Category of critter

Week 76
Day 535, Thursday, September 9 - Category of critter

Well, the United State continues to lead the world in Covid infections. Amazing.
Worldwide (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 223,101,000 confirmed infections; 4,604,450 deaths 

September 3, 2020 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths

US (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 40,601,000 confirmed infections; 654,600 deaths 

 September 3, 2020 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 9, 2021 – 2,843,100 confirmed infections; 84,327 deaths 
September 3, 2020 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths 

News blues

Finally, some sanity during an insane time in the life of America. President Biden expands vaccine push with mandates for the private sector and announces sweeping vaccination and testing requirements for federal government workers, contractors and even private sector employees, as his administration works to fight the spreading coronavirus.
About time, Mr. Biden!

***

Hospitals in California’s Central Valley have been increasingly overwhelmed by the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials scrambling to transfer some critically ill patients more than 100 miles away because local intensive care units are full.  

The San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento area and rural Northern California are now the regions of the state being hit the hardest by COVID-19 hospitalizations on a per capita basis… The regions have lower vaccination rates than in the highly populated, coastal areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

My houseboat is moored in the San Joaquin River, part of this region. I’m grateful that I’m not living on my houseboat right now.

***

Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website  >>

***

The Lincoln Project
Sad  (0:56 mins)
Ivermectin  (1:25 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise)  (1:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

An important article with full excerpt from the National Geographic newsletter by By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE executive editor:

Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists and government officials have gotten sage advice from a group of people who were already battling a massive threat to public health: climate scientists. From piles of sometimes contradictory evidence to rampant misinformation  to mind-boggling denials of established facts, the issues that have plagued COVID-19 researchers and policymakers are starkly like those that have influenced the climate crisis. The pandemic has also laid bare similar issues with equity, access to healthcare, intergovernmental squabbling, and reluctance to embrace solutions that might harm the bottom line. But while the state of things may seem bleak right now, we actually have a lot to celebrate with COVID-19, in part because the pandemic spurred people to act urgently and drove a lot of innovation. Now mRNA vaccines are not only keeping people out of hospitals, they hold potential for combating a host of other diseases. More people are saying they will embrace masks as an effective way to prevent respiratory illness beyond COVID-19. And governments and institutions are investigating ways to improve healthcare infrastructure.  So why can’t we learn a few things from COVID-19 to get serious about tackling climate change? That’s what the editors of more than 200 medical journals are asking this week in an article co-published across their pages. 

“Many governments met the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic with unprecedented funding. The environmental crisis demands a similar emergency response,” the editors write. And yes, they add, “the science is unequivocal” that climate change is a huge risk to public health. Extreme heat already threatens the health of about 30 percent of the world’s population, according to a 2017 study. Shifting climate zones mean that tropical diseases—many carried by my personal archnemeses, mosquitoes—are pushing into higher latitudes, threatening even more people with ailments such as dengue fever, malaria, Zika, and valley fever. Droughts are making crops harder to grow and less nutritious, while floods create stagnant waters that can carry all sorts of icky infectious agents. Heck, climate change has even been implicated in making seasonal allergies worse  

The global response to COVID-19 has not been perfect. But it has shown the world what’s possible when people come together with the resources and the willpower to overcome a deadly challenge. And as the journal authors write: “Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with Covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions.” All our lives depend on it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I still have not acclimated to my new life as a commuter, nor found a way to commute, work a full day, and come home regularly post on this blog.
I’m trying but it’s a learning curve.

***

Currently, people who are medically immunocompromised – suffering from illnesses associated with underperforming immune systems such as cancers, organ transplants, untreated HIV, and high dose steroid treatments – can receive a third dose of a Covid vaccine.
Naturally, people being people, many not suffering such illnesses arrive at the clinic and try to bulldoze their way into receiving this cautionary measure. One of my jobs is to try to explain to the latter category of people the difference between the third dose for the immunocompromised and “booster shots”. 

The simplest explanation? Booster shots are not yet available. 

I repeat the same information scores of times a day – while also performing my “real” duties. A part of me enjoys these glimpses into how the human mind works to bamboozle it’s way into getting third doses. Healthy people know they’re ineligible, but they’re willing to sign their names to Attestations and have false information entered into their medical records – in other words, create proof that they’re liars – simply to get a third dose of vaccine.
These people are the opposite of the people who’d rather take an anti-bacterial horse de-wormer – Ivermectin – than a human anti-viral vaccine.
Fascinating.
Humans. 

