Pre-Pandemic: Baldwin Dog Park

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Pam and I used to take our dogs to the dog park almost every weekend. We haven’t gone to the dog park for a year now. I pass Baldwin Park every Sunday when I drive to Crealde School of Art to teach. I have seldom seen a mask as I drive by and I have made it a game to count the number of mask less mouth breather I see. The number usually exceeds 20 and I don’t count people facing away from me.

Now that Pam an I have our first shot of vaccine e are thinking forward to place we might go again when fully vaccinated. The dog park will certainly e one of those treks out into the world again. Our pups get to walk around the block fairly often and we go on weekend to much less crowded parks for careful distanced walks.

Pam is making plans to see family again. She used to visit her parents every holiday but hasn’t seen them in a year. We are also considering having house guests who have been fully vaccinated. Simple pleasure may once again be coming. I am even considering getting out to sketch outdoor theater so my sketchbook will once again fill with discoveries as I explore the world again.

COVID-19 on Everest

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So you have survived a year long pandemic and want to find a way to prove you are truly alive. Some people feel the need to climb Mount Everest to fill that need. The mountain climbing season was abandoned last year due to the pandemic but the mountain was opened up for climbers again in 2021.

The Mount Everest base camp is basically a garbage heap from the abandoned refuge from 3  years of climbers waste. You might think that climbing to the top of the highest mountain inn the world might socially distance you from the COVID-19 virus, but you would be wrong.

A member of an expedition at the 17,600 foot high Base Camp tested positive for COVID-19. The infected patient was originally thought to be suffering from high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Upon arrival, the person tested positive for COVID-19. The rest of their expedition team then began quarantining at Base Camp. It is easy to mistake the virus for symptoms commonly caused by extreme altitude. Doctors at the base amp are not able to test for COVID-19.

The Nepal government has issued 338 permits to climb Everest which is a quite crowded climbing season. Masks re worn only sporadically at the base camp. Climbers are supposed to supply a negative COVID test but this is voluntary. Some climbers claim to have been vaccinated but again paperwork is voluntary. Nepal shares an open border with India which now has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the world.

Vaccinate!

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Americans may be finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. More than a quarter of the county has been fully vaccinated, and more than 264 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered as of April 20 2021.

The demand for vaccine shots has begun to slow down in some parts of America. With plenty of vaccine supply on hand and eligibility open to all residents 16 and older, officials are struggled to fill appointments. A sizable portion of the population has what experts call “vaccine hesitancy.” As South Florida hits 40% immunization, the vaccinations are slowing down.

Experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, estimate somewhere between 70-85% of the country needs to be immune to the virus — either through inoculation or previous infection — to suppress its spread. But the US is nowhere near those levels yet and the slowing demand — especially now that eligibility has opened up — means getting there might be a taller task than some local officials expected. Cowards and Magats aint doin’ their part.

In Orange County, Mayor Jerry Demings said that vaccine supply is up, yet thousands of vaccine appointments are open. “Our goal is to still get up to that 79% of our population (vaccinated) and I believe we can get there,” Demings said. As of April 19, 2021, 30% of Orange County’s population is fully vaccinated. Orange County Florida health officials no longer have access to a critical statewide database that gives local decision-makers information including on COVID-19 vaccine distribution rates. The state revoked Orange County’s access to the Florida Department of Health database after the county turned over three heat maps as part of a public records request. The maps show vaccine distribution rates by zip code and do not disclose any exempt or personal information. WFTV was the first to report the state pulling access to the database. The maps show lower-income neighborhoods including Pine Hills have had fewer vaccines distributed than historically higher-income communities such as Winter Park. It is important to know which zip codes have low vaccination rates because those areas likely need better vaccine messaging due to hesitancy.

On April 19, 2021, President Joe Biden said in a Twitter video,  “Folks, I have good news, everybody is eligible as of today to get the vaccine. We have enough of it, you need to be protected, and you need in turn to protect your neighbors and your family.”

“So please get the vaccine,” the president said.

Robo Servers

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Some Orlando restaurants who are desperate for workers have offered $400 signing bonuses. There are plenty of people who need the work but are not willing to enter a workspace full of mask less open mouth chewers in the age of COVID-19.

Robot Servers are being employed by some restaurants to maintain social distancing and stand out from their competitors. A Chinese restaurant uses robot greeters and servers that chat with guests, take orders and run food from the kitchen.

U & Me Revolving Hot Pot in Orlando, Florida down by Disney opened in May 2020. The restaurant employs a conveyor belt and autonomous robots to assist in serving diners. A “pilot” robot helps guide customers to their assigned table where a conveyor belt allows individually plated dishes, each in a protective cover, to roll past the table. Some items are delivered to the table via a multi-shelved delivery robot. The robots at U & Me are from Shanghai-based Kennon Robotics.

In the UK, a restaurant called Robotazia features up cycled robots made from vacuum cleaners, cement mixers and other detritus in a sci-fi themed space. Also up and running is a fleet of grocery delivery robots. The 100 lb autonomous self-driving robots can carry deliveries within a four mile range at a “pedestrian speed.” Available in the UK for several years now, are rolling out across the US as well, in Virginia, DC, California and Arizona.

