weeks 38 and 39

A few days after my last covid post we surpassed the record set April 15^th for the most covid deaths in one day and have had over 2,000 deaths a day since and the last week saw over 3,000 deaths in one day, a million new cases in 5 days. Everyday we lose more than on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. We've lost more Americans to covid than in all of WWII, one hospital converted part of their parking garage into a covid ward, and still people out there refuse to take it seriously.

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To say that our hospitals are overwhelmed and our health care workers are exhausted has got to be the understatement of all time.

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I have so many windows open on my browser so I'll start oldest to most recent...

Pfizer's mRNA vaccine is 95% effective. This Guardian article is dated November 18^th so I might have included it already but it has a chart of the most promising vaccine candidates.

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This one from NPR is dated November 30 reports that Moderna's mRNA vaccine is 94% effective and in one study 100%. Both Moderna and Pfizer have applied for emergency authorization to the FDA. 

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Also dated November 30, CBS reports that the US had more covid cases in November than most countries had all year. 

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NPR reported on December 1^st that a federal advisory committee to the CDC has decided that front line health care workers and nursing home residents be the first to get a vaccine. 

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Another NPR article dated December 1 reports that a new government study had determined that the coronavirus was in the US weeks earlier than thought and before the cases in China were publicly identified. I believe my sister had it last December, caught on the plane to visit our brother and a neighbor is certain her son had it in November (I think she said November but certainly before any of us knew about it) of last year. 

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An article from AARP dated December 2 discusses the possible side effects of the vaccine...fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headache, injection site pain but that they are temporary and self-resolve. 

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Another article from AARP reports on a study from Denmark on blood type susceptibility to the virus with type O having fewer cases than type A. 

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Friday December 4^th the CDC released this chart of per capita deaths per state.

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The news from December 8 on is mainly more infections, more dead people, more overwhelmed hospitals and health care workers, and still no response from Trump's administration. The FDA gave emergency clearance to Pfizer's vaccine Friday the 11^th which is slated to begin being available tomorrow, Monday the 14 though only for health care workers and those in nursing homes but I have no doubt politicians and the very wealthy will also be first in line.

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Trump had an opportunity to purchase another 100 million doses in addition to the ones he already had a contract for before it was ready and he passed on the opportunity. Now that it has been found safe and effective the US will have to wait til late spring or early summer before more doses of the vaccine will be available for purchase by the US.

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December 11 the CDC predicts we could see over 450,000 deaths by February.

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And then basically virus news dropped out of sight with the ridiculous lawsuit petition by Texas for the Supreme Court to declare the elections in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia null and void and to appoint Trump the winner and all the republicans and Trump who signed amicus briefs in support, the complete dismissal by the SC of said petition, the Trump meltdown, and the march riot by the Proud Boys in DC on Saturday committed violent assault on passersby and counter-protesters and 4 stabbings and destruction of private property tearing down Black Lives Matter signs. And where were the police? Was there tear gas, rubber bullets, cops in riot gear bashing people on the head? Why no, of course not, as the police are all for their terrorism.

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One final note before the bi-weekly count of cases and deaths...I'm getting tested later today. I think I'm fine but I found out last Friday evening I was possibly exposed twice at SHARE. Two of the volunteers who were there on Thursday the 3^rd have tested positive. We think one that came in that day was infectious, and while she is usually only there for about 2 hours she was in close contact, even though everyone was wearing masks, with the second volunteer that tested positive a few days later and that woman is in a motorized wheelchair and has other health issues. Not good. While I am in the same building, I was in the back and not around either of the volunteers that tested positive though I'm sure I passed by them a time or two. I'm less concerned about that day, since enough time has passed for me to be feeling ill if I was infected, than I am about last Thursday. The two volunteers didn't come in but the husband of the one we suspect was infectious did come in and was there the previous Thursday, and he works in the back food area though not my food area and, while again we were all wearing masks, I did come within 6' of him several times. So, I'm still feeling fine but the test is free so why not. I don't want to go in next Thursday if I'm asymptomatic but infectious. I don't worry about the virus building up in the building as it's only open one day a week for four hours though individual volunteers will come in on other days to catch up on paperwork and return phone messages.

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Current US statistics as of today 12/13/20, 18:28 GMT: cases – 16,597,438; deaths – 305,460 (that's right, the US has exceeded 300,000 dead). California jumped ahead in cases but Texas is still #2 for infections at 1,478,827 and #2 spot for total number of deaths at 24,514.