The View from the Hermitage, Day 388

The photographic equipment dump continues. I can now tell you what is or isn't on too many SD cards. I have sorted various filters and matched them with the appropriate camera. There are some that match no camera. I have four film cameras, one of which takes only 110 film cartridges. Do they even make those any longer? And if they do, how exorbitantly high might the price be? Is it worth it to have four rolls of film developed? Will the surprise of seeing the photos be enough to match the trouble of finding a place to develop them and pay what might seem too much? The obviously outdated unused film--toss or see what neat things I might do with it? Weaving? The possibilities are endless and answers to all the above questions may or may not be determined tomorrow.

The pandemic has a plus side, at least in the UK. There is increased interest in science among teenagers who say that they would like to "stop the next pandemic." At one university, interest in nursing is up 67 percent. Midwifery, biological sciences, pharmacy, and biomedical sciences are also seeing larger than normal increases. Perhaps more important for us number nerds, there is increased interest in math, statistics, and data science. This "suggests that there is a greater interest in statistical modelling and the use of mathematics to understand trends and explain data." 

Though public health officials say we should get the first vaccine we can get, there appears to be a preference for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, especially among those people who say they want to wait and see how things go before they get vaccinated. Letting people choose their vaccine then may very well up the number of people actually getting vaccinated. Some people don't want to have to get two shots for reasons such as having to take time off work twice instead of once; the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only one currently requiring only one shot. There are apps or websites such as vaccinefinder.org that show which vaccine(s) a particular entity has available. 

Nearly 80 percent of teachers, school staff, and child care workers had gotten at least one dose by the end of March. News reports say that almost half of US adults could have at least one vaccine dose by this coming weekend. The US will have enough doses for all Americans by the end of May. Then it's just getting everyone who wants a vaccination scheduled. You're waiting for the "but," right? But some willing adults may be waiting until the end of the year due to the slow rollout in some states. The patients requiring hospitalization are getting younger and younger. Finally, 34 percent of people who do get infected are showing psychiatric or neurological conditions after six months.The most common, experienced by 75 percent of these people, is anxiety. Much rarer are stroke and dementia. For the number nerds, after accounting for factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, and existing health conditions, there was a 44 percent greater risk of neurological and mental health diagnoses after covid-19 than after influenza.

A lot of people have used the pandemic to get closer to nature. This has a good side and a bad side. The good side is people's getting outside and getting some exercise. The bad side is the inexperienced adventurers who have flooded remote areas and often need rescuing. While the National Park Service handles this within the boundaries of a park, search and rescue outside the parks falls to volunteers who are getting overwhelmed and who could quit at any time.

At least in Wyoming, many who need rescuing are out-of-staters who simply do not understand the risks. They think that all they need is a cell phone. Even those who don't need rescuing can cause problems such as discarded trash, human excrement improperly buried along trails, and emergency beacons activated by accident. During Labor Day week, one search and rescue group conducted eight missions to help 23 people. There were lost hikers, injured hikers, and hikers with improper gear for the cold front that blew through. One volunteer called it a miracle that no one was killed. 

For the Teton (Wyoming) County Search and Rescue, January and February 2021 were the busiest since the group was formed in the 1990s. Besides the volunteers' time, rescues cost money. Some states have started to charge those rescued for the cost of the rescue. Other, such as Colorado, offer adventurers the chance to purchase membership. While this creates a constant revenue stream, it may dissuade non-members from requesting the help they need.