The View from the Hermitage, Day 378

Tonight is a worm moon, also known as a crow, crust, sap, or sugar moon. It is the first full moon of spring or the last full moon of winter depending on where the full moon falls in March. It rises on the eastern horizon in early evening; the actual "full" moment is around 2:50 in the afternoon. The moon will look larger near the horizon than it will once it has risen into the sky, a phenomenon known as the "moon illusion." This will be the fourth closest moon to Earth in 2021; the other so-called "super-moons" will be in April, May, and June. May's full moon will be the closest of the year. 

The Suez ship saga continues. They say they've cleared enough dirt away so that the stern and the rudder can move. Tonight's full moon will mean higher tide, and they're hoping to get the bow free without damaging the structure of the ship. They're bringing in some additional tug boats to help. Removing some of the containers either with a land crane or a special helicopter remains an option, probably the last-chance one. 

Mexico has re-examined its excess deaths in 2020 and has increased its covid-19 death toll by 60 percent, to 321,000. This make Mexico second only to the US in terms of total deaths and pushed Brazil into third place. I don't think Brazil is going to mind. 

The UK is adding the Moderna vaccine to the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, giving a third option. The goal is to have people over 50 vaccinated with a first shot by April 15, and all adults by the end of July. Here at home, one-third of adults have gotten a first dose. New York and Arkansas are behind the other states in giving all adults access to a vaccine. At least 36 states give clergy members vaccine priority. I can't say that I disagree. They are on a different front line than emergency or medical workers but still are potentially more exposed than I and most other people would be. 

Scientists are conducting a crowd test in Barcelona. Five thousand people who test negative for covid-19 in the morning will attend a concert. They will be given high quality masks to wear and have no other restrictions on distancing or movement. The band, Love of Lesbian, is excited to be playing. One of its members noted that it's been almost a year-and-a-half since they "last set foot on a scenario as a band." The report I read did not detail what measurements might be taken after the concert, so I'm not really sure how the researchers will measure derive information useful for crowd behavior as more things reopen. 

As schools move to reopen for in-person instruction, ventilation becomes a major issue. The average school building in the US is 44 years old, and four in 10 school districts need to update or replace the HVAC systems in at least half of their buildings. This amounts to some 36,000 buildings nationwide. Given the extra money schools have probably had to spend to equip students for virtual learning, the cost of improved ventilation is likely to be a real burden.

Deborah Birx (remember her?) now says that a vast majority of our almost 550,000 covid-19 deaths could have been prevented if XPot had acted earlier and with greater conviction. I realize she was in an awkward position in terms of what was done when and how, but wish she had expressed similar thoughts in the spring of 2020. Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci says that his push to go "all out" on pursuing a vaccine as early as January 2020 "may have been the best decision I have ever made." 

I learned two new words today, one of which grew out of the pandemic. The non-pandemic one is "locum" which refers to a temporary substitute, especially for a doctor or member of the clergy. The pandemic-generated one is "fauxmorbidity" or stretching the truth about a mild circulatory or mental ailment to justify an early shot of vaccine. Here in Virginia or at least in my local health district, such risk factors are on the honor system. I did not have to take in any proof that I have asthma and high book pressure, for example. Some states do require this, though.

The Professor will be on the grounds of the local university for the first time since he had his covid vaccine. I told him he should check to see if he still needs the weekly covid test. I would think that having had one dose of vaccine, he may very well test positive but given that the vaccine does not contain live or dead virus, he may not. It will be interesting to find out.