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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday/Sunday, March 27-28

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday/Sunday, March 27-28

by Anne Laurie|  March 28, 20215:21 am| 65 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

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It's ale good: A German brewery had 6,000 liters of soon-to-expire surplus beer. The brewery paired up with bakers already using leftover grains from the brewing process to produce loaves of “Treberbrot," or “Spent Grain Bread.” https://t.co/ziSczNxGIX #odd

— AP Oddities (@AP_Oddities) March 23, 2021


About one-third of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of vaccine https://t.co/PjOgXI5pYF pic.twitter.com/PDEfYcKYVe

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 28, 2021

More Americans to become eligible for vaccination & more FEMA inoculation sites set to open. States are expanding vax eligibility to younger people & those without underlying health conditions. Biden administration promises 200M shots will be given by 4/30 https://t.co/MFOzKw3vwm pic.twitter.com/mWEYWbI5XO

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 27, 2021

Yesterday, Jeff Zients, @WhiteHouse #COVID19 Coordinator, said the U.S. is vax'ing 2.5M ppl/day: "That is the equivalent of vax'ing a sellout crowd @yankeestadium 50 times/day or the entire population of the city of Houston in just 1 day. That’s the scale of this effort." pic.twitter.com/6fz86mCrSx

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 27, 2021

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator under former President Trump, said in a CNN documentary clip that she thinks the US could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives lost to Covid-19 following the pandemic's first surge. https://t.co/cB08LLbIaw pic.twitter.com/cXqvnYWYa7

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) March 27, 2021

======

“COVID-19 has been obliterated in Israel,” says @fundstrat. Daily cases have plunged from 1,200 .. to just 39.

The rollover began as vaccine penetration hit 26% — a level the US is now approaching. “If Israel is a template, US cases are set to rollover in a sustained way soon.” pic.twitter.com/2rLz9lITfk

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) March 26, 2021

Israelis are holding large family gatherings to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover thanks to a successful coronavirus vaccination campaign. It's a stark turnaround from last year, when Israel was in its first of three lockdowns. By @IlanBenZion https://t.co/MdewVqQRGJ

— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) March 27, 2021

#GraphicTruth: Roughly 40% of all COVID doses produced in the EU to date have been exported to other countries.@gzeromedia https://t.co/LLOKSL8LSD

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) March 27, 2021

WATCH: Many German tourists were seen partying without masks on a beach in Mallorca, Spain pic.twitter.com/SxAValTIWg

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2021

UK has planned for second COVID-19 vaccine doses, says minister https://t.co/ui6lKpElYd pic.twitter.com/ln0gg1baxB

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2021

Coronavirus: Search after people flee Dublin hotel quarantine https://t.co/3ooja1Qbq4

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 28, 2021

Philippines government orders 24 million people in and around Manila into virus lockdown. Hospitals in the capital are struggling to cope with a surge in #coronavirus infections. Tougher restrictions come as highly contagious variants fuel a resurgence https://t.co/IoBbv1Cxgz pic.twitter.com/J5iDOOGWHC

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 27, 2021

Night curfew in Maharashtra state after record COVID spike https://t.co/774J7LMIhA pic.twitter.com/gYB3X7JBM9

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2021

India coronavirus: The high-risk young demanding Covid jabs https://t.co/5t3sNx5BDQ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 28, 2021

Saudi Arabia daily COVID-19 cases climb back above 500 https://t.co/ofM5FbXosg pic.twitter.com/ny3BbCGfC6

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2021

As daily deaths near 4,000, worst may lie ahead for Brazil. The country accounts for 1/4 of the world's daily #Covid deaths, far more than any other single nation. Health experts are warning that Brazil is on the verge of even greater calamity. https://t.co/R5p4BVF14i

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 27, 2021

Brazil accounts for one-quarter of the entire world’s daily COVID-19 deaths, far more than any other single nation. Health experts are warning that the nation is on the verge of even greater calamity and that shutdowns are no longer avoidable. https://t.co/Ev3El0XFk3

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 27, 2021

An update on the profound tragedy the P.1 variant is inducing in Brazil and throughout much of South America https://t.co/13tb9aAGuQ by @ptrevisani @samanthapearson @luciwsj
and current @OurWorldInData pic.twitter.com/0xPNBsI9Oo

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 27, 2021

Partly. Uruguay and Chile are also struggling. But Brazil is just off the deep end now.

