I’m going to be succinct about this.
Gov. Greg Abbott tested positive Tuesday for COVID-19, according to his office.
Abbott, who is fully vaccinated, is not experiencing any symptoms and is isolating at the Governor’s Mansion, spokesperson Mark Miner said in a statement. He is getting Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment.
Public health officials have noted that while breakthrough cases like Abbott’s are occurring, vaccines are still proven to be effective at reducing the severity of the virus.
“The Governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result,” Miner said. “Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads, and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently.”
Miner added that “everyone that the Governor has been in close contact with today” has been informed of his positive test. The first lady, Cecilia Abbott, tested negative.
Abbott addressed the diagnosis in a video posted to his Twitter account about two and a half hours after his office’s announcement. He reiterated he was not feeling any symptoms and suggested one reason for that may be the fact he is vaccinated. Abbott got his first shot late last year, and the vaccine is known to prevent serious cases.
[…]
Abbott has kept up public appearances in recent days. He spoke Monday night at what he called a “standing room only event” in Collin County, later tweeting photos of him addressing a maskless crowd. His campaign tweeted video of him mingling with the crowd, taking photos.
The Collin County event was organized by the Heritage Ranch Republican Club. Neither the club nor Abbott’s office immediately responded to requests for comment on the event.
Less than three hours before his diagnosis was announced Tuesday afternoon, Abbott tweeted pictures of a meeting with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. The musician’s team said in a statement Tuesday evening that “Jimmie and family have tested negative and are doing fine.”
I don’t want anyone to get COVID. I don’t want anyone to die from COVID. I hope Greg Abbott recovers fully from his bout with COVID. I hope every maskless person at that packed event has the sense to quarantine and get themselves tested so they don’t get COVID and especially so they don’t give it to anybody else. And I never, ever want to hear anyone talk about how “personal responsibility” is what we need to beat COVID.
They talk tough but like all Racists/Republicans, they ain’t.
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/icu-doc-shows-anxious-scared-081500127.html
I’m torn here. If the worse happens to Abbot, then, God Help us, Dannie Goeb becomes Gov, but then he’s no longer Lite Gov and the Senate will be so much the better.
Abbott put his faith in the Trump vaccines. I follow Joe Biden’s boss, Mrs. Harris. I remember she came on my TV and said “I ain’t taking those things because HE (Trump) says to take them.”
Abbott also suffers from the disease of White Privilege. As soon as he tested positive, he got monoclonal antibodies, one of the proven treatments, along with hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. If everyone who tested positive received prompt treatment with these safe interventions, then the number of serious cases would be reduced dramatically. Instead, they tell you to isolate at home and come to the hospital if you are turning blue.
Finally the blame must go to Obama. He should be impeached. He had a super spreader unmasked birthday party. A bad example for the weaker minded, such as Abbott.
“As soon as he tested positive, he got monoclonal antibodies, one of the proven treatments, along with hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. If everyone who tested positive received prompt treatment with these safe interventions, then the number of serious cases would be reduced dramatically.”
also the levels of malaria and dog/sheep parasites in humans would drop considerably.
Couldn’t have happened to a bigger numbnut.
Dr. Hochman, you should probably turn off that talking box in the corner of your living room.
Funny…nut jobs always talking about “personal responsibility”, but they neve talk about “personal liability”.
Wonder how many people have been killed by unvaccinated folks trumpeting personal responsibility.
Nut jobs are lucky there is no ballistics available for them passing on COVID and killing someone.
Frederick, I am undergoing therapy right now, due to, when I was a kid, I was savagely shoved out the door and sent to school when I had a cold. I was not allowed to sit at home and whine. I know that people can and do die from colds, so I am guilt ridden that I have killed people due to going to school with colds. So please stop acting like it is someone’s fault for “passing on COVID.” In my therapy, I am coming to grips with the fact that our time on earth is finite, and that illnesses spread. That’s just nature. Nobody’s fault.
Joel,
Anyone who has ever eaten pork that was not quite cooked well enough is susceptible to getting worms. We routinely use dewormers on our beloved pets and think nothing about it….even if they don’t have worms, what’s the harm in administering a dewormer anyway? It’s standard practice, and no animal rights groups are protesting, “You’re killing our pets!”
They aren’t protesting, because Ivermectin is perfectly safe to administer. No health groups were protesting the prophylactic use of HCQ by people in malaria infested regions of the world, either, but when Americans wanted to take it, it was suddenly demonized.
