I did something I had successfully avoided for years. I had to shop at Walmart. Or at least online. Apparently Kotex is discontinuing the tampons I use or there is a shortage because I couldn't find them anywhere else in person or online. So when I found them online at Walmart, I figured it was worth it to chuck my conscience out the window. We threw in cat food, too, which apparently is also seeing shortages. It took one day to arrive and had free shipping, but it still made me cringe. But to the larger point, online shopping has never been easier. It's hard because I'd like to support local businesses, but ordering from Costco and Old Navy and Hanes and Amazon has been a harsh necessity of this pandemic, and I don't know that I'll go back to general retail if I don't have to.
I was feeling guilty last night after trying to not feel guilty about vaccines. I certainly don't think people should die for risky behaviors, especially if accurate and adequate information may not necessarily be provided to the populous, but I still go crazy about under the nose bros or people choosing to flout recommendations, guidance, and health orders. By some articles, I should chill that out, but how about we hit that 70% or even more of us vaccinated before we start uncorking the champers and declare victory, yeah?
We had a really good day today. My furlough may be coming to an end soon though I don't really mind collecting the Biden Bucks for as long as I need to. In my effort to get us out of the house at least once a day, we took Ficus to Fiesta Island where the slender sunflowers are blooming. Growing up I never thought it was okay to swim in the bay, but after a whole year of not swimming, it felt good to be in the water and soak up a little bit of sun while an endless parade of cute dogs passed us by. Then of course we had to get Tacos El Panson to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I'm still watching some of today's media briefings but the CDC has a new thing where you can text your zip code to GETVAX and it will send you three vaccination spots close to you. Pretty sweet. I tried it out but will really put it to test the second they announce approval for 12-15 year olds. Stay safe out there.
- COVID-19:
- U.S. will back proposal to waive intellectual property rights and boost Covid-19 vaccine production - STAT News (5.5.21)
- WHO Director-General commends United States decision to support temporary waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines - World Health Organization (5.5.21)
- Modeling of Future COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, by Vaccination Rates and Nonpharmaceutical Intervention Scenarios — United States, April–September 2021 - CDC MMWR (5.5.21)
- High vaccination coverage and compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are essential to control COVID-19 and prevent surges in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months.
- A sharp decline in cases was projected by July 2021, with a faster decline in the high-vaccination scenarios. High vaccination rates and compliance with public health prevention measures are essential to control the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent surges in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months.
- I wanted to post these because while I love Jen Psaki, I kinda feel like something she said yesterday was a little disingenuous because she said that the CDC bases it's decisions on science not politics but then kinda contradicted that today when she said that over fifty stakeholders (teachers unions, YMCA, Autism Speaks, pediatricians, to name a few) were consulted about school guidance. It reminded me of way back in 2020 when the CDC refused to acknowledge SARS-CoV2 as transmissible through aerosols, because it would've affected how OSHA handled businesses and the hygiene theatre we were all becoming accustomed to (i.e. plexiglass sneeze guards everywhere). They finally did acknowledge it as one of the ways COVID spreads, but didn't ever emphasize it as the main way it spreads and I'm not the only person who thinks that was and is a huge mistake. So, I know they have to say it isn't political, but we have to be honest and acknowledge that everything is political.
- Back to Basics: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): How is it transmitted? - WHO (Updated 4.30.21)
The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. These particles range from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols.- Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth.
- The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre (long-range).
- Back To Basics: Science Brief: SARS-CoV-2 and Potential Airborne Transmission - CDC (10.5.20)
Airborne transmission is infection spread through exposure to those virus-containing respiratory droplets comprised of smaller droplets and particles that can remain suspended in the air over long distances (usually greater than 6 feet) and time (typically hours). - Trouble Hiring: I wanted to post this because every newsroom seems to be covering a worker shortage. blaming Biden Bucks or people just being lazy or both and it's driving me bonkers. Raise the federal minimum wage, especially for tipped employees, and maybe, just maybe, these jackoffs will find people who want to work while we're still in a global pandemic and customers are acting like bigger assholes than ever before. Pay. More. Money.
- San Diego County employers line up with bonuses to entice workers - 10News (5.4.21)
- Manpower's now offering $150 bonuses to workers who stay at least 90 days, payable in three installments starting after 30 days on the job. - THAT'S $1.67 PER DAY!!
- Civico is offering $250 dollar bonuses to those who stay at least six months - THAT'S ~$1.40 PER DAY!!
- Chickenheadz in Ocean Beach is offering $200 to workers who stay at least two months - THAT'S $3.33 PER DAY
- Politics:
- Republicans promote pandemic relief they voted against - AP News (5.5.21)
- Because of course these fucking hypocrites do.
