Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

He really is that stupid.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Something Good? I’ll Start.

Open Thread: Something Good? I’ll Start.

by | 193 Comments

This post is in: 

It’s been a rough week, and it seems like we’re back to 7 days feeling like a month again.

But I have some good news to share!  I heard from Four Directions yesterday – they *did* find someone to match the $25,000 we raised!  It’s not the original possible $25k match, which didn’t pan out, but a different one!  The donor was impressed that not only had we raised over $25k for Four Directions in May, but that we had also raised over $25k again in August for this new joint effort with Fair Fight.

So all that crazy matching we did (crazy in a good way!) has now doubled again.  I am so pleased about that!  Thank you to everyone who donated, and special thanks to those who stepped up with a dollar amount for us to match.

One other good thing to share is that we are going to feature our Balloon Juice writers, just as we are featuring our Balloon Juice artists.  So if you’re a writer and you would like to be featured, send me a quick note so we can get the process started.  You can choose whether to highlight all of your writing or just one book; that’s totally up to you.

Oh, and you creatives, I only have one Artists in Our Midst post left in the queue.  Those posts don’t get a million comments, but it sure looks to me that people like seeing all this talent on display.

 

 

Reader Interactions

193Comments

  2. 2.

    Argiope

    Excellent news! Clarifying question for AIOM: juicers only, or partners of juicers?  You know, the Juicer Adjacents.

  3. 3.

    PsiFighter37

    When I have had a moment to stop and look back on it, sometimes 2021 has felt worse than 2020. And I have no faith that 2022 will be any better. There are interesting things going on at a personal level, but on a global/macro scale…man, it feels like humanity is a bit fucked.

    Anyways – back to day drinking during the kiddo’s naptime. PF37 +3

  4. 4.

    topclimber

    Great idea: Expose my creative work to the tender ministrations of jackals. Hard pass, WG.

    ETA: I don’t really have any such writing to show. Just busting ovaries.

  8. 8.

    Geminid

    The drought has ended in central Virginia. This means I have to start mowing again, but my landlord provided a good lawn tractor that is kind of fun to use. For a while.

    And the countryside is green, and the air today is clear. It’s still Summer, but I can tell Fall is not far off.

  10. 10.

    Mary G

    BEST NEWS OF ALL!!

    ?????????‍♂️??‍♀️????? All the emojis!!!

    The teen has just had his second shot!!!

    He is even speaking to me as he feels no effects yet. Tomorrow will probably be different

    ETA: We also had rain, or a heavy drizzle, but there was water dripping off the roof, a very welcome sight.
    Something to Celebrate! 8 Something to Celebrate! 1
    Open Thread: 1 Open Thread: 4
    Something to Celebrate! 3 Something to Celebrate! 5

  11. 11.

    frosty

    @PsiFighter37:  When the kiddo was a toddler, I was working at home one day a week . I figured I could get a lot done while he was napping… well, no. I ended up napping when he did. Couldn’t stay awake to crack a beer!

  14. 14.

    Mary G

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: It was like pulling teeth, but threats did it. It’s a good lesson for him; he’s always been able to charm his way through trouble, but he’s not a cute little boy anymore.

  17. 17.

    MomSense

    This is great news!  We had our 154th family reunion today half in person and half zoom. I was so worried the wifi wouldn’t reach the barn but it did!!

  21. 21.

    MoCaAce

    I can smell things again!

    I have had a minor breakthrough COVID case for the past several days (Thanks A-hole antivax coworkers).  Then on Monday, at the height of the tomato and pepper harvest, I found I couldn’t smell any of the fresh herbs in the garden.  This morning I woke up and my sinuses felt relatively normal so I rushed out to the garden to find that I can smell dill and cilantro again!!!  I really gotta huff the stuff but it’s an improvement.  I had a few family members lose their sense of smell for months.  Vaccines rock!

  24. 24.

    smith

    @Mary G:  Hooray for sticks when carrots just won’t do.

    Another example: It looks like we will have a third straight day of 1M+ vaccinations today. If FDA does indeed fully approve the Pfizer vax next week, the mandate sticks should start coming down hot and heavy. That, plus the existential fear that seems to have finally penetrated at least some of the mush brains among us, should make things start looking up, hopefully before the cold weather sets in.

