CoVid-19: Outdoor Mask Guidance Updated | San Diego County Offers Walk-Up Vaccinations | Fauci Deep-Dive on Variants | Sea World Offers Free 4-Pack To Military/Veterans |

  

Today is Marine Mammal Rescue Day (Taken 3.9.2020)

I was thinking today how it's funny/not funny that 8% of people who get their first shot of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines aren't getting their second shots. There's a lot of speculation why, could be partially due to accessibility and to work/family obligations, but mostly people are attributing fear of side effects as the reason. I am pretty much knocked on my ass for two harsh days during my monthly cycle and I've had some really fun nights that resulted in some harsh pandemic hangovers. A couple years ago I had pneumonia. With my 2nd Pfizer I was sleepy. We were camping so that didn't help things, but I'm just saying there are way worse things, like actually getting COVID-19, than feeling shitty after a second dose of an mRNA vaccine. 

Today, as expected, the president and CDC announced updated mask guidance which really didn't feel like anything we didn't already know. Wear a mask when you're around people you don't know whether you're inside or out. They didn't really talk about kids but I imagine they don't want the backlash that would ensue if they basically said all non-parents can go party, while all parents should wait until their kids get vaccinated. I saw an estimate that they're not expecting the tween EUA until summer and little kids under 12 until next spring. That blows, to be honest, but I hope the estimate was just playing it safe. 

I didn't catch any real Psaki bombs today, but there was this one funny moment where she almost lost her cool with a reporter, like don't tell me how to do my job. Also there's a reporter from some Catholic paper that only ever asks about pro-lifers having to fund abortions so she shuts him down pretty handily every couple days when she even gives the chance for him to ask a question. Stay safe out there.  

• COVID-19:
• A mask break: Federal health officials say vaccinated people can doff face coverings when outside, away from crowds - STAT News (4.27.21)
• Choosing Safer Activities - CDC Guidance (Updated 4.27.21)
• If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
• When choosing safer activities, consider how COVID-19 is spreading in your community, the number of people participating in the activity, and the location of the activity.
• Outdoor visits and activities are safer than indoor activities, and fully vaccinated people can participate in some indoor events safely, without much risk.
• Governor Newsom Statement on CDC Outdoor Mask Guidance - (4.27.21)
  After reviewing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s masking recommendations, and with science and data as our guide, we are moving to align California’s guidance with these common-sense updates. While more than half of Californians 16 and older are partially or fully vaccinated, many others are still not vaccinated, and the threat of variants remains.

