News & Experiences continued

[Jimena]

Because I adopted a dog...

Congratulations! What kind of dog is it? What's its name? So vicariously excited for you!

My neighbor has a Dalmatian named Frida. Her spots are brown, she's about a year and a half and she's an absolute sweetheart. Not to mention, she's just so freaking gorgeous. Now, he has a brand new 9 week old male Dalmatian named Milan. He has black spots, one brown eye and one blue eye. He's just a little spotted ball of love. I'm getting my puppy fix now and it makes this whole situation much more bearable.

My neighbor is finishing up med school now so he's vaccinated and I'm vaccinated. So rolling around the floor with two young pups is something I'm quite enjoying. I don't want him to think I'm stalking him. But I'm seriously stalking his dogs.

 

[once_upon]

Apparently hundreds of people celebrated Alabama's national championship win by pouring out into the streets. Very few masks.

Between Christmas, terrorist event in DC, and now this the hospitals won't get a break anytime soon

 

[Miezekatze]

One German state (possibly others) is requiring FFP2 masks for shopping and public transport starting on Monday.

Generally I think that's a good idea, but I'm not sure supply is THAT good that it will still work properly when millions of Germans buy or order them at the same time? (older Germans now get a couple of free ones per months).

Also it might be a financial strain for the poor, since those masks are still not that cheap.

 

[Hedwig]

I already wondered if we should buy some as well in preparation

 

[MacMadame]

Congratulations! What kind of dog is it? What's its name? So vicariously excited for you!

His name is Sonic. He's 11 years old but very young at heart and he's some sort of Dachshund mix, probably with Chihuahua but maybe with something bigger.

 

[once_upon]

I really hate going out this much. I had gotten to the point where it had been 2 weeks before I'd been in physical proximity to anyone not in my household and now I have to start the clock over.

You certainly have been out more than me, but the frequent follow-up visits for my eye surgery has been concerning.

The office doesn't seem to have enough waiting room area in either rooms. Because they need to administer eye drops at different intervals, its not like you can wait in your car, and several of their rooms are used for specific purposes so its impossible to sit you in one exam until he sees you. My last appointment a week ago, I was there for 60 minutes, having different testing and specialized scans.

Every wears a mask but like the I said the distancing is impossible.

 

[Buzz]

Ontario has declared another state of emergency and stay at home order. Other measures include reduced hours for some essential businesses and outdoor social gatherings reduced to five from ten people.

Ontario implements another state of emergency and stay-at-home order to combat COVID-19

Ontario is implementing another provincewide state of emergency immediately, extending remote-only learning for select students and cracking down on retail hours as *********-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths reach record highs.

tinyurl.com

 

[MsZem]

Early results from Israel on the effects of the first dose on transmission are promising

More here, and yes there's a control group.

 

[Dobre]

A reporter in tears after being in ten California hospitals:

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1349048996304728065

 

[Susan1]

Ohio 1/12/21

He didn't bother with numbers today, so from the WHIO website (I'm not going to check their numbers):
"The Ohio Department of Health reported 7,891 new *********-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Tuesday.
ODH reported 486 new hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
The latest 7-day positivity rate, which includes confirmed and presumptive tests, is at 12 percent.
There were also 100 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been at least 792,938 confirmed or probable cases in the state. The state has reported 9,802 deaths, and 41,863 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
According to data, 648,724 people are presumed to have recovered from the *****.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
There have been 8,225,635 people tested for the ******** in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
A total of 47,498 health care workers have tested positive which is about 6 percent of the cases.
Based on data released Tuesday, 321,506 people have received a vaccination. The total number of Ohioans who have received a vaccination is 2.75 percent."

DeWine - "85% of nursing homes in Ohio have been visited by vaccine providers and given the opportunity to receive the vaccine." He said when they went to give people the second shots, the number of people who then got their first shots went up. And Ohio has 9% of the country's nursing home numbers.

Ohio Veterans homes - "Sandusky: 92% of eligible veterans and 60% of staff chose to be vaccinated. Georgetown: 92% of eligible veterans and 42% of staff chose to be vaccinated.