Little Shop of Vaccines

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Covid-19 cases are surging around the world, fueled by highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that continue to spread quickly. Covid-19 deaths have surpassed 3 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

India on April 18, 2021 reported 261,500 new cases of Covid-19, the fourth consecutive day of more than 200,000 infections and the highest since the start of the pandemic, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health. They also reported 1,501 new deaths, the highest in almost 10 months.

In Florida COVID-19 cases have  surged since spring break and deaths from new variants are rising. As of April 15, 2021, there were 5,177 cases that involved variants of concern in the state — six times higher than what was there in mid-March, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The Sentinel obtained the figures through a lawsuit it filed against the Florida Department of Health.

Cases across the United States continue to climb despite the epic vaccine roll out by the new administration. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said earlier this month that hospitals are seeing more younger un-vaccinated adults  are being admitted with Covid-19 as more contagious variants spread. In Michigan, where Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are rapidly increasing, case rates are at an all-time high for those age 19 and younger, according to state data published April 6, 2021.

States have begun to lift health safety measures to quickly allowing the virus to spread. Controlling the spread of the virus is as simple as following health measures like mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. However politicians insist on making these safety measures a political flashpoint, claiming they are an infringement on civil liberties. Experts spanning law, public health and privacy policy say it’s a false choice.

 

Breakthrough Cases

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The CDC has reported 5800 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 out of the nearly 77 million people who have been fully vaccinated. 65 percent of the cases were in women, and just over 40 percent were in people ages 60 and up. About 29% of those experiencing breakthrough infections experienced no symptoms, however, seven percent of people were hospitalized, and 74 people died.

It is unclear why asymptomatic individuals were tested for Covid-19 after being fully vaccinated. It could be that some employers, such as health care systems, require regular testing.

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive their second dose of a two-dose vaccine, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is currently paused in the U.S. as federal health officials investigate cases of rare blood clots linked to the shots.) In clinical trials, the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines were found to be around 95 percent effective against Covid-19, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 72 percent effective against moderate-to-severe illness in its U.S. trial.

“I would encourage people to continue, once they’re vaccinated, to use all the prevention measures that we’ve been talking about when they’re outside their home, including masking and distancing and whatnot. And all of that should be active in the workplace,” the CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said during a briefing for the press on April 12, 2021. These breakthrough cases are another reason that people should continue to wear masks, social distance and wash hands since research is not yet in on weather they could pass the disease on to others.

Vaccination remains critical to ending the pandemic. “It does not reduce the risk to nil, but it does reduce the risk to something that we can handle.”

India Became the Second Worse COVID Outbreak

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On April 14, 2021 India had over 200,000 new cases of COVID-19. After the USA, India has become the country with the world’s second-highest coronavirus infections, overtaking Brazil, as doctors report shortage of hospital beds and ventilators.

Despite this outbreak, authorities have allowed the Hindu religious cerebration of Kumbh Mela to proceed, drawing over 600,000 mostly mask less people to gather on the shore of the Ganges river. Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly wants to secure the Hindu vote despite the health risk of allowing such a superspreader event to proceed.

The Haridwar district reported over 2,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since April 10, 2021. Twnety of those were seers or religious leaders. The head of the Maha Nirvani Akhara, Swami Kapil Dev, who had come to attend Kumbh Mela  died from COVID-19 on April 13, 2021.

A majority of the people who bathed in the Ganges  were seen openly violating COVID norms like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing. The festival is 12 days long, going through April 30, 2021. This allows plenty of time for it to become a super spreading event of epic proportions.

A senior health official told the Times of India, “Leave aside testing, the seers are not even ready to wear masks, some of us pleaded with folded hands, but they didn’t listen.” Hindu devotees  believe that Maa (Mother) will save them from the pandemic.

Various states in India have reported vaccine shortages, with vaccination centers in Maharashtra and Odisha reportedly shut for lack of doses. The Prime Minister Modi has asked the governors of Indian states to promote unproven therapies and ‘treatments’ offered by alternative medicine systems like Ayurveda “The Science of Life.” and homeopathy. The Indian Medical Association characterizes the practice of modern medicine by Ayurvedic practitioners as quackery. Homeotherapy claims that disease is caused by miasms or, “bad air”.

As COVID-19 rips through India, the Uttarakhand government did not just fail to take action limiting numbers at the Hindu festival—it actively encouraged people to come and told them not to worry about Covid-19 restrictions. On March 20, 2021 , Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said, “I invite all devotees across the world to come to Haridwar and take a holy dip in the Ganga during Mahakumbh. Nobody will be stopped in the name of Covid-19 as we are sure the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus.” A minister aid, “This is not negligence. It’s a serious criminal act.”

1,038 people died from COVID-19 in India on April 14, 2021.

Theme Park Architects

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Jerry Izsak grew up in Canada. Both of his grand parents immigrated from Hungry in 1902. He went to school in Toronto.

Jerry was 25 years old when he moved to America. He moved to Tampa. He later moved to California and saw an ad for Disney who was hiring. He met his wife Marta at a party of one of his Disney architect friends.

