We have all the tools we need to deal with a wildfire!

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Tools to fight COVID-19 have been abandoned or are being phased out. Treatments available earlier in the pandemic are becoming useless with the rapidly evolving new variants of the virus. Monoclonal anti-body treatments are no longer effective. “The big problem is that monoclonal antibodies bind to a very small piece of the virus. As the virus changes, we are now in a position in which we lost them all because they don’t bind to the virus anymore,” Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD, told NBC News.

In May of 2022 the White House said it would have to wind down it’s COVID relief program since Congress cut  $22.5 billion in COVID relief funding. There will be no more free vaccinations, tests and treatment to the immunocompromised. If more COVID-19 variants emerge, different boosters may be developed to fight them. Without additional funding, the government will not be able to purchase enough boosters for Americans. U.S. doctors will stop accepting claims from uninsured people.

U.S. will no longer be able to invest in more oral antiviral pills or any new promising antiviral treatment. They will also dial back on research into a “next-generation” COVID-19 vaccine that would protect against a wide range of variants. The country “blindsided” to emerging variants. Researchers won’t be able to properly assess any new variants of COVID-19 that could possibly emerge.

You may have a wildfire and you may have water. The water is useless unless you have a way to get the water to the fire.

Arctic Virus Lockdown

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A COVID outbreak of an Antarctica research station has forced a temporary travel ban to the site. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has confirmed that 10% of the people at the McMurdo Station have tested positive so far. There are 885 researchers at the station. That means about 88 researches have been infected. The outbreak was first reported by NBC News of November 4, 2022.

NSF operates the station on the southern tip of Antarctica’s Ross Island. Measure are now being taken to try and control the outbreak. “Consistent with the U.S. National Science Foundation’s commitment to balance research and operational needs while containing the spread of Covid cases in Antarctica, NSF is implementing a pause on all travel to the continent for the next two weeks, effective immediately, while we reassess the situation,” agency officials said in a statement released November 5, 2022.

Essential travel including medical staff is still being allowed. In a half hearted, pussy footed memo, the agency said it “highly recommends” KN-95 masks be worn at all times and will provide them to residents. Most COVID protocols, like quarantines, and multiple PCR tests have been relaxed, allowing the virus easy access to spread in this frozen petri dish. Of course these people are socially isolated from the rest of the world on this tiny island literally at the frozen ends of the earth.

 

City Mouse

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The numbers of deaths from COVID-19 in 2021 has already surpassed the number of deaths in 2020. Urban Americas are dying half as often from COVID-19 infections compared to their  rural American counterparts.

Vaccinations are the most effective way to prevent Covid-19 infections from turning deadly. Roughly 41 percent of rural America was vaccinated as of September 23, 2021, compared with about 53 percent of urban America, according to an analysis by The Daily Yonder, a newsroom covering rural America. Limited supplies and low access made shots hard to get in the far-flung regions at first, but officials and academics now blame vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and politics for the low vaccination rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for some people who completed their two-dose series of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. Getting fully vaccinated — including your boosters if you qualify — is the right thing to do because it protects others from getting COVID-19.

Boosters are suggested for:

  • People 65 or older
  • People who have a medical condition that puts them at high risk
  • People who work in a setting where they could be exposed to the virus like teachers and store clerks.

Only 57% of the Americans population has been fully vaccinated. Many elite city dwellers got their vaccine booster shots early by taking advantage of the nation’s vaccine surplus and loose tracking of those who have been fully vaccinated. As of August 11, 2021, 1.1 Million Americans had already gotten the booster shot. An NBC News analysis of CDC data shows that the number of people receiving booster shots is outpacing those getting their first or second doses of the initial vaccination.

On October 14, 2021 the FDA’s advisory committee will meet to discuss and potentially recommend approval of booster shots for people who received Moderna’s vaccine.

October 15, 2021  that committee will meet to potentially recommend approval of boosters for those who received Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Also, that day, the committee will discuss potentially mixing and matching vaccine boosters — that is, getting a booster that’s different from your original vaccine.