Our hospitals have been vaccinating their medical personnel as part of Phase 1A. Hospitals must finish vaccinating their frontline healthcare providers by midnight on Sunday. On Monday they must move to vaccinate older Ohioans who are 80 or older as part of phase 1B.

Those 80+ are approx. 420,000 people. As of now, we expect to receive around 100,000 vaccines next week for this age group, so it will take some time to vaccinate this group. Local health departments, emergency management agencies, and providers in each county will notify the media tomorrow/Thurs. about the process residents can use to be vaccinated in their counties - times, locations, etc. We expect the process to look different depending on the provider. Some may hold walk up clinics, others may take appointments. Each provider can decide what they believe works.

On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health will post info on the website about what providers (800 out of the 1,900 providers that signed up) are being allocated vaccinations for next week. Residents will be able to search by zip code and by county. This site will only show which providers have been allotted vaccines. It will not update in real-time. It is critical to reach out to each provider to get the latest information on the availability of their vaccine allotment. In the coming weeks, as more vaccination is made available and phase 1B opens to more Ohioans, more providers will be added. This will be based upon the number of vaccines that Ohio receives. We have asked each vaccine provider to complete their vaccinations within 7 days.

On January 25th, we anticipate vaccinations will open up to those 75 years old and older. The following week, it should open to people 70 and older, and on February 8th, the vaccinations are expected to be available to those 65 and older. When a new age range opens, that doesn’t mean that vaccinations should be complete for the previous age range. Again, it will take a number of weeks to distribute all of the vaccine given the limited doses available. Also the week of the January 25th, vaccinations will be available to those with severe congenital, developmental, or early-onset medical disorders. We will announce in the coming days how those individuals will be able to receive their vaccinations if they choose."

(Explain this to me. 100K doses to 1/4 of the 80+ people in one week. Then finish however many 75-80 year olds the next week while still getting to the ~300K 80+ year olds they didn't get to the first week. The week after that, adding another 5 years? You're scooping water out of the ocean with a slotted spoon.)

"As we move to get more and more of our seniors vaccinated, if you are a senior and having a problem, one of our key partners will be our Area Agencies on Aging. While the Area Agencies on Aging are not the ones putting shots in the arms, they are the ones to call if you are 65 and over and have questions about vaccines. Those questions could include concerns about the safety of the vaccine or how you can get to the provider in your area that is offering the vaccine. They will help answer your questions and connect you with the providers." (Wanna bet?)

The trump admin agreed today to release the banked second doses - 353,925. Was on his governors call with pence today. Has confidence in production of second dose. During the questions, he said it was something the trump and Biden administrations agreed on. (Duh.) And he said he is unclear what they meant by there will be changes in 2 weeks. (Are you serious? The intelligent, caring adults will be in charge be then.)

Q&A - the CDC guidance is over 65 year olds now. Why not in Ohio? (Well, if you don't have enough for 1/4 of the 80+, you don't have enough for every 65 year old either.) DeWine said the 80+ year olds are most at risk.

There was a webinar instructing providers about contingency plans and what to do with extra doses so they don't spoil. Husted had the printout of steps to take. DeWine - only 1/4 of the 80+ will be getting the vaccine the first week, so they don't expect there to be leftovers. (Duh.) Expecting more shipments, and hoping other companies get the vaccine approved.

People from Michigan can get their health care in Toledo. What about the vaccine? "It can happen." (Did not explain that.) Said people in Kentucky come to Cincinnati too. And he's heard that people in Ohio are getting the vaccine in Florida. (Really flip about the whole mess.)

Will Browns fans have to quarantine when they get home from the big game. (They should, but they won't.) DeWine - both states are on the travel advisory. It's not the travel, but the way you travel and what you do. (This is getting ridiculous.) Dr. Vanderhoff said this is outside of your normal behavior (not for a lot of people) and is confident people will be careful. Hopes people will quarantine for 14 days. (Sigh)

Question from Andy Chow, public t.v. and radio, about failure of federal distribution infrastructure. DeWine - Very pleased (still scared of trump?), would like to know before a Sunday what doses we are getting though. (Tell PRESIDENT Biden's team.)