- White House:
- Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, May 5, 2021
- Remarks by President Biden on His Administration’s Implementation of the American Rescue Plan
- FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Supports Hard-hit Restaurants and Bars
- Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
- To meet President Biden's goal of getting at least one dose of vaccine to 70% of Americans by July 4th.
- Trying to make getting a shot easier than ever.
- Text Your Zip Code to GETVAX (438829) for English or VACUNA (822622) for Spanish to get vaccines near your home or go to Vaccines.gov
- Uber and Lyft are giving free or low-cost rides to vaccines
- Fauci spoke in-depth about previously infected patients with vaccines and their immune responses and viral neutralization.
- "One thing I want to just clarify here is: While we talk about 70 percent of this country, these outbreaks are local; they’re happening in communities. And so, if we don’t have 70 percent in any given community, this virus will be an opportunist and we’ll have outbreaks in those singular communities. So not only is it 70 percent across the nation, but it’s a 70 — 70 percent in each of these individual communities."
- News:
- EDD Provides Update on Unemployment Insurance Program Advancements, Continued Customer Service Improvements - EDD (5.4.21)
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Outlines Inspection and Assessment Activities During Pandemic, Roadmap for Future State of Operations - US FDA (5.5.21)
- Other Reading:
- Covered California Says Health Insurance Just Got Too Cheap to Ignore - KHN (5.4.21)
- Percentage Of Americans Who Never Traveled Beyond The State Where They Were Born? A Surprise - Forbes (5.2.19)
I wanted to share this article because some people seem to think Vaccine Passports will motivate people to get vaccinated who might otherwise fall into the refusal or hesitant group and I just think that is such a dumb elitist thing to consider. Per this article, 1 in 10 people have no desire to travel, 11% have never traveled outside the state they were born, more than 50% have never owned a passport. - Facebook Oversight Board upholds ban on former President Trump. While the ban was permissible, its open-ended nature was not. - ARS Technica (5.5.21)
- Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 5.5.21 10:20pm):
- 155,203,522 Known Cases
- 3,241,853 Known Deaths
- US COVID-19 Stats
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
- JHU
- 32,557,606 Cases
- 579,276 Deaths
- CDC Data Tracker:
- +43,626 New Cases/32,313,016 Known Cases
- +750 New Deaths/575,491 Known Deaths
- 321,549,335 Doses Delivered/249,566,820 Doses Administered
- Moderna 135,194,800 delivered/108,142,826 administered/44,211,004 Fully Vaccinated
- Pfizer 167,441,235 delivered/132,721,153/ administered/54,644,578 Fully Vaccinated
- Janssen 18,913,300 delivered/8,516,437 administered/8,444,321 Fully Vaccinated
- California COVID-19 Stats:
- State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
- Vaccination progress dashboard
- Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 32.8%
- R-effective: 0.88
- 39,615,330 Doses Delivered/31,027,617 Doses Administered
- 6,029,972 Partially Vaccinated/13,203,591 Fully Vaccinated
- 1,388 New Cases/3,646,729 Total Cases (4.0 new cases/100k)
- 97 New Deaths/60,862 Total Deaths (0.06 new deaths/100k)
- 1.2% 7-day test positivity rate
- 1,893 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-37 patients, -1.9% from prior day)
- 445 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (-1 patients, -0.2% from prior day)
- 2,279 ICU beds available (-210 from prior day)
- San Diego County
- State Data:
- Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 34.4%
- R-effective: 0.87
- 186 New Cases/276,879 Total Cases
- 1 Deaths/3,713 Total Deaths
- 5.5 cases/100k population (Assessed on 5/4. Unadjusted Case Rate)
- 2.2% Test Positivity (Assessed on 5/4)
- 2.7% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 5/4)
- 163 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (+1 patients, +0.6% from prior day)
- 43 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (-2 patients, -4.4% from prior day)
- 214 ICU beds available (-22 from prior day)
- County Data:
- San Diego County COVID-19 Update – 5-5-2021 - County News Center
- 219 New Cases/277,097 Total Cases
- 3 New Daily Deaths/3,716 Total Deaths
- 3,208,265 Doses Received/2,880,940 Doses Administered
- 1,522,037 Partially Vaccinated/1,114,278 Fully Vaccinated
- 1% Daily Test Positivity/1.8% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/1.4% Test Positivity (14-day average)
- 5.0 cases/100k population (Assessed on 5/4. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.)
- 96.9% Case Investigation
- 1.2% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (139 patients. -18% over 30 days)
- 28% ICU Capacity (40 patients. -22% over 30 days)
- 52 Staffed ICU Beds Available
- 4 New/18 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
- Universities:
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