  30. 30.

    neabinorb

    I would like to submit artwork for consideration, but I’m not sure I really understand the process.

  32. 32.

    brendancalling

    Good things: I’m back in Montreal for three days with my kid. Last night we wound up seeing some swing jazz (with dancing) for free outside. Tonight, dinner in Chinatown. I love this city.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A good thing… I managed to get some last minute pre-surgery lab work done last night in spite of the fact that the hospital couldn’t find the orders for it. Does that count?

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: I am making stuffed peppers as we speak, with poblano and anaheim peppers, and I will make that a few times before the end of the pepper season.  I do a lot of stir fry, also, while peppers are in season.

    I do freeze whatever I am able to use.  Some people cut them up and freeze them.  I have always frozen them whole.

    I have serrano, jalapeno, crimson lee, poblano and anaheim.  Maybe another one I can’t think of at the moment.  This year i might try cutting some up and see how that goes.  But mostly whole.

  41. 41.

    Catherine D.

    @WaterGirl: I freeze all peppers whole as well. And tomatoes and tomatillos too. As many as I can, because they’re so good in the winter.

  42. 42.

    MoCaAce

    @WaterGirl:

    At the end of the year I take all my leftover hot peppers, halve them, and put them in the smoker for about six hours.  Then pop them in the dehydrator until crispy.  Grind them up in the food processor* and you have the best chipotle pepper flakes you have ever tasted.  The smokey heat is amazing in chili and all manner of Mexican foods.

    *outside, wearing goggles and latex gloves… learned the hard way!

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    Some of the comments on this tweet sound like they could be from jackals:

    Just in: Ellis Park officials tell Eyewitness News a race horse bucked its rider and escaped the track before the first race this afternoon. It traveled along US-41 before the owner managed to rescue it at the Evansville Water Department. pic.twitter.com/YWbaklhDaO— Blake Sandlin (@BlakeSandlin) August 21, 2021

    They had already made the ones I thought of, anyway.

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @Yutsano: I agree with whoever said you should get a second opinion on the spicy food stuff.  That could be a real thing that you should pay attention to, or it could just be the doctor talking out of his behind.

    The nurse who gave me my vaccine told me not to take advil, etc, even though the freaking TV they had running with CDC info said just don’t take those ahead of time.

    It’s worth checking.  it’s worth giving up spicy food if you need to, but it’s not worth it if it’s someone who is flying by the seat of their pants because they don’t like spicy food.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: That’s probably 1/10 of the peppers I will get.  Maybe less.  I really need to learn to plant fewer peppers, but I LOVE peppers and they are beautiful.  (To me.)

    So I cook with the and freeze them and share them with people who don’t have as much success with peppers as I do.  :-)

  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    Something else good:

    On Jan 22, @POTUS signed an EO directing @USDA to revise the Thrifty Food Plan to better reflect the modern costs of a healthy diet.

    On Aug 16, the Dept completed its review and released the first TFP updates in 45 years – a huge win against hunger.

    /1https://t.co/DLGuj0hcJP

    — Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) August 17, 2021

    (via RepDonBeyer)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  63. 63.

    otmar

    Good News: I’m on vacation again. Greek island. 20 days. Having a great time on the beach and the archery range.

  64. 64.

    sab

    @WaterGirl: I dip them in boiling water so the skins slide off. Then I space them out on a cookie tray and freeze them (to keep them from freezing together.) Once they are frozen I put them all in a plastic bag together in the freezer. Freezing screws up the texture so you can only use them in cooking.

  67. 67.

    Scout211

    @sab:

    I just make marinara sauce and freeze the sauce in quart freezer containers. I had no luck trying to freeze just the tomatoes. They had no flavor after thawing.   I do freeze chopped peppers, though. That seems to work for me.

  69. 69.

    Jeffro

    Good news: thanks to Facebook and Fox News, my mom is now an expert on all things Afghanistan, isn’t that amazing?  Apparently President Biden is a huge failure and trumpov himself used to personally machine-gun Taliban troops in his spare time.

