Normalcy?

News blues…

South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive as “the AstraZeneca vaccine appeared effective against the original strain, but not against the variant…” 
Same news, different angle: The roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine to South Africa’s health workers has been temporarily halted following results showing low efficacy against the South African variant of the coronavirus.

South African health workers will now receive the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine, after the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on Sunday 7 February announced a major shift in the country’s vaccine roll-out.
The shift was necessitated by the publication of what the lead investigator in the Oxford/AstraZeneca trial, Professor Shabir Madhi, said were “disappointing results” showing that the vaccine did not work well against the South African variant of the coronavirus. 

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Sleep more! The coronavirus can cause insomnia and long-term changes in our nervous systems. But sleep could also be a key to ending the pandemic.

…several mysteries of how COVID-19 works converge on the question of how the disease affects our sleep, and how our sleep affects the disease. The virus is capable of altering the delicate processes within our nervous system, in many cases in unpredictable ways, sometimes creating long-term symptoms. Better appreciating the ties between immunity and the nervous system could be central to understanding COVID-19—and to preventing it.

Read >> The Mysterious Link Between COVID-19 and Sleep 

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COVID 19 is a name for a mystery doctors are unravelling  (12:25 mins)(Particularly interesting information for medical technophiles.)

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The Lincoln Project
Chicken (0:25 mins)
Don’t be distracted   (0:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

An excellent idea from citizens and residents of planet earth to citizens and residents of planet earth….

A Paris court has convicted the French state of failing to address the climate crisis and not keeping its promises to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
In what has been hailed as a historic ruling, the court found the state guilty of “non-respect of its engagements” aimed at combating global warming.
Billed the “affair of the century”, the legal case was brought by four French environmental groups after a petition signed by 2.3 million people.
“This is an historic win for climate justice. The decision not only takes into consideration what scientists say and what people want from French public policies, but it should also inspire people all over the world to hold their governments accountable for climate change in their courts,” said Jean-François Julliard, the executive director of Greenpeace France, one of the plaintiffs. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Mother’s mounting a comeback! My mother was much improved yesterday! Both eyes were open, she had more muscle control of her head and neck – that is, she held up her head and looked around – and, while still weak and slow, she moved her legs around more than I’ve seen her do in several weeks. There’s life in the old girl yet!

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Our gardener makes a comeback today, too. During our phone conversation yesterday, we agreed he’d return to work and we’d both keep in mind that he’s recovering, and that he’d take it slow.
What he’s recovering from is still a mystery. He insists he did not have Covid-19, that “the doctor said his lungs are clear” … yet he has suffered debilitating fatigue and body aches.

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I’m happy to report that my deep sleep pattern is improving. Generally, I suffer “jet lag” while I’m in South Africa. I chalk it up to travel 14,000 miles, a change in hemisphere, seasons, water, and food.
I’m usually only in South Africa for up to three months and my regular sleep pattern resumes when I return to California.
Covid pandemic, frail mother, etc., changed all that and I’ve suffered a sleep deficit for months. Last week, a friendly “organic” over the counter medication ended that regime. For the past few nights, I’ve slept from 7 to 8 hours each night.
Luxury thy name is sleep!