— Aaron Astor (@AstorAaron) March 27, 2021

Mexico's government is acknowledging that the country's true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands above 321,000. That is almost 60% more than the government's official test-confirmed number of 201,429. https://t.co/0Cp8300rv4

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 28, 2021

From a long thread, the WHO Director’s weekly update:

"WHO is concerned about the potential for criminal groups to exploit the huge global unmet demand for #COVID19 vaccines. A number of ministries of health, natl. regulatory authorities & public procurement organizations have received suspicious offers to supply vaccines"-@DrTedros

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 26, 2021

I’m asking countries with doses of #COVID19 vaccines that have @WHO Emergency Use Listing to donate as many doses as they can, and I’m asking manufacturers to help ensure these countries can rapidly donate those doses. We have only 15 days left to deliver on #VaccinEquity! pic.twitter.com/SA7SCqOoKn

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 26, 2021

======

Britain is a world leader in finding new coronavirus variants that are more dangerous or resistant to vaccines. The work is part of a global effort, and scientists around the world are learning from the U.K. as they try to stay ahead of COVID-19. https://t.co/nqbaRGB6cN

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) March 28, 2021

Singing is a high-risk activity for spreading coronavirus, but the San Francisco Opera wanted the show to go on, so it had a new mask designed specifically for singing. In tests it's been almost as efficient at filtering out particles as N95 masks. @KQED https://t.co/eqUpXX4mxL

— NPR (@NPR) March 27, 2021

Sinopharm needs trial results to decide if COVID-19 shot needs booster: executive https://t.co/V9XqhsSLE1 pic.twitter.com/hee7VXFTfp

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2021

More evidence of cognitive dysfunction in 'long haul' non-hospitalized Covid patients. New research is from Feinberg School of Medicine. As the pandemic has worn on, studies continue to highlight the post-virus cognitive impact https://t.co/14bC6PxYxK pic.twitter.com/3aG9QKCCh7

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 27, 2021

======

Attorneys say people living in hotels and motels are facing a heightened risk of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Job losses have made it harder for millions of Americans to make rent. But hotel guests are excluded from a moratorium on evictions. https://t.co/RpI5wQN98O

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 27, 2021

Here’s why D.C. was excluded from a FEMA vaccine program: It’s for big states https://t.co/UHLMmehyvu

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 26, 2021

As states expand vaccine eligibility, universities make a push to inoculate all students https://t.co/8dvVbWGVUf

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 26, 2021

Florida is threatening to sue the federal government if it doesn't lift its pandemic ban on cruise lines using U.S. ports. https://t.co/1YgD27DTPE

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2021

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Reader Interactions

65Comments

  1. 1.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 5:40 am

    Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator under former President Trump, said in a CNN documentary clip that she thinks the US could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives lost to Covid-19 following the pandemic’s first surge.

    Are you confessing to negligent homicide, Doctor? Because it really sounds like you’re confessing to negligent homicide.

  2. 2.

    Mary G

    March 28, 2021 at 5:59 am

    @mrmoshpotato:  At the least, she shouldn’t be out talking to the media instead of hiding her head in shame or treating patients in Brazil.

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    March 28, 2021 at 6:15 am

    Monroe County, NY stats:

    New cases = 198
    Still at 1200 deaths
    2% positivity – this was down at 1.5% 2 or 3 weeks ago

    32.4% vaccinated with at least 1 dose
    125,950 people fully vaccinated
    240,795 people with at least 1 dose

  4. 4.

    Rusty

    March 28, 2021 at 6:30 am

    Got my first dose yesterday. It feels like maybe we are turning a corner. Relative to most people my Facebook friend list is smaller, but yesterday there were 7 or 8 people who also got theirs, NH, CT, NY (multiple), PA, and CA. None of us were in a special category, the country is getting regular folks vaccinated. Our youngest daughter gets her first dose today. That means everyone in our extended family, except those under 16, will have gotten at least their first dose. It’s feels like the beginning of the end. Their are a lot more people to go, but momentum finally feels on our side.

  5. 5.

    gkoutnik

    March 28, 2021 at 6:31 am

    @mrmoshpotato:  I agree. I was stunned by the statement, for that reason; the woman driving the bus threw her whole crew under it.
    Up until now, connecting Trump’s “leadership” decisions to hundreds of thousands of deaths was intuitively obvious, but not empirical. Now… we have a bright line from A to B, and we’re in a whole new world of liability. I hope (IANAL).