A hard to understand category of critter.

Down the rabbit hole

Commuting and working and organizing the vax clinics – yes, clinics, as flu season vaccinations began last week – leaves me little free time to present the planet’s Covid-19 numbers. (Luckily the world doesn’t depend on me, eh?) 

Here are the numbers as of today, compared to 2 weeks ago and to the last day of last year:

Worldwide (Map) 
September 6, 2021 – 220,863,350 confirmed infections; 4,571,200 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 209,892,500 confirmed infections; 4,401,700 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
September 6, 2021 – 39,955,200 confirmed infections; 648,615 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

 
SA (Tracker) 
September 6, 2021 – 2,820,000 confirmed infections; 83,419 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

News blues

Cases are being driver down by vaccinations
About 370.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered across the country as of Tuesday, according to CNN data About 370.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered across the country as of Tuesday, according to CNN data. 
An average of 899,462 doses are being administered each day, and 426,311 people are getting their first dose each day. When it comes to booster shots, as of August 13 -- when the CDC endorsed booster doses for certain immunocompromised people -- about 996,000 people had received that third dose.
"We are already getting the benefit of community immunity," Lessler said. "It's not an absolute number but a continuum. We will turn the corner when we reach a critical threshold of immunity and that's when cases will start to go down -- we always get there, either the virus or the vaccine gets us there. But that (community immunity) is still what is going to get this under control."
Even though 25 states have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents and half the United States is fully vaccinated, the country is inching back to winter levels in terms of cases, deaths and hospitalizations. Cases in the United States are averaging more than 159,000 each day, which has not been this high since January.
The country is averaging 1,329 deaths a day, a seven-day average not seen since March. As for hospitalizations, the US seven-day average stands at 100,057, which has not been seen since January.
"There are still a lot of people out there who are susceptible. That's one reason why this has been so bad," Lessler said. "Yes, we have a lot of immunity, and yes, we're in a better place than we were, but there are still huge pockets of susceptible people and those people cluster together. They interact."
With 4 months left in 2021, here's where the US stands with Covid-19

***

The Lincoln Project Pro-Life  (0:56 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise)  (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone? 

The new Kivi Kuaka project focuses on birds’ ability to hear infrasound, the low-frequency sound inaudible to humans ¬ that researchers believe is the most likely signal birds would use to sense storms and tsunamis. Infrasound has myriad sources, including lightning strikes, jet engines, and the songlike vocalizations of rhinoceroses. Even the Earth itself generates a continuous infrasonic hum. Though rarely measured, it is known that tsunamis generate infrasound, too, and that these sound waves travel faster than the tsunami wave, offering a potential window in which to detect a tsunami before it hits.
There is some evidence that birds dodge storms by listening to infrasound. In a 2014 study, scientists tracking golden-winged warblers in the central and southeastern United States recorded what’s known as an evacuation migration when the birds flew up to 9,300 miles to evade an outbreak of tornadoes that killed 35 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage. The birds fled at least 24 hours before any foul weather hit, leaving the scientists to deduce they had heard the storm system from more than 250 miles away.

Read “Birds Can Hear Tsunamis Way Before They Hit. Scientists hope the ability can be turned into an early-warning system." >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Conspiracy theories continue… and people continue to line up at our clinic for jabs where we, in the Covid’s effects-can-be-reduced Camp, continue to inject vaccine into willing arms.
People, being people – quirky, diverse and diversely quirky – continue to wrestle with, well, whatever is the wrestle-able item of the day. For example, counterfeit Covid cards.
Last week, someone showed up at the clinic with a fake vaccination card. How did we know it was fake? She wanted a Maderna jab. There is no such jab as Maderna. On closer inspection, the card presented other spelling and editorial errors.
Why bother to present a counterfeit card? Who knows? Covid vaccinations are free with few questions asked. Why go to the trouble of making or acquiring a fake card? Who knows? People display all the inexplicable complexities of people-dom.

