Is There A Light At The End Of The Tunnel?
November 23, 2020
The Good News
- U.S. finalizes rule that could make thousands more organs available for transplant (WaPo, $) A reward for patients’ patience.
- Not kidding around: These Four UNICEF Young Changemakers Are Changing the World (Vice)
- Up to the tusk: Elephant Rescued After Falling Into A Well In Indian Village (NPR)
“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.” ― Margaret Mitchell
“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.” ― John Guare
Is There A Light At The End Of The Tunnel?
(Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
There are a lot of “ifs” in this story. If the federal government’s immunization plan goes well enough — meaning if enough COVID-19 vaccines get FDA approval, if they get widely distributed, if they are easily accessible and affordable and provide enough protection, and if enough Americans get vaccinated — life in the US could return to normal in time for birthday celebrations next May. This optimistic news came on Sunday morning television from Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, President Trump’s gangbusters-coronavirus-vaccine-development program.
On Friday, the pharmaceutical team of Pfizer and its partner BioNTech were the first to apply for their vaccine candidate’s approval. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory body is scheduled to hold a key meeting on December 10th that could award the team emergency authorization for the vaccine. The US pharmaceutical firm Moderna should apply soon for regulatory authorization for its vaccine.
If all goes well, by mid-December 20 million Americans could be the first to be vaccinated outside of clinical trial. The administration plans to vaccinate another 30 million per month thereafter. The first group to receive vaccines are likely to be healthcare workers and people in the most vulnerable populations, like nursing home residents. Slaoui said at least 70 percent of the population need to get vaccinated “for true herd immunity to take place.”
There’s one other extremely important “if” here. If only, as we enter the Holiday Season, all Americans would heed the advice from public health experts about how to restrain the spread of infections, there would be a whole lot more Americans around to celebrate their birthdays next year.
Sadly, it appears to be one “if” too far, because even though the US has recorded over 12 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 260,000 deaths, too many people continue to ignore those public health warnings. Instead, they’re going to travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas, get together with people outside their immediate family unit, go mask-less, and otherwise pretend things are already back-to-normal.
Maryland’s Republican governor Larry Hogan said “we are pretty worried” about that. “Family gathering is the number one transmission event,” he said, warning that people let their guard down at such events. Meanwhile, as Trump continues to refuse to concede his election defeat by Joe Biden or to cooperate with Biden’s transition efforts, Slaoui told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he had had no contact with Biden’s team.
G20 Witnesses A Rise In Vaccine Nationalism
- Saudi Arabia hosted a G20 telesummit Saturday morning. King Salman opened with a sober assessment of the global health crisis. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented shock that affected the entire world… causing global economic and social losses. Our peoples and economies are still suffering [but] we will do our best to overcome this crisis through international cooperation.”
- President Trump spoke at the videoconference before heading out to play golf. Trump said he wants US citizens to be the first to receive vaccinations against COVID-19. While his position contradicts that of public health experts and some other world leaders who want to prioritize front-line health workers and vulnerable populations, it is in line with the ‘vaccine-nationalism’ uttered by other leaders participating in the summit, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and even UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
- In European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech, she urged international cooperation and further financial commitments to programs aimed at making sure vaccines and therapeutics also reach countries that are least able to afford them. She noted that 186 countries had joined the international COVAX program to equitably produce and distribute vaccines, and reminded the leaders: “This would not have been possible without our joint effort.”
- A Berlin-based expert on international development said monetary commitments have come up short, with only $4 billion in pledges given out of the $38 billion needed. But without mincing words, she said: “Members of the G20 are unlikely to fill this funding gap.” (Politico)
- Who should get the Covid-19 vaccine first? Ethicists are fiercely debating how to vaccinate billions of people. (Vox)
Pakistan Takes A Stand Against Macron
- President Emmanuel Macron was “deeply shocked” after Pakistan’s human rights minister tweeted Saturday that France’s president would treat Muslims the way Hitler treated Jews in WWII. Shireen Mazari, a former journalist and an active member of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s team, wrote that “Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews.” She added: “Muslim children will get ID numbers (other children won’t) just as Jews were forced to wear the yellow star on their clothing for identification.”