Then, about a week and a half later, on October 26, 2021 the FDA has scheduled a meeting to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Country Mouse

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HuffPost reported that COVID-19 is killing rural Americans at twice the rate of urban residents.

The first surge of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 initially hit urban areas hardest, with high rates of infections and deaths, according to the study for the Rural Policy Research Center published in September 2021. At the time, many rural communities were largely untouched.

But subsequent waves of the pandemic tore through rural areas, where many people are older, in poorer health, unvaccinated. Rural rates of infections and deaths began pulling ahead of metropolitan areas at the beginning of summer 2020, the study noted.

Since the pandemic began, about 1 in 434 rural Americans have died from COVID-19, compared with roughly 1 in 513 urban Americans. But as of mid-September 2021, metropolitan areas were experiencing a seven-day average death rate of 0.41 per 100,000 people, while rural communities had an average death rate of 0.85.

Alan Morgan, head of the National Rural Health Association, told NBC News, “We’ve turned many rural communities into kill boxes,” he added. “And there’s no movement towards addressing what we’re seeing in many of these communities, either among the public, or among governing officials.”

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that COVID cases and deaths were notably higher in Republican states than in Democratic states.

Of the 23 states that had new per capita case totals higher than the U.S. average, 21 voted for the former president in November, the Post noted. Sixteen of them were among the 17 states with the lowest rates of vaccination.

The newspaper called it an “inescapable overlap of pandemic and politics” as Republicans battle against mask and vaccine mandates, essentially killing their constituents.

Disinfecting the White House

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CNN reported that On January 20, 2021 president elect Joe Biden plans to give the White House a deep cleaning before he and his family move in. Throughout the campaign Joe has consistently worn masks and practiced social distancing in stark contrast to Trump’s super spreader rallies.

The General Services Administration (GSA), is handling what will be a “thorough disinfecting and cleansing” of every surface in the 55,000 square foot mansion. Rugs and window treatments, if kept, will also be deep-cleaned.

In November 2020 there were multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 in the White House even infecting the first family. GSA began using a mist disinfectant throughout the building at that time. Staff in full hazmat-looking suits misting widely used areas such as the briefing room.
According to federal financial docs, obtained by TMZ, the Public Building Service agency’s dropping nearly $29,000 on the cleaning service in the East and West Wing “due to COVID-19 at the White House.” The White House has been a hot spot for the spread of the virus and continues to be as 20 Christmas parties are held this month inside it’s walls.
NBC News reported that back in April, 2020 the White House invested up to $600 million dollars on 60 washing machines that could disinfect N95 face masks for up to 20 times.  The machines use vapor phase hydrogen peroxide which as it turns out degrades the masks after two or three washes. There was no open bidding process for the contract and of course Trump doesn’t like wearing masks, he feels they make him look less masculine.

Rudy’s Meltdown

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Rudy Giuliani held a press conference on Thursday November 18, 2020 in which he literally melted down. He was attempting to pith the conspiracy theory of wide spread voter fraud and in the process suffered a strange hair dye or mascara malfunction. As he spoke dye began running down his cheeks from his side burns as he sweated profusely. He blew his nose in a hanky from his breast pocket, folded it snot side out and began wiping his face.

He cited the 1980s movie My Cousin Vinny to reference the notion that pole inspectors were not close enough to see the votes being counted. He held up two fingers as the lawyer did in the movie when the witness with bad eyesight guessed wrong. All of the strange conspiracy theories aren’t with mentioning since they are not based in fact. Trump’s lawyers talk of “Fraud” outside the courtroom but inside the courtroom they stress that there is no fraud. Judges keep dismissing cases as baseless since no evidence is presented.

Even more outlandish than Rudy’s lies, Sidney Powell claimed that Georgia’s voting system software was part of a conspiracy involving former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who died back in 2013. She vowed that her conspiracy theories would “blow up” Georgia with a “biblical” lawsuit. This was even a step too far for Trump, his legal team, Giuliani and, Jenna Ellis  put out a statement Sunday November 22, 2020 that said, “Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump legal team. She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity.” Trump himself tweeted last week that Powell was part of a team of “wonderful lawyers and representatives” spearheaded by Giuliani. What a national embarrassment. President Donald Trump is worried his campaign’s legal team, led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is composed of “fools that are making him look bad,” NBC News reported. For once Trump is waking up to reality.

