Wednesday, November 24, 2021

CoViD-19: Thanksgiving Safety | Ahmaud Arbery Murderers Guilty | Vaxxed vs Unvaxxed Data | San Diego Red Flag Warning For Fire Danger |

 

Family Photo For Dad's Birthday (Taken Circa 9.7.2021)

I wasn't going to publish a post today. I watched the Armaud Arbery verdict this morning and felt like it was a good time to shut the laptop, walkaway, and be grateful for small joys. Eventually Darren and I spent the afternoon having cocktails at the San Diego Zoo -- me taking my first ride on public transit since before the pandemic -- but then we got home and I had already started this post and I'm going to give myself a holiday weekend break for real so I decided to finish it up. It also helped pace the margs which was also probably good planning. 

So Thanksgiving is here and for my family, I knew it would be different than usual, but now has seemed to have evaporated entirely. My parents were hoping Dad would be released home with all this new medical gear arriving at the house, but even then, my dad is too weak to use it, so they can't release him at all. So the agreement was that if he went home, we'd do Thanksgiving there. If not, we'd do a casual outdoor thing at my house minus a turkey, but with a bunch of chicken and cheese enchiladas and deviled eggs (my specialties), my mom's ham and potato salad, and probably a ton of charcuterie, the idea being my mom could sneak away from the hospital for an hour or two to catch a break. But now that's up in the air, too. And that's totally fine. Or it isn't. I don't really know. Whenever my dad seems better, I have to remind myself that he is still in palliative care and considered a hospice patient and has signed a DNR with witnesses. And then he seems really bad and I have to remind my mom of all of these things so we don't get ahead of ourselves getting the med gear intact for his return. And it sucks. 

So today you get a picture of us around his birthday in September, and just hoping this family photo wasn't our last. Love to you all and have as happy a Thanksgiving as you are able for whatever it means to you. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I assure you every day around here is appreciated and we continue to give Thanks. 

Stay safe out there. 
  • COVID-19:
    • How to handle the holidays amid COVID-19 safety concerns and other challenges - UC Irvine (11.24.21)
      The holidays are a challenging time because of expectations that people should feel joyous or grateful. When you don’t particularly feel that way, the contrast can seem painfully large, which can cause you to be depressed. If you don’t feel thankful for the new year or especially optimistic about what is to come, you’re not alone. This is still a difficult time for many people. Some have it harder than others, but almost everyone is struggling in some way. We are all in this together.

      Also, you’re allowed to not feel grateful or joyous; it’s OK to take a break from being cheery. Sometimes it’s better to acknowledge and be honest about it than pretend you feel something else, which takes a lot of effort that you may not have the energy for right now.
    • San Diegans Urged to Be Cautious About COVID-19 This Holiday Season - County News Center (11.24.21)
    • California COVID: Good case numbers but surge threat remains - AP News (11.22.21)
    • Interim statement on COVID-19 vaccination for children and adolescents - WHO (11.24.21)
      • If you don't want to read this, basically the WHO is for vaccinations for everyone, but thinks that vaccines should be fairly and equitably distributed around the world among the most vulnerable. So while they support the vax for kids, they would rather those doses go to more needy people around the world. A fair assessment, but since the US has the highest population of complete jackholes and morons, we have to vaccinate our kids because our community spread hasn't been below "high" or "substantial" in just about every region of the country since before the delta variant hit us. We're still in for a long, dark winter, so everyone should buckle up - vax, mask, and all the things. 
    • Rates of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status - CDC (Updated 11.22.21 Based on Data Ending 10.2.21)
      • Unvaccinated: 452.32 Cases/100,000 population
        • Deaths: 7.29/100,000 population
      • Vaccinated: 90.90 Cases/100,000 population
        • Death: 0.55/100,000 population
      • In October, Unvaccinated were 5.0X risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and 13X Risk of Dying From COVID-19 for all ages population. 
    • Racial minorities, psychiatric patients more likely to die of COVID-19 - CIDRAP (11.23.21)
Posted by Rosemary Bystrak at Wednesday, November 24, 2021
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