One news feed I checked this morning extolled the fact that 21 years ago today, the first website went live on the World Wide Web or W3 as some called it then. The article noted that it’s still up today if you want to take a look at it at info.cern.ch. After some thought, 21 years seemed to be too short a time. The kids were 12 and 10 21 years ago, and I knew they’d used it for school before then. Wikipedia was the easiest place to look for verification, and 21 years really is too short a time. The ability to browse the Web was made available to the general public in August 1991, or 30 years ago. According to Wikipedia, everyday use started in 1993-94. One can’t trust everything seen on the Web; fact-checking is good if something seems wonky.
Summing up the Delta variant, people infected by it may carry 1,000 times more virus and for a longer period of time than did the people infected by the original virus. Delta may also be able to partially evade antibodies generated after infection or vaccination. Since this word got out and got listened to, demand for vaccinations has increased in less-vaccinated states. The seven-day average of first vaccine doses more than tripled in Mississippi between July 1 and July 27. It almost quadrupled in Louisiana between July 1 and July 28. It almost doubled in Missouri in just one month. At least some people out there are heeding the advice that’s been out there all along.
On Tuesday, there were over 100,000 confirmed new cases nationally for the first time since February, and Louisiana now has case rates 10 times higher than in June. At least 233 staff members at two San Francisco hospitals have tested positive for covid, most—75 to 80 percent--from breakthrough cases of the Delta variant. Only two cases have required hospitalization. The asymptomatic cases were discovered through contact tracing.
And in Texas, the governor has prohibited local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines, adding emphasis to the already-in-place ban on mask mandates. He says that protection should be a matter of personal responsibility. Let me get this straight. I can take my responsibility personally and get vaccinated and wear a mask anywhere other than my own home and then go to work at my state or local government job and be surrounded by un-masked, un-vaccinated idiots who will be doing their best to infect me with whatever they might be carrying asymptomatically. I wonder if the governor of Texas has noticed the 209 percent rise in covid cases there over 14 days.
Further north, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts on Friday in South Dakota. The annual rally draws hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists and last year became a superspreader leading to hundreds of new cases across several states. Concern is high that it may be a superspreader again, this time to states with low vaccination rates.
There have now been three weekends in a row of demonstrations against France’s vaccine pass even as cases there continue to surge. Some of the demonstrators claim to be more afraid of the vaccines than of the disease itself. Brisbane, Australia began three days of lockdown after six cases were discovered there. Non-essential businesses must close; residents cannot travel more than 10k from their home and may not admit visitors to their home. The lockdown may be extended since nine new cases were found on Sunday.
Finally, Axios cited today’s New York Times Quote of the Day: “We live in an era of unprecedented scientific breakthroughs and expertise. But we’re also stymied by the forces of misinformation that undermine the true knowledge that is out there.” Does this sound like Lord of the Rings to anyone else? The forces of misinformation undermining the true knowledge? Where is Gandalf when we need him?
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