For the duration of this event, every American should be able to purchase both of those drugs OTC, with a pharmacy consult about dosages, when to take, when NOT to take, contra-indications, etc.
We know some things about Covid now, not the least of which is, early treatment works better than waiting until the virus has savaged people’s lungs and other organs. Even though the vast majority of folks will get it, and recover with no problems, we’re asked to treat this very seriously. OK, let’s take it seriously and use drugs we know have some efficacy early on…..HCQ, Ivermectin, and the MATH_ protocol. That’s a lot more proactive than simply going home to isolate with a box of Kleenex and a bottle of cold medicine.
If they have even a little benefit, it’s worth it to keep even a few people out of the hospital, don’t you think? And even if you think these drugs have no benefit, what happened to, my body, my choice and Right to Try?
Wonder why Texas doesn’t administer the same treatment to all Texans that come down with covid regardless of symptoms? Texas could save many lives, and it should be free to everyone that comes down with covid, regardless of symptoms. Right Bill?
Who cares that the drugs are only 70% effective and vaccines are 95% effective.
Manny,
I’m not saying that Ivermectin and HCQ should be made available free, I’m saying they should be sold to the public without a prescription required. They should be kept behind the pharmacy counter, and sold with a mandatory pharmacist consult. If you want them, and think they would be beneficial to you, trot on down to your local pharmacy and buy them, after being instructed on how to take them safely. I’m also not asking that those treatments be made mandatory.
We have no problem offering, cajoling, and threatening folks to get injections, even going so far as to pay random folks $ 100 to get injected with a drug that’s less than a year old. Why not make it easier for folks to voluntarily BUY drugs that we have decades of experience with?
Of course, that begs the question of why there was so much governmental opposition to even allowing doctors to prescribe these meds. In the midst of a pandemic, we’re not even allowing doctors to prescribe something that MIGHT help?
ROOTING FOR BARK, BLEACH, AND FANCIER ALTERNATIVES
Bill, before we settle on what policy to pursue as a community numbering more than N=1 (i.e., me; or you, depending who is talking), shouldn’t some thought also be given to the cost element in the cost/benefit calculus in addition to the not-always-so-certain question of the efficacy of new remedies, where we really have no choice but to rely on the best available expertise since we can’t do controlled clinical trials in the comfort of the kids’ play pen or in the garage, inspired by the dudes that would reinvent the Apple.
A ginger root and a cinnamon stick may be easy to come by and cheap, and can be assumed to be harmless if consumed in small quantities. The same cannot necessarily be said of newly-in-development therepeutics and experimental treatments.
Some natural remedies have an extensive track record.
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinchona
As for early treatment, sure, much to be said in favor (though availability and cost/benefit considerations are also important both at the individual and societal level), but wouldn’t prevention through prophylaxis even be better for a causal-chain point of view?
An analogy, with hat tip to Jason:
Wouldn’t it be better to focus on preventing the carnage on the freeways and streets in the first place, and save on resources spent on trauma care and rehabilitation, not to mention the loss of human lives and functionality and the associated diminution of productive potential?
To be sure, it’s not an either/or choice, and all road wrecks with personal injury can never the prevented, so we do need trauma care, rehab, and prothetics. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think carefully about which mix of approaches to implement, and make a sound policy judgment as to how best to deploy public and private resources that are never unlimited.
In the same vein, wouldn’t if be better to employ proven means of contraception (whether barrier or chemical or pharmaceutical, or a combo of means) to prevent conception and thereby reduce the experienced “need” for surgical extractions of undesired products of conception at a later stage of the gestational process? Not to mention that the gestational process has been well-studied, and that the bsic cause-and-effect dynamics have been known for millennia, with greater predictability than traffic accidents.
THE PRECARIOUS STATE OF POLICY ANALYSIS
If public policy is driven by dogma, ego, vested interest, and polls — alas — there is little or no room for rational policy analysis.
What future role for the Master of Public Policy of such venerable institutions as the Hobby School at UH.
More policywokery as a mere hobby. Riding high on the hobby horse.
Sigh.
You CAN purchase ivermectin OTC, Bill. Just go to the pet store.
As for your pork, I would look into a new supplier. Maybe “Bubba’s Feral Hog Shop” ain’t your best bet.
