As I write this, just about 29 hours to go…
A lot of people are going to be needing this guy.
Life tip…
The first shelter dog in the White House!
Schools need to reopen!
Oops…
Today is the birthday (in 1943) of Janis Joplin. She tragically died of an accidental heroin overdose in 1970. She was an amazing talent.
Five more days
An anthropologist wanted to study the members of a remote jungle tribe. He hired a native guide with a canoe to take him to his destination and serve as interpreter.
As they travelled up the river, they heard drums in the distance. The anthropologist asked his guide, “What do those drums mean?”
The guide replied, “Drums okay. Drums not bad. But very bad when they stop.”
As they traveled the drums grew louder. The anthropologist became nervous, but the guide repeated, “Drums okay. Drums not bad. But when drums stop, then very bad.”
On they travelled, the anthropologist growing more apprehensive by the minute. Then suddenly the drums stopped. Panic stricken, the anthropologist said to the guide, “The drums stopped! What now?”
The guide crouched down, covered his head with his hands and said, “Guitar solo.”
Some people are always ready to help
some nice images…
Enjoy the weekend!
This day in 1890 was the premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. Here is the waltz part which most people recognize.
A few days ago I published a list of five areas that need attention from the incoming Biden administration. Number 5 on the list was ‘End the Pandemic’ but really that needs to be number one. Ending the pandemic is a critical prerequisite to getting much else done. Here’s what I think needs to be done.
We’re fortunate in that we have two vaccines, both based on mRNA technology that are shown to be highly effective and are being produced and distributed to the states. More are on the way. Here’s a rundown.
The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine uses an engineered virus to carry certain coronavirus genes into cells and have them make virus proteins which generate an immune response. Based on Phase 3 trials it appears to have good efficacy – between 62 and 90%. In what appears to be a paradox, trial participants who got a lower first dose appear to have a better immune response. There is some thought that the larger first dose triggers an immune response to the vaccine itself. In any case the vaccine has been approved for emergency use in a number of countries and AstraZeneca is having discussions with the FDA about US approval. In contrast to Pfizer and Moderna, AstraZeneca has indicated that it can produce up to 2 billion doses a year. The US has pre-purchased 300 million doses.
Johnson & Johnson has developed a similar vaccine which showed good results in Phase 2 trials. Results from Phase 3 trials are expected within days. Unlike the vaccines above, the J&J vaccine requires only a single dose. The US has pre-purchased 100 million doses of the J&J vaccine and, while there have been some initial production delays, the company indicates it can produce 1 billion doses in 2021.
Novavax, a Maryland company, has developed a vaccine which sticks virus proteins onto microscopic particles to be injected. Preliminary and Phase 2 results have been promising and a Phase 3 trial was launched in August in the UK with results likely early this year. Novavax expects to deliver 100 million doses to the US in 2021.
There are dozens of other vaccines in testing or production, but mostly outside the US. Russia’s ‘Sputnik’ vaccine seems to be quite effective. But looking at just the vaccines above, the US should receive 900 million doses in 2021 – more than enough to vaccinate the entire population.
The trick, of course is to get the vaccine into our arms and not sit on the shelf while more people are infected an die. Here’s what we need to do:
There’s plenty of evidence showing that the virus spreads efficiently in poorly ventilated indoor areas. Because of the rapid spread of the virus, we’ve close schools and taken other steps that damage the economy and our well-being. We also need to compensate the restaurants and bars we shut down by paying their employees and their expenses until we can allow them to reopen.
There is strong evidence that high-filtration masks are much more efficient at reducing transmission of the virus. Consider using the Defense Production Act to produce large numbers of these masks and sending sets to every household.
So far around 20 million Americans have been infected and more than 10 million vaccinated. By mid-May we could see cumulative infections of around 25 million and about 100 million vaccinated and the transmission of the virus should slow dramatically. We just need to keep focused and take care of ourselves and others.
Seven more days. Let’s start off with some definitions from Miss Cellania.
On this day in 1965 Bob Dylan began recording his ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ album. He recorded the lead song: Subterranean Homesick Blues. The song has numerous cultural references and one line ‘You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind is blowing’ was adopted by the radical left group ‘The Weathermen’. Incidentally, the song was produced by a guy named ‘Tom Wilson’.
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