  6. 6.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2021 at 6:39 am

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Heath Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,302 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 341,944 cases. He also reports four new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,255 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.38% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 14,380 active and contagious cases; 19 are in ICU, 76 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 1,127 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 326,309 patients recovered – 95.43% of the cumulative reported total.

    Three new clusters were reported today: Ladang Sungai Pelek in Selangor, a workplace cluster; Patek in Kelantan, a community cluster; and Pagar Bukit Chagar in Johor, a prison cluster.

    1,293 new cases today are local infections. Sarawak tops the list today with 426 cases: 224 in existing clusters, 105 close-contact screenings, and 97 other screenings. Selangor reports 256 cases: 27 in older clusters, five in Ladang Sungai Pelek cluster, 178 close-contact screenings, and 46 other screenings. Penang reports 212 cases: 128 in existing clusters, 39 close-contact screenings, and 45 other screenings.

    Johor reports 175 local cases: 45 in older clusters, 52 in Pagar Bukit Chagar cluster, 50 close-contact screenings, and 28 other screenings.

    Kuala Lumpur reports 50 local cases: 12 in existing clusters, 30 close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings. Sabah reports 38 cases: seven in existing clusters, 14 close-contact screenings, and 17 other screenings. Kelantan reports 34 cases: seven in older clusters, six in Patek cluster, 14 close-contact screenings, and seven other screenings. Pahang reports 32 cases: 14 in existing clusters, 11 close-contact screenings, and seven other screenings. Kedah reports 23 cases: seven in existing clusters, 14 close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Perak also reports 23 cases: 11 in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and five other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports nine cases: five in existing clusters, and four close-contact screenings. Labuan reports six cases: three in existing clusters, and three other screenings. Melaka reports five cases: three in existing clusters, one close-contact screening, and one other screening. Terengganu reports two cases: one close-contact screening, and one other screening. And Putrajaya also tports two cases, both found in other screening.

    Perlis reports no new cases today.

    Nine new cases today are imported: eight in Kuala Lumpur, and one in Johor.

    The deaths reported today are a 77-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; a 73-year-old woman in Selangor with hypertension, heart disease, and cancer; a 67-year-old man in Kedah with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease; and a 63-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and cancer.

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2021 at 6:45 am

    How serious is DeSantis’ threat to sue the feds? It seems to me that if the Feds are acting within their customary authority, then he’s got nothing.

  8. 8.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 6:50 am

    @Amir Khalid: Who knows?  The feds should response by letting out a wet fart on DeathSantis’ head.

  9. 9.

    Robert Sneddon

    March 28, 2021 at 6:53 am

    @Amir Khalid: ​
    IIRC part of the Constitution assigns Federal control to coastal waters around the US — the Coastguard is specifically mentioned somewhere, I believe.
    If the cruise ship operators want to sail in US waters then they do what the Federal government says. The waters off Florida don’t belong to Florida.​

  10. 10.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2021 at 7:03 am

    @Robert Sneddon:
    So the feds are within their authority, and Desantis’ got nothing. I thought as much.

  11. 11.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 7:17 am

    @Amir Khalid: Freedumb!  DeathSantis has freedumb!

  12. 12.

    Gvg

    March 28, 2021 at 7:20 am

    @mrmoshpotato: you are overstating her authority. She couldn’t do much with Trump in power. She couldn’t order anyone outside her department to do anything and that was constrained by Trump. Basically only state governors and legislatures could somewhat buck him. She could have attacked him then been fired been a media sensation for a little while then forgotten and nothing would really change. Plus there were already plenty of scientists saying what needed to be said and only half the people listened, so there doesn’t seem to be a point in her making one public fight.

    Trump was the problem. McConnell too.

  13. 13.

    Gvg

    March 28, 2021 at 7:29 am

    @Amir Khalid: nothing about

    covid restrictions is customary at least since the last pandemic or world wars. I don’t know what his chances are.

    I also think he is doing this for attention. He wants to run for President I would say and is trying to lure Trump voters away from Trump.

    He could have done things earlier that would actually have helped cruise lines and even other shipping survive. I think someone should have set up quarantine hotels for ships crews with rotation schemes to let some leave and some take turns staying in ships in berth or transporting instead of the cruel dumb policy of ignoring them but forbidding them from disembarking which might inflate their COVID numbers.

