Vaccine incentives take all forms, even guns. In West Virginia, someone getting vaccinated can choose to enter a drawing to win one of five custom hunting rifles and five custom shotguns. Weekly drawings will start on June 20, Fathers Day. Other prizes include $1 million. Fully vaccinated people ages 16 to 35 could win $100 savings bonds or gift cards. West Virginia is not the only state with a firearms incentive. Illinois is taking mobile vaccination sites to shooting ranges and giving those who get vaccinated 100 free targets.
POTUS has declared June a National Month of Action working toward the goal of 70 percent of Americans having gotten at least one dose of vaccine by July 4. He also would like to see 160 million American adults fully vaccinated by then. Anheuser-Busch is offering to help by giving out $5 gift cards good for beer or any other beverage. All a person has to do to get one is upload a selfie taken in a favorite bar or restaurant. The only problem here is that I'm not ready to go to a bar or restaurant, though if they accepted a selfie taken outside, by the entrance, I could manage that. Another program is "Shots at the Shop" to engage Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons to conduct outreach and offer education on the vaccines. Over 50 mayors have joined a Mayors' Challenge to see which city can get the most residents vaccinated. Several child care centers have offered free child care while parents get shots or recover from any side effects. Finally, thousands of pharmacies have said they will stay open late every Friday night in June.
Kudos to the 12 states that have already met the 70 percent goal: California, Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Rural northern California is seeing a worrisome rise in covid cases and hospitalizations in counties that continue to protest safety measures. One cafe in Mendocino is threatening to charge patrons $5 for wearing a mask. They also note they will charge $5 to anyone "caught bragging about your vaccine" but will give a 50 percent discount to customers who throw their masks in the trash. The northern counties have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. In three counties, only a fourth of the population is fully vaccinated. Some county supervisors have been threatened with recalls for supporting covid safety measures.
The Washington Post obtained Dr. Fauci's emails from March and April of 2020 using the Freedom of Information Act. The man keeps his cool even in email. In response to a suggestion from an official at the Department of Health and Human Services that the shortage of PPE could be resolved through the use of "doggie cones," Dr. Fauci offered polite thanks.
The US may be returning to normal, but some countries are seeing their worst outbreaks yet. Argentina, Malaysia, and South Africa are among the countries that have reimposed lock-downs; in Malaysia, you can't go farther than six miles from home. Thailand and Taiwan have closed schools and nightspots. Paraguay and Uruguay now have the highest reported fatality rates in the world according to Johns Hopkins University. The best way to combat these surges is to increase vaccinations. In North America, 60 doses have been given for every 100 people. In South America, 27 doses have been given for every 100 people, while in Asia, 21 doses have been given. In Africa, frighteningly, only two doses have been given for every 100 people.
For those who doubt the vaccine really works out in the broader world, a Brazilian town saw a 95 percent drop in covid-19 deaths after almost all adults were vaccinated as part of an experiment. Serrana has about 45,000 inhabitants. After 95 percent of those people had been vaccinated, deaths fell, as noted, by 95 percent. Hospitalizations fell by 86 percent, while symptomatic cases fell by 80 percent. No severe side effects to the vaccinations were reported.
Today is my big brother's birthday. Because of the holiday weekend, I didn't put his card in the mail until yesterday, so I shall offer him Best Birthday Regards here on the proper day. I hope you had some nice hiking weather, Jon, and that the trails weren't too crowded.
1 comment:
The café in California probably can't legally charge people for wearing masks, but I wouldn't go there to test them. If that's the attitude they advertise someone else can have my business. (Nothing like cutting off your nose to spite your face.)
A local brewery advertised free beer to customers who've been vaccinated (no details on how the customer proves this status); if I were to take up a brewery on their offer I'd pick Weyerbacher well before Anheuser-Busch. :-D
At my grocery store today about half the people indoors (based on a casual visual survey) wore a mask (as of June 1, the vaccinated in PA can choose to not wear one, on the assumption that 1-the transmission rate from vaxxed folks is low and 2-they can take their chances with less risk than pre-vaccination).
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