The View from the Hermitage, Day 403

Happy Earth Day! It's not a legal holiday, but it's an observance that began in my lifetime, on April 22, 1970. I was 13. The idea of an Earth Day seemed very hippie-ish to me then, despite its being started by a Senator from the Midwest, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

Good news for those of us who have been vaccinated--there have been very few breakthrough cases in which someone fully vaccinated has contracted covid. The CDC is putting together new travel guidance for vaccinated Americans. The Internet quilt guild to which I belong has been discussing a gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2022 or a gathering in Nebraska for the sandhill crane migration. Either would be a bit less than a year away, but I'm taking nothing for granted when it comes to our friend the novel coronavirus.

The US virus numbers are not looking any better. Only six states are reporting decreases between 10 and 50 percent: Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina, Vermont, and Hawaii. During the last week in February, we had an average of 65,686 new cases each day. Eight weeks later, that number is essentially unchanged at 64,814. Deaths sit at 700 per day, which is way down from the peak of 3,500. We're approaching a tipping point between vaccine supply and demand. Demand was outpacing supply, but that's changing. Many places are not able to administer all the vaccine they have. Two out of three Americans so far un-vaccinated say they are unlikely to seek vaccination. 

Some people are suggesting that a faith-based approach to encouraging vaccination might help. Of the people who say they are vaccine-hesitant or vaccine-resistant, 57 percent are Hispanic Protestants and 51 percent are Black Protestants. White evangelical Protestants may up 54 percent of those not enamored of being vaccinated, and half are Mormons. In noting that Catholics were not cited as any of the vaccine-avoiding groups, I wondered if the fact that Pope Francis was vaccinated and encouraged vaccination made a difference. Paging Franklin Graham or the current Mormon prophet, wanna help out here?

The manufacturing plant that ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has multiple procedural failings according to the FDA. All the Johnson & Johnson doses given in the US have come from overseas. The problem with the ruined doses was evidently that the plant used the harmless virus used in the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the US. Various European countries are still using or are about to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, including France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Greece. We should hear tomorrow what's recommended here.

India's case and death numbers keep rising; there were 314,835 new cases on Thursday. The health system is collapsing under the strain. At least 22 patients died when a leak in a hospital's main oxygen tank cut the flow of oxygen to covid patients. Contributing to the surge, the government recently allowed a massive Hindu festival, Kumbh Mela, to go on. Those attending, and they number in the millions, seek absolution for their sins by taking a dip in the Ganges River. The government has also held packed political rallies in several cities. Meanwhile, vaccine supplies are running low, and the country is not likely to meet its goal of vaccinating 300 million people by summer.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are piloting a "fully vaccinated section" at Saturday's game against the Padres. Adults must show that they are two weeks out from their final vaccine dose. Children between 2 and 15 can attend with proof of a negative covid test in the last 72 hours. Masks will be required, but there will be no distancing requirement. The stands can be filled shoulder to shoulder. If turnout is good, such a section might be offered for future games. Would I go? No, but then there aren't many tickets for which I would spend $124 to $154. 

Three in 10 health care workers are considering leaving the profession. Over half say that they are burned out while more than six in 10 say the pandemic has hurt their mental health. I can't imagine what they have gone through. In the early days of the pandemic, about a year ago, much of the pandemic news concerned the frontline health care workers. The extent of that coverage has changed drastically. The media seem to be taking the same workers they lauded a year ago for granted today. Again, I cannot imagine going through what they have gone through. 

On the "what the hell" front, the Texas House has passed legislation t allow election judges, who essentially operate as poll workers, to carry guns in most polling places. Supporters, who tend to be Republicans, frame this as a safety issue. Democrats say it will contribute to voter intimidation. I'm with the Dems on this one.