Nearly 8 percent of vaccine recipients skip the second dose: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-second-doses-missed-millions/ (link replaced 5/29/21). At times we seem to be a nation of irresponsible screw-ups. We already know that there are people who have received both doses and become infected. We know the variants have a greater chance of evading the vaccines. We can expect that a higher percentage of these “first dosers” will die from COVID (in relation to the fully vaccinated).
A possible solution is to have them come back for a second dose of any vaccine, regardless of the elapsed time from the first dose. Anticipated booster doses may also solve their problem.
Nearly 5 percent of new cases in mid-April are among people who had received first shot: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/550188-21000-tested-positive-after-first-vaccine-dose-in-one . These folks are believed to have been infected before the vaccine had succeeded in causing sufficient antibody production.
WSJ: J&J shots return to the rotation: https://www.wsj.com/articles/johnson-johnsons-covid-19-shot-set-to-be-given-again-at-vaccination-sites-11619293517 .
WSJ: The risks of vaccine hesitancy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fauci-says-u-s-doing-well-on-vaccinations-concerned-about-level-of-covid-19-infections-11619373135 . Again, “herd immunity” is not an attainable goal; “herd resistance” is a more appropriate measuring stick.
Why Michigan became a hotspot: https://apnews.com/article/health-michigan-coronavirus-a9cdf0590d94786b198c22b7b4e4b9d7 . Michigan became a hotspot because idiots put politics above facts. We have been in the pandemic for over a year. Literally, the GOP choice is between spreading the truth or spreading the disease.
Scientific American’s COVID News Round-up April 17 –April 23: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coronavirus-news-roundup-april-17-april-23/ . Note that they now classify this weekly piece as opinion.
Health Canada approves AstraZeneca vaccine from Emergent lab: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-04-25/health-canada-finds-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccines-from-baltimore-plant-safe-of-high-quality . This is probably fine, but it certainly looks scary enough.
Half of world’s 1 billion COVID shots given in just 3 countries: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/24/billion-coronavirus-vaccine-doses-administered-globally .
The mess in India: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/4/25/why-does-india-have-so-many-covid-cases . The government estimates that the peak will be around 500,000 daily infections – in about 3 weeks: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-04-25/india-reports-record-rise-in-coronavirus-infections-of-349-691 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-covid-surge-is-most-ferocious-yet-spreading-like-wildfire-11619388584 . US pledges medical aid: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/washington-medical-aid-india-coronavirus-surge.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/india-will-get-covid-19-test-kits-protective-gear-from-u-s-as-cases-surge-11619381944 .
Iraqi COVID hospital fire death toll at 82 and rising: https://apnews.com/article/health-fires-middle-east-iraq-coronavirus-ebe41d9680c0c8922718fa80171a9660 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fire-in-iraq-hospital-treating-covid-19-patients-kills-82-people-11619348858 .
Indonesian sub disaster: https://www.aol.com/news/indonesian-president-sends-condolences-families-055453363-120723989.html . The sub was German-built. It was refurbished in South Korea in 2012: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_209_submarine . In this very complete reporting, note here that the ship’s crush depth is 500 meters, and the wreckage was found at 850 meters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KRI_Nanggala_(402) .
WSJ: Signs increase that the market is overvalued: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wild-market-ride-lifts-everything-from-lumber-to-stocks-to-bitcoin-11619343001 . The comment here closest to my view is, “People feel they’re investing with impunity”. I believe the Fed’s market interventions have convinced many that the Fed will not allow the market to drop. That is historically inaccurate and at best a temporary situation. This article is a more accurate view, I think: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-feds-next-test-is-breaking-the-ice-over-policy-shift-11619359200 .
The rich should pay more: https://thehill.com/homenews/the-memo/550076-the-memo-biden-tries-to-flip-the-script-on-taxes . Absolutely this has been an issue for decades. The income tax, adopted in 1913, has for most of our history been a progressive tax – meaning that marginal rates go up as incomes go up. Over the years, the rich have been able to lobby their way to lower rates. There is in my view no question that this tax should be progressive. Raising the capital gains tax on high earners does not solve the problem, because they can control the timing of capital gains receipts. But it is a meaningful start.
The obvious problem with the tax code is that it is way too complex, and not uniformly enforced. This is how the rich don’t pay their share. Jimmy Carter called the tax code a “disgrace to the human race” in 1976, and it is way more complex now. It is indefensible that the rich in many cases pay lower effective tax rates than the middle class (and some pay no taxes at all). This indefensibility is especially outrageous when their children almost entirely avoid military service.
GOP’s feeble attempts to confront stupidity: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-lawmaker-says-gop-sen-ron-johnson-s-vaccine-comments-n1265225 . Politics did not make Ron Johnson an idiot – he’s always been an idiot. The GOP (and Wisconsin) needs to figure that out and move on.
The GOP stupidity pandemic: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/25/republicans-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-joe-biden-100-days . All these clown senators do is try to come up with “verbal tweets” to keep themselves on Fox. And this is why the GOP is mostly shut out of the legislative process – they do not offer anything constructive.
WSJ: The cost of emissions goals: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-115-trillion-price-tag-to-cut-global-emissions-11619375103 . No. Do you not understand “unsustainable”? Your source for the price tag is an energy agency based in Abu Dhabi. And these costs will likely be brought down by technological innovation. This feels like a hit piece from the oil industry.
Decent people do decent things: https://www.startribune.com/before-becoming-vp-joe-biden-turned-to-walter-mondale/600048068/ . John Dickerson mentioned Joe Trippi’s story in remembrance of Walter Mondale on “Face the Nation” Sunday morning. It wouldn’t be the worst thing, at the start of each day, to think about being decent.