Arrgh! I hope ye be havin' a merry Talk Like a Pirate Day, though Son #2 says what day isn't Talk Like a Pirate Day. He may have a good point there. I didn't make many notes today; once The Professor and The Sons returned from their 100-mile ultra-marathon, I got busy with the aftermath. I like to tell people that I don't make heirloom quilts. I somewhat feel that way about clothes and haven't really made any clothes in years. This afternoon I hemmed the suit pants Son #2 needs for next weekend. DiL= is a bridesmaid in a wedding, and Son #2 needed suitable clothes for the occasion. The bride didn't think her mother would approve of Son #2's joker suit with the, if I remember correctly, green pants and long purple jacket. We got it for him as a birthday present the year we were in Hue, Vietnam for the birthday. Said suit is made of raw silk.
Anyway, why did the FDA advisory committee not recommend booster shots for all people older than 16? I found five reasons cited. First, they think it's too soon and it might be better to wait a bit longer for people at less risk. Second, there's not a lot of evidence out there; as one expert put it, there is a "sparcity of safety data." Related to this, they'd like more data and the chance to look through it for mistaken conclusions. For one, much of the data have not yet been peer reviewed. Also, most studies looked at antibodies at the exclusion of other important immune responses. Fourth, safety of younger adults and teenagers suggests waiting. People ages 16 to 29 are at higher risk of myocarditis; would a booster make this more probable? Finally, getting those who are not yet vaccinated, vaccinated will have more impact than boosters for already-vaccinated people.
Alabama had more deaths than births in 2020. The 2020 counts were 64,714 deaths with 7,182 of those officially attributed to covid, and 57,641 births. There was no such gap during either world war nor during the flue pandemic of 1918. According to a University of New Hampshire study, half of the states joined Alabama in having more deaths than births in 2020. Only five states did so in 2019. Nationally, the birthrate has been declining for six years; the pandemic may be speeding that up. I'd ordinarily think of keeping the population explosion under control as a good thing, but not if it's because so many people are dying of a mostly preventable disease.
I start working early voting tomorrow, so getting practice at shorter posts may be a good thing. With the June primary, the crowds were so sparse that I could sit and take notes using my phone or a laptop. Crowds for a non-primary election will be larger. I heard that around 100 people voted in four hours Friday morning. It will be interesting to see if the crowds continue tomorrow.
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