a few goats inside, and leave them for a few days. For large areas, they deploy a whole herd, complete with goat herders...450 goats can clear an acre a day, according to the website. All the brambles are completely gone, roots and all, and the goats are fat and happy.

My company has used them in the past to clear out blackberry brambles from an abandoned house. It had an overgrown, steeply-sloped backyard (nearly a 1:1 slope) with old lumber, appliances, and other junk all tangled up in it. Rent A Goat came by, set up a temporary chain link fence, and put five goats inside with a little pop-up shelter and water trough. By the end of the week, that slope was completely barren. And fertilized. It would have taken twice as long, and cost twice as much, to clear that backyard otherwise.

That is brilliant.

 

[CapnZapp]

People, this thread is supposed to be about the pandemic.

Now get your goats off my lawn!

 

[Imaculata]

It's flu season, which means every cough means it 'could' be covid, and even mild flu symptoms are super scary.

I took two covid self tests due to feeling rather ill this week, and having to cough constantly. But both came out negative, thank Zeus. Having to stick cuetips up your nose is a bit uncomfortable. But I want to make sure that friends and family are safe, so I'll gladly make that sacrifice.

 

[Ryujin]

People, this thread is supposed to be about the pandemic.

Now get your goats off my lawn!

It's a metaphor.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It's flu season, which means every cough means it 'could' be covid, and even mild flu symptoms are super scary.

I took two covid self tests due to feeling rather ill this week, and having to cough constantly. But both came out negative, thank Zeus. Having to stick cuetips up your nose is a bit uncomfortable. But I want to make sure that friends and family are safe, so I'll gladly make that sacrifice.

I've had five or six of those tests in the past year. So far so good.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Thought I'd post a link to this-

Omicron’s Explosive Growth Is a Warning Sign

We don’t know how severe Omicron is, but we do know it’s spreading very fast.

www.theatlantic.com

Preliminary data on Omicron shows, according to the article-

"In other words, Omicron is spreading in highly immune populations as quickly as the original virus did in populations with no immunity at all."

In addition, "Protection against infection after two doses is not looking very good."

The good news (!!!) is that there doesn't seem to be much conclusive data that its particularly severe, and "Two doses plus infection or three doses get people to a higher baseline of neutralizing antibodies, which can better withstand the erosion from Omicron."

Ugh.

 

[Umbran]

From Pfizer:
"Wednesday, December 08, 2021 - 06:54am

• Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers
• Data indicate that a third dose of BNT162b2 increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses against the Omicron variant; titers after the booster dose are comparable to titers observed after two doses against the wild-type virus which are associated with high levels of protection
• As 80% of epitopes in the spike protein recognized by CD8+ T cells are not affected by the mutations in the Omicron variant, two doses may still induce protection against severe disease
• The companies continue to advance the development of a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron and expect to have it available by March in the event that an adaption is needed to further increase the level and duration of protection – with no change expected to the companies’ four billion dose capacity for 2022"

Pfizer and BioNTech Provide Update on Omicron Variant | Pfizer

Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers Data indicate that a third dose of BNT162b2 increases the neutralizing antibody...

www.pfizer.com

 

[Zardnaar]

What's the latest on boosters? Every 6 months?
I'm got my shots in August I think the 6 months is in February.

 

[Mannahnin]

Yes, six months is pretty much the latest word for the mRNA vaccines. Folks who've gotten J&J who don't have a precluding allergy (like Polyethylene glycol) are also recommended to get an mRNA shot after two months.

I got mine here at the hospital a bit after that. Mixed it up; Pfizer to go with my Moderna series. Sorely tempted to go hunting a J&J to add to my set.