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By Hal Brown
I am trying not to drown myself in pessimism. I am really more hopeful about the future than I was before the promising vaccine news was announced, and certainly before Joe Biden’s win was established. Perhaps my feelings are exacerbated by the fact that I have nobody to spend Thanksgiving with. I am willing to own this. Still, there has been several items in the news which are making me feel worse than I would otherwise.
The first bad news today is how many people are getting together for large Thanksgiving gatherings, many flying to do so. These are predicted to be super spreader events.
The second bad Covid news was the Supreme Court ruling which basically says that science deniers and those who believe God will protect them from a horrible disease should be protected from a government which is trying to protect them, and the general public who they may infect, after they attend super spreader religious services.
Gorsuch’s opinion, below, is not a satire from Onion. He compares a religious service where people are packed together with going into a bicycle report shop or buying a bottle of wine.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote his own concurrence -- joined by no other justice -- to explain his vote.
He said that other businesses such as bicycle repair shops, did not have similar restrictions.
"So, at least according to the Governor, it may be unsafe to go to church, but it is always fine to pick up another bottle of wine" or "shop for a new bike," Gorsuch wrote.
CNN
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The third bad news is about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine.
Of the two vaccines which everyone was hoping could be rolled out soon and begin to end the pandemic, the ones from AstraZeneca and Moderna, the former was the one that didn't need to be kept at extremely low temperatures.
I am not a medical researcher, let alone a physician, but I do not understand how the following could have happened:
DID RESEARCHERS MEAN TO GIVE A HALF DOSE?
Before they begin their research, scientists spell out all the steps they are taking, and how they will analyze the results. Any deviation from that protocol can put the results in question.
In a statement Wednesday, Oxford University said some of the vials used in the trial didn't have the right concentration of vaccine so some volunteers got a half dose. The university said that it discussed the problem with regulators, and agreed to complete the late stage trial with two groups. The manufacturing problem has been corrected, according to the statement. Ref.
This would seem to be the type of mistake one would expect from the worst student in a high school chemistry class.
I have to include a football Covid bad news story since watching games is such a Thanksgiving Day tradition. This is that some members the Baltimore Ravens tested positive prior to the big Thanksgiving Day game with the Pittsburg Steelers. This led to the game being postponed. Making matters worse some of the players have been making the news with their tweets decrying this decision. Several college games have also been cancelled.
Not to be a complete Denny Downer, there is good Covid news. We will soon have a vaccine regardless of this setback and saliva testing is proving to be an effective way to screen for the virus.
There is major very good Covid news which is not directly connected to actual scientific advances but obviously is related to belief in science: Joe Biden will be our new president.