White House pushing back on reports it declined additional Pfizer vaccine purchase last summer: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-pushes-back-on-report-that-it-declined-to-buy-more-pfizer-vaccine-doses/ . So last summer, Pfizer announced that the White House had the right to buy up to 500 million more doses. As repeatedly noted here, the White House is so terrible at lying they apparently don’t understand videotape, prior reporting, memory, you name it.
UN makes December 27 “Epidemic Preparedness Day”: https://apnews.com/article/europe-angela-merkel-germany-coronavirus-pandemic-219311abc09f9e05867cfc4be1f3c6da .
Nursing home vaccination logistics: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nursing-homes-are-top-priority-covid-vaccines-vaccinating-everyone-won-n1250304 .
Health care COVID testing inadequate: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/07/943945361/think-health-care-workers-are-tested-often-for-covid-19-think-again . This is scary.
WSJ: Vaccine distribution priorities: https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-gets-covid-19-vaccine-first-hospitals-assess-how-to-divvy-up-shots-11607357465 . I’m not entirely sure what the problem is here. If 83% or less of the 24 million workers elect to get vaccinated, the 20 million vaccinations are adequate. The problem occurs only if vaccination is mandatory for these workers. Also, it is my understanding that people will receive a first dose while the second dose has not yet been shipped. So, oddly, I’m not sure exactly what 20 million means here.
Trump to sign executive order on vaccine priorities: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-vaccines-trump/trump-to-sign-order-giving-priority-access-for-covid-vaccines-to-americans-idUKKBN28H2LN . Obviously, following through on the vaccine purchase would have been more helpful than this publicity stunt.
Trump to hold White House summit on COVID-19: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/07/trump-white-house-covid-summit-fda-vaccine-approval/3861768001/ . Obviously, following through on the vaccine purchase would have been more helpful than this publicity stunt.
WSJ: Hospital-level COVID data coming weekly: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hhs-to-release-hospital-level-covid-19-data-on-weekly-basis-11607389633 .
California locks down as hospitals overwhelmed: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa/californians-endure-another-lockdown-as-covid-19-patients-overwhelm-hospitals-idUSKBN28H1HM . More on new restrictions: https://deadline.com/2020/12/california-coronavirus-update-california-governor-gavin-newsom-announces-emergency-measures-across-state-icu-strike-teams-amid-27-jump-in-new-cases-over-weekend-reaching-all-time-high-1234651468/ .
Colorado nursing home deaths surge: https://coloradosun.com/2020/12/07/coronavirus-nursing-homes-colorado-second-wave/ .
Florida agents raid home of data scientist who created state’s dashboard: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-raid/florida-agents-raid-coronavirus-data-scientists-home-confiscate-hardware-idUSKBN28I0A1 . We’ll see what comes out of all this. Right now this feels like troubled behavior on both sides.
A Louisiana reporter’s COVID mortality analysis: https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_7ce79d06-38aa-11eb-9d05-73d2a0984702.html . This is an interesting perspective on how to communicate COVID deaths.
WSJ: New York’s new lockdown metrics: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-enacts-new-covid-19-shutdown-metrics-11607369839 .
Pennsylvania hospitals strained, more restrictions may be near: https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/live/covid-coronavirus-cases-pa-philadelphia-nj-de-updates-hospital-vaccine-news-testing-20201207.html . (The article is about halfway down the page, at 2:37 pm.)
WSJ: NYC hospitals anticipate lower mortality rate for latest COVID surge: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-area-hospitals-say-spring-lessons-will-help-them-weather-covid-19-winter-11607270401 .
Rudy quarantines spread faster than COVID: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/07/rudy-giuliani-potentially-exposed-lawmakers-across-us-coronavirus/3861355001/ . Once again, you can’t make this stuff up. Seriously, how would you feel if your parent died after exposure to Rudy at one of these nut-ball hearings? Especially since this show is being put on just to raise a slush fund for Trump. More: https://apnews.com/article/rudy-giuliani-positive-coronavirus-3aa99d32acf83ec4a78c65b19a6e1bfb .
Uh-oh: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55209763 . Obviously, not every mystery illness is a pandemic. Still, this is not welcome news.
