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Kaja's Big Adventure (Taken 12.6.22)

This always happens. I intend to do a weekly post and then by the time I get around to finishing it up, new data is about to come out. I got super busy...between family stuff and work stuff and going to the zoo and holiday stuff and just trying to get through the bazillion emails that come in around Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and the torturous filtering through 3 reminders from literally every non-profit I've ever looked at on Giving Tuesday, I just try to keep up. It's a good busy though, mostly. 

I was quite vocal on Twitter about how pissed I was about December Nights charging for parking, for bus routes being diverted from the park, and because Florida and Morley Field Drive had been repaved but still hadn't been striped, I didn't think I was going to partake at all. But, as it turns out, besides some extra light cycles, I was still able to get my zoo time in on Friday and Saturday, and got first row parking at the Zoo both nights, so I held my spots and did end up walking around December Nights for a couple hours each night. It was pure chaos as expected, but I'm a sucker for the holidays, so what can I say? I love watching the kid dance ensembles, both in the Prado building and the dancing at the International Cottages. It reminds me of being a kid and getting all decked out for the Chula Vista Starlight Parade for baton or tap or whatever thing we were doing any given year. The kids are so enthusiastic and diverse and it's way better than the polished life-long dancers on Dance Moms or whatever. Darren did not have the same experience, however, and when he tried to bus to meet me, experienced the shitshow navigation which left him feeling -- well, let's just say I was calling him Scrooge McGrinch -- which did not make the situation any better. But he survived and was a trooper for even making the effort. 

Since the last post, Darren and I got to do a Cheetah Safari at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we went to see Lucius at Music Box and Modest Mouse at Observatory, I picked up a couple merch gigs for Drugdealer at Soda Bar, and I did finally get back for a morning zoo session, when I got to see Kaja crawling on the grass. It was my first time seeing him do that, and rumor is it was his first time doing it, but my sources vary on that information. Darren is in his second week of training for driving the guided tram tours at the Park which is especially exciting. Wild Holidays is open at Safari Park on select days, so I'm going to have to drag Nova up on a weekend to visit, and this weekend Jungle Bells kicks of at the San Diego Zoo, which means they'll be open late again, until 8pm every night through January 1st, with the exception of Christmas Eve. My advice: get there before sunset if you want to see any primates, as they're all in their bedrooms by 4 or 5pm. Cats, elephants, giraffes and hippos are all out and often active at night. I always try and catch the Aye-Aye, who is super elusive except at night, and the ambassadors animals at Explorers Basecamp are worth hanging out with. Right now there's a tamandua, a caracal, and a binturong, but sometimes they swap in the porcupine. 

The big news this week is that Raphael Warnock won a 6 year Senate seat, so that is a huge relief. It still kinda pisses me off how close it was, but the eloquent Rebecca Solnit gave it some much needed perspective in this Facebook post.  Besides that, obviously it feels like everyone is sick right now, so make sure you sign up for Covered CA before the end of the year and get the boosters and flu shot if you haven't already. There's finally tons of actual research...not just anecdotal...that vaccines are helping to prevent Long-Covid, besides the fact that both will likely keep you out of the hospital if you do get sick.  

Stay safe out there. If you hear someone coughing, turn and run in the opposite direction. 

If you're looking for listings, I may not get them done until later Thursday since I'm working tonight and it's a little too complicated to compile on my Chromebook when I'm busy. Rest assured, I'll get around to them as soon as I possibly can. 