Vetoed some bill about county fairs. Greene county reporter asked why. We don't know where we are going to be by then. Last year everyone worked hard and got money to have junior fairs. Many did phenomenal job. DeWine's fervent hope is that fairs will be open normally by then. Ramifications if everybody is not vaccinated by then.

 

[ballettmaus]

A colleague of my mom's drove to a vaccination location after work yesterday. She was vaccinated without an appointment. So my parents and two colleagues went there today after school. One colleague was let in, everyone else was turned away and told to make an appointment. No one knows why; the colleague who was let in arrived a few minutes earlier but that's it. (It was around two in the afternoon, so not about to close any time soon).
The website where you make appointments, however, is not updated to include phase 1b.

The vaccination process works like clock work. Not a Swiss one though

 

[skategal]

The mother of one of my son‘s friends is an ER nurse and she received her first Pfizer vaccine last week. She said she was tired and achy but okay.

She said that some of her colleagues have had the second dose and there are more side effects from the second dose.

They experienced fever and cold symptoms and were off work for a couple of days but otherwise okay (and this is why not all healthcare workers in the same unit are getting the vaccine at the same time.)

She was told that the Pfizer vaccine is 55% effective two weeks after getting the first dose.

 

[acraven]

It's easy to miss important vaccine news these days with the insurrection taking over so many news portals. On January 11 Barrons reported Johnson & Johnson expects to file for emergency use authorization of its single-dose vaccine on January 21. The company is currently analyzing the results of its large Stage 3 study. The article acknowledges that there's also an on-going two-dose trial but says nothing about its timing. J&J has projected it can produce about 1 billion doses of its vaccine in 2021.

In a catch-all series of short pandmic-related updates, CNN reported today that Operation Warp Speed hopes the AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved for emergency use by the end of March.

 

[Louis]

J&J has projected it can produce about 1 million doses of its vaccine in 2021.

Thank you for staying so on top of the vaccine related developments. This is indeed great news. If I’m reading correctly in Barrons, J&J indicated it can produce 1 billion doses.

 

[flyingsit]

Thank you for staying so on top of the vaccine related developments. This is indeed great news. If I’m reading correctly in Barrons, J&J indicated it can produce 1 billion doses.

That’s correct. They have allocated half of their production to low-income countries.

 

[acraven]

Thanks; mental hiccup corrected.

Also:

The CDC has announced extension (effective January 26) of the negative-*********-19-test requirement to all inbound international travelers. The test must be taken within three days of departure. Alternatively, documentation of recovery from the ***** can be presented.

 

[maureenfarone]

Ohio 1/12/21

He didn't bother with numbers today, so from the WHIO website (I'm not going to check their numbers):
"The Ohio Department of Health reported 7,891 new *********-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Tuesday.
ODH reported 486 new hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
The latest 7-day positivity rate, which includes confirmed and presumptive tests, is at 12 percent.
There were also 100 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been at least 792,938 confirmed or probable cases in the state. The state has reported 9,802 deaths, and 41,863 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
According to data, 648,724 people are presumed to have recovered from the *****.
Ohio has an estimated population of approximately 11.7 million, census records show.
There have been 8,225,635 people tested for the ******** in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
A total of 47,498 health care workers have tested positive which is about 6 percent of the cases.
Based on data released Tuesday, 321,506 people have received a vaccination. The total number of Ohioans who have received a vaccination is 2.75 percent."

DeWine - "85% of nursing homes in Ohio have been visited by vaccine providers and given the opportunity to receive the vaccine." He said when they went to give people the second shots, the number of people who then got their first shots went up. And Ohio has 9% of the country's nursing home numbers.

Ohio Veterans homes - "Sandusky: 92% of eligible veterans and 60% of staff chose to be vaccinated. Georgetown: 92% of eligible veterans and 42% of staff chose to be vaccinated.

Our hospitals have been vaccinating their medical personnel as part of Phase 1A. Hospitals must finish vaccinating their frontline healthcare providers by midnight on Sunday. On Monday they must move to vaccinate older Ohioans who are 80 or older as part of phase 1B.

