san diego: dialed in: CoViD-19: Boosters Approved For All Adults| Mayor Holds Ground On Anti-Vaxxers | BBB Passes House | Another Racist Murderer Acquitted

Me, Darren, Nova, and Aunt Barb (Taken 11.19.21)

On Friday morning I woke up to the news, as many people did, that the racist Kenosha vigilante murderer was found not guilty on all accounts. And like many people, I was not at all surprised. But also, like most people, I was angry. This country is super fucked and when the Supreme Court no doubt allows concealed carry for anyone, anywhere, we're going to be even more fucked. In fact, I was so enraged that I just had to kinda dip away from news and social media for the day.

It wasn't super hard to do on the Friday before a holiday week and because I've been busting my ass all week. Plus, Nova's Great-Aunt arrived in the afternoon, so we were mostly entertaining for the night before I finally gave in and watched the 11 o'clock news.

She took us to dinner, so we opted for Ponce's, which luckily wasn't super crowded when we arrived. Obviously I love the food there and I've been going since I first moved to Kensington in 1998, but eating out just isn't really in my budget anymore, so it was nice to be treated. After dinner, we went to the Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel Exhibition that's in the former Robinson's-May building at Westfield Mission Valley. I hadn't been to a media party in ages so it was great timing being able to take everyone before Barb and Nova leave for St. Louis in the morning. Nova's Great-Aunt Barb is my favorite of Nova's extended family and she's got fascinating stories. And she lives in South Carolina, so we talked all about the Murdaugh Murders. The exhibition was pretty cool to get the history of the frescoes and see the details up close, and a hosted bar for the event is never a bad thing.

I did eventually watch the news and Jen Psaki's media briefing and worked through my emails, which is why it's 3am and I'm still on my laptop. I was just going to skip a post, but I figured I'd rather do it now while everyone is asleep and leave the rest of my weekend wide open since we don't get any data updates on the weekends anyway. So you might hear from me over the weekend, but most likely not. Don't send the search party.

Oh, and Jen Psaki is always amazing but Friday she was full on heroic as the asshole from Catholic News or whatever was trying to yell out his question -- as he always does -- and Jen just kept on ignoring him, moving on, and calling him out for talking over other reporters. Today his burning question was about how Catholic bishops are concerned the BBB reconciliation bill will prevent faith-based preschools from getting federal funding. I say GOOD. Churches shouldn't get a single dollar if they can't follow the rules everyone else has to play by. And since I was so hard on Mayor Todd Gloria yesterday with regard to Balboa Park, today I must give a shout out on him holding his ground on vaccinations for city employees. Cops and others who can't follow the rules clearly have no regard for the public and shouldn't be in those jobs in the first place. Don't give in, Toddio.

Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:

Brave Enough (An Essay From An ICU Doctor) - SpringerLink (11.17.21)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters - FDA (11.19.21)

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots - People age 18 years and older who received Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may get a booster. - CDC (Updated 11.19.21)

COVID Booster Shot Increases Protection in Cancer Patients — Efforts should be made to get additional dose to these patients, researchers say - MedPage Today (11.18.21)
COVID Rapid Test Prices 'Ridiculous' — "It's really a travesty these aren't being subsidized appropriately," expert says - MedPage Today (11.18.21)
Are Doctors Comfortable With Holiday Gatherings This Year? — 24 physicians, public health experts share their holiday plans in light of COVID - MedPage Today (11.18.21)
Europe’s COVID death toll could rise by hundreds of thousands. In a worst-case scenario, the pandemic could cause a further 300,000 deaths if anti-contagion policies are lifted and people revert to their old habits. - nature (11.18.21)
This week CDC’s COVID Data Tracker shows that while rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations have started to decrease, rates remain high in children between the ages of 5 through 11 years. A recent study of more than 2,000 children under 18 years found that nearly 1 in 3 children hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted to the intensive care unit or put on a ventilator. Although children with underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for more severe illness from COVID-19, almost half (45%) of the hospitalized children in this study had no known underlying medical conditions. These results show that children can be severely affected by COVID-19. - CDC (11.19.21)
Research links COVID-19 in pregnancy with stillbirths - AP News (11.19.21)