• COVID-19:
• Everyone Is Sick Right Now. For the past two years, social distancing kept seasonal viruses at bay. Now they’re roaring back. - Wired (12.7.22)
• Statewide flu activity level rises as available pediatric ICU beds decrease - kpbs (12.7.22)
• L.A. County facing a full-blown coronavirus surge as cases double, deaths rise - LA Times (12.6.22)
• California's Community Risk Level Increased to Medium - COVID ActNow (12.2.22)
• San Diego's Community Risk Level Remains Low (12.6.22)
• Meta-analysis estimates 29% vaccine effectiveness against long COVID - CIDRAP (12.7.22)
• Covid Year Two: Death Gap Narrowed Between Racial Groups — Class Less So. Health disparities existed long before the pandemic. But after the rollout of vaccines, that disparity is slipping. - Voice of San Diego (11.29.22)
• COVID-19 death rates in young people rose in 2021 - CIDRAP (11.29.22)
• Study on masks vs N95 respirators for health workers spurs concerns - CIDRAP (11.29.22)
• The supply of COVID antivirals is increasing, but many patients aren't using them - CalMatters/kpbs (12.5.22)
• Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits. - KHN (12.7.22)
• Paxlovid rebound: new data reviewed - Ground Turths - Eric Topol Substack (11.16.22)
• By rapid antigen testing, viral rebound occurred in 14% of the Paxlovid group and the excess compared with controls was 5%. 
• With respect to symptoms, it was nearly 18% compared with 7%, an excess of 12% for Paxlovid versus controls. 
• These rates are considerably higher than the EPIC trial...but far less (especially flanked by controls) than the perception in the medical community and the public.
• Covid evolution wipes out another antibody treatment, threatening the country’s medicine cabinet -  Stat News (11.30.22)
• CDC MMWR:
• SARS-CoV-2 Serology and Self-Reported Infection Among Adults — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, August 2021–May 2022 (12.2.22)
• During August 2021–May 2022, 41.6% of a convenience sample of adults had both anti-spike antibodies (indicating previous infection or vaccination) and anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (indicating previous infection only); 43.7% of these persons were possibly asymptomatically infected.
• Politics:
• Georgia Senate runoff vote: What Warnock's win means for him, the Senate and Georgia - BBC (12.6.22)
• Gloria plans new bike, bus lanes on Park Boulevard through Balboa Park - KPBS (9.2.22)
• EIA expects higher and more volatile wholesale electricity prices in the United States this winter - EIA (12.6.22)
• California lawmakers to meet, eye big oil's high gas prices - AP News/kpbs (12.5.22)
• News:
• Buying the competition (Kroger's Proposed Buyout of Albertson's is BAD news) - Popular.info (12.5.22)
• Railroading workers - Popular.info (11.30.22)
• UPDATE: A vote for paid sick leave gets fast-tracked - Popular.info (11.30.22)
• 'SCAB': Workers Furious at Joe Biden After 'Pro Labor' President Sells Out Railworker Unions. Biden has asked Congress to force freight rail unions to accept their tentative agreement. Workers across industries say that’s a “betrayal of working class people.” - Vice (11.30.22)
• Oath Keepers’ Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy - AP News (11.30.22)
• Average San Diego County gas price drops under $5 for first time since March 3 - City News Service/KPBS (11.30.22)
• The fine print of the Respect for Marriage Act - CNN Politics (11.29.22)
• Other Reading:
• 45,000 Women and Girls Killed by Family Members in 2021 - Statista (11.24.22)
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 12.7.22 7:20pm):
•  647,004,623 Known Cases/12,666,786 28-Day New Cases
•  6,646,269 Known Deaths/39,450 28-Day New Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• JHU
• 99,230,725 Cases/1,256,031 28 Day New Cases
• 1,083,362 Deaths/9,006 28-Day New Deaths
• CDC Data Tracker:
• 303,101 New Weekly Cases/98,777,220 Known Cases 
• 1,780 New Deaths/1,077,303 Known Deaths
• 4,913 New Admissions (Daily Average)/29,433 Current Hospitalizations
• California COVID-19 Stats (ALL DATA FROM 12/1/22):
• R-effective: 1.2
• 5,466 Average Daily Cases/10,651,573 Total Cases (13.6 new cases/100k)
• 14 Average Daily Deaths/96,803 Total Deaths (0.04 new deaths/100k)
• 10.8% 7-day test positivity rate
• 3,793 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+56 patients, 1.5% from prior day)
• 408 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+24 patients, +6.3% from prior day)
• 1,626 ICU beds available (-25 from prior day)
• San Diego County (ALL DATA FROM 12/1/22)
• State Data:
• R-effective: 1.23
• 442 Average Daily Cases/ 942,451 Total Cases (13.1 cases/100k)
• 10.0% Daily Positivity
• 1 Average Daily Deaths/5,569 Total Deaths
• 284 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-14 patients, -4.7% from prior day)
• 26 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (-4 patients, -13.3% from prior day)
• 228 ICU beds available (+6 from prior day)
• County COVID Data (as of 12/1/22):
• 3,455 New Cases Since Last Report/ 942,177 Total Cases 
• Case rate: 12.7 per 100,000 residents overall
• 7 New Deaths Since Last Report/5,569 Total Deaths
• 9.5% Daily Test Positivity/% 7-day average after 7-day lag/6.7% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 284 COVID-19 Hospitalizations. +143% over 30 days
• 26 ICU Patients. +117% over 30 days
• 49 Staffed ICU Beds Available 
• 3 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• County Influenza Data:
• 2,694 New Cases Since Last Report/12,946 Known Cases 
• 3 New Deaths Since Last Report/8 Known Deaths