Got my sticker, got my card. Where’s my chip?
Springtime for Blaska
winter for COVID and shutdowns!
The indentured servants received their Fauci ouchie on February 17 at SSM headquarters off Madison’s Beltline. Went smooth as a baby’s bottom. No big lines, no waiting. Didn’t even feel it and your genial host is a big hypodermic-syringe baby.
We’re old enough to remember doctors’ house calls. Dr. Behrend came out to our farm in rural Sun Prairie with his black leather doctor’s bag. To a 5-year-old, that needle looked big enough to darn socks. Doc yielded to the little coward’s shrieks and announced that his young patient was allergic to penicillin and administered a pill. To this day, Blaska’s medical charts read “Allergies: penicillin.”
We got the Moderna version, mint chocolate flavor. Due for the booster on March 17, St. Paddy’s Day. Green beer chaser. Even after one dose, the Pfizer vaccine is 85% effective (as opposed to 95% after two) and Moderna is 80% effective (as opposed to 94% after two). (Source here.)
So far, so good, although the head groundskeeper hereabouts still can’t play the piano.
We are among the 16.4% of Wisconsin receiving the coronavirus vaccine (slightly better than the nation’s 15%) — half of which have had both doses.
Weird science
Viruses, New York Times science writer Carl Zimmer writes, “are deeply weird.”
The coronavirus is so tiny that 10 trillion of them weigh less than a single raindrop. They are, best as we can understand, scraps of genetic information that invade cells and change their nature. Speaking of trillions, that’s how many viruses exist. They can invade plants, animals, even bacteria. When they do the latter they are called phages.
“In the ocean, phages invade microbe hosts 100 billion trillion times a second. They killed to 40% of bacteria in the world’s oceans every day. Out of those shredded bacteria spill billions of tons of carbon for other marine creatures to feast on. — “Secret life of a coronavirus.”
In the human gut live 21,000 species of phages, Mr. Zimmer reports. Seems no limit to the infinitely small and the immeasurably huge. That mankind can engineer these things is mind-blowing.
Life is returning to normal
Today we have three kinds of dope going into arms — only one year after this nonsense began. They said it couldn’t be done. (You know who “they” are!) The seven-day rolling average of confirmed new COVID-19 cases dropped some 70% in the last six weeks.
The United States is vaccinating 1.8 million arms a day, now. We have inoculated 50.7 million people against COVID-19. Predictions are for 130 million by the end of this month (March 2021). Those vaccines are 95% effective at preventing symptomatic illness, and close to 100% against hospitalization and/or death.
Add to that the natural immunity acquired by 20 million recovered victims and we’re getting damned close to herd immunity. Says NY Times columnist Ross Douthat:
I am not vested with Biden’s authority or Fauci’s expertise, but I can read trend lines and vaccine studies, and at this moment both their takes look way too pessimistic. … a combination of infections and vaccinations could deliver us into the herd-immunity range by July.
We’re having breakfast with old friends this week in person instead of via Zoom. But on-line will remain a greater part of our life, it says here. We’re going to continue meeting via Zoom every other week with friends who live farther out — even in other states. Would not surprise us if government and business continue some of their meetings virtually. Going forward, how many of us will agree to sit packed in small spaces with other potential disease carriers?
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Let’s hear no more whining about “Big Pharma” from the likes of Elizabeth Warren. Let’s give some credit to Trump/Pence’s Warp Speed. And let’s enjoy life.
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
For the first time since this beast from hell reared its head, I see light at the end of the tunnel. This is a year that I think none of us will ever forget. We’ve all been scarred to varying degrees, but hopefully will emerge stronger.
I think our way of life will change to a certain extent, but we also have to live. Zoom meetings aren’t the same as meeting friends in person. Just look at the large number of people suffering from loneliness, depression, substance abuse, etc.
I hope people will take away good practices from this. Wash your paws, stay home when sick, take care of your health, etc.
“Let’s hear no more whining about “Big Pharma” from the likes of Elizabeth Warren. Let’s give some credit to Trump/Pence’s Warp Speed. And let’s enjoy life.”
Thank God for the scientists! My issue with Big Pharm is the amount of lobbying dollars being pumped into lawmakers’ hands. Then ask yourself why drug prices are so high and why Big Pharm took out anti-Trump ads and it makes sense.
Yes, thank you Mr. Trump for Operation Warp Speed. Doubtful this would have been accomplished under Biden.
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Yep, the Left will continue touting the “cure” under Biden’s half-opened eyes, and forgetting who actually “Trumped” the predicted pessimistic future of the disease MSM proclaimed in early 2020. As well as Trumps other accomplishments, RE: jobs, retirement accounts that grew big-time, standard-of-living gains -et al. So far life is good under The Donald’s legacy -If only we can keep the Left from screwin’ the pooch…
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We had our second shot (Pfizer) last week. The process, and procedure through our local clinic (shout out to Prevea) were simple and almost painless, and we had no side effects.
But to address the two comments above; former president trump claimed, no less than 40 times, that coronavirus would be gone looooong ago, ” …when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done” (djt, 2-26-2020). Well that 15 turned into 500,000+ deaths, guys.
Give credit where credit is due, to the folks that know what they are talking about, warned us repeatedly, developed the vaccines, and are now putting it in our arms, and place blame on those that ignored and intentionally played down the seriousness of the virus.
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Y’all sure are excited about volunteering as a lab rat for an *experimental biological agent* and why are hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Ivermectin severely restricted in first world countries while highly effective in third world countries?
I urge those considering the so-called vaccine to read this synopsis article first.
“As part of this experimental status, Dr. Gold explained, “If you take the vaccine, you’re being enrolled in a pharmocol vigilance tracking system. It means you have enrolled yourself in a medical trial … most people are not aware that that’s what they’re doing. This pharmocol vigilance tracking system tracks you for (at least) two years, it’s set up by the Department of Defense, it was handed off to Oracle and Google to put the data together. How is it that people want to sign up for this system on an experimental (biological agent)?” she asked.”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/frontline-doctors-experimental-vaccines-not-safer-than-covid-19
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I guy gets hit by a bus and dies. Another guy gets shot in the head and dies.
One thing they have in common is a microscopic fragment of dead covid virus floating around their blood stream so naturally their cause of death is listed due to covid-19.
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Glad you all are getting vaccinated, its coming, as sure as the seasons will change. Half of our household is vaccinated fully. Now that i am considered a senior citizen someday i will qualify for the shot.
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At least nobody is talking about the Orwellian “new normal,” The old normal of January, 2020, when any adult who wanted a job could have one…that’s OK by me.
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*Experimental biological agents* not vaccines. A bit more honesty would be nice.
Emergency Use Approval (EUA). They represent a departure from traditional vaccines in that they do not use any part of the suspected pathogen to stimulate the immune system, but rather, nucleoside modified RNA, from which Moderna drew its name.
Dr. Christian Perrone, head of Infectious Disease at Hopital de Garches in France, stated in a complaint filed in Europe:
“The first vaccines they are offering us are not vaccines. They are gene therapy products. They…inject nucleic acids that will cause our own cells to produce elements of the virus.”
The death rate following COVID mRNA vaccination is much higher than that following influenza vaccination.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/adverse-incident-reports-show-966-deaths-following-vaccination-for-covid-19_3723384.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-03-06-4
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