    //

    Ok, seriously, good news: the media here in VA/DC wanted to try and stir shit up about UVA disenrolling 230 or so students for not getting vaccinated (the due date for this was 7/1; disenrollment happened this week).  The response locally and on social media is overwhelmingly pro-UVA.  Woot!

  72. 72.

    Starboard Tack

    I went to the eye doctor yesterday and the uveitis in my retinas has been quiet for a year with no treatment, so he’s finally ok with me having vitrectomy in my left eye. Looking forward to seeing better, not looking forward to more eye surgery.

  76. 76.

    Catherine D.

    @WaterGirl: I put them whole on a tray in the freezer. Once they’re hard, I vacuum seal them in portions I’m likely to use. When I want tomatoes, i pour boiling water over them to slip the skins off. Let them thaw a bit if you want to seed them, cut, and scoop the seeds out with your fingers. Seeds don’t bother me, so I usually skip that part.

    I mostly cook with them, but diced, salted a tad, drained, and brought to room temp, they have better flavor in a winter guacamole than greenhouse ‘maters.

  77. 77.

    Catherine D.

    @Catherine D.: Lost my edit window – I freeze Romas and paste tomatoes, not beefsteak, etc. The cherry tomatoes are never around long enough to freeze.

  78. 78.

    Ajabu

    @Gin & Tonic:

    when I was young and single I didn’t live in Montreal but was there frequently performing at the Black Bottom. I always loved that city!

  80. 80.

    Mousebumples

    Good news – my daughter turns 2 tomorrow!

    Other potentially good news – requested a work donation match for the Voces De Frontera money from a few months ago. Still waiting to hear back (the company only has $X to match company wide), but i tried to talk up their diversity and inclusion focus. I expect any company donation will be to the non political side, but helping Voces help immigrants and refugees is a greater good kind of help. ?

  81. 81.

    JoyceH

    I’m a writer and I’m (virtually) in your midst, but I don’t quite understand what these In Your Midst posts entail.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    I have big plans for the next three years! Crazy time frame for me as the last four years I have not had plans generally for three weeks. Plans:

    1) look for a visiting position for teaching next year anywhere, just get out of my current place which as Nikole Hanna Jones would say, tolerates me rather than celebrates me
    2) by Sept. 15, 2022 apply for a full year teaching/research Fulbright (really anywhere, but I am waiting a year because I may have the perfect one for me lined up)
    3) learn a new language, because Fulbright
    4) if I get the Fulbright, sell my house in the summer of 2023, and maybe get a condo or just put all my crap in a storage unit
    5) I want to roll my house sale money over into farmable land that I can let to a young farming family, probably in upstate NY. Anyone know of an organization that can make that connection?

    Either all that or I will take a dirt nap

  83. 83.

    Yutsano

    @WaterGirl:  I’m not interested in the spurting ulcer breaking open again! Having said that, I’ve had several spicy things including the Korean ramen* yesterday and my poop this morning was a solid brown. If it had been black or with black tar-like stuff that’s a problem!

    *the mild was a lie. It was Korean mild. Not white people mild.

  84. 84.

    Ajabu

    The Black Bottom was a jazz club owned by Charles Burke. He had an advertising poster in the window of himself, naked from behind, playing an upright bass with the caption “they’ll be jazz at the black bottom tonight”.

    ahead of his time was Mr. Burke…

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @JoyceH: Check out Artists in Our Midst – in the sidebar under Featuring to see what we’ve been doing for folks who create art, or music, or soap or whatever.

    The Writers in our Midst series will be different, of course.  You could talk about just one of your books or all of your books or about the characters that have been in several books, or whatever.

    Just a few ideas off the top of my head.  It can be whatever you want it to be.  Just trying to feature some of the talent we have on Balloon Juice.

  87. 87.

    Immanentize

    @WaterGirl: what do you mean by “writer?” I do that for part of my living, but I think people would not be interested. ? Maybe some day we could do a “current research” thread….

    Eta I write, but I’m no artist!

  88. 88.

    Immanentize

    @WaterGirl: true, in fact Fulbrights in teaching and research are decidedly for senior scholars. The old one semester research fellowships are still for new scholars.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: I did not know that about Fulbright.

    How does the Immp feel about your plans?

    P.S. Things change so fast… just a year or so ago you were thinking the big change might be getting another kitty.