• COVID-19 Response Task Force:
• CDC Updates will now only be on Tuesday and Friday instead of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• 1 shot to 54% of all adults in the Country
• College students may get 2nd shot wherever they live, if different from where they go to school or vice versa 
• Federal pharmacy program will not have residency requirements. Anyone may get 2nd shot regardless of where they got their first 
• US, CDC, and States are providing supplies and a strike team to India
• -20.8% Change in 7-day average: 54,406 current 7-day average 
• New mask guidance will be maintained until more of the population has been vaccinated
• Dr. Fauci did a detailed report on variants and real-world and in-vitro data on neutralization by vaccines. Short version: vaccines work and can fight most of the variants with low breakthrough.
• Dr Walensky claims that less than 10% of documented transmission occurred outdoors. 20X increased risk indoors. Also took into consideration over 1/3 of population 18+ is fully vaccinated and transmission numbers have come down nationally. More updates will come as vaccination increases and transmission continues to drop. 
• Guidance isn't changing for large events. In settings where there is high density and one cannot discern who is vaccinated and who is not, people should continue to be required to mask up. 
• Mask guidance is where it is because of lack of uniformity of vaccination rates across the country. Impossible to tease apart who is vaccinated and who isn't. 
• WHO Weekly Epidemiological Update, 4.25.21
• Globally, new COVID-19 cases increased for the ninth consecutive week, with nearly 5.7 million new cases reported in the last week – surpassing previous peaks. The number of new deaths increased for the sixth consecutive week, with over 87 000 new deaths reported.
• COVID-19 Continued:
• Higher Stroke Risk Linked to Asymptomatic COVID-19 in Younger Men - CIDRAP (4.26.21)
• Human-to-cat coronavirus transmission identified by scientists in Britain. Researchers believe the pets were infected by their owners, who had Covid-19 symptoms before the cats became unwell. There have been reports of cats from Covid-positive households in countries including Hong Kong, Belgium and the US that tested positive for Sars-CoV-2. - South China Morning Post (4.27.21)
• Politics: 
• How much is rent relief helping Californians? - CalMatters (4.26.21)
• White House: 
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 27, 2021
• Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response
• Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on National Security and Foreign Policy in President Biden’s First 100 Days
• Providing Humanitarian Assistance to Support the Vice President’s Leadership in Addressing Migration Challenges in Central America 
• Executive Order on Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
• FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Issues an Executive Order to Raise the Minimum Wage to $15 for Federal Contractors
• News:
• Scientists: Up To 25,000 Barrels At DDT Dump Site In Pacific - kpbs/AP (4.26.21)
• Other Reading:
• Sea World Offering Complimentary Tickets for U.S. military members and veterans: All U.S. military veterans and active duty service members four free tickets for themselves and guests to SeaWorld San Diego. Must verify status through ID.me for military status verification before May 16. Veterans and active military service members can also purchase up to six additional tickets at 50% off.  All tickets must be used before June 27 and reservations must be made prior to your visit date.
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 4.27.21 9:20pm):
• 148,355,390 Known Cases
• 3,131,660 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
• JHU
• 32,175,049 Cases
• 573,378 Deaths
• CDC Data Tracker:
• +38,201 New Cases/31,924,610 Known Cases 
• +492 New Deaths/569,771 Known Deaths
• 297,543,635 Doses Delivered/232,407,669 Doses Administered
• Moderna 125,300,900 delivered/101,463,903 administered/40,188,457 Fully Vaccinated
• Pfizer 154,600,485 delivered/122,669,679 administered/48,484,000 Fully Vaccinated
• Janssen 17,642,250 delivered/8,097,650 administered/8,031731 Fully Vaccinated
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
• Vaccination progress dashboard
• Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 31.3%
• R-effective: 0.87
• 36,545,160 Doses Delivered/28,682,914 Doses Administered
• 6,449,363 Partially Vaccinated/11,776,674 Fully Vaccinated
• 1,445 New Cases/3,633,185 Total Cases (4.6 new cases/100k)
• 5 New Deaths/60,208 Total Deaths (0.08 new deaths/100k)
• 1.5% 7-day test positivity rate
• 2,090 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+37 patients, +1.8% from prior day)
• 478 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+26 patients, +5.4% from prior day)
• 2,375 ICU beds available (+14 from prior day)
• San Diego County 
• Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
• VaccinationSuperstationSD
• Vaccination Dashboard
• San Diego County Of Education School Reopening Dashboard
• State Data:
• Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 33.0%
• R-effective: 0.95
• 129 New Cases/275,541 Total Cases
• 0 Deaths/3,692 Total Deaths
• 6.4 cases/100k population (Assessed on 4/27. Unadjusted Case Rate)
• 2.3% Test Positivity (Assessed on 4/27)
• 3.0% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 4/27)
• 161 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-13 patients, -7.5% from prior day)
• 45 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (-4 patients, -8.2% from prior day)
• 263 ICU beds available (+9 from prior day)
• County Data:
• County COVID-19 Clinics Offering Vaccines Without Appointments - County News Center
  San Diegans wishing to get a COVID-19 shot can now show up at a County-hosted clinic and get vaccinated without an appointment.
  The number of daily shots available for people without appointments is limited at each site. You can see a complete list of locations here.
  COVID-19 vaccines are available at no cost to anyone 16 and up who lives or works in San Diego County. People under 18 years of age need parental consent to make an appointment or must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to get vaccinated at a no-appointment site.
• COVID Watch
• 3,393 Total Cases (4/11-4/24)
• 1,847 Interviewed
• 894 Potential Community Exposure
• 283 Bars and Restaurants
• 192 Retail Locations
• 576 Workplaces
• 953 Claim No Community Exposure 
• 144 New Cases/275,684 Total Cases 
• 0 New Daily Deaths/3,692 Total Deaths
• 2,841,035 Doses Received/2,577,227 Doses Administered
• 1,396,758 Partially Vaccinated/950,045 Fully Vaccinated
• 2% Daily Test Positivity/2.2% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/1.7% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 6.2 cases/100k population (Assessed on 4/27. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.) 
• 99% Case Investigation 
• -12.5% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (145 patients. -20% over 30 days)
• 37% ICU Capacity (42 patients. -35% over 30 days)
• 54 Staffed ICU Beds Available
• 1 New/26 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU