san diego: dialed in: CoViD-19: CA Maintains Masks In Schools | Leave My Avocados Alone! | Canadian Blockades Finally Dispersed

Happy Valentine's Day From Me and D (Taken 1.31.22)

I finished watching Inventing Anna over the weekend, and I'd already watched The Tindler Swindler and then I watched all these old interviews with Anna Sorokin and it must've really gotten in my head because even though I went to bed early on Sunday, I was tossing and turning with bad dreams all night, of every asshole in my life who has ever taken from me..the college roommates who stiffed me for rent and never paid even after I won in court, the boyfriend that I supported while he did his Masters only to breakup the second he graduated, the salesman boyfriend who "borrowed" a credit card and never paid back then stalked me at the Casbah to feign some apology. Ugh. It's so easy to watch these shows and think that these people who get conned are so stupid until you retrace these scumbags you come across everyday in real life, and they're everywhere. So it all got in my head and I didn't sleep and so when I thought I'd finally go to the Zoo after working today, I ended up just taking a very long and very needed nap.

Still, it's Valentine's Day, so I don't mean to go on about bitter loves of the past, because things are actually pretty good around here. This was my 10th Valentine's with Darren and it was my choice to lay low, though when we finally decided on dinner, Super Cocina definitely hit the spot. Maybe we'll do something a little more ceremonious later, but all that was just fine for me, though my parents gave us a bunch of chocolate which I may have to attack soon.

I did watch the super long press conference with California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Ghaly and you can save yourself the trouble because there was no new information. Masks for vaccinated people in indoor public spaces has been downgraded from mandatory to strongly recommended, but masks are still required in daycares, K-12 schools, public transit, health care settings, congregate care facilities, and prisons and jails. Masks are still considered mandatory in indoor spaces for anyone not fully vaccinated over the age of two, though as always there's no enforcement of that at all. The state will continue to follow the multiple data points and reassess the student mask mandate on February 28, but expect that date to be more of a target for a laid out plan for the metrics with which masks could be removed in the future, not an actual date to drop masks.

Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:

Why Covid-19 vaccines are a freaking miracle - STAT News (2.14.22)

CDC: Time Blunts COVID-19 Booster Shot Protection Too — Vaccine effectiveness against medical visits diminished after 2 months during Delta and Omicron - MedPage Today (2.14.22)

WHO Director-General's remarks at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting - WHO (2.14.22)
COVID-19 cases drop by 40% in US - CIDRAP (2.14.22)
Higher Estrogen Levels May Protect Against COVID-19 Death — Postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy had lower risk of severe outcomes. - MedPage Today (2.14.22)

Politics:

California lawmakers propose COVID-19 vaccination requirement for businesses - Becker's Hospital Review (2.14.22)
Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act to clear protesters, border blockades. The Emergencies Act is the modern-day replacement to the War Measures Act. - National Post (2.14.22)

Opinion: What's happening in Ottawa is not freedom, it’s anarchy. What we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest, but illegal activity that is a national security and economic threat. - National Post (2.14.22)
Civil servants, NASA employees and an American billionaire among donors leaked in GiveSendGo hack. While most donations came from the U.S.— 52,000 American donors were listed compared to 36,000 originating in this country, Canadians gave the most money overall. - National Post (2.14.22)

With no votes to spare, Senate advances Califf’s FDA nomination toward final vote - STAT News (2.14.22)

News:

US suspends Mexican avocado imports on eve of Super Bowl - AP News (2.14.22)

A Threatening Phone Call to a US Inspector Endangers the Mexican Avocado Industry. “To the extent the machinery was working, the U.S. didn’t see a need to intervene until one of their own was threatened,” said one expert. - Vice (2.14.22)

Study finds Western megadrought is the worst in 1,200 years - npr/kpbs (2.14.22)
Lack of fuel prevents distribution of critically-needed medical supplies in Tigray region - WHO (2.14.22)

Other Reading:

Sewage Sampling Already Tracks Covid. What Else Can It Find? Everyone poops—and that reveals traces of pathogens. Comprehensively analyzing wastewater could help find flu and detect the next pandemic. - Wired (2.14.22)