Pandemic Report
The latest stats from WaPo:
The latest vaccine stats from CDC:
The good news is we are now down to 5-figures (97K) case daily average and deaths are below 300/day. Undoubtedly the big news is FDA and CDC have signed onto multi-dose mRNA for younger children from 6 months to 5 years. I believe that distribution, e.g., at participating pharmacies, should begin this week. The other big news of note is Dr. Fauci himself has been infected by COVID-19. One of my sisters though he had been infected before He did go into quarantine in the early months of the pandemic but that was because he had been exposed to someone who was diagnosed; as far as I know, he had tested negative.
I've gotten edgier over anti-vaxxer attacks on the vaccine makers, including Rand Paul, whom I once supported for POTUS (back in 2015/16). I haven't been a fan of Rand's personal attacks on Fauci in Senate committee But the latest shot has been for Rand to question the financial independence of approval panels for the FDA/CDC. I don't necessarily disagree with public disclosure relative to decision-making on government bids or relevant approvals, but in fact the data in support of vaccine approvals is part of the record and scrutinized by government researchers and scientists. That review process is fairly transparent, and we know, e.g., that Pfizer's 2-dose protocol for young kids got pushback. I don't think Rand Paul has valid reasons to doubt the approval processes based on Pfizer and Moderna submitted study data (and note that these vaccines have been approved globally). I have no doubt that the vendors have found their government contracts very profitable on scale, but Pfizer notes it usually charges far more, like $150, for a vaccine. I think Rand Paul is simply engaging in populist grandstanding raising FUD over the vaccines.
It's just as a fellow libertarian, I despise what Rand is doing. One of our pet peeves is the long bureaucratic process of FDA approvals. There is a bureaucratic bias against approvals.
Other Notes
Readership is modestly improved, although with a third of the month left, it's highly probable I'm likely to set a new multi-year low in monthly pageviews. I had the slowest monthly start in recent memory.
Weird USB issues today. I was writing a tweet when all of a sudden I couldn't type a period. Long story short, on reboot, I could no longer type my passcode. I tried using al alternate port, then a different keyboard. Long story short, it seems that a USB port extender on a different port seemed to cause the problem.
Shaving. My Dad and youngest brother (not to mention multiple nephews) have worn facial hair. I haven't. Now I don't really need to shave all that regularly, maybe once every 3-4 days. The problem is I sometimes let it go (e.g., while I worked remotely during the pandemic: I don't feel the need to impress grocery shoppers). But I've found multi-blade shavers quickly clog up. I've occasionally used safety razors (in my experience, an oxymoron), which are usually effective but it seems like I get 3 or more cuts every time I use one). I misplaced the relatively inexpensive one I bought at Walmart during my move a few months back. Long story short, I recently saw a promotion from a more upscale safety razor from Henson Shaving. I haven't used it long enough to write a proper review, but it shaves relatively close, no clogs and no cuts to date.