Wolf,
Your “wouldn’t it be better to….” argument is a false dilemma fallacy. The approach I am suggesting is more akin to Trump’s energy policy, which was, “yes, please, all of the above.” Trump supported ALL forms of energy, a policy that led to America actually becoming a net energy exporter for the first time in 70 years. He didn’t accomplish that by banning and attacking certain forms of energy, or by mandating others. He simply encouraged all energy producers to, well, produce energy.
To apply this strategy to the Wu flu crisis, we might consider, just consider, supporting all forms of attack against the Wu flu, meaning, we support early treatment options, be it ginger root or HCQ (which at bare minimum will have some placebo effect), we support bleach in the form of disinfecting door handles and other surfaces touched by multiple folks, we support mask wearing, we support the EUA injections, and anything else that we think could help. We should be supporting the all of the above approach, but not mandating it.
Joel,
Feral hogs are an invasive, non native species that causes tens of millions of dollars of economic damage, plus other, actual damage to both wildlife and humans. I appreciate your city sophisticate derision at those who hunt those hogs. You truly are their better, those truck drivin’, gun totin’ rednecks who manage to combine helping the environment, feeding their own famiiies, as well as the poor, via meat donation, and entertainment that doesn’t include sitting in a stadium or in front of the TV to cheer Marxists. Nice.
But, but, but……news flash: if you’re buying your pork from Rice Epicurian or Whole Foods, like civilized folks do (and not at Food Town or La Michocana like the plebs), you’re STILL susceptible to getting worms if you fail to cook the meat properly, and that’s before we get to you getting a restaurant meal. Ever gotten a dish that was undercooked? One bite is all it takes.
You know, there was a time in America when being self sufficient, when people having the skill sets to grow food and harvest game, was considered a good thing, and not something to be derided. As an example, in a 20 year contest of wills between mostly illiterate, inbred Muslims who know how to live off the land, and the most powerful military force the world has ever known, who was it that prevailed?
I have to agree with Bill and Manny in this discussion. Yes, anyone who tests positive for COVID or develops mild symptoms of COVID should be treated with the available remedies, which do work, and are very safe. This would eliminate many severe and fatal cases, at low risk, so even the majority who would not develop a severe case can be treated from the start. It makes no sense to start treatment when someone is already just about dead.
And, for the 20 years contest of wills between illiterate, inbred Muslims, and the most powerful military in the world, let’s just say that Afghanistan is where great and mighty nations go to die. Ask the British Empire. Ask Russia.
RE: “Afghanistan is where great and mighty nations go to die.”
Not just nations. Late Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson and Julia Roberts failed too.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink the notion that bombing mountain-dudes to smitherines so the oppressed Muslim girls in their ethnic face masks and tribal whole-body costumes can be properly schooled and groomed into fervent feminsits is – shall we say — reality-remote.
Not to mess with the dubious merits of the idea of remaking gender relations and mores in a traditional society that isn’t ready for such drastic change and may not want to trade their religion for rampant consumerism and worship of Mammon under the motto “In Ben Franklin We Trust.”
Also consider that we were on the Taliban’s side with shoulder-held missiles against Russian helicopter gunships. Oops … they were the heroic mujahideen freedom fighters then in the not-so-good pre-milennial days.
No expert on the area and the tribalism there, here.
Political correction not welcome, but nevertheless invited, give the conceded want of area of experise.
Authoritative source for thematic material:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_(film)
PEOPLE OF COLOR ?
Bill, once their beards are removed – compelled or otherwise — the Afghans look rather white, wouldn’t you agree? What do you make of that? Could it be that they are your ancestors? What with the Caucasian proximity and affinity.
History says that could be the birth place of Aryans.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aryan
Wolf, other than the Afghanistan Muslims being white part (no, just no), I couldn’t agree more with your post. Well said. The Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney/Condoleeza neo-con exporting democracy strategy has, like the domino theory, been shown to be complete and utter bullshit. Turns out Ron Paul was right, again.
Maybe we should stop electing people like that. Just a thought.
Bill: “if you’re buying your pork from Rice Epicurian or Whole Foods, like civilized folks do (and not at Food Town or La Michocana like the plebs), you’re STILL susceptible to getting worms if you fail to cook the meat properly, ”
maybe if you live in 1950.
the american (farmed) pork supply is essentially trichinosis-free. sorry if that ruins your point (which seems more like an intentional attempt to distract from your real point “lemme take animal pills instead of human vaccines, because freedumb!”).
Bill, Afghans are white for EEOC purposes, as are Persians, and the other various ethnic groups in that part of the world.
So Bill, so small minds can comprehend, it is making America white again. Bring them all over.