Random and illustrative stories about the global pandemic and how businesses and various business sectors are trying to recover from it, with brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• Here are the US Covid-19 coronavirus numbers: 51,435,652 total cases … 824,520 deaths … and 40,406,796 reported recoveries.
The global numbers: 273,367,130 total cases … 5,356,181 fatalities … and 245,586,063 reported recoveries. (Source.)
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 76.9 percent of the US population age five and older, and 72.4 percent of the total US population, has received at least one dose of vaccine, while 65.1 percent of the five-and-older population and 61.2 percent of the total US population has been fully vaccinated.
The CDC also says that 30.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older, and 28.1 percent of the total US population has received a vaccine booster dose.
• The Associated Press reports that a panel of advisors to the CDC yesterday recommended that "most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots … The strange clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations — while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with that risk and also appear to be more effective."
It is now up to the CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to decide whether to accept the panel’s advice.
The story does put the clotting problem in context: "More than 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated, about 16 million of them with the J&J vaccine. The other two vaccines used in the U.S. -- from Pfizer and Moderna -- are made differently and regulators say they don’t come with this clot risk. And unlike in the spring when vaccine supplies were tight, Pfizer and Moderna shots now are plentiful in the U.S." And, the story notes, "COVID-19 itself can cause potentially deadly blood clots."
• From the New York Times:
"Office workers this week watched as events unfolded that were once familiar and jarring in their persistence: Covid case counts ballooned, and employer plans deflated. The United States is reporting an average of more than 120,000 new Covid cases each day, up 40 percent from two weeks ago, according to a New York Times database. New York City is experiencing a spike in cases larger than any since last winter. Employers that had been growing bolder in their plans — reopening offices, mandating or strongly suggesting that workers report back, promising holiday blowouts — are now scaling back their ambitions for in-person business and socializing."
• USA Today reports that the CDC "this week began distributing free at-home test kits at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Miami International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, as first reported by Thrifty Traveler … The CDC did not say how many kits were available through this program, but plans to hand out 'as many of these free test kits as possible.' Free test kits are set to roll out to additional airports 'soon'."
• Monmouth University is out with a new poll concluding that 36 percent of Americans say that they have been "worn out a lot" by the degree to which Covid-19 has disrupted their lives, while 24 percent say that they are :"worn out a little."
The poll also concludes that 36 percent of respondents say that they are both "worn out and angry," while 25 percent say that they are "worn out but not angry," and nine percent say they are "angry but not worn out."
I have questions. Like, who the hell are these people who are not worn out and/or angry, and how have they been spending the past 20+ months? Because, for the record, "worn out" and "angry" don't even begin to cover my emotions in this case. I would characterize myself as being "pissed off" and "exhausted."
Can I get an Amen?
