Door-to-door vaccination enrollment: https://www.hebergementwebs.com/new-york/they-are-reluctant-to-get-vaccinated-will-a-knock-on-the-door-help (link replaced 5/29/21). It takes so much effort to overcome misinformation. This is one part of why Fox “News” is so incredibly dangerous.
WSJ: Face mask mandate ban spreads: https://www.wsj.com/articles/iowa-bans-face-mask-mandates-in-schools-joining-texas-11621544808 . This is pathetic. How does a statewide ban put parents in control? Local control is obviously a better solution to giving parents some control. The GOP has not only banned facts, it’s banned logic.
Did the CDC screw up mask guidance?: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/cdc-mask-guidelines-could-actually-increase-risk-of-spreading-covid-at-work-and-in-public-scientists-say.html . Yes, of course. They confused people, which is bad. But worse, guidelines which involve self-policing don’t work when the mask issue has become political. Competent administrators know that rules for the public should be very simple and bright-line.
Think of it this way. In Oregon, we don’t allow people to smoke indoors because second-hand smoke is a risk to everyone. Everyone should wear a mask indoors to avoid exposure to COVID, even if vaccinated people are now much safer. Simple rule, minor inconvenience, safe result.
Speaking of screw-ups, here’s the latest from the WHO: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-05-20/coronavirus-vaccines-protect-against-variants-who-says . Sigh. Do these people even read the newspapers? We have known for some time that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is the most widely used in Europe, offers almost no protection against the South African variant. In general, the viral vector vaccines (like AstraZeneca) have underperformed the mRNA vaccines. We must hope that an mRNA booster shot will improve protection against the variants for those who had a viral vector vaccine.
As much damage as the CDC has done to its reputation in the past year, it is a shining light in relation to WHO.
WSJ: COVAX and its problems: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covax-covid-19-vaccine-11613577473 . The basic problem is that nations control vaccines made within their borders, putting COVAX last in line.
WSJ: Issues around booster shots: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-booster-shots-raise-tough-issues-for-health-authorities-11621503181 . Of course you plan out booster shots now. You then adjust plans as data becomes available. The mRNA vaccines are a technical gift to the world. Their flexibility in adjusting to variants should be fully exploited in this planning. And it is much cheaper to build production capacity now than to subject the world to more waves of COVID-19. This is not complicated, governments need to get with the program.
Mass vaccinations for the young: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-05-20/the-payoffs-and-perils-of-mass-vaccinations-for-children . This political minefield has been made much more dangerous by Orange Julius.
FDA recommends against Chinese-made syringes: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/554686-fda-advises-physicians-against-chinese-made-syringes-citing-safety .
Vaccine lotteries multiply: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-05-20/vax-scratch-lottery-scheme-aims-to-up-new-york-covid-19-shots . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorkers-vaccinated-next-week-could-win-5-million-11621537463 . Um, given that one vaccine side effect is a rash at the vaccination site, is “Vax-and-Scratch” the best promo New York could come up with? Maryland is going with VaxCash: https://www.wbaltv.com/article/covid-19-vaccine-lottery-maryland/36489671# . Now here’s yet another lottery approach: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/asia/thailand-covid-vaccines-cows-intl-hnk-scli/index.html .
Details of US personal medical debt: https://money.yahoo.com/health-care-america-medical-debt-154731887.html .
WSJ: JP Morgan launches Morgan Health: https://www.wsj.com/articles/jpmorgan-takes-another-crack-at-healthcare-starting-with-its-own-11621515604 .
America’s shifting demographics: https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/554495-the-historic-reversal-of-americas-population-2024 . The aging of the population is a long-term trend that has very little to do with any “milestone” in 2024. The author misses the key point of this shift. The concept of age 65 as a “normal” retirement age has become outmoded for many reasons. People are already working longer, and the health of people over 65 is generally improving. The shift away from manual labor has accelerated these trends. A major challenge now is to cope with the more sedentary lifestyle.