Trump has over 30 lawsuits on courts attempting to overthrow the election results. At least 25 have been denied, dismissed, settled or withdrawn. He won only two which allowed election inspectors to stand closer to the people counting votes. I would hate to be those counters having people breathing down your neck during a pandemic. No court has found even a single instance of fraud.

 

Trump Envies Fauci

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I highly respect Dr. Anthony Fauci. He speaks the truth without watering down facts. His primary concern at all times has been to save lives. It seems the president envies the doctors popularity. Fauci was asked to throw out the first pitch at the Major League Baseball’s opening day, Thursday, July 23. The pitch was a bit of a tragedy but it was a much needed light hearted moment.

President Donald Trump announced that he would be throwing out the first pitch at the Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 15, 2020 claiming he was invited by team president Randy Levine. The New York Times reported that “Mr. Trump had not actually been invited on that day by the Yankees, according to one person with knowledge of Mr. Trump’s schedule. His announcement surprised both Yankees officials and the White House staff. But Mr. Trump had been so annoyed by Dr. Fauci’s turn in the limelight, an official familiar with his reaction said, that he had directed his aides to call Yankees officials and make good on a longtime standing offer from Mr. Levine to throw out an opening pitch. No date was ever finalized.” In other words, he lied.

The White House has been undercutting Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, by circulating anti-Fauci talking points to reporters. It is as if they want to paint him as the enemy of the people. People are tired of the social isolation caused by COVID-19 and want to return to life as usual despite the consequences. Fauci’s public health messaging runs contrary to the president’s priority that Americans should get back to work and open all schools fully in the fall. “Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes,” the president told Fox‘s Sean Hannity.

And aide told The Washington Post that “several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.” The paper reported that the unidentified staffer delivered to them a list of about a dozen past comments Fauci has made that the official claimed were incorrect. Some of the Fauci examples were from early in the pandemic, when information was rapidly evolving. Other top health officials who have acknowledged changing their assessment as time went on, such as the surgeon general. For instance Fauci had advises early on that the public should not run out and start buying N-95 face masks since there was  a shortage of masks available for health care professionals at the time. As more was learned and supplies were re-replenished he advised everyone to wear masks to help stop the spread of the disease. Fauci had not had the opportunity to advise to the president since early June but has continued to make media appearances to discuss the COVID-19 strategy.

Trump retweeted former Wheel of Fortune host Chuck Woolery, who claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many doctors and the media were “lying” about COVID-19. Fauci wasn’t specifically named in that tweet. Dan Scavino, the White House’s director of social media who was promoted in April to deputy chief of staff for communications, shared a political cartoon on his Facebook page that criticized Fauci‘s support of shutdowns and social distancing in order to slow the virus.

Fauci said to The Atlantic. “Ultimately, it hurts the president to do that. When the staff lets out something like that and the entire scientific and press community push back on it, it ultimately hurts the president. And I don’t really want to hurt the president. But that’s what’s happening. I told him I thought it was a big mistake. That doesn’t serve any good purpose for what we’re trying to do.”

Speaking with NBC News, Fauci said that the public should rely on its “respected medical authorities who have a track record of telling the truth … based on scientific evidence and good data.” He continued,  “That’s the safest bet to do: to listen to the recommendations from that category of people. But it’s entirely understandable how the public can get mixed messages and then get a bit confused about what they should do.”

Dr. Fauci is facing death threats to himself and his family and now requires personal security from law enforcement at all times, including at his home, a source confirmed to CNN. As Dr. Fauci’s public profile has grown, so has the concern for his welfare. Fauci’s guidance to Trump for the country to remain as locked down as possible to help control the virus spread has not earned fans among some fervent right-wing voices. Medical staff can fight the disease as hospitals fill to capacity, but they have a harder time fighting stupidity as people ignore simple health precautions. Social distance, wear a mask and wash your hands.