***

My new life as a commuter severely cuts down on my ability to follow the news. I do not own – nor do I want to own – a television. Living on the beachfront, however lovely, presents internet connection issues. Spending many hours on the freeway to and from work, and many hours at work, means few hours spent at home. I’m unwilling to spend hard-earned dollars on internet service that I’d hardly use. Well, that’s the thought for today. Tomorrow, I may re-think the wisdom of that decision. Having internet at home is convenient. Then again, not having internet at home makes me realize how often, when I do have access at home, albeit squirrelly, I interrupt one online activity for a quick sidebar to review another online activity. That is, frequently I find myself breaking my online focus to explore or research a tangential topic that pops into my head. So, while researching, say, Covid statistics, I think of fires in northern California. Since internet access make it easy, I take a side trip to catch up on fire news, then that topic stimulates another topic, say, the air quality index, then I’m off to read about the rising cases of, say, asthma… then I might circle back to Covid statistics. Or not.
It’s also possible that my forays turn into further forays, and I’ll not return to Covid statistic for hours. Down the rabbit hole….
I love the ability to research on the fly. It’s increasingly challenging to stay focused on one topic.
What does it mean for “us” – people – that this is the wave of the future? Will we lose the ability to concentrate on one issue at a time?
It certainly means more conspiracy theories.
What of young minds? How do young people strengthen their ability to concentrate and stay focused?
Beats me.

When in Texas

News blues

A thought-provoking article written by evangelical pastor

I don't believe in editing information from my daughters, from the churches where I served as an evangelical pastor, from my students or from my family and friends. I never understood when people were unwilling to engage with material that threatened their own point of view. Unfortunately for my fellow Christians, this is a major part of church history and the current Christian culture. This close-minded approach has been on full display during this pandemic of the unvaccinated.

Read “Evangelicals, science and the vaccine: Refusal is built on deep-seated fear” >> 

***

Reporting from Texas on the Houston border with Galveston County, where rates of Covid infection are high, masks are invisible and unprotected people are everywhere. COVID-19 hospitalizations approach a peak in the US as Delta variant spreads. Patients are younger, and disparities across race and ethnicity persist as hospitalizations soar

***

Despite last year’s lessons from the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, a repeat this year: “Sturgis Rally Is What a Vaccine-Era Coronavirus Superspreader Event Looks Like” 
(More below on Sturgis fallout….)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Monkey see, monkey do.
I’m visiting family in Texas, and chagrined as I am to admit it, I’m following local protocol and not wearing a mask every time I venture into the community.
Friday night we went to dinner in a crowded, Texas-style restaurant – that is, large, crowded, full of parents and kids and a busy, crowded, outdoor play area for kids.
This morning, Sunday, we opted for an IHOP for breakfast. Smaller venue but still busy and full of unmasked patrons. Servers and staff wore chin covers rather than masks.
I feel embarrassed by my action – or lack of action. But I am “in touch” with my embarrassment, even have come to terms with it. It’s called “when in Texas do as Texans do”. I pray that I live to regret this attitude.
I plan to be tested for Covid when I return to work on Tuesday.
Testing. Better late than never? Or too late to do anything about it?
Yes, of course, I’m vaccinated, but that does not mean I’m not also one of the stupidly, willfully blind following the stupidly, willfully blind.

Heck, in South Africa, where snow is falling - an extraordinary though not unheard of event - even the snow-people wear masks. 

 Pray for this sinner in Texas (who knows better…)
I should have more compassion for a couple of people I know at the marina where I moor my houseboat. They schlepped their motorcycles to Sturgis to participate in the rally. (See link in News blues section.) I just got notice that they’ve come down with Covid and been abed for the past two weeks.
On the bright side, Hurricane Ida, in its headlong rush for Louisiana, passed by this area of Texas. Lots of lightning and thunder last night and power when down for about an hour in the early hours of the morning, but no further flooding or hurricane mayhem.
Pray for Louisiana, too.

Covid - la vida loca

News blues

With all the conflicting information, conspiracies, and craziness “out there”, you may feel dazed and confused. If so, here’s a view of what to consider believing about Covid-19…. 