Latest relief package haggles: https://www.rollcall.com/2020/12/07/bipartisan-coronavirus-relief-package-hits-snags-over-details/ . Is this the last relief package?: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-coronavirus-stimulus/despite-biden-pledge-coronavirus-bill-in-congress-now-may-be-all-americans-get-analysts-idINL1N2IN1S5 . I would agree that the Georgia Senate runoffs are a critical piece of this puzzle. If one or both Republicans win, it depends on how bad things get. They are certainly going to get worse. WSJ: The politics of relief: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-resurgence-and-the-election-changed-calculus-for-aidnegotiators-11607345987 .
Mink emergency at Canadian farm from COVID-19: https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-outbreak-canadian-mink-farm-1552785 . Yet another combination of words that was unthinkable before 2020.
WHO wants to visit Wuhan: https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-12-07/who-hopes-to-visit-china-to-investigate-coronavirus-origin-as-soon-as-possible .
TikTok can run out the clock: https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/4/22154801/us-government-tiktok-ban-deadline-bytedance-trump-administration-cfius . Another Trump mess left for someone else to clean up.
WSJ: AstraZeneca, Pfizer ask for vaccine EUA’s in India: https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazeneca-and-pfizer-ask-india-for-emergency-use-covid-19-vaccine-authorizations-11607348660 .
88% of Congressional Republicans won’t acknowledge publicly that Biden won: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/07/politics/donald-trump-joe-biden-2020-election/index.html . Yes. Your point? These jellyfish regard stating this truth as political “sewer-cide”. Even if the Georgia voters prove them wrong (it’s unlikely – both races appear very close), this is the jellyfish definition of “herd immunity”.
Biden taps Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/07/lloyd-austin-biden-secretary-defense-frontrunner-contender-443479 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-expected-to-name-lloyd-austin-as-defense-secretary-11607388957 .
Here’s a more complete list of the Biden health care nominees, with photos and bios: https://buildbackbetter.gov/nominees-and-appointees/health/ .
WSJ: Cotton and Kristol debate Trump’s appeal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-republicans-provide-different-views-on-trumps-appeal-11607399621 . Kristol is right about demagoguery. Trump’s voters have less educational attainment than Biden voters. Cotton wants an intellectual answer because he’s an intellectual who wants to run. Trump is certainly no intellectual, and his base requires another demagogue.
Will Trump leave the country before the end of his presidency?: https://news.yahoo.com/former-trump-org-exec-trump-might-leave-the-country-before-he-leaves-office-064402290.html . It’s a Trump hater’s dream, but it’s not going to happen. You have to understand and believe in the rule of law to do that, and Trump is not that smart. He believes in fixers like Roy Cohn, Michael Cohen, and now Rudy. Rudy is a total joke, of course, but Trump believes there’s another fixer out there. As you know, I do agree he won’t attend the inauguration.
Another would-be fixer: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/07/judge-dismisses-sidney-powell-lawsuit-challenging-trump-georgia-loss.html . Actually, she is another educated loser who is using her 15 minutes of infamy to try to create a political/media career.
Idiots on the rampage: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/armed-michigan-protest-secretary-of-state-home-election_n_5fcd9995c5b63a1534530e6d . We need to protect the privacy of public officials. Otherwise we’ll end up with jackasses in office – you know, like 88% of Congressional Republicans. This crap goes well beyond free speech or peaceful protest.
Hey, just so you know, I’m really pissed at the state of the country right now. But I’m not freaking out. I’m just speaking up – loudly – for the return of the rule of law. The pen must remain mightier than the sword – or the AK-47. By the way, the AK-47 is Russian manufacture. Its official name is the Avtomat Kalashnikova. This gas-powered automatic rifle was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov from 1945 to 1947, hence the “47”.
Another casualty of global warming: The Great British Baking Show: https://grist.org/food/another-victim-of-global-warming-the-great-british-baking-show/ . If you watch the show (I do), you’ve wondered about this outdoor baking idea. It’s a real deal.
Baghdad’s House of Wisdom and its role in modern mathematics: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201204-lost-islamic-library-maths .
Bob Dylan sells catalog for estimated $300 million: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55213529 . The $300 million estimate is from other reporting. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bob-dylan-sells-entire-songwriting-catalog-11607342403 .