san diego: dialed in: CoViD-19: The Least You Can Do-- Wear A Goddamn Mask | Pfizer Applies For Comirnaty Booster; J&J Seeks Booster Approval | Heat Advisory | Vote NO On California Recall | GI Joe Congressmen Visit Afghanistan Covertly |

Cape Buffalo at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken by Nova 8.25.21)

I was gonna do another rant on the news but Darren always tells me that if I keep watching it, they'll keep making it. And I already had enough of a rant in my listings post about vaccination and in yesterday's post about shmucks who went to Afghanistan this summer and are now crying about being "stranded" so I'm just gonna let it go because I need to just put the laptop down for the night.

What I will talk about is that Nova went to San Diego Zoo Safari Park today with her conservation camp and not only did they get to go to the Rhino Conservation Center, but they got to do a caravan in the African savannah. I'm so jealous. I let her take my old camera which she still needs lots of practice with but she got a couple cool shots like this one of some cape buffalo. Tomorrow they're going back up there, but there's a heat advisory and it could be 95 degrees in Escondido so hopefully they get to me adjacent to all those misters throughout the park. I bet they get to go behind the scenes by the elephants tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'll be home babysitting for an old friend.

I'm gonna call it a night. Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:

Wear a goddamn mask:

Cal/OSHA Encourages Employers and Workers to Follow Updated CDPH Guidance Recommending Face Coverings Indoors
County Encourages Indoor Mask Wearing, Regardless of Vaccination Status
San Diego Medical Group Calling For Indoor Masking and Vaccine Requirements The San Diego County Medical Society and Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties sent a letter to San Diego County Health Officer and the Board of Supervisors calling to require indoor masking and vaccination requirements - NBC San Diego (8.24.21)
Mask or Consequences: Carlsbad Unified School District Back to School. According to a state mandate, everyone at schools must wear masks while indoors. - NBC San Diego (8.24.21)

COVID vaccine protection wanes within six months - UK researchers

Pfizer and BioNTech Initiate Rolling Submission of Supplemental Biologics License Application to U.S. FDA for Booster Dose of COMIRNATY® in Individuals 16 and Older - Pfizer Press Release (8.25.21)

New Phase 3 data show booster (third) dose of COMIRNATY induces significant SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titers and demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile
SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing titers against the wild-type strain one month after booster dose were 3.3 times the titers one month after the second dose
Pfizer and BioNTech intend to file these data with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory authorities around the world in coming weeks

Johnson & Johnson Announces Data to Support Boosting its Single-Shot COVID-19 Vaccine - J&J.com (8.25.21)

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine booster, after single dose primary regimen, provided rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies
New studies build on data demonstrating strong durability through eight months after immunization

Covid-19 vaccines flirted with perfection at first. Reality is more complicated - STAT News (8.25.21)

Study: Patients, not staff, source of most hospital COVID spread - CIDRAP (8.24.21)
US Covid-19 cases among children are surging. Experts warn it may get worse - CNN (8.25.21)

Politics:

Vote No. Seal your envelope. Sign and Date the Outside of the Envelope. Drop in a Mailbox. Register to Track Your Ballot. The candidates running for this are fucking terrifying and would be disastrous for California. Do not let this recall succeed. Every NO ballot needs to be returned and counted.
How the Recall Election Works - County News Center (8.25.21)

White House:

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 25, 2021
Bills Signed: H.R. 1448 and H.R. 3642

“Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act”
“Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act,”

Remarks by President Biden on Collectively Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity

Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on the President’s Upcoming Cybersecurity Meeting
FACT SHEET: Biden Administration and Private Sector Leaders Announce Ambitious Initiatives to Bolster the Nation’s Cybersecurity

FACT SHEET: Strengthening the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership
FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Takes Additional Steps to Prevent Evictions as the Delivery of Emergency Rental Assistance Continues to Increase
President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Two Leaders in U.S. Foreign Policy and Aid
Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on President Biden’s Official Working Visit with Prime Minister Bennett of the State of Israel
President Biden Announces Elizabeth M. Allen as Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs
DOD:

Memorandum for Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination of Department Service Members (8.24.21)

San Diego military hospitals ready to vaccinate 7,000 troops per day - San Diego Union-Tribune/Stars & Stripes (8.25.21)

State Dept:

Secretary Antony J. Blinken On Afghanistan

Approx 6,000 Americans as of 8.14
4,500 have now been evacuated
Direct contact with approximately 500 Americans
For the remaining roughly 1,000 contacts that we had who may be Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan, we are aggressively reaching out to them multiple times a day... Some may no longer be in the country. Some may have claimed to be Americans but turn out not to be. Some may choose to stay. We’ll continue to try to identify the status and plans of these people in the coming days.

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Bennett

News:

2 US lawmakers’ Kabul trip prompts Biden administration fury - AP News (8.25.21)

U.S. leaders move to shut down further freelance trips to Kabul - The Washington Post (8.25.21)

Caldor Fire threatens Lake Tahoe area with hazardous air quality levels - CBS News (8.25.21)
Excessive Heat Warning Issued Today, 8/25/21,10:00 a.m. through 8/27/21, 9 p.m. - SD County Emergency
SD Emergency App Users Now Can Have Earthquake Early Warning - County News Center

Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 8.25.21 11:29pm):

213,915,565 Known Cases/17,888,809 28-Day New Cases
4,463,827 Known Deaths/272,030 28-Day New Cases

US COVID-19 Stats

CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
JHU

38,223,219 Cases/3,550,339 28-Day New Cases
632,272 Deaths/20,342 28-Day New Deaths

CDC Data Tracker:

+153,572 New Cases/38,150,911 Known Cases
+1,138 New Deaths/629,139 Known Deaths
430,118,615 Doses Delivered
364,842,701 Doses Administered
202,500,853 Partially Vaccinated
171,773,370 Fully Vaccinated

51.7% of Total Population
60.5% of Population ≥ 12 Years of Age
62.7% of Population ≥ 18 Years of Age

California COVID-19 Stats:

State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
Vaccination progress dashboard
Coronavirus: Resources for Californians
R-effective: 1.03
53,172,195 Doses Delivered/46,269,592 Doses Administered
3,511,175 Partially Vaccinated/22,273,873 Fully Vaccinated
11,899 New Cases/4,145,550 Total Cases (28.1 new cases/100k)
108 New Deaths/64,802 Total Deaths (0.08 new deaths/100k)
5.4% 7-day test positivity rate
8,709 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+34 patients, +0.4% from prior day)
2,076 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+28 patients, +1.4from prior day)
1,671 ICU beds available (-76 from prior day)

San Diego County

Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
Vaccination Locations San Diego
Vaccination Dashboard
San Diego County Of Education School Reopening Dashboard
COVID ActNow Daily Updates for San Diego Metro
CDC Data:

1,537,128 Fully Vaccinated

46% of Total Population
53.7% of Population ≥ 12 Years of Age
54.4% of Population ≥ 18 Years of Age

State Data:

R-effective: 0.98
1,287 New Cases/325,823 Total Cases
8.1% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)
3 Deaths/3,851 Total Deaths
686 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-9 patients, -1.3% from prior day)
179 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (+9 patients, +5.3% from prior day)
185 ICU beds available (+3 from prior day)

County Data:

1,327 New Cases/327,166 Total Cases
8 New Daily Deaths/1,762 Total Deaths
4,746,115 Doses Received/4,502,939 Doses Administered
2,383,050 Partially Vaccinated/2,085,698 Fully Vaccinated
+23,779 Newly Fully Vaccinated Since Last Week
74.4% 12+ Population Fully Vaccinated/62.3% Total Population Fully Vaccinated
7.8% Daily Test Positivity/8.2% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/7.3% Test Positivity (14-day average)
42.8% Case Investigation
+32 Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations
+0 Day Over Day COVID-19 ICU Patients
9% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (654 patients. 178% over 30 days)
20% ICU Capacity (173 patients. 233% over 30 days)
39 Staffed ICU Beds Available
41 Community Outbreaks (7-day)