All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine: Why it’s different – Vox

While the efficacy outcome falls short of the 95 percent preliminary result recently reported by both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, the result is still very promising. At around $3 to $4 per dose, the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot is also the cheapest of the three options and should be easier to distribute globally (since it can be stored in regular refrigerators). That’s why lower-income countries around the world have been pre-purchasing access.

AstraZeneca said the company has the capacity to supply 3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, however, can be stored in a normal refrigerator for at least six months.

That’s why the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has become the leading contender lower-income countries are relying on to end their epidemics. According to Bloomberg, the shot “accounts for more than 40% of the supplies” going to low- and middle-income countries.

“[T]he vaccine’s simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval,” said Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, in a statement.

Source: AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine: Why it’s different – Vox

Why Even A Small Thanksgiving Is Dangerous | FiveThirtyEight

Imagine a Thanksgiving dinner with 10 people. Unless all those people have been in strict quarantine for a couple of weeks, you have no way of knowing they’re COVID-19-free. Even getting a pre-dinner test isn’t a great way to ensure you’re not contagious, experts told me, because the results are only a snapshot of a moment in time. “You could test negative today and be infectious tonight, with no symptoms until tomorrow morning,” said Donald Milton, a professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Maryland.

How likely is it one of those 10 people is infected? That depends on where you are. Some states are estimated to have as much as an 80 percent chance of having someone with COVID-19 attend a 10-person gathering. But even if there’s a far lower chance at your individual dinner, the risk to the community of a bunch of dinners quickly becomes clear.

Source: Why Even A Small Thanksgiving Is Dangerous | FiveThirtyEight

Lost Villages

The bad dream still nags – time to go #45.

The Weekly Sift

No Sift next week. The next new articles will appear on December 7.

I spent all weekend triple checking that there is *not* a lost, enchanted village in Pennsylvania with 90,000 Trump voters that we forgot to count.

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman

This week’s featured post is “Can I Get Over Donald Trump?

This week everybody was still talking about the loser of the presidential election

Today we’ll get a reading on how long it’s going to take to quell the Trump coup. Michigan’s four member election board meets today to certify the election results saying that Biden won. One of the two Republican members says he’ll vote against certification until an audit is done, and if the other Republican agrees, the courts will have to step in.

The problem with [the board member’s] request, which mirrors that of the RNC and the Michigan Republican…

View original post 2,323 more words

Mashed Cauliflower

Nourish

This recipe is similar to mashed potatoes, only fluffier, lighter, and perfect for non-potato fans like Julia. It’s an excellent dish to bring to food-centric celebrations like Thanksgiving as well.

STEP ONE – Preparations

  1. Get out a large pot, a steamer, and a colander.
  2. Get out a small glass measuring cup and a medium bowl.
  3. Set up a food processor or blender.

STEP TWO – Steam the Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower
3-4 cloves of garlic

Instructions:

  1. Add an inch of water to the pot with the steamer and bring to a boil.
  2. Wash the cauliflower and cut off all the florets.
  3. Peel the garlic.
  4. Add the cauliflower and garlic to the steamer basket and steam for about 5 minutes until it’s tender.
  5. Drain the cauliflower and garlic in the colander and add them to the food processor or blender.

STEP THREE – Finish the Dish

Ingredients:

1…

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On the front lines of COVID, nurses confront life and death | Texas | elpasoinc.com

Scott described what it’s like to work the COVID-19 floor day in, day out:

“At every patient’s door, you take your gloves off and sanitize your hands. Then you take off your face shield and sanitize your hands. Then you pull the mask off without touching the mask. You sanitize your hands again. You put new gloves on and then take off your gown. You sanitize your hands. Then you put your other mask on (the one for outside the room) then wash your hands with soap and water.

I’ve never in my life experienced something like this. It’s crazy. It’s hard and it’s tiring. It’s exhausting.

Everybody is tired. You have marks on your face from the mask. You take your PPE off and two minutes later you have to put it all on again. It takes so long to make rounds. That is what people don’t understand. The care they are getting… when you have so many people and you have nurses taking care of more patients than they should have to…

There’s times… we’ve had a few patients pass and it’s exhausting. It’s hard. You have these people — you know they are passing and you have to tell their family over the phone. You form a bond with patients. They are like your family. It’s just more emotional. It’s really hard.

The drive home is horrible. You go through your whole day. Was my mask on right? Did I do everything I needed to do? You go through everything, every detail. You do rounds on four patients and you have to think — did I turn them? Did I make sure he had water? There are times when I would be at the end of the shift, thinking, where is my face shield? Did I touch that? You go back through every step. That drive home is horrible.

Once you get home, you walk in the door. There are so many steps. You take off your clothes. You take off your shoes. Before I can greet my kids or say hi to my partner, you have to run upstairs and take a shower. My kids think, ‘Mom didn’t even want to give me a hug.’

You had a rough day. You have those bad days and you try not to take that home but it’s really hard.

Even more so now.”

Source: On the front lines of COVID, nurses confront life and death | Texas | elpasoinc.com

15 members of north Texas family get COVID-19 after small birthday party | WAVY.com

She says her family didn’t believe gathering with family was high-risk and that they’d all grown tired of not seeing each other as regularly as they normally do.

Now, the family wants to get the message out to others: even if your family gatherings feel safe, it doesn’t mean they are. They’ve appeared in a video for the City of Arlington, expressing their regret for not listening to safety recommendations.

“Now I’m in the hospital,” Enriqueta says sadly. “And I can’t see my family.”

Alexa ends the video by urging residents: “Please, don’t be like my family and ignore the CDC guidelines. By staying apart, we can fight this virus together. The cure starts and ends with you.”

Source: 15 members of north Texas family get COVID-19 after small birthday party | WAVY.com

Open Thread | PLEASE Use Common Sense….STAY HOME! | 3CHICSPOLITICO

I must admit- I haven’t been this terrified since the beginning of the pandemic. I get the notifications, telling me how many COVID cases there are in my state, and I grow more frightened everyday. I don’t go out. My gauntlet is to get to and from work COVID- free. I don’t understand people who think that they have time for anything else. It makes no sense. We have over a quarter million people who have DIED from this disease. Why are you even thinking about Thanksgiving? You go there this week, and it’s likely you will be attending a funeral for Christmas. Protect yourself. Protect those you love. No big celebrations. It can wait until 2021. Source: Open Thread | PLEASE Use Common Sense….STAY HOME! | 3CHICSPOLITICO