Lax Vax

The United States was vaccinating citizens against COVID at a pretty good clip up to now but the Biden administration's efforts to shut down the virus has hit a wall.  After production snafus at the Baltimore factory making Johnson & Johnson vaccines were reported, the government has had to delay shipments of the single-dose vaccines, meaning that there will be 84 percent fewer Johnson & Johnson vaccines this week.  That also means most Americans who get a shot this week will get only one of two Pfizer or Moderna shots, slowing the speed at which Americans can be fully vaccinated.

And guess what - those who have gotten Johnson & Johnson vaccines are now reporting bad side effects!

And on top of that, the AstraZeneca vaccine - the easiest one to produce and the easiest one to ship and store for vaccinations in the Third World, were most people haven't received any vaccines - may be responsible for blood clots, with several countries putting distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine on pause.

Just like your favorite restaurant or movie theater was "temporarily" closed, never to reopen.

But experts say there's hope in the near future to end the pandemic, with new plans to vaccinate children and with booster shots in development for COVID variants. Sure, sure. There always is hope, isn't there?  Just like there was hope for now, the early spring of 2021, only there's a fourth COVID surge brewing.  But before anyone explains why these latest developments should make me hopeful even as infections spike again, I've come to a decision - I don't want to hear it! 😠  

COVID Relief

Assuming Donald Trump remembers to sign this bill while plotting a coup against President-elect Biden (and the less said about that here, the better), people all across America will be getting financial relief necessitated by the pandemic, thanks to a bill passed this week by Congress.  Among the highlights of the COVID relief package that also funds the government through September 30, sourced here from an e-mail I got from my state's senior U.S. Senator, Robert Menendez, are:

• $600 stimulus checks for adults and children 
• $300/week in additional unemployment assistance 
• $284 billion to support small businesses, non-profits, and faith-based organizations 
• $82 billion to help reopen schools 
• $69 billion for vaccines, testing and tracing, community health and provider support 
• $45 billion to support transportation 
• $25 billion in rental assistance (and longer eviction moratoriums) 
• $13 billion in additional nutritional support $10 billion for childcare assistance 
• $7 billion to increase access to broadband Internet

As well as a whole lot of other things.  Alas, the bill does not include emergency finding for state and local governments, but it doesn't include liability protection for companies that might have allowed its workers to contract COVID, either.  President-elect Biden will certainly have to go to Congress to get more aid. 

We're also getting COVID relief in the form of two COVID vaccines,  courtesy of Pfizer and Moderna, and Dr. Anthony Fauci got the vaccine yesterday, which should give confidence in the vaccine and lead to maximum vaccination ("max vax") for herd immunity.  But that will take months, not weeks, and as much as I want a shot, I'll have to wait awhile for it.  Indeed, the pandemic still has such a long way to go that I don't expect 2021 to be the good year I had originally expected 2020 to be. Which is why I did not wish anyone a happy new year in the Christmas cards I wrote out this year.  That would have been emotionally and intellectually dishonest.