- Among the COVID scenarios that will eventually play out: Who gets the first doses of any effective vaccine? An extended rollout will include a ranking system. According to a preliminary plan of the CDC and an advisory committee of health experts, any approved vaccines would be offered first to vital medical and national security officials. Then to other essential workers and those in the high-risk category, such as the elderly and those with underlying conditions.
Then there is the matter of race and ethnicity. It will be a controversial option. In short, it would mean putting blacks and Latinos, who have disproportionately been impacted by COVID, ahead of others in the population. To wit: the infection rates among blacks and Latinos is three times that of whites. The death rate is twice that of whites.
Racial justice is not immune from vaccination politics. Court challenges are likely.
- But let’s not forget: Vaccines don’t save lives; vaccinations do.
- “Everyone is lying. The CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust.”—That COVIDiotic tweet came from right-wing-spewing, talk-show host Chuck Woolery. But then the spewer-in-chief retweeted it to the usual cult followers.
- Two dozen: The approximate number of possible COVID-19 vaccines in various stages of testing around the world.
- “When you compare us to other countries, I don’t think you can say we’re doing great. I mean we are just not.”—Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
- Two months: The amount of time since Trump was last briefed by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
- The U.S. leads the world in obesity—42 percent of adults. It’s a major health risk. CDC case tracking shows that among those hospitalized for COVID, nearly half are obese.
- TeleTracking Technologies has replaced the CDC in collecting data from hospitals related to the coronavirus.
- “The younger people have been contaminating the older people.”—Carlos Migoya, CEO of Miami’s Jackson Health System.
- 6 percent: statewide percentage of coronavirus cases that result in hospitalization.
- State unemployment numbers: June—10.4 percent; May—14.5 percent. Tampa Bay unemployment numbers: June–9.2 percent; May—12.2 percent.
- More than 70 percent of all Pinellas County deaths from COVID are tied to long-term care facilities.
- 5 percent: What the WHO recommends for positivity rates for reopening communities. In Florida, the average weekly positivity rate was approximately 19 percent in July, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- The CDC has extended the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end of September. The no-sail order had been scheduled to expire July 24.
- Countries, in order, with the most COVID cases: U.S., Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa.
- “De-escalation Training”: What Walmart gives to employees on how to deal with shoppers who refuse to comply with mask requirements.
- More than 11,500: The number of grocery workers who have tested positive nationally for the coronavirus. At least 82: The number of grocery workers who have subsequently died.
- “We respect people’s rights … to not wear a mask.” That was Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has backed one of the country’s most aggressive reopening plans. Stitt recently became the first governor in the U.S. to test positive for the coronavirus.
- 73,201: No, that’s not a COVID number, but the official toll of people who have “disappeared” during Mexico’s 14-year epidemic of criminal violence. That total includes 324 Americans.