  14. 14.

    Geminid

    March 28, 2021 at 7:33 am

    @Amir Khalid: DeSantis’ lawsuit is just performative, showing him standing up to the feds, and shifting blame for the economic impact of the pandemic from the virus to federal “overreach.”

    When his lawyers told DeSantis he had nothing, he could have sung back the lines from the Gershwins’ and Dubose’s Porgy and Bess:

    “I’ve got plenty of nothin’.                     Nothin’s plenty for me.”

  15. 15.

    YY_Sima Qian

    March 28, 2021 at 7:38 am

    On 3/27 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Imported Cases

    On 3/27 China reported 8 new imported confirmed cases, 19 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Shanghai Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from Japan & a Brazilian national coming from Germany; 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed cases (both previously asymptomatic), 1 Chinese national each returning from Nigeria & Algeria; 3 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Algeria
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Panama (via France); 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese nationals each returning from Bangladesh & the US
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a South African coming returning from Ou to Africa
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, 2 from Egypt & 1 each from Djibouti & Burkina Faso; all off flights that landed at Guangzhou
    • Qingyuan in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Tanzania (via Cairo), off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Zimbabwe (via Addis Ababa & Paris CdG)
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the UAE; 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the UAE & 1 from Pakistan; all cases off flights diverted from Beijing
    • Guiyang in Guizhou Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from South Africa; the case had feen infected in South Africa in Jan. had recovered after treatment by 2/1, the arrived at Shenzhen in Guangdong Province on 2/25, went through the 14 days of centralized quarantine and tested negative on RT-PCR multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 3/11 the case flew to Guiyang and entered 14 day home quarantine, the case tested negative on RT-PCR on 3/18, but positive on 3/25 and again on 3/26; probably shedding dead viral particles
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Tanzania
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan
    • Nanjing in Jiangsu Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Dalian in Liaoning Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released

     

    Overall in China, 2 confirmed cases recovered, 19 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 3 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 264 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 167 active confirmed cases in the country (164 imported), 1 in critical/serious condition (imported), 267 asymptomatic cases (all imported), 2 suspect cases (all imported). 4,320 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    On 3/28 Hong Kong reported 1 new case, imported. This is the 2nd consecutive day that the city has not registered a domestic case.

  16. 16.

    YY_Sima Qian

    March 28, 2021 at 7:41 am

    Just got my 1st shot today, a SinoPharm vaccine developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. No adverse reaction, other than the barest of soreness at the site of injection. 2nd shot will be 28 days from now.

  17. 17.

    NeenerNeener

    March 28, 2021 at 7:42 am

    @YY_Sima Qian: Yay!

  18. 18.

    YY_Sima Qian

    March 28, 2021 at 7:47 am

    Based on the data out of Israel, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine really is extraordinary!

  19. 19.

    NeenerNeener

    March 28, 2021 at 7:49 am

    @Rusty: Woo hoo!

  20. 20.

    gkoutnik

    March 28, 2021 at 7:59 am

    @Gvg: I think the important issue here is not her personal liability (which would be high if she had authority, which, as you note, she didn’t have a lot of) but her firsthand corroboration of what decisions were made, and how they were made, by those who did have authority.  I still think this is a BFD.

    Also, she was the White House coronavirus response coordinator; if you accept that title, you accept some level of responsibility, regardless of whether you had authority.

  21. 21.

    HeartlandLiberal

    March 28, 2021 at 8:18 am

    I guess I should thank Anne Laurie for such a thorough report from all over, but damned, this is depressing as hell. At least we can’t claim to be #1 anymore in deaths from COVID, Brazil seems to be rushing to take that honor. We both, wife and I, hot second Pfizer shot on the 18th of the month, so feeling a little more secure. But talking to our doctors about how there was no flu season, and they are not seeing flood of usual common colds all winter, has us planning to wear masks in public in the future essentially forever. Think of it, no flu season, no common colds. And all because of so many people wearing masks in public.

  22. 22.

    lowtechcyclist

    March 28, 2021 at 8:42 am

    @HeartlandLiberal: ​
     

    Think of it, no flu season, no common colds. And all because of so many people wearing masks in public.

    Not to mention spending as little time as possible in public!