  91. 91.

    Immanentize

    @WaterGirl: Actually, maybe I should check in with MomSense regarding land in Maine. She seems like she has those kinds of contacts?

    — I was inspired by looking at the new census map and seeing where the areas of population decline were. So much of upstate NY (my home grounds), some western MA, most of Maine but the coast towns.

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @Immanentize: Wow.  Big changes!  Hoping your dreams come true.

    One of my former bosses retired in his late ’50s, bought a sailboat, and sailed around the Caribbean with his family for at least a couple of years.   Had a great time.

    Live your dreams when you can!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: There are a variety of Fulbright grants/scholarships, some for those just finishing school, others for mid-career professionals.

  96. 96.

    Immanentize

    @Another Scott:
    That sounds so nice. Ever read Pressig’s Lola?

    ETA also, the Immp and I are committed to the third take on our neverending cruise saga. This December.

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    @Martin:

    Is you retired or is you ain’t? Last I remember was about a month ago, when you had made the decision and were about to have the big meeting at work.

  98. 98.

    Orange is the New Red

    We spent the past week visiting in and around Charlottesville to see if we wanted to retire there.  Ended up putting in an offer on a brick Victorian house in a funky little town.  Hoping all goes well!

  99. 99.

    Madeleine

    I’ve bee out stocking up just a bit before the storm, and I just read WaterGirl’s post. I can’t find words to express how overjoyed her news from Four Directions makes me. There’s hope!!

  100. 100.

    Another Scott

    @Immanentize: I did read Lola, but I’m sorry to say I don’t remember much of it.  Unlike ZATAOMM.

    “Quality!!”

    :-)

    Both should probably go back on The List.

    Good luck on the Cruise-o-rama plans.  I’m so glad that you didn’t take my advice to try to stick out your original plans way back at the end of the Before Times!!

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  101. 101.

    sab

    Stepson went to Akron OH’s PorchRockr Music Festival and he said it was a blast. All outside so they felt pretty safe from Covid. Perfect weather (hot but not too hot for August.)

  102. 102.

    Immanentize

    @Steeplejack: no, not retired. And no big meeting at work unless I missed it? I probably have 7+ years of teaching left. Or fewer ?

    ETA MY classes start Monday!

  103. 103.

    Immanentize

    @Another Scott: crazy, huh? In the end, that cruise never sailed (March 16, 2020 — oh what a night!)

    Lola is the book in which Pressig tries to grapple with the question of what does he mean by “quality!” Is Lola, “quality?” On a boat to which he has quasi retired.

  109. 109.

    Another Scott

    @Immanentize:  D’Oh. It shows how little of Lola stuck with me!

    I think part of the reason why Zen has stuck with me is 1) I think I sat in some of the same classrooms he described at the U of C, and 2) I was a gearhead and his description of driving the sputtering motorcycle over the mountains had me going “I know, I know, this is easy!!”

    Thanks for the prompts. I’ll move it up on The List.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  111. 111.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Here’s hoping….

    A little Tom Waits:

    Tired of being the life of the party
    Change your shorts
    Change your life

    Change your life
    Change into a 9 year old Hindu boy
    Get rid of your wife

    Step Right Up

  114. 114.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Immanentize: When our son (our only child) was at the stage Immp is now, we left our jobs in Michigan and moved to Iowa. We could have stayed. Our jobs were fine. But we figured if we ever wanted to do something different, that was the time.

  115. 115.

    Suzanne

    Something going around on the internet that I don’t know about but would love to hear any informed input from this crew: I have seen assertions that, once the Pfizer vaccine has full approval from the FDA, it can be prescribed off-label and thus can legally be given to the under-12 kids.

    I have no idea if this is true, but I may call the pediatrician next week to find out.

  116. 116.

    zhena gogolia

    @Delk:

    Oh, yeah!!! Maybe they thought better of it.

    Just when I got the hang of the whole incognito window thing.

  118. 118.

    Benw

    The bad news: we are projected to be directly in the path of Henri’s landfall. The good news: we’re ordering Indian delivery tonight, so we’ll die feeling fat and happy!