- Mazari shared an article that claimed Muslim children would be singled out by a new French bill that would give them an identification number to ensure they are attending school. The legislation is part of the country’s wide-ranging effort to prevent the radicalization of young people and was proposed because some families don’t send their children to school in France.
- The bill, if introduced, would apply to all French children. France’s foreign ministry condemned Mazari’s tweet in a statement Saturday that said: “These hateful words are blatant lies, imbued with an ideology of hatred and violence. Such slander is unworthy of this level of responsibility. We reject them with the greatest firmness.” On Sunday, Mazari said the article she shared along with her comment had been corrected, so she decided to delete her (untrue, offensive, and incendiary) tweet. (NBC News)
Additional World News
- Putin Says He’s Not Ready to Recognize Biden as U.S. President (Bloomberg)
- G20 Summit Closes With Little Progress and Big Gaps Between Trump and Allies (NYT, $). Real G20’s move in silence… except when Trump is involved.
- China says has given $2.1 billion of debt relief to poor countries (Reuters)
- Wishing extinction upon the establishment: Thai school students protest against ‘dinosaurs’ (Reuters)
- The Taliban is on the offensive. Keeping the militants at bay: U.S. airstrikes, even as bases close and troops leave. (WaPo, $)
- African governments failing girls on equality, report finds (Guardian)
- Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis: PM gives Tigray forces 72 hours to surrender (BBC). No gray area in Tigray conflict.
- What the EU Gets Right—and the US Gets Wrong—About Antitrust (Wired)
- A face covering cover-up: UK sourced PPE from factories secretly using North Korean slave labour (Guardian)
- Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts (NYT, $)
- A Black Man Was Beaten to Death on the Eve of Brazil’s Black Awareness Day (Vice)
- Natural disasters are increasing. The world’s poorest are left to fend for themselves. (Vox)
COVID-19
- G-20 leaders pledge to ‘spare no effort’ to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccines worldwide (CNBC)
- F.D.A. Grants Emergency Authorization of Antibody Treatment Given to Trump (NYT, $)
- Is it safe to travel for Thanksgiving during Covid-19? Consider whether it’s necessary first. (Vox)
- Federal Coronavirus Data Show Health Care Staff Shortages Plague Hospitals (NPR)
- Masks Help, but We May Never Know How Much (Wired)
Hellish Conditions In El Paso
(Mario Tama via Getty Images)
- So many people in El Paso are dying from COVID-19 that local health officials must use inmates from the county jail to help move the bodies into temporary mobile morgues. Authorities in the West Texas city that borders Mexico have been struggling to cope with the rising tide of cases. In responding to an outcry on social media over the use of inmates rather than trained medical professionals, El Paso county judge Ricardo Samaniego said they had been waiting for the Texas National Guard to come help, but were forced to come up with a different plan until the Guard arrived.
- Whether the Guard arrives isn’t a certainty, however. Despite surging COVID-19 cases all over, but especially in all of West Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbot isn’t shutting anything down. In fact, state attorney general Ken Paxton has successfully sued to stop a non-essential business shutdown order Samaniego tried to put in place at the end of October in an effort to slow the rise in cases.
- On Friday, an appeals court upheld the decision to stay El Paso’s order even as the county recorded 1,488 new COVID-19 cases, 45 new deaths, and overflowing hospitals. Paxton celebrated the decision in a tweet that didn’t mention the surge in cases, but instead referenced tyranny and the upcoming holiday season. Samaniego recently issued a stay-at-home order, which was quickly challenged by the mayor who then appealed to Paxton. The attorney general ruled the shutdown illegal, only for it to be confirmed in state court, then overturned again on appeal. (Guardian, Texas Tribune)
Thanks To The My Pillow Guy, Rittenhouse Returns Home
- 17-year-old Illinois teen Kyle Rittenhouse, who’d been in a Wisconsin jail since killing two Kenosha demonstrators and wounding another last August, was released Friday afternoon after his $2 million cash bail was raised by the My Pillow guy and former child actor Ricky Schroder. Kenosha County Commissioner Loren Keating said in setting the bond earlier this month that the court considered Rittenhouse a “flight risk,” because he could face a “mandatory life sentence or at least significant amounts of time, likely decades of time period of incarceration” if convicted.
