Asylum Seekers Bring Deadly Covid Strain

P.1 is already all over the place in the US, and has been for a while -- see COVID Data Tracker for the situation as of mid-April. P.1 does transmit better than pre-variant versions of SARS-CoV-2, but probably not as well as the B.1.1.7 (UK) strain, which is handily outcompeting it in the US. It does show some ability to evade immunity from either previous infection or vaccination, but not as much as the B.1.351 (South Africa) strain.

ETA: so get vaccinated and encourage others to do so as well.

whatbogsends said:

Why is it in any way racist to talk about an immigration policy bringing in a dangerous virus variant during a pandemic?

Click to expand...

It not necessarily racist, but what does strongly suggest an anti-immigrant agenda is focusing on an asylum-seeking family bringing in a dangerous variant while ignoring the far more numerous ways that the same variant has already entered the country.

sfs said:

It not necessarily racist, but what does strongly suggest an anti-immigrant agenda is focusing on an asylum-seeking family bringing in a dangerous variant while ignoring the far more numerous ways that the same variant has already entered the country.

Click to expand...

The "filthy disease-spreading vermin" schtick has been used quite often in the past in order to argue against immigration-- legal or illegal.

It's not often that we get a actual disease to attach to the routine... so there's that.

sfs said:

It not necessarily racist, but what does strongly suggest an anti-immigrant agenda is focusing on an asylum-seeking family bringing in a dangerous variant while ignoring the far more numerous ways that the same variant has already entered the country.

Click to expand...

I certainly haven't been following the border stuff closely, but if they're not doing Covid testing at the border, that's a huge inward vector.

Please enlighten us as to what other ways the same variant is entering the country unchecked that you believe people should be focusing on?

TLK Valentine said:

The "filthy disease-spreading vermin" schtick has been used quite often in the past in order to argue against immigration-- legal or illegal.

It's not often that we get a actual disease to attach to the routine... so there's that.

Click to expand...

How dare someone criticize left wing policies that ignore the risks of Covid! We should be focusing solely on right wing policies that ignore the risk of Covid. Clearly, the real thrust of their concern must be racist!

Perhaps if, instead of immediately lining up in defense of immigration and accusations of racism, you evaluate and discuss the actual situation.

whatbogsends said:

Why is it in any way racist to talk about an immigration policy bringing in a dangerous virus variant during a pandemic?

If the left believes strongly that we need to control the pandemic (as they should), then they should be advocating policies which work toward that end. Ignoring the pandemic when handling immigration at the southern border goes starkly against that. It's an inconsistent position, and Biden critics are correct to point it out.

Click to expand...

I would point out that there was no rational discussion about immigration policy; just a casual baseless accusation. The OP is 98% accusation, that's it. And the very next posts provides a healthy context.

Look I'm 100% FOR closing borders during times of pandemic. I look at what works and think that should be done. I have 0 problem with that. If trump would have ACTUALLY shut down ALL travel from China I personally would not have had a problem with that.

Edit; to be clear, I also agree that there likely are illegals crossing who have brought in COVID. 100% sure it HAS happenned. Just by numbers it is statistically very likely, I'm sure.
My issue is NOT with that. This subject does not deserve the fear mongering or attention that other major vectors should have.

whatbogsends said:

Please enlighten us as to what other ways the same variant is entering the country unchecked that you believe people should be focusing on?

Click to expand...

How about daily commercial flights to the US from Brazil? There are no restrictions on US citizens flying to Brazil and back. When P.1 showed up here in Massachusetts, we detected at least a half dozen introductions to the state in the first wave. One was likely from elsewhere in the US, and the rest probably stemmed from travel abroad. (Note that P.1 has not taken off here -- it really can't compete with B.1.1.7.)

rambot said:

Look I'm 100% FOR closing borders during times of pandemic. I look at what works and think that should be done.

Click to expand...

Absolutely. Border restrictions can be effective at keeping a virus or a viral variant under control. But to work they have to be done early, they have to be universal (no exceptions for citizens), and they have to be done hard. For SARS-CoV-2, that means mandatory, monitored 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country, with stiff penalties for failure to comply. None of which is relevant to P.1, since the vast majority of P.1 transmission in the US now comes from community transmission, not new introductions.

sfs said:

How about daily commercial flights to the US from Brazil? There are no restrictions on US citizens flying to Brazil and back. When P.1 showed up here in Massachusetts, we detected at least a half dozen introductions to the state in the first wave. One was likely from elsewhere in the US, and the rest probably stemmed from travel abroad. (Note that P.1 has not taken off here -- it really can't compete with B.1.1.7.)