    I didn’t bother with a flu shot this year – I figured my risk of exposure to the flu virus was about 1% of what it is in a normal year, on account of the Covid-related precautions my family and I were taking.

    And in about 2 hours, I’ll be getting Covid shot #2.

  23. 23.

    debbie

    March 28, 2021 at 9:05 am

    Speaking of variants, the BBC’s The Real Story was eye-opening. I’m not convinced we’ve turned the corner yet.

  24. 24.

    Percysowner

    March 28, 2021 at 9:12 am

    Then we have Ohio going in the wrong directionOhio lawmakers override DeWine veto, pass limits on governor’s coronavirus powers

  25. 25.

    Matt McIrvin

    March 28, 2021 at 9:14 am

    @Rusty: Here in MA, the date for general-public availability is still April 19, which feels like a long, long way off… especially since case rates are rising again and Baker won’t close the bars. It feels to me like we’re heading into another bad COVID wave, people don’t realize it and are starting to act like it’s all over.

    And yet, and yet–when I look at the hard numbers, I also see that MA is actually doing significantly better than the average state, including most of the ones that have opened it up to everybody, at getting shots into arms. So maybe the targeted approach is working here. Restaurant, retail, delivery and grocery workers are eligible now so most of the people at elevated occupational risk can get their shots, though I don’t know how many are taking it up. I really wish they’d been further up the list, just out of a sense of justice, but at least we’ve gotten to them.

    My mother-in-law is busy vaccinating people at our town’s clinic. She and her wife are fully vaccinated now, with one of the mRNA vaccines, and based on my interpretation of CDC guidance and the data out of Israel, I’m fine with me and my family hanging out with them (which removes a major source of angst around here).

    But I’d still really like to get that shot, and three weeks is a long time…

  26. 26.

    debbie

    March 28, 2021 at 9:21 am

    @Percysowner:

    You just know the Legislature’s advising “experts” will be ALEC, not the medical director or public health officials.

    Even though I know DeWine will be taking this to court, I am beyond infuriated.

  27. 27.

    Sloane Ranger

    March 28, 2021 at 9:26 am

    Welcome to the UK where it is the first day of British Summer Time!

    Yesterday we had 4715 new cases but this is probably an undercount due to weekend reporting delays. This is a decrease of almost 1500 from Friday, but an increase in the rolling 7-day average of 4%. New cases by nation,

    England – 3813 (down @1500)

    Northern Ireland – 138 (down 43)

    Scotland – 563 (up 20)

    Wales – 201 (up 11).

    Deaths – There were 58 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 31.6% in the rolling 7-day average. Deaths by nation, England – 43, Northern Ireland – 2, Scotland – 6 and Wales – 7.

    Testing – Not updated at weekends.

    Hospitalisations – On Thursday, 25 March there were 4560 people in hospital. There were 615 people on ventilators on Friday, 26th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions, as reported on 23 March was down by 20.8%.

    Vaccinations – As of 26 March,a total of 29,727,435 people had received the 1st shot of a vaccine and 3,293,517 had received both shots. This translates as 56.4% of the UK’s adult population (aged 18 and over) having received 1 shot and 6.3% both.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 9:51 am

    It does feel like we are (beginning to) turn the corner. Yesterday I took my Trader Joe’s friend to get her first (Pfizer) vaccination. She’s in her mid-40s, works retail (obviously). I’m glad that she’s (finally) getting protected.

    I got my first Pfizer shot two weeks ago last Thursday, so I am expecting to hear soon from Fairfax County (VA) about scheduling the second one. Bro’ Man got his two shots a while back (doctor), and his husband (teacher) has had both of his.

    My mother in Las Vegas (age 91) has had both shots, and her assisted-living facility has let the residents out of room lockdown and back to the normal routine. Her mood has improved now that she is able to get outside and walk a bit. Even my RWNJ brother, also in Las Vegas, has had one shot. But of course the news came wrapped in a rant about how he had to wait in line for three hours. I chuckled at that, but I was glad to find out that he’s not an anti-vaxxer. Wouldn’t have put that past him.

    My concern is that a lot of jurisdictions seem to be “reopening” too soon and people are getting sloppy because “the pandemic is over.” It looks like there will be spikes in cases but with fewer deaths. And the emerging COVID variants are also troubling.

    My routine hasn’t changed. I don’t go out much, mask up when I do. I have started to get faint twinges of thoughts about travel. But that’s in the future.