What do 203 doctors tell us about what they think Of COVID vaccines… 

And, what’s in a dose?
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is supplied as a frozen suspension in multiple dose vials; each vial must be diluted with 1.8 mL of sterile 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP prior to use to form the vaccine. Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine contains 30 mcg of a nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.
Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine also includes the following ingredients: lipids (0.43mg (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 0.05 mg 2[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 0.09 mg 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 0.2 mg cholesterol), 0.01mg potassium chloride, 0.01 mg monobasic potassium phosphate, 0.36 mg sodium chloride, 0.07 mg dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and 6mg sucrose. The diluent (0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP) contributes an additional 2.16 mg sodium chloride per dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine does not contain preservative.
See a breakdown of components in all 3 vaccines used in the US:

A close scrutiny of this list shows no sign of aborted fetal tissue, no micro microchips, no Fauci ouchie, no live virus, and no signs of magnetic components - not in any of these vaccines.
Of course, I could simply be naïve in believing what I’m reading, and the conspiracy theorists are 100 percent correct: “the government – aka “they” and “the deep state” – are lying and these ingredients are a smoke screen to “take away our freedoms”, etc., etc., etc.

***

The Lincoln Project Pro-Life  (0:55 mins)
DeSantis Lies  (0:25 mins)
Meidas Touch America’s Biggest Loser  (2:16 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Does smoke make it harder for clouds to drop rain and alleviate drought, potentially kicking of a “very scary” feedback loop? 

***

Best intentions… or, the helping hand strikes again….
In 2010, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, announced the One Million Trees initiative. The aim? To increase green areas in Dubai through afforestation, while contributing to overall beautification of the city.
It went horribly wrong. Hundreds of thousands of trees died after costly real estate projects thwarted attempts to halt desertification. 

***

On Covid and climate we can achieve change – but we’re running out of time 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Thousands of feet over the southwest, cooped up in a fuselage with dozens of others all wearing masks and, for the most part, practicing social distancing. This flight is unlike the first leg of my trip to Texas. For that leg, stopover in Los Angeles, the plane was full to the brim - what I call a flying Petrie dish. I must be nuts to take a Flying a Petrie dish to Texas, the Covid Capital of the southwest. But here I am.
The last weeks have been very busy. I’m semi-moved from my houseboat in the Sacto Delta, semi-moved into my condo on San Francisco Bay, semi-prepared for my upcoming work for California’s upcoming flu season and, after a week, almost fully functional in the Covid vax clinic.
I’ve learned so much about Covid, from the CDC website, hospital training sessions, and documents prepared by the federal government about protocols.
I’m impressed by the overall attention to detail that went into the planning and rollout for vaccinating Americans.
Is it a conspiracy? Well, I suggest that anyone paying attention would recognize that the program is too well-organized for a nationwide, ubiquitous federal (or Fauci or Bill Gates) hoax perpetrated to “take away our freedoms.”
The effort to vax millions of Americans – and the rest of the world – involves millions of workers with amazing training and skills working in concert day and night to ensure We the People have the best chances of success against a virulent virus and emerging variants.
If you haven’t yet, get vaxed. Stories from the front lines:
Last week, third dose vaccinations were made available to immunocompromised individuals. Simultaneously, Pfizer’s vaccine was fully approved and people older than 12 became eligible for vaccination.
Our clinic was inundated with immunocompromised people, some walking independently, some in wheelchairs or on walkers and walking sticks as well as dozens of young people over the age of 12 accompanied by a parent – sometimes two parents - and dozens of people who’d been waiting for the move from EUA (Emergency Use Approval) to full approval before accepting a jab.
A young woman arrived with her mother seeking a second Astrazeneca jab. She’d received her first Astrazeneca shot in India. Turns out the US does not offer that vaccine. Her options: accept either a first Moderna or first Pfizer jab, then return for a second jab of the same vaccine in 28 days.
While every person who takes a jab must remain in the clinic for observation for at least 15 minutes after the jab – 30 minutes if sensitive – we’ve had only 3 people requiring extra care. One woman left after 15 minutes then returned an hour later as she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I accompanied her to the Emergency department for evaluation. Outcome? Nothing further than her initial symptoms and she was released after two hours of observation. 