  119. 119.

    sab

    @Suzanne: See Robert Sneddon earlier post today. This sounds so unhealthy ( and I have a seven year old grandchild I am worried about.

  123. 123.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne:  Dr. Peter Hotez seems to think it’s going to be a thing that will happen. And that pediatricians can write scripts for kids but it would be off-label. He thinks it’ll put peds in a tough spot. See thread for more.

    1/2 So seriously, along the lines I spoke on @AC360 with @JeromeAdamsMD: With Pfizer BioNTech approval likely next week, tens of thousands of parents will ask pediatricians to write Rx for their 9, 10, 11 yo kids. This will put pediatricians across America ?? in a tight spot— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) August 21, 2021

  127. 127.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Another thing I belatedly realized after the previous thread: you can also get to linked tweets by right-clicking on the time-(or date-)stamp and just choosing “open in new tab.” You get the block message, but once you dismiss it you’re on the new tweet.

    And the block-mo-tron is still hitting me on my Samsung phone.

  129. 129.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Immanentize: Our son was not enthusiastic about coming to Iowa for school breaks. The first time he flew into where we lived, it was in a little plane with two seats along one side and one seat along the other. But it worked out well for us!

  130. 130.

    smith

    @Suzanne:  This makes me uncomfortable because, until the whole testing process is complete, we won’t have evidence-backed guidelines on dosages for kids, especially the littler ones. Having thousands of pediatricians just making their best guess seems like a real bad idea.

  133. 133.

    Laura Too

    My second surgery in two weeks was a “success”. I’m on a soft or liquid diet for at least 6 weeks but I can dream. I am going to make tomato confit with all the little cherry tomatoes I can’t eat just yet as they are overrunning the kitchen, I think I may try the tzatziki sauce because I also have a cucumber problem and they aren’t on the list of okay food. Drove to Corning NY and Ithaca in prep for the surgery-coffee, bread, peaches, garlic…ate lots, saw lots, stayed at a wonderful house. So, yeah, I’ve only been able to catch up sporadically but have been loving OTR and all. It is such a nice touchstone to hear the voices of my familiar Jackal friends when I am under the weather. Welcome back Baud! Glad you are getting your care Mr. Ozark-now is a really tough time for that. Wave to Miki-saw the East Side comment 2 days late.

  135. 135.

    sab

    @Yarrow: Not exactly horse dewormer for people, but not far off.

    My husband and I have had previous experience with Pfizer off label. They  are not exactly responsible. Pushed an epilepsy medicine for cluster headaches, off label. Husband had to drive home with his elbows when his forearms went completely numb. Also didn’t help the headaches at all.

  138. 138.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack:

    I’m on a Mac. I have no “right-clicking.” But if I Control-click on the date, I can open an incognito window, and then I can see everything. But at the moment, like Delk, I’m able to see everything without the popup or opening an incognito window (Firefox on Macbook Pro).

    I need something to distract me from impending doom.

  146. 146.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: Trials are underway.  My recommendation is to be careful and try to be patient.

    E.g. KidCOVE at the University of Maryland (using Moderna):

    6975 participants. Phase 2/3 Trials last 14 months, started April 27.

    Trial Details

    The primary purpose of the KidCOVE Study is to test the safety and effectiveness of the study vaccine, called mRNA-1273, that may protect children between the ages of 6 months to < 12 years from getting sick if they come into contact with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

    Moderna plans to enroll this study in two parts, staggering the recruitment of three different age groups. The first age group will start in children between the ages of 6 years to less than 12 years old. The second age group, recruiting later on, will be for children between the ages of 2 years to less than 6 years old. Finally, the third, and last group to start, will be for children ages 6 months to less than 2 years old. Please be aware that it may be several months before your child’s age group and/or a site near you opens.

    I don’t know when results that would feed into an NIAID / CDC / FDA decision will be available.

    HTH a little. Hang in there. Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  149. 149.

    smith

    @Suzanne: Even if that’s the dosage being used in the clinical trials, we still have incomplete information. The final results could indicate something different. Just the fact that FDA recently required the trials to enroll more children says that there is something about the results so far that suggests we need more numbers to be sure.

  150. 150.

    Suzanne

    @sab: I am really not happy about sending my 10-year-old back to school in two weeks. And my two-year-old isn’t going A N Y W H E R E. This sucks.