Click to expand...

I guess i'm surprised. I thought there were Covid restrictions (at least some) on all international travel.

whatbogsends said:

How dare someone criticize left wing policies that ignore the risks of Covid! We should be focusing solely on right wing policies that ignore the risk of Covid. Clearly, the real thrust of their concern must be racist!

Perhaps if, instead of immediately lining up in defense of immigration and accusations of racism, you evaluate and discuss the actual situation.

Click to expand...

I haven't accused anyone of racism. I'm just pointing out that what we're hearing today is a new twist on an old formula.

It might even be true this time... but the boy who cried "wolf!" was eventually telling the truth but nobody believed him -- should the boy who cried "plague!" be expected to fare any better?

TLK Valentine said:

I haven't accused anyone of racism. I'm just pointing out that what we're hearing today is a new twist on an old formula.

It might even be true this time... but the boy who cried "wolf!" was eventually telling the truth but nobody believed him -- should the boy who cried "plague!" be expected to fare any better?

Click to expand...

As much as the poster in question has a divergent perspective on race relations, i'm not aware of him repeatedly (or even previously) talking about disease from immigrants outside of a Covid perspective.

When you refer to his question as "The "filthy disease-spreading vermin" schtick" it certainly reads as if you're implying racism is at the core of his post.

It's not my thread, nor is this something i wanted to spend this much time on, however, the majority of responses (the first response to the OP by sfs being the clear exception) to the OP were charges of racism without even addressing the issue raised. If the issue is illegitimate or unsubstantiated as sfs suggests, then respond with that information. You're free to call his motives into question, but responses that focus solely on perceived motives which entirely avoid the subject matter are, IMO, distasteful.

whatbogsends said:

I guess i'm surprised. I thought there were Covid restrictions (at least some) on all international travel.

Click to expand...

There are some restrictions, e.g. non-citizens can't enter the US if they've been in Brazil in the last 14 days, but as far as I know we've never extended the restrictions to US citizens. There are countries that have imposed effective travel/quarantine restrictions (e.g. New Zealand), but the US is not one of them.

whatbogsends said:

As much as the poster in question has a divergent perspective on race relations, i'm not aware of him repeatedly (or even previously) talking about disease from immigrants outside of a Covid perspective.

Click to expand...

I wasn't speaking of any particular poster, although the routine has run the gamut around here

Mystery Respiratory Illness in Children May Be Coming From Illegals

Donald Trump: "Infectious disease is pouring across the border"

And those are just from searching threads I was involved in... I can't speak for what happens over on the Christians-Only boards.

When you refer to his question as "The "filthy disease-spreading vermin" schtick" it certainly reads as if you're implying racism is at the core of his post.

Click to expand...

Not so much racism as nationalism -- I have no doubt any foreigners would be given the same dehumanizing treatment regardless of race.

Parenthetically, did you know that since the ancient Greeks considered anyone who didn't speak Greek to be below them almost to the point of subhuman, the very word "barbarian" comes from the Greek bárbaros, which may refer to the sheep-like "bar...bar..." noises the Greeks associated with anyone not civilized enough to actually speak Greek.

Ana the Ist said:

If you want to shut down international flights and shipping whenever passengers haven't been tested....be my guest. I'm all for it.

Click to expand...

What would be the point, since P.1 is already spreading widely here? We can't keep it out -- not by shutting down air travel, not by keeping out all the asylum-seekers. This subject of this thread has no relevance to public health in the US.

Ana the Ist said:

Last I checked the only vaccines effective against the P1 variant are AstraZeneca and SinoVac.

Click to expand...

Last I checked, the mRNA vaccines are likely to be at least as effective. What information do you have to the contrary?

Ana the Ist said:

So....what is the point of all this vaccination if we aren't going to...keep Covid out of the country?

Click to expand...

The point of all of this vaccination is that we haven't kept Covid out of the country and aren't going to, so we have to protect people from getting sick and dying.

Ana the Ist said:

Source?

Click to expand...

Here's one: Moderna Vaccine Shows Reduced Activity Against South Africa B.1.351, Brazil (P.1), and California (B.1.427/B.1.429) Coronavirus Variants. However, it Remains Highly Active Against U.K. B.1.1.7 Variant
and another: Increased Resistance of SARS-CoV-2 Variant P.1 to Antibody Neutralization
The evasion by P.1 of vaccine immunity reported here is less than that for the 'California' variant (B.1.427/429), and vaccination seems to be working just fine in California.