#163

It's Not Over Yet !

By Hank Silverberg

The Pandemic is a year old. Over 539,000 Americans have died from it SO FAR. More than 35 million Americans have been totally inoculated with the vaccine as of Sunday (3/14). But that is only 10.8% of the population. I am among those lucky enough to get fully vaccinated at this point. But guess what? 

IT'S NOT OVER YET!

That light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming freight train!  

Decisions in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere to eliminate mask mandates and the loosening up of social distancing are very premature. Covid-19 remains a major threat in the United States and around the globe. Sure, we can change things a little. Some fans socially distanced at the ball park, maybe 50% capacity at restaurants if they have the room to keep customers six feet apart. But we should not be throwing away the masks. We should not be burning them like some people in Idaho did this past week.  We should still wear them in public and outside of our immediate family. 

There's been a lot of comparison between the war against Covid -19 and an actual war between people. Eluding to that comparison, loosening restrictions now would be like General Eisenhower stopping allied forced on the German border and leaving Nazis in power in 1945. The danger remains.  

We don't even know if any of the three vaccines will protect us from the various mutations of the virus that have been turning up all over the world. It may take a few months to find out. 

I know, I know. You want to go to the beach, take a vacation, travel and see family, or be in the arena for March Madness. Sorry, not yet. America's leading expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says we need a few more months. He's been right about most things so far. Take his advice.

In his speech this past week, President Biden said things might be much better by July 4th. He asked for our help to make that happen by being vigilant and following the CDC guidelines. 

Presidential Speech Highlights: Biden Calls For U.S. to ‘Mark Our Independence From This Virus’ by 4th of July - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

I'm game! Don't blow it with impatience.

Along that line, I will never understand why people think taking the vaccine is political.  

A new PBS/Marist College poll conducted two weeks  
ago shows about 30% of the American public do not plan to get vaccinated. That could make so-called "herd immunity" impossible. It's not a religious thing or anti-vaxxers yelling about side effects. It appears to be political. Among Republicans 49% of the men, and 41% overall when you include Republican women, say they will not get vaccinated. In contrast, 87% of Democrats plan on getting the Covid-19 vaccine. 

49 percent of GOP men say they won't get vaccinated: PBS poll | TheHill

Focus, people. This vaccine is not political. It's science. 

Stimulus

Many of us will be checking with our bank or watching the mail this week to see if that $1,400 in stimulus money is there. Some people have gotten it already. If you want to track yours like last time, the government has set up a website for that: 

Get My Payment | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

If you have kids under 18, you will be getting more than $1,400. But if you have a single income over $80,00 or a joint income over $150,000 you are not eligible this time. If you fit this category you probably have a job and are very grateful. The unemployment rate, though falling, remains high at 6.2%. That represents10 million people.  

Back to School

The push is on to get students back in school, both in K-12 and at the college level. There is still worry of course that schools, and in particular college campuses, could be super-spreaders for Covid-19.

It's a big issue because young people, who are less vulnerable but still susceptible to the virus, are at the bottom of the waiting list for the vaccines. 

Close living conditions in dormitories, college-style events like sports and parties, and young people who don't always follow the rules are like a big petri dish for Covid-19. So it's good to see some schools, like American University, where I got my Master's Degree, have found a partial solution. 

A-U has gotten together with other D.C. area universities to create a mobile Covid -19 testing lab

 

which can process 50,000 tests a week. They are 

(Photo courtesy American University) 

saliva tests that take only three minutes to complete and produce results in eight hours. This will allow the schools to react quickly to any Covid-19 cases on campus by isolating and conducting contact tracing on any infected students, faculty or staff. A similar mobile lab is being used at some colleges in Illinois.   https://www.american.edu/news/au-covid-testing-lab.cfm

I note this same process could work for K-12 schools as well if there was the will or the means to set it up. 

What's That Sound? 

They are coming! The 17-year cicada swarm will hit 15 states in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions and they are going to be noisy. It's a mystery of mother nature how the insects know 17 years have passed and it's time for them to re-emerge and lay eggs, but it happens. It's a strategy they have used for 1.8 million years. Mike Rauup from the University of Maryland, says as soon as the soil 12-18 inches down reaches about 64 degrees this spring, "Brood 10" will tunnel en-masse to the surface of the ground, lay eggs and die off. All this takes several weeks.  'Big brood' of cicadas set to emerge for first time since 2004 - UPI.com

There will be trillions of them, and they will produce 80 to 100 decibels of noise, about as loud  as a lawnmower as they eat and mate. They have been waiting 17 years to celebrate. Expect them anytime between now and May. I didn't know this, but "Brood 10" is already pretty famous, being the inspiration for Bob Dylan's 1970 hit "Day of the Locusts." The good news is that cicadas are NOT

(Cicada laying eggs, Photo: PA DCNR)

 Locusts and won't decimate crops, though they do eat plants. They will not bite people and are not poisonous. You don't even have to worry about your cat eating one.

Mostly they are just very noisy.  Birds like to eat them, but  because there are so many, the cicada's dead carcasses will hang around for years.  

Dumbest Quote of the Week:

I continue to be amazed at the lack of basic knowledge of those we send to Congress. The island of Guam has been a U.S. possession since 1898 when it was acquired after the  Spanish-American war. The island, part of the Mariana Island chain, is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is of vital strategic importance. The U.S. Army fought a valiant battle there with the Japanese in World War Two. At present, it has about 170,000  residents who are all U.S. citizens, and the island is the home of a major military base. As a territory of the United States, Guam sends a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives.

I confess I had to look up the current population figure, but the rest I learned in high school history class. And all this is why I again nominate Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene for this week's "dumbest quote" of the week, even though she actually said it in February. It was at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida where she was speaking on "American Values."

Here's the relevant part of the quote:

"We believe our hard-earned tax dollars should just go for America, not for what? China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam, whatever." 

(Curtesy Univ. of Texas)

This past week Guam's delegate to the House, Michal San Nicolas, was polite in response. He will be paying her a visit with some Chamorro Chip Cookies and some information. The Governor of Guam sent Taylor-Green a history book. 

My question again: how does someone so uninformed get elected to Congress? Anyone down in Georgia (besides the Devil) have an answer?  

(Your comments and suggestions are welcome) 

Copies  of my book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: 

HankSilverberg@gmail.com  

for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with a signature)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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