Shutdown Diary
As I write, we are now officially in spring. Of course the last snow of the season never announces itself as such; the charm of snow has eroded with adulthood. Chiseling ice from windshields and windows and clearing snow from car is an annoying ritual, and as one ages, so does one's fears of slipping and falling, possible broken bones. Since most work during the pandemic has been remote, and I've rarely ventured out other than grocery runs or medical appointments. Occasionally between errands, the snow melted off enough to avoid the clearing effort. But mostly I've noticed the heat cutting on fewer times. And apparently I use up to a third less energy than my "energy neighbors" according to my power utility.
As I type, I'm viewing a "March Madness" game, the NCAA single-elimination basketball championship. I never realized how much I missed it until it was cancelled last year. I really didn't follow it much until the Phi Slama Jama days at UH during my graduate studies there.
On the political end, I've made 3 points recently on COVID-19 policy on Twitter:
- Biden was bragging over hitting his 100M vaccination target ahead of schedule. First, I've been critical of the lengthy, noncompetitive government approval process. To give a minor example, AstraZeneca's vaccine has been available since January in the EU but still languishes at the FDA. Reportedly the US is considering sending millions of stockpiled doses to our trading NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico. Second, the two-dose priority has limited rollout of vaccines. The first dose has the greatest effect, and First Dose First would allow earlier herd immunity. (See second point below.) Third, the free market would distribute supplies far more effectively and efficiently than the central government; there were issues with state distribution rules, etc. (e.g., Cuomo). Biden claims credit for bringing in Merck to help ramp up J&J's one dose production capacity; why didn't/couldn't J&J do so on their own?
- A recent NYT piece reported Britain, in the face of its high spread COVID-19 variant, has shown an even steeper drop in cases compared to the US with its own First Dose First approach.
- There's been some skepticism on the evidence for vaccinating the previously infected, especially by my current favorite Congressman Tom Massie. Massie months back had an antibody test which suggested that he had earlier been exposed to COVID-19. Presumably he has a natural acquired immunity against COVID-19, and so he's resistant to taking a vaccine, believing Fauci et al. have not made the case. I, in fact, have pointed out that reinfection has been relatively rare (like around 1%). The issue I have with his anti-vaccine position is the fact that natural antibody production can vary by individual differences, including age, not to mention there are variants to the original coronavirus, including the Brazilian, British and South African . A vaccine can boost one's acquired immunity; as others have pointed out, it may require as little as one shot of a two-dose regimen. I'll also point out that my oldest nephew (TX) and niece (FL) caught COVID-19 from family members some time back and have chosen to be vaccinated.
My youngest brother (TX) and his wife, who qualified under at risk health conditions, recently completed their Pfizer two-dose regimen. So we had a discussion of side effects, particularly in the context of my vaccinator, referencing stronger reactions to the second dose. (I myself felt minor arm soreness and my forehead seemed warmer than normal, although my no-contact temperature read normal, after my first dose.) My RN goddaughter/niece felt lethargic after her regimen, the most common symptom, although fever, headache and arm soreness are other common side effects. My sister-in-law reported a strong reaction after her first dose for a couple of days but says no notable reaction following her final dose.
The latest stats from Washpo: (A modest uptick in reported cases and positivity rates, bur the sustained reduction in hospitalizations and deaths may reflect better protection of the at risk population, i.e., vaccination.)
In the past week in the U.S....
New daily reported cases rose 0.9%
New daily reported deaths fell 25.4%
Covid-related hospitalizations fell 4.2%
Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 4.9%.
The number of tests reported fell 13.6% from the previous week.
Since Dec. 14, more than 121,441,000 doses of a covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the U.S.
More than 43,036,000 people have completed vaccination, or about 12.96% of the population.
Tax Season is Upon Us
Yes, I know the IRS has provided a one-month extension, not quite as generous as last year's grace period. One thing I've noticed in recent years: I no longer get tax forms/instructions in the mail from the IRS and/or the state. Not a big deal, since a brief Google search and a few mouse clicks get me there. I haven't had taxable investments since the Great Recession. Another interesting novelty: this year I didn't get mailed W-2's. I had to download them from my employer. The State of Maryland has caused an issue by seeming to shift certain 2019 income (claimed on my 2019 return) to 2020 (there's a soap opera behind that I haven't blogged about). But otherwise it's straightforward. I lost a lot of retirement money in last year's COVID-19 market crash and mostly missed out on the bounceback. No tax breaks on that. In fact, I'm still carrying over losses from the Nasdaq market meltdown.
Entertainment
Well, I should be able to stream the WWE Fastlane PPV, one of the perks of my overpriced ISP service which has a special deal on Peacock TV streaming service packages. It's been a while since I last subscribed to WWE Network. At the time it was mostly a budget issue during a jobless period. Since then I have been reluctant to resubscribe, mostly due to bad booking.
Another older cable movie on PosiTV I hadn't seen before and I like. It's called "Flag of My Father", not to be confused with Eastwood's "Flag of Our Fathers". It's a story of a grown family in conflict, of four older brothers and a little sister. Their father, a Vietnam veteran Marine, dies, and the daughter, herself an Iraq War Army nurse veteran, resents the firstborn son keeping the flag draping their father's coffin. The brothers have their own issues with their half-sister, born after their father's second marriage. There is a tragedy whereby the brothers come to understand their sister's special bond with their father
