California COVID SMARTER plan: https://www.aol.com/news/california-offers-cautious-blueprint-forward-222220336.html . “SMARTER” is an acronym for shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education and Rx (meaning antiviral drugs). Just a test for you: tomorrow morning, ask yourself what the acronym stands for. I couldn’t do it in one shot just retyping it now … good luck …
As readers know, I ordered my free government COVID tests when the website opened. My two tests arrived in the mail yesterday (February 16) afternoon.
Surgeon General’s 4-year-old COVID positive: https://apnews.com/article/business-new-york-manhattan-donald-trump-subpoenas-0aa45e4644b13f7a3ef76d9c00491298 . This led to parents advocating for immediate access to vaccines for children under 5. Until testing is complete, we do not have meaningful assurance that the dosages we are guessing at are indeed safe and effective.
COVID cases continue to drop nationwide: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vaccine-requirements-lifted-us-covid-cases-wane-rcna16700 . But we face the same risk from government action that we have repeatedly faced. Premature re-opening has led to successive waves of the virus and its variants.
WSJ: COVID deaths are declining nationwide. So is our ability to understand data: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-death-reports-begin-to-drop-as-omicron-surge-rapidly-fades-11645102721 . Good grief. The Journal picks out California as a place where deaths are not declining. However, in the article, click on the map to show deaths per 100,000. That’s the proper measure of the severity of the pandemic by county across the US. You’ll see that California has one of the lowest rates in the country. In other words, many places where deaths are declining have higher current death rates than California. This is not hard, except for the Journal.
The ongoing pandemic risk for the immunocompromised: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/02/covid-pandemic-immunocompromised-risk-vaccines/622094/ .
Omicron surges in highly vaccinated Israel: https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-the-hell-is-happening-with-the-covid-19-surge-in-israel . But the answer to the headline’s question is reasonably obvious. Omicron has the capacity to evade many of the vaccines. Vaccination still offers significant protection against hospitalization. This is Israel’s version of “living with COVID”. The article’s definition of endemicity is incorrect. That the public has tired of pandemic measures is very different from having a virus at a manageable level. More: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-696757 .
WSJ: Hey, we just realized there’s an Omicron surge in Hong Kong: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-considers-citywide-testing-as-omicron-overwhelms-defenses-11645096216 . My question yesterday about Hong Kong was whether the Journal reads the news. Obviously, the answer is no. As we saw above, the Journal does not understand how to interpret its own articles. More WSJ floundering: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-omicron-and-politics-punctured-hong-kong-11645147070 . So does the Journal really not understand that cutting off Hong Kong is a prelude to shutting down its democracy and absorbing it into the mainland?
Airline’s vaccine mandate questioned by federal 3-judge panel: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-ordered-to-reconsider-united-airlines-employees-bid-to-put-vaccine-policy-on-hold/ar-AAU0N6J?li=BBnb7Kz . So, given recent Supreme Court rulings, the initial judge may be forced to reverse his opinion.
Cancer researchers gain insight into the mechanics of CAR-T therapy: https://www.popsci.com/health/car-t-therapy-cancer-immunotherapy/ . CAR-T is the cutting edge of blood cancer therapy. Advances in understanding will help expand use of this therapy.
OJ mismanagement of initial COVID relief bill still with us: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/02/covid-pandemic-immunocompromised-risk-vaccines/622094/ . Readers will remember the obvious oversight failures in dispensing these funds. The failures continue to come to light.
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims continue to rise: https://www.wsj.com/articles/weekly-jobless-claims-02-17-2022-11645105961 . However, the Journal continues to fail to understand the context of these numbers, which is that the prolonged pandemic has caused many people to exhaust their unemployment benefits. We are leaving those folks to twist in the wind.
The (undeserving) Russian poster girl for moral bankruptcy: https://sports.yahoo.com/olympic-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-was-failed-by-the-system-adults-170245056.html . The corrupt international sports network meets the corrupt Russian Olympic Committee. For comparison, here’s an article from 10 days before, by the same columnist: https://sports.yahoo.com/teenager-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-cementing-title-as-best-ever-at-first-olympics-224433332.html . While Valieva must bear some responsibility for the drugs entering her body, there is no question but that the existing system is the primary villain in this 15-year-old’s tragic tale. At least she didn’t invade Ukraine. More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/winter-olympics/nbcs-mike-tirico-delivers-harsh-monologue-on-the-adults-who-failed-to-protect-kamila-valieva/ar-AAU14Yv?li=BBnb7Kz .
WSJ: Meanwhile, we have no understanding of the main story of the Olympics: https://www.wsj.com/articles/valieva-olympics-figure-skating-medals-russia-doping-11645106774 . Halfway in, they quote the IOC President, who clearly understands what has happened. How could the Journal lack any compassion for Valieva? So do they not get that this is total chaos in ice skating as a sport? No, they do not.
The (completely deserving) American poster boy for moral bankruptcy must comply with subpoena: https://apnews.com/article/business-new-york-manhattan-donald-trump-subpoenas-0aa45e4644b13f7a3ef76d9c00491298 . For those patriots who demand to see this ass strung up by his testicles, this case has real potential. Letitia James isn’t going anywhere, so delay is not a powerful weapon here. The defense arguments are desperate. They argue selective prosecution because the most famous lying fraudster may be held accountable for his acts. Would this defense have worked for Al Capone?