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All of my Oklahoma family and many acquaintances/neighbors have received at least one shot. None have reported any negative reaction to the shot or after symptoms. However, my Malibu-based author, an athletic 60-something who received her first shot yesterday, says she has a sore shoulder and was nauseous for several hours.
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Financial Times
Italy halts delivery of AstraZeneca jabs to Australia after EU targets missed
SAM FLEMING AND JIM BRUNSDEN BRUSSELS MILES JOHNSON — ROME
Italy has blocked a shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine destined for Australia, in the first intervention since the EU introduced new rules over the shipment of vaccines outside the bloc.
Rome stopped the export of 250,000 doses of the vaccine, officials said. Italy notified Brussels of its move at the end of last week under the EU’s vaccine export transparency regime.
The European Commission had the power to object to the Italian decision and did not, officials said.
The move threatens to inflame global tensions over vaccine procurement after EU allies objected to the introduction of its export regime. Under the controversial system announced by the commission at the end of January, EUbased vaccine manufacturers must seek authorisation from the national government where their Covid-19 vaccine is produced before exporting it out of the EU. The scheme formed part of Brussels’ response to an admission by Astra-Zeneca that it would miss targets for vaccine delivery to the EU, stoking suspicions in the bloc that production had been shipped elsewhere.
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The Friday (3/5/21) afternoon numbers:Originally posted by Halfmiler2 View Post
Global: 115.691 million cases & 2,568K cases
The USA: 29.130 million cases & 526K cases
NY State: 1,671K cases & 47,565 cases
NYC only: 740K cases & 29,640 cases
NJ State: 716K cases & 23,521 cases
Bergen: 70,601 cases & 2,632 cases
Global numbers exclude China (89.9K cases, 4.6K deaths) which has reported almost nothing in 10 months.
NJ: 3,347 new cases, 35 new confirmed cases
NJ has 1,881 hospitalizations.
The Rt for NJ rose to 1.01.
2.3 million NJ vaccine shots - 266K in Bergen
1.5 million first shots & 0.8 million second shots
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US cases down 8% rolling average over last week after a short spike. Deaths down 18% and positivity rate below 5.
Florida cases down 9%. Deaths down 1.8%. positivity rate 7.7Comment
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Yes, the US case rate continues to go down. The little spike was around 27-28 February. However, the decline in cases is much less steep now than it was back in January up until that spike.Originally posted by NotDutra5 View Post
dCase/dt is still negative, but d2Case/dt2 has turned positive, which is not so good.Comment
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Warning from Fauci: "We are starting to plateau" at "about 60-70,000 cases a day. When you have that much viral activity in a plateau, it almost invariably means that you are at risk for another spike." Cases are up 9% in many countries after similar plateaus. He fears we're next
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EU reportedly seeks access to U.S. produced AstraZeneca vaccines
The European Union will urge the United States to permit the export of millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine as it scrambles to bridge supply shortfalls, the Financial Times reported.
The 27-nation EU also wants Washington to ensure the free flow of shipments of crucial vaccine ingredients needed in European production, the FT report on Saturday said.
“We trust that we can work together with the U.S. to ensure that vaccines produced or bottled in the U.S. for the fulfilment of vaccine producers’ contractual obligations with the EU will be fully honoured,” the FT quoted the European Commission as saying.
EU countries started inoculations at the end of December, but are moving at a far slower pace than other rich nations, including former member Britain and the United States.
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More Contagious Variant Is Spreading Fast in U.S., Even as Overall Cases Level Off
By Lauren Leatherby and Scott ReinhardMarch 6, 2021
As U.S. coronavirus cases remain at a low not seen since October, a more contagious variant first reported in the United Kingdom has likely grown to account for more than 20 percent of new U.S. cases as of this week, according to an analysis of data from Helix, a lab testing company.
There is not yet enough genomic sequencing — the process required to screen positive coronavirus samples for variants — to be certain of how widely that variant, known as B.1.1.7, is spreading. But data suggests its share of total cases is growing at a trajectory similar to that seen in countries where it has fueled surges.
Still, experts note that low total case counts in states with a high share of B.1.1.7 are an encouraging sign. It remains to be seen, they say, whether the variant will cause a significant resurgence here or whether widespread vaccinations and virus-control measures can keep case counts at bay.
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Taiwan reports 10th COVID-19 death, 7 new imported cases
The patient who died had contracted COVID-19 last December in Myanmar, where he was working, and he returned to Taiwan Feb. 7 on a medical charter flight, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung, who heads the CECC, said at a press briefing.
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U.S. Government Scientists Skeptical of One-Shot Regimen for Pfizer, Moderna Covid Vaccines
WASHINGTON—U.S. government scientists are pushing back against calls for one-dose regimens for two Covid-19 vaccines designed to be administered with two shots, saying there isn’t enough evidence that a single dose provides long-term protection.
“It is essential that these vaccines be used as authorized by FDA in order to prevent Covid-19 and related hospitalizations and death,” Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s center that oversees vaccines, told The Wall Street Journal.
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Meanwhile...the Russians are up to their usual antics.
Russian Disinformation Campaign Aims to Undermine Confidence in Pfizer, Other Covid-19 Vaccines, U.S. Officials Say
Websites linked to Russian intelligence services publish false information questioning vaccines’ safety, efficacy
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Scientists underestimated the coronavirus — and are racing to keep up with evolution
Variants of the virus have become a global preoccupation -- and a potential threat to vaccines
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How One Firm Put an ‘Extraordinary Burden’ on the U.S.’s Troubled Stockpile
The shortage of lifesaving medical equipment last year was a searing example of the government’s failed coronavirus response. As health workers resorted to wearing trash bags, one Maryland company profited by selling anthrax vaccines to the country’s emergency reserve.
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March 9th marks the anniversary of my daily reporting of COVID-19 numbers. On 3/9/20, I reported that there were 6 NJ cases (3 in Bergen County) and no deaths.Originally posted by Halfmiler2 View Post
In the early going, it was pretty easy as I could pretty much get all the numbers from one source. As time has gone on, it is much more complicated: I now generally need to look four different places and the timing of the updated info varies among them. It has become increasingly time consuming.
I also think that the daily changes are less important than they were in the early going.
Perhaps recovering from COVID-19 was the last straw. I have decided to shift to weekly reports. Although I would prefer to do it by calendar weeks, the weekend sources are too sporadic, so I am going to start out doing the updates on Mondays. I hope to offer some rolling 7-day averages.
it certainly has been an interesting year.Comment
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