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| © 2021. Steve Breen. San Diego Union Tribune. Creators.com |
News blues
“America Is Not Ready for Omicron.” The new variant poses a far graver threat at the collective level than the individual one — the kind of test that the US has repeatedly failed.America was not prepared for Covid-19 when it arrive. It was not prepared for last winter’s surge. It was not prepared for Delta’s arrival in the summer or its current winter assault.Read more >>
More than 1,000 Americans are still dying of COVID every day, and more have died this year than last. Hospitalizations are rising in 42 states. The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, which entered the pandemic as arguably the best-prepared hospital in the country, recently went from 70 COVID patients to 110 in four days, leaving its staff “grasping for resolve,” the virologist John Lowe told me. And now comes Omicron.
Will the new and rapidly spreading variant overwhelm the U.S. health-care system? The question is moot because the system is already overwhelmed, in a way that is affecting all patients, COVID or otherwise. “The level of care that we’ve come to expect in our hospitals no longer exists…”
Omicron pressure on in South Africa with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reporting an additional 36 Covid-19 related deaths and 24,785 new cases yesterday.
The increase in positive cases represents a 30.9% positivity rate.Approximately 27 percent of Americans are not vaccinated against Covid-19. (See numbers and detailed breakdown of un-vaccinated and vaccinated.) Certain states refuse to enact the federal mandate to require vaccination. Now the struggle goes to the Supreme Court.
The majority of new cases were from Gauteng (27%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (23%) and the Western Cape (19%).
The NCID said, “There has been an increase of 347 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.”
President Joe Biden’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let a federal vaccine mandate for health-care workers take effect nationwide, saying it could save thousands of lives during an anticipated Covid surge this winter.Read more >>
In a pair of filings late Thursday, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the justices to put a hold on lower court decisions that are blocking the rule in 24 states. The Republican-led states sued to block the law, saying the administration was exceeding its authority and infringing on state prerogatives.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandate is one prong of a broader Biden push to get workers vaccinated. The administration is separately defending vaccine rules that apply to federal contractors and employers with 100 or more workers, and those cases could reach the Supreme Court soon.
Additionally, the Marine Corps announced it booted 103 of its members for refusing the Covid vaccine, even as all the military branches report that a vast majority of troops have gotten the shots.
The same day, the Army announced that it relieved six leaders — including two commanding officers — over the issue, and that almost 4,000 active-duty soldiers have refused the vaccine.
The same day, the Army announced that it relieved six leaders — including two commanding officers — over the issue, and that almost 4,000 active-duty soldiers have refused the vaccine.
Then the whackidoodles have their say:
“Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asserted the Pentagon has no authority to punish unvaccinated members of the state National Guard, joining other Republican governors who have called on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to withdraw or otherwise nullify the military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate.”
“Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asserted the Pentagon has no authority to punish unvaccinated members of the state National Guard, joining other Republican governors who have called on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to withdraw or otherwise nullify the military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate.”
Read more >>
and (big surprise?)
and (big surprise?)
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A cornucopia of ads for Christmas from The Lincoln Project:
Jim Jordan is a joke (0:45 mins)
The Fight (1:40 mins)
Capitol Police (0:52 mins)
Jim Jordan is a joke (0:45 mins)
The Fight (1:40 mins)
Capitol Police (0:52 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Time for laughter: 35 Pictures from 2021 to make you grin… >>Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Who knew I was ahead of the curve? An email newsletter from my health care provider asks:Looking for something to help you relax, feel creative, and indulge your senses? Baking has all the ingredients you need to feel refreshed and recharged.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, increased stress — plus more time at home — has given rise to a new trend called “stress baking.” … The act of baking really can help you manage stress.
“Baking is an opportunity to clear our heads and de-stress,” … a family doctor said. “When you focus your attention on an activity like baking, you’re more present in the moment and less focused on stressors of the past or future.”
My recent foray into baking is not, after all, another Lockdown-related obsession. Not at all; rather, it is a stress reliever.
Yesterday: pastry and no-knead bread.
Yesterday: pastry and no-knead bread.
Today: cinnamon rolls.
Tomorrow? A visiting friend will enjoy these products and, I hope, carry away the bulk of my home bakery’s output.
Tomorrow? A visiting friend will enjoy these products and, I hope, carry away the bulk of my home bakery’s output.
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