- Rittenhouse is a former youth police cadet who championed “Blue Lives Matter” and used part of his $1,200 stimulus check to buy the gun he allegedly used to shoot the demonstrators marching in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse said he’d gone to Kenosha to help protect private property. After the shooting and still armed, he apparently tried to surrender, but was waived on by police. (CNN)
Additional USA News
- Even Republicans know the race is over: Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Toomey Says Trump Should Accept Election Loss & In scathing opinion, federal judge dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit in Pennsylvania (NPR, WaPo)
- The Supreme Court’s “Breathtakingly Radical” New Approach to Election Law (Politico)
- Cabinets to go: Republicans quietly plot to sink Biden nominees (Axios)
- Biden vows diverse administration – but first appointments are from his political circle (Guardian)
- Donald Trump is the new Benjamin Harrison (Reuters)
- How Hispanic Voters Swung Miami Right (NYT, $). Why the blue wave never crashed on South Florida shores.
- Why Black Men and Women Vote So Differently (Atlantic, $)
- Policing the police: In cities across US, voters support more police oversight (AP)
- Homicides, aggravated assaults on steep rise across US during pandemic (WaPo, $)
- Andrew Cuomo to receive Emmy award for televised Covid briefings (Guardian). It appears both Cuomo brothers were born for the broadcast.
- Thanksgiving Turkeys Are Smaller This Year As Americans Downsize Celebration (NPR)
Moose Don’t Have A Lick Of Sense
- Visitors to Jasper National Park in Canada’s Alberta province are often tempted to pull over to the side of the road to get a better glimpse at the wildlife, particularly moose. But now officials in the alpine town of Jasper have an issue that requires putting up a bunch of signs warning motorists not to let moose lick their cars.
- It seems the animals are obsessed with salt, a mineral that — granted — their bodies need. But as Steve Young, a spokesman for the park, says: “They usually get it from salt lakes in the park, but now they realized they can also get road salt that splashes onto cars.” It may sound endearing, but Young wants drivers to know that letting animals near their cars actually isn’t safe. Allowing moose to lick the salt off your car familiarizes them with being around cars.
- That’s risky for both the animals and motorists who can accidentally crash into them. “Moose and cars are not a good mix. If you hit the moose with your car, you take the legs out from under it and it’s going through your windshield,” Young warns. Here’s another good tip: If approached by any wildlife, don’t get out of the car. While other animals typically run away when humans approach, moose will stand their ground and charge if they feel threatened.
- “We’ve been seeing a lot more moose lately. The wolf population is decreasing, which means there’s fewer predators and the moose population is going up as a result,” Young said. “This also means people need to be respectful and give them space.” If this simple safety warning isn’t enough, Young reiterates that visitors aren’t allowed to feed, entice, or disturb wildlife in national parks. Those that do could take a wallet-hit up to $25,000. (CNN)
- Side note: what’s the proper plural of moose: moose, meese, or mooses? Turns out it’s just moose, but the thought of a flock of meese does give us second thoughts.
Additional Reads
- In 1864, Like in 2020, America Just Got Lucky (Atlantic, $). Echoes of Lincoln’s near-loss loom.
- Can you put this year into words? Oxford’s 2020 Word of the Year? It’s Too Hard to Isolate (NYT, $)
- America 2020, In Vision and Verse (NYT, $)
- TikTok Is Doing a Better Job at Predicting Outbreaks Than the Government (Vice). What can’t the almighty algorithm do?
- Smell ya later: Researchers To Recreate Historic European Scents In $3.3M Study (NPR)
- If we’re alone in the Universe, should we do anything about it? (Aeon)
- Building a new future: Robots Invade the Construction Site (Wired)
- We’re drowning in a sea of plastic. A new process could be a life preserver (Inverse)
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