Covid Is Not Dead Yet                        #228             

By Hank Silverberg                                         

This is a hard blog to write. My concentration level is down, my focus is off. After two and a half years of being careful, two Pfizer shots and a booster and countless hours of mask wearing, my wife and I both tested positive for Covid-19 this past week. 

(You don't want this virus) 

We apparently caught it from our four-year-old grandchild, who got it from a classmate at his day care center just a day or two before they announced a vaccine is now available for kids under five. A few hours at the pool with our precocious grandson was enough to spread it to us and his father. 

Thankfully, our grandson is just fine. He barely had the symptoms. But five days of coughing, sleepless nights with some headache, fever and body ache thrown in, have dimmed my enthusiasm for writing about the biggest Supreme Court decision in a half century, and the mind-blowing impact it is going to have on thousands of women across America. It has dimmed my anger as well, for now. 

 (Note to readers. I will have more to say on the SCOTUS decision next week when my head is clear, and I can make some sense out of a senseless decision. Through this week's Covid fog, here are a few things.)

Let me focus on something else of a more positive note. 

Researchers, using data from 185 countries, now estimate that the Covid vaccines saved more than 20 million lives in the last year. That includes about 1.9 million in the United States and does not include China, where the pandemic's specific impact has been kept secret by the Communist government. Those statistics come from the Journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

There are a lot of variables here, like how the virus might have mutated if there was no vaccine. But in general, we should all be grateful for the scientists who created the vaccines very fast, while under intense pressure to do so. 

 COVID Vaccines Saved Nearly 20 Million Lives In 1st Year, Scientists Say | HuffPost (ampproject.org)          

 

My bout, which hasn't quite left my system yet, cost me only a few days of extreme discomfort, and I am hoping it's gone completely by the time I sit down to write next week's blog. In the meantime, remind everyone that the virus is still out there and to be careful. Don't let your guard down completely. 

And I will also repeat what I have said since the pandemic began. Trust science and be skeptical of any politician who doesn't.  

Speaking of Science!

There is more scientific evidence that climate change is having a substantial impact on our environment already and is no longer just theory. 

Heat records have been broken all over the world in

the past week, from the Russian Arctic to the sweltering American south. This past Thursday at least 15 U.S. states hit 100 degrees, and at least 21 high temperature marks have been reported. The National Weather Service says 21 heat records were also broken on Wednesday. 

 All-time heat records were broken in northern China and in several cities in Japan. And in the Russian city of Norilsk, above the Arctic Circle, the thermometer hit 89.6 degrees, the hottest June day ever recorded there.   

The impact here can be significant when you factor in energy costs to keep cool and the cost of medical care in places where air conditioning is scarce, and the heat is oppressive.  

 Summer swelter: Persistent heat wave breaks records, spirits | AP News

 Add on the drought in the American west, which I have reported on before in this blog, it is clear Mother Nature is sending a message. Recent studies indicate it hasn't been this dry in the western region of North America in the last 1,200 years.

Frightening Poll

The Congressional hearings on the January 6th attack on the capitol may not be having the type of impact you would expect. 

A new survey conducted by CBS/You Gov poll found only half those polled believe that former President Trump planned to remain in the Presidency through illegal means. Three in 10 believe he intended to use legal means and 2 in ten believe he did not plan to stay. 

But here is the interesting breakdown by party. Only 13% of Republicans asked thought his efforts were illegal. 

Half of the Republicans polled also called the events of January 6th, 2021 "patriotism" and 70% of the Republicans polled did not think President Biden won the 2020 election legitimately. That figure is starting. The Poll was conducted after the first round of hearings on the insurrection. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/half-in-new-poll-say-trump-tried-to-stay-in-office-through-illegal-means/ar-AAYT0gZ

One more breakdown: 46% of the respondents said the House panel should recommend that the DOJ charge Trump with crimes, while 31% say that should not happen. 

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

Sometimes there's a quote so dumb and mind boggling that it needs no explanation. And so, it is with this comment from Congresswoman Mary Miller of Illinois, who is up for re-election. She was speaking at a Trump rally the day after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade. 

 "President Trump, on behalf of all the MAGA patriots in America, I want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the Supreme Court yesterday,"

 A spokesman for the Congresswoman says it was a "mix up of words." And that is probably not the way it was written on the script she had in front of her on the podium. But does it tell you what she was actually thinking?

  GOP Rep. Miller, speaking alongside Trump, calls SCOTUS ruling 'victory for white life' - ABC News

(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)

(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 my signature.)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/Campaign-Hank-Silverberg/dp/1543422608

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