WSJ: COVID cases falling in Europe: https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-latest-covid-19-surge-is-finally-receding-11621524688 .
More on India’s latest global daily death record: https://apnews.com/article/india-coronavirus-pandemic-health-ce604ee88062c459e0a3bd9f1e1ed686 . Note that India’s vaccination campaign has fallen off by half from the recent peak of 4 million per day.
More on black fungus cases in India: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1861776/world . While steroids have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, they also involve medical risks.
Gaza ceasefire deal: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/20/death-destruction-in-gaza-as-israel-defies-truce-call-live . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hamas-fires-missile-at-israeli-military-bus-at-border-11621508840 .
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims drop to 444,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/weekly-jobless-claims-coronavirus-05-20-2021-11621455075 .
Crypto-market loses 47% of its value in the past 7 days: https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/crypto-market-value-47-percent-lost-7-days-2021-5-1030447473
The primary drop is in bitcoin, which has declined in market dominance from 60% to 40% of the total over the past week: https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/ . This level of volatility suggests that high leverage positions (specifically in bitcoin) were wiped out in this fall, leading to panic selling. That in turn suggests that inexperienced market players suffered heavy losses.
One trigger of the sell-off was Elon Musk’s decision that Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin. Tesla has also shed significant value, suggesting that the speculators who follow Musk may be moving on: https://money.yahoo.com/bitcoin-selloff-intensifies-as-musk-hangover-infects-tesla-other-cryptocurrencies-145906196.html . WSJ: Bitcoin has small recovery in Thursday trading: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-price-bounces-after-crypto-crash-shocks-market-11621508116 .
WSJ: Black while driving in Louisiana: https://www.wsj.com/articles/newly-published-video-shows-louisiana-troopers-stun-drag-hit-black-man-who-died-after-traffic-stop-11621562940 . Traffic stops are not supposed to result in a death sentence executed by the arresting officers. This needs to be one of the starting points of police reform.
House GOP members to vote against Capitol security bill: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/554533-gop-urges-members-to-vote-against-capitol-security-bill . So obviously it will pass the House anyway. Shelby’s comments suggest a deal will be made in the Senate. The House GOP vote then boils down to “Screw bipartisanship”. This is so lazy in relation to actually participating in the legislative process. Update: the House passes the bill with no Republican votes: https://www.rollcall.com/2021/05/20/house-passes-capitol-security-bill/ .
Once again, Republicans put their personal fiefdoms over the country: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-senators-are-privately-worried-the-capitol-riot-commission-will-distract-them-from-their-midterm-campaigns-making-it-all-but-doomed-in-the-senate/ar-AAKcbA5?li=BBnbfcL . Here’s my current prediction: few Republican senators will vote for the commission (maybe Romney and Murkowski). Pelosi will appoint a select committee. That committee will produce findings the Democrats will indeed weaponize against Republicans next year. The Republicans will argue that this is all politics. Democrats will play the January 6 videos over and over again in their campaign ads. The select committee’s task is therefore not to overreach. More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sen-republicans-admit-they-dont-want-jan-6-commission-because-it-could-color-midterms/ar-BB1gV1ZX?li=BBnb7Kz . Republicans appear short-sighted to vote down a commission in the face of a select committee.
The expanding New York state investigation into Orange Julius: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-cfo-faces-criminal-inquiry-sources/story?id=77799386 . Here is real information that explains the events of the past few days. This is all intended to ramp up the pressure on Weisselberg. You can see that in the interrogation of his (ex) daughter-in-law. She, however, already believes he will spill the beans: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jennifer-weisselberg-says-the-trump-org-cfo-her-former-father-in-law-will-flip-on-trump-in-new-york-investigations/ar-AAKdLbN?li=BBnb7Kz .
Tim Tebow? Really?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tim-tebow-jacksonville-jaguars-new-york-mets-injuries-11621464956 . Tim Tebow has demonstrated no ability to play any sport in the major leagues. He will be 34 in August. Apparently Mets fans drink way too much.