One man opted for the J&J vax and, while sitting in the clinic afterwards, was berated by an opinionated and over-solicitous patient who’d opted for the Pfizer vax. “Why did you take J&J? Don’t you know J&J has negative symptoms? You shoulda done xx, like I did…”
Unfortunately, with a stranger kvetching at him, the J&J candidate had a panic attack.
Lesson learned? Keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to which vaccine other people choose.
The third person was diabetic and under-estimated the effect on his blood sugar levels of not eating breakfast. He’d decided he was tough enough to skip breakfast and get his vax. Afterwards, he became light-headed, likely because of low-blood sugar and notthe vaccine. He was medically checked, provided snacks and juice, then opted to go home to recover.
Oy, people!

Next month, boosters will be available to anyone who was vaccinated 8 months ago. I expect we’ll experience more days with lines 500 to 600 people deep.
Our Covid clinic’s future promises 8-hour nightmares exacerbated by the opening of the drive-thru flu clinic. (According to those working the flu clinic in past years, in the first weeks of flu season up to 1,500 people per day arrive for flu shots.)
Yet, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing with my life.
Working with dedicated people.
Performing necessary tasks in concert with others, all of us doing vital work…
What’s the downside?
Experiences to remember.

Forever?

Worldwide (Map) 
August 26, 2021 – 213,854,000 confirmed infections; 4,463,000 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths

 
US (Map) 
August 26, 2021 – 38,222,000 confirmed infections; 632,300 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths

 
SA (Coronavirus portal) 
August 26, 2021 – 2,722,205 confirmed infections; 80,470 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths

News blues

The virus will be around “forever”? Advice on how to live with it  – a compendium of articles from The Atlantic Monthly

COVID-19 is not going away. The virus that causes it is on track to become endemic, like the ones that cause the common cold. You’ll probably encounter it at some point, if you haven’t already. 
That doesn’t mean you should stop taking precautions. We can still buy ourselves time  — time to vaccinate more people and avoid deadly hospital surges. But the virus will be part of our lives in the long term.
“We need to prepare people that [the current wave of cases is] not going to come down to zero,” one psychologist warns…

• The virus itself could still get worse.  “Delta could continue to ratchet up its rate of spread, or it could be ousted by another super-infectious variant,” our staff writer Katherine J. Wu warns. “There is no playbook for evolution.”
• Global inequities could worsen as the virus transitions to endemicity. “The human and economic costs of new diseases are borne by all, but unequally,” the historian Kyle Harper reminds us.
• But eventually, the coronavirus will become a less worrisome part of life.  “When everyone has some immunity, a COVID-19 diagnosis becomes as routine as diagnosis of strep or flu”….

***

Deaths Data Shows 80% of South Africans May Have Had Covid 

As many as four out of five South Africans may have contracted the coronavirus, indicating that the country may be one of the world’s hardest-hit nations by the disease, the chief actuary at Africa’s biggest health insurer said.
Emile Stipp, the actuary at Discovery Health, based his calculations on the country’s case-fatality rate and excess deaths, a measure of the number of fatalities compared with an historical average. They are thought to provide a more accurate picture of the impact of the pandemic than the official toll.

***

The Lincoln Project The Best of Us  (0:41 mins)
Monster Trump Rally  (1:00 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Well, I’m snowed under. My new job – at a Covid vax clinic – presents an hour each way commute for 28 miles each direction. Stop and go traffic up the wazoo. Nine hours putting out fires at the job, supervising the vax-ing of at least 200, and sometimes more than double that number, per day.
The staff is truly amazing. Project manager type that I am, this job presents multiple tasks, from big to little – to occupy my busy mind.
I’ve so much to say about the wonderful work – exhausting as it is - and share what I’m learning about Covid-19. There’s nothing secret or confidential about the information. It is available to anyone who knows where to look. That’ll be my role: indicating areas of good information.
I fly to Texas today, but I plan to begin sharing information over the next couple of days.
Tune in for more….

Hip deep

News blues

The not-so-blue news: “The U.S. administered more than 1 million vaccine doses Friday, marking the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed, including 526,000 first shots. 
So, finally, with Covid-19 hospitalizations increasing, a greater number of Americans have recently made the decision to get vaccinated than in the last six weeks. .”
(See below for a personal experience of front vaccinations of at least 600 of those 1.05 million doses.)

***

According to Daily Maverick, 80% or as many as four out of five South Africans may have contracted coronavirus, indicating South Africa may be among the world’s hardest-hit nations. 