  152. 152.

    zhena gogolia

    @karen marie: You wouldn’t believe the replies to our governor (Lamont) when he’s making hurricane announcements. It’s all about the fall of Kabul, for which he is apparently responsible.

  153. 153.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: Have you tried the “Desktop site” on your phone?  You’ll probably have to mess around with the scaling to make it legible, but you might at least be able to view things without the stupid Twitter popups and blocking…

    (Brave is still working fine with Twitter here on my S20+.)

    Good luck.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  156. 156.

    dnfree

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My dad’s family was from northeast Iowa, a small farming town. Whenever I would mention visiting there, my college roommate would say in a dramatic voice, “ the depths of darkest Iowa!”

    That was before politically it did join the dark side.

  157. 157.

    sab

    @sab: # 35? I have no idea what I was referring to. But I am still concerned. Tiny people only get access to vaccines when they pass with big people. Then for tiny people, dosage is a big issue. We don’t know safe dosages yet. Unsafe dosages are, by definition, unsafe. There is a reason it takes so long to get kids’ vaccines approved.

  160. 160.

    Suzanne

    @Another Scott:&nbsp: I have tried three times to enroll my kids in clinical trials. My understanding is that the FDA is requiring six months of safety data for the kids, and larger trial groups, because the evidence shows so far that kids are at less risk than adults. So it’s a cost-benefit thing, which makes sense…. But Delta has changed the profile a bit, I think.

  161. 161.

    Steeplejack

    @Another Scott:

    Yeah, “desktop site” is awful on the phone, even with jiggering the sizing. I read Twitter on my phone mainly when I’m in bed, so I’ve been using my aging Galaxy Tab S2 with 8" screen. “Desktop site” is all right, and it doesn’t get the dreaded block.

    I’ll try out Brave on the phone pretty soon. I keep hoping that someone will find a definitive solution or that Twitter will relent. I really like the Samsung browser; it is fast and has some nifty features.

  163. 163.

    Scout211

    @Suzanne:

    The FDA ordered the drug companies to expand their trial sizes because of the heart complications in teens.

    https://www.contagionlive.com/view/fda-requires-pediatric-covid-19-mrna-trials-include-younger-children

    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developers expand their ongoing pediatric clinical trials to now include children aged 5-11 years old, in order to evidence potential risk of rare adverse events including myocarditis and pericarditis, according to a report Monday.

    The requirement sent to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna includes an expectation of 3000 children from this age group included in the companies’ assessments of two-dose mRNA vaccines BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273, respectively, for the prevention of COVID-19 in children.

    Timelines shared by Pfizer and Moderna spokespersons at the time of the report indicate the former company may be able to expand its pediatric trial size in time for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) indication for children by the end of September, while the latter company would seek an EUA in late 2021 or early 2022 depending on new younger pediatric patient recruitment.

    The prevalence of myocarditis and pericarditis in younger persons vaccinated for COVID-19 is rare, yet nonetheless a point of concern for possibly expanded EUAs into pediatric populations. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month showed BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 administrations may been linked to approximately 1200 Americans experiencing either adverse event; about 500 such patients were younger than 30 years old.

  164. 164.

    sab

    @sab: @Suzanne:  My eyes are whirling in my head from fear, but when it comes down to it you have to trust the medical professionals. Not necessarily your pediatrician, who faces customer market pressure. But your local and national health departments.

    Another thing TFG fucked up. But if health professionals are wary I would be too.

  167. 167.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Still missing some shelves and towel bars that are on order, but the bathroom remodel is done! I can’t tell you how happy I am to have a fully functionality bathroom again after more than a month without one.

    Also, my contractor started on the kitchen at the end of the week. So hopefully in another 6-8 weeks the worse of the remodeling will be over.

    Best of all, I called IKEA yesterday for some cabinets that were out of stock locally. Not only were they all available from the warehouse, but they’re being delivered Monday. The IKEA sales rep was stunned, she said that never happens. Time to buy lottery tickets, and go to Vegas!

  170. 170.

    J R in WV

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    a little plane with two seats along one side and one seat along the other.

