Pandemic Report
Tle latest weekly CDC stats:
A slight uptick in the recently introduced hospitalization ratio measure although other measures remain steady or in decline, i.e., deaths. However, even Fed Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has contracted COVID and is currently working remotely. CDC believes COVID is rising in DC and a dozen states. Will the newly dominant omicron FLiRT variant ignite a new summer surge? Experts are currently undecided. We know Singapore is facing a new surge and has resumed masking guidelines.
Related news items include but are not limited to:
- recent studies suggest that retinal protective barriers may be breached by the virus and threaten vision
- HHS has suspended controversial research sponsored by NIH at a Wuhan lab
- Despite misinformatiom suggesting COVID is no worse than catching the flu, COVID is significantly deadlier
- Researchers remind us in the first pre-vaccine year of the pandemic nearly 6% of the infected were hospitalized and nearly 2% died
- The FDA has determined Cue Health COVID tests are unreliable
- Outbreaks of bird flu at dairy farms/cattle ranches has the Biden Administration looking to support related businesses wanting not to replicate lessons learned from the early COVID pandemic
- Multiple COVID vaccinations yield antibodies btoadly effective against respiratory viruses, including new COVID variants
- Readers of my daily blog know I oppose the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity which broadly protects public employees from liability claims of individuals affected by bad government actions. California had moved COVID-infected inmates to San Quentin prison, causing an outbreak of 75% of all inmates and over 2 dozen deaths. SCOTUS rejected Calfornia's claim of qualified immunity. Another exanple of federal or state qualified immunity defenses includes a Montana nursing home where multiple infections were spread to residents allegedly by an infected employee pressed to come to work.
- A Utah mother is suing vaccine maker AstraZeneca; she had enrolled as a participant in vaccine trials. She claims suffering neurological adverse effects from the trial and the vaccine maker has breached promises to pay for related medical bills.
- The government continues to prosecute COVID relief and other fraud, including:
- A California resident who claimed over $13M in fake pandemic tax credits
- A NC healthcare provider was convicted of defrauding SC Medicaid and COVID relief fraud.
Other Notes
It looks like the blog readership is settling towards a more familiar readership pattern for the first time in several weeks. Who knows? Maybe next week I'll be griping about that. The Twitter/X stas have marginally improved but remain at near record lows. It's sad when a tweet I write on the latest episode of American Idol or WWE swrestling draws more impressions than my well-written political tweets. But perhaps that's not surprising given the fact the LP probably will draw less than 3% this fall and I may well write in Jacob Hornberger if not nominated.
Some things have changed for the better at the USPS. In context, I have a grandniece graduating from high school. She posted an Amazon wishlist. I purchased multiple small items. But for some reason they wouldn't ship one item to her--but would ship it to me. (she, unlike me, is a talented musician and this was a related accessory). Now part of the thing I've dreaded is having to write those little cards at the post office. My handwriting has sucked since a medical issue a few years back, so I make use of mail labels. I don't know for sure but it looks like they have OCR software that could read my package labels. They also seemed to have bundled tracking and email receipts in an affordable bundle price. I'm not sure my grandniece in Texas will get the package in 3 days, but I'm pleased. I'm just puzzled why I had to resort to a workaround for Amazon.
Wow, I've spent a lot of time in these posts promoting Hallmark cable Christmas movies. I'm mildly surprised I haven't seen them yet promoting their usual Christmas in July break. I think last year HC had a Christmas movie every Friday in prime time and on HMM every Thursday. That seems to have changed. I don't thing HMM is doing it this year and I think HC is doing a Christmas double feature spanning Friday prime time. Hallmark also seems to have renamed Hallmark Drama "Hallmark Family". I saw a puzzling reference to Hallmark's trademark Countdown to Christmas being "history". I now think they meant the last season is over, not that they are canceling their most successful series. In fact they are already promoting new content this year, including a sequel to three brothers looking over a baby left at their front door..