Those 80+ are approx. 420,000 people. As of now, we expect to receive around 100,000 vaccines next week for this age group, so it will take some time to vaccinate this group. Local health departments, emergency management agencies, and providers in each county will notify the media tomorrow/Thurs. about the process residents can use to be vaccinated in their counties - times, locations, etc. We expect the process to look different depending on the provider. Some may hold walk up clinics, others may take appointments. Each provider can decide what they believe works.

On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health will post info on the website about what providers (800 out of the 1,900 providers that signed up) are being allocated vaccinations for next week. Residents will be able to search by zip code and by county. This site will only show which providers have been allotted vaccines. It will not update in real-time. It is critical to reach out to each provider to get the latest information on the availability of their vaccine allotment. In the coming weeks, as more vaccination is made available and phase 1B opens to more Ohioans, more providers will be added. This will be based upon the number of vaccines that Ohio receives. We have asked each vaccine provider to complete their vaccinations within 7 days.

On January 25th, we anticipate vaccinations will open up to those 75 years old and older. The following week, it should open to people 70 and older, and on February 8th, the vaccinations are expected to be available to those 65 and older. When a new age range opens, that doesn’t mean that vaccinations should be complete for the previous age range. Again, it will take a number of weeks to distribute all of the vaccine given the limited doses available. Also the week of the January 25th, vaccinations will be available to those with severe congenital, developmental, or early-onset medical disorders. We will announce in the coming days how those individuals will be able to receive their vaccinations if they choose."

(Explain this to me. 100K doses to 1/4 of the 80+ people in one week. Then finish however many 75-80 year olds the next week while still getting to the ~300K 80+ year olds they didn't get to the first week. The week after that, adding another 5 years? You're scooping water out of the ocean with a slotted spoon.)

"As we move to get more and more of our seniors vaccinated, if you are a senior and having a problem, one of our key partners will be our Area Agencies on Aging. While the Area Agencies on Aging are not the ones putting shots in the arms, they are the ones to call if you are 65 and over and have questions about vaccines. Those questions could include concerns about the safety of the vaccine or how you can get to the provider in your area that is offering the vaccine. They will help answer your questions and connect you with the providers." (Wanna bet?)

The trump admin agreed today to release the banked second doses - 353,925. Was on his governors call with pence today. Has confidence in production of second dose. During the questions, he said it was something the trump and Biden administrations agreed on. (Duh.) And he said he is unclear what they meant by there will be changes in 2 weeks. (Are you serious? The intelligent, caring adults will be in charge be then.)

Q&A - the CDC guidance is over 65 year olds now. Why not in Ohio? (Well, if you don't have enough for 1/4 of the 80+, you don't have enough for every 65 year old either.) DeWine said the 80+ year olds are most at risk.

There was a webinar instructing providers about contingency plans and what to do with extra doses so they don't spoil. Husted had the printout of steps to take. DeWine - only 1/4 of the 80+ will be getting the vaccine the first week, so they don't expect there to be leftovers. (Duh.) Expecting more shipments, and hoping other companies get the vaccine approved.

People from Michigan can get their health care in Toledo. What about the vaccine? "It can happen." (Did not explain that.) Said people in Kentucky come to Cincinnati too. And he's heard that people in Ohio are getting the vaccine in Florida. (Really flip about the whole mess.)

Will Browns fans have to quarantine when they get home from the big game. (They should, but they won't.) DeWine - both states are on the travel advisory. It's not the travel, but the way you travel and what you do. (This is getting ridiculous.) Dr. Vanderhoff said this is outside of your normal behavior (not for a lot of people) and is confident people will be careful. Hopes people will quarantine for 14 days. (Sigh)

Question from Andy Chow, public t.v. and radio, about failure of federal distribution infrastructure. DeWine - Very pleased (still scared of trump?), would like to know before a Sunday what doses we are getting though. (Tell PRESIDENT Biden's team.)

