The View from the Hermitage, Day 422

An up-and-down day. Up in terms of getting what was supposed to be a June 1 appointment about the arthritis in my right thumb moved to this afternoon. The injection was done with help from a real-time x-ray, which I could see along with the physician assistant. There is definitely no gap between the bone at the base of my thumb and the bone in the body of my hand, but the PA said it was not the worst she's seen. It was interesting when, as part of the injection, she pulled on the thumb to create a gap between the two bones. I made it almost two years between cortisone injections in some part of my body. I had the more recent one in June 2019, into my right wrist. 

A second up is that the three-year warranty on Twiggy, my newest laptop, doesn't run out until September. As for the down, I took Twiggy to a local computer shop last Monday to see about the camera that wasn't working. The camera was apparently the tip of the iceberg. I was still there when they were checking the camera and other things started going haywire. They're now trying to clone the system and copy all the "data" so that I can contact the vendor (Lenovo) and send it in. They folks here say it does not seem at all repairable, and I should expect to get a new computer in return. That's why they're trying to clone the system, so that I won't have to rebuild things from the ground up. I thank the deities for the cloud storage in which I'd backed up pretty much everything stored on the laptop itself.

As for the covid front, the FDA has said that the Pfizer vaccine is okay to give to kids between 12 and 15 years old. There's an up and down to that news as well. The up is that the kids in that age range who get vaccinated will count toward that mythical goal of herd immunity. The down is that parents are currently split evenly on whether they will let their kids be vaccinated. There are some 17 million kids in that age range, and the medical folks note that a "different level of sensitivity" will be needed when dealing with their parents. State, counties, and school districts are already working on plans to offer vaccines at schools as well as at pediatricians' offices, day camps, parks, and beaches. The hope with pediatricians' offices is that the docs there are experienced at discussing vaccination issues with parents as well as with making vaccinations as pain-free as possible. In terms of schools, the issue is that the end of the school year is imminent. One was around this might be what Columbus, Ohio is planning--a mobile vaccination unit similar to an ice cream truck.

Erie County, New York, home to Buffalo, is offering a similar inducement for adults. The "shot and a chaser" promotion offers a free beer mug plus a coupon for a free beer when someone over 21 gets a Moderna shot. A second free beer comes with the second shot.

Yesterday, I noted that the Prime Minister of Japan was passing the question of whether to stage the Olympics off to the President of the International Olympic Committee. That would be the same IOC President who has cancelled a planned visit to Tokyo due to the coronavirus surge in progress there. It's potentially too dangerous for him but not for thousands of athletes, coaches, support personnel, media, and Japanese volunteers needed to stage the Games? Go figure. 

The effects of the covid situation in India will impact the global economy. Indian ships and waterways are critical for worldwide supply chains. India also normally produces over 60 percent of all vaccines globally but is now only dealing with domestic needs. (And I can't blame them for that, not even one little bit.) While covid cases in Delhi and Mumbai may be levelling off, rural areas are being hit even harder. Nearly 200 patients have died recently due to a lack of oxygen. Families are also being hit hard by cremation costs' rising from $27 to around $200, too much for most rural families. Besides India, cases and deaths are rising throughout the region, including Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Neplay is so short of oxygen cannisters that it's asking Everest climbers to bring back the empties they usually discard en route. About 3,500 cannisters have been used so far.

An Axios survey done May 7 to 10 asked whether proof of covid vaccination should be required for certain events. Here are the results for "yes" responses.

     International air travel                    64%

     Domestic air travel                         63

     Vacation (hotel, resort, cruise)       61

     Sporting event                                57

     Salons, barbers, spas                      49

     Indoor restaurant dining                 49

     Non-grocery retail                          44

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, fewer than half of Americans (43 percent) saw returning to "normal" pre-pandemic lives as risky. It was not clear if the going out to eat was indoors or out, but 54  percent of Americans say they have gone out to eat. Finally, Democrats are still much more likely than Republicans to say that they're wearing masks.