  29. 29.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 9:56 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Restaurant, retail, delivery and grocery workers are eligible now, so most of the people at elevated occupational risk can get their shots, though I don’t know how many are taking it up. I really wish they’d been further up the list, just out of a sense of justice, but at least we’ve gotten to them.

    Amen to this.

  30. 30.

    debbie

    March 28, 2021 at 10:07 am

    @Steeplejack:

    My nephew works in a grocery store and just got his first jab. The company has been promising vaccines for a couple months, then turned around and told them they had 30 minutes to drive to the single site that had been set up, get the shot, and return to work. All in all, an unrelaxing experience. But he’s happy he’s getting it.

  31. 31.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    March 28, 2021 at 10:10 am

    Greece: 3132 new cases reported on March 27 (ninth time the numbers topped 3,000), with 72 dead (worst day of the current wave), 728 patients intubated in ICUs.

    Vaccine availability unchanged (health-care workers, severe medical conditions, 60-64 for AstraZeneca, 70+ for Pfizer and Moderna).

    I’m in a weird position: for various reasons I’ve maintained residency in New York City, and while I’m not eligible for a vaccine in Greece, I am eligible for a vaccine in New York. As crazy as it sounds, my safest course of action may be to travel to New York to get vaccinated. Air travel may be fraught with danger, but at the moment, so is stepping outside my apartment building in Athens.

  32. 32.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 10:30 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    She won’t take responsibility for her actions ??

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 10:31 am

    I read the daily dispatches from Brazil, and I know that would have been us if Dolt45 had won ???

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 10:32 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Amen

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 10:33 am

    @debbie:

    I think grocery workers should have been considered “front-line workers” all along and prioritized for shots.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 10:38 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Make a calendar and mark off the days.

    3weeks of double ?? and being extra careful.

    You have been doing it since February. You are in the home stretch now.

  37. 37.

    mali muso

    March 28, 2021 at 10:40 am

    @Steeplejack: Totally agree.  Grocery workers are front-line and essential in my mind.  They were out there keeping us fed during the darkest days of the lockdowns.  They deserved better in the vaccine rollout.

  38. 38.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 10:44 am

    I am fully VACCINATED and it’s been past the two weeks.

    Peanut is over and she is just coming up to me for hugs.???

    In regular times, she probably would have been, ‘Auntie, I’m too big for that.’

     

    But, these have not been regular times.

    She is my ?❤️, and I have missed her so.

    We sat on the couch and watched

    The Falcon and the Winter Soldier together, as we would have done pre-pandemic.

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 10:47 am

    @rikyrah: Of course she won’t.

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 10:48 am

    @rikyrah:

    It’s good to feel like we’re past the worst part.

  41. 41.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 10:50 am

    @rikyrah: ???

    Looking forward to my first dose Wednesday afternoon.

  42. 42.

    debbie

    March 28, 2021 at 11:02 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Absolutely. I know some stores gave minor raises to hourly workers because they were at risk, but they have ended that now.

  43. 43.

    Ken

    March 28, 2021 at 11:02 am

    @gkoutnik: I still think this is a BFD.

    I’m more “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown,” at least for any concrete liability. Might have to settle for the judgment of history.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 11:03 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Good luck! ?

  45. 45.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 11:08 am

    @HeartlandLiberal:

    I haven’t changed my patterns. But , the sense of relief, once you are 14 days out from the second shot…..

    As someone who felt that they were risking their lives five days a week going into work…My stress level is down.

  46. 46.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 11:08 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    yesss????

  47. 47.

    laura

    March 28, 2021 at 11:15 am

    @rikyrah: Hug and love that peanut, then hug and love some more ?. Spouse and I get our 2nd shot on Thursday and in a few more weeks hope to hug my best friend and cry ourselves out over the joy and the relief of it.

  48. 48.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2021 at 11:15 am

    @mrmoshpotato: I don’t think she’s responsible for the failure. TFFG proudly announced that he did the opposite of what the doctors told him to do.

    I sure hope that our cases are about to decline again. Because here in PA, cases are definitely on the rise. It is concerning.

  49. 49.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2021 at 11:18 am

    @gkoutnik:

    Also, she was the White House coronavirus response coordinator; if you accept that title, you accept some level of responsibility, regardless of whether you had authority. 