Vetoed some bill about county fairs. Greene county reporter asked why. We don't know where we are going to be by then. Last year everyone worked hard and got money to have junior fairs. Many did phenomenal job. DeWine's fervent hope is that fairs will be open normally by then. Ramifications if everybody is not vaccinated by then.

I must be an idiot because I do not see how this roll out can possibly work. The comment you made about scooping water out of the ocean with a slotted spoon is spot on. And all of the 2 million people in 1b who don't get vaccinated the first week calling all of the providers trying to get appointments week after week but never knowing if the provider even gets any doses until that week sounds like so much fun - NOT. I am trying really hard not to be a pessimist but I just can't see getting a vaccine until sometime in April - not when my age group 70+ becomes eligible on February 1.

Thanks Susan1 for doing such a great summary!

 

[Parsley Sage]

The mother of one of my son‘s friends is an ER nurse and she received her first Pfizer vaccine last week. She said she was tired and achy but okay.

She said that some of her colleagues have had the second dose and there are more side effects from the second dose.

They experienced fever and cold symptoms and were off work for a couple of days but otherwise okay (and this is why not all healthcare workers in the same unit are getting the vaccine at the same time.)

She was told that the Pfizer vaccine is 55% effective two weeks after getting the first dose.

My sister reported the same after getting the Pfizer vaccine last week.

 

[Dobre]

The governor in Oregon just announced that we are adding everyone 65 & over to the next vaccination phase, beginning January 23rd.

This means my parents will qualify.


I am worried about 2nd doses & how we are going to increase the number of vaccinations actually getting into arms, when the system is struggling to get the doses we already have to people. (Though the message from my friend at OHSU about more upcoming large-scale clinic events is encouraging).

But I cannot control any of those things, and, mostly, I am just really happy that my parents will qualify.


We had a new high of 54 deaths in the state today.

It was also the reassessment deadline for county metrics. Five counties moved out of Extreme Risk a couple weeks ago. Now 4 are back in it, not at all surprising as cases started to climb right at the same time as the last assessment. 26 out of 36 counties are now frozen.

 

[Miezekatze]

Early results from Israel on the effects of the first dose on transmission are promising

More here, and yes there's a control group.

That sounds interesting, I hope you can keep us updated when there's more news on this?

I already wondered if we should buy some as well in preparation

I already ordered a couple of FFP2 masks some weeks ago, in case I have to or want to use public transportation (or visit something like a doctors office) before I'm vaccinated, I'd feel safer with those at those places. Also my mom says she actually prefers them over other masks in terms of breathing and comfort.

 

[Dobre]

How a Well-Meaning Health Policy Created California’s ******** Nightmare​

How a Well-Meaning Health Policy Created California’s Coronavirus Nightmare

The state’s hyperefficient health-care system runs pretty well—unless a ********* strikes.

tinyurl.com

"The health-care system in California is fraying because the state has tried to run its health system efficiently. The principles are simple: Keep patients out of hospitals, funnel people to primary-care doctors, and don’t build hospitals you don’t need. In normal times, that strategy would make perfect sense. Typically, doctors’ trying to treat patients outside of hospitals is smart. Medical advances mean that procedures such as mole removals and knee replacements can be done in just a few hours instead of a few days. And holding patients in hospital beds is much more expensive than sending them home, while people languishing in hospitals risk acquiring infections."


"Last week, Newsom did ask for 500 federal medical workers to be deployed to California to help, but as of Friday the request was “still awaiting adjudication by federal officials,” the governor’s office told me. These workers could have been in place before the state reached a crisis point, but the federal government has refrained from coordinating any element of the *********, whether testing or contact tracing or vaccine distribution. It has also failed to control the ********, which is really the only way to keep a hyperefficient hospital system like California’s functioning during a *********. And now, much as states have been on their own to handle other parts of the *********, California is on its own to find enough nurses, too."

 

[FGRSK8]

My statistics were beginning to show it a week ago as cases were beginning to ramp up in Brazil. Reports this morning indicate that there may be a new variant there as well.

That makes 4 variants...UK, South Africa, Nigeria, and Brazil.

My feeling is that there will be more....

