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Comment Re: Completely wrong (Score 5, Insightful) 93

Talking different beasts here. Of the four types of influenza (A, B, C, D), the vaccine targets two: A and B. Then, we get down to subtypes - with 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes of influenza A. And from there, you get to specific strains and lineages. So each year, the flu vaccine is formulated to fight 4 (quadrivalent) viruses chosen based on surveillance data and forecasting what strains and variants will be prevalent that year / typically an H1N1, H3N2 and two influenza B strains. Thus far, SARS-cov-2 has a much lower mutation rate than influenza - and with more vaccinations, the number of new variants appearing will diminish.

Submission + - Third Monolith Appears In California (atascaderonews.com) 1

phalse phace writes: The first monolith mysteriously appeared in Utah. A second popped up in Romania . Now, a third monolith has appeared atop Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California.

The Atascadero News reports:

The three-sided obelisk appeared to be made of stainless steel, 10-feet tall and 18 inches wide. The object was welded together at each corner, with rivets attaching the side panels to a likely steel frame inside. The top of the monument did not show any weld marks, and it appears to be hollow at the top, and possibly bottom.

Unlike its Utah sibling, the Atascadero obelisk was not attached to the ground, and could be knocked over with a firm push. The Atascadero News estimates it weighs about 200 pounds.

The material appeared to be stainless steel, similar to a hood above the stove in a commercial kitchen. The reflective material give the obelisk a mesmerizing shine as the sun, shadow, and Santa Lucia Mountain range converge on the vector as the prism redistributes the light from one of the highest points in Atascadero.

Comment Re:Public health authorities have pretty broad pow (Score 1) 193

What your referring to is called a Pigouvian tax (assessing a tax on individuals or businesses for engaging in activities that produce detrimental effects to society). NBER has recommended such a tax, with the revenues rebated to workers employed in "rigid and/or social-intensive occupations," at the cost of more unequal economic welfare losses.

Comment Re:Public health authorities have pretty broad pow (Score 1) 193

I'll point you to the 10th Amendment, but we have over 200 years of case law indeed giving the "government" (whether that be state or federal) the power necessary for all sorts of regulations, especially when it comes to public health. To highlight some of the big ones to get your research started for you, I would look at: Gibbons v. Ogden, Compagnie Francaise de Navigation a Vapeur v. Louisiana State Board of Health, Jacobson v. Massachusetts and Zemel v. Rusk.

Comment Re:Yes, if it is for the common good... (Score 3, Informative) 193

As someone who works in the service industry, I can tell you that no - the majority of restaurants have not spend large amounts of money on "partitioning walls" and "additional ventilation w/ filtration." In fact, I would even say that the ventilation in a majority of restaurants don't have the capability of maintaining an ACH of 4, let alone an ACH of 6.

Comment Re:It is too bad we retailed Pharmacy. (Score 1) 36

No, that is their job. They cannot diagnose a condition, but they are specifically trained to tell you when to see a doctor for that cough/rash/symptoms. They're specifically trained to tell you which medication can best manage your symptoms (for instance, a cold or flu, muscle aches, headaches, etc) with the least number of side effects and the greatest efficacy. In most of the US, pharmacists are also allowed to perform both subcutaneous and intramuscular injections - whether for vaccinations OR to inject a medicine into a patient for them, or show them how to inject it themselves in the future. And while doctors do diagnose and come up with treatment plans, it's the pharmacist who has the information on what each medication does and how to take them for best results. An example: My PCP prescribed a medicine bid(twice a day), but it was my pharmacist that told me specifically at what time or before what activity that I should take that medicine. While my PCP knew I also take a multivitamin everyday, it was the pharmacist that specifically told me to not take my medicine within 2 hours of taking my multivitamin as one of the ingredients (calcium) significantly lowers the efficacy of the medication if taken at or near the same time.

Comment Re:It is too bad we retailed Pharmacy. (Score 1) 36

Not only that, some drugs have side effects that aren't statistically large enough to be included (yet) in related databases listing such side effects. One of the medicines I take, the previous iteration of the drug resulted in some CNS toxicity that caused night terrors, insomnia, etc - with the new formulation designed to reduce those side effects. In addition, my doctor tried to prescribe me an additional medicine (Zofran for nausea) that the computer system used at the hospital she works at showed no interaction, but the pharmacist knew that when both drugs are combined at the dosage levels prescribed they have a possible side effect of long qt syndrome. We're not quite at the level where a computer can do these functions safely.

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