COVID vaccines need continuing investment: https://news.yahoo.com/future-covid-variants-will-likely-reinfect-us-multiple-times-a-year-experts-say-unless-we-invest-in-new-vaccines-121959797.html . We all should know that the pandemic is an arms race between evolving variants and evolving vaccines. Failing to upgrade vaccines will lose the arms race, as we have consistently argued throughout this newsletter’s existence.
BA.2.12.1 nearing dominance in US: https://www.salon.com/2022/05/12/ba2-12-1-dominant/ . The article mentions that BA.2.12.1 shows a greater ability to infect the lower portion of the respiratory tract, which could increase its severity. However, this is even more worrisome if additional variants emerge with this capability.
FDA approves Pfizer child booster: https://www.aol.com/news/1-u-fda-authorizes-pfizers-142440748-143742557.html . The shot boosts kids 5 to 11. CDC still needs to sign off. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizers-covid-19-booster-cleared-for-5-to-11-year-olds-11652798386 .
WSJ: South Africa’s fifth COVID wave: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-new-covid-19-variants-drive-fifth-wave-in-south-africa-virus-becomes-a-fact-of-daily-life-11652780005 . We really have no handle on how to measure severity for each variant. Also, as we have maintained from the start, there is no logical reason or evidence to assume that future variants will continually become milder.
Shanghai struggles on with Zero COVID: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-05-18/huge-pressure-as-shanghai-remains-covid-free-and-end-to-lockdown-looms . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghais-covid-19-case-count-drops-as-city-prepares-to-reopen-11652792483 .
North Korea reports rapid recoveries from COVID surge: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-government-and-politics-south-korea-north-07e3aa5c1b6bce2323c8621c05a61ea4 . Obviously, the North Koreans are just making stuff up. We can already assume that we will never have reliable data on the effects of COVID in North Korea.
WSJ: Nestle to fly baby formula to US: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gerber-owner-to-fly-extra-baby-formula-to-the-u-s-11652789300 .
WSJ: Pollution caused 9 million deaths worldwide in 2019: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pollution-caused-one-in-six-deaths-world-wide-in-2019-study-says-11652826602 .
Ukraine cedes Mariupol to Russian troops: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-finland-6203a57a7ec5fe2c49c9ccb83f2ca7e0 . Russia has made an important territorial gain in the south, but the delays created by this Ukrainian resistance have helped Ukraine’s strategic situation in the Donbas. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-says-long-combat-mission-in-mariupol-has-ended-11652767128 .
Ukrainians return to Kyiv: https://news.yahoo.com/what-displaced-ukrainians-are-finding-upon-their-return-to-kyiv-090033884.html . Remember that in addition to the millions that have fled to Western Europe, millions more were displaced internally.
As expected, Finland and Sweden submit NATO membership applications: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-government-and-politics-sweden-recep-tayyip-erdogan-bb85591c4cf0335cc053faccce26df32 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sweden-finland-to-lodge-nato-bid-11652807054 .
OJ-endorsed idiot incumbent loses his seat in the GOP primary: https://news.yahoo.com/madison-cawthorn-loses-his-seat-in-congress-after-a-turbulent-two-years-in-office-024441242.html . OJ is apparently tired of winning, because this was a losing pick on so many levels. Remarkably, the western North Carolina Republicans decided not to listen to Orange What’s-His-Name …
OJ-endorsed lieutenant governor loses to incumbent governor in Idaho GOP primary: https://www.ktvb.com/elections . And it’s not close. With 48% of precincts reporting at this writing, the governor leads 58% to 27%, with another 15% split between 5 other candidates.
The Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary is too close to call: https://6abc.com/pennsylvania-primary-election-2022-mehmet-oz-senate/11862108/ . With 99% of the vote counted, OJ-endorsed Dr. Oz is trailing by 2,483 votes. The 1% outstanding (and these figures are notoriously unreliable) works out to about 11,000 votes, which makes it very unlikely that Oz can overcome the current margin.
If Oz does lose, OJ’s endorsement record is basically down the toilet. How thrilling that GOP voters don’t just accept an OJ recommendation …
But also, whoever wins will do so with around 31% of the vote. In other words, almost 70% of GOP primary voters will have voted for someone else. That is pretty much a recipe for losing the general election in a purple state like Pennsylvania.
“Anonymous” quits the Republican Party over “white replacement” theory: https://www.thewrap.com/trump-staffer-miles-taylor-quits-republican-party/ .
Twit backpedaling on his Twitter deal: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/1099416770/elon-musk-says-doubt-about-spam-accounts-could-doom-twitter-deal . As we predicted, Musk looks to worm out of his $44 billion deal. Also, the damage being caused at Twitter seems litigation-worthy to me.