The View from the Hermitage, Day 415

Another less-than-busy afternoon of early voting. There were five of us there working to meet the needs of the zero voters who came in. The state says we have to have early voting, but I bet they're not contributing much to the local fund that pays the workers. I've been polite and not asked just how much we're making. If there's a bonus for being a chief, though, I should get it for today. I signed up to work as an assistant chief but evidently no one signed up as chief, so that's what I became. 

May the fourth be with you. Tomorrow, watch out for the revenge of the fifth. 

Covid case and death numbers here in the US are down to about one-fifth of what the winter peak numbers were. Eighty-three percent of Americans ages 65 and older have gotten one dose of vaccine; almost 70 percent are fully vaccinated. The FDA is said to be about to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12-15. If they do, there still needs to be input from the CDC's vaccine advisory panel. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are testing their vaccines in kids 12-18. Pfizer and Moderna are also testing in kids ages six months to 11 years.

The average number of people getting a first or second vaccine dose each day has fallen about 50 percent from the peak on April 13. Declines are sharpest for ages 18 to 64; just over half of this group remains unvaccinated. None of this is good news. 

The next generation of covid vaccines could come in pill or nasal spray form. The WHO says 277 new vaccines are in development around the world, with 93 already in human trials. Of the current generation of vaccines, it is notable that CVS and Walgreens wasted 128,500 doses out of the 182,874 wasted overall in the US. One contributing factor was the limited shelf life; Pfizer is good for six hours, and Moderna, for 11. Once a vial is opened, the clock starts clicking on the doses left in that vial. This is an incomplete picture of dosage waste, though, since 15 states and the District of Columbia are not included.

On the world stage, covid has caused one of every three deaths in Brazil this year. Less than 10 percent of the population has been vaccinated. The number of cases in India has risen over 20 million. The political opposition leader is calling for a full national lockdown. Dr. Fauci appears a master in understatement noting, "The situation in India is extremely serious." Hospitals are full. Some families take an infected member to hospital after hospital and then home to die. 

Are we on the way back to normal? Some cities and states seem to think so. The mayor of Chicago says they will be fully reopened by July 4. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are preparing to allow businesses to operate at full capacity for the first time since the start of the pandemic. "Businesses" include restaurants, theaters, museums, and gyms. Indoor mask mandates will stay in place, and there will still be some restrictions on larger indoor venues. These may require proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. Federal social distancing rules will remain in effect. New York City and some major financial employers will require that employees return to work from offices this summer. Is all this reopening premature? Some people think so. Seattle is considering restoring some restrictions as they watch numbers of cases and hospitalizations rise. 

Bill and Melinda Gates have announced that they are divorcing. They say they will continue to work together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I hope that is true, because I would hate to see the good work the Foundation has done end now, when the world needs all the help it can get and, probably, more than that.