    If you provide good advice and your boss doesn’t heed it, that’s not on you, no matter what your business card says.

  50. 50.

    Mel

    March 28, 2021 at 11:41 am

    @rikyrah: Crying happy tears for you, one Auntie to another!! Big hugs to you and peanut!!

    It has been 14  months since I’ve seen my precious little niece in person. A year is like a lifetime when they’re so young.

  51. 51.

    debbie

    March 28, 2021 at 11:55 am

    @rikyrah:

    ❤️ for you and Peanut!

  52. 52.

    J R in WV

    March 28, 2021 at 11:56 am

    @mrmoshpotato: 

    Are you confessing to negligent homicide, Doctor? Because it really sounds like you’re confessing to negligent homicide.

    Everyone acts like the people in the Trump administration were in charge of something, as opposed to working for a megalomaniac incompetent monster who would have arrested anyone who attempted to save lives that TFG had decided should not be saved.

    Dr. Brix is accusing Donald John Trump of mass murder, actually.

    I have no doubt that she lies awake at night wondering what she could have done to convince TFG to follow standard plague-combating health policies that our civilization has known of and followed by thousands of years.

    There was nothing she could have done! War-criminal and mass murderer Former Guy is impervious to good advice, which is why he drove several casinos into bankruptcy. But that doesn’t help with the guilt Brix feels, and that TFG doesn’t feel.

    He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the 400,000 extra deaths he directly caused by shit-canning the Plague Handbook carefully prepared by our last great President, Obama.

    He feels far worse about losing first the 2020 election and THEN losing the insurrection he fomented on January 6th, 2021. He should be indicted on 400,000 individual counts of negligent homicide, and slowly tried individually on every one of those deaths he could have prevented, had he lifted a finger to open the Pandemic Plague Playbook.

    I don’t much care if prosecutors fail to convict him most of the time. It only takes a single deranged Republican MAGA to keep him from being convicted. But he has to sit there and keep silent while relatives of the deceased individual tell him what a lousy example of a human being The Former Guy is. 400,000 times, or for the rest of his life, which ever comes first.

    Dr Birx can testify as often in his trials as she can stand to, telling 12 jurors how there was a carefully prepared and researched guidebook for dealing with pandemics, that had worked every time it was used properly for hundreds of years, and Trump wouldn’t let them use those techniques!

    TFG in fact interfered with local and state officials who tried to implement the fairly simple health measures that could have, would have helped control the Covid-Trump Plague back in the beginning.

    We have the recordings Bob Woodward made to prove TFG KNEW he was lying about the outbreak from the beginning, and did what he did because he is a fucking lunatic, happy to kill people from states that didn’t vote for him back in 2016.

    TFG should be taken into custody after one grand jury returns one indictment against him, and kept in a nice cell in the basement of the Capitol building between trials. Stone for all 6 walls, but for a nice steel door slammed shut behind him and latches tight.

    I know this is a fantasy, but isn’t a nice one?

    I thought the anger and hate would dwindle and shrink away after he was gone, but it isn’t. Staying away from the news doesn’t seem to help that much. I’m not as upset by it as I was, because there’s no power behind the fat bastard any more, so it doesn’t seem to hurt me so much now.

    But still, I want the bastard to pay for his murderous criminal conspiracies, all of them! Stealing PPI from Blue states and shipping it to “HIS” states. Same for vaccines before last Januaru 20th. And the Insurrection of Jan 6th, all those crimes.

    Perhaps TFG and Roger Stone should share a cell for the rest of their lives. Roger could show TFG his Nixon tattoo every evening at bed time. Maybe Trump could get his own copy done with jailhouse “needles and ink” — now there’s a thought~!!~

  53. 53.

    Soprano2

    March 28, 2021 at 12:17 pm

    @rikyrah: oh yeah, absolutely that’s true. It would have been vaccine “Hunger Games”, with governors having to suck up to Trump to get an allotment. Without a doubt the election saved tens of thousands of lives, at least.

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    March 28, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    @J R in WV:

    Once she realized that “there was nothing she could have done,” Birx could have resigned. And she could have stated publicly that the Former Guy was ignoring expert medical advice.

    She definitely could have skipped the praise for the Former Guy’s scientific acumen.

    “He’s been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data,” Birx said. “I think his ability to analyze and integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit during these discussions about medical issues.”

