Post #6443 J

Pandemic Report

The latest stats from CDC:

The latest daily stats from Worldometer:

 

We continue to see the summer mini-wave taper down in terms of hospitalizations, emergency visits and test positivity rates. CDC has stopped overing vaccination data on its summary stat page (above, but apparently 4 million doses of the monovalent omicron "2023-2024" COVID-19 shot have been administrated. There continue to be some distribution problems (I had my own experience at Walmart for weeks), and the privatization of new COVID shot funding is causing problems, with some insurers balking at, say, pharmacies out of their network, some patients having to prepay $100+ out of pocket.

I myself tweeted during the week that I got my new shot at Rite Aid after I called my local Walmart and was told they were still out of stock. I was particularly concerned because my last booster was a year ago last September (I'm concerned about waning immunity) and I am in at-risk groups. I went to the vaccines.gov portal and found a Rite Aid a block away from my nearby post office which posted the vaccine in stock and accepting appointments. In fact, I was able to obtain a same-day appointment. I had been wary of possible issues and/or additional paperwork with my insurance but I have a year+ younger RN sister who advised me as well to try outside of Walmart. (She hasn't gotten her updated shot yet but she had an interim booster before a recent European trip.) The experience of scheduling was interesting because they wanted me to complete paperwork online and one of their pages had issues. So, I call in to report the problem and I get this outgoing announcement that they are out of stock of the new vaccine until like October 24. What the hell? What had I just signed up for? I finally got a support person who said the announcement was general and if I could book an appointment, it was in stock locally; my webpage problem was probably just a rollout issue and they would work it out at the store. (He had no suggestions beyond the usual one of clearing browser cache--nope!) 

Interestingly, the local store had both Pfizer and Moderna in stock, and I chose the latter. I had heard CDC was no longer distributing covid19 vaccine cards, but the local store still had them in stock and gave me one. I also took 3 other shots including my flu and RSV. Over the past year I've also had shingles and pneumonia shots. Other than a sore arm and one morning of temporary nausea, no meaningful side effects.

The usual battles against misinformation avd covid19 era fraud continue, including a Florida family that sold bleach as a disease cure.

Other Notes

The Singapore pseudo-page hit anomaly I experienced through September seems to have stopped (thank God). I'm back to the recent pattern of sub-1000 monthly pageviews with some days attracting maybe a baker's dozen pageviews. Even my journal and social media weekly posts last week failed to win double digits. My last essay on the McCarthy ouster did reach that threshold.

I think I am at a multi-year weight low, below when I had a severe flu-like illness changing holiday travel plans and barely ate and got dehydrated last December. Oh, I'm still way overweight and order big men's sizes in clothes over the Internet, and I'll get lectured to when I visit my regular physician. I periodically visit an endocrinologist and on my last 2 visits I've clocked in 10 or more pounds lower. Probably the most noticeable differences are downsizing new clothes and my ratchet belts. I've become a regular convert to them over the past year after years of fluctuating waist sizes and new belts with accommodating belt holes. With a ratchet belt, when you can't tighten beyond your ratchet strip, you cut your belt at the other end. So, the other week I had to cut 2-3 inches off the end of the belt. I've still got a while to go, and being able to buy off the rack at a Walmart will be a major step forward, but I'm pretty much at the upper end of the range I was at over 20 years ago. Nutrisystem is a minor part of the success story (I don't use the newer frozen food options); your meal planning is easier with measured portions. I happen to prefer more eggs and grass-fed beef in my regular diet. But it's mostly discipline and riding out stubborn plateaus. I wish exercise was more of the story, but the past few months I've been dealing with a relevant health issue.

The informed delivery USPS option is kind of a mixed blessing. If you get unexpected mail from the local government, the IRS, or your health provider, it can hose your day. In one case, I got the image of this ominous official-looking envelope from the "Vehicle Services Division" requiring an immediate signature/response. I smelled a rat and did a quick Internet search and quickly found a cluster of articles on a gimmick used by post-warranty car extended warranty plans. Yup.

As a sports fan, I'm an alumnus of UT, off to a good start this year including a football road victory over Alabama. We Longhorn fans have had 2 traditional rivals: Oklahoma and Texas A&M. We haven' played A&M since it joined the SEC. (That may change when Texas itself joins the SEC net year.) Last year Texas demolished Oklahoma 49-0. Well, Oklahoma got its revenge with a last-minute touchdown yesterday.

As a baseball fan, I'm in an awkward position. Minnesota is playing Houston in the AL divisional series. I transferred my loyalty to the Twins after my similar-named Little League team finished a hapless 1-19 season, something I've discussed in past posts. (I never stepped foot into Minnesota until I attended an academic conference in the late 1980's.) I spent my high school and college years in Texas and began following the hapless Astros, still the only MLB team I've attended games for in person. Minnesota won its wild card round but dropped the first game in this series on the road.