 

[PRlady]

I was able to make a vaccination appointment today. It didn't go totally smoothly; the process reminded me of what often happens when buying All-Event tickets to US Nationals on Day 1. So here are some suggestions for folks whose jurisdictions use an on-line sign-up process. (I realize different websites will be used.)

- Figure out as soon as you can what the process will be. Bookmark the website. (Google vaccination with the name of your city, county or state. If that doesn't work, try vaccination sign-up.)

- Consider doing a trial run before you are eligible for vaccination. That will show you how the process works, what info you'll need (I needed an "insurance number" and an "insurance group number" but left the latter blank for Medicare), and what your location options may be. You'll probably have to give fake answers to some of the questions so you appear to qualify at the time of the test run.

- If you know you should be able to book an appointment but the website still only lists groups before yours (in my case, the website still said it was for medical personnel only), try anyway. Answer the questions honestly. If you are allowed to make an appointment, you're fine.

- I had a problem with the location/time selection; they were late loading the appointment times, so the individual sites' screens initially offered no date/time choices. Then the lists of appointment times appeared one vaccination site at a time and immediately started disappearing as others booked them. I don't know a workaround for that, but it you have looked at the locations ahead of time, you will have had a chance to think about where you are willing to go if your choices are limited.

- If you're given an opportunity to get on an email list for announcements about availability of vaccinations to new groups of people, take advantage of it, but don't trust it. I still haven't received a notification from the DC government, and all the week's appointments were filled hours ago. The medical center where most of my doctors are located, which is one of the vaccination sites, sent me a message at 7:15 PM, again hours after all the appointment slots were filled.

- Don't expect to be able to book two appointments with one pass through the registration process. If there are two of you in the same priority group, consider using two devices so you can get through the process more quickly, before all the appointments are snapped up. If you don't do this, there is a real risk one of you will have to wait for the next week.

The only reason we didn’t have to do this is DH’s insomnia at 1:00 AM Monday morning. But my friends corroborate this report.

 

[Susan1]

I must be an idiot because I do not see how this roll out can possibly work. The comment you made about scooping water out of the ocean with a slotted spoon is spot on. And all of the 2 million people in 1b who don't get vaccinated the first week calling all of the providers trying to get appointments week after week but never knowing if the provider even gets any doses until that week sounds like so much fun - NOT. I am trying really hard not to be a pessimist but I just can't see getting a vaccine until sometime in April - not when my age group 70+ becomes eligible on February 1.

Thanks Susan1 for doing such a great summary!

When you age group is up, they will still be doing 80+ and 75+ second doses. And those who didn't get the first one the first time. I'm looking at maybe 2029. ha Although I will be 65 before then, so maybe there will still be some vaccine left.

At this point - 2.2M people at 100K/week. (22 weeks? 5 months? Too early for math.) That's if Ohio gets 100K/week and where it goes. What about all the other states that have more than 11.7M altogether. I guess a lot of us will be dead, so won't need the *****. Are they going to divide it evenly by counties that have less than a tenth of the big C's? Do they give it to you if you are already in the hospital or ICU? Or if you have symptoms? Is it too late?

It's going to be like that new Jenga commercial for wearing masks, only it's going to be people who get vaccinated, leaving all the other people in that age group and others to collapse.

 

[Louis]

The CDC has announced extension (effective January 26) of the negative-*********-19-test requirement to all inbound international travelers. The test must be taken within three days of departure. Alternatively, documentation of recovery from the ***** can be presented.

This actually creates a perverse incentive to get the v*rus. If I get the v*rus, I can use the medical system and get the documentation for free. Then, I can travel for as long as I want with just this one proof. If I don't, I spend thousands of dollars on private testing lasting god knows how long - a year or more? Every trip requires multiple appointments, letters, and costs.

Will proof of vaccination also qualify, I wonder?

I strongly prefer consistency of process -- if tests are required, they should be required for those who've had the v*rus (one can get it twice) and those who are vaccinated (not 100%; some people have contracted it after shot one).