Disney then moved Jerry to Florida which is where he worked on designing and building Walt Disney World. He helped design Main Street. Marta was working on Adventure Land.

As an architect, they helped with the theme park design. Work wasn’t that hectic. It was a fun time. You couldn’t have a mustache. Eventually they changed that policy. Disney was a fun time in both of their careers. In Florida Jerry worked for Disney for 20 years. His entire Disney career was 30 years part in California, France, England.

Marta was also an architect. In Florida she also got a job at Disney so they had cubicles right near each other. She learned Auto Cad. Though she liked hand drafting she saw the advantaged of Auto Cad for quick changes.

They purchased a property  north of Disney and build a custom house which they designed and built themselves. The house took two years to build and everything was paid for in cash. When they got a paycheck, they went to home Depot and bought some 2 by 4s and got to work. They were in a pop up camper while the house was being built. They then brought an adjourning property and they build a second home which they now live in.

On the day this interview as conducted, The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. I remember wanting to only bump elbows with Jerry and Marta. Jerry bumped elbows but Marta insisted on shaking hands. Out of politeness and habit I shook her hand. I was already carrying hand sanitizer for just such an occurrence. I’m thankful we all spoke on the open air back porch of their home. It was a beautiful day with birds chirping and the start of a new normal for us all.

Johnson & Johnson Blood Clots

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended there be a “pause” for the Johnson & Johnson  vaccine after 6 women developed rare brain blood clots after getting the vaccine. One woman died.

The CDC‘s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will convene April 14, 2021 for an emergency session, with a vote scheduled on “updated recommendations for use” before the group adjourns at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden‘s chief medical adviser, told CBS Evening News, that it appeared that the adverse effect occurred within six to 13 days, and “so if you’ve had it a month or two ago, I think you really don’t need to worry about anything.” He went on to emphasis that the chance of these adverse side effects is “less than 1 in a million,” but he said to be alert to the symptoms such as severe headache, some difficulty in movement — such as in a neurological type of a situation — or some chest discomfort and difficulty breathing.

The cases the FDA and CDC are investigating occurred involved a blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which was seen alongside low levels of blood platelets, according to their statement. All of the six women were between the ages of 18 and 48. “Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given,” they said.

The agencies said the “adverse events” seem to be extremely rare, but that the pause is important so that health care providers can be made aware of the reactions and properly recognize and manage the cases, given the unique treatment required. It has not yet been determined if the vaccine was the direct cause of the blood clotting cases. The AstraZeneca vaccine, used in Europe and not yet available in the USA has also been linked to cases of blood clots. Both the AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines use an inactivated form of a common cold virus, called an adenovirus, to teach the immune system to recognize the spike protein found of the surface of the coronavirus. Experts believe it’s possible that on rare occasions, the adenovirus itself could lead to clotting, due to a reaction involving platelets.

Regardless this will become a rallying point for any anti vaxers.

The Florida Pit

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You Tube had to remove a video posted by Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis that had misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic health crisis. The video was a recording was of a March 18, 2021 roundtable discussion on public health featuring a panel of physicians who appeared to be hand-picked because their views aligned with DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Among them was Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist with no experience as an epidemiologist or public health expert, who was a pandemic adviser to former President Donald Trump. He had to resign from the administration. His tenure had been mired in controversy.

Also on the panel were Dr. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University, Dr. Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, of Stanford Medical School — all of whom have been critical of lockdowns and certain other measures amid the pandemic. It should noted that during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, doctors and nurses were happy to murder patients for the fatherland.

DeSantis asked panelists whether children needed to wear face masks in school. They contradicted the findings of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). YouTube pointed to those comments as example of content that violated its standards about “COVID-19 medical misinformation.” (CDC) recommends that children ages 2 and older wear a mask when in public and when around people they don’t live with.

Florida leads the country in the number of COVID variants. Florida has double the number of variants as the number two state Michigan. The state’s openness and tourism could be contributing factors on top of the Governor’s arrogant stupidity. A report this week from the National Institutes of Health called the B.1.1.7 variant “considerably more contagious than the original virus” and said “emerging evidence indicates that infection with this B.1.1.7 variant also comes with an increased risk of severe illness and death.” Florida also has the P.1 variant first detected in Brazil and the B.1.351 variant initially identified in South Africa. Research has now shown that the South African variant can infect people who have had the Pfizer vaccine.

People continue to arrive in Central Florida’s theme parks and other statewide tourist destinations from all over the country, which means that if the variant emerges elsewhere, they are more likely to bring it into the state. Also if people become infected while letting their guard down in Florida they can then bring the virus back to their home state. Orange County Florida, health officials provide twice-per-week updates on the county’s number of variant cases, which continues to grow. On April 1, 2021 the health officials reported 105 variant cases, up from 80 cases in the county on March 29, 2021. Cases are rising in younger adults. It should be noted that variants are very under reported.

Thanks to the Governor, Florida remains the nations top breading ground for the spread of the virus and its variants. A total of 2,118,713 Florida residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. On April 9, 2021, 6,906 new COVID-19 cases were reported with 50 deaths. As of April 10, 2021 there have been 34,676 deaths in the state related to the virus.