***

The Lincoln Project Ducey  (0:38 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party, next episode  (1:45 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

We can’t predict the next coronavirus variant. But there are some fundamental principles that explain why the virus has morphed as it has and where we could be headed next. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Posting here took a backseat to working this week – and posting will continue to take a backseat as long as I work in a Covid vaccination clinic. It’s a wild, wild ride!
A reminder: the day after I returned from my 1.5-year unexpected sojourn in South Africa, I was vaxed at a local grocery store. No line, no wait, in and out with vital vax record card in hand. Three weeks later, I repeated the process at the grocery store. Easy peasy. Why travel to a hospital and stand in line?

I work in one vax clinic in a multiple-hospital system that is member-based. My role is to ensure smooth sailing of the day-to-day vaccine program so that medical professionals can vax as many people as show up at the hospital seeking one of the three currently available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J).
With member medical records residing on the central computer system, check in is, in general, smooth. Member-clients make appointments before they arrive and have their documentation ready for check-in.
With the vaccines and associated collateral – syringes, etc. - provided by the federal government, vax clinic providers must guarantee that anyone who wants a free vaccination can have a free vaccination. In return, the Feds want documentation – and lots of it.
Our vax team consists of 2 client reps checking in clients, 1 client rep managing the line, 2 nurses prepping, 5 to 7 nurses jabbing, and me, smoothing the overall process. My workday begins with updating information on the numbers of registered member clients expected that day.
The member count is easy.
What is not easy is guessing how many unregistered, non-member clients will drop in for jabs – and when.
Until Friday, the process was, for the most part, smooth. Things slow down when nurses take fed Labor Department-mandated lunch breaks of one hour, but for the most part, we manage. Until Friday, numbers of drop ins each day averaged between 175 to 300 - each requiring the generation of a temporary member number and other necessary documents.
Then came Friday.
The unexpected news that immunocompromised people were eligible for a 3rd dose of vaccine threw off everything. Third doses are not booster shots (scheduled to begin mid-September), but people lined up for “booster” shots anyway. Dozens of people were given personalized explanations on the difference between “3rd dose” and “booster”; some went away resigned, some angry.
Dozens of immunocompromised members and non-members arrived, many in wheelchairs or using walkers (blocking hallways).
One person, after taking her second jab and staying for the mandatory 15 minutes of observation, left the clinic… then returned an hour later with dizziness and high blood pressure. The usual protocol is to wheel such a patient to the emergency department. This time, since her symptoms were ambiguous, a nurse and I wheeled her to an upstairs clinic for further observation by an emergency department doctor.
Third dose protocols coincided, too, with opening Pfizer vaccinations to children over 12 years old. Dozens of children - some braver than others - accompanied by parents or guardians, arrived for their first jabs.
Most touching, a young man, blind, came in with his parents for a shot. It took some persuading to seat him, have him raise his sleeve, and accept the jab. Afterwards, he received an ovation.
My next several months promise to provide many insights into people and pandemic. My current over-riding emotions? Grateful that We the People are at the point of accepting lifesaving vaccinations; being part of a team providing lifesaving vaccines; and love, yes, love for the many, many people coming into the clinic, trusting we’re doing our best for them, offering their arms for an Emergency Use Authorized (EUA) vax, and supporting one another, young and old, firm and infirm, all human.
On Friday, our team administered about 600 of the more than 1 million vaccine doses - the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed across this nation.
Amazing times.,

We expect the FDA to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. Once that happens, well, last Friday’s rush will have been a precursor to many more people flooding in…
Bring ‘em on…

Hip to Covid

Worldwide (Map) 

August 19, 2021 – 209,892,500 confirmed infections; 4,401,700 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 164,620,000 confirmed infections; 3,413,350 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 33,026,300 confirmed infections; 587,870 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

 
SA (Tracker) 
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 1,621,370 confirmed infections; 55,510 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A sparse post for today but…
I’m now supervising a Covid vaccination clinic for a large hospital system in California. Soon – this weekend – I’ll have much information about Covid, about folks getting vaccinated, and about the day-to-day life of a worker with one hour commutes at the start and the end of the day.
How do people commute like this for a lifetime?
After just one week, the answer to the question is, “who knows? I couldn’t do it…."