Very, very, very few people should be travelling right now, but I hope they work out some kind of fair process by springtime. Those who haven't had the v*rus and who are waiting patiently for the vaccine should not face extra cost and process hurdles.

 

[acraven]

I think it's clear that large urban areas need one or more high-volume vaccination sites. I believe I've read that is happening in at least three states (California, Arizona and New York); I expect there will be others. I guess that didn't make sense initially, because the number of doses supplied to each state was fairly low and many of the initial recipients were to be vaccinated at their place of work (medical people) or residence (care-home folks, prisoners). Now that we're beginning to include subsets of the general public, it's time to do something different. It would probably be safer, too; I'm concerned about how much time I'll have to spend inside a supermarket getting vaccinated on Thursday. I'd much rather be in some sort of well-ventilated tent facility or an unused above-ground parking garage, though I acknowledge there could be some temperature-control challenges in my area and points north.

It seems more and more states are mobilizing the National Guard to help, which is another great idea. The District of Columbia has bigger fish to fry at the moment, of course.

 

[Vagabond]

Roughly 380,000 Americans have died of you-know-what. That's about as many people as live in Cleveland, Ohio.

Roughly 22,500,000 Americans have been diagnosed with you-know-what. That's more people than live in Florida.

 

[acraven]

Brazil has been conducting a major Stage 3 trial of one of the Chinese vaccines, Sinovac's Coronavac. Although it is testing out as very effective against moderate and severe cases, overall results are disappointing: China's Sinovac vaccine trial results far less effective than initially claimed in Brazil - CNN

"The Butantan Institute and the Government of Sao Paulo report that the ******** vaccine achieved a 50.38% overall efficacy rate in the clinical study conducted in Brazil, in addition to (an efficacy rate of) 78% for mild cases and 100% for moderate and severe cases of *********-19."

I don't know anything about vaccines; I guess the concern is that there's only a 50% reduction in the number of exposed people who get infected. They won't get severely ill, but they can pass the ***** on to other people who--if unvaccinated--could get seriously ill.

Meantime, there is concern that the South African mutation may reduce the efficacy of our current vaccines. That link goes to one of CNN.com's catch-all compilations of ***** news, so you will need to scroll down.

 

[Louis]

I'd much rather be in some sort of well-ventilated tent facility or an unused above-ground parking garage, though I acknowledge there could be some temperature-control challenges in my area and points north.

A lot of c*vid testing in the UK is being done either in outdoor tents, or in socially distanced outdoor queues. When I got my travel test, I spent less than two minutes inside. Everything other than the swab collection was done outdoors.

People are being advised in all caps letters not to show up early, and the person monitoring the test site would not allow anyone to join the outdoor queue early. He had an iPad and was checking in everyone outside, and he had a portable card reader for the payment. There was one outdoor seat, disinfected after each use, available for the elderly or infirm.

I'd think this approach could work for vaccinations, too.

 

[FGRSK8]

The weekly trend numbers. 0 means 15 day or 30 day basically neutral.

The western hemisphere continues to be not good as the trends continue upwards from Canada south to Chile. Africa and Southeast Asia continue hot as well. Trends in western Europe remain unchanged while Eastern Europe maybe at the beginnings of another surge. Downward trends continue across the Indian Subcontinent, Turkey, and Russia. The remaining areas continue to show mix trends.

Key: Region,15day case, 30day case, 15day death, 30day death

1/13/2021

World + + + +
Canada + + + +
US + + + +
W Europe + + - +
E Europe + - 0 -
Russia - - - -
Indian Subcontinent - - - -
SE Asia + + + +
W Asia - - - -
N Africa - - + +
Africa + + + +
S America + + + +
Mid East + + - -
Turkey - - - -
Cen America + + + +
Oceania - - 0 0

Compared to last week 1/6/2021

World - + - +
Canada + + + +
US + + - +
W Europe + + - +
E Europe - - - -
Russia - - - +
Indian Subcontinent - - - -
SE Asia + + + +
W Asia - - - -
N Africa - - + +
Africa + + + +
S America - + - +
Mid East + - - -
Turkey - - - +
Cen America - + + +
Oceania - - - +