    That’s not a little plane — little planes have one seat on either side of the “aisle” …

  171. 171.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @dnfree: We lived in Waterloo, which NE Iowa too. I also had a condo in Ames, where I lived during the week. When we moved there, Iowa was a genuine swing state.

    @J R in WV: Our son was not impressed by the one he was in. When you flew out of there, the counterperson who checked you in was also the one who dragged a ladder out onto the tarmac and de-iced the plane.

  173. 173.

    Dan B

    @sab: Great to hear about fun things in Akron.  It would have been much more interesting to grow up there instead of Clearview Acres 3 miles outside Wadsworth – although the hundreds of acres of woods were fun to explore.

  174. 174.

    J R in WV

    @Dan B:

    When I was a kid, one day my dad took me out into the woods hiking around our house. Every so often he asked me which direction was our house, and I pointed at the house.

    After that hike, I was allowed to run wild in the woods on our hill. I was probably 6 or so. So mid 1950s, not like that today, is it?

    Probably half or 3/4 a mile in any given direction. But I knew which direction the house was… and of course down hill was into town.

  175. 175.

    MagdaInBlack

    @J R in WV: That’s very much like my childhood. Wonderful, wasn’t it.  80 acre farm, with probably 10 acres of timber that fronted a river.

  176. 176.

    Dan B

    @dnfree: The last time I visited my parents the plane landed in Canton Akron Airport.  The stewards must have seen something in my face because they remarked, “The last time I spent a year, one night, in Canton Akron.”  Not much happening after dark.

  178. 178.

    smith

    @J R in WV: I also had a free-range childhood. In the summer we were turned out of the house every morning and as long as we made it back for supper it was all good. It’s amazing the extent to which children now live their whole childhoods under direct adult supervision.

  180. 180.

    Dan B

    @J R in WV: We worked on Blakely Island, a large island in the San Juan’s (Salish Sea / Puget Sound island chain).  There was no ferry service so I flew regularly on five or six seat planes.  The crew came with the trucks, supplies, and construction materials on “the Barge”.  One time the crew, jocks and smart women, flew out at night.  We hit an air pocket just past the end of the runway.  Big blond Gordon grabbed the pilot’s knee in terror.  He got plenty of ribbing for that.  He also got a wife, another employee.  They laughed every minute they were together.  It seemed inevitable.  It was.

  184. 184.

    mvr

    @Immanentize: ​
    >Eta I write, but I’m no artist!

    Me too. I’m an academic philosopher. Not too entertaining until you get pretty deeply into it.​

  185. 185.

    mvr

    n@J R in WV: ​

    After that hike, I was allowed to run wild in the woods on our hill. I was probably 6 or so. So mid 1950s, not like that today, is it?

    My folks were European. In the early 60s in NJ we had a field with a woods behind our house in Mattawan. They let me roam there when I was 5 until we moved away when I turned 8. My favorite childhood house.​
     
    Went back to look at it a few years ago. House (which was not small) is double the size. No field. No woods. Subdivisions where turtles once roamed.

  187. 187.

    laura

    @Laura Too: here’s a wish for a gentle and complete recovery. I hope someone can make you an old school tender egg custard with grated nutmeg – a really nice restorative unless contra-indicated. And here’s a {{{{{HUG}}}}}. Feel better soon.

  188. 188.

    Another Scott

    Something good? This is how baseball is supposed to be played (illustrated by one team, anyway…)

    I've said all season the Brewers have won on smart baserunning. This is Washington's mistake, sure, but Wong treated that pop-up like it was a sharp drive. He in particular is a player I never want to play against. https://t.co/yOITS3VCca

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) August 21, 2021

    Wow.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  190. 190.

    Ms. Deranged in AZ

    I have some good news to share with everyone. My 87-year-old mother who refused to get vaccinated because one of my sisters, who is evangelical Christian and a fan of Trump, scared her into not getting vaccinated, got covid but is recovering now. For the first few days I really thought she was going to die but they gave her an antibody infusion and it was like a miracle.   She has no fever and is eating, getting up and moving around.  All good signs.

  192. 192.

    Laura Too

    @laura: Thank you, that sounds wonderful! I’ll google a recipe, it can’t be that hard. :) And thanks for the hugs, felt all the way over here!

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