The View from the Hermitage, Day 452

US vaccination rates continue to be slow. States were saying that they had Johnson& Johnson vaccines about to expire until the feds extended the three-month shelf life by six weeks. Nearly half the states (24) have scaled back their daily covid tracking. Some experts see this as too early given the ongoing public health emergency and the risk of new variants. Seattle has fully vaccinated 78 percent of its population, moving San Francisco to second place. However, San Francisco is on track to become the first major US city to reach herd immunity. Half of US covid deaths currently are of people aged 50 to 74. The rate for people 75 and older has dropped. Eighty percent of people 65 and older have gotten at least one dose of vaccine compared with about half of people aged 25 to 64. The two main groups making up the unvaccinated are those who claiming misinformation and politicization and those lacking access to vaccines. I'm not feeling good about hitting POTUS's July 4 date to have 70 percent of Americans vaccinated in some form. 

One state in India revised its death data, causing the number of deaths nationwide to go from the 2,000s to 6,000. The official death toll in India is 359,676; one research and polling agency says it is more likely at least 1.8 million. Australia recorded its second death likely due to the AstraZeneca vaccine, a 52-year-old woman who developed a blood clot in her brain. The Therapeutic Goods Administration says that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks. Only one other vaccine is approved in Australia, Pfizer, and it is in short supply. WHO is warning of a possible autumn surge and is urging countries to be cautious in reopening. Right now, 36 of the 53 countries in WHO's Europe region are easing restrictions. 

The Olympics are still on. Only the IOC has the authority to cancel the Games, though Japan could impose strict enough restrictions that the Games could not be held. In that case, Japan would have to bear the costs and compensate the IOC for losses from claims by third parties. The IOC's official line is that cancelling the Games would be too cruel for athletes who have spent years training and may not have another chance. The IOC and organizers will lose billions if the IOC cancels the Games. Japan has officially spent $15.4 billion , though the total could really be higher. All but $6.7 billion of that came from Japanese taxpayers. A couple of other interesting Olympic items: Journalists will be tracked by GPS and sent home for leaving isolation. Supposedly, there will be limited contact with other athletes in the Olympic Village. I wonder what they'll do with the 160,000 condoms on hand. Take-home souvenirs perhaps?

Short post, but the afternoon had some interruptions. My newest laptop was in the shop recently for a camera issue, and the guys there told me there were major issues. It's still under warranty, so they recommended I deal with it. When I got the laptop home, it worked just fine. I called them, and they said to try certain things that had given them trouble. I did, and encountered no problems. They said it would soon go wonky. Since it was not then going wonky, contacting Lenovo did not seem warranted. This afternoon, that laptop went very wonky. I'll look at it again tonight when The Professor is home for moral support. In the meantime, this eight-year-old laptop is working just fine.