Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Borrowed Time #poetry #perspective

penned in moon dust

“Just living,” she frowned at the wrinkles etching her face.

“There’s no time left,” he drew a circle in the sand.

Both had seen so many sunsets they seemed to watch this one as if it were their last.

“You have to put in the numbers,” a little boy ran up with a stick.

The elderly couple watched as the boy made the circle into a clock.

“We still have a few more hours to play.” A little girl tried to sound very grown up through her lisp.

“Let’s build a castle with a moat.” Another grandchild had her shovel and bucket in tow.

“What a beautiful way to watch the sunset.” The grandmother’s face lit up like the dawn as the weight of time disappeared.

“Yes – together…” He lovingly grabbed her hand.

We live in times of uncertainty. Are we alone in this? No! We are not the…

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America’s Vaccine Rollout Is Already a Disaster – (AKA: Lack of Presidential leadership could mean millions of shots will have to be tossed)

Though refrigeration capacity varies from location to location, vaccines are only cleared for 30 days of storage in the most common units (including those in which they have been shipped). States have been rushing to build out their storage capacity, but have been warned of monthslong waits for ultracold freezers that could extend shelf life to about six months. That means that, in many places, this first batch of vaccine is set to expire in late January, around the time Joe Biden, who has been criticizing the rollout and promising to accelerate it, is set to take office. Presumably, the American pace will accelerate somewhat even before then. But on the current pace, by that point about 6 million Americans — perhaps 10 million — would have been vaccinated. And, depending on local bureaucracy and storage capacity, perhaps many million doses will be set to expire. Source: America’s Vaccine Rollout Is Already a Disaster

Covid vaccine: West Virginia mistakenly gives 42 people Regeneron IV Covid treatment instead of vaccine shot

The state’s National Guard said 42 people received the treatment, which is given intravenously, at a vaccination clinic staffed by the Boone County Health Department. The National Guard said it learned of the error on Wednesday.

Everyone who received the antibody treatment instead of the vaccine, which is given via a shot in the arm, have been contacted, Julie Miller, an administrator for the Boone County Health Department, told CNBC by email. She added that “we do not believe there is any risk of harm.”

Source: Covid vaccine: West Virginia mistakenly gives 42 people Regeneron IV Covid treatment instead of vaccine shot

Doctors criticize UK health officials for changing Pfizer Covid vaccine plan (Boris and gang a special kind of stupid – God save England because Boris cannot)

  • Doctors in the U.K. are pushing back on the decision to delay administering the second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine later than the three week period studied in clinical trials.
  • The U.K. on Wednesday said it would prioritize giving as many people their first dose of vaccine as quickly as possible, which could delay providing second dose beyond what’s recommended.
  • U.K. health officials said the decision would “ensure that more at-risk people are able to get meaningful protection from a vaccine in the coming weeks and months.”

Source: Doctors criticize UK health officials for changing Pfizer Covid vaccine plan

Why Covid-19 Vaccines Take a While to Kick In – The New York Times

Reporting that a half-vaccinated person has Covid-19 is “really the equivalent of saying someone went outside in the middle of a rainstorm without an umbrella and got wet,” said Dr. Taison Bell, a critical care physician at the University of Virginia. Dr. Bell received his first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine on Dec. 15, and will be getting his second shot soon.

Data from Pfizer’s clinical trials suggests the vaccine might start safeguarding its recipients from disease around one or two weeks after the first injection. A second jab of mRNA, delivered three weeks after the first, helps immune cells commit the virus’s most prominent features to memory, clinching the protective process.

For Osie the rescue cat, 2020 was just perfect | CBC News

Once upon a time, all the way back in 2019, a little black and white cat was one of 347 rescued from a single, squalid two-bedroom Toronto apartment. Her rescuers wore hazmat suits due to the poor air quality inside. “There were cats everywhere,” a city official said as the story hit the news. The last cat saved, possibly a kitten, was almost left behind until a wee squeak revealed their hiding spot: a narrow gap between the fridge and the wall. But this, dear reader, is a happy story. Because in 2020, amid a global pandemic that’s seen Torontonians and millions around the world urged to stay home, that little black and white cat has a new home and a name: Osie. And Osie, still smaller than she maybe should be and more than a little timid, has become the best thing of her human Beverly Leung’s year.

Source: For Osie the rescue cat, 2020 was just perfect | CBC News

Bodies pile up, patient care falters as COVID-19 slams L.A. – Los Angeles Times

“No one would believe this is in the United States,” said Scott Byington, a critical care nurse at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. “Everyone is doing what they can do. It’s not that anybody is slacking. It’s just that it’s too overwhelming for everyone.” Source: Bodies pile up, patient care falters as COVID-19 slams L.A. – Los Angeles Times