  55. 55.

    karen marie

    March 28, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    @Mary G: Why do you hate Brazil so much? Hasn’t she already deomstrated her inability to contradict a president who claimed COVID to be fake news?

  56. 56.

    J R in WV

    March 28, 2021 at 12:34 pm

    @YY_Sima Qian: ​

    Just got my 1st shot today, a SinoPharm vaccine developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. No adverse reaction, other than the barest of soreness at the site of injection. 2nd shot will be 28 days from now.

    Congratulations YY, I’m glad for you.
    @YY_Sima Qian: ​
     

    Based on the data out of Israel, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine really is extraordinary!

    Yes! I think many of the new vaccines are remarkable.

    Now it appears we’re in a race between the mutation rate of the coronavirus and our ability to create new vaccines active against the newly evolved strains of the plague. I think it’s interesting that we see the same (or nearly identical) mutations happening all over the world nearly simultaneously.

    Because a housewife in New England didn’t catch mutation B-157-F-U from someone who had been to Brazil, she encountered a new mutation like the ones from Brazil.

  57. 57.

    karen marie

    March 28, 2021 at 12:39 pm

    @debbie: Agreed. The vaccination, while helpful, does not eliminate all risk.  I am very glad to have one Pfizer and the second scheduled for April 12, but Imma continue wearing my mask to the store and doing curbside for larger shopping.

    The thing to watch are the courts. As far as I know, there are still no jury trials happening and the majority of hearings are held remotely.

  58. 58.

    karen marie

    March 28, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    @karen marie:  Information is thin but apparently there are jury of 6 trials happening in some places but it’s a logistical nightmare.

  59. 59.

    Ohio Mom

    March 28, 2021 at 12:54 pm

    I don’t hold not resigning against Brix, Fauci didn’t resign either — but he did not gush over Trump.

    That is what leaves me scratching my head about Brix. Destroyed her credibility so much that even though she is now speaking what I believe to be the truth, I am unmoved by her statements. Just irritated. Go away lady.

    I am now over two weeks from my second Pfizer and though I was very happy while getting my arm punctured, I don’t feel any more confident about leaving the house.

    I thought I’d be off browsing the library, window-shopping the thift stores, visiting the art museums, and otherwise resuming my old haunts (still masked of course) but now I am worried about those new variants. Plus our numbers here in southwest Ohio are stuck. We had a big decrease in February but March is one long plateau. I’d like to see us back where we were last summer before I venture out.

  60. 60.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I think that’s reasonable. Birx didn’t have to resign, but just STFU. However, reading that piece in the New Yorker about how she literally drove from state to state to make her case was really compelling. Having worked for some bad bosses and having had clients who don’t listen to advice, maybe I relate too much.

    Here in PA, our cases are climbing. It’s bad. But deaths are not. So I am trying to hang on to some optimism.

    Spawn the Elder is coming out from AZ on 4/7. I have his first shot scheduled for 4/8.

  61. 61.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    @YY_Sima Qian: Yay! Hopefully this means travel outside the country can start soon for you.

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2021 at 3:29 pm

    @J R in WV: ​
      March 2020 verbal tongue bath of the Kremlin’s orange shitstain:

    "[Trump is] so attentive to the scientific literature & the details & the data. I think his ability to analyze & integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit” — this is shocking, hackish stuff from Dr. Birx. pic.twitter.com/c2phsRYaJs— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 27, 2020

    Whole lotta unnecessary claptrap.

  63. 63.

    rikyrah

    March 28, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    @J R in WV:

    Yeah for the vaccine ???

  64. 64.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: If we remember the Woodward tapes, it’s clear that TFG was actually paying attention (to some extent) to the science of COVID-19.  In that sense, she’s right.

    Of course, she saw that TFG’s understanding had absolutely no correspondence to the public statements and the policy positions his administration was taking.  And she seemed to conveniently ignore that.

    IMO, it’s the old “by their fruit you shall know them” thing.  Some argue what’s in their heart matters.  I’m of the school that says that we cannot know someone’s thoughts – we can only go by what they say and do.  So, …

    tl;dr – As always, it’s actually worse when it comes to TFG.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  65. 65.

    VOR

    March 28, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Yep, that was exactly the point where she doused gasoline on her credibility and lit it on fire. It’s not her fault Trump didn’t listen to her. But it is her fault that she continued to kiss his ass.

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